A Work at Home Mom’s Blog

I just realized that I haven’t posted here in just over a week. But this time it’s not because I’ve been particularly out of sorts. I haven’t been quite as cheerful as has been the norm lately, but I think it’s had a lot to do with the sinus infection I’ve been contending with. That, and not having learned that I have to stay completely away from alcohol if I want to be in the best possible mental state until this past weekend. Not just one or two drinks here and there, but no drinks, ever, period.

Anyway, I went back to the doctor for my follow-up today, and he was happy to hear that I was doing so much better. I had a few minor things to discuss with him, and the sinus infection, but other than that I could honestly say that I felt great. He upped the dose on my Ativan so it would be more effective against insomnia, gave me some antibiotics, and told me to come back in four months. It’s good to know that, barring any major episodes or other health problems, the monthly visits are over for now. I like my doctor and all, but I’ll be glad to see less of him!

So now I’ve just got to work on getting my life back to some resemblance of normal. I’ve made progress, but there’s lots left to do. I still have a ton of laundry to catch up on, and I hope to get that done this week since it’s supposed to be warm, dry and sunny. I also need to do some serious cleaning and organizing in my office. My document management system leaves a lot to be desired. Well, actually, it’s pretty much nonexistent, unless you consider a zillion piles of papers in no particular order a document management system. It’s going to be interesting trying to sort through it all and deciding what to file and what to trash.

That’s all the news that’s fit to print, for now anyway. But I’ll try not to let another week go by with no posts.

I already got most of the stuff for Pumpkin’s birthday, but there were two more things I wanted to get for her. One was a pair of earrings for her newly pierced ears, and the other was a jewelry box to put those and any other nice jewelry she accumulates over the years in. I planned on giving those things to her on her birthday, and the PSP and games on the day of her party.

Well, I’ve been looking for a jewelry box for some time, and I can’t find one anywhere locally. I found a few small trinket boxes and some larger boxes without any compartments, but I wanted something that would help keep stuff organized. I went to over half a dozen stores, and none of them had anything remotely like what I was looking for. Strange, because it hasn’t been long ago that it seemed like they had them everywhere.

I looked online too, and while there’s quite a bit to choose from, I still couldn’t find what I wanted. Everything was either too big, too small, or too expensive. I found one that might possibly work, but there wasn’t enough detail about it on the website for me to make an informed decision.

I think I’ve just about decided not to worry about the jewelry box, and just get her the earrings. I’ve found a pair I think she’ll really like that doesn’t cost too much, so that much is out of the way. I’m just waiting to see if I get a coupon so I can save some money on them before ordering. As for jewelry storage, she’s got a little plastic organizer that might work. If not, I guess I can clean out one of my jewelry boxes and let her have it. I’ve got a few small ones, and I’m sure I can make room in my big one for what’s in them.

I thought I was doing well to have Pumpkin’s birthday shopping nearly complete. Yes, I finally got a deal on a used PSP and some games to go with it, and a memory card. All together, I spent just over a hundred bucks on it all. Not too shabby if you ask me.

But the other day I overheard her talking to her friend on the phone about what she wanted to be for Halloween. Are you kidding me? Halloween is over two months away! Grar.

Since she’s a big girl, she has no interest in those adorable little infant Halloween costumes or anything like them in her size. She mentioned wanting to be a zombie doctor or a werewolf. I guess I should probably go ahead and start looking for such a costume. Because most years, I wait until the last minute and she ends up being whatever we can find in her size.

I should probably enjoy the whole Halloween thing while I can. It was always one of my favorite holidays when I was young, and I still enjoy taking her trick or treating. And she’ll probably be ready to give that up within a couple more years, so I’ll be relegated to handing out candy to the few trick or treaters who venture out to this neck of the woods. Unless I can talk Hubby into getting out and doing something on Halloween night, that is.

Yesterday Hubby and I spent the day together. We had some business to attend to, but I had intended to let him sleep in since there wasn’t anything that we had to get done early. But he got up around 8:00 anyway, much to my chagrin. I didn’t feel like being in any hurry to get ready, but when he’s ready to go, he’s ready to go. So I begrudgingly got in the shower, got dressed, put on my makeup and fixed my hair. Still, by the time we left the house, it was nearly lunchtime.

So the first order of business was to get something to eat. We went through the Hardee’s drive thru and ordered, then parked the truck and ate in it. (By the way, if you haven’t tried their new hand-breaded chicken tenders, they’re awesome! And no, they’re not paying me to say that.)

Then we went to the hardware store to get a chain for his chainsaw. When we got there, I saw that the mother of one of the girls who use to be in Pumpkin’s girl scout troop was working there. We chatted with her for a bit, and Hubby selected a chain and also ended up picking up a new file for it. I had to restrain myself to keep from looking too closely at the great LCD TVs they had on display. If I had my way I would be posting one of the greatest TV reviews of all time right now, but unfortunately that will have to wait. As much as I would love to have a new television, it’s just not in the budget right now.

