Best quote of the day (so far)

The plight of our nation at the hands of Jewish Ninja’s is not to be discounted.

gwelf on December 15, 2009 at 11:04 AM

Hot Air.com

Christmas Play Part 2

So, we found out that they have to do theater makeup different in the day so it will work even with the light differences from nighttime. While Jason's makeup came off relatively easy using baby wipes and soap the night before, his heavier makeup wouldn't. He looked like a drag queen for most of the day until we could come up with a solution. (Apparently, Clearasil and a mix of some common household kitchen items works. Thanks Grandma!) He almost had to go to work all "Fabulous!" He works with truckers, I'm sure that would have been fine! :^D

We also discovered that I'm allergic to theater makeup! Good to know! Jason hugged me, and I broke out in hives. Fun times! Guess I won't be playing a roll in next year's productions. Heh!

Christmas Play

So, tonight (and also tomorrow morning) was the Christmas play at our church.

Jason played the main character's husband. He did well!!

Jay played in the drum corp and also a shepherd. He didn't tell me he needed sandals and so he was a poor shepherd who couldn't afford to shod himself. Sad.

The whole thing went without a hitch. Jason was worried he'd flub the same line he'd been flubbing in practices but he didn't. (The line: "Christmas would mean nothing without Jesus." The flub: "Without Christmas, Jesus means nothing." Making for a very frustrated director!)

I might be able to finagle pics or possibly a video segment or two for you all, but that depends on Jason.

Afterward, we invited his family (Dad, Step mom, and Grandma) and my sister's family to our house for dessert in a sort of after-play fellowship thing. And, to my surprise, they all came! I expected my sister to since we feel the same way about stuff like this, but as I've blogged before, Jason's family is holiday retarded! I was shocked, but pleased that I wasn't going to have massive amounts of snack foods left over! Pleased indeed!! Although, now I have to make something else to continue that dessert war I'm having with my neighbor! ;^P

Who knows? Maybe my constant griping about the continual let downs has gotten through. Here's hoping!

What?

Norway, what is going on?

Doctor Who, please answer your phone.

Ghost of Christmas

Technically, what we're experiencing isn't one of Scrooge's visitors. The garage door and lights keep coming open and on. Not the motion sensor light, the ceiling fan lights that require the switch to be on. So far, it's more annoying and freaky than anything else. If my dog gets out and lost, I will be a very unhappy person! I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for all this. Surely!

I recently discovered that the plunger measuring cups I wanted with Alton Brown's cartoon face on them are sold out and unavailable for back order. GRRRRR!!!!! Pampered Chef has them, but not with his adorable face. I'll take those instead, but if anybody did get the AB ones, I will reward you greatly! (Reward depends on who is the wonderfully thoughtful gift-giver!)

Stainless steel and glass mixing bowls have made my list. (The stainless steel ones can be used to make popcorn the way my dad used to!) Preferably at least a couple large ones.

And, it has been pointed out that I have a tad of a box thing. Pretty gift boxes are a weakness! What can I say?

O Christmas Tree

Today, we finally finished putting the decorations on the tree. Well, not the last little tin spiral thingies that get place just inside the branches as to swirl and reflect the light out, but the pieces that make for a photogenic tree are there. Voila!


And where I play with the sepia setting!

Pearl Harbor

Sooo Tired!

So, last night was the women's "Dirty Santa" get-together at church. (Dirty Santa is NOT what you think it is, unless you think it is a gift exchange where someone can steal your gift. Then it is!) You'd think women in a church wouldn't be so aggressively evil! It was a fun fun time had by all! No pictures as there was food and none of us relish our picture taken with food. NONE! I ended up with Rubbermaid locking leftover containers. Somebody stole the tart warmer I did have. Meh!

I was supposed to take peanut butter bars, but I guess somebody didn't read the portions on the side of the box when it was bought and six bars would NOT be good for the 100 women! Just no! So, we stopped at the local grocery store here in town (more like a convenient store disguised as a grocery) and bought those fruit filled tart things. Yummy, but they weren't peanut butter bars!

Learned the recipe for a couple of things which I will definitely try for future get-togethers! (One was for melted Hershey kisses inside circle pretzels. Yum!!)

However, all that social business seems to have drained every ounce of energy out of me! I spent today doing nothing! I mean, nothing! I didn't even watch TV! Hope my DVR doesn't fail me tonight! :^D

Thanksgiving and Other Things

So, this year, instead of only getting sick (which I did), I also fell multiple times. I added injury to insult. I'm resisting going to the doctor's though. Just too much to do! I only have a massive bruise on my shin, and a sore left side (entire), and my foot has puffed up like never before. I can hear my mom's voice from here, "Why are you so stubborn??? Nevermind, I know it's your dad's fault!"

On Black Friday, Jason and I got up early (I should say, Jason got up early then called to wake me up) and surfed the crowds at various stores. He went to Best Buy. (I got a cell phone finally!!) We both stood in line for 2 1/2 hours at Menard's. They always have good doorbuster sales there!

My friend, Kasey, came into town that night, and we spent a really nice weekend. Mostly just resting. :) She has pics of my house up! Check 'em out! And, she's right, we're not done!

Tonight, I helped the ladies at church decorate for the holidays. It was fun! I can never get enough decorating and my small house can only hold so much! (Can you hear Jason's screams of frustration with all the Christmas clutter??) At least this year, I'm not taking up valuable space with craft stuffs! Although, next year, I make no promises! Crafting most likely will start in about May. :^P

I have so much stuff to cram into this month before I leave for my parent's in North Carolina! I wish Jason could make the trip with me, but he recently got promoted and his company holds class on that week. Heathens!

I have to get my house ready for caroling. And, by caroling, I mean, a bunch of people are coming over and using my house as central station while they wander around my neighborhood caroling. I'm excited about that, although so very nervous about having my house clean enough. And, I just know I'll notice some dirt somewhere only after guests arrive! Isn't that always the way??

Then there's the Christmas parties. (First one on Wednesday!!) And the Christmas play at church. (Jason and Jay both have parts!) Packing and partying and insomnia, oh my!

Gifts and Holidays

Gift list add on: Cashmere by Victoria Secret. (I'm sure someone will buy me this as soon as they pick themselves up from their faint. Perfume is such a girl thing for me to want, I know.)

Yay!! Turkey Day is almost here!!! Wooo!!! And, oddly, it isn't the food that I love about it. It's the family getting together and the games and loudness and fun. I grew up with that. I missed it the few years I didn't get to go. Never again! :^) Jason, I love you, and I love your family. I just can't spend holidays with them, sorry.

My one downfall is, I get too excited and make myself sick. Every! Year! Since forever! I think my aunts and Grandma would argue over who was gonna be the unlucky "Keeper of the Sick Girl." (I think Aunt Debbie "won" that prize the most over the years. Lucky her!)

I Heart Faces Entry!

I actually have one this week! Yay!



