No Drama November

Last year I somehow came up with the *ahem* brilliant idea of No Drama November. It just seemed like the thing to do after a rather dramatic year... this year has, sadly, not been less dramatic. In fact, the last couple months have been very intense and certainly have had their fair share of drama.

Thus my overwhelming excitement about No Drama November. And this year I have no plans of interviewing, quitting a job, getting a new job, keeping things going at the old job, etc. to derail this year's No Drama November. No sirree. This year I'm living up No Drama November.

I am trying to think of a good description, a "how to" guide so to speak for living a No Drama November. My original plan was to wear my NDN sweatshirt all month, so any time anyone tries to draw me into their drama, all I have to do is point "uh, sorry, No Drama November." But honestly, the name really does say it all. Take a month off from the drama. Let stuff roll off your back even more than usual. Refuse to be involved in other people's drama.

Happy No Drama November!!

Important Update

I don't actually have time for updating right now, I should be in bed. Instead I am eating a late dinner of cheerios and have a rice bag on my sore back... so you've got until the heat runs out.

In brief:

1. My Destination Wedding Weekend has come and gone. I made it out the door Wednesday evening by 5.30 pm (only an hour later than I'd hoped) and arrived safely at Teresa's house before midnight. The back wasn't as sore as it could have been from the 6 hour drive, for which I was grateful.

2. The rest of the weekend was a whirlwind of details and executing of those details, but the result was so worth it. Teresa and Jeff were surrounded by family and friends and everything was beautiful. I will fill in stories later. It was great to be with them, to reconnect with old friends, make new friends, and hang out with the other awesome bridesmaids. So fun.

3. I am home safe and sound and looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. I started the day with a very early airport run for a friend of Teresa's, and proceeded to go to the 7.30 am Mass from there and then moving, packing up, checking out, etc. Busy busy day. Halfway home it started really catching up with me, so in the interest of safety I actually pulled off and took a catnap (I've never had to do that before). It worked and the rest of the trip was uneventful. So good to be home.

4. Tomorrow is the last day of October... and you know what that means... NO DRAMA NOVEMBER is just one day away. Just thought you'd want to start getting ready :) I pulled out my NDN sweatshirt and wore it this weekend in preparation (and celebration)...

Happy end of October friends.

Crunchy...

I went to the chiropractor today, my first ever visit to a chiropractor. It was my second recommendation, but since the first one said they could squeeze me in sometime mid-November, the second choice sounded better and better, especially when they had a late afternoon appointment. Whew. It was a rough day at work- sitting at my desk, working on my computer, having to stand up regularly... yeah, it was torture... I am not good at being sick and/or injured.

One of the forms I filled out for the chiropractor was your health history- beginning before birth. What? I don't actually know how many hours my mom was in labor. I just simply don't know! I know I was 9 lbs, 5 oz. Born at home at our Whitmore Lake house with the doctor. I know my Aunt Theresa was there (and swore she didn't want her own children after the experience). And that a guy from the community brotherhood showed up for dinner, not knowing the plans for the day had changed. And yes, every time I have seen this particular brother he has told me that he was there the day I was born. But sorry, I haven't asked the nitty gritty details like how many hours my mom was in labor. It also asks about falls, punishment as a child (yes, I was spanked), accidents... woah, I can't say I took note of most of my childhood falls. I did remember to mention the bike riding, flipping over the handle bars incidents with Maggie many years ago, and that seemed to be sufficient.

