Not that that has anything to do with anything, but I thought maybe somebody somewhere might care. I like my new room, it's filled with bright colors and has lots of space, but gets dark really quickly. And I need more light sources. One floor lamp, a small table lamp, and a set of fairy lights just ain't cutting it. My next purchases will be light related, I believe.
Oh, and if I can scrape together the cash, I'm going to get myself a treadmill (there are always treadmills for sale on Craigslist!); I want to lose some weight, but do not want to go outside. I'm not an outdoor girl. I want to be able to do everything right here in my little room. I am the reason the internet was invented--for people who want to socialize without leaving their chair. I've done the online dating thing, but that didn't really work so well for me, now did it? It's way too easy to lie about who you are, and how you are in an online profile, and trick somebody; I found that out the hard way. So while I may enjoy socialising on Twitter & Facebook and all of the various other places I hang out online, I don't think I'd date anyone I met there ever again. One bitten twice shy, or something like that.
Anyway. This week I've managed to fight off two killer migraines, fall out of the shower (bringing the shower curtain down with me), finally finish unpacking my moving boxes, and bite my nails. The fingernails it took me nearly a year to grow out into reasonably strong, heathly nails, are now gone, gnawed off in a few hours of stress. I am so disappointed in myself. But, I know that as they grow back, they'll be healthy, not like last years, when they were all weak & fragile from all those years of being stuck under acrylics! I did it once, I can do it again.
Tomorrow, I have errands to run, and then you'll get a book review. :)
Thursday, January 29, 2015
Friday, January 23, 2015
DIY Dentistry
Yesterday I chipped a tooth. A tooth that was fake to begin with. One of the incisors in my bridge, which I have because about 12 years ago, back when I was still teaching preschool, I had a seizure on a playground, and landed face first on the blacktop, putting a hairline fracture in my nose, and breaking six of my top front teeth off right at the gumline. All of the teeth were pulled, and I lost that job. I wore a flipper (partial dentures that can be removed--the least expensive choice to replace my lost teeth) for a few years, and eventually had a bridge made at the OHSU Dental School. A bridge that was supposed to last forever, and cost a bundle! Well, I've had two of the teeth chip now-- one right in front when it was hit violently with a coffee cup-- and the second, an incisor, yesterday, when I bit into an apple.
This annoys me, since I know these cannot be repaired-- I've had this discussion with two different dentists, and unless I can afford to replace the entire bridge, I'm outta luck. But then, this afternoon, as I was mending a chip on an oversized coffee cup that I use to hold writing utensils and other junk on my table, a thought occurred to me. "I wonder if this glue would work on my tooth?" I had the little chip, and figured, can't hurt to try, so after a bit of research to make sure Gorilla Glue is not toxic, I began. I placed a tiny dab on a q-tip, smeared it on the broken tooth, then held the chip firmly in place for a few minutes. So far, my tooth feels whole, no wiggling or roughness. Success!! Of course, I've not yet eaten anything, or brushed, so who knows? However, my previous experience with Gorilla Glue leads me to believe this will last. I only wish I'd had some around when that front tooth broke.
This annoys me, since I know these cannot be repaired-- I've had this discussion with two different dentists, and unless I can afford to replace the entire bridge, I'm outta luck. But then, this afternoon, as I was mending a chip on an oversized coffee cup that I use to hold writing utensils and other junk on my table, a thought occurred to me. "I wonder if this glue would work on my tooth?" I had the little chip, and figured, can't hurt to try, so after a bit of research to make sure Gorilla Glue is not toxic, I began. I placed a tiny dab on a q-tip, smeared it on the broken tooth, then held the chip firmly in place for a few minutes. So far, my tooth feels whole, no wiggling or roughness. Success!! Of course, I've not yet eaten anything, or brushed, so who knows? However, my previous experience with Gorilla Glue leads me to believe this will last. I only wish I'd had some around when that front tooth broke.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
I Got Mad Skills, Ya'll
I'm very skillful. I'm the only person I know who, when standing still, can fall over, just have an ankle bend and SMACK!! I'm on the floor. It happened twice in the last four days. Ended up with a swollen ankle and a big bruise on my bum where I landed.
What's really strange is that I've never once fallen when doing things that are actualy dangerous. In these same four days I've climbed on three different step ladders, a couple of counters, one tall dresser, and stood on the bed to hang posters, without injuring myself once (unless you count dropping a string of fairy lights on my head). Maybe I should spend more of my life on ladders. Because I can injure myself doing normal things, ya know. Yesterday I was unplugging my space heater from the extension cord, when it gave off a bunch of sparks, and scorched my hand. The area around my right ring finger & pinkie were black, and had a tiny blister; the black stuff washed off, and the blister is gone today, but man did that hurt! (I got rid of the extension cord--it was old, and apparently dangerous!).