If you've read this blog, which most have not, you know that I took this at the local Windy Ridge Farms Fall Fling thing they had. And now you all know. :^P It was a fun, fun day!

Gift Ideas For Me

I've promised certain members of my family that I would keep a sort of running tally on gift ideas for me since I'm apparently so hard to buy for!

• The movie "Up."
• Almost anything from Alton Brown's site: extra points for stuff with his cartoon face on it.
• Autographed Tenth Avenue North paraphernalia! (What can I say, I tend to "superfan" stuff.)

Some will be repeated, but that is simply me not remembering I put it on the list before. Or maybe it is just that wanted? Chances you all will have to take! :^P

Veteran's Day

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

Weekenders

So, Jason's family is a different denomination than Jason and I. Jason grew up in theirs, of course, and according to them, I brainwashed him, the little heathen vixen I am. The weekend went just about how I thought it would go. Some judged me for not segregating myself from the males, some judged me for not having my hair properly done up, and some for the fact that I only dressed up for the wedding. Now, for Sunday service, I did wear a nice outfit, but since it is dress slacks instead of an actual dress or skirt, it is not dressy.

Other than that, the weekend was lovely! Lovely weather, and well, the weather is all I can really say I enjoyed. But I did enjoy it a LOT!

The hotel suite was suitable, until we pulled back the covers on our bed to reveal some previous room occupant's bodily fluid of some sort. Horrifying!

Jason forgot a dress shirt and I forgot my black dress shoes, so we went in search of them. They apparently do not have big and tall men in Iowa (at least in Dubuque) because several stores didn't have anything close to the size needed. I found a pair of shoes at WalMart, but they were painful after wearing them for more than twenty minutes, so I bought a different pair at Kohl's. The Kohl's pair were fine, until we got back to the hotel when we discovered that the bottoms were cheap. They looked like I had taped cardboard to the bottoms and then got them wet! Very disappointing! They will be going back ASAIC! (As Soon As I Can) Jason did finally find some shirts very decently priced at JC Penney's. ($17 a shirt for his size is rare!)

On Sunday, after service, Grandma's friend Warren drove us out to his farm (and I mean a real massive acre working farm, people!) and gave her some various frozen elk meats. (She gave us some; I plan to make swiss steak! Yum!) He has such a pretty farm house!! All real oak furniture and trim with a southwest decor. Lovely! (I'd have pics of the house and his great big 6-month-old rottweiler pup if my camera battery had been charged!)

Then we drove home for four and a half hours.

Then, Jason and I went to a Tenth Avenue North / Mercy Me concert. (Johnny Diaz opened.) Very fun!! I won a ticket to a Newsboys concert next Friday! (Can't wait!) I would have got autographs and chatted with the groups had Jason not started to feel poorly. Boo!

Which brings me to how I spent today. Jason had a very rough night last night! I won't go in to details, but general flu symptoms apply, all of the usuals. This morning, against my judgment, he went to work. Jay's school called at 8:30am to inform me he'd gotten sick as well. Jason ended up coming home from work early and I drove both of them to the ER. Turns out, it was a simple flu bug, but we have to keep an eye on Jay because he was complaining about sharp abdominal pains and a few other symptoms (blood work and scans) that possibly could be early signs of appendicitis. Scary! So, at the very least, he'll be missing school for the next few days. (School says he can't go back until he's 100% and the doctor says so.)

Because of their sickness, I had to wash all the bedding, but my dryer is notoriously slow on the drying of large things such as comforters and sleeping bags, so we had to go to WalMart to purchase new blankets. Luckily, I caught a good sale! I also bought some dietary stuff for their doctor-ordered BRAT diet. (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast) Blandtacular!

Hopefully, I will not catch whatever it is they have!

Frustrations

So, Jason's cousin is getting married this weekend. That means I need a dress, or at least a nice skirt outfit.

What frustrates me is sales clerks who care more about selling than the customer's needs.

I try not to buy ruffles. Why would they try to force me into a ruffled skirt? Or that dress that looks more like a grandmother's nightgown?

It doesn't help at all that I have lost enough weight to put me into apparently the most popular size! (Don't get me wrong, weight loss has been great! Just made it harder to find clothes that fit properly somehow.)

I settled on a plain black dress skirt and a gray top with (I actually don't know what those things are called) faux gemstones around the neck. It's nice, and I'm sure the uncomfortableness has more to do with my anxiety issues than the clothes themselves. I just wish I had had somebody other than Jason to shop with. He knows nothing about girl clothes. Blah! Why couldn't his cousin wait til next month to get married!?!

A Tale of Schoolwork

When I was in school, I didn't have a problem learning, especially if the teacher knew me and let me learn on my own. Teachers who didn't know me (whether new to school or substitutes) were the biggest hindrances to my studies.

Second to teachers who didn't know me enough to trust me were teachers who taught as though the students would never "get" what they were teaching.

I find this to still be true. I'm taking a class where the author of the book is a pompous pious self-centered know-it-all and I feel like I'm the only one that sees it! Everyone else is all "Wow, did you hear that lecture? It was so down-to-earth!" and I'm like "What? Did you not see him sneer at that girl who answered his question correctly??" Like a freaky trip to the Twilight Zone!

To make matters worse, the book is written with that same snide tone! Makes it phenomenally difficult to read! When I'm not having to keep myself awake from sheer boredom, I'm biting my tongue so I don't scare people sitting around me as I read it! (Of course, the tension building up in me keeps everyone at a fair distance anyway. *G*)

For you authors out there, (by the way: it is NaNoWriMo!), humility goes a LONG long way with most people! Just saying!

Dream 11/02/09

I was running away from some sort of zombie monster that was eating my friends, or at least the people who were running with me, in a school. One by one, my friends would disappear only to be discovered dead in some way (decapitated, maimed, gnawed on, etc.). At the end, when all that was left was me, I discovered I was the monster I was running from. I killed/maimed/ate my friends. Lovely.

And, to complete that experience, I awake to my friend's pics of a Zombie Walk.

Halloween Updated!

For the record, Bug is only sleeping because she tired herself out being happy with the costume, not to mention the attention she received from neighborhood kiddies:

How the pumpkins looked before the carving:

Jay as Master Chief (Halo):

Jason as Big Sombrero Guy:

My pumpkin had too much candy (carved by Jason):

Jay carved his own pumpkin this year!

Jason's pumpkin had "Go Away" carved onto the back, but it wasn't small enough to project correctly. Lesson learned for next year!





We still have too much candy. No idea how to get rid of it all without children or husband annoying me with belly aches!

Halloween!!

Happy Halloween Comments

If the weather clears up, we're all going for a haunted hayride on Friday! If not, we'll be going after "trick or treat" is done.

The pumpkin pics are on their way, I just have to get the after ones. I promise!

