Almost back To NORMAL-(Whatever THAT IS!!)

Just a few minutes ago I got the word that it's a GO for me to return to work tomorrow. YAY!!! As much as I love being home with my hubby, having the flu hasn't exactly been the ideal situation to be home with my sweetie. I tend to annoy him with my goofiness but I suppose me sleeping 18 hours a day has really helped us both cope.

The other day while I was sleeping, Paul had opened up a can -(ugh)- of chicken noodle soup and ate it for dinner. He remarked on how horrible it was. So, tonight I made him MY Chicken Noodle Soup. It is supremely better than the canned stuff and way too easy to make.

I hate that I missed my Grandson, Christopher's, Birthday Party today. I slept right thru it. But I'll make it up to him.

I still need to get motivated to do some housecleaning, but I only work tomorrow night and then I have two days off, so I can do it then.

I'm SO glad things are almost back to normal.

About Time.....

<--------Stargazer Blue............

This afternoon at about 2PM I finally woke up with my sleep hangover. You know, the hung-over feeling you get when you have slept way too much.
I was dehydrated, so I got up, took a shower, ate a bit of fresh mozzarella cheese, and drank til my hearts content. Milk, sugar free soda, fake coffee & water. And I feel so much better. I should after three solid days of sleeping tho.

I thought while I'm sitting here still too shaky to do more than just sit for a while, I would try out my new watercolor paper and brushes. I've tried charcoals, pastels, and oils, and now I want to try out watercolors.
Now, I have watercolor pencils....somewhere. I have worn myself out looking for them tho and they seem to have just vanished into thin air. I saw them the other day....somewhere. There's that damn word I hate so much.

Anytime I go to my moms to borrow something the response I always get is" Sure- you can borrow it if you can find it....it's here.....SOMEWHERE."
OMG, how I detest that phrase!

Before my illness got to me, I did get the wall behind the sink in the kitchen painted. I painted it a really pretty sort of french blue..... the actual color is Stargazer Blue by Valspar.
The kitchen was/is yellow with a really cutesy teacup border around the top near the ceiling. The blue really sets off the white cabinets. I'm torn between doing ALL the kitchen in the blue or just doing the wall behind the sink and stove as accent walls.
I would post a picture, but since I've been sick the sink is piled high with dishes and I'm not quite up to doing them yet, so the web-pic from Valspar will have to do.
Don't go suggesting Paul do them either because he has volunteered but I am sort of OCD about my dishes and I've graciously refused his help with them. My problem, entirely.

Anyway.............hopefully I can find the pencils soon. It would really help pass the time.

Recovery Road

Seems my case of the flu has been a mild one. Couple days of upset tummy (from both ends), a night of 100 degree fever, continuing massive body aches, a headache that just needles me all day, and fatigue that sends me to bed after being up only a couple hours.

All in all, I would say not bad for the flu. Not like year before last when I got it. No flu shot and it took me six months to be back to 100%.

I'm somewhat of a germaphobe lately.....we wipe everything down at work(I work in a hospital), I wash my hands constantly, I don't touch doorhandles or elevator buttons or anything like that with my bare hands, I stay my distance from people who even LOOK like they might be sick with ANYTHING........ But you can't avoid going to the grocery store, and the doctors office(OMG what a NIGHTMARE THAT is for me!! I wear a mask when I go there whether I'm sick or NOT...I know they're not foolproof, but every little bit helps),...and work.
I'm hoping to be able to go back to work this weekend. As long as the fever doesn't resurface, I think I'm good to go.

Hoping all you stay away from BOTH types of the flu..........!!!

Oh No......

Woke up this morning feeling even more achy, nauseous, and with an upset tummy. Hoping it's just the new meds the doc gave me and not the flu...heading to the doctors office in an hour to get a flu swab.
Oh God- Please Please PLEASE don't let it be the flu!!!!! I can't be out of work for an entire week!!!

Ever Have One of Those Days?

Yeah, me too......
Sometimes the smallest, most inconsequential shit just pisses me right effing off.

This & Dat.........

Well, after the snake incident...I have decided that I need to go thru stuff yet AGAIN and de-clutter my house even more.

