the annie blog

Picture this – it’s Sunday night. I’ve taken a shower, have on my jammies, and am sipping on some caramel tea. I sit down to blog. My first paragraph talks about our weekend. Then I get off on a tangent and write oodles about life and what’s going on in our heads right now, how we’re trying to figure out how to really “live” life and not let it go by. Then, and I’m sure you know where I’m going with this – just as soon as I am ready to post…I get knocked off-line. I sit there. I stare at the screen for a few minutes. I feel mad, but I know that there’s nothing I can do about it. I then figure there must be a *reason* for this to happen – some kind of almighty intervention. I have my theories as to why it didn’t post, but whatever, the blogging gods didn’t want that entry on my blog. So, I am trying again today. I’m not blogging about life and purposes and things like that. I thought I’d keep it light till I’m sure the blogging gods are ready to hear from me.

Our weekend was good. We actually have one more weekend free till school is out in May. Is that unreal? We’ve got to get new jobs. This place is slowly killing us and our spirits. There are 52 weeks in a year, and during a 16 week semester we have had 3 weekends free. That’s just not right. No amount of money is worth that. We fantasize about a life where we can eat dinner together and not have to work so much. Is there really such a place? We’re gonna find it!

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Take my poll – it’s at the bottom of the sidebar.

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Here’s my Friday Five:

When was the last time you…

1. …went to the doctor? For myself, probably January. I had an eye appt for my regular yearly check-up. My prescription had to be upped a little. But I can see wonderfully now.

2. …went to the dentist? I went in August. We’re rather religious about going every six months.

3. …filled your gas tank? This morning! How funny is that?

4. …got enough sleep? I suppose yesterday, I slept all day.

5. …backed up your computer? I can’t remember. At least a few years ago. Oops.

Ok, I’m at work. Why? Because I’m feeling loads better. I think it’s a combination of meds and sleep. I got this huge burst of energy last night during my quilting class. I was so happy to be surrounded by creativity. Yesterday I slept and read. I decided not to turn on the TV – sometimes that can be a little toxic for me. Especially with daytime TV.

I had a lot of trouble sleeping last night because of my meds. I think it’ll take a few days to even out. I called the doc yesterday too. I’m very proud of myself. Tonight we don’t have anything planned! We talked about renting a movie or just watching one of our own, I don’t care, it’ll be fun just to snuggle up with Markie and the kitty.

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Ok, first the good stuff – I finished my second knitting project ever. It’s that little black purse. The bitch was putting the lining in the damn thing. Here it is –

And just to show you how tiny it is –

My next knitting project is to make anothe purse – one that is practical for me size-wise. So, I am making my own pattern! I am kind of expanding the one I just did to the size I want and making all different handles, just one big long handle. I’m just going to make it up as I go along. I am also going to practice with different colors – intarsia – what a big word for me! I have picked out some greys and blues for the purse.

Ok, and as Paul Harvey would say, “And now, the rest of the story…” I am staying home from work tomorrow and Friday. I need to. I am sinking. That’s our word for it. I need to just be alone, up my meds and regroup a little. Being away from people is a good thing because I’m not such a good communicator when I’m slipping into my little cave. Plus I cry easily. I cried today at work, thank goodness I work with Mark. I was able to run to his office and weep. He’s so great – no questions asked. I wasn’t crying over anything particular.

You know the Zoloft commercial with the little egg guy is all sad until he takes Zoloft and then he and his bird friend start having a good time? Well, I’m the little egg guy right now. It just takes time for my meds to kick in and get my brain chemicals back on track. Talk about feeling helpless. So, I have made plans for my classes and plan on staying home. Mark is scared I’m going to stay in bed all day on Friday and Saturday. He said he’s calling all the time to make sure I’m up. I also stay in bed with the shades drawn and hibernate. Markie wants me to be up and doing stuff. It’s hard though. I came home early today and went straight to bed. I will probably go to bed early tonight too.

So, that’s my little life – I need to probably go talk to my doctor again because it’s been quite awhile since my meds were looked at, and when I start feeling this way it’s often time to switch/change dosages. We’ll see….

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I finished my needle holder bag from the Stitch ‘n Bitch book.

I had a bunch of upholstery fabric samples and I pieced a bunch of them together. The pattern called for upholstery fabric, so I was able to use up a bunch. Look how nicely it all ties together.

Tonight I definitly need to work on my quilting homework, but not without some tea first!

