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 |  My journal. Rated GC for an occaisonal four-letter word or two. |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Hmm...one day I'll write a newer introduction. Maybe I should make a static item of all my different introductions.  New Introduction, October 31, 2005 It's time to update this introduction. Since June 2005, I've packed up and moved from Armenia to the US, found a house, waited a month for settlement, moved in, found a preschool for my son, got settled in, and maybe found my sanity. Maybe. I'm just now getting back to writing. Read on for more about me and life in the US. Original Introduction: I live in the former Soviet Republic of Armenia nine months out of the year. The rest of the time you can find me living out of a suitcase in the US or on one of our travels somewhere. This journal started out as a description of my life in Armenia, but I've amended it since I've realized that life there is very similar to life everywhere. I don't have a car, clothes dryer, microwave, or dishwasher but I've learned one doesn't really need those things to have a fulfilling life. Some days I'm just estatic over a slow trickle of hot water which can mean the difference between being smelly for another twenty-four hours or being clean. By the way, DH=dear husband; DS=darling son; MIL=mother-in-law. You get the picture. |
| I hate the "oh woe is me" blog entries. I often skip 'em when I come across 'em. This isn't one of them. Yes, I'm in a funk. But I find I need to be once in a while. Why? Because then I find the answers to what's bothering me and I can then deal with them. Today? Tomorrow my wonderful SIL has surgery on her shoulder and I can't be there to help. I will be sending lots of Reiki her way, and that may well be the role I'm supposed to play. But I don't like it. I want to be THERE to help. Not HERE. (hubby is going out of town, it's too far for me to drive alone and too expensive to fly, and she's got things covered. it's my problem, not hers. )My son was conceived 5 years ago yesterday. I know the date 'cause we were keeping track of those things while trying to get pregnant. Then the damn 9/11 shit happened which totally ruined my birthday. I was in Armenia at the time, so the first plane crashed when I was on my way home from work and I watched CNN for the rest of the night and saw the second tower come down. My birthday isn't until tomorrow, the 12th, but it's still hard on me. I had to work the next day, in tears, moving our office. At least the physical labor was nice, though it freaked out all the Armenian men. It was unheard of for a woman and a BOSS to be moving and hauling boxes. I've never been a boss who just directs. And my 42nd birthday is tomorrow. I'm overweight and I've got grey hair and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. I know, I can lose the pounds and buy some hair dye, but I don't know what to do about the third issue. So, those are the big issues in my life right now. There are a few smaller ones, but I don't feel like going on and on and on and on ad nauseum. *waves* Thanks for stopping by. |
| 1. What is your full name? Susan (for privacy purposes I'll leave the rest out) 1a. What are your nicknames? Susie, in highschool I was "the boss" and "hey you" (there were so many other Susan's around) 2. What color pants are you wearing? black 3. What are you listening to right now? kiddo coughing and the dishwasher running 4. What was the last thing you ate? tuna sandwich 5. Do you wish on stars? oh yeah! 6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? purple 7. How is the weather right now? overcast and humid 8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? my new stepfather! 9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? For SURE! 10. How old are you today? 41 for another week 11. Favorite drink? coffee & tea 12. Favorite sport? soccer 13. Hair color? brown, with some grey 14. Do you wear contacts? nope 15. How many siblings? I'm the oldest of 3! 16. Favorite month? October 17. Favorite food? Japanese 18. What was the last movie you saw? Die Hard (and hated it) 19. Favorite day of the year? Thanksgiving 20. What do you do to vent anger? walk, stomp around, scream, cry 21. What was your favorite toy as a child? my barbies 22. Favorite is Summer or winter? neither, fall 23. Prefer hugs or kisses? Both! 24. Chocolate or vanilla? you have to ask? chocolate, of course 25. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back?YES! 26. Who is most likely to respond? Since this is on my blog, it's moot. 27. Who is least likely to respond? see above 28. When was the last time you cried? Don't remember. 29. What is under your bed? just some dust bunnies 30. Who is the friend you have had the longest? Erika, from sophmore year in high school 31. What did you do last night? We were all in bed around 8 pm. 32. What are you afraid of? Bees 33. Plain, buttered or salted popcorn? There is such a thing as plain popcorn? 34. Favorite car? Jeep 35. Favorite flower? Sunflowers 36. Number of keys on your key ring? 3 (house, car, gate) 37. How many years at your current job? 4+ (as a mom) 38. Favorite day of the week? Monday, when school is in session 39. What did you do for your last birthday? Don't remember. I'm getting old! 40. How many states have you lived in? TX, NJ, MD, NC (and I lived in Armenia) 42. What do you collect? dust bunnies * * What happened to number 41 ???? |
| Pasta sauce is in the crock pot. The dishwasher is loaded and running. The kitchen floor has been mopped twice of water and paint and still has sticky spots. The hardwood floor has been cleaned of paint. Laundry is perking along, third load in the dryer. Second load in the machine. One on standby. Kiddo is in the other room, coughing and playing quietly. It's quiet time, you know. When the TV is off and he's supposed to be napping. He flat out YELLED that he wasn't going to do quiet time after taking my pot lids and slamming them down on the wood floors. But has since calmed down and is playing quietly by himself. I've just given him some medicine, hoping that'll stop the post nasal drip and hence, the cough that is driving me crazy. While all this may sound productive, I didn't mention the few hours I spent reading the paper (yes, it can take hours), checking e-mail, and hanging out in scroll playing bot games. I don't feel productive. I've plenty on my own personal list of things to do, which includes editing a book, editing some book reviews, finishing my own book reviews (three in various stages of completion), and getting my upcoming Tupperware catalog parties together (so I can ship 'em out once the damn catalogs arrive). So far, I've gotten nothing done (on my list). Why? Because when I had the energy and desire for me to do my work, it wasn't convenient for the rest of the house. Kiddo always needed something. Being sick, he needed even more attention than usual. I've a meeting to attend tonight, so leaving dinner prep to the last minute wouldn't work. I can't afford to eat out or have Chinese delivered. And I need chunks of time. I don't do well with the starting and stopping and starting again. It doesn't work for me. So I feel unproductive and depressed. I get upset at myself for feeling that I need to subjugate my needs to the rest of the family's needs. Other moms seem to be happy and to do it all. Why can't I? |
Here's a flyer showing some of the items on sale this month and the totally cool host gifts. You can earn the host gifts by hosting a catalog party. Feel free to e-mail me for more information.