What I wanna know is, how do you decide what stays and what goes? We already have a storage building full of stuff we have packed up and put away. And stuff just KEEPS coming back into the house!

Of course I have the things I just absolutely CANNOT/WILL NOT give up....the sentimental stuff...mostly stuff from my kids, parents, and grandparents. But I don't wanna do too much throwing away because the place we live in now is small and at some point in the near future, I am hoping we will be in a position to get a new place of our own and I don't want to have to go out and buy NEW stuff, when I have things now that would work perfectly well in a new place. It just seems terribly wasteful.
But then again, maybe I am holding on to these non-sentimental things for no reason. I bought some of them when I was single or when I was with the exes........ and even tho they are nice and still reflect my tastes, (for the most part), maybe it would be a good thing to get rid of it all and start life with Paulius in our new home fresh. Like I said, the only things that really matter to me are the sentimental things, anyway.
And what do I do with all the stuff I want to get rid of? Do I try and have a yardsale?I mean I work 12 hour shifts! Do I just donate it to charity? Do I just burn it in a huge symbolic bonfire?
........................

I think I'm going to run out as soon as Lowes opens and get that gallon of paint for my Kitchen after all.
I have decided to paint my kitchen a pretty blue color. It's butter yellow now and I LOVE a yellow kitchen. But, I think it's time for a change. I'm also going to paint my big table and chairs black and re-upholster the seat covers. My cabinates will remain pure white with the brass hardware(given to me by Clay & Kathy) and the black countertops will stay as well. I think I'm going to change the rooster motif in there, too. Paul detsests them , so maybe I'll go for something a bit more modern, or at least something less barn-yardy. Is that a word?
Maybe that's what attracted the snake to begin with! JK- I know it wasn't, but I'm still mega-freaked out over it.

In other news.......I went for my doctors visit Friday morning. My BP was up as it has been for the past couple of months or so, so she upped my meds for it.
(Coming in to the snake incident after the doc appointment didn't help it either, I'm sure.)
She also put me on a different low dosage anti-depressant to try for a while. Right after Clays accident, she tried me on Cymbalta, but it just made me feel worse, so I stopped taking it. I have tried to get along without using any kind of medication, but after two years, I'm still crying almost every single day and I've went from sleeping way too little, to sleeping way too long then getting up for a couple hours and then needing a nap.......and this is a couple times a day! So I got the script filled and I've been taking it... this is the third day... and I actually got up and felt like cleaning the kitchen this morning. Yay. She said I should start feeling a bit better in a couple days and should see a significant change in my depression in the next couple months. And if not- after a couple months give her a call back and we'd go from there.
She also did a full blood screening and I should get the results back from those by the middle of the week. She also didn't fuss at me about my weight....I actually had lost 4 pounds since my last visit. Guess she thought I had enough on my plate without adding to my problems. At least with a small loss she sees I'm TRYING to lose the weight.

So many things to deal with all at once. Well, with the holidays coming up, I'll have something to take my mind off stuff for a while!
The babies are going to be just the right age for Christmas to be magical for them!!! I can't wait to get pics!!!!

Oh well..........we'll see how it goes.
Wish me luck!

The Last Straw.

Well, if this day doesn't just beat all.

Fasting since midnight to have bloodwork done at the doctors office was bad enough.
Then I come home from said doctors visit and walk into the kitchen to have our cat come racing past me and POUNCE just in front of my foot causing me to almost fall over him and break my neck. When I turned around to yell at the poor thing, he's standing there with an 13 inch snake dangling from his mouth. I measured. AFTER getting it away from Logan, The SuperHero Cat.(Meaning AFTER it stopped writhing he dropped it and I promptly chopped it's head off with a VERY long handled shovel).
OMFG!!!!!!! It was a baby copperhead!!!!
I don't think I can sleep in this house anymore.
Just walking around since it happened I am jumping out of my skin every time I brush against something or when Logan comes galloping down the hall like a horse. Every electrical cord I see is a slithering evil presence that's ready to sink it's fangs into me.
ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was all ready to come home and eat a bite and then sleep for a while.
Not anymore. I may never sleep here again.
Seriously.
Marie- can you get me a good monthly rate at the Days Inn?
Lemme know.
ASAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Close Encounter.........

