Words can't really express how I have been feeling so far this month.
Most of my Facebook friends have been posting what they're thankful for everyday of November so far, something my Mom used to do and what I did last year. But this year I'm really only thankful for one big thing so I decided to post it here. I am ever so grateful for my family and friends. They are all more loving and caring and understanding than I have ever felt I deserved. I truly am blessed.
Thank you all for being there during this journey we call life. I never could have made it without you.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
I threw my clock out the window...
Is it just me or has this year literally disappeared?
One minute it's my birthday and snowy and I'm working mandatory overtime like a boss.
Next minute it's July and there's a pool of sweat under the chair I melted on in our un-air conditioned house.
Now it's suddenly chilly again, the leaves are changing color, Starbucks is swamped by pumpkin fiends, there are already Christmas trees at Walmart, Johnny and I have been married for a year (a YEAR people! And no one died!) and I'm in two weddings this month.
That's right, two. And I'm wearing orange for both. Go figure.
It is the beginning of bowling season, I made a rather tasty loaf of pumpkin bread, my 'little' sister turns 24 on Friday, and it's about that time to start watching all the seasons of Smallville again.
This is my absolute favorite time of year. I can take or leave spring. I deal with winter by wearing lots of sweaters and scarves and boots and gloves and drive the icy streets with white knuckles. I hate summer. But fall has the perfect amount of chill in the air for a sweater and no coat. You can smell the leaves changing on the trees, listen to them drift to the ground and land with that soft swishing sound. It's the time of year when I usually want to do that deep cleaning everyone seems to equate with spring. I don't want to clean in spring. I want to get out of the house I've been cooped up in since early November and enjoy the warmth. But during the fall it's time to get ready to stay inside and avoid the ice and chill and wind and snow by lighting a fire and drinking tea in a nice, clean, comfortable house. Imagine all the bears out there eating whatever they can in preparation for the hibernation. That's exactly what fall is. Preparing for hibernation.
But on the side also enjoying raking leaves and jumping in them, sitting on the front steps waiting for trick-or-treaters, bundling up in warm clothes and blankets and turning on the space heater for work so that my fingers don't freeze off, making a trip to the pumpkin patch, etc, etc etc. All of the best things in life happen in the fall. So sad it only lasts for two months!
Enjoy the fall, friends. :) That's my gift to you.
One minute it's my birthday and snowy and I'm working mandatory overtime like a boss.
Next minute it's July and there's a pool of sweat under the chair I melted on in our un-air conditioned house.
Now it's suddenly chilly again, the leaves are changing color, Starbucks is swamped by pumpkin fiends, there are already Christmas trees at Walmart, Johnny and I have been married for a year (a YEAR people! And no one died!) and I'm in two weddings this month.
That's right, two. And I'm wearing orange for both. Go figure.
It is the beginning of bowling season, I made a rather tasty loaf of pumpkin bread, my 'little' sister turns 24 on Friday, and it's about that time to start watching all the seasons of Smallville again.
This is my absolute favorite time of year. I can take or leave spring. I deal with winter by wearing lots of sweaters and scarves and boots and gloves and drive the icy streets with white knuckles. I hate summer. But fall has the perfect amount of chill in the air for a sweater and no coat. You can smell the leaves changing on the trees, listen to them drift to the ground and land with that soft swishing sound. It's the time of year when I usually want to do that deep cleaning everyone seems to equate with spring. I don't want to clean in spring. I want to get out of the house I've been cooped up in since early November and enjoy the warmth. But during the fall it's time to get ready to stay inside and avoid the ice and chill and wind and snow by lighting a fire and drinking tea in a nice, clean, comfortable house. Imagine all the bears out there eating whatever they can in preparation for the hibernation. That's exactly what fall is. Preparing for hibernation.
But on the side also enjoying raking leaves and jumping in them, sitting on the front steps waiting for trick-or-treaters, bundling up in warm clothes and blankets and turning on the space heater for work so that my fingers don't freeze off, making a trip to the pumpkin patch, etc, etc etc. All of the best things in life happen in the fall. So sad it only lasts for two months!
Enjoy the fall, friends. :) That's my gift to you.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Holy Heat, Batman!
