Putting out Fires

Well, my new camera’s arrived and I’m a picture taking fool.  I’ve included two of my favorites from today at the bottom.  But first….

We figured that since we spent a bundle on that, why stop there?  It was only fair that Ryan got something he really wanted.  So he got a snowboard.  And you can’t have a snowboard without bindings.  And really, isn’t it just more hygienic to have your own boots?  And how much sense does it make for him to have his own gear and me not to have any ski gear?  And of course I need at least two pairs of fancy socks to go with my new fancy ski boots…..

Today we had breakfast with my grandma.  I hope at 85ish I look as great as she does. After that we ran some errands (including spending our next two paychecks on snow gear we’ll probably use once this year).  While drivine around we pulled up next to a car w/ a frazzled looking woman driving.  She had two kids in the back seat who were throwing toys at the back of her head.  But at least they had carseats.  OK, technically they HAD carseats, but they weren’t IN the carseats.  Evidently it really helps your sanity to let your children run around the backseat of the car like little banshees.  My firefighter husband couldn’t help but scream at her through her open window about the safety of her children.  I wish 345-BABY was still in service.

OK, now on to the pictures I took with my GORGEOUS new D50:

OH WAIT!  Is it possible that blog.com sucks so bad that I can’t even get pics to show up on my posts anymore?  Anyone want to give me a crash course on blogspot? 

Anyway, please check out the photos here and here. 

Ahhh, isn’t moving grand?  Like how about when they TURN OFF YOUR WATER a full 3 weeks early and you don’t find out until after you’ve already flushed and need to wash your hands.  Oh and how about the fact that the septic people can’t come out until like TWO DAYS before we have to be all finished fixing the house.  And that’s the EARLIEST they can come out.

And my new baby?  Yeah, predictably I had the ‘Sorry We Missed You’ sticker on my front door this afternoon.  D*MN IT!  That means no new camera until the next time the Fedex guy and I happen to be in the same place at the same time.

Its just one of those days.  I didn’t realize it was going to be one of those days until after sitting through an entire day trying to stay awake during meetings with costumer reps, I went to go pick up something at the drug store, and in a daze I managed to hear the pharmacist say, “Yeah, I can always tell the holidays are coming when people start coming in and sighing and looking frazzled.”  Didn’t realize that sigh had really come out. 

 What is it about this time of year?  Is there a chemical imbalance triggered by the passing of Halloween?  Why is it that everywhere I look on the blogs I see, “I’m taking a break” or “I just don’t know what to say right now.”?  The holidays are the saddest time of year….

*UPDATE*  Well, the city actually pulled through and came out to make sure I had the ability to flush later.  Oh, and a few hours at the fire station with the boys cheered me right up.  So Thursday is now nothing more than the day before Friday and the start of my first weekend with Ryan in over a month!

Fedex says:

Date/Time

Activity

Location

Details

Nov 16, 2005

6:01 AM

Arrived at FedEx location

PHOENIX, AZ

Been a little distracted of late. I’m pretty sure its just the time of the year.  Oh, and the moving.  Oh, and the waiting patiently for our newest family member to arrive.  She’s the most expensive thing I’ve ever bought myself, and I have a feeling you’ll see what comes out of her posted on this blog pretty soon!

So, some random things to share with you today.  I stopped by my super expensive hair place to make an appointment for a cut this Thursday.  I haven’t had a hair cut since the middle of August.  See, when you go to a super expensive hair place you can only afford to get it done like every 3 months or so.   OK, so really I’m just lazy.  But the split ends are starting to get frightening.  Anywho…..  I walked into that place, right up to the receptionist with the fake red hair streaked with the cheesy bleached highlights.  I told her that I wanted an appointment with Bridget, and you know what she said to me?  Pointedly?  “Um, would that be for a COLOR?!”  OK, look, for educational purposes to all of you reading this out there:  natural blondes naturally have darker roots depending on the time of year.  The problem is so many people die their hair these days we expect that everyone’s hair is supposed to be one color all the way through.  This same thing happend right before my wedding.  The stupid hairdresser involved in that incident insisted that I do a henna treament.  Hence the pink hair in my wedding photos.  So stop discriminating against people who don’t die and BACK OFF.

Another random tidbit:  I walked into my test area at work to talk to one of my mechanics and I guess he wasn’t expecting company because as I got closer I noticed that he was reading a magazine.  On the job.  And as I got closer still, I saw naked boobies.  And naked other parts.  The man was reading a NUDY MAG AT WORK.  That is instant dismisal at my work.

My grandma is coming to town this weekend from Florida.  I’m hoping to have my new baby before this weekend because we’re taking a train ride through the Verde Valley north of Phoenix.  It is supposed to be gorgeous and I can’t wait to take pictures. 

