Monday, oh Monday

Happy New Year! I hope this year brings us all peace, joy and lots of fantastic memories.

Monday morning, well that did NOT provide with a fantastic memory.

Each week day I get up and dread the work day and each morning has it's routine:

Wake up
Let the dogs out
Feed the dogs
Get ready for work
Let the dogs out one last time
Put Winston in his run/garage
Go to work

Hey! I never said it was an EXCITING routine.

Well when I let the dogs out the second time I usually put Winston on his tether so he can chase the birds and be free to run and play for a little while. This makes Shawn tremble with fear that Winston will somehow escape or what I don't know. Shawn's imagination is not a predictable one so I have had no idea what his fear was and didn't pay mind to his conservative methods of managing the dogs. I  just let Winston have his fun outside while I finish up getting ready inside. This has never led to anything weird or unsavory. Until this past Monday.

For some reason I went out to check on things and noticed he was chasing something. Maybe a bird, maybe a gopher, I don't know. What I do know is the moment the thought "Something REAL WEIRD is about to happen" it did.

Winston had run to the side of the house where the water source pipe sticks out far and attaches to his endless water dish. Well with Winston comes his tether and his tether had wrapped around the PVC pipe that connects the pipe to his water dish. The something REAL WEIRD was that as Winston gave up his search for whatever ran that way, he took off in the opposite direction resulting in a very loud SNAP and water GUSHING out into the yard looking something like a geyser.

So what did I do? Oh, only what I do best in situations like these.

PANIC!

ohmygoshwheredoesthispipegotohowdoIturnitoff???

Winston is none the wiser running about hoping I'll see he's picked up his Jolly Ball and toss it across the yard 85 times for him. Oscar, hating confrontation, retreated to the furthest point in the house that still allows a direct view to all of the chaos.

I call Shawn and freak out as I explain what I see in front of me. He of course is cool as a cucumber as I ream him for not putting the wrench back after fixing the garbage disposal.

Well! There's water going EVERYWHERE and I can't shut off the water main without a wrench!

I finally find the wrench but it's not gripping the water main. I call Shawn back and simply tell him he's just going to have to come back home.

Instead he calls Megan R. who is busy getting herself ready. Oh and her 2 kids. Oh and her 2 dogs. Oh and her hubs.

Megan is over in a flash with a cup of coffee in one hand and a wrench in the other. I greet her at the door with my hair soaking and my shirt splotchy. Yep, you guessed right! I tried to push the broken pieces of pipe back together. What?! I was desperate. But this Megan, man She's a real gem. How many girls do YOU know that are that well-rounded and ready to handle any home issue?

And whaddya know? In about 3 seconds flat she's managed to make me look like a fool as her wrench perfectly fits the water main valve as she miraculously turns it off. All while she is wrenching in one hand, holding a conversation with me in between sips of her coffee NOT EVEN LOOKING at the water main.

Blink
Blink
Blink

I mean I used to think I was handy. Well given that I lived with Trixie and Leasy I guess Oscar would come off as handy. Imposable thumbs and all.

So all was back to normal and I was on my way out the door.

I suppose once the babes comes I'll be dealing with all kinds of "fires" like these and then have the rest of the day to tackle. At least it's preparing me.

Baby Sidney

It's been a long trying week for the Blackwoods. Shawn's cousins have suffered a mighty big loss and it's been nothing short of heart-breaking. If you wouldn't mind sending your thoughts and prayers their way I know it won't go unnoticed.

I sometimes struggle with my Faith but am nothing short of grateful for it when there's such a great loss with no explanation. That's the hardest time for me to believe and keep that faith, but I cling to it like a child clings to his mama. There's been a lot of tears and praying going on in my house and you can bet if you're reading this, you've been in them. 

Hug your loved ones oh so tightly tonight because life is short and sometimes very unfair.

All my love,
Cares

Free Music

I love getting new songs and love it even more when they're FREE!

