This and that
So let's do a quick recap of the last 6 months. There have been some incredible highs and some of the lowest lows I have ever experienced.
On July 31 of last year, a close friend of mine...as close as an actual sibling...took his life. No warning signs, nothing....
To say it was a shock is the understatement of the century. I'm still honestly dealing with it. My anxiety levels go through the roof some days, and have been wrestling with my depression issues because of it, in addition. So August sucked-ass. Add to all that, Jason was an only child, and I'm the person his mom is holding onto...which I don't mind, but sometimes it's really hard emotionally.
October came and went, I turned 32 (holy moly!), and then November got here, and we flew the coop for the month. We spent the month of November in New Zealand. It was heavenly. We RV'd the North island. It was awesome. Though when we go back, we'll be doing the South island, and we'll be hoteling it. But to be honest, I'm glad we RV'd, as we saw things we wouldn't have seen otherwise. :) We spent so many nights beachside...heaven. Friends of ours got married (the reason we went to NZ), and in the process, met Charlotte and Chris. Two "poms" (pom is what Kiwi's call the English, it stands for pompus...from how proper they speak) that were QUICK friends with John and I. Chris is hilarious, quick with zingers, and delighted when someone can match wits with him, and give them right back. John was that person. *lol*
Charlotte is Chris' wife, and she and I for some reason just feel as though we've known each other for YEARS. It was just so comfortable. So in addition to a grea vacation, and a beautiful wedding, we made some great friends!
At the end, we were both ready to come home, yet sad to leave.
Got home, and then comes reality again. Blah. Reality sucks sometimes.
Mom went in for emergency surgery the weekend after, and dad had a car accident on his way to see mom at the hospital. And in the middle of all this, I had a cake due! >.< *lol*
It was insanity!
Got through all that, mom was fine, and here comes Christmas.
Of course holidays are always stressful in-and-of-themselves. And in the middle of all of this, I was organizing the holiday party at the Makerspace. (more about the Makerspace in a bit) And finally the holidays are over...YAY! Got through them! Hallelujah! ;)
January was ok, nothing really bad, nothing spectacular. But I ahve started making jewlery as well as the cakes. Kinda nice to have something I make that lasts longer than it takes to cut it up and eat ;) *lol*
Then came February....Valentine's Day was our 13th wedding anniversary :) Still head-over-heels for my husband, and he for me. I'm so very lucky. *happy sighs*
But the day after Valentine's Day....that day sucked. John came home after lunch, and we took Chopper to the vet for the last time....he was 15.
I've had to put a pet down before; he had cancer. And I've made euthanaisa decisions on other animals in rescue, etc. But normally these decisions are due to physical medical reasons.
Chopper was in pretty good shape for being 15. A beagle mix, it looked like he'd last forever. And maybe he would have lasted a few more years physically, but his mind was going pretty quickly. He'd started going potty in the house (never done that before), crying almost constantly, as though he were confused. He tried to bite me a few times, went after Tank at least once, and tried to bite John. There were very few times of "normal" lucidity.
So we had to make that decision.
It was by in far, the hardest decision...because physically he was really pretty healthy...it was horrible.
I still have the little rat dog as a foster, hopefully we'll find him a home soon, but I'm torn between getting a buddy for Tank, or just leaving it as it is....we'll see. Still rather soon for decisions.
So yeah. The super high was New Zealand, the lows...well, I think those are obvious ;)
But I've been really enjoying my time at the Dallas Makerspace! It's a nonprofit org that I LOVE. www.dallasmakerspace.org
It's part of the Hackerspace movment....a space where people pay a monthly membership fee, have complete access to the place, and there are LOTS of tools at our disposal. From a laser cutter to a CNC mill, and everything in between. We have a metals section and a woodworking section in the warehouse. We also have a car being converted into an all electric car, and a guy converting a motorcycle into an all electric as well.
We have an artist community, as well as a bio room and a huge electronics group. Robotics as well.
What's even more...there is a bare minimum of politics. There aren't egos that need to be stroked as there are in the SCA (another reason I don't play anymore), there aren't hierarchy issues to deal with, it's amazing. Are there personality conflicts? Well, duh! Any time you get more than one or two people together, and this is inevitable. But the great thing is, it's always handled like adults. It's awesome! I LOVE it! Plus, I don't have to dress a certain way to go there. As long as you're dressed, you're good ;) *lol*
Most of the folks there are geeks and nerds, a few artists such as myself, and even they are geeky. But honesty...no shady crap...It's so insanely refreshing.
WE visited the New Zealand Makerspace while we were there, they're called 'Tangleball', and they're in Aukland. It's interesting to see just how different each of the groups are vs the Dallas space. Such different atmospheres. It's really neat.
Matter-of-fact, tonight I'm headed to the space for Artists Night Out. :)
I'm hoping MArch and April get better. This year can only go up, right? :) Plus, it's looking like Chris and Charlotte might be coming to visit at the end of the year. I'm so happy! Can't wait to see them!
Also discovered that we'll be going to Disney World in March of next year!!! *happy dance* I've never been to any kind of Disney park! So excited! What's even better, John's siblings with be there with us, too! YAY! :)
I'll be going to an SCA event at the end of March to see amaliazavattini elevated to the ORder of the Laurel. I'm so EXCITED for her!!! She's SO very much earned it 10x over in my opinion. :) She's one of my closest friends, and I really am excited to see her elevated! I'll even get dressed up to see her get it! Still trying to figure out what it is I can do for her....not like I can make her any piece of jewelry she couldn't make for herself...so that leaves me cake or chocolates. But we'll see what she wants to have me do :)
I think I'll wear my boy clothes I made for 12th Night. Easy-peasy. :)
Ok, time to get stuff together and head to the space!
