Monday, October 29, 2007

Are you ready for NaBloPoMO?

It's coming! I did it last year. I still don't know how since I had just started blogging and didn't have a clue what I was doing. No that I have become skilled at this blogging stuff since then. But I eventually realized there is no right or wrong, it's my blog, I can write what I want- so there.

Anyway, last week I tried to sign-up and for whatever reason I couldn't. I don't even remember know what I couldn't get to work. But this weekend my friend and blog mentor over from The Mind Wobbles came over and helped me register and get the button that you see on the side there. She also taught me a couple of other tricks that I will use in the very near future. Plus she showed me how to Bold and Italicize something at the same time. So bring on those memes with those complicated instructions. I can handle it now. See? Cool! I actually remembered and it worked! Yeah for me! and THANKS Hilda!

Tune in daily starting on Thursday!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Is Mercury in retrograde???

It must be or some other planet necessary for my cosmic alignment is out of sync. Things have been a little nutty lately. Nothing major just lots of little things.
Wednesday nuttiness:
I drop off my prescription in the evening, they tell me it will be ready in the morning. Fine. I go back in the morning to find out that its' something special and they have to get it from .... come back in the afternoon. Bottom line, it took 2 days for me to get the friggin eye drops! I forgot my lunch, forgot the angel pin that I wear to my sons' football games, computers have not been very nice to me either. I try to do something simple at the office like make a lousy copy and the copier says OVERHEAT. Gimme a break!

Thursday nuttiness:
We hurry to the bank after work because we also have to grab some groceries before getting home. I had forgotten my checkbook so they have to look up the account so I can make my deposit which HAS to get in because it was my paycheck from last week that I hadn't been able to deposit and NEED to deposit. Fine. Get to the grocery store, they don't have the frozen garlic bread we normally buy, they don't have lean ground beef we buy substitutes. Fine. I get home and 17 is working on college applications and frustrated because he just got his SAT scores and wasn't happy with the results. The few groceries are on unloaded on the counter as he calls me over to help him with a couple of questions and talk. Now if you have kids, especially boys, or maybe its just my boy but you don't blow off a request to talk. I sat there for 40 minutes answering his questions and giving SOLICITED advice to get eye rolling, shoulder shrugging and be told that I didn't know what I was saying. So, why did he ask? (%*&(#%^&* Whatever. Fine. I try to get to my room to change my clothes and use the restroom when I get stopped at 15's door. Ma I have a cross country meet tomorrow, its all day, its at --- park, you have to get me there at 8am but I don't run until 10. The logistics of this are killer! and I won't be able to go because I can't take the entire day off of work right now if its really not an emergency, we are swamped. UGH! Fine. We'll figure it out. I finally make it to the bathroom. Ah the relief... and then MOOOOOMMMM, do you know where the recommendation letter is from Father D? Now, I ask you, is it MY letter, was it given to me? No and no. and then MOM, I need this washed for the race tomorrow. I loving yell back, Can you let me finish peeing! PULEEZE! I quickly finish up and change, tell 15 to load up the washing machine, tell 17 look on your desk it has to be there as I make my way to the kitchen to put away the groceries that have been on the counter for over an hour and get dinner started while hubby is on the phone with the insurance company because he bumped a Mercedes on the expressway on the way home that I'm sure will cost us a fortune. MOOOMMMmmm the printers not working! I stick my head in the door and say add paper. Voila! it works, imagine the ingenuity! Did you find the letter? No, you have it mom, I gave it to you. Fine. I head to his room. Scan all the surfaces including the largest one, the floor, I spot an beige envelope on the floor on top of an Economics book, pick it up and hand it to him. Gee thanks, I told you you had it. It was on the floor in your room. Oh, ah, thanks. Can you please make a copy before you send it out so we have some here. I head back to the kitchen. I see hubby walking all over the house and discover he has lost his keys as we hear MOOOOmmmm the copy is coming out red. I walk over and open the printer/copier and shake the black ink cartridge and put it back as we hear a crash, hubby opened the door to the utility closet to put a screwdriver away and well, think: Fred Flintstone's closet. I head back to the kitchen laughing because my pasta is boiling over. I don't want to say out loud, What else can happen? because my brain knows that quite a bit could actually happen and I'm not really up for it. Eventually we do sit down to dinner, figure out the logistics for the next day yadda yadda yadda.
Such a happy peaceful place, my home. I am blessed but gimme just a little more patience, please. :)

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Halloween Horror

I realize you haven't been getting much from me lately. I've been really busy and I need to organize myself a little better.