I also love getting into the Holiday spirit and that means Holiday music. :-) The Civil Wars is giving away two free downloads and they are quite lovely. You can find out about it on their Facebook page here:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/thecivilwars

And get the free tracks here:

http://app.topspin.net/store/artist/3620?wId=46685&theme=black&highlightColor=0x00A1FF&w=400&h=300&src=fb

I'm feeling great and have a full on bump now. You can't see it from the Thanksgiving picture below but I'll post some pictures tomorrow. :-)

I still haven't felt the baby move and it's the size of a sweet potato now so you'd think I'd be able to feel it moving all about. I long for that day.

I'm a full 41/2 months along now which according to MY math means I'm halfway there! We'll see if baby feels the same way about that math. :-)

I have my 20 week check up on the 17th at 9am so any prayers and thoughts you send my way would be great. I'm confident Dr. Taylor will give me a clean bill and show me that the placenta is no longer blocking the cervix.

I've been listening to her and limiting myself to walking everyday at lunch for 30-45 minutes. It feels great to be getting some exercise.

Mom met me and the Hubs at the Baby Store in Los Gatos to get schooled on all things baby stuff. We picked out some items and are of course comparing prices which led to a wicked argument about what else? MONEY! Sigh. One of these days we'll be able to communicate without it ending in tears, teeth gnashing and door slamming.

Blink
Blink
Blink

What? Haven't you ever heard of pregnancy hormones?

Apparently the hubs has not and has not a thought about simply smiling and nodding rather than asking questions that lead into arguments. Again I ask this amazingly wonderful God of mine what in the world he was thinking putting a man and woman together. But that's a topic for an entirely separate blog post. :-)

Luckily I have a very good friend who's husband thinks pretty close to identically to mine. She listened and offered me sage advice on handling these discussions that start out with me excited about acribandadresserandastrollerandbassinetandacarseatandaandaanda well you get it, and end with the hubs punching the seemingly impossible numbers in his head.

I was not brought up to believe in that word. Impossible. It was a swear word in our house and I believe we'd have our mouths washed out with soap if we were to even THINK it.

What do you get when you mix a pessimist realist with a dreamer? Just come on over to our house, bring up acribandadresserandastrollerandbassinetandacarseatandaandaanda and you'll find out. ;-) Mostly it's a gorgeous, complimenting, loving pairing but sometimes the stubborn-ness  wins out and we both lose.

What?

Oh right. Like YOUR relationships are all rainbows and butterflies. Liar.

It's what makes us smarter, wiser and better people and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I'm open to any and all communication tips however. Those are never too much.

Love,
Cares

Oscar the Bad Ass

So in the last 2 or 3 months the Hubz and I have noticed a significant spike in Oscar's bad ass demeanor. We attribute this to the fact that he now has a 140-pound beast for a big brother to back him up. His barks have become much more frequent and louder.

We're very much accustomed to his barking at the television to the extent that we have to change the channel when a commercial with any kind of animal comes on. These days he barks at EVERYTHING. Shadows on the wall, trees waving in the wind, neighbors walking by some 50 yards away, etc. It's gotten very loud at our home.


I mentioned the television barking earlier and he's simply taken it to an entire new level. He doesn't need to see any animals now. He's learned to memorize the opening music to commercials. His favorite is the NFL Home commercial. Now, I understand that there is a bulldog in this commercial, but a. the dog does not show up until 7 seconds in and b. the bulldog only lasts 1.5 seconds. I suppose in Oscar's defense the dog DOES show up again later in the 30 second long commercial for an entire millisecond.

Oscar has memorized the song and pops his pug head up every time that whistling begins without fail. That's all it takes is to hear the first whistle. Then he goes nuts running all over the living room looking for whomever it is whistling or the damn bulldog. It's a riot and I love every second of it.

May Day 2011 Has a Nice Ring to it

That's our official due date. :-)

I took the test on 8/30 knowing full well that I would get two lines on the test. Even though I had been keeping track of my cycles and was very sure the outcome, the technical writer in me just HAD to follow the step by step instructions to get the most accurate of results.

What? Someone slaved away writing those instructions: sending out for edits, placing the images just right.  Oh, yeah back to the story...

Oscar was sitting patiently outside the bathroom door as he always does when I visit the ladies' room. Shawn was in the office organizing his many piles and Winston was roaming around the house happily chewing up his baby.

