a week already?

Wow, I can't believe I haven't blogged since last week. Sorry, I suck. I'll try to make up for it. Hmmm, where did I leave off? Sadly nothing much has really happened. I ended up catching a stomach virus thingamajigger so felt like absolute hooey all weekend. To the point where I got home from work Saturday afternoon and slept on the couch (okay, futon) for four hours. I felt awful for ditching a friend who I haven't seen in ages, but I figure he really didn't want me to hurl on him in a movie theater. Same scenario Sunday: I got up and did the singing thing (had a duet so I couldn't skip out--although I kinda did because at one point I totally forgot to sing--bad naughty mouse!), but I thought I was gonna spew on the priest at the altar after the singing. Needless to say, I came back home and slept on the aforementioned futon for another 3+ hours. This was not good for ingesting protein. I got a little behind, and yet I didn't lose a single pound. Damnation!

This week has been better. I started feeling better Monday night, and I was back to my obnoxious and raring-to-go self by Tuesday (much to the chagrin of my coworkers--I think they liked the break). I even threw something at my boss yesterday. He tried talking to me while I was doing something where I really needed to pay attention, and I almost screwed everything up. Blast him. He got a pad of paper aimed at his chest. Bwa hah hah!!! Today was even better because I got a call this morning and ended up with a lunch "date." Of course I hadn't planned on him paying and all that jazz, but who am I to say no. He doesn't have to pay to put gas in his car. =) We just went to a close local barbeque place, and I tried the pulled pork. I'm happy to say that it is now on the list of things the mouse can eat. Whoot! I keep adding something new almost every day. Things are looking up. I even had some almonds this afternoon!

Yes, things are looking up. I know I left a lot out, but highlights are better than everything. I don't want to bore you all to death and have you never read me again. Happy hump day people!

you'll put your eye out!

Remember that scene in A Christmas Story when Ralphie almost shoots his eye out? Well, that whole scenario came to me this morning while I was driving to work. I wasn't even 3 blocks from my house before someone tried to blind me. I was driving with my driver's side window down (my preferred way to dry my hair on the way to the lab), and I passed a woman out weed-eating her sidewalk area. All of a sudden BAM! flying through my window, hitting my left cheek, and landing on my passenger seat after who knows how many bounces was a little rock. She could've put my eye out! Oh, but it gets better. So I look over for the rock thingy and see this minimally large spider crawl across the passenger seat and down between it and the shifting console. WTF? Is it freak out Naughty Mouse morning or something? Gosh. Anyway, I hope you all found this as entertaining as I did on my way to work this morning.

happy Tuesday

Let me start by wishing a super happy birthday to the H-bomb! Yay for making it another year without killing anyone. =)

Things in my world are awfully boring. I wish I had something fun to post. The most exciting things that happened in the past few days are 1) I bought a grill pan so I can grill fish inside (because me and outdoor grilling is a hilarious display that ends with fire extinguishers), 2) I had yesterday off and did absolutely nothing I should have around the house, and 3) I'm cooking some fresh black eyed peas right now. Funny, all of a sudden I have My Hump all in my head....

Oh, ya, I did get to go to the dentist for the first time in 2 years yesterday. Whoa. I'll be back at the end of the month and then a couple more times after that. Stupid teeth. See, I've got this one cap that I got back in 1991 that needs to be replaced. Funny story how it happened: I had just finished my first year at Sewanee and was waiting for my parents to come pick me up and bring me home. A group of us decided to go out exploring/roving/killing time the night before I was to be retrieved. One girl and I were the only 2 sober people in the crowd, and who's the one who slipped on wet grass and fell down thus biting the concrete sidewalk? Ya, that'd be me. Talk about embarrassing. I had a hard time getting my parents to believe that I wasn't one of the toasted wonders I was roaming with! Anywho, I've had the same cap/veneer since June of 1991. It has served me well. Now I gotta get a new tooth. I feel very ghetto when I say that. Unfortunately, since it is one of the front teeth, insurance sees it as being cosmetic instead of necessary; ergo, they won't pay as much.

Good for me! I found something to blog about after all. Whoot to me!

more about mice

This just cracks me up more than you know.

Neuroscientists at the St. Louis university found male mice burst out in song when they encounter sex pheromones from female mice, The Guardian reported. The songs aren't audible to humans because they are sung at an extremely high frequency. Researchers Tim Holy and Zhongsheng Guo said they made their discovery while testing how male mice responded to sex pheromones. The scientists said within seconds of encountering female mouse urine, the males began emitting ultrasonic songs. The scientists recorded the sounds and then made them audible to the human ear by slowing the audio track and lowering the pitch, while retaining the tempo. Such courtship melodies are common among birds, insects, and frogs, but such behavior in mammals has previously been thought limited to humans, whales and bats. The study appears in the open access journal, Public Library of Science, Biology.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International

why oh why?

Okay, this is another not so chipper post, but it will have a good ending. Promise!

Here's my question of the day: why do I let myself hope for things that are so unreasonable? Do I purposely doom myself? Kinda like when I fell for a married guy--twice. No, I never did anything about it because that would be oh-so-seriously wrong. Maybe I have this mental thing that I only want things I can't have. Like the dream job. That'll never happen again, that's for damned sure. Of course I like where I am now, there's moving-up potential, and it's not a governmental agency. AND we have labs all over the world so there is actual moving potential. Kinda like that Maine idea last summer.... I could even go to South Africa if I got desperate enough for a real move (and see RAH again!). Anyway, I'm just being all conflicted at the moment. Maybe it's hormonal. =) Maybe I just need another sports car. Maybe I need to quit listening to Muse's "Map of the Problematique." Maybe I need a real vacation (not just spending all my "off time" in the frakking hospital). Or maybe I should just make that phone call and quit waiting for it to come to me....

Good ending as promised: got to IM with the Mayboy yesterday. He said he'd bring me some tea. What a great guy. Today he is at the birthplace of Confucius. He said it is up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere. Isn't a lot of China like that? He got to take the bullet train to get there. How cool is that? Ooh! Maybe he'll bring me a panda!

SICK

Okay kids, it's that time again. Time for the naughty mouse to have a little time to rant. Thank you in advance for your patience.

I'm sick of not being able to eat.
I'm sick of not being able to drink without hurting my stomach.
I'm sick of not being able to go out with my friends for these reasons.
I'm sick of my incision sites not healing well.
I'm sick of working too much for too little appreciation.
I'm sick of my cat eating my flip flops and kleenex boxes.
I'm sick of all my close friends going through tough times.
I'm sick of weeding the front flower bed and having the weeds return immediately.
I'm sick of hospital bills.
I'm sick of lots of things.

I really don't know how I'm gonna handle work for the next two weeks. The Mayboy is gone to China. He's only been gone 3 days, and things here already suck. I miss him. I want him to come back soon--and bring me something fun! I am running low on my blooming tea....

Lost

No, I don't even watch it, but if one more person mentions the two hour finale!!! I think I'll spew. That could also be because I'm still having troubles eating and drinking--more so drinking. I guess I'm having one of the bad days, but I'm sick to death of taking a sip of tea and having it do somersaults in my stomach. When will it end???

Okay, thanks for the rant reading. I did have one fun thing happen today. I was sitting at the microscope when one of our couriers came over to me with this shit-eating grin on his face. My first thought is, Oh hell, what did he do this time? Surprisingly, he came over to compliment me on how good I look lately! It was so awesome! Definitely one of the best things that has happened to me in a long while. It really is the little things that make me happy. =) Funny thing was that he went up to a co-worker first and said something to the effect of "is it just me or has she lost A LOT of weight?" To know this guy makes it even funnier! What a sweetie! Forty pounds down, quite a few to go....

Okay, I think I've stayed up long enough after eating my piece and a half of sliced turkey breast. I'm going to read myself to sleep. Whoot! Everyone should really read Peter Sagal's Book of Vice. It's freaking hilarious!

solid again

Well, after my week-o-liquids after the hospital stint, I am back on the solid foods. Again, thanks be to the gods!!! I was getting really tired of my homemade soup from the freezer. Granted, it was really good, but...everyday...every meal? Ugh! Yesterday's lunch was some stir fried tofu and carrots in a brown sauce. Yum! For dinner I was all stoked to go to Outback and get a baked sweet potato ('cause I didn't want to wait the hour plus to bake it myself). Would you believe they don't do them anymore?!? Sonsabitches! Way to ruin a girl's perfectly happy mood. Oh well, I got a plain potato instead. Not the same, but still a helluva lot better than that same soup again.

update-o-rama

Ya ya ya. I've been off the radar for a while. Some of it was completely unintentional and part was due to an out of town "family" matter.

For those of you keeping track of the personal crap I'm dealing with, yes, I was in the hospital again this past week. I was on my way to movie night last Tuesday and needed a quick protein fix. Instead of hitting the Taco Bell drive thru (which I intended) I picked up something full of protein at the CVS when I got a prescription filled. Oh my gawd. Biggest mistake of my heretofore life. What I got was loaded with wheat gluten--a big no no. Gets all big and poofy in the tummy. About 3 hours after eating, I starting getting crampy pains in my abdomen. It kept getting worse and worse until I called the doc's office at 11:30pm (yes, I waited two and a half hours...sometimes I'm not brilliant). He said ER, I called mama, and off we went. I must admit, while it wasn't nearly as busy as the TV show ER, all the people behind the scenes were television worthy in their looks. My main nurse was cute as a freakin' button! Anywho, after about 2 gallons of blood was drawn and a CT scan was performed, I got admitted. Simply put, never again will I think that a semi private room is good enough. I obviously pissed off someone really important to get put in the room with the woman I was placed with. Don't get me wrong, I felt sorry for her and all, but DAMN! Complain much? Not like there was anything I could do about it. I was willing to share my pain meds just to knock her out. Oiy vey! Two nights of babble made me a stronger patient--I would've left that hospital even if I wasn't ready! So I was home Thursday night, back at work for a bit Friday, and back to "normal" on Saturday.