So, here's just a quickie to tie you over. I went to Universal's Halloween Horror this past weekend. I had never been. My boys had both gone last year. It was a hoot. I didn't trail my boys in fact, I saw them only periodically over the entire weekend but that's another story.

I'll tell you about the Horror event itself. It's really something. They go all out. The decorations (that doesn't sound right because when I think decorations I think pretty and this was gory) were well done. They have themed haunted houses that you walk through and are decorated to represent the theme and also very well done. I went through 2. One was Vampire themed and the other Texas Chain Saw.

The vampire had assorted vampires feeding or preparing to feed on their victims. So there were people (think: villagers) in cages (think: large bird cage) and some chained to whatever, some alive, others "dead" with the vampire looming over them dripping blood. Then as you turn different corners vampires would jump out and scare the bejeebuz out of you. In the "kitchen" there were headless bodies hanging from the ceiling that you actually had to move to walk through. It was gross because the rubbery bodies felt cold an slightly slimy- GROSS!

I thought the Chain Saw one was better mainly because I don't like vampires. We walked through a house that looked like it had been destroyed by people trying to escape the Chain Saw guy. So, you can imagine. There were doors that someone (Think: granny and teenage Susy) would open and scream as they were trying to escape the path of their assailant. Then when you think its over because you are outside behind the house, there are clothes lines with white bed sheets hanging to dry that are sprayed with "blood". As you nonchalantly walk through this behind some of those sheets is the Chain Saw man who jumps at you starting up the chain saw. Not for the faint of heart. I think my scream could be heard all the way back to Miami.

As you walk around the park there are various scary characters walking amongst the crowd that walk next to you and scare you. Again the costumes and makeup are excellent.

Now, mind you none of these people can touch you. Once I knew this all was good. The only way to be scared is the surprise of people popping out of places and the yuckiness of something that looks gross or gory but obviously its all fake and you know this so its more of an Ewwww thing for me.

Overall I had a blast. There were lots of people, endless lines etc. but I'm glad i went. It is now crossed off my list to things to do before I die (I wrote it in when we decided to go so that I could cross it off since it really wasn't on THE list). Next year we will probably go back to make sure that the boys arrive alive but I think I'll spend the cash at a nice dinner at City Walk and treat myself to the Spa at the hotel which looked awesome!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Long Movie Meme

I took this from from The Mind Wobbles. You're supposed to simply count the number of these films that you've actually seen; if you score more than 85 then you are declared "lacking in life."

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show - Innumerable times. I used to be able to sing along and talk back to the screen etc.
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
( ) Fight Club
(x) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story - Yes, many moons ago and I don't remember much.
() Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
( ) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
() Labyrinth
() Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
() Scream
( ) Scream 2
( ) Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4 -OMG, there are 4 of these!
() American Pie
( ) American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
(x) Harry Potter 1

( ) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3
( ) Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
() Resident Evil 2
( ) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
(x) Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
( ) Robots
(X ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
( ) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
(X) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
( ) Never Been Kissed
(X) Meet The Parents
(X) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
(X) King Kong - I saw the original
( ) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( ) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
( ) Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
() Halloween
() The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
(X) Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
(X) Chicago

() Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
( ) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
() Nightmare on Elm Street

(x) Sixteen Candles - My childhood, but so UNLIKE my childhood.
(X) Remember the Titans
(X) Coach Carter
() The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(X) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
(X) Bad Boys
(X) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven - Both the original and the remake
(X) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremacy
( ) Lone Star
( ) Bedazzled
() Predator I
( ) Predator II
() The Fog
( ) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(x) Independence Day
() Cujo
(X) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
() Christine
(x) ET

() Children of the Corn
( ) My Boss's Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(X) Rush Hour
(X) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
(X) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She's All That
(X) Calendar Girls

(X) Sideways
() Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
( ) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump

() Big Trouble in Little China -
(x) The Terminator -
( ) The Terminator 2
( ) The Terminator 3
(x) X-Men
(x) X-2

( ) X-3

(x) Spider-Man -

(X) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(X) Catch Me If You Can
(X) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday -
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
( ) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek -
(X) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street - Both the original and the remake

( ) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
(x The 40-year-old Virgin
(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
() Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
() Lord of the Rings Return Of the King

(X) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

(X) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(X) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Basketball
( ) Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(X) Elf
( ) Highlander
(X) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Nightwatch
(X ) Monsters Inc.
(X ) Titanic
() Monty Python and the Holy Grail
() Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
(x) Dawn Of the Dead -

(X) Hook
() Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
() 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
() Phantasm
( ) Waterworld
(X) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
() The Hills Have Eyes

() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
() Army of Darkness
(X) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
() Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
() Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
() Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope

(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor
(x) The Matrix
(X) The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
() Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal
GRAND TOTAL = 95 or maybe 97, if you count the ones I've seen the original and the remake. So, I guess I have no life by definition of this meme. But I loves my movies!

