A Day in the Life of a Working Rabbit

About a month ago, I wrote a post about what I did when I stayed home one day, taking care of Turtle, following his wisdom teeth surgery. You can read about that here.

Tonight, while waiting for the husband to get home from work, I thought I'd write about what my day was like today. So yeah, two posts in one day. Bonus!

6:15 to 7:10--Alarm goes off, roll out of bed and into the shower. Check weather, pick out clothes, pet/play with the cats. Iron said clothes, get dressed. Throw on mascara, foundation, concealer since yes, at 31, I still break out. Put gel in hair. Head downstairs.

7:10 to 7:30--Put on electric kettle, pull out things for lunch. Go down to cellar, grab can of soup for today's lunch, pull chicken out of freezer for tomorrow's dinner. Also grab English muffins. Debate about having one for breakfast. Decide to keep it light--banana and a cereal bar in the car. Throw chicken in the fridge, make coffee, get stuff together, take out small bag of trash, leave.

7:30 to 8--Drive to work, while drinking coffee and eating said banana and cereal bar.

8 to 10:30--Get to work, check email, update an RSVP list for a party my company is throwing in two weeks, start working on collecting book reviews about our titles (I do this weekly, and I'm a week behind, sigh), IM with coworkers, update a spreadsheet with my work for the week prior to our weekly department meeting, post to company's Twitter account. During this time I also drink a smoothie that I made yesterday and eat another cereal bar.

10:30 to 11:45--Weekly department meeting. Go over tasks for the week, discuss some issues, figure out ways to get things done. Usual meeting nonsense. Zone out during my coworker's portion of the meeting since everyone is talking about a trade show that I'm not involved in.

11:45 to 12:50--Back at my desk, yay! Check email, continue working on reviews, do some follow up work that came out of the meeting, most posting to Twitter. Chat on Gmail with a friend for a few minutes.

12:50 to 1:30--Leave the office for lunch, which is really me going to Walmart. Gobbling an apple on my way there, I get everything on my list: toilet paper, paper towels, cat litter, conditioner, and dishwasher soap. Get a few other odds and ends, including hamburger rolls for tonight's dinner. Also, for the very first time, I bought diapers. My work is sponsoring a diaper drive for a local diaper bank.

1:30 to 2--More emails, more reviews work.

2 to 2:15--Meet with head graphic designer about a consumer promotional email we're going to be sending this week. Give him the specs for the image that I need created.

2:15 to 5--More emails! Finish up the reviews work (there were a lot this week, a rarity), heat up my can of soup around 2:30. Work on another consumer promotional email. Follow up with other departments about tasks that are pending. Around 4, I eat a mini bag of microwave popcorn.

5:05 to 5:45--Drive home, very angry about something I read in an email towards the end of the day. Try to rationalize why the sender (one of the owners) wrote what they did, and plan to talk with her on Wednesday when she's back in the office.

5:45 to 6:15--Finally home! Unpack car, get mail. Bring everything inside, unpack things and put them away. Hop online for a bit. I had planned on going on the treadmill for a half hour and then outside to plant some things, but that didn't happen. I was so annoyed and upset by that email and some other things, I just needed to veg.

6:15 to 6:25--Father in law calls, he forgot it's Turtle's late night (again). Chat with him a bit, he asks about the layoff situation, I tell him that I don't know what to say, really. In the meantime, I'm watering plants that are on our back deck which we bought on Saturday and are waiting to be planted.When we hang up, he sounds depressed. I don't blame him.

6:25 to 6:55--Write today's other blog post.

6:55 to 7--My mom calls, thanking me again for a great dinner yesterday.

7 to 7:30--Back online, reading blogs, checking email, etc.

7:30 to 8:30--Shut down computer. Turn on washer, start filling tub. Light grill, then run upstairs for dirty clothes, throw them in the washer. Throw the turkey burgers on the grill, come back inside. Clean out litter box, dustbuster the stray litter. Also dustbuster the furballs that have accumulated on the stairs. Check the grill. Put chicken in cold water to defrost for tomorrow. Fold laundry that was drying on rack. Start boiling water to steam broccoli ahead of time for tomorrow's dinner. Prep broccoli, check grill. Turkey burgers are done, put them in the oven to keep warm. Set table, pulling out everything we'll need for dinner--salad, dressing, condiments. Slice an onion. Take notes on what I did so far today for THIS post. Turtle comes home, very very drained, mentally and physically because of what's going on at work these days.

