H. R. Pufnstuf.

Do you remember H.R. Pufstuf?...........Every once in a while the theme song gets stuck in my head and it takes days to make it go away....Did you know it was code for Smokin Pot? I didn't til recently.
Remember Witchypoo?
God, that was a REALLY weird show.
Your typical 70's T.V.
*********************************
Okay now back to real life........

Well, Life is back to normal....somewhat.

Actually I think it's much better than it was before our little vacation.

Buddy has been a model puppy- and since I've bragged about his behavior- he'll probably turn into Hell-Hound any second.
;-)
He really has been sweet since we picked him up at the Vets. They said he had been a model doggie as well and they had a lot of fun during his stay.

I played "throw the rope" with him this afternoon when I woke up. At one point I threw it and it landed against the desk and he refused to get it. He came and sat in front of me and kept looking at me and then the rope. I told him I was NOT going to fetch it for him- it was in a perfectly open spot, so he could fetch it himself. He begged for about 5 minutes before he finally went and got it himself....but then he was in a huff because I had refused to turn the game into "Sunny Fetch The Rope" so he wouldn't let me play with it anymore.
:-)
I'm heartbroken, as you can see.

A bit of sad news on that note tho- Paul's mum told him his doggie back in England, Jake, a beautiful Border Collie, had gone to doggie heaven last week. He was 17 years old and had been Paul's doggie since they got him as a puppy. I was hoping we would be able to make a visit back to England before Jake left, but it was not to be. I know he will be missed terribly by the entire family, I've heard many stories about what an intelligent and happy dog he was and am sad I never got to meet him myself.

It's been a rough week at work too.
I was involved in a situation I would rather have not been involved in- but was forced by the situation into the middle of it or risk my job as well. Not happening.
There has been a lot of misunderstandings involving the incident- and it's just a mess all round and altho I can't discuss any details, I regret I had to be involved at all.
And that's all I have to say about that.

Our laptop is having issues. It seems every few weeks, it has decided to reject Firefox for no apparent reason. I say "deal with it." Stupid puter.

Well, I had a totally different type of blog in mind when I was on the way home, but since the laptop wouldn't let me on when I got home I fell asleep and now I've completely lost what it was supposed to be about-I do remember it was one of the BEST blog posts I had ever thought up to write about, but now you'll never get to read my intellectual genius on whatever topic it was I was going to write about.
Don't you feel horribly deprived?
I said deprived- not depraved........... stop laughing.

And so- on that note- I'm ending my post for the day......Night All.

A Different Perspective.

We'rrrrrrrre Baaaaaaaaaaack!!!!!!


It was an absolutely awesome trip. We had a nice room with a balcony and it was right on the river next to a small waterfall and I LOVED it(EXCEPT for the two double beds instead of a king-sized one...)
;-)

I've been to Gatlinburg many times- and I was looking forward to showing Paul around up there.
But it ended up being a whole different experience for me as well.
Yes, we went to the same places I've been before- but this time we ended up doing absolutely NOTHING that I had ever done in Gatlinburg before.
I'm not joking.

Since Paul is writing about it I won't write alot, but just to say that the Aquarium was absolutely fantastic- I wasn't claustrophobic at all((((((HUGE SURPRISE!!!))))))))))) in the tunnel that runs thru the middle of the aquarium and I was so mesmerized by the whole thing I kept reaching out as if I could touch the fish as they swam by. I probably could have went thru that tunnel 10 more times before I had had enough. It was wonderful and worth every penny we paid to get in- which WAS a little pricey(20.00 for adults) -but as I said- WELL worth it.

We walked a LOT over the course of our stay- our room was just one block off the main strip and parking was practically non-existent and you had to walk everywhere anyway- so I had BETTER have lost a few pounds. Altho I DID give in and indulge a bit- I had a chocolate Kit-Kat bar up there and I had two small chocolate brownies as well our last dinner out.
And miracle of Miracles, I had four beers during the weekend. Not just ANY beer tho- I had Samuel Adams...the only beer I actually ENJOY drinking because it's dark and rich and has FLAVOR!!! YUM. But as I said- all the walking we did more than made up for that small bit of indulgences....I hope.

