water heaters sump pumps and passive aggressive behavior

So the question is - am I being passive aggressive if I said good morning and got no response so I am leaving for the weekend even though the basement is flooded and we need not only a water heater but most likely a sump pump too? I would stay and help but I don't think he wants any. Once the water is gone - I'm going to need to start taking stuff out to the trash - there must be 30 empty boxes and who knows how many old magazines down there...I HATE the basement because of the mess - especially since Colleen has been partying down there for 2-3 years...I did want to sort through stuff to take to a friend to sell on consignment...I guess it's time. :-) maybe I can add it to my vacation fund...which is almost defunct since it was needed to pay the property tax...

I can't wait to see everyone in MI - I have to remember my camera and I really hope we get my computer fixed so I can post pictures again!

Relay in two days

I'm off this week...just relaxing at home. Hanging out, watching the food network, going to the gym, running errands. Relay is saturday - I'm looking for blankets, flashlights, glow in the dark chalk, and patriot colors...not sure if I can do any other laps or not. I think this year will be very fun.

Today I am heading to lunch with a friend...got to go shower.

Later!

It's my birthday...

well, for two more hours...where did the day go?

we got up at 7:30 for a pancake breakfast - which was really nice - Tim came and brought 3 friends and Sarah was there with 2 friends and Royce was there and the servers sang happy birthday to me...Colleen was working so at 11 - I went to Manhattan Bagel and sat with her and jessie on their break.

We were all very tired from Relay yesterday so we tried napping and I must have slept some because before I knew it it was 1:30...shortly after that my mom and dad called to wish me a happy day. <3 that was really nice. talking to my mom was really good - it felt like it used to 20 years ago or so...I think I even made her laugh which seems to be my goal whenever I talk with her.

Then Sarah took my phone because hers isn't working...so I got laundry started, walked Beaux around the mile, came home and visited with Tim while waiting for Colleen to get home to go get our nails done...I got red nails!!! Not fire engine red but dark purpley red...which most likely won't go with my red sweaters...oh well, I guess I will wear black, white and gray this week...

From the nail salon we went to the mall - but because royce was coming home early, we just ran in and did Colleen's errand... I really wanted to go see if Aerie would give me a special gift for my birthday but there wasn't time.

From the mall we went to dinner - which was nice although the waitress thought she had given us the bill so we sat for 20 -30 minutes longer than necessary...from there i took Angie home and went to the grocery store...

I need to cut up fruit for tomorrow - or do you think I can take an entire watermelon in to the office to cut there??? Nah, I'd better toss clothes from the washer to the dryer, fold dry ones and cut up fruit even though I really wanted to get to bed...

So that is a typical sort of birthday for me...Tim gave me nice smelling lotion and body spray...Colleen, Sarah & Royce gave me two camis, socks, and a cute top from H&M. I got to spend individual time with each of my children (yesterday more with sarah at relay). I feel happy and loved and content.

now if only I could remain thus for the next year.

typical weekend

This is the chair we painted to auction off at Relay - the proceeds will go to Colleen and Angie's team - it was a lot of fun to paint - isn't it cute? I wish I had a porch to set it on to watch the world go by...

I feel like I should be writing but don't have much to say. I'm killing time until Colleen gets off and Sarah is ready for her concert. We will drop Sarah off at the Duck Deli for the jazz festival (I hope the sun continues to shine) and then Colleen and I are going prom dress shopping. I hope we can find one for less than what we paid last year...I really should find a dress swap somewhere for these types of things.

I'm envious of Katie's trip to CA - I had planned to go at the end of May but it looks like mom and dad will be in DC so no trip for me...unless they end up wanting me to go out there and fly back with them...it would be nice to get so see Thea as well as them. And it is so awkward to stay at the house in DC...I should think of alternate plans for that week if I decide not to go either place.

It is the week before Relay and the weekend of Memorial Day...I guess I will just play it all by ear.

I was working on a health assessment thru work from a company that is into coaching people into healthier lifestyles...I found it a little frustrating...the choices for some of their questions were just too standard...why do I want to lose weight? Why do I eat? How motivated am I to find ways to reduce my stress level? Since much of what is causing me stress is beyond my control...oh well...maybe there will be a few tips that I will find useful.