On July 31 of last year, a close friend of mine...as close as an actual sibling...took his life. No warning signs, nothing....
To say it was a shock is the understatement of the century. I'm still honestly dealing with it. My anxiety levels go through the roof some days, and have been wrestling with my depression issues because of it, in addition. So August sucked-ass. Add to all that, Jason was an only child, and I'm the person his mom is holding onto...which I don't mind, but sometimes it's really hard emotionally.
October came and went, I turned 32 (holy moly!), and then November got here, and we flew the coop for the month. We spent the month of November in New Zealand. It was heavenly. We RV'd the North island. It was awesome. Though when we go back, we'll be doing the South island, and we'll be hoteling it. But to be honest, I'm glad we RV'd, as we saw things we wouldn't have seen otherwise. :) We spent so many nights beachside...heaven. Friends of ours got married (the reason we went to NZ), and in the process, met Charlotte and Chris. Two "poms" (pom is what Kiwi's call the English, it stands for pompus...from how proper they speak) that were QUICK friends with John and I. Chris is hilarious, quick with zingers, and delighted when someone can match wits with him, and give them right back. John was that person. *lol*
Charlotte is Chris' wife, and she and I for some reason just feel as though we've known each other for YEARS. It was just so comfortable. So in addition to a grea vacation, and a beautiful wedding, we made some great friends!
At the end, we were both ready to come home, yet sad to leave.
Got home, and then comes reality again. Blah. Reality sucks sometimes.
Mom went in for emergency surgery the weekend after, and dad had a car accident on his way to see mom at the hospital. And in the middle of all this, I had a cake due! >.< *lol*
It was insanity!
Got through all that, mom was fine, and here comes Christmas.
Of course holidays are always stressful in-and-of-themselves. And in the middle of all of this, I was organizing the holiday party at the Makerspace. (more about the Makerspace in a bit) And finally the holidays are over...YAY! Got through them! Hallelujah! ;)
January was ok, nothing really bad, nothing spectacular. But I ahve started making jewlery as well as the cakes. Kinda nice to have something I make that lasts longer than it takes to cut it up and eat ;) *lol*
Then came February....Valentine's Day was our 13th wedding anniversary :) Still head-over-heels for my husband, and he for me. I'm so very lucky. *happy sighs*
But the day after Valentine's Day....that day sucked. John came home after lunch, and we took Chopper to the vet for the last time....he was 15.
I've had to put a pet down before; he had cancer. And I've made euthanaisa decisions on other animals in rescue, etc. But normally these decisions are due to physical medical reasons.
Chopper was in pretty good shape for being 15. A beagle mix, it looked like he'd last forever. And maybe he would have lasted a few more years physically, but his mind was going pretty quickly. He'd started going potty in the house (never done that before), crying almost constantly, as though he were confused. He tried to bite me a few times, went after Tank at least once, and tried to bite John. There were very few times of "normal" lucidity.
So we had to make that decision.
It was by in far, the hardest decision...because physically he was really pretty healthy...it was horrible.
I still have the little rat dog as a foster, hopefully we'll find him a home soon, but I'm torn between getting a buddy for Tank, or just leaving it as it is....we'll see. Still rather soon for decisions.
So yeah. The super high was New Zealand, the lows...well, I think those are obvious ;)
But I've been really enjoying my time at the Dallas Makerspace! It's a nonprofit org that I LOVE. www.dallasmakerspace.org
It's part of the Hackerspace movment....a space where people pay a monthly membership fee, have complete access to the place, and there are LOTS of tools at our disposal. From a laser cutter to a CNC mill, and everything in between. We have a metals section and a woodworking section in the warehouse. We also have a car being converted into an all electric car, and a guy converting a motorcycle into an all electric as well.
We have an artist community, as well as a bio room and a huge electronics group. Robotics as well.
What's even more...there is a bare minimum of politics. There aren't egos that need to be stroked as there are in the SCA (another reason I don't play anymore), there aren't hierarchy issues to deal with, it's amazing. Are there personality conflicts? Well, duh! Any time you get more than one or two people together, and this is inevitable. But the great thing is, it's always handled like adults. It's awesome! I LOVE it! Plus, I don't have to dress a certain way to go there. As long as you're dressed, you're good ;) *lol*
Most of the folks there are geeks and nerds, a few artists such as myself, and even they are geeky. But honesty...no shady crap...It's so insanely refreshing.
WE visited the New Zealand Makerspace while we were there, they're called 'Tangleball', and they're in Aukland. It's interesting to see just how different each of the groups are vs the Dallas space. Such different atmospheres. It's really neat.
Matter-of-fact, tonight I'm headed to the space for Artists Night Out. :)
I'm hoping MArch and April get better. This year can only go up, right? :) Plus, it's looking like Chris and Charlotte might be coming to visit at the end of the year. I'm so happy! Can't wait to see them!
Also discovered that we'll be going to Disney World in March of next year!!! *happy dance* I've never been to any kind of Disney park! So excited! What's even better, John's siblings with be there with us, too! YAY! :)
I'll be going to an SCA event at the end of March to see amaliazavattini elevated to the ORder of the Laurel. I'm so EXCITED for her!!! She's SO very much earned it 10x over in my opinion. :) She's one of my closest friends, and I really am excited to see her elevated! I'll even get dressed up to see her get it! Still trying to figure out what it is I can do for her....not like I can make her any piece of jewelry she couldn't make for herself...so that leaves me cake or chocolates. But we'll see what she wants to have me do :)
I think I'll wear my boy clothes I made for 12th Night. Easy-peasy. :)
Ok, time to get stuff together and head to the space!