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| I've been assigned to Jenny on the show. So root for her! Click on the picture below and it'll take you to the group page to sign up to be my groupie! ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** |
| My favorite form of meditation these days is pulling weeds from my lawn. When I go outside to watch kiddo play, I generally wander around the yard pulling weeds. I find it a wonderful way to still my mind and relax as well as doing something for the grass. Kiddo gets frustrated with me. "Mom, can we play now?" "Mom, get the ball!" " Mom, lets go for a walk." What can I say? When there is so much loudness and busyness around me, I like a few minutes to pull weeds and get centered again. |
| The parasites seem to be leaving on their own, thank goodness. I went to the Dr. and had to get lab work done to see exactly what's going on...and I'm still waiting for the results. I won't talk about the test though, 'cause it's just too gross for words. Though it again proved that mommies never get to poop in peace. The phone rang on my way to the bathroom, my cell phone rang while in the bathroom, followed by the house phone, an IM chimed in, and kiddo woke up. |
| Did you know pot lids make awesome cymbols? At least if you're 4, they do. I think my ear drums are gonna burst! |
| Or another game? Just go to: http://brainking.com?refuid=29397 It's free. And fun. My ID there is MadWoman. You might want to use your "trash" e-mail account. My e-mail started to get spammed soon after joining, though other members tell me their's didn't. Coincidence? Who knows in the world of spam. Just wanted to let you know the possibility exists. |
| My son has created a drum set from all my pots and pans and a couple of spoons. He's singing at the top of his lungs and banging away, having a grand ole time. I don't have the heart to make him stop, but I'm afraid my eardrums are gonna pop! |
| Wishing my crotch didn't hurt! Had a skin tag removed in the crease of my leg and it's sore. Can't put a bandaid there. It's annoying, to say the least. Plus, I can't go in the swimming pool for a few days. Still working on my editing project (the rush job for my client in Armenia). I've spent hours and hours and it's going so slow. I can't get through more than a paragraph without having to stop and check something...spelling, usage, etc. It's in British English and some of the sources were American English and the author didn't change it. I'm making copious use of the find/replace feature. It's agonizing. Plus, the whole project is overdue and they are all on tenderhooks waiting for me to finish. My mom is back from her honeymoon. My sister-in-law has to get arthroscopic (?sp) surgery on her shoulder. She's trying to figure out how to get it done without having lots of family interfering helping while she recovers. Hubby works to much. The house is a mess. My foot still hurts. Walking and plantar facitis work counter to each other, causing me discomfort. Still looking for a good night's sleep. |
| Rounding Third Wonder if I'll score anytime soon? |
| The damn NPR was playing tapes of cell phone calls of people about to DIE in the twin towers this afternoon. I HATE those recordings. Invariably, I start crying. It's been that way for almost 5 years now. I figured out what they were gonna do right after the first one started, so I didn't get to change the channel quick enough. And yes, I started to cry. Now I feel like crap. Damn NPR. Damn terrorists. Damn people who think violence is the way to solve problems. |
| A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee. Aftern all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself, adds no quality to the coffee in most cases, just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups...and then began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us." God brews the coffee, not the cups...enjoy your coffee! |
| People with giardia often lose weight! I'm hoping so, because that's the only good thing I can see about it right now. The Dr. can't see me until Wed. I have no issues hanging around the house today, but I have to take kiddo to speech tomorrow morning, and it's 40 minutes away. damn parasites. |
| Giardia, in all it's glory, has taken up residence in my gut. Every 24 hours, like clockwork, they remind me that they are there. Life sucks sometimes. Monday I'm calling my doctor. |
| Get your "awww" ready: http://dailykitten.com/ Thanks to Robert Waltz  for sharing this in scroll. |
| I came across this site and immediately fell in love with it. http://www.yogasite.com/ The article on "Getting Away without Going Away" really struck home. http://www.yogasite.com/bhumi-away.htm And under the postures section are three sequences illustrated with little stick figures. I never did yoga beyond the Sun Salutation because I didn't know what to do. I printed them all off and will be doing some today. I know you're supposed to do yoga in bare feet, but I'm going to see if it will work with my earth shoes on. My plantar facitis really hurts and while I need strengthening exercises, I'm having problems walking. *sigh* |
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