There's a moment.

Jenny just said pretty much everything I've been wanting to say this week. Right now I'm having a difficult time remembering that there is light on the other side, that things will be better, that it won;t always hurt this much. And I appreciate that I am not the only one trudging. Wait for me, please?

Sad Sunday

I'm sad today. Part of me is missing, has been for days. My kitty, MissGoogle, went out in the backyard Thursday afternoon, and hasn't been back since. We've looked all up and down the block for her, asked all the neighbors, asked the county humane society, and there is no sign of her. She's wearing her collar and tag, as always, but nary a call has come in.

MissG has been with me since 2009. She was so tiny, so cute, and I fell in love with her from the moment we met.

Everybody loved her. She has always been able to squirm her way into strange hiding places, as well as people's hearts. Even my dad likes her, and he claims to hate cats. She's gotten bigger, of course, and is kinda chubby these days. Jolene calls her Google McFatty, but in a nice way. Max looks at her two or three times a day, and asks "Hey, Google, search Max" and if she looks at him, he says she's done it right.

Without my baby girl, my room seems empty, and my heart is broken. I can onlyhope she comes home soon.





 

Blah Blah Blah

It's been a painful week for me. Since last Monday afternoon, I've had neck pain, sore shoulders, and increasing headache pain. From the basic dull ache at the base of my skull (which always comes with that sore neck), to a series of intense stabbing pains. This afternoon I felt as if someone was repeatedly piercing my temple with a red-hot ice pick. I've spent hours days curled up under my quilt in bed, all the lights off, praying for the pain to go away. Never have I been so thankful for my sleep mask and ear plugs, because lights, and the sound of sports from my father's television, have nearly killed me. And then, Sunday night, around 10:30, I had a seizure. First one since February. Which means that after that, I had a bigger headache, my tongue hurts where I bit it, and I'm tired. As well, I am sore all over; my legs hurt the most, and just moving kills.



So. Instead of spending this week helping Charlie move into his new apartment, like I had planned, I'm sitting here in my room, watching television, eating jello. Reading. Right now I'm waiting for the season premiere of one of my favorite shows to begin on TNT. Rizzoli & Isles is a crime drama based on a book series, as most of my favorites are. I'd read all of the books by Tess Gerritsen, long before the show began.

Most of my favorite shows are based on books. Sherlock. True Blood. Dexter. Bones (although I don't care for the books).  My favorite movies, too. Cold Comfort Farm. The Color Purple.  Bridget Jones Diary. The Harry Potter films. Sense and Sensibility. And Pride and Prejudice. Oh, and To Kill A Mockingbird!

Yes, I'm babbling. So what. Go read a book if you don't like it. Or watch a television show based on one.

Getting To Know Me...

Recently I came across this list of questions on a blog, and decided to post them, and their answers, simply because I like talking about myself, and can never do it enough!

Getting to know me:

1.  What time did you get up this morning?  I woke up around 7, the first time, and went back to sleep, finally getting out of bed just before 10.


2.  How do you like your steak? Rare, with A-1!


3.  What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Magic Mike!


4.  What is your favorite TV show? Tie between True Blood, Sherlock & Bones. Although I've not watched Bones at all this season...


5.  If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? I'd love to live on a Coast, near the ocean. Always been my dream. Or back in New Mexico.


6.  What did you have for breakfast? Today was a strange day: I had tuna & Triscuits for breakfast, and my smoothie for lunch.


7. What is your favorite cuisine? Toss up between Chinese/Asian and Italian, depending on my mood.


8.  What foods do you dislike?  "Goopy" foods, like potato salad, coleslaw- almost anything mayonnaise based. My mother apparently makes great potato salad, and always asks if I want some. 46 years, and I've always said "EWW, gross, no!!" You think she'd stop asking.


9. Favorite Place to Eat? Olive Garden, or the Tik Tok Diner.


10.  Favorite dressing? real Cesar dressing.


11.  What kind of vehicle do you drive? I don't drive anymore: my last car was a Honda Accord. My dream car would either be something retro, like a '57 Chevy, or something small & green, like a mini Cooper or a Bug. Painted a fabulous color, of course!


12. What are your favorite clothes?  Comfort is my watch word--I love yoga pants, leggings, tee shirts, big sweaters, cardigans and fuzzy socks.


13.  Where would you visit if you had the chance? The Smithsonian & The Library of Congress. London and Paris. EVERYWHERE!


14.  Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? Full...


15.  Where would you want to retire?  The beach...


16. Favorite time of day? I rock 11:45 a.m. like nobody's business!


17. Where were you born? Custer, South Dakota. My dad always tells me I was the cutest baby in the hospital. Then someone points out that I was the only baby in the hospital...