Next exciting thing was leaving town Sunday after singing to head two and a half hours south for a "family" matter. Whirlwind tour of central Texas. I'm home again, and I've had a very emotional 24+ hours. Those who know about it know. I will not elaborate here other than to say that CM is one of the most extraordinary people ever, and the kid is truly amazing. I love that kid. I did find an amazing shortcut though--such a beautiful drive home until I hit the burbs.

it's solid

Yes, kids, I am officially on solid foods. Hell ya! Granted I'm starting with simple things, but the whole idea is exciting. Just have to remember not to take in too much at one time or I feel like I'll burst. Kinda like now, for instance. Nah, just a little full now. I made a tuna spread (ya, not too thrilling), and I had to keep tasting it to get it right spice wise. Trust me, it needed a lot. And instead of using a whole lotta mayo, I used half mayo and half low fat ricotta. Extra protein, baby! That and a lot of Penzey's spices. Thanks be to God for no spice restrictions.

In other news, I sang for the H-bomb's sister's wedding yesterday. I think it went rather well considering I had to sing immediately after the vows were taken. Okay, not that I'm a big softie or anything, but I know these people. I got a smidge teary eyed, and then I had to sing. Wow, that was interesting for the first couple of bars! :'-) Everyone loved it, especially the bride and groom which is what really mattered. Although the H-bomb's huge eye-wink and "rock on!" look almost made me crack up.

Finally, can you believe I actually turned down a lunch date Friday? I got a phone call about 10:30am asking if I could do lunch. Well, since I can't really eat anything good yet (and I looked like ass on a cracker that day), I turned him down. He asked how soon I could go out for lunch, and I estimated a couple of weeks. Let's see what happens then.... Why is it always the waaaaay older men? Meh, who cares! Bring it! He's fun, nice, honest, and uber safe. Case in point, I used to work with him. And I know his boss. Heh heh heh.

Well, I'm off to watch the rest of the Flyers/Penguins game to see who the Stars will play for the Stanley Cup. WHOOT! GO STARS!

2 week update

Well, I made it two weeks. Whoo-hoo! My risk of complications drastically dropped today. Sweeeet (in the Napoleon Dynamite voice, of course). I also decided to make today my first real(ish) food day. Lunch was Bueno--the side of pintos and cheese--and dinner was Friday's--loaded mashed potatoes. Ate half of the lunch and was stuffed. Ate only ~1/3 of the dinner and thought I was gonna die. I think I learned a valuable lesson tonight: bacon is not my friend. At least not yet. Ugh! The good side though? Still no reflux issues, my BP is still in the "normal" range, and I'm officially down 30 pounds. Go me!

In other news, the bride to be will be getting hitched this Saturday (ergo the dinner out--had to skip the rest of the bachelorette party due to tiredness and soreness left over from last night's STOMPING of the Stars over the Red Wings--omg, so worth the pain to be there to see it--but I digress). I finally found out exactly where I have to be at what time on Saturday so I can sing for the bloody affair. Ya, it's a hike, but it'll be worth it for her. Although, the best part was watching her open the gifts at the party tonight. Nothing better than Condom Sense for a good bachelorette gift! Funny, the three "older" friends (including the sister) all had the same idea and shopped at the same place. Gotta love us women! Of course, being sat in a back corner by the men's room drinking our drinks out of penis shaped straws was also a fun part of the evening. The H-bomb kept saying things like "Don't forget your penis!" and "Is that a penis in your mouth?" Wow, we are fun but juvenile! =) Now, they are all out having fun at the dueling piano bar as I type. I'm a little jealous, but my bed is sooooooooooo much more comfy than a bar stool these days. Nightie night, kiddos!

2nd post op visit

I have graduated to full liquids! Hallelujah! I also got the rest of my staples out. Hallelujah! I've even been told I can resume my walking regimen. Will the good news ever end?!?!? Unfortunately, yes. Life goes on. That means I've got to fill out reviews for work, go to the grocery store, and watch the Stars lose to the Red Wings AGAIN. Oh well. At least life goes on!

beautiful Sunday

Wow, today was gorgeous. Too bad I spent most of it in the lab. Silly supervisor can't schedule his way out of a paper bag sometimes. Oh well, not his fault my doc is going to Brazil and can't change my appointment for tomorrow. Thank goodness the May Boy was willing to give up some of his free Sunday time to come in and help me. We got a little more than half of tomorrow's work done today. Yippee.

Now I just have to wait until tomorrow to see what the doc is gonna let me eat. I'm not hungry at all today, and I should be. I've had next to no calories and not nearly enough protein. Oh, and I haven't taken my vitamins yet. Gotta do that.................okay, done. And 10 more calories in me.

I spent my afternoon after work over at mother's watching the local news while they broadcast the news from the field across from her house. Ya, they found a body over there this morning. Really awful Mother's Day for some poor woman. I can't even imagine. Maybe that's why I'm not hungry. Some sort of sadness for the family I never met. Or guilt for having such a loving family. Then I came home and watched Juno for the first time. Even knowing what it was all about, I still got all weepy. It was sweet, beautiful, sad, funny.... Good movie. Really glad I didn't see it in the theater though! I think I'll go and finish my pity party with a little frozen protein treat. And really, it's not that big of a treat, but I've got to eat something.

weekend update

Wow, I feel like crap. I went back to work for the first time this morning. I didn't get there until about 8:25--only an hour later than my best helper ever! Luckily with 2 of us reading slides, we were finished by 2:30. SWEET! Afterward, I went by the grocery store to stock up on some of the stuff I'll be able to eat starting Monday: yogurt, low fat cream soups (an oxymoron?), applesauce, etc. To beat it all, I bought some baby food. Yes, Organic Gerber baby food. Dude, I need some variety and flavor, and I need it now! Anyway, I'll let you all know how the pureed organic sweet potatoes work for me. It's got to be better than the protein drink I've got here with me right now.

Oh, as to why I feel like crap: I think I laughed too much yesterday. Granted, this is not necessarily a bad thing. I did, also, reach a tad too far in reaching for something and carried something on the edge of my weight restriction. Oops. I've learned a valuable lesson in all that. And now, I believe my bed is hearkening to me.

ugh

Don't get me wrong: I love my friends. They are the best ever. However, I spent way too much time today laughing. OMG, my entire abdominal region is sooooooooooo sore! That and it's 10 til 9 and I'm getting ready to hit the hay. Guys, let's try to keep the humor to a minimum for just another week. I am healing from a major surgery, you know! ;-) Guess I'm gonna have to hit the sauce before bed after all. I am doing a great job of weaning myself off that stuff though. Not nearly as much as the days right after the hospital release!

One more week--no more laughing! I mean it.

the "dealio"

Okay okay okay! I give. I finally have time to blog (when my mind is not in a fog from the prescribed post-op pain meds). So for those chomping at the bit, here you go.

I had my surgery a week ago today. Things went very well, and now I am at home recovering for a few more days. I was in the hospital for a couple of days, then I was at my mother's for a few days. Now, I am able to walk, drive, and do all those sundry things people have to do on their own. I'm mostly off the pain meds, and I'm already totally off the blood pressure meds. Whoot! While the doc was in there, he also found a hiatal hernia and repaired that. Since then, I've now had a lick of reflux problem rear its ugly head. Yay! Hopefully the singing will be better sooner than anticipated.

That's about it. Nothing else exciting in my life. I'll update with more when it happens.

for the Heather and addendum

Main Entry: an·ti·pode
Function: noun
plural an·tip·o·des
Etymology: Middle English antipodes, plural, persons dwelling at opposite points on the globe, from Latin, from Greek, from plural of antipod-, antipous with feet opposite, from anti- + pod-, pous foot — more at foot
Date: 1549

1 : the parts of the earth diametrically opposite —usually used in plural —often used of Australia and New Zealand as contrasted to the western hemisphere
2 : the exact opposite or contrary

(from m-w.com)

And the addendum, pretty much right after I posted "antipodes" I got a phone call from my father. He is coming around, and I have his support. Better than that, I know I always have his love and respect. =)

brilliant!

Sometimes I'm not as smart as people think I am. Either that or I completely lack common sense. Case in point: it is almost always cold as an ice box in this lab. I turned on my little under-the-lab-bench space heater. Well, the night time guy keeps it turned toward the edge of the desk. Whatever. I wanted it aimed at my feet. So what did I do? I moved it with the tip of my big toe to change the aim. Ya, my big toe without my shoe. Did you know the surface of those things can get pretty hot? Well, ya. This is your fair warning. Do not touch the surface of a heater without proper insulation.

Duh.

antipodes

You think you have a grasp on things and then WHAM! Out of the blue something happens to make you wonder if you really ever knew anything. My life (for the most part) is really coming into focus for me lately.

I'm having a life altering surgery for the betterment of my health--well, okay, so I can outlive my parents and take care of them instead of the otherway around. Yes, I'm frightened. Yes, I realize my life is totally gonna change. Yes, I'm going to be out of the loop for a short while. But I am happy about this! It will help me continue my singing "career" without being in constant throat pain. It will result in me not having to take meds for my high blood pressure anymore. My rheum says it will help my stupid (at the moment non-extistant) "disorder."

What made me finally listen to the doctors who've been trying to get me to do this for a couple of years? The death of a dear friend. The idea of surgery is gross. I mean, really, who wants to be poked and prodded and sliced and diced? Ok, I know there are people out there who do. Ick, I'm not one of them. I want to be healthy. I want to be able to walk up a flight of stairs without being winded. I want to be able to go to my yoga classes and actually be able to do all the silly poses correctly. I want to go to sleep without hearing my heart pounding in my ears. I want to be able to sit on an airplane and not feel guilty that the person next to me is loathing sitting by me. I want to be healthy. Lisa always said our health was something we should take care of while we had the chance. I have the chance, and I'm taking it.

No matter what anyone else thinks. I'm doing this for me!