I saw the most amazing thing today .

On the way home this morning, just before the sun peeked over the horizon, something loped across the road in front of my car. At first I thought maybe it was an injured deer from the funny way it was moving, but then when I stopped the car, I took a long look and
...it....was.....a.....big.....freakin'.....black...wolf.
And yeah- I have seen wolves up close before and it definitely was a wolf and not a black dog. I actually backed up to look at it again and I said out loud, with the windows rolled up.."OMG that is NOT a wolf..it can't be!!".
And the thing turned and looked at me with those HUGE Golden eyes like it freakin' HEARD me.

We sat and stared at each other for about 10 seconds and then it turned and loped off into the woods on the other side of the road.

Beautiful animal, but was even freakier (but not scarier) than our encounter with the bear!!!

Is It Just Me.........

...........or does it seem like October is taking forever this year?

Every day seems like a week to me for some strange reason!!!

Gah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You'll Have To Carry Me Out In A Box.....

(You'll understand the photo when you reach the end of the post.... )

**************************
Watching my DIY network today, a couple of empty-nesters were doing improvements to their house in an upscale middle-class neighborhood. Doing stuff like making the den into a Home Theatre, complete with the Stadium seating and the Deluxe Theatre chair system. They made the adjoining bedroom to the Master a celebrity style walk-in closet. They also were redoing the bath and the kitchen to suit their taste and enhance their enjoyment of their remaining years of life. They worked hard(and were still working out of offices in their home) and paid for it and wanted to enjoy it even more.

The concern was (...and it wasn't THEIR concern.... as the title says, their words were "You'll have to carry me out of here in a box."........) that the value of their home would exceed the value of the surrounding homes in the neighborhood.

Well, who give a flying .........Crap?

It's THEIR home that they're planning on living in the REST of their lives and it can only make the prices of the other houses in the neighborhood go UP in value, so why does anyone give a damn?
They aren't asking the bank for money to make the improvements...they aren't asking the neighbors to help them out doing the improvements, nor are they making an eyesore of the neighborhood by painting it some God- Awful Blindingly Sick color like Barney Purple with Pumpkin Orange Hearts all over it.

Why should anyone else have a say about ANY improvements they make to the INSIDE of their own home?
It makes my blood BOIL when someone goes sticking their nose into something they should have NO say in whatsoever.

Next thing you know "SOMEONE" will be trying to tell us we have no right to make love except on Wednesday Nights, only with the lights off, and with high necked, ankle length flannel gowns and bed-caps on.....Even you guys....... and maybe they'll say, in addition to the gown and bed-cap, MEN have to wear 6 inch RED stilettos and pressed powder make-up, as well.
Sexy huh? NOT!!!!

Ridiculous?
Same Concept.
They have No RIGHT.

Effin' A!!!!!

Spent the whole day driving my son, who has FULL medical coverage, around to about 6 different Doctors Offices for his back, and because of one tiny little mistake on his insurance card was refused at all but the last one. He's called the Ins. Company's Base Office half dozen times to have the mistake corrected and has been assured at the end of each and every call that NOW it is definately, absolutely, positively, corrected......

Liars.

And Paulius thought HE had problems with the medical community!!!

Uh Oh......

Okay, so today before leaving work I weighed....241.6..Yay a loss......then I thought, but it's first day of Aunty Flo's visit!! How can I have LOST weight?(Sorry- TMI, I know, but it's pertinent info for the story.....)

So I drove home and when I got there I wasn't feeling right at all. I mean I felt WEIRD. I have also been just absolutely parched for the past couple of weeks and I meant to take my blood sugar reading before heading off to bed. But it was so cold in the house(we leave off turning on the heat as long as possible after having to run the A/C all summer......did that make sense?) all I could think about is just getting in my PJs, crawling into bed and getting warm. So that's what I did.
But as I lay there, I began feeling worse. I started getting queasy. So I dragged myself out of bed and went to the living room and checked my blood sugar.
Almost 5 hours after last eating, it was well over 150.