I think the thing I was most excited about in the StarsCars Museum was probably the Batmobile.......Or Granpa Munsters car...........or the Clampett's truck.....all part of my childhood memories(in front of the TV set).
You can tell from the pictures Paul posted that I absolutely detest having my photo taken- and it shows.....either I wasn't smiling at ALL- or I was making an obviously fake happy face in them. .......Getting Paul in front of the camera except for beside his "ECTO 1" or The "Back to the Future" Car was absolutely impossible.
Yet despite our dislike for having our photos done- we got our pic taken and permanently etched into a beautiful glass cube to put on display in our home. THAT was awesome too.

As soon as I woke up this morning, I was on the laptop planning our NEXT vacation in August.......to Charleston, SC.

We're also planning a BIG holiday - probably sometimes end of next year to England to visit Paul's family. I've never been out of the country before- that will be HUGELY EXCITING for me as well!!!

I can't wait. For BOTH!!!
;-)

Like Sands thru the hourglass......

so are the days of our lives..........




I can't wait!!!!!

Hurry up 6AM!!!!!!!!

:-D

Foxworthy Fodder....and Other Stuff.

......okay first of all I have a short story to tell y'all about a relative. Then I'll have a bit of a carry on from yesterdays post to answer a couple of comments left on that post.......so away we go.


I've been informed that a relative of mine(I won't name him) spent the weekend as a guest of the city.

Due to a DUI.

On a Horse.

I am NOT joking.

And when the officer asked if this relative had been drinking, he answered yes. And when said officer asked him if he had any alcohol on his person, said relative opened up his jacket, pulled out an unopened can of beer and said, "Yeah- You want one?" and then offered it to the officer.


We'll chalk that up to the unbridled enthusiasm of youth.

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

Now......as for the comments left on yesterdays post............................

Evan.........Not THAT kind of fish......the kind we have are tiny and WAYYY too hard to de-bone.

Seacat........No. Buddy is way too unpredictable for mom(or anyone else except Frank and he lives too far away for that to be practical) to come take care of him . Basically there is 3 people that can come near him without him trying to eat them...literally.....Me(sometimes), Paul, and Frank.- and he doesn't like strangers so we couldn't take him with us- part of the idea is to be able to relax and get away from all the stress and responsibilities for a few days...not take it with us.

Lois............The reason WHY we have Buddy is because Paul left his dog behind when he moved over here, so when Buddy showed up on our doorstep on the coldest night of the year- temps were in the teens- and it was 1AM....I couldn't bear to put the poor baby back out in the cold..- he wasn't even hardly old enough to eat puppy chow yet. We couldn't locate anyone to claim him, so we kept him rather than him being brought to the shelter and euthanized if he wasn't adopted out.

Dogs and cats are a joy to have around. For companionship they're great.....but all my cats have been sweet loving things, who make me fall in love with them....and then promptly leave after 6 months and break my heart.
I've never had a BIG inside dog as a pet- my dogs have always been outside dogs and it's something I just haven't adjusted to. Granted, Buddy needs some training. Especially when it comes to socializing with family- but in order for that to happen, Family needs to be around more often than they can at the moment- and I need to work with him- which I just don't have time for at the moment with everything else going on. Paul works with him, but as I said- the family is so busy they don't get to come over on a regular basis so Buddy can get the social training he needs and with our schedules, we rarely have just regular visiting company. We try and all get together for Holidays and as often as possible- but we're all busy people.

I LOVE Buddy- I love that USUALLY he's a big, dumb, lovable oaf. But he's easily excitable and as I said, needs some training around other people before I can be truly at ease with him. Like I said in an earlier post....when I was very young, 3 or 4, I saw my collie torn to pieces trying to protect me from a pack of strays and I know what damage a dog can inflict. I've also been bitten by my sisters dogs twice in adulthood, So I'm cautious around dogs.

The point I was trying to make yesterday is- that a simple couple of days vacation we are trying to put together has suddenly blossomed into a huge, stress-filled, venture because we have so many unexpected expensive pet-related things to deal with.

In other words- I should have started gathering information about pet-related expenses way sooner than I did.
But, that being said, next time it won't be nearly as stressful because 1) I'll Know what to expect in the way of expenses for Buddy- and 2) all the expensive stuff is taken care of now.

******************************************************
On the flip side...............if we could Litter Box or Potty Train Buddy we'd have it made.
:-)

ARGGGGGGG!!! Not A Pirate Post.

I'm just fed up.

After this- no more pets. I swear.