You all know that I tend to overreact at times. Hell, I'm a woman! That's what I do! :) Anyway, the HSBF actually was sick yesterday morning. We ended up doing movie, dinner, and the Stars game (watching on tv, not going). We also had a really great talk. Again! Go fig. Simply put, there is no way he and I will work as a couple again. Mainly because of the, oh, about, 2000 miles of distance between us. I feel good about it. That and with all the health stuff I've got going on in the next month or so, I really don't need to be starting something new. However, we both admitted how wonderful it was to spend the day together. Kinda like falling back into your bed from childhood--all snug and warm and comfortable. Oh well. Such is life. Full of temptations and conundrums. Funny that my horror-scope today was the following: "Your romantic life may not be too exciting now, but you have worked long and hard to create the current stability in your life. Instead of trying to turn things upside down again, chill out enough to enjoy the pleasures available to you. Letting your true feelings out of the bag can stir up more than intended, so it may be wise to be patient for a while longer. " Hahahahahaha! What an understatement!

Sunday

Well, friends. it is Sunday. This is the day I'm supposed to be seeing the HSBF again for brunch and whatever followed. We'd talked about a museum or the Nasher or the aquarium. It is now 15 minutes past the time he'd agreed to pick me up. When I got home from church, I had a message (a text actually) that he was feeling not up to snuff so could we put brunch off a bit. MY first thought was "well, then it might as well be dinner at this point." I responded politely for him to let me know what he wanted to do. I have heard nothing from him yet. This is, unfortunately, probably a good thing. This way, I've already had my hopes dashed a little bit, and I really have no more expectations. In fact, I'm quite bit pissed. I could've stayed out later last night! =)

Anyway, thanks to those who were thinking happy thoughts for me today. I think I know where I stand.

long time, no post

Sorry kiddos. I've been so wrapped up in my little world that I seem to have forgotten about the land of blogdom. Anyway, this is what's going on with me lately....

Monday started off with a phone call from the father proffering tickets for the Tuesday night Stars game. Man, he didn't even have to finish the question before I accepted. Then he told me to bring two friends. I barely mentioned it at the lab before my two buds up there absolutely jumped at the chance to go. Whoot! We had a blast and sat so close we could see the studly men sweating. *swoon* Unfortunately, they lost. Damn. Then to make it all worse, afterward when I got home Wange called freaking out because someone had hit her baby car in the garage. Didn't leave a note or anything. Bastard! Of course, I felt guilty even though it was not my fault. Oh well. Thank goodness for insurance.

Speaking of insurance, I had to go for my stress echo today. I swear to Buddha, I haven't had my left breast touched that much in...well, a really long time! All that ultrasounding took forever, but at least the guy doing it was hot. I guess it should have been disconcerting, but hey, it's his job. I'm just glad my breasts are still somewhat young and perky! I can only imagine some of what he has to deal with. I think what made it extra interesting was the talk of dating the whole time this was going on. Go fig! I actually considered asking him what he was doing after work! He was funny.

Then on the way home, another uber random thing happened. We all know that the logo for Dodge is the stylized ram's head, and we all know what it has been likened to look like. So, I'm leaving the hospital and I get behind this truck. It's got the logo on the back, but it is all painted over patriotic-like with an American flag. Let me tell you, a shiny red ram's head looks amazingly like a vagina. I was so disgusted! I had to call Wange to tell her about it (she's a total car person). Man, did we laugh like crazy women!

So there. Those are the high points of my week. Enjoy!

am I a hex?

I apologize to all my friends for all their problems. I'm starting to think that bad things happen to people I care deeply about. I know it's not the case, but one can't help but feel guilty when things are just starting to go well for one's self and everyone else's lives fall apart. I have one friend who lost his wife, one who is getting ready to go through a terrible divorce after near financial ruin, one who got laid off with no warning (after a cross country move no less), and another whose father died with no warning. I wish I could make everyone's pain go away. If any of you need anything, please ask--I'll do whatever I can in my power to help you.

I love you all!

Tuesday

Well, I'm back in big D. Blech. I miss my god daughter and BFF!

I had a rather longish chat last night with the HSBF. It started off normal, but things got a little too comfortable and things were said that confused me. Then he had to ditch me to talk to his most recent ex. Strange. When I got to work this morning, I saw my horror-scope for the day. The clarity you had about your feelings for someone is dissolving a little bit today, but have no fear. This confusion you will be experiencing is a totally normal part of the deliberation process. You have come across new information about them, and it is only natural that this revelation makes you think twice about who you thought they were. No one is perfect, so if you thought they were, you now know you were wrong. Can you still accept them, once you've seen their imperfections. Strange. But then, I know he's not perfect. No one is. I just hoped for more....

the glorious Hill Country

Ah, Fredericksburg, how I love thee!

I don't think I realized exactly how desperately I needed to get away--if even for a long weekend. The past couple of days have been a great respite for my soul. I got to spend time with a dear friend (who actually needed me more than I needed her for once) and the most beautiful little red-headed girl this side of, um, well anywhere! Yesterday the kiddo had a dance recital in Kyle, so most of the day was spent going to and from there. Last night, KB and I hit the town and sat under the sparkling stars while listening to local guitarists play in a bar. Stars, music, Shiner Black, and good conversation. It was a night to remember! I even got hit on by some super cute little young thing (good for my waning ego!). This morning, we actually got up fairly early (considering how late we were out last night), did the breakfast thing, sat on the patio, then hit the road for Lukenbach. What a place! I'd forgotten how ridiculously small it is! For awhile we wandered by a creek and watched the fishlets swim under the huge live oaks filled with Spanish moss. The really funny thing about this side trip was that I got hit on again by some other random cutie. Go fig! KB keeps trying to get me to move down here, so maybe she just planted these guys.... Nah! After that, we came back to town, did the lunch thing, then took the kiddo to some friend's Bday party at the market platz. It would've been a great day had the fire siren not gone off 30 minutes into the party. Keep in mind, this is a tiny town so the fire department is all volunteer. Somewhere there was a fire, so they had to call in the guys--with the loudest siren I've ever heard. Now, after a night of dinner and Scrabble (which is not the best game for a 7 year old to join in), I'm off to bed. I dread having to drive home the 5 hours tomorrow, but there is only so long the boys can take care of themselves.

My soul has been refreshed.

but wait...there's more!

Yes, once again I have found yet another reason hockey is a superior sport. I've got the Stars/Coyotes game on while I'm cleaning the kitchen and getting ready for my F'burg trip tomorrow. The announcers were talking about how the different players bring different things to the game. One of the announcers (Razor) said of one player (I can't remember it verbatim, but the important words remain): "He brings a sagacity of having been in the league for a long time." Sagacity? C'mon! How many footballers or wrestlers (much less their fans) know what in the world that means.

I love hockey. And I think I'm in love with Razor. *swoon*

randomness

Well, it's the end of hump day, and I thought I share some of my random thoughts.

You know you've had too much coffee to drink when you can smell coffee when you pee.
You know you live in Texas when you use the a/c on Monday and the heater on Wednesday of the same week.
I've come to really enjoy chatting online. I can be doing other things around the house, walk past and type something, then keep doing what I'm doing. (yes, I'm new to the 21st century, leave me alone)
I think my clothes have multiplied. I've been trying to go through and "sort" (keep, donate, trash), but the pile never ends. Ergo, the clothes must be self replicating.
As much as I trash Walmart for its icky stores by me and bad employee relations, I love the fact that I can go there on my lunch break and buy a $3 Starter sweatshirt (necessity this week due to the ever-changing TX weather and lack of news watching).
It is good for the soul to get away from work at least once every two weeks for a relaxing lunch (away from the hell with fluorescent lighting).
Why is it when you clean a spot on the carpet you realize what color your carpet should be? Think I'll be calling the professional carpet cleaners soon....

Well, that should be enough to keep you kiddos entertained for a while!

mmm, towel time

It's rare that I have time to relax after a shower. Normally I've got to rush off to work or choir or somewhere else. Tonight, I have ~30 minutes for "towel time." It's that time where you get out of the shower, towel off the body and towel dry the hair, and then lounge in said towel until you are good and air dried. This is the time I relish. Time to think or not. Time to meditate. Time to futz on the computer and describe "towel time" if I desire. :-)

The only thing I really have to do is keep the cat from biting my ankles.

the little things

Simple things really can make life a little more bearable. Yesterday when I was at WF getting my chair massage, I decided that I needed flowers. I hit their little floral area and picked up some bright red gerber daisies and some white basic daisies. It ended up being enough for 2 vases worth. That made me smile.

Then at work, I recently found a streaming radio station that rocks ass!!! It's a station out of Cleveland (yes, as in Ohio) that plays nothing but "alternative." Since I found it, I haven't heard so much Sublime, Tool, Primus, etc in ages! And really, what makes the day better than a blast of the Beastie Boys?

lost

This is a story Lisa would've gotten a huge kick out of. I'll share it with you all!

I had an appointment this morning with my rheumatologist. I hadn't been there since October, but I really thought I knew where I was going. I was a smidge late because of traffic, but I called to let them know (left a message). I parked, walked the quarter mile to the building, and took the elevator the the 6th floor. Ya, um, the office wasn't there. Maybe I had remembered the incorrect floor. So, I took the stairs down to the 5th floor. Nope, not there either. WTF? By this time I was about 15 minutes late. I took the elevator to the 8th floor (the top floor) and took the stairs all the way down stopping at every floor to check the list o' docs on the floor. Nope, my rheum wasn't anywhere to be found. Fine, I called the office, but they still weren't answering. I power walked (in non-power walking approved shoes) to the hospital information dude to ask "Where is my doctor?!?" Ya, obviously, he moved his office. Arrgh! I now had to walk another quarter mile to another building (I know all the distances because they have mile markers--go fig). By the time I finally got there, I was 20 minutes late and had some serious shin splints. At least everything, rheumatologically speaking, is fine with me. Just the routine lab work to make sure I'm still in the immunosupressant therapy free zone.

