Break out the feather duster...

Been awhile since I've been to this place!  Had to dust off the password, and get the cobwebs off the sign-in screen.

It's been an emotional roller coaster couple of weeks, and honestly, blogging has been the furthest thing from my mind.  But as I sit in an absolutely silent house, trying not to fall asleep, I figured I should hop on here and let it be known that I was still alive.

A week ago, I traveled with 2 friends, to Michigan, to attend the funeral of a very dear friends 9 year old daughter.  She passed 2 days before her 10th birthday, in a terrible accident.  I can't begin to fathom the pain her parents are feeling, but as a mother, and their friend, my heart breaks for them.  I hate to attend funerals as it is, but to have it be one of a child who has had her life taken far too soon, is just unfair.  I will never know the reason why she was taken, but must find peace that she was needed somewhere else even more than here.  I was glad to be able to be there with her parents, and to spend quite a bit of time with them after the funeral.  Being able to laugh, and talk about other things later in the day, certainly helped ease some of the pain we were all feeling.

The following day, we did an "all girls geocache run".  It was an INCREDIBLY therapeutic trip, and I am SO glad we decided not to cancel it, despite everything going on in everyones lives recently.  (I have several friends dealing with difficult situations right now)  I didn't get home until 2AM, and had to be back up for work at 6AM.  Needless to say, I got about 1.5 hours of sleep.  It was a rough day, but it was worth it for the amount of fun we had.  It was great to be able to laugh that hard, all day long!

Next weekend is our first camping trip of the year.  We are going to Pokagon State Park, which is my favorite Indiana State Park.  When I first moved to Indiana to be with Brad, he worked there, and we spent a LOT of time there.  The kids and I are going with several of our friends, and their families.  I am SO looking forward to it, AND...I get to try out the new tent!  It's supposed to get REALLY cold at night, one night below freezing.  We will pack extra heaters, and pray we don't blow out the electric boxes!   My friend Katies step-mom is doing most of the cooking, so that will certainly make camping more enjoyable for the rest of us...lol.  ;o) But the kids and I will be providing stuff for Mexican Smores one night.  They are delicious, and I am craving them as I write this!

One of the people I work with (there are only 3 of us in kennels) is leaving the clinic.  So that means my boss and I both have to pick up all of his shifts until a new person can be hired and trained.  It's going to be a crazy busy couple of weeks, so again, blogging will probably be scarce.  However, I will *try* to be a bit better about it.  Hope everyone is doing well...

how much more?

This weekend, and even into today, have been some of the hardest days of my life.  I have several friends and family members who are struggling through very difficult situations right now.  Nothing that is going on in my life compares, but when I combine them all together onto my shoulders, I've become to feel a bit overwhelmed.  I keep reminding myself that it could always be worse for me, and that I need to continue to be strong for those that need me.  But I honestly just want to break down.  I'm sure my time will come.

What is hurting me the most is that my group of friends is fairly spread out.  I want so bad to be able to run to them and just sit up all night and talk through the situations, but I can't.  I feel like this is a time that our "family of friends" really needs to be together, and draw from each others strength.  I know it will happen with time.

What I am struggling with the most is that a couple in our "group" has suffered the loss of their daughter.  We have all gotten so close over the past few years, that it feels like we have all lost a child.  Someone in our group is hurting and that hurts us all.  We have all experienced a wave of emotions the last few days, and I am so glad that we have been able to draw from each other, and talk our ways through this.

In addition to this tragedy, there are several other things going on.  I won't even get into those right now. I'm lost in emotions that I don't understand right now, and so  I really just needed something to make me smile tonight.  So I pulled out my "Jingle Bells" cross stitch pattern and worked on it a bit.  It dawned on me that my snowman needed a face, and so I finished out the night with giving him a smile.  He's just so darn cute that it was the little extra "warm fuzzy" that I needed tonight.  Here is a picture of his grin:

R.I.P. Violet Rose.  And may your mom and dad find strength in their wonderful memories of you.

If I've learned anything from this weekend, it's that I'm not 25 anymore!

I had an incredible weekend!  Fred and Katie came up from Ft. Wayne for our monthly get together.  Daryl came over from Michigan City and we headed out for some caching.  The predicted rain didn't come, and we had perfect weather to be outdoors!  It was a great time, and I really enjoyed spending time with everyone.  

