Some news

This is an email that I sent out to family and friends this morning, and thought it should be posted here too. Yes, I'm breaking my rule about blogging at work.

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry to be writing this in a "mass email," or even in an email at all, but with everyone's schedules, it would be hard to find times that worked for everyone, and we wanted everyone to know what is going on.

Some of you know that Chris had a liver biopsy on October 5. For some of you, this is brand new news, and for that I apologize--again, it's hard to find times to call everyone, and quite honestly, I didn't know what to say, especially for those of you with whom I don't speak regularly. Our hopes were that everything would be just fine and we wouldn't need to be worrying anyone about us.

On Monday night (October 15), we found out the biopsy results. Chris has a condition called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, stage 3-4 (NASH). You can read more about it here, from the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse.

Again, some of you know everything, some of you only knew that "something" was going on, and some of you didn't know anything. I want everyone to be on the same page, so bear with me if anything is repeated. For those of you who have seen my posts on Facebook or Twitter, or have emailed me about other things, if you're wondering why I haven't said anything until now, I just needed time to process everything and figure out what to say.

Backing up a bit, Chris was scheduled for his regular physical in August. He'd had blood drawn a few weeks before the appointment for the usual tests that doctors run for physicals. The PCP noticed that C's liver enzymes (ALT and AST) were slightly elevated, but didn't think it was anything to really worry about. He told C to go back to the lab in a few weeks for another set of tests; when C did that, they were a little bit higher. More waiting, more testing, including an ultrasound which showed a fatty liver, but no tumors, no cysts, etc. During this time, C was very worried and anxious, but he dramatically changed his diet and began exercising more, hoping that this would bring his levels down. The additional blood tests showed that the levels were STILL climbing, and C's PCP referred us to a gastroenterologist, who ran even MORE tests. We knew it wasn't cancer or the really bad forms of hepatitis, which has always been a concern for C, because of the population he works with. The gastro also reviewed all of C's records from when he was in the hospital from the accident, just to be sure that his liver wasn't damaged and "forgotten." All of the gastro's tests came back negative, which was good, but we still didn't have a clear answer. He recommended waiting a few months, then retesting the enzymes; at that time, if they were still high, he'd send C for a biopsy. C asked if the biopsy could be done now, for peace of mind and a definitive answer. He had a feeling it was NASH and the gastro was feeling similarly--the only way NASH can be diagnosed for certain is with a biopsy.

It was a good thing that C asked for the biopsy now, although we didn't think it would be this severe. Even the gastro was shocked. Stage 3-4 means there is significant fibrosis (scarring) on the liver. The important thing is: NASH CAN BE STOPPED. It might even get a little better, since the liver CAN heal itself if the damage isn't too advanced. C still has NORMAL liver function. The treatments are good ol' diet and exercise, which means C is in control of his destiny. This is good (no drugs that might make him feel sick or have weird side effects) and bad. C is VERY scared, naturally, about having this, but is even MORE scared that all the hard work might not pay off. He also feels that he is continuously being dealt a bad hand--the accident, two layoffs, now this, so it's going to be hard to get him to a place where he's feeling optimistic. He's got a lot of things on his side: he's young, he doesn't have any other chronic conditions (such as, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol), we can afford to hire a personal trainer and the best food out there, we have health insurance and access to some of the best doctors in the world because of where we live, and most importantly, he has a support system. My parents, C's dad, and I are all working on helping him to take one day at a time and get to a more positive place about his diagnosis. And of course, we would appreciate any and all support, encouragement, prayers, and good wishes from you too!

Thanks for reading. Below are answers to some questions you might have, but if you have others, please let me know.

Much love,
Jen (and Chris too)


Questions!

How did this happen? NASH is a lifestyle disease. Being overweight and having abdominal fat are two risk factors, and those apply to C. The irony is that not everyone who is overweight will develop this (I'm heavier than C, and my liver is perfect) and not everyone who has it is overweight. There are other risk factors as well. Sadly, doctors are seeing more cases of this, due to the American lifestyle.

Did C feel sick? NO! That's typical with NASH, though. It's silent, just like heart disease. The person can feel fine for a long time.

