Monday, March 28, 2011

I love winter.  I love precipitation.  I love grey clouds and coziness.  I love warm clothes and scarves.  I super love slippers. 

Except today.  Today, I'm so dang sick of this winter that I could scream from the rooftops.  I woke up this morning, expecting a snowy, cloudy day...pretty typical for March in Utah.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the sun and a bright blue sky.  It made me feel cheerful.  It made me remember that summer is coming and the air will get warm and it will be time to wear sandals and sundresses and drink Coronas on my back porch and go to concerts and spend every weekend out on the lake.  AND BEST OF ALL, it made me remember that it will only be about 2 more months before they bring back the Sno-Cone store to the corner of 9th East and Fort Union and I will have a cherry sno-cone every single time we go to the grocery store.   

And then it got all cloudy and snowy.  FINE.  But in my heart, I am wearing flip-flops.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Things My Phone Made Me Say

I have a new phone.  I like it.  It plays music and gets me to Facebook and allows me to check my checking account balance while I'm at the store.  Nifty.  I have only one problem with it.  It is a touch screen, no little buttons to push.  It also has a (not at all) helpful feature called predictive text.  It thinks that it's so smart that it can guess what I'm trying to say.  It drives me up the GD wall. 

Recently, I have sent the following text messages:

  • "I missed your call.  Calkins me when you can." 
  • "Going to lynch.  Call when you can."
  • "You're a dirty bitch."  Oh.  That was actually on purpose.  But it was a joke because Gordon set his phone to read his text messages aloud when he receives them and it gives me eternal laughter to hear that lady's voice say dirty stuff.
  • "I sidbt really bring church clothes so I am happy to school it."  What I meant to say was that I DIDN'T really bring church clothes so I was happy to SKIP it. 
This annoys me to no end because we all know how anal I am about spelling and punctuation.  So please.  If you receive a text message from me that includes mis-spellings, poor punctuation and general nonsense, please know that it's my phone's fault. 

Monday, March 7, 2011

Catching Up.

It's been a hectic few weeks and I've been neglectful of my duties in reporting the random bits happening in the O'Neil-o-sphere. 

Work.  Well, we'll not dwell on this subject for too long.  Basically, work and all of the people associated with work are ON MY LAST NERVE.  It's a frustrating and irritating place to be these days.  It seems to be one of those times when there is a lot of stress and tension in the air, and a whole lot of BS as well.  But have no fear.  These things always pass.  It's certainly not the first time I've felt this way, and I'm prepared to go out on a limb to say that it likely will not be the last.  And I am reminded of my "Ah Ha!" moment several months back, where I realized that even the best jobs are only likeable about 68% of the time.  The rest of the time is all about survival. 

The Pet Situation.  Very little improvement to report on this front.  There are still three dog and five cat residents in our home.  No one really seems too interested in venturing out on their own.  Well, except Charles, who tries to run away every time the front door opens.  Sadly, he's really not eligible for parole yet because he's too dumb to survive in the world on his own.  Adorable, of course, but dumb.  Poor big fella.  I will say this for him, though:  since the whole robbery of his manhood, his behavior has improved dramatically.  No more whizzing all over the house, fewer episodes of trying to run away, and even better manners.  He has calmed down to a great extent, which is an enormous relief.  If I wasn't tired of living in a pet shop, I would entertain the notion of letting him stay.  Notice I haven't mentioned Sampson.  He continues his wretched behavior, peeing all over the house, biting Charlie at every possible opportunity, and living in a state of constant hyperventilation, working full time to keep Charlie from living a comfortable life.  It's really getting on my last nerve.  It's a good thing he is so cute and has such a lovey personality, otherwise I would really be ready to ship him off to somewhere far far away.

Offspring.  We are in a state of To Be Determined on this front.  We underwent our first "procedure" a little over a week ago.  We are guarded, but hopeful, about our chances.  The odds with this particular procedure are about 8-10%, as opposed to about 2% in trying without any "assistance".  That's all I will say on this subject because I'm working hard not to think about it, which is my coping mechanism for avoiding a total mental breakdown.

We are making a quick, unplanned trip to California this weekend.  My mom's brother, Greg, died unexpected on February 25th.  Our family has lost a lot recently, but this loss is particularly hard for my mother.  It's one thing to lose your parents, I think it's another to lose a sibling.  So more than anything, I am making an effort to be there for my mom.  I want her to have the unwavering support that we've always had from her.  It's a strange and sad feeling to attend a funeral for a family member, but to be at a total loss for any memories or really any knowledge of them.  I knew more about my grandparents, of course, but had no real relationship with either of them.  And I knew my Uncle Greg even less.  So it's a strange combination of sadness, pity, and a lot of confusion about just how to feel.  It's complex.  The plus side, though, is that every time we go through this, it brings our family just a little bit closer.  We have starting building happy memories together, weaving together a real family history.  And for that, I am so grateful. 

So anyway.  It's about time to get to work.  Isn't it weird how I always set out to write a quick blog and end up writing 10 pages of nothing?  I know.  Thanks for making it through to the end.

xoxox!