Oh, and then I had to bolt to the allergist. Would you believe they won't give me my serum if I haven't been in to see the doc in over a year? How rude! Thank goodness for days off so I can be poked and prodded and asked all sorts of stupid questions. (them: "Are you having any respiratory problems?" me: "Well, yes. Since I couldn't get my danged allergy shots from you people and it's spring in Texas, I can't quit sneezing.") Gosh, some people.

Happy pollinating!

R.I.P. Lisa

I cannot think of enough words in the English language to describe how much I love Lisa. She was kind, fair, giving, honorable, generous, beautiful, witty, a true friend. I will miss her so much. I can't believe she was just at my house a few weeks ago playing Trivial Pursuit and Dirty Minds. What fun we had! She finally succumbed to the battle so many people fight against cancer. She fought a brave and valiant battle, and she never complained. She was much more worried about how everyone else was doing. She never had a "pity me" attitude. She took the diagnosis and fought from the beginning. It is hard to find anyone with as many positive qualities as she had.

Please keep her husband, family, and friends in your thoughts and prayers. We all know she is in a better place and no longer in pain, but it doesn't make her passing any easier to accept. She will be missed and loved always. She will always be my role model for how to live an honest and true life.

Rest in peace, Lisa.

work

*slowly and continually banging head against desk*

They keep saying they are going to hire more people to help pick up our serious work overload. They keep promising to help. Lies, I tell you!!!

Thank you for your time and attention.

I am pathetic

At least I admit it! It's not even 8pm, and I'm fighting to stay awake. Ergo, I will blog. This has been such a long and crazy week so far. I guess it started Sunday night when the new guy and I did dinner and a movie. We saw There Will Be Blood (whoa, I can see why DDL got his Oscar--uber creepy), and it wasn't out until after midnight. Then on the way home I saw a terrible wreck (even heard about it on the news the next morning) and was jolted into a very wakeful state. I was up til about 1:30am. Waaaaaaay to late for a school night or a work night. I still made it to work nice and early Monday. Then for the past two nights, the asswipe (nee "new guy") and I were on the phone fighting until kinda late. It got to the point last night that I hung up on him. He called me back and asked if I had hung up. My response? "Yes. Why yes I did." It got worse after that. So much so that he told me I should look into prostitution since I like to screw people over (not quite the words used, but this is a public forum). Ya, needless to say, he is history. Some people! Meh, he was only supposed to be the rebound guy anyway. Can two weeks be considered rebound enough after seeing someone else for a number of months? I think so.

Well, I killed a good ten minutes here. I think I'll brush, floss, and move it into the bedroom. Maybe I'll fall asleep watching the Stars game. If my dad can do it, so can I!

idiots of the world unite

Wow, do I feel stuuuuuuuuuuuupid. I was so proud of myself Friday night. I stayed home and did my taxes. I pulled the disc out of the envelope thingy, downloaded it on the computer, and proceeded to fill in all the appropriate boxes. I got confused a couple times, like many people do, about some of the questions it was asking me. For example, why does it care if I used my car for business in 2005? Really? Okay, whatever. I figure the program knows what it is doing. I finally finished the thing, and it wanted to save itself as "2006 taxes" or something like that. I changed the file name to "2007 taxes" thinking it was just a fluke. No, no fluke. I did my taxes for the wrong year. DOH! Wow. I truly am showing my blonde roots these days.

And no, I have not redone the taxes for the correct year yet. I'm still too cranky.
=)

my poor little man!

Today was totally traumatic for Thomas. It started with being rudely awakened (serves him right for all the times he's done it to me though), quickly fed, then being shoved in a small plastic box with a wire door. The carrier. Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn! He'd followed me all around yesterday straining (if you get my drift). Since he's always had this chronic cystitis, I thought I'd run him by the friendly vet. Once there and in the cage, he immediately set to growling. This is why he has a "Caution" sticker on his file and cagecard. The boy bites. I got the call right at noon that he was not blocked (thank God!), his bladder was very small and extremely sore, and he's gonna be on drugs for the next 3 weeks. Fine I can handle that. What freaked me out was his attitude, or "cattitiude," when I went to pick him up. He's never been extremely keen on going to the vet, but this was the worst ever. He wouldn't let me near him. He cowered in the back of his cage growling and hissing. It took me a good 15 minutes to calm his butt down and get him back in his carrier. On the way home, it got worse. He started drooling uncontrollably, shaking, and panting. Totally freaked me out. I was so worried something might happen before I got him home. Of course once I did, I got him inside, wiped all the foamy drool off of his mouth and nose, and he was fine. Ran to the food bowl as a matter of fact. I'm glad he's going to be okay. I do worry about that little satanic spawn.

DOH!

I had a total "oh no" moment today. I was to meet my madre for lunch at 11:30am. I walked out my door and saw that I had left my sunroof open all night. Just a crack, but with the torrential rain we had.... Crikey. Thank goodness for leather seats. I came back in, got a towel, and started the clean up procedures. Luckily it wasn't too bad. I actually think my visors got the worst of it.

Second strangeness to happen today was running into my old QC person from my "prior job." It was strange. I saw him in the Target and cleverly avoided him. I mean, what do you say to someone who saw you go through all sorts of hell for a job? I did well until I hit the parking lot. I'm one of those people who absolutely must return the cart to the "returned cart place." When I did, he was walking right toward me. There was no avoiding him this time. He said hello first, and we had a minimal nice chat. I must admit that the best part of it was seeing the guilty look on his face, like he knew he'd done something wrong. I'm not going into the saga here, but if you know me well enough, you know it. It was vindication! Made up for the cold wet butt I'll have the rest of the day from my car. ;-)

success!

Well, I made it through the week from hell. Just barely I might add. It got even more interesting with the snow that hit north Texas (twice in one week, and by the end of this week they are saying we'll be close to 90 degrees--ahh, TX weather). I'm dealing with a killer headache I've had since Friday. I can't decide if it's sinus crap or just stress. I do believe it's a little of both. Really though, I just want it to go away.

Don't really have much I can put down here. Just thought I should do the online check in sorta thing. Oh, one thing! The paternal side of the family took me out for dinner Saturday night for the last birthday hurrah. In the card from my father was a "voucher" for 3 days/2 nights at a resort in the hill country. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! I can't wait to get away for a weekend. I need it. Now is when all of my friends start playing their cards right in hopes of accompanying me. =)

Peace out.

must...stay...awake!

I am so farking tired I can hardly stand it. This is the week of training hell. The shortest day I've had yet this week was today, and it was 10.5 hours. I feel like I've gotten bombarded with parasite facts. The doc leading it all is FANTASTIC! He's a wealth of knowledge, a good instructor, and funny as hell. Unfortunately, by the end of today, I became unable to retain any of the new knowledge. It's like I'm a baseball catcher alone with multiple pitchers--catching everything thrown at me until my hands are full and I start dropping stuff and having new facts bounce off of me. Arrgh! Now I'm home, futzing on the internet, watching bad tv, and trying to kill time to stay awake. Of course I do have to be back at work at 6am. That's in just under 12 hours. I'm hoping to stay up until 8. Wish me luck.

Tuesday

Ugh. It's early. Yesterday I was at work by 5:30am, and today I was here by 6am. Unfortunately, today there is nothing to do yet. I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I've got about 10 minutes before the first set of samples will be ready to read. Joy. So I thought I'd post a little blog to pass the time.

The rest of my birthday on Sunday was wonderful. Had a couple friends join me for a wonderful dinner of bloody cow and cake. Afterward, I got home and talked on the phone for almost an hour (instead of going straight to bed). Then there was yesterday. My alarm went off at 4:15am. Ya, I hit snooze a little longer than intended, but I was still here in plenty of time to get stuff started. I worked my butt off (figuratively) until 8am then went over to the training. Whenever we had a "coffee break," I came back in the lab to see if there was anything I could do. The workday didn't end until 5pm. Eleven and a half hours of poop and parasites. Wow. And now I get to do it all again today!

There was one huge bright point in my day yesterday--dinner with ma madre. Once again, I had birthday dinner. Nice how I can drag this out for so long! She took me to a fabulous little place and I ate more birthday cow. Mmmmm! Cow! I also decided to start with a glass of champagne. What better reason to celebrate other than myself? =) By the time I got home though, I was wiped out. I was dead to the world by 10:15pm. And let me tell you how much it sucked when the alarm went off this morning at 4:30am. I may actually skip my free training dinner tonight just so I can get some sleep.

Happy Texas Independence Day!

Some days are just better than others. Today is a good day so far. Usually, I'm uber depressed as hell around my birthday. Just ask my friends; they'll agree. Today has been the best birthday since the one 6 years ago. It all started yesterday.

Yesterday I did have to work, but the boy bought me Vietnamese lunch. YUM! We finished up early (granted, I was there at 7:45am), so I rocked on home for a quick nap before the night. Pretty much as soon as a got to sleep, my phone ran. It one of my BFFs who is getting married in August. She was at a store about to buy a wedding dress. Yes, it was the second time she'd tried it on but damn! You can't buy a dress without someone seeing you in it first! I flew outta bed, took the quickest shower in my personal history, and was at the store in 40 minutes. She looked beautiful so I approved the purchase. Granted, even if it'd been heinous, she was so happy and smiley I would've approved anyway. Then I let her bring me every bloody bridesmaid dress in the place for me to try on. Surprisingly, we found one that worked. Two scores in one afternoon! Then to make it even better, we wrapped it up there and went to the Stars game. They may have lost, but it was good game nonetheless. That and some random guy hit on me on the DART train.

Today, I was awakened at 7am by my father calling to sing happy birthday. Joy. I made it back to sleep and the phone rang again. This time, however, it was a personalized ring. It was my long lost buddy from South Africa! What a total sweetie! Then I did the singing thing at church, got a birthday "blessing," and went over to Mother's after to clip the talons off one of her cats. While there, she gave me the gift I've been begging for--a new stand mixer!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!! Color me super excited! I came home and proceeded to clean my kitchen and wrangle up all the stray newspapers in the house for recycling. Here I sit blogging, and when I'm finished I'm gonna take a nap and go to dinner with friends this evening. Just about a perfect day.