Dream 10/22/09

Energy vampires were chasing me. They looked somewhat like the Wraith from Stargate: Atlantis. They cocooned their victims and drained their energy over days eventually leaving them as withered shells. I eventually had them follow me into an android factory in Japan and had them "feed" on an army of these:


Which had the effect of electrocuting the vampires. Unlike all the horror movies, I didn't check to make sure they were dead, I just ran! I don't care if they are still alive, I am and would like to remain that way. The monster always grabs the checker and kills them! (As my dad always says, "That's in the script. They need another twenty minutes of the hero being chased to fit a normal movie length.") Self preservation is a great motivator!

I'm sure my thyroid issues were to blame for this dream's plot. For the vampires, I blame my crush on Joe Flanagan!

What I Did On My Weekend

A local garden center had their annual Fall Fling! (Note: clicking on the following images brings up rather large images. You have been warned.)

Fall Flowers!
Pumpkin Patch!

Corn Maze!
Hayride!!
Fall trees!
A hidden pumpkin!
Hay Bales!
A genuine good time had by all! I promise to post the pics of the pumpkins we picked later.

Take That Element Guy!

I was walking my dog this morning, when a man driving an Element stops me to inform me that my beagle could be his beagle's twin and that I was fighting an impossible fight I would never win by even thinking I could ever attempt to train her. My Bug's reaction to that was to sit calmly. She then walked by my side (not pulling on the leash) home and then wait patiently until I got her treat. Truly, an insurmountably untrainable dog! *eyes rolling*

She may give us problems now and again, such as pooping on the carpet because we dared leave her alone to go check the mail, or gnawing her way out of her crate rendering it unusable, but overall, she is the best dog ever! She doesn't chew on our stuff, unless we're stupid enough to buy things that look like small woodland creatures or things she doesn't want to be put in. She doesn't go in the house (except for the occasional mail incident). She cuddles with me when I'm sad or hurting. She calmly puts her toy beaver (version 2.1) in your lap when she wants your attention. And, other than the chocolate-colored sheet, and that one cheesecake (which clearly was irresistible), she hasn't gotten into serious trouble. She is my Bug.

Mondays Are So Typical!

They shut our water off today. Accidentally, though. We paid the bill last week, but somebody didn't put it in the system and my day was ruined because of it. The worst part was we had to pay the reconnect fee anyway because there's an outstanding balance still. A-nnoy-ing! I contemplated going down to the water department to use their bathroom, but I didn't want to actually get dressed to do it. (I'm lazy like that.) Thankfully, the thyroid meds help keep my bathroom use to a minimum. Or maybe it's just that the dose isn't right and the lack of thyroid hormone is what I should be thanking. (Hmm, silver lining of having health issues. Fantastic!) Water is back on now, and I hope this isn't the precursor for a rotten week.

Speaking of which...

Tomorrow, I'll be spending the day trying to avoid the food Nazi in the surgical waiting room at the University of Chicago hospital. (They're scraping the scar tissue off my sister's hand so she'll be able to straighten her index finger, finally after two months.) They have vending machines in there. They have tables in there. But, you are NOT to eat or drink anywhere near the room or the Food Nazi will eat your soul, assuredly, but not in that room, obviously! Last time, I watched her fight with a mother trying to feed her baby. Unbelievable.

My sister hates this hospital and wishes more than anything she had gone somewhere else for her reconstruction. (That makes her sound like the Bionic Woman!) She calls it the "ghetto hospital."

So, I will be leaving home early enough to grab something from McDonald's or BK before I meet her.

I'll be spending the next couple weeks being her therapy chauffeur, too. (Don't think that I mind that. I am more than happy to be available when she needs me. Not like I have anything else to do. :^P Plus, I get to spend time with my sister!)

Health and Other Things

So, the preliminary tests came back, finally, and my thyroid seems to have abandoned me, or at least it made it very clear it wants a vacation. They don't know why it decided to get all cranky and postal. (They suspect the steady stream of dental issues broke its will to live.) The ultrasound of it didn't show any "significant swelling" which I am hoping means no cancer, but I'm not real fond of the wording they chose. At the very least, I take a pill the rest of my life, which I am used to, so, meh.

I've been taking that thyroid pill now for 2 weeks and I am still experiencing the stuff that sent me to the doctor in the first place. They probably have to play with the dosage.

Last week, Jason was out of town. His company decided to give him a new position (one with an actual title) and sent him to Salt Lake City to train him for it. I survived being alone. House seems to have made it without any real problems, like exploding. My dreams seem to reflect my separation anxiety, but unlike last time, I didn't do any real life harm to myself. (Last time, I burned my EYEBALL with my CURLING IRON! Top that!)

According to my Chinese fortune cookie: there is big news in my near future. That could be anything with me. Hopefully it is good news. I could use more of that.

Patriot's Day

Remembering isn't political, it's honoring lives lost in an unprovoked attack.

Never Forget!

Allahpundit Twitters his memories. (Have tissues handy!)

Today Is One Of These Days

Thank you for understanding!

Actually, this whole week has felt like it's under construction. (K, call me!)

Dream 9/9/09

The Best Backpack Ever!

What made it the best backpack ever? Why it was a lot like Mary Poppins' bag crossed with a duffel bag! Even had a deep fryer when I desperately needed to fry the potato!

Hey! I didn't say my dreams made sense!

Jason and Sombreros

So, I called Jason's family to set up a semi-surprise get-together, and the initial reaction was "We'll think about it." Typical Jason's family reaction. (I mean, the whole Labor Day non-housewarming because it is too far only to go to the other family function that was farther but they go to their denomination of church fiasco, which I'm clearly not harboring resentment or anything, stung.) However, Jason's brother went about putting them on guilt trips, so at the last moment, they changed their minds and showed. Provided me with a successfully full table, they did! I was pleased!

It was a complete surprise and bonus that they made him wear a sombrero while they sang a traditional Mexican celebratory song when they gave him his birthday flan:



I'm sure it would look less like camera phone pics if he'd not moved about so much while I was trying to take them. Stinking embarrassed birthday boy! (Click on them to see horrifyingly huge pictures in all their glory! You have been forewarned!)

Jason's Birthday!!!!! Now With Update!

Happy 34th Birthday to the man I love!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And, for the record, your family is not just holiday retarded, they are event retarded. Sorry to say that, but they've been really ticking me off as of late. It's a hard adjustment coming from a family who celebrated the holiday known as Tuesday.

We'll be celebrating without them, just so ya know! We love you!!!

Update: Due to a last minute guilt trip, Jason's family redeemed themselves. All is well, I am a tiny bit more sane, and I rescind the "event retarded" comment. "Holiday retarded" still needs redemption, though.

Also, tomorrow, or Monday, pics of Jason in a sombrero!!

Still No Word

At least I know the doc has my results. Just didn't know when I joked about possible reasons why they're not telling me anything, I was stumbling onto the truth in my own fun-loving-goofball way.

Fine Living

Nothing says "Fine Living" like being too drunk to remember anything, amIright?

And, I'm kinda creeped out that the ad Google decided fit best was a condom ad. /sigh

So Today

I discovered that The Geek Squad outsources to the diagnostic clinic.

