Didn't go

Saturday was different. I spent the day with some friends, starting seeds, having facials done and tolerating a pampered chef show. When I say tolerating, I mean the consultant, seriously we all were tolerating... and then happy when it was over and she was gone. J had won free facials from an Arbonne consultant, so that was after the not so Pampered Chef, and was incredibly relaxing. Seriously, Carol came in with tons of products, set them up, gave us some background and started the facials. We all pulled chairs up and chatted (sometimes even about the products) drank some tea and had our facials done. I think if ever I was going to sell something (although given how much I love strangers and groups of strangers at that, I probably wouldn't)I would sell the Arbonne line. It has natural ingredients, minimal preservatives, no animal testing, and an overall great line. They sell an assortment of skin care products and cosmetics, similar to Mary Kay or Avon, but with better ingredients. I can't wait for my order to come in! J is thinking of becoming a consultant, my only question was if she would come to my house and give me a facial every morning before work... sadly she laughed at me.

Sunday, I stuck to my resolve and did not go to the after Easter, Easter dinner. I had sent my father an email Friday letting him know I probably wouldn't be there (I used work as my excuse, which I had wanted to come in and get some things done)so arrangements would need to be made to pick up my sister, who doesn't drive. So Sunday morning I thought about coming into work, for about 4.8 seconds, then didn't. Instead HG and I spent the day checking out a list of houses that were within the driving, price and size range we are looking for. Sadly many got crossed off the list. HG and I want to attain whatever camera the real estate agents use to make the houses look bigger and better than they really are. Seriously, it's got so be one hell of a camera. One house looked great online, large, with some (not a lot) distance between the neighbors... we drove to it, it's a well painted shoe box that you don't need to yell to talk to the next door neighbor, and it's in a bad area. The pictures lie. We found an adorable "small farm" that has been renovated on the inside, but needs external work. My favorite part is that it has 20 acres (yay, can you say horse??) with a large portion being fenced in fields. My response to that particular house came out as "oooh I can have a dog and a horse". There are a few concerns, like the septic possibly needing to be updated, and the barn's structural integrity. However, it's close to the top of our lists. I'd also like to see it dip in price as well. What? They won't just give it to me because I'm nice and will take care of the land? Sheesh, people these days.

Last night, HG and I delved a little bit into the past and some of the issues that stand in between myself and my family. It was a bit unexpected, perhaps a little therapeutic, but ultimately it served just to create a tighter bond between us. We both had some tumultuous times in our childhoods, and while we remain undecided about kids, I think we both are strongly determined not to perpetuate the cycle. As for the kid talk, we both feel relieved that my Hippy bro & wife are expecting, as it delays the pressure for us. We both are enjoying our lives as they are, and enjoying having the resources to have our toys, and our trips with the only concern being that someone feeds Jinx in our absence.
Speaking of toys, HG took out his motorcycle last week, just for a little stroll around the block, but I was insanely jealous. I can't wait for the temps to rise and for some serious snow and dirt washing rain to clear the roads for me. Vroom Vroom.

Beaten

Husband: You really aren't going to Easter?
Me: No, you know how I feel about it. I'm really not going
H: But what about Anna? You'll miss an opportunity to see her.
Me: I'd rather drive down to Butterbone's house to hang out with Anna
H: You are really sticking to this?
Me: I have no desire to go, I go only because it is an obligation. I don't enjoy it, I have a fuse the length of a baby's first tooth with her...you know that.
H: I like going
Me: What? Are you kidding?
H: (In a lower voice) No, their the only family I have.


Blind sided.
I am once again feeling obligated. I am also taking into consideration that this conversation was held at 12:30 am this morning, and after a number of hours doing 12 ounce curls....

