Brandice.net Blog

HOLY CRAP, it’s cold. I’m sitting at my desk (which is no longer under piles and piles of boxes and various non-unpacked rubble) waiting for Laura to call me to pick her up at the airport, because this weekend is…

OUR HOUSEWARMING!

I am completely psyched, and our house is in really good shape, considering that we’ve been in it for less than a month and a half. Furniture is in place, everything is clean, the dogs were groomed on Wednesday, there are pictures and artwork on the walls, and it’s sounding like we may have 50+ people at this shindig, which is just crazy.

I haven’t had a lot of time to anything but get this house ready, and I’m not only excited for the party, but ALSO for the relaxation that will occur immediately following said party. I’m ready to live in this house. :)

Also, SO psyched to be hosting Laura as our first guest… we’ve become friends online and have chatted and video conferenced and read books together and we met oh so briefly in NYC a couple years ago, but we’ve never just hung out. I’m glad she’s coming early so we can chill for a bit before the onslaught of people.

Also, in the event that I neglected to mention this:

IT IS FREAKING COLD. I’m talking single digits cold, and dropping. Tomorrow is going to be chilly (except at our house, where we’ll be busting out the fireplace and liquoring everyone up to stay warm). ;)

What are you doing this weekend??

So, I posted fake updates over the past two days about driving to and being at a conference in Columbus, because tonight (I should be there right now when this posts) is my mother’s super secret 50th Birthday SURPRISE Party.

The whole family convinced her that we couldn’t be around this weekend (my excuse was a fake conference, my bro and sis made up similar excuses), when we are actually all surprising her with a very special birthday party at the Sebring Mansion, arranged by my stepdad, Jeff.

This is a surprise of EPIC proportions… I don’t think we’ve ever done something like this for my mom, and she has seemed genuinely bummed out all week because she thinks no one is going to be around and that she’s going to have a crappy, low key weekend for her 50th.

I’m looking forward to a night with family and a lot of Mom’s close friends (her sister is driving in from Minnesota and she has no idea!), taking pictures and seeing the look on Mom’s face when she pulls up to the Mansion to see 50+ people waiting to celebrate HER.

Here are some links to info about the Sebring Mansion, which is a really cool historical mansion in Sebring, Ohio that sits about a mile from my mother’s home:

Sebring Mansion Inn & Spa Official Site (horrible site, but has some neat photos of the inside)
Innkeeping.org Listing
Article from 2008 (Restoration was still in progress)
Sebring Historical Society
Clip from The Alliance Review

Jeff has reserved the mansion with an open bar and a fancy shmancy dinner for 50 for the evening, and it’s going to be a blast! As you’re reading this, we’ve already yelled “SURPRISE!” and begun the celebration. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM. :) We love you!

Thanks to Laura for sharing this. It bears reposting, and it is a very articulate “fuck you” at a time when it’s needed. Keith Olbermann is the shit.

A link to video if you don’t see the player.

On a related note, there are a million ways to donate money that will help Haiti. The Red Cross is a good place to start. Please just make sure that you’re giving money to a reputable organization, and that you’re giving if you can.

- I’m reading a TON lately… I’m craving quiet time with a book lately, and I think I’ve read 5-10 in the past month. Loving some quiet reading time, and it’s even more precious in the face of constant moving chaos and now having constant pressure to get everything put away before the house warming.

- Mae and I have reached a truce with her naughty, stubborn dog behavior. I think I’ve learned to assert myself and she’s learned what is required of her, so we have some clearer boundaries than when she first came into the home and I fawned all over both dogs like an overly excited silly person. Boundaries are good… we’re both happier. :)

- Our housewarming is turning out to be quite the shindig! I just hope people come and go throughout the day at different times, or we’re going to have a REALLY stuffed house. I’m particularly looking forward to the parts where I will hopefully be seated at the bar with many of our close friends and family. I can’t wait to enjoy this home without the pressure of constant unpacking!

- I started unpacking all of my crafting supplies that I boxed up halfway through grad school, and I really had forgotten how much I loved making jewelry and various mixed media art… and I really made some pretty cool items. I’d forgotten completely, and it was cool to find a box of jewelry and trinkets I’d made a few years ago, like treasure amid the mountains of still-packed items. I’ve loved going through old photos too.

What are YOU up to these days? :)

The doggers had a busy, busy day today! First I took them to the vet, and then picked up my MIL (mother-in-law) and we took them to Moochies at the local mall, and then to PetSmart for some Greenies (holy CRAP do dogs love Greenies…) and other assorted things. The dogs basked in general passerby worship behavior, with dozens of people petting them and asking “what kind of dog is that?” and generally just loving them to death.

It was really nice to spend the afternoon/evening with my MIL as well. We plan to take the dogs out for happy times again soon. I can’t WAIT until it warms up and the dogs can go to the park and other dog-friendly venues! They’re REALLY well behaved in public… I’m thinking of going through therapy dog training with them so I can take them to work from time to time. :)

Wow, last night was strange. I went over to do a last vacuuming of our apartment before we hand over the keys, and it was like a flood of emotion to go through that empty apartment one last time.

So many big things happened in that apartment over the few years Jim and I lived there… It was our first place together, and as I walked through the apartment, all I could think about were the memories that were created there.

