Happy New Year

Things at Circle K are strange. Two years ago we had a New Years Eve party, one of many that Karl hosted. It's hard knowing that if he was here, the house would be clean (which it's not) and he'd be in the kitchen preparing WAY too much food. People would be calling to check in, we'd be making sure there would be enough flutes for everybody to toast in the new year...

Instead, it's quiet on the home front. I've spent the last few days trying to move my bedroom upstairs, and there have been some kodak moments - particularly me trying to move the dresser up the stairs and getting stuck at the turn, pinned in a corner trying desperately not to let the thing fall back down and give Elliot an unwelcome 2am wake up call. So now it's sitting in the hall - I couldn't get it upstairs, but managed not to injure myself getting it back down.

I don't have plans tonight, other than to hopefully get one of the rooms in order enough that Elliot and I can sit and watch a movie, have a snack, and snuggle.

Wishing everybody the best in 2010.

Not Related.

Today I had to make an emergency trip to the store for kitty litter and draino. Fortunately, neither one has to do with the other, or with Elliot.

He has, however, something to do with plumbing, as he has used the potty 4 times in the last 2 days. Yes, I have bribed him with leftover Christmas cookies - your point?

Merry Christmas

Yes, that's right, it's Christmas Morning. Elliot woke up in a delightful mood, and I got him some milk, at his request ("Maa!"). Then I herded him into the living room and gave him his stocking, which he really couldn't be bothered with because he was thirsty, and such matters are more important than some silly sock. Finally, after I pulled out a present to show him it was indeed a cool sock, he multi-tasked; doing his morning yoga, checking out the tree, and hydrating.


We finally got to the tree, and he selected a present, and opened it. Much "Woo!" and "OOoooh" ensued.

Finally, with presents unwrapped and puppy out of the way with a new squeeky toy, Elliot went to the closet, got my purse, and happily settled in at the table to play with the zipper.

Merry Christmas.

The Goose is getting Fat?

I've been working for several weeks on my first written knitting pattern. I'm pretty excited about it, although it isn't quite finished yet. It's a beaded scarf/shawl pattern based on the Taj Mahal. So far, I'm very happy with it, which is extremely rare for me. I hope to sell the pattern online and donate proceeds to the Liz Logelin Foundation. We'll see how it goes.

Oh, right, and Christmas is coming, kinda like a freight train. We had Wednesday Knit Night this week, because xmas eve is no time for being out in the world. All evening I felt like I was sort of in a daze. Driving out to west county in the rain can do that to you, I guess, but this was very strange. It was like I was watching a movie of myself, and I could tell something big was about to happen. If there'd been a soundtrack, it would have been building to a crescendo... but then, I went out, I knitted, I came home. The earth didn't move, at least not any more than usual. No shattering, nothing Big.

Lately I'm reverting to my college sleep schedule, which isn't so healthy when there's a toddler depending on me. But I just can't seem to put myself in bed before midnight, and sometimes not till much later. So here I am, awake.

Yep.

The thing about the drive home tonight was that I really missed Karl. And I hated that here it was almost Christmas, and he wasn't beside me in the car, and we weren't out shopping for cool stuff to give Elliot. Last year was harder. Last year I shopped a lot, and kept finding perfect presents for Karl, only he wasn't there, so I couldn't get them. This year - I don't know, is it easier? Is that what this is? I think about him and I feel so distant and numb, but at the same time so acutely and distinctly torn up, and present.

And it sucks.

I've tried to DO Christmas. Karl loved it, and honestly I've enjoyed decorating, and baking, and lighting candles and shopping... but every time I hear that "All I Want for Christmas is You" song, cheesy tho it is, I just want to cry.

ramble, babble, blah blah blah.

And these are my delay tactics, keeping me away from much needed sleep. recognizing this, I now intend to shut down the computer and find a less obvious escape mechanism. g'night.

It may not mean much to you

but to me, it was very exciting to have lunch with my son today, and have him play peek-a-boo and actually *say* "Boo!"

We've been working on our sounds, and he's been very reluctant to try to make anything but vowel sounds. When I picked him up from Mom's this afternoon, he said "Mmmmmm" while asking for milk - which was Huge. Then we went to Breadco for lunch, and he not only repeated "Boo!" with our peek-a-boo game, but also tried to say "Bite." B B B !

I've been so frustrated, and so worried, and it's just such a great relief to have him willing to try, even if only once in awhile.

Woot!

Dont' turn your back...

So I was making eggs for breakfast. I had peeled a clementine and put it on Elliot's plate on the kitchen counter, then got out the eggs, and cracked and scrambled, like ya do. Then I turned to the stove to cook the eggs.

No, the dog didn't eat the clementine.

When I finished the eggs, and turned around to scoop them onto the plate, it was gone. So was Elliot. He was at the (counter high with swivel bar stools) dining room table, plate of citrusy goodness in front of him, happily seated and digging in.

He's climbed in his own chair for a while now, but this is the first serve yourself meal I've seen him do. As far as I can tell, he didn't spill, and the dog didn't try to steal the plate along the way.

I kinda hope next time I turn my back, he's done the dishes. I'll let you know.

Unexpected, Delightful...

