My First BYOC -- Bring Your Own Crazy!!

I do enjoy reading all the other BYOC posts on my reading list, so I thought maybe I'd give it a try too!

It's Friday and you know what that means - yes?  It's time for BYOC.  Bring Your Own Crazy like your life depends on it!  We answer a few questions to get to know each other better and to give our blogging brains a break.  Copy to your own blog and ENJOY!!

1.  If you were a character on Friends, who would you be and why?

I haven't seen Friends all that often, but probably more like Phoebe than anyone else, though with a heavy dose of pragmatism thrown in for good measure.  I can totally be that offbeat and weird, but I also take a very logical approach to problem-solving.

2.  If you weren't in your current career what other career do you think you would have done?

I'm working on it now!   My current career is one that I just don't have a passion for anymore, although it has allowed me to spend the last several years as a work-from-home mom, so I can't complain too much.   I still make a little supplemental income from the business, which helps with household expenses and has been funding my school expenses to get me into a NEW career --- biomedical engineering if the math doesn't kill me.   ;)

3. What did you want to be when you grew up when you were 6?

A gypsy, a mom, a scientist, an astronaut.   I've been a gypsy (sort of), I am a mom, I'm working on the scientist thing, and maybe commercial space travel will be an option before I die.   *laugh*

4.  Do you think everyone only has one soulmate or true love? Or are there multiple people for everyone?

I absolutely believe it is possible to fall in love with more than one person.  I'm not particularly impressed by the idea of a soulmate or a one true love.   I also think the idea of such has been the cause of a whole lot of disappointment, heartbreak, and life trauma.   People readily jump from relationship to relationship, looking for this unrealistic perfection that's perpetuated by movies, books, and television media.   The expectation is that the passion and energy of the new relationship is going to last forever, and when it doesn't, they jump ship for the next best thing to hit the scene.   In reality, relationships have ups and downs, periods of excitement and lulls of routine.   It's all part of a bigger picture.

In addition, much like friends and family each bring something different to the table, each non-platonic relationship can do the same thing.   Why is it that a person is not only able, but expected to have love for innumerable children, siblings, cousins, friends, etc., but is expected to only have romantic love for one and one only forever?   That just doesn't make any sense.   Love isn't a finite resource, at least that's what I'd like to think!   :)






5.  Repeat question.  Summarize your week in real life and in blog land.

Math.  College Algebra, Trigonometry, homework.    Class on Tuesday and Thursday, a test on Wednesday.   Hopefully I did OK.  Trig seems to be easier than CA, for some reason.   It's all technically a refresher for me, but it's been 20 years, so it's buried DEEP in my brain somewhere.  The excavation of information is proving painful.   hehe

Hit the gym only 2 days this week, but it should get easier to get in another two starting next week when the kids start swim lessons at the gym on two other days.

Slow-moving scale, but it is moving, so I'll take it.   I haven't been getting stuck as much, thank goodness!    We're on a budget even tighter than usual for the next month, so lots of chicken and crockpot recipes in my near future.   Only a few pounds left of my summertime gain to get back to my low point -- and then hopefully pass it up!!

Three Weeks Single

My spouse has been out of town at Burning Man for three weeks (as of tomorrow).

He was on the crew that built a big project to represent the local Burn community here in Austin/Texas, so he got to go out there early to set it up. I've been to Burning Man 7 times since 1997, but this was his first time to go. We've both done the local regional event, Burning Flipside, many times over the years, but the big Burn is a horse of a different color.

Here's the project they built -- isn't it gorgeous??
It burned beautifully as well (building art that looks awesome both on its own and on fire isn't always easy).

He's on his way back now. Last night he was near Vegas, but I'm sure they're well on their way through Arizona by now.

The kiddos and I have been on our own for that time. My classes started, the Peanut (my younger daughter) started pre-K on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well, and I've been making big strides on my Smite List --- that is, getting unpacked in our new digs and fixing things up around here.

The gas range croaked right before he left, and our landlord has made it clear that she is not keen on maintaining the appliances. So, I made a deal with her. I picked up a new-to-us range on craigslist and installed it, and she let me take the cost off the next rent check.

I think the issue is that her English is very weak (Mandarin is her native), so dealing with repair/replace issues is not something she wants to have to do. I don't mind dealing with people or doing the replacements/repairs myself, as long as I don't have to pay for it.
So it worked out.

So yeah, range installed, manymanymany boxes unpacked, shelves built, pot rack mounted (that was a royal pain in the butt, lemmetellya), and basic housekeeping maintained.

Also kid-care, homework, gym time, and meal planning have gone well!

Sometimes I wonder if I'm borderline bipolar or something. When I'm "up", there ain't no stopping me. But the "down" times, like this summer, are so devoid of motivation, it's pitiful. I've got to find some sort of balance somewhere. Or figure out how to stay in the "up" mode all the damn time. I love being this productive, that's for sure.

Hopefully I can keep the household in the groove when my spouse gets back. The girls and I are very good at settling into a routine when we're on our own. It doesn't work as well with him in the mix, but he's a great dad and they miss him bunches. I miss having my best friend to spend time with and talk to, but there definitely is going to be some readjustment time as we find/make a new routine that includes him again.

Scale's moving down again --- Yay!!! Let's see if I can actually see a decent net loss for 2011, because so far this year has been a wash. hehe

Time to go color my head again. My hair's so short it needs redoing every time I get a trim.
Here's what it looked like 3 weeks ago, and what I'm "refreshing" on it today. :)