Wow is all I can say..

Between work and home, I am being buried alive.  Work is easier to handle because when you leave work, you really can sort of leave things behind.  On the other hand, home is not the same.  My daughter will know when her surgery for the pituitary tumor after her appointment on September 11.  We cannot wait.  She has grow a bit over 3 inches in 6 months.  While her bones are growing, her muscles and ligaments are being stretched.  She is having a hard time standing up tall because of the back muscles.

My son is having his cardiac work done tomorrow to determine why his heartrate speeds up from his normal 65 beats a minute to over 160 for seemingly no reason.  He has done the Holtier thing and it shows very clearly that standing up sometimes causes these increases in heart rate.  Oh brother!

 Then because things come in 3’s, my pap test shows abnormal endometrial cells.  I will have a biopsy done on October 18.  It just all seems too scary to be real right now.  One thing at a time, please.  I am consequently buring myself in fun books.  The Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series are a hoot.  I find myself laughing out loud on the bus to and from work and at lunch.  It is a bit embarrassing, but they are so much fun.  I spent hours cross stitching over the holiday (when I wasn’t cleaning).  I actually find cleaning peaceful as long as the kids and the pets are co-operating with me – meaning sleeping so that I don’t have to clean around them!

Rain, rain, rain

I am so sick of rain.  At least I live north of the flooding, but it seems that the lower quarter of Kansas is under water or nearing so.  Mom says that they appear to have had more rain than in the flood of ‘93.  The sun is rarity these days.  I left for Wichita for National Forensics League Nationals on Sunday, June 17.  It was raining then.  It rained all but one day.  Since I got back to KC it has rained all but one day.  I am missing the sun!  It is beginning to be depressing.  The dogs won’t go outside unless I push them.  I haven’t been able to get the mower in the backyard to mow. Once it is dry enough to walk, the grass will be 7 or 8 inches tall.  I will take forever.  Chris mowed the front yards before he went on vacation last week.  I am sure he is wondering why I didn’t get the back done.  Hum…. mud, mud, everywhere!

Nationals was great.  I heard great debate rounds with one exception.  I wish the coaches in Missouri would become a bit more non-conservative and allow their kids to run Ks more often.  I heard only one stocks issue round and that was because of the other 2 judges in the room.  I did hear one round and wondered how in the heck the kids got to nationals.  I stayed for finals this year.  I am so glad I did.  It was truly inspirational – especially the extempers.   I thought that the HI and DUO finals were great as were all of the debate finals and oratory, but I was disappointed by the DI finals.  Oh well, the kids were good, the cuttings were good, but I just wasn’t inspired at all.   I wish I judged more rounds.

It was a bit odd judging in the high school that my mom graduated from and where she met my dad in band.  Our hospitality room was in the band room.  The old gym had been converted to science rooms and a new gym had been built.  What had been seperate high school and junior high had been connected and a new middle school was built.  Vicki Fellers the coach of Wichita East took me on a tour and described the school population.  I also found mom’s childhood home.  That wasn’t difficult at all.  My first round was in a room on the first floor that probably had the same desks my mom and dad sat in.  Wow.

In addition, B and C were having problems.  She broke up with B for a period of about 2 days.  Unfortunately, something happend beteween C and B’s dad (my ex).  I went over there the other night in the middle of a crisis with my daughter and found he is drinking again.  I am not sure, but when he does a shot of bouborn followed by a coke chaser, I think it is more than a little.  I cannot worry myself over it.  He is my ex and is 44 almost 45.  He is a big boy now and if he thinks he is in love with his son’s girlfriend, maybe he deserves whatever follows.  It is creepy.

Stitching Time…

Here I am stuck at home with the flu.  I began running that darned fever on Wednesday.  I finally called in at 3 am on Thursday.  Sadly, I had 2 days of not being in meetings all day and was looking forward to reviewing models, closing projects, etc.  Then all hell broke loose.  I thought I would have time to stitch or read, but I slept 12 hours each day.   I woke up at about 11:30 am today.  I called in at about 5:30, feeling guilty.  Oh well, I actually think this is my last day of time to take.  Payroll still hasn’t updated my time since my short term disability.  I think that is very, very sad.  Oh well.

