Posts Tagged ‘the girl’

Being that this blog has only been back in action a few days, I hopped on the D-Listed  Blog Party 2010 to find some cool new blogs and perhaps get some new visits over here, as well. So, here’s an opportunity to get to know me a little bit better.

You can call me Chrysanthemum. I live in the woods with my husband, aka The Boy, my daughter Indigo, and our two dogs – a mutt named Logan, and a pug named Bobo. It’s a madhouse in these parts.

As you can see, this blog has been in existance for quite some time. If you dare, poke through the archives. You can read the story about my engagement, when we bought our first house or about the time I jumped off a Swiss Alp or even that day when Logan pooped on Bobo’s head. I’m looking forward to filling it up with more fun and random moments of this crazy life of mine.

I’m what I like to refer to as a corporate refugee. I spent 15 years in corporate America and made the switch to academia. I currently teach design, copywriting, and new media at a local university. It’s been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I get the best of both worlds… a steady paycheck, adult interaction, and lots of free time to spend with one of the coolest little girls I know.

I’m a cloth diapering mama. I’m proud to say that the only time Indy’s butt was in sposies was in the hospital. I’ll get into this in more detail later. I love that we’re saving money and helping the environment at the same time. Plus, I’m a sucker for a fluffy butt. I am, however, dreading the day she figures out how to undo the velcro. Now if only I knew how to retrofit these diapers for a pug…

I look forward to getting to know my fellow bloggers and anyone else who happens upon this site. So, please, leave a comment, add me to your reader, peruse old posts… whatever’s your pleasure. It’s good to be back!

So, what’s been so important to keep me from my blogging life these past couple of years? Well, you see, it went a little something like this…

It all started when two people fell in love:

Then there was this, aka baby Wicket:

That ended up with this… well, more like the second one:

Who quickly wrapped her daddy around her finger:

And grew into this (and continues to grow despite our begging her not to):

Meet Indigo Rose, the newest addition to our little clan. She’s a sweet, funny, loving, mischievous little beam of sunshine. You’ll be seeing a lot of her, I suspect.

I’m sick for the second time in a month, this go-round worse than the last time. It’s tracking just like my last trip through flu-ville, so I at least know what to expect. This hacking cough is just a bit much, though… and my nose is chapped from blowing it so much (TMI, anyone?).

There’s not much I can do… loads of people have had this thing twice, even The Boy. Thank goodness that he is so good at taking care of me.

Bless me interweb, for I have sinned. It’s been months since my last blog, Christmas to be specific.

The last few months have been out of control busy, even for my out of control, busy life. A rundown:

• I took the week between Christmas and New Years off to have some quality time with The Boy before the craziness geared up. That was the last time I saw any peace.
• All, I mean all of my clients decided that the first two weeks of 2008 were the best time to start approving projects. I delivered a bunch of projects, and travelled to Indianapolis for a client meeting.
• One word: thesis. Once I get this bad boy done, I’ll finally be done with my masters. More importantly, I’ll be able to cross one major thing off my list.
• I also have to finish up a paper for publication. So, essentially, I polish of a 40ish page paper and then immediately jump into another one to deliver by June. The upside is that I will be published in my field, which rocks.
• I’m teaching again this semester. Same as before, two sections of the same course. I’ve made some great enhancements to the class, which I’m really proud of. I love it, but it sure is time consuming!
• All of this work and stress has left me extremely burnt out, and with that burnout comes lack of motivation and less than ideal productivity. Something had to give, and in the short term, that has been Sasstastic.
• I’ve been fighting a miserable cold and lingering cough for the past month or so, a direct result of all this stress.
• This summer, I hope to have some time to dedicate to working on this site. I’ve disliked the new design pretty much since I launched it, so I really want to put together a much cooler site. Plus, I’ll be teaching a course next semester that deals more with internet technologies, so I need to brush up on my web/Dreamweaver skills. This site is the perfect playground for that.

I’ll do my best to keep up with my posting, but quite honestly, I may not see the light of day for the next couple of months. You’re all invited to my graduation come May, though!

I got this cool kit for making sock creatures for my birthday back in April. Ever since, I’ve been wanting to do stuff with it, but have been bogged down with work, teaching, and school. Finally, I finished my teaching gig and handed in my independent study paper. Burned out… I was dying for something to unwind.

And I found it. Meet my first creation:

I’m stuck for a name, so feel free to offer your suggestions.

Oh, and now I’m obsessed, so I expect to have bunch of them hanging around before too long.

Okay, Kat… you tagged me, so here goes!