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Here is a completed photo of my chenille quilt I made. It’s like a grandmother’s bedspread or a soft cozy robe:

Here’s a close-up:

Then here is a helacious scratch from my wonderful kitty. She accidentally clawed the crap out of my neck while she was climbing to the back of the chair. Needless to say, she has had her nails cut.

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I have bit off each and every one of my acrylic nails. I am stubby now. I was just getting sick of them and wanted them off. Consequently, once I see fresh fingernail, I bite it off – I have a problem. I wish I could just grow my nails a little and not bite them. I have tried everything, but I guess I really don’t want to because I still keep on biting.

I have a trick to keep myself in my office and work rather than walk around and visit and stuff. I light a candle. I figure that if the candle is lit I’m going far and won’t be gone for long for fear of burning the place down. So, today, my candle is lit. I actually got the bulk of my grading done. Enough for today. I have reading out the wazoo tonight, but I won’t do it all. I want to do something fun – like craft or read. I’m reading Big Fish(notice off to the side) and I haven’t seen the movie yet. I’m enjoying the book and am fascinated at the writing. I’ll let you know how I like it when I’m done.

My mom returns tonight from her cruise. Yippie! I can’t wait to hear about the fun she had. She deserves it! Very exciting!

Tomorrow is a half day – we are heading to the Doctor’s for Mark’s check-up from his surgery. Then we’re going to goof off the rest of the day. I need to go to Hobby Lobby and get some quilting stuff. Plus, there’s a new Mexican restaurant we want to try. A friend of ours said it’s pretty good.

I have to get gas on the way home. What fun. Then I get to go home and clean bathrooms. Are you envious????

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Tonight was much better than the night before. We went to dinner and had a nice time. It was a bit crowded and loud, but what can you expect on Valentine’s? We overestimated our time, so we ended up getting done eating with much time to spare. We thought that maybe service would be slower, but we were mistaken – they were ultra speedy. Since we had time to spare we went to a bookstore. This is exactly what we did the night before. Obviously we like food and bookstores. I got a cup of yummy and decadent chocolate butterscotch coffee. It was very nice. I spent my time looking at craft magazines and knitting books.

Let me go off on knitting books for a bit, ok? As someone who is teaching herself to knit, I find it unreal that so many books spend the first few pages showing some stitches then jump right into an amazingly hard project like a sweater. I have done a scarf and an in the middle of my purse. All without being able to really read a damn pattern. Some of these knitting books that say they are for beginners are NOT for beginners.

Ok, back to my night. We then headed to the theatre to see Second City. I need to digress again. I have worked and studied improv for years now. Let’s see – almost 20 – Goodness gracious! I have performed, made money, learned, taught, and run my own improv groups. I still perform! I really think Second City may be overrated. They have the name and the connections to build famous people. I don’t… But for real – there’s nothing they do that we don’t. It’s nice to see that, but we were still a little disappointed. Not much laughing on our parts, it’s kind of hard when you know all the games and you know what comes next – there are so many little in’s and out’s that we know how to work each game. Oh well, it provided much conversation for our drive home. We will see them again, but we will continue working in the manner in which we know how. Hopefully creating superstar comedy performers without the hook-up that Second City can provide.

Today we’ve been lazy. I did some homework, and took a nap. I need to start some laundry. I’ll do that when I’m done here, then I should think about more homework and cleaning the kitchen tonight. I think I’ll spend time this evening reading. Since I got tons of books this weekend I feel like I want to get reading more.

I’m dreading tomorrow morning, I always am dragging ass on Monday mornings.

But first – this:

Using band names, spell out your first name:

B Black Eyed Peas
E Eagles
T Toto
H Huey Lewis and the News
A Arrowsmith
N Nine Inch Nails
I INXS
E Evanessence

Have you ever had a song written about you?
Yes actually. On our wedding, my mom was dating a guy that was a singer/songerwriter and he wrote a song for the two of us. We have a copy of the lyrics and the music. Such a sweet gift.

What song makes you cry?
Nothing all the time, but at certain times in my life I have cried at certain songs

What song makes you happy?
Madonna stuff, plus our song – Ray Charles’s “Singin’ my Song” – that makes me smile!

What do you like to listen to before bed?
I read before bed

Name a song by Coal Chamber:
I have no clue. Why don’t you name a song by Inda Eaton, huh? How do ya like them apples?

