Quick Take #20

Number 20: Saturday (late for the game)

1. I had been thinking about posting a few times this week...
Guess that didn't happen. I was hoping that this blog would not turn into just Quick Takes, but that's where I've been headed. There's always hope, right? Right??

2. On Sunday I cooked for the first time in...a while.
I made lentil soup and some beer bread. Both were delicious. Actually, I planned on blogging about both recipes, sharing them, WITH PICTURES, but of course, that didn't happen. I have picture of the bread, but not the soup...and yes, we ate an entire (small) loaf of bread in an evening. It was that good. And so, so easy! Like, can make in less than an hour, start to pull-out-of-the-oven easy! Also, you can use non-alcoholic beer, since that's all we have in the house.

3. It's so dreary out today. 
What a great day to take down the Christmas decorations, huh? LOL Chris is still sleeping--he didn't sleep well last night, and then coyotes woke him up after midnight, so my poor husband was up til 3 am. This day just promotes itself to sleeping. I was in bed around 11:30 and woke up on my own around 7, but lazed around until 10. It's just that kind of day. The stay-in-your-PJs-do-whatever-you-want kind of day. Our plans are to take down the decorations and the tree (it's fake), make something for dinner (I'm thinking stuffed peppers), and watch Man of Steel which is overdue at the library, hahaha, whoops. Good thing my account is coded as "no fines." And I'm working tomorrow afternoon for a few hours, so it'll be returned.

4. Last week I wrote about being a full time student in a few weeks.
HAHAHAHA NO. Try "full time student starting on Monday." AHHHH! I'm taking three classes, which is full time. I'll be studying Reference, Cataloging, and Library Management. I'm excited because these are all required for the degree AND they are the real meat and bones type of classes. I'm especially excited about Library Management, because that is how I will learn to take over the world. Muahahaha.

Or so I think.

There are six core courses that are required, and then you can take six elective courses. I've taken 2 core courses already and am finishing up my second elective. Wow, I'm 1/3 of my way done with school as of tomorrow. After this semester, I'll be more than halfway done. 7/12 done, to be precise!

5. I know, I need to add pictures to these QTs to make them somewhat interesting.
I know, my wit and amazing prose just isn't enough ;-) I'm trying to find pictures, but I don't know if you would get why I think they are funny. I don't use my phone's camera enough and I'm not one to document EVERY.SINGLE.THING. that happens to me.

Here's one that could do with #4, and oh heyyyy, it's not just a PIC, it's a GIF!

I don't know if I'm THIS excited about school, but I can try...

6. It is OK to say no. 
Chris said no this week. He had applied for a job at an organization, was emailed about an interview, then accepted, but the more he thought about it, it just didn't sit right with him. Something about the place, the method of contact, the impersonal nature of everything did not make him excited about the position nor the interview. He cancelled the interview. It just felt right--to him, and to me. Some might say that is foolish, but just because he needs a job does not mean he has to waste his time and energy on something he doesn't feel strongly about in the first place.

7. Two updates of sorts:
A. Regarding the snow and the neighbor from last week: haven't seen him, didn't go over. Yay. :)

B. My thoughts on motherhood...well, I started something and wrote two long paragraphs and then I decided that it might be better for a separate entry. It's about why I don't beat myself up for waiting a long time anymore (or at least most of the time). I will say this: I just did not have the capacity to even begin to THINK about discerning the call. Yes, we're all called, as married people, but my circumstances are a bit different, especially as we started out our marriage on a different road than we're on now. The best analogy I can think of would be knowing you need to make a phone call to someone, you have their phone number, you know how to make a call, but you don't have a phone or don't know how to get to one. For whatever reason, no phones are available right now. I don't know if that even made sense.

Our minds can get very, very clogged by all sorts of STUFF, and even the best coping strategies, the best therapists, the most loving husbands and families, all the prayers, etc. still can't fix everything. Sometimes, life just has to happen in its own way, to make room for other things.

Now if that sounds kind of vague, stay tuned. I promise to write more about this. I still don't know what I'm trying to say, so it'll be a ramble of sorts, maybe?


Have a great weekend, and don't forget to visit Jen over at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes! 

