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I seem to have a bit of writer's block lately. So how about some random recent mundane happenings in my life?
As I write during my afternoon break at work, it's starting to thunder out. We had our first decent thunderstorm of the year last night, and it's looking like we might get an encore performance tonight. Both the dogs handled it with flying colors last night. I knew it wouldn't bother Brooskey - nothing scares him - but I was worried about Vixen. Chiqui used to disappear under the bed at the first distant rumbles. But Vixen, cowardly as she is, seemed only mildly curious about the thunder. Actually it seemed all that static electricity must have charged her up. Shortly after the storm, she started running sprints up and down the hallway and around the loveseat where I was camped out watching TV. It cracked me up because that's exactly what Chiqui used to do when she got hyper in her younger years. I hadn't even realized that she hadn't done that for quite a while before she died.
And speaking of Vixen, I'm almost afraid to say it for fear that I'll jinx it, but it looks like we might finally be making some progress with her potty training. She's taking care of business almost every time we take her outside, and when she does have an accident inside it's usually because we waited too long to take her out. She hasn't yet figured out how to ask to go out. When we had Brooskey in puppy school they talked about teaching them to ring a potty bell hanging from the door. We never needed it with him since he would just jump up and try to open the door himself, but maybe we'll give it a try with Vixen.
It figures this would turn into a dog update. I guess when they're what dominates my life... 
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I am so ready for a vacation. The problem is, while we're raising and training two puppies, we can't really venture far from home. I hate to just take a vacation with no plans of any type, because we'll just end up wasting the vacation days sitting at home doing nothing. So what I'd really like is to have someone come visit me. The past visits of my sisters Dana and Rose were so much fun. I love playing hostess, and showing off where I live - for even though I sometimes complain about things, I really do love it here.
I'm long overdue for a wage and vacation time negotiation with my employer, and with business not so great I'm trying to find an appropriate time to bring it up. But I have at least one full week, plus a couple of days which I will probably just use to extend a couple of long holiday weekends. So, is anyone interested in a tour of Rhode Island and the surrounding areas?
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This past year was quite the year for me. It brought some of the highest and some of the lowest points of my life so far. Though the lows were agonizing, experiencing the roller coaster ride that is life to such extremes has made me feel more alive than I have in a long time.
Early in the year, we made the decision to use part of our tax refund to take our first Walt Disney World vacation. This was the main focus of my life for the greater part of the year, possibly much to the annoyance of those around me (and reading confoozled.com) at times. The trip wasn't until late August, however, and many other major events would take place before then.
The end of March brought both a low and a high within days of each other. A life ended, and a new one began. I still find myself unable to describe the mix of emotions I went through that week.
A few weeks later I took a short trip home to Oregon to visit my family and meet my new nephew, the fifth child to have the privilege of calling me "Auntie". It was too short, especially with my sister and the rest of them living so far apart now, meaning I was only able to spend two days in each place. But it was great to spend time with them regardless, especially with little Dylan in my lap most of the time that I was in Veneta.
The early summer months saw my first small watercraft ride, a life-changing discovery, and something which I haven't yet mentioned here. I learned my parents were getting divorced. This didn't come as a huge surprise, but that's not to say I didn't have an emotional reaction when I first found out. It really is the best thing for all involved, though, and I hope that it finally brings some peace to both of them.
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Christmas is now twelve days away, and despite my getting such a head start by doing most of my shopping in Florida, I think I'm more behind than I've ever been.
![[gift icon]](http://www.confoozled.com/smilies/icon-o-matic/christmas/xmas_gift_4.png) Gifts are all bought, with exception of my gift for Chris' family's Secret Santa exchange. I hit a snag, though, when the coordinated gift wrap set I ordered ended up on backorder. It just finally came on Monday, so I started wrapping things right away so I could get things shipped out to my family on time. And that's when I discovered that it is extremely difficult to wrap gifts with a puppy running around. At first we tried putting him in the crate, but since I was standing right there at the dining room table and making all sorts of fun paper-crinkling sounds, all he did was scream his head off the whole time. So we let him out, and somehow I ended up wrapping gifts by myself and supervising Brooskey while Chris played Call of Duty 4 on his Xbox 360. I got three whole gifts wrapped that night. Tuesday night was poker night, so I was on my own again... but this time I worked in the bedroom with Brooskey crated in the dining room with the lights off, so he stayed nice and quiet. Still, bending over to wrap gifts on a bed isn't exactly easy. I got three more done, and a nice knotted up spine the next day. Last night, we were blessed with a calm, tuckered out Brooskey who was unbelievably well-behaved while Chris helped me with the one gift that was too big for me to handle by myself, and I finished up the rest on my own. By the time I was finished, Brooskey was actually asleep under the coffee table! So now I have two boxes shipping out today to my mom and my sister Dana, and hopefully two more shipping tomorrow: one to my sister Rose, and the big one to my dad, sister Lacey, brothers Evan and Rick, and my niece and nephews.
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The trip to Florida is now one day less than two weeks away. I can't believe how quickly it's sneaking up! Fortunately we've made a lot of headway on the to-do list in the past couple of weeks.
buy new camerabuy airline ticketsmake restaurant reservationsmake final trip paymentfind/get wheelchair cup holders- lose those last stubborn
15 18 lbs. (7 left) get new bathing suitget new adult size arm floatiesget new sneakers- get wheelchair bag
- get wheelchair tires fixed/replaced
I already wrote about the steal I made on the bathing suit. No, I still don't have a photo of myself wearing it, but it has been officially used. My baby sister Rose came to visit last weekend and we spent a little time in the pool at the condos - my first time using it in the two-plus years we've lived there. I took the opportunity to try out the arm floaties I bought, and I'm afraid they don't quite provide the buoyancy I'd like. They're made of foam, rather than inflatable, and the foam doesn't stay above the surface of the water like inflatable ones do. Chris seems to think we still have a pair of inflatables tucked away somewhere, but if we don't find them I will make do with the foam ones. They do work okay in conjunction with a "noodle" tucked under my arms.
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Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and although it's been an extremely rough year for me, I've managed to come up with a few things I'm thankful for.
I'm thankful for my two beautiful new nieces, Breana and Brittany, both born happy and healthy. I'm thankful I got to go home and see them, and to see my baby sister graduate.
I'm thankful for good friends who call me on my birthday, and who are there for my family when I can't be.
I'm thankful I had the opportunity to go visit my Grandma Cheryl before she passed on, and to grow closer to a side of my family I didn't know well.
I'm thankful for what little time I knew friends who were taken too young.
And most of all I'm thankful for all of the people in my life to whom I can look for support when things get rough.
I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. To wrap it up, (found via Jen) what part of Thanksgiving are you?
| You Are the Stuffing | 
You're complicated and complex, yet all your pieces fit together.
People miss you if you're gone - but they're not sure why. |
What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?
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My baby sister is joining the Air Force!
I have to get myself home to see her before she leaves (and see the two new babies who will have been born by then, of course!). I'd better buy my ticket pretty soon here, too, before they are all sold out. I'm already having trouble finding the dates I want with the airline I want...
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![[photo of me]](http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/7fe9c3e52fcd03d2253441f7ddc89ab3.jpg?size=144)
![[album thumbnail]](/photos/albums/userpics/10001/thumb_img_0986.jpg)
![[album thumbnail]](/photos/albums/flood2010/thumb_IMG_0112.JPG)
