More Baby Watch

C was feeling a bit happier today: she will only have to be here for (up to) four more weeks. After she gets to 36 weeks, she can go back home (or to the hospital there) because there will be no more need for the neonatal unit. She was able to shower today, which made her feel good. However, they have put her in support hose because of the swelling--something she isn't too delighted with. She has an IV going and antibiotics dripping all the time, just to keep infection away. She is allowed to get up to go to the bathroom, but she mostly is confined to bed. Tonight they moved her into a new room--she had been in one of the birthing suites and now she is in a small room. Thankfully she isn't caustrophobic, because it would have kicked in! This new room is only about half the size of the suite and with all the stuff they have jammed in there (monitors, IV stands, etc.) it seems even smaller. Well, I guess she doesn't really need a lot of space when she just stays in bed!

Baby Watch

Talked to C for a short time and not much to report. She is beginning to have contractions--a bit stronger than last night--but no pain and nothing regular. She will be having an ultrasound later today/this evening and she was having a non-stress test while we were talking, so they are keeping a close eye on her. I will be seeing her later, so there might be more to report tonight.

A non-stress test is to monitor the baby's heart rate. While on the fetal monitor, C has to press a button every time she feels the baby move so they can determine if the heart rate went up or not. During the test, the baby developed hiccups, so C was pressing that button with regularity. She said that, hopefully, the baby will move during the test--DUH!--and they have certain ways to make sure it happens. For instance, she drinks a glass of ice water before the test begins--this is supposed to get the baby moving. If that doesn't seem to help, they have a buzzer they place on the mother's stomach and press it to wake the baby up--sort of like a doorbell for the womb! I guess C has "seen" the baby practically jump out of her skin when they "buzz" her--of, course, this was while having an ultrasound. She said it is kind of funny to see--I guess in a slightly sadistic sort of way. :)

Here We Go Again

We received the call that we were hoping and praying wouldn't come: C was brought here by ambulance because her water broke. She is only 32 weeks along, and they want to do all they can to keep her from delivering for a while yet. I went to see her and she seems to be doing okay--of course, she would rather be home than in the hospital. There really is no more news than that--it is wait-and-see time. The doctor said she very likely will deliver sometime in the next 72 hours, but she could also be in the hospital for 8 weeks before delivering--nothing like getting definitive answers to questions, hey? I will post any news when it comes.

The Goddess Body

I have the body of a fertility goddess. That should make me happy, other women jealous, and men lust after me. Unfortunately, my body is NOT like the body of the goddess Brigit, but rather like the Venus of Willendorf. And as I get older, my body looks more and more like the Venus of Willendorf. Now I don't really know WHEN I began to look like this and I don't know when I actually admitted to myself that I was looking rather fertile-like, but I am not a happy camper! I know a lot of what I look like comes from genetics--my great-grandmother, for instance, had NO lap. She would rock me and instead of me being able to sit on her lap, she would hold me up against her massive belly, with my feet dangling. Of course, part of the reason she was so "stout" was the fact that she was only 4 feet 10 inches tall! Not very much area there to hide even ONE extra pound. Another reason for my looking like I do is the fact I have had some medical issues for years. I had a hysterectomy--which caused immediate menopause--and I have a screwed-up thyroid. Combine that with the achy joints and my drug of choice, food, and you have a Venus of Willendorf waiting to happen! And to top it all off, my doctor doesn't think I'm that far overweight! The man either is a chubby-chaser or he hasn't looked at the amount of weight I have gained since I have been going to him, but he isn't making me feel any better by denying what I already know: I NEED TO LOSE A GREAT DEAL OF WEIGHT FOR MY HEALTH! Oh, well, this is something that we have to figure out soon and I'm NOT looking forward to it. Why can't I be 5 foot 10 and have the metabolism of a race horse? Short is not fun.

ONLY $1 Billion?

