Not Really A Post

So, I finally bought, received, and read The Bloggess' book.  

Well, it only took me one night to read it.

There was quite a lot of highlighting involved, also crying and laughing. Sometimes all three at the same time. 

I added it to my GoodReads, and reviewed it.

Here is the link to my review:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12868761-let-s-pretend-this-never-happened

I highly recommend this book to anybody who wants to laugh, or who enjoys randomness, or who has any sort of emotional disorder.  And while you're at it, follow her blog.  She is pretty fantastic.  And no, nobody is paying me to say this, it is my honest opinion.  

I do have a real post coming, it involves the difference between friends and family. 

Desired Effects

I just want to say that after the hectic holiday season, this weekend has been like a vacation.

Yes, I did work yesterday and work again tomorrow.

Yes, I did run errands for 4 more hours after work yesterday.

Yet, right now, I feel this soul-deep contentedness.

I made roast last night, which turned out epic! Then spent the night after Whimzy went to bed spending some alone time with the hubby.

Oh, and I got new bras.  They feel wonderful.

Then, today, I did a lot of organization and made my Nana's spaghetti sauce.  Now, I am laying on the couch, catching up on one of my favorite TV shows.  All after sleeping in and being able to get out of bed and snuggle with Ty right away.  

I love this past 36 hours.

Just goes to show that I can have these moments.  Hell, I can have these 36 hours.  

I am determined to remember how I feel in this moment when I am feeling less than happy.

Oh, and I ordered a bookshelf for our kitchen, and The Bloggess' book.  Things are pretty perfect.

Next on my list to buy?

Breadbox and a bookshelf for my bedroom.  

Damn, life is good.

Ninja? Ha! More Like A Wizard!

First of all, let me say that this post is sponsored by my Dad.  

He got us a new slow-cooker for Christmas, The Ninja.

We bought him one, too, but now I feel bad because the one we bought is not powered by magic like the Ninja obviously is (No tell tale signs of magic yet, but I am almost positive that the power cord is a farce).

I have had this box sitting in my kitchen, mocking my fear of it.  It does to much to be real.  Like, the manual makes it sound like it could pay off my student loans after getting me straight A's and cooking me nutritious and reduced fat cupcakes.  

Well, I finally took the thing out of the box.  It looks all matte black with shiny chrome buttons and much too high-tech (*cough, magic, cough*) to be sitting in my little apartment kitchen.  

All fear aside, this thing is awesome.

My schedule is really the only thing that has stopped me from using every, single function at least once.  So, I started a roast tonight, seared it (in the slow cooker!), seasoned it, and Hubby is going to start it in the morning while I am at work.  So, after work, lunch at Jq's, grocery shopping, and being out of the house for 12 hours, I will hopefully be coming home to a perfect roast.  I can also make the gravy in the darn thing when the roast is done.  

So, I will definitely be posting a review of how the roast and gravy turned out sometime in the near future.  

By the way Dad, Whimzy is also on her laptop right now doing her "homework".  

Best New Year's, Light Sabers, Changes, and Resolutions

We celebrated New Year's Eve last night with a few close friends, our daughter, and my friend's daughter.  There were light sabers involved, and then my daughter fought back with the box that the light saber came in.

Yeah, that happened.  In fact, that was a good portion of our night.  Us adults sat back with our beers, laughed and hoped to the powers that be that we didn't end up in the ER. Epic. 

In other news, I would like to do a quick recap of my 2013 and some major and minor changes that have occurred.

Of course, the first major one is that I am now Mrs. Christensen.  It was the best decision I have ever made in my life and I do not know if any thing I could ever do in my life will be as important as that one day. 

The second major one is that I decided to get on antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications again.  They have made a huge difference in my life.  I am still struggling, and there is still a lot to work through, but I made the first real steps in 2013.

A minor one, directly tied to the last one, is that I got a real, paying, hourly job.  It is a fun job for me, and it is giving me some extra money to play with (Hello, $100 worth of bras!!), and gets me out of the house a bit.

Another change is how much easier I am able to lean on my support system when I need it.  I'm no longer afraid that I am going to be let down, or let to fall.  The stability is amazing and I am so thankful for the support in my life.

And now, down to the last section of the title!

Resolutions!

One of the main values that we hold as a family is that a person can continue to grow and that trying to become a better person should be a constant idea in the back of our minds.   So, we decided to do our resolutions together as our first New Year as "The Christensens".  We even sat down with Whimzy and explained it all to her and she even has four resolutions!  

I am just going to list a few of the main ones, and the reasoning behind them.

1) More playdates for Whimzy.

2) Family meal time at the table 1-2 a week.  It would be more, but with our opposite work schedules, it can be difficult.

3) Healthier eating as a family.

4) Making our bedroom a priority for our relationship as a couple. Basically, keeping it clean and making it a nice place for us to be.

5) 104 books for me to read in 2014.

6) I want to learn more about darts so that I can be more supportive of Ty's dream.

7) Ty wants to read with me once in awhile, based off of my suggestions.

8)I want to learn how to balance all of the demands of my life better.  

9) I also want to become more organized and make the apartment more organized.

10)  Ty wants to up his practice time for darts.

11) Ty wants to set more of a sleep schedule so that he isn't staying up too late after work and getting up in time to spend some time with us while I am not at work. 

12)  Ty also wants to develop weekly and monthly goals and plans as the year goes on to meet his resolutions.

13)  I want to continue making goals as I go through and make strides in my anxiety and depression.

We are all going to grow together, and I really think this is going to help us grow together instead of apart over the years.  And this is not the complete list, just some highlights of our 3 pages of resolutions.  

What are your resolutions or goals for the new year?

Have any plans to make them come true?  

Out of Context

So, this is my first real attempt to broaden my reader base, so beware.