It is absolutely amazing to me how easy it is to adapt to hot weather.
I'm sure all of you have experienced this crazy heat we've had so far this year and, let me tell you, for a girl who has spent most of her life in an air conditioned home working in air conditioned offices it was a hard transition. I had completely forgotten just what it feels like to be out and about and sweating just to come home to the same, if not warmer, temperatures than you just spent time in. It fascinates me just how quickly I became accustomed to always sweating just a tiny bit. Even doing the dishes feels like a workout now, due to the amount of sweat and energy I expel. And cooking? I have managed to cook decent meals (or not cook, if we're in the salad or sandwich mood) without creating too much heat. I really surprised myself today when I cooked meat on the stove and then did all the dishes and realized that it was 94 degrees outside and that the fact did not bother me at all. Thankfully we invested in a small air conditioner for our bedroom, which we put in the window in the walk-in closet since it's the only one small enough. Our house has HUGE windows. It cools the room just enough for us to sleep comfortably under light covers before I get up to sit at a table in front of a window, keying claims for eight hours praying for a breeze. I was amazed when I realized that degrees in the 80s felt comfortable to me.
Thankfully those desperate days are over. Even though we still have days that get up into the 90s, not until it reaches closer to 100 does it really bother me much. Even so, by no means do I ever want to move somewhere further south with temperatures like these year round. I love fall weather and baggy sweaters far too much for that, but it's lovely to know that I am no longer the wimpy woman I once was.
When we aren't discussing the heat, idiots who fire guns at innocent people, and the actions taken against the late Joe Paterno and Penn State, we're watching Merlin on Netflix. That's right, be jealous.
We are also now Aunt and Uncle to the most adorable baby that ever lived, in my completely biased opinion. Little Margot was born late at night on May 31st, 2012 and we got to be there for it! Thank goodness for a very understanding boss who said it was fine if I slept in, due to us not arriving home till around 3am.
Beyond all of this, life has not changed much. Sorry for the lack of enthusiasm I show in this post and for my sporadic postings. I'm sure you'll all forgive me someday. ;-)
I'm sure all of you have experienced this crazy heat we've had so far this year and, let me tell you, for a girl who has spent most of her life in an air conditioned home working in air conditioned offices it was a hard transition. I had completely forgotten just what it feels like to be out and about and sweating just to come home to the same, if not warmer, temperatures than you just spent time in. It fascinates me just how quickly I became accustomed to always sweating just a tiny bit. Even doing the dishes feels like a workout now, due to the amount of sweat and energy I expel. And cooking? I have managed to cook decent meals (or not cook, if we're in the salad or sandwich mood) without creating too much heat. I really surprised myself today when I cooked meat on the stove and then did all the dishes and realized that it was 94 degrees outside and that the fact did not bother me at all. Thankfully we invested in a small air conditioner for our bedroom, which we put in the window in the walk-in closet since it's the only one small enough. Our house has HUGE windows. It cools the room just enough for us to sleep comfortably under light covers before I get up to sit at a table in front of a window, keying claims for eight hours praying for a breeze. I was amazed when I realized that degrees in the 80s felt comfortable to me.
Thankfully those desperate days are over. Even though we still have days that get up into the 90s, not until it reaches closer to 100 does it really bother me much. Even so, by no means do I ever want to move somewhere further south with temperatures like these year round. I love fall weather and baggy sweaters far too much for that, but it's lovely to know that I am no longer the wimpy woman I once was.
When we aren't discussing the heat, idiots who fire guns at innocent people, and the actions taken against the late Joe Paterno and Penn State, we're watching Merlin on Netflix. That's right, be jealous.
We are also now Aunt and Uncle to the most adorable baby that ever lived, in my completely biased opinion. Little Margot was born late at night on May 31st, 2012 and we got to be there for it! Thank goodness for a very understanding boss who said it was fine if I slept in, due to us not arriving home till around 3am.
Beyond all of this, life has not changed much. Sorry for the lack of enthusiasm I show in this post and for my sporadic postings. I'm sure you'll all forgive me someday. ;-)
Friday, April 20, 2012
Bowling Debacle
Remember that league Johnny and I signed up for that was going to start last Sunday?
