elle weems updates

Starting off a three-day weekend

nobody@vox.com(yapidka) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:11:18 -0400

Tom set up his kit in the garage and I took a picture of him playing it. That about sums up the day.

For our happy fourth, we're planning to go to Busch Gardens until we're rained out, then coming back to Punta Gorda for the fireworks. I've decided to celebrate Tom's birthday tomorrow since he'll be out of town during his birthday next week. It should be easy to spoil him on Independence Day. I hope he likes his present. I found little white stetsons in the doll department in Michaels Arts & Crafts to use as package decorations with the blue raffia.

Little white stetsons

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And then there was one.

nobody@vox.com(yapidka) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:54:08 -0400

Bailey on the couch

Bailey's father picked her up several hours later than what he had told her, but I'm not complaining. When she went, Tommy decided to take out his anger about the situation on me. The poor thing is out of siblings for two weeks until Bailey returns and then August when his big brothers come home.

Being down to one kid is a very odd feeling. It will make going places easier, for the most part, but with the weather rolling in predictably when Tom is finished with his workday - which is earlier than the standard workday so with cooperative weather I'd have good light and dramatic shadows to play with - there's still not a whole lot I can do... unless I muster up the courage to start photographing lightning. I've come to view Florida lightning as especially dangerous and unpredictable, but I also have to photograph lightning to bring all these ideas in my head into reality. This one-child timeframe is complicated further with Tom going to Jacksonville from the 7th to the 10th. But it's only three days plus some travel. He'll work with me, I'm sure. He has been so far. It's a real downer that he'll be out of town on his birthday.

I haven't concreted any plans for the fourth. Tom keeps asking me what we're going to do. I don't even know what we'll do just the three of us. With the way Indy hates thunderstorms, I think the fireworks in the neighbourhood are going to freak him out. Wherever we go, maybe we should bring him with us.

We had hotdogs for lunch but are still planning to have bratwurst for dinner. We need to do some shopping first, for propane and also for milk. Tommy was very creative in arranging his lunch, using one of Bailey's paint palettes. Thank goodness it was thoroughly cleaned out and disinfected!

Tommy's creative lunch display

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More splitting up

nobody@vox.com(yapidka) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:23:45 -0400

Tom, Tommy, and Lt. Brad Wasmus

My Sunday was pretty uneventful. After I delivered a print to CCFEMS 12, we had breakfast, went shopping and stopped by CCFEMS 7 so Tom could see an old friend. There wasn't much else to the day after that, just relaxing. We had subs and watched Spiderwick again.

Bailey starts her two-week visitation with her father this afternoon. It's the longest she's been away from home and, of course, they're taking her all the way to Chicago instead of considering the possibility that she's going to get homesick [read: miss her mother] at some point. I don't remember if I'm supposed to meet him in Punta Gorda or if he's coming here. He was supposed to email and didn't. So, I'll see if he calls me in a panic because I'm not in Punta Gorda, or if he shows up here. I think because he's taking her on Tommy's birthday and there was the disagreement about it, he knows I'm not going out of my way.

I actually wouldn't mind going to Punta Gorda today. It'd be a good opportunity to find those South County Park geocaches.

While the older boys have decided not to go on visitations when they're old enough to not be forced (13, I think?) (they know better than I do), Tommy is the only child that never has to go anywhere. So, I guess we're looking at camps or my parents' house when he gets a little older. Then again, I really hate having an empty house.

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Runaround Saturday

nobody@vox.com(yapidka) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:14:05 -0400

Bikers Away

Today was a lot of running around for not a lot accomplished. It's part of my in-laws' genetic disease known as must-do-things-the-most-inconvenient-way-possible-itis. Sometimes it's cute. Sometimes not so much.

Anyway, this morning I took a photograph I'd taken of a PGFD battalion chief to him because it was such an emotive portrait, I really wanted him to have a copy. He wanted to give me something for it, so I asked for a patch. I really felt awkward since the point was just for him to have the photograph, but a patch is something I knew I could have at any point in time just by asking, so good enough... and I have a PGFD patch now.

After that came the running around with the husband and his family. The exciting news is that Tom is back on his harley. After lunch at Golden Corral, we spent the better part of the afternoon at the Punta Gorda Airport while Tom, his father and one of his father's friends rode around Charlotte County. It was such a hot, muggy day! Here's a picture of Tom on his harley, and check out them Abilene boots!

