Thursday, October 26, 2006

Being Pissy

Yeah, I know my last post had my mis-adventures while peeing in a cup, but this is a different kind of pissy. I have really been in a lousy mood lately--not so much that I'm crabby, just that anything can set me off at any time. And of course, the only one I can go off on is K. (Well, I can get pissed off at the cat, but she just gives me a withering look and turns her back on me.) And, for the most part, he doesn't deserve my moodiness. It isn't so much that I will SAY anything to him, it is just my general lousy attitude right now. Not sure what is going on.

I guess I can put the blame on the time of year. Yes, people, we are coming into that wonderful time called the 'holiday season.' Oh, yay. I have gone on and on at different times about how much I hate the holidays, so I won't do so and bore everyone again. I DO know that part of my problem is the fact that the holidays are supposed to be for family time--and I don't have family to share the season with. And I definitely DO know it is my own fault--I could be with my family any time I wanted to, I just CAN'T. But, I then feel badly about not being with family... It is a vicious cycle and I just have to get through it best I can.

With Thanksgiving, K and I have been asked to two different places for dinner. Dear friends of ours want us to go there and C has invited us to their house. And K wants to have the meal at home so we can have left-overs--because, what is Thanksgiving WITHOUT left-overs?!?! I already told C we probably wouldn't be there--it is too worrisome to be traveling at that time of year, especially to the 'snow-belt' of Michigan. And she totally understood, thankfully. As she said, that is quite a distance to travel just to eat and turn around and go home again. What probably will happen is this: we will have Thanksgiving dinner here at home on Wednesday and then spend the following day with our friends. Good solution and the best of both worlds.

My birthday is the week after Thanksgiving and K will be working the night shift on the day. There goes any plans for ANY kind of a celebration. Not that we ever do anything that special, it just is nice to have the option--which we don't have this year.

And, of course, then comes Christmas. For years and years I worked myself ragged trying to put on the perfect Christmas for everyone around me and now I barely get the house decorated. I realized my efforts weren't really that appreciated, so I decided to scale down--a lot! And I also realized that no matter how hard I tried, I could NEVER make it a perfect Christmas. The big problem I have now is there just doesn't seem to be anything overly special about the time for me. There is no real reason for me to do any of the cooking, baking, decorating, gift-buying that I used to do, so the holidays are pretty flat for me. I am kind of thinking about putting on a Christmas party this year, though--it would give me a reason to look forward to the season. I have to think about it and talk to K and see what he has to say. It is an idea.

But anyway, I wasn't planning on going on like this. I just wanted to let everyone know that I haven't been posting as much because I have been quite pissy lately and haven't had much to say. Maybe now that I got all of this off my chest I will be better. I can only hope.

Monday, October 23, 2006

My Life--That's All

Not a whole lot to report from here--just life going on as I know it. So, here goes.

--K came home from work four hours early last night. No real explanation, just took the time off. I have a suspicion that he isn't feeling completely well--he has a bit of a cough and that may be why he came home. Of course, it isn't like you can ACTUALLY go to see a doctor if you're not feeling well--you have to wait till you get so bad that it will take twice as long for you to get better! Chances are he'll go see someone tomorrow.

--Today K decided to cook dinner--which he does every once in a while. The biggest reason he does it is so he can make ONE dish: pot roast. Now, I don't mind the meal--it IS easy to make and clean up--but if he had his way we would have it every week or two. BORING and I get very tired of the same thing, so I don't make it very often anymore. I truly appreciate it when he cooks, but I have one question: When I cook, I clean up afterwards. When K cooks I STILL have to clean up afterwards. WHY? I could never understand this.

--The temp has been in the 30s here and it snowed off and on most of the day. We had flurries, ice pellets, and 'Christmas Eve' snow at different times. I have a feeling we may get snow to stay by Halloween. I don't mind the cold, I just don't particularly like driving in the snow.

--Watched the Red Wings lose their third in a row on Saturday. They won't be playing again until Wednesday. I must say they actually were playing better on Saturday than they had the other nights--at least they got their penalty killing together. On Thursday, EVERY goal--for BOTH teams--was a power play goal. Not good. They didn't camp out in the penalty box on Saturday, either--another good thing. I don't see a great year, but I think they will do a decent job of playing once they learn to work together--after all, they have a lot to work through after losing Yzerman and Shanahan.

