My week with my MOM: A Mother's Day Tribute

Well, since it is Mother's Day....and since my mother was here last week and I was going to write thi,s anyway.....I am going to write about the time I spent with my mom.

My mom came to visit me Monday night because she was going to help me post surgery. I had VERY minor surgery Tues....no big deal---- I am fine.

Anyway, my mom truly has a heart of gold....but can also be absolutely Evil and extremely Difficult. She is a Gemini....and I actually believe she has Two Sides...NO Doubt. We generally get along....because I kind of go with the flow and let her be crazy and eccentric and particular- even though sometimes it is annoying.

However, I was a bit concerned because she had been acting difficult the week leading up to her visit. Normally she has her happy mom voice when we talk on the phone, except when it is inconvenient for her....like the week before when she used my First and Middle name to tell me she had to go. Um...Ok....I was just calling to say hello. Then later that day I texted her to tell her the deal on the house fell thru and I recieved "Sorry" and that is IT....no follow up phone call even the next day....no..."Oh I am so sorry to hear that" just "Sorry" like I couldn't find my keys. That's my mom....and if things don't go HER way...LOOK OUT.

But let's move on to the visit.

Monday night we both checked into the hotel. She reserved a hotel suite for us.....not super fancy, but very comfortable.

Before I even arrived she had already had the manager change the shower head from the standard one they have installed to HER shower head that she brought with her. I am not kidding.

She had taken up the entire left side of the bathroom counter space and when I asked where I was going to put my stuff I was told I could put my stuff on the Right hand side, and that there was equal amount of space. My response: "There is not equal amount of space after you moved all the hotel stuff to the right side to make room for your stuff on the Left side", but I kind of laughed about and I am used to traveling and not always having space to 'set up'.

While setting up I noticed she had brought several night lights, from home, too.

I noted to her that she decided to get a Brookstone travel alarm clock that has a flashlight sensor when you pick it up.....and she was adamant that she had bought it first and I got the idea from HER. Of course I was adamant about the opposite, but she is getting older and senile so I eventually just left it alone.

After dinner we had to go to Target and get huge packs of bottled water for her stay (as we have a refrigerator) and she HAS to have bottled water. We also HAD to buy toilet paper....b/c apparently the hotel toilet paper was not soft or durable enough.

She just cracked me up with her little idiosyncrasies and I could somewhat relate to some of them....so I saw some of me in her.

One thing that I could not get over and my dad and I were secretly texting about EVERY TIME I got in the car with her--- we HAD to use the GPS......I do NOT care if we were going LITERALLY across the street.....we HAD to use the GPS. My mom has a SEVERE addiction to her GPS unit and THAT is REALLY annoying. Not only do we have to use it, we have to listen to it....but she will STILL ask me for directions and I have to talk OVER the GPS to tell her. ALSO....once we arrive at our destination we have to talk about all the times the GPS has saved her from traffic.....or shown her new better ways to get home (which I suspect really weren't better.....and were probably out of the way---- if it is anything like MY GPS unit), but anyway. It was ANNOYING but funny. My dad texted me not to be surprised if one day going down the freeway he opens the door and pushes them both out....lol. My dad and I share a very dry sense of humor and often it is at my mother's expense. Usually she is in her own world and it goes over her head....

It was a very pleasant visit and we really did get along great and although we have different ways of approaching many things we are similar in many ways, and it was kind of fun to see how much alike we are. Our mannerisms are very similar and the way and what we eat, etc.....

I don't often (or ever) spend that much time in such close quarters with my mom so it did offer a chance to get to know each other a little better.

LOVE YOU MOM <3

Sasha has Allgeries

Poor Sasha.....between me working and out of town NON stop and NON stop all day busy on days off she has not been given the usual care she is used to. She is very self sufficient.....but I am in charge of bathing her in b/t groomings.....and HONESTLY.....I have had NO time. Been working a TON....and then running errands.....doing stuff for house....and then leaving house for showings. VERY difficult to fit EVERYTHING in.....

So....poor Sasha...with summer coming has skin allergies and has started chewing like crazy on her arms (front legs). I just can't take it.....she looks ok but I KNOW it MUST be driving her crazy, and I haven't even been able to get her Benadryl......b/c until it really became worse I wanted to avoid it.

