Monthly Archives: February 2011

02.27.11
by

Escape! (Nothing to do with Pina Coladas)

Last week was a busy, stressful, emotional, exhausting, frustrating, eye-opening week. Friday ended badly. I made myself physically sick with upset. He Who Makes Me Smile fetched me from the city, listened to me vent the entire car ride to the country and then took care of me for the rest of the night. I was seriously not myself. I didn’t want to talk, I didn’t want to think. I didn’t want to eat. Ugh. My dearest reminded me to breathe, took away my cell phone which rarely gets reception anyhow out at his place and put in a mindless movie (Strange Brew, eh?) and we cuddled on the couch and I went to bed early. At one point while I was NOT sleeping—He Who Makes Me Smile (in his sleep) told me “stop thinking, relax.”  Yeah, I realize how special he is for taking care of me…I’m blessed.

Saturday—I realized life is WAY TOO SHORT to make oneself so unhappy. He Who Makes Me Smile had an early morning meeting and I stayed around the house and shifted out of my mood from the night before. The two of us had lunch at “Mom’s Restaurant” in Niagara Falls and ran a few errands. We came home and I roasted a chicken for dinner, made scalloped potatoes with bacon and green/yellow beans with almonds.

Photo811

Yum. I also made up a dish of cinnamon raisin stuffed french bread with pecans for breakfast. (Could have been dessert!)

Yesterday, I came to the realization that being with He Who Makes Me Smile at his place in the country—makes me feel the most content, relaxed and happy that I’ve been in a very, very long time. And I think you all know, I’m pretty happy in general with my life. I love my apartment, my community, my friends…and yet, I’m even MORE content? How is that possible?

A few weeks back He Who Makes Me Smile said “I like it when you’re out here with me where I know you’re getting sleep, relaxed, well-fed and taken care of…” Made my heart melt. I’m not quite used to the attention. And yet, it isn’t even attention really…it’s just the feeling of  being loved and safe and at home with another person.

Happy sigh.

Sunday is the day I look forward to and equally loathe. Relaxing time with my sweetie countered with the thought that I have to go home and start the week all over again. Boo. He Who Makes Me Smile works from 1-9 pm so we don’t really get to see each other during the week anymore, so the weekends are even more important to me now.

I hate it when the weekend is over.

But now, I look forward to Friday even more…

02.27.11
by

This is TERRIFYING why are we not UP IN ARMS?

Artvoice: Welcome to Chernobyl

The map on the facing page measures exposure rates to radiation in the Ukraine as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The areas in red measure up to 20 microroentgens per hour. These are the exclusion zones, where people are not supposed to live or travel.

In the mid-1970s, the federal government commissioned a company called EG&G to perform an aerial radiation survey conducted 300 feet above the roadways of Niagara County. The survey identified dozens of hotspots near the Whirlpool, around the golf course, along Lewiston Road and Buffalo Avenue, and elsewhere around the city. Some of these peaked at 86 microroentgens per hour.

OH MY GOD!

How are we not OUTRAGED over this information? I’ve been spending lots of time in Niagara County these days…just becoming aware of the enormity of this situation has me ready to spit fire…

02.24.11
by

AAAAAhhhh!

Photo793

Grey! Silver! Wow. I swear my hair wasn’t this grey at the beginning of the week. I looked in the far too artificial brightly lit bathroom mirror at work and almost fell over. Telling, eh?

I know I’ve been coloring my hair since I was 25ish, but I swear these all just came overnight…

Also the forehead wrinkles. I’m naming that one NMP.