butterscotch82, posts by tag: family - LiveJournal

Whenever I've been away from LJ for more than a couple days, I start to get uneasy.  I don't know why I feel obligated to keep an updated blog.  It's not like anything bad will happen if I don't....so why am I haunted by blog demons??  And it's not like anyone needs to hear every excruciating detail of my life.  My friends might feign interest, but that's just because they're loyal by nature.  ;)  I think I'll blame the two evils in my life--procrastination and perfectionism.  Why do something else when I can blog?  Why bother keeping a blog if it isn't perfect?  *snort*

It's been a rather quiet week for me, but I thought I should post since I've been absent from LJ and email lately.  I've been babysitting three days a week on average, but this past week was okay because Jeff was able to help out more.  On Valentine's Day he brought home supper so I didn't have to cook.  :-)  My mom had planned on visiting today and tomorrow, but the weather forecast was bad so she came yesterday instead.  She watched Arthur so Jeff and I could go out and finally use our Red Lobster gift cards we got for Christmas, LOL.  And yes, we did buy lobster...and fish, scallops, crab legs, shrimp, and dessert!  It's fun eating at nice restaurants when you don't have to pay.  ;-)  Then we went to the theater to see Juno--and not just because handyhunterrecommended it!  I'd been wanting to see it for awhile, and really there wasn't much else to choose from.  I considered The Spiderwick Chronicles, but I haven't read the books, and I didn't know anyone who had seen the movie.  I was happy with Juno, with its enjoyable characters, sarcastic dialogue, and music that got stuck in my head.  And they could have easily copped out and gone with a happy-ever-after-ending for everyone involved, so I was thrilled with a ending that was appropriate/realistic/hopeful, all at the same time.  

Two of my favorite bands have new CDs releasing this week:  Sanctus Real on Feb.12th and Secondhand Serenade on Feb. 19th.  I don't know if I'll actually buy the CDs--but I'm tempted, which is saying a lot.  :-)  This past week I reread Halfway to the Grave (more on that in the days to come) and did some research for my book.  I've requested some new stuff from the library, including the audiobook Grave Sight (rec by marcyjo!), the audiobook Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, and Astonishing X-Men: Vol. 1 (both rec by handyhunter!)  I'm fourth in line for Outlander, but the other two should be available soon.  

A few weeks ago, Jordan Summers on fangs_fur_feywas gathering questions to offer up to her agent, Ginger Clark.  So I entered four questions for consideration, and last week Ginger chose eight questions to answer--four of which were mine!  I thought that was kind of cool.  If you're interested in the questions & answers, go here:  http://community.livejournal.com/f… .  Okay, another example of my technological ineptness.  Can someone tell me how to hide a link inside a word or phrase?  I ought to know, but it's escaping me.  Oh, and if you're wondering which questions are mine--there's no easy way of explaining that.  See, my questions are smack dab in the middle of the list...but for some reason my questions are numbered and the others aren't.  So when you see the questions in the middle numbered 1-4, those are mine.  :-)

I haven't decided when or if I'll post another discussion question.  It's a blast for me, but unfortunately, too much LJ time takes away from my reading and writing time.  And after talking to ecabslast night, I've decided I need to get back to writing ASAP.  I've definitely been missing it; plus I need to get those edits done so I can start getting helpful feedback.  But no doubt I'll have questions in the future that I need help answering, so don't give up hope for the discussion topics.  ;-)  Hope everyone is doing great!!

 Here's a recap of the past week or so of my life, modified Clint Eastwood-style:

The Good

1.  I've got two books coming via www.paperbackswap.com, including Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (rec by marcyjo!).  
2.  I went to a used book sale today at the library, and got 15 books (only 50 cents each)!  Most of them were for Arthur, but a few were for me, including two J.R. Ward books that I'd been wanting!
3.  Just finished sending valentines and pictures to all the family, a big project I'd been dreading.
4.  Discovered a nearby church that offers an indoor playground to the public.  I took Arthur and Sam there on Friday, and they ran around in crazy fun for an hour.  It's a great way for them to burn off steam when the weather is too nasty to play outside. 

The Bad

1.  Felt on the edge of fatigue and sickness all week...still fighting both.
2.  Spent all week cleaning and cooking...and now the food is gone and the house looks dirty again (damn never-ending cycle).
3.  Dealt with a stressed, overworked hubby (and felt stressed and overworked in return).
4.  Spent Saturday (my usual sleep-in day or Day-O-Fun) preparing for big dinner party.  The dinner was fun and exhausting at the same time. 

The Unsure

1.  I'm in the mood for an audiobook.  Problem is, I want a guaranteed good one, so that I don't waste my time with a bad book, OR a bad voiceover (for instance, I was thinking about listening to Twilight, but I've heard the audiobook isn't that great).  So does anyone have any recs for a great audiobook??  (yes, I'm especially looking at you, marcyjo , LOL!).
2.  My iPod is acting funky.  It wouldn't shut off when I held down on the Play button, so then I tried resetting it, and it wouldn't reset either.  Otherwise it's working fine...it just won't shut off.  Any thoughts or ideas??  I should just go look up troubleshooting, but I'm being lazy.    
3.  I'm considering writing a memoir for the Writer's Digest Short Story contest, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea.  I can't even remember READING a memoir before, so I don't have much experience with them.  What do you guys think about memoirs?  Like them?  Hate them?  Know of any good ones? 

