Time to play catch up!

I have had several email reminders lately that it has been over three months since I have last blogged. Yep, it’s been a while.

So lets see what’s been happening?

Shad and I made an interesting purchase the other day. Our washing machine gave up the good fight and started leaking all over my laundry room floor. Since it was a stacked set we ended up buying a whole new set. This is the first “new” appliance I have ever owned! I wish I could say, “Oh, I just LOVE it, I LOOOOVE it!!!” and I do like them, they are really really nice but NO appliance is worth more than any of the cars I bought until I was in my thirties. Yes, I am cheap, I admit it. I think for that amount of money my washing machine and dryer should color my hair and give me a pedicure.

Ok, so here is one cool thing... They beep at me to change the load. REPEATEDLY. So I cant even ignore them. Every five minutes you hear them downstairs “BEEP, BEEP, BEEP” “HELLOOOOW, REMEMBER US YOUR CLOTHES? YOU REALLY DON’T WANT US TO GET WRINKLED, YOU REALLY DON’T HAVE ANYTHING ELSE TO DO, WE ARE ALL DAMP AND YOU NEED TO COME AND GET THE DELICATES OUT AND HANG THEM SO WE CAN FINISH THE REST OF THE LOAD. DON'T WORRY WE'LL CALL YOU ON YOUR CELL WHEN THE REST OF THE LOAD IS DRY.”

Shad says that I listen to the washer and dryer better than I listen to him. He is just annoyed that he was trying to kiss me in the kitchen and I cut our hug and kiss session short to “answer” the washing machine. The kids think they are cool because they are all lit up in a high tec console. T spends a lot of time down there fascinated, watching the washing machine and dryer do their thing. I have to admit it’s slightly hypnotic and pleasing in it's rhythm. Don’t laugh, I am sure YOU have had a front loader long enough to think me silly but this is a new high tec adventure for us. Don’t even get me started though on the marketing ploy of having to buy special HE soap, HE bleach and fabric softener, (I think that is ridiculous) and you have to buy it because if you don’t it voids your warranty, I’m telling you, the marketing gurus are really really smart. No wonder they are all driving BMW'S and Lexis and I am driving a Hyndia.

We had three days from the time that we bought them to the time they were delivered so I attempted to update the floor of the downstairs laundry/bath. I was really proud of myself! I only have it halfway competed but it’s coming along well. I put down an Armstrong peel and stick floor tile in Moroccan,
(and I managed to get all the seams to fit together seamlessly!) I textured the walls with Lowe’s texture paint and then painted the walls in a Ralf Loren color called Patina (Shad says they should be more honest when coming up with the paint names, he feels it should have been called what it looks like, baby poop green)

Whatever, we don’t really care what HE thinks of the paint color! It looks nice! Shad found a new toilette on clearance last weekend as well so I guess we are well on our way to completely redoing the downstairs laundry and bath. isn’t that they way that it goes? I wasn't planning on redoing that part of the house until next year some time but the new washer necessitated a new floor, the new floor led to new walls. Like if they get those big huge things in there I NEVER want to have to pull them back out to paint ever again! I couldn't’t paint until I had textured the walls (when we bought the house the bathroom had only been roughed in) and so on and so on, the toilette I swear was original to the house… I will have to post some pics when it is all done. That still may be next year some time but I am working on it as I have time. Even my shoe molding turned out really well. YES, I am pining a brownie button on myself. I even impressed my father and that’s not easy!!! It was more work in a very short amount of time than I should have tried doing though and now I have been paying for it. My wrists are still swelled. What is a girl to do?


The Kids are quickly moving through the first semester of school. Conferences are right around the corner. I anticipate that it will be the standard and that no surprises are in store. B is spending way to much time on homework every evening but his quality of work is improving and he has not missed even one assignment yet so I could not be more proud of him. T is experiencing his first science experiments in school as well as music and he loves every minute of it.

Shad has completed all of his tests and classes and has applied for several new positions within Boeing. Not even a week later he received one offer that would move him over to the 747 line in December. He has accepted but he has until his report date to pull his acceptance back. He is hopeful that he will get a response from his “first choice” position that he really wanted. Funny thing is, his current position does not want to lose him and may end up keeping him for a little while BUT they would have to pay him the wage of the other position, It’s so nice to be needed! We’ll see what happens. In the new position he would have to go back to second shift so I hope they keep him for a long time!