Seriously, the tests were Friday and the doc still doesn't have the results?? Not that they were shining examples of organization anyway! Jason called them Wednesday to set up the tests on Friday, and they told him they wouldn't do an MRI until I had a pregnancy test (ha! shows what they know!) so we went in on Thursday evening to have that done. On Friday, they didn't even ask about that test, just went ahead and did the MRI. I suppose on the .00000001% chance I am preggers, I will have a good case against them. /sarcasm

They didn't even have me remove any possible metal. (They did seem a little concerned about the biomesh I received in October last and made me sign a waiver that said I wouldn't sue if the mesh ripped out of me in the machine. Comforting.) Didn't have to wear the gown-of-shame, didn't have to remove my wedding ring. I better not have to repeat this because of incompetence! (Star bursts are pretty! Not on MRIs!)

The contrast they injected into my hand caused swelling, which hasn't gone away yet. Maybe they're waiting for the swelling to decrease before they give me my test results? Or perhaps the doc has my results and is fighting with his colleagues as to who gets to write up the career-making paper about my never-before-seen genetic wonderment! Or arguing about who has to face my breakdown when they give me the life-altering news! Or are just avoiding me because I hyphenate too much? Inquiring minds, and all.

All in all, yet another example of freak occurrences being unable to resist my life.

Painapple

Don't know whether I should be amused or ashamed that friends and family sent this to me. I'm a pain, but only $1.29 worth. Heh.

Took My Sister To The Doctor Today

First, we went to eat at Taco Bell. I should have opted for the cheesy potatoes instead of the nachos, but meh. It was a lovely day, and the AC inside was freezing, so we ate outside. Got to see an accident. The two vehicles involved drove away though, so I hope they stopped further up the road where we couldn't see, or the one who was hit took down a license plate or something. A young chick wasn't paying attention to the traffic and ran into the SUV in front of her. We got lunch with a show and it didn't cost extra.

Her neurologist is an interesting fellow. (Not often does a doctor say, "What the hell happened to you?") Maybe it's the specific field, but I had a neuro in Minneapolis that was just that odd. In my experience, they tend to make the best doctors. Although, he did kind of freak my sister out when he talked about the MRI. (She just had screws put in her face to reconstruct it.) If he wasn't part of the "Worst Hospital EVER" I probably would choose him as my doctor, too. Sad times, really.

Why Should Trips To A Hospital With My Sister Be Any Less Insane Than When I Am The Patient?

I'm assuming from the title you can gather I spent some time at the hospital today. (And if not, I just told you.)

It started all normal, as it always does. I ran over that curb in the parking garage that I always hit right as we pass the entrance ticket gate. The first floor was packed and the only available handicap parking spot was the last one. We get out, walk to the elevator, ride up to the bridge to cross to the doctor's office building portion of the hospital. As we pass the cafeteria, this lady blatantly stares at my sister as she walks past. (We so should have grabbed her phone and snapped a photo with her so her friends could see what she saw, or at the very least said, "Take a picture; it'll last longer!" Some people just weren't taught manners, I guess.) We decide to visit "the facilities" before waiting at the doctor's office, but they were being cleaned. So, had to hold. The doctor she was there to see was held up in surgery and wouldn't be there for roughly an hour, so we went back down to the cafeteria. (Potty stop first, of course.) While coming out of the bathroom, the emergency doors all shut and alarm bells were ringing. (More annoying than anything else, but hopefully they were merely testing them.) Enter cafeteria to discover the smell of smoke. (AHA! Fire alarms!) Most of the counters weren't open for lunch yet, so we decided on burgers and fries. (Hospital burgers and fries leave something to be desired. Just saying.) The cashier accidentally charged us for an extra burger meal, and our food went cold while waiting for her manager to correct it. Then, there was something relishy about the mayo. Really, it tasted like relish. Not my favorite. But, my sister and I got to have a nice chat while eating. Finished eating and went back up to the doctor's office. Only had to wait a couple minutes before being issued to the room, that was nice. Initial questioning regarding how she's doing and her concerns about her face still being swollen and stuff, then the nurse got down to removing her stitches. She was a bit clumsy and my sister, having run out of pain meds (so on nothing at this time), was finding it unbearable her digging around for what seemed obviously easy to remove stitches. The nurse offered to ask the doctor about a numbing shot, warning that it would involve a bit of burning for 10-15 seconds and possibly multiple shots. My sister wishes for the shot(s) because what was happening to her hand was too much, and the nurse goes in search of the doc. They were gone for kind of a long time before coming in with a needle, but no doc, so off to search for him again. My sister was becoming impatient and her stitches were really bothering her, so, one-handed with the full use of only one eye and limited use of the other, removed her own stitches. (Why didn't I help, you ask? Well, clearly you do not know the power of my queasy stomach! I mean, I'm not allowed in the room when others, even when the others are complete strangers, receive shots or merely get told they are to get one. "Ms. Apple, are you alright? You seem to have fainted when we told Mr. Firzilhominguard that we had to schedule his shots next month." That's not weak! That's the courage of all the blood gaining liberty from my totalitarian upper cranial masses!) I spent the time trying not to see what she was doing by staring at the ceiling and focusing way too much attention to the article about Mariska Hargitay. My sister did a phenomenal job of removing her stitches and the doc and nurse were clearly impressed that she took the initiative to do their work for them. Me, they made fun of! (Deserved, yes.) All in all, it ensured my record of non-conventional hospital visits remains intact!

Came home to discover my Uncle Jim had brought Aunt Nicky and the new baby (along with the other 3 kids) to see my sister! However, I had a doctor appointment, so had to do a quick hug and leave, hoping that they'd still be there when I came back.

Spent the first ten minutes of the doc visit discussing how they were missing the three insurances in between the one on file and the one I'm currently on and why they were somehow billing the middle of those for a visit last year when I was on the current one. (Yeah, I know, complexities seem to magnet to me.) Near as we can figure, they went to Jason's file for insurance when the completely ancient insurance wouldn't cover someone who hasn't been on their role for at least five years. (Go fig!) Then the first five minutes with the doc himself discussing how Jason's RA is going. (At least he cares about all of the family and not just one.) Then the remainder discussing how my current migraines, vision issues, pins-and-needles in all extremities and my face, and a few symptoms that I'm not gonna embarrass myself with telling could indicate a return of something that went into remission fourteen years ago. Fun. Long story short: tests, tests, and more tests for me in my near future, which believe it or not, was what my fortune cookie told me later.

Jim and Nicky were still at my sister's when we got back. Yay! So, spent a bit visiting with them. Discussed, among other things, why she doesn't want to have as many kids as Jim has siblings. (7, Grandma is a SAINT!)

Went for Chinese buffet for dinner. Is where the ominous fortune cookie came.

Just Saying

One of the downsides to marrying a good friend is they know your secrets so when you have an argument, they know just what to say to hurt you the hardest.