We showed up just a little early. I was super nervous because I'm just fine bowling with friends but I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of tons of people who probably can bowl WAY better than I can. However, I had no reason to worry because we get there and the guy at the counter tells us that no one signed up and someone was supposed to call us to tell us the league was cancelled. Figures. They gave us three free games for the inconvenience and told us that a different league would be starting on Wednesday and that people had signed up and we can try for that instead. So we play three games and had a blast and signed up for the Wednesday league.
Wednesday comes and we get to AMF Lanes half an hour early just in case. Same guy behind the counter. Same story. No one had signed up, no one had called us, and if no one showed by the time it was supposed to start we got three more free games. One other group did appear, but you need more than one and a half teams to make a league so we got three more free games.
My best score out of all three free games was a 125, which isn't bad for a first timer!
Sadly there aren't any more leagues we can join so we have to find something else that's fun that allows us to meet people and make friends together. Until then, we leave for Vegas on Wednesday next week!! Looking forward to a mini vacation.
Happy Weekend, friends!
We showed up just a little early. I was super nervous because I'm just fine bowling with friends but I didn't want to make a fool of myself in front of tons of people who probably can bowl WAY better than I can. However, I had no reason to worry because we get there and the guy at the counter tells us that no one signed up and someone was supposed to call us to tell us the league was cancelled. Figures. They gave us three free games for the inconvenience and told us that a different league would be starting on Wednesday and that people had signed up and we can try for that instead. So we play three games and had a blast and signed up for the Wednesday league.
Wednesday comes and we get to AMF Lanes half an hour early just in case. Same guy behind the counter. Same story. No one had signed up, no one had called us, and if no one showed by the time it was supposed to start we got three more free games. One other group did appear, but you need more than one and a half teams to make a league so we got three more free games.
My best score out of all three free games was a 125, which isn't bad for a first timer!
Sadly there aren't any more leagues we can join so we have to find something else that's fun that allows us to meet people and make friends together. Until then, we leave for Vegas on Wednesday next week!! Looking forward to a mini vacation.
Happy Weekend, friends!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
A Recap
Life has been a little crazy over the last three and a half months.
What with working and two months of mandatory overtime and planning baby showers and there being two engagements in my family and buying bridesmaid dresses and hanging out with Johnny and trying to get all three star coins in every single level of Super Mario Bros Wii and cooking and cleaning and laundry and dishes I've been rather busy. I won't bore you with every detail of daily life here over the past few months but I shall give you some highlights.
To start with, I turned 26! Johnny and I both took the day off and had a lovely day of eating out and walking dogs at the humane society. Though we would love to eventually get a dog, my work level and having absolutely no idea how to care for one meant that we decided against it for now. It will, however, be in our future.
The day before I turned 26 my Dad got engaged to a lovely woman he has been seeing since around November. Her name is Elaine and we all like her very much. They'll be getting married in May and I will then have a step sister and two step brothers, plus a step brother and sister in law.
A month or so ago, Johnny qualified for a district bowling tournament in Newark, OH. If he won first place he would go on to Las Vegas for the national tournament. Well, guess what, he won! So he gets an all expense paid trip to Vegas and I am going with him! We only had to pay for my airfare, and we leave on the 26th of this month. We're both very excited, and if he wins first at this tournament we come home with $50,000. It's a HUGE opportunity.
We installed a shower! It's been a few months, of course, but it is just lovely to not have to try to get clean while sitting in your own filth. For all the romanticism of taking a bath, it's just not fun to do on a daily basis.
My oldest sister is very pregnant with her very first child and we threw her a shower a couple of weeks ago. My other two sisters and I did our best to plan long distance, since Anne is in Virginia and I'm up here and Jennie is in New Concord, but we pulled it off and it was great fun. There was a fairly large crowd, and instead of games we made crafts. My friend June and I decorated a onesie and we won second place for creativity!
The Red Queen. She kicks it every time.
This also gave me a chance to be creative and use my new sewing machine to make an adorable stuffed animal.
Little Margot will join the world sometime in June.
