Bring Back MST3K

I really miss Mystery Science Theater 3000. Won't someone, please, bring it back?!

A Little Bit of Excitement

Well, it has definitely been awhile since I posted. The last couple of weeks have been busy and/or exciting at times, but mostly just the same old, same old.

Two weeks ago tomorrow, we went for one of our out-of-town shopping trips. Now, it might sound (to some people) as if these trips are really grand--nothing could be further from the truth. First off, most of the shopping we do is in discount stores. I go out of town to shop at DSW shoe store, Gordman's, Burlington Coat Factory, and Sam's Club. Not to say that I don't go to some full-priced retail stores, just that they are not my main destination. Of course, I can't pass a Barnes & Nobles without going in--I think there is a law prohibiting me from passing one by. :) Victoria's Secret, Build-A-Bear, World Market, and Old Navy are all places I go to almost every time we go shopping--although I don't always buy from them. As a matter of fact, we seem to be spending more and more money buying for others than we do for ourselves. We really like shopping for the grandkids and usually get some clothes for each of them and a bunch of stuff from Sam's. Our main reason for leaving town is just that: leaving town. Being away from home--even for only one night--helps K. and me connect with each other a little better. We talk more and are "forced" to be with each other in the same space and not in separate rooms. Also, we get to visit with our oldest friends on our trips, since they live about 30 miles from where we stay. My friend since fourth grade married K.'s best friend from the Navy and we have stayed friends for all these years. Now that we all are "empty-nesters," we are able to spend time together and renew our friendship.

So, we came home on Tuesday and were back on the road on Friday bringing C. to see the high-risk pregnancy specialist that has her office about 3 hours away from us. C. got a good report and doesn't have to go back as long as everything stays as is. After the appointment we hit a few stores, ate at Olive Garden, and came home. It was a long day--not my favorite way to do a trip.

It was so great to have the doctor tell C. that all is well. That is why yesterday's events were so frightening. C. wound up in the emergency room yesterday morning with an excruciating headache and a fever of 104. I guess the emergency room was really jumping trying to figure out what was going on with her. After doing all kinds of tests, etc., they came up with the conclusion that she has viral meningitis. And because it is a virus, they couldn't really do any more for her, so she was sent home. By the time she got home and I talked with her, she said she was feeling a bit better (the fever had come down) and was looking forward to getting some sleep. However, when I spoke with her last night she had been experiencing some contractions, but they weren't regular. The doctor said that was something for her to expect and to keep track of them and if they started coming regularly, she was to return to the hospital. Considering she still has two more weeks to go before she is at the point where she had her first baby, I was really worried. Today when I talked to her she said she was feeling the best she has felt for days--and she would be feeling perfectly well tomorrow. (Knowing her, she will absolutely make herself be well tomorrow--that's the way she is.) She has got to stop getting pregnant--I don't know how much more of this I can handle! (As if it is harder for me than it is for her!)

Other than our trips, I really haven't been out and about that much--at least not by myself. And the reason is the same one I have every year at this time: the students are back in town! It is going to take at least a month till things settle down to almost normal here and then I'll feel a bit more comfortable driving around. Until then, K. can do all the driving. And then once everything has settled, the snow will come and we will start all over again! Such is life. :)

If you have read this far, I thank you and commend you for your perseverance. I really wish I had a more exciting life to write about, but I guess you have to take what is handed to you! I will close now and wish you a good week. Come back again. :)

The Donald Not Humble? Say It Ain't So!

I love this quote from PC Magazine, the August 23, 2005 issue:

"The notion of bug-free software seems a lot like...a humble Donald Trump: something we'd all like to see, but won't."

