Ghost Rider

I wanted to tell a funny story about what E said to Lori a few days ago. I think it would be funnier for me to tell you in person as opposed to typing it, but as it goes...



E goes to daycare with 4 boys and the boys are all really big into comics. Well, recently that movie Ghost Rider came out (the one with Nicholas Cage) and so they were talking about the movie. One of the little boys had brought a poster or something from the movie with them one day, and Lori asked of the group "Who is that?" And E piped up "That's my mommy." After a turn of the head and a good laugh, Lori replied "No, that's Ghost Rider." E said, "Nope. That's mommy."



So, apparently my daughter views me as a hell-blazing vigilante. How did I get this image?!



---



In other news, the cabin failed it's inspection yesterday. The guy didn't even come in and look around... he didn't talk to anyone, he just put a sticker on the door that said "Not ready". Because of this I have an issue with this man, and - after they pass their inspection next week - I will be giving him a piece of my mind. I was so fired up yesterday when Shelley told me what he did. Apparently, inspectors are God's gift to the planet and "non-inspectors" are scum. I will be informing him otherwise in a few short days. Beware, inspector man... Ghost Rider Mom is coming, BEWARE!



For your entertainment...


Sorry the picture isn't very big, but it was the best I could do in a short amount of time. And, yes, that's me on the right side of the picture.

My Baby Brother

Not much new to report. Still plugging away at the cabin. They were supposed to have their final inspection today, but I don't know the outcome.

My 'rents are in WI visiting my mom's sister, so I have Thomas (because he's not allowed to stay at mom and dad's by himself anymore because he's a stupid boy.) Anyway, I called Thomas when I got home from the cabin last night and - where was he? - he was at mom and dad's. I informed him that the point of him staying with me was for him NOT to be at mom and dad's, so I told him to come over to my house. HE SAID NO! Bwah?! He told me "I'm almost 18, I have a job, I pay for most of my own stuff..." So. He pays for gas. That's pretty much all I can think of. So, let's make a list of things he doesn't pay for, just for fun. Food (though he buys his own food sometimes), rent, electricity, cell phone bill, internet, doctor's bills, car insurance. That list is longer, I'm sure.

What was the point of that exercise? Oh yes. He wants so badly to be an adult (or at least to do grown-up things), but he takes none of the responsibility. I am ALLOWING him to stay at my house, sleep in E's bed, use my electricity, but since he's "almost 18" he doesn't think that him getting home whenever he wants (2 am Tuesday night) is disrespectful. All I asked was for him to be home at a reasonable time during the week because I have to be up at 4:30. Friday and Saturday nights, fine, stay out as long as you'd like, just tell me where you are. Am I being unreasonable?

Well, all I can say is that he is going to have one rude awakening when he decides to head out on his own. *sigh* Tati, Tati, Tati....

Sorry for that little rant. I feel better now that I have that off my chest.

Oh, I tried to go give blood today, and for the second time in a row I couldn't. The first time (a couple of months ago) my temperature was too high. Now, my hemoglobin (iron) is too low. Ridiculous. I did get a cool t-shirt, some playing cards, a magnet and a glass. I donate my blood to the Armed Services Blood Program. To find a donation site near you go to www.tricare.osd.mil/asbpo. I did a little snooping through the website and found out that only 1% of the US population has my same bloodtype - AB neg. Fascinating.

Holy Hands

I have a thing for sunrises and sunsets. This was the sunset last night. This is a view of Mill Creek from my parents road. *sigh* It's so pretty.



Yesterday at church E got up with my mom and was singing the praise songs. She knew one of the songs and I could actually hear her singing! Then, last night, we laid down for bed and I was holding her hand. She pulled her hand out, put her hands together like a cup, and said "No Mommy, these are HOLY hands." Indeed.



Had another "Log Cabin-ee" weekend this weekend. We did take a break on Saturday afternoon and drove up to Baltimore for Michelle and Ryan's party. It was really good to see everybody and it was a very pleasant day.



I'm a little anxious about the cabin. Final inspection is supposed to be scheduled for Friday and I think there is more work than we can do by Friday. My plan is to spend every spare minute this week out there. This weekend, Sarah and I put in the walls of the spare bedroom dormer. But the ceiling still has to be finished in both dormers. Master bathroom and closet walls still need to go up. Log siding still needs to go up. Gutters and spouts need to go up. A door needs to go up on one of the bedrooms, and about 6 access doors need to be made and hung. That's a lot to be done over the next 4 1/2 days. Not to mention all the stuff I'm forgetting. GAH!



Happy Monday!

Hmm...

I'm looking at a picture of E when she was a baby, and I have to admit that I miss it. Luckily, my Sister-in-Law - the one in the picture - is due in a month!! I'm so excited to meet the little man!





A girl in my office had a baby girl last weekend. I'll probably go out in a couple of weeks to visit.



Hmmm... nothing new to report really. I'll be spending the weekend working on the cabin. Except Saturday I'm heading up to Baltimore for Michelle and Ryan's going away/PhD party. Anyway, I put a link on the right called "Log Cabin Pictures". It's Shelley's website. You can see all the hard work they've been doing over the past 1+ year. I think tomorrow I'll be installing more tongue and groove walls. It looks so amazing!



Oh! I posted a recent picture of E at the bottom of the page. It's from when we went to Tricia's for the week of 4th of July. Tricia lives on a creek, and the bridge that E is sitting on top of is right next to their house. It's a pretty good picture of E, if I do say so myself.

HUMPDAY!