On the flip side, you just may get to do things like this:



The ups are definitely better than the downs, and thankfully (hopefully), the downs don't last long.

I Know Why 'Chuck' Was Cancelled

I mean this 'Chuck.'

(And, yes, I know it has been revived because of fans.)

I don't know why I don't like it, but the Geek Squad at Best Buy this last month went a little bit toward a possible answer. Thirty Days to fix my desktop??? Really???

Perhaps the "geek-who-really-was-only-wearing-fake-glasses" made me finally see what the show represented to me and I have a deep-seeded issue with anybody that inane (funny how my fingers kept wanting to insert an s in that word) having any type of secret life of mystery!

Who knows why, but Geek Squad pisses me off! Thirty days to fix what would have taken a couple of hours by Jason, or my friend Squick (if I wanted to pay for her trip to do so, even though that would have been with beer and quite possibly a trip to a night club) I think went a long way to fuel that hatred of all things "geeky."

And, I would NOT want to be anybody at the Geek Squad counter if this desktop breaks down within the next 30 days. Just saying.

Sisters

For the last week, I've been stress-cleaning my house.

My sister's husband, the guy who suffered the C1 neck fracture in the moose incident, is driving her to her doctor/therapy appointments.

I pray nothing happens to worsen their injuries. I don't think anyone in the family could take it, especially if it turned fatal.

However, I have no true pull other than voicing my concerns in the matter, as he is stubborn. He fits in the family quite nicely, actually.

Other than those concerns, my sister is healing nicely. She still has swelling around her eye and hand and it will take quite some months before her scars even start to fade. Luck was definitely on her side with this. (I say there was a Higher Power at work, but they're not open to that opinion right now. I've seen the pictures of the car, and they shouldn't be alive.) Therapist seems to think, if she takes things patiently and follows doctors orders, she should have full use of her hand (tendon repair) in 6-9 months. She goes in Friday to make sure she has no vision loss in her eye.

But, hey, my house is cleaner than normal, and my prayer life is super-extremely-up-to-date! Good times!

I Am The Mob

I am The Mob.

I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother. I am a proud Christian holder of conservative beliefs.


My great-great-grandfather was a Pawnee indian. He saw many of his tribesfolk sold down the path of government care, both health and finance, when they signed their treaties. He saw first hand the freedoms one loses when one travels that path. He chose to not live a life paid for by others and choices made by government officials and worked his tail end to the bone to pay his family's way in life, refusing to move westward with the bulk of the tribe. He taught his children that true freedom comes from less government involvement. His children taught their children, and one of his grandsons taught me.

I refuse to see a nation where we are telling our children and our children's children what America was once like when men were free. (Ronald Reagan, 1961)

At the very least, if the bill is too large to read, it is too large to vote for!

I am The Mob!

Cross-posted at RedState.com

Dreams

The 13-yr-old and I were walking the shores of Lake Michigan after a phenomenal storm and picking up seashells (like those to the right). Only, I knew it was a strange occurrence because those are seashells. I'm pretty sure they call them that for a reason, and I don't ever recall picking up that large of shell in the Lake. (The dream shells were ocean size, I'm aware of the smaller mussel shells available from the Lake.)

I get a call on the cell from Jason telling me to meet him at some old guy's beach house. He's apparently worried about this guy who apparently lives down the pier from his family's 100-year-old hotel that is falling into the Lake due to the previously mentioned storm. The guy looks like an older Kelsey Grammer dressed like Newman (from Seinfeld) and he's refusing to come out of the hotel because his father is going to take him on a ride. I knew from my own sound dream logic (you know when you just know things) that his father was long dead.

That's where I woke up. Not getting to find out if we could coax crazy guy out from his doom.

It was one of those dreams that makes kind of no sense to anything happening in your real life, but leaves you with the feeling of importance that should you not heed the warning, bad things will happen. Great. Just what I need.

Randoms

From the guy behind me in the waiting room:

"So, you still got the cancer?"

Also, the evening receptionist (I assume that's what she was) was a food nazi!

Life

I spent the last week shuttling back and forth to Chicago.

My sister is fine. The surgeons were able to clean up the scars decently so they would heal better and not make young children scream and run away in horror. (They wouldn't anyway, but try telling the person who had a moose on her face that.)

It has proven itself easier to deal with something that happens to me than trying to keep another from slinking down the road of depression.

Tonight, the county fair!

Photo Contest!

The site: iHeartFaces.com.

The link:

The entry:

I just love how the sand covers a wet foot. I know, sick. Anyway, the foot belongs to my 11-year-old nephew.

So...

Because I was really stressed (worrying about my sister) and distracted (worrying about my nephew worrying about his parents), I didn't notice it was far past the moment my potholder needed replaced.

I burned the holy living crap out of my finger. The middle one on the right hand. The one that handles the "i" "k" and "," keys. So I sit here pecking those keys with the index finger instead. And mouse usage is the suck!

Still not as bad as her week has been going, so no big.

For the record, "2nd Skin Moist Burn Pads" turn your finger into a very odd white zombie finger thing. Sorry, no pics available. Also, I replaced my potholders.

My Sister's Day Was Worse Than My Day...

You know the situation. Phone rings at 3 am, and you think, "Am I ready to hear this news?" You know, cause it's always bad.

Well, my phone rang at 3 am, but there wasn't anybody there. Nor was the number available to be dialed back (*69). So, I blew it off as a wrong number.

This morning, my sister's father-in-law shows up with the delayed bad news.

My sister and her husband, while traveling back from their anniversary trip, had a run in with a moose. They're in the hospital, in serious but stable condition. Him with a fracture of the C-1 vertebrae, her with severe lacerations to her face and hands.

So, I spent the day calling family, and distracting her son from bad news. (I did tell him, but played video games with him when not calling.) My day was much better than waking up in another state, far away from friends and family, with pain and strangers telling you you'll need a bit of plastic surgery to repair your face, not totally sure your husband is OK.

We'll find out a better estimate of her hospital stay tomorrow, they hope. *sigh*

While I Was Googling The Other Day...

This is where I start a new tradition: posting the random search engine stuff that pops up when I do a legit search for something totally unrelated.

Really Bad Parenting Advice! The bully post had me in stitches!

Update: It occurs to me that my parents were so far ahead of this curve! They are gold medal winners in the Parent Olympics. They made me drink water out of a "thing what my dad called a hose (pretty sure lead content was higher than a toy made in China)," let me rollerskate (sad that word isn't in the spell check dictionary) and/or ride a bike without a helmet, get fresh air and sunshine without wearing sunscreen of any kind, scrapes and bruises did not ever warrant a trip to a medical facility (save broken bones, but I didn't break anything until after I was married) and I turned out OK anyway.*

*Disputed.

Randoms July 15

"Nothing says tasty like sweaty cookies."

Mistaken Identity

I've been on Jason's case for weeks asking him to pull the abundance of weeds that have started to litter my flower beds this year. Weeks!