Tom on his harley

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Eddie's Bakery + Summer Visitation Travel - Tom: Day 1

nobody@vox.com(yapidka) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:12:03 -0400

Eddie baking a pie - balling the dough for a crust

Yesterday, Eddie made us a cherry pie. He is wearing one of my Pampered Chef aprons, as well as his little league baseball cap. Michael is in the background making himself some ramen noodles. Eddie made a great pie, too. He's made us promise to leave Bailey a piece, since she had to go to her father's house for this weekend.

Tom was going to drive the boys to the airport and leave his car in the overnight parking but had a nasty sinus condition that was so horrible that he'd mistaken it for toothpain. So, we all got into the minivan and I drove them to the airport. All this means is that we save on the parking fee, spend twice for fuel, and I have to make sure to be back at RSW tomorrow on time. It was sometime along the way that Tom figured out his "toothpain" was relieved by placing the icepack on his sinus target points. I had known that sinus backup can cause horrible toothpain just from the pressure but even with Tom's history of sinus trouble, it just didn't occur to me that was the problem! It's a relief that it's a sinus problem and not a tooth problem. Sinus problem is a lot cheaper to fix! He gets an evening with my parents pampering him and throwing every OTC medication possible at him to help. He'll like that.

The flight went well and my mother was waiting for them like she said she was going to be. Their Comcast hasn't been working so Tom can try to sort that out for them, too. While he's at it, he can clean up the mess my brother does on my mother's computer... if there's enough time.

Tommy hasn't been happy with his brothers gone. I think with the frequency that Bailey goes on visitations, it doesn't phase him much when she's not here for a couple days, although he's had his moments over the past year of getting very angry to see her go. He really doesn't like it when his brothers disappear. He argued against going to bed by saying we needed to go get his dad, Michael and Eddie. I think he'll be disappointed when we pick up only his daddy from the airport tomorrow. Hopefully, next summer will start a much shorter visitation period.

I don't think I really need to talk about how I'm doing, especially being alone through this. Those who know me, already know.

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Busy week has begun

nobody@vox.com(yapidka) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:03:17 -0400

White Rose against blue

When Tom leaves for his work trips, he buys me flowers. He also buys me flowers for holidays. Between work trips and holidays, we have an almost steady stream of roses in the house. He's currently in Orlando for a convention until the 13th.

This week is a busy one with all the activities at the kids' school during their final week. This year has gone so fast.

I'm overdue for a vacation but, unfortunately, my in-laws have done what they do best and blown up their own good situations just for the sake of blowing them up, affecting our lives with it. In other words, my father-in-law threw my sister-in-law out of his house over dishes not being done (I shit you not) and she's gone back to Orlando, effectively leaving us babysitterless again. At least we got to go out once.

I'm out of reading material so it looks like I'll be making a visit to Amazon.com on Friday. Any recommendations?

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Mother's Day

nobody@vox.com(yapidka) — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:45:53 -0400

Mother's Day 2008 - bouquet

This was a very wonderful Mother's Day! I was served breakfast in bed, complete with bloody mary, and then presented with presents! My favourite perfume, a dozen roses, a camera bag (it got returned but it was still wonderful that they thought of that), plus homemade presents from Bailey and Eddie. All the children signed their own names on the card.

Bailey had the idea of baking me a cake so Tom had to purchase all the necessary items and then help her make a chocolate cake and decorate it for me. She really got into giving me a wonderful day (breakfast in bed was her idea) and I owe a lot to both Tom and Bailey.

Mother's Day 2008 - Chocolate cake with roses

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A short tour of memories

nobody@vox.com(yapidka) — Tue, 06 May 2008 17:57:58 -0400

Caloosahatchee Bridge

I had to go to Fort Myers today for a legal/mediation thing because Bailey's father is incapable of adult discussion and would rather spend thousands on an attorney than act mature and (maybe) pay off some of those mounting child support arrears with his hard-earned part-time minimum wage Office Maxx money. So we had the obvious discussions that could've happened on their own for free if his head had not been lodged up his ass, changed the Agreement a little to compensate for any future incidents of his head/ass lodging, and moved on with our lives.

Anyway, I took some time to walk around downtown amidst the continued [re]construction. It brought back some memories.

Lee County Commissioner building

This is where I used to work. Technically, I worked on the other side of this historical building, in a building that was built attached to it for the offices of the Clerk of Courts. As a minutes secretary, I would record the minutes of all Lee County Commissioner meetings, which would take place in this historical building.

