Yo. S’up? How YOU doin’?
I must have written an opening line to a new blog post a MILLION times in the last seven months. Then I’d backspace all over it and sadly close out WordPress. I know it’s not because I have nothing to say, or am afraid of the trolls- it’s probably because I have too much to say and don’t have the energy to sit and type it all out.
(I need that wonderful telepathic typewriter Stephen King envisioned in “Tommyknockers”. I think it up, it types it out. Minus losing all the teeth, natch.)
So while everyone was preparing (or not preparing) for the Mayan Day of Doom and Christmas loomed bigger and bigger every day and we were getting ready (hopefully) to ring in a new year, I realized that I was nowhere near prepared for Christmas and the holidays. I was pretty well prepared for the Last Day According to the Mayans. Part of my preparation was dusting off this blog, stopping by to say hello and hopefully leave a part of myself and my family and friends in the time-capsule called the Internet.
Unless there is no electricity. Then f*ck it…
And, around December 22, I ran out of steam.
My freaking hormones decided to have a party and invite all their hormonal friends over and surge my body and shut down my ovaries. Closed until further notice. These over-exuberant hormones, however, forgot to turn off the tap when they left, and I was left for dead (and bleeding) at work a few days before Christmas. This sapped the life out of me and Christmas definitely suffered. Zombiegirl called this past holiday “The Year Mommie’s Uterus Fell Out”. After a few zappy procedures, a round of hormones and an upcoming two month course of birth control (hah!) the faucet is slowing down (I need a new washer, it’s still a little drippy) and I’m hopeful that my body has been kicked back into whack.
One thing that turned up in the blood test was that I haven’t even STARTED MENOPAUSE yet!
Swell.
I’ve been eating meat occasionally just to get my Iron back up and I started exercising (okay, I got off the couch) and I’m feeling a little better and actually felt like posting on this here blog. It’s almost the end of January and I feel the need to recap 2012 and catch everyone (all .5 of you) up to speed…
I have to honestly say that this past year, 2012, was probably the most monumentally compound and memorable year in my life. The year 1997 takes a close second- that year I bought a house, got married, started a new job and adopted a cat all in the later part of the year. This year celebrates the 15 year anniversary of all those things with a few monkey-wrenches and blessings thrown in besides. Let me work my way backwards in time by quickly telling why this year rocked. ..
- I’ve been at my job for 15 years (December 9th). We’ve had our ups and downs, this job and I, but for the most part I’m comfortable and extremely good at what I do. Am I challenged? Not much. Would I like to earn more money? Yeah, of course. Yet I stay because I can work from home when I want, do my needlework, Christmas cards and anything else I feel I need to get done between running my routines and answering emails. They let me work from home once a week which means I’m back on the couch in my pajamas…how cool is that? So I’m employed and I’m thankful for that.
- Superstorm Sandy hit the East coast early in November. Sandy knocked out our power, rocked our trees and caused long gas lines on Long Island. Dad and everyone near the water fared much worse. He had Jamaica Bay in his first floor and lost everything in the basement as well as three cars, his backyard, his shed and his camper. I’m not going to go into all that he’s gone (going) through in these weeks after the storm- it’s too painful and I’m I don’t have that much time. I will say that the FDNY, the NY Sanitation Department, neighbors, friends and perfect strangers were wonderful in helping us deal with the aftermath. FEMA, not so much. We’re still dealing with mold, contractors and insurance companies but every day it gets a little cleaner and easier.
- Zombiegirl made the Junior Varsity soccer team for the High School (remember, she’s in Middle School) and was one of four girls picked to move to the Varsity team when the JV season was over. Varsity made the playoffs and needed more players but they were defeated after their second playoff game so Z-girl’s Varsity career was short-lived. MR and I breathed a little sigh of relief, however. High School soccer is rough and our slender little Zombiegirl isn’t. It was a great experience for this kid and she’s looking forward to playing for the HS next year.
- Staying with Zombiegirl’s accomplishments…she’s planning on taking over the world, starting with her school. She was elected Student Council President as well as the school’s National Junior Honor Society President. She’s doing great in her classes, everybody loves her and some of her teachers told me that she is their best (or favorite) student EVER. Parent/teacher conferences got a little embarrassing after awhile because they kept gushing about how wonderful my kids are.
