The End of the Teens

It always seems unreal to me when the end of the year arrives.  Sometimes I feel accomplished, usually, I don't, and 99% of the time, I've already forgotten what transpired.  This year is different (although I'm still not sure what all transpired).  I know it's because we're leaving the teens behind and entering the 20's so it feels more dramatic.  I also know it's because I'm feeling too nostalgic.  When I thought about Christmas this year, it occurred to me that this could be my midpoint of Christmas' where my child is at home on Christmas morning.

I always overthink these things.  I don't want my child to stay young forever, but I also don't want her growing up.  It's an age-old problem for most parents...the best part is watching your children grow...the hardest part is watching your children grow.

We're also entering the "doldrums".  It's that time of year when holiday's stall and days out of work are slim.  It's dreary out with cold gray days.  I dread it really, but there's plenty to keep me busy, so onward we march with at least a slight smile.

So what transpired in 2019...well, the year started off with terrible bloodwork from my doctor which carried through the whole year.  Liver enzymes are up as well so I have to monitor that (liver enzymes hadn't been tested in ages, so I'm assuming those tanked when I just stopped trying to eat well).  I have, what I believe to be, tendonitis in my left foot which makes walking rough sometimes.  Rest helps, as well as stretching before I have to walk.  That developed around September of this year.  The kiddo is now in third grade and loving it.  I am still the PTO's secretary, a job which I sort of loathe (if anyone tells you the PTO/PTA is not filled with drama, they clearly don't know what they are talking about).  Helping the school though, that's wonderful!  At the end of 2018-2019 school year, the kiddo got to go to the Science Center with her 2nd-grade teacher, which was fun.   We have gone a couple times this year as well, including our work party which rented out the planetarium (it was amazing).  I ended up traveling a bit this year.  In May, the kiddo and I flew to Fargo, ND followed up by a two-hour drive to my sister's town in Minnesota.  We were there for her son's high school graduation.  While there we also went to the beginning of the Mississippi River, which, despite being cliche, was very cool to experience.  The trip home was interesting since our flight was delayed (sat on the plane for hours) followed up by the flight getting canceled and we had to fly home the following day.  It was a fiasco, and we were so glad to be home...but the overall trip was wonderful.  I also flew to Orlando for a girls' trip (R., E., and myself) where we had some fun in Disney, and drank ourselves around the world in Epcot.  We failed in our efforts and had to return the following day to get the job done (I blame Mexico).  We had our final camping season in Indiana (Indiana Beach).  It was our one and only camping trip of the year and we then sold the camper.  Let me rephrase, we (C.) traded in his truck and the camper for a Jeep.  It's bittersweet, but overall, I can't say I'm devastated.  We took our annual trip to Moline for Christmas.  I worked at (and attended) the steel conference in St. Louis this year.  I am helping plan the Structures Congress for 2020 (though I'm not sure what you can claim "help" is) and I continued to help plan and work at our local conference.  Piano for the kid is still ongoing, as is martial arts.

What is there to look forward to in 2020: well, another trip to Disney (our family and E.'s family) followed up by another trip to Florida in the summer (beach trip, same travelers).  Piano will still resume and hopefully, the kiddo will acquire her black belt this year.  Her first opportunity to test is March.  I look forward to actually trying to focus on my health, though, I say that every year.  I also look forward to trying to relax a bit more (depends on how this belt testing goes).  I'd love to be cliche and say I'll meet up with friends more, or read more, or write more...but that probably won't happen.  I will probably craft more (new Cricut for Christmas).  I don't know that this next thing is a thing I'm looking forward to necessarily (I was, but my team members are not very good team members) but I am working on a high profile project that I am super excited to be involved in with a company I didn't anticipate working with...the world is weird that way.  I don't/can't elaborate, but it's interesting. 

So, I hope your teens and your 2019 were great.  I hope your 20's are even better!

To Camp or Not to Camp

A new thing happened at our house.  We got rid of the camper and the truck and downgraded to a Jeep.  That's not to say "downgrade" is a bad thing...it's just physically a downgrade.