Quick Take #19

Number 19: The Happy New Year and 
"I should be doing school work but blogging after a two-month hiatus sounds so much better" Edition

1. I'll say it again, Happy New Year!
What a better way to start the new year, and the first Friday of said new year by blogging and hooking up with Jen's Quick Takes. I'm going to give her a shout up up here instead of at the very bottom: thank you for doing this and don't forget to visit her over at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

Chris and I aren't really New Year's people--not being big drinkers/partiers is probably part of that reason--but this New Year's Eve we went to Trista and Bryan's house for a little party! It was good to get our lazy butts out of the rut of sitting around at home and go out and be social. Winter and cold weather has that effect on many people, and we are not safe from that peril.

2.  If you are observant, you might have noticed something in my title: school. 
Yes, I got in! Not to be an ass, but I knew I'd get in. It's not a very hard school and I'm a good student, soooo...I just needed the official confirmation. Over the past two weeks, I've been busy with a three-week intercession class. Ha. It's about multimedia in the library and interfaces and techie things like that. It's actually been very interesting, even for someone like me who doesn't consider herself very techie.

3. I don't do resolutions, do you? 
I don't even know if I'm going to do big goals like I've done in the past. Life is always changing, and sometimes it changes in ways that we don't want it to, so we must adjust our goals accordingly. Over the past few years, my goals have been undermined by events out of my control, so I'm finally accepting that I really can't plan too much anymore. Not to talk out of both sides of my mouth, but I really only have three things I'd like to accomplish this year:

1. Finish school (I actually MUST finish this year, since I started my MLS so long ago and the school limits you on how long you can take to complete a degree)
2. Get to my goal weight (or very close to it), so that I can...
3. Get pregnant (I could get a positive test on December 31, 2014 for all I care, ha, but earlier would be good, too)

And a not-so-small family goal: for Chris to find a job. Please keep us in your prayers!

4. Back to the goal weight...
Someone gained about 10 pounds between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Oops. I know people talk about how they gain weight over the holidays, but I've never done this before, at least not to my knowledge. This was pretty bad, especially in just three weeks, but I'm trying not to beat up myself too much. I haven't been going to the gym or working out as much as I used to, no thanks to school and cold weather, so I know what I need to do. Also, I had WAAAYYYYYYYY too much fun with ALL THE JUNK, instead of limiting myself. So I'm sure that some of the weight will magically disappear now that there isn't any junk in the house and I'm eating less just because there is less around. Amazing how that all works, huh? When I get back to my Thanksgiving weight, I have about 20 to 30 pounds left to go until I get to my goal weight.

5. Goal weight != TTC
Just in case you think that as soon as the scale hits the right number that we'll be officially TTC. Not so, friends, but that would be nice. Chris needs to be working. I wish that life were "easy" for us, the way it is for many of you out there, that our family planning decisions can be as simple as looking at a chart and deciding to go for it or not. I do get a little envious of those couples who've been married not long who can just "go with it" or even couples who have been married longer that we have and have many, many children (hello family at our church who just had baby #8). There are people who I really admire who can just accept what they are given, no matter if their husband has a job or if they have health issues. I keep trying to tell myself that God does have a reason for all of this, that there is a lesson to be learned for having to wait so long. Maybe we needed to grow up more, maybe we needed to figure some (a lot??) of things out about ourselves and each other. It's not as simple as saying "we've been trying, just haven't been successful." Not that I think infertility is simple--not at all, especially as someone who could be given that label. I think that it's more acceptable in some circles to have an actual medical impediment to pregnancy versus things that are subjective and dependent on circumstance and tolerance of risk. I'm sure people have had their thoughts about us, have judged us, but we don't walk around with signs that say "we don't have kids because we've had to deal with multiple job losses, job insecurity, health issues, not to mention a few other things." In some ways, maybe life would be easier if we all could do that? Wear those signs, I mean. I just hope that we didn't wait too long and that God didn't think we could handle it sooner and we were ignoring Him, so now we'll be punished. I haven't felt the call to motherhood before, like I have over the past year or so, so maybe God wasn't talking to me about that issue until then.

