Coming Out Of The Fog

It has now been about three weeks since I got sick and FINALLY I believe I have turned the corner and am getting better. My hearing is almost normal, my throat doesn't hurt nearly as much, and the cough isn't keeping me awake at night. I think I am still battling the conjunctivitis and WILL call the ophthalmologist on Monday if all isn't clear by then. Of course, the head being plugged up to a certain extent is just a part of living here, so I don't expect THAT to change too much. All in all, I'm able to do most everything I want--just at a slower pace and over the course of DAYS rather than HOURS. Needless to say, I DON'T make a good sick person.

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We have been having strange weather. Of course we have a LOT of snow--so far, 113.6 inches have fallen at the local NWS station. The 'normal' snowfall to this point in the season is 64.7 inches. Yep, almost double what we should have. However, it doesn't really look like we have a horrendous amount of snow because of the 'heat' waves and rain that has fallen during them. Our last rain was right after Christmas and we got our own private ice rink in the back yard as a result. Too bad so much snow fell afterward or I could have been skating daily. (Outdoor ice rinks are WAY too hard to maintain--too labor intensive!) Today the skies are clear, the sun is shining, and the temp is sitting at 18--but more snow is coming tomorrow.

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Tomorrow is the Winter Classic game and I can't wait! With all of the hype, it should be great--as long as the Wings win. :) Last night they shut out the 'Hawks 4-0, so tomorrow will be interesting. I wanted to have a Winter Classic party, but K said he doesn't want me to overexert myself and I think he was right. So, I will just be on the couch at 1:00 PM, wearing my Winter Classic T-shirt, waiting for the puck to drop. GO WINGS!!!

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Despite not feeling like myself, we were able to have a fairly normal Christmas celebration. We went to spend Christmas Eve with friends--a tradition that has been going on for many years--and had a quiet Christmas Day with only A and her husband here.

While this year was not a big one for gifts--K and I still are getting furniture--I DID receive one very memorable one. A and her husband 'rescued' the sewing maching from The Parents' house that I taught myself to sew on. It was in their basement and had been for many years. Despite the abuse it took, it is in quite good shape and the restoration process shouldn't be too difficult. I could still use it if it was cleaned a bit more and a new belt was put on. The cabinet has some damage, but a friend said it shouldn't be hard to fix the problem areas. And here is a picture of the machine:


Yes, it is a Singer treadle machine and is almost 100 years old. This was The Mother's aunt-in-law's machine that was willed to her when the aunt died and now it is officially mine. I really can't wait to get started on the restoration--however, I have NO idea where I will put it afterwards! Decisions, decisions.

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As long as I don't have another relapse, I should be doing regular posts from now on. I want to wish everyone a wonderful and blessed new year. Hopefully, this one will be better than the last.

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One More Merry Christmas Post

The Detroit Red Wings put out some sort of holiday greeting for their fans each year. Two years ago, some of the players read 'The Night Before Christmas.' Last year, 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' was read. This year, they did something a bit different: they sang 'The 12 Days of Christmas.' It is quite entertaining. So, I now present to you, the Detroit Red Wings--or, some of them. I don't think they should give up their day jobs. ;)

In order of appearance:

Coah Mike Babcock
Derek Meech
Jiri Hudler
Andreas Lilja
Brett Lebda
Tomas Kopecky
Ty Conklin
Valtteri Filppula
Pavel Datsyuk
Dan Cleary
Kirk Maltby
Henrik Zetterberg
Darren McCarty
Kris Draper

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

...And To All A Good Night

I don't know if I will have time to post before Christmas, so I wanted to wish everyone a very merry and blessed holiday. My wish for each of you: a wonderful time of happiness, love, and fun with the friends and loved ones you wish to be with.

Joy, love, and peace to all--and don't forget the REAL reason for the season.

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It's Getting Done

Here it is just two days before the Big One--in our household, Christmas Eve has always been bigger than Christmas Day--and I am getting things done. I finally got the decorating finished--albeit, a bit less than usual. I didn't put out any of my angel or nativity collections, my Christmas village, or various tchotchkes, but it looks like Christmas, so I'm satisfied. I couldn't see spending the time or effort for the short time everything will be on display. I already let A know that I won't be doing any Oreo truffles, so that is one thing off of my list. I will do some of my favorite finger food type things and that will be the extent of my Christmas baking/cooking.

K will be going to work for half of a shift tonight and then he will be home until next Sunday. This will give time for him to help with some of the rest of the preparations. I'm hoping he will do the gift wrapping for the grandkids when he gets home tonight because he has to deliver the stuff tomorrow. I really won't have time to do any of the wrapping as I still have to venture out and shop.