Addendum: The day has just been made perfect. I got flowers from the HSBF. I needed that.

If only I didn't have to be at work tomorrow morning at 5am. Ugh!

yargh!

Why can't people listen to me? Sometimes I really do know what I'm talking about. Take my job. Sometimes people do things a little bit incorrectly but not so much that it's wrong. I try to offer my help/insight/suggestions; it gets completely dissed. For example, I really know my shit. Hahaha. Sorry, fecal humor. Anyway, I know my parasites and their ova quite well. Somethings look a lot alike and are only differentiated by size. One of my peeps keeps calling something that I would swear on the mother of Buddha is wrong. Well, not technically wrong, but not technically right either (same genus, different species--they are medicinally treated the same). I finally had a prefect example of the "wrong" one today, told this other person about it, saved the slide, asked if they wanted to look at it, etc. Why do I bother? I might as well have said that my left buttock was on fire. GAH!

peace at last

For the first time in years, I feel really good. I mean, really good! This past weekend was one of the most soul cleansing experiences of my entire life. It rivals the 5 days alone on a beach the Maldives or the 3 days alone touring the moors of Yorkshire. Normally, I have to be alone to have a truly extraordinarily life changing moment. It is usually some sort of fight with an inner demon that I must battle on my own. This weekend, it took a man and a horse. (Hbomb, get your mind outta the gutter, you freak.) I thank them both.

The dinner with the HSBF went so much better than expected. Granted, I'm not sure what I expected. Some of you know, some of you don't--it's not something I broadcast--but he and I had probably one of the worst breakups in the history of breakups. Of course, that's coming from someone who was a part of it! There were accusations of cheating, lying, and faithlessness. Of those, only one was true. And it was true on both of our parts--faithlessness. Friday night, everything was brought into the open for once and for all. We both told the whole truth, and we believed each other for the first time. I didn't expect to have a crying fest, but it was so good to get it all out. After all those years, he still wiped away my tears. I'll probably never see him again (as he lives half a continent away), but that's okay. We made our peace.

Yesterday it was too beautiful not to go riding. I drove what seemed like eternity up to Denton to meet up with a colleague from work. Keep in mind I've been riding English for most of my life. Her horses are all Western trained--cutting and roping horses. I was amazed how different all the cues were. It was all reins over the neck and leg cues--no bit work. I spent a good 30 minutes (at least) in the training ring proving to my friend's husband that I knew what I was doing. I had to learn all the new cues, and he was a FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC instructor. I think I learned more from him in 30 minutes than I did in 2+ years of lessons. Maybe that was because it was one on one, maybe it was because the horse was so good, maybe it was just fate. When we finally headed out for the trail, I was so glad I wore long sleeves. We kinda made our own trails since it was so mucky down there by the river bottom. I've never been so tormented by mesquite and honey locust trees. The latter is definitely worse--thorns up to 3 inches long! My big, bad gelding was so good at letting me guide him around the low hanging stuff when possible. Unfortunately, most of the time it was just put the head down to his neck and let him pick his way through the underbrush. We even ran into some wild cattle out there! It was so refreshing to sit back, and let Takota go. He had such a great canter, wait, umm, I mean lope (this was Western after all) and a fairly smooth trot. He only kicked once, but his ears warned me ahead of time. They told me to let them know when was good for me to come out and ride again. I can't wait!

So there you go--my fantabulous weekend in a nutshell. My most sincere thanks to all who were a part of it!

here I wait

Well, the dinner is tonight. In fact my HS ex should be here in about 5 minutes. I am such a dork. For some strange reason, I'm uber nervous. Could it because he once again looks as good as he did back then while I don't? Am I afraid of what bad times we'll talk about? Or am I just scared he'll look at me and think "man, what was I ever thinking?" I guess I should pay attention to the door. The itunes is up rather loud! We'll see what tonight holds....

Blargh!

Things are so confusing right now. I have things going on at work that I can't even begin to describe. The xy and I are officially kiboshed. My ex from highschool/college is going to be in town tomorrow, and we're going out to dinner. I found out today that I will be working 12-13 hour days for one whole week during a training session. I can't attend the training and not do the work. Then there is the whole going back to school to finish that danged masters degree that will start soon. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but if I seem a little flighty lately, this is why. Sorry to keep this so short. Take care y'all!

Now, I need a nap before I go get my hair cut.

Sleep

I just wanted to share with you all one of my all-time favorite songs. I recommend you all find it and give it a listen. It is amazing what beautiful music can do to dreary day and a dreary mood. I'm on my second repeat of it right now....

Sleep
original poem written by Charles Anthony Silvestri
musical setting: Eric Whitacre

The evening hangs beneath the moon,
A silver thread on darkened dune.
With closing and eyes and resting head,
I know that sleep is coming soon.

Upon my pillow, safe in bed,
A thousand pictures fill my head.
I cannot sleep, my mind's a-flight;
And yet my limbs seem made of lead.

If there are noises in the night,
A frightening shadow, flickering light;
Then I surrender unto sleep,
Where clouds of dream give second sight.

What dreams may come, both dark and deep,
Of flying wings and soaring leap
As I surrender unto sleep,
As I surrender unto sleep.

waiting on the centrifuge

I thought I would take these 10 minutes to blog a bit. It's a gross, dreary, cold, rainy Saturday here in Texas. I have to admit that I am enjoying it. It fits my mood. No, I'm not depressed or anything, I'm just blah. Part of me is happy, another part sad, and bits of me are hopeful.

I am happy because the Boy is here at work with me today. He and his girlfriend had their valentine's dinner last night (couldn't do it Thursday because she had to study for a test on Friday--I like this girl!). He got her a necklace, and she got him an Xbox 360. Dang! Granted, today is his birthday, too, so she got a combo gift. Still! That's awesome! They are the epitome of young love. It's a great thing to see. He's over working in the hood with his laptop playing the valentines music mix he made for them. How sweet!!!

I'm sad because I'm sitting here listening to all the songs about happiness, love, devotion, and all that crap. I'll get over it. I still have not heard from the xy yet. A girl at work had the idea that maybe something happened and he couldn't call--like he was in an accident or something. I'm gonna doubt that. The odds are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to low. Of course if that is the case, I'll be even more distraught because of my lack of faith in him. But hey. At this point, I gotta look out for number one.

I am hopeful because I finally got a call from my old thesis professor. It looks like I'll be restarting the masters work come June (or August depending on my student status now--I may have to do the reapplication thing since it's been a little over a year since he and I tried this before). I really want to finish this degree! Not only because it will mean that I will have one more degree than my father. Not even because it will make me more marketable or make me more money in the long run. I want to do it to prove to myself that I can finish something I started.

Well, timer just went off on the centrifuge. Gotta get back to work. Happy Saturday you guys!

and so goes the Hallmark holiday

Sometimes I wonder. Who was the idiot that invented "Valentine's Day" as it stands today? It actually has some mysterious origins involving a martyred Saint Valentine. Whatever. I don't see why it had to become so commercialized. Granted, it doesn't piss me off as much as the over commercialization of Christmas, but it's definitely second on my list.

In my life I have had one, yes only one, truly memorable and thoughtful Valentine's Day gift/token from a boyfriend. I'm sorry, but the gifts from friends and parents don't count. At least according to all the commercials, stores, and internet. I can't remember the last VDay I spent with a "significant other." This year, I didn't even get a phone call. I'm sorry, but in my book, that is inexcusable. I'm sorry if someone is having "problems" or "difficulties" or whatever you want to call them. How hard is it to pick up a phone and say "Hi! Happy Valentine's Day. Sorry I can't really talk long, but I wanted you to know that I respect you enough to call." Really, is it hard? No more excuses for that one. If there is to be any sort of reconciliation, there's gonna be a lot of begging on his part. Not only me, but everyone deserves better than that.

And then to memorialize the Valentine's Day Massacre of 1929, some idiot has to go and kill five students in Illinois. What is wrong with the world? I thank God again for all my friends and family whom I love. I hope that if one of them were that disturbed, I would know. Nothing is worth any death like that. My prayers go to the families of those students and those left wounded.

By the way, that one terrific gift was 17 years ago.

Dang, I'm pathetic. I still hate the pms.

pms can bite the big one

I am so sick of this Valentines BS on the TV, radio, print media, internet...it's EVERYWHERE!!! Is this to make those of us who can't spend one freaking day out of the year with that "one special person" miserable? You never hear of the Arbor Day or Columbus Day Massacre do you? Do you??? It was prolly all those women who had their hearts broken by Hallmark that caused that little bit o' history.

Ack!!! PMS sucks.

wtf?

So while I was out driving all over creation today, I saw the most interesting thing. I was stopped at a stoplight waiting to cross over a highway. Anyone want to guess what else was stopped and waiting next to me? Two old men on unicycles. Yes, unicycles. One had a long grey moustache and the other a mini version of a ZZ Top beard. Of all the people you expect to be on unicycles, these were the two least likely. What a trip.

Okay, it is entirely too hard to type with a bandage on the tip of my right middle finger (you should see all the typos I'm correcting as I go). Ergo, I'm outta here for the day. I've got a little screwing to do around the house. Get your mind outta the gutter! I've got a couple new faceplates to put on the walls. Gosh, you people....

post massage

Mmmm, warm.
Content.
So happy now. And a little sleepy.
*yawn*
Bed would be comfy. *sigh* Drool.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

3rd post today!

Okay, if I could gather all my thoughts at once, I wouldn't be me. Dude, it sometimes takes me 4 attempts to leave my house in the morning because I keep leaving things. Just ask my mother. She used to laugh at me because of it. Now on to business.

This is a shout out to my new crack dealers. Winny, if you read this, it is all your fault that I am now addicted to Puffs Plus with Vicks. Man, that stuff is da bomb!

