Promises Promises Promises

I really did intend to blog regularly - honestly I did!  Time just got away from me (again and again and again).

So, here I am, as I promised my irish twin I would be - some major changes, and here they are in no particular order:

1. I bought a Wii!!! If you've read any of my (somewhat) recent blogs, you'll see that I was desperately yearning for one, so I caved in, and spent money I shouldn't have, and I couldn't be happier!
2. Not only did I get a Wii, but I got Wii Fit with the balance board - I scored it used, so it was way less expensive than buying it retail, which I couldn't have done anyway because the damn thing is sold out everywhere.
3. I had my surgery! I suppose if this list were in the order of importance, this would probably be item #1 - The surgery itself went well (I was unconscious the whole time) - did you know that they intubate you for stuff like breast reduction? Well, I sure didn't! I wondered for a couple of days why my throat was so sore, and when I finally pondered it out loud, mom looked at me like a crazy person and explained it.  How should I know? I'm a relatively healthy girl, and my only previous surgery was having my wisdom teeth out, and I'm quite positive they didn't intubate me for that one (I also was allowed to wear more than my underwear).
4. After I had my surgery, I was getting better, though not as fast as I expected, and a week after - I finally went back to my house (I'd been staying with Mom & Jeanne & Catty & the many cats) - and that night I ended up getting super sick.  Honestly one of the scariest things that's ever happened.  Raging fever, awful pain - I didn't want to bother my sisters in the middle of the night (it started around midnight) - and so I thought maybe I'd call 911, but then I thought my house was way too messy to let paramedics in, so I just laid there, occasionally crying, and having weird hallucinations.  The next day, I did call Conni & she took me to her house & I talked to the surgeon & at first they said I'd have to be admitted to the hospital, but then decided to just try giving me antibiotics.
5. I recovered from my awful bout of sickness.  And then, instead of returning to work after being out for a week, I had another two weeks off - unfortunately, they were unpaid weeks off - which super sucks - but there's not really anything I could do about it. 
6. So, I'm back at work now - it's wearing me down a LOT, but I'm surviving.  My ginormous scars are healing, and I go for a second post-operative appointment with my surgeon in about a week and a half. 
7. The real downer about the surgery is that I haven't been able to do my Wii Fit! I know, totally unfair, right? I have to wait six weeks to do any aerobic activity.  But, in the meantime, I bought a game called Walk It Out - which is ridiculously fun - and every time I do it I walk longer - last night it was 75 minutes - there's just so much to do!!  So, at least I'm getting exercise, although I'm pretty psyched for two weeks from tomorrow when I can start Wii Fitting it up!

Yup, so I'm making up for lost time here, and plan on writing more again in the near future.  I'm a fascinating person, so I'm pretty sure there are some people out there who died because they were holding their breath until my next post.  And to their friends and families - I say "Sorry".

I can't wait, I can't wait, I can't wait

When will it be tax return time???  We went to Searsport for Jeanne's birthday party this weekend.  And along with visiting with family & friends, and snuggling with adorable cats, I set up Jeanne's new Wii & Wii Fit - and it was AWESOME.  I am soooooooo jealous - and Azi and I both can't wait to have the setup for ourselves.

What that means is that for the next few weeks, I'll be biting my nails more than usual, and continually checking my mailbox, and our employee database system to see if my W2s are available yet.  This is when having the second job at Christmas really sucks - because I'm waiting for W2s from two separate places.

As usual, I'll be filing through the IRS.gov freefile thing - I generally go with Turbo Tax, I like their super suave software - it's very easy to follow along with.  Although I do like to go in before I know my real numbers, pretend to be an accountant, and calculate it out myself - I've actually gotten pretty good at it.

Jessica Brainerd, CPA - has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

I really had wanted to get myself a laptop like Azi got for Christmas.  I think it's unreasonable that Santa only comes for kids.  I was very, very, very good last year too - but what did I get from the big guy? Cold hard nothing people!!!  It might be related to the fact that we didn't bake him cookies this year - I don't know, whatever it is, I'm feeling neglected.

So.  I'm just stuck here waiting for tax return time.  I hope I get it before I have my surgery, so I can buy myself some stylish new tops.  Oh, and catch up on bills - that too.

Today, my annual box of fruit and deliciousness from Harry & David came - and, as has become tradition, there was something wrong with it.  Last year, my fruit was super ugly - this year, my fruit was super frozen.  Luckily the people at H&D are tres cool - and they're sending out a replacement package - I just want my pears man, just my pears - that's not too much to ask, is it??

I will enjoy my frozen pears anyway, I'm sure they'll be cold & delicious, right?

The most fun thing ever?

Is Wii Fit (Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board).  I wouldn't say it if it weren't true.  When we went down to Saco for New Year's Eve - we discovered the joy that is Wii Fit - I'm helping a certain person find one for a certain other person for a gift to celebrate a certain occasion - and the best deal I can find is Amazon, because I have a prime account, so I get the free shipping - and there's no tax - yee haw!   You can't beat that!!

