Wednesday, September 30, 2009

The Mailbox

Our mailbox had been barely hanging onto it's post. We've really been needing to fix it for a while, but it's been low on our list of things to do.

Sometime in the past 24 hours, the mailbox lost it's tenuous grip on the post, and fell off. I'm guessing it happened sometime this afternoon, given that we didn't get a knock on the door with our mail from the postal worker.

Nicely, the kid who mows our lawn came to let me know, which gave me a good reason to actually go out to grab the mail. The mailbox is currently sitting back on top of it's post, but I doubt it's going to stay there. And I really don't have a way of fixing it right now.

This is just one more thing I don't think I'll miss about this house when we do actually move out of it, whenever that may be.

Oh, the joys of home maintenance!

Monday, September 28, 2009

7 Years

7 years ago, Ace and I met.

Today is Ace's grandmother's birthday. 7 years ago, on this day, he went to visit his grandmother (as did his parents, but in a separate car) and then he was invited to go to a cookout that his brother's college/young professionals church group was having. After initially refusing to go, Ace changed his mind.

I, on the other hand, was at my college apartment (it was an apartment literally owned by my college) trying to figure out what to wear to that very same cookout, as I was in the same church group (yep, I knew and was friends with Ace's brother a while before I ever met Ace). I wanted to hang out with friends and forget that I was interested in meeting a guy (the last guy I had met that was a potential boyfriend was flirting with other girls behind my back, which was only an issue because it was behind my back). I just wanted to have some fun.

Arriving at the cookout, I found out that a majority of my friends were watching a football game (something I'm not interested in). So, I made my way away from the football game, to sit and just try to clear my head. Then Ace's brother decided to come say hi, which lead to Ace following him shortly afterward because he (Ace) thought I was cute.

After a little while, Ace's brother decided to drift away and go back to watching the football game. Ace decided to stay by me and try to get to know me better. After a little while, his brother and another friend came back over and we decided to play Spades. Ace was originally partnered with his brother, but he pointed out that they had grown up together, so it probably wouldn't be the best combination. That was apparently a test to see who I would switch places with (or who I would demand to switch places). I switched places with Ace's brother, which is what Ace was hoping for, and the we played a few hands of Spades before it was time to go.

At that time, Ace offered to take me home, but I'm fairly sure that the group I rode down to the cookout with wouldn't have been as comfortable with me riding with a virtual stranger, so I declined his offer. But, we did start talking the very next day, and decided we were dating by the next week (at least, Ace had decided that and just told me we were dating).

And that is the story of how Ace and I met. Now you know.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Searching for Words

I've been quieter lately. Not just here, but in real life too.

I think I'm just not sure what the right words are to describe anything lately. I'm not depressed, but I'm not feeling quite myself either.

I'm feeling quiet, which isn't totally odd, because I don't have an outgoing personality (although, I do have a tendency to get louder and seemingly outgoing as I get to know someone better). I think that the quiet is because of all the changes we've recently made, including Guillermo going back to his new family. I think this is just a time of adjustment, and it's taken away my ability to communicate.

I think, for the first time in a while, I'm just not sure what to say or do or think or feel, so I've just gotten quiet. I'm trying to get still. I'm trying to find center. I'm trying to find the right words.

So, there you have it. I'm quiet because I don't know what else to be right now. And I think I'm okay with that.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Finding Strength

Sometimes, I find myself surprised that I'm not a quivering mass hiding under the blankets, because I figured that this or that would be the last thing I could handle at this point.

And yet, I still find the ability to continue on with life instead of hiding. I find hidden stores of emotional strength just when I think I've reached my breaking point.

More and more lately I've been wondering exactly how this happens, but tonight I realized why. It's because of God's grace.

Every time I think I'm at a breaking point, I find that he's given me the grace and the strength to continue. In fact, he seems to give me enough grace to find peace and humor in my situation.

That isn't to say that I never have tears to shed or a desire to skip past certain things. It just that the tears don't stay and there is grace to help me through those uncomfortable times.

I still find it amazing and awe-inspiring that God loves me enough to ensure that I'm not a quivering mass under my blanket, but instead am strong enough to hold my head up high and keep pushing through the bad times until I get to the good times.

And if He does it for me, He'll do it for you too. Because while I'm special to God, so are you.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Falling in Love Again

Ace and I spend his lunchtime texting back and forth. Today we talked about my wish that I was currently pregnant and not on my period.

Me: Don't you wish I was pregnant?
Ace: That would be nice. Yes.
Me: Because it would make me happy?
Ace: That's one reason.
Me: And what are the others?
Ace: It would make me happy too.

Now I ask you, how can I not fall in love again with someone who feels that way?

The simple answer is that I can't. He's just too sweet and perfect (for me) to not fall in love with all over again. And he keeps doing things or saying things to keep that happening.

Waiting, But Not

Oh people. This is a weird time. I'm waiting on several things to happen. The only thing I'm not waiting on is to find out if I'm pregnant or not (not).

I'm waiting for Karen & her new husband to get home from their honeymoon to pick Guillermo back up.

I'm waiting on my period to end, even though it just started.

I'm waiting on DVDs to come in the mail from Blcokbuster (Get Smart, for the laughs).

I'm waiting on Ace to get off work, even though his work day just started, so that we can be together again.

I'm waiting on the other big change I know is coming, but I'm not sure when it will get here.

And, while doing all this waiting, I'm trying to remind myself that there is more to life than just waiting. Because lately (and by lately, I mean most of the past year), that seems to be all I've been doing.