And for people keeping up with my nasal health, I finally used that damnable contraption called a neti pot today. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it is a creepy ass feeling to have warm saline flowing back behind your nose. Soothing and warming, but uber creepy. I bought it two weeks ago, opened it one week ago, and finally used it tonight. Not bad for me. It took me years and years of convincing to get contacts.

Peace out!

and by the way...

It is soooooooooooo hard to get into the no meat on Fridays during Lent thing. I swear to Buddha that it's a test from God. I crave meat much more often on Fridays. Why? Oh why?!?! I'm so tempted. Luckily tonight I gave in and only had shrimp. If the Catholics don't think it's a meat, neither do I!

end of the week

Finally, I am at home. I don't have to go back to work until Tuesday. I can feel the weight lifting. However, check out the horrorscope for today:

Your feelings are close to the surface, making you more vulnerable today than usual. One tactic is stoicism, where you deny your sensitivity and avoid the crucial issues. The other strategy, however, is showing up as you are and sharing your less-than-rational side. Once you realize that you don't need to hide your emotions, your inner strength will also shine.

Funny how these things can seem so appropriate sometimes. With the constant work for 2 weeks, lack of communication with the XY, craziness at work, and hormones, I admitted to a friend at work that I was feeling extra sensitive. Then I read the above. I couldn't help but laugh! This weekend will help a lot. Tomorrow is a massage (after taking one of the babies to the vet to check his blood pressure and heart murmur--I know, but he's my baby!). Sunday is a whole lotta nothin'. Then Monday I'm going riding with a friend from work. Riding as in horseback not bicycling or motorcycling. My God! I'm so excited! I plan to be back to my as-normal-as-usual self by Tuesday. Granted, it ain't always that normal! =)

almost tgif

Wow. Almost a whole week since I blogged. Where does the time go? Oh ya, it goes to work. So here are a few things that have happened to me within the past week:

Last Saturday I had a little game night thingamajigger at my place. It was so much fun, but MY GOD people were here until almost 1am. That either really shows my age or my dedication to my choral job Sunday mornings. At about 12:30am I mentioned how late it was. Everyone seemed shocked that it was so late. That, my dears, is the sign of a good party.

Then there was Sunday. After church and lunch with a long lost friend, there was no rest for the weary. Half of Winny had a birthday (happy 35th!) so we all met at their place for Super Bowl/birthday festivities. During the half time, we flipped over to Guitar Hero (my 1st time to play--not too bad for a first time--84% correct) and had birthday pie. Yes, pie. As soon as the game was over--and what a fantastic 4th quarter it was!--I booked it home to watch House. Yes, I'm addicted to Hugh Laurie. Anyone who can act on a medical drama and Black Adder has my vote any day.

The work week was that. A week of work. Funny thing was that I've been "off" all week. Wednesday I thought it was Thursday. Today I thought it was Friday. I'm gonna be pissed tomorrow when I wake up and have to go to work. Doesn't help that "management" is going through a phase. I cannot wait for Saturday to arrive. I did have one unexpected happy moment this morning though. Someone brought all their leftover Christmas chocolates to work and left them on the break table. Normally that wouldn't really thrill me. HOWEVER, there were Andes mints in the mix. Hell ya! Those were the best 10 minutes of my day. *remembers the minty goodness and smiles wistfully*

So, now it's Lent. Time for fasting, reflection, contemplation, and other lenty things. I hope you all take this time to focus on what is really important in your lives. You are all my dear friends, and I love you all! Thank you for being a part of my life. =)

tgif

Not a whole lot to report, but I just thought I'd let y'all know what little is going on in my little world.

P. Whitey is not gonna make it. Beside the fact that he's not a paperwhite (okay, so I never claimed to be botanist) but an amaryllis, he didn't like being outside in 50mph winds. I'd insert a picture here, but it'd just be too sad. Poor leaves just dangled across the flower bed. *insert sobbing here*

I made yet another horsey friend today. You tell one person how to work with parasites and they invite you out to ride with them. Brilliant!

If you have a weak stomach, stop reading here. Most of you know that I just got over a kick ass case of bronchitis. Well, I really thought something was coming back. I'd been getting all sinusy the past couple of days, and my right maxillary sinus was in total pain. Then I started getting the green goo outta my nose. Finally today while I was at work, it got worse. Damn. I finally snorked up a golfball sized snot globber. Being in the lab, I took advantage of what was at my disposal. I made a smear, stained it, and looked at it under the microscope. Tons of neutrophils but no eosinophils. Some sort of infection but not an allergy problem. Luckily, there was no bacteria seen. Funny. I felt incredibly better after that, and the sinus pain is all but gone. Go fig.

27 hideous dresses

Why do I let myself go to chick flicks??? They are either uber stupid or cause me great grief when I get home. I will admit, 27 Dresses was much better than I anticipated. I even debated ditching the friends since I was sleepy after my first day back at work. But they are my friends. I suffer for them. Pity me. ;-) Anyway, where was I? Oh ya, the girly movie. There were the couple of places I really wanted to bust out weeping but didn't. There were places I had to wipe the tears from the corners of my eyes. Then I leave, get in my car, and I just about lose it. WTF? I'm such a girl sometimes!!! Is it hormones? Is it age? Some sort of strange combination? I used to never cry at movies. Ask my mother; she'll tell you all about how while growing up I could watch Miracle on 34th Street with a totally straight face. Not anymore. I've even found myself getting teary while watching Hallmark or long distance commercials. And don't even mention the coffee commercial where the son comes home to surprise his family. That kills me!

So now I'm home trying to undo all the estrogen damage while watching the Stars kick some Canuck bootie. Wish me luck.

Monday Night Fun!

What do you do for fun on a Monday night? After I got home from my growth group meeting, I was kicking back with my fave Law and Order on TNT and brewing a pot of tea. All of a sudden I heard this *CRASH!* from the kitchen. WTP? Both of the cats are in the TV room with me. So I go into the kitchen and saw that my paperwhite had tried to commit suicide again. This poor plant has gotten waaaaay too big for the bitty pot it came with, and it jumped (for the 3rd time now) off of the window sill. Fine! I'll replant you outside. I've been trying to wait for it to get warmer, but I don't think P. Whitey wants to wait. Poor guy's gotten two feet tall while in the kitchen window. I only hope it can survive the crap ass move it got tonight. Keep in mind, I can't find my spade, it's too late to borrow Mother's, it's dark, and all I can find is a stick. Here's the result:



Note the stick helping to hold up the poor weak leaves. I hope that maybe I can get him a little deeper into the soil tomorrow when there is light. Poor P. Whitey! I wonder if he'll ever bloom?

the pains of battle

So really it is more like the pains of cleaning. At some point yesterday I tweaked something in my back. It was sore when I went to sleep, but at 3:38am my back was screaming at me. WAKE UP WAKE UP!!! FIX ME!!! Does this mean I'm getting old? Since it was/is muscular, I say no to the old. I'm thinking it's just me being my usual graceful self. Nevertheless, I took 2 Aleve and slept the rest of the night on my heating pad--no worries, it turns itself off after a certain allotted time so I don't burn myself too badly. Stupid back.

Then there are the pains of relationships. Why, oh why, do I over analyze every blasted little thing? The poor XY works 6 days a week and is taking a class 2 days a week. God forbid that he ever be too tired to see me. Seeing him was supposed to be the one good thing about me not getting to leave town this weekend! Arrgh! Once again I have to thank the Hbomb for shrinking my head earlier tonight and telling me what I already knew: I'm over analyzing again. Gah! I guess it has something to do with the fact that I've become cabin fever girl being stuck in the house for the past week recuperating. I need to see people now that I'm (basically) well. I miss people (especially him). Oh well, I'll be back at work soon enough. That'll cure me!

So in closing, happy beginning of the week to you all. And ouch. Maybe I should use an ice pack now. =)

Thank You!

A HUMONGOUS thank you to the Hbomb! She waded into the clutter that was my house, and now it is clean!!! Well, I told her not to bother with the kitchen (not bad) or the bedroom (too many clean clothes to put away and not enough time). Now I feel like I should have people over for a party. Hmmmm, that's actually a good idea. Anyway, one more time:

THANK YOU!!!

yep, still sick

You think after a week of this farking crap, I'd be better. Nope. I am on the mend though. The official curse, um, I mean diagnosis, is bronchitis. Really Dr. Sherlock? You get that with the raspy rales in my chest. Gosh, you're smart. Okay, I'm not mad at him, I'm just cranky in general. Because of this illness, I didn't get to take my intended vacation. I was supposed to head down to Fredburg and San Antonio today. Since I'm still hacking up my lungs, I decided it would be best to try to heal. The worst part was hearing how upset my god daughter is about not being able to see me. Talk about serious sad face. I will make it down there eventually though. I'm hoping for sometime within the next month. I just want to get out of this town for awhile. And no, Denton doesn't cut it. The only good thing about skipping the trip is getting to see the XY this weekend. That makes up for a little of it.

Okay, the third period is about to start. Gotta go root on the Stars!

what else should I be doing at 1:53am?

Yep. I'm awake. Go fig? I've had enough cough syrup to knock out an elephant, but I'm still awake. Prolly has something to do with still coughing. I've decided I want a lung transplant. Heck, better yet, make it a full immune system transplant. Give the Hbomb one, too, while we're at it.

I am soooooooooooooooo sick of coughing. The last 3 days, I've even coughed so hard as to cause myself to hurl. While driving. Wow, that's fun. I don't think I'm getting better. Thank goodness for nothing to do tomorrow except watch the Packers whoop up on the Giants.

Ya know that thin piece of wax-like paper stuff in a kazoo that makes it buzz? I feel like I have that just beneath my larynx. When I lie down to sleep, I sound like I've got a recorder in my chest. A really cheap recorder, too. The kind they used to pass out in grade school that never kept good pitch because it'd been dropped so many times. All buzzy in the chest. I guess it's better than having a fuzzy chest.