I didn't even have a chance to hold my breath before the second pink line came up. In an instant I was laughing, crying and jumping. Oscar's nails clippity clopped on the bathroom tile in unison. "C'mon Oscar let's go tell the Hubz!" On the way through the house Winston joined in the parade prancing and swinging his "baby" with his mouth feeling the excitement in the air.

I stopped short at the Office door and waited for the Hubz to look up. He looked up and I didn't say a word just held up the positive test.

A look of confusion filled his face as he looked up from his project. He looked at me, the test, then me. He had a look on his face to say "what is that?". His faced changed as he realized that it was a pregnancy test. A POSITIVE pregnancy test.

"No WAY.
No WAY BABE!
Seriously?!
No WAY!"

I nodded and cried as we hugged and stared at each other. The dogs had mellowed out at this point and just watched us. It was an amazing moment. I felt as if I was floating and still couldn't believe how quickly that second line showed up. I was talking about a mile a minute.

IknewIwassuperlatethismonthbutyouneverknow,right?ImeanIdon'tfeelanydifferentbutWHOA!

His smile never left his face the rest of the night. Even when he had to get practical for a second. C'mon now. It really wouldn't be MY hubz if he didn't have at least ONE practical comment.

I took another test to be sure but we were already convinced. Well sort of convinced.

We didn't say very much besides the expected "Wow everything's going to change and we really have to start saving now" from the Hubz and the dutiful eye roll from me.

I called my Doctor the next day to see if I could get a confirmation. I mean how reliable ARE these tests anyway?

Apparently very reliable. The receptionist wouldn't book me for another 3 weeks and said I didn't need to come in for a blood test to confirm.

The next 3 weeks were strange. The Hubz and I didn't really discuss being pregnant mostly because neither one of us really felt it had been completely confirmed and I think we were both nervous that if we talked about it, it would somehow alter the reality of the situation. Well for whatever reason we both stayed very mum.

Mum. Hee hee.

I did tell my mom the very next day. How could I not? I made her promise NOT to freak out and that I hadn't even been to the doctor yet. She did very well for a Mom who's main character trait is "excited".

3 weeks later we had our first ultrasound that confirmed I was 8 weeks along with a May 1 due date.

Isn't it amazing? I mean what an image our tech got!

So we saw the baby, saw the heartbeat (going SO fast!), and were still in a state of quiet. While it hit us a little harder we were still nervous to talk about it even to each other! By now both Moms, Dad and Bubba all knew and were very excited for us.

Next up was the 12 week appointment that would confirm it all and put us in a "safe" place to announce it and even start making plans.

We heard the heartbeat and asked if it was indeed the right time to make our announcement.

"Well," the technician started "Sure, I mean it really doesn't matter WHEN you begin telling folks because really ANYTHING can happen at ANY time."

Blink
Blink
Blink

Huh? Um OKAY. I guess that's true but then why do all these articles and websites say to wait? Jeesh lady.

So does this mean we should wait? I've already received one hate text from a BFF who has felt very neglected by my trying to keep a secret. I don't think I could have held out much longer.

So we didn't.

We planned a big dinner with friends to make the official announcement. Of course we HAD to plan it the last game of the Giants Playoff but we were able to let all our friends know nonetheless. Lots of hugs, cheers and even teary eyes greeted us as I jumped up on our fireplace to continue the celebration of the Giants' win with a hearty "GUESS WHAT!!! I'm PREGNANT!!!"

It was fantastic.

Then came the questions.

"Where will the baby sleep?"
"Will you keep working"
"What about the commute?"
"What names?"
"Boy or Girl?"
"Are you going to find out if it's a boy or a girl?"
"When is the shower?"

I mean honestly. I felt overwhelmed because the Hubz and I had barely found out what my medical plan covers! We hadn't really discussed anything beyond that.

Guess it's time to get to planning!

We're so entirely thrilled and cannot wait for May. There are quite a few details to iron out before then, so we better get started.

xxoo

Slowing Down

So as quickly as that the Mean Reds are gone.

It's amazing what my hubz is capable of scaring away. Any crazy thoughts I ever have typically swirl round and round in my head making too much noise and drowning out any sense of logic or good reason. When I finally find a coherent way to express these thoughts it usually takes the hubz about 5 seconds to come up with a reasonable observation as to why these thoughts are indeed crazy. Instead of dwelling on it, I hear him out, laugh at myself and forget all about why I was making myself so nuts in the first place.

