It's not supposed to snow in the South!

That was SO not how I wanted to spend the w/e! We headed up to NC on Friday after work to attend a religious assembly. We were staying in Charlotte, but the actual assembly is about 30 miles north of there. Well, it was sleeting/snowing on our way up, but not too bad if you took the roads slow. We got to our hotel & got settled.

Well, by Sat everything had frozen over so badly that the authorities were advising not to travel unless necessary. There were reports on every news channel of one accident after another. There were even 2 fatalities from weather related accidents. Here's a pic of the view on Sat-

Not good, not good at all. We decided that it would not be smart to travel the additional 30 miles there & back & to just spend the day day in the hotel. Which wouldn't have been so bad EXCEPT that it was a frickin Mic.ro.tel! Ok, I'm a hotel snob. I worked in the hotel industry for 7yrs. The last year that I was in it, I managed & was taught how to inspect rooms as part of my job. Once you do it, it doesn't go away! So, long story shortened, we had originally booked a Qua.lit.y Su.ite.s (that we've stayed at before) & it got changed a couple days before we left so that we'd be in a place close to my aunt who was travelling with my gramma (THEY had booked a res.iden.ce by mar.rio.t a few wks before at a great price). And the Mic.ro.tel was booked on Exp.ed.ia, so completely non-refundable! I don't think this pic quite does it justice. It doesn't show the peeling wallpaper or the spots on the upholstery. It does show the tacky wall-to-wall mirror though & the bad lighting. Oh & I ended up there without DH because the weather caused plenty of water damage. AND the first night I was there, the couple in the room next to me were having so much fun that it shook my bed & the tacky mirror.

By yesterday afternoon, we were bored silly. We found an open IHOP for dinner, then ran into Wa.lgre.ens to find stuff to do. We didn't plan to get stuck in a hotel, so none of us had brought much in the way of fun. I didn't even grab the laptop! I actually bought a coloring book & box of crayons! Also a new s.odu.ko book, that'll be useful at work too.

One of the biggest issues with this weather is that this area just doesn't have the equipment to get the slush & stuff off the road. So whatever thaws during the day refreezes at night. Today we decided to head home while it was sunny & daylight, the interstate was actually pretty dry. We'll have to go up another w/e though so we can go to the assembly.

Here's a pic of the same view before we left. At least it was sunny.

I was in such a ticky mood by the time I got home, I felt bad for DH. Then I got a call from work asking me to come in...I declined (let's talk wiping out occurances & i'll think about coming in after my crappy w/e). My mood was pretty much shot after that! I'm happy to say that a 1/2 hr on the Wii Fit fixed that pretty well though. And DH made me gluten free pasta. :)

Talk to you all tomorrow! BTW- thanks so much for the support on the last couple of posts. You ladies are the best! (((HUGS)))

I'm still on the planet

Again, sorry for the long times between posts. Little sis is doing better. They ended up admitting her for a couple days last week to adjust the meds & monitor her, she got out on Sat. This week, she's doing the day program & got her work sched changed to evenings. It's good to see her able to go back to work.

So, there's more to her issue than just the Bi-polar & this is mega- TRIGS- Really, you can skip to the next paragraph if you need to....... This is the first time that she's felt ready & safe enough to open up to anyone about this, but she was raped when she was about 8. I can honestly tell you that we didn't know, but we completely believe her. It was a business aquaintance of dads & the guy was a total creep (not the same religion, if that matters). She had always maintained that he was evil, but she'd never told any of us why she felt so strongly about that. I'm so angry for her. I'd probably kill him myself if given the opportunity. She & I have always been really close & I've really been hurting for her that she's had to deal with that for this long. It also turns out that her (soon to be ex) husband was a total monster, he was normal around everyone, but abusive to her behind closed doors. Another one who I'd hurt if given the chance. No one shouls ever have to go through that, ever. I think she'll do better now that it's out & she can deal with it. It scares me to think that something like that can happen even when the family is close & the parents are protective.