Well I came home tonight WAY too late to stop for Benadryl.....and Sasha has been just NON stop itching and chewing. :'(

So finally I cut out a few mats.......and then applied Caladryl Clear to her itchy spots. At first she was excited....then was like wait....(I think she could feel it working.....) she jumped around a lot - un sure- then a couple of times tried to itch....but I said NO....b/c I don't want her to injest Caladryl.

She seems settled now, and I HOPE is more comfortable......

She needs a grooming appt BAD....hopefully Thurs, my first day off......

DRY EYE SYNDROME

Ok...it sounds like 'Oh just Dry Eye Syndrome' whatever....put some drops in. I am here to tell you it is NO LAUGHING matter (well except the pic I will post later), but SERIOUSLY----

Dry Eye Syndrome, when in flare up mode, is EXTREMELY painful!!! Like....I just want morphine already...seriously. I have had a few flare ups a few years ago but they mostly last only a few hours......

This winter I have had several and they are a force to be reckoned with. RED, SWOLLEN eye, Watery to the point o f going through a box of tissue..... sensitivity to light.

I woke up in this condition this morning......and it has been one of the WORST flare ups to date. I couldn't drive to dr.....and so basically just laid in bed, in the dark, with tissues and eye drops.

When ex MrD came home he's like well make an eye patch from a 1st class eye shade......I was like I don't know it will help, but I did.....and it has helped. Typing this not easy, but at least I am not laying in the dark hoping for sleep or someone to come to tell me a story, b/c I couldn't even watch tv.

FYI.....started Restasis about a month ago and has been better, but Restasis takes awhile to really help (I hear).....

Anyway....if you have Dry Eye Syndrome....You are NOT alone...it is common, and it SUCKS....and I feel your pain.....

Hopefully tomorrow will be better, and if not I will at least be able to drive to dr......but at least w/ patch I can at least watch tv, and blog, or whatever for a few hrs to get me out of the dark cavern of watery eye suffering

Why I NEED My Own Place

Why I NEED my own place:

1. I NEED ME TIME

2. I do NOT need to deal with other people's drama.....for a period of time, at least--- and possibly EVER, after all this

3. I can spend my ZERO money on ME and not feel in debt to others.....nor will someone (a husband ask for shit)

4. I like things clean & organized.....I want to come back to that. On RARE occasions I do not care about organization I still know where shit is, and WILL organize it

5. I am handy.....I have a tool kit and know how to fix things better than pretty much anyone I have lived with since 2 people in NYC

---- for instance: MrD installed new shower head the other day....since then LOW LOW water pressure. Being determined I fixed it tonight. He never would have gotten around to it....and would have blamed shower head making a useless trip to Target for return, only to end up same

6. I can watch, or NOT watch, what I want when I want or not

7. I don't have to be quiet and I don't have to deal w/ someone who is NOT quiet and thinks it's fine to talk in my ear while I am on the phone....or talk loudly while I am trying to sleep in between working

8. I don't have to take care of ANYONE, but ME and my lovely Sasha......

9. I can listen to music and just stare and think about how amazing this moment is and how long I waited for it

To Be Continued.........

More Cowbell

Does this emititcon mean "More Cowbell"? I like to think so

(for some reason picture posted sideways?? IDK)

New Year's Resolutions??

Wow.....been soo busy...COMPLETELY forgot about even thinking about New Year's Resolutions.

December:

1. Worked to Caracas, Venezuela
2. Spent a week in Cozumel (day after work)
3. Day after Cozumel worked to Rio
4. ONE day off
5. BACK to Rio
6. 2 days off
7. Buenos Aries over XMas
8. 1 day off
9. go to work and after 2 hrs of sitting there go to Seattle and back (red eye)---- then when I got in, @8am, had to go BACK to airport SAME night
10. after ending that assignment I had to go to London 11hrs later

January:

1. Day after London trip.......had to go to court and finalize divorce
2. 1 day off
3. then worked to Sao Paulo
4. 1 day off
5. back to Buenos Aries
6. next day Interview for promotion
7. (same day as interview) 4 days off but with friend in town--fun, but still draining
8. work....luckily was able to tackle many aspects of tax return filing during this work period
9. back to Sao Paulo (tomorrow....1/19/2011)

In the meantime, just trying to take care of things.....like divorce paperwork, court, getting house up for sale.....and even interviewing for a promotion.

