Snuggie time

Yep, its cold again. I call NOT FAIR! It warmed up, I swear it did..if only for a few days. Even with rain, it was bearable outside. The last couple of days its been all I can do to get out from underneath a blanket or the dreaded Snuggie. I fought the Snuggie tooth and nail and for those of you that haven't had the pleasure of experiencing one, its even more ridiculous than it appears on tv.  It doesn't stay closed and one size fits all my ass.  But for a glorified blanket, it will work in a pinch.

I am ready for spring.  Everyone keeps assuring me it will be worth it once everything comes up green and glorious.  I believe them.  Once the feet of snow melted, there was actual green grass underneath.  Amazing!  But a little warmth wouldn't hurt anything, I promise.  I don't need sweltering heat, just enough so that I can put on some flip flops.  Just enough so that I don't have to wear my winter coat or God forbid, the Snuggie to the Reds game during opening week.

The one thing conspicuously absent though?  March means wind to me.  I grew up in the Southwest, that is what I am programmed to expect.  In Albuquerque and even worse in the townthatshallnotbenamed this time of year, you can expect to grind dirt particles in your teeth all day if you dare to step outside.  I definitely don't miss the wind, and neither do my contacts.

So Ferb, I know what we are going to do today.  Hunker down under our Snuggies and dream of spring.  I know its out there, lurking, teasing me.

I am an other-worldly level of cranky today.  Like, do not approach or you risk losing a body part.  My sleeping patterns are whacked out at the moment, so that certainly doesn't help.  I've been having dreams that run the gamut from getting murdered (that whole you can't dream about dying or you die myth?  I'm here to tell you its BS) to sitting on a old couch on the patio of a restaurant owned by Dave Grohl.  Ok, my husband was with me, but still.  My awake hours are decidedly UNproductive, because, well, I don't really have much to do.  It still invokes some level of guilt event though I know, logically, there is nothing I am neglecting or putting off.

Moral of the story?  There isn't one.  I just needed to growl a little.  I'm trying to stay away from flesh and blood humans at the moment until their safety isn't in question.  Better to pound away at the keyboard while they play Super Mario than scare them.

I've been getting just a little too "sullen, suffer in silence" for my own good the past few days.  To throw out one selfish prop to myself, life with no money, no job and living with the inlaws isn't exactly the high life.  But it IS our life at the moment and my fits of selfishness aren't going to make time go by any quicker.

Tonight is Mikey's first night at work.  Hopefully he can get in and out of training muy rapido so that he can just start working. Its beyond frustrating that I can't work, for more reasons than me just wanting to help out monetarily.  At this point I would love, love to get out on my own, at least for a little while a day.  Unfortunately that isn't going to happen any time soon, at least until we can get another vehicle.  So for now, I am here with Bay, Mikey when he is here now and Mikey's mom.

I'm reintroducing myself to the Disney Channel.  I wish they showed Phineas and Ferb and Jonas all day.

The sheer volume of knitting projects I have not only cast on but finished since we've been here (two weeks tomorrow, in fact) is impressive.  Including a very fancy blanket made for the one and only Cooper Cow last night.  Spoiled rotten bovine, yes he is!

We've gone out a few times.  Met a super cool bartender who was so impressed by her recent trip to Albuquerque that she tattoed red AND green chili on her arm.  This weekend I'm hoping to go to the annual Bock Fest in Cincinnati, which also includes a tour of the Prohibition era breweries and bars that I missed the sign up for.  Next year!  Have I mentioned people that live in Cincinnati drink the most beer per capita of any metro area in the country?  Perfect, right?

Mostly, its just a take it as it comes sort of existence.  But hey!  The sun stayed out alllll day long today, so I consider this an good sign of things to come.  I'm seriously thinking about doing something drastic fitness wise this spring, so stay tuned for that.  Or at least for a good laugh.

Bay and I at our NEW location (aka the inlaws's spare bedroom)

Day #1 of working on getting life on track here.  We spent the weekend exploring, acclimating and if you were me, freaking at random intervals.  Today it was time to get to work, or attempt to.  

The place we are staying is a bit far out, but nothing unmanageable.  Its just an adjustment learning to live in the suburbs after living in, well, small town hell.  We've done a bit of exploring and today we went out to some areas we'd scoped out to look for a J-O-B.  At least for Mikey, for now.  This is something that I hate, its a process I dread.  So does he.  Surprised that we ended the afternoon using each other for target practice?  Don't be.  I'm not.  

I did spend a blissful half hour wandering around a Borders, looking at all the shiny beautiful books I want that I can't afford.  Number one on my list is the Mason Dixon knitting book.  I love it!!  Must have.

