Archive for the ‘Old Cremes’ Category

Housecleaning.

Friday, April 18th, 2008

You may have noticed some changes lately. What you see now is very likely not the final product, as I am going to get the new Wordpress software installed this weekend (I hope) and I’ll be messing with tags and all kinds of things. I have two complete posts (I hope no one has ADD because they are sort of lengthy) ready to be posted, with more ideas juicing out of me. All of my old posts are being condensed into 1 category – named Old Cremes, with the exception of a few others. I hope to have fresh, new, interesting material for everyone really soon. Not only am I planning to do more intellectual and thought-driven blogs, but I’m also not completing throwing away the “Dear Diary” types. I’ve got a special category just for those, so if I have any life updates that merit sharing, I will do so. My (2) readers have spoken, and I aim to please. For every day goings-on, I urge you to follow me on Twitter, whether or not you intend to update yourself. I’ve been updating it regularly when I am at work and really, the minutiae of my life is on that service, not on this blog. I’m planning to revamp my main page too, so I will have feeds from my Google Reader that I find interesting and other “badges” from social networking sites I enjoy.

I’ve been unhappy about my writing life for awhile, so I feel like this is the perfect solution for my current schedule, and I’m really excited about it.  I don’t have the time or the energy to work on my novel right now, although it definitely is still on the backburner of my mind. Someday I hope to churn that baby out. Until then, there are things I want to think about, talk about, about start conversations about that I hope anyone coming across this blog will find amusing and interesting. I don’t think you’ll find any serialized fiction or poetry here, but what I hope you will find are some (relatively) short essays on numerous topics that are interesting and engaging. Oh, and I hope you all like pink.

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Bloat.

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

I feel like my blog has gotten more bloated than a Microsoft application. I want to write about things that matter to me, like stuff I read in the news or just issues I agree or don’t agree with, or even human behavior, but I feel like I’ve pigeon-holed myself into a “dear diary” blog that pretty much just talks about my boring life. Is it possible to scrap everything I’ve posted before into an archive so that it’s not gone forever, and wipe the slate clean and start fresh? I do sometimes like to look back at what I’ve been up to but I’m really bored with my own blog. I’m really about so much more than hating my job and pets.

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Long Gone Baby

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

This weekend was kind of crummy for a lot of reasons I won’t really get into. Some of them got resolved, but you know, some don’t. It’s the way it goes, I guess. I’m just lucky that I’ve got a great hubby that supports me and some very good friends to help me get through it. I’ve been really itching for a vacation lately, but unfortunately I don’t have the vacation time from work to be able to just get outta town. Weekend getaways are nice, but I feel like I need something more like a month.  I’m going to try and get some more comp time in at work so that I can take a real vacation before September. Even if the vacation is at home. I think my mind needs the vacation most of all. I’m starting a private journal to help get the random thoughts out of my head. Maybe a mix of story writing and just thoughts, so that I can have a creative outlet and maybe it will get me started into writing my novel. And then I can sell it and go on vacation for a month.

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Do you know Him?

Sunday, April 13th, 2008

I saw this video in church a few years ago and it never left my mind. I wanted to share it because it left a huge impression on me. During our service, when he says “the grave couldn’t hold him” the whole congregation just cheered. It was a moment I won’t forget.

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Sporadic Habits

Thursday, April 3rd, 2008

I’ve been trying to “improve” myself in a lot of ways in the last few years. I’ve been dieting (or changing to a healthier lifestyle), reading more varieties of books, and trying to expand myself culturally and mentally. It seems that I always set out with these great intentions but then I just get lazy or let life get in the way. One example of this is the novel I’ve been trying to write since I was in high school.

I’ve started about 10 different novels in the course of my life. Technically I finished one, but I’ve lost the manuscript so I’m sure that it doesn’t count anymore. I vaguely remember what it was about, but it wasn’t special enough to recreate. The point is that I know that I can see it through if I put in the time and effort, but for some reason I just can’t scrounge that up. It’s always been a huge goal of mine to be published, and not just something lame, but a real novel that I can go to Barnes and Noble and hold in my hands. I keep a document on Google Docs handy for whenever creativity strikes. I’ve currently got two outlines that are half finished and scads of other story ideas that I haven’t had the time or inclination to flesh out. I know I’ve got to put myself in a position to be able to write, or at least dictate, my words down.