Phone Service

ARRGGHH!!!! I just spent 2 hours on the phone trying to figure out my phone service. Up till now I've been okay with what we have, but there are more long distance calls being made, so I had to change our plan. What a bunch of stuff and nonsense! Now, I will be telling my age by this statement, but, I WISH WE WERE BACK IN THE DAYS OF MA BELL! We had NO choices, we took what there was and used the services (long distance) and bitched about the costs, or didn't use them. It was that simple. I was trying to decide between my present provider (AT&T) and another one, which I previously had (SBC). Well, they sure don't make it easy to compare plans. It's like comparing apples and oranges--okay, that is a cliche, but it is the best I can come up with. :) I decided to switch back to SBC because I think the plan I'm getting will be cheaper than a similar one from AT&T, but I'm not 100% sure. You would think I was making a life-or-death decision when I made the switch--I got this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and I'm second-guessing myself all over the place. I don't do well with too many choices--I always think I'm going to screw up, big time. Oh, well, time will tell. At least I won't have to watch how long I'm on a long-distance call anymore--at least I don't THINK I will.

Unrealistic Perfection

There seem to be more and more people with eating disorders and going to plastic surgeons so they can look like the people in magazines or in movies. I remember thinking, as a young girl, "Why can't I look like that?" when I saw a model or actress I admired. We are so "beauty" and "youth" crazy in this country that some people go to extremes to obtain "perfection." Unfortunately, we are idolizing false images. Go here to see how photos are fixed to make a model appear perfect. Scary.

Couldn't Help But Laugh

Just found this site and had to share--these are some of the most hysterical cat pictures I've seen. Enjoy! StuffOnMyCat.com

Another Year Down

Six years ago, today, I had my last cigarette. It still amazes me that I can write a sentence like that--I was a very prolific smoker. I still miss it. Actually, I miss the act of smoking--I no longer am addicted to the nicotine. If I could smoke without the health risks or smell, I would go back to it in a heartbeat. A good friend of mine--an ex-smoker, too--told me that we will begin smoking again when we turn 80. Good plan--my doctor wants in on that plan, too! :)

When I was approaching my one-year anniversary, I figured I needed to do something to mark the occasion--something just for me. I bought a 35mm camera. I figured the price of the camera came NO WHERE close to the amount of money I had saved by not smoking. I enjoyed rewarding myself so much that I have continued to give myself a gift every year. This year I believe I will be buying myself a flat-panel TV for the kitchen. Yeah!

I hope you all have a great weekend. Take care.