Colleen wants me to join a gym with her...I think mainly so I will be paying for it...although she does say she will go with me. This will be nice although I still wonder WHEN I will find the time to go. I have been walking at lunch - which is nice except it is dependent on the weather...which has turned summer like this weekend. I can walk on the third floor but it gets boring. I like the idea of going somewhere air conditioned to lift weights...but will I use it once Colleen has left for college? Maybe Sarah will join us. I have to go find out the details...

well, it is time to get productive...laundry anyone?

Noisy dogs on Sunday afternoon

First I need to apologize for not getting any pictures of my hair out there for you all - it seems the power cord to my mac has had better days and no one is around to take a picture anyway. I am hoping to get an iPad when they come out and to keep it just for me! somehow the things I get don't stay mine. sometimes I get sad/mad/frustrated about it - other times it's ok.

I was thinking this morning how my house is a metaphor for my relationship with Royce. There are so many things that need maintenance and no one working on them that it is sort of falling apart around us. I feel paralyzed by this when I work up the energy to care - most of the time I just try to close my eyes and keep moving. I worry though because he doesn't seem to see the wreckage of our relationship - I know I'm good at hiding it - but really...I discovered three houses ago that Royce is not big on maintenance - I've only recently discovered that this lack of taking care of things extends to other areas of his life as well. I think before he thought he could just make enough money to buy new when his belongings wore out - and he really doesn't care about taking care of his things...

It's sad really because I think he'd like to keep connected and just doesn't know how and lately I just seem to be going through the motions. I want more but I'm not sure of what.

I'd really like to feel differently and wonder where my feelings went. Years of suppressed anger maybe?

Oh well, people must be out in their back yards because the dogs are going nuts. I need to finish laundry and think about making chicken soup for dinner.

And find a better way to put these thoughts into words...I hate it when it starts flowing and I don't write it down and then when I do it looks different and goes elsewhere.

Laundry, Olympics, Grocery Store

That is my list of things to do this afternoon. Royce has left for work, Colleen is taking friends home, Sarah is hobbling around from soccer and doing homework, and I need to start to get ready for next week. The usual laundry needs doing and I need to get supplies for breakfast and lunch and some dinner foods. Don't really feel like doing it though. I am watching the Olympics to see what games are on today. Right now it is cross country skiing. Someday I hope to learn how to cross country ski - although I doubt I will ever race. It makes me think of the UP and wonder how the snow is up there. I never realized how much of the body it uses. I wish I was as good as Katie at pulling photos from other sources into a blog. Maybe this summer she will teach me.

Time to move clothes from the washer into the dryer.

sorry I don't have more to say - feeling very tired and lazy - like the dogs who are sleeping at my feet.

I got my hair cut and colored again - I now have distinct bangs. I hope I can do it like the woman that cuts it does. I'm getting better at it as I get used to the brush and style. The place I go is pretty expensive - but I have gotten so many compliments I don't mind paying it. I had forgotten how good it feels to have my hair look nice.

Postscript to Saturday

So I was in this grumpy bad mood and I took Colleen with me to try to start Tim's car. We put oil in and yes, the battery is dead. BUT the car is completely surrounded by 3 feet of snow with no way to get my car anywhere near it. And we can't get it into neutral to push his car out of the tiny driveway.

We make plans to return to take Tim and Marissa where they need to go later and try to leave. Did I mention the "driveway" was covered in icy snow? So I try pulling into Tim's driveway and get stuck. Colleen pushes me out - I pull forward but the road is blocked by more snow so I am backing out and just as Colleen tells me I am heading into the snow - I get stuck! I was so stuck I created a huge mud hole - Tim, Marissa, Colleen and Jax had a terrible time pushing me in and out of it...in fact, finally Tim told me to let him drive and he backed it out of the driveway to keep me from backing back into the same hole. By this time, the car and Colleen were covered in mud (really mucky). And all I can think of is how I'm supposed to have a "clean" car for them to transport.