--Today I went for my semi-regular blood-letting--yep, it was lab work time again! I have my physical on Monday, so I had to go and be jabbed with a needle. I looked at the tech's teeth just to make sure she didn't have fangs, and she didn't, but I still think she may be a vampire. After all, the office is totally enclosed with NO outside light, so she could be out during the day. I'm fairly certain my doctor isn't a vampire--despite his absolute delight in sending me for blood-work--I did once see him at a Bat Mitzva in the middle of the day!

--As for the rest of my labs, I also had to give a urine sample. Now, with men, it is a very easy situation. Plain, simple, pee in a cup. For women, it is a production. First, you must settle yourself on the toilet so that you can place your arm, WHILE holding a cup, between your legs and under your bottom. Next you have to clean yourself in order to give a sterile sample. THEN you must start peeing--NOT TOO MUCH--and stop, so that the urine is sterile. FINALLY, you have to place a cup--which has an opening the size of a Coke bottle--in the proper spot so that you can direct a few drops of urine into it. Of course, it doesn't work that well. To begin with, there are no mirrors. Let's face it, if there WAS a mirror, positioning the cup would be much easier--at least you could see WHERE the cup should be placed. So, this is all a guessing game. Place the cup, start peeing. Pee on hand, move the cup. Pee in toilet, move the cup. Pee on hand once more, move the cup. Pee on arm, move the cup. By the time the cup is where it should be, you are lucky to have enough urine left for them to test! And, of course, the whole while you are trying to 'catch' a sample, you are also aware of the fact that you could, very easily, miss everything and pee on your clothes. Once you have a sample, you must decide where this pee-soaked cup must be placed by your pee-soaked hand. Then you must decide how to wipe and pull your pants up with your pee-soaked hand. This leads to the scrubbing of the hands and arms--all the way to the shoulders--in order to make sure no stray drops of pee are left anywhere they are not supposed to be. As I said, it is quite a production and not at all fun. The only thing I can figure out is this: a man must have decided this would be funny!

Friday, October 20, 2006

Smiles All Around

Today I got phone calls from BOTH of the girls--and it sure was nice.

First off, the youngest daughter called to tell me about two of the patients she had a chance to meet today. As anyone knows who has been reading this blog for awhile, she works at a vet clinic--actually, she now works at TWO clinics, both part time--so the patients we are talking about are animals. Now, before I go any further I have to say this, I am a BIG fan of the sitcom 'Newhart'--the one where Bob Newhart is the owner of an inn in Vermont--and my favorite characters in the show were the brothers Larry, Darryl, and Darryl. I won't go into the show or the characters, so if you have never seen 'Newhart,' you won't have a clue as to what I will be talking about. Sorry. Anyway, YD got to meet Larry and Darryl today: two twenty pound cats. She said they were EXACTLY like the characters from the show: Larry wouldn't stop 'talking' and Darryl--according to his people--has NEVER said a word! She said their personalities fit their names, also: Larry is very gregarious and Darryl has nervousness issues. She said the people are on the hunt for one more cat, another Darryl! Too funny.

The oldest daughter called a short while after I talk to YD and had this story to tell me. Seems as if the 2-year-old, the boy, got into the pantry and took a can of powdered baby formula. He proceeded to dump it on the floor. He got punished. OD started cleaning up the mess and when she got the formula into a pile, the boy walked into the room, looked at the mess, put his hand on his head and said, "Oh, shit. Oh, shit. What happened?" At this point, OD said she realizes why some animals eat their young! Of course, by the time she called me, she couldn't stop from laughing, but she said it definitely wasn't funny at the time! I told her that this is probably a good time for her to start cleaning up her language or she WILL be embarrassed by one of her children saying something improper at a most inopportune time--like SHE did! I fixed MY language mighty quick. :)

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

I Came Back!

I have been AWOL the last few days, as my loyal readers know. (And that is all three of you? :D) Anyway, here is an update on what's been happening.

