Cat Sitting

Jess brought her kitty home a week early, so as not to have to worry about him getting out while she was loading the moving van. He is actually a very good cat, and well behaved for the most part. The thing that is funny about him, is he is JUST like Jess - very demanding of your time, and very vocal. He will follow me around into every room I am in, talking the whole way. It's just like having Jess at home while she is gone.

The Weight Shed Is Open!

The shed is finally finished and I am officially open for business. I have got all of the construction done, equipment purchased and everything arranged: now all I need are the clients!

Now that the actually weight shed is finished, it's time to buckle down and get all of the administration end of the business taken care of. I have a name and logo locked down now, and am hard at work putting together a web site. The new site will be www.theweightshed.net. Unfortunately the .com was taken, so I had to go with .net, but  hopefully that will be okay.... well, it's going to have to be, because that's what I've got.

I still have a long list of things that need to be taken care of, but this has been a fun adventure, and I hope it will only get more fun as I get clients to work with: I already have a couple in the irons ready to go, and should actually start training next week.

Adult Children Are Tough

I love being a mom. I have loved every stage of my mothering adventure. Each stage has been a blessing and a joy. Cuddling with a sleeping baby, the excitement of the first steps, craft time with the grade schooler - I actually even loved the teen years and really connected with my kids on a deeper level during that time. One of the things I loved the most as my children grew up was watching them interact with each other, and seeing the amazing bond that they had: my kids have always been incredibly close. But, this adult thing has been a huge challenge fore me!

I'm not sure what has happened over the last couple of years, but things just aren't what they used to be. I know that kids grow up and become their own, individual self. I love that fact! I have always been so excited to have my kids move out of my house and watch them start their own lives. There was never a problem with empty nester's syndrome here. I wanted them to experience life in their own ways. But, something has happened to their brain, and I swear I didn't have this problem when I was their age.

When my kids hit about 18 they all of the sudden thought they were old enough to do everything on their own. Great! Independence is good! That's what I raised you to be. However, I am discovering what is happening instead is a complete train wreck, and all I can do is stand on the side lines and watch. Boundaries are tested. Newly found independence is explored. Everything I have taught them is forgotten. Advice is no longer wanted or heard. They do not want me, nor need me..... UNTIL, shit hits the fan, then my shoulder, pocket book and support is needed - and stat! I have to watch the train wreck take place, and then appear out of the dusty fog to pick up the pieces. And, that amazing sibling bond that has been there all these years is weak and bending in heat of disaster.

It is a very painful thing for me to watch. It tears my heart out and makes me want to cry. I want to slap each child, and lock them in a room together until they figure it out, just like I did when they were little. Ah..... when they were little. A time when I could make them do what I wanted them to, punish them when they didn't, and make them hold hands until they weren't mad any more and were instead laughing and joking with each other again.

My heart is heavy tonight. It is aching for times past, for relationships tested, and for the growing pains that are being experienced. I wish it were as easy as putting a Band-Aid on a skinned knee. I guess all I can do is wait, and be there once again when I am needed.

I HATE IKEA

I hate IKEA. I hate just about everything about it. I hate the fact that when you walk into the store, you are at the start of one gigantic rat maze. I swear there must be someone in a room somewhere, in a white lab coat, with a clipboard taking notes. It's a human/social experiment on a grand scale. For crying out loud, at least give me my piece of cheese at the end! But all you get is a Sweedish Meatball.

Which leads me to another thing about IKEA that I hate and do not understand: the food. People go crazy over the food there, and make special trips to the store just to eat in the "restaurant". I use the term restaurant loosely, because it's really nothing more than a big fatty cafeteria. Seriously? I could drive down the street to the hospital and get just as good a meal, and not have to stand in line for it. I will never understand that pull.

The biggest thing I hate about IKEA is the attitude of the clientele there. There is this strange phenomenon that happens when people walk into those doors - every thing slows way down. I feel like I'm in the middle of a Matrix fight scene. People walk SO slowly in there it's freakin' ridiculous. I usually make it a game to see how many people I can pass in 30 seconds, and start playing "Burn Out" in my head - the closer to the person, the more points you recieve. 

Two other things seem to happen in this store as well.... 1. People want to touch everything. It's not good enough to just look at it, they have to feel it and run their hands up and down it. They want to make sure their lamp shade is just the right texture. 2. People's bodies follow their eyes. Instead of just looking the right and left, they will look to the left, and as their eyes shift so does their body, so that they all of the sudden switch course - right - in - front - of - you. Err, merr, gerrd!

So, why do I go into this nightmarish Hell? Well, I am always looking for the best deal I can find, and admittedly I really like their storage and lighting sections of the store: they have some amazing lighting! So, about once a year, when I have forgotten all of the frustrations of my last attempt to shop at this store, I venture in. As soon as I walk through the doors I remember, but heck, I'm here now.... so "Burn Out" Begins.

God help me!

Men Are Dirt Blind!

Jeff is gone. Jess will more than likely move from Ellensburg into her own apartment, or only be here for a short time and then be gone. This house is totally mine now, and I am in FULL ON purge mode. I am making it how I want it - and that includes clean.

I'm not sure what is wrong with the male eye, but it doesn't work as well as the female eye. The problem is either in the eye, or in the connective/computing tissue between the eye and the brain. It's a strange phenomenon, but men don't see dirt. It can be right there in front of them, staring them straight in the face, and they either don't see it or just cannot compute that it's there.