Forbes recently published their list of the 400 richest people in America. Of course, I had to look through all 400 names just to see if I could find someone I could try and convince that I was a relative--no such luck! :) Anyway, as I was getting down the list, I found myself thinking, at one point, "Oh, only worth $1 billion!" Excuse me! ONLY worth $1 billion? I remember when $1 million was an enormous deal--and now $1 billion is an ONLY! I can't imagine, even today, what it would be like to have $1 million and $1 billion is completely beyond my understanding. Must be interesting to be rich enough to make the Forbes 400. And in a way, I'm glad I'm not there. Really. (I am trying to convince myself that this is true.) :)

More "What Is This World Coming To?" News

I still can't believe this story. Do some people just not think, or do they just crave sensationalism? Words fail.

Just Some Things

Last Friday C was granted full legal and physical custody of the girls from her first marriage. She had petitioned the court a couple of months ago and the case went to mediation--which her ex didn't attend--and then it went to court--which her ex didn't attend. It actually was pretty much a no-brainer all the way--the ex hasn't had any contact with the girls for about 6 months, so the judge didn't have much to think about before making his decision. Even though the girls say they don't feel bad about it, at some point they will feel hurt because he isn't a part of their lives.

C really blew me away yesterday. We were talking and we got around to the topic of the baby. She will have a c-section in two months--providing she can hang on that long. Anyway, I asked her what they will name the baby, and she said Grace. A pretty name and then I asked about the middle name and IT WILL BE THE MOTHER'S! I couldn't say a word. (When I told K, he just gave a little sarcastic chuckle.) So then C back-peddled and said the reason for the name ISN'T to name the baby after The Mother--she wanted one name, her husband wanted another name and they put them together and came up with The Mother's name. Her husband told The Mother the baby will be named after her--and C said she didn't correct the statement. Then C gave a sheepish giggle and that was the end of that. If C only knew the things The Mother has said about her, they would NEVER speak again. (If I told the things The Mother has said about most everyone she knows, she would be mighty lonely, cause she loves to "slice-and-dice" people.) However, I just don't care enough to make The Mother's life miserable--she'll get hers in the end--so I will keep my mouth shut.

And Just WHY Is The Country Going To Hell In A Handbasket?

OK, I might know a little too much about celebrities and what is going on in their world, but I really do have the time to read all the gossip. After all, there is only K and myself in this house, I don't work outside the home, and I definitely am not trying to run the country. That is why this just makes me shake my head--no wonder the country is in the state it is! Even our elected officials--during Supreme Court confirmation hearings!--remind everyone how important Paris Hilton is. Good grief.

The Federfetus Lives

US magazine has announced--as well as other mags, blogs, etc.--that Britney Spears had her baby today. If you don't want to see or hear about it over and over again, ad nauseam, stay away from all entertainment news programs and mags. This may all blow over in a few months--maybe when Angelina Jolie adopts another trophy kid.

It Just Doesn't Seem Right

(I am going to be commenting on something that might be old news. Please don't nail me to the wall--this is, after all, MY opinion!)

I was just reading the newest issue of People magazine and I read something that really upset me quite a bit. They did a short piece on the celebrities helping with the hurricane relief and in one place they listed the money that certain celebrities have donated. Here is what gets me mad: John Grishom has donated $5 million--PERSONALLY-- and Oprah's ANGEL NETWORK (not her PERSONALLY) has donated $1 million. Now, isn't she one of--if not THE--richest women in the US? All I saw her do personally was go to the disaster area--WITH CAMERAS!--and bitch about how this whole thing has racism attached to it. I just don't get how she gets away with the things she does and everyone thinks she is God's gift to the world! SHE doesn't give things away, the corporate sponsors do! Don't people see that? Now she is going to be the most wonderful person because her Angel Network will be giving to the disaster relief--and people such as John Grishom will be overlooked when it comes to thanking those who have helped. (Although, what I have read about him, he probably doesn't want any recognition for his donation.) Oh, well, some people think it is all about themselves.

Get Thee To The Batcave!