First off, we went on another one of our road trips on Monday morning--so, of course, my Sunday was all about getting ready to go. While I very much appreciate the fact that K does ALL of the driving whenever we go anywhere, I still cannot understand why EVERYTHING else connected to a trip remains MY job. This includes packing, doing the laundry, cleaning up the house, garbage, feeding the cat, opening/closing the blinds, filling the humidifiers/emptying the dehumidifier, hotel reservations, etc, etc, etc. I guess it goes back to many, many, MANY years ago when the girls were young: I would get everything ready for us to leave right at the time he would come home from day shift. My life, it could be MUCH worse. :)

While I LOVE getting together with our friends and having dinner and visiting, every once in a while it is nice to have the time just for ourselves--and this is what happened this trip. Our friends had plans on Monday evening, so K and I had NO time problems and got all of our shopping done on Monday--with the exception of Sam's Club. We were able to have an early dinner at Outback--mmmmmmmm, Walkabout Soup--and get to sleep early that night. After breakfast on Tuesday morning, we did our Sam's shopping and headed home. I STILL can't figure out WHY it takes us so long to go through Sam's--it isn't as if we needed that much stuff this time--heck, we JUST were there a week and a half ago! But, we go through those doors and it's as if time speeds up or something--and before you know it, two hours have passed and you're rushing to get out of there!

We found a new place that will be a must-stop-at every time we are in Appleton: the Breadsmith. Oh, my gosh! As if I need another place to buy food! The stuff they have there is absolutely amazing! I loved the cranberry/orange scones and the chocolate chocolate chip muffins are to die for. We brought home the cranberry/orange bread and have been eating it toasted with butter on top. Mmmmmmmmm. There comes another five pounds onto this short, stubby body of mine.

So, anyway, we get home. You know how you can walk into a room and SOMETHING just doesn't feel right? You can't put your finger on it at first, but you just KNOW something is wrong? Well, that is exactly what it was like when I walked into the house. The first thing I do when I get home is to walk through all of the rooms to see if the cat hacked up a hairball while we were gone--gross, I know, but that is one of the joys of having a long-haired cat. As I was walking through the house, I was seeing white spots on the floor no bigger than about the size of a quarter. Well, this was something new and I was SURE the cat was dying of some horrid disease! Then I noticed a few of the spots on the recliner and sofa--and the mini-blinds were all whacko! About this time I realized it COULDN'T have been the cat because she just can't jump and reach the TOP of the windows--and it hit me, there had been/was a bird in the house. There was bird crap on the mini-blinds and window sills and all of the blinds looked as if the bird had tried going THROUGH them. So, the search was on. K went through the upstairs room, the basement, and the main floor--finally we found the culprit. There, in all it's nervousness, was a starling sitting on top of the books on the top shelf of the living room bookshelf. K opened the front door and after a few minutes, the bird flew out. Thank goodness.

I don't know what is going on with our house--it is as if we cut a hole in the wall and put up a sign saying 'Accommodations Here--ALL Wildlife Welcome.' This has been SUCH a strange year for us with wildlife getting into our house--and for the most part, we can't figure out HOW the damn stuff gets in! This bird just REALLY baffles me. Chipmunks, and even the raccoon, I understand, but a BIRD! Oh, well, I just hope it stops soon.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Just A Meme

Cindi at Somewhere Over the Rainbow tagged me, so here goes another meme. Just wanted to warn people before they got too far! :)

***FOOD***
What is your salad dressing of choice? Honey mustard, French, or the house dressing. Depends on the mood.
What is your favorite fast food restaurant? McDonald’s? Burger King? Any pizza joint? Ah, hell, I just like food that’s not good for me.
What is your favorite sit down restaurant? Possibly Outback. I also like Casa Calabria, Bonanza, Texas Roadhouse--I just like food!
On average, what size tip do you leave at a restaurant? At the very least, 15%--usually 20% or more.
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? beef—prepared in various ways.
What are your pizza toppings of choice? I do like onions, sausage, ham, and sometimes pineapple, but I really prefer thin-crust cheese pizzas.
What do you like to put on your toast? butter and jam or jelly
What is your favorite type of gum? Altoids peppermint (sugarless)

**TECHNOLOGY**
Number of contacts in your cell phone? Around 40. But that really is misleading as I have restaurants and doctors listed—and I have multiple listings for the same people; home phone AND cell phone, etc. I also have the hubby and both girls listed as my ICE contacts; ALL of their phone numbers.
Number of contacts in your email address book? 23—and at least 6 of them are MY OWN addresses!
What is your wallpaper on your computer? The Detroit Red Wings logo—after all, it IS hockey season!
What is your screensaver on your computer? Not too sure—I have the computer set to power down after so long being idle, so the screensaver doesn’t come up too often.
How many televisions are in your house? five
What kitchen appliance do you use the least? bread machine
What is the radio station you listen to the most? 99.5 (classic rock)? Don’t listen to the radio all that often. (That's what MP3 players are for!)