8:30 to 8:45--Turtle goes upstairs to lie down for a few minutes. The laundry has finished--I put some in the dryer and hang up what doesn't go in the dryer (our work clothes) on the drying rack. Pull broccoli off of heat, let cool.

8:45 to 9:15--Turtle comes downstairs, we eat. He goes back upstairs.

9:15 to 9:30--Put food back in fridge and dirty dishes in dishwasher. Run dishwasher. Put chicken back in fridge (it's now thawed out), followed by the broccoli. Pull laundry out of the dryer. Wipe down table and counter.

9:30 to 9:45--Back online to type this up.

I don't know what's going to happen next. TV? Read? Bed?

I can't get my hair clean

People, this is a problem.

The last time I really washed my hair was Friday afternoon. On Saturday, I was in a wedding, complete with a fabulous up-do. I washed my hair prior to the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, so that it would have time to get "dirty" enough for my hair to go up. If dirty hair styles better than clean, I would love to go get an up-do NOW.

Anyway, I put a ton of product in on Friday to make it look good (or so I thought, my attempts at bringing out the natural wave were thwarted, but I am getting a new cut at a new salon, details to come!). Saturday's style required 5 cans of hairspray. I joke, but seriously, a lot was used. I also have a LOT of hair. And it is THICK. And wavy. You should see all of the pins that were used, too. Maybe that will be my funny or real for this week's PrettyHappyFunnyReal.

I know, people pay money for perms, curlers, thickeners, extensions, etc. and yes, I am blessed to have this...mane of bulk. But, should the bridesmaid's hair take longer than the bride's????? When she has super kinky/curly hair? She was done with her MAKE UP and I was still getting my hair done. All I had done was have my hair curled, then pinned up in the back, making a very loose bun.

On Sunday, I was able to rock the curls by unpinning the bun and pulling my hair back with a headband. Looked great, was nice and bouncy, and very fun. It was still very stiff when I touched it and my head was already very itchy from the lack of oxygen reaching my scalp.

Yesterday, I washed it, and it took forever. It was around noon when I touched the back of my head and realized that my hair felt...gross. Like I'd put too much of some product in (no) or that I didn't wash out all of the shampoo (possible) or that the HAIR SPRAY WAS STILL IN MY HEAD (VERY possible).

Ugh. I pulled it back into a ponytail to save me from any embarrassment.

Off to try again. This time I might just fill up the bathtub, and stick my head in it to let my scalp and hair soak for a few minutes. Which is what I should have done either Sunday night or yesterday morning. And, my scalp is still itchy.

I, too, can specialize in awkward

(Title stolen from IlliniGirl's Facebook "thing" where you post something about yourself. Visit her blog--it's over there to the right.)

Guess who's rocking a snazzy purse today?

Of course, it's me. I'm looking for a picture of it, because it's just SO awesome that I'm sure everyone will want one, but sadly no one has thought it important to upload a picture of it to the internet.

I'll have to describe it. Imagine a reusable shopping bag, the kind you can get anywhere. Then imagine it being BRIGHT RED with this logo on it. CLASSY! Don't worry, it's safe for work and children. It's very...texty.

Yup, that's what I'm schlepping around with me today.

I'm sure you're wondering why. That's where my specialization in awkward comes in.

I bought a Snapple iced tea this morning. The one that Bret Michael's name is on. That stuff is delicious and it's diet. Well, I took a sip or two, then put it in my regular purse...and it leaked. A lot. Fortunately there was a lot of iced tea left, but enough was gone to make my purse un-carryable for work, even after I sopped up what I could. It's currently on my passenger's seat, flipped inside out, hopefully drying in the sunlight. Good thing it wasn't leather. (When I ran out at lunch to do some errands, I thought my car smelled sort of nice. But it's still wet.) Luckily I had my SNAZZY makeshift purse in my door compartment thing (please let me know if you know what that spot is called), so I threw most of what was in my purse in there. When I ran out for those aforementioned errands, I took only my wallet, keys & phone. I left everything else in the car. That would look really special, going into the bank to make a deposit, and there's me with that SNAZZY purse.

