Friday, November 9, 2012

Note to Self

Note to self: don't pack your favorite red and white polka dot fleece pjs in the bottom of the winter clothes box. Chances are fall will be really busy and it might be mid-November before you have a chance to switch out the summer ones, and you will most likely get sick and want them before that time occurs.

Yes, I am sick. I wonder how many of my posts begin with illness? Yes, I am behind and overwhelmed. Again, I wonder, how many of my posts begin with or contain details about me being overwhelmed?

Between the hurricane and workdays, you'd think that I would be chipper and ahead of the game. Nope. Every time it seems like I am getting a handle on things, more things pop up that need to be handled immediately. The things that I was planning on doing, get pushed to the back burner and I get behind. Over the weekend, I developed what I thought was a cold. I had a high dry constant cough. I did every thing that you should for a cold. I rested, took zinc lozenges, and drank Emergen-C. I pushed through conferences. By the second day, I was feeling pretty wiped out. Yesterday, the kids came back to school, and I was feeling terrible. By the end of the day, I had lost my voice and my cough was sounding more congested. I made what I thought was the healthy decision and decided to go to the doctor.

It turns out that I have had a fever for a day and a half and have bronchitis. Apparently, my lungs are filled to the bottom. The doctor "tsk, tsked" me and co workers fussed, but I honestly didn't feel that sick, just tired. Now, I am on z pac and hoping that it doesn't tear up my stomach too much. I spent the day cuddling with Buffy and watching Dr. Who. Here's to better health.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Thankful

Some of my FaceBook friends are doing the "30 days of thanks challenge." I debated whether or not to hop on. Would more status up dates from me be annoying? Is this just following the path of lemmings? Ultimately, I decided "what could be wrong with expressing a little more positivity?" So, I dove in, better late than never. I posted two today just to catch up a bit.

1. I am thankful for my husband. Today is our 17th anniversary. He is one of the funniest and smartest people I know. We've had a rocky journey, but I would change nothing and couldn't have done it without him.

2. I am thankful for hand print turkeys. I have saved all of the turkeys and Thanksgiving projects that the girls have made. Every November I hang them up. Looking at the small paw that once belonged to the teenager who is now taller than you, puts things in a new perspective.

What are you thankful for?



Friday, November 2, 2012

Lucky

We got through the storm just fine. Well, in true Simpson style, that is. Monday was a day of mostly sitting around and watching the wind blow. Buffy ran from window to window barking. I decided to take her outside. Trying to get a distractable terrier to go to the bathroom outside in a hurricane is not advisable. After the fourth large wind gust, she whipped her head around and saw one fool-hardy squirrel dash along the fence line. The angle of her collar coupled with the rain made her super slippery. She slid out of her collar and made a mad dash across the yard. Knowing her Houdini like skills in the area of fence escaping, I charged after her. I slid across the wet leaves sputtering and swearing. It was hardly graceful. I managed to tackle her. If she had escaped, there was no way that I could have gotten her back.

After that adventure, Buffy went outside with a harness, two leashes, and her coat. We went out a total of six times. Six times in the wind and rain. Six times that Buffy was too distracted and confused to focus on going to the bathroom. I finally gave up and put out the training pads that I had left from when we first got her.

Other than our adventure with Buffy, we spent most of the day hanging out and watching movies. I made another "cleaning the freezer" dinner. When I opened the trash can, I found a broken CFL light bulb. All signs pointed to Lily. I asked her if she broke a light bulb and tried to hide it. Finally, there was a confession after many tears. I knew that you are supposed to ventilate after a CFL bulb breaks. So, I threw open the window in our room. The good news was gale force winds ventilate quickly. The bad news is it makes a room freezing and wet just as quickly.

Once it got dark, it got very scary. We could hear the wind and trees whipping around, but couldn't see anything. Finally, we all snuggled up in my room. I barely slept. At 4 a.m. the wind finally stopped. I woke up on Tuesday exhausted. Lily and I took Buffy out for a walk and surveyed the neighborhood for damage. We were lucky, we only lost a shutter and my butterfly bush got knocked down. I planted the bush in memory of my father when we moved in here 6 years ago. I managed to use a combination of mulch and an old plow to prop the bush up. Hopefully, it will be ok.

Like I said, we were so lucky! That night we watched the news coverage from New York and New Jersey. The girls were in shock. Both of them couldn't believe how lucky we were.