Anyway, questions like these do call into question what this appointment will be like... I'm all about a full health history, but this does seem to be taking things a little far? Not to fear, I liked the chiropractor, he explained why they ask and seemed pretty down to earth. I described my current issue, and questioned if my vertigo could also be related to chiropractic issues. Then I stand up and he starts his measurement stuff... apparently I can't turn my head like I should. My hips are uneven, my shoulders are uneven, my pelvis is twisted... you name it. He kept saying "You aren't going to make this easy on me, are you?" Uh. So we did a full set of xrays and then he started some adjustments. There was a surprising amount of crunching... ewww... and yet they didn't hurt and it kind of felt good, relaxing almost (other than the hideous crunching that accompanied some of the adjustments). He wants me to come back a couple times this week... uh... I'm leaving town at 5 pm Wednesday for a weekend wedding and need to be able to walk down the aisle (no, I'm not getting married, I'm standing up for my friend T at her wedding ;).

So, after some productive crunching, the back pain wasn't significantly less, but I was feeling a tiny bit better and feel at least we're making progress. We set an appt for 5 pm tomorrow for a second set of adjustments and hopefully we'll have made enough progress for me to walk comfortably again and make it through the eventful weekend.

Fall Decor

I have to admit, as much as I would like to be a person that decorates for every season, I'm just not. I like the idea, but don't have the time, energy, or inspiration to do so. This year, however, I've been drooling over a lot of fabulous fall decor ideas and wanted to give it a go at my place.

Here's what I came up with -- using mostly pumpkins and gourds from a farm a couple miles away. I've been passing them and their piles of gorgeous pumpkins every day on my way home from work and finally decided to stop in last week. They have a fabulous selection and really cheap prices for all this stuff!! So I spent about $15 and ended up with a dozen little gourds and 7-8 small pumpkins. So I supported the local economy- which I love- and got some fabulous fall decor out of the deal. Excellent.

Oh don't worry, I didn't go overboard. I did the hearth, a centerpiece on the dining room table, and have some pumpkins scattered on the living room bookcase. Though I'm no Martha Stewart, I like what I came up with. Always room to improve, but for now, the Homestead is looking very fallish.




And now I have a confession to make: I hate fake flowers and always have. I think it is because I like the real thing so much, and using fake flowers seems like cheating and super tacky. However, real flower season is winding down and for some reason I was inspired to try some real-ish looking fake flowers in my fall scheme. And even more surprising, I think I kind of like it! What do you think?

Moments of Clarity

So... after my incredibly frustrating back thing yesterday and getting nothing else really accomplished, I went to Mass at 4.30. Every step hurts and I'm walking like I'm 90, awesome. I had to run to Joann fabrics for some veil making supplies for this coming week and as I gingerly dragged myself out of the car I had one of those moments of clarity. This is my opportunity to really pray for someone.

A couple years ago I read Pope John Paul II's letter Salvifici Doloris on The Christian Meaning of Human Suffering. Soooooo powerful. One of the main things that stuck with me was that I don’t want to squander my own suffering - ever. It is too valuable. Suffering is such a powerful gift, and a powerful tool for building up the Kingdom and those suffering… And yet, I have to admit, I’m not so good at this whole suffering thing and I usually forget to offer it or do anything except whine about it.

Back to my current situation, there I was in the parking lot of Joann’s having a moment of clarity. I suddenly knew that this was an opportunity for me to really pray for someone I love dearly. I’ve got a prayer list a mile long, but this was so clearly an opportunity to pray for this specific person. Woah.

So… I am attempting to offer up my frustration over a derailed productive weekend and the pain for someone who needs it. And to close, a few words from Blessed John Paul II:

“This is the meaning of suffering, which is truly supernatural and at the same time human. It is supernatural because it is rooted in the divine mystery of the Redemption of the world, and it is likewise deeply human, because in it the person discovers himself, his own humanity, his own dignity, his own mission…

Together with Mary, Mother of Christ, who stood beneath the Cross(103),we pause beside all the crosses of contemporary man. We invoke all the Saints, who down the centuries in a special way shared in the suffering of Christ. We ask them to support us. And we ask all you who suffer to support us. We ask precisely you who are weak to become a source of strength for the Church and humanity. In the terrible battle between the forces of good and evil, revealed to our eyes by our modern world, may your suffering in union with the Cross of Christ be victorious!”