To make this long story shorter - I really suck at backing up a vehicle - and I suck at getting cars unstuck (remember the ditch in Michigan????) BUT by the end of this "adventure" we were all laughing and my horrible mood had dissipated (that is the word I want - right).

So I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening watching the Olympics - walked the dogs at 10:30. Watched Apollo Ono get a silver medal and the woman's mogul get a gold - very cool sports (I think).

Happy Valentine's Day! We are going out for a late breakfast - ihop here we come! It has been months since we did this, I hope the line isn't too long and that Sarah and I are finally hungry. Colleen is out getting printer ink - not sure she will make it home.

Thanks for listening.

Saturday

So the car leaves on Monday (I hope) and i need to get it washed and empty of non car things.

Colleen is upset because she can't spend time with her girlfriend because the girl's parents are trying to limit the relationship - it is hard to feel like I understand both sides. Colleen needs to realize that Jessie's parents are trying to get a handle on their daughter dating period and with her not dating who they expected they are just reacting. It's a shame but having been through something like that I do understand where they are coming from. Colleen doesn't realize how lucky she really is.

Tim has an interview at the bank on Tuesday - he's going to take me to work so he can see where he will be going in the afternoon. I hope he does ok and gets asked back for some position. I had decided I wasn't going to worry about it and then a week after they did a job fair that I didn't push him to go to - he decides maybe he really does need a job. So I'm sitting here writing about him and he calls. His car doesn't want to start today and he is all upset. Like I can work a miracle from my bedroom to his car. why do they like to call me and yell about their lives not going well? He complains that he needs to get the oil changed and then says he doesn't have money to do it BUT he has money for McDonald's and iTunes and going out to eat all the time. AND he calls out one of the two days he had work this week (because he couldn't get his car out??? But when it is something he wants to do - he seems to get his car out). So this next week he will have NO money and I really am tired of bailing him out.

So tomorrow I am going to see if I can afford to buy a car while I still have a car payment...I'm paying off my car in March when my smaller CD matures. Not what I envisioned spending that money on.

Royce is working a second job - 8 hour shifts after working all day at his real job - sleeping a couple of hours in his car and then doing it all again. So I tell the kids he's doing this second job and they are all like "oh, poor dad..." I want to scream (and I do mention it to them) - I've been working two jobs for 6 years now and they have the audacity to be like poor dad????? I am so glad that they value all I do. Granted I'm not working 16 hour days but really - just because I don't make $60,000/year my job and salary don't matter?

Got to get off that topic...it really annoys me. And why is Royce suddenly working this second job, you ask? Well, his borrow from Peter to pay Paul and if we have a credit limit of $20,000 we should use it attitude finally caught up to him...to the point where we've paid bank fees for covering overdrafts...fortunately not my bank so I don't really know exactly HOW bad it is. And he had to borrow my money to cover some bill too - and I had to pay to transport the car - because he spent the money he was sent to do that. I really really hope he pays that bill. I just used most of my savings to pay off my charges and I don't want any credit card bills.

I'm tired of feeling broke because I paid my bills. I have to take Sarah to get her back x-rayed and then most likely either physical therapy or chiropractor because she has started twisting more than acceptable - which is causing her pain. And I still owe the dentist for Colleen's mouth guard which she doesn't wear enough to tell if it is working. And both Tim and Colleen need their wisdom teeth taken out...and I don't want to go into debt to go to Michigan this summer. Tim's wisdom teeth are impacted so I told him to call the name of the oral surgeon he was given and give them his insurance to see if what I have been paying $225/month for will cover it...And Colleen is dragging her feet on applying for scholarships to Embry-Riddle - where are we going to get money for that?????

good news - I think I'm a step-grandmother. Barb tried to contact Bill's wife - and got shut down - I apparently Amanda has a facebook page and when Barb friend requested her she locked her out. Her profile picture is of her and Bill and a very tiny baby. So think I should try?

Anyway, Tim's car still won't start and he wants me to bring him oil to see if that helps so I have to get dressed and head out. Which is a good thing since the car gas tank needs to be between 1/4 and 1/2 full and I filled it on Monday night before the snow and with not working Wednesday and no dance Thursday I haven't used as much gas as I normally would.