1. Who eats more? The Boy
2. Who said “I love you” first? He did, although we had both been thinking it for a while.
3. Who is the morning person? The Boy. I could sleep until noon if I put my mind to it.
4. Who sings better? We’re both pretty horrid.
5. Who’s older? I’m two months older than him. We got married within that span of time, so our marriage license has me listed as a year older. He’ll never let me live that down.
6. Who’s smarter? We’re both pretty damn smart, if I do say so myself.
7. Whose temper is worse? The Boy is the least patient man on earth and I’m probably a bit too passive.
8. Who does the laundry? We both do… depends on who runs out of underwear first.
9. Who does the dishes? Both of us… we try to do the one cooks, the other cleans thing, but with our schedules, sometimes one of us sometimes has to cover it all.
10. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He does, although Logan and I hog the bed.
11. Whose feet are bigger? His are, but they are damn supple. Mine, not so much.
12. Whose hair is longer? Mine, although he’s determined to have longer hair than me. Both or our hair is pretty long.
13. Who’s better with the computer? Me, but he learns more stuff every day.
14. Do you have pets? We’ve got two dogs.
15. Who pays the bills? The Boy runs the finances and does a spectacular job of it. We do a good job keeping one another in the loop when it comes to finances.
16. Who cooks dinner? The Boy is the cook of the family, but I’m doing more and more!
17. Who drives when you are together? He does… he gets carsick riding shotgun in the MINI.
18. Who pays when you go out to dinner? Doesn’t matter… the money all comes from the same place.
19. Who’s the most stubborn? Hmmm… he’s pretty stubborn, but so am I. But I think he’s more stubborn than me… yeah, definitely him and not me.
20. Who is the first one to admit when they’re wrong? We’re both surprisingly good at this.
21. Whose family do you see more? Mine… looong story.
22. Who named your pet? Logan came with me, and we both named Bobo together.
23. Who kissed who first? We kissed each other.
24. Who asked who out? Apparently he had been trying to get me to go out with him for three years, but I was oblivious. So, it was him.
25. What did you do on your first date? We walked Logan at the beach and went out for Thai. I, however, didn’t realize it was a date until the next time we went out. I told you I was oblivious! Another thing that he’ll never let me live down.
26. Who’s more sensitive? Me… I’m a big baby.
27. Who’s taller? He is.
28. Who has more friends? He’s got a huge crew of friends that he’s known since he was 14. It’s pretty amazing, really.
29. Who has more siblings? I’ve got two brothers and he’s got two half brothers… so I guess that makes it 2 to 1?
30. Who wears the pants in the relationship? We’ve each got a leg.

Okay, so I tag Krit and Christine!

Well, adjunct professor…

This fall I have been awarded the position of adjunct professor in the department where I earned my undergraduate degree. I will be teaching Photoshop, Illustrator, and other graphics applications to underclassmen. It’s a totally new thing for me, one I have never done before. I’m excited to embark on this new path.

In case you’re wondering… no, I am not leaving my current job. The teaching gig is just a part time thing. One thing is for sure. Between The Boy and I, our jobs, the classes we take, and the classes we teach, it will be a busy, busy fall.

Some day things will slow down, right? That’s the plan! All this effort is to help us accomplish our bigger picture goals for our life and family. I’m just going to do my best to enjoy the ride and try to stay sane.

Yesterday marked our first wedding anniversary. June 10, 2006 was the best day of my life and one hell of a party. Boy, I love you and look forward to many more anniversaries to come!

A brief recap of the day:

This past Thursday was the 11-month mark since our wedding. We’re also approaching the 8-month milestone of moving into our house (it still feels new to us). The Boy and I are both in complete astonishment that time has passed so quickly.

Where did the time go, you ask? Here’s a brief rundown of the the past year.

We:

• Got married.
• Backpacked around Europe for 5 weeks.
• Came back home with the idea of casually house hunting, only to make an offer on our current home within about 2 weeks of our return. We’ve decided that we’re incapable of doing anything casually.
• Resumed grad school, me taking two classes in the fall and again in the spring, and The Boy taking his last class for his masters degree. The Boy will be starting working towards his Sixth Year Certificate this coming fall.
• The Boy working as an adjunct professor, teaching two freshman composition classes each semester.
• Juggled homework and work with packing up our house and dealing with impossible sellers who made us jump through insane hoops.
• FINALLY got all of our stuff moved into the house and put away in time to have our annual Christmas party.
• Paid off all of our credit card debt (we just made the last payment… yay!).
• Started clearing out the jungle that is our yard. This will likely take us the rest of our lives.

We hear all the time from friends that we’re the busiest people they know. Now that it’s all laid out like that, it’s easy to see why they say it!

I came into the office today to come across a pleasant birthday surprise. I telecommuted yesterday, so that The Boy could take me out for a fancy dinner. My friend Ken came into my office looking guilty, holding a canvas bag. I, of course was suspicious… He reaches in and pulls out a nicely wrapped gift. I open it up to see a Roy, The Toxic Boy squishy doll (pictured at left).

For those of you who don’t know, Roy is a character from the Tim Burton book, The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy: and Other Stories, and contains a poem all about him.

Ken told me that he chose Roy to go along with my office decor… Nightmare Before Christmas, of course! He said that Roy can also protect me from nasty, toxic people, here in the office and elsewhere. Let me tell you, that is something I could use in my life!

The gift came with a card that had pictures of dogs drinking out of toilets on the front of it. I didn’t think that Ken was inside my head like he is, but he did a great job. I guess it doesn’t hurt that he holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Yale, specializing in psychiatrics.

Thanks, Ken!!