We all need people like that in our lives. I am blessed to have a few but none can disseminate a crazy thought like my hubz. There's isn't any judgment or lengthy detailed conversation and it rarely, if ever, comes up again in later conversations yet holds me accountable. In yesterday's case it was as simple as "Babe, you need to SLOW. DOWN. and you'll be just fine. Just slow down, okay?"

Blink
Blink
Blink

Well, yeah, duh.

In an effort to slow down my thoughts I'm hoping it will cause me to slow EVERYTHING down. I don't know if you know this but there's some sort of law that limits folks to drive UNDER the speed limit up and down Hwy 1. I just know this stretch of road will be the ultimate test of how well I can really slow myself down to a reasonable pace of life. Should be fun.

Luckily enough I have the Ocean so close which always calms and slows me down. I have a feeling we're going to become very good friends in the near future.

Slow Motion

The Mean Reds

This morning I woke up with a case of the mean reds.

Holly Golightly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul Varjak: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?
Holly Golightly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?
Paul Varjak: Sure. 

The Mean Reds

The hubs kissed me goodbye while I was still dreaming and I mumbled something about not sleeping on my stomach to which I got another kiss on the forehead and a whispered "good job babe".  Not long after that I stretched out and in the process woke up a sleeping Oscar who acknowledged the rising sun with his own morning movements and moved out from under the sheets and to a new spot under the pillows. He sighed as he got comfortable and looked at me with groggy pug eyes. I patted his pug head and told him it was a day I should simply be in bed and not even attempt human interaction. Before I could finish the sentence we both rolled our eyes as Winston the Hun began whining to be let out for his morning stroll terrorizing all the birds feeding out back.

Out of bed, the three of us made our way to the back door, yawning and stretching the entire way. Out went Winston and I got myself ready for the day.

Now when you start the day with the mean reds, you honestly have no business trying to be anything to anyone. It's much better to save your friends and colleagues the detriment of your bad attitude and pouty demeanor. Besides you never garner much sympathy, not that it would make a difference.

Well I don't live on a movie set nor is there a script so I don't have a choice but to power through the mean reds and just make it through the day.

5 outfits later I was making my way out to let the drooling-just-had-a-big-lop-of-water-beast out one last time when he decides it would be absolutely lovely to lay a big wet lick on my suede wedges. Sigh went the girl who woke up with the mean reds.

With no time to change for a 6th time I put Winston away for the day and said goodbye to Oscar. Out the door I go.

The events that proceeded in the following hours simply confirmed my case of the mean reds. A road-raged Dodge Stratus who wouldn't let me merge onto the freeway, a curt email informing me my Direct Deposit account number was invalid, and a hubs who forgot I needed the big car today.

None of these things give reason to the mean reds but they sure don't help when you've already diagnosed yourself first.


There simply aren't enough sick days.

Where Ya Been?

I know, it's been a VERY long time...

Things I've been up to:

1. Girls Football Pool trip in Sandy Eggo. We sunned, laughed, squealed and had an all out great time together.

2. Working on the house. The hubz and I have moved our entire loft area downstairs. Now instead of an empty great room I have an empty loft. :-( I'd LOVE to turn it into a lovely area for guest quarters that could double as a reading room. Sigh. Such a dreamer am I.

3. Collecting music. One of my favorite things to do is make mix cds for my friends. I'm working on my next installment.

4. Relaxing. Spending the weekends at home, tooling around the house has been much needed.

5. Sporting. Miraculously the hubz was given two tickets to the Giants Playoff Game 3 against Atlanta. 14 rows up from home plate. Uh-Mazing. Even if we did lose. Keeping tabs on my Sunday football games is as exciting as ever. I found my way up out of second-to-last place and am now resting not-so-comfortably towards the middle of the pack. If you have ANY insider information please pass it on. I've tried all kinds of strategies: underdogs, home field advantage, all of which have yet to give me a perfect record.

I'll have more soon, I promise!

