You Can Combine Anything You Want

Me with the mullet wearing super hero.

This weekend was soooo much better than the last couple. I picked up the guy after work on Friday. We had chili and cornbread and then watched a movie called Pandorum. It was pretty violent, but not all that predictable. After I dropped the guy off at his place. Stinky and I had a fire in the backyard. It was a nice way to end the week.

On Saturday, I was a little migrainey. I ran and got a few things done. Then picked up the guy after the football game and we had the spicy peanut noodles and soup I made for dinner. It was really good. We spent the rest of the night talking. Lovely. After I dropped the guy off at his house, I stopped downtown for one beer and to check out some of the costumes. I lasted a whole hour, but I had a lot of fun during that time.

Stinky worked most of the day today. I was still migrainey so I didn't get a lot done. I did some cleaning but not much battening of hatches. I spent some time with Stinky after she got off work and then went out for sushi with the guy and our friend Pat. It was a nice way to end the weekend.

Take a Step Before Runnin', Yeah

Here is a pic the guy took of me almost two months ago when we still did the Monday night rides.

Sooooo, it's finally cold here. I guess it's about time. It's about time to make some chili and cornbread...Which is exactly what I did tonight.

I'm hoping this weekend is nice and mellow. Tomorrow I'm picking the guy up after I get off work and bringing him back to my place. We'll eat and then watch a movie and relax.

During the day this weekend I'm going to try and batten down the hatches and get ready for Winter. I'll be switching screens for storm windows, raking and picking up sticks in my yard and get some Summer things put away. The weather is supposed to be nice on Saturday, so G. and I might go on a little bike ride.

I'm not sure what I'll do on Saturday night. I'm just going to leave it open.

Sunday will be more work around the house and hopefully some time with Stinky. I hardly see her anymore since she's working so much.

How about you guys? Will you be doing seasonal chores or relaxing with your loved ones?

Birds Are Leaving Over Autumn's Ending

Here is some spray paint art.

Oh, kids. I had a wonderful night with the guy. He came over and for the first time since the accident, things almost felt kind of normal. I made tempeh reubens for dinner. He's not supposed to sit for very long. He has to either stand or lie down. Weird, huh?

Since it was such a blustery evening, I wasn't complaining one bit that we got to lie around and talk about every little thing that came into our heads, while we listened to the wind howl around the sanctuary of my little cottage.

And Kingdoms Rise and Kingdoms Fall but You Go On

Stinky in her most gruesome, and therefore my favorite Halloween costume.

Sooo, with all the hub bub the last couple of weeks, I almost forgot Halloween was coming up. Jeez! How did that happen? Now that things are calming down with the guy's recovery, I can start getting on the stick and carve pumpkins and make pumpkin pie and rake leaves this weekend (and more importantly, jump in them) and get all festive.

I was just thinking today how October has generally been a big trauma month for me. This year was the guy's accident, When Coadster was a baby, we got in our accident on October 4th and my mom died near the end of October. Since I was 10, I'm not sure of the date, but I remember it was right before Halloween, because I was in total denial and went trick-or-treating, thinking that if I just did everything like normal, then everything would return that way and my mom would be home when I got there. (one of my longer sentences, that one)

Even though I'm not a fan of the colder weather and how early it will start getting dark, I suppose I won't mind watching November rush in...

Don't You Wonder What We'll Find, Steppin' Out Tonight?

Here is a pic of Stinky and G. making graffiti art.

Well, kids. I might as well just be honest with you, I have a little margarita buzz going. I met the guy after work tonight. We went through some stuff in his storage space and he let me borrow several of his books and then we stopped at Los Portales for Mexican food. It was the first time since the accident that I actually got to spend a little time alone with him. Remind me never to take that for granted again...

The thing about the margaritas at this place, is that they were much stronger than the ones we get in Hills. So, by the time I got home, I realized just how saucy I was. Eh, I figure maybe I needed it. Now, I shall take my leave and try to sleep this little buzz off. Adieu.

