Can't it Slow Down for a Minute?!

It's amazing how life suddenly starts going without any chance of slowing down in sight. For the past month, I have been in a daze of work and life, struggling to stay afloat, really. I was sick for 2 weeks, and it hung on for another week for the most part. I was healthy for a week, and then a week ago Friday, I woke up in the middle of the night with a stomach bug of some kind (I'm thinking food poisoning) effectively forcing me to slow down. I had plans for that day to be going from 9am to 11pm with no breaks in between, and I missed out on everything I had lined up for the day.

I recovered by late afternoon and felt much better by bedtime. I worked Saturday and felt even better as the day went on. Can't really miss more than a day of work when sick pay is nonexistent :)

 My silly pinwheel that turns when the heater is blowing. Puts a smile on my face :P

Last week, we had a family dinner at my in laws' house. My husband's brother was in town for a month and the sibling out of town flew into town for less than 24 hours and we had a nice family dinner with all seven children under one roof for the first time in years.

 When I was sick last week, before I realized that something was wrong with myself, I had two panic attacks, one worse than the other. Looking up the symptoms for a true panic attack, I don't think I was having a diagnosable one, but I was sure stressed out. I thought maybe I had stressed myself into being sick from work responsibilities, but some of my symptoms of the bug were a bit hard to fake :) So anyway, I basically wound myself up pretty good and stayed high strung for several days.

One Lord Sunday - March 18, 2012, Homer High School Gym

Tuesday, I was pretty unbearable to live with, I think. As a child, I would stress over something, and then cry it out and it would all be fine. I was a sensitive one and cried pretty frequently. Growing older, I still cried easily, but not as often. It was when we got married, that C started to pick up on a pattern to it all. If I became more needy for attention, whiny, and downright obnoxious, I probably needed a good cry. Probably hormonal, but it was usually not at a set time every month. But generally every month at some point, something will set me off and I will cry for a while, and then everything will be right again. That was Tuesday. I was being obnoxious, starting to drive C crazy, I think, and we both acknowledged that I probably needed some release. Finally, before bedtime, I finally had a cathartic weeping session that went on for an hour, and got all of my stress released from work, life, housework, etc. I felt much better, and C and I both noticed an impressive change in my mood and attitude the next day. Pretty crazy, really. Since then, I have been much less stressed and generally happier (though I am usually a happy person).

Monday evening, I was waiting for the northern lights to appear, blazing in the sky. They never materialized for me. I went out before 11pm, despite there being some daylight still! It was a rather dark evening and the parking lot I chose to camp out in was a bit too crowded and creepy for my tastes, and also included a motorhome!! NO! I ended up going for a drive to search for a less lighted location to watch for the lights, but they never materialized for me (and did not for anyone else in the state either, but the Lower 48 got an excellent show!) and I headed home around 12:30. *sigh*

Wednesday, we drove out to my hometown to change our snow tires with my dad. We bought milkshakes at my favorite restaurant there and enjoyed them in the beautiful sunshine (54 degrees at one point!). C's car ended up causing us a bit of grief. Last fall, one of the studs connecting the tire to the car broke off. Dad bought a new one to replace it with. But all the remaining studs on that section of the car were ornery as well, and 3 more of 5 ended up breaking off! After doing some calling around, I ended up going back to town on a parts buying mission, and then turned around to go back. But it was a beautiful day for a drive. I even ended up turning the A/C on, and I loved sipping on my shake as I journeyed.

The car was put back together without another problem, and C went home. I stayed for a memorial service for a woman I knew growing  up. Had a nice potluck dinner and then conversation and observing of locals from my hometown. It was a nice service and it made me want to hug my loved ones.

Beautiful dog in town :)

I felt a bit silly, while working on the tires. I watched a guy fly down the road on a 4wheeler and thought about how normal that is for my hometown, but in my new town, 4wheeler's aren't supposed to be driven down the streets in town. A silly difference, but it reminded me of the good times I had exploring the area and living the good life in a tiny Alaskan town - playing in puddles, bike riding through town, etc.

Last night, after work, 2 of my coworkers and I went up to my boss's house for dinner. She's still laid up with her broken leg, so we went to her. My coworker of 6 years is moving this weekend, and I worked with her one last time today and then we had a farewell little party for her. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and I will really miss her. Sad to see friends move on, but she is going on a grand adventure and I am excited for her.

So, all this to say, I haven't had much time to think about blogging. I finally got my house clean after 4 weeks on Tuesday! I keep thinking of things I want to talk about, but I never have a chance to sit down and write it out...so hopefully I can again soon!

Loving my Car

I just want to say what a blessing my new car has been so far this winter!

