P.S.

Feelin Crafty

I'm feeling so crafty lately but don't know where or how to start. 

I tried knitting once and it was fun but I don't think I quite got the hang of it. I'd like to pick that up again and see if I can get better at it...but first gotta find those knitting needles. It's in one of these boxes...

I really want to try sewing something. Where do I start for this? I've been on so {sew, hehe} many websites, and of course everyone who teaches sewing has this thing called a "sewing machine". What if I end up not liking it and then I have this sewing machine just hanging around? There are a couple websites that talk about sewing by hand....will need to look into that more...

I want to paint something. I want to paint something on a canvas and I also want to paint a couple of the rooms in the house. I think painting the rooms will be easier since I'm not very good at actually painting a picture. Maybe I could just do an interesting mixture of shapes/colors on the canvas. I also want to paint this new nightstand that we got....still trying to figure out what color to use for that though.

I often think about when I volunteered at different events in the area a few years ago. Volunteering was (and is) such a great experience. I've been looking into helping with Habitat for Humanity building houses because I think it will not only give me good experience with doing things that we want to do to our own house but also because volunteering just gives you such good feelings to help others and to see the good that's in the world (instead of all the bad and negativity). It can be a very humbling experience.

These seem like all good ideas. However, I have this problem....  Call it what you will, after working 40+ hours and finally getting a day off, I just really don't want to leave the house. At all. Some of these things (well, most of them) are tasks that definitely can be completed or worked on at home. I need the supplies to start them, first of all, and once again, that means leaving the house. And even though I have the time to go to a craft store to get some supplies before work, I'm kinda weird in the way that I have my "before work" routine and just really feel out of place when I have to disrupt it (i.e. go somewhere/do something that I don't usually go/do). 

Anywho, I guess at this point I'm just venting for no good reason because if I want to do something, I just need to get the supplies to get it started, and that just means at some point I will need to make that extra effort to go out of my way to get those supplies and learn a new skill, and until that happens, I'm just sitting here dreaming about the things I could do and learn.

{Sew}...Thanks for reading.
What kinds of crafty things are you in to?

howdy yall!

It's been a while since I've written anything on the ol' blog. I come up with topics when I'm driving or at work, but forget to write it down or don't get the chance to write it down, and then by the time I come home I've already forgotten what the topic was about. So everyday, I have the urge to write to my one or two readers but end up having a bit of writer's block. 

Anywho, it's a day after Thanksgiving, and I'd like to take a few minutes to write what I'm thankful for. 

I'm thankful to be alive and to have the {mostly good} health that I have. 

I'm thankful for my family and friends. We may be far apart and I miss them all very much. 

I'm thankful that Ben and I have been blessed with as much as we have. Sometimes I sit in our house and just look around and think how did we get so lucky? House hunting is an ancient blur in my mind, and somehow we stumbled on the perfect first house just for us. We may live here forever or we may only live here a little while. Either way, it's perfect for our needs right now at this point in our lives.

I'm thankful for our jobs (even if I have to work on the holidays and on weekends, it is still a blessing to be in my dream job and dream workplace environment....is it a dream?!?).

Thankful to be so blessed. Praying for those who recently lost a family member or who got bad news delivered. I always feel there's a reason we get faced with obstacles, maybe to make us stronger or to make us a better person. Either way, let us all be thankful for what we have, pray for those who need help during the holiday season, and realize that part of the obstacles we face is learning how to deal with it in a way that doesn't harden our souls.

It's November!

Fred Picture of the Day

Almost crashed on my bike this morning. I hit the curb (because I wasn't paying attention!) and almost couldn't get control back. Scary feeling! Moral of the story: Pay attention!

And now for Fred's spotlight:

"Moooom, why do you have to keep taking pictures of me????"
By the way, this was the first time EVER that I've seen him get inside a blanket like this. Awww!

Who Wants to Work??

I sing this on a daily basis.