Brody and his football team are the first midget team in our town to EVER go to the playoffs. It’s a big deal and the community is excited. They have their first play off game this Saturday. If they win they will play again during the week some time and then their final game the following Saturday. He has learned a lot this year and has made some incredible strides. Things are starting to click in and he is having a really good time. He took a few really hard hits last week during practice and came home and vomited for several hours. Do you think that slowed him down at all the next evening? (yes, I was mommy paranoid and watched him like a hawk for a concussion) No way, he was on a mission to do a little retribution tackling…. Good grief, football defiantly caters to the drive of testosterone driven emotional boys. Men and Football. I think I am starting to get it. I don’t like it, but I think I get it.

T is doing really well in school; it seems to come easy for him. He hits the door excited to dive right into his homework so I really can’t complain. He, at this point has no athletic ambitions outside of baseball. We offered to sign him up for basketball and he wasn't interested. Fine with me, I am looking forward to a sports break; we went from Baseball to Football with only a few weeks in between. I am ready for a few quiet evenings at home.

I am doing ok, Looking forward to a nice little ladies party next Sunday. Food, drinks, good conversation and an adult version of a Tupperware party. It should be a really really good time with a lot of laughs.

I started a new quilt project that has mushrooms and gnomes on it. (Very retro seventies material) and have been spending five or ten minutes a day on it. This is the first time that I am attempting to make multiples of the same quilts at the same time. It’s wall hanging size and so far things are going smoothly. (A great big thanks to my sis, for helping me “draw” the parts that I was struggling over!)

I was suppose to start a small round of chemo for my RA this Friday but unfortunately T stayed home today with a 104.5 fever (on Motrin and Tylenol) He is one sick puppy at the moment so I may have to postpone because I cant have the infusion if I am sick or getting sick. Not looking forward to being so tired but I am hopeful that the new medicine Retuxin/Retuximab will have a favorable response. So far I have either had an allergic reaction to the meds or they have not worked. I have tried Embrel, Humera, Remicade, Luflonimide and a host of other things. The only thing I have been able to stay on has been the Methotrexate and even that has had to be but cut in half because my liver doesn’t like it and starts freaking out. I am on an extremely high dose of prednisone at the moment and it is giving me just a little relief. I am starting to get a little “defeated” feeling. I had tried for about three and a half weeks to find some kind of employment that I could do with my “challenges” but was unable to find any position or company that would fit the bill. In fact just the job search itself wore me completely out and caused me great pain. My Dr. has been advising filing for disability for about a year now and I think I am prepared to agree (I was in denial for quite a while) for the time being anyway. I can always attempt to go back to work at a later date if we can find a medicine that works. My specialist says we only have a few avenues left before she is going to have to send me down to the University of Washington for help. Mainly because my body has been unresponsive to all the typical RA meds. I had one of those “I should have had a v8” moments on Tuesday when I met with the immunology specialist at the caner care center to go over the information on the Rituxin infusion and afterward I had to go down and have “chemotherapy education”. I have known for a long time that most of the meds I had been on and had tried were first used in Cancer treatment. I don’t know why this particular time it hit me differently. I think it is one of the main reasons I have not been blogging. The smart-alecky funny side of my personality has not been shinning through these days. I have been dealing but not with the sense of humor that I generally cope with. At least my hair has stopped falling out for the time being because they dropped my Methotrexate dose. I feel like a bird that keeps going through a shedding cycle once every couple of months!

I have to insert a link here to my girlfriend’s art gallery. If you have not taken the time to check it out I highly recommend it. She is phenomenal and very eclectic. I think most every one could find a piece in her collection that speaks to them. Some of her photographic prints are currently for sale on the deviantart site at http://www.foxfires.deviantart.com/

My sister also has some prints for sale on deviant. I am particularly fond of her snowy owl pic. You can see her gallery at http://www.lwhistman.deviantart.com/

To all my girlfriends: I am looking forward to seeing you on Sunday if you can make it! It’s been along time, if ever, that I have had all my separate circles of friends all in one place at one time. I am looking forward to meeting all of YOUR friends and expanding my circles. Now lets hope T is well and that I have not caught it so that everything can go as planned! Here is hoping little gnomes will visit me and clean my house between now and then!!!!

Do you have an absolutely splendid cocktail or food recipe? If so, comment me! I am looking for something new for the party.