Yes, I'm incredibly talented.
Monday, January 19, 2015
Book Review: The Good Girl
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
This novel, the story of an adult daughter, kidnapped and eventually returned, is told in a "before and after" way, with each chapter told from a different character's point of view. For example, a chapter may be titled 'EVE, Before', and the narrator will be Eve, the girl's mother; she will be talking about how things were before the kidnapping or before her daughter returned. The voices heard are Eve, Gabe (the police detective assigned to the case), Colin (the kidnapper) and in only two chapters, Mia (the "good girl").
The novel has some elements that seem to have stepped out of a soap opera: Colin has been hired to kidnap Mia and bring her to some other men. He picks her up in a bar, after her boyfriend doesn't show up (it's later revealed that Colin has paid him to stay late at work), and takes her home, but he can't bring himself to turn her over to the men who hired him. Instead, he and Mia disappear into the woods, and spend three months loving in an abandonded cabin. Of course, like any good soap story, they end up in love. But they aren't the only ones. Meanwhile, back home, Mia's mother, Eve, is falling for detective Gabe, and he for her, in spite of the fact that she's got a powerful judge as a husband. The judge is a classic jerk, though, uncaring about his daughter or wife, and only worried about himself. We aren't surprised that the entire thing turns out to be his fault.
While I enjoyed the back & forth of characters, and found this a fairly good novel, I found it a bit lacking in true emotion. Still, I was happy with it, and especially glad that I had no idea about the ending.
This novel, the story of an adult daughter, kidnapped and eventually returned, is told in a "before and after" way, with each chapter told from a different character's point of view. For example, a chapter may be titled 'EVE, Before', and the narrator will be Eve, the girl's mother; she will be talking about how things were before the kidnapping or before her daughter returned. The voices heard are Eve, Gabe (the police detective assigned to the case), Colin (the kidnapper) and in only two chapters, Mia (the "good girl").
The novel has some elements that seem to have stepped out of a soap opera: Colin has been hired to kidnap Mia and bring her to some other men. He picks her up in a bar, after her boyfriend doesn't show up (it's later revealed that Colin has paid him to stay late at work), and takes her home, but he can't bring himself to turn her over to the men who hired him. Instead, he and Mia disappear into the woods, and spend three months loving in an abandonded cabin. Of course, like any good soap story, they end up in love. But they aren't the only ones. Meanwhile, back home, Mia's mother, Eve, is falling for detective Gabe, and he for her, in spite of the fact that she's got a powerful judge as a husband. The judge is a classic jerk, though, uncaring about his daughter or wife, and only worried about himself. We aren't surprised that the entire thing turns out to be his fault.
While I enjoyed the back & forth of characters, and found this a fairly good novel, I found it a bit lacking in true emotion. Still, I was happy with it, and especially glad that I had no idea about the ending.
Friday, January 16, 2015
normal people scare me
Normal is boring, as well. The rest of my life may be extremely dull, but I am not boring, simply because I am not normal. These days I'm one of the more sane members of my family, but that doesn't mean much in a family where insanity doesn't just run, it gallops (to paraphrase Cary Grant in 'Arsenic & Old Lace'). Last month Max told me that he & I were the least crazy people in the family, and that was because we have the highest IQ's. I wasn't sure if I should be complimented that he thinks I'm smart, or that he thiks I'm not crazy. Either way, it made me happy. His mother wasn't as happy that her son insulted both her intelligence & sanity!
I'm on a new antidepressant, and it's helping so far. But something is going wrong, because even though I am not missing doses, I've had two seizures in the last two weeks. One just last night, a mild one, but I hit my head somewhere. I have a HUGE bump on the top right side of my noggin, and it hurts like crazy. Even laying on the pillow hurt, and I thought I was gonna cry washing my hair in the shower this morning! My next appointment with the epilepsy clinic isn't until February, but I am going to try to get in earlier, and we wil be discussing changing meds. I want this to be a year where I do not end up in the hospital.
Maybe make semi-sane my new normal.
I promised a post about the new house, but this isn't it. I'm just getting used to the bluetooth keyboard, and am not ready to post big yet. Tomorrow. Lots of pictures, I promise. Before & after, of some spaces, at least.
I'm on a new antidepressant, and it's helping so far. But something is going wrong, because even though I am not missing doses, I've had two seizures in the last two weeks. One just last night, a mild one, but I hit my head somewhere. I have a HUGE bump on the top right side of my noggin, and it hurts like crazy. Even laying on the pillow hurt, and I thought I was gonna cry washing my hair in the shower this morning! My next appointment with the epilepsy clinic isn't until February, but I am going to try to get in earlier, and we wil be discussing changing meds. I want this to be a year where I do not end up in the hospital.