Also this from my favorite movie when it's time to clean:

Ramblings of a Sleep-Deprived Mind

It's been an interesting couple of days. Ended up working a whopping 16 hrs at the last minute when my coworker went home sick. It has been a few months since I've had to stay up until 8 or 9 am, so it has definitely been a challenge the past couple of days. The good thing working nightshift in my department is between 3 am and 7 am, we are VERY busy and the time goes relatively fast. Dr Pepper has been my friend the past couple of days helping me stay awake. 

I guess with the lack of sleep and weird schedule,  I become a little more pensive about the world.

Do you morning commuters realize there are two types of drivers in that traffic with you? There's the tired people just getting off work and trying to get home. And there's the tired people just waking up to go to work. 

And everyone gets to drive together in the big groups of cars, all these tired people all together (yay!). I was driving extra cautiously since I'm not usually in the morning traffic and since I'm not used to staying up until 8 am. 

And it is so interesting how some people get so bent out of shape because you're leaving extra space between you and the car in front of you. I had so many cars zoom up behind me (me going the speed limit or maybe even a little under just to have that extra space between me and the car in front) and then the car behind me goes from side to side in the lane so they can figure out how to get around and why I'm going "slow". 

So then once the opportunity arises for them to pass, they speed past, cut in front of me, and then end up having to stop anyway. SERIOUSLY! What's the point???  

I am so over these crazy drivers who really think getting one car ahead will help them get to work faster. So by them being a jerk like that, that means I get to slow down even more to again allow the nice space between me and the jerk driver now in front of me. Morning traffic, or any traffic for that matter, is frustrating.

Changing topics now....does anyone remember what life was like without smart phones? Or without cell phones in general? 

I remember such a different world without these things. Of course I was very young and naive, so maybe I just didn't know what the real world was like back then and only finding out now. 

This is the phone I use;
Not a smart phone

I am holding off getting a smart phone for as long as I can, and when some people who are addicted to their phone find out that I don't have one that does all the cool stuff that theirs does, they look at me like I'm a Martian. 


They ask me questions about how I do things. For instance, a lot of people use their phones for GPS and directions to places. But because I must still live in the 1800s, I have to pre-plan my routes with things called road maps. Most of the time I just google (on a "computer") where it is I need to go, and just write down the directions that seem easiest for me, including little notes of places to look for to know if I am lost (haha, I usually include extra road names in these notes: "If you come to XYZ Road, then you have gone too far"). 

I really am just amazed at 1. how far we've come with technology and 2. how much people rely on that for everything. I understand that eventually I will probably have to get a smartphone because more than likely the cell phone companies won't have any other kind, or I will just cancel the cell phone and go really old school with a landline phone. Whoa! Although I am a big texter, so that would kind of stink to not be able to text when I want.

Since this post is pretty boring without any pictures, here's a #tbt (I know that's supposed to stand for Throw Back Thursday, but Tuesday starts with T, so I think that will work too). Plus a look into where we might go for dinner tonight. 

It's October!

I can't believe it's October already! The other day I wanted to put 4 as the month, I guess my brain is still in April. We should probably all start writing 2014 on things since I think it will be here tomorrow. Geez the year has flown by. That's what happens when you get older (so I hear). People ask my age and I still want to say 21. Then I actually have to stop and think, "wait a second, how old am I really??" The people who ask my age probably think I'm lying since I always have to think about it. Maybe I should just give an estimate. I'll round down instead of up: "I'm 25." And maybe I can just stick with that answer for the next 10 years to make it easier on my brain. 

And check out this feller getting ready for Christmas:

He peeks out of the box as he's been caught playing in the wrapping paper. Careful with those scissors!!

Look at him sticking his tongue out! Guess we are not wanted here while he wraps his Christmas presents.

I can't help but think of Shrek saying "look at him in his wee lit'tle boots"

Been a while

I lead a very uneventful life, which is a good thing, I think. One of my coworkers has gotten me into the show Modern Family, which is one of the funniest shows I've seen lately. Mainly that's all I've been doing, going to work and then watching Modern Family. 