Oh No, I've Said Too Much. I Haven't Said Enough

It's nice to know that Coadster has remained as animated as ever at college...


Another action packed weekend here. I got off work early on Friday to help the guy get home from the hospital. He, his mom and I went to the store to fill prescriptions and get a few other things he would need for home care. We stopped at El Ranchero and he treated us to a lunch of Mexican food for helping him out so much last week. Very nice. We went back to his place and unloaded all of his stuff. Pretty much the first thing he did when he got home, was start torturing his cat with the laser toy thingy. I'm sure he felt he had to make up for lost time. He was tired with all that walking and shopping and being out of bed for more than 5 minutes, and so he went to sleep and I went home.

That evening was kind of weird for me. I had what I like to call the trauma let-down. I've had it before when things calmed down after the tornado and once Stinky was home from the hospital after her meningitis. It's hard to explain, but it's just like your body needs a release from being so strong and so stressed and trying to take care of so many details and trying to handle so much worry. So, when I was running, I just started crying. Pretty. I couldn't help it and it wasn't like I was sad either, I was just letting go. The rest of the evening, I cut myself some slack. I made popcorn and watched stupid movies and then read myself to sleep. It was exactly what I needed.

On Saturday, I was still a little in let-down mode. I tried to run again, but I lost some weight the week before, and I think I was weak from that. So, I ran my short route and walked around my neighborhood on the beautiful day and admired the colorful trees and the Halloween decorations in peoples' yards. I did my recycling and a little cleaning and then Coadster came home and I talked to her for a bit before she left with her dad to watch the game at the Deadwood.

In the evening, the guy called. It was nice to get an update about how he'd been since he was home. He said he and his mom went on a half hour long walk and that he had spent the last day retraining himself on so many things he took for granted, like sitting and getting in and out of a car and walking up stairs. I'm sure he'll be doing that for a while. We talked for a bit and made plans for him to meet Coadster. They were both really excited to finally hang out.

After I got off the phone, Coadster and I watched The Princess and the Frog and the movie version of The Quiet American. Then I had to finally crash.

We got up early on Sunday so we could pick up the guy and have breakfast. Since the guy has lived on the East Coast for the last twenty years, he said he really missed cute little Iowa diners. So, Coadster suggested we go to a place where a couple of her friends worked in Wellman. He loved it...And best of all it was ridiculously affordable. We all had a good talk and both the girls said they thought the guy was really nice. After breakfast, we dropped the guy off and headed to Ames.

We got to see Coadster's new dorm room and meet her best friend at college before we headed to the choir concert. It was lovely. Coadster looked wonderful and as always, so happy to be singing. It was so nice to see her this weekend and thriving at college...And she seemed very happy to be able to do her laundry for free too.

I'm Gonna Be Forgiven If I Wanna Spend My Livin'

Here is the back of an SUV.

Tonight I went to the hospital after work again. I had a great talk with the guy, first about hospital stuff and then about books and movies and food and sustainable agriculture. Even though he's still on pain meds, he's still too smart for his own good. I went home and picked Stinky up from work and we watched some stupid TV together. We were both pretty fried.

Tomorrow I get off work early to help the guy go home from the hospital. Yea! He will be so much happier there. I have no idea what to expect after that. I'm sure we'll all just have to see how it goes. I told him I'm available however he needs me, but he might just want some time alone finally too. I know I would after being poked and prodded and hovered over for a week.

I'm not sure what's on tap for this weekend. I want to run for sure. Coadster is coming back and then on Sunday, Stinky and I will drive her to Ames and attend her first choir concert as a college student. I'm going to try my hardest to be back in Iowa City before it gets too dark. It will be so weird, but nice not to be hanging at the hospital all weekend. I hope things just keep getting better and better.

And She Speaks Inside a Cloud

Here is some drunk boy I don't know dancing.

Oh, kids. I can't even begin to tell you how nice it was to see the guy smiling and laughing and sitting up and even standing today. It felt like it had been forever since all of our conversations haven't centered around bodily functions, pain control or what he needed help with, and I appreciated the hell out of it.