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Meme

I stole this meme from The Mind Wobbles who got it from.....(you know the rest)

1. Who is your man?
Hubby (not putting his name out on the blog)
2. How long have you been together?
I have known him since I was 9 years old.
3. How long did you date?
We dated for 3 years, enganged for 1, married for 20 years as of yesterday!
4. How old is your man?
44
5. Who eats more?
I do but he eats more junk.
6. Who said "I love you" first?
I don't remember.
7. Who is taller?
He is.
8. Who sings better?
I don't think either of us sings well but he thinks he does.
9. Who is smarter?
When it comes to facts and figures, he is. When it comes to street smart and everyday useful things, me.
10. Whose temper is worse?
Define worse: Mine makes more appearances but his is more full blown. I'm like daily rain showers, he's a flood that rearely happens but when it does, run for cover.
11. Who does the laundry?
We do. But mostly I wash/dry and he folds while watching TV.
12. Who takes out the garbage?
He does
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?
Laying on the bed, he does
14. Who pays the bills?
We each pay different bills.
15. Who is better with the computer?
Moi.
16. Who mows the lawn?
Mike, the lawn guy.
17. Who cooks dinner?
I do. He mostly reheats, drives thru or orders.
18. Who drives when you are together?
He does and I mostly close my eyes or read because I don't like the way he drives.
19. Who pays when you go out?
I read the bill because he can't see it and then he pays.
20. Who is most stubborn?
I insist that I am not stubborn but he would insist otherwise. Honestly, I would say it's a toss up but I obviously give in more.
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong?
Moi! A pet peeve of mine...he rarely apologizes.
22. Whose parents do you see the most?
His
23. Who kissed who first?
I tried to kiss him and he turned me down. Later, months later he kissed me.
24. Who asked who out?
He asked me.
25. Who proposed?
He did but I had given him an ultimatum and a deadline.
26. Who is more sensitive?
MOI! for sure!
27. Who has more friends?
I guess I do, though after 20 years we share most friends
28. Who has more siblings?
Even. He has one sister, I have one brother.
29. Who wears the pants in the family?
I wear pants almost everyday. LOL! I wish it were more 50/50 but I would say me, although sometimes I go through the motions of letting him think it's him. But most of the time I don't think he's interested.

Let me know in my comments if you decide to do this one too so I can learn about YOUR man!

Monday, October 15, 2007

Book Meme

I got this from The Mind Wobbles of course she got it from other blogs and so on. Here are the directions:
These are the top 106 books most often marked as “unread” by Library Thing's users, as of some day, we aren't sure.
Here are the instructions that I got with the meme: Bold- what you have read, italicise-what you started but couldn’t finish, strike through what you couldn't stand, Add an asterisk* - to those you’ve read more than once, Underline those on your to-read list.
Since I don't know how to underline in the blog world and since I can't seem to strike through and bold, here's what I'm going to do:

Bold- What I've read
Italicise- what I couldn't finish
*- what I read more than once
Write TBR- for those I have on my To Be Read List
Write comments for those I hated or whatever


Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Anna Karenina - TBR

Crime and Punishment

Catch-22

One Hundred Years of Solitude -TBR

Wuthering Heights

The Silmarillion

Life of Pi: A Novel

The Name of the Rose

Don Quixote - TBR

Moby Dick

Ulysses

Madame Bovary

The Odyssey

Pride and Prejudice* - My favorite book of all time. I have also seem many different screen version and read different incarnations and sequels to it. LOVE IT and everything about it.

Jane Eyre

A Tale of Two Cities - Don't remember it much. We did the play in 8th grade. I don't even remember what part I had just that I was in it.

The Brothers Karamazov - I can see how in it's time period this was probably very controversial and ultra topical but when I read it, it was just downright boring. I would say pass on this unless you are studying the time period or Russian lit.


Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

War and Peace

Vanity Fair - TBR

The Time Traveler’s Wife - TBR


The Iliad

Emma

The Blind Assassin

The Kite Runner - LOVED IT.

Mrs. Dalloway - TBR

Great Expectations - TBR

American Gods

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

Atlas Shrugged - I am thinking I should probably read this as it appears on every book list I have ever looked at but I've looked at it and it's not doing it for me.

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books

Memoirs of a Geisha - I saw the movie, not sure I can read the book now.

Middlesex - TBR

Quicksilver

Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

The Canterbury Tales

The Historian : A Novel

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Love in the Time of Cholera - TBR

Brave New World

The Fountainhead

Foucault’s Pendulum - TBR

Middlemarch - TBR

Frankenstein -I was pleasantly surprised that I like this. I thought it was going to be all sci-fi and yucky. It wasn't. I thought the writing was excellent. It's told as a story of a story of a story. I don't remember how many levels, 3 or 4 maybe. Very well done. I didn't loose the thread even once.

The Count of Monte Cristo - This is supposed to be really good reading and I may even own it because I think 17 may have had to read it. I need to look around for it and maybe add it to my piles if we own it.

Dracula

A Clockwork Orange

The Once and Future King

The Grapes of Wrath

The Poisonwood Bible : A Novel

1984

Angels & Demons

The Inferno

The Satanic Verses - TBR

Sense and Sensibility

The Picture of Dorian Gray - TBR

Mansfield Park

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

To the Lighthouse - This was hard to read. Some of the scenes where she writes as if she in everyone's head at the same time- amazing but oh so hard to read.

Tess of the D’Urbervilles - TBR

Oliver Twist

Gulliver’s Travels

Les Misérables - TBR

The Corrections

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Dune

The Prince

The Sound and the Fury

Angela’s Ashes : A Memoir

The God of Small Things

A People’s History of the United States : 1492-present

Cryptonomicon

Neverwhere

A Confederacy of Dunces

A Short History of Nearly Everything

Dubliners

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

Beloved -TBR

Slaughterhouse-Five

The Scarlet Letter - TBR

Eats, Shoots & Leaves

The Mists of Avalon

Oryx and Crake : A Novel

Collapse : How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Cloud Atlas

The Confusion

Lolita

Persuasion

Northanger Abbey

Catcher in the Rye

On the Road - TBR

The Hunchback of Notre Dame - TBR

Freakonomics : a Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values

The Aeneid

Watership Down - TBR

Gravity’s Rainbow

The Hobbit - I HATED THIS BOOK. I read it in 7th grade. I gave it another chance as an adult because it's so acclaimed. Still hated it. I can objectively appreciate the writing style but it's not my cup of tea.

In Cold Blood : A True Account of a Multiple Murder and Its Consequences - I also saw the movie. One of the few movies that did justice to the book. Both were eerie.

White Teeth - I've never even heard of this.

Treasure Island

David Copperfield

The Three Musketeers

If you participate, please let me know in my comments.



I've read 26 out of 106, that's like 25%. I'm not very impressed with that. I've marked 9 as TBR. I wonder if I can get one or 2 of those in before the end of the year.








Friday, October 12, 2007

Looking back and ahead

So what else happened this week? Hmmmm, here ya go:

* Status on reducing the double-wide.I stopped buying breakfast at Starbucks. I haven't had any ice cream. I am drinking way more water. I made Jello to have as dessert on the nights when I just need a little something else. I have had salad as a side at every single dinner. I didn't eat any french fries the 2 nights I made them this week. Yeah, me!

* I got my hair but last weekend. I forgot to tell you. It was just a trim. I have it on the short side now so that it gets curly. They are big curls. It's better that just hanging straight down.

* The manager of my GM's ALF called that they were shutting down and were trying to find her a new place but that she was refusing to go. Mind you I was updated that she had moved twice since June and not told me. Granted they were houses owned by the same owner as he was downsizing trying to hold on to a house or 2 but now they are shutting down. When I told her that I had no idea because I hadn't been able to speak to her since the beginning of the summer, she was shocked because GM had told her that we speak every week. She lied. Big surprise there.