Is this related to his accident? We don't think so, although being in bed for months recuperating probably didn't help, nor did the medications that were used to keep him alive and out of pain. There have been some studies showing that the liver can be damaged by the TPN that was used to "feed" him while he was in the coma, but the studies were done on people who were on TPN for months or years, not weeks as in C's case. No one knows for sure where this began.

Didn't C's mom die of liver cancer? Yes, she did. Because she didn't go to the doctor until it was literally too late, no one is sure how her cancer began. We do know that NASH, when untreated, can turn into cancer. We would not be surprised if this is how hers began. To use those cliches, prevention and awareness are really key. GO TO THE DOCTOR.

NASH has "hepatitis" in it. Isn't that really really bad? ANY inflammation of the liver is called hepatitis. "Hepat" refers to the liver and "itis" means inflammation. Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchial passages, otitis media is an ear infection, etc. NASH is inflammation caused by the fat deposits. It's not communicable; he didn't get it at work or any place else, I can't get it from him, etc.

What happens next? We wait. C works on himself. In 3 months, he'll go back to the gastro for labs and an exam. That's about it. Eventually he will have to have another biopsy to measure how things are going on the inside.

How are you doing, Jen? I'm OK. I'm worried, obviously, but I am a little more optimistic than C is right now about this. Keeping my mind off of it helps--hooray for being super busy at work. I've been working out with a personal trainer for two months now, and have change my eating even more (lost ~10 lbs and 12 inches overall), so I know that C can do it too. In the back of my mind, I also wonder "what if lifestyle changes don't work for him?" but anything is possible. C's severe anxiety about all of this has taken its toll on me, but we've found someone for him to talk to, and she specializes in helping people through health issues. I'm excited about him taking more control of his life and feeling better (overall) in the next few months. I know that once he starts seeing progress (even if it's just being able to run further or lift more), his positivity should grow.

So thankful

C got a job. He starts Monday, and will be actually going back to the company he'd previously worked for until May, when he was laid off. While we're happy, I'm not jumping up and down just yet. Longer post later, but I wanted to keep things over here as up-to-date as possible.

For those of you who prayed, thank you. Knowing that we had supporters on the spiritual side of things was awesome.

For those of you who checked in with me, thank you. Your friendship and care helped me through some dark days.

For those of you who just sent lots of good thoughts, thank you. I think positive energy can move across the miles.

For those of you who blew off my concerns and worries, I will pray for you, to learn sensitivity when people are going through rough times.

For those of you were mean to me or unsupportive, I am sorry that you lack kindness.

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.

We have germination!

To clarify, no, I am not pregnant. When I announced this fact to my brother, he immediately looked at my midsection with a raised eyebrow. I didn't think that sentence pointed to pregnancy, but everyone's different I guess, haha. So I figure I better clarify here too.

Plants, silly! We have germination with our plants!!! I think I might have mentioned that we're putting in a real garden this year, not just the tomatoes that we did last year.

Turtle started tomato and tomatillo seeds on Valentine's Day, but they weren't doing that well in our basement. He thinks it was too cold. He moved the heat pad, the seed tray, and the grow light to one of our spare bedrooms, and a few days later...sprouts!

We now have plants that are a few inches tall. It's exciting! I raced upstairs when Turtle first told me that we had something starting. We had a little mold episode, which is natural, given moist conditions and heat. A trip to the local garden center helped to remedy this problem and no mold has been spotted since.

We also have some herbs started and are hanging out in our guest bathroom, since it's super warm and sunny there.

What's to come:

• five types of tomatoes
• tomatilloes
• two types of cucumbers (we ordered one, but Burpee gave us a free packet of another type)
• sugar snap peas
• two types of bush beans
• basil
• parsley

We also want to get some lavender, rhubarb, and horseradish, but we'll pick those up at the garden center.

I apologize for the lack of pictures. That would help with a post like this, no?

Updates...

Wow, almost a month has gone by since my last post. I always post these types of things--I should post more, I've been so busy, etc. I love writing, so you'd think I'd be better at this? Oh, here we go, another beating up myself type of post!

The real story is that often times I'll think of a great topic, but when I have time to actually write it, the idea is gone, or the force behind why I was motivated to write said post is gone. It's sad. Or, I don't want to be on the computer at work. Or, I get home and I have things to do. Like endless shoveling. If you've been paying attention to the weather in the Northeast, we've been walloped with storm after storm. I haven't worked a full week in the office since before Christmas. If all things go well, this week will be the FIRST WEEK that I am in the office ALL FIVE DAYS! It's crazy. The best was the storm that dumped so much snow that it was over my knees...and I'm 5'7"!