And if you are interested in one, have no fear because we have several like these at home. Turtle got them for free through work. But only I get the one with the CVS Greenbag Tag! My SNAZZY purse is a limited edition model. And hopefully will be retired tomorrow.

A Day in the Life of a Stay at Home Rabbit...

Friday, April 8, 2011

7 AM--alarm goes off, go to guest room, laze in that bed for about 1/2 hour. Visited by 2 out of 3 cats.

7:25--finally get out of bed, take AM meds, make sure DH is up since we have to leave for the oral surgeon (wisdom teeth extraction) in about an hour, talk with him for 10 mins or so, then leave him to shower & shave while I go eat. So rude to eat in front of someone on a medical fast.

7:45--in the kitchen. Make myself breakfast--2 eggs scrambled, with leftover rice, some cannelini beans, and cheddar cheese. If only I had some salsa...

8 AM--back upstairs, hop in the shower. Get dressed, comb hair, put some makeup on.

8:25--downstairs, put shoes on, gather up stuff to do while in the waiting room.

8:35--in the car, backing out of the driveway.

8:45--pull into surgeon's parking lot, head inside, check in.

9 AM--DH goes off with a dental assistant. I settle in with my MP3 player, some water, and a packet of info from our financial planner. I take a quiz that shows I'm low to medium risk. Ha! Really? ;-) Try to remember our monthly expenses while filling out a budget sheet. If only I had a laptop and had my excel files with me...

9:45--DH is done! I go back to see him, he's chatting away. Everything went smoothly. We get our instructions, I go get the car.

9:55--heading home, chatting away. DH's speech is VERY slurry. Is that the drugs or the gauze? Who knows. But he's making sense so that's good.

10:15--get home, help DH in the house and into bed. Back out to the car to gather our things.

10:30-11:30--change gauze 2x, play with the cats, throw in a load of dishes and laundry, prep potatoes for mashed potatoes later, prep meatloaf ingredients, pick up a bit, made a phone call, took out the trash and recyclables.

11:30-12:30--bring up ice packs and change gauze. And water. Check email and FB. Take away ice. Change gauze. Blog a bit. Read some articles online. Debate starting meatloaf. Think about when to go on painkillers run. Change gauze.

12:30-1:30--mix meatloaf, put in oven, deal with laundry issues (including why a load of blankets didn't spin out all of the way), clean up the kitchen. Bring up DH some jello, hang out and chat while he eats, talk about going for painkillers and movies, let the cats in to see him. Get radio from basement, bring back upstairs. Leave him to rest, head back downstairs, check meatloaf. Get mail, walk around house looking at all of the weeds that have sprung up in just a few weeks of non-snowy conditions. Must have been all of that WATER to help them along.

1:30-2:30--start email to former boss, timer goes off, pull out meatloaf. Make snack. Work on email to old boss. Check job postings online. Finish email to old boss. Check the patient, gauze change.

2:30-4:15--leave house to procure pain meds and movies, drive to CVS that is located near a Blockbuster, since many of them around here (around the country?) are going out of business. Tell the woman at CVS that I'll be back in about a half hour. Go to Blockbuster. I have a list of movies to buy if they are cheap enough and movies to rent. It's Turtle's lucky day (or I'm a sap) but he gets 6 DVDs for $40 and we each get a rental. It's about 3:45 at this point, and obviously I've taken longer than I'd planned, so I head back to CVS. Grab Turtle a new toothbrush since he needs a soft one and a few other things. Head to the pharmacy counter. Guess what wasn't ready. I'm glad I said a HALF hour, yet gave them an hour. Prescription was in "holding" since it was a narcotic, but whatever. Pay, leave, drive home.