Today I was playing Buddy's favorite game...throw the rope. I throw the rope across the room- and he runs and fetches it and brings it back to be thrown again til I decide I'm exhausted and put the rope on the back of the chair to signal playtime is over. He could go on for hours...I know this because I played this game for two hours one night and he was still going strong when I called it quits.
Buddy has been extremely good for the past week or so- so I decided that I'd chance it and take him outside without his lead for a bit of a nicer (freer) game of fetch the rope.
Well, we went out, I threw the rope- he charged after it....ran past it and then ran back to me. So then I had to go fetch the rope and throw it again, after which he charged after it, ran past it, and ran back to me.
Twice more we did this routine before he decided enough was enough and promptly ran off towards the house three doors down (his girlfriends house) completely ignoring me calling him back.
So Paul and I end up having to go after him, Paul on foot while I got in the car in case Buddy decided to make a run of the neighborhood instead of coming to Paul when he called him, which is usually the case.
Luckily, Buddy decided to come back when Paul spotted and called him so the car wasn't necessary this time, but the fact remains he still ran off .............again.

It seems our entire lives revolve around our pet. That's just how it seems at the moment.

We haven't had a vacation in 5 years. So we decide to take a few days off, but Buddy isn't very sociable so we don't have the option of having someone just come by and let him out and feed and water him while we're gone. We have to find a kennel to board him for the two nights we'll be gone.

So I call two dozen places- and they all say the same thing......he has to have paperwork with his vaccination records to be boarded.
He just showed up on our doorstep when he wasn't hardly old enough to be weaned and has always been an inside(mostly) dog so we haven't gotten his vaccinations. So now we have to get those at 85 dollars. Then the rate for kenneling him is another 16 dollars a day, but whether or not we pick him up on Sunday afternoon, they still charge us for Sunday night. Add another 50 dollars. And now we need to treat him for fleas BEFORE we bring him to be kenneled which is yet ANOTHER 20 dollars. So we're almost to 160 dollars for him before we even begin adding up costs for US.

I think maybe we should just go get his vaccinations and get him treated for the fleas and then just take yet another day-trip and save up til I get my vacation paycheck in July so we only have to pay for having him Kenneled while we're gone as opposed to all these costs hitting us at once.

All these expenses we weren't expecting are adding up and I certainly don't want to drive four or five hours there, spend 6 hours walking around just looking at stuff, then have to drive four hours back again because we can't afford to spend the night and the dog needs to be let out and fed. We did that last time and my back hurt for days and we didn't even stop and walk around on that trip either.

I just want to be able to GO and DO something without having it turn into a major undertaking.

I'm tired. I'm sick. And I don't want to deal with the stress.

I KNOW having a pet is a big responsibility that has to be dealt with. But for years it's been someone or something always being put ahead of my wants and needs...........and right now I NEED to relax and DE-stress and this isn't doing it for me. Not even coming close. I'm almost to the point where I want to scream that I don't Effing CARE what needs to be done- I just want to get some QUIET TIME with my husband. PERIOD.

Damn the job- Damn the chores- and damn the pet.

So in the future, I don't want another pet unless it's a fish.


Just sayin'.

OOPS.....

Well, the other day, Paul asked me if we had BOUNTY Candy bars over here. I asked him to explain what it consisted of since in England a Three Musketeers bar is called a Milky Way...or vice versa........anyway, he said it was chocolate covered coconut bars....and I told him yes- but they're called a MOUNDS Bar here and if you wanted almonds topping them, that was an ALMOND JOY Bar.

So when we went to the supermarket, I saw one and threw ONE in the basket for him.
But when we got home he looked at it and asked me..."Why'd you get that? I thought you swore off chocolate." And I said..." I got it for YOU- Remember asking me about the BOUNTY BAR?"

Typical....he said, "I ASKED about it-, I didn't say I WANTED one."
So I threw it in the freezer...out of sight, out of mind, you know......or so I thought.

Three days later I come in from work.....am starving, but am so tired I can't be bothered to cook, and see the candy sitting there......


Yep- I ate it.

Funny thing was, I expected that to be the end of my chocolate ban.......but it didn't really taste as good as I remembered......and I haven't eaten - or craved- chocolate since.....so maybe I can enjoy some chocolate once in a while without it taking over my life.

Plus- since I gave it up- I've lost another 4 pounds!! Yay!!