- Did I say kids? Yes, I did. Beena is still working at the Middle School (although not in Z-girl’s math class) and still loves it. She just got hired to teach her OWN period, pulling kids from Math classes that have low averages and she’s still tutoring SAT Prep and Math at the Learning Center. Over the summer she taught High School Geometry and Algebra and brought two kids who were going into Math Honors in the Fall up to speed so they wouldn’t fall behind. At Parent/Teacher conferences, I heard how well she’s doing (deja vu, definitely) and how much SHE’S loved as well. Praise never gets old…
- A little out of order but staying on subject with Beena…she got engaged! John popped the question to Beena in June in Atlantic City, he asked me (on Facebook, smh, lol!) a few weeks before. The ring is beautiful! We had an engagement party for them in Roe’s (John’s mom’s) backyard in September- it was nice merging the two families. I was a little freaky with the party planning but everyone said it was a great party. They received a lot of beautiful gifts that they can use in their NEW APARTMENT! Yes, it hurt a little to say that. She moved out in July and we all still miss her. The apartment is nice (and an exact replica of my first apartment with their butt-head father) and they’ve decorated it and bought their first Christmas tree. I took them down to the beach house one day in the summer and did my first photo shoot for their engagement.
- So Beena asks Utah and Zombiegirl to be her Maids of Honor. John’s got two Best Men, so it all worked out well…so well that they all hang out together and now one of his groomsmen is now dating Utah!
- Speaking of Utah, she’s still working (and still liking her job) and going to school at night. She’s doing really well- she moved into Beena’s old room (giving me the opportunity to move my sewing/craft/office into her old room), getting A’s in all her classes and she’s reconnected with two good friends from High School and she’s doing all the normal things a 22-year old should be doing…going to the bar, going on a pub crawls and dressing like an elf for free drinks. It’s nice to see her smile and be happy! And we like this boyfriend…
- This summer the girls and I drove down to Disney World for a week. We stayed on Disney, ate in Disney and walked 12 miles a day in Disney. We got on each other’s nerves but had a great time. I never have to go back- we saw it all. I’ll leave the Disney experience for another post.
- MR and I celebrated our 15th Wedding Anniversary with Thai food and Hamilton watches. We were sitting in the car waiting for my train a few months before and we were talking about anniversary gifts. I said it would be funny if the 15th anniversary “modern” gift were watches…I looked it up and it was! You may know this watch from Men in Black, or if you’re an Elvis fan. I got one for him and he got one for me. Surprise!
- We lost two pets within two weeks of each other…Our cat, Maggie Maggee went outside and never came back. She was, remember, 15 years old. She passed away quietly under a bush in the side yard. Spencer-boy, our stupid drooling mess of a dog, developed a cancerous lump in his neck (possibly due to the use of a bark collar when he was young) that over the course of a few months moved behind his eyes and blinded him. It was humorous at first when he’d walk into walls or think I was the stove, but after a few days of not going out (and “going” in the house) we took him to the vet to determine if he was ever going to get better…he wasn’t. We miss Maggie and Spencer every day.
- I donated my soccer van to the Veteran’s Association. We are now a one-car family (with the benefit of a work-van, occasionally). I walk a lot and we’re saving a ton of money in car insurance. I miss my soccer-mom van though. That car was another member of the family.
- Due to the economy and the restructuring of the bank, I lost a few good co-worker friends and experienced a shift in the make-up of my department. It was sad to say goodbye to people I’ve worked with for years- and right before the holidays…
- Lastly, our world reeled with the passing of Jim Starace, MR’s business partner and long-time friend. Even as a few months passed, I’m crying as I type this. Jim was diagnosed about six months ago with lung cancer (F*CK CANCER!) but his death in November came sudden and unexpected. My heart is torn in two for Lia and his son, Arlo. You may remember me posting a few videos Jim and MR did. I don’t remember if I blogged about how they would go to Boston every year and build a convention space for a local seafood company at the International Boston Seafood Show. Jim was truly a special guy (and the only one allowed to call me Suzie Q) and I know he’s rocking out with his fellow band mate J, (Marlboro Man) who passed away almost two years ago. MR will say something then catch himself because he knows it was a “thing” him and Jim would say. It’s truly sad and I don’t expect we’ll ever find another friend like Jim again.
MR and Jim (right) on the set of Killswitch Engage’s “Save Me” video
RIP, Jim
See you soon.
Inner Pieces 