Hey all, it's been awhile! We are expecting snow-maggedon here. I'M SO EXCITED (side note: I can work from home)!!!!!
The New Year has brought us many blessings so far: Jeff and I are both healthy for the first time since Thanksgiving-ish (we blame the kiddos I work with for bringing us the gift of contagious germs), we're happy, and Duncan is continuing to grow.
New Year's resolutions for the year include decreasing toxicity and dark energies in our lives (Jeff tells me I sound like a hippy... I have no idea where he gets this idea LOL). This means that we are going to spend less time stressing, less time with technology, more time cuddling with our puppy, more time laughing, and less time with people who try to make us feel like we're less than we are.
Jeff spent a weekend sanding, painting, and building for me to have a craft room/home office. I am excited to have my very own space where I can go to get some quiet time. He EVEN promised to help me move the Ugly Chair in from the garage, where it's been exiled since we moved into our house (BIG improvement, as he told the people helping us move that it would be ok to drop the chair in gasoline and accidentally light a match over it).
We also got to spend almost a whole month celebrating Christmas... Jeff's work party was on the 10th, mine the 16, family in town from the 18-23, celebrating with Jeff's mom on Christmas day, and with my family the weekend of the 8th. We truly had a blessed Christmas season with our families this year.
Jeff is now home safe, so I will sign off. Hope this message finds you healthy, well, and warm! :)
Monday, January 31, 2011
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Merry Christmas
Hey all! I have been trying to post this since around the 23rd.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
That is all.
Love,
Jeff, Heather, and Duncan
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
That is all.
Love,
Jeff, Heather, and Duncan
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Heather the Spider Slayer
Yes, that was a lame reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You'll never guess what I've been up to!
As we moved into this house at the end of September of last year, certain things were, erm.. um... "taken care of" by the previous owners. Loosely translated, this means that we had no idea our home would be overtaken by these nasty little critters often referred to as spiders. Sure, of course we expected some. I mean, this is a house with a dark basement, right?
However, let me share with you my experiences.
#1. When we first realized there may have been spiders, we put traps D-O-W-N. Exterminators would be impressed by the quickness in our response time. This did not comfort me when we had the water heater incident. A plumber had come to help us replace the dip tube in the water heater, and my part in this task was to turn on the hose leading from the water heater to an outflowing drain when I got home, and turn it off before bedtime. Easy enough, right? WRONG! After turning on the water, I decided to leisurely pass the time in our living room reading... Duncan came to me and began using the "Timmy-is-stuck-in-the-well" voice often reserved for emergencies. I went running downstairs and, upon hitting the linoleum, did the splits in a way that an olympic gymnast would be proud. As I was attempting to gain traction to stand up, I saw a group of dead spider bodies floating by me. This illustrates the image. I did what anyone in this situation would do: I screamed and clawed my way back up the stairs.
#2. Pulling weeds outside. I was pulling to my hearts content only to see beady eyes staring up at me. In my weed pulling gear (read: tank top, shorts, and flip flops), I did what any sane person would do: I screamed and ran away. After I halfway caught my breath, I described the spider to Jeff. He indicated it sounded like, from my description, a black widow spider that was big enough to have it's own SyFy show.
#3. I took Duncan outside to use the restroom. Little did I know, as I closed the door behind me, a spider would be waiting to eat my head. I screamed and called Jeff (who, thank goodness, was right inside the door). He quickly eliminated my problem and said I "MAY" have been over-exaggerating how big it was. Who, me?
#4. This one was in the basement. It was probably super close to being dead, but I swear to you, even in it's last throws of life, it was trying to kill me and suck all of my blood out. I screamed (to which Jeff was not amused... apparently 6:30 in the morning is a little too "early" to be frightened a spider will take my life), grabbed Jeff's shoes, and began whacking away.