The big things accomplished or experienced while living in that little two-bedroom apartment:

- Jim and I lived together for the first time, and went through the process of learning to share a living space with a significant other (the battles over furniture placement, who does which chores, who gets the remote). [Pictured to the right is the painting our guests did at our apartment housewarming when we first moved in. :)]

- I got my “timshel” tattoo, became an Apple/Mac convert, wrote four Nanowrimo novels, playing a LOT of WoW, became a tea junkie with a tea podcast, rediscovered comics, and bought (and fell in love with) my first dSLR.

- I decided to go back to school, and completed my Masters in Social Work, doing two internships, working and going to class full time for two years, and I survived.

- Jim and I decided to mine the stone for my engagement ring, and then got engaged, then got married.

- I went from doing inventory on brass ball bearings in Orrville, to working with kids age 3 to 5 with developmental disabilities, to being the Community Leader for Viddler.com, to working as a psychiatric social worker once I’d finished my degree.

- I published a book, which I had never had the balls to do, and I’m still really happy that I did it, that it was on my terms, and that I had a ton of support and encouragement.

- I grew up more in that apartment than during any other period in my life, spiritually, professionally, and emotionally. I’ve grown into some great friendships and I’ve grown out of some unhealthy ones, becoming more assertive and more sure of myself along the way.

What a ride! :) I’m not sure any other place I’ve lived on my own has had that many memories. As I stood in the apartment, I think the enormity of our decision to buy a house finally hit me, and I could feel a page turning, launching Jim and I into whatever is going to happen next.

I can’t wait to see what that is. :)

Last night finally felt like “New Years” for me… the officially closing of one chapter and really feeling fully launched into this one.

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow. I finally finished it.

It took me a while to get through this one, but I’m glad that I finished it. There’s just something about Margaret Atwood’s writing style that fascinates me, both as a writer and a reader.

This is a really interesting take on where we could be headed if we continue to use the planet as an endless renewable resource… when it isn’t. Really interesting take on genetic engineering, ozone layer depletion, and even future drug addiction. It also warns of fanatical behavior on the other end of the spectrum, with environmental extremism.

Many of Atwood’s books have taken me a long time to get through, which isn’t typical for me, but it’s always worth the thought provoked through the reading. This one has an interesting tie to Oryx and Crake that makes me wish I’d read them in closer proximity to each other, because I felt there were probably several connections and shared characters that I missed. I may dust off Oryx and Crake to find some of them. :)

View all my reviews.

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Wow, am I ever glad that I read this on my Kindle instead of purchasing the hard copy with that AWFUL freaking cover! Holy crap is it over the top BAD. Lol.

That aside, this book really wasn’t bad. I liked the sci-fi angle and the smutty bits were pretty fun with the added sci-fi elements involved (I’m a sucker for smutty sci-fi lately, don’t know what it is). The dialogue was a bit repetitive at times and it got a little overly mushy for me in the second half (okay, a LOT overly mushy for me in a lot of the second half), but it kept me hooked and I read it in a day.

I’ll probably be reading more from this series.

View all my reviews.

Here’s a slideshow of my 2009 pic highlights:

Click here if you don’t see the slideshow.

Highlights:

- 1st wedding anniversary
- Family time (birthdays, Damien’s first full year of existence, getaway weekend, Cedar Point/Put-In Bay, etc.)
- Getting a dSLR and getting into photography
- Publishing a book of poetry
- Podcamp Ohio 2
- Playing a lot of Settlers of Catan
- Ridding myself of a few relationships that weren’t really relationships anymore
- Finished my 8th (I think) Nanowrimo
- Switching positions with the psychiatric department at work
- Buying a house
- Adopting 2 dogs that I love love love

Plans for 2010:

- Get DPOA paperwork and a Living Will in place
- Continue to strive to be a healthy person
- Unpack
- Embrace whatever comes next

Here’s to whatever is coming next! I hope there are a lot of amazing things in store for all of us. :) xo

Happy New Year! If you don’t have a resolution, please consider filling out a living will and durable power of attorney paperwork this year. You really need to do it BEFORE you need it, whether you’re twenty or eighty years old. I’ve really had a frustrating week of working with patients who are in advanced stages of dementia and don’t have a decision-maker in place.

Trust me. Just DO IT. You have no idea what a huge fiasco it can be for you and your family if things are not properly in place when something happens and a decision-maker is needed. (So as not to be a hypocrite, I filled out the paperwork yesterday on New Year’s Eve and am going to have it notarized as soon as possible.)

If you’re in Ohio, here’s a DIY form generator, and you can find the legal forms for your state by starting at LawHelp.org and choosing your state.

Resolution advice aside, I spent the afternoon frolicking in the snow today with my little brother Ben and my two beautiful pups, Mae and Makai. I’ve really been wanting a warm, sturdy winter coat for snow play with the dogs and my mother got me one as a surprise.

Here are a few pics taken with my phone (in good lighting, I’m really amazing at how well the iPhone 3gs takes photographs):

Man, do these two dogs LOVE snow. It was a lot of fun, and now I’m equipped for regular snow frolicking! It’s been a great start to 2010 so far. :)