A Few New Things and A Few Things That Are The Same

Good Morning 4am! It's not the time change that has me up at this random hour... it's pain. The evil gut pain has been raging war over the past two days and sleep is just not happening. Since it's been a whole week since I visited the blog world, I thought I'd use these bonus waking hours to say hello. There's a cat sleeping THISCLOSE to the laptop so I'm not sure how well this will work but I'll give it a go.

So... what's new, y'all? Around here, these things remain the same:

cross-stitching Christmas gifts like crazy and watching the links from the Christmas countdown chain disappear...while worrying I'll never get finished and someone is going to get a blank piece of cross stitch fabric and a promise in their Christmas gift..

pain. pain. pain. And did I mention PAIN? The back pain is aggravating and limits my ability to do stuff but the evil gut pain stops me in my tracks. It radiates from right in front of my left hip through to my spine like someone shot an arrow through me. It radiates down my left leg so that I have to have my leg in a certain position to ease the pain. It's mean, crazy, ugly, frustrating... and this has been going on for fifteen months. Not every day but on an almost weekly basis. Since it's gone on so long I'm convinced that it's not fatal... probably an ovarian cyst, they found a small one a few years ago while doing the complete workup for my back problems but.. who knows. It's bad enough that two tramadol and a percocet haven't helped tonight. Some times the pain meds at least help a little but not tonight.

still working on Khan Academy. I finished 4th grade math the other day and the "arithmetic" section last night and am working on 5th grade math now. I'm also taking a course on computer programming. Just soaking up whatever I can to keep my brain in gear.

Grandbaby #1, my Cinco De Mayo baby is still cooking along just fine. Tuesday Tasha will be 14 weeks and Austin says she has a cute little baby bump now. Their relationship is still rocky but Tasha is doing a great job at being patient and remaining calm and I'm seeing a lot of emotional maturity in her. She and I message back and forth all the time which, if you know me in real life, you know that's not normal for me. But this is my grandbaby's mama so she is very important to me! I keep thinking about what my mother-in-law could have done differently that would have kept her involved in my kids' lives after their dad and I divorced. I'm working on doing things differently/better.

A few new things:

My kids' dad has remarried. He and I have been divorced since 2002, living separately since 2000 and I wasn't sure he'd ever marry again. The lady he married is a childhood friend of mine. Her dad is one of my dad's closest friends. The first wedding ceremony my brother ever performed was one of hers. She was the one who helped me find a job when I was going through my divorce. I mean, our paths have not only crossed, they've been wound really tight for most of my life. In the beginning it was weird for her to be with my ex-husband but she's really been good for him and... bottom line... she'll be a good step-grandmother to my grandbabies. I introduced her and Tasha so that she can be involved in Baby Cinco De Mayo's life. I figure the more people that love our baby, the better.

The leaves were beautiful last week but we had a pretty shocking cold snap over the weekend and I'm thinking that will bring the leaf season to an end. If I can get past the pain I'm going to run out this morning to restock our snack stockpile and will try to get some pictures. I am loving the cooler weather and always feel relieved when Summer ends. I struggle with dizziness and nausea and it is so much worse when it's hot out. I can get out and about easier when it's cooler. Until it's too cold and then the arthritis flares up and... it's just a vicious cycle.

My brother in NYC got promoted to Junior Partner in his law firm. He works for a huge firm and we're all super proud of him. Can't wait until he's home for Christmas so we can celebrate!

Austin has been doing some construction work with his friend Fat Pat. He's getting paid a little here and there - not making a steady income by any stretch of the imagination BUT he's learning some skills that will make it easier for him to find a job in the future and it gets him out of the house.


And... I guess that's it. Happy November, y'all! This year has flown by, hasn't it?

Love and hugs!