Gobble, gobble, gobble!

Well, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, I hope yours was as wonderful as mine! We spent the day with BJ's family, and it was definitely a great day. We had Addison with us for the morning and afternoon, and her mother came to pick her up around 3 so she could get some quality time with the other side of her family, and BJ's mom had to leave at around 1 to go to work, so we had an early meal. A close family friend of theirs, Starr, also stopped in to have some lunch/dinner, but she had some things to do and left shortly after. So, BJ, Stasia, Bill and I hung around the house with Addison until it was time for her to leave. Then, it was naptime! I passed out in the recliner, BJ was in the chair, and Bill and Stasia were in their respective beds. For those of you who are not aware of my holiday habits, I spend at LEAST 3 hours of every holiday sleeping off whatever I've stuffed myself with, and let me tell you - there was quite a spread! We had two kinds of stuffing (cornbread and regular), baked corn, buttered carrots, fresh veggies and ranch dip, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (with whole cranberries, like Grandma makes!), broccoli and cheese, noodles, rolls, turkey, and a small ham just for Starr because she's not a turkey fan. We also had punkin pie, pecan pie, coconut cake and a dessert Sue made called Pink Salad, which consisted of sugar-free raspberry jello, cool whip, cottage cheese and pineapple chunks. It ROCKED! You should see the care package that came home with us...it's monstrous! We're gonna be eating on this stuff for a WHILE!
Turkey Day aside, it's now Black Friday and sadly, I work in retail. Today is gonna suck severely, and so will tomorrow. I work 2 pm until midnight tonight (bear in mind, that just means the store CLOSES at midnight...doesn't mean I get to leave right away...) and have to be back in at 9 am Saturday morning. I understand that it's a legal shift difference, but come on now...they're kinda pushin it, don't you think?
Well, world, that's all I have to say about that! Happy Day-After-Giving-Thanks (cause my post is a day late), and take care. I'm off to brave the outside world!

What a Weekend...

*DISCLAIMER* If this blog seems a little rambling, or a little off-kilter, bear with me...I'm medicated...

Well, world, how was your weekend? We had a fairly exciting one here in my world. First off, we had Addison this weekend, so that was the major bonus of the past few days. I love having her here, she's so well-behaved for us and it's just wonderful to have a little person following me around the house, or sitting in my lap. Her shoulder is all healed up now, too, so she's out of her brace. She still remembers that she had a boo-boo, though, and occasionally she'll touch her shoulder and say "Boo-boo...all better!" and then give us a big goofy grin to prove that she's in top form again LOL. Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend much time with her. I was feeling kinda icky all weekend, and I had to work, but she did get some good quality time with her daddy, and that's always a good thing. I came home from work Saturday night and the door was locked (we keep it locked all the time, especially when Addison is here) and I could see her through the blinds, sitting in the kitchen while BJ cooked dinner. I pecked on the door and she ran over and yelled "KATI! HOME!" and tried her hardest to open the door. She couldn't quite get the lock, so BJ helped her, and she opened the door for me and gave me a big smile and said "HOME!" Then I got a big hug and a kiss, and all thoughts of how awful work was were totally forgotten. Today, she got to spend the day with BJ and his mom and dad (her Nana and Poppy) before she went back to her mother's house, so her life was good this weekend.
As for me, and regarding that "icky" feeling all weekend, I had such a toothache that it was making me sick to my stomach. I'm used to my teeth hurting now and then, so I'll generally just take some ibuprofen and rest for a while and I'm good as new. This weekend, however, things did not go as planned. Friday night I went to bed in pain, Saturday I felt relatively okay, and then Saturday night I started to feel a little worse. My jaw was aching, and it felt like someone was stabbing me in the jaw with something really REALLY sharp. I took my usual ibuprofen and laid down, only to wake up a couple hours later in so much pain that I was practically screaming into the pillow. Rather than wake Addison up with my misery, I went into the living room and curled up on the couch, willing the pain to subside. Instead of subsiding, it only intensified, until I literally WAS screaming into my pillow. I sobbed and squealed for at least 2 hours before I could finally come down enough to rest. By the time I woke up this morning, BJ and Addison had already left for his parents' house (he woke me briefly to see how I was feeling, and my response was "Please make it stop...", so he left me here to rest on my own, which was greatly appreciated), and I woke up to yet another screaming, crying fit of pain. After a trip to Walgreens, and $20 of tooth pain supplies that did NOTHING for my pain, I managed to talk myself into resting again, so I napped for maybe an hour, only to wake up to...you guessed it...screaming sobbing pain.
By the time BJ came home, I was feeling a bit better, and he asked to see how my tooth was looking. I showed him, and he turned white. Seems I didn't just have a toothache...I had a nice painful abscess, to the point that my gum was swollen so much that I couldn't close my mouth all the way. I had tried everything to get the pain/infection to give - salt water rinses, peroxide rinses (which made me sick from the taste in my mouth afterward), brushing my teeth gently, benzocaine gel, clove oil...nothing gave me any significant amount of relief. BJ warned me that if the abscess pocket got any bigger, or if the pain got any worse, we were going to the hospital. Abscesses, as I'm sure you all know, are not something to play around with. So, later, when I yawned and felt a hot POP in my jaw, followed by a sharp burst of wet-your-pants-worthy pain...he packed me in the truck and away we went. They discharged me about two hours ago, after giving me a pain killer, and lancing and draining the swelling on my gum. Not a fun experience, but I feel a million and one percent better, and I left with a prescription for painkillers (Hydrocodone), antibiotics (Clindmycin) and a medicated mouthwash (Chlorhexidine) to help keep the lance site clean. So, that explains my medicated state...I'm on low-dose, generic Lortab, and BOY DO THEY WORK! My jaw's still feeling a little tight, but there's no more major pain or swelling...just a bit of pressure, so at least I'll get a full night's sleep tonight.
Oh, almost forgot...I applied for a new job. My job at JCPenney isn't a bad one, don't get me wrong, but I'd definitely like to be back in my chosen career field. So on Friday, I put in an application to The Tennessean (Tennessee's major newspaper) for a position as a copy editor. It may not be a reporter's job, but it's a foot in the door, and at least I'll be back in an environment I belong in! So, wish my luck on the job application!
In the meantime, my meds are seriously kicking my butt, so I've GOT to go lay down. I'll keep everyone posted on the job, and on everything else here in my world! Night-night, blogland!