***Here's a tip for all you would-be-spider-slayers. NEVER use your own shoes. What if it gets stuck, alive, to the bottom of them, and you don't know and they wake up and kill you and suck your blood out?!***
#5. I let Duncan out last week at 6:30. I noticed nothing unusual. I let him out again around 7:45 before I left. He immediately ran outside and began pulling at a spiderweb that can only be described as Charlotte's Web-worthy, except in the middle it was written: "I'm going to kill you and suck all your blood out! HAHA! With much love, but even more love after I kill you, The Nasty Ugly Spider." You can't make this stuff up. As the spider closed in on Duncan, I screamed and quickly ran to his aid. After getting Duncan out of the sticky (har har) situation, I ran inside to grab Jeff's shoe. The spider at this time had now attached itself to a top piece of wood on our deck... out of reach of the shoe. I ran inside and found the next best thing: a broom. While the shoe would not attach to the broom, I used it in poking, slashing, and finally stabbing actions when the spider fell to his doom. Jeff had a good laugh imagining what the neighbors saw.
#6. Yesterday, I found a BIG spider (Jeff even begrudgingly admitted it was big -- "not smallish" was the term he used, but any victory is a victory) on our outside patio table. I screamed and began using my MacGyver like skills to bring it to its demise. I began throwing Duncan's toys at it until 1 finally made contact. At this point, I moved in for the kill (read: about 3 feet away) and continued to throw bigger, heavier objects at it until it had to have been dead. Needless to say, when I was satisfied he was dead, the air strikes stopped. Jeff laughed as he sorted through the rubble (Duncan's toys, garden hose apparatuses, decorative stones from out back, you get the idea), but then agreed with me (at least in my head) that our lives were in danger and I had no other choice.
You know, it's hard saving the world from spiders, but someone's gotta do it. Hope all is well with you and yours. :)
As we moved into this house at the end of September of last year, certain things were, erm.. um... "taken care of" by the previous owners. Loosely translated, this means that we had no idea our home would be overtaken by these nasty little critters often referred to as spiders. Sure, of course we expected some. I mean, this is a house with a dark basement, right?
However, let me share with you my experiences.
#1. When we first realized there may have been spiders, we put traps D-O-W-N. Exterminators would be impressed by the quickness in our response time. This did not comfort me when we had the water heater incident. A plumber had come to help us replace the dip tube in the water heater, and my part in this task was to turn on the hose leading from the water heater to an outflowing drain when I got home, and turn it off before bedtime. Easy enough, right? WRONG! After turning on the water, I decided to leisurely pass the time in our living room reading... Duncan came to me and began using the "Timmy-is-stuck-in-the-well" voice often reserved for emergencies. I went running downstairs and, upon hitting the linoleum, did the splits in a way that an olympic gymnast would be proud. As I was attempting to gain traction to stand up, I saw a group of dead spider bodies floating by me. This illustrates the image. I did what anyone in this situation would do: I screamed and clawed my way back up the stairs.
#2. Pulling weeds outside. I was pulling to my hearts content only to see beady eyes staring up at me. In my weed pulling gear (read: tank top, shorts, and flip flops), I did what any sane person would do: I screamed and ran away. After I halfway caught my breath, I described the spider to Jeff. He indicated it sounded like, from my description, a black widow spider that was big enough to have it's own SyFy show.
#3. I took Duncan outside to use the restroom. Little did I know, as I closed the door behind me, a spider would be waiting to eat my head. I screamed and called Jeff (who, thank goodness, was right inside the door). He quickly eliminated my problem and said I "MAY" have been over-exaggerating how big it was. Who, me?
#4. This one was in the basement. It was probably super close to being dead, but I swear to you, even in it's last throws of life, it was trying to kill me and suck all of my blood out. I screamed (to which Jeff was not amused... apparently 6:30 in the morning is a little too "early" to be frightened a spider will take my life), grabbed Jeff's shoes, and began whacking away.
***Here's a tip for all you would-be-spider-slayers. NEVER use your own shoes. What if it gets stuck, alive, to the bottom of them, and you don't know and they wake up and kill you and suck your blood out?!***
#5. I let Duncan out last week at 6:30. I noticed nothing unusual. I let him out again around 7:45 before I left. He immediately ran outside and began pulling at a spiderweb that can only be described as Charlotte's Web-worthy, except in the middle it was written: "I'm going to kill you and suck all your blood out! HAHA! With much love, but even more love after I kill you, The Nasty Ugly Spider." You can't make this stuff up. As the spider closed in on Duncan, I screamed and quickly ran to his aid. After getting Duncan out of the sticky (har har) situation, I ran inside to grab Jeff's shoe. The spider at this time had now attached itself to a top piece of wood on our deck... out of reach of the shoe. I ran inside and found the next best thing: a broom. While the shoe would not attach to the broom, I used it in poking, slashing, and finally stabbing actions when the spider fell to his doom. Jeff had a good laugh imagining what the neighbors saw.