100 Things About Me...

1. I am barely 5'1".
2. I am married and have two children--both girls.
3. I have been in love three times.
4. My husband is the only man I have ever slept with.
5. I still wonder what my first love is doing and what he looks like.
6. I stayed with my second boyfriend as long as I did because I needed to not feel lonely in high school.
7. I still love my husband.
8. I don't suffer from empty nest syndrome...AT ALL.
9. I have always been a stay-at-home mom.
10. And I love not having to leave the house if I don't want to.
11. My IQ is around 140.
12. Sometimes I feel intellectually superior to some people.
13. I love my children, but there have been times I wished I never had kids.
14. Many times I wished my husband and I were both sibling-less orphans.
15. I can't think of a single family member of mine that I would want as a friend.
16. I have a mental list of people I can never forgive...and it is much too long.
17. I don't tell my doctor everything because I don't want him to find anything seriously wrong with me.
18. Every time I have worried about a symptom I have had, it has turned out to be nothing serious.
19. I have had a hysterectomy.
20. My ovaries have been removed.
21. My gall bladder is gone.
22. I still have my tonsils.
23. I still have my appendix.
24. I have worn glasses since fourth grade.
25. I should have gotten them in third grade, but my mother thought I was faking.
26. I have one brother.
27. At this point in time, I think he is a real jackass.
28. He once told me that I should give my younger daughter up for adoption so that I wouldn't screw her up as much as I did my older daughter.
29. My father once told me that if I would have ever done ANYTHING for my older daughter, she would never have become incorrigible.
30. I haven't had a real conversation or visit with my parents or brother (and his family) in more than a year.
31. I don't miss them at all.
32. I have suffered from depression.
33. I have taken antidepressants.
34. I have seen three different counselors...and only one has ever helped me.
35. I was molested as a child...by my favorite great-uncle.
36. He also molested females in the generation before me and maybe the generation before that.
37. He was an alcoholic.
38. My parents never drank because of the rampant alcoholism on both sides of my family.
39. I probably can go many years without speaking to my family because I had a good teacher...my father didn't speak to his older brother for over twenty years.
40. I allowed my mother to manipulate me until a few years ago.
41. I used to be a perfectionist.
42. I would never leave my house until I had done the daily cleaning and vacuuming.
43. Because of trying to be perfect in all that I did, I intimidated a lot of people.
44. I wanted to do everything perfectly to make my parents proud of me.
45. I don't think they ever were REALLY proud of me.
46. I have smoked marijuana.
47. I never used any other recreational drugs.
48. My drug of choice is food.
49. I always wished I could have been at Woodstock...but I know I could never have survived that long without a shower and indoor bathroom.
50. I am quite an accomplished seamstress.
51. I don't sew in the summer because I have had wasps in my sewing room in years past.
52. I have tried too many crafts to mention.
53. All of the decorations on my Christmas tree were made by me.
54. I think I have arthritis starting in my right thumb.
55. That makes it difficult for me to crochet.
56. It saddens me to not be able to crochet.
57. I have taken a floral arranging class at least 5 times.
58. I planned and put on my oldest daughter's first wedding...basically all by myself.
59. I made all the bouquets and other arrangements.
60. I made around 50% of the food for the reception...good friends helped with the rest.
61. I made the invitations.
62. I made the wedding programs.
63. I did a great deal of the decorating.
64. And I did this for around $2500. And everything turned out very nice. This took place in 1996.
65. The first time I sat in front of a computer was in 1992.
66. I sat so long without touching the keyboard, the screensaver came on.
67. I thought I broke it.
68. Today I KNOW I could build a computer on my own.
69. I won't do it, though, because I would drop-kick the thing out the front window if it didn't work perfectly the first time I turned it on.
70. I can be terribly impatient.
71. I worry about the way my husband drives...he gets more impatient every year and it scares me.
72. I love to read...EVERYTHING.
73. I love to read in the bathroom.
74. One time I read the back of the Comet can when there wasn't any other reading material in the bathroom.
75. I love staying up at night...I could work a night-shift job easily.
76. I have no trouble sleeping during the day.
77. I like staying home, but still feel as if I want to travel around the world.
78. Before I die I want to see Australia and New Zealand.
79. I don't think it will ever happen.
80. Bungee-jumping would be such a rush...I am just too scared to try it.
81. Within the next couple of years I hope we will have this house torn down and a new one built in its place.
82. And I will not invite my family to come and visit.
83. I feel badly that I let my mother guilt me out of being closer to my in-laws than I was.
84. Even though my father- and mother-in-law are dead, I'm trying to make up lost time with the rest of my in-laws.
85. I never walk around my house in bare feet because I'm afraid of stepping on one of my cat's hacked-up hairballs.
86. I once had a spider in my bed while I was in it. Freaked me out for a long time.
87. Thinking about being in a roomful of bees, hornets, or wasps makes me have a panic attack.
88. Thinking of being on a cruiseship on the ocean causes a panic attack, too.
89. I got seasick on my husband's Navy ship while it was in dry dock.
90. The quartermaster got scared because I turned every shade of green and ended up white as a ghost.
91. I started school at the age of 4.
92. I graduated high school at 17 and didn't turn 18 till 6 months later.
93. The school wanted me to go straight from kindergarten to second grade.
94. My mother said no.
95. The only class I ever struggled with was physics and I still got an "A" because the teacher graded on a curve.
96. I am a very insecure person and I don't have a great amount of self-esteem.
97. I don't think I have ever really been vain about anything.
98. It embarrasses me to think about the times I have been loud and obnoxious.
99. I hope I have helped someone at some point in my life. I don't want my life to have been a waste.
AND FINALLY...100. I sincerely believe there is a God.