Happy New Year....

Since I'll be working tonight I'll just go ahead and wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Oh My........!!!

Despite being ill the past few days, today I got up and did some much needed housework as my son,Frank, did some home maintainence for us since Paulius is, yet again, under the weather with a re-lapse of whatever he had on Christmas Day. I don't think he should eat anything I haven't personally cooked for him from now on.

Anyway, after keeping my self busy yakking on the phone til the battery needed re-charging, I decided to put my new iPod Shuffle to work again, and so I put it on and went into the kitchen. After pouring myself a nice stiff White Russian, I started cleaning up in there and dancing while I did it.

Oh my gosh....I had forgotten how much FUN it is to just let go and dance like no one was watching. I probably burned up about 5000 calories in there this afternoon. And as much fun as it was- I can honestly say I've found excersize that feels like FUN instead of work.

LOVE my shuffle!!!!

Not Going There Again.....

Nope- from now on, I'll just get a impersonal gift card and let THEM pick it out themselves.

Choosing games for someone is a lot like buying lingerie or perfume for someone else.........sometimes even with the best of intentions and advice you just won't get it right.

I know exactly what kind of games I like to play......the kind where I don't have to be PLAYING non-stop every second.....I like to be able to chase a butterfly or go fishing for an hour or three and it not make an iota of difference in my scores. Or even if I have scores.
like ZELDA-Ocarina of Time- Love that game....got to the point where I could go fishing and I was happy. Occasionally, I would try and do some of the "missions" or whatever they're called on here, but if I got frustrated or annoyed with it- I turned it off and did something more relaxing. No probs.

I don't care if it takes me three days or three years to play a game all the way thru.......I play for relaxation, nothing more.

UNLESS it's a game like Golden-Eye and I'm playing against someone...then it's ON!!!!

I can't even pick out my OWN games to play, let alone try and pick out something for someone else.

I think I've chosen about 6 games that I wanted to try out- but because I didn't have a clue as to the way they were programed, They weren't at all what I wanted.
I tried asking various people to give me suggestions about the games I might like- and told them specifically what I liked to do- but no one gave me any suggestions.
Maybe I should have explained it to them like this....
"Let's say you have a 5 or 6 year-old niece/little sister/cousin......she likes to dress up dolls( like Barbies) and she likes to do a WHOLE LOT of nothing and isn't the brightest kid in the class....can't figure out complicated stuff on the computer and doesn't WANT to either.....now WHAT would you say would be a good XBox360 game for her to get for Christmas?"....

Our console is another thing I just can't get round, too.........I like a console where I have my OWN account- I don't want to be playing as Paulius, I want to be playing as ME. And I can't figure out how to go on the game console to even try and PLAY a game by myself for a while. I don't like trying to learn a game with someone who's much more experienced sitting behind me making all these noises because I missed a few points trying to figure out the controller or trying to tell me to "hit the green button on the left!!! The LEFT!!!!-OMG- You're getting KILLED!!!"
Anyone that KNOWS me knows I don't work well under pressure(I've been known to fall asleep under extremely stressful arguments-it's called Stress-Induced Narcolepsy) and it takes me at least 10 seconds to figure out my right from my left.......no joke.

I DO like for someone to be in the vicinity so they can give me advice on what I'm doing wrong should I ASK for it tho.

Yeah I want my cake and want to eat it too.
That's just the way I am.

I also would LOVE to be able to do stuff with Photo shop. Paul says I should just play around with it and learn it like he did. Well, I would, but I've had such horrible luck with everything that I'm afraid that if I DO try and learn it on my own, the computer will somehow get all muddled up or I'll lose my photos or whatever I'm trying to learn with.

And don't EVEN say there's no way I can screw up the computer just trying to learn because if there's one thing I've learned it's if there IS a way to mess something up- I'll find it.

We only have the one computer and we've gotten a nasty bug in our computer lately and have no idea where it had come from, so to be on the safe side, Paul asked me to check with him before downloading anything. And that wouldn't be a problem, except hat I'm usually on the computer when he's in bed and so it's just not worth the hassle of waking him ten times to check with him about what I should or shouldn't download. So I've got to where I just check my e-mail, delete all the forwards with attachments and then read and write blogs.
I don't even go on my Face book or My Space cause I'm not sure what's safe to do anymore.
And playing on the computer just isn't fun anymore when I can't DO anything on it. Ya know?

I just wish I was more in the know about gaming and computers and such- I just don't have the time to learn what I want to know.
.........Is it strange to want to be more of a geek?

This came off as a bit of a rant- which it wasn't meant to be...it was meant to be a whine about how I know so little about gaming and the computer.
Meh- ignore the whole thing......

I Totally Stole It From Karen Bryant.

She gave it to me actually....And me being me I modified it just a TAD- not enough to make a HUGE difference.......regardless, it's the BEST Broccoli Casserole I have ever eaten!!


Broccoli Casserole

Lightly butter Casserole Dish

1 bag(21 oz?) frozen Broccoli
*Steam or boil per instructions on bag*

Mix steamed broccoli with:
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mayo
2 eggs, beaten
1 can Cream of Mushroom OR Cream of Chicken soup
salt & pepper to taste.

Pour into Casserole dish.

Dot top with 1/2 stick butter, cut into thin slices.
Cover with 1 sleeve of Crushed Ritz or Cheese-it Crackers. Dot the top of the crackers with the other 1/2 stick butter cut into thin slices
Bake 350 degrees for 1 hour.

OUCH!!!!

Can someone PLEASE pull the cheese grater out of my throat now???
And the cotton from my head and nose???
And pull the bumble-bee from my ears............ And the butterflies from my tummy......

Oh, GOD- I HURT all OVER!!!!!!



Taking some Niquil Night-Time so I'll be sleeping all day for sure....Wake me at 4:30PM please so I can go to work.
Or not- I really don't care at this point.
Just call my boss before noon and tell him I've got the flu.
Later Yall.....

New Year-Change of Luck???

Look!!!! My LUCKY NUMBERS!!!!!

I've heard that you're not supposed to take down your Christmas Tree before New Years Day. I've almost always taken mine down the day AFTER Christmas.
Maybe that accounts for my run of bad luck all these years??
As a Matter of fact- I think the year I met Paulius, I had taken down my tree on New Years afternoon because I had been working OT all the week after Christmas and just didn't have TIME to take it down. That proved to be one of the BEST years of my life.

So, I'm not going to be taking my tree down this year til The Day AFTER New Years.....(since I have to work both New years Eve AND New Years Day).

Let's just test this theory, shall we?

So when do you guys take your trees down? Or do you just do it whenever you get around to it????

Long Story Short...........

Whew!!!.........What a wild couple of days!!!!

First of all I want to say I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.....and Then I want to THANK everyone who made my Christmas such a wonderful one- you know who you are.

Now.... Long story short...
*I'm now sick with a sore throat so bad that I cry when I try and swallow ANYTHING. UGH.

*Paul didn't get to eat a single bite of the lovely English-Style Christmas dinner we slaved over together because he was sick as you can read about in HIS BLOG.

*I got a LOT of lovely things from my loved ones(family AND friends), but SANTA didn't actually leave me a single thing- and for good reason..1) I forgot to put up my stocking somehow, even after hunting for it for the past three weeks and finally FINDING it....and 2) I was AWAKE cooking when I heard the sleigh bells on his reindeer and sleigh fly OVER my house and you know the rule- if anyone is awake and UP at the house, he doesn't stop...he just flies right on BY!!!
Let THAT be a lesson to the little ones and it's here in black and white(above) so you can SHOW them it's true!!!!