John, Gisela and baby Alex met us for dinner and then back to the hotel for some party games and some drinking.  The last several times we have all gotten together, I haven't really drank much...so I was determined to be successful in it this time!  And I was.  And I paid for it all day today.  I've never been one to get a hangover, but I had one this time.  I'm not sure if it was the Liquid Cocaine shots, the Amaretto Sours, the Strawberry Daiquiris or the Chocolate Patron.  I suppose it was a combination of all.  After sadly saying our goodbyes, I came home and took a 2 hour nap.  I still felt like death.

But, I did manage to get out of bed and clean up the house a little, work on some laundry, and cook dinner.  I am starting to feel like "me" again, though it took until bedtime to get that way.

The kids are on Spring Break now.  Unfortunately, I have to work all week, including some double shifts.  My boss has chosen to take her vacation this week so she can spend Spring Break with her kids.  I agreed to cover her shifts, because the other person that works with us wouldn't take any of them.  I'm excited about the extra hours, but the more I think about it, the worse I feel, because I feel like I really robbed my kids of being able to enjoy their time off.  We can't go anywhere, and I'm gonna be working a lot of hours, so I won't hardly see them.  We are just going to have to get creative with what little time I am gonna be home.

Our next outing is April 27th, when we head back to Pokagon for a camping weekend with our friends and their families.  It's time to start counting down the days, because we are all pretty excited about this one!
Hope everyone had a good weekend, and good luck with the upcoming week!

I can breathe clearly now...my nose is clear...

Finally....finally I feel better.  I am SO not 100%, but I am so much better than I was.  I honestly can say that I have never been that sick in all of my life.  I don't wish that on ANYONE!

Now, lets move past the "Amber is sick" crap!

The weather is GORGEOUS!  It is ridiculously hot for Indiana in March, but if it could stay like this year round, I think a whole lot of people would be in a LOT better mood.  I had an appointment at the school today, and after that I took my grandson to the park.  He is almost 14 months, and is a complete daredevil.  He LOVES to be outdoors, and loves to explore.  And we learned today, that he LOVES to slide.  It didn't take him long to figure out how to do it, and soon he was zooming himself down the tallest slide there...sometimes scaring the snot out of me!

Caidens first time all by himself!

 I am just so glad that the weather is so wonderful.  I really hope that doesn't mean this summer is going to be miserable though.
  That being said, I am ready to go camping!  Sadly, my first camping trip isn't planned until the end of April, but I may just have to try and sneak a night somewhere before that.  Besides, I have this new tent that is dying to be broken in!  Even the kids were asking to go camping today.  I love that they enjoy doing that.  I guess we are all itching to sleep under the stars!  While we had a very mild winter, I think we all have a bit of cabin fever.

New Tent

So my friends Katie and Fred are coming up from Ft. Wayne to visit this weekend.  I am pretty excited about that.  I haven't seen them in a month, and I hate that we don't live closer.  But I love that we have really made the efforts to get together regularly.  It gives us all something to look forward to each month, and we count down like little kids waiting for Christmas...lol.  I know we are planning on doing some Geocaching, and I am excited about that.  It will be our first "group run" of the year.  I'm looking forward to getting some hiking in, and just being goofy for a day!

Because I have been so sick, not much has been happening in my life.  I did finally manage to pick up my cross stitching again tonight, and get a few Xs in.  I wish I was further, but I just couldn't do it when I was ill.
I finally broke down and just took a picture of the model in the book, because I couldn't find a decent one online.

What it will look like done.  It's rather large at 22 1/2 inches long

My current progress.  This should be done by Christmas...of 2025.

My own reality show? Hmm...maybe!

I've quite often been told that I am the type of person that should always have a camera crew following her, because you never know what is going to happen in my life.  I've always chuckled it off, but here lately it really seems to be a good idea.

Thursday, I was finally beginning to feel like I was alive again.  I spent the day picking up the house and shampooing the carpet, again, from the water heater leak.  I did as much as I could before I was simply out of breath and had to sit back down.

My son, Seth, decided to play outside with a friend.  They had been gone some time when his sister came in and informed me that the police were interviewing Seth, and needed me to come over, since he was a minor.  Instant panic set in, but she quickly eased my mind when she continued with "Seth found a car in the pond".  WTF?  How did Seth find a CAR in the pond?  I asked her if she meant toy car, and she assured me that he had, indeed, found a full sized car....IN the pond.

