Thursday, September 30, 2010

Guest Post: The New Guy

t's only fitting that my first "guest post" come from my husband Nick! When I wrote about how the cable company changed my life and so many people commented about how they didn't think they could live without cable, my first reaction was "that's what we said!" I guess Nick had the same response, and felt so strongly about how the change has impacted our lives in a positive way, that he FINALLY agreed to let me post his thoughts here on the blog! *Please* leave a comment to make sure he feels the love!

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I've thought about doing this for a while now...

Hi. I'm Nick. I'm Ollie's dad. How's it going.

Sara has been doing this blog for a while now and has tried to get me to write on here a couple of times. I've never been a blog type dude, but I figured "What the hell?" I will warn you now. I tend to ramble from time to time. You are just going to have to deal with it.

Having said that, I challenge all of you. For one week, pick two or three shows that you watch often, and only watch them. Nothing else. I've learned over the past 8 or so months that we haven't had cable, that I was really missing a lot. Go outside and play with the dog. Plant a garden. Go for a walk. Play a video game with your kids and husband/wife. (Guitar Hero is lots o'fun, plus you don't have to listen to raffi or whatever for a few minutes.)

Just Ollie, Sara, and me, in our own little slice of reality. I think we both stopped and (insert cliche) smelled the roses. We just enjoy looking at the world through a whole new set of eyes. Now that Ollie is getting closer to the big 1, to watch him learn and experience all this stuff that's totally new to him is entertaining enough.

Plus, Time Warner Cable service sucked.

- Nick

Monday, September 27, 2010

how the cable company changed my life

We cancelled it. That's right, no cable TV.

We cancelled the cable because ever since we brought Oliver home we were spending time with him and we weren't watching the shows when they first aired anyway. Plus, I noticed that when I was home and had a little while to veg on the couch I'd rather watch an old movie that I'd already seen 10 times than try and find something new to entertain me every half hour, ya know?

fear & loathing in las vegas, yes?
So we were paying about $100 a month to DVR our few favorites. As far as surfing, that was becoming a luxury that we rarely had time for, so the TV just became absent minded clicking for semi-interesting background noise. $100 a month for DVR & noise that just distracted us for the best, pure joy entertainment possible, our son!


hugs!

So now, watching TV is special again. Aside from the whole Cleveland Sports Team Who Shall Not Be Named debacle that we have to drive elsewhere to watch, it's worked out really well. And imma go order one of those converter box thingys so we can get the local channels and solve that.

We bring the laptop to bed & watch our shows, (The Big Bang Theory, Modern Family & Parenthood) off the internet. On Friday nights (or some weeknights that have been particularly stressful days) we snuggle into bed with the computer and a snack and relax together. After the babe is tucked into bed we have an hour to ourselves to unwind. TV is special again because it's an occaisional event. We take care of our boy, and then take care of ourselves by laughing together & snuggling under the covers.

us, only younger


Friday, September 24, 2010

got issues?

Here are my issues: September, 2010.

1.   I'm Cranky. With a capital C. I don't know what my problem is lately I've been missing Oliver. I mean, duh, you all know that. I'm sure at least part of it is a normal working mom thing, but I miss him terribly.

my angel

I've gone through all the logical excuses: PMS? Probably. I think. I'm not on the pill & forgot how to keep track other than with pills. Breastfeeding hormone swing? Possibly... as with everything else boob-related, I'm sure there's a mood-swing phase I have to go through while weaning, and it's officially been 3 full days since the last time Oliver nursed. I haz a big, big sad over this, but I can't dwell on it, because I can't see that doing any good for anybody.

I feel like I missed this big window of when staying home would have been "necessary" or "for the best" and now am starting to just feel selfish over the whole thing.

2.   I think I may have a body image problem. About two years ago, if you had asked me what my ideal weight goal would be, I'd have said 135 pounds. That's the weight I thought I should be... if I weighed that, I'd feel good about myself. Right now, I weigh 133 pounds. Yet when I look in the mirror I don't see any difference. I mean, yeah, my clothes were FALLING OFF (seriously, I needed some new pants because I tripped over them so many times.) I now have two pairs that fit & are acceptable for work that are size 6. I'm not bragging, just saying, because I still don't see that version of myself I thought I would.

I'm thinking maybe I don't see it because I didn't work for it. I mean, after I delivered Oliver, the weight just came off, and kept coming off. I couldn't eat much at the end of my pregnancy, and for a while after I forgot both how to eat and to eat period (I know this is common.) So I guess with my new eating style and the "extra" 500 calories burned per day producing breastmilk I just slimmed down somehow. People comment all the time on how skinny I am, but I guess the problem is that (most of the time) I just don't feel attractive.

3. I'm having trouble being motivated for more than one thing at a time. I'm planning Oliver's birthday party, making sure I spend QT with Nick, tackling debt, blogging, keeping up on the house, but it's like one thing per day. If I spend time thinking about the party, then I feel like I'm not giving Nick enough time & attention. If I spend a Saturday with my guys, just soaking in the family, I feel like I should have carved out some time to clean or pay bills. And blogging ALWAYS feels like a guilty pleasure, no matter how supportive my awesome husband is.

Friday, September 3, 2010

in which the WIN outweighs the FAIL, but only barely

I've been thinking more and more (last week was a MAJOR SUCK and this week was only slightly better) about quitting work, seeing my guy all the time, and working to get the finances in order. I've been entirely too LAZY about paying the bills (they're getting paid - no worries) like: I pay the electric bill approximately once a month. Due date, shmoo date, really, because the electric company doesn't charge late fees and it gets paid often enough that it's not going to get shut off or something. The other day I took about an hour and set up auto-pay on some stuff. So hey! I got something accomplished! WIN

We are refinancing the house. We got a pretty good rate, signed the initail paperwork, paid the fee (stupid), and we're now the appraiser's coming Tuesday. *fingers crossed* I'm not too worried about the house appraising for enough, since all those home value estimate websites have reassured me. WIN

I want to trade in my car. We don't need 2 SUVs, and we definitely don't need a car payment that's almost $500 a month. I don't know what the fuck I was thinking. FAIL

At work today, I asked a caller "can I transfer you to his boyfriend? I mean, voicemail?" Oh, and I just called my friend's grandma a freak. Words: FAIL

In other non-name-calling news: I'm going to visit my BFF this weekend! Remember how I helped throw her baby shower a few months ago? Well, that baby boy is here, and we're road trippin' on down to sniff see that bundle of joy! Hooray for babies, friends and long weekends! WIN


The stupid fancy pants comments system on the blog has been all janky. I tried something new and shiny because I'm a geek and I was all oooh WIDGETS, and it failed. I'm trying to figure out how to uninstall the thing because now all the comments are missing and I'm just done. FAIL

But! I did add a couple pages up at the top and I think it's time for a new header soon. I moved all of my blog friends links to a separate page, Visit my Friends! so if you feel like surfin' start there! (OH! And while you're here, maybe vote for me on Picket Fence? kthxbai) I "designed" one of those buttons (hint: it's the FIRST one) and it was fun, so if anyone out there wants me to whip up something for you or if you'd like to see your link on that page, just let me know! WIN