So - if any certain people want to buy a certain gift for me - don't forget to first buy me a Wii, and then the Wii Fit Plus with Balance Board, and maybe you should throw in my fave game: Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party (thanks David for getting me hooked on THAT one!!).

People who live on the other side of the foreclosed house next door

I don't like you. Yes, I mean you - people who live on the other side of the foreclosed house next door.

It's not because the only time I ever see an adult on your porch, they're busy yelling at the litters of children you have running around shoeless in the driveway (believe me, if those were my kids - I'd be yelling too)

It's not because when it rains, you have your kids put on their swimsuits to go and play in the motor oil and mud puddles in the driveway (hell, it looks pretty fun)

It's not because you have tons of garbage & debris heaped around your porch and front yard (who am I to complain, I'm not the world's tidiest girl by any means)

But there is a reason I don't like you - and this is it:
On Christmas Day, I was driving over to my sister's house for dinner at 3:00 pm - and you had your undecorated Christmas tree sitting out in a snowbank.

Seriously people, what's up with that? I can ignore everything else - I don't really care - but what was sooooooooo important that it couldn't wait until at LEAST the day after Christmas? Do you have pine needle allergies? Well - buy a fake tree!!! Was the tree too dried out? It surely didn't look it to me, and maybe you should water it more next year.

Whatever your reason is - I can tell you flat out - it's not good enough. And from now on, just know you have a new nemesis on Parkview Avenue.

Let it Snow Snow Snow!

We had a major snowstorm this weekend. Not nearly as major as I'd like (fourteen foot walls of snow were floating around in my imagination) - but it was a decent snowstorm - I'd guess we got about a foot and a half (before the stupid rain came along and patted it down quite a bit). Before the plowtruck came, I had been watching a wall of snow build up against the car across the driveway from me. I wanted to wait until the end of the storm to get a picture of it - it was above the wheels, and piled up close to the door-handle. Then, some BASTARDS went out and shoveled around it! I know it wasn't the car-owners, because those are the landlords, and I was getting their mail for them since they were away for the weekend.

So, I thought to myself - well, at least I'll get to take a picture of my suby-ru's snow-mo-hawk - NOPE - the same BASTARDS took it upon themselves to completely clean all the snow off my car too!! The nerve!

I know, I know, I should be thanking them for their kindness and saving me the trouble of cleaning the car off - but I LOVE the snow - and I particularly love photographic evidence of said snow. Whatever - hopefully this won't be the only big storm this year.

Granted, I'd prefer that the next big storm happen mid-week so that I can get at least one good snowday in :)

In completely un-snow-related news, I got an appointment for my surgery - I'm WICKED excited - at this point, I think I'm more thrilled about the week off of work - but I think that once my surgery is over and I'm feeling good - I'll appreciate the actual work the surgeon does more than the days off of work.

Welcome Back, Fifi!!

I'd just like to throw a little Welcome Back party for my sister Faith - you should definitely check out her blog at: http://pumpkinhoneypie.blogspot.com/ - we will be duelling - it's good stuff.

Number One Mom

I faltered there for a little bit. I had the eleven year old in door-slamming-you're-ruining-my-life style tears, but I fixed it. Why did I do a thing like that? Well, because I'm the NUMBER ONE MOM. That's right - all you other moms eat your hearts out - Jessy's in town.

The issue was this: back at Thanksgiving, Asrai made plans with her cousins down in Saco to spend New Year's Eve with them - this sounded absolutely perfect - I could meet Shane or Martha halfway on Thursday - then when Dad and I head down for the Annual Brainerd Post Christmas Holiday Party, we could pick her up and everyone would be pleased as punch. Unfortunately - Mother Nature (say it with a grimace, people) had other plans.

We've got a "perfect storm" headed our way - I put perfect storm in quotes to remind you of the movie "the perfect storm" wherein some sailor/fishermen got caught in a "perfect storm" off the coast of Maine, the likes of which has never been seen, you know, until this coming weekend. The forecast of a nonspecific number of feet of snow was enough to make me say - "no, I'm not driving you down there" - hence, the life ruining. I tried to explain that my concern wasn't around driving to Augusta on Thursday (today, the day of cloudy sky and no snow) - it was retrieving her, the trip to Mass. has been cancelled, since we'd most likely spend the entire weekend in a snowbank slowly freezing to death, not participating in a rocking yankee swap and some youtube worthy charades - I didn't really want to drive down and get her on Friday.

But, as usual, I have come up with a delightful solution. I will just drive her all the way to Portland tonight, I'll hang out with the grownups at Shane & Martha's, while Asrai gets in some cousin time, and then we'll head back up north in the morning - hopefully avoiding the storm of the century.

Perfect? Yes, I do think so. I am hoping that the jet-engine sound my car's been rocking lately can be entirely attributed to the snow tires (don't as me how, I'm just going with the idea) - and not something wrong internally. As long as we have some blankets and yummy treats to eat (in case we end up in a snowbank) - I think we'll be fine.

I think my automotive bravery is going to earn me some serious cred for the new decade.