 

6. I'm going to be a full time student starting in a few weeks.
I've realized that I have this problem of procrastinating with school work, or the reverse: I put school ahead of almost everything else and let those things slide. This is not a good balance, and I wasn't like this back when I was "only" a student. Being a wife, an employee, a homeowner, a cat wrangler, (a human?) are all hard to juggle when you're in school. I think part of the problem is that so many of the classes are being offered solely online, so I don't have to make sure that the reading is done by Tuesday because it's not like I have to participate in a class at a set time and date, I just have to post by the end of each week. Yes, I've tried giving myself deadlines... Maybe now when I have more than one class at a time, it'll be easier to get everything done because there is more to actually do.

7. Spouses and neighbors and snow, oh my!
Last night/this morning, we had a snowstorm, as you may have seen on the news. I didn't have to work today, and we didn't get too much snow (not as much as had been forecasted), but we didn't have to worry about shoveling or snow-blowing the driveway. While we were sleeping, one of our neighbors plowed our driveway (and everyone else on our street), so we thought that all we'd have to do is go clean up the end of the driveway since the town loves to put a bunch of snow right where our driveway meets the road. Our driveway is not very long and we both have good hearing, but we missed whoever came later to clean up where the town messed up. All we ended up having to do is shovel our front porch, back deck, in front of our garage doors, firewood piles, and the walkways around the house. We don't know who did it, Chris thinks it was our across-the-street neighbor, L. And now he wants me to go say thank you to L. I HATE DOING THAT. I am shy when it comes to people I don't know very well, like our neighbors. I HAAAAATE it. I feel so uncomfortable. Of course, Chris thinks it is no big deal and that I need to "suck it up" and "stop being a snob" or that I'm ungrateful. It's NOT that. I am grateful, very much so. It's not just Chris who thinks I'm weird about this--my family (parents, aunts) does too. I can't explain why I feel like this about my neighbors; I'm just very intimidated/uncomfortable around them. Forcing me to go over there isn't going to help matters. In some ways, I am very much an introvert. If I ran into him on the street, no problem, I'd say "Hey, L, did you plow us out??? Thanks so much for doing that!" But to go OVER to the HOUSE??? No. thank. you.
 

Quick Take #18

Number 18: It's November already!?!

1. I'm alive.
I know this is getting to be a familiar theme around here, ha, but I haven't been on Facebook in over a month, so I think a phrase like this is more pressing than usual. I know a few people have been worried about me, but I have friends who know I'm OK and are able to let others know. For those of you who weren't in the know or were wondering where I am, I'm really OK :) I have a post in the works about why I stopped at first, and then why I continue to stay away, but I need to finish it and of course, post it. We'll see if that ever happens, ha.

2. A few quick updates within a quick take:

• Chris is still unemployed. It hasn't been two months yet, so I'm trying to be positive. It can be worse; it HAS been worse. First layoff: 16+ months. Second layoff: 5 or 6 months. The only difference is that I'm not working full time, so thankfully our savings is helping a lot.
• I ran the 5K! I wasn't last! I ran it in 46:15, which was faster than any training I'd done. Chris finished in about 39 minutes. We were pleased at how we did!
• My library school application materials are complete and have been sent to school; now I wait to be accepted. Hurry, acceptance letter!
• I've officially lost 50 pounds since I started my weight loss trek about a year ago. I'm thinking about 30 more pounds would be great, which would be the weight I was when I met Chris. Right now I think I'm smaller than I was when we got married, and probably smaller than I was when we got engaged. I should pull out my wedding dress to see if it's too big...haha.

3. Do you know what a standardized patient is?
It's a person who is playing a patient for medical students. They aren't really sick or injured, they are almost acting it out for the purposes of training and teaching. A local medical school is looking for people to fill these roles, and I was thinking about applying. I go to the doctor enough, so I think I've got a pretty good handle on what goes on. It's $18 an hour if you're selected, which is almost double what I make at the library. It would be sporadic work, days here and there, but it'd be nice to have some extra income. I had been thinking about getting another job, since the library is feast or famine: some weeks I only work two days, others I'm working over 30 hours! However, it might be difficult to juggle full time school with more than one job. A job that I could do 'here & there' would be great!

