Category: Random Stuff

Aug 23

The 540s

In my Eucharisteo book,

546). Lazy Saturdays
547). Sounds of raindrops
548). Impromptu photo sessions
549). The way she looks at her
550). The sound of their laughs

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551). That smile

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552). Shadow puppets

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553). Pretending to be scared

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554). The way you can see that serious face through her hair

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555). Crazy, humid curls

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 556). The way The Oldest One’s whole body seems to smile.

 

Living the dream? Most certainly. Can it even get better?

Aug 21

A Bathroom Reno, in GIFs

Contractor Extraordinaire Daniel refuses to to acknowledge his awesomeness, but I came home last night and our bathroom was pretty much done. To put that into perspective, our toilet was in the living room two days before this picture was taken.

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It’s time to cut the modesty, Daniel! His sidekick Tyler also has put in ridiculous hours (I know they worked long shifts while we were gone, and I know at least one of the days they were there from 8AM until 10:30PM. Complete and utter insanity. And I like to follow up complete and utter insanity with gif stories.

I’d give you details, but the bathroom isn’t done and still needs finishing touches. There is an inch of dust over everything (I am not even lying, I mopped the walls last night), and there’s remaining grout work that was curing behind that shower curtain, which will also soon reveal one of the major changes in the bathroom, too. In fact, during that first “Houston” phone call and hearing the words “black mold” and “the standing water under the floor was deep enough to splash”, Daniel adding “but you get your [surprise]” was the only thing that kept me from throwing myself off the mountain.

That isn’t it, y’all. You have to click here to read the rest!

Jun 21

The One About the Body

I must say that I loved last last summer; I’d lost a bunch of weight thanks to not being in an office all day (and I started smoking, that helped, but was a poor decision).

This year…is different. I am saggy and flabby thanks to working an office job again and eating way more than I should, and carrying around 30lbs of quitting smoking weight. My clothes don’t fit and I feel gross. I bought a swimsuit from Victoria Secret only to realize that the $48 only covered the top; so, right before we left for the pool, I slid (oh who are we kidding, maneuvered) into bottoms from last year that happened to match. And let me tell you, the back isn’t looking like it was last year, and so the bottoms were tight….too tight. I so didn’t want to go to the stupid water park and be all fat, but whatever, suck it up, I need a tan.

That isn’t it, y’all. You have to click here to read the rest!

Jun 11

The Story of the Wedding Dress

Oh, the wedding dress. I bought it before Hubbin had even proposed; MONTHS before he’d proposed, actually. I went with a friend just to be silly, and there it was; totally different than I ever thought I’d wear, and on a clearance rack. I grabbed it along with a few others, and started trying on dresses.

The very effeminate man working in the boutique that day made the obligatory oohs and aahs until I stepped out in The Dress, and he clasped his hands over his mouth and said “Oh honey, that’s the one”. And it was…it SO was the one. I bought it that day. I knew Hubbin would propose one day, and I knew that was my dress.

There wasn't any point in getting white; my kid was there, the jig was up.

There wasn’t any point in getting white; my kid was there, the jig was up.

It hung in the closet, and that cold Thanksgiving night, Hubbin proposed. I gazed at my ring and peeked at my dress, and couldn’t wait for the day I would wear it.

That isn’t it, y’all. You have to click here to read the rest!

Nov 14

It’s Nearing That Time Again!

Last year I decided that I was going to stop being a Grinch during the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas and force myself to celebrate the season. The link to the post is here, and while the picture is gone because I didn’t like it, the gist of the idea is still the same; I hated the holiday season and was a grumpy, miserable mess. I was over the idea of present-quotas, frustrated at the idea of buying things just to buy them, and had just become very disgusted with the holidays in general.

While I’d made the decision to end the cycle of angry holidays before I’d heard of RACK’ing, watching my friends perform Random Acts of Kindness helped me achieve it. There truly is no greater joy than blessing someone else for no reason at all. Here are some posts to look back at:

There is still good…

RACKing it up

You’ve probably noticed the Christmas decorations out already; it seems earlier every year, and every year, I grumble when I see it; until this year. This year, I saw it, and it reminded me of the miraculous joy of last year. I challenge you, dear readers (if y’all are still listening, I know it’s been a long time!), to dedicate this holiday season to experiencing true joy. Not going through the motions, but making the season about giving to those whose needs go unspoken or unheard. It can be as little as not taking the closest parking space you can find, or helping someone load their groceries, or as much as contacting your local Department of Social Services and asking to sponsor a foster family for Christmas. Foster families have very little money as it is, and holidays are especially hard financially. Sponsoring a foster family’s Christmas is huge, and it’s a guaranteed win. The kids have often been through very bad situations, so you not only get to bless them, but you get to bless the foster parents by showing appreciation for the true change they are making by taking in children that aren’t theirs.

That isn’t it, y’all. You have to click here to read the rest!

Aug 31

My Rachel

Me and Rachel

Me and Rachel

I’m still around, just haven’t been in a writing mode I guess. It’s funny, because once you actually announce change, you get hit from all angles with just…tests. And tested I have been. This week has been hard from many angles, but nothing I have experienced can come close to the biggest part of this week.

My dear friend had a very serious medical procedure for a horrific disease called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. It’s an incurable, excruciatingly painful disease.

It’s in her shoulder and arm (and her dominant one at that), and to add to it, she also has a torn rotator cuff, which cannot be repaired because of the damage from the RSD. And she’s working through all of this, too (and I don’t mean mentally, though that too, I mean she goes to work everyday). And I know she must get comments that are well-meaning but frustrating. It’s not like any other chronic pain disease; not by a long-shot. On the McGill Pain Index, pain is scaled. A bone fracture is a 17, non-terminal cancer is a 26. Chronic back pain is a 30. Unmedicated childbirth is a 37. The pain from RSD, which is constant and without end in sight, is a 42. The wind from a rolled-down window causes excruciating pain; so does her own clothes.

That isn’t it, y’all. You have to click here to read the rest!