8/31/12

I'm looking forward to the moments I will have this weekend to relax. It's gonna be a hot one today! 90s and muggy. I guess the dry air was just a tease...back to summer for the weekend. I am working on a lovely knitting project...lovely because the pattern is one that you don't have to spend every minute counting or paying attention to where you are, so you can actually get some good meditative therapy going. I'm also looking forward to getting some reading done. I'm going to try and get my errands done today and get the meals for the weekend planned, so I'm not wasting time at the store. I'm thinking lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, low carb wraps, diffent dips and assorted dippers, cheese and crackers and pepperoni/salami. Some healthy(ier) desserts, like the mini apple pies I'm going to give a whirl. Also a nice protein packed breakfast/brunch on one of the days...I have a new recipe for eggs that I want to try and that I can prepare in advance. I'm going to pick up Glee season 3 and maybe The Walking Dead season 1 and have a marathon of some sort if it proves to be too muggy this weekend. I guess it's about time to get the AC on. It was nice having the windows open for a couple of days. It finally started to smell like summertime in here, instead of AC air. I need to do a major closet revamp but my allergies are already giving me trouble, so dusty clothes are not something I want to mess with right now. There seems to be some good sales going on, but eh, I'm not interested in sale items that will be on clearance in a week. A couple of weeks ago, I bought Bella four name brand bathing suits for next summer AND didn't pay more than $4 a piece for any of them...so that's an example of my kind of sale...and she won't be forced to wear a poorly made Target or Walmart suit. We have a chlorinated pool and live on the ocean, so the kid needed some suits that would hold up to those elements and constant usage. In other news, we're getting a new camper I think. We're looking anyway. We will probably try to sell our current one because I don't know anyone personally who has more than one camper, unless they own a trailer park! Both the van and Tahoe have hitches, so we're still good. We will be making our last payment on my Town & Country in January or so...three years went by very quickly! I will be keeping it because the extra room comes in handy, and will soon be in the market for an extended cab truck or a Jeep Wrangler or maybe a car...I found a Lexus a few months ago that was dealer owned and going for way under the market value, but alas I wasn't shopping yet. Isn't that always the way? For instance, we found a 2008 Porsche going for $40,000 at my future BMW dealer and i think we certainly fantasized briefly about the two of us driving it off into the sunset...

8/30/12

Almost time to say goodbye to August! I'm so ready for an exciting fall! I'm planning on a few more beach days of course! For those of us in Narragansett, we LOVE September and love our empty beaches and empty roads. Good riddance to nasty summer people. Zach got a new job! It's really good news for him. Kayla will be working full time, going to college, and being a Mommy, so she will be busy. I will be quite busy with work, and this is Mitch's busy time of the year. Hayley will still be job searching and helping with Bella. Potty training starts! Bella is SO excited about her new undies. She's had her potty chair for quite awhile now, and uses it before getting into the bath tub, she also uses the big toilet, which I think she prefers, but it's been intermittent as we haven't started the actual potty training yet. I consider myself an expert on the subject now, after raising two girls and a boy (jk), so we feel confident that Bella will be a breeze. She is 2 years and 4 months. So anyway, with so much going on, I'm going to create a master schedule so I have an idea headcount-wise when I'm actually making dinner, when we are all fending for ourselves, etc. The kids do a good job keeping me company during soccer season, or I'd be a complete depressed mess. So my bucket list for fall is: getting in a few more beach days, hiking, visiting Letchworth State Park, spending a beautiful fall day in Central Park (and I hope we can all go), go on some ghost hunts in haunted New England style, apple picking with Bella, getting to some scary movies, maybe go with Zach to Factory of Terror (this one's a BIG maybe and only if my husband goes with me...maybe we will visit Lizzie Borden's Bed and Breakfast while we're in town), spend a day in Salem, MA before the crazies get there for Halloween season, another trip to Macy's Day parade, but that one may be put off yet again for another year...all in all, I think this is a GREAT bucket list for Fall 2012!

8/28/12

Soooooooo, big announcement day, as promised. I begin my new job on the 10th! Super excited! I spoke with my current boss this morning and will stay here too! Everything is falling into place and I really feel like this is what I need to be doing. That doesn't mean I'm not going to relocate if a job takes my husband to a different area, but as long as we stay here, this is the next step I need to take. And really, how many times does the opportunity of having TWO great paying jobs that won't interfere with each other happen??? It's going to be a crazy few weeks till this becomes my new normal, but I'm always up for a challenge!!

8/26/12

I did nothing today! Ok, I played with Bella. Finally sat outside in the sun for about 2 hours this afternoon and worked on one of my knitting projects. I spent a blessed few moments with my husband. I really needed to see him. Pre-season is hard for us but it's over this week!!! Then it's just the regular soccer season, but at least he's home more often than never, which is the case with preseason. I made petit lasagnas...oh my goodness, so good! I took the kids to Beavertail Friday night for a sunset picnic since my husband was out of town for the night. The only way it would have been better would have been if he had been with us. We had a bonfire three night's last week. All in all, as bad as last week was in parts, it was perfect in others. I needed the few days off that I had and I really liked the sleeping part. Taking a deep breath and jumping back in tomorrow. I'm going to work some more on my knitting and then off the dreamland. Busy busy day tomorrow!