***BIOLOGY***
What do you consider to be your best physical attribute? not really sure—doesn’t help that I’m neurotic and have low self-esteem, so I don’t think along the lines of my ‘what’s best about me.’ :D
Are you right handed or left handed? right-handed, but I THINK like a lefty. As far as I know, I was supposed to be left-handed, but The Mother rather forced me to use my right—to make it ‘easier’ on me in school.
Do you like your smile? I guess—especially since I had braces! (Better like the smile after all of the money we spent! :D)
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? Various organs and moles—and, as Cindi said, two babies!
Would you like to have something removed from your body? FAT!
Do you prefer to read when you go to the bathroom? Of course—why else would I have a subscription to People magazine!
Which of your five senses do you think is keenest? Probably smell—according to the hubby, I smell things that aren’t even there. :)
When was the last time you had a cavity? So many years ago I can’t even remember.
What is the heaviest item you lift regularly? My fat ass?
Have you ever been knocked unconscious? Other than being knocked unconscious for surgeries or other medical procedures, no.

**A bunch of stuff-OLOGY**
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Don’t think so.
If you could change your first name, what would you change it to? Don’t really have an opinion—what I have is fine.
How do you express your artistic side? sewing, beading (jewelry making), flower arranging, baking, decorating cakes (rarely, anymore)—I used to do a lot of crocheting, but my hands hurt too much these days. (I think I’m getting arthritis—damn.)
What color do you think you look best in? blue—mostly peacock blue
How long do you think you could last in a medium security prison? Probably not very long—I’d either have a nervous break-down or piss someone off and get beat.
Have you ever swallowed a non-food item by mistake? Being born and raised where the state bird is a mosquito, OF COURSE! (The mosquito-thing is a joke, in case you can’t figure that out.)
If we weren't bound by society's conventions, do you have a relative you would make a pass at? Are you kidding? I don’t even LIKE most of my relatives!
How often do you go to church? I used to be a regular and EXTREMELY involved in every aspect of our church, but got a bit disillusioned with the pastor and some of the people a few years ago, so I stopped going. I DID go a few times around Easter and will be going back soon—I just haven’t made up my mind how involved I’m going to get again.
Have you ever saved someone’s life? No.
Has someone ever saved yours? Not really.

**DARE-OLOGY**
Would you walk naked for a half mile down a public street for $100,000? $100,000 might not be enough—however, NO ONE could afford the amount that would have to be paid to anyone who might SEE me walking naked down the street.
Would you kiss a member of the same sex for $100? Who is being so stingy with the imaginary money? MAYBE a quick closed-mouth peck.
Would you allow one of your little fingers to be cut off for $200,000? Don’t think so!
Would you never blog again for $50,000? THAT I could do—anyone offering?
Would you pose naked in a magazine for $250,000? No.
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000? No—can’t imagine WHAT that would do to my gastric-reflux. {shudder}
Would you, without fear of punishment, take a human life for $1,000,000? Can’t imagine I could do that.
Would you shave your head and get your entire body waxed for $5000? I would have NO PROBLEM doing this, BUT, $5000 is not nearly enough money! (I know, I’m greedy.)
Would you give up watching television for a year for $25,000? You betcha!

Thursday, October 12, 2006

You Might Be a Yooper!

Enjoy this list of things that make us Yoopers who we are--surprisingly, many of these are very, very true! :)
(I compiled this list and have lost the original author's names--I apologize to the very witty people who wrote the lists I took these from.)

If your snowmobile costs more than your kid's college education, you might be a Yooper!

If you install your snow tires in early September, you might be a Yooper!

If your best clothes are reversible; Blaze Orange to Camouflage, you might be a Yooper!

If you think the expression "to open a can of worms" means " to go fishing", you might be a Yooper!

If people in Wisconsin act superior to you, you might be a Yooper!

