2011 Retrospective

2011 was truly a roller coaster year for the ol' Huff. It began happy, with a (I then thought) great guy and a promising future. By Valentine's Day I was engaged to aforementioned-supposed-great-guy. 2 weeks later BAM! No ring, no future. With him at least. (Not a great guy after all.)

Then came spring, Huffy's birthday, and a swell vacation with the parents to Myrtle Beach.

The summer arrived with mild weather and a dog who no longer cared for the confines of his backyard, as he diligently escaped 6 times in 4 weeks. Back came the feelings of rejection as the Life of Huff began to sound like a country song... "I lost my man, I lost my dog..."

Another awesome mission trip to Haiti in July. I always look forward to the opportunity to serve, and also to see my brothers in sisters in Christ in a different light. I wouldn't trade the sweating, weird food or hot van trips for all the money in the world. (Well maybe. I could just BUY Haiti then. I'd rename it Huff-ati! Free ice cream for everyone!)

The fall saw a new man enter my life, grudgingly at first (on my part). It's been fun getting to know him and his family (Sunday dinner with the parents tomorrow, oh my!)

Tonight, on New Year's Eve, I am alone, by choice mostly. John Deere had made plans with some friends, assuming I'd be with my friends. A friend of mine invited me to go with her to her sister's, but I think I'll let them have time alone to reflect on their roller coaster year as well.

I like being alone. (It's a good thing, eh?) I like to think, to reflect, and to play Bejeweled :) But I digress. I like silence, or the opportunity to do whatever I need or want to do. Don't feel like showering? No problem. Don't feel like getting dressed? Don't have to. Wanna drink soda straight from the 2-liter? Can do.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is... things aren't too bad in Huffyland. Nope, things are pretty ok.

And that's all I've got to say about that.

All Christmas-ed Out

Yesterday John Deere and I attended my family's Christmas gathering. As usual it was loud, crazy and full of good cheer. John was polite and the family was nice to him. Much better than last year when most everyone ignored The Ex. But they usually also ignore me, so it was ok.

Today I attended John's family gathering. They are louder, maybe equally crazy but in a different way, and full of good cheer. Well, most of them.

I only have one more Christmas celebration, that with my Friday Night Gals. It will be a Wine and Cheese celebration with gift exchange. I can't wait!

I am so glad Christmas is over. Not because I bought so many presents and am now considering filing bankruptcy. Nor because I baked so many pies, wrapped so many presents, and hostessed myself into a tizzy. No, I'm glad it's over so I can finally stop singing or playing piano every time I turn around. I've been in 4 services/ performances in the last 2 weeks. I lost my Christmas spirit back in October after I'd already been singing Christmas songs for a few weeks then.

Being in church music ministry, I tend to lose focus of how important the event was that I'm celebrating. I feel like I'm going through the motions. Jesus was born, blah blah blah, he died, yadda yadda yadda. NO! This is NOT how I want to feel. I want it to be real, to hit me like a ton of bricks every year. That hasn't happened in quite a while now. And I'm kinda sad about it.

Next year I will participate in my church's read through the Bible in a year again. I did last year, and am a bit excited about it again because I bought a new Bible. Also the Rockettes, the ladies of my Sunday School class, will be doing another Bible study starting in January. I'm hoping this rekindles a fire in me.

I need it, because right now, I feel cold.

Christmas Card Envy

This must be the year of Family Picture Christmas Cards. I have at least 10 of them from my church alone. I know it's special to commemorate what the kiddos looked like in 2011, but come on people, if I'd have known I would have bought stock in shutterfly.com!

So, in the spirit of the family Christmas card, I attempted tonight to get Budzo in a few shots. Candid of course, since his attention span is less than that of a goldfish. I thought the webcam would be easiest for uploading, and maybe Bud wouldn't recognize it as a camera, which he has learned to shun. Here are the results:

This was in the early stages, before Bud got spooked, wondering "Why is she holding me?"

After this decent shot, I decided he might be more comfortable if I moved the computer to the floor.

Apparently I had forgotten that he likes to roll on my head as if it's a dead animal. One of those cute but weird quirks of a neurotic dog.

It only hurts when his tags pull hair out!

He finally gave up. I did too.

At least I know how he feels about the whole process!

