Hey There! Family Update

Hello from me and Lee! It's hard to believe we are so calm and relaxed with a child going off to college in less than a week and a whole lot of meetings and work stuff in the next week. But, there we were this morning, waiting for the church Steering Committee meeting, looking happy. We are, basically, a happy couple. In two weeks Lee's "real" job starts, and at least I am still working full time as a contractor, so we can smile.

Beccano is going OK, too. He did a great job finishing summer school, survived his visit to North Carolina, even if his attitude wasn't ideal, and he did not have anywhere near as bad of a time with his first week of summer band as he thought he would--he didn't want to play vibraphone, but he is coping. That makes us proud of him. How could you have a bad time looking this spiffy? This is him wearing a fun paisley shirt he found at the Goodwill store, and his favorite shiny belt that I think we got at the same place last year. Disco boy!

I am much happier with the family member below (Rose) than I have been in a long time. Why? Because Lee bought us a Roomba (robot vacuum cleaner), and it cleans up all the black hair without me having to do it. She is still a bit itchy, but Benadryl has helped a lot. She is shedding quite a bit less.

This family member, Buddy, seems to be feeling a lot better lately. He had been practically crippled for a while (we think he pulled out a toenail), but I saw him running today. I think the new dog food that Lee got for all of them has helped him lose weight, and he feels better. He is barking a LOT less, even at Tuba Boy, and the Rooma is also getting his hair. Yay.

And finally (at least for pictured members), comes Scrunchy. His hair is growing back in and he has lost a significant amount of weight. And he seems very happy and playful lately. I think all the itching was really making him grumpy. Next he will have to get his teeth cleaned, I guess. I am relieved that all the animals seem at least marginally better.

And while I have no photo of Tuba Boy, he seems ready for college, though we are all rather sad to see him and Debate Girl leave for college. They are so much fun to talk to. And it is so much fun to have the Roommate and Debate King coming over, too. I had so much fun listening to them playing Dungeons and Dragons last night. Debate King at one point asked me if it was "OK if I use the 's" word?" I told him they were all legal adults and they can say any word they want. OK, Beccano was there, but he's heard that word before. I will really miss all the new college kids when they go, but at least I have holidays to look forward to!

Lee's dad is feeling so much better that he got a new tractor (see his blog, in the sidebar, for more on that). And my parents are OK. Things are as good as they have ever been here. I am hoping for improved job news next week, but am just fine with things the way they are there. The folks are still fun, fun fun, and the work is hard. That is just fine!

Let's see what comes next!

Suna, She Gots Issues

Just Some Pansies
Originally uploaded by sunasak

(The reader needing cheery perky stuff may wish to skip this, because below I try to figure out why I had a hard time coping with things that weren’t all THAT bad, really.)

Stress-a-Rama

This weekend we got up extra bright and early and went to a workshop to fill out Tuba Boy’s financial aid forms, without having filled out our tax forms because Lee does them via a guy in south Texas and does not do them early like I always have. Trying to guess all the numbers was an interesting experience. But at least we got the form filled out by the deadline for his first school.

The yarn shop was also more challenging than usual, which led straight into going home at 5 pm and finding out house guests were on the way. Turns out Lee’s family just gets in the car and shows up, unlike mine, who tell you months in advance if they are visiting. It’s just one of those different ways of doing things that frequently occur, but I was sorta ill prepared for this, since Lee’s step-son from the previous marriage had said he was coming a half dozen times before and not made it. I hadn’t even met him until he showed up after our wedding ceremony. I’d gotten ready the previous times when nothing happened, so I got lax and forgot which weekend it even was. (I thought last weekend was Valentine’s weekend, not Son of Lee birthday weekend.) And I had no idea they’d be spending the night (he brought the very well dressed fiancée too), so I had not made sure there were clean sheets and towels, plus there was an immense television on the guest bed. Son of Lee moved it. Now it’s on the old entertainment center that also needs to go somewhere other than the dining room (it seems to be the staging area for extra stuff and I can’t keep it the way I’d like it to be). Back to topic, it was good to meet another person from Lee’s family, of course, and I realize having the room ready, food available for visitors’ breakfasts, and the rooms made livable is not as important to others as it is to me (it’s a woman thing or something like that). As it was, they arrived at 10 pm, talked for two hours, went to sleep, went to church with us and left. I hope it was worth the drive from Houston! At least it was an interesting enough church service, and Lee seemed quite ecstatic about the time together, so it probably was worth it!

