I'm being forced to move.

Not in my plans, but I can't blog photos here anymore, so I'm up and movin' :

http://photopaperscissors.blogspot.com

...unless Fliboogglehoo changes its tune!

Flibogglehoo

I've been trying to get a really cute picture of Benjamin posted here since last night, but the Flickr-Blogger-Google-Yahoo system has been down, so you'll just have to go here.

We don't call him the "Droolmeister" for nothing...

On A Dime

I Love a Rainy Night
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

Life has been throwing me some loops lately. My stomach issues are only a part of it.

Last night (this morning?) I woke up in excruciating pain again, despite the Prilosec ("I'm on Day 8," TYVM). NOTHING was helping -- not standing, certainly not lying down, not even on my knees with my head on the couch. Then I remembered a trick I learned --somehow, desperation, I guess-- pressing the top of my head, like an accupressure point. Whaddya know, instant relief. Well, that and 4 Tums and a big glass of water, that probably helped too.

All bloodwork has come back normal, so I have no idea what's going on. I was a bad girl yesterday, drank coffee and ate fistfuls of Jelly Bellies (my "car candy" -- I only keep a bag in the car). Bad, bad, bad, what was I thinking?! Coffee, sheesh.

Most theorists (i.e. E, Mom) feel it's stress (my doctor will probably diagnose me with IBS, as I've been diagnosed before, the label they give crackpots like me when they can't figure anything else out).

My father-in-law just began in-home hospice care, E's over there every other day or so (they don't want any other visitors, and I'm fine with that). My father is due to have surgery on his liver soon (they're waiting on a second biopsy report). He had pancreatic cancer 6 years ago; this same surgeon operated then, removed 1/3 of his pancreas and gave him 2 rounds of chemo and radiation; he was declared cancer-free just last fall. Oh, and did I mention I have an infant and a very unruly preschooler on my hands? And that Peach's voice from Finding Nemo is on a loop in my head: "She's a FISH KILLER!" Nope, no stress in my life, none at all.

My SIL and I swear we are going to take up yoga together. I HAVE to get back to the swimming pool, soon. As soon as I can coordinate an appointment for my infant in the gym's daycare center, which is more complicated than moving an Army, I swear. More stress? No thanks.

Anyway, there I was, driving through downtown Ann Arbor, when the holiday lights caught my eye yesterday. I did the unthinkable, I went down Main Street instead of turning onto Williams to bypass it and get to Huron, or Miller. Traffic was light and I even hit a red light, which allowed me to take this photograph. Peaceful. Relaxing. Deep breath.

Now I just took on a copyediting job that came to me out of the blue. Believe it or not, despite it being a rush job (I have to have it back to them by the 15th, and it's a 300-page non-fiction book), I'm loving the distraction. I may even skip my usual Friday night crop to get to the library for some quiet reflection of the manuscript.

E and I were just talking about my getting back to work -- in about 5 or 6 years. But it's good to keep my feet wet when it comes to the publishing world. God knows I could use the extra cash, too.

Creating Keepsakes University (CKU) is coming to Detroit and I'd love to attend; however, it's not so much the "tuition" as the time -- 3 full days -- away from home that's got me thinking hard about it. I'd love to go, but time truly is money when you're a full-time mom. And now a part-time copyeditor, too.

Breather

First seconds
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

I was trying to capture the clock at 11:59:59, but I'm glad I got it at 12:00:00 anyway.

I have always believed that whatever you are doing on New Year's Eve is indicative of what you'll be doing all year. Not that I thought of that while taking this photo...but taking lots of photos all year long sounds like a good year to me!

Unfortunately for Tess, 15 minutes into the new year, she (who stayed up until midnight at our friend's party with another youngster) bounced off a couch and cracked the back of her head on the coffee table. I had no idea head wounds bled that much...her turtleneck was completely soaked when we got home. There's still a stain on it, even after soaking it in bleach water for more than 24 hours.

She recovered nicely -- E couldn't even find a scar the next day -- but it freaked both of us out. Nothing like seeing your child crawl away with blood dripping off the back of her head. Thank goodness one of the guests was a nurse; she put us both at ease & told us what to watch out for, so we didn't feel we had to rush to the ER on New Year's night. We took turns waking her through the night to make sure she was okay.