#6. Yesterday, I found a BIG spider (Jeff even begrudgingly admitted it was big -- "not smallish" was the term he used, but any victory is a victory) on our outside patio table. I screamed and began using my MacGyver like skills to bring it to its demise. I began throwing Duncan's toys at it until 1 finally made contact. At this point, I moved in for the kill (read: about 3 feet away) and continued to throw bigger, heavier objects at it until it had to have been dead. Needless to say, when I was satisfied he was dead, the air strikes stopped. Jeff laughed as he sorted through the rubble (Duncan's toys, garden hose apparatuses, decorative stones from out back, you get the idea), but then agreed with me (at least in my head) that our lives were in danger and I had no other choice.
You know, it's hard saving the world from spiders, but someone's gotta do it. Hope all is well with you and yours. :)
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Things Duncan Has Eaten
Hello, friends. As many of you know, we absolutely love Duncan, our son/dog. He is crate-trained and spends his days while we work (and until recently, nights) in the crate. Of course, Grandma Jaye comes over and plays with him regularly (especially on our long-days), so he is not caged up all the time.
He recently celebrated his 1 year birthday, which for us meant it was time to take his crate-training in a new direction: free reign training. This, of course, means that we are training him to be a free reign doggy... one who is not destined to be in the crate unless by his own choosing while we are not at home. He will have access to his toys, not have to drink out of a hamster water-thingy, and, of course, can sleep on the sofa all day long (his preferred activity of the weekends).
Until recently, he had been on steroids for his allergies, and with the frequent overnight accidents, our training was delayed. We did, however, get him a doggy bed outside of the crate with the anticipation of beginning training when the sickness cleared. He has since been doing great with sleeping outside of the crate, and aside from a few bizarre incidents where I wake to find him licking my armpit from the side of the bed, he spends his time on his bed until we wake up in the morning.
Now, with free reign doggy training, we have been leaving him for short times outside of the crate, typically while doing errands such as getting the mail, running to the store, taking a tree stump out of our yard, etc.
Duncan had been doing great with all of it until recently... I am not sure which was the first to go, but here are the things we have so far noticed:
1. Puzzle pieces. This actually occurred while I was downstairs doing laundry. I have been working on a marble puzzle, which is perhaps why I did not notice it immediately. So far we estimate he has pilfered about 100 pieces.
2. A camping chair bag. We knew by little blue pieces of fabric left next to the chair, which interestingly enough, was left intact.
3. Many pieces of my... ahem... lady laundry was pulled out of the dirty clothes hamper and hidden at various locations around our house.
And here's the big one...
4. Jeff's glasses. Duncan somehow managed to get them off the middle of the table, and left us chewed up lenses (but not broken, much credit to LensCrafters and their "no-break guarantee") and a long piece of wire.
Needless to say, the free reign training has taken a few steps back. Perhaps, one day (most likely when we pay off the extra pair of glasses), we will begin again, but it is still a work in progress. Hope all is well with you and yours. :)
He recently celebrated his 1 year birthday, which for us meant it was time to take his crate-training in a new direction: free reign training. This, of course, means that we are training him to be a free reign doggy... one who is not destined to be in the crate unless by his own choosing while we are not at home. He will have access to his toys, not have to drink out of a hamster water-thingy, and, of course, can sleep on the sofa all day long (his preferred activity of the weekends).
Until recently, he had been on steroids for his allergies, and with the frequent overnight accidents, our training was delayed. We did, however, get him a doggy bed outside of the crate with the anticipation of beginning training when the sickness cleared. He has since been doing great with sleeping outside of the crate, and aside from a few bizarre incidents where I wake to find him licking my armpit from the side of the bed, he spends his time on his bed until we wake up in the morning.
Now, with free reign doggy training, we have been leaving him for short times outside of the crate, typically while doing errands such as getting the mail, running to the store, taking a tree stump out of our yard, etc.