Stress Continues

Things didn’t really improve for me after church, though I had a nice time talking to Tuba Boy while waiting for a rehearsal for a church service band. I couldn’t even manage to sing “When the Saints Go Marching In,” a song I certainly know HOW to sing. They, accidentally written words on the wrong parts of the sheet music, so I kept trying to sing the chorus as the band played the verse. I am sure the choir director, who was just hanging out, thought I was nuts because I was having so much trouble on a simple song. At least she realized it when she looked at the music. And poor Tuba Boy had no tuba, so tried to play bass instead. He still has not learned the notes on guitar. That is amusing, since he is so good at reading music on the tuba. So, that was unpleasant and stressful.

Stress Tightens Its Grip

Sunday afternoon we decided to do something fun and different, which was go spend our wedding gift certificate to Ten Thousand Villages, one of those stores that sells fair trade doo-dads from around the world. I was counting my knitting and realized Lee had missed the only useful exit for getting to South Congress, which got us off on the wrong foot. Then it became difficult to find a parking space. And then on the way out, I didn’t look up in time to see that Lee was going straight into a road that was really a very crowded parking lot. It ceased to be fun, though it continued to be different. Suddenly we were in the car with someone we thought had moved out two years ago! Since one of the hardest parts about living with Jeff was when he (invariably) got angry in traffic, poor Beccano and I probably had post traumatic stress kick in, so we tried to just be quiet. We all did live through the journey and even had an OK time at Things Celtic, where I got Beccano a silver necklace that reminded him of his band’s name. I had not intended to get myself anything, but a similar necklace with a moonstone in it, which the owner of the shop had bought in Glastonbury made me feel a lot calmer, so I got it.

Love in the Air

That’s enough of me being grumpy about my weekend. The good news is both boys now have girlfriends. That’s a new one! I’ve always liked Scrabble Queen, the one who’s been hanging around with Tuba Boy a lot recently, and it is weird to see them dating only because they met in first grade. And wow, she is an amazing Scrabble player (we’ve been playing on Facebook, which is loads of fun). I don’t really know Parker’s Friend, who is the object of Beccano’s affection, but she seems just fine and cute, and Parker can vouch for her. The three of them spent Saturday together and it sounds like they, at least, had a great time. I must say having BOTH boys with girlfriends makes me feel old, but I am glad Becanno has started communicating with the opposite sex more.

Uh-Oh, More Self Analysis

I do know why it was so hard for me to get through the weekend, though. For the past week or two I have been even more sensitive to the mental states of other people around me than usual. That’s quite unfortunate timing, since I’ve been running into double and triple whammies of very strong, very scattered states of being. Nearly everyone I spent a lot of time with for the past few days has been overwhelming to me. I put on my bear necklace and it helped some. Even if it’s just psychologically helpful, that’s fine with me! It is no wonder I had more trouble than usual coping with various things—at times I felt like I was in a completely unfamiliar world, where the people around me understood what was going on and I was coming from some other culture and was just clueless as to how things work in the new world. (That’s how I felt when I had that unfortunately inappropriate job last year.) At least in the end I was kind, a good hostess, patient and more patient.

Spring Is Also in the Air!

But, all is not lost. At least time is marching on in a good way, and signs of spring are popping up all over the area. In fact, I looked up at the redbud tree Saturday morning and was really surprised to see some early pinkness. Woo! All the really early plants are saying hello, so I’ve enjoyed the “tulip trees,” some flowering pears, a shrub with very pink blossoms whose name I can never remember, and of course, my pansies. They are leftover from the wedding, but they are looking a lot better now that the really cold snap is over, and when I sit on the new porch, I am delighted by their fragrance. The yellow ones really smell good.

Everybody has a rough weekend occasionally, so I’m not too worried.

Send Vibes!

This is just a quick note to say that Lee scored a "real" interview for a "real" job, one he did the screening for 6 weeks ago. It would be a very interesting position at a wonderful company everyone has heard of and admires, and the offices are only ten minutes away from our house. He'd even get to be working near our old boss at ALE! So, think positive thoughts for him next week. The job would be great for him. And it is a permanent, benefits-laden position.