If you only know Ted Nugent for his archery equipment, you might be a Yooper!

If you saw a sign that said "Drink Canada Dry" and you've been trying ever since, you might be a Yooper!

If you can ice fish 9 months of the year, you might be a Yooper!

If your summer shirts are plaid wool (same as your winter shirts), you might be a Yooper!

If your ice fishing shanty is better furnished than your house, you might be a Yooper!

If your favorite bar plays both kinds of music, Country AND Western, you might be a Yooper!

If you refer to winter mittens and hat as "choppers" and a "chook", respectively, you might be a Yooper!

If you can spell Ahmeek, know what Ahmeek means, and know where it is, you might be a Yooper!

If your bitter family feud comes to a head over the annual Lions-Packers game, you might be a Yooper!

If you've ever had a snowday after Mother's Day, you might be a Yooper!

If your county spends more time and money on the snowmobile trails than they do the state highways, you might be a Yooper!

If you've been to Holiday and ShopKo more times than you care to count, but you've never been to Dunkin Donuts or a 7-11, you might be a Yooper!

If your basic vehicle survival kit consists of blankets, pillows, a shovel, and rock salt, you might be a Yooper!

If you have a bumper sticker that says "Say Ya To Da UP," you might be a Yooper!

If you plan your vacation around deer season, you might be a Yooper!

If you use venison hamburger to make chili, you might be a Yooper!

If going up north means a hunting trip to Canada, you might be a Yooper!

If you only own three spices - salt, pepper and ketchup, you might be a Yooper!

If you design your Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit, you might be a Yooper!

If you have more miles on your snowblower than your car, you might be a Yooper!

If you have 10 favorite recipes for venison, you might be a Yooper!

If your TrueValue Hardware on any Saturday is busier than the toy stores at Christmas, you might be a Yooper!

If you've taken your kids trick-or-treating in a blizzard, you might be a Yooper!

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes get filled with snow, you might be a Yooper!

If you think everyone from the city has an accent, you might be a Yooper!

If you think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie with only 8 buttons, you might be a Yooper!

If you owe more money on your snowmobile than your car, you might be a Yooper!

If the local paper covers national and international headlines on l/4 page, but requires 6 pages for sports, you might be a Yooper!

If your snowblower gets stuck on the roof, you might be a Yooper!

If you think the start of deer hunting season is a national holiday, you might be a Yooper!

If summer takes place the second week of July (and it still rains!!), you might be a Yooper!

If you find -20°F a little chilly, you might be a Yooper!

If you’ve attended a formal event in your best clothes, your finest jewelry, and your snowmobile boots, you might be a Yooper!

If you know the four seasons: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter, and Construction, you might be a Yooper!

If the municipality buys a Zamboni before a bus, you might be a Yooper!

If you have a "camp," not a "cottage," you might be a Yooper!

If you define Summer as three months of bad sledding, you might be a Yooper!

If snow tires come standard on all your cars, you might be a Yooper!

If you have ever gotten frostbitten and sunburned in the same week, you might be a Yooper!

If you think Alkaline batteries were named after a Tiger outfielder, you might be a Yooper!

If octopus and hockey go together as naturally as hot dogs and baseball, you might be a Yooper!

If a Big Mac is something you can drive across, you might be a Yooper!

If your kid's baseball and softball games have ever been snowed out, you might be a Yooper!

If you bake with "soda" and drink "pop", you might be a Yooper!

If you know what a pasty is, you might be a Yooper!

If your favorite hockey team's mascot is an octopus, you might be a Yooper!

If you have a favorite hockey team, you might be a Yooper!

If you don't have a coughing fit from one sip of Vernor's, you might be a Yooper!

If you know what a Vernor's is, you might be a Yooper!

If your car rusts out before the brakes wear out, you might be a Yooper!

If your favorite holidays are Christmas, Thanksgiving, and the first day of deer season, you might be a Yooper!

If there are really only TWO seasons: hockey season and off-season (or hunting season and construction season), you might be a Yooper!

If you know all the words to Gordon Lightfoot's classic ballad, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," you might be a Yooper!

If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through 18 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by, you might be a Yooper!

If you're proud that your state makes the national news 96 nights each year because Houghton/Hancock has the most snow in the nation, you might be a Yooper!