OH!  And while I hate my job with the hattiest hates of all the hates, I actually got a CASH award last week.  $500 if you can believe that, although the Man took half.  Regardless, I can’t believe my company actually did that for those of us who got stuck with the Brits all summer missing all our camping trips and all the beautiful AZ sunbathing weather.  OH again!  Evidently a picture that was taken of me at work was deemed beautimus enough to blow up into practically billboard size and is hanging up at the entry to my plant.  That means that a good portion of the 7,000 employees at my site have to walk past that monstrosity on their way in and out of work every day.  Its totally embarassing. 

But that’s OK, because once they walk past my smiling face to the drudgery of work, they’re free to read their nudy mags in peace.

My husband hardly ever gets lost.  Hardly ever.  But there’s this amazing phenomenon that occurs whenever I get in the car when Ryan is driving.  Girls, I’m sure it goes without saying what this peculiarity of male nature is.  You get in the car and your man immediately stops processing anything around him.

We can be going anywhere, even my parents’ house where we’ve been a million times, and I’ll sit in the passenger’s seat watching the exits go by on the freeway.  I see our exit.  2 miles.  We’re still in the fast lane.  1 mile.  No sign of getting over.  I hold my tongue until about 1/2 mile away but by then its panic time. 

So what’s this about?  I have some theories on this one, as I’m given ample opportunity to think about it.  My first theory is that guys regularly get lost but pretend that it only happens when we’re in the car.  My second theory is that we women are so bossy that our men get used to us telling them what to do, so they feel comfortable turning over all the decision making to us ladies, if only to be spared the nagging.  OK, there’s no way that second one could be true, but I thought I’d be diplomatic and throw it out there. 

Today is the one year anniversary of my life as a blogger!  I know it sounds stupid, but this really was the creative outlet I needed to keep me sane with all the changes I’ve had in my life in the last year.  In the last year I’ve attempted to get used to a new job, I’ve become a firefighter’s wife with all that entails, I was stuck alone in England forever, and I bought a new house.  I’ve also been inspired to take more pictures, and while I’m not a pro, I really love doing it and I now carry a camera everywhere I go.  My new blog’s resolution for the next year is to buy a new camera, take a photography class, and to learn how to create a blog that isn’t boring looking.  Anyone want to help me with that?

In light of the fact that I haven’t written in days, I was remise in wishing my dear husband a very happy birthday.  I thought that the fact that he had to work on his birthday was going to ruin the day, but instead it was a really good day.  That morning he got his presents, then I baked him a cake and at about 4:00 I took it over to the station.  Now usually when I visit the fire station, I stay about 10 minutes and then I leave.  I’m really conscience about not overstaying my welcome, and I never sit on the chairs in the living room.  Its a weird firefighter thing.  But on his birthday, the rules were different.  The guys insisted that I hang out and be a rider for the rest of the day.  They even bought enough dinner to include me, which has never happened.  I stayed until about 9:30 that night and went on calls with the, watched them spray Ryan with foam for his birthday, had a GREAT steak dinner, took the engine to Starbucks, ate birthday cake, and watched TV.  I don’t know about Ryan, but for me it was a good birthday celebration!

Yesterday I took another sick day, mostly because of how my company has its rules about sick time and how it counts against you, but also because my stomach aches at the thought of work.  And truthfully, when Ryan got home yesterday morning I passed out for a THREE HOUR nap in the morning.  I know there’s something wrong when my body does something like that. 

Last night after all that rest I felt up to going to the theater.  We have season tickets to the Broadway touring series.  The show right now was Annie, and there were little girls everywhere!  Most of them were wearing adorable little dresses, some of which looked like princess costumes left over from Halloween.  It made me really appreciative that my parents exposed me early to the theater too. 

Now its Saturday and I’m flying solo again this weekend.  I have not a single plan for the whole weekend!  I’m going to try to convince africankelli to meet me at a museum in a little bit.  Anyone wanna hit the bars tonight? ;-) 

I may be the only person in the world who actually looks forward to jury duty.  For one, it gets me out of work, and two, I think it would be so interesting to sit on a trial.  So imagine my utter disappointment when yesterday I called in at 4:30 the business day before (already planning my best juror outfit in my head) and I’m told that my group has been excused and my duty has been fullfilled.  EXCUSED?  After the day I had at work yesterday I really needed, for my health, to have a reason to not go in today.

So, I called in sick.  Truth be told, I was feeling rather ill leaving work yesterday (and M, just so you know, you’re not the only one who cried at work this week).  Today I’ve dedicated myself to finding a new job, and to celebrating my husband’s birthday.  He has to work today (big surprise) so I baked a cake to take to the guys later. 