* You know those little strips they advertise to put on your nose to stop snoring. They look like butterfly band-aids. Well, THEY WORK! If you have a snorer that wakes you up, RUN don't walk to the nearest store and buy some. You need to understand I have lots of sleep issues. I don't sleep well as it is and hubby's snoring doesn't help. He snores so loud that it jolts me awake. I try to get him to roll over but he doesn't then it takes me forever to fall asleep again and repeat cycle. I think I may have to buy stock in the company because we will be buying it in bulk. He has been wearing the strips for 3 nights and OMG if he's snoring, I don't hear him. It's a godsend! Who woulda thunk it!

* I ordered more online stuff. Some scrapbook papers and a necklace. Actually I ordered a couple because I think it would make a great Xmas gift and it was on sale. I need to start thinking about Christmas cards. I was thinking about making them this year since I'm scrapping now, I should be able to make the cards. We'll see.


Weekend plans: (in no particular order)
Visit GM, now that I know where she is and take her some of her favs: chocolate covered cherries, shortbread cookies etc.
Mail some packages to a few people.
Make some color copies of newspaper articles for the football scrapbooks.
Get my mammos grammed on Saturday.
Go to son's football game Saturday night.
Clean kid's bathroom.
Go to dinner with my culinary girlfriends on Sunday!

Have a good one everyone! TGIF!

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Breakfast of champions - NOT!

Monday I had an upper GI done. I don't wish this on anyone. Here's my story.

I'm the first appt. so this should go fast and easy. That was the only good part of the adventure. After donning the lovely hospital gown in the season's new fashion colors of white with blue dots, I follow Nurse Lovely to a room and remind her like I have told the other 72 people I spoke to before that I am allergic to Sulfur. Is this going to be ok? I don't know how I react, I have been told I am allergic to it since I was a kid. Neither she nor her boss who was eavesdropping have EVER heard of anyone having a reaction to this and well, if anything happens, I am in the hospital. On that note, I am served an Alka-Selter type liquid and told to down it like a shot. It will make me gassy but I am not to burp. Right. Fine. I chug it and momentarily proceed to expel gas from the other end. She said not to burp. I didn't. What's a girl gonna do? Run out of the room?

I had to stand on a platform I barely fit on holding a Styrofoam cup of a lovely vintage of chalky barium sulfate ready to drink some when she says go so that they can photograph it going down. Oh, yeah and I had to take off my glasses and so went the sense of balance with them over to the counter with the remainder of my breakfast of champions.

As the platform I was standing on started to move to the right I let out a scream. It was more like a yelp, and grabbed on to the contraption in front of me with my free hand - that was moving too. Although I can't see Nurse Lovely, I hear her explain that she needed to line me up for the x-ray. I raise my glass and tell her no problem go ahead. She then yells DRINK. I take a swig and have to hold it in my mouth until she yells swallow. Half an eternity later she yells SWALLOW. I gladly do to get that out of my mouth. I honestly feel like a an drinking liquid chalk. After a few more shots and turn this way and that. She comes over to take the cup from me (YEAH, I'm done) and tells me the table (that's what I was standing in front of) is going to go down. She hands me a pillow and instructs me to hold it so I don't hit my head. Don't hit my head? How am I going to hit my he-plunk! oh, that's where you wanted the pillow, so I wouldn't hit my head. I get it now. Now I am laying on the table and she tells me to roll over on my stomach. I do and proceed to pass more gas-logical if you ask me. I stuff my face into the pillow. she then hand me another cup of watered down chalk with a straw and tell me that when she yells DRINK I am to start drinking this stuff continuously so that can film it's progress. And now, roll a bit to the side, and repeat, and the other side, repeat.