I called him over my lunch break and he sounded a million times better. He said they got him up and walking and he could sit up and he felt a ton better.

After work, I rode my bike to the hospital and he was having his first "meal" since the surgery. He said it was the best veggie broth and lemonade he'd ever tasted. The guy's mom and our friend Pat were there and a few minutes later, the guy's aunt, uncle and cousin showed up. It's been great being able to meet so many of his family members...Even if it is for such a stressful reason.

I think you'll all appreciate this: Another great tale that highlights just exactly HOW socially challenged I am. When I introduced myself to the guy's uncle, he stuck out his cheek and for some reason, I thought he wanted me to kiss it. So, I did and that's when I finally realized he was really just hard of hearing and he was trying to catch my name. Derrrr. Sometimes it's hard to be me. Hey, nothing like making an impression, right?

All of It Was Made for You and Me

Here is a staircase.

Today the guy had his surgery. It took 6 1/2 hours but all the doctors seemed to think it was a success. I was very glad to hear it.

I went to the hospital after work and took over for the guy's mom, who had been there most of the day. The guy was in a lot of pain and loopy from morphine. I had to keep reminding him to press the button for more morphine, because I could see by his face that he was in pain, but he was so out of it, he would forget what to do to get rid of it. Our friend Bry stopped by on his break and made fun of how out of it the guy was. Nothing like a good friend to give you shit when you're in no position to fight back.

I have to say, I'll be glad when the worst of this is over. It's been a million times worse for the guy, but it's been a tough position for me too and probably the hardest way ever to try and begin a relationship. I know it was hard for him to have me see him in such a vulnerable position both physically and emotionally. The pain and the meds made him out of it and at times cranky. I had to try and figure out what he needed without him really knowing or being able to express it. My old nursing instincts and skillz kicked in and it was good when I knew what questions to ask the doctors or to try and figure out things that might be causing pain for him, but maybe not so good when I did things to help that he could actually do (and wanted to do) himself. I know it was difficult for both of us in so many ways. He has been good about thanking me for helping him, but I also know how weird it was for him to be trapped in a bed with his mom and the woman he's newly dating both hovering over him. Probably most men's nightmare. Tonight when he was more lucid, we talked about it a little. I told him he was going to have to try to tell people what he needed and didn't in the next few weeks - a tough thing for most of us.

It will be interesting to see what the next few weeks bring for us. Since he's not a smoker, is in amazing shape and has a very strong will, I think he'll heal much faster than any of the estimates the doctor's gave him. For us as a couple? It's hard to say. I guess this experience will either make us or break us. When this whole thing started and I was doing some of the most intimate things to help him because he couldn't move, he joked that maybe we weren't supposed to be doing this until at least the 12th date or so and I had to agree that timing definitely wasn't our forte'. So much for taking things slowly...

I Just Want to See You Laugh Not Cry

Kinnick Stadium from the side.

Well, kids. It's been a rough few days here in my world. Hopefully, it will get better. The guy has surgery tomorrow and after another day or two of recovery, it sounds like the worst of his pain will be over. They say he may even be able to sit-up soon after his surgery, and I'm sure it will feel great for him to get off of his back finally.

I'm going back to work tomorrow. It will feel weird to get back to a normal routine after living in the hospital the last few days. I'll head back there after work and see how he is after the surgery. I hope he feels a million times better.

We Find New Ways of Living Making Playing Only Logical Harm

More funky pumpkins.

So, this weekend started out great. The guy came by after work and we went to Pagliai's for pizza. Afterward, we decided to just go home and chill out at my place and drink beer. It was wonderful. The guy decided to go home a little earlier than normal, because he had a lot to do on Saturday.

Our plan was for him to get some stuff done on Saturday during the day, go on one of his crazy 3 hour long bike rides, while I went running, went to the memorial and then to my friend's football watching/birthday party. He sent me a sweet email in the morning and then I went running.