4. I can't believe it's November!
A true sign I am getting old: I marvel at what month we're currently in. Haha. Thanksgiving was four weeks from yesterday. My godson will be turning EIGHTEEN the day before Thanksgiving. What!? Now I really am getting old...sigh. For Thanksgiving, Chris and I will be going to my parents' house, where my brother and Chris' dad and grandmother will join us. Maybe his brother? My brother-in-law lives in the Boston area and has a girlfriend with family in the area, so maybe they'll be with her family. Who knows. It'll be a small, quiet day. I miss the holidays when I was younger, with my mom's boisterous, bigger family, but that's life...

5. Thanksgiving and Easter are my favorite holidays.
True story. Thanksgiving because it's about the food and family and friends and just enjoying the day. No church to run to, trying to plan out when to cook and eat around Mass/Divine Liturgy schedules. No presents-nonsense. That sounds awful, but I don't mean it in a God-less way. I know of people who do attend church on the holiday, and that's great if it's your thing. It's not ours, nor has it ever been. I'll talk about why I love Easter when it gets closer to that time. Another reason why I love Thanksgiving: we don't host it! We've hosted every Christmas since we've lived here, and we've done two Easters, I think? It's nice to NOT have to prep and cook and clean for a major holiday. Just make a dish or two, get dressed, and drive to someone's house!

6. Speaking of living here...
As of October 26, we've owned this house for four years. October 28 was our four-year anniversary of actually living here. Some days it feels as if we've been here longer, and some days, I think "we just moved in last year." False. Our house has had more done to it in the past four years than the previous owners did in the 7? 8? years they lived here. And it was new construction! When we moved in, everything was white and bare. Inside and out. Now there's color and life and just...it's more of a home than it ever was. But everyone was right: there's always something to be done. Even when you think you're done with one project, you look at something else and think "that needs to be taken care of next/before it gets worse/in the spring/when we have saved enough." That is, if you're into home projects or care about changing things. Some people might have looked at what the house was like when we moved in and thought it was fine.

7. I almost forgot!
In my last Quick Takes, I mentioned that our sixth anniversary was approaching at the end of September. Chris and I had talked about going away, as we have only been away twice since our honeymoon: we took a long weekend trip to Philadelphia for our first anniversary, and over the summer, we went to my aunt's on Cape Cod for the weekend. Then the layoff happened, but Chris took the bull by the horns and arranged a little getaway for the two of us, after checking with me to see if I felt like our finances could handle it. (I do the majority of our money/bills stuff) I said "Why not??? Life is too short, let's do it." It's not like we were going away to some posh resort with airfare and all of that. All I knew is that we were going to the Berkshires (mountains in Massachusetts), which is just under 2 hours from our house. This was very much unlike me not to know what we were doing, where were going. I usually need ALL THE DETAILS. All I asked Chris was to let me know what types of clothing I'd need. We spent three nights at a cute hotel and spent the days fishing, antiquing, visiting some local sites, and just having a great, low stress time. It was badly needed.

Don't forget to visit Jen over at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

Quick Takes #17 (Updates)

Number 17: Some Updates

1. Chris lost his job. I guess that would be the biggest update here. We'd known it was coming for awhile (another program being closed because of budget issues), but we didn't know exactly when it would happen until last Tuesday (day after Labor Day). His last day was that Friday, September 6. 

2. He is interviewing--a lot. The same day Chris found out about his last day, he was contacted for an interview at a similar type of company (albeit bigger and more secure), for two different positions, both with more responsibility and a higher salary. The first interview went extremely well, and he was invited back for a second interview with some of the "higher-ups," which occurred yesterday. Please keep him in your prayers, and maybe this will be a quick, painless transition. One thing that boosted his spirits: the guy he met with in his first interview told him that Chris already had some of the upper level experience that he'd get in these two jobs, and was obviously not being compensated for it. He'd already been on several interviews since he found out about his program's closure; proactive is good!