Okay, that's it for now. Take care people. And wash your hands!

Welcome to my world

So far, 2008 has not been my best friend. Things are, however, looking up!

This evil throat thing I've had going on since before Christmas has finally been solved. Yes, I did have a sinus infection at the end of 2007, but the sore throat and hoarseness never resolved. I kept calling my (normally excellent) GP, and his response was keep sucking on lozenges and drinking lots of liquid. Great. Thanks. In addition, I decided to "sweat it out" by eating everything spicy I could get my hands on--habanero salsa, spicy Vietnamese food, wasabi, etc. Nothing was working, and it was actually getting more sore and more raspy. So I finally made my appointment for today with the fancy schmancy vocal doctor. I mean, I do get paid for this voice when it's not so raspy. Would you believe that everything I was doing was exacerbating the problem? Ya, it's not even close to a throat infection. Gerd. No, really, I mean GERD. Stupid freaking acid reflux. It hasn't bothered me in at least a year. Well, it decided to rear it acidic ugly head and make my vocal cords all inflamed and swollen. Stupid GERD! Now I am on official vocal rest for 3 weeks. Yes, you read me right--THREE WEEKS!!! Gosh, don't these people know me? Luckily, I can talk reasonably often--just no screaming at Stars games or Cowboys playoff games. Oh wait, there won't be any of those. Okay, no screaming at Brett Favre viewings. =) Simply put, I'll be taking a crap load of Prilosec, Gaviscon, anti-caffeinated beverages, and non-spicy food for the next while. Joy.

2008. Bring it on. I'm ready for ya.

search for the holy grail (of recipes)

So, my favorite chef called me tonight to ask my assistance. She wanted my dolma recipe. Well, it's not mine per se. So while we are on the phone and she is filling me in on the saga of her father's run in with a brown recluse (pray that all goes well and he is released from the hospital soon!), I start rummaging through all my random recipes. It's not in the "collection" of stuff I've got in my personal cookbook. Then I start looking through all the loose leaf pages stuffed in between cookbooks on the shelf. Then I look between pages of the most commonly used cookbooks. Nothing. Arrgh!!! How can I have lost the holy grail of dolmades recipes?!?!? Next it's time to call Mother. I got the recipe from one of her books. That was insane! Here is how it went:

It's in a green book, not pea green or grass green, but something in between. It doesn't have a dust cover on it. I think the lettering on the binding is gold. Look in the index. It has a recipe for dolmades? Does the book open right up to it? *she reads ingredients aloud* I think that's it! Houston, there is no problem!!!

So, there you go. That's my uber exciting Thursday night. If anyone needs the recipe, it will officially be in possession tomorrow.

yargh

It's Tuesday. It's been quite a week already. After being in a funky mood all day Sunday, I was at work by 7:30am Monday. I was the first person to leave at 6pm; the only reason I got to leave so early was because I had hockey tickets. (Go Stars!) Simply put, the day shift had to finish on Monday what the night shift couldn't do Saturday night (not their fault--instrument problem). It was insane! I was all freaky because I was swamped with my work, but I was expected to finish up and help with everything else. Luckily the boy jumped in to help me so I was able to get a crap load done as quickly as possible. Yay boy!

So that was work. I'm still all sickly, and that really pisses me off. I called the doctor yesterday and all he had to say (via the nurse who's super sweet) was rest, plenty of liquids, vocal rest for the rest of the week (hahahahahahahahaaaaaa!!!), and basically just take care of myself. Ya, um, I've been doing that since before Christmas. Look where that's gotten me. Granted there is no more green snot (nice visual, I know), but I sound like a dying frog. Not good for someone who gets paid to sing. Today, instead of going to movie night, I was going to come home and "rest." On the way home, I decided to go to yoga class. That's something I can do while ill. It's good for me either way. I went; it was hard; it was wonderful! Finally I feel like I've done something positive this year.

As to the situation with the XY, things seem fine. We've talked; he acted like there was nothing wrong or different. I blame hormones. Those pesky things are the same reason I was ready to personally cut out my left ovary this morning. Stupid "being a woman" business. I'm just gonna chalk it all up to this being January. Nothing good ever comes of January.

and now...I'm home

Glad to be home after leaving 17 hours ago. What a long day. I started off by going to work (imagine that) for my Saturday duty. It was such great fun having the boy there to help me for the first time. I was actually finished in just over 8 hours. It's been eons since that happened! Then it was up to Willow Bend for a new top to wear for the evening--since the one I'd planned on wearing after work was at home on the couch. Sometimes my brilliance astounds me. Thank goodness for mega after Christmas sales. Then it was up to Denton for dinner with the XY and friends. For the most part, it was a lovely evening. The XY liked my friends, and they liked him. Now I just gotta figure out how he feels about me. I think he likes me, but he won't let me see where he lives. He gives me the "it's not you, it's me" thing about it. He says he's ashamed of the tiny, messy place. I say, so what! He's seen my hovel. I told him that I wasn't dating him because of his clothes or money or where he lives. That didn't phase him. Maybe it is him. I should try not to worry. Of course we all know that's like trying to get a leopard to change its spots. *rolls eyes at self* So, think happy thought for the spotted mouse. At least I'm home with my boys and my new down comforter!!!!! That, dear ones, makes up for just about everything. =)

happy flippin' new year

Not that I'm not thrilled it's finally 2008, but could I have at least had a chance to ring in the new year healthy? For the first time in years, I had a date (nay, a boyfriend) on New Year's Eve, and I was sick as the proverbial dog. I felt so sorry for him! I tried to be upbeat and interesting and exciting, but really all I could do was sit and watch people have fun and try to entertain him. I'm sooooo glad that he found stuff in common with some of mine and Winny's friends. Otherwise, I would have felt like the worst girlfriend in ages.

Yep, I'm still sick. Why did I pay good money to the doctor to still be sick??? Arrgh!!! Oh well, I did get some good health news today. I don't have to go back to the rheumatologist until I start to be "symptomatic" again--and that could be years! That's a serious WOO-HOO! At least my back is starting to feel better. Yep, there was a NYE injury to be had. The XY and I were joking around playing "who's stronger" (forgetting that I am a woman who hasn't been doing my strength training exercises). I lost. I accidentally tripped (?) over his foot, fell backward, and landed back first on the back of Winny's couch. We heard my back crack--the Hbomb thought it was the couch breaking. That hurt like a sonofabitch! Actually brought tears to my eyes. Poor XY. He still feels a little bad about it.

Anyway, that's my new year in a nutshell. Sinus infection, laryngitis (some people are happy about that one), and a sore back. At least I don't have cramps! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

yuck

I just figured it out. Augmentin leaves the absolute nastiest taste ever in your mouth. Ugh!

Thank you for letting me vent.

TGIF (almost)

Only one more day in the lab before I get another 4 days off. Good Lord, it can't come fast enough! I mean, I only worked 10 hours today. I'm not sure how much overtime I have this week, but last week I had ~6.5 hours extra. Let's see, 6.5 x time and a half regular pay plus the shift diff I get on Saturdays = the ability to pay some crap off (like the new starter). Woo hoo!!!

In the rest of my life (the little bitty bit of it that is not taken up by work), things are good. I'll finally mention in the blog that things are going swimmingly with the new beau. I'm actually going to spend NYE with him. That means he'll be meeting an ass-load of my friends that night. Wish him luck...! For once, I'm not worried about people meeting "someone new." There's nothing not to like. Well except for his ability to interrupt and not stop talking when I have something to interject. Of course, I do exactly the same thing, so I can't complain at all!

The car is running beautifully since the new addition of the starter. Now I just have to find time to get him inspected. I did take a little pride today and give him a bath. Now the rest of North Texas can thank me for the rain we have gotten this evening. Dammit.

Christmas was nice. I did the paternal thing on Sunday and spent the actual day with Mother. She and I prepared a fan-freaking-tastic meal!!! It's hard to not eat all the leftovers in one sitting. I hope everyone was able to spend time with family and loved ones like I was able to do. I am so thankful for my family and friends. You are all awesome and I wouldn't trade any of you for anything!

Thanks for being here with me this year. I look forward to spending time with everyone in 2008!

for Heather

She wants me to blog--here it is.

Lesson for the week: Be nice and courteous to people. You never know when they can really help you out.

I've been having this little problem with my car the past couple of weeks. Seems he really didn't feel like starting all the time. Seeing as that he did eventually start after a couple of cranks, I never gave it a lot of thought. Until Sunday. After the cookie party over at Winny's, I sat in my car for a good 5 minutes trying to start him. Crank, nothing, sit. Crank, nothing, sit. You get the idea. I decided the next morning (my last day of vacation) to take it up to the place where I got a new battery like 2 months ago. When I awoke the next morning, I popped the hood and noticed that the terminals were all corroded. Um, new battery? What the...? So I got those cleaned off, got him started, and tootled up to the car place. I had to get it inspected and have the oil changed anyway. Or so I thought. Did you know that you can't pass inspection with a brand new battery (which they had to give me)? Does something to the computer parts and won't pass. Whatever. Why couldn't they have inspected the car and then changed the battery. But what do I know? I'm only a girl. Oh, and they didn't charge for the battery since it was under warranty. YAY warranty! They finally got everything "fixed" and told me that my starter was going out. It could die that day, the next, next week...no idea how long it would last.

Seems it made it until after lunch and that was it. I sat in the parking lot after lunch with mi madre and tried for what felt like ages to get him going. While I was trying all this, I called my regular mechanic, and asked how much it would be for a new starter. The oil change place had said upwards of $500. My guy said $350. Guess where I went. When I finally got there, the main mechanic laughed at the $500 estimate and said they were prolly trying to rope me into something. A brand spanking new starter would cost the garage ~$750, plus a markup, plus labor, plus whatever else they might want to charge. I got a rebuilt starter with labor and everything for the promised $350. AND, to make things even more unbelievable, they told me I could wait until Friday to pay them (since I get paid on Friday and went a little nuts on Christmas stuff for the fam).