On top of all of this, the night before Erin's shower Jennie got engaged! She and Art have been together for I'm not sure how long because she didn't tell anyone she was dating him until a couple of months later, but we've met him and like him and he and Johnny get along quite well. Jennie and Art will be getting married this fall and I get to buy yet another bridesmaid dress. If my daughter is my size when she's seventeen, she will never have to buy a prom dress.
And finally, Johnny and I joined a bowling league together. He was already in a league with some of his guy friends that just ended this past Monday, so this time we're bowling together! We start on Sunday evening, and I am proud to tell you that I own my own bowling ball and have been slowly learning to bowl MUCH better than I used to.
And there you have it! Life in the Cross house. :) Ciao, friends!
What with working and two months of mandatory overtime and planning baby showers and there being two engagements in my family and buying bridesmaid dresses and hanging out with Johnny and trying to get all three star coins in every single level of Super Mario Bros Wii and cooking and cleaning and laundry and dishes I've been rather busy. I won't bore you with every detail of daily life here over the past few months but I shall give you some highlights.
To start with, I turned 26! Johnny and I both took the day off and had a lovely day of eating out and walking dogs at the humane society. Though we would love to eventually get a dog, my work level and having absolutely no idea how to care for one meant that we decided against it for now. It will, however, be in our future.
The day before I turned 26 my Dad got engaged to a lovely woman he has been seeing since around November. Her name is Elaine and we all like her very much. They'll be getting married in May and I will then have a step sister and two step brothers, plus a step brother and sister in law.
A month or so ago, Johnny qualified for a district bowling tournament in Newark, OH. If he won first place he would go on to Las Vegas for the national tournament. Well, guess what, he won! So he gets an all expense paid trip to Vegas and I am going with him! We only had to pay for my airfare, and we leave on the 26th of this month. We're both very excited, and if he wins first at this tournament we come home with $50,000. It's a HUGE opportunity.
My oldest sister is very pregnant with her very first child and we threw her a shower a couple of weeks ago. My other two sisters and I did our best to plan long distance, since Anne is in Virginia and I'm up here and Jennie is in New Concord, but we pulled it off and it was great fun. There was a fairly large crowd, and instead of games we made crafts. My friend June and I decorated a onesie and we won second place for creativity!
The Red Queen. She kicks it every time.
This also gave me a chance to be creative and use my new sewing machine to make an adorable stuffed animal.
Little Margot will join the world sometime in June.
On top of all of this, the night before Erin's shower Jennie got engaged! She and Art have been together for I'm not sure how long because she didn't tell anyone she was dating him until a couple of months later, but we've met him and like him and he and Johnny get along quite well. Jennie and Art will be getting married this fall and I get to buy yet another bridesmaid dress. If my daughter is my size when she's seventeen, she will never have to buy a prom dress.
And finally, Johnny and I joined a bowling league together. He was already in a league with some of his guy friends that just ended this past Monday, so this time we're bowling together! We start on Sunday evening, and I am proud to tell you that I own my own bowling ball and have been slowly learning to bowl MUCH better than I used to.
And there you have it! Life in the Cross house. :) Ciao, friends!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
One Year
Slowly, very slowly, we come down to it. The final hour. The one year mark of my mom's passing.
I absolutely cannot believe it has been a year. Honestly it feels like a lifetime ago while also feeling like yesterday. Or the day before yesterday, a time when Mom was here and healthy and just a phone call away. Even though this month has been rough for me, and probably will be for a long time to come, I keep trying to remember the good times. I remind myself that, even though those 18 days of horror while Mom was in hospice were 18 days I would never, ever wish to relive, there were some moments that have become my favorite memories.
Today I was thinking a lot about my sisters, about how we all live so far apart now and don't see each other as often as we used to, and I suddenly was reminded of that first night spent at my parents house on January 12, 2011. With so many people in the house the sleeping situation was... interesting. It meant that I and all three of my sisters and one brother in-law spent the night all crammed into Anne's little room. Her bed was in there and we managed to squeeze a roll away bed in there and then a ton of blankets and sleeping bags and maybe an air mattress cushioned three people on the floor. It was snowing heavily outside, and it was probably around 11pm and we're all snuggled up in bed laughing hysterically at Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. It was a wonderfully fun time, one that I will always cherish, and it reminds me that no matter what the circumstances, when we're in times of sorrow we band together and hold one another up. The same thing happened at my grandmother's funeral back in 2004. There was a single couch in the viewing area of the funeral home and somehow all four of us squeezed ourselves onto it and we were making each other laugh. No matter what happens we have been able to find the joyful side, the humorous side, of life.