When I got home, I got a call from a number I didn't recognize. I answered it and it was the guy. I asked him how things were going and he said, "not too good." He went on to tell me that he was in the emergency room. He was riding his bike on a county road and was hit by a pick-up truck. The driver must not have seen him, because he didn't break. He slammed into him going 55 mph. Luckily, he didn't have anything terribly major. He does have a broken L2 in his spine and will need surgery either Monday or Tuesday to fuse some of his vertebrae together and he his pretty banged up.

I've spent the last two days in the hospital with him, since he can't move much and he is in a lot of pain. I'm taking Monday off to stay with him as well and we'll hope they can get him into surgery then. The doctors seem to think the surgery will help him with all the pain he's having and I hope that's the case.

I hope you all had a pain free weekend.

Time Will Take It All and It Will, You'll See

Here is a photo of someone else's coffee table.

Oh, kids. This whole dating thing is really cutting into my blogging lately. Not that I'm complaining at all. It's been great so far and I'm gladly willing to let the blog suffer a bit to do the work to try and make it work out. Dating at my age can be so tricky. We've all been through the whole failed relationship(s) thing before and so we can tend to be a little damaged and cautious. I'm trying really hard to enjoy how great it is and not piss all over it, just to prepare myself for what may or may not happen with it.

No matter what happens with this, I do feel like I finally made a decent choice about who I'm dating. He's not going to turn mean on me, he can admit he has feelings and even express them and he isn't one of those conquest guys, who really only wants to work hard enough to get you and not enough to keep you. If it doesn't work out, it will probably be more of an issue of timing. But I'm not going to worry about whether it will work out right now. I'm older, I'm happy in general, I'm not afraid to be alone, and I'm also not afraid to try to make a relationship work that I think could be really great. Either way, I win.

Having said that....It's the weekend again. Tomorrow night the guy and I are going out for pizza at Pagliai's and then we'll probably drink beer either at my place or at a bar somewhere. We haven't worked out all of the particulars yet.

Saturday holds a few possibilities. Some friends are having a football watching party, but I'm also going to go to another friend's memorial service for a bit. This friend was only 49 years old and died of multiple strokes. He was a really great person, so it was very, very sad. I'm not sure how long I'll stay, but I will at least show up for a little bit. I have no idea what I'm doing on Saturday night. I'm just going to wait and see what happens.

Ideally, I'd like to get some work done around my house on Sunday and of course, do as much running as I can fit in.

How about you all? What's on tap for you all the next couple of days?

You Came in With the Breeze

Here is some assorted stuff sitting out in the sun.

Tonight will be one of those nothing posts. Sorry.

The guy came over for dinner. We had a wonderful night, great food, wine and conversation. Now, it's late and I'm pretty useless. Here's hoping you all had such great nights that it ruined your blog posts too.

And Feel, Feel, What It's Like to be New

Here is a pumpkin patch.

While I was running tonight, it was getting dark before I finished and I flashed on a time last year where I got a late start in my run because I was looking at houses. Holy crap! It just brought it all back.

Last year at this time, I was still living in my old apartment, both my girls were living at home and I was looking for a house. Weird. It feels like so much longer ago than that and I feel like such a different person...In a good way. I feel like I've done so much internal work on myself and external work on my house, but I have such a long way to go on both projects. I'll go as far as to say it will be never ending. I guess it's damn good thing I'm not afraid of hard work then.

Of course, the best part is how much nicer everything is because of it. I'm sure I'll never get over all of my issues and doubt my house will either. But it's amazing how much better we both are after a year's worth of work

The Feeling Returns Whenever We Close Our Eyes

The orchard.

Okay, kids. We actually went on the Monday night ride tonight. The guy and I were going to go anyway, but Bry was being all weird and wouldn't commit to it. I texted Bry to see if he was going to meet us, and he texted me back to tell me he had a rash and wasn't going to be able to make it. I texted him back and told him I hated it when his sex life got in the way of the Monday night ride and that I was counting on seeing him at 6. He responded by telling me he might need me to help apply some lotion on a certain spot for him. Then right before I got off work, he texted me to tell me he wasn't going to be able to make it, but he'd see me at 6. He thinks he's hilarious.