He promised to get to it when we got back from vacation.

When we came back, they weren't so much weeds as misplanted flowers from the pots I got from family when I had surgery back in October.

Now, what I was hounding him to pull, I am hounding him to try to safely replant across the way in my planters. *Grin*




And, my lilies in the back have bloomed:

Bringing:

Wish Lists

So, in July, I try to start a running wish list for those so inclined as to purchase for me because I am a hard person to buy for, or so I've been told. Probably because I refuse to fill out those personality things that ask for stuff I'm interested in. Silly people!

So, I've decided to try to list my interests when possible. There, Mom, there!

In times past, I have answered the question "So, what do you want?" with smartass items so big they probably will never be a gift. Such as:

• Be a voice in a full length animated Disney feature.
• Meet [insert celebrity here]. Currently, Alton Brown tops this list with Peyton Manning being a close second.
• Travel to Greece, Egypt, back to Ireland, etc.
• Ability to give Jason his all time favorite wish list item - a ride in an F-16. You should have seen his face listening to Bill Engvall's and then my dad's experiences. Like a kid in a candy shop!
  

Those are just a few of the big item stuff on my list.

I suppose simple ideas are what these persons are asking for, so I probably should offer up something.

• Anything found on Alton Brown's site.
• A good deal of items found in Food Network kitchens.
• Any movie on my list of recently seen, furnished upon request.
• Anything with an elephant on it. (Probably should keep it to reasonable sizes.)
• Headphones that are comfortably flat.
  

I most likely will be adding things to this list in future. Late nights that evolve into days without sleep equals a very distracted brain. So, nothing new with me really.

Name Changes and the Late Night

Considering changing the name here to Apple's Orchard, not that my readership is big enough to matter, but the new name would be shorter to link to, and I'm all about laziness rights.

I'm also loving the late night thing. Keeps me distracted while Jason falls deep enough asleep to lay off the snoring a bit so I can fall asleep.

Today, I woke up not well. The vacation had caught up with me and my stomach was letting me know. Too much walking in sand and a happy dog jumping on me at our return led to cramps much like runner's pains and slight bruising in areas that will surely give my surgeon an ulcer the size of Kansas.

So, what do I decide to eat when I'm sick? Why, tuna salad on potato bread. Not the best of choices. And what was dinner later? Why, cheesy jerk chicken enchiladas! Probably a worse choice! I think I may need to buy stock in Tums to help pay for this! At least the 13 and 11-yr-olds liked the meals, even if I'll be dying inside for a few days. Shoulda gone with the pizza, as per the old family cure!

Also probably not a good choice, but oh so irresistible, was Food Network! I am such a fan! However, the choice to send Michael home instead of Debbie on The Next Food Network Star was irritating beyond belief! She freakin' didn't do her job! And then tried to play martyr! If she ends up winning, I will refuse to watch whatever show she's on.

Randoms - July 11 edition

Misheard of the day: "Open the Carpal Tunnels!" (Apparently, it wasn't anything near that in an episode of Johnny Test about Mole people.

Watched Eagle Eye (finally) then went to Cold Stone for a Banana Caramel Crunch (with strawberries) and in walks this middle-aged gentleman (roughly 45-ish) with about six or seven teen girls and quite loudly proclaims: "I love the Jonas Brothers, how 'bout you?" and only one of the girls was horrified by it. Speculations abound. (For the record, I really enjoyed the movie AND the ice cream.)

I've only been remembering snippets from my dreams lately: Last night, the plane I was on crashed and the life raft looked like a giant inflatable Schwan's truck. (Ice cream seems to be a theme.) The night before that: I just remember the voice over (a la Wonder Years) as I woke up, "And there I was, jewelry shopping at a flea market with my husband's ex-mistress."

Those dreams just drive me batty with the not knowing what the heck I'm remembering and all. The ones that scare me are the ones I do remember filled with seperation anxiety fears of my subconscious! That's scary psyche right there! I mean, at least my subconscious could give me eye candy to look at while freaking me out, right?

Power Outage And Grizzlies

We lost power last night at about midnight. As annoying as not being able to continue watching the GHI marathon on SyFy (and oh how I HATE that renaming) was, the freaking out pre-teen boys were more so! Not that I had planned to lose power, or I probably wouldn't have chosen programming that had the possibility to scare their socks off and require usage of a night light, which was impossible with no power, you see.

Worse yet, no power meant no fan for white noise. This was bad. You see, Jason's medication (or possibly the RA itself) causes him to channel a chainsaw (or a grizzly bear, or a grizzly holding a running chainsaw) through his nose. Whatever you want to call it, it is loud! If I wasn't already an insomniac, I most likely would be now. The snoring puts me in the precarious position of trying to deal with the cacophony (yes it is the proper word, you haven't heard it so don't judge) so as to allow him much needed sleep, saw my ears off as to allow my much needed sleep, or smothering him with his own pillow (most likely ending me in prison with other persons who snore worse). Dilemmas.

Dude!

Live RPG surgery!

All I Can Say Is WTH?

The New York Times has pre-released an interview with Justice Ginsburg that reveals more than she or anyone on the pro-choice side wanted:

Q: If you were a lawyer again, what would you want to accomplish as a future feminist legal agenda?

JUSTICE GINSBURG: Reproductive choice has to be straightened out. There will never be a woman of means without choice anymore. That just seems to me so obvious. The states that had changed their abortion laws before Roe [to make abortion legal] are not going to change back. So we have a policy that affects only poor women, and it can never be otherwise, and I don’t know why this hasn’t been said more often.

Q: Are you talking about the distances women have to travel because in parts of the country, abortion is essentially unavailable, because there are so few doctors and clinics that do the procedure? And also, the lack of Medicaid for abortions for poor women?

JUSTICE GINSBURG: Yes, the ruling about that surprised me. [Harris v. McRae — in 1980 the court upheld the Hyde Amendment, which forbids the use of Medicaid for abortions.] Frankly I had thought that at the time Roe was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don’t want to have too many of. So that Roe was going to be then set up for Medicaid funding for abortion. Which some people felt would risk coercing women into having abortions when they didn’t really want them. But when the court decided McRae, the case came out the other way. And then I realized that my perception of it had been altogether wrong.

Eugenics?? Really?? I thought that went out with the Nazis! Now we find a USSC justice that feels the same way.