I am hoping to finish all of my shopping tonight. I don't know if I'm strong enough to do a marathon trip yet, but I will try. I at least have to do grocery shopping and a couple of other stores. If I can't do it all tonight, for sure I will finish tomorrow. K and I were supposed to give living room furniture as a Christmas gift to ourselves this year, but with me being sick, I don't think it will happen till later January or early February. So, this means I have to come up with gifts for him--something I didn't think I needed to do. (Now, I don't MIND him having to buy me a gift--I LIKE presents, after all! ;)) He is NOT hard to buy for, as he is happy with anything, it's just he doesn't NEED or USE most of what he gets. I have to really try to come up with something that will rock his world. Oh, well, shirts and pants it is then. ;) Anyway, I wish I was done with my shopping, but I'm not.

I will try to do a few more posts--I do have things to write about--when I have the time. Until then...

Wings 6-Sharks 0

The Wings shut out the number one team in the NHL! If THAT doesn't make me feel better, then NOTHING can. It was so good to see the Wings actually play the way they know how--AND to play almost a full 60 minutes. To make things even better, my Baby Boy got a goal. I can't stop smiling.

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Still Here

Well, I am still alive--even though I now know exactly what the phrase 'feeling like death warmed over' means. I'm still coughing up body parts, but that too shall pass. I'm feeling weak as a newborn kitten and can't stay up for any length of time, but it will get better. I'm still hoping to be able to get some decorating done this weekend--A and her husband will be here on Christmas Eve, so there are expectations. However, I have let them know that there will NOT be any truffles this year--I just don't have the time or energy. Now, I may make them after Christmas, but that remains to be seen. :)

Last night I slept in bed for the first time in days. It just had been so much easier for me to sleep in the recliner because of the coughing, but I may have turned a corner on that one. I will know that I am all better when I can stay up for the majority of the day AND have enough strength to shower before going to bed. The showering has been a bit spotty lately--and I DO know that is just WAY too much information. :)

Another thing that has been proven to me through this entire ordeal is just how much of a hockey/Red Wing fan I am. Now we all know I am just a bit obsessed, but even with being as sick as I have been, I haven't missed an entire game--and I have managed to watch parts of non-Wing games, too. Granted, there are a few of the games I WISH I had missed, but... And my world continues.

This will sound extremely harsh, but I believe I know the 'reason' I got sick like I did. (I believe everything happens for a reason.) As it turned out, the day after my conjunctivitis was diagnosed, The Father's twin sister died. This is the same aunt of mine who has been so sick for the past year or so. Being as sick as I was gave me a completely legitimate excuse to not attend the funeral. I guess I DO have a guardian angel. I am, of course, NOT under the delusion that anyone in The Family actually believes I was sick, but that doesn't matter--at least I have a clear conscience about the whole thing.

I have every intention to be back on the interweb on a semi-regular basis from now on--hopefully the body will cooperate! I'm glad to be back.

Short Update

I'm still alive, but I don't know why. I kind of figured if one was going to be THIS sick, then death was imminent, but it's not happening. On Friday I was put on an antibiotic, but I still have a spotty fever, so I don't know if THAT is working. I'll wait to see how I am tomorrow before deciding on calling the doc back. While I actually HAVEN'T coughed up a lung, I still watch where I walk in case there are stray body parts on the floor. At this point, I will be lucky to even get the tree up for Christmas. Ho, ho, ho.

Whoa

The Wings got their Stanley Cup rings last night. Now that is some kinda bling!

Monday Evening

I don't usually get sick, but here I am, sick again. I was just down with some kind of bug a month ago. I'm feeling a bit achy, I have a bit of a headache, my throat hurts, my sinuses are clogging, and I have a little bit of a cough. Oh great, I may have the flu. And I DID get my flu shot, as usual. I'm really hoping this is just a bug and will be gone by tomorrow. I haven't done a thing about my Christmas decorating and time is short! The worst thing about this whole illness? I haven't lost my appetite!

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Versus is showing the Buffalo/Pittsburgh game tonight. I was thinking about playing the drinking game where I would have a shot every time one of the announcers mentioned 'Sidney Crosby'--or any variation thereof--but I don't think I have enough booze in the house to do it. Also, I think I would probably die of alcohol poisoning before the gamed ended. Unbelievable. I also couldn't use the terms 'great, beautiful, fantastic, etc' when used to describe the Penguins--once again, not enough booze and alcohol poisoning. I ONLY watch Versus when I have no other choice cause the announcers have Bettman's love of the Penguins--read that as love ofCrosby--in full force. I wouldn't mind if the praise was spread all around the league, but when it is ONLY the Penguins, then I can't handle that. Ridiculous.

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Making Monday Better

Well, A got another one of those phone calls today. It was SO good that she had to call during her lunch hour--which she NEVER does. And here goes:

When A answered the phone, a woman was on the other end. She was quite distraught when she began her story. Seems she has a goldfish. Said goldfish was floating on its side, but still moving its little fins a bit. She wanted to know what she could do about it. Considering the fish was on its way out AND considering goldfish are a dime a dozen, A told her there wasn't anything they really could do for the fish. That was when the woman uttered the best. line. ever. Are you ready? And then she asked:

"Well, if I bring the fish in, could you put it to sleep for me?"