If you think a basketball team consists of twelve white boys, you might be a Yooper!

If you have ever experienced "squeaky" snow, you might be a Yooper!

If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might be a Yooper!

If you have ever snow shoed or been to camp, you might be a Yooper!

If you instinctively walk like a penguin for five months out of the year, you might be a Yooper!

If you have ever seen the Northern Lights and / or the Milky Way, you might be a Yooper!

If you have apologized to a telemarketer, you might be a Yooper!

If you think shoveling snow is fun, you might be a Yooper!

If you ever referred to where you live as "God’s Country", you might be a Yooper!

If you ever took a sauna when it was 85 degrees F outside, you might be a Yooper!

If you ever used the expression "Holy Wah!", you might be a Yooper!

If you think that the 15th of November is (or should be) a national holiday, you might be a Yooper!

If you know how to make or pronounce "pasty", you might be a Yooper!

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might be a Yooper!

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might be a Yooper!

If you have had a lengthy telephone conversation with someone who dialed a wrong number, you might be a Yooper!

If you know how to say Ontonagon, Lanse, Baraga, Bessemer, Ishpeming, Negaunee, da Sault, and Toivola, you might be a Yooper!

If you grew up thinking rice was only for dessert, you might be a Yooper!

If every time you see moonlight on a lake, you think of a dancing bear, and you sing gently, "From the land of sky-blue waters, ..."Hamm's the beer refreshing", you might be a Yooper!


I will be glad to explain any of the above items to anyone who is not a Yooper--at least as well as I am able! :)

What's Happening

The snow came...at least for parts of the UP. Over 8 inches of snow dumped on the part of the UP where K and I grew up--and it is calling for another 8-15 inches through tomorrow. I talked to C tonight and she said school, as well as other activities, were canceled today and tonight. Because of teacher inservices tomorrow, school doesn't need canceling--which is a good thing as there are only a limited amount of 'snow days' available before school districts have to make the days up at the end of the year. Here in the town where we live, everything was white when we woke up, but all of the snow melted during the day. We had quite a wind and that really made it feel very cold--and the wind is supposed to continue through tomorrow. Oh, well, just the beginning of the winter. :)

Watched the hockey game last night and was blown away by the Wings' 9-2 win over Phoenix! They played a good game, but Phoenix isn't exactly the greatest team, so...it was a good game, nonetheless.

Cindi over at Somewhere Over the Rainbow has tagged me to do a new meme, so, for those who are interested, watch for me to post my answers in the next few days. I don't know about anyone else, but I find it absolutely fascinating to read other people's answers to these things!

Did a long-overdue computer maintenance here this afternoon. I have really not been happy with my McAfee security for quite a long time and today I finally got rid of it. I found it to be too expensive and there were too many problems for me to want to keep it. So, I decided to go with a free firewall and free anti-virus--Zonealarm by Zone Labs and AVG Anti-Virus by Grisoft. I'm sure I will be happy with the programs as they have been praised by many, including Maximum PC magazine.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Getting Ready...


I think the next few days around here will be fun...NOT!! We are under a snow and blowing snow advisory for tonight and tomorrow and then it turns into an winter storm warning sometime tomorrow afternoon. They are predicting from 8-10 inches of snow 1oo miles north of us--where my oldest daughter lives. I really don't think it should be so bad in our city--I hope--because we live on the shore of Lake Superior and it tends to protect us from some of the storms. We'll just have to wait and see.

I have to get up from here shortly and start the day. First, I have an appointment with the orthodontist. He STILL wants to see me every 1-3 months--this after having the braces off for well over a year. I think he just likes to look at the teeth and pat himself on the back--after all, he NEVER expected such good results! Then, it is off to the grocery store and Wal Mart--if we are getting a storm, I have to lay in supplies. For some reason or other, I have a NEED to get to the grocery store every time there is a winter storm warning--as if we will DIE of starvation before we can leave the house again. Actually, both K and I could live off of our respective fat reserves for many days and still have only wasted away to normal before we eat again! Oh well, just another one of my crazy quirks. I think it probably stems from the days I was a smoker--heaven FORBID I ran out of cigs during a snow storm! There would have been hell to pay. :)

Monday, October 09, 2006

I'm A Horrible Person :)