After this, the day sort of blurred. I know I went home and ate dinner at some point. Did some cleaning up, etc. Then Turtle came up with this great idea to go to a grocery store to pick up a few things. I actually said to him, "I know you've been laying low all day, and probably feel wonderful, but I haven't. I'm actually a little tired right now. I need to relax for a bit. Then maybe we can go."

7:15--backing out of the garage and off to the grocery store! Home by 8:15, then watched a movie, and bed. I was so tired.

Next will be a "typical" Working Rabbit day. I don't know when, so just hang tight.

SAHW today!

I'll post more about my day later on. I'm not home for a good reason (Turtle had his wisdom teeth out this morning) but I'm getting SO. MUCH. DONE. In between running upstairs for gauze changes and ice packs.

I should do a "Rabbit at work" and a "Rabbit at home" days comparison.

Why Rabbit and Turtle?

It dawned on me tonight while driving home that I've never explained why this blog is called what it is, and why I go by this alias.

First, why an alias? Years ago, when I was younger and stupid, I was on a message board and posted my first name and where I worked. Hello, large university with an online staff directory. Someone put the pieces together, figured out who I was, and emailed the chair of my department, telling them that I was posting on this site and what I was saying (just ranting about how miserable I was at my first big girl job, wah-wah). While I never got into huge trouble--I was "spoken to" about my extra-curricular activity--this really scared me. Someone found me out! (By the way, I never was able to find out who ratted me out.) I've always been paranoid about being "discovered" ever since. Some of you do know my real name, and that's fine. I trust you. It's more for the people who might stumble upon this blog and say "heyyy wait a sec..." I try not to post too many specific details about my life, which is a double-edged sword. Posts might be easier to understand or easier to relate to if I could use names or details. But on the other hand, it gives me a sense of security, even if it's thin.

How did I get *this* particular alias? (it's a long story, better get comfy)

When Turtle and I were dating, he was in a bad accident and almost died. I'm actually debating on how much of THIS to share, but let's just say he was an innocent bystander and was minding his own business. Initially, his injuries presented as very minor, but a little stomachache, followed by a random CT scan probably saved his life. A year later, thank God, he made an almost full recovery. This was after a few surgeries, an ICU stay for 3 weeks including a medically induced coma, a temporary but life-changing procedure, a tenure at a rehab facility (for physical therapy, not painkillers, jeez people! I have to make a funny somewhere in this seriousness), more surgeries (including one to reverse the life-changing procedure), some freaky scares including ambulance rides back to the hospital...you name it, he probably had it. It was a slow and painful process to recover. He still has scars and pain, but for the most part, he's the same as he was before the accident.

Oh yeah, so how the names came about. The accident happened on Holy Thursday and he almost died the evening of Easter Sunday. Yeah, we get the symbolism, and it's really creepy, and Easter is very serious business for us. Moreso than it was prior to the accident. While he was in the "he'll be fine, he'll go home Monday" part of this adventure (before he got REALLY sick), I was putting a few things together in a little Easter basket for him. It was our first Easter together and I wasn't really sure what to put in a basket for a 27 year old man! Besides candy...

There was a turtle beanie animal (not a Beanie Baby) at the drugstore where I was getting the candy, so I thought, why not, and got that for him. He fishes and hunts and likes the outdoors, and if he didn't want it, we could give it to my cats. He didn't get the basket until months later, when he was in rehab, but he got the turtle almost immediately. I gave him the turtle to have while he was in ICU. He was heavily drugged as part of his treatment--his body was so sick/hurt that sedation was really the only way to help him heal--but I wanted him to have SOMETHING. The room was so bare and cold.

The turtle would become a metaphor, as well as a name. I'm sure you all know the Aesop fable. And when one is recovering from any sort of physical set back, you have to take it slow. Slow and steady wins the race, right? When he "woke up" and began to readjust to life after this injury, he was very slow. Even talking was difficult, since he'd been intubated. He said it was like the worst strep throat times 100. He couldn't really feed himself too well, as his body was "asleep" for 3 weeks. and pretty stiff. Everyone kept reassuring him that he'd get back to "normal" and that he just needed to take things slow and steady, like Tortoise in the fable. He had his little buddy there to remind him that he would get to his finish line, eventually.

