OK, I'm trying to get back into the habit of blogging...it's been a few months since I've done it on any kind of regular basis. Lots has been happening (as is inevitable when one is a new parent) but I just haven't had the energy to record much of it, either in photos, words, video, whatever. I guess that's one of the many things that makes me a lousy mother (or at least a lazy one), but I'm working on it.
Lately I'm finding myself much more stimulated (huh-huh) in terms of creativity...whether this is due to a positive-energy type change in my personality, or merely out of plain-old boredom is arguable, but I figure it doesn't really matter so long as I'm acting upon it. And acting upon it I have been...I've been taking classes in stained glass for the past few months, and I've been enjoying it very much. It's painstaking, meticulous (not to mention somewhat hazardous) work, but it gets me out of the house every week or so. Anyway, I'll post some photos when I have my projects completed (my first fell out of a window and broke, and I need to repair it).
I've also learned to live without the midday nap that I used to take while Sy is down for his own nap..."me time" is just way too valuable and rare to spend all of it sleeping. I've cracked open a H.O.T. book on Dreamweaver 8...I've been wanting to spend more quality time with my baby-bling (i.e., my Mac Pro), and I need to brush up on my skillz, so to speak. I'm hoping to be able to put together my own website (especially as a showcase for my artwork). I'm not sure how I'm going to host it, given that I'm reluctantly letting my .mac membership expire (we're too broke and I can't justify dropping $100 for the annual membership fee). Maybe I'll just put together a CSS and apply it to my myspace page, what the hell.
My family is doing fine and well...mostly, anyway. Simon is awesome -- crawling like mad, getting into everything, pulling himself up to a standing position, cutting his top teeth, and giving his mom holy hell with his erratic sleep patterns and separation anxiety. I wouldn't trade him for the world, by the way *wink*. Motherhood is exhausting and the most comprehensive lesson a woman can ever learn about self-sacrifice, but yes, it IS worth it, at least for me. I love my little guy to pieces.
Matt is in a near-constant state of panic over our finances (or more specifically, our lack thereof)...I can't say that I blame him. We're not starving but it's a very hand-to-mouth kind of existence; and we're hardly living high on the hog, either. We've made every kind of cutback in spending that we reasonably can, but they're just isn't enough money coming in. Matt takes it more personally than I think he really should...it sucks, but I know we're far from being alone in this. The economy is tanking and a lot of folks are in the red, just look around.
For a variety of reasons I won't go into, it's not possible for me to get a job right now, but I'm thinking that sometime next year I may start looking for something. With any luck DPL will need another imaging tech, but that's a long shot (and they're in the midst of a hiring freeze anyway). So long as I'm not waiting tables or taking care of other people's kids, I'm open to just about any kind of work (no jokes about prostitution, please -- no one would wanna buy a ride on my fat middle-aged arse anyway, har!).
I'm giving serious thought to going back to school this fall...a lot of times I truly hate it, but I'm close enough to being done where it seems stupid not to just finish the goddamn program and get it over with. I have a hefty resentment for the art department administration, but it seems like the best thing to do will be to grit my teeth and try to ignore the fact that their inane policies irritate the hell out of me. Gee, does this mean that I'm growing up??
That's about all for now -- I need to shower and eat lunch while Sy is still down for his nap. Stay tuned for more info about my site.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Lighting the fire
So the trip to Baltimore that Matt and I had been planning had to be canceled at the eleventh hour, due to a combination of factors -- sick husband, irritable son, and no money, to name a few. I was very disappointed (as were Chris and Colleen, who were planning to host us), but under the circumstances I think it was the right thing to do...even if I feel kind of stupid for buying the tickets without thinking things through first.
But it's not a total loss -- at least some of the purchase price of the airfare can be applied toward another trip within a year. Tentatively, we're planning to come out to Baltimore in the mid to late summer...better weather, and then there's the beach within driving distance (Yo Jason -- get the VW van ready, woo!).