We hadn't been camping much, we were getting tired of putting the work into it.  It was a costly hobby, especially since we just weren't camping much.  But now it's gone, I have to say, I will miss some of our opportunities.  I want to camp and hang out with my cousin...something we can't do or will be severely limited.  I used to enjoy fall camping, which of course has gotten harder with a school-aged child.  That will likely not happen ever again. 

I have not, nor am I likely to get to drive the Jeep, so it feels like a bigger loss to me than to anyone else in the household.  It just feels like a loss with little gain.  But what can I do?

In other news, my brother's house sold at a foreclosure auction just yesterday.  I believe that it was literally 4 years to the day that he purchased it.  Sad he never got to live out some days in that home.

My mom is still in the process of moving as well.  It has been enjoyable for me to have her closer.

Well, that's all for now, will have to write later.

Year In Review - Part II

As always, I made sure to have some escapade in my year.

This year was New York, NY; Kansas City, MO; Austin, TX; Santa Claus, IN; Dublin, Ireland; London, UK; Glasgow, Scotland; Berkeley, CA.

Here are a few pics...








Lessons Learned...

• Sometimes you have to get away be it for entertainment, avoidance, therapy, or your birthday. You just need to do it!


• Traveling alone has its rewards. You get to go where you want, do what you want, and all on your schedule.


• Traveling alone can be scary. When something goes wrong, you have only your brain to figure out what to do


• Traveling alone means it's hard to get good pictures. Yea, you can ask the random stranger to take a picture for you; but with my trust issues, no one was touching my camera!


• Sometimes the places you least expect to enjoy are the best and vice versa. I had high hopes for London though it proved much less enjoyable than anticipated. I had low hopes for Berkley and it proved to be a top on my list of places to return.

NaBloPoMo Day Two Post Two -Taiwanese Toilets

Mac and cheese, or rather some tube like noodles and cheese is what I'm having for dinner. I'm a lousy cook but can bake fairly well. I'm left brained and it's obvious. I'd like to be less nerdy, but I can't, never could really. Some people claim to like it and think it's cute...but some how I suspect "cute" really means something equivalent to "look at the girl who can't walk but tries so hard, you can't help but adore her effort"...I'll take what I can get I guess.

Anyway, as I promised, a blog a day. I'll give you some words and a story and be on my merry noodle eating way!

Taiwanese Toilets

I'd been out of the country before...Mexico, Ireland, and now Taiwan. It was a school Fellowship to see the earthquake damage of Chi-Chi Taiwan. It was a treat to go, and I had almost decided not to even send in the application. But I did, and I was accepted, and I went. I was nervous as anyone could imagine, going alone to a country that was of Chinese language, nothing of which I could speak or understand.

I was alone, did I mention that? I was meeting a handful of other students in Taiwan. Fortunately for me, I managed to meet one of those students in Detroit before heading into Taiwan. Thankfully I didn't have to be scared alone! We could be scared together. Anyway, cut to the chase, we had a crazy driver that got us to our hotel, then I realized I'd left my money at home. Luckily I had just come from Ireland less than 24 hours before, so I did have money on me! I'm certain I cried for about 2 or three hours before I passed out from exhaustion. Then the adventure was on!

The trip was all in all, very cool! I learned a lot, met really great people, became adventurous with food (you'll eat anything if you are hungry enough), and got to see some very unique things in a part of the world I may have not seen otherwise.

The part I want to tell you about is the toilets. In many of the places we traveled (with the exception of hotels/rest stops/finer dining establishments) the men's restrooms/bathrooms/water closets/what-ever-the-hell-you-call-it were traditional toilets with a seat and tank and a lid and a flusher. I know this because of the conversations we had with the boys. In the women's restrooms/bathrooms/water closets/what-ever-the-hell-you-call-it were holes in the ground. Yes, a simple pipe that came up to collect waste. Imagine my surprise when I walk in to use the toilet and open the stall door and see a hole! I walked back out and saw the universal "chick in a dress symbol"...yep girls in here. I stood and looked. A girl walked in, went into the stall, I saw her squat, I saw her "waste", I cringed. Really? This is how I have to do this? Camping style? Well okay...only had three beers by now and have to squat. Okay, I'm used to hovering, how hard can this be? Well about five minutes later I braved the stall, I squatted, I wasted...it was a toilet experience I'll never forget!