Quickly here is what's been happening with me:

1. Job interview--while I liked them, they apparently decided to see other people. No second interview, no offer. Moving on...but I don't see much that interests me right now.

2. Work--I feel like they are not going to replace my boss. My coworker and I have been handling responsibilities for the department well, and I know my company really watches the budget carefully, so I would not be surprised if they decided to keep things at they are right now. I know there were a few "close" candidates, but obviously they didn't work out.

3. Turtle--he's enjoying his new schedule, although his workload has increased significantly due to a coworker leaving. He misses good weather and is in that strange quiet period between hunting and fishing seasons. He's planning our garden and is anxiously anticipating starting seeds in the basement.

4. Sewing class--I LOVE THIS! The instructor is brillant--so helpful and patient. I am in a class with two other ladies--one is probably 10-15 yrs older than me, married, no kids of her own (she mentioned a stepson), and the other is in her late 50s/early 60s, she had grandchildren and one of her daughters was 2 years ahead of me in college, but I didn't know her. You might think "small world" but a lot of people from this area go to my college, even though it's in another state. (It's Catholic and shares its name with the city it is located in, which is also the capital of the state. And yes, there are two possible answers, haha!) So no real friend opportunities, but they are nice people, which helps.

Everyone works at their own pace, on their own projects and she's very good about incorporating lessons into each step of our projects. For instance, the apron I am making has very simple instructions. To help me learn a bit more, and to make the apron look a bit more polished, she is giving me other steps to master. After I finish the apron, we're going to work on a quilt that I found. It's not finished, it's just the top--no batting, no bottom side. Just the quilt pieces in blocks, all stitched together. I found it in a trunk of my great-grandmother's--no one knows who made it or when. There is hand stitching and machine stitching, so that makes it even more interesting. My teacher thinks that someone made all of the blocks, and then later on they were put together. I need to post pictures of this process. It will be amazing! I'm also thinking of making curtains/shades for our bathrooms. I have an idea in mind--it will be similar to a Roman shade, but not really. I came up with the design on my own, and sketched out my plan...and tried to explain it to Turtle. I think it'll work; I'm excited to try it out.

5. Projects--besides sewing that is. Back in January, I dropped off a bunch of things at the local Goodwill. This one was an actual store, not just a drop off trailer, and I was curious about what was inside. I don't think I'd ever been in one, or if I had it had been years. I was also inspired by what Sarah at The Strength of Faith found at HER Goodwill.

I found a mirror too. I got it for $7, it's wood, very old, but in great shape. It needs to be stripped of its old varnish and then refinished. I think it will look great in our guest bedroom, which has my grandparents' beds (yes, they slept in twin beds!) and a pair of dressers from the same era which my mom bought at an estate auction for $10 total, then refinished. She intended to keep the dressers (and the beds) at my parents' house, in my old bedroom, but she changed her mind and gave all of the furniture to me for my house. I also need to take pictures of these things!

I'm working on picking paint colors...it's a process! I've taped up the little cards that I've stolen picked up from Home Depot and it has helped...a bit. I'm down to 4 colors for the kitchen--all lovely neutral beiges! I have a color for the half bath (a tan color, almost caramel?) and am now working on the master bathroom (probably a grey). What's throwing me off is the tile in the bathrooms, since they have patterns and it's hard to discern one color from them--pictures to come. In the kitchen, it's the countertop--it's mostly a greyish green, but there are flecks of brown and white and maybe beige? I'd really like to start painting. I think I'll do the half bath first, but there needs to be some demo work, including covering where the roof leaked with Kilz and ripping down the horrid wallpaper border!

There's always something to be done...if only I had more time! Which is a common refrain, or so I hear ;-)

It's funny how things work...

I have an interview today. I was contacted yesterday. (Thank God for sick days and the ability to leave messages for your bosses before they are even at their desks...I hate lying, but I have to take care of me.)

