a few things on my mind
it's a gorgeous outside today. when i got to work it was 9 degrees. now it's 28 degrees out. the sun has been out and shining all day. snow is still on the ground and covering the trees and mountains from yesterdays' flurries.
i had a cup of celebration (tea) mid-morning. that always makes me happy and think about the things in life that i celebrate: God's goodness which would include where I live right now (the family is so good; I will miss them dearly), my health, my relationships...
3 weeks from today will be my last day at work here, my last day to say my goodbyes (except to the family with whom I live; I'll be back for one night before driving off December 29).
i packed my summer clothes last night. and went through two more Real Simple magazines. I'm down to 6 left to go through. Happy.
I listen to a 'personalized' yahoo music station. I've been keeping an ear out for songs that might be appropriate for an upcoming celebration. It's kind of weird, but the last two songs that have struck me, when I've gone to look up the lyrics, I realize they're songs about heaven. Don't think they'll quite fit. What does that say about me, though? I dunno. The most recent was 'Glory' by Selah. Beautifully hopeful.
I like pizza.
never fails
am back from being in SC for 5 days.
am still having to learn the hard way about not being in control and not knowing, but it's good.
the trip as a whole was good. good to see family and good to be with shawn.
it never fails that every time i go home i learn something new about at least one of my family members. for some reason, the other members of my family have this notion that i needed protection since i was the youngest. that and the fact that communication isn't exactly the trademark of my family...this time was no different.
i learned that my step-granddad (we called him Papa) died from cancer. had no clue. and i was in high school when that happened.
i learned that my maternal great-grandparents got pregnant before they got married.
i learned that my dad was really sick (mono-type something or other) the 3 months before and 3 months after I was born.
there were a couple of other statements made that i'd never heard said exactly as they were said.
fascinating, really.
anyway, it was a good time, though.
now i have 24 days to pack, get as much work done as possible to have a feeling of closure, buy Christmas gifts, and say my goodbyes.
but other than that...
left out
i realized i left out a couple of things. one pretty important.
update on my dad: after a few more phone calls and another meeting, the hospital folk found a transition place for him. he'll move there sometime this week and then my sister will move him from there to the permanent place we've found for him when it becomes available.
my grandmother was evaluated on Monday and it was decided that she needs more care than the assisted living place she's in now provides. so she's moving to a nursing home tomorrow. while it's really sad, it's good that she'll be getting the care she needs. i cried when i first heard, but am ok with it for the time being.
i decided to get rid of the Real Simple magazines, but not before going through them. Have made it through about 15 so far. I think that's about 2/3 of what I have. I can do it...will save organizing what I have torn out/cut out for another time (as in after I move), but at least I'm making space for more important things as I prepare to move.
it's tuesday
last week on the treadmill: 5 of 7 days. not too shabby, i suppose. this week: 1 out of 2 days (not counting today...will go home after work and hit it hard).
haven't stopped chewing ice or biting my nails. anyone have any ideas (thanks for the celery idea, az, but i don't eat the stuff...never have, doubt i ever will, although i guess it wouldn't hurt to try.).
not many people are at work this week. tomorrow, i will be one of 3 people in the building. fun times. hopefully it will be productive. i hate leaving loose ends when leaving for more than the weekend.
thursday i'll get on a plane and go to SC (well, actually I'm flying into Charlotte, but will be ending up in SC). thanksgiving dinner (traditional steak and baked potatoes for thanksgiving for my family) will be around 6p. i'll get to see Shawn. and my fam.
friday is a chill day until around 3p. i'll be having some alterations done to a certain piece of special clothing that afternoon. then dinner with my mom, paige (sister), and shawn.
saturday will start off hard. we have to go through my dad's things in his apartment to get him ready to move out before the end of the month. challenging on a couple of levels. hopefully it'll go smoothly. then, shawn meets my dad for the first time when we go to lunch. THEN saturday evening ends fantabulously with dinner (the real thanksgiving dinner of turkey, etc) with my best friend and her family.
sunday is up for grabs. freebie. exploring small town SC. woohoo.