Words...

feeling fist:The fist used to express deep or extreme emotion during a song, in which the singer extends a fisted hand and brings it back in towards the body with intensity of emotion.

In Use: When singing Hungry Eyes on the karaoke machine, Joe impressed us all with a perfect feeling fist.

pitching wedge: Someone who only looks good from far away.
ride on dubs: To drive a car with 20-inch or larger rims.
lappy: Short for laptop computer; especially old and outdated models.
midnight gardening: The act of passing out or falling over in foliage after large amounts of liquor have been consumed.
no homo: Phrase used after one inadvertently says something that sounds gay.

In Use: His ass is mine. No homo.

Collapsed Tunnel Embiggens the Despair

I tell myself that there is an end to the tunnel, but I haven't seen it yet, and I'm somehow sure I'm collapsed inside! I did get some good advice from Mike C. though. He says I should "suck the dampness from [my] hair for [water] 'til the rescuers come find [me]".

There's no denying that I'm stressed out. The canker sores and pound of chocolate that I've recently eaten are sure signs! I haven't had time to write and I find it aggravating. If I find it to the end of the tunnel having survived the odds, I will be amazed by myself!

So I s'pose I could update you on a few things that have come and gone since I last recall writing...

A boy climbed into a balloon and floated away...but not really. It was a hoax.

I moved to a new desk at work.



I camped in freezing cold weather that was the epitome of pure camping weather.

I watched mass leaf suicide the Sunday we left camping as all the frost covered leaves jumped to their untimely deaths.

I've been given a "second chance".

I left work one day without my glasses and wallet, how the hell did I pull that off? I need both of those to get home [legally that is].

I got invited to a Masquerade Ball [ballroom gown and the whole 9 yards] but it falls on a date that I am out of town. I'm torn on what to do as I'd love to go to California, but I need me time so badly, as well as the opportunity to dress in a gown with a mask! Any suggestions?

I made plans to go see Where The Wild Things Are on Thursday, yea!!

And I guess I'm finally coming out of the closet...to tell my readers, I am reading the Twilight series and I'm enjoying it! Yes, there it is, I feel better getting that out in the open. I am reading the Twilight series! Please don't judge, thanks.

Well, that about wraps up what I am able to fit into a quick written dialogue for now...so I'll give you some words and move along some more of my darkened tunnel.

pimpstress: A female pimp.

hostage lunch: Meal purchased by the company, often pizza, and delivered for employees whose bosses require them to attend a meeting or work over their lunch hour.

stoner's Graceland: Another name for Wendy's [damn I like me some cheese fries and Frosty from Wendy's!]

In use: The late hours, stoner-friendly food, and 99-cent value menu are the main reasons Dave Thomas is to stoners what Elvis is to your grandma.

left-handed Web site: A porn Web site.

Bengal: A chick with an ugly face but a smoking body. After the football team the Cincinnati Bengals, who have sweet jerseys but terrible helmets. [I'll have to have Amanda or Andy verify this word for me]

embiggen: A perfectly cromulent word meaning to make bigger.

In use: A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.

Gah

Quick recap because I've loads to do ...

Went camping this weekend. I heard it was lovely. I wouldn't know because I spent most of the time locked inside a camper with fever trying not to vomit. In any case, there was lots of vomit.

This morning I knocked my cup of tea over. The cup, with closed lid, still managed to spill a whopping portion of unsweetened tea into my keyboard rendering it useless. Lovely. Monday.

Here's to the day and week going better!

Words...
bluetool: A person who wears a bluetooth wireless earpiece everywhere they go to seem trendy or important. Places to spot bluetools include the mall, theaters, restaurants, gyms, grocery stores, or cars.

pac-manning: To drive right on the dotted white lane divider. This gives the same effect as Pac-Man eating dots.