A post for the parents out there

One of the books that I am currently reading is White Noise, by Don DeLillo. I came across a passage the other day that I thought every parent I know would appreciate, or, for that matter, anyone who has children in their life.

“Watching children sleep makes me feel devout, part of a spiritual system. It is the closest I can come to God. If there is a secular equivalent of standing in a great spired cathedral with marble pillars and streams of mystical light slanting through two-tier Gothic windows, it would be watching children in their little bedrooms fast asleep.”

When I read this I thought about all the times I have found peace just by watching my niece or one of my nephews sleeping. You can’t help but get a smile on your face and feel completely calm, especially if they happen to be curled up on your lap asleep. It has such a calming affect on me, that I often awake to find that I have fallen asleep myself while I have been rocking a baby. To have children in your life is to be truly blessed.

Cabin Fever

Help me!!! I have been stuck in my house for three days now and I am starting to go nuts. On Friday I started feeling a little stuffy, and by Saturday morning I decided that I definitely had a cold. And it is one of those miserable ones that make you just not want to do anything. I was supposed to see Eric again on Saturday, but that had to be canceled. We thought we might reschedule for yesterday, but I only felt worse, not better. Then to make things even better, last night the stomach virus from hell decided to strike again. So, on top of having a miserable cold, I was up all night praying to the porcelain god, again. To put it nicely, I was not a happy camper. Now I am still stuck in my house, and it is pouring down the rain outside, leaving me feeling all glum. I have watched more TV in the last three days than I figure I watched all of last month. I tried reading, but the congestion has given me a headache and reading makes it worse. So, I figured I would bitch and complain some and see if that made me feel any better. Unfortunately, it hasn't worked. But, I guess it was worth a try. :(

Forgot something!

I forgot one very important detail about Valentine’s Day! Are you ready for it?!?!?!

Baci liked him!!!

Isn’t that amazing? The dog that doesn’t like anyone except me liked Eric. She went after his feet a couple of times right after he got there, but never actually tried to bite him. In fact, she was happy to curl up on his lap and be pet—without even growling at him. The funny thing is that she didn’t want me to move her! Normally if I tell her to get down she will. Not with Eric though—I had to keep forcibly removing her from his lap. And the second that I would turn my back or not pay attention to her, she would be right back. One time she even growled at me when I tried to get her to move!!! Eventually she finally gave up and curled up at my feet, happy and content. There wasn’t any point in the evening when I felt the need to lock her up.

I am going to take this as a good sign. Either Eric is a good guy and I should stick with him, or Baci's drugs are finally working. :) Whichever it is, I am very happy and excited to see what happens in the future.

Finally, a HAPPY post! :)

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you! I know I am a day late, but I have a good reason. :)

Eric made it home in time! Yeah!!! We just finished the most wonderful day together. And he spoiled me absolutely rotten!

He showed up shortly before one, and the spoiling began. He gave me the first of my presents--an amazing antique case with a bottle of Stoli Vanil Vodka and a bottle of Kahlua inside. Then we headed to see Sideways at the theatre. Our reservation for dinner was not until 7:00, so to pass the time we decided to head into Charleston and do some shopping. We wandered around the mall for a bit, stopping by Starbucks for a drink, then headed downtown to check out the local shops. At the Capitol Market he bought me two bottles of wine, my next present. :) At Taylor Books we were discussing what type of books each of us enjoy, and he ended up buying me a book! I told him that I have always enjoyed Arthurian Legends, but have never read Malory's Le Morte d' Arthur. He couldn't believe that, so, I now own it and will likely start it tonight before I go to sleep. Then we went to Mykonos for dinner and it was absolutely delicious. The evening ended with us curled up on my couch watching Amelie, drinking one of the bottles of wine. Oh--I almost forgot my last present!!! When I got home there was a huge bouquet of flowers sitting on my bar, with two balloons floating above them-roses, daisies, mini-roses, and little pinkish purple flowers that I have no idea of their name. And the sweetest card, not that I am going to tell you all what it said. :) (He was a little surprised by that one, only because he couldn't figure out how they got inside the house without us being here. The flower shop delivered them across the street and when my mom came over to let Baci out, she brought them in for me. It was very, very funny, actually.)

It was such a great, great day--exactly what I was needing. It was so wonderful to see him again! Even without all the presents, the day would have been fabulous. It was five months in the making, and worth every minute of the wait. :)

The Saga Continues

Just when you think things can't get any worse, fate has a way of proving you wrong.

In the past two weeks you have read about my dad first losing his vision and then finding out that he has diabetes. Now the kicker--he lost his job yesterday. As though the man didn't have enough worries on his mind!

He is going to fight it in every way that he can, and I really think he will win in the end. But things are going to be tough. I am so worried about him! I have always liked to think that God won't give you more than you can handle. I can only hope and pray now that this is the truth.

For those of you that know me and my family, you know what makes this extremely tough on me--tougher than it is for the rest of my family. For those of you that don't, here is why: the people that fired my dad are the same people that I work for. I have to continue working for these people now, pretending that I have respect for them. I haven't had any respect for my boss in a long time, and this is yet another reason to continue having no respect for her. Or for the people that are higher in the system than what she is. I am so pissed that they did this!!! If I felt for a second that my dad had done anything wrong, I wouldn't feel this way. But he hasn't! From the fact that I have worked with him for the past nine years, I can tell you that without feeling that I am lying or trying to cover up anything or just protecting my dad. He really and truly did his job the way that he was directed to do. And for that, he was fired. It is so frustrating!

Anyways, that is the news for today. Sorry I couldn't give you anything happier.

More updates

We got more news about dad this week. He has now been diagnosed as a diabetic. The doctor gave him a little kit with lots of info and all the stuff to test his blood sugar, put him on some new meds, and made him an appointment with a dietician. I feel so sorry for the poor guy--his whole life has been turned upside down in the last two weeks.

In other news, I hosted another successful poker night this past Friday. Why am I waiting until now to tell you about it? Because I got up Saturday morning at 5 am sicker than I have ever been in my life. This new stomach virus that is going around is a doozie, so do everything in your power to keep from getting it. It has been five days now and I am still not back 100%. Thankfully, the vomiting is over though, so I am on the mend. I am so terrified that the people who were here for poker on Friday are going to get it! All I can do is say I am sorry if you do--if I'd had any idea I was sick, I would never have had you guys over!

My nephew, Noah, turned one on Friday and his party was Saturday. I unfortunately had to miss it, what with my head hanging over the toilet and such, but from what I understand it was a lot of fun. I really hated to miss it. I know he will never remember that I wasn't there, but that is such a big day in a baby's life, and I had to miss it all. :(

Good news now--Eric is back in the United States!!!! He is in Indiana for demobilization (at least I think that is what it is called) right now and will hopefully be traveling back to WV this weekend. So, looks like he will be home for Valentine's Day! He called this evening and I was able to actually talk to him for the first time since September. It was so nice to just hear his voice again. I am SOOOOO looking forward to him getting home! :)

That is about it for now. Oh, except that my computer has been hijacked by spyware and I can't seem to get it off my system. Ever so much fun.

Happy Birthday Baciana!

Baci turned three years old today! It is hard to believe that she is no longer a puppy. She still looks and acts so much like one! This makes her 21 in human years now, so she I guess she can legally drink! :)