Fred is pretty entertaining too. The other day he started a game of Hide and Seek without telling me. I started to look for him and couldn't find him. I was really hungry, so I was just about to start cooking lunch when something in my gut told me I should try to find him one more time. So I went through the house again with a slightly more extensive search. Still no cat. Now I'm starting to feel a little panicky. Did he somehow figure out some way to get to the forbidden outside world? Has he learned how to open windows? Did I lock him in the garage by accident? The term "Crazy Cat Lady" was beginning to come to life. 

Once again, I searched the house. I searched every corner of every room, every drawer of every dresser, every cabinet, under every bed, behind all of the blinds, started calling his name....nothing. I knew as soon as I sent Ben a message on skype that Fred would magically appear. So I did....does that make me a cheater in Hide and Seek? I sent Ben a message that I couldn't find Fred and went back to cooking lunch, and voila! Here comes Fred around the corner. I still have no idea where he might have been hiding.

You win this time, little kitty. "And don't you ever do that to me again!"

On the Road Again

Drove around today, met a turtle

Took a few days off of work to get things done around the house. it's been over a year and I still have things to unpack. It's kind of sad that you have to take days off from work just to organize and get things done. Or maybe that's just me. Anywho, now my garage is actually being used for the car and not just an extra storage space. Went through some boxes in one of the spare bedroom closets and got about 4 or 5 boxes emptied. Have a couple of boxes of things to take to goodwill, yay! Get rid of things we don't need! Slowly on the track to simplifying. Coming from a borderline hoarder, I think that's a good thing. :)

 

Smooth McGroove

I've always been a fan of people who can truly pull off acapella. Some people are just extraordinarily talented. Introducing Mr Smooth McGroove who combines game songs and acapella:

Exploring

Today we went exploring. There is a Greek town nearby that I've been wanting to check out. We found a few parks with quiet beaches. We didn't walk through the town too much though because it started raining...maybe next time. Lots of neat little shops and restaurants there.

 

 

Oh yeah...did I mention I got jury duty?

 It's the second time I've been summoned for jury duty. The first time I was in college and luckily able to get out of it because of that fact. The second time was a few months ago, it was scheduled in June. My work schedule was pretty tight then and no one could cover it, and you're allowed to reschedule it once, so I got my new summons for July 22. I get to the courthouse and see people sitting outside. "Maybe I'm just early," I thought. Then when I go inside, there were about 4 security guards and the one closest to the door said "All trials have been cancelled for today." I said "Really? Are you joking?" which apparently was a crazy question to ask. Those guys don't joke around. He said "If you would have called the number you would know." Ok, so I don't have jury duty every single day, I didn't know I needed to call a number. (That's what I was thinking, haha). I walked outside and figured I should just make sure I have all my bases covered before I left, so I walked back inside and asked if I would need to come back another time. That's when the first security guard that spoke to me and another one both chimed in "if you would have called the number you would already know!" He did answer that if I needed to come back I would get another summons in the mail. Great. 

As for the bell's palsy, I'm getting a little bit of improvement. It definitely takes its time going away. I can keep both of my eyes closed (yay!). I can't close my affected eye and keep my good eye open though, but at least I'm sleeping with my eyes closed (I think!).  I can sort of move my right cheek a little more than I could a few days ago, but it still takes a lot of effort. Not too much difference with my mouth. People want to tell me they see changes but I find that funny because what do they know? They see my face for a few minutes here and there; I'm the one that sees it every time I'm in the bathroom. I'm the one that's making faces at myself every time I see a mirror to see if there are any changes. I'm not sure why they're not ok with instant change, but I'm ok with it. It will go away eventually, it won't be overnight, and I'm fine with that. Everyone else needs to be fine with it too. 