I have to run to the pharmacy now to get something for my sore throat....(I wonder if they sell spray or lozenge Novocain???)
Later all!!!!

Sunny The Elf!!!!!!!!

I've had a busy day- and it's fixin' to get a LOT more busy in the next couple hours.....!!!!

After work this morning, I went and picked my son, Frank, up and we went to Wally World to do some last minute exchanging he needed to do. And of course along the way I picked up the last of the foodstuffs I needed to make my goodies for Christmas Dinner tomorrow. I got the stuff to make My Rocky-Road Fudge and Seacat's Dark Chocolate Truffles (Thanks Seacat for the recipe(I got some RUM for them!!)....Then we came home and Frank fixed my kitchen sink faucett....again. No comment on that other than what was just said. I refuse to let another house repair RUIN my Christmas Eve. Besides- it was a VERY small repair!!!

Anyway, After he finished we sat and talked a while and he managed to sneak in a BOLD hint about opening one of his gifts on Christmas Eve- which was a tradition when they were little but something we RARELY do since they grew up.
But I told him if he wanted- he was welcome to open one.
He chose one and opened it. It was the only thing he had actually hinted about for Christmas. And he was Happy.

Anyway, I just brought him home and altho he knew I was in a hurry to get started on my Christmas Preparations, he invited me in to watch HIS little ones carry on the same tradition. I've never gotten to watch any of my GRAND little ones open their gifts on Christmas Eve- usually I'm home preparing for the next morning when we have traditionally done Christmas Brunch, so this was a real treat for me!!

Frank asked them if they wanted a BIG gift- or a Little one.........Devon Chose a BIG one(typical of an EIGHT year old boy, eh?). Two-year-old Nicholas could NOT have cared less if it was big or small as long as it was a TRUCK of some sort.
They were BOTH pleased with their gifts....When I left, Devon and Frank were busy installing batteries in an actual FLYING Dragonfly, and Nicholas was in his room on the floor happily scooping up imaginary sand in his new Front-End Loader. It's a memory I'll cherish forever.

Both Frank and Julie were pleased with THEIR early Prezzies as well......On our first trip to Gatlinburg as a family, the kids- then 16, 14, and 13- went off on their own for an hour or so and went to the old fashion photography studio and surprised me with a couple of photos made of them together as a saloon girl(tastefully dressed tho) and two gunslingers......or maybe Marshals...I'm not sure which.......anyway, I had found the photos a couple weeks ago and decided to have a couple copies made for them as a remembrance of that trip. I hope it brought back fond memories of that trip together. I'm going to buy a couple of frames for mine when the holidays are over and get them hung up and displayed in my Gallery.

Anyway...on the way back home I stopped and got a couple more small gifts I wanted to get.
And Paul had told me he wanted me to pick out something I really would enjoy as part of his gift to me.....Soooooooooo.....I did. I stopped by the Spirits Shoppe and bought a couple of Ghosts for the house, you'll see them roaming around the house -if you don't look too closely......I've named them Kahlua and Bacchardi.

I never get to have a drink when we dine out, so I decided that what I REALLY wanted was a small bottle of each of those spirits so I could have a drink at home on my days off when I wasn't going to be driving anywhere!! Maybe a splash in my eggnog as I'm cooking tonight.

Sounds YUMMY, doesn't it??

Anyway, I'm off here now to begin the festivities...I mean cooking chores.

Don't Forget To Go To Bed Early and Be asleep Before You Hear the Sleigh-Bells of Santa's Sleigh or He's Liable to Fly Right On PAST Your House!!!

This is Sunny The Elf,(whose favorite color today is Red, Green and Silver) Signing off from the North Pole!!!!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!!!!

CJ & Santa.......

C.J. SAYS.......

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!!

Reversal Of Fortunes.....aka..... Fortunate Sun

Well, It's amazing what a few days stress-free relaxation, a wonderful husband, and a couple of wonderful friends help and advice can do for you.....

I feel about a hundred and 50 percent better than I did when I last posted.
The roof is getting repaired, the car isn't acting up quite so much since the weather is a bit warmer, my blood pressure is down since my hubby made sure I didn't have a single thing to stress about this week on my days off, and now I can get all the loose ends tied up since a couple of friends (who shall remain anonymous) gave me a bit of advice and a helping hand.....Thank You Both.

You know- when you aren't searching so hard for solutions, miracles sometimes happen at the most unexpected times.
But then, Christmas IS the time for Miracles if ever there was one.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

Untitled

I'm not feeling well.

I've been throwing up the past couple days, The roof is driving us mad, my car is on it's last legs, I had a problem patient to deal with all last night(I feel so bad for the nurses that had to deal with him), I'm sore, I'm tired, I'm frustrated, I'm upset, I'm broke and I detest my new boss so far.
I'm way behind on my Christmas shopping and decorating, not to mention my baking and such.

I've had to schedule and re-schedule our holiday plans- first because I thought it would be a special treat for a family member- but then realized it wasn't what they wanted after all.....so then I rescheduled it to try and meet everyones working schedules- only to have everyones schedules changed AGAIN last week. Next year we're going to England to spend it with Hubbys family.

Everyone is having major problems in my family and no one is happy......There's no Christmas joy here at the moment. I can't make anyone happy and even having my Christmas tree up finally isn't helping my spirits much. I just can't deal with anymore problems right now...I just can't...so if you can't get hold of me- I'm taking a break for a few days....I'm heartsick and need to heal awhile. All I want to do is just rest and sleep......with no worries. I only want calm and happy things here- no stress- no worries...just peace and happiness- only doing what I want to do with no opposition from anyone about anything.

Paulius is worried about him being a burden on me.....I think I'm the one whose the burden. It seems like everyone who has ever come in contact with me suddenly has a reversal of fortune shortly after making my acquaintance...... and I've come to the sad realization that I'm worth MUCH more dead than alive according to my insurance coverage.

I'll talk to you guys later.
Have a Very Merry Christmas if I'm not back on before then.....

Awwwww Geeze...Here We Go Again....

You know how a few years ago postmen were going on a rampage and shooting up their workplaces???
Well, I'm almost at that point.
(Not really- but OMG I am so freaking tired of all this crap).


I just talked to my brother(who is a Maintenance Engineer btw) and explained what's up with the roof.

He said- if we had fixed it with the other stuff twice already- we would have to extend the pitched roof over the rest of the house to fix the problem. He also said it might just take tiling that one added on part to fix it- or we might have to re-tile the entire roof..... and until we could get it done we needed to get a waterproof tarp to put over it so it wouldn't take our entire ceiling down.

Why couldn't this have waited til AFTER Christmas???
WHY?????

My entire life has just been a series of screw-ups and bad luck- except for having my kids and marrying Paulius- and I sometimes think I should just send them all away to rid them of my being a JINX to them as well.
Or maybe I'm the one that should go away instead...........

Well, Danggitt!!!!!

Well, it quit raining and so this afternoon when the sun came out- Paul and I went to get our Christmas tree. Got a really good deal on one- less than 25$ -so we got a beautiful small but almost perfect Douglas Fir instead of our usual HUGE Frazier or Noble Fir.

Got home- got it up and positioned just right.. went out to get groceries.
Came home- Open the door- Buddy decides to haul arse up the driveway- completely ignoring Paul calling him back. So my darling hubby- who is already at his wit's end with all the other things going hay-wire for us at the moment- had to get his leash and go track him down.