What did one tomato say to the other?...Ketchup

Despite my recent lack of posts, I am alive, and there are lots of things going on. Just not posts evidently.
I survived my birthday celebrations, with a little drama mixed in just for fun. I had a very intoxicated friend get shut off very quickly, and who in her drunken rage at being shut off exited thru an emergency exit. That was fun. We also had left a certain couple of the invitation list, not because we didn't care for them, but to avoid drama since there had been some shady dealings going on in the family, and the other half of was going to be there. (We figured we invited couple A to dinner and not couples B & C, so we would invite couples B&C this time and not A)Yeah, that didn't work out so well. While they are not online, the sister is, and silly me forgot all about her, posted a bulletin for some friends... and whalla... drama. They came, but stayed for about 5 minutes, barely said anything to anyone and left. So, aside from the two hurried exits and a call from the drunken one screaming obscenities into my phone... all was well. Actually I had a good time, my brother trekked up from southern NH to "show his younger sister how it's done", and we eventually moved from Margaritas to Salt Hill and then back to our place. It was fun, and I didn't hurt nearly as badly as last year. So that was definitely a nice bonus.
April and I went south a couple weeks back to check out the butterfly conservatory, (you can see the pictures to the left of this post)we also stopped randomly at some cool places. One being this art gallery that wasn't actually open, but they let us tour it anyway. The women who was on showcase (unfortunately I've forgotten her name) was interesting. She had digital art, but then also had some screen prints hanging from the ceiling to the floor, with images that matched a faint whispering over the speakers. It was a representation of a dream study she did, and it was very different,and creative, but also a little bit creepy. The recorded whispers are faint that when you first walk into this darkened section, you look to see if someone is there, but of course no one is there. April and I also took a little detour, since we had no map and no GPS but thought we knew where we were... we ended up taking a few hours more to get home, but it was an enjoyable detour.
I also attended a family birthday brunch, to celebrate butter bones and my birthday. That was interesting. The restaurant that our mother picked was not one that either my brother or I would have picked, it was a drive for everyone, and it wasn't that good. My water had something green sticking to the rim of the glass, so I asked for another one, which came fine. My tea mug had stuff stuck to the inside, which I refrained from asking for another, figuring I would be pushing my luck. My sister in law ordered an orange juice that smelled like meat, no joke, like beef broth, so of course that got sent back for a water instead. I ordered an egg dish that I can't think of but was excellent, that is until I found a nice long hair in it, clearly not mine. At this point I was done with the restaurant. To make the meal even better I was seated next to my parents formerly foster, now adopted son which took every last fiber in my body not to move. I seriously felt like my body was twitching from the stain to not cause bodily harm. I also had a moment where I thought the filter to my mouth had been disconnected, but evidently it was just said really loud in my mind. I feared that I said to the poor helpless new family member, "you are why I don't want kids". Yes, I am a shoe in for the sister award. That's me, over here *raising hand*. Luckily I did not say this out loud. This same meal together my mother started planning Easter dinner... I've decided to opt out. I've seen my family almost once a month already, and I need a break. I'm already trying to mentally chant "I will not go" so that by the time Easter rolls around, it's ingrained and I won't let the heavy feeling of obligation wear me out.
This past weekend, a couple local knitters and I made another trip down to Webs and to the Korean restaurant that we all appreciate. It was fun, and I was very self restrained and only bought enough yarn for 1 project. Again, we had crappy weather, as seems to be our MO every time. The humorous part is that the woman at the Korean restaurant recognized the 3 of us, and made note that it's always raining when we come down. We'll have to rectify that somehow, perhaps this summer.

Last week, a nice older gentleman whom I met a few years ago thru a co-worker, and whom we had lunch with about once a week had a medical issue. Richard had some difficulty tying his shoes, climbing the stairs and moving half of his body. Symptoms we though initially indicated a stroke, so he and his wife trekked to the doctors, had some test done that ruled out a stroke but found a brain tumor. That was the beginning of last week, he was in for surgery to have the brain tumor removed before the end of the week. I visited him daily while he was in the hospital, and his recovery seemed incredible, he was joking around, trying to kiss all the girls and being "Richard". He was in the hospital for only 3 days, but during that time the golf ball sized tumor they removed was found to be cancerous, but they felt they had remove 99% of it, but would do some radiation treatment for the last 1%. Everyone was feeling pretty good about this. Richard had lung cancer and had a lung removed more than 17 years ago, so the doctors wanted to do a full body scan to make sure there wasn't cancer anywhere else.
Yesterday, they found out there was some cancer on his other lung.
Richard and his wife Ramona are putting up a wonderfully strong front, and I am so impressed with how they are handling this. Me, on the other hand, I am afraid to call them because I'm afraid I will cry, and who am I to cry to them? I can't do that, so I'm not calling today, but I am asking my co-worker and their friend to pass to them that I am thinking of them.
Yesterday, I took some time off for a dreaded doctors appointment. I've had some test come back with irregular results, and for a while I tried the ignorance is bliss route, and ignored the results and refused to schedule more test, but I finally submitted to the other tests. It was not fun, and although my doctor is optimistic, she sent away some samples for a biopsy. I have to stop for a moment, to say that I had two very awesome nurses yesterday. The first one was there just to talk about the procedure, take my BP and pulse, but she was so warm and calming that I wanted to hug her. The second was actually in the room assisting the dr. during the procedure but tried to keep a very casual and light conversation with me, and was also very warm and caring. Seriously I lucked out to have two great nurses yesterday, because I was fairly tense going into it. Anyway, hopefully all is well, I will find out in 7-10 business days.
Today I have an appointment scheduled to have my taxes done, which I am also dreading. I know I am going to have to pay, due to sales of real estate and such, but I'm hoping it's not going to hurt as much as I think it is. I'm hoping that whatever amount it turns out to be is much less than I am thinking, and I will actually be relived to pay into the crooks. Probably not, I'm not that lucky. Perhaps if I offer to do sexual favors there where be some hidden deductions I can take:-)