I went and test drove a Hyundai Tuscon yesterday. It was an interesting experience. But I decided that for right now an SUV is a little outside of my price range. Especially considering I still owe more than the trade-in value on my car. I may even wait until after our trip to Italy next year to buy a new car. I think E and I can tough it out for a little while longer.

My mortgage payment went up recently (I "bought down" my first two years, but have a fixed rate mortgage, so it will go up next year and stay fixed after that), and right now we're hurting for money. However, my parents put me on their cell phone family plan, so my cell bill will be more than cut in half. Awesome! I'm also thinking about extending out my Student Loans to a 17 year loan, at least until I get my next promotion - hopefully in January or February. Ah, the life of a home-owner/bill-payer...

---

On a happier note... IT'S HUMPDAY!!! And Shelley, Sarah, and I are going out for Pina Colada's tonight. We earned it after all the hard work we put in this weekend. It's gonna be a good day.

Looking Back

This morning I've been thinking a lot about my past. How did I get to where I am today? -- Which was really preceded by... Where is my life going? What is going to be my legacy?

My life before E seems like a different life. I think - Was that really me doing all those things? "Those things" seem so irrelevant, but the truth is they are most relevant because they molded me into who I am.

Defining times...

7th grade. My gym teacher, Ms. Holiday, asked me to play on the school basketball team. Result - two years playing at a D1 university. Result of playing - dislocated shoulder, ankle reconstruction, lower back pain, multiple broken fingers,..., the list goes on.

8th grade. My math teacher, MRS. Fulk, told me I couldn't do math because I was a girl. Result - Master of Mathematics, 2004. Operations Research Analyst - Cost Estimator, Department of the Navy.

My whole life I was brought up in the Church. I value Life. I value my life. I valued the life of my daughter the moment I found out I was pregnant with her. What if I hadn't grown up a Christian? Would I have made a different decision when I found out I was pregnant? E's "sperm donor" asked me to have an abortion. It had never even occured to me.. that thought never passed through my mind. And now I have the most beautiful girl on the planet.

...

I read a Muddy Blogging post this morning on how you think people perceive you. I'm not sure, but I hope it's good.

I know my roommate's first perception of me was "tall" and "scary". She's 5' so I can see how she would say that.

I think my co-workers perception is "goofy, but a hard worker".

This thought process reminds me of a stand-up piece by Ellen DeGeneres. It goes something like -
"We spend so much time thinking about what other people are thinking about us, when they're just thinking about what other people are thinking about them."

I think I want people to think that I'm a fun-loving, kind person because that's the perception I have of myself.

One Log Cabin-ee Weekend

E and I had a very nice weekend. Spent the entire weekend at the cabin working. Today they're laying the hardwood floors, so all the tongue-and-groove walls had to be put in this weekend. Saturday I put in the walls of 2 closets with Sarah (Shelley's daughter). Then Sunday I helped Shelley and Sarah stain the Great Room walls. E and I got to put our hands in the concrete where the A/C unit will be going. Then we signed our names and put coins from '06 & '07 in the cement. I also signed the doorway between the Great Room and the Dining Room (which will be covered by molding and french doors.)

E spent her time playing with Robert. Sunday afternoon she woke up from her nap in the RV and came out into the cabin just to fall back asleep on the futon with nail-guns and saws going. When you're tired, you're tired.

Biking through CRE

Yesterday I raced home from work so I could ride my bike to Lori's house to pick up E. I made it to the house by 4:30 and was on my bike by 4:35. I gave myself 25 minutes to get there, but it only took 10. It was a fairly nice ride - more uphill than I had expected.

When I got to Lori's all the kids asked where my car was. "Did it break down? Where is it? Why did you ride your bike? Why don't you have training wheels? Did you know it's dangerous to ride on the road?" Things like that... nonstop.

E and I stopped by the Jones' house on the way back to see how things were going. Kit wasn't there. She was at a her half-brother's funeral in Chicago. Dave and I talked for a while. Things seem to be going well with them. They tried out Olivet UMC last weekend and seemed to like it.

When E and I went to bed last night she had trouble keeping her head down. I had to tell her to put her head down multiple times. I shouldn't laugh, but one time she was "fixing" the sheet and I told her to put her head down, she put her head down with her butt in the air and continued to fix the sheet. She's a tricky little bugger.

A day in the life of E and me

I wake up right around 4:30 am. I sit and watch the news and eat breakfast (usually Life cereal or an english muffin with peanut butter). Then I get myself ready. I try to wake E up around 5:45 to get her ready then we drive to Miss Lori's house. Then off to work. I'm supposed to make it there by 6:30, but those days are few and far between. I get off at 4 and am at the doorstep of Miss Lori's by 4:45. Then home. Make dinner. Eat dinner. Clean up dinner. Clean up E. Put E to bed. Read. Sleep. Then up to do it all over again.

Sounds fun, right? What I wouldn't give to go out on a real date. What I wouldn't give to be able to have time and energy to go out and do something social with friends. I'm not going to lie... I'm tired by 8 o'clock at night. Am I lame?

I talked to my brother, Michael, last night. We talked for a good 1/2 hour. He asked how things were going, and it's pretty much same-old-same-old. I think I need to add a little spice to my schedule. I think I'm going to try to join a twenty-something Bible study. They have one over at the South Point church. It would introduce me to some people my age. And that's pretty much what I crave.

Virgin Blogger

I've never blogged before so I apologize in advance. I think I'm just going to use this as sort of an online journal. I don't want to get too carried away with it, but I can't seem to find the time to keep a regular journal so I figure this will be just as good.