Before this post is finished, someone would like to say hi:

 

Tintinnabulation of the Bells

If you know me, then you know I recently got diagnosed with Bell's palsy, which means part of my face is temporarily paralyzed. It's completely split down the middle, one side moves normally and the other doesn't move at all. A week ago I woke up and was having issues with my right eye. It mostly just felt like I had something in it (a piece of dust or small hair perhaps?). I couldn't find anything when I looked, so I figured it would eventually work it's way out. By the end of the day (a good 10 hours later), the right side of my face felt really weird, almost numb feeling. I realized more so when I had problems eating dinner and brushing my teeth. I tried to brush it off thinking I was just tired and about to work a nightshift.

Luckily, I work at a hospital, so I knew if something was going terribly wrong, I'd already be in the right place. I got to work and somehow let it slip that my face felt numb, and my coworkers tried coaxing me to go to the ER to get it checked out. We tried thinking of things that may cause face numbness. Stroke was the first scary thing, but I wasn't really showing any other signs of stroke. We thought of Bell's palsy, but I always associated it with facial droop and well, I don't have facial droop. In the back of my mind I'm thinking the worst...brain tumor. My dad was just telling me earlier that week of someone he knew that passed away from a brain tumor and he was only 34 years old! So that was definitely hot on my mind. I finally talked myself into thinking it was some sort of allergic reaction to a new shampoo and it would be gone in a day. 

After getting off work that next morning, I went home and slept for a few hours. Woke up (hoping and praying that numbness went away) and for a minute or two there I really believed it went away. Then I started talking and realized that the numbness was still there. It wasn't until I made a funny face at Ben and he saw that only half of my face moved that we started thinking maybe it was something more serious that we should get checked out. 

I finally decided to go to a walk-in clinic first. It was Saturday around 5 pm, so fortunately I was the only one there to be seen. Got in the exam room, she had me do a test with my eye where she had me close my eyes and tried to pull my eyelids up and the only one she could pull up was the one I had no control over. She pretty much knew from that one simple test that it was Bell's palsy. She did a couple other things just to cover all bases and then prescribed me a steroid and antiviral medicine.

It felt so nice to have a diagnosis and know that it wasn't my worst fear. The bad part about Bell's palsy is that it does take a while to go away, at least 3 weeks. It's been a little over a week now and I'm showing very little progress. I can barely move my right cheek and it is uncomfortable to try. I can rub my tongue across my teeth on my right side, which is not something I could do a week ago. I still have issues eating and drinking. Small bites, eat it slow, and use a straw in my drink, that's my new mealtime motto. My right eye will blink if I concentrate and blink both eyes together, but I cannot close my right eye and keep my left eye open at the same time. I sleep with an eye mask just to protect it and keep it closed. At first I tried taping my eye shut. I think even though the tape said "ultrasensitive", it may not have been the right tape for that job, so I decided not to do that again.

Then I tried taping a piece of gauze over my eye with the tape going around my eye, but that didn't really work out because I could still open my eye under the gauze and I couldn't be sure it was closed while I was sleeping. Now I'm just using the eye mask and I think my eye is staying closed, so that is a little improvement.

Thought this was appropriate ;)

All the little things we take for granted. We don't even realize we're doing it until we can't anymore. Getting sick, for me, definitely humbles me and gives me a minute to reflect on the people who deal with illnesses or ailments on a daily basis, not just a temporary basis. Whatever you're going through, there's usually someone who's got it worse. When we get these opportunities to see the other side, it's a good idea to be thankful for what you've got.

The End.

Happy Friday Y'all!

Hey!

Have I linked to this It Just Gets Stranger page before? It's hilarious! You have to be willing to give up a few minutes hours though because once you start reading his posts, it's hard to quit. I think the post that got me hooked on his webpage is this one. Enjoy!

Itsa me, Malorie!

Sad diaries

Our animals want to tell us something....

 

sad cat diary

sad dog diary

Cat!

Filling the internet with more cats....
or just one cat, Mr. Fred...

Even though it's blurry, I find this picture funny because he is chasing a treat that Ben threw. Fred's face is almost in focus and he's so serious while intensely watching where his treat is being thrown and his body is running so fast to get there.