Buddy got sent to his room for a while- then we went into the bedroom- heard it raining again...and looked up to see the ceiling is sopping wet above the bed now.......
The bed is king size and the room holds it and a dresser- with absolutely no room to spare in the room- so no matter WHERE we put the bed- it's going to get wet if that ceiling tile gives way. This is NOT going to end well.

We can't move the bed out- because 1) the ceiling in the hallway is leaking and the bed will get wet going thru there too and 2)- we don't have anything but a candle light in the bedroom and it's dark here already.


I have a headache.... I have a HUGE HEADACHE. We need a vacation....somewhere warm- on a deserted isle somewhere so we don't have to worry about anything........

Maybe we'll hitch a ride with Santa.....

I'm Lost

Now that Hubby had to wipe the computer and completely re-install all the programs I can't find a thing!!
And the programs we have back are all the updated versions so I'm having to learn everything again.

This is a royal pain....but even so- it's better than that slow stuff that was happening before.
****************************************************

It's still raining cats and dogs outside....how are we supposed to go buy a Christmas Tree when it's raining like this?
**************************************************
I'm hungry...I could even eat sushi right now.
How GROSS is that?
****************************************************
Only 2 WEEKS til Christmas, Y'all!!!!!!!!!

Charles Clayton...My Baby Boy

I dreamed about him again last night....he was little again and we were all going to pick out a Christmas tree together but he kept disappearing and when I found him he was always just out of reach- or just out of hearing........
It's his birthday today. He would have been 25.

Happy Birthday My Angel. Mama Loves You, Always. We all do.

Shall We Ask the Magic 8 Ball????

So, we're sitting there in the living room and Paulius decides to get up and look down the hallway.........and lo and behold- the dang roof is leaking in the hallway again. Not just the occasional drip- it's almost a stream......Arggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So now we sit here- frustrated beyond belief, trying to figure out how after almost 300 dollars in repairs we still have a leaking ceiling.
It's really frustrating.
We've been trying to wait til Paulius got a job offer to move from here so we could have more than a margin of wiggle-room in our finances, but the longer we live here- the more problems we're running into and having to take care of. We don't really want to spend a lot of money on the place because my mom has informed us that once we move out- she's having the place torn down and is probably going to have a small log cabin built in almost the same spot the "guesthouse" is sitting - but it will overlook the fishing pond my Daddy hand built before he got sick and passed away.

We could afford to move if we didn't eat out at all and stuck to a VERY tight budget- and I'm willing to do it- but Paul is a bit more cautious and reluctant to move and us not have any wiggle-room in our budget. He thinks it's more sensible-(and I see his point somewhat) to wait until he is employed.

I, on the other hand, want to find a place to move to that isn't always leaking or freezing cold or scorching hot-depending on the season......Yeah, finances would be much tighter til he found employment, but I personally would rather have a tight budget than have the stress levels elevated over the repeater problems cropping up because every time we have some problem like the leaking ceiling pop up.....over and over......we get more and more upset and frustrated and it's just getting more and more stressful and almost unbearable. And maybe if we moved to a more convenient location, the employment prospects would begin looking up too....Change of scenery and all that, you know. Sometimes it takes just the slightest thing to change a person's luck for the better!!

When is it time to give up on the place and quit wasting money on problems that will never be fixed- and when is it time to just keep plugging away with the problems that exist- and stubbornly persist?
We could ask the Magic 8 Ball, probably all it would say is..."Ask Again Later..."
Just our luck.

I tell you- it's enough to drive a person absolutely mad sometimes.
Sigh...........

She Effing Hates Me

I know it does...my computer hates me.


I'm having to bookmark all my blogs again from the clearing Paulius had to do on it yesterday.
And it's taking away Paul's bookmarks. I don't know why- I'm not drag and dropping them...I'm going to the sites and then bookmarking them to my folder- and I'm doing it from MY BLOG so I'm not even going into Paul's folder or his blog- but it's deleting all his bookmarks when I do it.

I'm ready to get my OWN freaking computer because it makes Paul so ill when things like this happen.....I wouldn't even have to touch his computer if I had my own.

I'm ready to chunk the whole damn system into the yard and say screw the internet totally.
Damn- why do I always have such SUCKY luck with this computer???????
It has to be a female!!!

So Tired.....

But I'm going to take my eldest son to get treatment for his herniated discs in his back this morning.

THEN I have to come home and find my access badge for work since I couldn't find it last night before going in.

I feel nauseous now. UGH.......

(Thanks Pammy Sue!!)

I needed a laugh after the afternoon I've had........ so read on......
**********************************************************************************

We all know those cute little computer symbols called "emoticons,"

where:




:) means a smile and

:( is a frown.

Sometimes these are represented by

:-) and :-( respectively.




Well, how about some "ass icons"? Here goes:

(_!_) a regular ass

(__!__) a fat ass

(!) a tight ass

(_*_) a sore ass

(_o_) an ass hole

(_x_) kiss my ass

(_zzz_) a tired ass

(_E=mc2_) a smart ass

(_$_) Money coming out of his ass

(_?_) Dumb Ass
*********************************************************
My only question is...what would the symbol be for LMAO?

Happy Holidays Vs. Merry Christmas

Okay- I've gotten ugly emails from a few people about me saying Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas.

Get over it- I say Happy Holidays not because I'm afraid of offending anyone by saying Merry Christmas- but because I meet all kinds of people every day and during this time of year different people are celebrating different holidays specificly geared to their beliefs....I generalize and say Happy Holidays because I WANT to include ALL the holidays- not just the one I practice and Follow and ,AGAIN, not because I'm afraid of offending anyone.

If THIS offends you- tough fucking shit. Deal with it and quit sending me bullshit hate mail and
GROW UP!!!!

Christmas Cookies

Well, I baked my first batch of Christmas Cookies today....Melt-In Your Mouth Shortbread.

I made a single batch and got about 3 dozen out of it.
Easiest recipe EVER- no joke- 3 ingredients. If you want to add a teaspoon of Vanilla or Almond or Orange or Lemon flavoring you can- but the recipe doesn't actually call for it.
(And, yes, you know I added a spoonful of vanilla to it.)

Anyway....
10 mins prep time.
At the MOST 15 minutes cook time.
5 minutes cool time and they're ready to eat.

Here's the recipe.

1 cup butter, softened.....(not margarine spread stuff!!!)
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar-(yes only a half cup!!!!)
2 cups all-purpose flour (measure then sift)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)

2. Whip butter with an electric Mixer until fluffy.(about 2 minutes). Stir in the confectioners sugar and flour. Beat on low speed for 1 minute- then on high speed for 3-4 minutes.

3. Drop by teaspoonful 2 inches apart on an un-greased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 12 -15 minutes in preheated oven. Watch that the edges don't brown too much. Cool for about 5 minutes. Remove from pan.
***********************************************
Next time I make them I'm using a pastry bag and large star tip to get some pretty shapes.

Now to be honest- I made some green glaze frosting to decorate mine with and they were WAY too sweet with it on them. I'm glad I only glazed a dozen of them before I tested them.

If you want them decorated- try tinting the dough with red or green food coloring while you're mixing the batter or putting a few sprinkles on top of them before they go in the oven. MUCH better than the sugar glaze.

I also make a Mint Brownie that's awesome- but all you do to that is add some peppermint flavoring and a bit of green tint to a tub of ready-made vanilla frosting, heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds and then glaze it over your favorite brownies.
Easy-peasy.