18.  What is your favorite sport to watch?  Um...men's figure skating.


19.  Bird watcher? Not really, although I'd love to see the California Condors in the wild.


20.  Are you a morning person or a night person? Neither one.


21.  Do you have any pets? MissGoogle, my adorable kitty.


22.  Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Cleaned my room...


23. What did you want to be when you were little?  Cher, or a teacher. I got to be a teacher. Maybe someday I'll be Cher.


24.  What is your best childhood memory?  In the back seat of our station wagon at night, Jolene asleep beside me, Mom at the wheel, watching the stars out the window as we drove down the highway, the radio playing softly, as we drove to South Dakota for our summer vacation. I always felt so safe and happy then.


25.  Are you a cat or dog person? Cat.


26.  Are you married? Not anymore.


27.  Always wear your seat belt? Yep. Saved my life once.


28.  Been in a car accident? A few, caused by my epilepsy. This is why I don't drive anymore.


29.  Any pet peeves?  I am so easily irritated, it isn't even funny.... But big ones are spitting (gross);  people who misuse "you're" & "your" "their" & "they're"; and leaf blowers.


30.  Favorite Pizza Toppings? Bacon.


31.  Favorite Flower? Tulips and roses


32. Favorite Ice cream? Almost anything...all ice cream is good! Strawberry cheesecake, pb fudge, and pralines & cream!


33. Favorite fast food restaurant? Jack In the Box, or Burgerville, if I'm feeling flush!


34.  Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Assuming I don't have to pay the bill, Powell's Books, or maybe Macy's.


35.  Broccoli? Roasted broccoli with garlic salt is one of my favorite things!


36.  What was your favorite vacation? Visiting Michele in Toronto. Also my saddest...


37.  Last person you went out to dinner with? Charlie, my ex-husband & friend.


38.  What are you listening to right now?  The Color Purple Soundtrack


39.  What is your favorite color? purple & blue.


40.  How many tattoos do you have? None, yet.


41. Coffee Drinker?  Oh, yes. I tried to give it up, but I'm weak...


42. What is your job title?  Early Childhood Educator; reader; blogger; sister; aunt; daughter; friend; Queen of Procrastination.


43.  What do you do all day?  Read, surf the web, hang out with my family, play with MissGoogle, watch tv, attempt to better myself, read some more. Listen to music. Eat.  


44. What is your favorite thing to do with your time?  READ.


45.  What book should everyone read?  I'll give ya four: The Color Purple, by Alice Waters; Welcome To The Great Mysterious by Lorna Landvik (also read Patty Jane's House of Curl, by her!); Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry; and A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving.


46.  What movie should every one watch?  Some Like It Hot. Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis.


47. What is your credo?  “Never put off till tomorrow what may be done day after tomorrow just as well". -Mark Twain

Letting My Hair Down

My hair is driving me crazy. Last autumn, in a fit of stupidity that I regret every day, I chopped off my longish hair (it was just barely below my shoulders) to chin-length.

[caption id="attachment_1021" align="aligncenter" width="120"] Before[/caption]

And a month or so after that, I cut it even shorter.

[caption id="attachment_1005" align="aligncenter" width="300"] After, part 1[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1003" align="aligncenter" width="300"] After, Part 2[/caption]

 

I must have been out of my mind. I hate having short hair. I think I look like a fat lesbian (not really the look I was going for, not that there's anything wrong with fat lesbians.).  Still, I've had my hair many lengths over the years, from all the way down my back to ear-length. My first big hair-cut was at age 12, when I went to the mall one day with some girlfriends, and on the spur-of-the-moment, cut it to my shoulders. Photos of me from junior high show a hair tragedy (and that;s saying something, since it was the '80's!), and in high school, it was only marginally better.

[caption id="attachment_1009" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Rhonda & Shelley both rocked the 80's big hair (this was a small-hair day), but mine just looked...nice.[/caption]

In college, I let it grow out, and was happy with it.

[caption id="attachment_1023" align="aligncenter" width="300"] I loved my hair this length. And the curls were fab![/caption]

I kept letting it grow. I had long hair for my wedding, even though the style I chose was awful!

[caption id="attachment_1025" align="aligncenter" width="218"] Long hair, but NO style![/caption]

Longer for the next few years, as well.







 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why I cut it this short, I'm still trying to figure out. I remember complaining about not being able to do anything with it, being tired of endless ponytails, but I know it was better than it is now. So one of my summer projects is to grow my hair. (Another is to clean my room, but I think my hair will be long again before that happens!) I've researched (meaning: looked at stuff on Pinterest) ways to grow hair fast, and I'm trying some out. Scalp massage, Biotin, and a type of bergamot oil are all on the list. Wish me luck. Hair shouldn't be a tragedy!