The turtle was named Turtle and he had a lot of adventures, including going for rides in laundry carts and going for swims in washing machines! There were some near-losses, which freaked out the "real" Turtle. But he always came back to us. Now he lives on Turtle's nightstand, nice and safe and dry!

So...what about the Rabbit?

Hello there! I can get pretty hyper at times. I have a hard time sitting still when it's necessary. I can also be very impatient. I like to see results, and FAST. Tomorrow? No, how about YESTERDAY. Turtle's recovery was the best thing that ever happened to me in regards to learning to be patient. Just because the doctor said he could go home next week, didn't necessarily mean it would REALLY be next week. Oh, we have to wait for the infection to clear...bummer. What do you mean, my boyfriend doesn't want to hang out with me tonight at the hospital/rehab center/his dad's house because he's sick/tired/in pain/annoyed?

Also, looking back, there have been a lot of rabbits/bunnies in my life. I was a bunny for my first Halloween (like so many other babies, I'm sure), my favorite aunt called me Bunny when I was little, I was a bunny in my first/last (haha) ballet recital, there are some other instances, too. I also have an uncanny knack at spotting rabbits while driving, walking by a field, etc. Before anyone else sees them. While driving on an interstate, seeing them on the side of the road, nibbling grass. It's weird how I can spot them.

Although many years have passed since we acquired these names/identities/whatever, we still emulate them, but the lines have blurred a bit. (By the way, we've never called each other Rabbit/Turtle, it's always been more of "I'm being a Rabbit today" or "Remember, slow and steady.") I've slowed down somewhat (althought Turtle might beg to differ!) and Turtle's actually gotten a little hyper. I think the accident and recovery made him more impatient about the little things in life, only because he's dealt with serious situations many of us will never experience.

That's our story. I wrote it in two parts, so I think the writing is a little lacking towards the end. But I think the important details are there :-)

[Oh, another thing about anonymity on the web. We have a sort of built-in anonymity, as our first names are VERY common for people our age...so common that I'm sure you can guess what mine is ;-) Our last name is a fairly common Irish one. I mean, my first and last name together are SO common that there are THREE of "me" at my eye doctor's office! Two at my dentist! But still, you can never be too sure.]

This time, a real post

HELLO everyone!

It's 6:30 am and I'm up, drinking a smoothie, and blogging. Usually I'm still asleep, trying to catch a few more winks before the alarm BLARES in my face. I was up before 6 today. I haven't had any coffee yet. I have a load of laundry in the washer. This is too weird.

I think, after being so helpless for about 6 weeks, because of the cast and pins, my body and my spirit are thinking "LETS GO!!!!" Over the long weekend, I accomplished so much around the house--a little bit of cleaning, a little bit of yard work. It was really nice.

So what's been going on with me lately? Or, should I say, since I broke my hand? Haha. That's about 6 weeks worth of stuff...and it wasn't all too exciting.

I can talk about gardening, since it is spring and a lot has been going on...

At first, there was a feeble attempt at weeding the eastern side of the house. I had to sit on my butt to pull the weeds, since I couldn't put pressure on my left hand. That was interesting. Turtle helped, but he's really not into weeding. So by last weekend, the weeds had returned and looked terrible. We'd planted two hydrangeas on that side of the house just after Easter, but you'd never know it since the weeds were encroaching....and fast. Last weekend, I weeded a bit, then Turtle and I laid down some black plastic/paper stuff that is supposed to help keep weeds at bay. Then we put down mulch on that side of the house, over the black stuff. Let's see how this goes. There's nothing else planted over there right now, besides the hydrangeas, but I like the minimalist look. Plus, the mulch makes that side of the house look SO much cleaner/neater than it did prior to us doing ANYTHING. Have I mentioned that the previous owners (POs) didn't do much landscaping??