I think my interview yesterday went well, so I am hoping for some good news on that front. I got 8 contacts on that one, so lots of people thought I was appropriate.

Quick Mother's Day Sharing

New Bed Edging
Originally uploaded by sunasak

This is just a quick post to say how happy I am with the flower bed edging Lee has put in front of the house. It is so professional and level. My big contribution was to suggest we use two colors of pavers to make it blend with the house better. He did all the hard work. I am grateful on this Mother's Day to have Lee in my life. He got me two lovely rose-scented candles made by his niece, which was a wonderful gesture.

I am also grateful for little Beccano, who cleaned the whole house, including his room, as a gift. All the tangled mess of video game guitars and drums has been put away, even.

I am sure Tuba Boy thought of me before he left for work this morning. He has been much better with holidays lately.

Job Seeker Blog #5

There is little to report on the job front for the past two days. All I did was write some thank-you notes to places where I interviewed. I hope I did those OK. No calls came in, and everything on Monster, Craigslist and Yahoo Hot Jobs was either not something I was qualified for or paid so little I really couldn't live on them. Sigh.

The theory is that the places I liked so much are checking my references right this minute! Yeah!

The slight highlight is that I got my unemployment debit card with an amount on it that is just about half of what I was making when I worked. That will be extremely helpful, and probably we can get by on that. I do hope I don't need it for long. It is sad to be on unemployment. Also the card is very irritating. What I need is for money to be in my checking account, to pay all those bills that get automatically deducted. So I will have to go go the bank and have them show me how to get all the money off that card and into the bank account. Grr.

All this has me not in the best mood.

Also, not related to the job search, please, please send vibes to Lee. His illness is not getting better--still having high fevers. He broke down and went to the doctor, which is no fun without insurance, and discovered that yep, he has pneumonia. At least he now has strong antibiotics, and got his allergy prescription refilled, on top of that. I feel so sorry for him. It's a LONG time to be sick. And he's been trying to work from home, and doing pretty well--still, that is really difficult.

We are just not having a very good week.

Fun Is Free!

ELAB Supermodel
Originally uploaded by sunasak

We were goofing off last night before Lee and I left for rehearsing with the melodious Trey Bone boys. He and Beccano were following each other around with the camera trying to snap each other making a face, and this is the one Beccano got of Lee. We think he looks like a supermodel--look at those cheekbones--he could be Zoolander! And that flowing hair! And those wide eyes! OK, or he could be Weird Al Yankovic. Those two really make me laugh. Visit the knitting blog for a photo of Beccano looking like a leprechaun in a hat I knitted. He tried to put baby booties on his ears "to look like Shrek" but they wouldn't fit. See, all this fun and it's free!

We also had a quite fun rehearsal, very impressed with ourselves at how well we remembered our set list. The acoustics are nice in the remodeled living room o' Austin, which made it quite pleasant to sing. I just got tired at the end--the last couple of weeks I have not moved around much, just moped. Sure glad we have that performance to force us to get together and do music!

We will do more music at home as soon as our obsession with football ends. I think Lee and I went overboard this year just because no one told us we had to stop watching. We even watch bad, bad games, like New Orleans vs. Atlanta.

Another thing the helped cheer me was that I managed to find small but nice gifts for the family, and got them ordered in time that they will get here by the 25th, so we will have stuff to give out at Christmas. Beccano has picked out stuff to give, too. Don't know if it has occurred to Tuba Boy that he ought to be getting something for his friends and family. Maybe Debate Girl will remind him.

So, I am slightly more out of my funk today, looking forward to an evening at the yarn shop tonight, and a short choir. Maybe tomorrow we will bake Christmas cookies or something. Then this weekend Lee and I are going to escape our woes and go somewhere and do something while the kids are with their dad. That sounds like a plan! I hope he makes his supermodel face a lot. That will keep me grinning.

Building Up with Words

Blogging leads you down interesting roads sometimes. I am glad I read all the blogs I do, because sometimes I hit on something very helpful. Lately one of my online friends from the past has posted some really helpful stuff about her life that has helped me. Today she responded beautifully to an idea from yet another person's blog, and it was very inspiring!