So frustrated

Well... as of around 1:30 pm, progress came to a screeching halt. Grr. Before that, however:
- I slept in 2 hours longer than I planned (while not productive, I clearly needed it)
- Drank coffee
- Drugged the dog
- Cleaned the downstairs bathroom
- Purged papers and magazines in the dining room
- Disassembled a shelf that needs to be re-installed
- Talk to the vet on the phone-- Suzie's blood work is back and has some elevated level that may be explained by all of her skin issues, let's recheck in a month.
- Wash and arrange a bunch of pumpkins
- Rearrange kids books and put away kids art supplies
- Straighten guest room, fold blankets, make bed

And then, as I was heading out to begin my yard work, I bent down to pick up a flower pot and ooowwwww I threw out my back. This is the second time in 3 months that a simple act of bending down to pick something up left me in excruciating pain and wondering if I would ever move again. I'm trying to do my back exercises but it just hurts right now. So I am stiff and sore and even walking hurts, in spite of the ibprofen. Perhaps this is the incentive I need to finally find a chiropractor.

In the meantime, I think it is time for me to shower, run a couple errands, and maybe go to 4:30 Mass while hoping this round of throwing the back out is short lived.

So. frustrated.

Sci-fi dog?

Here's Suzie getting home from the vet yesterday:

How gross and weird looking is that? They put this dye in her eyes to check for ulcers and scratches on her actual eyeball (eww). And this pic was after the vet wiped her up quite a bit. The good news is that her eyes are clear- other than the allergy itchiness, but still, she came home looking like this. She looks like something out of some sci-fi horror flick. Or maybe my recent reading of the Hunger Games trilogy has gone to my head...

And here's where my paycheck this week went:

Oh Suzie.

Progress-ish

While not the most productive I've ever been, I am pleased to report that I'm managing some progress. So far:
- make important phone call, leave message
- go downstairs and begin folding a literal mountain of laundry
- throw in a load of dog blankets
- wipe down canning stove
- wash canners and put away
- notice dead centipede near laundry sink
- throw in a load of pillows from the family room
- light several candles, mmmm vanilla...
- have mental discussion with self over how many is too many rag towels and debate whether to cut some down to be small absorbent rags
- remember Suzie is back on steriods and decide to delay cutting down large rags into small rags since it is her steriod use that usually causes Lake Suzie in the kitchen
- light stack of said rag towels on fire by setting them on top of a lit candle on the now clean canning stove
- notice smell of something burning
- put out fire without incident
- throw singed towels in wash with more dog blankets, deciding some of them are now candidates for being cut into smaller rags - decision made!
- start a recycle bin for all the laundry soap containers lurking around the room waiting to someone to recycle them
- dust play kitchen, put toy food in correct bins
- let dogs eat cheezits out of the depths of basement counch
- fold blankets, rearrange pillows
- make mending stack on sewing desk
- "watch" Mr. Holland's Opus while folding laundry and starting a summer clothes pile to put away
- make Suzie happy by folding her blanket on the floor so she can nap at my feet
- dust corners of family room
- think about how badly the family room rug needs replacing... or at least cleaning
- think fondly of Karen and her carpet cleaner and wish I was with her down visiting Alexis... maybe next time
- check facebook and find Karen's key location, carpet cleaning can happen tomorrow! yay!
- get distracted writing long boring update on blog
- return to the basement and keep going??

In other random news

I love late in the season flowers in general, and roses specifically. I moved this rosebush that has been unhappy for years (in the far away corner of the vegetable garden) to the opposite side of the front door from the crazy happy rosebush, hoping some of the happy vibes (and frequent coffee grounds) would revive it. It has done much better this year than any other time in all the years since I planted it.

Today there are 6 buds and one fully bloomed rose on it. Beautiful!! Nothing quite so great as flowers blooming right when everything else seems to be winding down for the season.

