Jan
13
2014
I fail at blogging. I got so mad at myself last year for hardly blogging anything at all. I like being able to look back and chart my life. It’s important to me. It shows that I’ve made progress and that I’m not the same person I used to be. Self-improvement and becoming the best me I can possibly be is huge.
Anyway, let’s see here… Christmas wasn’t bad. It was not at all what we expected; we didn’t even see the in-laws that day. No one was doing anything and the husband’s cousin mentioned her family was doing something small and we were more than welcome to come. We did. It was quite nice, being able to relax and just enjoy a low-key holiday with family. Their two girls are adorable. My husband’s aunt and uncle (his cousin’s parents) were there, too.
The in-laws did nothing for the holiday. We told them our plans and they just seemed nonplussed by the whole thing. I really wish that they cared about holidays more. It’s such a downer that a huge part of our combined family could give a crap about the holidays or being together or making memories. It’s really sad. I don’t want any children I have to experience such ambivalence. Family is important–it doesn’t have to be blood relation–family can mean anything, even friends. The fact of the matter is that it is important, especially to me.
The two weeks of holiday were quite busy for us. We were out and about quite a lot. We’ve found that since buying and owning a house that Lowe’s and Home Depot are dangerous places to go! We always come out having spent a hundred dollars or stuff we needed for the house. It’s not all ridiculous spending–we bought a former rental. This place needs a lot of love when it comes down to that sort of thing. It’s amazing what these people tried to get away with!
Speaking of which, our hallway toilet is broke. It’s the most used bathroom in the house (which has two other bathrooms, thank goodness.) I guess they rigged it up wrong and now it’s leaking into the laundry room beneath it. Something about when they grouted the tiles that they didn’t raise the pipe up enough. Father-in-law and husband are planning on fixing it soon.
I’m excited to paint and really customize this place and make it our own. We’ve finally got some of our decorations up. Slowly, but surely, it’s all coming together. It’s just so surreal that we own our own home now.
In sadder news, the husband’s maternal grandpa with Alzheimer’s is now in a home. He broke his hip and is in recovery, but he’s being quite cantankerous about it all. His grandma is horribly depressed because of it and the family seems to be slowly falling apart. It is not an easy situation by any means.
My own grandma was hospitalized again, this time due to her congestive heart failure. The doctors essentially told her, “there’s nothing we can do but make you comfortable.” That’s complete bullshit, of course. She needs to go to a different hospital and not that idiotic hospital full of rejected doctors no one else would hire. Sigh. Convincing her of that is an entirely different story, though.
Mum’s legal situation seems to be coming along okay. Everyone seems to have realized it’s all a load of bunk and are beginning to see the light. She didn’t even need a hearing to claim unemployment, so that’s a small victory. Now it’s just getting them to drop the charges or proving them false in front of everyone else.
My dad’s dad has lymphoma. They thought he had a bite on his leg and had been treating him for it, but it turned out to be cancer. He has dead tissue in that leg from a stroke, so it’s hard to say if it is truly lymphoma or if that’s the cancer spreading. Dad said he’d let me know when he got more details, but that’s crap. I’ll have to try and get him on the phone again. It’s a real shame. We were planning a small trip to Florida, but it will now depend on my grandma’s health. I’d love to get down there, but I don’t want to miss an opportunity to be with her, either. Sigh.
It’s incredibly depressing to realize that there’s a real possibility she’ll never get to see our house.
All of this bad news came on the wake of me (and my entire section) getting a 20% raise. As I tell my husband, I’m not a pessimist, I’m a realist; there’s a balance in the world and what goes up, must come down, and vice versa. I’m just looking forward to whatever good news it going to follow up this onslaught of bad.