Of course, he was sitting at the bar with the guy when I got there and he was in fine form all night. The weather was perfect, the margaritas were nice and the company was wonderful. It might be the last Monday night ride of the season, so it was particularly sweet.

Her Acceptance is the Way We Pray

Dorking out in a cut-out.

What a beautiful weekend! The weather couldn't have been more perfect. Of course, that means I didn't get a lot of cleaning done inside. But I did get my lawn mowed and a few other outdoorsy things done...On top of lots and lots of running. Aaaaaahhhhh.

Friday night was great. The guy came over after work. He had kind of a rough day, so we talked about it a little before we went to get sushi. The food was wonderful. I let the guy order a bunch of stuff I'd never had before and loved all of it. We each had a Sapporo too.

After dinner, we talked about going to get a drink, but the weather was so perfect, that he asked if I wanted to go for a walk or hang out outside instead. We ended up going to the store and getting some beer and going back to my place to drink on my deck. I started to make a fire, but we couldn't really get it going and we decided it was warm enough that we didn't really need to mess with it anyway. It was really nice just to hang out outside in October and drink beer and talk.

Saturday was heavenly. Stinky worked most of the day. I ran my 10 mile route and got a few things done. After Stinky got off work, she wanted me to go to the mall with her. It's not my favorite thing in the world, but I did it for her.

In the evening, Stinky went to her boyfriend's house and the guy came over to our place. We hung out at home for a bit, but the guy had promised our friend Bry that we'd stop by the Dublin for a beer. Since there wasn't a home football game, the bar was pretty quiet. We had a beer, shot the shit with some guys, but then realized we'd be just as happy at my place hanging out, so we hit the road.

Today I just ran my easy 6 mile route and then went to Prairie Lights to finally get the book, Born to Run. In the late afternoon I went to G.'s place to hear about her trip to Mexico and then this weekend's kayaking trip. Both her roommates were there, so we had a great girly gab session. It really is the perfect way to end a weekend.

Why Can't We Just Look the Other Way?

Stinky holding up a t-shirt from the place where we picked apples.

Oh, kids. I have no idea what I'm doing with my time, but I seem to keep misplacing it. I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already.

Right now, I don't have a ton of plans for the weekend. Most of my friends are going on a canoeing/kayaking trip, but with Stinky, it's kind of tough for me to get away for the weekend.

All I know for sure is that I'm going out for sushi with the guy tomorrow night. Everything else is up for grabs.

I have a lot of chores to do since the weather is supposed to be nice and I'm kicking around the idea of running my ten mile route on Saturday. I ran 8 miles today and it felt really good.

I hope the weather where you are is as agreeable as ours has been. Feel free to let me know of your weekend plans

I'll Come Around to See You Once In a While

A man and his granddaughter at the orchard.

I had a great night tonight. The guy came over to eat. I made enchiladas, rice, beans, de gallo, guacamole and we drank some Mexican beer. Stinky was here for dinner before she went to her youth group, so they got to know each other a little better. Of course, when I say "they got to know each other a little better", I mean they bonded some more by talking about me like I wasn't there and both doubted that I will start swimming laps this Winter, like I keep saying I will. I'm not sure I like this kind of bonding one bit.

On a little different note, Facebook has been good for watching my daughters' relationship progress from a distance. Here is a little exchange I happened to stumble upon on Stinky's Facebook page:

Stinky's status update:

Glow stick night games!! That's what's up!

Coadster's comment:

• • 
  • That's what's up? Please stop saying that! For everyone's sake :D
• 
  
• Stinky's response:
  
  
  • 

    I'm finna punch chuu in da face!
• 
  
• Coadster's:
• 
  
  • 

    If I were home right now, I'd slap you!

    
    
  • a
  • 
    
  • Stinky's: I'd karate chop the shit outta youuu! :)

    
    
  • 

    Coadster's: I'm sooooo scared! NOT :D

    
    
  • 

    Stinky's: Love youuu!
• 
  

So, um. Yeah. I'd say we're really getting our money's worth out of Facebook these days. Where else can you have these kinds of meaningful exchanges with your kin?