Things are settling into their own little groove.  There are adjustments at every turn and things I must remind myself about all day.  We did this for a reason.  It WILL be better.  I CAN handle my inlaws, bless them.  And as private of a person as I can be, this is an exercise in learning to live peacefully among others and accepting little quirks.  Each day is a new adventure, a new experience and a new lesson to be learned.

Like this one.  Why can you not buy liquor or wine in grocery stores here?  Not that I have had the occasion to do so, but this is weird, weird to me.  And you can smoke in bars?!  Haven't seen that in a hot minute.  News on at 11.  Of course, along with this is prime time starting at 8.  

Small adjustments.  I admit it, I am addicted to certain things (beyond the obvious.  *snort*)  One is tv while I sleep.  Not necessarily because I watch it, but because I need the noise and light.  Not one in our room.  I've been falling asleep with the IPod on, but I wake up disoriented and weirded out.  Maybe I can break my addiction.    

So.. nothing big but yet it all feels big to me.  It looks different (WAY different), it feels different, it smells different.  I won't fully adjust until we have our own place, our own jobs, our own things, our own groove.  But I can work on the small stuff for now.

Day 2

Well, we didn't get the start out of THAT place as quickly or nearly as easily as we had hoped, but I did get my wish - we were across the state line before the sun set.  Granted, we lived 10 minutes from the border, but still.  I had threatened to bury my husband between a cow and something oil related if we had to endure another minute not on the road.

And so we set off in a car packed so full that I literally can't see little man from where I sit in the front seat.  We ended up stopping a bit short of what we would have hoped, but when we got to the point that I was spouting off my "random Panama stat of the day" (btw, it was guess where Jeremy Shockey is vacationing, in case you needed some Panama knowledge) and Mikey was singing Offspring in falsetto, it was time to take a pitstop.

Boys slept soundly, Mommy notsomuch.  But I am more than a little pumped to stop and get the venti-est of venti lattes, perhaps more than one at an actual coffee shop.  We are headed next to Little Rock.  I'm going to attempt to take some cheesy interstate pictures to share, if I can manage.

Ta ta for now!

Our Big Adventure

Not really Pee Wee Herman style, but my body and brain are so fried at this point, I'm beginning to feel like I could use a playhouse and a padded room.

As soon as we can get it all together, (ha!) we are hitting the road.  We are giving away about half of what we own, and this is after I got rid of a ton of stuff.  I admit it, I am a bit of a pack rat.  This in itself is truly ridiculous, given the sheer volumes of moves I have made since I reached adulthood.  But I tried my very best to divest some of the unnecessary clutter.  Seems appropriate.  The rest of the belongings are shoved into a 5 x 10 storage unit until we can get them at a later date.  We are packing the little old car to the brim and heading east.

I guess that point when you have to make that life changing decision has come.  In a big way.  Mikey resigned his job and we decided to make a fresh start.  Today, we are headed to Dallas, perhaps Little Rock?

Wish us luck!  I'm running on fumes after packing furiously for 2 days.

Bay and I say "Peace Out!" to small town New Mexico

Who Dat!

I'm a Packers fan.  But my husband is a die-hard Saints fan, so I will cheer for them, unless of course they are playing my Pack.  So naturally this playoff season has been an exciting one around here, particularly given the rough time we've been going through.

I'm not sure I can say I believed that they would win, not gonna lie.  If a team could win on sheer momentum and fanbase loyalty, this would be the team.  During the first quarter I watched my husband getting more and more dejected and I wanted things to change more than anything.  Its cliched, its overstating the obvious, but he, like many Saints fans, NEEDED that win.

If you aren't a sports fanatic like we are, you probably think this is silly.  Its not.  I think that a big part of the reason sports appeal to so many is that its a form of pure escapism.  There is nothing better than forgetting your problems for a few hours while you watch a sporting event.  It can also take a lot out of you.  I've spent more hours than I should crying over a hard loss.  I guess being a Red Sox fan was my destiny.  ;)

So it wasn't terribly surprising to see my husband crying for a good long time after the Saints did the amazing last night.  I am not sure our 4 year old understood why Daddy wouldn't let him go, but I did.  It was like all of the stress of the past few months came pouring out of him.

Which is why this picture has to be one of my favorite ever.  Ever!  Baby Brees is grinning because his daddy is playing with him.  He may not understand, but he will.  And if you don't love that Saints fan got this win, well, I can't help ya.  But from my own selfish perspective, sometimes you just need the win.