Maybe make semi-sane my new normal.
I promised a post about the new house, but this isn't it. I'm just getting used to the bluetooth keyboard, and am not ready to post big yet. Tomorrow. Lots of pictures, I promise. Before & after, of some spaces, at least.
Friday, January 9, 2015
How do you say hoarding in French?
We moved into the new place on New Years Eve, and have been pushing ever since to get things done. I knew my parents had a lot of stuff, but I had no idea how much there actually was hidden away! Every time we've moved before, the packing has been done before I showed up or something, because I do not remember there being this much stuff. And all this time, my father has been harassing ME about my few boxes of books! Jeez. Of course, nearly everything I own (including every book that isn't an e-book) is in a box in the garage or in the storage shed. This is the first time I've ever had a room without a bookshelf. It's surreal. I'm sure the lack of books won't last long; I'm bound to visit Powell's sooner or later...
[caption id="attachment_945" align="aligncenter" width="420"]
I don't hoard books. I hoard ebooks.[/caption]
So. The new house. It's yellow. And pointy. Or peaky. Choose your adjective.
We have a lovely sunroom, where the dining table and mom's big jade tree now live, and beyond that is the backyard. In one corner is a barbecue pit/fireplace kinda thing; one the other side is a big wooden deck where there was once a pool. There are two sets of stairs, one on each side of the house; the set off the front room is skinny and steep, and leads to a loft area with two bedrooms. That's where Jolene & Max are. Below that is the master bedroom & bath, as well as another room Mom is using for her sewing room, and where the folks clothes hang. There aren't many closets in this house, for some odd reason, so Mom & Dad had to buy a wardrobe rack for their hanging items. On the other side of the house, off the laundry room (what Martha would call the "mud room"),is my room ,the entrance to the garage, & another set of stairs. These lead to two more small bedrooms with slanty roofs, where Hattie has staked her claim.
My room is just below hers, and has the bathroom that we share. The sliding glass door on the deck leads into my little room. I finally have a room that gets some sunshine! I hung colored sheers across the sliding door so I could have some privacy from the neighbors, and bring some color into the place. (The walls throughout the house are the same shade of cream.) I have a closet, too. My only complaints about my room so far is that there isn't any lighting in the closet (I fixed it by hanging fairy lights), and that my window is painted shut. I'm going to have to work on getting it open, because I hate not having any fresh air! I could just open the sliding door, I suppose, but that's a bit more air than I need.
I haven't done much decorating here in my space yet, other than the curtains. Usually I have a couple of bookshelves taking up most of my wall space, and here, it's all bare. So I'm taking my time, deciding where to hang the few things I'm going to hang. I did hang my Eiffel Tower poster in the bathroom--which is also yellow, by the way--and put some other tower accents in there. I plan on speaking with a French accent every time I take a shower. Oooh la la.
[caption id="attachment_945" align="aligncenter" width="420"]
I don't hoard books. I hoard ebooks.[/caption]So. The new house. It's yellow. And pointy. Or peaky. Choose your adjective.
We have a lovely sunroom, where the dining table and mom's big jade tree now live, and beyond that is the backyard. In one corner is a barbecue pit/fireplace kinda thing; one the other side is a big wooden deck where there was once a pool. There are two sets of stairs, one on each side of the house; the set off the front room is skinny and steep, and leads to a loft area with two bedrooms. That's where Jolene & Max are. Below that is the master bedroom & bath, as well as another room Mom is using for her sewing room, and where the folks clothes hang. There aren't many closets in this house, for some odd reason, so Mom & Dad had to buy a wardrobe rack for their hanging items. On the other side of the house, off the laundry room (what Martha would call the "mud room"),is my room ,the entrance to the garage, & another set of stairs. These lead to two more small bedrooms with slanty roofs, where Hattie has staked her claim.
My room is just below hers, and has the bathroom that we share. The sliding glass door on the deck leads into my little room. I finally have a room that gets some sunshine! I hung colored sheers across the sliding door so I could have some privacy from the neighbors, and bring some color into the place. (The walls throughout the house are the same shade of cream.) I have a closet, too. My only complaints about my room so far is that there isn't any lighting in the closet (I fixed it by hanging fairy lights), and that my window is painted shut. I'm going to have to work on getting it open, because I hate not having any fresh air! I could just open the sliding door, I suppose, but that's a bit more air than I need.
I haven't done much decorating here in my space yet, other than the curtains. Usually I have a couple of bookshelves taking up most of my wall space, and here, it's all bare. So I'm taking my time, deciding where to hang the few things I'm going to hang. I did hang my Eiffel Tower poster in the bathroom--which is also yellow, by the way--and put some other tower accents in there. I plan on speaking with a French accent every time I take a shower. Oooh la la.
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