I have a doctors appointment this coming week. Good thing.
This is the first time I've had a high blood sugar reading in AGES! I'm HYPO-glycemic and have never had a problem with high blood sugar...mine usually drops like a stone at a moments notice!
Looks like I'll be joining my hubby with his dietary restrictions.

Is It Soup Yet????

I'm making a big ole pot of home-made Vegetable Soup for dinner tonight....it has tomatoes, beef, mushrooms, onions, corn, green beans, kidney beans, a lil' bit of spinach(I didn't have any okra) and some spices in it......oh- and potatoes- can't have veggie soup without potatoes in it!!
I LOVE Autumn!!!!

Life Goes On.....................And Parrots.

I have a lot weighing on my mind today.

I have a friend who means a lot to me and has a couple of problems and has asked for advice. I'm mulling over possible solutions and I just don't see anything viable I can offer. I can't divulge the nature of the problem, but for all my problem solving abilities I see nothing but trouble in the future for this person. Wheels have been set in motion that have no brakes and it's breaking my heart to see this happen.

I wish I could make the world a perfect place for everyone. I wish I could take away all the hurt, and anger, and wrong that's being done. I wish I could erase all the pain and hunger, and loss that is occurring in the entire world......I know I can't- But I wish I could. Nothing would make me happier.

.....why are some people so susceptible to others opinions and views? They are so easily swayed by whoever's presence they are in at the moment. They can't form an opinion of their own, they go with peer pressure. And they seem to gather others like them who all just feed off each other....until in the end- no one says what's really on their mind- they are just parroting whatever they have heard others convey which was just parroted from someone else.

I just don't get it.

I miss snuggling with my sweetie........

Why?

Why do some people not use their brains?

Army Wives......

OMG!!!
Did y'all watch Army Wives last night??? Several cliffhangers for next season!!
And Drop Dead Diva's end was AWESOME as well!! Jane has a HUSBAND??????????

I'll be waiting impatiently for next seasons openers for sure!!

2012...And Other Nonsense.

Yeah- I plan on going to see the "End Of Time" movie 2012.

Paul often wonders why I have such a facination of these disaster movies......."The Day After Tomorrow", "EarthQuake", "Dante's Peak",. etc............sometimes I wonder, too. But I like to watch them. I love the special effects. I love the premise. I love to watch and see how man overcomes adversity. (Well, at least the ones who DO survive.) I sit and ask myself when given the choice to go with group A or Group B or to strike out on my own in that same situation, what would I have done. And then I usually get to see the outcome of my decisions.

It's entertainment.
It's a movie.

Sometimes I'm glad I don't have more university education than I got. I can't imagine analyzing every single movie I see for the rest of my life and I think Paul's film studies courses in university quite possibly has ruined his movie-going experiences for the rest of his life.

I don't sit around and analyze every little bit of the film for technical correctness or content.
I just enjoy the story.
Every nonsensical bit of it,- just for the sake of entertainment.

Only 75 Days Left..........

You know what I'm talking about!
I can start getting ready(as in decorating) in 61 days.

Just sayin'.

Rough Night

So I was thinking about how great the new toothpaste we had gotten was. How it lightened my teeth at least 3 shades the FIRST time I used it and how I should call Clay to tell him about it since he LOVES to drink his two gallons of tea a day and how quickly it can stain up your teeth.
I actually had the phone out and four of the seven numbers already dialed to his cellphone before it hit me that I couldn't.
It felt like someone had punched me in the chest. I couldn't breathe. I cried for the next three hours before I could get it together to do my work.
Sometimes it's the smallest things that hit me hardest.

Attention K-Mart Shoppers.....

We have a Blue Light Special on Aisle 123 and 441...........(actually that was Highways 123 and 441!!)


Oh What A Night......Early October here in 2009......What a Very Special Time For Me......As I remember, What a NIGHT!!!

(First, Four and a half hours at the doctors office with mostly good news for Paulius when we had finished.)

