Ready, Set, Go

I feel like I have had a grand "failure to launch" into 2015 and I can't really pinpoint why.

It just seems like since the first of the year, life is a blur and quite honestly, there has been a lot of sadness in it.

I have already been to two visitations and one funeral, I am going to another visitation this coming Friday night and if there were to be a visitation for another friend of mines family member, I would be going to it.

There are also many changes going on in Springfield, those changes will end up affecting me, either good or bad; but immediately, it has thrown some people I consider friends into a job hunt, or a transition and although it comes with the territory, I feel bad that anyone has to go through that.

And then of course, there seems to be my "January UC flare-up", I don't know how to prevent it but I have had a bad flare every year for the last 3 years, so I guess I need to know to expect it, wish I knew what to do to keep it from happening, but I guess I try again next year. Starting on prednisone on the 9th for at least a month kinda threw a wrench in my "get back on the weight loss train". I have such a love/hate relationship with prednisone it isn't even funny. While it makes the symptoms of the UC try to settle down (it hasn't really done that yet), it makes me feel like I weigh 2 ton, and makes me starve. A lot of people have that side effect, and then there are ones who don't. Why couldn't I just once be one of the don'ts?

Andrew thinks it's not getting any better because I called the doctor sooner, I know that doesn't make sense but fact is, I have never gotten to the point that I am normally in when I finally do call the doctor so I know what he is saying. I have leveled off and I don't normally do that. My body does some other things through the process and I am right in the middle of that and when I really think about it, I am not nearly where I normally at during this point, so he is right, I'm missing the worst--which hopefully keeps me out of another hospital stay.

Oh enough of that, I hate sounding like I am complaining and I guess there was no way around it, I was complaining. It is really, really, REALLY hard to "in everything give thanks" when you have to be thankful you have UC. but I am going to be thankful that it isn't as bad as normal. There.


Moving on......I have accomplished a lot of things already this year, I just have to really think about it. For one thing, I put us on a financial diet the first of the year. I had slipped into a pattern of every time I came home 10 minutes later than normal, I could rationalize eating out. We were eating out 2 to 4 times a week. We have not ate out as a family, or even just me and Andrew, once since the new year started. We have went to DQ for Ice Cream a couple of times (feeding the prednisone sweet tooth in my case) but we have done really well at roping it in. Andrew and Robert have both been cooking more, which helps. I am back to making a monthly menu which I have to admit, my organized side has missed.

I redid the microwave counter and am ready to redo my kitchen counters, and hopefully get the backsplash up.  That will happen before the end of this month; at least the countertops will.

I have decluttered my guest room closet as well as the rest of the room, and the bottom kitchen cabinets. I have learned a new bookkeeping system for Andrew's business and have his books up to date and I have everything gathered to do our taxes this coming Saturday. First time in YEARS now I am actually looking forward to doing the taxes. No surprises this year though, at least not ones that are going to cost me money back to the IRS. (I know I told some of you, but last October, we got a letter from the IRS stating we owed them $35,000. Andrew called me all excited and bless my heart, for once in my life, I remained calm. I told him I knew it was a mistake and that I would take care of it when I got home. Sure enough, I had made a mistake and when I called the IRS, the girl I dealt with actually laughed at what I told her I knew I had done. She agreed with me 100%, I sent the amendment, thinking I would really probably owe another couple of hundred dollars just to find out, I didn't owe a thing. Whew!!)

Anyway, with all the startup expenses for the new business, this will be a happy tax year, I have already been informed by one of my friends whose husband has his own business that this will be the LAST happy tax year, but hey, I think I deserve one after the mess the last couple of years have been.

So, looking at all of that, I haven't had a failure to launch, I guess I just haven't taken time enough to sit back and breathe long enough to realize this is a new year. Anyhoo....I still feel a little like someone who slept through Christmas, just really didn't have a big separation there between '14 and '15.

In the midst of it all, I went to take Gibbs to be neutered and declawed. I can't believe I am such a fool over a cat. I love our dogs but the dogs are both girls and Andrew and Robert always rate higher on their scale than I but Gibbs, he likes the guys but he makes it very clear to everyone who he belongs to. Anyway, when I found out he would have to stay two nights if we declawed him, I chickened out. I trust Doctor Bob with my life, but I knew Gibbs would not fair well. I was right. I think everyone in the office was thankful he didn't have to stay any longer. Not a good patient doesn't even begin to put the icing on the cake.

So, this is my jumping off post I guess, my "getting through what I blogged about last" (which still just has it's moments of really stinging) and what I am going to be up to next.

So, Happy Thursday, Happy January and Happy Rest of the Day Today as well as Happy Tomorrow!