P.S. Happy, HAPPY to one of my very dear friends who turns 30 today! Happy Birthday Professor! Here's to many happy returns! xxoo

Things I Hear in Yoga

So I've signed up for 30 more days of bliss at Bikram Yoga Aptos. Okay so perhaps BLISS isn't QUITE the sentiment but I can honestly say I've enjoyed the past 22 days practicing and getting better. I have had the best teachers at this studio, each with his/her own enlightening statements they've taken on from Bikram himself. One that has really stuck with me was said during Bow Pose. You're lying on your stomach grabbing the top of your feet from the outside and KICK KICK KICK until you can see your feet come up over your head.

Blink
Blink
Blink

Okay so I CANNOT see my feet come over my head. I can barely get the grip without the fear that I am going to yak/fart/scream/collapse. It's multitple choice day here at Anglewood. If you selected all of the above in that last sentence, congrats! You WIN!!! At any given point in every 90 minutes of my practice those feelings rise. I think the entire point of Bikram is to be able to acknowledge those feelings and find the capacity to push them way deep down and let them go. It's a great challenge.

So back to the pose...

As you grab your ankles you're supposed to look up and back. As I'm kicking my legs and clenching my touche I hear the instructor calmly say "Now look up, way up. Your body will follow your eyes. If you can see and know where you're going your body will follow".

Now I took this figuratively and literally. Isn't it the simple truth?

On Failing

Failing every once in a while is part of being human. Actually, it might be a requirement.

I just read this statement that someone posted as a response to another blog. It made me stop, look up, and take a big breath before I re-read it a few times.

Lately my emotions have been getting the better of me. Shocking, right? Well a lot of people I care about are going through some serious life changes, myself included, and it's taking a toll. I recently had a conversation with Kimmie about how our ideals have changed dramatically from our college days. Y'know the days when we were actually BELIEVING we could take on the world and make a change. I mean not just thinking that our ideas and actions would actually make a difference but KNEW they would. We were in college. We were unstoppable. We were going to do what no one else has ever sought out to do before us.

Fast forward to today. Neither of us are actually doing much related to what we studied, pined, dreamed of doing. Maybe the word failure is too dramatic, but what does feel like failure are the numerous attempts we've all made trying to get back on that track, relive those ideas of grandeur on a much smaller scale. Sure it's a shit time to try and get ANY kind of job in ANY field, there's not a whole hell of a lot any of us can do about that. We've had to settle for what we can get but ultimately that settling has created an incredible amount of stagnancy causing an uneasy feeling of failure.

I'm too damn young for a mid-life crisis. But here I am. Feeling unsettled in so many areas and not having much opportunity to change it.

I'm not where I thought I'd be. My family dynamics are not what I thought they were. So many things I've made up in my head have come down in a crashing heap of good intentions and sugar-coated ideals. I want it all, the career that keeps me motivated and satisfied and a family life that provides stability and comfort. And maybe for the most part it does, but it sure isn't what I've made it up to be. It sure isn't what I pretend it is. And let me tell you, I'm a great pretender. I guess that's attributed to all the books I've read and the imagination I've conjured up. I've tried to make up a world that doesn't exist. I think I really do live in a parallel universe without a true grip on reality. I'm not crazy, I've just ignored so much of the bad or negative and tried to simply gloss over it.

Growing up I never learned how to really talk about things that upset me. I was 21 years old the first time I actually sat down and discussed my feelings about my parent's divorce with Bubba. They split up when I was 2.

Blink
Blink

My whole life I've wanted peace and quiet, everyone getting along. I still do. But that's not real. Life is messy. Life is hard. Life is filled with curve balls you don't see coming. But it's also an amazing ride with some amazing people by my side.

Life is sometimes about falling apart and putting yourself back together.

A Real Conversation

Cares: Okay Winston here you go into your pen, I'm off to Yoga! Be back in a bit! Love you!
Cares walks out the front door gets into her car and drives off. 
Cares:  Looks at the gas light that has gone from a lovely shade of marigold to a flashing blood red orange. Hmmm that's a weird feeling...c'mon car let's just get to the gas station. Frowns at the gas light that has gone from a lovely shade of marigold to a flashing blood red orange. We can do it!
Or not!
Cares pulling the car over one block from the house
Cares: Hmmmm yeah I don't think this is going to work. Come on car, almost home, just. a. little. bit. more.
Well at least I made it back home. I guess I better text Shawn: Hi babe, can I use the gas in the gas can for the lawn mower? I think I might run out of gas!
Shawn: NO!!!
Cares: Um why not?
Shawn: Because it's mixed with a special formula for the weed whacker*.