In the front of the house (north side), there were a bunch of shrubs and bushes, such as azaleas and rhododendrons. There were also these two barberry bushes. I don't know if you've seen one, but they aren't really that nice. Also, they have PRICKERS. Not fun. I don't know why someone would plant these--they must have been cheap. The front porch needs to be painted and we wouldn't have been able to do so, because of these nasty guys. Turtle and his dad pulled them out a few weeks ago, and now the front of the house doesn't look so...choked? We also discovered that one of the bushes is indeed a smaller lilac variety. I LOVE LILACS and was so excited to find out what that deliciously smelling plant was! Over this weekend, I weeded the two beds (there's one on either side of the walkway up to our house) and pulled out all of the rocks that the POs had used as a border. Not really my style (they were just random rocks they found in the yard), plus they hadn't done a good job of maintaining the border, so the earth was starting to shift and go OVER the rocks. We plan on extending the bed that's on the north east side, so that the two beds are even. I like symmetry :-) Not sure about what we'll plant...we need something that's lower to the ground, since there are bushes already there... But it'll be a fun challenge to figure out what to plant.

In the backyard (south side), there's not much, but along the garage wall, I noticed that there were some green things popping up. Two weeks ago, they blossomed into IRISES! Very pretty deep purple ones. Turtle's dad gave us two tomato plans, and we stuck those a few yards down from the irises. Last night, I noticed that they already have flowers!!! There's not a real garden there...but the grass didn't really grow, and it looks as if the POs had tried to start some kind of bed? I don't know...we plan on turning it into a bed of sorts. Probably for vegetables. We wanted to do a HUGE veggie garden this year, but there's just so much to do when you have a new house that we decided to wait until next year. Probably a wise decision. There's also something popping up around the basement door...it's thick and really green. I think it might be echinacea, just looking at the dead stuff from last year, but we'll see. This is the best part of being a new homeowner, looking to see what surprises unfold in the garden! We also have a deck in the back, and I'm not going to plant anything around or near that since Turtle and his dad have some work to do on that, first.

The west side of the house is mostly the side of the garage, which faces the main road. It is desperately in need of a power washing. Very green. (Our house is beige) I don't think we'll be planting much/anything there...it's very shady and damp.

The grass is getting greener. When we first moved in, it was mid-fall and things looked pretty bleak. We had many comments from the neighbors! Well, I don't know if Turtle has a green thumb, or we just care more than the POs or what, but we've actually gotten COMPLIMENTS on how the lawn is looking! We do have a lawn service that comes every few weeks to put down lime or some fertilizer, but everything else is on us. I'm not 100% keen on having a service...but the pesticides are at a minimum and things lawn-wise were pretty bad. Maybe next year we won't need it?

ACK! Time to go get ready and get off to physical therapy before work. Yes, they have hand PT. My hand is still pretty stiff and I can't extend my pinky all the way, but there's hope. And exercises. Lots of them.

I wrote a ton about gardening and there's so much more to talk about that's been going on around here. Hopefully I'll have more time soon to hop back over...work is busy and the fact that a lot of stuff is now blocked doesn't help.

I am back!!

The pins were removed yesterday and I'm slowly regaining feeling and movement...

Very slowly.

Typing is still hard, but it's much easier to do it when the splint isn't tapping the caps lock or the tab or any other keys. Which really sucked and was why I was mostly typing with one hand, even though I had some of the fingers on my "bad" hand free.

So I have much to share, but I can't do it all today. Including: how nice people were to me, how weird total strangers were, my doctor crush (hee), things I could do while I was incapacitated, what I really wanted to do, etc.

One bad note: while I was recuperating, work blocked all web mail, most message boards, blog stuff, etc. That means no more updating at work. I know, I'm there to work, not to mess around, but everyone takes a break!

I guess I will have to scribble notes down during the day and try to update at night? We'll see. I have missed blogging, and have tried to keep up with everyone in my follow list, even if I couldn't comment readily.

See you soon!

quick update

I am having surgery on my hand tomorrow--simple procedure to wire the bones together. I'll be in a cast for a few more weeks but this operation will allow my hand to heal stronger.

I miss blogging--there's so much I've wanted to write about & talk about...and it's so hard when you've only got one hand with which to work.

I'm going to try & keep some notes about life while I can't type well--hopefully these will be used later on for other posts.