Baby Steps....Baby Steps.

Let's Go Back To The Beginning...........

Hmmmmmm.....
My co-worker friend and I have sat here as we ate lunch together reading some of my posts thru the years...(God that sounds odd- have I REALLY been blogging for YEARS?...I have.)......when I came to a sudden realization..........

I was much more interesting when I first started blogging.

No two ways about it- I had much more interesting things to write about then. I could somehow twist the mundane into some semblance of humor.

But as the years have passed, my world has changed....things have happened that brought my world crashing down about my ears and it shows in my writing.

I wonder if I have changed in REAL life that much as well? I suppose Paul could answer that better than I can. I'm not nearly as objective about me as he is but if I had to answer that question, I personally would have to honestly say I HAVE changed a lot in the five years we've been together- and a lot of it is probably NOT for the better.

Even to myself, I seem more jaded, more critical of the world and the people who are around me. I seem to have less patience with everything- and it's not something I'm very proud of.
I don't want to be that .....I mean THIS person. I want to be the sweet girl Paul fell in love with, not the whiner and witch I seem to have morphed into lately. I have lots of good things in my life to be happy about, too. Things to appreciate and celebrate. I wanna be fun and laughing again.
I'm just not sure how to get back to that point. I need Sunshine in my life again. Is there any way to get her back, do you think?

Any suggestions?...............Anyone?

Here We Go Again...............

I finally gave in and went to the doctor today.
Bronchitis and a mild case of pneumonia.
Two injections, one nebulizer treatment and four prescriptions later I'm back home and so sleepy I can't hold my eyes open. If I had waited til Monday I would be in the hospital ........AGAIN.

I don't care if I'm at death's door....I'm NOT canceling our trip next week.

Why, oh WHY can I never get JUST a sore throat....or a simple cold...........or ....whatever.....It's ALWAYS gotta be something HUGE and/or exotic with me.

Geeze- I just want a calm, simple, serene life.
Is that too much to ask for??
Is it?

Imagine This........

Okay, so last night I slept on the sofa in hopes Paul doesn't get whatever the hell it is I have picked up.....if it's contagious.

So I'm lying on the sofa sleeping, and about three o'clock AM I open my eyes and I'm facing the back of the couch and the wall....and I clearly see a shadow on the wall in the shape of the Grim Reaper bending over....I glance up at the ceiling and sure enough....there is his scythe outlined in shadow as well. When I blinked- it was gone.

Gave me the shivers.........but when i got up, and turned the lights back off after taking my meds, I saw that the Home theatre system light was lit and threw an odd shaped shadow on the wall as well.....not EXACTLY what I saw- but close enough that I can explain it away if I try hard enough.

Freaky.......

Sorry Mr. Reaper....not ready quite yet.

Cookies From The Darkside.

Before I begin...let me wish everyone a Happy Easter!!!!






*********************************************
Now back to my regularly scheduled whine-fest.......
*********************************************
Well, yesterday after a three hour nap, I felt good enough to start my spring cleaning. I had to take a LOT of rests during it- but the kitchen and living room are now done except for some light dusting.

I was proud of how much I had gotten done- especially since I hadn't really done it in a couple of years....mostly all I've been up to doing was some light cleaning and de-cluttering at best.

That being said- I got a few hours sleep this morning and I still feel like pooh. I went to the local pharmacy yesterday and got some cough drops, hoping against hope that this would turn out to be a 24 hour bug , but today the cough is worse and I'm pretty sure it's just from all this pollen in the air. I HATE this time of year.

Anyway, my hubby went with me to the pharmacy....again....and this time the Pharmacist recommended an allergy tablet and a heavy duty cough suppressant which we purchased in hopes that will be enough to get me on my feet again.
Of course- if it doesn't do the trick, it'll be back to the doctor before I end up in the hospital again- like last year.

It just pisses me off that we make plans to take a few days off for vacation and then this happens. It SUX...It BLOWS....and I'm damn annoyed.

I'm afraid that I'll be better by time for the R & R...but with our luck- Paul will get it and be down with it.
If so- it will wait another two weeks til he's better and I have another weekend off.

I'm about to run screaming pulling my hair out..........either that or just go to bed and refuse to get up for anything or anyone.

WHEN is our luck going to finally be on the SUNNY SIDE instead of the DARKSIDE???