Blink
Blink
Blink


A SPECIAL FORMULA FOR THE WEED WHACKER? Ummm what is it? Some powerful mix of gasoline and super hero juice that not only whacks the weeds but rakes them up and gently places them into the big green compost bin? I mean how precious IS this piece of metal?

Sigh. I SUPPOSE I can relate in my own way. I just think it's adorable how he takes to things sometimes.


Shawn continued: Do you want me to pick up some gas for you?
Cares: Okay, great

The conversation continued later that evening after Shawn returned home

Cares: I've NEVER run out of gas before babe!
Shawn (smiling his chesire cat grin): I know EXACTLY what happened. Your gas light came on last night, you saw it, decided to get home from work, drive to work in the morning and get it on your way home.
As he says this he's kind of chuckling because he knows he's right. And he is!
Cares: Wellllll, yeah so then I just figured I could get home and get it on my way to Yoga! But then it started sputtering and stuff.
Shawn: Walking away shaking his head smiling his chesire cat grin.

I love my predictability. :-)

*This is the same weed whacker that took Shawn 4 hours to choose at B&B Small Engine Repair. (No Jules, NOT the bar!) Oh don't be fooled, they have all kinds of weed whacking accessories including riding mowers, gopher traps, state of the art shovels...Every adornment any Man Town would be overjoyed to store. I even overheard Shawn talking to his BFF Ramos that he could easily drop 1K every time he goes in. Um this man has a hard time dropping $50 at the market! He LOVES that place.

Winston the Terrible...

Okay, so I don't think Winston is terrible, but his reputation has been slammed pretty hard with a couple of his outbursts. And I get it.

He's big.
He's scary when he goes all Cujo.
But he's ours.

We love him and have been working with him really diligently. And believe it or not, he's incredibly sweet. We've recently been on the receiving end of some slanderous gossip regarding our pup and I think I could handle it if it were my girls talking about it amongst themselves without the presence of yours truly, but it wasn't MY girl friends but a bunch of guy friends. Yeah, I didn't expect them to sit around gossiping either. Guess it's called something else when guys do it. Whatevs. The point is the conversation ALLEGEDLY didn't only encompass our pup's behavior but "concern" for Shawn's responsibilities should Winnie actually hurt someone. Now I'm nothing if not sensitive and have been known to take things out of context.

Blink
Blink

What?

Well I guess what got me was the fact that Shawn is probably the best problem solver I've ever met and cares more about the well being of his friends and family than anyone I've ever met. Meaning, he actually loses sleep trying to figure out our situation with Winston and has stopped at nothing short of finding a trainer 4 hours away to help us. I just felt betrayed that a friend of Shawn's would ever even think he was sleeping on the job or for one minute would put anyone in a situation that was dangerous. Not only that, but say what you want about ME but he has never nor will he ever, ever say anything about you he wouldn't say to your face. He's got THAT much integrity, ESPECIALLY when it comes to these guys.

Anyway, now that I've gotten that off my chest I can move forward and let go of the bad energy I've been harboring. Mostly in my shoulders. I think a massage is in order. Y'know one of those nice Swedish ones that make you feel like you've had a lie in for hours and are so completely relaxed. Wanna go ride bikes?

So I'll leave you with a situation I recently came home to. If you haven't been to our home yet (RUDE!) then you should know that the kitchen, living and master rooms are separated from the 2 guest rooms (YEP I said 2, what's your excuse?) and garage with a breezeway. When it's raining Winston takes up camp in the hallway and garage just past the breezeway. He happily greets me with the wag swinging of his tail at the door. On this particular day I opened the door to love on him but when I looked all they way down the hall I saw this:

My jaw dropped and stuck to the ground before I could reprimand him or stop him from pridefully running to the ever-so-fun project he had started while we were away. So proud was he that he ran back to me looking like this:

Um. Yes, that IS an entire un-opened roll of paper towels in his mouth. And oh was he ever so pleased with himself. I laughed as I cleaned up the mess and couldn't WAIT to show Shawn the pictures when I got home.

