What Would Jen Do

Archive for the ‘holidays’ Category

Five weeks ago I started having what I thought were weird muscle vibrations.   After tons of research and a doctors visit that got me almost nowhere, we were still stumped.   I had some x-rays done and they showed some degeneration of the spine and some other things they couldn’t quite figure out.   One MRI later and I have 4 herniated discs and the vibrations are swollen nerves.  I really thought I was going to lose my effing mind because the nerve vibrations were mentally exhausting and almost unbearable.    Thankfully I had/have minimal pain which mostly starts up when i sit wrong or stand for too long.

And it turns out that all my home healing remedies were on the right track.  Sit better, don’t sit for too long, use a heating pad, get a massage, take ibuprofen and lots of hot baths.   dr’s orders.

No idea how I herniated these discs, they said it could be that i’m just susceptible to them or maybe i hurt myself a while ago, turned wrong, heredity, etc.    if you ask my mothers chiropractor he’s got a whole new list of reasons.   but lets not go there.

Christmas was very good except for when I woke up around 5am with a nasty nasty migraine, puked my guts out and then passed out on the couch for 4 hours. I really wanted to make my husband breakfast and open presents with him.  maybe next year.

I really hope that next year being an even year brings us good things.   We are on a peaceful and healthy track for the new year.   low on drama and heavy on the self improvement.    We don’t really make resolutions but there are things that we want to do and WILL do.  things that got pushed off this year because really, this was not a fun year for me.  but now that it’s almost over, it’s pretty easy to forget all the bullshit that had been consuming me for months on end.    i don’t really want to be superstitious but i’m having a hard time arguing with history.

my christmas shopping is 98% done and 85% of that was done online.    I love amazon and their free shipping and no tax.    

 I just have to work  three more days this week and then I’m off until the 28th.   I have taken week long vacations three different times this year in order to sit around and do nothing.   I think i am in need of  a real vacation.

This Friday I have an eye exam and a massage scheduled.   But other than that it’s just me, the dogs,  the TV and my electric blanket for the next week.  oh and then christmas.   and my husbands birthday.

so the long Thanksgiving weekend was good.   I only had to work three days last week and two of them were at home.    my mom came over for eats on Thursday.  Saturday or maybe sunday (?) we went to the zoo and i baked blueberry muffins and coconut choco chip cookies.    I finally watched whatever the second harry potter movie is.   And Drag me to hell.  my husband cut my hairs again (as usual) and then my friend Amy ‘forced’ me to buy seasons 1-4 of Supernatural because Amazon had them at 74% off.   That is like all 4 seasons for the price of one.  

it was hot the whole weekend, like 80 degrees and that’s right at the point where you don’t want to have the AC on and at night it gets cold but you don’t want the heat on so you just deal and open and close windows to get the cross breezes.  I think the weather might finally be cooperating with us and we’ll be able to bust out the down comforter and maybe use our fireplace for something other than candles this weekend.  But i’m pretty sure in order to use the fireplace we’ll have to open the windows to counteract the heat.   it’s roughly 40 degrees out when i take morning walks and yesterday i could see my breath. 

this month i only have to work two full weeks, and since December is long that means that  I do not have to work a full week for three weeks.  I also get three paychecks!!   I had one extra day of vacation to schedule so I added that to my christmas week vacation.    10 days off in a row!

I almost forgot to schedule an eye appt before year end.   I basically get free glasses every year because the cost of the plan covers the cost you are allowed in frames and lenses are always covered 100%. I got real lucky when I made the appointment, i got to pick a time and day.  last time there was a 3 week wait to get in.    and then i called my massage place because i wanted to go in for a massage after the eye appt and they also said ‘name a time’.

our equivalent of a jesus in toast, or hot pocket, or cheeto or pancake.  it’s a happy face in burrito juice!!!

i think good things are definitely acoming.

lookit, it’s grass.  we haven’t had grass in 5 or so years!!!!  i think in the next month or so, the whole yard should be filled in.

i am so happy it’s a holiday weekend.  So far, two days in and I haven’t been able to sleep much past 5am.  Icey is turning into me and was up before 6am yesterday and the Voo got him up around 6 today.   But we had a pretty busy yesterday.   shopping, cleaning, home repair….. Icey’s not been around much the past few weekends because he was helping to build a pretty kick ass deck at his dads house, so i was excited to have him around.  yesterday he grilled up some burgers and dogs and zucchini for dinner.   I baked oatmeal raisin cookies and chocolate cupcakes .  it was my first attempt at not only cupcakes, but chocolate ones at that  and they are pretty tasty.