Last week I was talking to C when she mentioned the baby's first birthday. EXCUSE ME!?!?!? WHEN is her birthday???? Turns out, Gracie is a one-year-old this Thursday. Now, I went to ALL of my calendars, my PDA, EVERYWHERE, and there is no mention of when Gracie was born. (I DID post on this blog when she was birthed, but I HARDLY EVER read my own blog. :)) What a horrible grandmother I am. But then, in my defense, I DO have five grandchildren and I can't be expected to remember them all equally, can I? ;) I DO remember visiting C night after night the month she was here in the hospital. I DO remember when Gracie was born. I DO remember going to see Gracie while she was here in the hospital for three weeks after she was born. I DO remember when Gracie went home on Halloween. I just don't remember the number of the day she was born! Thank goodness I found out in plenty of time to get her birthday gift. Now, the only problem: how many days AFTER her birthday will it be before she finally GETS her gift from us?

Sunday, October 08, 2006

Nothing Interesting


Well, we got home on Friday--late afternoon. I got all of the shopping done that I wanted to do and I must say, I did well for myself! This trip, I found THREE pairs of shoes to buy--doesn't happen often that I find shoes I like AND fit my feet, so I had to buy all three pair. If I keep this up, I'll be getting into Imelda Marcos territory. I also got a couple of Christmas gifts--I wasn't planning on doing Christmas shopping, but when you see something you just MUST buy it because it won't be there the next time! K wants to go back next week Monday or Tuesday--we'll see if it happens.

We were gone for a day and a half and K's work called FOUR times to ask him to do overtime--they even wanted him to do an 18 hour shift today. I can't wait to find out what is going on out at the plant. K IS working today, but just his regular shift. This is the second or third time the plant has called while we have been out of town--I set our home phone to call-forwarding and get the calls on my cell. I am amazed that these people--the bosses--at K's work have NO IDEA what call-forwarding is. They just seem to be all amazed that this is possible.

This is the first time in quite awhile--maybe EVER--that we didn't celebrate our anniversary at all. Our anniversary was on Friday and we did nothing for it. Of course, we weren't home early enough for me to do my usual: make K a special dinner and dessert. I did manage to get a card for him, but he didn't even do that. He better make up for this on my birthday and Christmas--I am expecting GOOD things this year, as usual! :) I guess our anniversary day REALLY isn't any more special than any other day is--after all, we've been together this long, so every day is exceptionally special!

C had the three-year-old in to see the ENT on Friday and they have determined that the little one has a milk allergy! Now, we are not talking lactose intolerance, but a full-fledged, absolutely-NO-milk-products-being-consumed, allergy. She is kind of beside herself as her kids LOVE yogurt, cheese, milk, etc. AND she cooks with cheese, etc, a lot! C is probably going to see a dietician so she can get some help in meal planning--it is REALLY going to be a pain in the ass for her. Thankfully, the doctor said this is the kind of allergy kids usually grow out of--let's hope so.

AND, I'm so happy that I got to see the Red Wings play last night. We missed the season opener because we were not at home, so I especially was glad to watch last night. They lost the game on Thursday, but won against the Penguins last night, 2-0. They played pretty well. I'm a happy camper! :)

Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Road Trip

We will be leaving in the morning for one of our road trips. Good grief, driving three and a half hours to, basically, go to eat dinner with friends! But, I get to see what is at the stores and--possibly--get an idea for Christmas shopping, so the trip is more than worthwhile. Don't know if I will be posting from the road, so have a great weekend!

What We Prefer

From mental_floss:

More Women Prefer Dogs Over Husbands: An online poll released by DogCatRadio.com, shows more women would rather have a pet than a husband.
(Not a surprise! Dogs give unconditional love—and don’t watch football!)

More Women Prefer Looks Over Money: The more money a woman earns, the more likely she is to prefer good looks to money in her man, a new survey reveals.
(Um, if a woman has money of her own, why wouldn’t she go for the eye candy?)

More women prefer clean-shaven men (70% of women prefer a clean shave, 20% prefer a goatee, 7% prefer a full beard, 3% do not care about facial hair).
(Can anyone say whisker/stubble burn?)

More women prefer shopping for their children than for their spouse (71% compared to 67% for women aged 16-55).
(The kids will at least WEAR the stuff—well, if they are young enough, that is.)