Sit and wait for them to review the film. I just take some deep breaths and ask for water but I can't have any yet. Fine. I'll just sit here and breathe and pray thankful that I survived and that it really be over. Nurse Lovely comes out all bubbly and says the pictures are great (don't think they'll make my scrapbook) and I can go now. I have to drink plenty of water today because otherwise this stuff will harden in my intestines and block things up. More good news. YEAH. I ask her for my glasses, tell her I'm lightheaded and may I have some juice. She comes back with a bottle of water. I touch my face to make sure the glasses are on as I stare at the bottle and repeat, May I please have some juice, I really feel lightheaded. She doesn't have any. I audibly groan and think, We are in a friggin hospital! There are no little juices?! Fine. I will just sit here and breathe. She needs me to leave to bring in the next patient. Ahh...hello...need a little help here, I don't think I can make it back to my clothes on my own. Studly Aide to the rescue. When we get to the locker room he asks if I'm ok. Ahhh, someone cares. I a bit woozy. He disappears and comes back with a Coke. I smile at him as I start chugging it. Now, I haven't had a Coke in about a year and this tastes like liquid heaven. My eyes water as Studly tells me he will be back to help me downstairs after I change. He comes back and I'm still sitting where he left me. How long was he gone? I need more time? Lady, do you need help? I look around. It's just me I guess I'm the lady. I sure don't feel like one. He opens the locker and puts my clothes on the bench and disappears again. I pick up my pants and stick one foot in. Nurse Petite comes in. She has the coldest hands on the planet and puts one on each cheek and stares into my eyes and flashes something in them. How'd she do that if she was holding my face- WOW! They are talking to me now but too fast for me to understand and there are 2 of them and only one of me. They give me a shot and lay me down. OMG! What's are they going to do now? I don't care. I fall asleep. I wake up and see my clothes on the bench so I get dressed. I feel a little lightheaded and thirsty. Studly comes in all happy to see me awake. I've never seen anyone react like that to a GI! Like what? It's like you were high or something. We gave you a shot of blah blah blah and blah blah. When he stopped blahing I told him to please tell Nurse Lovely and her boss since apparently this never happens to anyone. He laughs (he really has a pretty face too) and as we walk to the elevator he tells me, you know you asked me to marry you, then said never mind you had a husband then you told me that you'd name you firstborn after me and then said never mind you already had kids. Then apparently I suggested that he name his firstborn after me. He said all this laughing so I did too. For goodness sake I could be his mother! Well, at least I have good taste I tell him as we make our way to a coffee shop. He tells me this is one that he'll be talking about for years. GREAT. He leaves me there, feeling embarrassed but ok. I have some coffee and juice. Sit quietly and drink it all up, call my office to have someone come pick me up and spend the rest of the day a little foggy but ok.
I survived and now I know what my allergy to Sulfur is like. Gimme patience.

Monday, October 08, 2007

What Ice Cream are you?




You Are Rocky Road Ice Cream



Unpredictable and wild, you know how to have fun.

You're also a trendsetter who takes risks with new things.

You know about the latest and greatest - and may have invented it!



You are most compatible with vanilla ice cream.

Does it beat all that Rocky Road is my all time favorite ice cream flavor. When I was a kid they actually made it with mini marshmallows. Now, I only find it with marshmallow cream which is tooo sweet!

Friday, October 05, 2007

Week in review

Here's a look back and things that happened that I haven't mentioned...

* One of the things I decided after the trip was to seriously trim down this double wide body of mine. I'm no radical here. I didn't run out and join a gym or buy any exercise equipment. Why, you may ask. Quite frankly because I've done those things before and failed miserably each time. Now you need to understand I have done every diet there is. I have the knowledge, I know how to loose weight. It's quite simple: take in less calories than you burn. The problem here is will power. So, I decided. I'm gonna do it. I'll start slow, making simple lifestyle changes. First, let's start drinking the water I'm supposed to be drinking. Sounds easy enough. I can do that. Second, stop going to Starbucks and getting a latte and a donut for breakfast. Just have coffee in the office. Again, easy. Bonus here is I'll save $ too. I can do this. SO, Tuesday when hubby goes to the grocery store to buy Milk and cold cuts for the kids. I tell him bring home a surprise, something good. I do this all the time and he usually brings me back whatever veggie or fruit is on sale. A few weeks ago he brought back a beautiful eggplant and more recently a pack of zucchini- delish! So, he came home all excited. Look, I brought home something yummy and he pulls out a quart of Hagen Das Butter Pecan ice cream. We can eat it while we watch TV later! - I guess we're keeping the double wide this week!

* 15 got a brochure from Northwestern University. He got himself on their mailing list because he fell in love with the school 2 years ago when we visited Chicago and he wants to study Journalism and Broadcasting and found out they were famous for it. The kicker here isn't that he GOT the brochure, 17 gets tons of them. The kicker is he read it from cover to cover, he came out of his room explaining to us out of touch parents that he could double major, that they have work internships with out local newspapers, that they have mentor programs etc. I just sat there dumbfounded at the table while he told me all about it. I have a child who is researching, interested in and motivated all by himself to going to college. WOW! I just took in the moment and sent up a little prayer to raise his grades so that he actually have a shot at getting into the school.