Found while searching for my Wedding Guest List on Google. Had no idea these were recorded:
February 28, 2007

1:16 PM Karl: meep

meep

1:17 PM meeple

me: mooop

Karl: zweeply

I am so bad

me: zoooooooba

Karl: I got nothing done in my prep

me: bad bad bad

Karl: yeah well

1:18 PM I have first hour prep tomorrow

that rocks for getting work done

me: it'll all work out

it usually does

Karl: third hour prep you are already exhausted

I'm not worried

I'm smerply

me: oooh. shmerply. i see.

1:19 PM Karl: somewhere there is a little us growing

I dreamt about frogs last night

me: itty bitty tadpole

Karl: I dreamt we had a little aquatic frog

1:20 PM maybe we should get one

those dog watering things are on sale at petsmart

I think I'll get one on my way home

I also have to stop at ITT

me: ok

Karl: for some paperwork

me: i have to call a doctor

i'm all nervous

1:21 PM Karl: Tempe or Sandy?

me: start with tempe beause she sent me a name

Karl: ok

the bell will ring soon

and then I must teach

me: diiiing

1:22 PM Karl: soon

not yet

three minutes

or sooooooo

me: ooh. gniiiid

Karl: all our fish seem so happy

I watched them all last night before you got home

me: were they smiling?

1:23 PM Karl: singing actually

me: that's pretty happy

1:25 PM Karl: there's the bell

I must salivate now

c u

Wind's a Blowin'

I was posting to FulcrumMonkey, and mid-post I heard a familiar sound. I heard thin metal flapping in the wind, and bashing against the bricks. Then it stopped.

I headed outside, and there was a strip of my brand new fascia, face down on the sidewalk, a casualty of the windstorm. Didn't even make it 3 months.

Called the installer. They said not today, but in the next few days they'd get somebody out to fix it. We'll see how that goes.

Aunt Kelly sent this great magnet set, which till now had been in it's metal container, or affixed to the outside of said container. Till the other day, when El realized he could stick them on the fridge.

And he did so, sorting carefully by colors in perfectly straight lines.



Cute, but a little creepy. Sadly, the old magnets are 'out.' He has thrown most of them on the floor, and won't acknowledge their existence, preferring the little squares and their easy alignability. A shame, too, because the old ones had Braille, which I found super-cool.

Call a Mechanic.

So you know how your car makes that funny noise EVERY TIME YOU START IT, till you take it in to the shop?

My internet went out last weekend. I went upstairs to reset the router (which I have to do about every 2-3 days) and came back down, and it still didn't work. I went up, and all the lights (power included) were flashing on the modem. I unplugged it and plugged it back in. All lights still flashing. I turned on the tv to make sure I still had cable. Cable worked. Internet didn't.

Well, I thought I'd unplug it a while, let it think about it's attitude. Sort of a time out for electronics... Plugged it back in a while later. Still flashing. Still not working.

I left a message with Kris, my bro who used to work for Charter(Satan). He'd left his phone in his truck, and didn't get back to me till later, when I was out shopping with Elliot. That was Monday.

Yesterday we ran around town doing this and that. When we got home, I went up to check on Flashy. Still flashing. Still no internet.

So this morning I called my brother again. Left a message. He messaged me back, but I was getting El to sleep. I called him back, no answer. He called me, I was on the phone. I called him...

"Hello?"

"Hey. It's Jes. It's flashing. All the lights. Bad, Right?"

"The power button too? Yeah, sounds dead. Why don't we try something. Go to your computer and open the browser."

I put down my popcorn and head to the computer. I open the browser. Up pops google, happy as you please. WTF? I key in Facebook. There's my account, working just fine.

I go upstairs. No flashing. Solid power light, happy blinky send and receive lights. Cheery little modem with no signs of attitude.

WTF??

I tell Kris he fixed it, and say, "Thanks."

"Sure. Just let me know if it happens again, and we'll try the stuff I was going to have you try. Glad this one worked on brain waves alone."

Yep. Call the Mechanic.

Found

So I did find my cell phone. I'd looked everywhere, and since it couldn't be nowhere it had to be at the Symphony Hall, where I'd last had it. I called and talked to the security guard, who went up and looked in the seats, but found nothing. A few hours, and a lot more searching, later I decided to go in to the hall and look myself.

When I got there, the lady at the desk gave me the classic "Why are you wasting my time?" look, complete with rolled eyes. I begged, pleaded, and grovelled, and she agreed to walk me up to the TOP ROW of the theater to look again.

In the elevator (which takes you about half way there) I explained that my Mom had bought me the phone, so I really had to find it. This softened her a bit, and she and I scanned the floor in the row above and below our seats. No luck.

Saddened and disappointed, we trudged back down to the security desk. On the way there, she said "Maybe if you give me your number, and I call it, you could see it light up?"

"We looked everywhere. I think it's just gone." I sulked.

"Look," she handed me her phone. "DO NOT lose my phone. You go back up there and call. I'll call you in a few minutes to see if you made it." What did I have to lose? Not my phone...

So I went back up. One of the maintenance guys, who'd been listening to our conversation, met me up there. I showed him where we'd been sitting. I called the phone.

"Yep. I hear it." He reached down in between two seats and there was the phone. It was on vibrate, and still had enough charge to shake.

Just as he handed me the phone, the other phone rang. "You're a genius! We found it!" I told the guard. We headed back downstairs, and I gave her her phone. She gave me a hug, and we were all smiles all around.

Red letter day.