3. I'm back to being the breadwinner. Yes, at least for the near future, with a part time job...right. Oddly enough, I'm not as stressed or worried as I was in the past. Upset? Sad? Depressed? OH YES. I'd been in a horrible funk for the past month or so, but I think it was knowing the inevitable was coming, just not WHEN it would happen. After I had a date, it was as if life could then move on, and I've been in a much better mood. Not going to lie: I had been trying to wean myself off of the antidepressant I'd been on for years because I felt I was doing really well, especially with being out of my previously awful job, but I couldn't shake how I was feeling, so after waiting, exercising more, eating better, and talking with my doctors, I ended up increasing it a little bit. I feel a lot better, even though I have a love-hate relationship with this medication.

4. School is over! For now, at least. I've taken too many credits as a non-matriculated student, so I really need to hustle and get accepted. First I must take the GRE (scheduled for the end of this month!), get 2 letters of recommendation (one is being written, the other I have to write FOR the person...okayyy), write a personal statement (not done), and send the school my resume (I'll print that out when I'm ready to send in the other materials). My hope is that I'll be accepted soon and can start full time in the spring. I miss taking classes, but I do not miss the awful summer class I had. It will be good to have more structured busy-ness, which I think I really need.

5. I'm planning on running a 5K in October. Yes, me. I'm training for it now, and it's hard. Here's a confession though: I'm starting to LIKE running. In the past month, I've lost 10 more pounds, and I'm guessing it's from the extra cardio I've been doing? My time for the mile has decreased, but I'm still around 14:30, and I need to work on distance now, too.

6. Good health news for me. About a month ago, I was able to go off of my blood pressure medication!!!!!!! My nurse practitioner feels that I'm healthy enough to stop it, as long as I submit blood pressure readings to her every few weeks. (Yes, I'm the old person with the monitor in her bathroom, who takes it a few times a day.) She also thinks that I'm OK to get pregnant, as long as my midwife agrees. Of course, I found this news out while we were in limbo about Chris' job, so reluctantly we need to put our family plans on hold. Again. I worry a bit that we're playing with time to much, but my charting looks good, like my body is working the way it should.

7. SIX YEARS. Our sixth anniversary is at the end of the month. While we haven't been newlyweds in a long time, haha, things between us have improved a lot in the past year, so sometimes, it's like we're newlyweds all over again. I mean that in the "we're enjoying life and doing things and having fun" way, not in other ways. Even with my job loss in November and Chris' recently job loss, we're in much better places mentally, spiritually, and physically, than we were in 2007.

Don't forget to visit Jen over at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

And then there were ten...

Sometimes I go to church and want to cry. Yes, cry for my little church. It's a wonderful place, and I feel like it's slowly dying.

Today (August 15th, that is, this post is being written close to the midnight hour) is the Feast of the Dormition, or Assumption, for you Romans. Every holy day, I approach church with a bit of fear and sadness...hoping that I'll be wrong, that there will be more people, and then sadly realizing that I was right. No one comes.

We only had ten people at Divine Liturgy this evening. Yes, ten. 10.

The priest
The boy altar server
Boy's father and one of his sisters
The cantor
90 year old woman who still drives herself, God Bless her
A couple in their 70s
A recently widowed 70 something man

Oh yeah, and me. *waves* Chris was working until 7, which was the exact same time that DL started. There is no way he would make it, but Father excused him on Sunday.

I raced up to the city where our church is after I got out of work at 6. A patron had a question for me as I was trying to leave, so I didn't get into the car until 6:10. I made it to [city] with minutes to spare. I brought flowers from our garden for our Theotokos. No one else did. (Yes, they sat in my car all day. I cracked the windows, made sure they had plenty of water, and parked in the shade. It was a beautiful day and not too hot, which helped. They did well, see?)

I now have a smart phone. With a camera.

I also channeled Priest's Wife--last night, I assembled our dinner in the crock pot, and got that going before I left the house this morning, before 8:30. I cooked extra rice and steamed vegetables last night so that we didn't have to worry about those tonight. Just heat up a plate, and add the crock pot chicken on top.