It has never had a problem starting at all. It's an amazing feeling to me to know that I don't have to plug in my car each night to hopefully guarantee that it will start in the morning. I'm so glad we bought it.

And I managed to get all of the cigarette smoke smell out of it with charcoal briquettes. They seriously work wonders! So now it smells great! :)

New Car!!

I got my current car (1998 Kia Sephia) in April of 2007 for $1000. It was a fantastic car, until it got cold that following winter. It started having problems starting, until every day, no matter if it was 40 degrees, it took some oomph to start. I had to keep it plugged in during the night to make sure it would go.

Last winter was the same. Various mechanics have looked at it and have not been able to find the issue. It is a great and awesome car except for that.

I have been looking off and on for a new car ever since last summer. As much as I love my car, I need a new one. I have scoured Craigslist countless times, and the classifieds too.

I had recently resigned myself to another winter of constant aggravation. On Monday, my boss told me that my coworker was selling her car. Immediately, I contacted her about it.

Last night, we took it for a test drive and asked several questions. I knew it was in fantastic condition because my coworker loves to complain about anything and everything. She never had a complaint about that car, though her husband's truck sure caused problems.

Enter our 2004 Kia Rio Cinco.

It's perfect. We got an amazing deal on it (Blue Book for $4500, we paid $3000)

- It starts no problem.
- working cigarette lighter (mine broke)
- working radio (again, stopped working mostly)
- CD player (A dream of mine! Too bad I use an Ipod...)
- Rear wiper (Wonderful for muddy and snowy Alaskan roads)
- Automatic
- 55000 miles on it.
- Uses no oil (I expected that, since my car doesn't either)
- Great gas mileage (again, expected)
- Mounted studded tires

Those might sound like superficial concerns, but they are important to me!

I love answered prayer. Definitely fell into our laps unexpectedly, but I am so grateful.

Trip to the Bigger City

Monday morning dawned, ready to snow. My friend and I left at 9, and set off for the next big town. The roads ended up being pretty bad. It was snowing hard and there was ice on the road, but we made it fine...althought the 1.5 hour drive turned into 2 by driving slower.

Off we went to Fred Meyer's, me filling up a cart as we went. It was an expensive trip, but full of essentials that we needed. Nothing too exciting was purchased, except these goodies!

Off brand kleenex boxes in the cutest patterns I have ever seen: kitties, doggies and a star! Picture frames were buy 2, get 1 free. Not the greatest deal, but they were good prices from the start. I got 6 frames, and then 1 5 picture frame. And lastly, a soft hoodie that was marked down for $45 to $15.

We also went to McDonalds for lunch (my friend is on a limited budget right now) and then Gottschalks (where I purchased that hoodie.) 3 hours after we got there, we turned around and came home. This time, the trip was an hour and 45 minutes. All of the snow had melted and turned to slush, with giant puddles, which was actually bit more concerning at times, but we were fine. We got stuck behind several slow people, which slowed us down a bit, but no big deal.

Came home and unpacked. At 6, went to pick up C from work. His car had been moved, for the first time in a week! Picked C up, and he knew nothing about it. When we got home, my brother was waiting for us. The car is fixed, but it cost a pretty penny to get it done.

After running ragged after that, we made it to small group, where we have another new couple coming. Had another great session of "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage," if a bit awkward, as this one was on the most awkward topic imaginable! (guess, I dare you :))

But it was good, and the conversations afterward were very good as well.

Today, C and I did not do much. My sister ordered Collapse for the DS for C's birthday and it came today (Thanks D!) and it is actually really fun and not just the game only. It has different settings and ways of playing and even a "quest" game to make it through. Much better than I was expecting, so that's great.

Otherwise, it's been pretty low key, but I needed a low key day.

Hectic Wednesday

Hello everyone! I can finally post again. Monday night we had guys/girls nights for small group. There were only 3 of us girls, so we just ended up eating cookie dough ice cream with fudge sauce and cookies and talking. For about 3 hours. :) It's seriously a great way to spend an evening.

Tuesday....I'm not sure what happened yesterday. I did a bunch of homework. That's about all that comes to mind. I became more and more stressed out as the night wore on. I asked C what we did yesterday, and his response was, "I dunno, you did a lot of homework.."