I don't care if the Darkside DOES have cookies...........!!!!!!!!

What To Do......

Ugh....I thought this weekend would be doing some(a lot) spring cleaning around the house....but I just don't see it happening...not much anyway.
I got up this morning with a horrible cough, my throat is raw, and my chest hurts, not to mention my tummy being crampy, PLUS me being hungry as hell. All in all, not a good combination.
All I really want to do is go back to bed for a while.We did get the trash taken off this morning to the recycling center and then went to the home improvement center and got some weatherstripping and foam insulation for some home repairs that Paul wanted to do(and got done as soon as we got home).

Paul seems to have caught my mood as well. He's been very quiet and reflective the past couple of days, so conversation is limited with him being reflective and me being ill.

I don't like these kind of days. Not at all.

Hopefully this illness will be over soon......probably just in time for me to go back to work again. Just my luck.....For the past couple months, it's rained every day I had off.....this weekend I have off and the sun is shining and it's about 75 degrees out and I'm feeling too bad to go out and enjoy it.

Sometimes it just BLOWS.

And The Award Goes To............*Drum Roll*.......

Oohhh I won an award!

Rules: Include the award logo in your blog or post.

Nominate as many blogs which you like.

Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

I award:

Life-What The Hell Is Going On(for always giving me something to think about and debate during our long road-trips together and the nights I'm off work and we can spend cherished time together.)
Witless Protection Program(who I introduced y'all to a LONG time ago and who always has something and usually many interesting things going on that I and/or Paulius can relate to.)
The Daily Slacker(who makes me GLAD I'm not living the single life anymore with his tales of it.)
My Life-So Far(who has some beautiful photography and is one of the most sweet persons ever.)
Life And Love In The USA(who nominated me for this award and gives us a girl's POV of adjusting to our strange American ways and keeps my husband up with her witty sarcasm which she has a particular knack for.)
Layabouting(for giving me lots of snow pics and reports and for being a R/R man like my daddy and bringing back some fond memories I had all but forgotten about.)
WITFITS(Whose posts I usually don't understand but read in hopes that someday the light bulb will go on and I finally WILL understand and be a geek like him and my hubby, Paulius....among others who shall remain un-named at this time.)
Etch-A-Sketch Attention Span(who you never know what will pop up on his blog at any given time...keeping us guessing is what he's best at.)
And last....but CERTAINLY not LEAST- Southern Plate (whose blog has given me many ideas and much inspiration over the past few months....as well as a few pounds from eating all those recipes she makes so easy to make....Especially the chocolate stuff....and the fried stuff.......and welll, you get the picture!)

You can find all these Blogs in my Blog List to the right>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

Hi-Ho! Hi Ho!!!!.......

It's off to work I go........


*Walks away whistling*......................................

Life Is Good

Well, as you can see....I've been abandoned by my muse.

I have writers block.

Nothing new is happening in my life but work and looking forward to our little trip to Gatlinburg in a couple of weeks. Well, end of the month, actually. Whatever.

We've been looking for a place to kennel Buddy for the two days we'll be gone. We found a place- and for 16 dollars a night he gets treated like a king......we've almost decided to stay there ourselves instead of going to Tennessee.
I think we may be getting them to bathe him the day we come home. Buddy doesn't do too well with strangers and we're not sure how he would react to strangers trying to get him wet.
We'll see about that.

Anyway.......I'm safe, I'm happy, I have good friends, a wonderful family, a job I love, a roof over my head(that doesn't leak at the moment),food in my tummy, a decent car to get from Point A to Point B, and an almost PERFECT husband who I adore and adores me right back and only annoys me a little bit to try video games I'm not in the mood to play.

Life is Good.

Did Ya see????.........

I got a hit from Romainia today....my vampire family and friends have located me.

Cardiologist Update......

Just back from the doc's office...nothing new to report. No arterial blockage and my heart is strong. unless i begin passing out he doesn't see any need to do anymore testing. We(Paul and I)asked him if possibly my hiatial hernia could be causing my chest pain and b/p problems, and he said that it alone probably wouldn't- but that GERD or acid reflux along with it might do so. He refered me back to my Family Doc for confirmation of that tho.
So Paul and i are going to be doing some things to see if it helps my gastro problems and see if the other symptoms ease up.

More on that later tho.

That's it for now....the hunt for a new GP continues.