Other non-sequitur (sp?) news...

The second goldfish bit it today. Found it stuck under the filter like the last one. Guppies, or give it up? I think a filter is just too much for such a little tank. Both goldfish got stuck under it and the last one, though bigger and stronger than the first, was perpetually caught in the water flow coming from it. I think it just wore him out.

Jack the betta, however, is doing great in his glass salad bowl. Tess and I put some gravel in it when we changed out the water together yesterday. We also stuck in the castle Tess picked out for him, and he's been hiding in it off and on. It looks pretty silly, since he just fits in it. Only his tail sticks out from the back. Apparently he needed a hiding place.

Luckily Tess was gone when Winter the goldfish died this morning. She left for up north with my folks's for a couple of days first thing today. Yup, just me and the Benjamin. Yee-haw.

Last night I got some cropping done up in Brighton. They had a sale on their Halloween and Thanksgiving papers & embellishments. Good thing I still haven't done those pages for 2006. Nice deal.

And finally, last Thursday I was throwing up; apparently it's just stress. My doctor did some blood work and I got the call today that everything came back normal, whatever that means. I usually lose sleep as well as my appetite when I'm stressed; maybe nursing hormones is whacking my body out in a different way. Throwing up worried me, because even at my most nauseous during pregnancy, I never threw up. I don't throw up easily. Lose sleep, yes, throw up, no.

Yes, the new year is off to such a lovely start.

Not on my watch

I had no idea it was so exhausting taking care of a friggin' fish.

The water was cloudy this morning, so I set to work changing out 25% of the water and put E to the task of visiting the pet store while he was out with Tess today.

In the meantime, Jack started acting weird (why the hell did I let Tess name him and get all attached to him? Dammit). I haven't done all my reading yet, but I'm pretty sure it's not a good sign to have him lying on his side at the bottom of the tank, barely moving.

Took him out and put him in freshly declorinated water, which slowly clouded too. When E got home with the anti-amonnia treatment, I put it in both the tank and betta bowl. Clear within seconds. Jack's still not really eating, but he's been through a lot in the last two days, so I'm cutting him some slack in that department.

Later we amused ourselves by putting a mirror in the betta bowl -- they really don't know what they look like. Jack immediately puffed out his gills, as did the "other" male betta.

Minutes of amusement.

Note to Lisa: My dad's tumor is benign. Like cats, my parents. On life five or six by now...he still has surgery to get through, though...no word on when that will be. Soon, but still not soon enough to hook up in Vegas in January.

Meet the Fishies

Meet the Fishies
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

My first pet-buying-as-a-parent experience, yikes. I've never kept fish before. I hope they're not as finicky as the literature makes them sound. I found a children's book on fish keeping to be the most useful.

I wasn't going to get Tess a fish tank for Christmas, because I know eventually it will end up being MY fish tank, or at least that I will have to take responsibility for their care. Then again, I'm the adult here, so it makes sense that I should take charge.

But once she got the thought in her head, she kept talking about Santa bringing her a fish tank. Since I don't want any more itty bitty toys and toy pieces in the house, though, a fish tank made the most sense as a gift.

Not that she didn't get the fiddley little stuff I hate. She does have grandparents, after all.

From right to left (three fish in all), there's Winter, the goldfish, Rocksha, the white goldfish, and Jack the betta -- we have a 2 1/2 gallon tank with a divider for the betta. Although he seems pretty non-agressive, hanging out around the filter and light for more warmth.

We'll see how long the names stick.

Apparently, I'm a Girl

Apparently...
Originally uploaded by CreativeExile.

Judging by my two very pink gifts this morning. A completely unsuspected Ipod Nano (having way too much fun with that right now) and a new cell phone cover, both picked out by Santa E.

I had to change the wallpaper on my phone; the sunset shot just wasn't jivving with the sunburst and hearts on my new cover. The teddy bear makes the whole package look like it belongs to some young Japanese girl.

Hope you all had a happy holiday.