Jess has been pretty much moved out of our house now for two years, with the exceptional weekend, mid-break or summer. This means that Jeff has been the sole user of the main bathroom upstairs. I don't use it. Even if I just have to run to the bathroom super quick, I use my bathroom. It's kind of a weird thing, but I will walk past the hall bathroom to go use my own: that's my space so that is where I go. So, this bathroom has been completely Jeff's for two years.

I have refused to clean said bathroom. That is not my pee splatter, pubic hair, whisker dusted bathroom. I shouldn't have to clean up after my adult son, he is old enough to clean up after himself....... right? Well, apparently the answer to that question is a resounding WRONG! I have been itching to gut that stinking (and I mean that in the literal sense) bathroom for a long time now, but I haven't out of a matter of principle. Now, with Jeff gone, I feel it is finally my space again, which means my responsibility to clean again.

The very first thing I did was rip the shower doors out. I HATE shower doors!!! They are impossible to keep clean. Water gets in the tracks, it gets scummy, and it's impossible to out completely. I have been trying to keep those stupid things clean for years (with the exception of the last two of course ;o). Out they go! Then I spent the next hour, yes you read that right, ONE HOUR cleaning out that bloomin' shower. Jeff had let the soap scum build up so bad that it actually stained the tile in several places. I scrubbed and scrubbed two layers of scum out of that tub/shower.

Since I was making it the way I wanted it, I added a little bit of bathroom bling as well - flowers, hand towel rack, clock and a new picture. I cleaned that bathroom until it sparkled. Jeff was pretty good at keeping the mirror and sink clean, so that didn't take too long, but the toilet and floor were other matters. I think Jeff thought the only part of a toilet that needs to be cleaned is the bowl: and that floor. I don't even think the poor floor ever even got a token clean in the two years that Jeff had control of that bathroom. It was AWE-FUL.

It was almost an all day project, but now my guest bathroom............. guest bathroom, that sounds nice............ is amazingly clean. I am not embarrassed to have someone over and let them use my bathroom any more. I have walked in there several times now, just to admire the cleanliness. If cleanliness is next to godliness, then that bathroom is heaven. 

I may even start taking baths again.

Sometimes Being Female SUCKS

I love being a woman. I love being a mom, wife, sister and daughter. I love clothes, shoes and my long  hair. I love feeling feminine and yet strong at the same time. BUT what I DON'T love is my ovaries and uterus. Seriously?! I was like done with those 21 years ago! That is SO in my past. Now all they do is cause me misery and pain. I usually have about 1-2 days where I am completely useless. I am bent over in pain, have a splitting head ache and feel like vomiting up yesterdays tacos - not a pleasant experience! 

I am a very disciplined person most of the time. I exercise hard 5-6 days a week, I watch what I eat, and keep unhealthy foods to a minimum. Ya know, my body is a temple and all of that: mostly I just want my ass to look good in my jeans. But, when the uterus speaks my brain shuts off and I have ZERO control. Soda, peanut butter and chocolate chips, french fries and chips and guacamole become my 4 main food groups. I eat them all, generously, and I don't care. And exercise? Hell, I already feel like I was run over by a Mack Truck, why would I inflict more pain on myself by hefting a 30 pound kettle-bell over my head?

I have contemplated asking my doctor to just yank those lady parts out....... my dream: hysterectomy with tummy tuck. Do they even do those surgeries at the same time, because if they don't, someone needs to start. That would be a huge money maker and I predict a very popular procedure. If you're gonna be cut open anyway, why not get a new and improved tummy in the process?

I guess it's time for Mr. Pepsi and his brother Peanut M&M's to comfort me in my moment of weakened misery. Thank goodness it only lasts a day or two!

The Gym Floor Is Done

This morning I finished putting in my gym floor, which was quite a feat considering that the concrete flooring underneath, and the walls, are as wavy as the Caribbean Sea. You get a nice straight line cut on the edge, go to put it down..... damn, the wall isn't straight. So, the next 10 minutes are spent trying to get the flooring square to curve around just right with that curved wall. I do have to say though, that it turned out pretty good.

My other accomplishment was fixing my elliptical. It took two hours, and a few choice words, but after completely getting it disassembled and tinkering around with it for a while, I finally figured out what was wrong. Turns out I didn't have to tear it apart after all - it was a loose screw in the right wheel. But, it's back together again and working just great. It's so nice to hop on there and  have it run quietly! I am SO excited about that, because I was almost ready to just get rid of it.

Just a few more finishing touches and I will be ready to rock n' roll! Now all I need is the clients.

Jeff Is Out.

 

I have decided that I am coming back to blogging. I have missed having a place to organize my life events on. There are so many significant things going on in my life right now that I feel I need a place to record them. And since no one ever reads this blog anyway, I am going to put whatever I damn well feel like on here: my emotions and everything. I am keeping this for myself and no one else.

 

If that is the case, then why put it on a public forum for others to see instead of just keeping a journal on my computer? Because I already have blogger set up, I like the way it is organized, and I don't really care if anyone reads this I'm just not going to write with others in mind. What's on my mind will come out in my entries. I mean no disrespect or offense to anyone, and you don't have to read this - I will be actually amazed if anyone does anyway.

 

I find it kind of funny that I ended my posts with Jessica getting her own apartment at college, and am starting up again with Jeff getting his. I am so excited for Jeff! He has been working so hard the last couple of years to get his life on track with a good job and security. Now he has a great job working for the Better Business Bureau, is engaged and very happy, and has is own place. This is cause for celebration for me! You will not see me moping around the house with empty nester's syndrome, and pining the days when my kids were home. I am having a party! I am excited for my kids to move on, have their own lives, and me to have mine. Isn't that what you raise your kids to do - move out and have lives of their own?

 

I am very excited for the next stage in all of our lives.