Duncan had been doing great with all of it until recently... I am not sure which was the first to go, but here are the things we have so far noticed:
1. Puzzle pieces. This actually occurred while I was downstairs doing laundry. I have been working on a marble puzzle, which is perhaps why I did not notice it immediately. So far we estimate he has pilfered about 100 pieces.
2. A camping chair bag. We knew by little blue pieces of fabric left next to the chair, which interestingly enough, was left intact.
3. Many pieces of my... ahem... lady laundry was pulled out of the dirty clothes hamper and hidden at various locations around our house.
And here's the big one...
4. Jeff's glasses. Duncan somehow managed to get them off the middle of the table, and left us chewed up lenses (but not broken, much credit to LensCrafters and their "no-break guarantee") and a long piece of wire.
Needless to say, the free reign training has taken a few steps back. Perhaps, one day (most likely when we pay off the extra pair of glasses), we will begin again, but it is still a work in progress. Hope all is well with you and yours. :)
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Exam
Well, guys, here's something that's been keeping my time quite occupied.
My clinical supervisor asked me awhile back (read: about a month ago) to take my Clinical Licensure Exam. I immediately dived in to the intense studying, often working many hours a day and coming home to study until it was time for bed. The reason for the time crunch is that this exam was only available for me to take until the end of this month; due to changing regulations, I would need to wait until the end of my clinical supervision (around 2 years) to be eligible once again to take this exam.
Jeff, bless his heart, was patient and understanding, even though we came to a mutual decision that THIS SUCKED!
Flash forward to this morning: I set off, confident, towards the exam center. As I drove toward the testing location, I had plenty of time to mentally review key points of my studies (thank you, road construction). A pan-handler in the parking lot threw off my concentration some, but I was still determined to pass this test.
As the test began, I quickly realized the questions were MUCH harder than I had studied and prepared for. My confidence began to wane the farther I went into the exam. Per exam software, I was able to "flag" questions I was unsure of the answer to and that I wanted to go back and review. At the end of 170 questions (and 2 hours), I had flagged all but 12. As I began to go back through the questions, my confidence continued to decline and my anxiety began to increase. I had passed the practice test offered online (for a fee) and the knowledge of this is probably what helped me to stay in that room. I went through the flagged questions, and another hour had passed. I only had 1 hour left. Now the number of questions remaining flagged totaled around 20. As the timer continued to count down the minutes, sheer panic overtook me. My eyes were beginning to cross and tears were beginning to form.
Finally, with 10 minutes left (and the timer now blinking red), I sat staring at not more questions, but at a button on the screen asking me if I was sure I was finished. Was I? Did I get enough correct? The last month of intense review, hours with my family lost, and the fear of admitting failure to those dearest to me weighed on me like concrete blocks. I kept asking myself: Was it all enough???
I clicked the button, as mentally prepared as I was ever going to be. In a terrifying moment where I began to second guess my answers and wanted to go back, the screen changed. A testing location survey appeared in front of me. I laughed as tears rolled down my face. A short reprieve while I answered the survey questions. Again, I had to summon the courage to state I was finished with the survey questions and ready to see the test results. A lump formed in my throat and my body became weak as I clicked "Yes, I am ready."
So, was it enough??? Did I pass??? Stay tuned for the next episode of this crazy rollercoaster ride, same Bat time, same Bat channel!!!
JUST KIDDING!!! I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!
My clinical supervisor asked me awhile back (read: about a month ago) to take my Clinical Licensure Exam. I immediately dived in to the intense studying, often working many hours a day and coming home to study until it was time for bed. The reason for the time crunch is that this exam was only available for me to take until the end of this month; due to changing regulations, I would need to wait until the end of my clinical supervision (around 2 years) to be eligible once again to take this exam.
Jeff, bless his heart, was patient and understanding, even though we came to a mutual decision that THIS SUCKED!
Flash forward to this morning: I set off, confident, towards the exam center. As I drove toward the testing location, I had plenty of time to mentally review key points of my studies (thank you, road construction). A pan-handler in the parking lot threw off my concentration some, but I was still determined to pass this test.