First of all, I have been listing blog ideas in my "idea/to-do/need to buy/need to remember" notebook.  I have some awesome ideas coming up for my readers :)

First of all, I have tried keeping journals for about the past decade. I have failed miserably.  They usually end up with about 20 entries spread out across at least a year.  Most of them just being updates that seem pointless reading them in hindsight.  

That being said, I do have a few gems that I jotted down in the last couple of years of quotes from Ty, Whimzy, or myself.

So, here are some random quotes, completely out of context and your job is to figure out what was going on at the time!  The best one gets a $10 Amazon gift card sent to them :)  Here is the catch, we have to have at least 10 submissions from separate users in the comments before I will judge :)  So, share this with your friends!

Here we go!

"That tooth's name is Tammy!" - Ty

"She is going to steal my soul!" - Ty

"Omg, you stole my feather sword!" - Ty

"I'm considering yelling 'SEX TOYS' to get attention" - Me

"Whimzy is growing a unicorn horn!" - Ty

"Here's to not having dreams about golf courses and priests!" - Me

"What does doing do?"  Whimzy

"So...Hitler was an alien?" - Ty

"You smell like a gas station, why are you 2 hours late?" - Me

"Did that toilet just sing?" - Ty

"Stop being toothy and vengeful!" - Ty

"You just put the fear of vagina into me" - Ty

"Well, that is what happens when you steal the Kraken's eggs!" - Cara

"I am a pirate, afraid of the ocean!" - Ty

"Octopi are my best friend!" - Whimzy

"I can't believe that I just cried over a golf-playing triceratops" - Cara

Let's do this!!!

Best situations that you think these quotes happened in, win!  

Hint:  I am looking for the feels or the laughs ;)

Who Could've Known?

This post is specifically for 4 people.

My aunt, my uncle, my dad, and my sister.  

Over the weekend, Ty and I got to spend it together while the four of them took care of my daughter, fixed my car, and detailed it.

Whimzy had an amazing time, and now has a new best friend, Angie.

My dad played soccer with her, and she got to go shopping for a present for mommy and daddy (which she signed herself!).

Then, less than 24 hours after we got our newly cleaned and fixed car home, one of our belts blew. My uncle and aunt drove to pick my car up and he spent the entire evening fixing it, which included a freezing cold drive because the belt that blew controlled the heating.

Four years ago, I would have never thought that I would be in such a great relationship with any of them (except maybe Angie).  

We all went through some pretty terrible stuff and I didn't handle any of it well.  I was lost and scared, and despite everybody's best efforts, I couldn't seem to get past it.  Misunderstandings, lack of communication, and overall bad decisions on my part had, I thought, irreparably damaged my relationship with my family.  

Then, this weekend (and I have realized it before, but it really hit hard this weekend) I realized how much I really depend on them and how my life would be not nearly as amazing without them.  They give my daughter grandparents while my mom is incapable, and my dad is a great grandpa to her.  My holidays, big events, and everyday life all involves them somehow.  I look forward to seeing all of them, especially together.  I am constantly seeing things that remind me of each of them.  

There is no way that I will ever be able to re-pay them for the support that they have given me, or even the car cleaning/fixing that they did in the last week, but I really want them to know how much I love them, and how happy I am that I get to call them, and spend time with them.

My mom may not be able to be with me for everything, but I have an amazing aunt, uncle, and my Dad to fill that hole.  Not to mention my awesome little sister.  

I love you guys and I hope you understand how much I appreciate every one of you.

A Rarity

As promised, here is an update on my life.

I got a job.  I am a barista for a few mornings a week at a local cafe.

I do customer service, take orders, short order cooking, make drinks, and cleaning (dishes, wiping tables, etc...).  And because of my availability and Ty's job, I work opening, which means I set the cafe up and all of that fun stuff.  It is a fast paced, but a social and fun job.  My manager and owner are pretty awesome and are very understanding of my anxiety issues, as well as excellent in the way they help me improve my performance.

It feels nice to have my own cash, and last week I got my first actual pay check in almost four years!  I am able to help out with Christmas, and I have major plans for a book nook in our bedroom with my extra money.  

Tips are super nice, too.  It means every day I work, I have some extra money in my wallet.  

It has been an uphill battle.  

I spent the first few weeks dreading going to work.  I didn't think I could do it. I felt weak and exhausted.  My feet hurt, my anxiety rocketed through the roof, and if I wasn't at work, I was incapable of anything because I was so worn down from the anxiety of being at work.

And, this is a job that I enjoy doing.  I rock at it.

Well, yesterday, I had an amazing day at work.

My feet didn't hurt quite so much, my anxiety didn't kick in, and I didn't come home and become useless.  I actually got quite a bit done when I got home.

My cash tips were higher than normal, and I had more positive interaction with some of the major regulars.

And now today, I got to sleep in (thanks to Ty), and I have kicked butt.  I even baked a cake!  Gonna frost it after I finish this and I'm sure that Whimzy has eaten enough dinner.  

It feels wonderful to feel productive and happy.  

The next few weeks are going to be very hectic, though.  Busy and little time to unwind from work, school, and being Mommy.  Also, today was probably my last day to sleep past 6:30 am for a few weeks.  And, sleeping in is one of my major sanity savers.  

I am cautiously excited that I found a perfect blend of vitamins and meds to get me through life right now, but I am also scared to death that this is a fluke and I am going to crash.  

On the plus side, I have some awesome blog ideas for you guys!  I hope to notch up my level of funny, because, let me tell you, I hear the craziest things at work!

I also plan on writing more, especially now that my life is a little bit more exciting and varied.  I hope that those of you that have been reading continue to read, and I hope that you tell your friends about me :)  It makes me feel special ;)

Until later, lovers!

<3<3<3