Entries from August 2006 ↓

It is funny how no matter how hard I fight it, life seems to get so hectic. My father came in on Thursday, the AC went out on Friday, my stepdaughter left on Saturday, and my father left on Monday.

Mark will be one on Sunday. Aidan will three in two weeks.

I have been out of the work force for over three years now. I find that strange, but I cannot imagine it any other way. I was planning on having the baby and returning to work immediately. October first was my due date. July first I went into the hospital because I was contracting and things changed. I thought I was just going to get a shot of Terbutaline and everything would be fine. The nurse checked me, while chatting away, and her face fell. That moment was life altering for me.

The next thing I knew I was hooked up to IVs and magnesium sulfate was poured into my system. A little at first, then a little more and a little more. The contractions eased and there was a sense of relief. Well for everyone else. Tim went to work that morning and the waiting began. I saw St. Paul’s firework display as colored shadows on my window. The mag sulfate made concentrating difficult and time slowed to a crawl.

A woman I know went into the hospital the very same night. We had the same due date. We also had very different outcomes. In September, I had a healthy baby boy. She had a baby girl that night; a year of hospitalizations, surgeries, procedures, and heartbreak. She has only memories. I have a healthy, headstrong little man. There are times when I forget how lucky we are. Thinking of Calla reminds me.

I just realized that you can tweak the search engines in Firefox’s toolbar! I used to keep a tab open for Webster, but now it has been added to my toolbar.

Sweet.

I think this blog is going to find a new home. I just have to make a decision as to where.

I have mentioned before that my husband is an electrician. I can only say that we all and most especially our budget, owe him so much for this weekend.

Late Friday night the air conditioning went out. He was able to quickly troubleshoot and identify the problem. Whoever installed our unit did a lousy job which was definitely not up to code. The house and unit are only five years old.

While Tim took Mikala to Myrtle Beach to meet her flight, my father and I shopped for a new motor. The gentleman at Brunson’s Appliance Parts was quite helpful, although we were staggered by the cost of a simple motor and capacitor.

Mikala’s flight was delayed three times for a total of 5 hours. Thanks Northwest! By the time Tim returned to the area, it was over ninety in the house. Thankfully, installation didn’t take long.

I cannot imagine the cost had we been forced to call in an HVAC tech.

I think I’ll keep him.

April has tagged me for a meme

1. Which famous person would you most like to learn that you are descended from? Francis Marion, I couldn’t really explain why. I’d love to have authentic roots from here and I fondly remember learning about him in school.

2. Which famous person would you hate to learn that you are descended from? I’d like to believe that “blood doesn’t tell,” but if it does I’d have to stick Hitler.

3. If you could be ancestor to any living famous person, who would it be and why? This one is tough. I really can’t think of anyone. This morning I’m having a hard time thinking of anyone famous I remotely admire.

4. If you could go back in time and meet any known ancestor(s) of yours, who would it be? I would love to see my paternal grandfather, our younger son was partially named for him. I don’t remember him, he died when I was barely three. I remember his funeral and I know he was buried with a picture of me, but I would have liked to have known him.

5. Tag five others Ack, umm Margo, Connie, JanetLee, Jason, and of course BadBadIvy (new address, same badness.)

Without Googling, can you tell me the common theme between these three books.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Devil On My Heels by Joyce McDonald

and
Tobacco Sticks by William Eliott Hazelgrove

Interestingly enough, I picked them at random from the library within the last two weeks. I did not read the blurbs as I had the kids and had to rely on the “grab and hope” method. Each of the book focuses on segregation. So far, my favorite has been The Secret Life of Bees, but I have yet to finish the third and it is compelling in its own way. I would like to note that I had avoided TSLofB because I had read the author’s other book The Mermaid Chair and found it insipid. I guess that and many other reasons are why I am not a critic.

Well, if I can find the right marketing guru.

I found a way to lose ten pounds in approximately four days.* I guess it is a given that it would not be marketed as a painfree method of weightloss. I suppose I could use the ‘effortless’ angle, as I did not try anything. I could also say, “Eat all you want!” as I certainly did not want anything.

Perhaps I’m just giddy with my first taste of caffeine, but the only slogans coming to mind are distasteful references to dysentery. As in, “Try The Third World’s Best Kept Dietary Secret!”

At any rate, it’s good to be back on my feet.

*I am well aware that I did not need to lose those ten pounds. I will welcome them back, as long as they promise to spread evenly and not argue with me about chocolate or coffee consumption.

I guess I asked for it. I ended up taking the weekend off. Saturday was partly intentional, but I came down with a stomach bug* in the afternoon.
I spent the rest of the day on the couch or in bed leaving the kid wrangling to Tim. Today has already shown much improvement; I can hold down water.

I’ve received an illustration of what I normally do in a day, becuase it hasn’t been done and it shows.

The house is a wreck, but it’s going to slide. It will be a day of cereal, frozen pizza, and whatever I can toss together for dinner. Days like today are when I miss having cable. Movies and naps are the only thing on the agenda and if my stepdaughter dares complain about being bored, well, she’ll learn a lot about the art of housekeeping.

*Stomach bug is such a mild term.

Margo and I have been way overdue for some kid free time. We packed up our cameras and headed for the SCPG walk down King St. We met at the statue in Marion Square at 7am.

I learned a lot from the more experienced members about composition and just generally enjoyed the heck out of myself.

Here are some shots, I’ll be putting the edited versions at http://cantalyssa.deviantart.com.

Admire or despise him, this is a fantastic quote.

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_4186925

Says Gates: “We need to put the power to prevent HIV in the hands of women. This is true whether the woman is a faithful married mother of small children or a sex worker trying to scrape out a living in a slum. No matter where she lives or what she does, a woman should never need her partner’s permission to save her own life.”

A couple of weeks ago I began having nightmares. No, the bogeyman was not hiding in my closet. For the most part I would be performing normal tasks and step outside. I would look at a blue summer sky and see jet trails, hundreds of jet trails. Only, in my dream, they were not from planes. In my dream they were left by missiles and I was helpless. Death rained down from a crystalline blue sky.

I do not believe my dreams are prophetic, I do not think the end of the world has arrived. I do think I have paid too much attention to things far beyond my control. So, for just a little while I am tuning out. I am concentrating on what I can do*. For a week or two I’ll be listening to books on CD when I clean the house. (Currently The Secret Life of Bees) I think I will tend to my own garden for a little while. A little introspection never hurt anyone.

*Obviously not simple plumbing.