Fred found a box just for him and immediately sat in it, like any cat would. And then started chewing on it. Yum!

 

Free Days

 Today has been great.

{Getting off subject....} Growing up, both Ben's parents and my parents taught us certain ways of living. Even though we grew up over 600 miles apart and didn't know each other then, we both were in households that participated in "cleaning days". We both had chores growing up. And this is supposed to teach us values and things we should take with us when we eventually leave the nest, right? Not saying it didn't, it definitely did teach us, but the world is a different place when you move out.

Lately I've been asking myself how in the world my parents did it. They had 2 kids in the house (one in her teens and one under 10) and both parents worked full time jobs and still made it work to cook dinner mostly every night and keep the house clean. I don't even have kids and I struggle with these things every week. What am I doing wrong? Mom, if you read this, give me your secret!

So anyway, Ben and I are clean people. We keep the house clean. Maybe not spotless but it is clean. We cook fairly often, reducing the times we eat out/spend money. However we're fairly disorganized. So today was spent trying to declutter and organize. I think a lot about how I grew up and the ways we used to have fun (things just seemed so simple back then). We had TV but only the basic channels, and sometimes even those didn't work since we used an antenna. We did have certain shows we'd all like to watch together. I remember doing a lot of reading as a kid. And a lot of playing outside. We had a computer but back then there was no internet. We weren't constantly glued to the computer or tv like a lot of people (even yours truly) are today. There were other ways for us to entertain ourselves, and a lot of times I think it would be nice to go back to that.

That was a weird rant, but it's over now. :)  Today I worked on a puzzle book, I sorted through the mail pile that was starting to stack, Ben went to the store and found a good deal on a new (and bigger!) crock pot (yay!) and he got groceries, he even mowed the yard, I did some laundry, unpacked a box from the garage (found my birth certificate, yahoo! one step closer to getting my passport!), we cooked dinner (pork chops, green beans, biscuits, and cheesy scalloped potatoes), and we both had time to squeeze in some games. All in all, we were able to get things done and hang out together AND have fun, making for a great day! 

Plus he got me flowers to make up for a crazy couple of weeks we've both had. So happy he chose to marry me! Couldn't ask for a better husband!

 

a lot on my mind

Don't even know where to begin. I get in these nostalgic and almost depressing moods sometimes. Do you ever find yourself there? I think about how things used to be. And about how things could have gone differently. And about how things are now. And about how I want things to go. And for what? What good can come from having thoughts like that? Besides possibly the last part of thinking how you want things to go. That one can give you possibly a goal to achieve. Maybe if you're content with life, thinking of how things are now gives you a satisfaction and joy to be happy with what you have. So I'm not sure why I sometimes think of how things used to be and how things could have gone differently. 

I know a lot of times I have flashbacks of when I was a kid. So carefree then. Crazy to think about any "stresses" you might have as a kid. Because whoa, you thought those were things to stress over? Wait until you get older! You just get more of the weight of the world on your shoulders as you get older. And then I think eventually you get to a point in your life when you're older that nothing could stress you out. I'm not there yet. 

 

Good going, Walt Disney. Always know how to make me feel better. ;)

And one for laughs...

 

Dragonfly!

No Rules Vacay

Just got back from a No-Itinerary vacation. It was seriously the best thing that's happened lately. We decided since neither of us had been to the Everglades or Miami, we should go. And it wasn't toooo long of a drive, so it seemed to be the best option for 2-3 days. I had done some research about a month earlier when I thought we were going, then plans seemed to change and I thought we'd end up staying at home during our days off. Then the plan to go to Miami came back on the table. I looked for some fun restaurants and cheap hotels, but looking at all those websites and facts really wears you out after a while. Ultimately, we decided we would just go there, stay at a place we came to, enjoy the beach, view the city, and come back. That was the basic plan, with no time limits or restraints, no reservations, no rules. Stop when you want, go when you want, wake when you want, just relaxxxxx.