Makes Me Say My, My, My

Here are some weird looking pumpkin things.

Sooo, I don't have much going on tonight. I went running, and I cooked a bunch of food and now I'm tired. Sorry to lame out on you all, but I got nuthin'.

I'll just hope for something more interesting to happen tomorrow. I'm also hoping that I'll start really writing here in the next couple of days. Wish me luck.

And Everything Was Made for You and Me

My garden's last gasp.

Sadly, we didn't get to do the Monday night ride. Bry wussed-out because he thought it would be too cold, the guy had things he needed to get done and G. was off in Mexico, sunning on the beach. (it's hard not to hate her a little right now) I have to say, Mondays are way lamer without the ride and margaritas to look forward to. I guess I'm going to have to get over it, because it will only get colder out in the next few months. Sigh.

There are good things about the cold weather, and I'll just have to try to appreciate them. I do love hibernating. Even though I resist it, I actually like slowing down and relaxing more than I do in the Summer. Even though I haven't done it much, I'm getting excited about sitting down and writing more. I'm also fond of that feeling when we have a big snow in the evening and I don't have to be anywhere or drive in it and I can look out my window and see it sparkling under the streetlight and appreciate how insulated everything feels. I guess as with anything, we have to sacrifice things with every season, in order to get to the good stuff.

We're So Pleased to be With You

At the Dublin on Homecoming.

Friday night was wonderful. We went on our date to that restaurant and it was lovely. We had some tuna as an appetizer and then shared our entrees and a bottle of Zinfandel. It was still warm enough to sit outside and the guy really liked the place and the ambiance.

Me among the pumpkins.

Saturday was a lazy day. I woke up and took Stinky to work and came home just as Close Encounters of the Third Kind was starting. Of course, I had no choice but to watch the whole thing. I ran my 6 mile route, did some laundry but not a whole hell of a lot else.

We took the tractor tour of the orchard.

I was in kind of a mood on Saturday night. The guy and I planned to go to the Dublin as a couple for the first time. I liked to call it our coming out ball. It just happened to be Homecoming and the place was packed. Most of my favorite girlfriends were out, but I was a little overwhelmed to be able to talk to everyone. I finally got to a point where I had to take off, or my head would explode.

Stinky picking apples.

On Sunday I realized what my moodiness had been about the night before. That's right. Churlita's migraine came to town. It was a vicious one that took all of the migraine meds I was allowed to take to quell..For the most part. Stinky and I went to the apple orchard today. It was chilly at first but then got really nice out.

We had a fun afternoon together and got to talk and pick apples and hang out, which doesn't happen very often. We went to Panera's for lunch and had soup, bread and lemonade before she went to work.

I stopped off at G.'s house to talk to her and D. before G takes off for Mexico for a week tomorrow. After that, I was officially wiped out and had to go home to rest before I picked up Stinky from work and her boyfriend came over and we ate cheeseburgers for dinner.

Aside from the migraine, it was a great weekend. I hope yours was too.

Home is Wherever I'm With You

My friends standing behind the sign in the town where I'm going tonight.

Guess what? That's right. My internet was down again last night. Sigh. I guess it just works when it wants to.

Anyway, I'll get over that and move on to the weekend. Yea! It's Homecoming for the university this weekend, which means things could be insane in town. Tonight I have a date with the guy. We decided to go to the Tuscan Moon in Kalona, to escape the hordes downtown at the Homecoming parade. I've always thought that place would be a great place to take a date, and now that I actually have one, I finally can.

The rest of the weekend is up for grabs. I'm going to try to do a bunch of outdoor work because it's supposed to be nice and cool and NOT rainy. It's also supposed to frost, so I'll make up some pesto before all my basil goes to shit. Of course, I also plan on doing lots of running.

How about you, bloggers? Will you be avoiding Homecoming crowds or staying at home and preparing for the cold weather?