First album you ever bought?
Record- Beach Boys greatest hits
Tape- Madonna – Like a Virgin
CD- I don’t remember….

Name a song that reminds you of someone and why:
When I hear Elton John songs I am reminded of my ex-boyfriend. He was an Elton freak

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I had quite an interesting evening last night. We headed out with a friend of ours to dinner. Dinner was fabulous. We went to this Italian place we love. Our friend had never been there, but he really enjoyed it. I had the Scampi Damien, which is shrimp and linguine in a lemon garlic butter sauce. Divine! I ate a lot of it, but not all. Just a little left on my plate. Then we were heading to Border’s bookstore to kill some time before the show we had tickets for. As soon as I stood up from my seat in the restaurant I knew something was wrong. I got lightheaded and felt HOT.

We walked to the car and by the time we pulled out of the parking lot I thought I was going to puke all over the back seat. I had brought my knitting along and dumped it all on the floor and sat with my little knitting bag on my lap ready to puke. Mark was in the front seat chatting away. Traffic was heavy so I knew we couldn’t just stop anywhere – plus we were kind of a time schedule. I got all cold and clammy and rested my head against the window to cool down. My stomach was making these awful noises – I can’t believe they didn’t hear me in the front seat. Plus I was all doubled over in pain. I tried to breathe real slowly and shut my eyes. The road seemed exceptionally bumpy and curvy – every little turn tossed my tummy even more. I figured IF I made it to the bookstore I would run to the bathroom and throw up. We finally got the bookstore and Mark finally noticed me. His face was in shock. I was dripping sweat and totally pale.

We let our friend walk ahead of us and we said we were gonna sit out front of the bookstore a minute. I told Mark what was going on. He felt so bad for not noticing. I ran to the bathroom and stayed in there for awhile. When I came out Mark suggested that I get something to settle my tummy. Luckily they had tea – I got some Ginseng Peppermint (Republic of Tea) – I knew the peppermint would help. I sucked it down rather quickly and started to feel a little better. Then I got all teary. I get that way when I don’t feel well. I was all sad about feeling icky and making Mark take care of me, plus I’m just a big ole baby on top of everything. So we walked around the bookstore and every little time I would look at a book Mark would pick it up and say he was going to buy it for me. By the time we ended up leaving I had over $130 worth of books! What a sweatie! Like I really needed those – I already have tons to read. That made me even more teary. I had to visit the bathroom a few more times and I was still crying all through the store.

We headed to the theatre and we had great seats. We saw “Bat Boy: The Musical” – it’s so much fun, kind of like Rocky Horror. We enjoyed this production, we have seen it before, and this one was better. I think our friend thought we were fighting because I was all teary and quite all of a sudden. We had super seats that were smack dab in the middle of the theatre. I started getting all hot and icky feeling again. At intermission I raced out to the lobby and got some Slice to drink. That made my tummy feel better, but I decided not to go back in and sit in my seat. I spoke with the usher about how I wasn’t feeling well and asked if I could sit in the last row. I’m glad I did because my stomach started making noises again and I would’ve been so embarrassed to have that happen with people around me. I made it through Act II. On the way home I tried to sleep in the back seat, but everytime I’d start to drift off I’d get dizzy – kind of like when you’ve had too much alcohol. So I sat up and kept my forehead against the window.

We finally got home and I slept in my sweater and undies. I didn’t wake up once. I finally woke at 11:30 this morning. I wasn’t hungry for lunch, but I had salad and a cinnamon role – yummy and niutritious, huh? I drank some coffee and I feel ok. I do feel a little run-down, but I think I’ll make it. I have NO idea what happened to me. That totally sucked! Tonight we’re heading out again. Another restaurant and then we’re going to see Second City Improv group perform. I am getting an aisle seat just in case I can’t keep my dinner down again tonight. I think I am still a little feverish, but I feel tons better.

Hopefully I can eat normally tonight. I’ll try and be careful with what I order…..

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Here’s my five:

1. Are you superstitious? No I’m not.

2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition?
I don’t probably just usual ones. I don’t think anyone I know personally behaves oddly because of superstitions

3. Believer or not, what’s your favorite superstition? The black kitty crossing in front of you. I love kitties – they can’t be harmful.

4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual? I believe in luck – though I suppose it’s actually fate. No lucky things for me, though I kinda wish I had something.

5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not? Not really – I like to read it for the humor though.

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