It just DOESN'T get any better than this. :)

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Celebrate

Celebrations for the week:

7 December
National Cotton Candy Day

8 December
National Brownie Day

9 December
Weary Willie Day

10 December
Human Rights Day

11 December
National Noodle-ring Day
International Mountain Day

12 December
Poinsettia Day

13 December
Day of the Horse

Detroit 5-Chicago 4

On the first shot of the game, my Baby Boy scored his third goal of the season. The second goal that the Wings got, VF had an assist. Not bad--it got his +/- up to +1. Good job.

Broken record time: it would be great to watch the Wings play an entire 60 minute game already. While there are actually glimpses of greatness, there aren't enough of them. Once again, they blew a good lead--tonight it was a 2 goal lead and then there were four unanswered goals before they tied it in the third. Thank goodness Datsyuk got his shootout goal--and Conklin beat each Blackhawk.

Well, they have a few days off to work on their game--again. I sure wish they would get their collective act together already. This is getting old.


--Detroit Red Wings' Valtteri Filppula, center, of Finland, celebrates his goal with teammates Jiri Hudler (26) of the Czech Republic, and Dan Cleary, right, during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Chicago Blackhawks, on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008 in Detroit. (AP Photo)--

Hmmmm...

This is what I did/have to do for my doctor appointment tomorrow:

--mani/pedi
--shave legs and pits
--shower extra carefully
--exfoliate
--moisturize
--plan what to wear

It just occurred to me: I think I'm dating my doctor! ;)

Let's Get Ready To Ramble

This is the phone call you don't want to get: A co-worker at your spouse's workplace calls to talk to your spouse--while he is supposed to be at work! Yep, I got that call today! The co-worker explained that she didn't look at the schedule before making the call and apologized, but it sure sent my heart pumping for a minute. She made sure to tell K to, once again, apologize when he got home.

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We are under a lake effect snow advisory again. I was hoping the snow wouldn't be here yet, but I think it won't be going away till April. I KNOW it is going to come every year, but it still seems too early whenever it gets here. Last week it was reported that at the National Weather Service office 10 miles away 44" have fallen so far this season. The average for this time of year is 22", so we might have a record-breaker in the making.

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Today I went for my pre-appointment blood-letting. My internist has moved to a new office and I'm not sure I am pleased. The only way to explain the atmosphere in this new office is to think of a combination emergency room and walk-in clinic--complete with kids. Not only does this office have internists, but there is also a pediatrician. It has been YEARS since I had to sit in a waiting room with kids. The people in the waiting room were stacked like cord wood and no one seemed to be going anywhere. I would think about changing doctors, but I have been seeing him for about 10 years and like him very much, so I guess I have to put up with the place. Yuck.

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Last week the TV series The Shield ran the final episode. I don't know what exactly I expected to happen, but whatever I thought, DIDN'T. It seemed almost anti-climactic in a way. While there were some deaths that were kind of expected, the absolute ending was so quiet that it almost faded away. It was very disappointing on some level.

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Speaking of disappointing: Now that I have movie channels and On Demand on the TV in the kitchen, I have decided to try and catch up on movies that I haven't seen. I wish I hadn't. In the past couple of weeks I have watched Children of Men, Apocalypto, Pan's Labyrinth, and Mr Bean's Holiday. Of these, I couldn't watch all of Mr Bean--I LOVE Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean--as I found it quite dull; Pan's Labyrinth disappointed because I thought it was going to be something like one of the Narnia movies and it wasn't at all; and I feel they didn't do enough with Children of Men. Apocalypto was filmed beautifully and had a compelling story, but it seems as if MORE could have been done with it--it held my attention, but not much beyond that. I have recorded Babel and Bridge to Terebithia, so I hope those are better watching.

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The thing that WASN'T disappointing was the win the Wings had over the Ducks tonight, 2-1. We finally saw a glimpse of the Wings that SHOULD be playing--they hustled for most of the 60 minutes and worked harder than they have most of this season. They had 47 shots on goal and kept the Ducks to only 16. Once again--or should I say STILL--the question is: what the hell do the Wings have to do to actually get the damn puck to go into the net? With that many shots on goal, the score should have been 14-1, at least! Giguere hadn't played for a few games, he has had personal troubles, and he couldn't have had his head in the game, yet the Wings couldn't get that puck past him. They did, however, chase him out of the goal--he couldn't play the third period due to dehydration. I guess all the work they made him do...

The Wings don't have to play again till Thursday, so they will have time to do practices and address some of the problems they have had. Holmstrom is skating again and should be back by the end of the week and Chelios is skating and may be back within two weeks, so things are getting better. It is hard to complain when they ARE winning and have such a good record, but, as a Red Wing fan, I always want more! Oh, well.