Bitsy’s Got a Brand New Toy!

For the first time in I don’t know how many days, I was able to sleep in.  Tuckered out from my first night on brand new skis (awesome!), I was ready to sleep until I woke naturally.  Normally I peel myself out of bed at about 7-7:15 a.m. for work each day so anything past that is gravy.  Mind you, this means that the dog with whom I share my bed, who is very used to routines, had to be still, not pace (tick-tick-tick with her nails on the hardwood), not puke (ugh, I dread that awful retching sound), etc.   Well it happened, I slept until 8:30!!  There was a slight amount of pacing but she was also very obedient and laid down when I told her to with the words she understands – “down” and “floor”.   She only understands single syllable words, the dimwit.

Aaaah, once the dimwit (god love her) was settled down, I had that little jolt that reminded me of my new toy!  It was that feeling you get the day after Christmas when you wake and remember that you have that new toy and you can’t wait to get up and play with it.  I love that little jolt of excitement and I think this is the first time it has happened to me in a long time.  It was like that Christmas when I was 12ish and my parents bought the family (i.e., me since I was the only gaming geek) the new Nintendo!  No, this wasn’t the Nintendo 64 or the Super-de-duperty Nintendo.  This was the original and, back then, it was like the holy grail of video gaming systems and it was in my playroom!!  I could barely contain my excitement to get on there and shoot some ducks or navigate Mario around that two-dimensional world!  So I jumped out of bed, about froze my feet (Dad was the Heatmiser), put on wooly socks, and ran them down the stairs to the finished basement which was called “The Playroom”.  This room was even colder than the rest of the house since it was a separate heating zone.  Dad only raised that thermostat above 60 degrees when people were in there.  To be fair to my dad, there WAS a wood stove down there but it was not going at 8:00 a.m. or whatever butt-crack-of-dawn time I awoke that morning.  So it was me, my wooly socks, and my worn out, thin, knee-length Sylvester the Cat nightgown braving the cold to play this new toy.  I was sitting with my legs to my chin, nightgown pulled down over my legs in some sort of fetal position, tongue slightly sticking out, intently playing that game and loving it!  Yes, THAT is the feeling I had this morning while I read my new Kindle in bed!!  It was much warmer and much more comfortable but the same feeling, nonetheless.  Aaaah, new toys!!

So I stayed in bed for another hour or so just reading my new toy, the Kindle.  Who knew that a book-reading implement would give me as much excitement as a video game did that for that geeky 12-year-old girl?  I guess times have changed and I’ve become an adult … and I’m ok with that!

P.S. of course, the dog puked and I didn’t realize it until I got out of bed.  But a little bit of cleaning up was well worth the post-Christmas magic that was my first morning with my Kindle 😀

Home Sweet Home

Out of the past 36 days, I have been home for only 13 of those days. No wonder I woke up last night in my own living room panicked because I didn’t know where I was. The curtains looked familiar, I knew the purple candle holders were the same as mine, but I felt like I was somewhere else. I swear it took me at least two whole minutes to convince myself that I was actually in my own home. 

But I can’t blame my psyche.  Let’s break it down, I stayed in four different states, three different hotel rooms, two different houses, and I can’t tell you how many miles I traversed (wait, I can – 6,318 miles!).  Jeez … how do you traveling people do it?

But in two weeks from today I will be winging off to a warmer climate – thank god for that!  I just spent my Christmas money (thanks Mom!) on a Kindle and I couldn’t be more excited to sit my slightly larger tush on a chaise on the beach, read multiple books, perhaps give in to my newest obsession – friggin’ Sudoku – and actually relax!   I wonder how long it will take me to get bored and look for something more exciting to do.  Well after this very looooong December, I might actually need the whole week to relax.

Happy new year to you all and remember the words of Counting Crows, “A long December and there’s reason to believe maybe this year will be better than the last.”   But after writing that, I feel slightly bad about it.  I mean, aside from losing Dad and Bobby, the year had its up moments.  So thanks to you all who were a part of those highlights … I love you all to pieces and cannot wait to toast you this new year’s eve (or ring in the new year with you)!!  [insert silly 12 year old heart wingding here]