First series of stops: the Everglades.  Really, it's nothing exciting to look at. Most of the views on the road we were on looked like wheat fields, though if you were to walk in those fields you would sink because it was all water underneath. We did decide that the next time we're up to driving down that way, we are definitely doing one of the airboat tours...they have shops for airboat tours every 10 miles or so. We did get to see an alligator at one of our stops! Yahoo!

he's huge! at least 7 or 8 feet!

I think he's trying to figure out which tourist will be his dinner

turtle with extremely long neck

no idea why there are black (burned?) palm trees in the Everglades, but the incoming storm makes for an interesting picture

Miami Skylines

Our first night in Miami, we ended up splurging and staying in a super nice hotel on the beach. Some people make that hotel their home and the hotel sells some suites/penthouses/bungalows for up to $9,000,000! It was a nice hotel but I can't imagine calling it home. 

interesting light in our fancy hotel room

a studio room with couch, 2 tvs, kitchenette area, and balcony with beach views. The shower was also very cool with 3 shower heads spraying you at the same time. The bed was probably the most comfortable hotel bed I've ever slept on.

interesting how much hotels charge for drinks and snacks; the m&ms cost $12! no touchy!

one view from balcony. Hard to tell but that is the ocean to the far left.

another view from balcony, view of the city

 The next day we did a multitude of things. When we woke up, we walked on the beach. We had a time limit until we had to check out of our room, so we didn't end up swimming that morning. After checkout, we drove around some of Miami. We were going to do one of those hop-on, hop-off boat tours that takes you around the city, but couldn't find where those were located. We did end up doing another boat tour that took us around the city and the different islands around. It kind of ended up being a celebrity tour. Apparently one of the islands is where a lot of the "stars" live or have lived. Honestly, I started feeling sorry for these celebrities who want their own house and land and all of us going on these tours are creeping around their own private lives. I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures of their houses, even though some of them were very pretty. My favorite island (I don't remember the name) is the one where the people who live there can only get there by ferry or private helicopter and they have to pay $250,000 a year just to live there. They have all they ever need on the island, so there's not much reason to ever leave.

The only time we ate at a "chain" restaurant was when we went to Bubba Gump's. It was super good but wow, super pricey too! It was fun though, and we were on vacation.

We stayed at a cheaper hotel the second time around and really felt it the next morning. That bed was hard as a rock! It also had cool beach and city views. The water on Miami Beach is soooo pretty and bluish-green. And the sand is that perfect soft sand you always dream about. A few shells here and there, but for the most part, it's really a great beach. We spent our last day at the beach all day until we were ready to make the long trek back home. If you know us, you know that we love the indoors and may be mistaken for vampires because we are so pale. My family loves to joke that they are more tan than we are and we are the ones living in the Sunshine State and near the beach. So beach day for us is always a little scary the first time around, because no matter how many times we apply our sunscreen, we always end up getting burned. 

The beach day was super windy and had a ton of waves in the ocean. The wind was really nice because we didn't end up feeling super hot like you normally do in Florida. And the water felt like ice when you first stepped in, but once you got in the water past your toes, it felt soooo good. It was probably one of the best beach days I've ever had....not too hot, not too cold, it was jussst right! And I didn't drown! Even though I thought I was going to a few times, I survived! haha, I'm not much of a swimmer and with those big waves, the only thing that kept me in the water was Ben and my foam board that I used to ride the waves in.

By the way, our mini vacation was a blast! But we ended up paying for it once we got home. We found out how sunburned we really are and for the first time in my life, my feet are super swollen! It's like looking down and seeing someone else's feet, it's the weirdest thing. And talk about walking! I can feel how swollen they are every time I try to walk. So today (our very last day of our vacation) has been spent by trying to stay off of our feet (which are also sunburned), watching movies, playing games, drinking lots of water, and by rubbing aloe on ourselves every so often. 

All in all, super fun vacay!