I wanted to make a gingerbread house this year- but I don't think that'll get done for SURE now.

I need a nap- and it's only 11AM....Geeze.

No Really...It's Me!!!!

Yesterday I did something that dropped my husbands jaw.

I went thru all my Christmas ornaments and gave about a third of them away to my son and his wife for their tree.

I think it's time to divide some of those ornaments up for the kids.
The only ones I can't let go of is the kids special ornaments- 1 each- that They have hung on my tree since they were babies.

I thought I had misplaced them but I found them when I went thru all the Christmas ornaments.Then I kinda ruined it by going out and buying new lights for the tree. But I've been putting it off for five years now so what better time than right after I gave away a good bit of my sentimental ornaments?

Paul and I have been cleaning and decorating the house and yard this morning......big job and it's not finished yet.

I stopped in the middle of the job to go and take a small tree to the cemetery to place on Clays headstone. I also stopped by the accident site.
Tough Afternoon.

I'm off to finish decorating the house now. Only 18 Days To Christmas!!!!!
Holiday Hugz.

I've Been Good...........

............ish.

It Just Wouldn't Be Christmas .......

I have been decorating my house to day while Paul and Frank-My eldest son- are working on repairing the roof.......
And I have a list of stuff that needs(read I WANT) to do before Christmas Day.

I got thinking about all the traditions we have during the holiday season- and was trying to figure out which were the least important that I could put at the end of my list of things to do and it possibly NOT be missed by the person it means the most to.

And came to the conclusion that with the exception of making a Gingerbread house(which gets put at the END of the list EVERY year because it only means a lot to ME to do that one now that the kids are all grown and don't get to help with it) the re is nothing I can put back on the list.....

I mean it just wouldn't be Christmas without....

Of Course- the most important thing is Family- that's just a GIVEN!!!!
A box of Chocolate Covered Cherries
A box of Thin Mints
Cherry Yum-Yum
A Colorful Crazy Loaded-Down-With-A trip to see the Christmas Lights at Ornaments Tree
Shortbread Cookies dressed up with tinted frosting
The smell of Oranges and cinnamon and pine all mixed together
A hundred different gift wrappings under the tree
Candy canes
A big bowl of nuts
Watching Rudolph, Elf, White Christmas, The Christmas Story, and It's a Wonderful Life on TV
Going to see Santa at the Mall- or Writing him a letter and sending it off to the North Pole
A Trip to see the Famous Christmas Display at McCaddenville
....
The list goes on and on........what can YOU not do without at Christmas-Time???

Christmas Shopping!!!!

I have the BEST Hubby EVER!!!!

He went shopping with me AND my mother this afternoon for a couple hours.
And THEN, after we came back and helped my mom unload HER stuff- he went BACK out again and went shopping with ME to get ours done.

We didn't get it ALL finished- we have all the babies and all the girls, but have decided to get the Big Boys NEXT week along with the tree- but the biggest part of it is DONE-DONE-DONE!!!!

And after all that shopping he took me out to dinner....in a REAL restaurant- not a fast food joint!!!! The only thing that could have made it better is if I could have had a couple of Strawberry Margaritas before coming home- but I'm getting ready to go have a glass of wine soon as I finish this -so that's not a biggie!!

And while we were out he got that cable for the XBox so we could BOTH be online at the same time!!!!(Thank you SO MUCH, Evan!!!!!)

I'm so happy I could BURST!!
BEST HUBBY EVER!!!!!!!!

Huh? ...Wha...What The Deuce????????

Dang it!!!

I'M the Christmas fanatic in my family...ME!!!!!!.I'm ALWAYS the first to get started and have everything all decked out for the holidays every year.....

I'M The CHRISTMAS QUEEN!!!! ME!!!!!!!

THIS year it seems my crown is being Challenged by my ENTIRE family!!!!

My mom has 6 or 7 trees going up on her Sun-porch alone!! A virtual forest of Christmas Joy!!!
And my sister-in-law, Doris- has her porch all decorated already- not to mention her entire house. And now she's complaining that she hasn't got around to the yard yet!!!!
Even my sisters Nina and Tee Have THEIR houses decorated for Christmas and Nina, working in retail, especially is disgusted with Christmas.(Krista, one of Nina's adopted "daughters" decorated Nina's house while she was sleeping last week....Lucky hussy!!)

I have ONE small foot high silver and blue mini Christmas tree on my bookshelf- and that's only because I have to have at least ONE Christmas thing out in plain view all year long and that was the most in-conspicuous thing I had.

I have GOT to get my butt in GEAR!!!!!!!
This weekend is going to be a BUSY one at my house.
Anyone up for a Decorating Party??? I'm buying the beer and Pizza....or Eggnog and Rum. Whichever!!!

Any Takers????

Confessions, Anyone???

Okay- for the past couple or three weeks I been having really bad, throwing-up type indigestion....who's Preggers??

Come on- Give it up- I'll know soon anyway so you might as well confess!!!
It's down to about half a dozen people- and I've been around a couple of them more often than the others when I get this really badly......
I'll give you a week and then I'm going to see each one of you a day til I figure it out.....If I only see one a day I'll KNOW who it is for sure.

Oh- and one more thing.....Julie has been having it too for the past week- so THAT narrows it down a bit MORE!!!

Anyone care to comment??????????????

Finally....

Finally something went OUR way and Finally, once again, I have my wonderful, sweet hubby back!!

He got his dental surgery today (which cost only a THIRD of what we were quoted at the beginning of this ordeal)and altho he's in a bit of pain from the surgery I think it's a LOT less than the tooth was causing him for the past couple months and THIS pain is temporary!!

He's being so sweet and happy - back to his usual easy-going self.
Of course his euphoric sweetness could partially be from the pain-killers he got for the after surgery pain, too- but I don't think so.
Either way- My Baby's BACK!!!!!
YAY!!!!!

Always Something

Yeah- so I wake up at noon and ask hubby if he's ready to go pick up his dental x-rays at the dentist for his appointment at the Oral Surgeon first thing in the morning. He says YES and so we get in the car and head that way.
On the way I start to get the shakes and I know I have to get something in my tummy soon to level my blood sugar or we're gonna be on the side of the road and in trouble. So we stop at the closest McDs. We get out, walk towards the door- and a guy stops us and tells us the INSIDE is closed for remodeling. Okay- it's lunchtime- there's a HUGE line at the Drive-Thru, but the WHOLE entire parking lot is full as well.
Fine.
We can stop at Burger King a mile down the road. So we get back in the car and head on towards our destination. As I enter the interstate it hits me......I drove right PAST the Burger King and my shakes are getting worse.
Well, it won't take but a minute at the dentist office since I called them EARLY last week and requested a copy and since they wouldn't mail them to the OS we would pick them up today since Paul's Appointment is the first one in the morning and we can't be two places at once.

So we got there and in he goes.......and a few minutes later(how LONG can it possibly TAKE to hand him a set of X-rays?) he came back out and said....well, I'll let HIM tell you about THAT particular part of our day, but suffice it to say they weren't ready and wouldn't be for at LEAST another half hour or so. How much notice do they need? A week isn't enough time for them???
Not a Happy Bunny is putting it mildly for me and Paul.
So we go and have a bite to eat and about 45 minutes later we come BACK and lo and behold- miracle of Miracles- they have them ready FOR us waiting!!!

