mynewplace | Entries tagged with vaca07

Today is my last day at work for the rest of the year. With thanks to our capricious governor, I will only use three days of annual leave and I'll have 11 days from work day to work day.

The bad part of this: today will likely be my last day online until I return to work. My cable and internet is off at the house and I don't know that I'll be able to afford turning it back on until after I get paid on the 28th. Maybe not even then. I've got one or two more Christmas presents to buy and then I'm done. I'm looking forward to dinner with Brent and his mother's family tomorrow. I am starting to relax as the season is winding down, once the gifts are purchased the rest is a breeze. I'll be wrapping this weekend, and I enjoy doing that.

Christmas cards are going out, and a I have a few more books to send. The last gift I ordered Brent online has not yet arrived, which is frustrating. I also have to remind myself to send in my PBS pledge so I can get the gift from THAT, possibly in time for Valentine's Day.

Suzi has been the surprise Christmas tree bandit. She's pulled off two ornaments so far but she is content to bat them around on the carpet so nothing's broken. Scarlett broke four of them just putting them on. A good lesson for her in being careful. Mitzi - whom I worried about - has only taken one. However, she showed a lot of brain power in that abscondment and ended up with a broken toy. Little smartie paws pulled the ornament off the tree, carried it DIRECTLY to the entry way and dropped it there by the door. The floor there is linoleum and thus toys make more noise when they are batted about. She was surprised when the ball shattered on contact! Looking back it's funny - that night it was just one more glass mess to clean up. siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh

So happy ChrisKwannukahYule to each and every one of you. I'll miss you all! Those of you with my phone number had BETTER call me at some point, dangit. And if I get anything earth-shattering for Christmas, I'll FIND a computer and post about it. I swear.

Because there was no Monday? Scarlett and I got back from the caverns far too late to come home Sunday night. I was exhausted and knew I couldn't make the drive. So I called in and came back yesterday. Still tired - but came home, showered, fed cats, took Scarlett to Nitro to meet mom - then went to Brent's and crashed. GAWD I missed him. And he was pretty damned miserable without me too.

Work today and a few excuses here and there for my missed time, then off tomorrow. It's gonna be hot tomorow. Blech.

Good things about the trip - yesterday we went to a gem mine and panned a little bit. Not as good a return as Ray & Angie brought back, but we'll hit a better mine next time. Several sapphires and emeralds, although I doubt they're more than cabachon quality. Dad did turn asshole Sunday night but we weathered it and got the hell out. And I survived the drive.

I think the cats peed somewhere other than the box but I don't have time to look for it right now. Maybe tonight. Blech again.

Current Location: HOME! YAY!

So we're here. And likely coming home this evening.

All the little houses up here have names like Tanzy Path and Mountain Laurel. My dad has named his doublewide Boonedoggle. The visit is going extremely well - all is calm, all is bright. Even I am calm, and Scarlett is having a pretty good time.

My sister & brother in law took their son to a gem mine yesterday, and Scarlett and I were much sad because we missed that. I've always wanted to do that, and Scarlett is a rock hound from way back. Ray (the b-in-law) brought Scarlett back a bag to go through, she's found some lovely amethyst, rose quartz, smoky quartz, and quite possibly a sapphire. We're not sure. We will definitely be back so we can go next time. (They're closed today, or we'd be there already.)

We're going to Linville Caverns in about 15-20 minutes. That will be fun, and will get us out of the house. The house where there isn't much tension. I'm actually surprised at how good we feel here. They are relaxed here, but my stepmother has also been taking Oxycontin for quite some time now, and seems much more relaxed in general. I think that's helping immensely.

Poor boy Brent misses me, and I him. I wish he had come, and he said last night he about half wished he had come as well. I believe next time we come, he will gladly ride along. He and Ray can go outside and smoke together, and come back smelling delightfully fragrant, as Ray did just five minutes ago. He smelled like steak on the grill, although Angie assured me it was an herbal remedy. lol Brent has been turning that down lately, but I bet he wouldn't say no to Ray.

So we're off, to see the caverns and then drive home.

Current Mood: mellow
Current Location: Boonedoggle

Scarlett is in bed, and I'm headed that direction. I've been dozing most the evening, and talked with Brent for about 20 mnutes. He found a new apartment, ten blocks from the office. Hopefully he'll save at least $100 a month in gasoline, natural gas bills and rent. He's very excited. He offered to stay for dinner tonight in order to have more of the meatloaf I made yesterday. It was my first in more years than I can count. And it was tehbomb. He was quite enamoured. Of the meatloaf.

I am so afraid that he is rushing this relationship out of a sense that I'm his only option. I know that's a bad thing to think, I just keep waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's dropped too many times in my life for me to have faith in this change in him. I'm still scared. I will be for a while, I think.