French Connection

The French Connection is a little restaurant where Tom and I had our first lunch date. It was also our first date that wasn't scheduled around the convenience of our evening college classes. We'd actually made time for each other. I didn't eat much because I was nervous. He ate fine. This is a popular spot for downtown employees to get a nice, sit-down lunch in a mid-range price that can offer a bit of quiet.

Main Street Parking Garage stairwell

I parked in the Main Street Parking Garage "borrowing" Tom's city parking card and descended down this steep stairwell every morning. This is a couple blocks from the old Courthouse, where I worked, and is almost right across the street from the big antique shop that you can get lost in for hours at a time.

Ichibans

Tom and I had a lot of dinner dates, and a few lunches, at Ichibans Sushi Restaurant off of Dean St. They also deliver to the downtown area. As you walk down Dean Street, you're greeted by this open furnished courtyard. There's also a a bakery here.

Centennial Park - Uncommon Friends

The statues of Ford, Edison and Firestone engaged in casual conversation are at the entrance of Centennial Park along the Caloosahatchee River. It was around these gentlemen that Tom and I had our commitment discussion. We had scheduled to meet each other here for "a very important talk" and he arrived before me. I remember pulling into a front space and seeing him seated in one of the surrounding benches looking very nervous. Fortunately, our discussion was very different than what he had feared it would be.

The shelter area of this park is where the local drum circle meets every Saturday evening.

Harborside event center

The Harborside Event Center is where Tom went on a lunch break during a wedding expo to find a vendor for my engagement ring... and did. I don't know if I'm supposed to know that or not, but I do.

I took more images than merely those that triggered memories, and you can see them in the Fort Myers, FL flickr set.

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Sunday - Everyone is home + Work + Plans for Monday

nobody@vox.com(yapidka) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:14:08 -0400

Both my daughter and my husband are home so life can resume.

Tom now has an updated MCSE, the details of which he could explain more than I could. I'm very proud of him.

I retook station shots of CCFEMS 5, 6, and 7 and PGFD 2 and 3. Tomorrow, I have an attorney appointment after which I'll be able to redo CCFEMS 16, PGFD 1, and all the CCFEMS that are in El Jobean and over that bridge into Englewood. I also have to retake CCFEMS 2 because I just don't like what I have and I'm not selling something I can't put my name on.

At some point, I need to go to Myakkahatchee Creek Nature Park to repair a chewed up geocache that we'd adopted. Some animal gnawed on it a week or so after we adopted it to prevent it from getting archived. I'd scheduled that repair for this week but that was before the hospital gig came up.

I also need to remove some of my waymarks from the directory until I can update coordinates and photos. Many of the "Art About Town" exhibits that were scattered throughout downtown Punta Gorda have been relocated to a park across from Fisherman's Village. This effectively outdates all the information that I have for those waymarks.

Punta Gorda Fire Department Station 3

This is Punta Gorda Fire Department Station 3. My photoshop skills have fallen short for this one. This was the shot I really wanted to sell for PGFD 3 but I cannot fix the hedges to their proper "PGFD" look. I'm really aggravated about it.

Charlotte County Fire/EMS Station 7

CCFEMS 7 always photographs beautifully. It is the station by the Punta Gorda Airport. This is the typical floorplan that's becoming the standard for all new CCFEMS stations, with very little variation from one to another; but, for some reason, Station 7 is always more photogenic. Lucky 7. Once I got done cleaning up the shot, I was very happy with it.

Tomorrow is, of course, my birthday. I am turning 29 (again).

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Sliding into the weekend

nobody@vox.com(yapidka) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 20:53:09 -0400

Bailey walking the curb

Today was just photoshop work. I reshot CCFEMS Station 2 but I don't like any of the shots and will go back again when I can get people to move their cars out of the way. There was a [presuming] false alarm at the high school, which had Engine 1, Truck 2 and a Rescue there and gone in the time it took me to pick up the kids from their school. There was some fire off towards Deep Creek this evening but Deep Creek is such a maze that I've learned my lesson trying to chase smoke in that place.

My husband is scheduled to return from this MCSE boot camp on Sunday afternoon and I'm greatly looking forward to him back home.

Tommy has transitioned himself to regular cups, which means no more sippy cups and no more demands for drinks at bedtime. Since I always dread having to go through the transitional period of getting a child to stop a behavior they don't want to stop, having him initiate all of it and accept what comes along with it is a tremendous relief! He's still very diligent with brushing his teeth and washing his hands. He will do anything that feels grown up.

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