Then we head towards the house and we stop at Wally World because when I went shopping for the babies Christmas, all they had was a TONKA Dump Truck and a TONKA Crane...one of each and I really wanted to get them both a Dump Truck or a Bulldozer- not the crane. I'm hoping to find one before Christmas and Exchange the Crane but the clerk said to keep coming by- they have shipments a couple times a week during the holiday season but ALL the TONKAs go quickly.

Anyway.....It's been a day already and all I really wanna do is go back to bed and sleep- which ALWAYS happens when I get stressed about stuff....and if you read Hubby's blog lately you know about the dental problems, and the smoking that isn't going on(no he's not smoking but I sure as hell need one lately), and the roof leaking in several places now, and well......just a dozen MORE things that I won't bother going into.

God does it never end????
Always something......and the list goes on and on.............

Dammitt

Bloody hell it's cold in my house.
I walk in from work expecting a warm-ish living room and walk into a room even colder than it is outside.
I wish we had central-fucking-heat so it would just come on and off automatically instead of us having to do it manually.
Going straight to bed does no good because it's even colder in the bedroom. As a matter of fact- it's so cold in there that the bed always feels slightly damp. And that's just GROSS.
I KNOW it seems like a small thing- but GOD it's just SO frustrating to always be uncomfortable.
Sometimes I could just CRY from the frustration of it all.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day........

Cover Me!!!!! ...I'm Going IN!!!!!!!!!

Nope-Sorry guys, but it's NOT a Gaming Post.........

Those of you who know me know how much I detest crowds. I have steadfastly refused to go out anywhere, even to eat, on Black Friday for twenty odd years....I think the last time I did it was when I was living at home with my parents and was conned into it by my Aunt Mary with the promise of a new purse. Yes my addiction/obsession became apparent early in my formative years and the family took FULL advantage of it....much like my Husband does with my love of shiny, sparkly things when he wants to distract me from something he really doesn't want to do- or want ME to do....and it doesn't have to be anything expensive like a piece of jewelry...a bit of tin foil, a Christmas card with a bit of glitter, or a foil gum wrapper will easily do the trick.

Anyway, back to what I was saying.....
I have refused to go out in "The Madness", as I like to call it, for twenty odd years now.
Until Today.......

Yesterday, My DIL Marie, mentioned that she wanted to go to the "Big Sale" at Wally-World this morning- they had some things on sale she wanted to get for Christmas and could save some big money by going to the Early Bird sale.
Well, she was trying to talk my son into going up there with her and not having a lot of luck- especially when he found out it would require waking up at 0400 to be IN the store at 0500 when the specials were released.
So I told her that if I could get my car to start(temperamental witch that it is on Cold Mornings) I would try and brave the masses with her. And she was happy as a clam.

I came home and had a wonderful evening with my hubby- and even had time for a short nap while he was on the computer doing a bit of reading. Then he decided to turn in- but I had just woken up from my nap a couple of hours before and wasn't that sleepy. So I went online and did a bit of Research into what the Black Friday Specials were going to be. I found several things I was interested in purchasing, or TRYING to purchase, and so I napped for another few hours and woke up at two minutes til 4 AM.

I got dressed in my camo pants and a dark shirt, gathered my combat gear- you know, Small purse what fits into my camo pants, small flashlight that can easily be used as a weapon should anyone decide they want the last of any item I want to get and am reaching for, and sneakers - for running away from above mentioned little old 85 year old lady who's better equipped that I am and has a gym membership to boot.
Anyway, I digress once AGAIN.......

Okay- so for once Nelly(my Bizatch car) decides she wants to actually crank on a cold morning- and, in fact, does so with not so much as a cough or hiccup. And so at 0420 I am on my way to pick up my DIL.
I arrive there....knock.....and my son comes to the door, apologizes, and says our poor Marie has been sick all night long and she isn't feeling up to going shopping.
I tell him it's okay- I hope she gets feeling better and if they need me-call me.... and I get in Nelly and start driving towards home.

Well, I'm feeling brave all dressed in my combat crap- so I decide to go to that sale by myself.
Just take the bull by the horns and get over this "thing" I have with Crowds. So, Nelly and I turn into the parking lot and Holy Crap.....There is like 4 parking spaces left in the entire complex- but when I look down towards the storefront- there's no one to be seen standing outside like you see on TV.
Then I remember that our local Wally World is a 24 HOUR one.
Well, I snag one of those four parking spaces left and of course they are all four at the very FAR corners of the parking lot which covers about 30 acres, seriously, and I walk for 5 minutes to get to the store.
Lucky me snags the next to last shopping cart as well as I walk in the door and I'm amazed. The entire store is full to the gills with people- barely room to move- but the place is almost as quiet as a church before service starts.
"Hmmm....Odd", I think as I maneuver my buggy around the clusters of people towards the toy aisle where I KNOW they have TWO Tonka Trucks that I want for my two Next-to-the-Baby Grandsons. As I'm walking everyone is still standing stock still and I begin to get a bit uneasy.
Is the place being held up and I haven't noticed or no one is telling me?
Is there some special shopping protocol on Black Friday that because I've been avoiding it for so many years have missed out on knowing about?
I'm getting suspicious looks from several people- including a couple of those little 85 year old looking old ladies who, in my paranoia, I'm thinking are going to tag-team me and run with my TONKA TRUCKS as soon as I get them in my buggy from the upper shelf that those short little old women can't reach.
I look around and still everyone is just standing around talking amongst themselves in low voices- like they're planning strategy or something. Freaking me out is what they're doing...but I'm trying to stay calm.
Finally, as I load my buggy with the Tonkas, I lean over to a lady who looks a bit friendlier than any of the other psychos and ask her under my breath why is everyone just standing around doing nothing....I explain I haven't been out on black Friday in two decades and is this NORMAL?????
She looks at me and kind of chuckles and says "Yes- it IS normal and people are just standing around doing nothing because they can't touch the stuff that's on sale til the give an announcement over the PA system."
"Why not?" I ask, "I mean, I can see not being able to PURCHASE them at the register for the sale price til the stroke of 5- but why can they not be put IN your buggy til then?"
She has NO idea either....but explains patiently that's just the way it is.
I thank her and wish her luck and wander off towards the checkout. The things I bought weren't even one of the "Special" specials....just the same things I could get every day at the same low, low Wally-World prices, so the special trip there was kinda useless for any EXTRA savings, but I DID do okay with that "Crowd" thing ...no panic attacks or anything this time.
It was a VERY interesting experience for me, and altho it wasn't nearly as bad as I remembered it being- I don't think I'll be doing it again unless there's something I can REALLY save some BIG HUGE money on.

Anyway, I came out with all the grandsons and my mom's Christmas gifts.
A TONKA each for Nicholas and Christopher, a Lego Push/Ride car for CJ, and A Radio-Control Truck for Austin, A R/C ATV each for TJ & Devon(They like to have the same things), and a R/C SUV for Justin.
Mom gets the Pressure-Cooker because they only had one of those and I didn't want the boys to think I was playing favorites by having to choose one of them to give it to.
;-)

Best part is, I still have a big chunk of my Christmas Budget to put towards getting Hubby's tooth fixed/pulled after the Oral Surgeon consultation On Tuesday! I mean I still have to get the grown kids prezzies- but that's a MUCH smaller budget than the kiddies and now that I have the babies taken care of- the grups can wait a week or so cause I know what they're getting and it all can be bought anytime before Christmas.

Now I just have to make a check-list of all the batteries needed for all those R/C things.
Yay Me.

Ufffffffff.....Fullllll..........

Long story short....
Made half the food we usually do- didn't overeat- but still need a nap an hour later.....and have about 50% of the food still left over AFTER making a huge Platter for the kids to take home with them for later. No cooking for the next couple days!!!

