12/1/06

My Husband, The Hero

Yesterday morning, we received a phone call at 6:15 am. My alarm had just gone off and I was in that hazy place between sleep and wakefulness. When I answered a woman was crying hysterically on the other side of the phone. I didn't recognize the voice at first and my heart dropped, as it does with any abnormally-timed phone call, and I thought it was my mother or sister, and the unthinkable must have happened.

It turns out, thank god, that it was my next door neighbor, a divorced, single mother. I figured out something about a flood and she needed a mop. I sent my hero over to save the day, mop in hand. I assumed her pipes had broken, but it was actually a cracked water filter under her kitchen sink. It flooded her kitchen and the ceiling of her finished basement is destroyed. Brian says some of it actually fell down right after he'd been standing under that area! My superhero helped her a good portion of the day until the professionals arrived. He even went back to check on her in the evening and she was in much better spirits, now that she realized the catastrophe was going to get her a new kitchen floor, refinished basement, new carpet, and maybe even new kitchen cabinets (after her $1000 deductible, of course).

Brian is neighbor of the year, I tell you. I feel sorry for her. I certainly couldn't keep up with a whole house and would have moved to a condo by now. Brian helps her out a lot--mows her lawn occasionaly, etc. She, in turn, feeds our cat while we're gone and stuff like that.

New subject (for lack of a better segue): I think I'm suffering from SAD. LOL, Queen of the Hypochondriacs strikes again! But seriously, when we moved here from the midwest, I could feel a huge difference in the way I felt during the winter. Much more energy, generally happier, etc. It's amazing what a huge difference sun makes.

Lately, it's been more overcast than usual, and damn cold. We got almost a foot of snow the other day, and two days later it hasn't melted at all: a rare occurrence for our area. I am turning into a blah, fat, lazy pig. I can't seem to get the motivation to get up and work out anymore. I used to be so good at it, but now I can't get out of bed in time in the morning. I. Just. Can't. I know, you're saying, what do you mean you can't? Just get off your lazy ass and do it. I know this inherently, but I physically cannot move in the mornings until it is absolutely necessary. I'm also not eating like I should (i.e. eating a lot of crap) and just generally feel kind of down. Hopefully the Christmas spirit will hit me soon and give me some Joy.

Our finances may be part of it. We've been very lucky and always lived comfortably, even when we needed to be frugal. Well, for the first time, since we've been married, we actually lived just barely to our paycheck. The consequences of having a single income have finally hit us and hit us hard. We actually just about cleared out our cupboards, frig, and freezer this last month and didn't have money to go grocery shopping until payday (yesterday), blessed payday. We should NOT have gone to Phoenix...dumbasses. And we spent too much money on home improvements this summer. Now we're paying for it. And what a time to be broke: the holidays.

It will be nice when we have 2 incomes again--hopefully less than a year away. Then we're going to have to spend some time digging ourselves out of the debt we created. I sure hope our kiddos appreciate it. Do I kid myself that they will? Nah.

This weekend we're going to buy a cheap Christmas tree and maybe get the boys' hair cuts. They are looking shaggy. Oh the excitement of our lives....
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Recent reads:

"Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers" by Mary Roach: I picked this up, because I recently saw her latest book, "Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife" and wanted to read it, but thought I should read her former book first. I had heard of the former before, and had heard it was good. It was ummm...gross. Cha! I skimmed about half of it, but some of it was quite interesting. I've got "Spook" in my TBR ("to be read") pile now.

I'm currently reading "Death by Pad Thai and Other Unforgettable Meals," a collection of famous authors' essays on memorable meals: meals that aren't necessarily memorable because of the food, but because of the occasion. I'm about half way through and enjoying it.

I'm almost done listening to "When Madeline Was Young" by Jane Hamilton on CD. I'm not sure why I' ve finished it, because it's a bit boring, despite a good premise. But I'm almost done and will finish it now. It's told by the son of a couple who care for the husband's first wife, who was mentally damaged in an accident. She is raised as one of the couple's children, along side their "real" children. It's about family relationships and conservativism vs. liberalism.