the annie blog

The weather is still all icky, but it’s not as rainy today. I have my first hour off then I have two classes back to back. It was hard to get out of bed this morning for some reason. I have been having such a strange time sleeping. If even a little bit of my body is uncovered, like my hand, or my foot, then I start shivering something fierce. But as soon as I cover up I start sweating. I need to figure out what’s going on. I wake up soaked then I start shivering the moment I uncover. It happens all night long. This morning I woke up piled under the covers with my head off the pillow and down even with Mark’s shoulders. I was all curled up in a ball and sweating my butt off. I got up and changed my pillowcase because it was all sweaty and icky. But then while I was walking to the kitchen to feed the kitty I got all cold again. My goodness, I’m like some old grandma or something.

I have reading to do, but I am being lazy. As soon as I’m done here I’ll get to it. Ok, first let me do this thing I got from Lisanne. Copy this list into your blog and place in bold the things that you have in common with me. For the items that you do NOT bold, replace them with a fact about you. AND – leave a comment if you put this on your blog – I want to see what we have in common.

I love Diet Vanilla Coke.
My zodiac sign is Virgo.
I love tea ~ especially chai, green tea, herbal, and fruity teas.
I love to read.
I read every day.
I fret a bit if I don’t have something in the house to read.
I don’t smoke.
I used to smoke.
I understand why people smoke.
My current job is a college professor
I like broccoli.
I love ice cream.
I do not like TV game shows
I love my mom.
I’m originally from Missouri.
I love seafood
None of my grandparents are living
We have one kitty
I’ve never been to Bermuda or Jamaica.
My favorite colors purple, green, pink and black.
I am 5 foot 6
I prefer to be a passenger rather than the driver.
I enjoy a variety of musical styles.
I’m teaching myself to knit.
I’ve never watched the TV show “Smallville”
I love dark chocolate
I don’t like meeting new people – makes me nervous
I love my family.
Winter is my favorite season.
I’d rather be cold than hot.
I know how to sew
I love our digital camera.
Our kitchen is yellow
I love to try new crafts.
I love learning new things.
I only know one language
I love to buy all the accessories and supplies for a new hobby (almost as much as actually doing the new hobby).
I am ver organized
Cleaning actually relaxes me and makes me feel better.
I am 36 years old.
I don’t like talking on the phone much.
I used to be a telemarketer
I try not to be judgemental
I am curious about people, especially about how other people live.
I’m a pretty non-traditional person.
I love to dance.
I’ve never run a marathon.
I love, love, love, to sing on road trips. Loud, belting, 80’s music.
I can’t carry a tune in a bucket.
I love ice skating *so* much.
I love board games.
I like an occasional drink now and then.
I really enjoy thoughtful gifts, even if they cost nothing.
I like canteloupe.
I do not want a snake as a pet
I like beer.
I try not to watch a lot of TV
I really enjoy having “me time” occasionally.
I am a blogging junkie.
I don’t go to church often.
I believe in God.I am smart.
I hardly ever procrastinate.
I have a good sense of humor
I always try to be a good person.
I have a knack for remembering things.
I don’t have any children.
I have been married for almost 8 years
I strive to do what is right. Sometimes I mess up.
I am really good at word games.
I could (and sometimes do) eat Chinese food once a week.
I like to people-watch.
I love getting handwritten letters.
I would rather email than write a letter
I love to take pictures of almost anything.
I get bored sometimes.
I enjoy cooking and like trying new recipes.
I love the smell of cooking garlic and butter.
I like candles more than incense.
I can be a perfectionist.
I have never been arrested.
I think my pet is my baby
I like to surf the net
I love to watch movies.
I get depressed ocassionally
I don’t like being dirty, sticky, or smelly. Unless it is on purpose.
I wish my husband like to fly
I love anything chocolate
I am always early
I am a planner.
I love to make lists.
I have a complex mind.
I want to own a convertible someday.
It’s hard to shop for my husband – he’s picky
I loved the movie “Moulin Rouge.”
I am teaching myself HTML
I appreciate honesty.
I cannot stand it when someone lies to me.
I have a very small family
My parents are divorced
I love to give people gifts.
Ice storms suck
I would buy more things for people just because ~ if I had more money.
I love to travel.
I love hotels.
I like eating out occasionally.
I voice my opinion if I have to
The smell of fresh-baked cookies reminds me of my childhood
I like to shop
I would rather take a shower than a bath
I drink tons of water.
I’ve never had Sassafrass tea

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I came home from work and go all my chores and stuff done. I am very proud of myself. I actually have time to do some homework and stuff tonight. Makes me happy. Tomorrow we are getting our taxes done. That always makes me nervous and stuff. I am always afraid of something drastic happening for some reason. Like, all of a sudden the accountant lady will press a secret button and the tax police people will come crawling out of the nooks and crannies and arrest us because we didn’t balance our checkbook correctly or something like that. I always feel guilty for no reason. Must be that Catholic upbringing.

I haven’t done one iota of my quilting homework. How bad is that? Our teacher is ready to start another project in two weeks. There’s not way I’m even close to getting this one done in two weeks. I really need to get crackin’. If I don’t have homework tomorrow I’ll be able to work on my quilt tomorrow. I have a very crammed day at work tomorrow, so I won’t have much time to get stuff done during the day. Perhaps I should just stop assigning stuff, then I wouldn’t have anything to grade. Believe me, the students have mentioned that to me many times. But, believe me, I’ve also thought of it too. I really enjoy my online class. I feel like I can grade and teach whenever I want – the weekends, late night, whenever. It’s very cool. Hopefully I can do more online classes. Since I’m doing one this summer I will really enjoy the freedom of teaching without being in the classroom during the summer months.

Enough about me – I need to get grading!

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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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