Then off on a lovely drive thru TN, NC & GA before returning home to SC......and being blue-lighted several times after dark on the way back, all because of a tiny little malfunctioning Tag-light!!....Only one little blue paper, tho- and it was only a Warning Ticket...NO FINE!!
That light will be fixed first thing in the morning.
Bet on it!!!

But for NOW..........Been up 34 hours ....am off to bed. Enough with the UNIFORMS today!!!!

Horse-Thief Harry

I heard a strange newscast today on the way to work... talking about an old author (I think it was Damon Runion) who had recently passed away and they read a passage from one of his books. In it someone was talking about a character called Horse-Thief Harry, nicknamed not because he was an actual horse-thief, but because everyone reckoned that IF the opportunity arose- he might actually steal a horse.

Man, am I ever glad THAT trend didn't catch on.... Getting a nickname not for what you have done- but what you might POSSIBLY do if the opportunity arose.

Can you imaging some of your OWN nicknames that might have come about?
*Shudders at the thought*.......

Stop Messing Around.....

...Little piece of advice for you...if you don't know what you're doing, don't be messing with the settings on your blog......at least not until you have a computer whiz sitting beside you so he..I mean THEY....They can fix it without yourself having to work at it an hour trying to figure out what the heck you were doing wrong before you figure out that you only forgot to hit the SAVE SETTINGS button when you were finished to put it back right.
(Yes- I talk with minimal punctuation too!)

What a BLOND!!!!!!

Over The River & Thru The Woods......Remember that Thanksgiving song?

Just a reminder since the holidays are on the way.......

Last year we had a big Halloween Costume party here at mine and Pauls home for the entire family- adults and kids alike.

Then, I made Thanksgiving dinner and had the whole family over. We had a big Pork Roast and lots of different dishes with just a FEW select things we usually have on T-Day.
The reason we had Pork instead of Turkey was because since coming over from England, my husband has done things by MY family's traditions. Traditional Turkey Dinner for Thanksgiving and then a Christmas Day Brunch with scrambled eggs, country ham, bacon, sausage, home-made biscuits, Hash brown casserole and orange danish rolls.*Sighs*
So last year, we had the Halloween party, then something totally different for Thanksgiving Dinner- and then, just for my darling husband, I made a full out Christmas Dinner with Roast Turkey, Baked Ham, Yorkshire Pudding, Mince Pies, PLUS all the regular favorites from our normal Thanksgiving Dinner. And we invited everyone over for Christmas Dinner as well.

Unfortunately, my darling husband was sick as the proverbial dog that day and so got to enjoy not an iota of the "specially made for him" Christmas dinner. We were BOTH devastated, to say the least.

The rest of the family felt bad for him, but they enjoyed the meal, nonetheless, all enjoying the change of the menus.
They were very verbal about it.

Paul and I had planned to be in England this year for the Christmas Holiday visiting with HIS family, (which due to my and his recent health issues and the car problems ,WON'T be happening this year), so when they were raving about how great the get togethers had been, I told them I was GLAD they had enjoyed them so much, because since Paul and I were planning on being with his family for Christmas in 2009- I was going take a break and let THEM do the Thanksgiving Dinner next year.
The looks I got was "Deer In The Headlamps".
Priceless.
And it's now 2009...THE Year!!!

Now I will, probably, be bringing a dish or two to the dinner(I understand some things only mama can make or it's just not right)....but I was serious about letting them plan it and cook it this year. I'm looking forward to seeing what new ideas(or old ones) they bring into or incorporate into the mix. I think they are, not scared to death, but nervous about it....but they can do it...I have faith.

(So, my children, just a reminder......in case you have forgotten.... Basic things you need to plan are...
Where it will be, who will cook what, and who's invited.
It's not gonna be that hard with all six of you involved.
I Love you. Good Luck. I have faith in you........ And I am looking forward to it!!)

The Simple Things In Life.......

How can grown men who are otherwise sensible, mature adults sit around watching fart videos and giggling like schoolgirls?

And why does sitting here watching them get such a kick out of such simple-minded humor give me so much pleasure?

It's one of the great mysteries of Life, I tell you.