Kerplooey!

I don't handle stress well. It takes me down mentally at first, then physically. Since taking my little vacation last week (3 days off; quick trip to San Antonio/Sea World with Dah and The Geej), I've come back to A Situation as work that has been eating me alive. First it was just insomnia. Then I broke out--big zits on my face and back. Then hardcore headaches. And today, I actually had to leave work and come home because it was like a huge boulder of doom just rolled down on top of me--I had a piercing headache, I was dizzy, my stomach was in shreds. I managed to make it home and into the bed, and escaped into a deep, hard sleep for about 3 hours. When I awoke, I was stiff and sore and totally disoriented. BH told me that I looked red and green (feverish and nauseous) all at the same time. And he's right! I've got a 101 fever and have been sick to my stomach--BIG time--since I awoke.

What does this tell me?

I need to figure out a way to better cope with and handle normal and extreme stresses in my life, or I am going to drop dead of a stroke before I hit fifty. Yoga. Meditation. Massage. Exercise. Acupuncture. Or some combination therein. Because this? What I'm feeling right now? Not okay.

A prediction:

Should my mother ever figure out how to get back on IM, I'm fairly certain I can someday look forward to an exchange like this one (stolen from Jezebel.com):

I'm back. Sort of.

I'm not going to go on and on about how guilty I am for not blogging, even though I am. I mean, sometimes, at the end of my day (which is when I usually find the time, presence of mind and solitude required to blog), I think to myself, "I should really blog...but fuck it." And y'all? That's a recent thought. At least the "fuck it" part is recent. Never, since I started blogging several years ago, have I thought of this as a chore or something that I didn't WANT to do. To me, it's always been a release, a way to share, and--at the very least--a way to write and document what was going on in my fairly-normal-but-sometimes-extraordinary life. But lately? If I even think about this blog (which, admittedly, I rarely do), it's with a sense of dread because I haven't posted in so long or worse, because I'm simply overwhelmed with the idea of sharing the completely boring goings on in my life.

So to try and get my mojo back, I share some bullet points and a photo or two:

The Geej turned five last week, which is amazing in and of itself because it proves how insanely fast time flies but made even more so by the fact that she a) begged to get her ears pierced for 3 months, b) I caved and let her and c) she was as cool as a cucumber during the whole process:


Wow, people. Right now, she's in the middle of "performance camp," that culminates in a show this Friday, and in a couple of weeks, she starts freakin Kindergarten. WTF, indeed.

The Geej was showered with many MANY gifts and enjoyed a "bouncy house" birthday party with some of her favorite friends. But I must say, thus far, her most beloved gift has been the "Totally Hair" Barbie head given to her by her Aunt Jaye. You see, I am mean and evil and will NOT buy my child anything Disney Princess- or Barbie-related because I find their portrayal of womanhood suspect at best, and therefore will not support them with my well-earned dollars. I leave that to her friends and relations. So when Aunt Jaye presented The Geej with what we've affectionately been calling "The Head," it was a trip to say the least. I mean, The Head had to come with us to her birthday dinner at Red Robin that night and sit on the table next to her grilled cheese and lemonade. And right now, The Head is tucked in beside her in the bed (along with Sally and Chino) . Don't believe me?

Yeah...so there's that.

And right after her b-day party at Germ-a-Palooza, guess what? The Geej--who is almost NEVER sick--got sick. Fever and coughing. Got her in to see the doctor on Monday, and he confirmed that this was something viral that was "going around" and should run its course in "4 to 5 days." So we've been hanging out while I've been trying to play nursemaid while simultaneously working from home. Why not just take the time off and care for my sick child? Well, because I have only ONE GODDAMNED PAID TIME OFF HOUR in my paid time off bank, DESPITE the fact that I rarely ever take time off. Isn't that awesome?

So between that situation and the fact that we're on our 45th 100+ degree day here this summer, I'm in a pretty crappy general mood. Sorry.

But you know what IS making me happy? Kenny Fucking Powers. Don't know him? Well, maybe you should:

Isn't it easy to see why I loved him so much?

BH was rummaging around through some old photo files he had on his computer and ran across this oldie but goodie of me holding Earl.

If you could only understand the EXTREME purring and snorgling that was going on when this photo was taken, then you'd begin to understand how much fun it was to just cuddle with this big ol' tub of love.

It's been nine months since I had to say goodbye to that sweet boy, and I still miss him like it was yesterday.

Best kitteh evar.

You You You You You

This isn't a video, per se, but it's the one way I know to share this beautiful song with y'all. Everytime I hear it, I think of BH and get butterflies.

I promise...

...I'm writing.

It's just not here.

It's at work.

It's on that horrible EVIL Faceplace.

It's on another super secret blog that I may (or may not) have that may (or may not) chronicle my frustrations with my body image (and/or feature photos of kittens).

It's on grocery lists.

It's on epic, neverending "To Do" lists.

It's on applications to writing workshops that have (oops) already occurred.

It's on life insurance policies.

It's on bills.

It's happening. I swear. Just not here.

And for that, I aplogize.