I love my dog.

Taking a Compliment

Have you ever noticed that women have the hardest time taking a compliment? It may sound like a really bad generalization or stereotype, but in my experiences it's so true.

Instead of thanking someone for a compliment on our outfit we have to go into this long sordid explanation defending why we wore it, where we got it and how much it cost.

I was getting ready this morning and decided to throw my hair up instead of wash and dry it saving me about 20 minutes. I got to work, greeted my friends and received

"Oooh hi Caroline, I really like your hair like that. It looks good."

I immediately wanted to explain why I had it up and the fact that it was a last minute decision to not wash it...chitter chat chitter chat...As this was going on in my mind I somehow simply said "Hey Thanks" as I kept walking. I couldn't believe I didn't stop and give her a 20 minute dissertation on the matter.

Lesson of the day: When you get a compliment, just say thanks and rock the ish out of it!

P.S. DO NOT tell Charla that I just said "ish" she hates it. 

Girly Girl Things and ESP

My Mom and My Aunt Dory have ESP that has been passed down to me and my cousin Jules. Some call it Divine Intervention. Whatever. It's a connection of the minds on a parallel level and I love it.

Last week I was heading out to visit Angie's new home and picked up a card and flowers for her because well all girly girls like cards and flowers when you move into your very own place for the first time. Think Holly Golightly if  you will. Anywho I saw a card that I HAD to get and mail to Jules.

I'm always begging, pleading, bribing Jules to come move to Surf City because, well because I'm there and she has to live by the real Ocean not a Bay known for crazy Birds.

Blink
Blink

Don't get the reference? Well chew on it a bit and think hard about where Jules lives. I'll give you a hint: There's a bay nearby that was once overtaken by birds. Mean birds. Whether these said birds are fictional or real is up to you to google. ;-)

Anyhow, I filled something in about how much I want her to move to Surf City and mailed it off on its merry little way. Honestly, I had even forgotten I mailed it until today.

I open my facebook account to see that Jules has posted something to my wall:

KNOCK IT OFFFFFFFF!!!!!! I have had this EXACT card in my card drawer for like.... AT LEAST a year (I'm just like my mother when it comes to mailing cards). And the day you asked me for my address, I thought, I should really get that card out to her. ALSO Your card came in the mail the same day our Wicked tickets did. ...AS SOON as I opened the envelope I said "NUH-UH!" The only reason I'm not texting this to you right this second (trust me, it's taking serious restraint) is that I promised I would never late-night text you again (unless of course, it's a shennans weekend that you have to be vicariously involved in). Oh, I love us. LOVE US!

See?! I told you. Divine Intervention...ESP...Coincidence whatever. Things trigger us on a different level sometimes. Hope this makes you stop and think of the other half of you that will sometimes dial your number the very same moment you pick up your phone to do the same.

Spring has sprung into a bit of misery...

Spring is here! Some might exclaim this after a weekend filled with sunshine, chirping birds and glorious blossoms. Not I. As a kid I was hampered with Spring allergies. I was also a kid who spent nearly every day out on a grassy, dusty pollen-ridden softball field. Spring is not my friend. Though I love this season since it brings so much metaphorical and physical rebirth I have always had a love hate relationship with the season.

Ever since I moved to Surf City, my allergies have subsided a bit. Until I moved to the OTHER side of the freeway. The one without a beach. The one where you can't hop on your cruiser to check out the waves. The one where Oscar has to be watched like a hawk or else one will gobble his tasty little pug body right up. No over here, my allergies hit me...hard. I was immediately thrown back to my traveling softball days. Anytime we had to go to Livermore or some god-forsaken town in the Central Valley I had to remember to pack what felt like a lifetime supply of Allegra, tissues and the red hanky my dad once gave me in a fit of sneezes.

Anyhow, it was an indeed a great weekend aside from the itchy eyes, sneezy nose and scratchy throat. We managed to move our 1300 sq. ft. condo into our massive new home on the other side of the freeway with little incident.

When you ask where I'll be for the next year or so, I'll tell you that I'm at home entertaining myself. After the shopping experience we had at Costco this weekend I'll have enough to sustain us for the entire Spring season! Come VISIT!!!

xxoo

New Digs

Shawn and I are slowly moving out of our condo and into our new place. This past weekend called for rain but it turned out to be the most beautiful moving weather.