Cable TV’s Oxygen Network recently released a report suggesting that technology advertisers are missing out on a large market share by not marketing to women. The survey found that more and more women prefer technological gadgets to jewelry, clothes and shoes, nearly closing the gap between women and men and their technology needs and uses.
(And why SHOULDN’T women like tech gadgets just as much as men?)

Given the option, more and more women prefer Caesarean section to natural birth.
(Especially if you can have a tummy tuck at the same time! JUST JOKING!)

More women prefer blue eyes (36 percent) to brown or dark eyes (30 percent).
(Ooookaaaay.)

When it comes to having their private parts examined, more women prefer a physician of their own sex. But for treating a broken leg, women don’t seem to give physician sex a second thought, according to a Norwegian study of women aged 36 to 55.
(Who comes up with these questions—and who pays them to ask them?!)

According to a Lifetime Women’s Pulse Poll, three times more women prefer to work for a man, with Bill Gates topping the list of ideal male bosses at 38%. But despite this preference for men, the #1 ideal boss is Oprah Winfrey with 58% of the vote.
(If you say so.)

And now for the men:

More Men Prefer Marriage Over Women: A new study that provides the first inclusive look into the male consciousness found that men are more likely to prefer marriage to single life than women.
(Hello! Especially if the wife does the laundry, right?!)

When it comes time for bottoms up, more men prefer beer and women prefer wine.
(And this is surprising, why?)

More and more men prefer Laser Hair Removal for the most sensitive parts of their bodies. Did you know that 30% of spa visitors are men?
(More info than I needed to know!)

More men prefer Cialis to Viagra.
(Again, more info than I needed to know!)

A survey from Ontrack, a disaster recovery company, claims that more men prefer to try and fix a PC problem themselves.
(But the question is, do they ACTUALLY know WHAT they are doing?)

Although monarch sheets are available in a variety of colors, most men prefer ecru or white.
(Excuse me! And this is relevant, why?)

Researchers say most men prefer women with medium-sized breasts. And 13% have admitted trying on a bra, mostly for fancy dress or a dare, but some for curiosity or pleasure. Most say they found it uncomfortable. 81% of men surveyed say they would have medium-sized breasts if they were women.
(Words fail…)

Monday, October 02, 2006

Fall

Even though the picture I have here ISN'T one I took, it certainly represents fall in the UP. It is a most glorious time of year here--my favorite season. It is just too bad I am so very conflicted at this time of year.

As I said, I love fall. BUT the fall just rolls into 'The Holiday Season'--my WORST time of year. I have always wished I could go to sleep sometime in November--as early in the month as possible, but no later than the day before Thanksgiving--and wake up on January 2nd (even if it DOES mean that I miss my birthday :)). I don't especially remember any wonderful holidays when I was growing up--they weren't actually TERRIBLE for the most part, just not wonderful. The really lousy times started after I got married. The Mother wanted me, K, and the kids with her every minute of the holiday season--NO SHARING AT ALL. This was a bit difficult because K's family lived less than 5 miles from The Parents and they wanted us to spend some time with them, too. The Mother didn't want me to enjoy myself with K's family and would pout if I said I had a nice time. I finally got so fed up with the whole thing that I refused to spend any time outside of our home for the holidays. And that is what happened: we spent the holidays by ourselves with no family around. This, of course, caused everyone to blame me for not spending time with family for the holidays--AND depriving K and the kids from bonding with the families and having wonderful traditions. It was NOT fun. I'm so sorry that I never got to talk to K's mother about this whole thing before she died--I would have wanted to explain things to her. I WON'T even try to explain things to The Mother because she has NEVER done anything that I remember her doing--at least as far as SHE remembers--so why bother.

It would be nice to spend the holidays with our girls and their families, but they spend the time with The Parents and The Brother and his family. C lives there and A travels to spend the time with The Family and probably will again this year--as she has done every year since she left home. That is their choice--one I WILL NOT try to influence in any way. After all, I KNOW what it is like to be told what you HAVE to do--and you have to be strong and have age on your side to defy The Mother.

Disquis

Being In a Funk

I'm still having a bit of a funk going on in my life. To be expected, I guess. But, it REALLY is affecting me to see my best friend ...