The idea is to publicly lift your partner up with words, because sometimes it is so easy to zing them, especially if you are an especially verbal person (who, me?). This is an issue I have worked hard on, and I know my sarcasm and passive aggressive barbs have gone way, way down from the way they were in the past (assisted greatly by four years of witnessing the effects of someone who has great difficulty checking his instincts to put others down). But, once a zinger-inflicter, always one. And that is never good, especially when one has a partner who is especially sensitive to such things, like I do. I am sure he could use a public tribute!

So, here is my contribution:

Lee, we have been through a particularly trying few weeks, and neither of us has been at our peak of perfection. I am not sure if I have been good about pointing out all the things that you have been doing that I appreciate and admire, and that maybe I have focused too much on little irritations, due to my, err, irritability. But I do notice that you take care of so many things around the house--laundry, groceries, dinners, dog feeding the dishwasher. Without fail or complaint. I notice how hard you work to make things good in our environment! And I notice how hard you work to be there for the children, too--they notice as well.

Hey, if something doesn't come out perfectly, it is always very obvious from your caring and kind words and demeanor that you had the best of intentions--you never purposely set out to irritate or upset any of us. You want the very best for me and want to protect me and keep me happy. This is such a wonderful gift, and I really appreciate it. Your desire to be a real part of our family is very obvious, and it makes me feel so much more secure and at home than I have felt in decades. You could make a lot of gaffes and still not come close to balancing out the wonderful fact that you truly want to be my partner and aren't going to go away. Sharing your love and kindness has been so healing for me, and given me hope for a happy future with someone to share life with. Thank you for all of this. Know that you have my love and admiration, and it won't stop. You are not a good guy; you are a GREAT guy--the best choice possible for me. I am so glad we found each other!

Isn't it nice that reading other people's blogs can inspire you to be good to others? I enjoyed reading what other women said about their husbands, boyfriends and fiances, as well as what at least one husband said in return. We need more kind words in this world, so I am happy to contribute mine.

Fall Is Here

Front of House, Fall 2007
Originally uploaded by sunasak

Yes, we've equinoxed, and what is amazing about this photo is that the grass is green and all the plants growing and healthy. All that rain in June really made a difference.

Our house is spruced up inside, for the most part, but we have to get moving on the outside. We should be getting a roof in the next week or two, and if Lee gets a job soon, I'll bite the bullet and contract to get that nasty looking trim replaced and painted. I want it to look nice and be in good shape.

Lee has a good prospect for a job back at ALE. They have changed the rules, so he can be a contractor. Seems to me that it isn't all that fiscally brilliant to lay someone off, then beg them to come back as a contractor at higher rate of pay (more than making up for the lost benefits). It's just moving items around so it LOOKS like the head count is reduced. They still have to get the work done, and need workers. Sigh. But, I'm all for anything that pays well at this point!

Long night ahead. First a week bit o' knitting then Parent Night, and I have to see all those teachers who have issues with Beccano. I really don't want to be at that school (doesn't help that I noticed Lee is not listed as chaperoning ANY band trips the rest of the year). It's also Beccano's first day with the therapist to help him with his issues. Hope that works out. She is really good and helped him a lot in the past, so I have hope that with all the techniques the school district wouldn't let her use when she was there, he will do better. On his own. I am helping but not doing stuff for him!

If you want to see a sweet photo of my boys and some nice words by Lee, check out his blog post from a day or two ago. Actually, his blog has been really nice to read recently, so I do hope you will check it out if you have time.

Cheery Gratitude

Rose's Poses
Originally uploaded by sunasak

I wasn't feeling too grateful earlier in the week, but today I'd like to say that I am grateful for Rose the Dog. She will no longer be Rose the Puppy in a few days, since she is just about 1 year old. Here she is in her hilariously relaxed position, revealing all her nether parts to the world. Even her gums are relaxed. Nothing is bothering her!

I really am glad she is around, because her loving ways do cheer me up, and if it weren't for going to get her one fateful weekend, who knows when Lee would have gotten around to asking me to go steady (hee hee). She is so fun to watch running up and down the stairs, putting her head in funny positions to try to get petted, and playing with the other dogs. And she ended up such a nice size--not too big, not too small.

Other than the destruction she has caused among my prized wooden furniture and the couch, she's been great. She sits, lies down and comes when called. She goes into her crate upon request. She even let me bathe her after her little episode with doggie pooparama. And, I THINK she is chewing less. I hope so. We have finally caught her a few times and let her know in no uncertain terms that it is NOT the thing to do.