Anyway, there isn't any real plan for Sunday except that Johnny and I are going to head down and visit Mom and hang out with Jennie and her friend at the house and order pizza and play video games and oh, the times we'll have! In the meantime I'll remember my mom, as much as I can, and remind myself every day what made her so special and the ways in which I am very much her daughter. I am determined to be the kind of daughter that would make her proud.
P.S. My birthday is a week from today. Who is excited besides me?!?!?!? ;-)
I absolutely cannot believe it has been a year. Honestly it feels like a lifetime ago while also feeling like yesterday. Or the day before yesterday, a time when Mom was here and healthy and just a phone call away. Even though this month has been rough for me, and probably will be for a long time to come, I keep trying to remember the good times. I remind myself that, even though those 18 days of horror while Mom was in hospice were 18 days I would never, ever wish to relive, there were some moments that have become my favorite memories.
Today I was thinking a lot about my sisters, about how we all live so far apart now and don't see each other as often as we used to, and I suddenly was reminded of that first night spent at my parents house on January 12, 2011. With so many people in the house the sleeping situation was... interesting. It meant that I and all three of my sisters and one brother in-law spent the night all crammed into Anne's little room. Her bed was in there and we managed to squeeze a roll away bed in there and then a ton of blankets and sleeping bags and maybe an air mattress cushioned three people on the floor. It was snowing heavily outside, and it was probably around 11pm and we're all snuggled up in bed laughing hysterically at Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. It was a wonderfully fun time, one that I will always cherish, and it reminds me that no matter what the circumstances, when we're in times of sorrow we band together and hold one another up. The same thing happened at my grandmother's funeral back in 2004. There was a single couch in the viewing area of the funeral home and somehow all four of us squeezed ourselves onto it and we were making each other laugh. No matter what happens we have been able to find the joyful side, the humorous side, of life.
Anyway, there isn't any real plan for Sunday except that Johnny and I are going to head down and visit Mom and hang out with Jennie and her friend at the house and order pizza and play video games and oh, the times we'll have! In the meantime I'll remember my mom, as much as I can, and remind myself every day what made her so special and the ways in which I am very much her daughter. I am determined to be the kind of daughter that would make her proud.
P.S. My birthday is a week from today. Who is excited besides me?!?!?!? ;-)
Saturday, January 7, 2012
The "Crafty" One
I like to sew.
It's true.
When I lived at home I sewed all the time, fixing this shirt and that, making letter shirts for my sorority, sewing my Varsity letters onto my Varsity jacket, etc. Since I moved out, however, and have not had a sewing machine all of that has stopped.
UNTIL NOW.
Johnny and I are supposed to inherit an ancient sewing machine, the kind that is set into a table for storage, from his Aunt Nancy and we just haven't really had the time to go pick it up. However, the other day I got an email from Aunt Nancy that was forwarded from Sears; she bought us a brand new sewing machine. A beautiful, blue and white Singer sewing machine.
And Johnny picked it up on Wednesday. Though I haven't used it yet, it will definitely be used for all kinds of reasons and I am SO stoked!
Thank you thank you Aunt Nancy! You made my creativeness come back to life!
It's true.
When I lived at home I sewed all the time, fixing this shirt and that, making letter shirts for my sorority, sewing my Varsity letters onto my Varsity jacket, etc. Since I moved out, however, and have not had a sewing machine all of that has stopped.
UNTIL NOW.
Johnny and I are supposed to inherit an ancient sewing machine, the kind that is set into a table for storage, from his Aunt Nancy and we just haven't really had the time to go pick it up. However, the other day I got an email from Aunt Nancy that was forwarded from Sears; she bought us a brand new sewing machine. A beautiful, blue and white Singer sewing machine.
And Johnny picked it up on Wednesday. Though I haven't used it yet, it will definitely be used for all kinds of reasons and I am SO stoked!
Thank you thank you Aunt Nancy! You made my creativeness come back to life!
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