On the plus side, I've never been so patient.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Relaxing

Or: Today I Really Feel Like a Bum, Because I'm Taking the Day Off After Not Doing Much Lately

Yesterday, I spent too much time leaning forward and looking at stuff on my laptop. So, Ace and I agreed that today I would take it easy.

And, for the first time, I'm feeling like I'm being really lazy because I didn't do much during his days off. On the other hand, I know that it would be a good plan to take it easy so that I can actually do stuff around the house again tomorrow.

But I'm feeling like I'm being really lazy right now. And it's bugging me.

P.S.: I'm pretty sure that my hormones are making me cranky right now.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Guillermo's Accident

In the short time between when we gave Guillermo back to Karen and took him back to dog-sit for the honeymoon, he managed to get injured some. He's okay, but he's still healing.

According to Karen, they were out at the wedding site (or on their way? I'm a little fuzzy on that detail) and Guillermo got all muddy. So, when it was time to leave, they put him in the bed of the truck for the ride home. Well, he leaned out of the side, further than he should have been, and was enjoying himself (why do dogs like having their heads out the window when riding in a car?). The had just decided to stop and put him in the truck, when they got distracted with some firefighters collecting money.

Well, a short time later, they realized they couldn't see Guillermo's head in the back anymore. They pull over and realize that he's no longer in the bed of the truck and there are scratch marks from where he tried to hold on down the side of the truck. They go back and find him bleeding a lot and having made a mess of himself, which freaked Karen out because she couldn't stop thinking that there could be serious internal injuries.

So, they get him in the truck and rush him to the emergency vet. The vet sedates him so they can clean his injuries properly (they are mostly on his face). And, of course, they have to shave a few spots to ensure they get everything fixed up right.

From what we can see, he got a big gash on his face and couple of smaller injuries to go with it. I have to keep reminding myself that half of what makes his injury look so bad is that his face was partially shaved. But, he's obviously doing fine and it'll just take some time for all the scabs to be done and the fur to grow back so he'll look like the Guillermo we know and love.

But it's odd to see him injured like this, and it almost makes him seem smaller and more fragile. Karen is now determined that he will never ride anywhere but inside the car/truck to keep this from being a problem again. And we're all reminded that life is fragile and should be treasured.

P.S.: The wedding was beautiful, even if they did have to move it inside at the last minute because of weather and even if they didn't have the music they wanted to play during the wedding.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Excitement Barely Contained

Tomorrow, Karen is getting married. Oddly, this has required a bit of planning on my part that has nothing to do with her wedding plans. Mostly planning when I am going to do certain things.

Today is laundry day, which doesn't mean a whole lot, but it's also the day we are getting Guillermo back to dog-sit him until they return from their honeymoon, which meant that I had to put the lock back on the gate. Tonight, after Ace gets home from work, I'm making a run to Wal-mart to buy some nail polish (and possible a sleep mask, if I can find one). Then, I'll come home and paint my nails.

Tomorrow, I get to get up, shave, iron my skirt and Ace's shirt, and then try to relax for a couple of hours until it's time to go. Then, we get to put Guillermo outside and go watch our friend get married (she has said that she's putting us to work when we get there, so I'm not quite sure when we should get there).

So, I'm excited over here. I'm containing my excitement, but just barely.

TTFN!

P.S.: I'm waiting, as usual. Waiting gets kind of repetitive after a while, so you can see why I don't constantly talk about it each month.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Stress Release and Spaghetti Arrms

Today, Karen came by the house to give us a map to the wedding location and to pick up the money for a sofa that we'll get from her and her hubby to be eventually (it'll get to us, no one is quite sure when at this point). And then we provided her some stress relief by talking to her a little and making her laugh some. We also let her release some stress by listening to her talk about how stressful the past few weeks of wedding planning have been.

I know that after the wedding on Saturday her stress levels will drop a lot, but for now all the wedding details are driving her a little batty. She's actually happy that we only had a couple of quick and easy to do requests for her (dropping off a map, making sure she really didn't care which pants Ace wears to her wedding, and making plans for us to start dog-sitting Guillermo through their honeymoon). She didn't care about what pants Ace wears, as long as he doesn't distract from her on her wedding day, so we made her laugh with a suggestion of a bright orange suit.

Then, we did our clothes shopping for the wedding. Ace already had a shirt, but I was in need of one for wearing (also, I was potentially getting shoes, but instead I'll stick with a pair we already had). I found two shirts that will work, and after we got home I discovered that we got a great deal because the cost for both shirts was less than the original cost for one of the shirts individually.

Around 5, I did my exercises to help my shoulder, but I think I over-did it, because now my arms feel like spaghetti. They'll work, but they complain about it if there is any weight used.

So, yeah. Today was about stress reduction and spaghetti arms. Because that's how all random days go, right?

Monday, September 7, 2009

Adapting to Change

I've not been posting much lately, but a good part of that is that I've been trying to adjust to all these changes. The oddest part is that I'm starting to miss Guillermo a lot while Ace is at work in the evening.

That feels really odd, as Ace has only worked one evening so far.

However, I think the new sleep schedule is going to drive me crazy. Because we can stay up late at night, which Ace and I both prefer, we are staying up late at night. And then I still feel tired when I get up, which isn't all that different from before the shift change.

It's just been a weird time right now. But I'll find my bearings again soon.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Schedule Changes

One of the many changes coming up is Ace's work schedule is changing. He's going to start working afternoons and evenings. His days off are changing too.

It's going to be different, but I think it will work better for us to have him working in the evenings instead of the mornings.

But, we'll see how it all works out.

And now, I've got to go mess with my laundry, because laundry day waits for no one.

TTFN!