A Weekend at the Homestead

It has been awhile since I completely bored my reader (I know there's only one of you out there ;) with the mundane details of my life. And by mundane, I mean REALLY mundane. But here's how it is... I had a rough week at work, way too much work, changes in the works, but still just means even more work for me. I didn't accomplish anything I set out to accomplish and I just need some small success in my life. This weekend is my first real weekend at home and without set plans (or applesauce) in 3 months. 3 MONTHS!!! First REAL Saturday at home. Imagine how many projects and how much house cleaning I desperately want to do... and it is just one short little weekend... So I'm asking all of you (my one reader) to hold me accountable for a productive weekend at home.

Here's the problem: I am fried. Left work after a mere 8 hours to race home, find a stool sample, and take an itching miserable Suzie to the vet... sigh... where I spent half of my week's pay and left with two new drugs (steriods and antibiotics), a new eyedrop, and a bag of fricking expensive "prescription" hypo allergetic dog food. Sigh.

I really shouldn't say this or record this anywhere, but it is a darn good thing Suzie (the sweetest dog on the planet) is the one with all the expensive health woes. Maggie just plain wouldn't survive. Not only is she bitchy, she is the worst behaved dog at the vet. They can't actually do anything with her and have to hold her down with several technicians just to do her every-three-years rabies shot - much less any attempt at a blood draw, checking the eyes and ears, palpating the stomach... yeah, it isn't pretty. So, although I do hate spending a fortune at the vet, Suzie is worth it and at least behaves her sweet self there, for the most part, though even Suzie doesn't sit still for the blood draw.

But I digress... Right. Back on task. The vet visit is done. I am hungry and don't have energy to cook. I should attack the cluttered and unorganized laundry room and basement family room and give them a much needed clean, purge, organize. I'd love to do that tonight so I can focus tomorrow on that final mowing, yard clean up, and organizing the shed so I can fit all the patio stuff in there and some basics like cleaning floors and bathrooms. Hmmm.

Wish me luck... and stay tuned... it is quite likely I will bore you with my lack of progress regularly over the next 48 hours...

Quick Takes

I am trying to get in the habit of being in touch again... with my friends, my blog, my life. Here's my lame attempt... my very own Quick Takes (even if it isn't Friday yet).

1. Work is busy and getting busier. I'm completely swamped, underwater, overwhelmed...and yet thankful to be busy. Thankful to be gainfully employed. Thankful to like the guys I work with. Thankful that in spite of the stress, I like our company, I like what we do, and dang the guys in the office are funny people. What a blessing! Balance continues to be elusive, but we're making some small steps in the right direction, and for today, I choose to be thankful (remind me of that tomorrow, okay?).

2. It is fall. There are a lot of great things about fall that I like every year but I am not ready for fall. I am in denial that we're not still somewhere mid-August, when I feel like my life seriously derailed...and suddenly I am beginning to wake up and realize it is mid-October. Ahhh.

3. The big dog ate the bathroom garbage again today. Just picture this, she lives with a bunch of women... okay nevermind, stop picturing that. Anyway, this is now the second time the bathroom garbage has been raided. All these years of fighting with her about stealing food from the counters and she hasn't been surfing the counters at all but then suddenly her taste changes... and it is... ewwwwwwwwwwwwww. Dogs are gross, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. The rest of you close the bathroom door to keep toddlers out of the toilet- I now need to learn to close the bathroom door to keep the dog from eating ... um... unmentionable disgustingness. Thank you Maggie. Life is never dull with you around.

4. I got to have dinner with some of my favorite people last night. As always, I am reminded that I am so incredibly blessed to have such terrific friends. A few weeks back, a good friend of my parents asked me if I was okay, if I had some good support in this difficult season. I was almost taken back by the question. Me?? Oh I'm good, I've got my friends, my people. Once again, just realizing how blessed I am to have so many faithful, supportive, wonderful people in my life. God is so good to me!!