The guest room is completely moved except for the mattresses. We'll move all of the big items this coming weekend with the help of BC and a U-Haul.

In addition to the acreage, we'll have to furnish a "sitting room" by the wood burning stove and a sofa bed for the office/second guest room. Sounds fun, but the budget is tighter than Oscar's "I AM the grandchild" shirt we tried on Winston. On my way into work Monday morning I stopped to let my co-worker and regular lunch date cross the street. I said something full of sass and wit to which she turned, smiled and asked...er shouted "HEY DO YOU WANT OUR POTTERY BARN LOVE SEAT?!" I've obviously over-shared all the goings on with the move, but how perfect is the timing? She even has a truck and has offered to bring it to us. What a great way to start a Monday.

Our new sitting room only needs one more chair, a coffee table and a couple lamps. I love to find a great sale and thought, "well if it's a PB couch, maybe I can check out their sale website". I thought I scored when I saw that they had lampshades on clearance for $15.99. When I went to click on the lamps under the "You also may like" section. I about lost my mind. The lamp, ONE lamp sells for $105.

Blink
Blink

HAHAHHAHAHAHA Don't ever Pottery Barn! Craigslist here I come!

Birds and Stones

Over the weekend I got to see my very dear friend Charla. You may remember her from many stories of fun, chaotic shenanigans. She lives in SoCal with her beautiful family and sassy mouth. She's the cousin of my BFF Tessy and loves me as much as I love her(or so I make up in my mind). Anyway, as we sat drinking our Bloody Marys recovering from the previous night's epic awesomeness, we began talking about the offense I took to something inconsequential someone said at work. Here's a snippet:

Cares: I mean it's not like I'm deeply offended. It's like when someone uses the phrase "Killing two birds with one stone. I don't necessarily become offended but c'mon! TOO VIOLENT!"
Char (looking at Tessy both beginning to laugh uncontrollably) "Whaddoyoumean?" she says between cackles. "I'll go shoot a bird right now! That offends you?" (tears forming in the corners of her eyes at this point.)

I tried to state my case but was fervently denied any words due to the hysterically laughing twosome sitting across from me. I don't think we were able to speak for an entire minute.

Reason 8,295 I love my friends: even when I have the most irrational of comments they just laugh and love me the more for it.

This would be Tessy "reprimanding" me and Char  for our combined sassy mouths. You can tell we're pretty apologetic! HA! (c.2008)

Compare and Contrast

As an English major I was required to compare and contrast many pieces of writing and I think this theory  wove its way into my daily cognition.

I CONSTANTLY make comparisons based on a plethora of experiences, thoughts, literature, etc. and I don't know how effective it is. Take my mom for example. She's an anomaly, a incomparable woman with countless good deeds and positive energy. My experiences with a mom like her won't necessarily validate another mom's actions but nonetheless I compare and contrast my experiences with my mom to those experiences with other moms. You can't say I have to remain objective because in poetry there are many ways to read and understand a piece based on the reader's interpretation. An interpretation that might be based on emotions. Sure there are defined elements, but you cannot change the emotions or feelings it might evoke which would be different for every reader. Perhaps the author meant to evoke a sense of pride instead of sorrow...I could go on and on.

Lately I've been comparing my experiences at work with those I've had at previous companies and with former co-workers. Comparing and contrasting these experiences might not necessarily be objective, but to me they are. I've been wrestling with this trying to tell myself that it's not right to compare since it's not "apples to apples". But I don't think I've been giving myself enough credit. There are experiences I draw upon because they enlightened me or others that hindered me as an individual.

I'm thankful for the tool of comparing and contrasting. I think it keeps me on my toes. Some might say it means I have blinders or can't see past my own experiences. I wish to disagree. My experiences are what shape ME as a person and how I view the worlds I live in professionally and personally. Maybe it's a bit elitist, I'm not sure.

Don't get me wrong I'm definitely not one to say "well, we've only ever done it THIS way...". I'm all for growth, change and looking at things in a different way, but like poetry life has it's defined elements that are shaped by our own experiences.