Am feeling a bit better about the drive tomorrow. I don't like driving on the Turnpike, but I always manage with only minor panic attacks. I'm sure tomorrow will be the same. I completely forgot to pick up Scarlett's medicine this evening. I'm just not fully functioning right now. So perhaps I should go to bed.

I saw a man with half a nose this week.

Brent decided against the apartment we saw. But he's still looking, and I'm glad. We had a nice time, and we miss one another. awww

I very much enjoyed Evan Almighty I didn' t make the Steve Carell/Evan Baxter connection between this movie and Bruce Almighty until I read the imdb reviews after the movie. While most the jokes were easily anticipated, it was stlil funny and remarkably clean. I recommend it, and will likely see it again, or buy it.

Scarlett goes home tomorrow. We'll be going to my dad's mountain house Friday after work, so we won't be apart long. I haven't been to my dad's second home yet, and I'm trying not to be too resentful about it. I'm also trying to ignore the fact that my father has always complained about not having any money, yet he's managed to buy a second home. And he still likes to remind me that I owe him $300 from last summer.

Ran into

skyearthandsea and her friend Annette (

thistletail who hasn't posted in ages) downtown while wandering the Festivall street fair on Capitol Street. Scarlett & I had a nice time, and she spent the last of her pocket money. So did I.

I'm going to go sort through my clothes now, and put away all my winter stuff. Computer will be down for the rest of the day, so Ms. Thang & I can interact. Ciao bebehs.

5:30 a.m. I am ON VACATION dammit! I laid there about 30 minutes, but couldn't shut off the music in my head.

What I wouldn't give for only one night,
a little relief in sight,
some day when times weren't so tight

Something I'm taking is surpressing my appetite. And still making me nervous, or fidgety. I don't like it. You know, it might be the Lamictal. I think I remember feeling this way when I first started taking it.

I just don't like it. I'm gonna try bed again.

Current Mood: frustrated

Slept too much today. We went for a drive, and visited a new boutique in Elkview. Yes, boutique and Elkview, same sentence. Way out there in redneck land.

We cooked on the grill tonight, hotdogs for dinner, and a couple of chicken breasts for later. A nice big Vidalia onion in foil with a little butter - it melts in yor mouth, yo. Divine.

We've had a very good day. I'm worrying more over the Cymbalta, but I'm giving it another night.

Got my free sample of ten mini Moo Cards in the mail today. They are beautiful. They have my happygirl icon on the back with my livejournal address, & I think my email as well. I loves them, I do. I should send off for more free stuff. It's so nice to get cool things in the mail once in a while. Not as much seems to be available as it was just a few years ago. I might look into that. Scarlett would get a kick out of it too.

Nice slow quiet day. This is how vacation should be.

Current Mood: content

First and foremost - THANK YOU. Thank you oh so very much for your supportive words of comment on my post yesterday evening. Stress was playing its part in making me a basket case, but as usual, a new day has improved my mood substantially.

I'm working today for a few hours, while Scarlett sits at home engrossed in television. We saw our psychiatrist this morning, and he was willing to allow me to experiment with her Adderall dosage, but did
not feel it was necessary. I know that saying to a psychiatrist "I've talked to lots of people who can't believe she takes SO MUCH Adderall" would be a mistake. (and I didn't say that) Clearly her dose is working for her, although she has some trouble getting to sleep at night. But the thought of what must be underlying all those behavior issues, to make them require a high dose of amphetamine to control them, concerns me in some intangible way.

It probably doesn't help that I can't seem to get myself on a decent schedule to take my own medication. I haven't taken it in a week or more, and haven't ever taken it "regularly". I know I need to give these meds a chance to help me, but I don't want the kind of feeling they induce in me. I want to feel the way Adderall and Codeine make me feel. Which makes me sound like a whiny spoiled brat. Yes, it does, don't tell me it doesn't, because I recognize that sound quite well. It's the same sound Brent makes.

I'm craving healthy foods. I am going to buy some very good things to cook this week, and then hope that I'll be able to come up with some more cash next week to feed myself before I get paid again. I hope I don't end up buying too much and then losing some to rot. I should go to the grocery more often, I think. It just seems to require so much time to buy, then prep food to take along to work for lunch, that the idea makes me want to throw up my hands in despair. I've really got to try and ditch that mindset. It would probably help if I could ditch the person in my life who feels the same way and so easily influences me toward despondency. Brent is SUCH a DOWNER.

I had a horrendous day yesterday. That was a large reason for my subsequent self-hatred. I'll probably go into it later, but I just don't have time right now. I should be working.