On a different subject- Older sis' surgery is Feb 26. A clarification- older sis is mentally handicapped. The question of whether they'd put her out for the surgery was an honest question. As Misty asked me last week- How the heck did I turn out normal? Maybe "normal" is a subjective term! =^O

On the IF front- I went in for b/w today!!! Yes, I know, about time. My Dr's nurse rules. When I asked her to order this, I asked for a PCOS panel & a thyroid panel that specifically tests T3 & T4. She said "Sure thing, baby girl", no arguements. Then I explained that the important thing is that it's coded for pain or abnormal Cs, not IF. She said "Oh absolutely sweetie, if it's for IF, you'll spend a load & we don't want that, so I'll take care of the coding for you". I double checked this morning & it was coded for dysmenorrhea. :) I told you she rules! They took 3 vials & the tech was nice. I just wish she would've used a butterfly needle instead, she ended up pushing the needle in a little further by the time she got to the 3rd vial. Oh well, I lived through it & have a slight bruise. I should have answers in about a week. Bring on the meds! Let's get me pg!

I joined an "Activate the Upstate" program through work. We're suppose to exercise at least 30 mins x 5days/wk. We also have to weigh in every Friday. Our team can win prizes based on how the members do. Of course, the best prize is weight loss. I've been using my Wii, it's so easy! I find that the time flies by on it. My fav gave is the hula hooping, I can't do a real one to save my life, so it's fun to rock that game.

Movies- Leap Year was really good, I went to see it with a friend yesterday. It'll make you want to go to Ireland (which we want to do anyway! DH is Irish & can trace his family back to when they came over). Who said UP was cute? I cried almost all the way through the stupid thing! It had enough funny lines to give me a couple laughs, but was overall really sad!

Ok, I've clearly run out of things to talk about. I'm gonna go meet mom for lunch, Thai, YUM! I'll talk to you all soon. (sooner than 2wks!) :)

Holy crap, what a week!

I'm sorry I've been MIA. This past week went so hectically by I barely had a moment to breathe.

It started on Tues when mom got a call from little sis in a panic attack. Mom was at the hosp with older sis (i'll get to that in a minute) & so dad went over to give her an Ativan & see about calming her down. Long story short- the house was trying to kill her & her dvds were jumping around & making fun of her for trying to straighten them. So, mom gets there to relieve dad, but still has older sis with her, which is not real condusive to conversation about anything real. Mom texts little sis (yes, in the same room) that she'd going to drop older sis off at home & will be right back, then leaves to do that. In the literally 10 minutes that mom is gone, sis decides to take off & meet a friend for a movie. (btw- if you've never taken ativan, it's an awesome drug. but you should not drive or make any other important decisions while on it!) She got as far as meeting up with the friend before she broke down again & her friend had her leave her car in a parking lot & drove her back home.

Mom met up with them a sis's place & assured the friend she'd be ok. Mom was trying to talk to sis & find out why she thought it was a good idea to leave the house. Little sis said "they" told her to. That "they" were always telling her what to do. Mom starts questioning this- Your friends? The people at work? Your family? No to all the above, the voices that keep argueing in her head. By now, there's no way mom's leaving her on her own & she kept sis with her for the rest of the day. (having been at work all day, i learned this all after the fact)

After we dropped sis off Tues night (her room mate was home), mom, dad & I decided that something had to be done about this. We agreed to let her sleep the night. Wed, I went into work, talked to the VP of operations, told him what was going on & that I needed the day off. Mom & I took sis into the ER. The goal was that they would admit her to an inpatient program to get the help she needs. The psychiatrist on duty was useless though. He said he thinks she's Bi-polar, that she needed to be on anti-psychotics, & that she needed to see a psych. Uh, ok (& you're a monkey in a suit?). He didn't even do a med change, but released her on a suicide watch.

She found a program on Thurday that will let her do a partial in-patient. She's required to be there from 9-3 Mon-Fri. until at least the end of this wk & possibly next wk. She is not allowed to be alone when she's not there. (the good thing is that they changed her meds on friday) So there's that. Sorry it got long.