I’ve been toying with the idea of having a “Meags” night one evening a week after work. I pick a day of the week and just go to Panera Bread or Starbucks, bring my laptop, grab a coffee and just write. Or if nothing comes to me, I can read, or just do some “me” thing. I am definitely an introvert, I need time alone to think and to absorb life. I just feel so lazy when it actually comes to doing more than taking a bath or going to bed early or zoning out in front of the TV. I’m not sure why I haven’t just bit the bullet and done it already, but I keep feeling like something is holding me back.

I sort of have this daydream where I go to live somewhere abroad for a year and be completely alone. (The current locale of choice is Dublin – blame the novel PS, I Love You.) But I know that deep down, I don’t really want to be all alone for a period of months. As much as I like solitude and self-reflection, I also really enjoy conversation and sharing. Obviously, the solution would be to take some time out when I need it and go work on my novel, but once again, I’m having extreme difficulty in motivating myself to do it. I keep thinking “well, if I didn’t work 40 hours a week, I’d have more time to go do that sort of thing”, but I know that I’m just making excuses for myself.

I don’t want to overwhelm myself with all of my goals (being fit, reading a lot, keeping a clean house) but I also don’t want to feel like I did nothing but work and collapse for an extended period of my life. I’ve known for awhile that full time work just isn’t for me, but it seems like now I can’t do anything but keep on keeping on, especially with other goals looming over my head (buying our first house, having financial security). I hate having to choose between several things that I desire equally.

I really don’t know how to end this thought, since as of yet I have no solutions. I know what I want, but I don’t know how to make that happen in a desirable way. I’m hoping that eventually, the feeling will just strike me and I’ll be putting on my coat and heading out, laptop in tow.

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April Showers Excitement

Friday, March 28th, 2008

Hard to believe that it’s already April. Or, that it will be on Tuesday. It seems like March flew by rather quickly. In some ways I like that, since March wasn’t a very exciting month. I don’t have much going on in the next little while. I’m pretty much just waiting for my acceptance (or denial) letter from Texas Woman’s University. I’ve got an online info session to go tomorrow, which should be pretty informative. At least I’ll know what to expect if I get into the program. I called today and asked to find out if all my application was received, and they had the wrong social and they didn’t match up my Kings transcript and my maiden name even though I put that in my application. Anyways, me calling made things click for them so I’m hoping that might speed up my application process. They said it would be between 3 and 4 weeks, so I’m looking forward to that! I can’t wait to find out so that we can start making some more definite plans, whichever way that it goes.

I’ll be wrapping up my March reading materials in a couple days. I’m anxious to find out what my total is for the month, but I don’t want to check before my wrap-up so it doesn’t make me rush through books just to get through them. I like to savor books, which is sort of incongruous to reading a large volume of books.

I wish that I had more to say in these things. My life seems more boring in print than it is in actuality. It seems more like I’m too busy living it to do much else. Work is crazy, I’ve been working nonstop lately. Which is definitely made easier with the fact that Facebook and Amazon and many other sites are now blocked by Harris County. I’ve been having to make notes for myself to message people later when I think of something I need to tell them! My new Treo is perfect for that though, I must say. One thing that I’m really glad to announce is that I’m not so miserable at my job these days. I can truthfully say that right now, the absolute worst part is having to get up early in the morning, but few jobs would be able to accommodate my sleeping in schedule. And it’s true, I have a lot less time now to do the things I’d like (read, exercise, cook) but we are saving a lot right now and hopefully we’ll be in a house by January 1st. The plan is to start looking in May, so we’ve got two more months of saving to go right now. I’m really excited about the idea of having our first house. And I’m excited about graduate school.

We’re planning a road trip to Florida in November for a wedding, so I’m also excited about that! Lots of stuff happening in 2008, but none of it just yet, so I need to sit tight until May. Wee!

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Funny How Tardiness Wakes You Up

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

Well, last night was a little bit better in the sleeping department, but not much better in the “Holy Crap! I need to leave for work in FIVE MINUTES!!!” department. I stupidly forgot to set my alarm last night. I managed to shower, dress, feed the dog and take it outside, feed the cat, get my lunch (and breakfast to-go) ready, and run out the door in about 20 minutes. I accidentally left the door to the apartment open and thought the cat had run outside since I couldn’t find her, so I shook her treat bag and luckily she came running. I was so relieved. Anyways, after giving each pet a treat, I high-tailed it out of there and was only five minutes late to work. Not bad for sleeping in an extra hour and 20 minutes.

