Vicki-Lou

Today it rained.  No, that’s not right; it poured.  At least twice.  The first time was probably overnight sometime.  Then there was about 10:30am, while I was getting ready for work.  Then around 6pm, it started again.  This time it lasted for hours.  I was baking cupcakes and decorating them, waiting for the macaroni casserole to cool when I noticed that the rain sounded very loud.  I somehow got it in my head to check the basement, and sure enough, it was flooding.  At lot.  All four walls had water coming in, 3 of which the water was coming in fast.  I called Dan and we hauled all we could from the basement to upstairs in the kitchen.  It was a LOT of stuff, and I’m starting to re-think my storage strategies.  When we started, there was maybe half an inch of water; by the time we were done, there was 3 inches.

I called my dad, and he came over to look over stuff.  One thing; the sump pump doesn’t pump fast enough to deal with that kind of flooding.  Second, we are in serious need to clean the gutters.  Third, we need to drain the gutters’ flow away from the house.  Third, the concrete for the driveway and other stuff is leaning into the house, causing puddles next to the foundation.  Not fun.  Needless to say, Dan and dad were trenching and building walls for a good half hour or more, in the pouring rain.  I took pictures of the flooding to possibly submit to the insurance.

We were soaked, so had to rinse off in the shower, with limited hot water supply.  The kitchen is still full of the stuff, and probably will be for a while.  Dinner was cold, but still good.  And I still haven’t baked the bread yet (it is in the refridgerater).  Now I get to go to bed to wake up for a full shift tomorrow, as does Dan.  Yippee Skippee!

Lately Dan has been stopping by his folks on the way home and presenting me with freshly picked strawberries when he gets home.  I LOVE strawberries, but we just planted ours this year, so they won’t be producing until next year.  Fresh picked are my favorite, and I guess he knows this very well

Got about a quarter of the way done with the trimming on the afghan.  Still hope to finish by the end of this week.

My class starts Tuesday; I’m so nervous, I still need to buy the book :P  Wish me luck.  I really dont like English classes with all the paper writing, so I’ll need all I can get.

Dan’s friend, Nick, will be in town Tuesday night, so I need to clean the guest room.  I have a feeling that most of the stuff will go back into the basement.  Nothing wrong with that, the main thing is to get the room cleaned up and wash the sheets to the bed.  Then maybe I can paint the walls :)  Also have to go through the clothes hanging in the closet, and stash my sewing/crafting stuff.  Don’t quite know where I’m going to put it all if kids come along, but I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Now I’m going to chill out on my computer playing games.  Have a good night!

Hey there.

I guess I kind of forgot about this place, all caught up at facebook.  Shame on me, I know.

Updates today: The office is offically done!  The only things left are a little bit of putty over nails, and blinds for the windows, but I still call it done.  So Dad set up the ice maker in the refrigerator and Dan replaced the pneumatic arm in the back door.  He also played “hard drive musical chairs” with the server.  That was a headache and a half…

Lately I haven’t been feeling myself, but I think it may have to do with the miscarriage hormones and chemicals in my brain and stuff.  Possibly PPD, but not sure, and am not going to worry about it unless I start sleeping all day long and stop eating or something.  I think the main thing is that I need to get out more, and feel more appreciated.

Anyways, I’ve been cleaning a lot lately, and it is starting to look like progress.  I’m hoping that next week or the following I can start cleaning the guest room without worrying about the rest of the house.  I’m almost caught up with the dishes and the laundry is practicly done, but I still have a mountian of ironing.  I also need to work in the bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen, and office.  Babysteps, right?

An update on my afghan: Two more rows to go! Whoo! Then I just have to put a border on, and I’ll be done!  Hope to be done by the time we go camping in 17 days.

New Recipe! Tomorrow I will try the Sweet Potato Chili from A Year of Crockpoting.  I’ll let you know how it tastes!

Well, I have to clean out the sink now.  Good night!

Sometimes it just feels better to write (or type) things down. Dreams are different than goals. Goals are more attainable where as dreams have to be worked hard for. Goals can be set to attain dreams, but sometimes dreams are so far fetched, it is hard to even make goals for. Here is some of my dreams.
Dream #1: Motorcycle License.
I may not looking like a motorcycle babe, but I still drool over them whenever I see them. I blame my father, as he had a motorcycle when he was in high school and still wants to ride one again (he has the license for it, just not a bike). I think the kicker for me was when I went to the Oshkosh EAA Airventure back in 2004(?). I got to drool over motorcycles and even sit on one! There are a few things holding me back with this dream. 1)Rockford, and 2)my fear of a tree falling on me.
With reason number one, Rockford motorcycle driving sucks for two reasons. One, drivers don’t know how to driver around motorcycles. Too many times I’ve seen cars way too close to motorcycles on the road. You are supposed to give them twice as much room simply for the fact that if they wipe out, you are first in line to react, and if you don’t give yourself enough room, the results can be deadly. Secondly Rockford motorcyclist don’t know how to drive Rockford traffic. Too many times (again) I’ve seen two motorcycles side by side in one lane. Not only is this illegal, but it is dangerous. If one guy wipes out, he’ll likely take the other one out in the process.
The other reason may sound silly, but there is a story behind it. About three or so days before my wedding, a co-worker of mine lost her parents. They had been cruisin’ on the country roads on a motorcycle. It was stormy the night before. A tree fell straight on him (instantly dead) and catapulted her several feet, landing head first in the pavement. She died overnight. The funeral was the day of my wedding. I still think of her instant lose of her parents every year on our anniversary. It downright scares me.
That said, someday I hope to overcome my fears and get a motorcycle license. Maybe by the time I’m 40? Midlife crisis?

I rarely title my poems, but I always dated and time them so that I can trace back what was going on in my life at that time.  I think this poem was inspired by my recent miscarriage, and the late night discussions with Dan on how we’ve lost touch with our friends from high school.  I wrote it while at Sinnissippi Park.

Friends lost
          through time and space.
Baby’s death
          before its birth.
Empty inside now,
          With nothing to do.
Hot outside;
          Can’t stand it.
Need the pouring rain
          to hide my tears.
Spring just brings sadness
          this year.
I need his arms around me
          to hold me tight.
I need to forget the pain
          deep inside.
Come and enfold me
          in your gentle embrace.
Take me away
          to another happy day.