 I thought I should do a quick check-in, since I haven't been around LJ lately.  And I owe emails to Jenny and Tage, and they're probaly wondering what the heck I've been up to.  The answer to that question--certainly nothing fun or exciting.  My icon says writer at work, but really I've been a mom at work.  I've been babysitting a lot and taking care of Arthur pretty much all by myself all week long.  

For those of you who don't keep up with the Lexicon or Meyer's website (which leaves....Jenny?), here's a big update about Breaking Dawn, :  http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/brea… , with lots of specific info about the release, etc.  Plus the Lexicon's been updating like crazy lately everytime they cast someone new in the Twilight movie.  It's interesting to see the actors/actresses they're choosing, but I can't believe the hundreds of comments about it, LOL.  We are an obsessed fandom, that's for sure.  Okay, I have to run and take care of Arthur.  OH, I'm dying to post the next discussion topic and questions, but I think it'll have to wait til Sunday.  That's another thing--we're having company tomorrow, which means the house has to be clean and I have to cook a bunch of food and take care of Arthur--all by myself.  Sorry, I was hoping to move on from that.  The good news is, maybe I'll have time on Sunday to post again.  Hope you guys are doing great, and I'll try to catch up on emails soon. 

Thanks to everyone who offered condolences for my grandma.  The funeral was Thursday morning, and it was actually easier to handle than I'd expected.  Before she died, she said that she didn't want anyone to get up and say nice things about her, because she didn't want people to cry at her funeral (see what I mean about her unselfishness?!  Even now, she amazes me).  So I managed not to cry, and I didn't see anyone else crying, either.  We went out to the cemetery afterward, and then they had a lunch at the church.  I got to see a lot of family that I hadn't seen in awhile.  Considering the circumstances, I think it went fairly smoothly.  

Since then, we've been hanging out at my parents' house along with my brother and his wife and son.  Their son Max is only nine months younger than Arthur, so it's been hilarious seeing them play together.  They've bonded over Thomas the Tank Engine, LOL.  Max is a cutie AND a genius (future heart-breaker).  Friday my good friend Jenny came over to visit and gave me an awesome notebook for keeping track of my writing ideas/quotes/inspirations, etc.  I was uber excited, and we had a fun chat.  This morning my family exchanged all of our Christmas presents, which resulted in a ton of great loot.  I won't go into detail, but a couple highlights:  an iTunes gift card for me, and a new set of Thomas stuff for Arthur.  Good times.  That boy has train on the brain.  Tonight was a big Christmas party for my dad's side of the family, which had lots of good food and lots of people.  So now I think our Christmas celebrations are finally over (awww).  It never quite feels like Christmas until I visit the place where I grew up. 

We're leaving my parents' house tomorrow afternoon and heading back home--and I think we'll stay there for awhile, LOL.  I'll have two days to return the house to some semblance of order, and then I'm jumping head first into the January writing project (name still pending...waiting for final results of poll).  I'll post one more time before the end of the year! 

 We got home last night (as planned) after spending four days visiting in-laws (as planned).  The unexpected part....my grandma (my mom's mom) died on Sunday the 23rd.  My mom called me Sunday morning and gave me the bad news.  I guess, in a way, it wasn't that big of a surprise.  My grandma was 91, and she'd been in the nursing home for the past two years.  Ever since she broke her hip a few years ago, she'd been having trouble with her leg.  She had to go to the nursing home because the bad leg kept causing her to fall.  She used to be really sharp, but in the nursing home her mind started to slip, and she had trouble communicating.  This past month, she'd been spending most of her time sleeping, and they ended up putting her on oxygen support because she was having trouble breathing.  She had a few other problems, and I guess it all added up to be too much for her.  You know all the cliches--"It's for the best," "She's in a better place now," etc.  Sounds hollow and dismissive, but in this case it almost rings true.  I know she wouldn't have wanted to stay in the nursing home, barely hanging on and unable to commuicate.  So when I picture her like that, I can accept her death and deal with it.  But it's harder when I think of how she was before she broke her hip.  She was active, enthusiastic, bright, funny, giving.  She had an incredibly strong faith, and she was more unselfish than anyone I've personally known.  She was always helping others and asking nothing in return.  When I was growing up, her house was about thirty minutes from mine, so I got to see her fairly often.  But I went to community college in the same town where she lived, and every Friday I'd stop by and eat lunch with her.  Then we'd sit and talk until I had to go to work.  That's what I miss most--just her and me, talking.  She was such a good person; she's one of my heroes.  

The funeral is tomorrow morning at 10, so we're leaving right after breakfast to drive down (it's almost two hours south of here).  And my brother and his family decided to fly out from Oregon to go to the funeral, too.  They'd been planning on flying out in January, and we were going to have our "Christmas" then.  But now the plans have changed, so we're all going to be at my parents' house from Thursday until Sunday.  It's actually working out better than if we'd done it in January.  Unfortunately, none of us had bought many presents for each other yet because we thought we had til January to get our shopping done!  So I went shopping this morning (Boxing Day, Tage!) and finished buying gifts for my family.  Then I came home and tried to tackle the mess that is our house.  Since we just got home after being gone almost five days, we had suitcases scattered around the house in various states of disarray.  I took out all the dirty clothes and did laundry, then folded clothes and repacked everything.  I wrapped presents and organized all our stuff...and now I'm wondering what I forgot.  It's been crazy coming home and getting ready to leave again.  Arthur didn't sleep very well while we were gone, so I'm hoping he sleeps a lot tonight and catches up a bit.

I'm also hoping I can make it through the funeral.  Your thoughts and prayers would be greatly appreciated.