Wednesday night, all night, I sat in my car, in the driveway. Here's the story:

It was some time after 1:30 AM (technically, Thursday morning) and K was working the night shift. I was sitting at the counter in the kitchen and the cat was sleeping several feet away. Out of the corner of my eye I seemed to see something move. Sure enough, flying around the light was a bat. Actually, it was more of a BAT! I know it took less than a second to register as to what I was seeing, but I still didn't move--that is until it left the kitchen and came back. By now, I was screaming. Don't exactly know what the cat was doing--it was every woman for herself. I ran from the kitchen, through the dining room, into the living room, and finally into the bedroom. I peeked out the door and saw the damn thing swoop through the living room and knew I had to get out of the house. Quickly I pulled on a pair of jeans, grabbed the cordless phone, and left out the front door. Just for a fleeting moment did I think I was going to get my purse and cell phone--it was NEVER going to happen. My cell phone was in the kitchen and my purse--with my keys--was in the dining room, so I wasn't EVER going to go back in that direction until the BAT was gone. I didn't worry too much about being stranded outside because I had my cordless phone--STUPID ME! Of course, the phone didn't work outside. I had planned on calling K to see if he could come home, but now I had no way of doing that. I couldn't even go to one of the neighbors, as it was so late and everyone else was sleeping. So I sat in my car.

Shortly after 6:00 AM, K came home. He searched the entire house from the upstairs through the basement, and found nothing. He figured the BAT had left the way it got in, or had found a place to sleep for the day. So, with that in my mind, I finally got some sleep. That afternoon, after we had gotten up, we decided to go to C's house and bring Noelle's birthday gift--her birthday had been on Wednesday. We visited with the kids for a short while--they had to get to sleep--and went to visit K's sister, and then we came home. About this time, it was after midnight. K thought that if the BAT was still in the house, it would have come out to feed and he might be able to find it. Sure enough, there was the BAT, just clinging to the wall in the breakfast nook. K managed to get the thing out of the house and all was well, again. No, nothing will ever be completely well--we have no idea how the thing got into the house in the first place, so we can't be sure another one won't find it's way it! Pleasant thoughts.

On that note, I hope you all have a good weekend!

A Chuckle

A college student at a recent football game challenged a senior citizen sitting next to him, saying it was impossible for their generation to understand his.

"You grew up in a different world," the student said ... loud enough for the whole crowd to hear. "Today we have television, jet planes, space travel, man has walked on the Moon, our spaceships have visited Mars, we even have nuclear energy, electric and hydrogen cars, computers with light-speed processing, and, uh ..."

Taking advantage of a pause in the student's litany, the geezer said, "You're right. We didn't have those things when we were young; so we invented them, you little shit! Now what the hell are you doing for the next generation?"



Just wanted to leave you with something to read--hope you got a chuckle. We've had some excitement here the last 24 hours, but I'll have to wait till tomorrow to write about it. Stay tuned! :)

A Horse of a Different Color

The particular "horse" I am talking about is the orange 1965 Mustang that has been sitting in my yard for over 3 and a half years. K always wanted an old Mustang, so he bought this one to "fix up." Frankly, I thought the thing was an eye-sore and not worth the money he spent on it. I think what really made me be against the damn thing was this: he informed me one evening that the car would be delivered the following morning while he was at work! He NEVER even mentioned that he was thinking about buying it--probably because he knew I would have vetoed the decision. Now, don't get me wrong, I have no problem if he wants to get himself a "toy." I just want him to have a toy that he can actually play with! This car was driven ONCE--to the garage where an oil change was done. I can't believe it ran well enough to get it there and back, but that was the last time it left our yard. There was NO WAY K was ever going to restore it, because we don't even have a garage for him to do the work in. So, the reason I'm even mentioning this: K has decided to sell the car! Yippee!! The one who will be buying it came to look at it today and if all goes well, I will not have to look at the orange horse after the end of this month. Hopefully K will have learned his lesson and the next Mustang he buys will already have been restored--a plan I could really get behind!

Just Links

With not a whole lot of interesting stuff going on in my life the past few days, I thought I would just post some links to websites I find very interesting, for one reason or another. I hope you find one or two sites that you want to go back to over again.

Surprise.com
This site is very good for helping you find that unique gift. You can search for gifts by recipient, occasion, type, hobbies, and much, much more. I always seem to find a very good idea whenever I look here.

KissThisGuy.com
We all have been embarrassed by singing the wrong lyrics to songs, and getting caught! Here is a site that lists the lyrics people THOUGHT were being sung. (The title refers to the lyric in the Jimi Hendrix song Purple Haze. The words are "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky." and someone heard it as "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy.") A fun site.