OMG.....for people in the 'normal' business world this may not seem stressful, but for me!! OMG....I haven't worked on resume, or EVEN thought of updating resume!!! Aaaahhhh!!!

So......OMG.....yes, I WAS able to complete EVERYTHING: Application....reference letters, and updated resume. I was lacking in interview update skills and was EXHAUSTED, so VERY NOT sure how I did.....I will keep you updated.

Been somewhat obsessed about how I did, in interview, but have also resolved myself to if I get the promotion it is meant to be....if not.....another time will be better, when I am more prepared, perhaps-- BUT I DO hope I receive the promotion.

Closing:

New Year's Resolution: Move on in a positive direction........not so much defining specific goals. Being a better, more positive and giving person in all aspects of my life and hoping that the strong and difficult decisions I made towards the end of last year will serve me well.....and perhaps lift a burden that allows me to be more open to amazing opportunities and seeing the world in a different light.

Roommates Are Fun, I think

After I left NYC, in August 2006, I was happy living alone….it was a nice change from sharing a multiple bedroom apartment with roughly 2 people to each room. I was just turning 30.
It wasn’t really by choice that I left NY, but that is a story in itself….and has little relevance to the subject of this post.
I embraced living alone….Since then I have been married and am now nearing a divorce. Through my marriage I always found the oddity in 2 people attempting to coexist. Obviously, my ex husband and I did not do very well. Mind you, as roommates, we were not bad…..and many things I found humorous about our differences. However….this post is not about THAT either.
This post is about where I find myself, NOW. Once again….living with a roommate….at 36.
Most people are over it, by this age, but I think….for the most part it’s fun. When I was married I used to think I needed a roommate, b/c although my ex is a good person….we were not GREAT together and I wanted someone to hang out with…someone to talk to….and someone to have fun with. Having a roommate can be, at times, like having your best friend stop by and you watch movies together….drink too much wine….or battle the families, with the big car shopping carts, down the aisle at the grocery store.
I think it is funny to come home and wonder why the hell panty hose are on the kitchen counter, and why she can’t figure out how to put the ironing board away (which actually has turned into a VERY good place to put important paperwork….so that works out)…..and in turn…..if my roommate were to come home right now she may wonder why the hell the broom is in the living room which is carpeted.
Answer to that question: It was 30 degrees when I came home this morning and we haven’t had to turn the heater on. I held out as long as I could, but when I took a shower and 2 cats and a dog tried to crawl into the shower b/c that was where the warm water was coming from…..I knew it was time to turn on the heater, at least on low. Since it hadn’t been used it, AT ALL, it at first emitted a burning smell, thus setting off the smoke detectors, fanning them with the broom is the obvious answer to solving that. I had been awake forever and am jetlagged…..so manana, manana I put the broom back.
Why does my 5’2″ 90lb roommate need 4 towels and 3 washrags to shower?? hahhahaha……this is the stuff I think is funny. Peoples’ idiosyncrasies are fascinating to me.
We are both out of town A LOT…..so we have some time alone….and in my opinion this month I have had too much time alone. I enjoy being able to talk to my roommate….I like cooking for us. I like picking out movies and discussing all sorts of things, together. Sometimes we share frustration and sometimes we probably frustrate each other, but to me…..it is still learning something new everyday and smiling @ our differences.
I am lucky….I have somewhere to live and it happens to be with one of my best friends, someone I clicked with a few years ago while working. We have been friends since. I never imagined, THEN, that NOW, we would be roommates…..another thing I love about life. You NEVER know where you will be no matter how you imagine things.
Some people NEED plans…..and I am not going to say I am completely void of that….but I also embrace new adventures and the way things happen to fall into place. I am definitely spontaneous and I enjoy the things I end up experiencing from that…most of the time.