Now here I am.  Its just about the time I would have been getting off work, and I can’t believe how much more quickly the time passes when I’m not stuck in that place.  Yesterday I had a full on break-down at work, and now instead of wishing I had a different job, I’m actively looking.  But I have a problem.  I hate being an engineer.  I kept telling myself that if I just got a job in a different engineering department, I’d be so much better off.  But honestly, I wouldn’t be.  I would still feel bored and unfulfilled.  How do I just give up this career that I prepared for?  And how do I find a job for comprable pay without having any other experience than I have?  And if I decided to give up engineering, how would I know what the right career field is for me? 

In other news:  I went and saw the new baby yesterday.  I’m telling you, this kid is adorable.  When we got there she was all swaddled and someone just tucked her into my arms and she slept their forever making little baby  sleeping sounds.  But again, as soon as Ryan and I walked into the room, someone said, “So, does this make you 2 want to do it now?”  I hate to admit it, but I’ve gotten a little defensive about this lately because its starting to feel less like kidding around, more like people saying, “You’re SUPPOSED to be having kids now, you’re 27 for heaven’s sake”.  I fight feeling defensive about it because I know the more I defend our choice, the more I find myself convincing me that we’re never going to do it.  And I don’t want to close the door on the idea.  And honestly, I do know that if it is right for us, then it’ll be time, but not before then.  (But I did have a dream last night that my friend Rebecca called and told me secretly that she and her husband were trying.  Seriously, babies on the brain.)

So now I’m going to go buy my man some socks for his camping trip this weekend.  Its my big outting of the day.  Exciting, huh?  Hopefully I won’t run into any of my coworkers, because then I’ll have to explain about my mental and emotional sick day, and I don’t really feel like doing that.  See ya!

Today I’ve been thinking about babies.  Most of you reading here now my stance on US having babies, but it seems to be baby season all around me.  Pregnant ladies, newborns, friends having babies…  Today my friend Shayla had her firstborn.  A little girl who I can’t wait to meet.  I wanted to get something special to bring our new ya-ya at the hospital, and I immediately envisioned the most cuddly teddybear ever.  One she would still want to sleep with when she was 5 and scared of the dark. 

Are you aware that stuffed animals are no longer something that makes a good toy for a child?  I assume this is so because when I went to my local Target (because Target has everything), I found in the stuffed animal area of the toys about 10 bigger stuffed animals, and a few bins with tiny stuffed animals.  That’s it.  No fluffy bears, now hang-toungue dogs, nothing.  What’s that all about??  Have we replaced stuffed animals with things that blink and make obnoxious sounds??

So I decided that a nice gift would be a book.  I knew that Shayla had registered for a few, so I started there.  I accidently ended up in the DVD area before I found the books and there were HUNDREDS of DVDs for children.  When I finally found the book isle, there really weren’t very many choices, and it seemed like our friendly store helpers in red didn’t seem to think that it was very important to keep this section well-stocked. 

But I did manage to find a few book for our little scholar in training, and imagine my surprise when I saw this among the meager selection:

This book was my most favorite book when I was a young kid.  My parents used to read it to me constantly, and I was so attached to this book that now that I’ve grown up I’ve given it to almost every new parent I know.  And then it hit me.  I blame it on monthly hormones, but as soon as I picked this book up and put it in my cart and imagined Shayla and Madalyn in the new Hawaiian Girl nursery reading Pat the Bunny before bed together, I started crying.  Sobbing in fact.  Now can someone please explain that? 

Halloween has lost its luster this year.  I’m currently sitting in a completely dark house, save the light from one candle and the glow of my laptop.  Usually I love Halloween.  All the cute kids in their adorable costumes, waiting with anticipation of the next doorbell ring…  But this year is the second year in a row that Ryan’s had to work.  Usually we’d be watching scary movies between handing out candy (usually handfuls because I can’t help myself), and today he was supposed to be off, but surprise surprise:  mandatory overtime.  Again.

But I think its just as well.  I’ve noticed lately that the costumes are less creative, and after 7:30 or so the teenagers with no costumes but their rollerblades come out.  What’s the fun in that?  Not to mention the fact that yet again this year the streets are lined with cars of parents who actually drove their kids to my neighborhood for some unfathomable reason. 

I remember when I was a kid we looked forward to Halloween for weeks.  My mom always made costumes for us that were creative and elaborate and I remember feeling transformed for a night.  When I was a kid (which honestly wasn’t that long ago) we would go to the houses in my neighborhood and at every house there was a friendly face I knew well.  At a few of the houses, they would have special treats just for the kids they knew, like homemade cookies or a cupcake to eat while I walked.  My mom and dad would always dress up, and so would the dog.  We would walk for what felt like miles and when we got home I remember that for some reason when my mom went through my bag of candy to find the ones that looked suspicious, the Snickers always fell victim. 

What happened to Halloween?  So tell me, how many of you actually dressed up this year?  Or how many of you are like me in that you watched the holiday go by wishing that you’d dressed up as a princess or a pirate?  Just like when you were a kid.