Wednesday Is A Bad Day To Return From Vacation

OK, I've decided not to catch up with the news cycle. It would totally harsh my mellow just getting back and all. Also, I apparently got a sunburn so bad, it fried my desktop! Now that's a burn! And, for those who know me, would know I never do anything so normal as simply burning. I burned under my shirt! That's right, normal people would put the sunblock on the exposed skin, but that would be, well, normal! The only way I possibly could not burn, (I am a very pale anemic person who tends to burn upon even thinking about going outside, much to the detriment of my "fresh air and sunshine" pimp of a father), is to wear a long-sleeve t-shirt. But somehow, the light reflections and other fractal occurrences worked to cook me in places I foolishly thought safe from flame-broiling. Creepier still, there is a slight face imprint on my chest. Like somebody put sunblock strategically on me while I slept, 'cept I didn't sleep. The other odd thing about my computer frying thing (yes, I know, I have a virtual labyrinth of a thought train station), is when the Geek Squad guy checked it out, there is somehow an extra hard drive in there. Where this came from, I have no idea. Jason didn't install it, or see it when he put in the graphics and network cards, or during the scheduled cleanings. Maybe I really am on the DHS watchlist, and the FBI snuck in and planted it for purposes of surveillance or info-sharing. (Cue Twilight Zone Theme!) (It occurs to me to tell you it was the only thing of 5 on the surge protector to fry.)

Alright, so, I spent the last week in North Carolina. (I could have informed you I was on vacation before I left, but then I'd have been riddled with paranoid thoughts about the wrong people knowing my house was empty. As is: a freaking second hard drive from nowhere! and my PC frying.) My parents moved there a few years ago, and we have spent as much time there as humanly possible. The Outer Banks are roughly an hour from them, so we answered the beckoning call of the ocean waves and wind!

Two boys in the car for the trip equals "He's edging me out of the car, OMG, I'm gonna die when the door comes open and I fall out because he's taking up too much space!!" among other even more dramatic yells from the back seat. The 13-year-old and 11-year-old nephew made the trip interesting, to say the least. I feel for parents of multiple children who deal with this all the time. Jason's parents had 3 boys and they didn't go on family vacations more than to visit other family, usually no more than 6 hours away, and this is why. My parents had a considerable larger amount of children and we went much farther places. My parents were saints!!!

Best unintentional semi-trailer door replacement: Baby Ruth truck:

"If you taste the peanut creamy, you're tired of appetite."

Best quote from Jason:

"You ruined the lane of least resistance, because I now have to resist you."

Pictures will be linked later. As soon as I work it all out. (Translation: remove all photographic evidence of my existence.)

Politics Don't Wait For My Vacation

So, Sarah Palin is stepping down as Governor of Alaska. My bet is she's just tired of the bullcrap that no sane person should be blamed for more adverse reactions than the polite rebuttals she gave. If someone made the kind of comments that crazies on both sides made about my children or those closely related to me, coroners would have to be called. Just saying.

If it comes out there's a scandal, then whatever. But, if she's just taking a break for a while, she really can't be blamed.

I wish she would have waited til I got back from vacation, though, so I could make a more detailed and possibly more thoughtful, though probably not, post.

Give 'em hell, Sarah!

Randoms

From the people who taught me to be a grammar Nazi:

Recyculate - A circulating cycle?

Antitoxicdents - The stuff that cleans toxins out of your foods?

Optitrician - Children's eye doc?

Remembering Ianna

I was only able to hold her for a much too short eleven days, but she accomplished so much for someone so little.

My grandmother-in-law wasn't too fond of me. She would snipe at me at every opportunity. I wasn't a good enough housekeeper, I went to the wrong church, I dressed inappropriately. After Ianna, our relationship improved to the point where she asked for me when her husband of almost 50 years passed.

My father-in-law had been backsliding. After Ianna, he re-evaluated some things and started going back to church.

In fact, everyone involved re-evaluated what was important in life. My family (which is a large one), Jason's family, hospital staff. One of the nurses told me she was inspired to further her medical degree and work in research.

While I am still not completely over the tragedy, and I'll probably never be totally, the life lessons learned from my young daughter's eleven short days will be with me forever.

The stone marking where she rests simply reads: A mother holds her children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.

Happy Birthday, Ianna. I love you.

Arguments

I'm sure you've all seen an old couple out in public just bickering with each other, but not unhappy with each other. You can see they really love each other, and they would each be lost without the other.

There's numerous examples of that kind of couples' chemistry that, if I linked, my whole entire post would be links. My current fave is this blogger. Be sure to mouse over her pic.

Jason and I have this type of relationship. My mother is convinced we will survive anything save death (and possibly survive that by coming back to haunt the other) because we're a well-aerated relationship. (a la not a stagnated pond)

I read a story once from a widower about how his late wife had always placed these little ceramic kitties in all the windows of their house. He said he always would remove them to a less noticeable location because they irritated him. She would follow behind him and put them right back in the windows. They did this dance for near 50 years. Where are the kitties now that she's passed? On the window sills. I love that story!

My father is fond of saying that there is nobody more frustrating than my mother that he would care to spend his life with.

I'm not advocating we should devolve into a society of arguing. There is a difference when one truly hates, and some people just shouldn't be together.

I love Jason truly, and I am sure he loves me at least half that much. (I kid!) The bickering wouldn't be fun at all if we didn't know this to be true. Sometimes he does something so mind-blowingly irritating that I can't see straight. But in the end, I know that no real malicious intent was there. (You can't spell maleficent without male, you know.)

All this was a prelude to this simple but much disputed fact: Our bedding is NOT GREEN!

You see, Jason is colorblind. I once had a yellow shirt that had greenish-gray stripes that he insisted was green. There was no convincing him that the shirt was yellow. To support his disillusion of shirt color, he referred to his mother, who is also colorblind!

The sheet in question came in a package labeled "chocolate." It's brown. Yes, it has faded over time, but when I placed the sheets on the bed, he asked why I chose green for the color. This sparked an immediate response of "They're chocolate brown." "No, that's clearly green." "Here, look at the package!" "Somebody needs to lose their job at the factory!" "Somebody needs to get a cornea implant so they can distinguish colors from each other better!" You get the drift.

Friends and family have been drawn into this fight. Roughly 85% of all polled agree with me, and the 15% that side more with him all say that the fading truly gives the green hue to the sheets (or are colorblind as well), which isn't the question! We're not debating that they faded! They started brown! Like a Hershey's™ candy bar!

I bring up this debate for the reason that our dog has taken to such a liking of this bedding set that she has placed it in tatters. Literally. Now, I will most likely be making some sort of tug-o-war pull toy for Bug using the sheet. And, Jason and I will most likely continue the color debate until long after we are dead.

Dude, Check This Out

Now go here for an explanation on why this is really neat-o! (Excuse me while I go unchannel my dad now.)

Perceived Weenies [Updated][Updated Again]

[Update II: Hearing reports that the BBQ is now off. Can't find a credible news source, yet. Tommy Christopher kinda gets why this is horrifying. Quote:

You’re having intense discussions about whom to invite to your barbecue? God, I hope that’s not true.

Color me "Deeply Concerned."]

[Update: President now "considering" not inviting. Sigh. What's with the nuance with this administration, already?! It's like they have their own outrage-0-meter: Sort-of-kinda-upset<-->Very troubled<-->Deeply Concerned<-->Considering No Party Invite. Sheesh!]