Things have moved FAST. I applied for the job just before Christmas and heard back the next day that my application materials would be forwarded on to the hiring manager, which is extremely rare for this place. Then the "company" was closed for a holiday break, so I had to wait to see if I would be contacted. I wasn't holding my breath; this place is notorious for dragging out the hiring process. How do I know? I worked for them before, just in another department. Yes, if I am offered the job and accept, I would be going back to the place I worked at years ago. But this job is a MUCH better fit for me, at least from what it looks like on paper.

Yesterday was the second day that the staff was back from break, and what pops up in my Gmail inbox? An email which included this: "Could you come tomorrow at 1 PM? It's the last spot we have available." I actually thought about it...instead of replying RIGHT BACK with a "YES!! YES PLEASE!!!!" Should I say no? Should I see if I can get another appointment?

No, it was time to say yes and take a chance. Do it. Do it for yourself--you know you've been miserable and unappreciated. Do it for Turtle, who knows you can do so much better. Do it for your future family, in whatever shape and form they come in, because this job pays more, is closer to home and the benefits--oh! I don't want to get ahead of myself...

I used to regret leaving the old job at this same place because of the "perks." All of that vacation time, holiday break, great benefits...but I was unhappy with the workload. I tried to transfer, unsuccessfully, to another department that would be a better fit. What I realized a few months ago is that I would have never gotten where I am today if I hadn't left and tried something else. In regards to this place, people say "No one ever leaves THERE." But had I stayed, I would have been pigeon-holed and probably more miserable than I am now.

I'm just so thankful that I'm getting the chance to interview. When I left this place, about 5 years ago, I thought that I could never go back, that I probably had some black mark on my record. (I left on my own will and on my terms, but there were a few instances where I wasn't a good worker, but never formally documented. Just a bored young girl, fresh out of college who didn't get how the real world worked.) Someone sees something interesting about my resume and wants to know more about me. That's pretty cool, no matter WHAT the end result is. I could end up with an offer and say no. They could go with someone else.

I do have other applications out there, but this is the first I've heard back from any of them. I don't want to be the person who jumps at the first offer, but...again, I'm getting ahead of myself. A few months ago, I started praying for a vocation, in the vein of "if I have to be a working mom, please let me find a job that will allow for me to best take care of my family, as the one I'm currently at does/will not. Just show me the way, a path to that." I'm not saying that this is the path, not yet, but we'll see.

With this awesome development comes a bit of sadness. Turtle still feels like his career is stunted, and it probably is...but it's not his fault. His accident, recuperation time, then a layoff really did put him back and did close the door to a few more physical careers. He feels as if he's less of a man, because he can't "provide" in the way that he wants to, and that I'll really be the breadwinner if I was to get this job (or any new job). I tell him it's ridiculous, that we're in this together, but it's hard to help someone see something when they are upset. It didn't help that a girl at his work gave her notice yesterday after getting a job at a place where he'd like to work, and she has much less direct experience than he does. It was experiences from a past job/career that helped her gain an advantage over other candidates. I don't think he would have applied for that job in the first place, it was more of an admin position, where he's more direct service/management, but I think it was just 2 pieces of job-related news in one day. He knows he's lucky to have a job, but it's not where he wants to be. I just keep praying that he'll be comfortable in his current spot and that something more along the lines of what he wants to do will open up. Because it's hard to have something go right for one partner and not the other.

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.]

A/C Update

The A/C was fixed. What was wrong? It ran out of freon--no big deal right? At first. Then the tech was telling Turtle how the unit was too small for our house, that it was working too hard, we needed new duct work (because the person who installed it should be SHOT--no joke!).

Turtle told him a polite "thank you" but before the tech left, asked how much this would all cost. The tech said, as a rough estimate, about $5K.

WHAT???? We plan on getting a few real estimates, but this was a shocker.

Have I mentioned that we want to put in a wood stove? Those, with installation, permits, etc, run about $4K.

There goes our nice home buyers tax credit, which we haven't touched since we deposited the check. We didn't plan on spending it all this fast.

Plan for the summer: try and use the A/C as little as possible and save save save.

Luckily, Monday was the hottest day last week. It's supposed to be around 90 tomorrow, but low humidity. We need A/C when the humidity is bad. Heat I can tolerate!

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.