Other stuff- Older sis's facial lump is def not cancer, but needs to come out. (what mom had her at the dr for on tues). The surgery will be set for some day in Feb. Dr explained the whole proceedule to sis & possibly risks of loosing control over facial muscles for a while. Gets all done & asks if she has any questions.... "yes, you will be putting me out for this, right?" It's ok to laugh about that. We all have been (not around her of course)

- I've barely seen DH since about the 1st. We've had a cold snap here & it's been freezing pipes left & right. He's cleaned a LOT of water! Tip if you live where it doesn't usually get this cold- leave your faucet dripping a little to prevent frozen pipes. Also, if your HVAC is in the attic, you just might want to go up there make sure there's enough insulation around the pipes.

- We got a Fit for the Wii & I'm totally addicted. I'm not very good at some of the games, I have ~no~ rhythem! But I find it easy & fun to do, so I keep going back to it!

- This was supposed to be my 3-day w/e to really get stuff done! I ended up taking OT at work Sat, spent yest at mom & dad's (mom ended up with some cold/flu thing from all the stress & was finally feeling better, so we made bread & cut each other's hair), then WAAAAY slept in today! I'm going to make a short list of stuff to do so I can feel like I accomplished more than blogging! I'll talk to you all soon! :)

Welcome to 2010!

I tried to just update this on to my last post, but don't know how. Here's my fav version of this song. It's a little long, but SO pretty! (btw- i LOVED that movie!)

Time's March

It's so hard to believe that we're at the end of a year. The end of a decade actually. The thought of time has been with me for the past few days.

It's been 10 yrs already that DH & I have been together. We said hello to the new century together 10 yrs ago (i will leave out the debate that there was no yr "0", so technically the millenium thing was a year early). It doesn't feel like it's been that long.

Overall, 2009 has not been that great. Yet I'm feeling more hopeful for some things than I was a year ago. I've been thinking about the whole concept of "resolutions" & I'm not a huge fan of them. I do though have a mental list of a few things I'd like in 2010. The funniest thing is that most of them are not really in my control. I can contribute to a few of them though, so will do my best.

The one that prob goes w/o saying is that I'd like a healthy pg that results in a live birth. Seems simple enough, right? I'm happy to have ins going into this yr & hope that I can finally get answers & solutions. (BTW- i left a mssg for my dr's office 2wks ago, they haven't called back. they may have just lost a patient!)

I'd like to be more organized. I'm working on this. I have gone through boxes of papers & junk & gotten rid of a LOT of unnecessary baggage. I think another good day of two will do it. Then, I'd like to STAY organized! I've always wanted one of those houses where everything is in order & I would know where to find it.

I need to loose more weight. I've shared just about every aspect of my life with you ladies for a couple years now, so here's some honesty. I used to be a trim size 10. My lowest weight ever was 145, a healthier weight for me is from 150-160. My heaviest ever was 293 & a size 24! In the last 2yrs, I've lost a little over 45lbs & gotten down to a size 20. Other than really not liking the way I look, I know that the extra weight is not healthy. I may not ever be a 10 again, but I'd accept a size 12 & want to be no more than 175. I really don't eat unhealthy, but I don't exercise as much as I should. So I'm going to try to spend 20-30 minutes/day doing something active. I also think Met would help.

I want to keep getting our finances in order so we can buy a house. Really sick of apt living! Plus I know that if it comes to adoption, we would need to have stable finances.

I want my sister back. I really have no control over this one. I'll give a brief explaination & you can ask any questions you want. To be one of Jehovah's Witnesses, there are requirements for how to live your life. She chose not to. In fact, she made a couple of really stupid choices & was not at all cooperative when the elders tried to correct her. So after trying to work with her, the decision was made back in July to disfellowship her. This means she's no longer serving as one of Jehovah's Witnesses & she is cut off from association. Due to a few other things she's been going through, the family has not cut her off completely & of course I still see her at work. But the contact is not what it was. It's for necessary business, not the close together, hanging out as sisters, everyone together for dinner that it used to be. I really miss that & I really miss her. (we've been best friends our whole lives.) Disfellowshipping is discipline, so it doesn't have to be permanent, but they have to WANT to come back. (once they do, they are accepted back with open arms. think of it like a child being given a time out) She's finally accepted being on medication, so I think she's starting to think more clearly. She's also realizing what she's lost & has begun to take steps to correct it. I just hope she continues to make progress & comes back.

Well, I have to work this afternoon/evening, so I'd best get going. If any of you are going out tonight, drive safely! See you all next year! :)