monday we leave in the afternoon. may get in a visit to my grandmother in the morning.
so i provide all of that as a filler since i most likely will not be blogging until i return.
hopefully some more news will follow upon my return. wait for it...
habits and honor
trying to quit two bad habits that i've had since i can remember: chewing ice and biting my nails. someone doesn't want me to chew ice (actually several someones don't want me to chew ice, but one in particular that seems to matter more than not these days). notice both have to do with having something in my mouth. don't know what to do to 'replace' those habits.
today: one piece of ice chewed so far; nails: one cuticle bit (no nails, though i really don't have much to bite at the moment anyway)
in other news, i got asked to attend 'Grandparents' Day' by the nine year old of the family with whom I live. she says, 'it's not just for grandparents. moms and dads, sisters and other relatives come, too. and since you're like a sister and my best friend, i thought it would be great.' i told her to ask when it was and how long i'd need to be there.
i got to take her to the bus stop and wait with her until the bus arrived. i thought it cute that even though there were other kids (her two best friends among the crowd) and other parents, she still wanted me to stand there waiting. she gave me a kiss and hug as the bus drove up and then waived to me from the window as it drove away. so sweet.
anticipation
i'm living in anticipation right now. most of it's good anticipation.
Thanksgiving is 8 days away. When I see Shawn next, we'll have spent 2 months and 1 week apart from each other. That's the longest we've gone without seeing each other since we started 'dating'. Crazy. Never thought I'd miss someone like this.
I get to see my family, too, but I've actually seen them more recently than I have Shawn, since I got to recruit for the sem in early October in NC and SC. Fun times.
Nothing is official enough for me to share gory details of what's to come, so as I'm having to anticipate and be patient, I guess I have to ask the same of you, too.
No news about my dad. Getting mixed 'signals' and 'sayings' from the social worker between his conversations with my sister and with me. he says he's going to try and help. we'll see what happens. we have until Friday to get something negotiated. we really don't want him back in his apartment. but the new place isn't available until Dec. 11. yikes.
i started packing yesterday. packed two boxes of books. i have quite a few books. i even am giving away about 30. wow.
i also have lots of Real Simple magazines. I'm torn about what to do with them. I want to keep them all, but they take up lots of room and are kind of heavy. I have almost 3 years worth of issues. Ick. Funny thing is that I am not a keeper. I don't pack-rat anything. Not except Real Simple magazines, cards from those who mean alot to me, and well, books I guess. Hmm...
there's a treadmill in the house in which i live. i haven't maximized it's potential or maybe my potential to use it while i've lived there. so i've committed to at least walking on that contraption at least 20 min. of every day of the rest of the time i'm there. started that sunday i think. so far, so good.
it's been way too long
so i've been a bit overwhelmed the past (almost) two months. who hasn't? I'm sure is what you're thinking. i went back and forth about trying to include all the details of the time i haven't blogged, but figured a) you'd get bored and b) i'm sure i'd get bored and leave out stuff.
yesterday it snowed in the morning. it was cold when i went wedding dress shopping. i fell asleep watching the Chicago Bears beat the NY Giants.
Auburn is now 14th. what the...and to Arkansas and Georgia we fell. Total bummer. I'm really just not a college football fan after this weekend (not really, but it's quite sad nonetheless).
in other sucky news (a bit more serious and real than college football) my dad's back in the hospital for threatening to end his life. we've found a place for him to stay, but it's not available until Dec. 11, so now we're (my sister and I) are trying to find a place for him in the mean time...
i'm going back to Cali (please have L.L. Cool J's song in your head now) for good December 29. will drive (with Shawn) from Denver to Cali. Should get there New Year's Eve. that's happy. i'll be working part time in the library of the sem. back there and then hopefully for Starbucks in Sausalito part time, as well.
kind of a boring update, but that's what's going on. trying to make the most of the time i have left in Colorado. having to train the new librarian as well as train my replacement for my other admin. position. fun times.
will hopefully have more frequent posts from now until the middle of December or so...