So, I am glad Rose is in my life. She is something Lee and I sort of share.

Other Stuff

I guess everything's OK. Had to chat with Tuba Boy about running around with friends and not letting me know where he is. He genuinely didn't seem to realize he should let me know, but was grateful that we cared--compared us to friends' parents, one set of whom he labeled "not very good parents" and the other "they don't get along." I think he is glad to have people who care about him.

I worry about Lee a lot. It is a really rough time for him. Having to see his lovely former spouse (who seems to believe I am after him for his money, snort--she told him not to give me anything for three months--where does this come from???). Having to close on his old house. Having to keep trudging along looking for work and waiting for interview calls. All has to be pretty stressful. And he keeps helping around the house with the endless band errands, cooking, painting and generally being supportive. That's a lot. Well, at least he knows he's appreciated, 'cause he is!

That Parental "Letting Go" Thing

Beccano Lives Dangerously
Originally uploaded by sunasak.

As your children grow up, you are supposed to let them try new things, test their independence and such. I think I am doing this fairly well. I let Tuba Boy go to Buda to "hang out" with Friend Girl, which is farther than I'd let him go without parental supervision before. And that worked out fine.

Now he decided he wants to apply for a job where his friend applied. I am going to let him give it a try, though I hope it will not mess up his studying, with all his school activities. It would be good for him to have some money, a bank account and all this. Plus, he decided--I didn't pressure him. In fact, we were not going to pressure him.

And here we see me letting Beccano stretch his wings. Some of you may know I have a pretty big fear of motorcycles. Seen too many injuries, heard too many stories. Feel they are unsafe, more from the perspective of fools in cars not respecting them than from the cyclists.

But, here I am sharing my life with a man who came equipped with a motorcycle. A big one. As you can see, it's not a "crotch rocket," and has lots of safety features. Beccano expressed an interest in riding. Lee got him a helmet. But, they'd never found a good time to try riding until yesterday. They showed up at the yarn shop so we could go buy a curtain rod to finish the guest room, helmets in hand (in the middle of a risque yarn shop discussion, too).

And I was OK. I let Beccano stretch his wings, under the supervision of someone I trust. He said he really had fun, and Lee said he figured out how to lean into turns really well. As you can see, even in 95 degree heat, Lee wears long sleeves, long pants, boots and gloves. So did Beccano. (Usually Lee wears a summer motorcycle jacket, too--safety first.) To me that all looks hot and uncomfortable, but I am glad they had fun, and glad that I am letting my little boys, who are both approaching 6 feet tall, spread their wings.

More Bad News Good News

Bad News: Lee just got laid off after 9 years at that crappy assed computer manufacturer.
Good News: At least we met each other there.

Bad News: I don't handle this stuff well.
Good News: He has a LOT of time to find something else, and really needed to be elsewhere anyway. They have been treating employees like cattle for quite some time. Cattle are sacred in India, where his job is going. He was already applying for other jobs. And had recently trained his lovely replacements in India.

No wonder I was an emotional wreck all weekend. My intuition smells these things way in advance.

My Boyfriend Is Funny

ELAB Being Goofy
Originally uploaded by sunasak.

I gave Lee a beautiful Tiffany lamp for Father's Day (secretly it's a gift for the media room, but I needed an excuse). This is the FIRST thing he did with his new gift. I totally cracked up at his expression here. I sure am glad I got that new camera, heh heh.

It was a good evening of just lounging and being in love, and it has been a good day at work (about to go home), with lots of training,l earning and interacting with people. I like that part. I am really enjoying doing the live trainings.

Plus, I talked to Beccano and Tuba Boy. Not much cheers me up as much as that!

Looking forward to a good evening at the home of our friends the Osbornes, too!

There is a nice lamp photo plus a picture of our first crop from our garden, a pepper, on the Flickr pages. Just go to the sidebar or directly click the links.

Just Saying Howdy

Not much exciting to report, other than home improvements, so I thought I'd say howdy to you readers. I guess it is nice to have nothing hugely major to report every once in a while!

