January recap

I can't believe it's already February!  They say time flies when you're having fun; I think it flies no matter what!  Unless you're stuck at home, sick--then it drags.

 

So, here's what January held for me: 

• I kept up with my 365 photography project.  If you haven't checked in recently, go read about the ongoing adventures of Plaid here.
• I went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls on exhibit at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
• I ate at a haunted restaurant, and had a close encounter of some sort!
• I contracted pneumonia, and was sick for two weeks.  Yuck--not one of my favorite things!
• I joined a Relay for Life team.  If you aren't familiar with Relay for Life, go check it out here.  It's a great cause.  I participate not just for myself, but for those who I love that have had or do have cancer.
• I watched five movies:  Pitch Perfect, Thor, Conan the Barbarian (2011), Iron Man, and The Last Airbender.
• I read five books:  Trapped (The Iron Druid Chronicles), Death's Rival:  A Jane Yellowrock Novel, Infinity:  Chronicles of Nick, Cum Laude, Gossip Girl:  It Had to Be You.  Let me just say that Cum Laude is one of the worst books I've ever read.  Normally, I like the escapism that Cecily Von Ziegesar provides in her Gossip Girl series, but Cum Laude and It Had to Be You were off-shoots and early works not published until her other books became hits.  I see why now.  Oh well, win some, lose some.
• I met with my CPA and financial advisor and all of mom's investments are now dissolved and/or transferred into my name.
• I kept up with reading the Bible.  I am now in the new testament!
• I've actually done a fair job of eating at home (of course, the two weeks of being sick helped!).
• And, I've done pretty well saving money too!

I admit that I haven't gotten very far in finishing up decorating and organizing my house, or selling the other house.  I haven't organized my financial paperwork yet, and I haven't even been keeping my house particularly neat or clean.  But--I still have 11 months left of 2013 to make good on my resolutions, right?

How was your January?

Superbowl Commercials

Okay, I'm a little late to the party--all right, the party is actually long over--but...what were your favorite Superbowl commercials?

These were my two favorites:

I don't have any great love for Dodge trucks or beer, but these are great!  They really tugged at my heart, especially the Clydesdale one! 

Remember this Clydesdale advertisement?

Loved it too!  So clever!  I'm glad I'm not the one responsible for creating advertisements!

Fond memories, part 2

For part 1, see this post

In 1967, we moved into the house mom lived in until she passed away (and the one in which I now live). This house also had a field behind it (still does), and the wonderful addition of a creek. I played in that creek until I was in high school! It had its own share of wildlife, but the main attraction was the water. I loved playing in the water. At the time we moved in, the creek was shallow and easy to get to; now it is much deeper and the banks have eroded over time so that you can't get down to the water without a lot more effort and agility than I have. I was lucky that it was so accessible when I was young enough to play in it.  When it rained, and the water was flowing swiftly, I'd run outside and wade in, just to feel the strong pull of the water on my legs. Sometime in middle school, I cut my foot badly on a beer bottle someone had thrown down into the creek.  That sort of ended my romance with the creek! 
 

When we moved in, the playhouse that daddy built came with us.  I vividly remember seeing the truck come for it.  Mom, dad, and several men hoisted it by hand up onto the truck.  It was a three-year old's version of Mega Movers.  The new backyard wasn't as large as the old one, but the playhouse was situated on its own permanent foundation.  My parents put in brick steps, and when they had wrought iron bars placed on all the windows of the house, my playhouse got them too!  That house stood in the back yard until after my dad passed away.  It was rotting and rather than tear it down, mom gave it to one of the workers who worked on the yard from time to time.  He had kids who would give it a new life.  He came and took it (in one piece again) to his house.  For a long time, I'd see it when I drove past his house.  I drove by there the other day, and my little pink house was gone.  I miss it!

In the 60s and early 70s, as my dad's medical practice was growing, we stayed pretty close to home.  Mom and daddy both had a lot of hobbies that kept them busy.  We frequented local flea markets and antique stores, mom started painting again--this time tole painting and oils, and daddy started building musical instruments. When I was in kindergarten, my parents turned the garage into a gameroom and built a new detached garage and workshop for daddy. He spent many hours out in that workshop tinkering around, building things.  When I was young, it was musical instruments.  I think daddy tackled just about every instrument that he liked to play at one time or another:  guitars, banjos, dulcimers, and violins. 

At some point, daddy found a new hobby--motorhomes!  Call them what you will--campers, houses on wheels, RVs--daddy bought one and was hooked!  After that, most of our vacations were of the rolling sort.  My only beef was that motorhomes have to be cleaned just like real homes, not something teenagers really want to do on vacation!  All joking aside, we took great vacations every summer, and lots of shorter trips in between.  Daddy loved nothing more than taking off in our RV and getting away from it all (mostly from the phone!). 

I always went on vacation with my parents, something most teens would never have considered.  Honestly, I never even realized as I was growing up that some kids didn't go on vacation with their parents.  I was lucky to get to go a lot of different places and learn a lot of different things.  And, besides, my parents were pretty cool people to hang out with.  I'm glad I realized that when I was young, and didn't have to wait until I got older to understand how valuable a good relationship with your parents can be.

 

Feeling human again!

I wrote earlier that I had come down with the "creeping crud."  Actually, it turned out to be more than that--it turned out to be pneumonia.  Well, maybe it didn't start out as that, but when I was finally so sick that I dragged myself to the emergency room last Sunday, it had turned into pneumonia.  I was so sick I couldn't breathe, I couldn't talk, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat--I was miserable!

 

After an evening enjoying the hospitality of Baylor Medical Center, I was released to go home.  I missed three days of work, and now, after a week of antibiotics, I feel human again. 

 

I have a new rule--if I'm sick for four days without feeling better, I must go to the doctor!  I forget that my immune system isn't as robust since I have CLL.  I feel as though I'm still 30 years old and can just ignore anything and it'll go away eventually.  Yep, I'm 49 (gulp!) and my body doesn't work like that anymore. 

 

I'm definitely glad to be back in the swing of things!

 

 

They were happy to have me home for a little while!