Anyway, Merry Christmas from Huff and Bud!

This Means War!

This evening my parents, who happened to be in town, stopped by for a few minutes. While here I showed them the picture of The Ex and his new lady. They were as amazed as I to see the changes he's made. But then, they said the unthinkable. The worst thing they could have ever said. The thing that made my heart drop and my palms itch. They said, are you ready for it?

They said it looks like he's lost weight.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

It's not that he didn't need to, because honey, he made me look fit AND trim. It's not because it's healthier for him and will lead to a longer, happier life. It's bad because, because...sniff sniff...I've gained weight since he dumped me. Like a lot. Like a small child. Like a sack of potatoes on steroids.

So, never to be one-upped, this means war. And not with him, because he's not in my life anymore and could look like Richard Simmonds for all I care. (hee hee) But it's war with myself, my emotional eating, and with those pesky fat cells who have grown so comfortable on my person.

It's war with the fact that Christmas is coming, and all the deliciousness that comes with it.

It's war with the fact that I now know how simple it is to make chocolate-dipped potato chips, and I have the makings for a ginormous batch in my kitchen. Right. Now.

It's war with laziness, not wanting to get out in the cold to travel those long, long 4 blocks to the gym.

It's war with giving up because I'm going to die fat and alone anyway. (That's my fallback excuse.)

It's also war with resisting temptation, both with food and looking at The Ex's Facebook page to see if he's posted a new pic. Again not that I care, just that I don't want him to win.

In other news, John Deere and I attended my Sunday School class party last Saturday. He behaved himself marvelously, got to talk shop with a few other farmers, talked about hunting with a few others, and stayed even though I could tell he'd rather have left before I got involved in a game of trivia (always dangerous!) This Friday he's attending my Church staff dinner with me. Such a trooper.

Audit this!

This past week the counseling agency I work for had it's triennial audit for accreditation. So a clinician from Florida spent three exciting days in my town looking at files, interviewing clients, and perusing our policy and procedure manuals. At the end he gave us a report of his findings. While it wasn't horrible and most of the mistakes were easily correctable, the fact that someone, whose job it is to find your mistakes, is even in the building lends an air of stress and foreboding.

I got to spend almost all of Tuesday with him and a bit of Thursday. By that point I had had my fill of having my short-comings pointed out. There were a few times my blood pressure spiked, and a few times I had to fight back tears. He was not being mean or even condescending, but I put a lot of effort into my job, and to have someone criticize what I do and tell me I need to work harder when I already don't have the time or resources to do what I do, well, it just frustrates me.

Oh a brighter note, John Deere not only called on his regimented Thursday night, he also stopped by for a few hours. When I told him about my week, he did offer to go rough up the auditor, but I didn't think it necessary. He agreed to accompany me to my Sunday School class Christmas party tomorrow night. I just hope he adheres to the dress code!

Also this week I discovered, via the wonders of Facebook, that The Ex has a new woman. Or at least his profile picture is of him a some little.....ahem.....a lovely lady. My first thought was "Well good for him." That was quickly followed by "I hope she enjoys my ring." I have never wished him harm, but there is a small place deep inside Huff that is vicious and vindictive, hoping that he was wallowing in misery and lamenting the day he sent me away. And maybe he did. For a day or two. Then he got over me, colored his hair, trimmed his beard (he has dimples, who knew!) and reinstated that Match.com profile he swore to me he deleted. (I did see him on there recently, right before I deleted mine. Again.)

There was a lot of drama in my boring little life this week. I'm glad it's over. On to another busy week with two dress rehearsals, two concerts, one more church Christmas party John Deere is attending with me, and two work Christmas luncheons. If I make it out alive and not 20 pounds heavier, I'll be one happy Huffy!

The Redneck and The Nerd

So he listens to Country and I listen to Classical.

So he reads Outdoor Living and I read Agatha Christie.

So he tinkers with tractors and I tinker with the human psyche.

So he drinks Mt. Dew and I drink Trinidadian Coconut Coffee.

So he has never seen a Mel Brooks movie and I can quote them word for word.

So he shoots deer for fun and I cried like a little girl when I accidentally ran over a cat.

So he's never heard of NPR and my weekend isn't complete without "A Prairie Home Companion."

Does that mean we're too different?