Lee spent a lot of time over the weekend working on the media room, and it is now completely painted, has curtains, and even matching pillows we found at IKEA. Poor Lee, I forgot how badly he does in disorganized crowds, and IKEA on a Saturday is probably the worst example of such a thing. I share his issue to an extent, and get around it by focusing very hard what I came for. He was a bit traumatized, but soldiered on, knowing I needed to get certain items so we could work on the kids' rooms next.

And I did get items! A nice new daybed for Beccano, plus sheets that look somewhat like bubbles, so should match his "rain" theme room. His room will look really sharp once we put up shelves for his action figures, hang the picture, and put up the really nice curtains we also got for him. I hope it will inspire more neatness.

We also got nice new covers for the double bed in the guestroom, which will be for Tuba Boy. His room is on the agenda after I finish the office/family room. I feel good--we have made nice progress.

The only other excitement is I did a knitting workshop on Sunday, with Louisa Harding, a designer whose work hasn't thrilled me much in the past, but whose yarns I like a lot. We worked on a little bag using a lot of her yarns (it was like a feeding frenzy with women picking out which yarns they wanted!). The only negative was someone making off with my purple knitting scissors with the crystal ends. Or they got VERY misplaced (I still hold out hope: the red pen I lost came back). It was interesting hearing this woman talk about her career choices, and how having a family affected them. It was a nice break, and it was good to see so many fellow knitters in one room. But I missed Lee and hustled on home to bond with the media room (and Lee's new surround sound system)!

I've been feeling a bit moody--just worried about Jeff being so alone, my dad feeling down in the dumps, and mostly my kids being gone SO long with no contact. I have never gone so long without even a word from them. Luckily, that should end very soon. Whew. Sometimes I slip into defensive mode, too, like everything I do would bug Lee (remnants from trying so hard to please XH or Jeff but still not quite making the grade), but then I see Lee doing it, and realize that is the thing I am trying to not do, and then we tell each other to relax. Old habits are hard for both of us to break. I guess it's good to know we are all works in progress, and none of us even remotely approaching perfection!

I did an interview for another contract at ALE (my previous contract employer, if you are new) today. Mostly I did it because things were so dismal where I am now, but things have improved here, and they certainly have NOT at ALE. So, we'll see. In fact, today THREE new trainers started in the fun e-business division that sits across from me. At least I am not the only trainer in the building any more.

Any day now I will have a new camera and be able to post media room pix!!

Not Much to Report

Things are slow here. Just taping the two bigger and more complex walls, emptying out more Dysfunctional Nonprofit Organization materials from the office, and watching HGTV with Tina for the past two evenings.

In good news, I have a couple more interesting things to do at work, and have had some really good meetings, so I am feeling quite positive about what I am doing. I also had a very nice lunch with the contract agency girl yesterday--it is so nice they keep in touch like that! I got Lee and me some yummy brownies from the bakery across the street from here, which was next to the lovely restaurant we ate at, Mood and Food (modern Italian and delicious).

And I broke down and bought a digital camera today, from Overstock.com, so I can take pictures for myself. It's like Jeff's, only newer and with a bigger screen. It was very reasonably priced. I will let Lee get the nicer one with fancy lenses when there is money for that. I also got Lee a special surprise that will be his Father's Day gift (so what if he has not technically fathered any children--he's been a good role model to the man he helped raise and is great to Beccano and Tuba Boy--they have lucked out in the male role model dept. and have their dad, Jeff and Lee all caring about them).

I drove Lee's car to work today, since he is using mine to fetch some furniture from his old house. Ahh, my clutch foot got a break!

Milestones

Still sick, but I want to acknowledge the significance of the day. After a lot of patience and perseverance, Lee and I have made it through two milestones as of today:

First, Jeff spend last night at his new living quarters. He still has some stuff here, but it is mostly all there. It's almost "our" house. We slept with the door open last night--both kids sleeping at friends' and Jeff gone. Too bad we were so sick that we couldn't do much more than say cheers with our plastic cups of Nyquil.

Second, Lee's court hearing finally happened today, and he is officially free of his marriage. The delays on that were really hard to deal with, so I am glad it finally came together. Now, I know first hand that any divorce is bittersweet, so I don't expect him to be cheering and dancing for joy.