A couple of weeks ago I resigned from my position at the library...another hard decision to make, but one I feel was ultimately the right thing to do (whoever said that doing the right thing was easy, eh?). I'd been working there for almost six years, and it was hands down the best job I've ever had. To make matters even more difficult, the situation in my department had been vastly improved by the arrival of my coworker Ben, as well as some fat grants and equipment upgrades...just in time for me to leave, dammit.
But I feel content in knowing that I left the place in better shape than it'd been in quite some time, and with the assurances of my supervisor that I have excellent references and a welcome return should a position become open in the future. I've left jobs under much, MUCH worse circumstances than those, so I guess that's something.
I've become a real homebody these days...so much that at the urging of Matt and my friend Terry, I have decided to join a mother's group. OK, I know how odd that may sound coming from me, but the group seems to be comprised of intelligent and interesting women, and it'll get me the hell out of the house every once in a while. The group I'll be joining has playgroups and such, but that's not of a whole lot of interest to me while Sy is still so small. I'm more about the evening activities -- a book club and a "nibble night" being among them (books, good food and wine being among my favorite things these days).
Although I've historically been not so great about maintaining friendships with women, I found the company of the group members to be pretty enjoyable (especially my friend Terry -- we had a great time gabbing in the car on the way to-and-from, a conversation which ran the gamut from religion to penises, hell yeah!). I think this could be just the impetus I need to get off my ass and try to build a network of friends in the area...as it stands, I was starting to go a tad batshit with being in the house all the time, to the point of getting worked up about household duties more than what is normally considered healthy. Many thanks to Terry for lighting a fire under my ass on this one! :-)
I have more I'd like to write about, but I need to get over to my apartment community's fitness center (dismal but functional) and spend some time on the treadmill while listening to my dumbass electronic music on my iPod...these 40 lbs I want to lose won't come off on their own. Sy has been whinier than usual today, and blowing off some steam is in order.
But it's not a total loss -- at least some of the purchase price of the airfare can be applied toward another trip within a year. Tentatively, we're planning to come out to Baltimore in the mid to late summer...better weather, and then there's the beach within driving distance (Yo Jason -- get the VW van ready, woo!).
A couple of weeks ago I resigned from my position at the library...another hard decision to make, but one I feel was ultimately the right thing to do (whoever said that doing the right thing was easy, eh?). I'd been working there for almost six years, and it was hands down the best job I've ever had. To make matters even more difficult, the situation in my department had been vastly improved by the arrival of my coworker Ben, as well as some fat grants and equipment upgrades...just in time for me to leave, dammit.
But I feel content in knowing that I left the place in better shape than it'd been in quite some time, and with the assurances of my supervisor that I have excellent references and a welcome return should a position become open in the future. I've left jobs under much, MUCH worse circumstances than those, so I guess that's something.
I've become a real homebody these days...so much that at the urging of Matt and my friend Terry, I have decided to join a mother's group. OK, I know how odd that may sound coming from me, but the group seems to be comprised of intelligent and interesting women, and it'll get me the hell out of the house every once in a while. The group I'll be joining has playgroups and such, but that's not of a whole lot of interest to me while Sy is still so small. I'm more about the evening activities -- a book club and a "nibble night" being among them (books, good food and wine being among my favorite things these days).
Although I've historically been not so great about maintaining friendships with women, I found the company of the group members to be pretty enjoyable (especially my friend Terry -- we had a great time gabbing in the car on the way to-and-from, a conversation which ran the gamut from religion to penises, hell yeah!). I think this could be just the impetus I need to get off my ass and try to build a network of friends in the area...as it stands, I was starting to go a tad batshit with being in the house all the time, to the point of getting worked up about household duties more than what is normally considered healthy. Many thanks to Terry for lighting a fire under my ass on this one! :-)
I have more I'd like to write about, but I need to get over to my apartment community's fitness center (dismal but functional) and spend some time on the treadmill while listening to my dumbass electronic music on my iPod...these 40 lbs I want to lose won't come off on their own. Sy has been whinier than usual today, and blowing off some steam is in order.
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