The new year has started out cold, cold, cold! Probably because it's January! Saturday morning I was up early and I heard them say on the radio that the windchill outside was -36! Oh, it was nasty that day And it's cold today! I called Paul around 8:30 and he was even complaining about the cold - and he generally loves cold winter weather. So, I know it's cold out! Fortunately, I don't have to go anywhere today. Paul was saying it supposed to warm up a bit by mid week and then temperatures will plummet again by the weekend.
I can't complain at all, really. Paul and the boys keep the woodburner stocked and going. I just bought some Cuddle Duds this winter (to replace my ancient long underwear from my college days) so I stay toasty under my clothes and outside them! And it's good for business. Paul got 8 hours of overtime pay by working Saturday, which is a real blessing. He used to work almost every weekend and then business fell off and for the past year and a half, the only Saturdays he has ever worked have been when he's been on call and the weather has been extreme. And he's out working today, as I'm sure all the service guys are. I'm not complaining! But there is a little part of me that is starting to yearn for spring...
Today is Paul's 39th birthday. It's a Monday and he had to leave by 6:45am to report in to the office. They have to do this twice weekly. I had plans to get up very early and make him a hot breakfast. Normally I only do that on the mornings that he doesn't leave until 7:30. Well, let's just say that the spirit was willing, but the flesh was very, very weak! I'm really not sure what he ended up getting for breakfast! Poor guy! I heard him around 4 messing with the woodburner and I'm pretty sure he was up for a good hour and a half trying to get that thing going again. He said when he had gotten up to check the fire the house was only 61 degrees.
Paul started a new epilepsy drug over the weekend. His dr. wanted him to start this last fall but when Paul told me that one of the side effects could be increased anger I told him, "No way." Well, he had a follow-up appointment last month and he told his dr. that I wouldn't let him take the drug. The doc said for me to call him (I never did). So, for some reason, Paul decided to start taking the drug now. But he's only taking a half dose and he told me he wants me to tell him if his personality changes. When should I do this? Before or after he murders me in a monstrous, drug-induced rage? I don't like it.
I'm having my own neurological issues of late. I've been taking big doses of Vit. D which has done wonders for my energy levels and general aches and pains. I highly recommend it. I started taking 5000 ius daily in August in pill form. All was great until about a month in and I began to get blinding headaches. So I backed off the D a bit and the headaches subsided. Well, I saw my dr. in Nov. and she suggested that I take the D in a liquid form. And she wanted me to go up to 10,000 ius daily. So I started doing that and all has been great - until the past 10 days or so when I have been getting these horrible headaches again. So I quit the D all together which made me so lethargic. I need that vitamin! Now, I see the neurologist on the 15th. He prescribes my Fiornal, which is a migraine medication that I take as needed. Lately, I've needed it a lot! He has told me that he would like to put me on a daily pill for headaches, but I've resisted. I tried Topamax once, and hated it. I'm not wild about the idea of being on a regular prescription drug because for any drugs you take, there will be side effects. This leads to my quandary - which is worse? Should I quit or reduce the Vit. D to a point where I don't get headaches, but I also don't have as much energy? Or should I just take a daily drug to control the headaches and pay the price - whatever it is in the long term - for daily drug use? Although, as I write that I'm struck with the realization that I am daily taking Advil, Excedrin Migraine, and almost daily, my Fiornal. So what would be the difference in just taking a daily migraine prevention medication instead?
We are seriously thinking about digging out a partial basement this year. Eventually, we want to have a full basement, but if we just did a little bit at a time, as we could afford it, that might not be so bad. Paul has kind of quieted down on the whole "we need to move" thing. I am very, very reluctant to lose our cheap mortgage and taxes right now with the economy the way it is. I suspect we are headed for a time of hyper-inflation, if not an outright anhilment of our economy. The idea of being in greater debt makes me nervous. Besides, from what I am hearing, banks are just lending money and I don't know if we could even get another home loan. It wouldn't be terribly expensive to do the basement, especially if we did it bit by bit. And, with the Paul's work the way it has been, he has more time on his hands that he could do it. He's thinking that if we made a big enough section for now to house the woodburner and washer and dryer that would really free up a lot of space in our backroom. It would. I guess my only other concern is how the house would hold up with all that work going on underneath it. The main section is 160 years old. I really don't want to have to deal with cracked and crumbling walls as we put in a basement.
We were talking about eternal security the other night at dinner. That makes us sound like such a super-spiritual family, doesn't it? Yes, tonight's dinnertime conversation is planned to center on the doctrine of predestination...not really! It just came up. But Ben made the neatest comment. He said, "So I can say the doors of hell are forever closed to me!" I thought that was pretty cool.
The other night David said, "I wonder if there will be Mexican Christians in Heaven?" I assured him there would be Christians there from every country, every nationality, and every color. David said, "Well, I sure hope they speak English up there!" Ha, ha! Actually, I do wonder how we will communicate in Heaven. Will there be a native language, maybe the one from the Garden of Eden that we all speak? Or will we even speak? Maybe we'll communicate by our thoughts or some other method.
I went up to Waterloo last Saturday to see my folks. It was a nice time. We hadn't seen them since early November. Dad wrote me the nicest email afterwards, mentioning various strength of traits he sees in each of the boys. I think I'll have to save that. It's nice to know that someone thinks I have good kids. Today, they are fighting like little ninjas and I'm hard pressed to remember why I even wanted to become a mother! I went over and saw Sara that afternoon. I was so impressed (as usual) by her 11 yr old, Melissa. She handed me a story she is working on. It's a chapter story and she's typed and printed it out all by herself. She left me hanging! Oh my goodness! Melissa is a very, very talented writer and writes well beyond her years. Actually, she does all things beyond her years. Sara tells me that Melissa is consistently testing at the very top of her class in all subjects. I really look forward to seeing what the future brings for her. And Melissa, if you're reading this, finish the story and email it to me!!!! I have to know what happens to our poor, recently-comatose, rancher heroine!
We got on the road early Sat. night and I was even in bed by 10pm - nice! I got pulled over on the way home, which kind of irritated me because I wasn't at fault in any way and the cop just seemed like a real jerk. He got on the interstate in front of me, so I slowed down and waited for him to get up to 65 mph. When he saw he wasn't going to do that, I got over to pass him (still only going 65). Well, then he pulls me over and claimed that I was following him too closely. I was not even aware there was a rule about how close you can get to another car, but apparently there is. He said I should have had 6 - 7 car lengths between us. Seriously? And then he was harassing me about having all the kids buckled (they were) and shining his light in my van and wanting to know how many children I had in there. I was just praying that we would not ticket me and he didn't although he solemnly informed me I now have a "written citation" on my record. Whatever.
Well, the sun in warming up my back as I sit here and I am so tempted to keep writing about nothing at all, just so I can keep enjoying it! But, it's lunchtime and the boys want to be fed. I need to get Paul's presents wrapped for tonight, as well. He's bringing home a pizza from Pizza Hut, using the gift card his grandma sent us last week for Christmas and we're just going to have a quiet, inexpensive, night in for his birthday. Paul bought himself Ben Stein's "Expelled" a few weeks ago so I think we may watch that as a family. Nothing too wild this year!
Welcome 2010!
No comments:
Post a Comment