The sleep itself was, while better than last night, still not fitful. I kept waking up reaching for Suzi in the night, to make sure she was still there. I pretty much insisted she be under the covers so I could sense when she left. I feel like a paranoid mom, except this baby can get up and walk away and pee on my carpet. Hopefully when Mike gets back tonight things will settle down and Suzi won’t be so restless in the night. I’m so looking forward to Mike coming home and the long weekend ahead.

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Dogs Need Off-Switches

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Ok, so today is day 3 of my abandonment, and last night has to be the worst part. It can NOT get worse than that. You see, when Mike’s gone I don’t sleep very well. Maybe I just feel more secure with Mike there or something, but I sleep way better when he is with me. So the first night I slept very little, then the second night I slept better but the animals kept shifting around on the bed and waking me up, but last night was awful.

I hung up the phone with Mike at around 10:30ish and I think I actually fell asleep pretty quickly. I later woke up to some scuffling, where the dog was trying to jump back up on the bed, which was odd because she usually sleeps through the night, but since she had been out and about I needed to check and see if there had been any accidents. Of course, there had been. I was so angry, I took her over to the spot and yelled at her for being a bad dog, then I told her to go back to bed (which she did – she may be bad, but she’s not stupid). So I had to clean it up because urine stains are easier to get out when they are fresh. I went back to bed, but my blood was boiling and it took several hours just to calm down, and the rest of my night was either dreams of Suzi having more accidents, or waking up paranoid because I couldn’t see where she was right away. I got about 2 hours of restful sleep last night.

When I got up for my shower, I put her in the cage because I don’t trust her, and I must not have put the latch on properly, because she got out and had ANOTHER accident! So I did the whole “bad dog” yelling thing, and stuck her in the cage. She only came out long enough to go out (not that she needed to…) and eat. After that, I stuck her back in the cage. I may end up putting her there all night tonight. I need some sleep! I only got to work early because I just couldn’t stand to hear her whining.

So if this is what that other person was going through, I guess I can understand why she wanted to get rid of her. If we don’t get her into some obedience classes or train her properly, I’m afraid she’s going to have to go away. My carpet is going to be completely yellow in a matter of months, and I’m going to be much more irritable than I am now. It’s really too bad because she is sweet when she’s behaving, but that isn’t often enough. The only reason that I’m lucid at all right now is that I took a mini-nap after I caged her for 15 minutes, and felt rested enough after that to drive to work. Oy. I just want some sleep!

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Dance Dance Resolution

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008

So yesterday, I had a can of Pepsi after my lunch, which is a pretty normal occurrence. Unfortunately, I started to feel really badly about 2 hours later. Not just the inevitable sugar-high crash, but actually sick. It felt like I had an ulcer formulating as I was sitting here. I decided to stop this deterioration right then. I made an excel sheet on my Palm Treo listing a few fitness goals that I want to meet every day, like a checklist. It includes no Pepsis, exercise, eating more fruit, and maybe including some vitamins in my diet.

It was very timely that I happened to come across this article on one of my RSS feeds this morning: What Happens to Your Body If You Drink a Coke Right Now?. So timely. I am, once again, resolute. My goal is to not drink Pepsi, not even one, for 6 months. Which happens to fall on September 11th. At least it’s easy to remember.

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Happiness is found in a bag with a Starbucks label

Saturday, March 8th, 2008

Mike and I are just having a relaxing weekend here at home. I’m currently watching The Man in the Iron Mask, that I received from Netflix. I just felt like watching it. It’d been many years since I’d seen it.

So the weekend so far has been a flurry of cleaning and shopping. We did our Sam’s Club and our HEB shopping trips today. I got a new book, the latest Sophie Kinsella. I’ve already started and I’m liking it already. All her books are good, the only one I wasn’t crazy about was Undomestic Goddess. Anyways, we picked up some things we needed, and some other things we didn’t really need. We’ve got food for the dog, the cat, and for us. And a new alarm clock! So that will get me through my weeklong abandonment that’s coming up. We also got some new Starbucks chocolate thingys, that are so awesome. They are called “Caramel Macchiato Truffles” and they are just awesome. AWESOME.

So the weekend hasn’t been very eventful, but sometimes that’s good. It’s nice to just chill out and get things accomplished around the house. It doesn’t give me much to talk about though. I’m sure I’ll have more adventures in the days to come.

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