But, I do know that we will all feel freer to move forward and build futures free of obligations to others. Six months ago, we told each other that we'd commit to making this relationship the primary focus in our lives and get out of previous obligations that were causing us stress and heartache. And just about 6 months to the day later, we have managed to achieve that goal.

We can now get our home, our goals, our future and our families in order and make concrete plans for what we want to do. I am hoping that the stability will also be good for the kids, animals and all the people we know. I know that having all these things done makes me feel like I am standing on solid ground.

We have new stuff

We have new stuff
Originally uploaded by sunasak.

It's been a happy day, so here's a happy photo of me and my very tall teen enjoying our new purchases. Last night we took the kids shopping and he got new shoes a black dress shirt (size extra thin, not shown) and his brother got a green newsboy-style cap. Well, the cap has not come off THIS kid's head, backwards, of course. He looks pretty good for someone with a miserable cold or sinus condition.

I am looking happy because I love both my new-ish sheep-made-out-of-balls-of-yarn shirt, and I really love the shawl that Jody made for me for my birthday. It is SUCH a lovely pattern (for details, see my knitting blog) and it feels SO luxurious on!

I hung out with Jody today, longer than I'd intended, but since we hadn't hung out in a while, it was worth it. Trip to Hill Country Weavers, where yarn was bought, then a lovely lunch at Guero's, followed by a bit of shopping and then a lesson in spinning with a drop spindle. I hope to get better at it, that's all I can say. But it is fun.

While I was gone, Lee and Beccano had WAY too much fun looking at motorcycles and getting B a helmet (it fits me too, eek). B also got to drive the riding lawn mower at Lee's old house and apparently was quite good at maneuvering it. To top it all off, he got to whack things with a machete. Manly fun, I tell you. Boys continuing to be boys.

And Older Boy has been more perky, other than the sinus issue.

Respite?

I put my tarot card of the day in here because it summarizes my hopes for right now--a bit of a break, a respite, a lull. Of course, there is Lee's court appearance tomorrow. Those are always stressful, and no matter how glad you are for it, divorces are not "fun" events. I know I didn't "make" him do it, but I know it might not have happened right now if it weren't for me. But, hey, we have had this many months of happiness, and he was so miserable before.

We did survive the big reorganization at ALE, and Lee still has a job, just a new manager and different team, I guess. Now maybe they'll hire someone? I keep dreaming. That stress being over will make a real difference for all of us, though. We both have jobs that are stable for the time being. Yay. I even have a thing to DO now at work. That helps, because yesterday I arrived at 7:30 am and no one spoke to me or emailed me until 4:45 pm. That's weird. Today I have already spoken to more than one person and the boss has sent more than one email. Woo. Plus, the arm warmers I knitted over the weekend have actually helped me deal with the cold in the office better!

All the kid drama seems to have faded, too. The Girl has disappeared, so Older Boy isn't quite as manic (though I am sure he is sad), and Beccano finished making up all his work and is back on track to make reasonable math grades this semester. Let's hope the other grades come up, too. He is having a lot of fun building a rocket in shop class and making a movie in Multimedia. Plus reading a very large book on ninja training that I got him for his birthday. It's nice to see him reading.

Hey readers! Have any of you heard of locker hooking? It is a craft I never heard of before, but I met a man whose wife does it obsessively, apparently. It looks...different.

So...I planted some new flowers in the front yard, and will share pix of that later. Until then, I will rest in peace.

Dishwasher Thrills

Dishwasher Thrills
Originally uploaded by sunasak.

So, why is there a blog entry about a dishwasher? I am so thrilled to finally have it, and so impressed that Lee the Manly one installed it solo.

You see, the dishwasher that came with the house ten years ago was not as nice as all the other appliances. It was not the absolute bottom of the line, but close. And it never got things really clean, ever. Always left deposits, grit and bits of rice everywhere. I have disliked it since I got it, but you hate to replace "a perfectly good dishwasher."

But, since we already got the lovely fridge...we'd looked at the dishwashers then. And we were in Home Depot on another mission yesterday, when lo and behold, there was a floor model, $150 off (plus $50 gift card). That made the second-best tier well within my range, woo. So now I have all the adjustments, added thingies, stainless steel liner and cycles I could possibly want.

When we test washed, Older Boy couldn't even tell it was going! And whoa, the clean glassware was cleaner than I ever saw it. I want to wach everything we own, just to shine it up.