See you soon!

last post for awhile

i am typing this one handed so excuse my typing, i broke a bone in my hand on thursday night and now have a splint like cast on my hand. its hard to use it for typing, so i have to do it all with my good hand. thankfully my good hand = my dominant one, so i'm not totally helpless, lol.

i'll be back soon. if you pray, please pray that its a full recovery w/ no surgery--i have to see a hand specialist next week b/c i broke it right before the holiday and all specialists were closed.

happy easter!!!

Hello hello!

So I took a brief (OK LONG) hiatus from blogging because I have been busy at home and at work. Sadly, yes, I was turning into a a blogging-from-work person, which is mucho bad. I know, I know...especially in this economy, I really need to be careful.

Now, all blogging will be restricted to home hours...or maybe breaks for something quick.

What's been going on since my last post, approximately two weeks ago!?

House stuff:

1) We bought a lawn tractor. Yes, we did. It looks very similar to the one above, but ours has a bagger for the grass clippings. Hello compost! I feel so...odd posting that. I've been trying to really cut back/down on the amounts of spending/consumerism. It was pricey, but the FIL bought a slower model last year for MORE than we bought ours for (and it has more horse-power). I feel that if we take good care of it, it will last a long time, plus we did save up money to purchase it. Fingers crossed. We have an acre of land and it would have taken us way too long to mow with a walk-behind. Not that we don't need the exercise, but we also need to conserve what free time we have to work on other projects. Such as:

2) We cut down a small tree that was growing almost out of the foundation of the garage. Turtle thought it was a sumac, which aren't good trees to have around, so we cut it down. Then we dug out the roots. That was a sort of fun. There are some bulbs coming up right near where the tree was, so I'm planning on making that into a flower garden, eventually. I still need to assess the sunlight since it's on the south side of the house, but there are a lot of trees nearby. I'm guessing it will be partial or dappled shade, but I want to make sure before I invest money and time planting things, only to watch them die.

3) We've started weeding and clipping the bushes/grass that are growing up around our house. Ahhh, new house, new property to get acclimated with. We have no idea what the previous owners planted, so it's like a treasure hunt! There are a bunch of things that we want to yank out, some things just need to be pruned, others can stay as-is.


4) Last night, we bought a treadmill. I guess that's to balance out the fact that we bought a rider lawn mower? LOL. We both need to get into SERIOUS shape and we want to start our family in two years, so we better get on the ball. Errr, treadmill. Sure, we could have joined a gym for much less money, but we've tried the gym and we never go. This will be IN our house, there's no way to avoid it. We have a spare TV that we can put near it, so that it won't be Dullsville while working out. With our crazy work schedules, we can work out when we want to, not when a place is open.


Rabbit-related:
1) All of my stomach issues have been resolved. No idea what that was all about, but I'll take it!

2) I really like my new boss (well, she's been with us for 6 months). I had a dream last night that she QUIT, so I hope this dream doesn't come true.

3) I'm going to take an HTML class this coming week. Paid for by work. I AM SO EXCITED! I never thought I'd be into this type of computer stuff, but I do see how it could help me in the future.

Turtle-related;
1) Uhh...Turtle's BOSS got fired last week. Not kidding. That was awkward. Apparently he shot his mouth off to the wrong people about something and it got back to the powers that be and then he was gone. Turtle's company is already screwed up enough....it's a crazy field to work in, especially in the trenches like he does. Turtle is in non-profit criminal justice...yeah.

2) Turtle has applied to work at my company, in our warehouse, because he just wants a low stress job. Sadly, a warehouse position pays just a tiny bit less than working where he does, which is in his field, with a Masters degree. Gotta love how things work.

3) As I type, Turtle and a friend are building him a workbench in the basement. This is good because now Turtle can repair our 4th kitchen chair that has been broken for months, lol. Then we can have a full set of chairs at the table. We have a small round table that seats 4, and with that 4th chair gone, it just looks odd.

There are many many other things that we've got planned for the spring and summer, so stay tuned, I'll be back soon to talk about them.

So yesterday was my birthday...

...and I am now 30 years old.