I throw some shoes on and head over.  There was a car in the pond.  A CAR in the POND!?!  How did a CAR get in the POND?!?

You can see the car underwater in this photo.  Look just past the far corner of the dock.  It's about 5 feet under, so it's hard to make out.

Then fear started to set in.  We had no idea how long it had been there, or if there was anybody inside.  The officer asked Seth and I to stay, because depending on the outcome of this, they may need to interview us more.  I told him that if there was a body in that car, my son would not be staying to witness it.  So we waited out the Police Dive Team.  They finally arrived.  When they think that what they are looking for is already dead, they certainly are in no hurry.  But eventually they made it and went in.  He surfaced and announced there was no body, and that the plate matched that of a vehicle reported stolen early Wednesday morning.

Later that night, I went out to walk the dogs.  I noticed an ambulance in the complex where we live.  Shortly after, the gas company arrived, and started walking the grounds for a suspected gas leak.  Seriously?  One event for the day wasn't enough?  They walked the grounds several times, going condo to condo, but I don't know if they ever found anything because I was too tired and just went to bed.  

Last night I finally felt decent enough to go back to work.  I had worked on Wednesday, but it was a horrible experience as I was still pretty sick.  And I still am.  But I am MUCH better than before.  So I made it through my shift, and save for a lot of coughing, I felt pretty darn good about it.  But it had been over a week since I'd really busted my ass at work, and I certainly felt it when I came home.  

Today is St. Patrick's Day, so I'm making Corned Beef and Cabbage.  I've never done it before, but a friend did a great job talking me through it, and it seems very simple to do...so hopefully it turns out.  I'm sure the kids are going to hate it, so I picked up something else for them just in case.  Hell, I may hate it too...lol!  Will let you know how it turns out.

I also realized that exactly ONE week from today, my BFF (bestest female friend) Katie and her husband, are heading over for an overnight visit.  A group of us tries to get together once a month for some sort of sleep over, but this month everyone was super scheduled.  Luckily, a few of us are still able to pull it off.  So her, Fred, my BMF Daryl and possibly one other friend, will be renting rooms at a local hotel, and just spending the day geocaching, and making more memories.  I really love these people, and they are family now...no longer "just friends".  I'm glad that we were able to work this out to get together...I REALLY look forward to these weekends!  

Here we are at the last "sleep over":

Left to Right: Katie, Daryl, Me, Fred

I haven't been doing much stitching, as I've been so horribly sick.  I'm hoping to get some time to work on my newest project, "Jingle Bells" tomorrow.  My dad and step-mom will be coming to town, so I'm not sure that I will have time.  And I won't have much time for it tonight, as I have to work, and go to bed early to be back at work at 7AM.  These Sunday shifts are killing me!  I'm SO over it!  It's too hard to work second shift all week, and then have to be back up at 6AM one day a week.  Will post pics of my stitching progress soon...

Light at the end of this tunnel? Oh, I hope so!!

Day 6, for those keeping track, and I'm still sick.  BUT.....

I can breathe without gagging, 24 hours with no fever, my chest only hurts when I cough (which is about every 3 minutes as opposed to every 3 seconds and I actually slept in today!

Symptoms I still have: Sinus headache, wheezing breathing, stomach is still sore from coughing, nose is still a little stuffy, still have diarrhea and still on my period.  As horrible as that all sounds, it's SO much better than I have been the past 5 days.

I called off work on Monday, I just couldn't make it.  Tuesday they came to replace our water heater.  Here is a picture of the old one, I'd say it was due to be replaced:

As grateful as I was that it was getting replaced, I was really frustrated because they showed up at 9:30 AM and were here until 9:30PM.  I was SO sick, and I had to stay on the sofa, not in my comfy bed, while they did their work.  Brad finally got home after 4, and I retreated back to bed.  The kids woke me up a short time later to tell me he was taking them to dinner, so I had to get BACK out of bed and babysit the water heater repairmen.  I appreciated him taking them out, but I honestly would have rather stayed in bed.
They finally leave, and I continued to be miserable the remainder of the night, but I did get to take the most incredible shower I ever have here, thanks to the new hot water!
They were supposed to come finish up a few things with the water heater, and told me they would come back on Wednesday.  They call me 10 minutes before I'm leaving for work to tell me they won't be coming today, and will be back Thursday instead.  Gee...thanks for giving me the advance notice.