The boat is home

And that's why the item on the list is gone. I am trying to find a way to use HTML to strike through on lists, but it seems that you cannot do that with the tags...

So we'll just take it off! (But seriously, if anyone knows how to do this, please comment!)

Turtle's boat has come to live with us for permanent. It's a big boat. We have enough space for it, but the way that our property is configured (house is more on one side of the lot than centered), makes it a wee bit awkward to park and store it. It was our hope (assumption?) that it would stay at my dad's business for quite a long time, as it was close to a major highway, a large gas station, big space to park it...

Notice I say "Turtle's boat" and not "our boat?" That's right. I like going on it, I don't like taking care of it...and Turtle isn't the best at towing said boat. It's a lot to handle.

But, due to some "family drama" (that I really don't want to get into) it has to come to our house. So now we have a large boat, in part of our backyard. Good thing I hadn't decided on any landscaping ideas yet!

Sunday Sunday Sunday!

Where has the weekend gone!? It's 2:52 PM as I'm typing this.

Turtle is feeling under the weather so he went back to bed for a nap around noon. We got up late and skipped church. That happens about once a month around here...we are SO good about going that we feel badly when we don't go (graaaah, Catholic guilt!) but he was not feeling well when he got up around 7, and I have a weird backache thing. I'm going to attribute that to other things going on (trying to keep this blog TMI free, or attempting to do so) and/or too much shoveling the snow that never ends.

So, I'm putzing around...did some laundry, dishes, cleaned up my Facebook profile/settings/etc a LOT, joined Twitter, checked in on some message boards. Oh! these social media obligations! *fake faints*

Now I need to finish organizing the office/library room. Ugh. All of those papers...what to do with them? I found this list from Suze Orman the other day at work.

No, I don't work in finance. I'm not even a huge fan of Suze (remember those SNL skits with Kristen Wiig? LOL "I've got my jacket...this great necklace...my fake tan...") but a coworker had lent me a copy of O Magazine because one of our books was excerpted in it and I wanted to capture it for our media files. So I was doing a little extra-curricular perusing of the magazine and stumbled upon that list.

I'm hoping this list will help me to get organized. I used to be really really organized, but then I added another person to my files, and then we got a house, and everything kinda blew up. Maybe it will help you. How do you keep your financial files organized?

Also for the record, besides not being a huge Suze fan, I'm also not a huge Oprah fan. I have a love-hate relationship with her. I get the food/eating/weight thing...truly. I get her big heart and wanting to help people. What I don't like is how people follow EVERY. SINGLE. WORD. she says like she's a modern day prophet. Sheeple. I also have a little bit of an issue with her and the book industry. LOVED how she ripped James Frey apart during the Million Little Pieces scandal. I was working at a bookstore when that whole nightmare blossomed. Ugh, disaster. But I don't like how people just read things because she said to. Yes, encouraging reading is WONDERFUL. Suggesting books--great! It's a slippery slope for me, personally, when people are reading something ONLY because she said so. I encourage free thinking.

Wow, that was way off topic...I had a great weekend. Usually I spend a lot of time on my own, but on Saturday I had a special visitor. My roommate from college came to visit me (granted, I had a lot of different ones in the 4 yrs but this one lived directly WITH me for 3 of them) and we had a great visit, albeit too short. It's always too short, even when I've stayed at her house talking til midnight, then driving almost 3 hours home! LOL

Turtle and I went out for dinner later on that evening, which is rare for us, came home, and attempted a game of Scrabble...but the tiles and bag were MOLDY. Gross! Must have happened at our old place since it was mold-infestation city...soooo glad to be out of that place now. After we chucked the tiles and bag, and scrubbed our hands, we made tea/coffee and sat around and talked. It was super nice and super rare. He's been stressed a lot lately about work and since he works Saturdays we don't get a lot of time to hang out or have date nights. I hadn't said anything because I can't change his work schedule or stress, so why make him more upset, but it turns out, he'd been feeling in a rut too! So we're going to try and do this a little more often.

I ended up going to bed early (not even 30 yet and in bed before 10 on a Sat night!) but we had a really good chat. Cornball time, but I love my husband. A lot. Even in the bad times, I'm still a pretty happy girl...

OK now on to the paperwork!!!! But I must show you this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2bxtF0NArQ It's Suze and "Suze." Enjoy!