A Fantastic Day, in my estimation!!

I Love My Family and I'm Thankful most of them was able to attend.
We very much missed the ones that weren't with us today.

Holiday Greetings!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!!

LOL.......We're Turning Into Our Dads!!!!!!

I never thought I would see the day.....

Friday morning I was driving home from work and was absolutely incensed when I saw that gas prices were lower than when I had filled up on the way TO work the preceding night....
Yeah...the gas prices were 3 cents a gallon lower than the night before.....and my tank holds 7 gallons....21 cents....GEEZE!!!!!

And my Hubby Dearest walks around the house mumbling under his breath..."Is there anybody IN this ROOM????" as he turns lights off.

Lol....when we turn into such GRUPS???????
EWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!

Points to Ponder

I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most

people die of natural causes.

Gardening Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure
you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull
on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to
buy a replacement.

Never take life seriously Nobody gets out alive anyway.

There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.

Life is sexually transmitted.

Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die.

The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth.

Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, laying in hospitals
dying of nothing.

Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days
no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again

All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention
to criticism.

In the 60's, people took acid to make the world weird. Now the
world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a
whole box to start a campfire?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, 'I think I'll just
squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?'

Who was the first person to say, 'See that chicken there? I'm gonna
eat the next thing that comes outta its butt.'

Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?

If quizzes are quizzical, what are tests?

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?

Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you,
but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Alternate Menu.....

Both Kelly and Evan 08 had great ideas.... THANKS GUYS!!!!

I LOVE the idea of Venison or Pheasant for Thanksgiving!!!
Duck would be a good choice as well, but the meat is a bit rich and heavy for my taste.

Since deer is a bit hard to come by around my part of the country(unless you're willing to pay thru the nose or know someone who hunts and has an abundance of it) I'm thinking that maybe a big stuffed pork or beef roast would do the trick nicely.

I would have Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, Mac & Cheese Pie, Candied Sweet Potatoes, and Dinner Rolls for Side Dishes, Southern Pecan Pie for dessert and Coffee and Iced Sweet Tea for beverages. Simple and Elegant.

And yes- I'm SERIOUSLY considering NOT doing Turkey this year for Thanksgiving.....I know it's horribly UN-American to even think about it- but every year since Paul has been here with me- we have had Turkey and the trimmings for Thanksgiving and then we've had Christmas Morning Brunch instead of a formal Christmas Dinner. Not ONCE have we had HIS traditional Christmas Dinner of Turkey and such.
So this year, since we'll be doing Christmas EVE instead of Christmas DAY festivities, I'm thinking to do his Turkey dinner.

I'm going to have to get his mum to send me an idea of what a traditional Christmas Turkey Dinner IS over there tho. Otherwise it'll just be Thanksgiving Dinner on Christmas Eve!!!!

Imagine.............

Imagine....... that all the Turkeys/Chickens have mysteriously disappeared from the Earth and you have to replace your traditional Thanksgiving Day dinner with a different meat and replace all the side dishes to match up with the new meat of choice.

What will your New Thanksgiving Day Dinner consist of?

This is a serious question, Ladies and Gents.
I'll have to think on it and give you MY answers tomorrow since I just got a call from my boss needing me to come in to work 4 hours early tonight.

OVERTIME!!!!! YAY!!!!!

That's Just Wrong.

I realized this afternnon that I could never live in Florida or California.

I was riding down the highway, arm stuck out the window, wearing a tank top, contemplating turning the A/C on because it was 73 degrees out....................


As Christmas songs played on the local radio station.


That's
Just
WRONG!!!!!

Letter To Santa

Dear Santa,

It's me again!!! Sunny. (But you knew that already, didn't you?)
Let me begin by saying I have TRIED very very VERY hard to be very good this year. Unfortunately, I have stumbled a couple of times- but it was never anything very big(I cheated on my diet a couple times and I haven't always been the most gracious person when I was having ....well, a female week.)
Nuff said about that.
But I have tried very hard to help everyone I could and not be too much of a bother to the ones I couldn't help it with.

Now to the important stuff.

I know it's not even Thanksgiving yet- but this is my Christmas Wish List for this year.
I know it's a bit longer this year and I know I usually ask for more general things like World Peace and The End Of World Hunger and Happiness and Good Fortune for the ones I love and such stuff- but this year I'm being a bit more selfish and giving you a list of things I would actually like to have for ME.
(Of course I still want all the other things I usually ask for as well. I'm GREEDY that way, but, me being me you probably expected that anyway.....)

This year I would like any ONE of the following things........
An Ipod Shuffle
A cool black and silver purse
Fable II
Books- Lots of Books(preferably with a new Bookshelf to put them all on).
Country Songs for Rock Band.(Rock is too hard to sing to- I have a delicate set of vocal chords and rock puts a huge strain on them)
Sterling silver jewelry
A new pair of THIN black leather gloves

That is all.

I hope you have had a wonderful rest from last holiday season, Santa.
As usual you will find your Ham Sammich and Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cookies under the tree when you arrive....The milk will be in the fridge.
Tell Mrs Santa hi for me and give Rudy a kiss on the nose for me...His carrots will be under the tree as well.

Merry Christmas To All!!!
Sunny M.

Know What's REALLY Annoying?

I'll TELL you what....when I go on one of my messenger/IM chat services and see my friends online and when I try and talk with them they're not actually ON.

If you're not in the mood to talk- tell me and I'll not be upset- I have a life outside my chat-friends too. Or if you're NOT online- how about logging OUT of the service so you're not showing as online. Or if you WANT to keep it on- put up the "away" message.

Yeah- you KNOW who I'm talking about...YOU. Sorry- but it REALLY IS annoying and HAD to be said. Now you can tell ME how annoying I am for whining about it. Go ahead- I'm expecting it.
:-P

**********************************************

Also annoying.....going to the pharmacy and finding out that the new insurance plan the company switched to is Balls Out SUCKY when it comes to a discount on your prescriptions. My regular price for ONE of my meds is 90.00 without insurance...with my insurance we switched FROM-it was 35.00.......with my insurance NOW....75.00.......That BITES!

I went to work last night and got dizzy again.....The nurses took my BP- 179/106. I came home from work(stopping along the way for a flu vaccination) and called the docs office for a refill of my BP meds. Waited til they called me back- and then went and got the suckers. had a stroke when I saw the price of them.....cried a bit, and said, "There goes Christmas".

***********************************************


My head is pounding......my arm feels like it's about to fall off while someone is whacking it with a two by four......I got into an argument with my senile boss man last night....and I'm hungry as a wolf but can't eat anything because I'm still nauseous from my B/P being so high.

Can someone just shoot me and put me out of my misery today?

Well, how about bringing over a fifth of something "spiritual" and us drinking it together and drowning the misery, then?

Bah-Freaking Humbug!!

Oh SH*T!!! Oh SH*T!!!! Oh SH*T!!!!

Paulius is going to KILL me!!!!

Sometimes I am just too effing stupid for words.
Why Why WHY can I not just LEAVE things alone and not try to do anything on my own??? Every time I do something with the BEST of intentions, I screw myself up.....ROYALLY.


Okay, I was sitting here at the computer and looking for a specific thing and there was a LONG list of stuff in the book marks stuff that I deleted because I didn't realize that when you delete something from THERE it also deletes it from all the OTHER folders it's in.
OMG- I have deleted a BUNCH of our blogs and some stuff Paul and I had duplicated in both our folders as well because I was thinking that we had them in our other folders- they didnt need to be in SEVERAL of the others as well.......... Now they're all gone. I HOPE theres a way for him to fix it.....I'm SO sorry, Paul.

