Journal to Myself.....life; rambling

February 10, 2013

What's happened in a few short days?

Thursday, it finally snowed more than an inch or two; we measured nine. The driving was treacherous; where were the snow plows and salt? I would not have driven except that we had a school meeting for Isaiah. A good meeting it was, and very nice to see his speech therapy. Due to the weather, Isaiah's horse therapy evaluation was cancelled; rescheduled for the fourteenth. I am glad that Evie did not have to drive further than to school and back. If she had work, she would have had to call in to say she could not make it in; no way would I have let her drive to work, and we did not want to drive either. One tightly holding the steering wheel drive is enough in a day.

Gotta love it that Isaiah loves to ride his bike in the snow. Grace had fun playing in the snow. The older girls (Evie, Elizabeth and Elliana) shoveled the driveway; love that they did this without being asked. Thank you girls!

Friday was absolutely beautiful with all the fresh snow laying on the ground and clinging on the trees. Beautiful. After a morning of Isaiah stuff, Robert and I went bike riding in the snow. Such fun. Seriously, pedaling in the snow is, for me, extreme bike riding. The last time I had that much fun and a thrilling sensation running through my blood was on October 12th last year when we visited Ben at ISU, and went "mountain" trail riding. Exhilarating stuff. The weather was gorgeous on Friday, and not too cold around 30 degrees. We did not ride long in terms of miles, 8+, but the type of riding suited the miles. I think I can really dig this winter riding especially when there is snow. I am now finding myself dreaming of a new bike just for the winter, and a new upgraded bike for the rest of year....dreaming is fun too.

Above Photo credit: John C. Mazurek, Village of Winthrop Harbor, Photographer

Saturday I worked 12-hours and it was a good shift,a bit longer than 12-hours as I did not arrive home until 9pm. Upon driving home, I was told Grace was sick. Poor thing, vomiting all evening and throughout the entire night. She looked glassy eyed, yucky sick when I finally arrived home and could cuddle up next to her. Her moaning, and vomiting did not let me sleep much so on.....

....Sunday, I called for low census as I was scheduled to work, but no go on that request as there were many patients wanting care; off to work I went at 6 in the morning. It turned out to be a good shift, and short too. I was able to leave work 2-hours early. A good thing about work today was that I was able to finalize my FMLA papers so I could fax them into the company. FMLA papers are a pain in the butt, updating required every six months, but worth the effort. Since arriving home, I've been snuggling with Grace. She no longer is vomiting but that glassy eyed look prevails. She has a fever, no thermometer in the house but I can tell.

Currently Grace is asleep, and Isaiah is continuing his constant chattering, and by constant, I mean constant. Topics of constant chattering, to name a few; new game apps, bow and arrows, practice shooting on practice deer targets, knights, knight armor, knight swords, horses, boots to wear horseback riding, cannons. I have just inhaled about 1,000 calories in the form of a yummy tasting moist slice of cake, and scoop of ice cream --- maybe I should workout a bit tonight. Sigh...nah...I think I shall finally start watching season three of Downton Abbey.

I need to finish this day's Bible study: E100 day 30 and a section or two in the VOICES Bible study (a study that just started last wednesday; taught by Pam Gillaspie held at a local church on Wednesday mornings).

I am reading ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE by Robin Hobb. Such a good, good, good story. I realized this week that I am not actually turning into a slow reader. I am reading just as much as I use too, but the material has changed. My fictional reading has slowed down greatly, very true. BUT, I am reading about 4-5 chapters per day in my Bible, and keeping a journal of that reading. I am also reading a few other non-fiction works regarding spiritual stuff, and marriage. I also do quite a bit of blog reading via delivery to my email inbox.

I have read a couple of very good books that I need and want to post about, namely, FOR DARKNESS SHOWS THE STARS by Diana Peterfreund. What an awesome book that was to read. Thank you, thank you Suey for gifting me that book. After I am done with ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE, I am not sure what I will read next. It is quite fun not having a predetermined planned reading list. I do know though, I am now intrigued and want to read WUTHERING HEIGHTS by Emily Bronte namely because April Lindner has released a new retelling titled CATHERINE. I LOVED reading JANE by April Lindner so I cannot wait to read her newest creation.

I am drinking some very yummy coffee. Thanks to my sister, last Sunday, we have discovered a yummy way to prepare our coffee; in addition to a bit of creamer and less than a teaspoon of sucanat, whip some heavy cream and add a dollop of it to the coffee with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Yum!

I love our Keruig. I never thought I would utter those words. I never would have thought how much we would use the thing. For me, it's perfect for my coffee needs spread throughout the day; wasting less brewed coffee, I do believe. On top of that, the girls use it daily as a hot water dispenser for their tea.

Music is heavy on my mind. On my Facebook account, I asked for help with deciding which albums I should buy. Jeremy Camp - Reckless, Muse - The 2nd Law, Josh Groban - All That Echos, Bon Jovi - What About Now. On Facebook, Muse and Bon Jovi were neck-n-neck for votes. I am going to purchase Muse with my $10 Amazon gift card. I will be seeing them in concert on March 4th. My birthday is not too long after Bon Jovi releases their album so I hope to receive it as a birthday gift....hint, hint to my family members. My mom bought me Josh Groban, and Robert said we could use his $10 Amazon gift card for Jeremy Camp. I am a happy person.

My current favorite app is Camscanner. I love it, hands down. I am using it daily to scan Isaiah's school notes and other Isaiah stuff. I am also scanning my Bible Journal, daily. I want to keep these both in digital format; Isaiah's stuff to cut down on the amount of papers I need to keep, and my journal for preserving my thoughts as I write in pencil. I then upload my scanned papers into my Google Drive as pdf documents. Camscanner has also come in handy for scanning pages of a book I am reading along with Robert. I don't scan all pages, just the ones I cannot read before he needs to take it to work so about 2 pages or so a week, it seems. The Google Drive app is another one I am loving; makes uploading and accessing my documents so very easy. I use both apps on my iPhone, almost exclusively.

Grace is now awake; her teeth need some brushing as my atmosphere needs a fresh smell. She is having lots of complaints of her neck and right knee hurting. Hopefully the pain will settle down soon so she is not awake all night; she always refuses medicine such as ibuprofen. She is singing a song, intermittently. Even singing about her pain. i am massaging her, its helpful- somewhat. Eva-Marie has arrived home from work. Isaiah is playing on his iPad. Elliana is practicing her trombone. Elizabeth is on herway home from Springfield; should arrive home around 9:30pm. Her JV Cheerleading squad competed in the state cheerleading competitions. They did not place, but that's okay as long as they had fun. A good experience for her, but a long tiring weekend - Friday was school then practice and then cheerleading for the varsity basketball game, home by 9:30pm - Saturday they left for competition at 7am. She has lots of homework too; doing very well there, all straight A's but for one B+ all of whoch are honor classes.

The weather; today it has been rainy and the snow is melting with temperatures around 40 degrees. Crazy, and disappointing. It finally snows good, and it has to disappear so quickly? Big huge sigh.

Valentine's Day is around the corner; I am not a fan. A holiday money sucker; romance and love with your spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend should happen on various levels everyday. But, the number 14 is a favorite....along with the numbers 20, 23, 11, 8, 15 and 31, 18, 10 and 6.

Onward now to my Downton Abbey viewing.

I love this photo. I love this boy.

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