Still Alive, Promise!!

Hey, world! Yeah, I know, I kinda dropped off the face of my blog there for a while, but I'm still alive, and I'm back! Things have been a little hectic lately with the hours that both of us have been working. It seems like there's always something to do, somewhere to go, something that needs to happen. So, for most of the time that I've been home as of late, I've spent planning and managing and cleaning. It feels like all my days off are just PFFT...gone! Which is odd, because they have me working the silliest schedule I've ever seen. Out of the 20 hours a week that I was promised, I work for two days. And believe me, they aren't slighting me on hours! I work two ten-hour days, with a bunch of days off in between! And somehow, those days get past me and still leave me with leftover things to do! And those ten-hour days are KILLING ME! I'd rather work 5 hours for 4 days than work 2 ten-hour shifts...my feet can't take much more! I came home last night and took my shoes off and it felt like I had two hot irons in my hands when I touched my feet! At work, I spent my breaks (and there were only two of them) with my shoes off, so my feet didn't swell into them permanently! So, guess what I'm getting tomorrow when I get paid?? SHOES THAT WON'T KILL ME!! YAY!!!!
Among the things that I've spent my down time on, one has finally come to fruition...that's right, I finally finished the photo album I've been working so hard on! It took some serious time to get everything styled the way I wanted it, and to put my stamp on it, but I FINALLY got it done, so far! There will be more, and I'm thinking of adding more albums to the main one, splitting them up some and adding more of the pictures I already have. The ones I've posted are some of my personal favorites, the ones I'm the most proud of, I guess. Here's a copy of one of my nicer pictures, just to tide you all over...what do you think so far?
There's more where this came from, from nature and scenery to kids and random objects, so feel free to check out my album - www.tinyheart.myphotoalbum.com
Well, world, I need food, and I have some window shopping to do, so I'll head out and leave you all to go investigate my photo album as you see fit!

Miles and miles of milestones...

Well, world, I started work today. It was only training, but so far it's going well (and I get paid for it! SCORE!). The other woman in my training class is going to the same department I'll be going to, so it's good that we'll both already have someone that we know in the department.
In other milestone news, Sue's cat, Cocoa, has finally started to accept me as family. See, Sue and Bill have two cats - Tiana and Cocoa. Tiana is a big floofy lovebug, and she accepted me the moment I petted her. When I go over to their house, Tiana waits for me to sit down, then launches herself into my lap and generally stays there til I have to get up to potty. Cocoa, on the other hand, is the typical aloof "don't touch me til I allow it" kind of cat. She picks and chooses who she likes, and I am NOT one of those people yet. She's scented me every time I've gone over, and last night she decided, "Alright, human, you may pet me...but only once!" I let her sniff my hand, she got a little pet on the head, then sniffed me again and decided she was through with my attention and went off to bathe herself in a corner. Typical Siamese.
The biggest and best milestones, I've saved for last. The Addison milestones, and there are a couple of them. First of all, she went to the potty for us! She's been good about potty training with her mother, but in a different house with different things to distract her, we weren't sure how she'd do. But the second night she was here, she told us very clearly that she had to potty, so BJ took her in and got her settled, and voila! Potty success!
Another Addison milestone is that she's completely accepted me as someone who is supposed to be in her daddy's house. She climbed up into my lap all on her own and sat with me for almost an hour, looking through pictures on the computer, and later she sat on the couch with me and BJ and watched some TV before bed. She doesn't try to push me away from BJ, and she doesn't get upset when she sees us together, or sees us hug or kiss. I guess to her, seeing that her daddy is alright with me means that she can be alright with me.
And lastly, the one that meant the most to me, she and I went out in public, just the two of us for the first time the other day. BJ had a job interview, and I was taking Addison to his mom and dad's house to wait for him. On the way, we stopped to see BJ's sister at work, and Addison listened to me considerably well. She didn't act up, she held my hand in the parking lot and she waited very patiently while I got her into her car seat. At Sue and Bill's house, she decided it was time for a rest, but she didn't curl up on the couch with Bill, or sit in the empty recliner. No, she curled up in my lap (with both of her blankies) and had nice long rest in the chair with me, very contentedly. Once her Daddy got back from his interview (he got the job, by the by), she was all about him, but for the moment it was nice to have her be that comfortable with me. When she left, she even gave me a hug AND a kiss...first time ever for that! I've been accepted by the little one, life is looking up!
As for the pictures of this past weekend (and everything else I've seen it necessary to take pictures of...) - I'm working on it! I'm putting my photo stamp on them, so I can identify them as mine, no matter where they show up. I'm ALMOST done with it, though, because I finally talked myself down and stopped convincing myself that all my photos suck, so it should only be a little while longer til the album goes up.