I have to go pray now.
Seriously.

Is There Anybody Out There?

I voted today......did you?
****************************************
Question.....Does ANYONE ever die of just plain old age in their sleep now days?
I mean without a terminal disease causing it? Or without an auto accident or drug overdose, or a shooting hurrying things along?

I haven't heard of anyone dying healthy but just old in a long time.

I want to go like that....all happy and content with the life I've led and just go to sleep and not wake up.

Is that even allowed nowdays?
******************************************

This Pretty Much Sums Me Up.

Click to read.

The Countdown Has Begun!!!

Here's a few pics of the festivities last night.
























and NOW.....
Halloween is over and the BIG Holiday Countdown has begun..... Thank Goodness!!!!!! Now I can sing my holiday songs(occasionally) and no one will look askance at me as they tend to do for the first 10 months of the year.

I'm afraid my happiness will have to be postponed til later today or possibly even til after the weekend....you see, altho I inbibed not a single drop of "Spirits" last night- I've woken up with a terrible hangover-like headache and upset tummy.

Not a Happy Camper, me.

Questions on B&W & FLOATERS.....WTH?????

My day/night has NOT went well.

First, I tried to nap for a few minutes before having to go to work....and in 14 minutes- got 6 phone calls. SIX!!!!!
One was from my baby bro- which I didn't mind at all.....but the rest were from stupid political places wanting me to vote for their candidate....
NOW I remember why I didn't want to get involved with the political scene.
With my Mom's health like it is- and since my Dad's and Clays leaving- I can't bring myself to ignore that many calls in a row....and I don't like unplugging the phone either- so after getting that many calls in as many minutes- I wasn't sleepy anymore- I was just Pissed off.

So I got up and I can't even remember what I DID do til time to go to work......Oh wait- Paul and I sat down together and looked over the play-list for RB(see his Post) and chose an hours worth of songs that we liked.....and I agree with him- the play-list isn't all that impressive.
Then I got ready to go to work......and lo and behold- I couldn't find my access badge. I KNOW I had all my stuff together on the desk- but that badge had ran and HID somewhere and was NOT willing to make the trip to work with me. So after almost running myself late- I finally had to go to work without it.
Meaning......when I GOT to work- I had to wait on someone to come to the front of the building so I could gain access to my job. Once I was INSIDE the building it wasn't a problem-it was just getting IN that I was worried about.
Luckily for me- the guy I was relieving for duty always hands off the equipment and keys at the main reception desk so he can make a faster getaway when his shift is over!
I would have been up Pooh Creek had we done so in the Security Office down in the basement.

Anyway, I get there, and the girls inform me that the elevator had been acting up again- and so I wrote a report up about that............the night went slowly- except for the time I spent with Karen and Kelly eating dinner together and catching up and having a laugh. I work with the best crew of Girls!!!

About 4AM tho- I had a bit of a scare....and I have no idea what was happening to me.

I was sitting down- having just finished my walk about the building- and as I was sitting there everything went from color- to black and white....my sight, that is. And when that happened, It felt as tho I was floating kind of above myself and then all the sudden I was dizzy but when the dizziness passed I was seeing in color and after a couple minutes, I felt fine again.

Any ideas on WTH that was all about?

Anyway, it's finally cold down here......The temps got down to 33 tonight- and will be SUB-freezing tonight if all goes well.


Looks like maybe the kids might get their chili for Halloween after all! I refuse to make it until after the first frost of the season- but I always make it the first weekend after the first frost. That doesn't stop them from starting to campaign for it a month ahead of time, tho......


I love my kids! Every Last One of 'Em.

Anyway, I'm FINALLY home and as soon as I walked in I found my badge......on my other jacket Lapel- at least I KNOW I have it for tonight!
Then I read a note from my darling hubby saying our big dumb mutt had -YET AGAIN- snapped his metal cable and that we need to buy a new one before I go to work this evening.....
I suggest we either shoot him- or turn him out without the cable and hope he "turns cat" on us and "R-U-N-N-S O-F-F" like they all did.
We would get SO much more rest that way, but I suppose he'll not hear of it and we'll end up going to get another cable for the big doofus.
Bah- aminals.

Eh-Things could be a LOT worse!

Two Weeks Away.......

Things are heating up hot and heavy in S.C. with the political ads....and so far I've seen PLENTY of Mud-Slinging from McCain, but not a single ugly one from Obama.

That says a LOT in my book.

I've pretty much made up my mind about who I'm going to vote for.

It'll either be Obama- OR I'll do a write in for Hilary.

Or Maybe Seacat. She'd make a pretty good President- but then again- we'd have a heck of a time keeping her on point with the presidential duties with the grounds of the White House there for her to photograph.....
;-)

Well, OUCH!!! And Stuff.....

OUCH!!!!!
I've not had a couple good days.

Somehow I've managed to wrench my shoulder and my left rotator cuff and shoulder blade is hurting like a MoFo.
I've had a hot shower, I've taken pain relievers, and I've even had Paulius put Tiger Balm on it and give me a massage and NOTHING has helped.
I'm trying a sling next and then I'm gonna have to go to the doctor if it's still hurting the beginning of the week.
**********************************
And Stuff................!!!!!!!
I finally got to play a bit on the 360......and I LOVE GTA 4.
I don't have to do any missions if i don't want to- I can just walk around and blow stuff up, and shoot people and then steal cars and run people down on the sidewalks. I can even beat the crap out of smart-mouthed people when they piss me off. And that was pretty often....especially when I bumped into them accidentally....or when I would run circles around them a few times and then run into them on purpose. I'm very agressive and curious as a cat and I like doing stuff like that just to see what reaction it gets out of the avatars/characters. Of course there was a few times...okay MORE than a few times .....that I got in BIG trouble- like when I would be standing in front of the police station (after being arrested for walking up to a group of cops and starting a fight with them to see how they would react......) and I would go and pick a fight with some random dudes just to see how long it took for the po-pos to stop me. Interestingly enough, when I started the fight with the group of cops- I was arrested. Starting a fist-fight in front of the Police station got me shot and killed by the cops.
My bad.
I learned that I can't drive a sports car worth a doodle in that game- but muscle-cars are good for me. I particularly like the SUVs in GTA 4 because they keep going no matter how many times I wreck 'em. The only problem I have with SUVs are I tend to get them impossibly stuck when I wreck sometimes and have to abandon them and find other transportation.
Paulius gets frustrated with me sometimes when I would rather sight-see the city on foot rather than take a vehicle. The way I look at it, If I learn the city on foot- I'll have a better chance of being able to get away from the cops later in the game when I finally get around to Grand Theft Auto.

I can't wait for FABLE 2 to be released next week. I bought PERFECT DARK ZERO a couple weeks ago for my playing pleasure- and found out very quickly that that is one CRAP game. Good thing I only paid 7 dollars for it.(That ALONE should have been a dead-giveaway.) I should have stuck with Paulius and his GTA, but I had never played GTA before and from what I had heard of my Hubby, Sons and Grandsons playing it- it was just a lot of Burnouts, car crashes and sirens and such and I didn't think I would like it very much......needless to say, I was Wro..........Wron.........WRONG. There- I said it.
I was WRONG. That's a first.

Hooch Strikes Again.

Well, imagine my surprise when I pull in the yard this morning coming in from work- and find the entire side of the porch laying in the yard- completely ripped off the deck.