As the test began, I quickly realized the questions were MUCH harder than I had studied and prepared for. My confidence began to wane the farther I went into the exam. Per exam software, I was able to "flag" questions I was unsure of the answer to and that I wanted to go back and review. At the end of 170 questions (and 2 hours), I had flagged all but 12. As I began to go back through the questions, my confidence continued to decline and my anxiety began to increase. I had passed the practice test offered online (for a fee) and the knowledge of this is probably what helped me to stay in that room. I went through the flagged questions, and another hour had passed. I only had 1 hour left. Now the number of questions remaining flagged totaled around 20. As the timer continued to count down the minutes, sheer panic overtook me. My eyes were beginning to cross and tears were beginning to form.
Finally, with 10 minutes left (and the timer now blinking red), I sat staring at not more questions, but at a button on the screen asking me if I was sure I was finished. Was I? Did I get enough correct? The last month of intense review, hours with my family lost, and the fear of admitting failure to those dearest to me weighed on me like concrete blocks. I kept asking myself: Was it all enough???
I clicked the button, as mentally prepared as I was ever going to be. In a terrifying moment where I began to second guess my answers and wanted to go back, the screen changed. A testing location survey appeared in front of me. I laughed as tears rolled down my face. A short reprieve while I answered the survey questions. Again, I had to summon the courage to state I was finished with the survey questions and ready to see the test results. A lump formed in my throat and my body became weak as I clicked "Yes, I am ready."
So, was it enough??? Did I pass??? Stay tuned for the next episode of this crazy rollercoaster ride, same Bat time, same Bat channel!!!
JUST KIDDING!!! I PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Long Time
WOW LIFE IS CRAZY!!!
Hopefully, we'll be able to update soon! Hope all is well with you and yours! :)
Hopefully, we'll be able to update soon! Hope all is well with you and yours! :)
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Catching up
As with any vacation, the arduous process of re-entering the life you previously had begins with sudden force... typically occurring before you are ready and taking you by surprise. "Why, yes, of course I know it is Sunday, and here are the plans I have made to be ready for work tomorrow..." and so on and so forth. HOWEVER, I am certain that anyone can attest Sunday is a restless night, Monday morning deadlines appear out of nowhere, and you are left wondering how in the heck you dealt with all of this madness in the first place.
Now, I began this process last week. All of the pre-planning in the world could not have assisted in the transition from waking up to a mountain view to begin my day of non-planned activities to seeing clients, making phone calls to various professionals, and catching up on the world... we have also missed the news the last month or so, and it has been fascinating on learning all of the things of significance that have and have not happened.
Jeff will begin this process tomorrow. As I am typing, he is snuggled in bed preparing for the week ahead. I shudder to think of how his week of video games will transition back into the "real world."
On the plus side, we were able to have some friends over this weekend. The weather deemed it necessary to rain out our cook out, so we were reduced to inside dinner ideas. We decided to have "build your own Chipotle burrito night," complete with veggies, rice, meat, tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, and salsa. They were pretty good, if I do say so myself (and I will: They were pretty good). :) It was an excellent opportunity to catch up on the happenings of life (can you believe things have been happening to other people, too?!), see some friends, and reminisce about the old times (most of which I was not present for but enjoyed listening to anyway).
Now bed is calling, and I bid you goodnight. Know that I miss everyone and think of you often, no matter who you may be. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Now, I began this process last week. All of the pre-planning in the world could not have assisted in the transition from waking up to a mountain view to begin my day of non-planned activities to seeing clients, making phone calls to various professionals, and catching up on the world... we have also missed the news the last month or so, and it has been fascinating on learning all of the things of significance that have and have not happened.
Jeff will begin this process tomorrow. As I am typing, he is snuggled in bed preparing for the week ahead. I shudder to think of how his week of video games will transition back into the "real world."
On the plus side, we were able to have some friends over this weekend. The weather deemed it necessary to rain out our cook out, so we were reduced to inside dinner ideas. We decided to have "build your own Chipotle burrito night," complete with veggies, rice, meat, tortillas, sour cream, guacamole, cheese, and salsa. They were pretty good, if I do say so myself (and I will: They were pretty good). :) It was an excellent opportunity to catch up on the happenings of life (can you believe things have been happening to other people, too?!), see some friends, and reminisce about the old times (most of which I was not present for but enjoyed listening to anyway).
Now bed is calling, and I bid you goodnight. Know that I miss everyone and think of you often, no matter who you may be. Hope all is well with you and yours.
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