Bobby got Cassie’s car running after her middle of the night accident on the 27th.  At least it was just body damage.  She needs to have the front end pulled out a bit so that Bob can get the hood to fit, but she doesn’t have the money right now.  Hopefully, Bob’s car will be running soon and life will be back to normal.  In the meantime, I have been taking the bus to work.  I actually am enjoying it a great deal.  It is relaxing to be able to read through the traffic.  The bus stop is about 3 miles from home, but that still isn’t bad.  I am surprised by how many people at work take the bus.  I am helping myself and the environment.  That makes me feel good.  Besides, it will be so nice in the dead of winter when there is snow on the ground!  And I hate ice!

Movie Madness

I enjoyed watching the AFI top 100 Inspirational Movies this evening.  I admit that I have seen all but maybe 10 of the movies.  Just like music, movies bring back immediate memories, not only of the movie itself, but memories of where and who I was with when I first saw the movie.  I watched Rocky with my mom in high school.  I believe that I saw Pinocchio as a 2 or 3 year old with my dad.  In the past, dad always told me it was my first dad/daughter afternoon out.  Sadly I do not know if I have actually memories of seeing the movies, but I believe that I do.  It is even more important to me now that dad is gone.  And yes, I cried.  How many of us saw To Kill A Mockingbird as freshmen in high school – great movie-great book.   Did I agree with the placement of all of the movies?  No, what was up with Breaking Away being in the top 10?  It was good, but great…not really.  Did I have to explain to dad that Silkwood was a great movie?  Yes, as a nuclear engineer, he just didn't want to see it.  He actually saw it for the first time after he retired in the early 1990s.  He loved it!  He loved Meryl Streep.  How young she looked. 

Okay, so much for that.  I had a great meeting with my officer and the other folks on my 3 projects.  Yeah!  It made my day.  I love days like this, but on the other hand, since I took yesterday off, I was buried to my eyebrows.  Everyone needing something right then and there.  At least my Boston teams appreciate the work I do, so do some of the other teams, but then there are those project leads that I wonder about.  How did they get to be project leads?  You can just guess what I am wondering?

I have a 45 minute presentation on Saturday and I haven't even begun to prepare.  I suppose that I should spend tomorrow evening getting ready.  I hate that I always wait until the last minute to get presentations ready.  I just wish that I was a little more worried about them, but…

Listening to:  AFI Top 100 Movies

Reading:  "The Surgeon" by Tess Gerritsen

Stitching on:  "The Angel of Healing" by L&L

Class Reunions…

So here I am 47 years old and still trying to decide if I should go to my 30 year high school reunion.  It just seems so unbelievable that I have been out of high school since 1976.  How amazing.  So much has happened since in 30 years.  I had a horrible breakup, my brother passed away at 21, I had a baby, got married, had another baby, moved from Arizona to Maryland sight unseen, got divorced, moved back to Kansas City, got my college degree, and began life in my current career.  Whew, my daughter graduated high school and my ex and I now live 4 house apart.  My how so much can change.

My issue is that the reunion is in Tucson on June 29 through July 1.  While rooms are cheap, the heat is too much to think about.  Especially now that I cannot handle the heat as witnessed by getting heat stroke in Philly last summer, fainting and breaking off my front teeth on the concrete.  Humm… last vacation I spent a day in the hospital, but I still think I will go.  Largely because I want to see my best friend, Cheryl, and visit with old friends.  I also want to meet Annette. 

I have worrried about my weight for almost 7 years.  Since I turned 40, I gained 40 pounds.  I have managed to lose 20 of that, but still.  I felt really awful until I found a picture of my best friend in high school.  Amazing what you can find by 'googling' someone with an unusal name.  I feel better, but I am still wondering why I care.  I am a healthy 47 year old.  I am happy with my life, my children, and my career.  What more could one ask?

I admit that I am looking forward to seeing my junior prom date again.  We went to my 25th reunion together and we plan on going to this one as well.  He is such a good friend.  I will keep you all informed of my ultimate decision.  At least I have the time off already.