I bought this for my weary feet.  my feets always hurt from too much walking and just generally having stupidly shaped and freakishly skinny feet. it looks like it’s going to hurt but it actually tickles for a little while. but after you get past that, WOW does it make your feet feel nice.  added bonus it also feels nice on your back and the dogs seem to like it too.

these are our artichokes.  i think they’re on their way out so i’m going to cut a couple off today and steam them.

i’m supposed to be spring cleaning this weekend but the lack of sleep is making me lazy and i have a headache.

Happy New year!  I spent mine in bed (of course) asleep until midnight on the nose when the fireworks upset mojo.   There were a lot more this year than last and they lasted about 20 min so I had a dog alternately barking her face off and jumping into bed with me.   Which is something she never does unless she’s really upset.  so I had to contort myself around her and wait for her to calm down.   I did wake up around 11:30 and my husband was already in bed with me, so happy new year to us!!!

2008 was an excellent year for me.  We started doing home improvements (patio, AC, new appliances, new furniture) we got married (no one saw that coming) and we got to fly first class to Hawaii where people are very excited about your name being Asian.   I applied for and got the work from home job, which is starting VERY SOON I SWEAR.   I did get into my first accident ever, but it was very tiny and hardly counts.   I found out I can bake almost anything, we started a vegetable garden and i don’t think the voo got sick at all this past year, did he?  If not that’s a first for my guy.

I’m also pretty excited that for the first time I voted for the guy who is going to be president.   My voting career isn’t very long, I didn’t start voting until I met Icey, because I never cared before. You can’t live in this house and not care….  But i’m also excited that America voted in a black man because i was certain we were not ‘ready’ for that.

I’m not going to make any resolutions for this year, except to be me but just a little more awesome. oh, and this one

How was your Christmas? Mine was pretty good.  I can’t believe today is my LAST DAY OFF, guess I better make it count.

This morning I woke up and my wedding ring wasn’t on my finger.  I couldn’t remember taking it off. when this happens I see dollar signs and the inability to replace it since it’s an original.   I ran back upstairs to check all the places I put it when I’m not wearing it, it wasn’t in any of them.  I ran back downstairs, checked those places and nothing.  I then ran BACK upstairs and threw the covers off the bed and there it was, it must’ve fallen off in my sleep. thank god.

We started off the long long holiday weekend with a family birthday shindig.  I made cupcakes and we had other assorted various foods.

displayed in my fancy new cake stand my MIL gave me.

Icey And I celebrated our Christmas together earlier that day.  He gave me this purse (and I just have to say there was one left in the entire country and it’s mine)

the camera I took this picture with and a zombie movie and book.  He also got some Xbox gold membership or something that allows us to watch our Netflix watch instantly queue through our TV instead of on my laptop.  I started off by watching a zombie movie (of course), which was a lot better on our big tv than it would have been on my laptop screen.  I do love the shuffling zombie that you can walk past and have no need to outrun, but since they’ve taken up running and sprinting it’s a whole new ballgame and sometimes I actually forget to breathe when watching them.

anyway, my mother stayed the night that night and it wasn’t as bad as i was imagining.  I’ve never had my mom spend the night at my house as a guest before.   I think the dogs forgot that she was here and when they heard someone walking around upstairs the next morning, they sprinted up there to see what was going on.