I didn't get home until well after 9 pm, thanks to the state of CT deciding to do all road improvements during the summer at night. The usual 40 minute ride home from church took another 20 minutes. I had a very full day and I still managed to "do it all" or do most of it all ;-)

I don't understand why me, the one who grew up Roman, who lives ~45 minutes away and worked 9 hours before driving to DL, still made it to church, by herself, and so many other people can't or won't. That's why I feel like crying, that I put in so much and get so little out of it. And yes, I know it's not about me. It's about God and all of that. And I feel like I'm good with that stuff. But if our church dies, because of low numbers, then that's not going to help anyone's relationship with God, and how we serve Him as we worship. Indirectly, it's a mutually beneficial relationship.

Also making me sad: the lack of community aspect in our parish. That the only other young people (around our ages) do not engage with Chris or me. I have a few theories as to why, and I hesitate to say what they are at the risk of being called paranoid. Chris and I go back and forth about this: he thinks that a parish shouldn't be for socialization, but as a woman, I think my viewpoint is skewed because most women crave community, belonging, fellowship, sisterhood, whatever you want to call it. It shouldn't be wrong to want that from where you worship, from the place/events that shape your life. In a perfect world, I'd have a church community not so far away from my home, that I might run into people from church at the grocery store, at the library, at the garden center...and get to know them a little better, more organically than a few minutes as we're walking out of the church door to our cars each week.

*Sigh*

Speaking of Priest's Wife, she is looking for suggestions on how our little Eastern Catholic parishes can survive and thrive. If you have something to add, she's all ears. (Or would it be eyes since this is print?)

Busy

(Yes, this is a link-up-free post!)

This is becoming a theme with me. I don't blog for months, then come back and write a post about how I've been so busy and how I have all of these ideas for blogging, but I don't commit them to "screen."

I'm not that busy. At least I don't think so, when I look back at how busy I've been in the past and all I've managed to accomplish during those times.

My life right now:

• part-time job, with a short drive
• one graduate-level class
• applying to master's program
• house stuff
• the gym and other appointments 
• being mentally and physically present for my husband

My life in the past:

• full-time job (and then some) with a long commute
• occasionally took some graduate-level classes
• house stuff
• other appointments

What's different? Besides the "applying to master's program," that is.

Oh yeah, taking care of myself (gym) and being mentally and physically present for my husband. Not that Chris is disabled or in need of serious help, but when you're married you're supposed to be there for your spouse. Support them, help them with things that they need, talk to them, you know, those sorts of things. In the past, I was so "busy" with everything else, I didn't take care of myself and I wasn't "there" for my husband. Yes, I was home at night and on the weekends, but I was so absorbed with...nothing.

My old job made me so distracted and irritable that I wasn't a good wife. I wasn't a good person. I put things off--both with relationships and tasks--that when they'd pile up, I'd flip out and get even more irritable.

So while I'm not as busy in a traditional sense, my life has become a different kind of busy. That is okay. It works for us, and it's drastically improved conditions in our home. Do we miss the second income (and it was a lot more than Chris has ever made)? Yes, especially as Chris' current job will be ending soon. Do we miss the old Jen? NO. No one does. Even people who don't know me that well have commented on how I've changed.

I do plan on writing more on this topic. One potential post that's rolling around in my head is: how losing my job saved my marriage. That post might come in a few days, or a few months. Or maybe never, since I sort of touched upon it here. Right now, I've got to go prep my husband's clothes for his interview this afternoon. I don't do this because I "have" to, or because it's my "duty," I do it because I want to help him, and I'm off from work today. If I was at work, he'd be on his own, and that's OK. Besides, while I've struggled through my summer class, Chris has pulled me away from house chores and told me to go finish my reading. He's made me dinner and reminded me to eat while I've been in the midst of writing short papers, stressing about doing it wrong. No one told him he needed to pitch in with chores or feed me. He did it because he wanted to. He knows that me furthering my education is an investment in our FAMILY's future. Just like me helping him prep for an interview is also an investment in our FAMILY's future.

Now, to my readers: I hope everyone is having a great summer! With Google Reader's demise, it's been hard to keep up with your blogs, but I do think about you all and hope all is well. :)

Quick Takes #16 (Sweet!)