I am proud of myself for being so careful when I was out of work that I could afford this little luxury. Now with modern washer and dryer (thanks to Lee), fridge (ditto) and dishwasher, I feel so good appliance-wise. And not to forget the lovely freezer full of yummy stuff Lee brought, too!

So, here's to the dishwaher, pictured in its first wash phase ever!

Horoscope funny

Today's horoscope in Google was so true I just had to share:

"Sometimes your fantasies are actually better than when you finally get your dreams fulfilled. Today, however, reality is as good as you wish. The biggest annoyance is the mountain of details that you must attend to before you can let go and play with your friends. Don't get discouraged; just keep working steadily until you get through your chores. Your pleasure will wait."

That's the advice I need to stop me from being overwhelmed by all the "to do" things I have at home, when really and truly I am as happy and fulfilled as good ole Buddy looks like he is in the picture! Isn't he a pretty Big Dog?

And I have a lot of pleasure, honest. Even the icky stuff's sort of amusing, like Beccano getting in trouble for not standing up fast enough during the Pledge of Allegiance. We are all secretly proud, but Older Boy said, well, you can stand as a show of respect for the beliefs of others. That made sense.

I am also enjoying Older Boy and The Girl. They are a lot of fun. I have enjoyed listening to all three of them working on an AP World History project. It's Older Boy and The Girl's project, but Beccano is making a Flash animation of their Cold War report for them. They are chatting away in Russian and working fairly well together.

In good news, Beccano won't need braces until he is at least 16--his jaw is growing so fast that the dentist didn't want to work on his teeth yet. Whew, spared an expense for a while, at least. That helps my anxiety levels, too, as does the fact that Lee made us all a nice dinner and the men moved the old fridge OUT of the kitchen.

Life is good. And tomorrow I have STUFF to do at work, so it will go more quickly. Yay employment.

Rose Becomes a Woman, What's Up

I haven't posted much this week, mainly because it hasn't been a ravingly exciting week. I have been pampering myself, taking it easy, and knitting a lot.

It was a more exciting week for Rose the Puppy, however. She's 6 months old now and had to suffer two indignities in one week. First, she had to go to Taylor to her old vet to get the rest of her puppy shots (they got delayed when Lee was having "issues"), which caused her to barf all over Lee's car. Second, she had to have all her "lady parts" removed yesterday (sure don't want any MORE puppies around here). She is doing pretty well and not running around and messing up her innards.

My friend Janet's daughter had asked us to babysit her two yorkies over the weekend (6 dogs, whee), but it would have been way too exciting for Rose's surgical scars. Good thing she ended up not needing us after all (I know the dogs would love the teeny dogs, long as Buddy didn't eat one or anything, LOL).

Anyway, think recovery thoughts for Rose, pictured here last week guarding her doggie door.

In other news, I did get some nice clothing for the new job, including red patent leather shoes (cha cha cha!), and I painted my nails very red in celebration. Best nail polish job I have done in ages--only one tiny chip and it's been four days! And most important, YES I got my hair done, so the disgusting inch of roots that was glaring at me every day is history, and I am a sparkling strawberry blonde with light highlights. I just got the bangs cut, so it's still long and pretty much the same as the previous lovely cut.

The weather was beautiful for a couple of days, so I spent a bit of time outside enjoying my yard in the daylight (not much of that starting soon!). It's getting rainy AGAIN so I am glad I had fun when I could. I hope it won't be too bad tomorrow so we can work on projects. The rain will be good for the new grass, though. I think it is gonna stick!!!

Now that my stress has lessened, Lee's has picked up, so I have tried to support him as much as I can. They keep delaying announcements about what is going on in our former department, so everyone feels up in the air. It has to be hard to concentrate on projects, not knowing if you get to do them or not. Even under stress, it is wonderful to be with Lee and to enjoy our relationship. It's simply the best one I have ever had. We both feel so lucky.

Aside: I have to say I sure am consistent. One of the jobs I was up for didn't come through. Oh, the dude said I was the best candidate (it was the one making wikis), but they had to use a particular agency, so the folks pitching me couldn't get me in. Since I was recently reading through the old blog, it's been so apparent that I come in second a LOT! Funny.

And happy Friday the 13th!! Busy weekend coming up, so I should have stuff to report.