* The vacuum cleaner died. It just stopped in mid-vacuum. There is only carpeting in one room but I have, I mean had one of those floor/carpet vacuums and instead of sweeping and having to pick up the dust, I vacuum the floor. I had to sweep this week- oh the agony!

* I have been ordering things online and all the boxes have been coming in. I've ordered scrapbook supplies and clothes. There was a reason I didn't order clothes online before, now I have to return half of it. It didn't fit right or I didn't like the color- it didn't look that bright on the computer. Returning the stuff is a pain in the butt!

*We have a football game tonight and we supposed to beat the pants off of this team. With any luck 17 should play well and make some fabulous plays and have something for the highlight film he has to make for Furman U. My in-laws are coming to my house so that we can drive them to the game. It should be fun.

*I balanced my checkbook. This may be normal and customary for your checkbook but for mine it was a treat. I have never spent so much time with it. I actually discovered that I had too much money. Can that be for real? But then I realized that I owed someone some $ that I hadn't paid them and poof! there it went. Ahhh, there's the low balance I know and love. The world is right again.

*I have been trying to post on blogs that I read and not be a lurker. I'm not good at that and want to do better. I will keep working on this.

So that was my week. The weekend is pretty packed but if I tell you about that now, then what will I blog about on Monday? So, I will keep you in suspense. HINT: There is a pile on the floor in front of a machine.

Wednesday, October 03, 2007

Things I learned...

Things I learned on my weekend trip...

* I LOVE to travel. Ok, I didn't learn that cuz I already knew that. I love everything about travelling. The packing, the plane, the car rental, the hotel, driving around looking for places to eat, seeing what your gonna see. ALL OF IT! I need to travel more!

* I need to loose weight. Ok, I didn't learn that either, I knew that. I mean I know I'm heavy. Fine. I'll say it. I'm fat- very fat. But OMG! the bathroom in my hotel had a mirror on the back of the door. Not a good place because you see yourself sitting on the toilet- not very flattering. And OMG! I'm enormous! Again, I know I'm fat, I realize what size clothes I'm buying. But that mirror made me realize we need to put a stop to this. Enough already.

* I wish I was the one going to college and not my son. Ok, I didn't learn that either. I knew that. That thought comes up every time a brochure comes to the house which is daily. Ahh, youth is wasted on the young!

* I miss the 4 Seasons. Ok, I didn't learn that either. I've been saying it for years. I'm a transplant here in Miami and I miss the weather changes, the changing of leaves, the snow, the fireplaces, sweaters, hot cocoa, Indian summers. Even though I have now been in Miami more than half my life, it still feels like something is missing. It feels like one looong a$$ summer!

* My son needs a scholarship or he's going to a state school. Ok, technically, I didn't learn that either. We've been looking at colleges for a while and DANG if they aren't expensive. Honestly, 40k a year! and you are supposed to go for 4 years! Thank goodness for the Florida Prepaid plan that fixed the tuition for the state universities.

* It's nice having one on one time with 17. Fine, so I knew that too. We all had a good time. We had some good laughs and some good talks. I think we made some nice memories for him of just the 3 of together enjoying ourselves. We met up with another family and had a nice time with them too. We all exchanged funny travel stories. I bothered her son, she bothered mine- all good-natured fun. Many Kodak moments. A lot of togetherness, fun and silliness before he goes away. The irony is not lost on me.

OK, already! I didn't really learn much this weekend. But all of that came to a head in less than a 24 hour period. So, it was little brain overload there with all those different emotions coming together. This whole college thing is exciting and nerve racking and I'm not the one going. Well, what will be will be....

Monday, October 01, 2007

Was it a long weekend?

It sure felt like it. Friday was 17's homecoming dance, we packed, we washed, we were up at 5am to catch an 8:30 flight to Charlotte, NC, to rent a car, to drive 2 hours to Greenville, SC, to get to Furman University, to watch a video of the school, listen to the coaches, get a quick walking tour, eat dinner there, to go to the football warm-ups before the game, watch the game, go down field after the game, talk with players, talk with coaches, then go to a local sports bar to munch and watch the Gators game, to head back to the hotel for a few winks to get up at 8am for the hotel buffet breakfast and 2 hour drive back to Charlotte and flight back to Miami, to wash clothes and have dinner and crash onto my pillow.
Lots more to come about all of this. It was a great weekend jam packed but I'm tired.