For those who want to know, my mechanic of choice is Kiger Tire which is owned by Dennis and whose head mechanic is Dale. I never use real names here, but this is for everyone's benefit. They may not always have the best prices, but they are always honest and reliable. I cannot possibly praise them enough in this small space.

culinary oh-ohs

This has not been the best week for cooking. I love to cook! It's what I do for people to make them happy. Unfortunately, I think I'm slipping.

Last weekend was my mother's birthday. She wanted me to come over and cook her dinner. Great! I love that! I asked what she wanted (within reason, of course). As a side, she mentioned that broccoli would be nice. I asked if she would like it steamed or roasted. Simply steamed was the way to go. Well, how hard is it to steam broccoli really? Obviously quite difficult. I set it on fire. How the hell can I set fire to a vegetable being steamed? Well, some of it was touching the lid of the pan in which it was being steamed. I figure that is the worst cooking disaster I would deal with this year (I mean, there are only a couple of weeks left).

Not so. Tonight, I burned couscous. WTF??? This is a dish in which you boil water, add the pasta, and turn off the fire. Nope, I burned it. I'm starting to doubt my culinary skills.

ow ow ow ow ow ow...

Wow, ow. So I finally decided that since I'm "vacationing" for the next 5 days, I should take this time to get back into the gym routine. Ow. I printed out the list of classes for the week and decided to go to pilates this morning. I've done it before, and I know how to modify things so I don't kill myself. I'm at the gym by 9:05am, and the class is due to start at 9:15. I get my mat and my towel and I'm ready to go. Well, more people start coming in and getting mats, blankets, towels, and other sundry crap. Dude, it's pilates? Why do you need all that stuff? Hahahahahaaaaaa! Jokes on me! Ow. It was not a pilates class--it was power yoga. Emphasis on the power. Well, really, how hard can that be? I did a yoga class (granted ~5 years ago) and I found it to be rather boring. Again I say HA! By the end of the class (before the cool down) I was all sweaty and huffy and exhausted. Ow. Damn, that was a great workout. The only bad thing is that now my wrists are killing me. Stupid microscope. I guess I need to work on my downward dog a little more to strengthen the wrists. Ooh, but I did have one sweet little old lady (who totally whooped my ass in the yoga-ing) compliment me on my limberness. My mother is gonna get the biggest kick out of that!

Ow.

serious blog--beware

For those of you who come to this blog for humor, you're not gonna get it tonight. I've been having these weird thoughts since last Friday, and I think if I hash them out in "print" they will make more sense.

And no, I'm not depressed, sad, melancholy, or having a pity party. I've just been spending too much time with people who are way more philosophical than me.

I think I've decided that romantic love doesn't exist. I think what people think of as love begins as lust. You get so into a person that you can't think of anything else. You want to be with them, you spend all day thinking of them, and you daydream of the two of you in numerous situations. Lust. If you spend enough time together, you think that you are falling in love. What I think is really happening is that you are merely strengthening the bond by connecting in a deep friendship. The more time you spend together, your friendship is tested by daily trials and more serious dilemmas. If you can make it through all this as a couple, what you have is a fantastic friendship that has been fortified with a new found respect. Friendship and respect together seem to equal romantic love, but I don't think it is love. If it were, people wouldn't fall out of it. So many couples split these days. How often does a marriage really succeed? Only about 50% of the time. That's not love. But how often do you hear of a parent "falling out of love" with their children? I think the only true love is what parents feel for a child and what God feels for us--His children. That is the true love that is never ending.

Don't get me wrong! I am still looking for Mr. Right. This crazy idea won't stop me thinking that people should meet and fall in lust-friendship-respect. I just don't believe in romantic love. I think it is a figment of the media and all those crazy poets and artists throughout the ages. It has nothing to do with Hallmark cards, flowers, and chocolates.

Whoa. No more 12 hour days for me. Too much time to think. :-)

weather

Wow. Texas weather is amazing. Yesterday it was close to 80 so I had to turn on my a/c in the house. Today it hasn't gotten above 51 (what the thermostat read when I woke up). Ergo, the heat is now on. Go figure. I wonder how many people in the north Texas area are going to end up sick because of this. All I can tell you is that I have hauled out the flannel pjs and my nose is cold.

Who wants to keep me warm??? Ah, I see Mr. Underfoot has volunteered.
(Mr. Underfoot is the new nickname for the Cornman.)

what a week

This week has officially sucked a big hairy man's arse. It was topped off today by me working almost 10.5 hours. Nothing but tons and tons of poop followed by buckets of urine and blood. Woo-hoo! Sounds like fun, huh? I am glad to be at home (and clean again) finally.

It's like this: there were 3 people on vacation this week. Then one girl, who just got back from vacation, worked 2 days and had to leave because her father-in-law (who lives with her) died. I can't imagine how horrible that must have been. *quietly says prayer of thanksgiving for all my family and friends* Ergo, we were 4 people short. THEN, the girl who is my major cohort had a vacation day today. ARRGH! It was insane.

I am now officially brain dead. Oh, ya, and I have to be back in the morning. Yippee. Please don't be offended if I accidentally forget to call or return emails for a few days. I just have to make it to Wednesday....

eerie day

Today has been so weird that I have to blog about it. The first thing was the keys left in the door overnight which I already mentioned. After that blogging, I checked my email. Because of Rico Suave, I got roped into Facebook. Come to find out that I got "poked" by my high school/college ex. I really didn't know what to make of it. Call me discombobulated. So after lunch with my mother and running a couple of errands, I had to come home to cook something for the growth group Christmas dinner tonight. While I was cooking and chatting with a friend online, I got the email "boop." I clicked into the email, and it was some new guy from the stupid internet dating site wanting to meet me. I said thanks but I'm seeing someone else to which he replied "so am I, but I'm not into her." He wanted to see me anyway. While this was a great shot to the ego, I felt immediately guilty since the new guy and I just had our DTR talk the other night. I actually considered meeting the new guy. How awful am I? I eventually ended up sending him an email saying thanks but no thanks. This is at least the 2nd guy who's been pretty "bold" in wanting to take me out even after I've said I'm seeing someone else. What is this world coming to? Are there no boundaries anymore? And then there's the thought that what if I just got rid of someone great? Arrgh! I hate doubts and insecurities and second thoughts!

oh my gawd

Thank goodness my neighborhood is relatively safe.

Being Monday, it's trash day. I get my spare key, stick it in my pocket (because invariably when taking out the trash, I'll lock myself out), and proceed to take the trash and recycling to the alley. I think I might as well just go in through the front door since I have a key in my pocket--that way I can get the paper from the street. I get out there, grab the paper, and walk to my front porch. When I open my screen door, what is that dangling from my front door but my keys. Car keys and house keys all in plain sight. Well not really because of the screen door (THANK THE GODS FOR THE SCREEN DOOR!!!) Damn. There are times I really think I'm a blonde underneath it all. All I drank at the C&B last night was club soda!!! I blame the smokers.

I deserved to be whipped with a wet noodle.

Sunday night blogging

There are times I question my sanity. Right now is one of those times. For the first time in about a month, I returned to my Bible study group. Gosh, I really like these people. Unfortunately, when we hit the pub for the refreshments afterward, I inevitably get smoked out. Tonight, the two guys sitting across from me were rolling their own cigarettes. Ugh! I'm always downwind of smoke and leave smelling like a freaking ashtray. I may have to take a shower before bed just to get rid of the smell. What's worse? Even though I don't smoke, I can taste it in my mouth. Gack!!!

So, other things....
I'm totally enjoying my 3 days in a row off of work. I sooooooo needed them. I think I was getting a little burned out on poop. And my house looks a little better from the free time spent tidying. Things are progressing well with the new man--still not taking any leaps yet. Taking my time with this one. And no, no details here. Oh, except that I can tell that Thomas does not approve. Spending ~3 hours at the mall yesterday (to support my lovely friends in their musical exploits) was seriously not good for my back and shoulders. I sat on a brick wall with no back support for just shy of and hour and a half. Much pain today. I'm glad I can be there for my friends kids when they don't want to turn to their parents just yet with problems. However, cut me some slack and don't hit me with a possible life altering text message when I'm at work. It can be very distracting. Glad things worked out with that one!

That's all I got for now. More when it happens!

time for a new purse

Wow, has it really been over a week since I last put up a post? I'm a total slacker. My apologies.


I can't remember if I blogged about how I got iced tea in my purse a couple of weeks ago. Well, yesterday morning, it was worse. I stopped at the local Starbucks for a gingerbread latte (nonfat, of course), and proceeded to dump half of it into my purse. Hmmm, how is this possible, you wonder? My purse was on the floorboard next to the gear shift and my arm knocked the aforementioned beverage. Knocked it right into the purse. Damn. Looks like someone will have to hit the Target to buy yet another inexpensive handbag. And thank goodness for the $12 purse. Granted, my mother and best friend will hate it--it's the beautifulness that is army green! Looks like something a high schooler might carry. Then again, considering how rough I am with them, I need something I don't mind replacing! Since this one is fabric, I may be able to throw it in the washer if necessary. Wait, no--when necessary.

Let's see--what other goings on are there? Funny how many times during the day while I'm driving or otherwise engaged I think to myself "dang, I gotta blog about that." Then I finally get the chance and ... what was it all about? Damn getting older and getting forgetful. What was I talking about again?

But one thing I do remember:
Happy Birthday JCC!!! Enjoy your youth and your mindfulness while you can!!!

when it rains...

So I had this one date Saturday night. Now all of a sudden, I'm uber attractive or something. During the date, some other guy hit on me with the Joeyism of "how you doin?" Tonight I stopped by the Starbucks to get a tea refill, and another guy was all "Do you live around here? Do you come here often?" I swear to Buddha he said that! Funny thing, these have not been unattractive men--in fact the Starbucks guy was hot! It's a mad mad world.