8/24/12

Last night was incredibly nice. We had a fire going and we had the perfect amount of wood. By the time it burned down, we were all ready for bed anyway. An owl was hooting away like crazy and the stars were all out and the frogs were deafening at times. You could definitely feel just a hint of fall in the air, but because we are right on the ocean, the humidity keeps things warmer than the conditions would be otherwise. Maybe we will go to Beavertail for a picnic supper tonight to watch the sun go down and so I can get some pics of Bella there. I don't think we've taken her there since she was a baby. As much as I hate August, I do love the last few days of it.

8/23/12

My next paycheck, the one with the pay period on the first, will be 101 hours!!! I think this is a new record for me. 21 of those hours are all overtime pay. Life is never dull for long for me. I'm so excited about my big announcement. Step two will be on Monday and then after a discussion on Tuesday, I should be prepared to make my news public.

8/22/12

Big announcements, big changes, big decisions. Soon, I promise. For now, I'm trying to get through today. Tomorrow will be exciting, overwhelming and a bit anxiety ridden. The next two weeks will probably be similar. I feel like this will be a good thing and I read a quote today that really spoke to me. It's not the future you're afraid of. It's repeating the past that makes you anxious. So I'm going to keep on keeping on and what happens, will happen, whether I worry myself silly or not. A part of me just wishes I could fast forward through these next few weeks though.

I Think...

...today is the 13th and I think today is a Monday. Last week was a blur and the previous week was spent away from home. In the 8 years that I've blogged, I typically hate August. It is just a depressing month for me and it's also typically anxiety ridden. It is also the month where I barely see my husband. I love September through December and also love April through July. I hate feeling mopey. I hate this super yucky humidity. I hate getting headaches every time I step outside. Why I am not in Phoenix I do not know. Let's move on to more positive things...The Hunger Games is coming out! And Glee Season 3 is available on Tuesday. And I've finally learned a pesky stitch in my knitting. I kept inadvertently adding stitches and finally sat down to figure out what I was doing wrong. I was simply wrapping the yarn over instead of behind. So hopefully my project has been frogged for the LAST time! The pool chemicals have been adjusted and now I hope the rain stays away so we can enjoy it. I treated it last week and then the pool stayed covered the whole time because of threatening storms. Speaking of which, I think we only had one day in which it actually did rain, but oh my God, for the few hours it did, it came down in buckets. The girls and I were trying to make it home and at one point, I drove through probably 10 or more inches of rain. Rhode Island doesn't believe in proper road drainage, I guess. I was expecting my car to die or not start the next day, but luckily things were fine. And it's Shark Week!!! I watched it all last night and will hopefully catch some more Tuesday night.

8/7/12

Hard to believe we left for Maine a week ago tomorrow. We accomplished a ton in the short time we were there. Most importantly, my family got to see how stinking cute Bella is! They haven't seen her since she was a baby. She loved playing with my nieces. I am glad to be home though. Visiting family isn't a relaxing vacation, even under the best circumstances, and these were certainly not good circumstances, unlike say, spending the week in the Caribbean. Did I mention I'm glad to be home??? My dog can go unleashed in her own yard, I have excellent water pressure and all the hot water I want. It was nice having more eyes on Bella, with lots of tattletale cousins to report on all her activities, so that was a nice break for those of us who watch her daily. The older I become, the more I don't eat, digest or sleep well when I'm away from home for long and that can get me downright grouchy. It certainly isn't for lack of trying on family's part. The accommodations were lovely, and I'm grateful. As soon as Bella came home, she ran right for her toy box and her books. I'm glad Zach was able to spend a good amount of time with my brother and step-father. All the kids went to the Bangor State Fair. Maybe now they will shut up about it! All I've heard since we've moved to RI 5 years ago is how much they miss the fair every summer. Yes, RI has fairs and festivals, and yes, Rhode Islanders think these fairs are big. By Maine standards, they would be called carnivals. The kids want the Big E proportions, Fryeburg Fair proportions, Bangor State Fair proportions. So they got their fair. Kayla didn't enjoy herself as much as usual, because she and I didn't go together. We have a system so we can see and do everything and so it was nice to know I was missed for something anyway. The only thing I didn't do was relax in the Ornamental Gardens like I like to do in the summer. In case anyone is wondering, Bar Harbor traffic in the height of summer is NOTHING. There just aren't enough words to describe the traffic on 108 during beach season. And our little neighborhood called Brigg's Farm is right off of 108. We are so remote from the main drag that we ignorantly live in bliss until we have to make a run to the grocery store or run a "quick" errand and return three hours later pissed off at the world. Knowing all the shortcuts and avoiding 108 at all costs helps, that's for sure. 4 MORE weeks and the roads and beaches are ours again! Not that I'm counting down or anything!