So I went into work last night, mostly because I can't afford to lose another days pay.  While clocking in I had 2 different people stop and comment on how horrible I looked.  I thought to myself  "if I look this bad on the outside, they'd hate to see what's going on on the inside!"  For those that don't know, I work in an animal hospital.  I work in the kennel area, so I quickly made my way to the back and hid for most of the night., so as not to infect everyone there.  Shortly after arriving, my daughter calls me to tell me the water heater is spraying water everywhere, the room is completely flooded and the new tile floor they put in is coming up.  I call the repairman, and he heads to the house, while I continue to be miserable at work.
It took every ounce of strength I had, but I managed to make it 6 hours.  I still don't know how I did it.  I was miserable.  I came home and was in bed, asleep, by 9:15PM.  A full 6 hours before I usually manage to fall asleep, and this time I did it with NO NyQuil!!  Unfortunately, I was awoken shortly after 10PM to loud snoring, and was back up until my normal 3AM.  But I did sleep in until well after noon today, and I think that is what really made the difference.

And did I mention that they STILL aren't done in the utility room?  They were supposed to come today and clean out the dryer vent, and seal the floor.  It's 2:30 in the afternoon and I have yet to hear from them.  This is why I get so frustrated when something here needs worked on...because our landlord, and his repairmen, drag their feet so badly.  If you aren't going to come, at least call in the morning and tell me, so I don't waste my entire day sitting around home waiting...ugh.
So I think I'm done waiting.  I finally feel like I can venture out of the house for a few seconds, and probably will run to the store for dinner fixens.  If I feel up to it after the kids get home, maybe I will try and talk them into going on a bike ride.  I'm loving this weather!

What was I thinking?

So I was cruising through my new owl cross-stitch project, rather enjoying myself.  I had asked Brad to stop and get me some masking tape for my fabric edges.  While waiting for him to come home, I decided to take it out of the Q-Snap and try some other tape I had.  I'm several hundred stitched into this project.  The second I took it out, I realized I had my fabric turned sideways.  It wasn't going to fit.  If you have ever wondered what is easier, stitching, or removing stitches...it's stitching.  Removing them is an S.O.B.!  My body ached too much, so I finally gave up and started on this cute Jingle Bells one I have really been wanting to start on.  The fact that I can't really find any good links for it online scares me a bit, as it is a big piece.  But, it's Christmas themed, and it's only March, so no rush.

Yesterday I felt like I got hit by a Mac Truck.  I managed to get myself up, after VERY little sleep (between coughing and time change along with a knock me on my ass fever at 3AM ) and drag my behind to work.  I usually get there around 7AM, today it was 8.  Luckily I have a little play-room with the time.  I had zero strength, and I work a job that requires some strength.  I did the best I could, and after slamming a super heavy metal grate on my foot...I decided it was best to finish up and go back to bed.  I made it 3 hours.  I stopped on the way home and got a Shamrock Shake, because I think I'm sick enough to deserve it.  Got home to a super chaotic house, what I THOUGHT was dog pee from one end of the living room to the other, turned out to be a major hot water tank leak.  On a Sunday.  And a landlord that will drag his feet on it for months.  Anyway, I only figured this out AFTER shampooing all the carpet...this sick, and weak, and achy.  This was followed by the kids running in and out, over and over.  I finally kicked them all out, as it's a beautiful day, and, well, I'm sick.  This only led to the phone non-stop ringing, and the door bell non-stop da-donging.  I'd had enough.  Turned the phone off, yelled at all who had rung the door bell, curled up on the couch...and proceeded to cough so bad I couldn't even nap.  I didn't even have the strength to go to the other room to get my cough drops.

Eventually Brad came home, and he had stopped and gotten stuff for dinner, so I didn't have to cook again.  thank.freaking.god.  He also got me my cough drops, and then avoided me like I had the plague.  I don't blame him, I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

So here I am, still on the sofa 12 hours later.  The only difference is that now I feel like I was hit by FOUR Mac Trucks, and I'm coughing lungs out.  My throat is on freaking fire!  My head is throbbing..ob my gosh how my body aches.  I just want this OVER.

Oh, and I started my period today.  Thanks for nothing, mother nature...bitch!

I'm supposed to work tomorrow night, but if I feel anything like this, it's just not going to happen.  I REALLY need the money for Brad to put towards bills, but I just can't seem to find the strength to stand, let alone work.  Ugh...I need a miracle tonight!