Just Call me Turner.

You Know What Pisses Me Off?

Those damn quizzes that look like fun to take and after you take them, they want your cellphone # so they can send you your score- that's what pisses me off ROYALLY!!!!!
I don't OWN a freaking cellphone. For the best probably, seeing as how I LOVE quizzes and could spend hours online taking them one after the other.

I'm gonna do a blog-post.....101 Things That Piss Me Off The MOST.
I saw a "101 Things" post on another blog (Kelly, you might find this one interesting) and loved it. I'm not sure I could find 101 things to tell about me that are interesting and you haven't heard yet, tho.
I'm a Tell-All kinda Girl usually. Well, ALMOST anyway...I DO still have a FEW secrets I haven't let out of the bag to you guys yet.

Party Animals.....

Well, I'm gearing up for our Halloween party full blast now.

Paul and I Both have our outfits planned- I just need to actually put mine together now. His is hanging in the bedroom waiting to be worn.

I went today and bought a bunch(as in two plastic grocery sacks full) more candy for the goody bags for the kids to take home. I also got the goody bags and some Halloween cups to use for favors for the kids.
I got some headstones for the yard- and I'm getting Paul to do a few more with a different type material.......I think we're going to have a LOT of fun doing this party this year.

Paulius and I have been following a social-isolation program with Buddy to re-establish alpha status with him. For 48 hours we had to completely ignore him (Except to let him out and feed him)no matter what he did to try and grab our attention. And believe me- he tried his BEST to grab it. We succeeded in not making any kind of eye contact and ignoring his antics.
He was terribly confused that we didn't seem to know he was there demanding our attention.
But when we came in from running errands today he let us walk in the house and then calmly followed us instead of practically knocking us down to get in before we came in. Now I know what to do to gain control of our house back so WE rule instead of the dog.

I was so impressed with the results that I bought one of those Pedi-paws to use to clip his nails, now that I have more than a glimmer of hope that he may be with us for his NATURAL lifespan. Getting him used to it is going to be another process in itself too. But I have faith.
He's not too sure about what's come about in his house for him to lose control but he'll get used to it.

I got a surprise today when I got my payroll check.
It seems we have a new pay-scale based on our Rank, How long we've been employed by the Company, and the Site we work at. Seeing as how I brought home a hundred dollars more than I normally would have under the old pay-scale, I think I'm doing pretty well!!
Good thing too because right On Cue- my car is acting up again.........I can't figure out what the problem with it is...It FEELS like it's the Transmission slipping, but it the again it feels like it may be a fuel injection problem- but it SOUNDS like it may be a valve problem.

Have I mentioned I detest new cars? I should have kept my 65 Mustang or my 72 Challenger because there wasn't a single thing I couldn't' fix on THEM- and what's more I could practically climb under the hood and sit on the motor to fix the damn things. Elbow room...and plenty of it!
Yeah- I CAN work on my own cars........well, til they came up with these damn computer controlled bast-u-ards. And what makes it even worse.....I went by the local Auto-Zone to get them to hook up the Electronic Diagnostic Scanner to my car and Son of a Biscuit-Eater if they didn't tell me they couldn't do it cause the EDS's only worked on cars made from '96 on and mines a '94.

Well, just bend me over and don't even bother to kiss me first. Figures. The freaking story of most of my life, don't cha know!!!
ROTFLMAO!!!

Well, it could be worse, I suppose.
Lots worse.

On the UPSIDE of Life- After Halloween I can start getting ready for Christmas and singing Christmas songs!!!!!!
Yaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!

Drunken Pumpkin

Ewwwwww- The KIDS will LOVE them tho!!!!

The moral of the story is......
Never give your pet pumpkin beer.

October Fun

Well, it's been a while since I posted. No special reason, really- I've had a bit of a lazy streak lately.

But now it's time to get back to work- IF I can get rid of this bloody headache, that is.
Anyway......I received my Lapis Pendant on Friday and Paul went and got me two very lovely silver chains for it so I have two totally different looks. I haven't taken any pics of it ON me yet- but I absolutely LOVE-LOVE-LOVE it!! I ordered it thru the ETSY site and a lady named BBoyce who has recently started doing silversmithing for her jewelry business....up til recently she did mostly bead-work pieces and then she decided to try silversmithing and she has turned out some LOVELY pieces. I contacted her and asked if she could do me the "Eclipse" necklace in Lapis and silver and she replied that she could indeed. So she did. I'm ordering a ring to match my pendant for my birthday. I'd love to have it before then- but with Christmas just around the corner- there's no way I can do it before my Birthday. But that's okay- I'm sure my new "Pretty"-(Think Gollum)- will keep me entertained til then.
Speaking of Gollum........

This month we're having a Halloween Party for the Grandkids so none of us has to ride around doing the trick or treat thing with these high gas prices!!! Everyone-kids and Grups alike- is dressing in costumes. My Eldest son and HIS eldest son,(Frank & Devon), came over yesterday and did a bit of Yard Work prep for me and then Paul and they went up on my roof and fixed it.....we hope it fixes a leak anyway.....we got pizza and had a blast while they were here.
Today I'm going to be making ghosts to hang from the trees- I think a couple out to do it- and we already have the music and scary sounds and Pauls costume. I do have to still work on MY costume tho.I decided I'd be a witch.......a black clad one altho if I HAD DECIDED TO BE Glenda THE Good Witch OF THE North i COULD HAVE GOTTEN ONE MORE GOOD USE OUT OF MY WEDDING GOWN.......(Dang- sorry guys -Caps Lock Key hates me and I'm too lazy to go back and change all that...)

Anyway, We're having corn-dogs, burgers and chips, Halloween Cupcakes, Orange Punch, Caramel Apples.....that type fare so we can ALL enjoy ourselves. Nothing TOO messy . I haven't decided if we're going to bob for apples or do the less traditional string-in-a-doorway apples type bobbing.
;-)
We're going to hang ghosts and spiderwebs all over, and have Jacko's set out- speaking of which.....remember me telling y'all about my garden I planted last spring? I planted sugar snap peas, green beans, tomato plants, bell pepper plants, cantaloupes, watermelons, and pumpkins so we could have PLENTY of Jackos for the party this year??? THAT'S how long we've been planning this party. Well, let me tell you about the yield we gathered from my garden.....
4 green beans about as long as a 4 year olds pinkie finger.
2 Green peppers the size of a tennis ball
2 tomatoes still green on the vine about the size of a tennis ball
That's it.......no peas, no cantaloupes. We had one watermelon the size of a large marble but it disappeared and then the vine died. And we had the pumpkin vines blooming til about a week ago and then THEY died.....no yield and nothing but BLOOMS- but there WERE a LOT of blooms on the pumpkin vines. I was SOOOOO disappointed!!!
Maybe I'll try again NEXT year but in a different spot.

Anyway, the party should be fun either way and I hope to be able to find the charger for our cam and get some good video footage as well. It's the first Halloween Party we've had in about 20 years!! The last one the kids were all VERY small and all we had to do was get a butt-load of the spider-webbing and hang it in the doorways and put pumpkins all around and have spooky lights and music......They LOVED it.
And in case you're wondering- yes there will be treat bags sent home with all the kids(young and not so young) so nobody loses out on the traditional "Eating of the Candy" for the next two weeks. Heheheheheheheh!!!

And I think that's about it for me right now folks...My headache isn't getting any better bent over this keyboard and looking at the screen.

Later all!!!