Total Lunar Eclipse Ramblings...

I swear that if I don't physically see my neighbor in the next couple days, I'm going to call the police in to check for a body. He has newspapers littering his front door and his car hasn't been moved in months. (As evidenced by the fact that it's not been dug out from the snow that has been plowed ontop of it.) Normally we'll see each other in passing, but its been at least 4 months since I laid eyes on the guy. So far there's no odd smells coming from his apartment. But then again, it's the "dead" of a Michigan winter and it has been cold enough to preserve a body for a little while at least.

Work wasn't fun as usual. The full moon once again raining craziness all around. I got everything that I needed to done, but it just took 3 times as long to do it and with twice as many interuptions. My boss volunteered me to take pictures of the staff for the online Rehab Services directory. Which is cool in an odd way as I'll be able to add that to my photography resume. But then again, really not cool in the fact that now I'll have to travel all over half the state to take these pictures. There's 13+ rehab offices in the network and they are all expecting me to go out to their offices to do it. I'm thinking overtime and mileage reimbursement will be applied in a big way.

Once again, I have ear infections in both ears. And with that comes vertigo, ear pain, sore throat, and a barking cough. I've been put on an antibiotic and a new cough syrup. Thankfully, I've never spiked a temperature and ear infections aren't contagious so I don't have to miss any work. OMG, even with the insurnace coverage it those prescriptions cost an arm and a leg. Ironic that the $36 little bottle of cough syrup actually has the words "Liquid Gold" on it. Due to the sore throat, I've been eating softer foods like jello, yogurt and rice. So, tonight I decided that I'd make some gluten free hot cereal for dinner. Which was great except for the fact that it has the consistancey and flavor of glue paste. And, while it was cooking it boiled up and splattered boiling hot cereal up onto my wrist. So, now I can add a burn on the inside of my wrist to my list of woes. Fun, Fun, Fun!

You might be wondering if anything good happened in my life today. And, I can honestly say that yes, there was one good thing that happened today. When I left work for the day, I couldn't find my car key. It had apparently fallen off my key chain somewhere between the walk from my car in the parking lot to my office. I used the spare key to get home and figured I'd check the lost and founds at work tomorrow. When I got home, I dumped out my purse just incase it had fallen off in to it. And low and behold, there is is. The missing key has been found!

So, on that note, I'm going to go exercise and then finish up the book I'm reading. I hope you all have a good evening. I'll talk at ya later!

"Cheese!"

There's just something about the smile of a child that can make even the worst day of your life tolerable.

If you've been reading my blogs lately you know that I've been going through a little bit of a "Woe is me" slump. I've been frustrated with my life and the fact that I cant change 90% of things I feel are wrong about it. I was mired in the mugwhumps of the winter blahs. But spending part of this last weekend with my nieces gave me the little Oomph, that I needed to get over that road block and back on track.

My 2 year old niece Leah had asked last week "How 'bout, Jo Jo." She was asking to spend time with me. This last Saturday I went over to take her and my other niece Susie to get Susie's 3 month old pictures taken. And when I arrived at their house Leah ran over to me, laid her head on my knee and hugged my leg (I was sitting holding Susie) and told everyone else in the room "My Jo Jo!" She didn't know or care that I was having a crappy week. All she knew is that she wanted me and was happy that I was there. All the crap in my life took a back seat to loving her and her sister. Susie is almost 3 months old and can't talk yet, but she can still melt your heart with those chubby little cheeks and a smile that goes on for miles.

We had a great time at the mall getting pictures taken, playing in the play area, and then finally a visit to the Disney store. We dined on French fries and Pizzi (Pizza.) Leah's big thing right now is sharing, so she would offer me a bite of each fry before eating it herself. Susie offered up beautiful smiles and cuddles. We got several great pictures. Bolstered by the time spent with them I was ready to face this coming week.

Today didn't disappoint as a Monday from hell. You could definitely tell that it was the Monday before a full moon. Work totally sucked! But guess what! I made it through the day. And, I made it through the day with a smile on my face. Then when I got home this afternoon, I went through my closest looking for a dress to wear to my mom's Citizen of the year award ceremony this weekend. I was able to find about 5 potentials for the semi formal affair. Which was quite a blessing since I've been struggling on my diet. It was a boost to be able to fit into some of the "skinny" dresses that have been hanging in the closet for a while.

So one work day down, 4 to go until the weekend. Onwards and upwards.

-Joelle

Here they are, Leah and Susie. (Aren't they beautiful!)