Cut to this morning. I woke up late, at 10:30, and started right in on studying accounting for my exam today. I left before 1 and got gas and then went to my test. I didn't do so hot, but ah well. Came home, and frantically worked on homework that was due at 9pm tonight. Hopped in the shower left again. This time for dinner at Cups with my boss and my coworker. My boss got a gift certificate there from someone she buys from. And her husband didn't want to go, so we did :) I'd never been there before. Yummy yummy food! I got this bourbon roasted game hen with a bourbon sauce. Not for the bourbon, but it sounded really good. Of course it was a TON of food. The mashed potatoes were amazing, as well. I am stuffed even still. We decided not to go to youth group, because I got done right at 7, and I would need to pick up C anyway, which would take at least 20 minutes in total. So we're relaxing at home.

C's car is sitting lonely at his work. The part that needs to be replaced is going to cost over $350 because it's not available in the state. It's supposed to get here on Tuesday. So, we are a true one car family for the next week. Kind of a pain.

Ah, I did think of one thing from yesterday. The phone rang at one point, and it was my professor in Juneau. He wanted to see how things were going and such. He also asked me questions about the town and where I work and stuff. For a lot of homework and such, students need to give examples of such things, so he was asking me about them to get a better understanding. It was an enjoyable conversation. I love it when professors actually care about their students. :)

I recently ran out of room on my Flickr account. It will only show the 200 most recent photos. I don't really want to pay for it. Anyone know a good site to showcase photos? Deviantart is a pain, and Photobucket isn't good for what I want either. Any ideas?

So anyway, that's the news from here.

Car issues again

Friday I went to coffee with my red haired friend. 2.5 hours later, we parted ways. It was a really good talk and very insightful.

Saturday was the Winter Carnival parade. Stood outside at work and picked up candy. Hanging out with my boss and coworker and her baby is fun for parades. After work, my red haired friend and her boyfriend picked me up to go see Marley & Me. C didn't want to go :P. It was cute, and I was definitely on the verge of crying a few times :P There was a little girl in the front row sobbing at the end. Cute, but sad.

The only news yesterday was that C's car has issues now! He called me as soon as he got to work, saying that his car was acting funny, and halfway to town, his power steering went out. The power steering has been an ongoing issue in that car. When I left for church, I saw his serpentine belt in the street halfway to town. We picked it up later, and it's in perfect condition, of course. But anyway, my dad looked at the car, and as far as we could tell, the alternator belt was causing all the problems. We bought another serpentine belt, but by the time we knew about the other one, the car store was closed (4pm..). My brother (another mechanic) is supposed to look at it today. We just can't win with the cars! At least my car is working right now, so we aren't completely stranded.

So I had to take C to work this morning. And of course, being really cold out there and all, my car door wouldn't shut. This is the second time that has happened this winter. Took him to work and headed to my work to get a spraycan of something...I used it last time. I should have gone to my boss' husband's shop but I didn't. ANYWAY. By the time I got to my work, the door was shutting fine. OF course. I ran an errand in my sweatpants (more on that later!) and then picked up breakfast at McD's (mistake!)

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I have two big prayer requests.

First, my redhaired friend (J and her boyfriend M). M is Canadian and his visa is up this Friday. He is now going to Bible school here, but he was not planning on that. He doesn't have a student visa, and he has tried and tried to get an extension. He just needs it until the beginning of April. They have made tons of calls all over both countries and no one is being helpful. They believe that he will get the extension, but they need to know now. There is more to the story, but that is the immediate prayer request.

My second request is for my coworker. She has been with her "husband" (it's basically a common law marriage right now. They didn't have a ceremony) for..7? 8? years. Not sure. They have 2 kids and she announced on Friday that he left her, and then Saturday the news was that they were divorcing. I really think this situation can change. I don't know all the details, but I think it can be mended. They really need prayer, for decisions, for the kids, for them.

Thank you everyone.

More daylight!

Today was the first day I noticed how much daylight we have gained. When I left work at 5:15, it was still light out. It's the time of day when you need headlights on so others can see you, but you can see just fine. Plus, it was sunny most of the day, and in the low 40s. My coworker and I stood outside, basking in the warmth, thinking it felt like a day in April. It was a glorious feeling! I can't wait!

Picked up my car today (yay!) C drove me there and had lunch with me afterwards. The mechanic wasn't sure what the problem was yet. He had theories, but the main issue is that as soon as I took it in, the weather got warm, so the car started just fine. *Rolls eyes* He wants me to bring it back once the cold hits again (supposed to be soon).

C convinced me to do some work on the website he works at. It took me a bit to understand their templates that they work with and stuff. Once I figured it out, I couldn't make a simple table function correctly. I got sick of dealing with it (tired and hungry at the time) so I became cranky and gave up for a time. I'll try to rework on my project soon. I'd love to contribute to the site, but I just don't have the time nor the willpower to devote a huge chunk of energy to it right now.

Time for me to make some more food!