The rest of the weekend has been spent cleaning, shopping, laying around, etc.   I’m too tired and lazy to put away all the christmas decorations, so I guess those get to hang around for another week.   Today if we are feeling adventurous we’ll go test out the new lightrail system they opened up yesterday, if all goes well Icey will be taking that to work since the station is a couple of miles from home and it would drop him off practically at his work.

This week for new years my work has graciously given us THURSDAY off and decided we needed to come to work on Friday.   I did not want to waste a vacation day so early in the year, so I’ll be working that day.  We’re not going out for NYE, as per usual, and if I can stay up long enough, which I doubt, we have a bottle of champagne to drink.

I just found the Chiller Channel on cable.  I’m not sure how long we’ve had it, but I’m dying a little happy scary death.

The garden has taken off in the past month.   Actually it’s not even been one month since I last took pictures.

this is 11/28.

and this is today 12/20.   We thought were weren’t going to get any spinach and they suddenly started sprouting.   They are in the 2nd bay from the bottom.

The last two are still empty, what we planted in the didn’t take off and we’ll have to replant something else.

this is the dress I wore that made me look pregnant, it’s a spaghetti strap and I suspect it was the wrap that threw her off.  Picture it looking much better on me.

We don’t have a tiny live tree this year, but we do have a christmas ‘nook’ in the living room.  that little tree there next to the fireplace cost me $3 at michaels, I heart that store, and the lone ornament on it says 2008, now that we’re married I’m going to get one every year, with the year on it.  I found a really great one at Things Remembered, it was a silver christmas ball that says 2008 and you can have it engraved.   I was so punny and was going to get Our First Very Married Christmas, but all said and done, with our names and everything it was $35.  I’m going to see if it goes down in price after Christmas.   I’m so cheap, I should just go order it now…… actually i think i will.

I also had the first fire of the year a couple of weeks ago.

We’re going to Coup Des Tartes tonight, we’re both VERY excited!   It’s a BYOB and tonight we’re having a little champagne.

Work from home is in my grasp. I’m all trained, everything works, all I need is for my manager to give the go ahead.  but will he?   not yet.  

Dennis turned 30 and found that the ladies love a mature man

we posed in the kitchen

Rich and Rylee came to town for Thanksgiving

We have a lot of friends

look, we found more of our friends

when no one is looking, he loves me.

I baked coconut choco chip cookies, hands down my favorite

I had today off and went to the dr. because I cannot breathe and it was getting ridiculous.   going up half a flight of stairs winded me.   I would wheeze half my day away.  I’m trying some medicine and hopefully I can start taking the stairs at work.  The good news is, I don’t appear to have the type of asthma that lands you in the hospital or causes asthma attacks.   it runs in my family and I denied that I had a problem until I realized I spent the last  3 months wheezing.  I’ve never been an excellent breather what with bouts of bronchitis as a kid and smoking for 12 years.

I also went shopping for a pretty pretty party dress and bought three.  One is going back to the store and I’m keeping the other two, they were husband approved.   I’m real excited about one of them because I get to wear my wedding shoes again!  They are a little fancier than your typical little black dress, so I’m still on the lookout for one of those.

I’m taking my husband out for a fancy french dinner for his b-day, maybe I’ll wear the other pretty pretty party dress out that night…….

someone knows how to make themselves comfy

this morning he was watching the news with me.   speaking of this morning, it was 63 degrees in our house about an hour ago.   We broke out the down comforter and are apparently going to have to turn on the heater.   I bought logs for the fireplace so if this keeps up, a fire is finally in my future.

I am NOT ready for christmas, I’m not really in the spirit this year, at least not yet.  I haven’t really bought any christmas presents yet either.   I can’t even send out christmas cards because I keep forgetting to buy stamps.

We have a christmas party for Icey’s work this weekend, that’ll be our first holiday-ish type thing.    Tomorrow I’m off work and will be on the hunt for a party dress.

the work from home project seems to be cruising right along (finally).  I’ve been getting emails updating me on the progress the IT dep’t is making.  It seems as if my laptop is being built and i’ve been given remote access.   I really think that in the next couple of weeks, this is going to finally happen.   I just need to buy a desk!