I'm sorry, but to still consider inviting Iranian entourage to anything celebrating our independance and freedom, is just asking for bipartisan non-support. It's naive at best. I won't be rude and say what's at worst. Another episode of brutality emerged today. When is the right time to step back and say, "We do not support the actions of the Iranian regime." How much more do they have to do? Are we talking Neville Chamberlain (famous for appeasement foreign policy) here?

Obama is more concerned about perceptions than what is in reality right. Is it right for a parent to never discipline (not abuse) a child simply because they may be perceived as an abuser? I'm telling you right now, that it doesn't matter if some parents don't abuse their child, the child may still claim it to be so. There are other facts to be considered in any situation.

To a point, perceptions matter. David Letterman making a joke about a young girl went over horridly, for example. He didn't mean to imply what he did, but he should have considered how it would come across.

That's just it. You need to strike a balance between what other think and courage of conviction.

It's not meddling in foreign affairs to tell the Iranian regime what they are doing is wrong and that actions have consequences. Actions of previous administrations (Carter, mostly, and Clinton) gave the perception of a paper tiger, and we were attacked on numerous times. Until Bush said enough was enough and called a spade a spade.

Disinvite the Iranians, Mr President. It's OK to admit when Bush was right. You will most likely still give people the perception that he was wrong more often than he was right. You can do it!

"But the torch of liberty is hot. It warms those who hold it high. It burns those who try to extinguish it."

Randoms

"It's two true stories?? They melded 'em together? That's like too intense for our brains!"

A blond young lady sitting behind my sister and I in the theater watching previews before "The Proposal."

Happy Father's Day

I've been asked several times recently, as happens this time of year, to reflect back to one of my memories of my dad. It's been hard to just pick one, because, unlike some of my siblings would lead you to believe, my childhood was a blessed one.

Were my parents perfect? No, that would be a mythical thing, the perfect parent. Mistakes were made, people got mad and upset, I even made my father cry a few times. The fact that he was man enough to show us he cared enough to be hurt by us was a very powerful thing.

I've learned many life lessons from my father. I thank him for each and every one. I would not be the person I am today, and I would not have survived some very terrible events in my life without that man and the things he taught me.

The two memories from childhood that most stick out to me are:

• Sitting on my dad's lap in Papaw's pickup while he drove us to the hardware store, and the "discussion" they had about buying candy.

• The much needed shoes he could have bought for himself but instead went a little longer without so I could get glasses. As much as I resented the glasses, the sacrifice did not go unnoticed.

I love you, Dad! I wish we lived closer so I could say this in person and hug you! For all the mistakes you think you made, I turned out OK. At least, that's what they keep telling me. XO

Things You Don't Expect To Hear From Your Spouse

Or anyone else, for that matter.

"I'm half-crazed by the meds, being tired, and Kenny Rogers."

Yeah, that sums up my day.

Iran

News is still bleak. Protesters have been fired upon by bullets, teargas, and allegedly a burning agent.

To the Iranians, I offer up words from Ronald Reagan mid-December 1981:

“Our sympathies are with the people, not the government.”

"But the torch of liberty is hot. It warms those who hold it high. It burns those who try to extinguish it."

Oh what we'd give for leaders who stand up for liberty and freedom!!

Update:

Iranian TV is mistranslating Obama to make him sound as if he supports the people. Also, a horrifying video (CONTENT WARNING!!) of a young girl getting shot. Heartbreaking.

Women's Troubles and the Men Who Have Them

No, this post isn't going to be about men dealing with out-of-control-and-oh-so-unreasonable women in their lives. Sorry. Although, when one talks of women going through "The Change" one is prone to talk about those types of occurrences, isn't one?

I stumbled across this article (H/T ToM.com) about this man who has been dealing with the symptoms of menopause due to his treatments for prostate cancer. The tip of the iceberg:

I was in the middle of treatment for an aggressive case of prostate cancer last winter, and it included a six-month course of hormone therapy. My Lupron shots suppressed testosterone, which is the fuel for prostate cancer.

Read it all, cause that quote really only begins to tell the fun sordid story of a man suffering what women only wish the other gender could know what is like. (Yeah, I'm sure that sentence structure made a few of you cringe. :^P )

What struck me about Mr. Jennings situation was the similarities to my husband's reaction to his RA medications. He's not experiencing all the same things, but he does have the night sweats and hot flashes (to a degree). Now if he could only experience the mood swing roller-coaster, he'd get a fuller view of what we have to go through. Although, I'd probably experience a bit of "be careful what you wish for" regret at his manic behavior.

To top off my women's troubles theme here, I received an email from a friend who has allowed me to share her horrifying experience only on the basis I keep her anonymity. I couldn't not share this priceless story after I read it, so promise made. Here is the email:

I am only sharing this with you, because I know you won't let anyone know it was me. I'll just end up as one of those emails you get from people about some person somewhere having a, let's say unique experience.

Last month, during "the monthly visit," I decided to wear the oldest pair of panties I owned. I figured, if I was gonna have a leak, I wouldn't care too much. Right? Well, I also happened to purchase a rogue package of Always™ sanitaries in which they used what was the equivalent to superglue for the bonding material.

I was in {Redacted} and had that call of nature every woman fears and detests when in public during that time. (Yes, I know, I don't like going in public anyway, and I don't, when I can help it. Not some weird phobia, mind you, just a need to be in control somewhat of the germs surrounding my delicates, you see.) Everything was going normal. No line, so I got right in a stall. That's when my master plan of old panties went sour. Damn you, Always™ employee who replaced the regular stuff with superglue! Damn you to Heck!! When I went to pull the old pad off, the crotch of the panties came with. Literally disintegrating my underwear! I sat there for a full (what I'm sure wasn't quite as long as it felt) minute in total disbelief and quite sure I was having one of those hallucinations you, Apple, normally get when you are stupid and try to handle all of life's ills without telling people so that friends and family want to maim you if they weren't so frakkin' worried about you. There I was, during that time of month, unable to wear tampons, not that I had one in any case, with no undergarment to secure the replacement pad to. I had a panic attack, and one so bad that the lady in the next stall tried to calm me down. After reassuring her I was, at least, medically ok, I considered my options. I could send someone for {Redacted SO} and hope he could at some point find a lull in female bathroom traffic in order to help me out. I could ask some kind helpful soul to lend me a spare pair of panties. No, that would be silly! I chose what I felt was the least likely to let anyone else know the horror I found myself experiencing. I literally covered the crotch of my jeans in all the extra sanitaries I had in my purse. It was an Always™ diaper! And, because I was horrifyingly embarassed at what I had to do, I pulled up my pants, washed my hands, and exited to find {Redacted} and leave the store as fast as humanly possible so I could get home and shower and wash this bad bad day away from me!

My sister, {Redacted}, pointed out the sanity afterwards. I could have simply bought a new outfit and changed in the bathroom. Too bad, at the moment I needed it most, sanity was out to lunch. Sigh! Moral of the story: do not wear underwear past its expiration date.