Monday, September 26, 2011

Catfish and Sleep

This past weekend, Ace and I went to visit my dad and step-mom. It was wonderful and relaxing and just what I needed. We ate wonderful food. We watched movies on their hi-def TV. We adjusted our sleep schedule to being up during the day and asleep at night.

The best meal we had, of all the wonderful meals we had, was when we went to have soul food at this hole-in-the-wall diner. The place was tiny, the food was filling, the plates were full. They served our drinks in mason jars. I ate fried catfish (oh my word, it was good), green beans (so yummy), and mac' n' cheese (homemade!). I ate my banana pudding dessert several hours later, because I had no room for it while we were still there.

After we finished eating, I swore I needed to go lay down, not because I was sleepy but because it would be disrespectful to the food not to. I spent most of the afternoon laying on the couch with my eyes closed, listening to some movie or other, and feeling content with how yummy my lunch had been. I probably dozed off a time or two, but I mostly just rested my eyes. It was totally a lazy Saturday.

That night, I went to bed at 9:30 p.m. Within 5 minutes, I was asleep. And I slept well.

I can hardly wait to get another chance to see my dad and step-mom again.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Drinking the Kool-Aid

So, after whining about social networking and acting like a crotchety "Get off my porch" old lady, I went and signed up for a Google+.

However (there's always a however, isn't there), I signed up for Google+ as M.A. Smith. It's my social networking site for this blog, not for my family. If you want to join my circles, find me there. I will be happy to have more people in my sad little blogging life.

For now, I'm going to try to figure out who else I need to follow over there, because it's kind of bare bones for me right now.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Daydreams

I daydream about taking a beach vacation. I imagine the warmth from the sun, the shade from the umbrella over me, the look of white sand on the beach and the water in shades of green and blue stretching out as far as my eye can see.

I imagine someone providing me with cold drinks to keep me from getting overheated. I imagine a book sitting on my chair for me to read when I get tired of watching the water. I imagine the breeze keeping me feeling comfortable.

After a while, I imagine walking out into the water, just wanting to see what the ocean feels like again. The water is cooler than the air, but not too cold. It feels nice with the heat of the sun hitting me directly. I imagine all the fish I can clearly see swimming around my feet. I've waded out a decent way from where I was sitting, and the water is only up to my waist.

I smile at Ace and gesture for him to join me. We splash around and joke and laugh. We act like newly-weds again. Then I head back to my chair to air dry and read. I relax and let every bit of stress fade away. I wish I never have to leave.

I find myself looking forward to when this is not just in my daydreams, but in my reality.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Overwhelmed

Lately I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed. It's been a quiet, contemplative thing for the most part. But it's not left me wanting to write here.

Ace and I have been talking a lot lately. More than we normally do on our topic. I'm starting to figure out that I've got to brush up on things I haven't yet. I'll have to ask people questions and learn some new things. It'll be better for me in the long run.

Hopefully with gaining knowledge, I'll start feeling less overwhelmed. I'll be able to handle some new responsibilities better and stop feeling so stressed about it. Just having a direction to go is starting to make me feel less overwhelmed.

And that's a good place to start.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

10 Years

It's been 10 years since two planes crashed into the World Trade Center.

As much as I'd love to say that day really impacted my life, it didn't. At least not that much.

I didn't fully understand what I heard on my radio as I got up and got ready for class. It wasn't until I was in class that I even knew what had happened. I had a doctor's appointment for a sinus infection. Gas stations in OKC decided to gouge people on gas prices, so I was told to wait a few days to get gas. I didn't really know what to think about the attacks, so I didn't.

I admire the men and women who helped out in New York City that day. The ones who were willing to die to pull someone out of a building. They are heroes. They deserve all the respect and admiration they get. I also admire the soldiers who signed up to fight because they knew this horrible tragedy was wrong.

I was still asleep when both towers were crashed into. My life was and is so insulated in Oklahoma that the only real impact I've felt is slightly higher gas prices and a decided lack of desire to fly anywhere because of security precautions.

But I still remember that it's been 10 years.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Thermostat Wars

It's back to the time of year that my in-laws turn off the a/c at night. We're back to the time of year when Ace and I need to turn it back on or else we have a room in roughly the 90s because of poor air circulation.

It doesn't help that last night my father-in-law had to sleep in the living room because of a problem with their bed (one that will hopefully be fixed soon). It meant leaving the door shut all night, so we wouldn't disturb him. It meant less air flow than we could have otherwise had.

I understand the theory behind turning off the a/c. It shouldn't get warm enough at night to need the a/c to kick on. It might save a few dollars. However, if it's not warm enough, it won't kick on even if you leave it on. That's kind of the point behind a thermostat. And how much are you really saving anyway?

I'm tired of the excess heat.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Busy

I haven't been posting the past few days for a couple a days. The reasons for this have been two fold.

1. There hasn't been anything happening worth posting about. Seriously, I've spent the past 5 days playing World of Warcraft most of the time and sleeping when I haven't been playing for the most part.

2. I've been busy doing stuff with WoW. Stuff that I could post about, but this isn't a WoW blog. I'm happy to not talk about it here, because it's been a bit all encompassing to my life lately. I've had few conversations that didn't revolve around WoW or sleep.

I just thought you might want to know that I'm still alive.