Anyone want to go to the movies with me? I want to see Valentine's Day...

Thanks for listening.

Sundays Adventure

Last weekend we went to the Franklin Institute to see the Body World. They use real cadavers - people who have donated their bodies to this exhibit. Using some special plastic they pump it thru the body and then we get to see all the body systems just as they really are. Very cool. Most of them were posed doing all kinds of things - kicking a soccer ball, doing a flip on a skate board, a dance pose, two ice skaters. Different things were highlighted so you could see how the bones and muscles and nervous system interact. Unfortunately, no cameras are allowed in the exhibit so all I could do was take a picture of the poster at the entrance.

In the lobby they have a bike way up on the 2nd or 3rd floor that goes across a tight rope - the picture does not show how high or how cool it must be to ride. Not that I could - I'm afraid of heights!


There is an area in the museum where you can try out different sports without really trying them out. There is also a spot where you can take a picture and it looks like you are getting gatorade dumped on you...Here is Renee celebrating!

Cool Blogs

So i was bouncing from blog to blog and found this really cute spot...
Check it out! Katie, i think you'd love it but I can't figure out how to get it to you...kelasworld-kela0052.blogspot.

Katie - today's blog was about creating bags like the ones you get at the grocery store - I think you'd like all her crafts. Thea I think there were some quilts too. If i could figure out how to get the Friday Freebie on my blog I'm sure you'd like those too.

Snow Day

See the car???


Well, we didn't get as much as further south but we got enough...I was out starting to shovel and thought you'd like to see my front yard. That's my new haircut too - although it usually looks better after I've done it - I had my goofy purple hat on to walk the dog which flattens it. Enjoy the snow!

Wednesday Again

We woke to snow this morning. It was very peaceful and quiet when I walked the dog and I just LOVE the way the snow was on the branches.


I love it when the snow is all clean with no foot prints and people aren't out blowing the snow.

Mom's Watercolors

When cleaning out the cabin in the Harbor, Katie and I found these pictures.  My photos don't do them justice but I wanted to share them with you.
I'm sure you recognize this lighthouse.

I wonder where this creek is - think we can find it?
I think this is Lake Bailey - perhaps we will see this view this summer

And this is the Copper Harbor lighthouse.


If I make it to visit you, let me know which one you want - I think we should each get one. I'll bring them north this summer if I don't come visiting.

no computer

My computer was locked in a bedroom - so I will have to post something tonight or tomorrow...sorry.

Wednesday Wow

I thought of a way to try to blog at least once a week...I like Katie's Tuesday Ten but wanted to do something a little different. So I am going to try to find one neat thing to take a picture of or a topic just to focus on each week. I'm going to call it my Wednesday Wow.


This picture doesn't really do it justice. It's an angel. When we first moved to PA, Sarah found what looked like a nickel but it had an angel imprinted on it. We had it for several months - maybe a year. One day I noticed it was gone - I'm not sure if I spent it like a nickel or just dropped it. I guess someone else needed her more than we did.

While Christmas shopping, Tim found my angel on a paperweight. This is a picture of it. It also has this on one side.

The third side says "Because they take themselves lightly."

Just thought I'd share it with you.

Happy New Year!

thea was telling me recently that i should blog more. And i really like reading what she and katie write...I have a difficult time getting online and can only post pictures from my computer which lives with Colleen, Sarah & Tim most of the time. I will try to write more...I'm thinking of setting some mini goals too although right now I can't come up with many at all.

Maybe it is more like resolutions.
1. run 2 miles - last year i was up to a little over 1 mile - i'd like to increase my distance
2. try new recipes...especially soup ones
3. talk to my sisters more often (once a month)
4. get those pesky screening tests I've been avoiding...
5. keep my credit cards paid off
6. save more than enough money to get to eagle harbor
7. take more pictures
8. plan a weekend away with girl friends
9. go to DC to visit JJ
10. clean my closets

11. Blog once a week

12. rearrange my bedroom

I think 10 is about all i can manage this time. maybe i will try a goal a month... :-)

Happy New Year!