After that, we went to the cell phone place. Hubby’s phone has been busted since not long after he got it a couple of years ago, but it still functioned until recently. First the earpiece speaker went out, which meant you could only use it if you put it on speakerphone. Then the speakerphone went out, rendering it completely useless. So we went and picked out a new phone. I couldn’t get him to settle on anything, so I pretty much made the decision myself. And then I conned him into letting me have the new phone and him taking my old one.

I know, I’m such a bad girl. But my old phone is a much better fit for him. The new one isn’t a flip phone, which he insists on having, and the old one is. The new one also has a full keyboard for texting. I’m not a big texter myself, but he’s always making me do his texting for him, so I might as well keep the best phone for it, right? Right.

When we got done at the phone place, we went by the convenience store so he could get some cancer sticks, and he ran into his cousin. They stood and talked forever while I waited in the truck. When he finally got back, he said he needed to meet him at his house at 2:00 to see about getting some wood for the winter. So we goofed off for a bit, got some stuff from the store for his brother and delivered it, and went back out to see him.

After we got done there, it was time to head home so we would be here by the time Pumpkin got off the bus. And home is where we stayed for the rest of the evening, with the exception of some dirt bike/ATV riding nearby.

All in all, it was a nice day. I got a new toy – er, phone – and Hubby and I enjoyed each other’s company very much. Now that I’m not so depressed/anxious, I can tolerate his constant joking, ribbing and horseplaying much better, and can even give him a run for his money at times. And that makes the time we spend together much more enjoyable.

I have accomplished absolutely nothing today. It’s not that I haven’t tried, it’s that the one thing I’ve been trying to accomplish is proving to be near impossible: getting a spectacular deal on what I want to get Pumpkin for her birthday.

I’d love to be browsing for killer prices on Disney vacations, but there’s no way that would be within the budget this year. And besides, that would be as much for me as it was her, so I’d kind of feel bad doing that for her birthday, as much as she’d probably enjoy it. But anyway, what I’m trying to get her is a PSP.

I’ve been on eBay off and on all day, bidding on the blasted things. So far, someone has sniped me on every single one that I’ve bid on. I’ve even waited until the last few seconds to bid, trying to beat them at their own game, to no avail.

I found one that looked good that was a Buy It Now or Best Offer deal, so I submitted an offer. I have yet to hear back on that, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’m determined to find a used one for less than $100, unless it has several games or some great accessories with it. If I can’t do that fairly soon, I may just break down and buy her a new one, if I can talk Hubby into it. Amazon has them on sale for $149 right now, and that’s $20 cheaper than usual.

One way or another, I’m going to get that girl a PSP. Mark my words.

It’s the weekend, and that makes me happy. I’m rather bored at the moment, because Hubby is doing guy stuff in the garage with friends and Pumpkin is playing with one of the friend’s kids. But all in all it has been a pretty good day.

I managed to make myself get up fairly early this morning, and after I ate a bowl of cereal and got fully awake, I got the dishes done. I woke Pumpkin up a little bit later, then jumped in the shower. Around noon, we loaded up some laminate flooring we had sitting in the garage and took it down the mountain to one of our friends who is planning on redoing her floors.

I had never been to her place until today. The way she had talked about it, though, I was expecting it to be in pretty bad shape. Ceiling falling through, plumbing all to pieces, door knobs that needed to be replaced, and so on. But it was actually a pretty nice little place. You could tell that the floors needed some help, and the roof could use some work, but otherwise it was pretty cozy.

Anyway, we all went out to eat, and then we took her back home and Hubby worked on her lawnmower. It’s all fixed now except that it needs a new belt. She bought one for it, but it was too big, so she’ll have to exchange it for another one. When he did all he could do for it, we loaded up a dining room set that she was giving to Hubby’s brother and delivered it, then we headed back up the mountain.

Back in our neck of the woods, we did a little shopping. We took advantage of the sales tax holiday to get a few more school clothes for Pumpkin. Then we picked up one of Hubby’s friends and headed back home.

So there’s my Saturday in a nutshell. I hope to have even more fun tomorrow. I might be playing softball, and I might not. But if I don’t, I’m sure I can find something to get into.

It has been a long, long time since I’ve truly been myself. As a matter of fact, I was beginning to forget who myself was. I stayed pretty much constantly stressed and depressed for a good two or three years. It was getting to the point where completing the simplest of tasks was kind of like trying to read CAD drawings – easy for some people, but more or less impossible for me.

The past couple of weeks have been different. I can’t say I haven’t been grouchy on occasion or had any bad days, but for the most part I’ve felt great. I’ve actually been willing to get out of bed in the mornings, and I’m starting to catch up on the housework. I’m easing back into my writing and blogging work, and I feel confident that I’ll be back to making a decent income soon.

I was beginning to lose hope that I would ever be able to truly enjoy life again. And I had my doubts that medication would help, seeing how I had tried a number of different meds to no avail. But it definitely seems to be making a difference, and for that I am thankful. I’m finally starting to feel like my old self. It’s good to be back.