Abebooks.com
Do you ever remember a book you read years ago and wish you had a copy to read again? Well, you can find just about any book--new and used-- on this site. If you aren't looking for a first edition, signed-by-the-famous-author sort of thing, the prices are phenomenally great. The few times I have ordered from here, I have been well pleased.

AnnualCreditReport.com
A law was passed that everyone can get, free of charge, once a year, their credit report from each of the three big credit reporting companies. This is the site where you can get these reports--FOR FREE. There are other sites that want you to pay for your report, but this is the legitimate site.

Classic-novels.com
I enjoy this site because it lets me read those "should have" books that I never got around to. You know what I'm talking about: those classic books that all your high school English teachers said you needed to read to become a well-read individual! Of course, if we aren't teaching English ourselves, the chances are we never got around to reading the classics. Well, this site makes it easy to do! Once you sign up and choose your book, you receive an installment of the novel in your emailbox every day (which takes about 5 minutes to read) until you are done. Easy! (I wish there was a bigger selection, but what is offered is quite good)

Lyrics World
So you don't have to worry about singing "'Scuse me while I kiss this guy.," here is a site that has lyrics from most every song you can think of--at least almost every song I can think of! Fun to look through.

AbbreviationZ.com
What does RSVP stand for? What about HTTP? Or VoIP? This site has the answers to your questions about acronyms and abbreviations. This is one site that should be in everybody's favorites.

Urbandictionary.com
If the last "hip" thing you said was "groovy" or even "the bee's knees," this is another site you need to have in your favorites. This site defines all of the words you don't know the meanings of because you aren't 17 anymore! Just LET your niece, nephew, son, daughter, or grandchild TRY to get away with saying those things to you!

Truthorfiction.com
Are you tired of all of those emails telling you about the "curse" you need to avoid, or the one about having to pay to send emails, or about the money you can get from Microsoft, The Gap, etc., just by sending a bunch of emails to others? This is where you can go whenever you get an email that "just doesn't sound right." Can you imagine how much junk email we could avoid getting if everyone quit sending the bogus mail?

Deathclock.com
Finally, for those who would like to be a little bit morbid, I offer you The Death Clock. All you have to do is type in a few numbers and you can find out the day you will die! Of course, this is just based on your birthdate, BMI, and the average lifespan, but when you see the "date you will die," it does make an impact. (Most of the rest of the site hasn't been updated in forever, but the death clock still works.)

Have fun surfing!

I Don't Know About This...

Okay, it has been 16 years since my hysterectomy, so this doesn't apply. I'm wondering: is this really icky or is it just me?

(I have turned on word verification in order to stop comment spam--it was getting a bit out of hand. I hope this isn't too much of an inconvenience for those leaving legitimate comments.)

My Rant

I spent quite a bit of time this evening reading comments people have about the hurricane. Everyone is just as horrified as I am over the destruction and loss of human life, but one thing that has me angry is the finger-pointing that is going on. Accusations are being made about every aspect of this tragedy--from why and how it happened to how it is being handled. While reading some of the comments I can actually "read" the looks of absolute happiness on the faces of the writers because they are able to blame someone or something they hate. Why are people so petty that they have to use a tragedy such as this to further their hatred and political agendas? I read horrid comments from people on the far-left, on the far-right, and everyone in between, and I want to say, "SHAME ON YOU!" Whatever has happened up to this moment, whether criticism is justified or not, this is not the way to get this situation fixed. If you don't like the way the government is handling the relief efforts, find a private organization and offer your help. If you don't like the way a large organization is taking care of things, find a small, grass-roots group you can support. Sitting around bitching and moaning is NOT going to help those people that need help. Finger pointing and name calling just makes those that are suffering feel worse and it certainly doesn't do a damn thing towards getting food to a hungry child! If you aren't going to be part of the solution in a substantial way, then you are a big part of the problem! Find some way to help and leave the hatred for others by the wayside until this is over.

Here is a forum started by an individual wanting to help. Everyone can do something constructive. Let's all quit bitching and start doing.

More of My Trivial Life

Today C. sounded more like herself than she has in many days--we're hoping she has completely turned the corner with this virus. She was out and about today, so she hopes she won't pay for it tomorrow.