5. This past weekend I applesauced with two different crowds. So much fun. Applesaucing is one of my favorite canning ventures because it is cool enough and you aren't sweating like a pig (peach season is fun but hot) and the smell of fall and leaves and apples permeates the air... mmmmm.... Anyway, it was delightful. I'm stocked up on applesauce for the next year, got some great quality time in with friends and family alike, and have a big bag of apples left to turn into pies or other such appley desserts. Mmmm. Apple season is one of my favorite things about fall.

6. My fall wedding is a week and half away. All the details are coming together as far as I can tell. I now have a dress, shawls on the way, shoes, and time off work. It is really happening. I am soooo happy for my friend who is getting married and looking forward to an eventful, wedding-ful weekend, celebrating God's faithfulness to my good friend and spending the weekend with some delightful new friends too. What a life I live :)

7. I need to get back to monthly goals for my life, something to actually accomplish one month at a time... but October has been too nuts to actually decide on a goal. Maybe November... Stay tuned on that. My goal for November is to have goals again. We'll see if I can pull that off.

Another new girlie

Clearly I am way behind on my blogging when I haven't yet announced my newest niece!! Mary Grace Sophia was born this past Wednesday, October 12th to my sister and her family out in Washington State. Way too far away for this aunt's liking!! I think the big brothers and sister are already smitten, and so am I.


Mary Grace brings the niece/nephew count up to an even 10. 5 girls, 5 boys. I am so blessed. Welcome to the family sweet girlie. I can't wait to meet you!!!!

Munchkin Time (aka Teaching Important Life Skills)

Saturday morning three of my favorite kids arrived bright and early bearing some beautiful fall mums, donuts for breakfast, cheerful smiles, and overnight bags. There's a recipe for a good weekend.

One of our projects was to set up the guest room. Since Elana moved out, it's just a mostly empty room with curtains that don't match. Which simply won't do. The blue floral curtains looked great when the walls were light blue, but the bright green doesn't work with them. Sigh. Enter Meijer clearance shelf. There they were, chocolate brown curtains marked down to $10 each and then an additional 25% off. Perfect. So I bought three panels (two for the windows, 1 for the closet). I had also gotten a daybed frame off craigslist a few weeks ago to house the mattress that's been on the floor in there for quite some time. So this morning Jane and Lucy and I put the guest bedroom together (or as Jane calls it "our new room"). We put the bed frame together, added the mattress, took down the old curtains and put up the new ones. And there are now about 30 stuffed animals living in the dresser. Jane was a little concerned though, "Aunt Reenie, the closet is still empty. We have to put something in there!" She was also very proud of herself for arranging her teddy bear to sit in the corner of her new room. Perfect.

In addition, Lucy learned what I deem to be an Important Life Skill. Under my careful tutelage, she removed the old broken electrical plate cover and installed the new one. She was clearly digging the project and stood back to admire her handiwork. "That looks SO much better." I did tell her that no matter where she goes and what she does in life, it is always important to know how to replace switch plates. There we go, teach niece important life skill, check!

Sunday got even more exciting. Two more nephews arrived to join in the fun. And Elijah from next door came for pretty much the whole afternoon. I even managed to get a few things done while everyone was playing, well a few things beyond enjoying the beautiful sunny warm weekend and the very entertaining company.

Suzie got a TON of love all weekend. She's horribly itchy again (after a couple weeks of fooling me into thinking things were improving). Every few minutes one of the kids would scritch scratch her and call excitedly "Look, I got her leg is going" as her leg would twitch and try to scratch. It's a great game and nearly qualifies as yet another Important Life Skill-- but not quite (especially when every inch of this dog is an itchy mess right now). By the end of tonight, Suze was tired and ready for some space. Being followed and loved every minute of a weekend does get a little exhausting, even for a dog as needy as the Suze.