Number 16: No Comments Make Me Sad

OK. I know I haven't blogged in a few months (almost three) but I was bummed that the last few posts I did write before my hiatus didn't generate ANY comments. I don't know who reads this anymore, but I'm not trying to guilt trip anyone. I'm just being honest. Readers (all two of you, ha), I like you. I like comments, if you want to leave me some. I'm so excited that the 7QTs haven't closed yet. Even though it's no longer Friday (more like it's barely still Sunday), I am posting. If no one reads this, oh well. I tried! Here are a few things that have been going on in the past three months...


1. Chris "disappeared" the other night. Don't worry, he's OK, but I almost wasn't. He went fishing one afternoon after work. He left me a note. I knew where he was. However, when it got DARK at NINE PM and he WAS NOT HOME, I got a little worried. I called his cell phone and it went straight to voice mail, which means that it was OFF. I worried more. I didn't know what to do, he wasn't close to home (about 45 minutes away) and he was alone. His dad was going to come get me so we could go look for him, when the fisherman decided to return. It was TEN O'CLOCK. I was in tears. He was sheepish, and realized how much his wife really DOES love him. Needless to say, the cell phone has been charged and on constantly since that episode.

2. About a month ago, I had MRSA. And my first mammogram. Yes, the two are related, and I'll let you guess how. I'm relieved that I didn't have cancer; my nurse practitioner didn't think it was, but she just wanted to rule it out, hence the mammogram. That was an interesting experience, but I'm glad I've done it now. I'm not sure how I got MRSA and  I was glad that I didn't have to be admitted to the hospital or go on any crazy drugs. Just a little antibiotic pill for a week. I'm OK now...

3. Except I have a staph infection. In almost the same spot. Seriously. I'm not happy. I feel fine, it was just an itchy spot that my paranoia made me think was the MRSA coming back, so I went back to see my NP. I know we all have staph on our bodies (and lots of other germs), so we will be discussing what the heck is going on. I think I know what it is...

4. I blame weight loss. In my chest. Not to be too graphic, but I am well-endowed in that area, and I used to be even MORE well-endowed. Over the past year or so, I lost about 40 pounds and some of it came from that place. Now most of my bras are too big, and I think there has been some irritation...and I'll stop there. Have no fear, new bras are on the shopping agenda.

5. Speaking of shopping, we just spent a LOT of money (and I mean, like almost as much as Chris brings home every two weeks) on new interview clothes for Chris, since his old ones were many many sizes too big. His facility is closing soon, so he will be jobless too. Again. We're not worried this time, or not as much as we have been in the past. I mean, what can we do?? He's been applying to jobs and has had an interview already! For a higher level position, too, which is awesome. So why not buy some new bras while we still have his income coming in? PRIORITIES, people. I promise I will not spend nearly as much on bras as we did for his clothes.

6. I like my job, it's going well. I miss having a regular schedule, because some weeks I only work two days or parts of those days, and some weeks I work almost every day. It's hard to get organized, and sometimes the house is a mess because I think I have another day off to do chores, and then it's 8:30 at night and I realize, "OH NO! I have to work tomorrow!!!! ALL DAY!" How did I do this for so many years and manage not to lose my sanity? Oh wait...  Being unemployed for the first time, well, ever, and now working part time has totally changed my behavior. I'm even more lazy than I ever thought. I'm also taking a class towards my masters and I still need to apply to school before it's too late (aka, I can't take more than 9 credits as a nonmatriculated student). After that, I'll have to sit out until I get accepted. So I need to hurry. This class has a lot of work, moreso than any other grad class I've taken. And it's online, so the ability to procrastinate is even greater...

7. Last, but certainly not least, I met Trista this week (from Not a Minx)! She actually inspired me in writing this post, since she mentioned me in hers and then I thought "Great, all of these people are going to click through to my blog and see that my last post was in APRIL and think I'm lame." It was lovely to meet her in person after knowing her through blogging and the #CathSorority media. She doesn't live too far from me, which is exciting, as most of the people I know via blogging live time zones away from me. Trista and her husband live IN THE SAME COUNTY.

Don't forget to visit Jen over at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!