In the weeks approaching my birthday, I have to admit that I was feeling a little apprehensive. Sad even. I'm not sure why, but I just was. Part of if was the "OMG I AM GOING TO BE SO OLD NOW" and feeling the rush of life going by faster than I'd like. Part of it had to do with Turtle's work schedule, and that I'd be alone on my birthday night until 9 pm. Then he told me he requested it off. SCORE!!! That made me SO happy, it really was the best birthday present I could have had.

But I forgot to request the day off, so I ended up calling out sick. I had been hemming and hawing about taking it off...and then it was too late, and my boss was in and out all week with one sick kid, then another, then she got sick.

It was such a relaxing, low key day. Went to get my new driver's license (where we live they expire every 6 years on your birthday), went to IKEA and picked up some little things (and BIG things, like another Billy bookcase) for the house. We got a late lunch, came home and took naps...then we realized that my family would be over soon, so we had to scramble to clean up the house a bit. It was truly a "me" day (I'm not a big partier) and I enjoyed it all.

But now that I'm 30, I'm starting to re-evaluate things more.

1) my fertility--my GYN told me at my annual in January that I needed to really think about trying for baby #1 by the time I'm 32/33. So not NOW, but soon. Plus, I have some other health issues I need to get under control before we even think about trying. Which brings me to

2) getting healthy. I'm overweight and don't do well at trying to balance working out, working, eating right, life stuff, etc. I am very all or nothing, which doesn't work in the real world. But now that the other clock is ticking, it's time to make some changes.

3) my job. I do like where I work, but I'm starting to feel itchy. March 11 was 3.5 years at my job--this is the longest job I've had, besides being my parents' child or a student! I love what I do, but there has to be something else out there. I'd love to blog all day about my life and what I do around the house, AND be paid for it, but that doesn't really work for most people. So, what do I do? I'd also like something a little more active, hands-on, if that makes sense.

4) getting out there, doing more. I've turned into a slight recluse in my new-found old age ;-) But today, I took a big step and went to a gardening class! (By myself even) It was great. I got some tips on what to plant in my yard, what the people at the garden center recommend, listened to the problems that other people have, etc. I can't wait to get out in the soil and START digging!

One other thing (good news!)

All of my lab results came back FINE, and the nurse said the doctor would talk more with me at my follow up appointment on the 11th. So I have no strange parasites, bacteria, viruses, etc. Nothing that needed immediate attention, at least.

I'm betting it's some kind of intolerance. Either lactose (my brother has been LI for YEARS) or gluten, since that seems to be what EVERYONE has a problem with these days.

Don't know which one is worse. I love carbs, even though I really should avoid them. Yes, I know, you don't have to give up all carbs when you're GI, but I'd have to give up all of the really bad for you/tastes so good ones! LOL

But I do love me some cheese. And ice cream. And butter. I could probably get by better without lactose though. I'm going to avoid as much milk/dairy stuff as I can until next week and see what happens.

I just flew in, and boy, are my arms sore.

Or however that lame-o speech starter goes.

I went for a physical on Monday afternoon. I got a tetanus shot. My arm is STILL sore. Why is this?!?! I'm not usually a wuss about any medical treatments--I get blood taken all of the time, going to the dentist is a walk in the park (ha, which reminds me to tell you all about what Turtle thinks of the dentist), etc. My mom's a nurse, we don't futz around with medical stuff. You do it and you're done.

But my arm is really sore! lol

I am glad I went for a physical, though. I hadn't been for one since probably around 2002/2003, when I graduated college and moved back to my hometown. (I can't tell you the last time I had a tetanus shot though, haha) I have been to the doctor since then, just not for a general health check up. My old doctor decided that she was retiring from private practice and is going to teach at the local medical school and, get this, GO TO AFRICA AND HELP OTHER PEOPLE. Seriously? How dare she!? My health is more important.... (I kid, I kid, I think it's cool she's doing something different)

So I have a new doctor and I think she'll be great. She came recommended from my endocrinologist who I LOVE.

I also have to have some bloodwork and "other tests" (I'll spare you the details) done because I'm having some GI upsets. So please, send good thoughts/prayers my way that it's something stupidly minor. Turtle is worried. I am not.