A good friend and I went to a local Italian restaurant to celebrate her birthday. Good food and good company, what more can you ask for? We try to get together for dinner once every four weeks or so--you have to MAKE time to be with friends, or they fall by the wayside.

What I am listening to: Back Home by Eric Clapton. I'm enjoying it very much, but if EC sang the alphabet, I would be thrilled!

What I am reading: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I have had the book sitting around here for several months and I decided it was time to read it. I'm about halfway through and am enjoying the read. However, I don't feel it is as great as the reviews made me think it was going to be--maybe I'll feel differently after I'm done. I'm finding that everything is happening too quickly and too neatly--there could have been much more tension built into the plot. But, as I said, maybe it will change as I get further along.

What I am watching (movies): Just watched The Forgotten last night and it should be put in the FORGOTTEN pile. NOW I realize why it didn't stay in the theaters for very long: it was just bad. There is so much that could have been done with this story to make it much better--I am left with more questions than answers after seeing it, but I really don't care. I'm sorry I wasted my time.

What I am watching (television): The premier episode of Prison Break was on the other night and I think we have a winner. In a lot of ways it is like 24, you have to just go along with the plot and not think too much. There are quite a few very improbable happenings, but what goes on is also very fascinating. I liked the way you could see how the plan was coming together--kind of a window into the main character's mind. If the rest of the episodes are as good as this one, then I will gladly watch for the rest of the season. (There is some gore in the show and I wound up peaking at the screen through my fingers for the last 5 minutes of the episode--I SO did not want to see what was going to happen!)

Just Keeping In Touch

I talked to C. today and she is feeling a bit better. Yesterday--despite what she thought was going to happen--she was feeling like she was relapsing. The two older girls have been such a big help to her. I don't know how she would have managed otherwise. I know she is worried about different things: her life is so busy and she can't just stop and let things be. She has four kids--two school aged--and there are other things going on that can't be put on the back burner. Unfortunately, the world and time don't stop just because someone doesn't feel well. I do have to say, though, she DID sound better than she has--thank goodness!

I want to thank those of you who read these meanderings of mine. I am always happy to read your comments--they are most welcome. I wanted to tell y-vonne that C. has had 5 high-risk pregnancies and is on her 6th one now. Of course, it wasn't until pregnancy number 3 ended in a stillborn boy that they actually decided something might be wrong. After number 4 they finally sent her to see a specialist in high-risk pregnancies and number 5 was her first one to go full-term. She still has almost three months to go before she gives birth (hopefully), so we are always concerned about her.

Well, cantellya, the construction goes on and on. Part of the reason I don't want to drive myself anywhere IS the construction, but it is much, much worse now that the students are back in town. I don't know what the problem is--maybe students are perpetually late--but DROVES of kids are using our "under-construction" road as a short-cut. Now, why they think it is shorter to go through a construction zone, is beyond me. There are workers, piles of sand and gravel, very large equipment, and even larger holes in the ground to be avoided, so they can't be saving much time. And it STILL is posted as CLOSED TO THRU TRAFFIC! I thought you had to be able to read before you could attend college. Oh, well, this too shall pass--just not fast enough for me. :)

Now on to something on everyone's mind: the hurricane. There is no way I can imagine what the people in the disaster areas are going through. My heart just breaks every time I see a news story and wish with all my might that I could do something to help. We have never had such a devastating natural catastrophe to get through. We DID have a flood a few years back, but that was almost a joke compared to what Katrina did. The flood here did millions of dollars worth of damage--and no lives were lost--whereas this is going to cost BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars to fix. I am ashamed when I think about how pissy I got when we were without electricity for about 36 hours, three years ago. At least I was able to use my bathroom and go to a restaurant to eat! Our disasters here are usually snow or ice related. Granted, things can get pretty hairy when we get 2 feet or more of snow dumped on us or when we have an ice storm, but these things are usually pretty short lived. We usually just have to wait for Mother Nature and a little bit of time to take care of things and we get back to normal. The way I am feeling about things right now is this: if I EVER hear ANYONE who lives here complain about how much they hate the snow, I will bitch-slap them into the next year! Snow is NOTHING compared to what the people down south are going through. My thoughts and prayers are with each and every one of them.