Maggie, in her own right, earned points this weekend. She now lets Geno order her around (some anyway), will take treats gently out of the kids hands without growling, played several rounds of the "down stay treat" trick with Jane, and was generally okay with the kids all weekend. Look at Maggie finally acquiring some Important Life Skills. We barely had to shut her in the basement (except for today, because let's be honest, even with a good weekend going, 6 small (and very unpredictable) kids would have blown that out of the water).

Overheard:
Lucy: Geno, here's something to chop people's heads off with.
Geno: Oh thanks Lucy!

Jane: Shiny has a lovely big house. Shiny is a very lucky dinosaur.

Lucy, what is that?
It's a decoration.
Lucy, battles don't have decorations.
Geno, it's a Castle not a Battle.
The battle is going to happen at the castle. Argh.

Jane: "Can I be done? ... Wait (correcting herself), it's May. May I be done?"
Lucy: "It's not May, it's OCTOBER! heh heh heh"
We've got another punster on our hands. Those Cous genes run strong. :)

Here's my list of accomplishments -- not up to my usual weekend standard, but not bad considering (and yes, this list is for me not you-- seriously, why are you still reading? get a life already):
scoop & mow backyard
pick stuff from garden
bake bread
feed kids all 3 meals (clean up after all three meals) each day
oven roast tomatoes (some for dinner, 1 bag for the freezer)
sweep the entire first floor
clear roadtrip crap from dining room table
put an extra dinner in the freezer for later
clean the downstairs bathroom
bathe the dog
set up the guest room (mentioned above)
read a lot of short stories
Sam's club run
clean up toys, books and crayons (numerous times)
wash (but not fold) two loads of laundry
water the house plants
cut the girls hair
soak in the gorgeous weather

The grass is greener...

I rarely post links to other blogs here, but I stumbled across this post this morning and wanted to share it.

I love the living intentionally theme, taking responsibility for our actions and the consequences, the emphasis on not being victims of circumstance but of taking what we have and living life to the fullest right there. Mmmm.

Thought it was worth passing on.

so beautiful

As if life wasn't stressful enough...

Today I walked in the door and the big dog growled and cowered. Crap. Back to that again? Only this time it wasn't anything off the counters (thank you month of mouse trapping, thank you). Nope, it was the bathroom garbage... chewed to pieces all over the living room rug. A first for us. Awesome. A new obsession. I am certainly willing to take some responsibility in this- I have been neglecting the big dog (and the little dog) something terrible lately. But it couldn't be helped. And seriously? We're taking revenge on my poor tired self by eating the bathroom garbage? Gross. There has got to be a better way. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Dogs are gross. There's simply no getting around that.

And strangely, there is something comforting about coming home to a gross dog moment. There's enough high level stress in my life right now that coming home to that was strangely comforting (though gross). Okay, someone commit me. I just admitted that on my blog. Oy. Maybe I'm more exhausted than I thought.

So much to say, so little time

I figured I should update this blog just so the angsty post moves on down the line. Can't have that be the last thing on there. Lately I have tons to say but this isn't the place. And other stories to recount that are certainly blog-appropriate but no time to say them.

Suffice it to say... September is now over. What a wild month!! Out of town 3 out of the 4 weekends (and stories to tell from all of them). Stay tuned. Some day I may tell you about a Very Bridesmaid Chicago Adventure (aka "The Drinks are in the Sink"). Or the Awesome Ladies Weekend (wish I could come up with an awesome tagline for this) in St. Joseph, MI. Or the car ride with a car sick toddler. Or about meeting my new neighbors. Or about my latest adventure to New Orleans to pack up and move an apartment. And the awesome time I had with my brothers who live there and the rest of my fam who I traveled with. Heck, if I get really crazy I may even post pictures from some of those awesome events.

But for now... I am shocked it is October. Exhausted beyond belief. And thankful for a Father who continues to give His grace in abundance in all things. God is good.

Good night all.