Last Day!

I had a very enjoyable birthday yesterday. My daughter came over and cooked the most fabulous stuffed shells with spinach. I'm sitting here at 345am eating leftovers as I type. There were bread sticks and spring green salad with blueberries, pistachios, cranberries, tossed in a sweet red wine vinaigrette. For dessert she/I made an orange dreamcicle pie. I might not have had cake, but I sure had some pie! I'm not a big alcohol drinker so she brought sparkling grape something or other and sparkling cider. It was yummy and bubbly. She seriously went all out. Since my daughter was in my kitchen cooking, I'll be spending the next few days cleaning in there. (Ha! Kidding... mostly) We had such a good time with lots of laughs. She went through the photo albums I recently rescued and she took lots of photos with her new camera that Santa got her. I demanded that she share them, so I will upload them when I get them.

A friend of mine came over a little later and after K left we spent the rest of the evening relaxing and talking and listening to some music. Now it's almost 4am and I think I'm finally done with the day. Tomorrow I take down the tree as a 41 year old...

Here is my very first ever picture montage of my favorite photos that I took in 2008. Some pictures you may have already seen. When I learn more about my new digital video camera that Santa brought me, I'll start uploading those as well. Happy New Year reader... Happy New Year...

Happy Birthday To Me!

So far today I have had...

Several birthday wishes from work.

A couple of birthday phone calls.

A birthday drive home from work.

My birthday coffee that I'm drinking now.

A birthday poo.

Later today I will have...

A birthday nap.

A birthday dinner made by my daughter.

A birthday diet Pepsi.

Probably another birthday poo.

A birthday shower.

Today I will not have...

Birthday alcohol.

Birthday cake.

Birthday ice cream.

A birthday party.

Birthday sex... But if you are male, single, rich, good looking, independent, secure with yourself, no debt, romantic, honest and funny, we can talk.

Reasons Not To Take Down The Tree

Third and very popular new watering hole for the kittehs.

It's so shiny and sparkly.

Years of demanding our family tree be left up until AFTER my birthday still linger in my head.

Still haven't figured out where I want to move everything after it's gone.

I'll do it tomorrow.

The thought of cutting it up disturbs me.

The thought of any physical activity disturbs me.

Seriously, I'll do it tomorrow.

Probably won't do it tomorrow.

Rescued Treasure

A friend of mine and I ventured into the depths of my garage Friday afternoon. We had gone in search of an item and in the process of digging through masses of crap, I discovered a box containing my photo albums. Since I had someone with strong man arms with me, I requested the box be incorporated into the main residence. You see... the floor of my garage is sand and gravel and the moisture control is non-existent in there. They needed to come in before they got ruined. When the someone with strong man arms picked up the box, everything in said box fell through the mold encrusted bottom. I was crushed.

We brought the albums in and I assessed the damage. The pictures in the albums are fine. The covers of the albums are shot and I'll need to replace those, but the pages and pictures inside are fine. My daughter's senior pictures were not so lucky. They are not complete ruined and I think if I would have waited any longer it would have been a total loss.

I scanned them into my computer yesterday and because she is so beautiful, I feel I must share them with you. It was the fist time using my scanner and there is a blue line that runs down them that I'm not real happy about. The one or two that don't have a line are those that I've retouched so far. I will eventually go in and try and repair the mold damage that showed up in the scans. It's tedious, though, and is going to take some time. Plus the quality of the scans are not what I would like.

My beautiful daughter who is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside:

Christmas Aftermath

The food has been consumed, the presents opened, hugs and wishes given and taken... another Christmas has come and gone.

I hope your day was as good as mine.

Soon the decorations will come down, the tree will go out and all traces of the holiday season will dissappear until next year.

I hope your day was at least half as good as mine.

Today we get to play with our new toys, eat leftovers and reflect on yesterday.

There really is no way you had a better day than mine.

I took a total of 0 photos yesterday. I am very disappointed in myself. But I had a most fantastic day...

Merry Christmas

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it's Christmas morning already. I wish I had a child's perception of time. I wish I could one year say, "Christmas will NEVER get here!" Instead I wake up and think, "Crap... already here."

Christmas is odd when you live by yourself after growing up with brothers, and then having children and doing that for so many years. It has become something more than just a reason to buy someone a gift. It is a special time for me because I get to sit and relax with my family and not have to worry that someone has to go to work, or has something else they need to do.

My last few Christmas's haven't been that great. The family time is always great, don't get me wrong... but for someone who loves Christmas as I always have, the last few have been touched with a sadness and some sicknesses that pretty much put a damper on the whole holiday experience. Last year I didn't even put up a tree. This year, though, I was determined to try and get some of that Spirit back and I believe I have been quite successful. I made myself buy a real tree. I shopped for presents. (online shopping counts, right?) I bought a few Christmas decorations to add to my growing collection. I forced myself into the season. But I'm glad I did. Christmas is a lot more special when one involves oneself in the season.

My wish for you reader is that you keep your holiday Spirit, or you find it. Doesn't matter why you celebrate the day... lots of people celebrate for lots of different reasons. Whatever your reasons to celebrate today, do so with the abandonment of a child. You will be glad that you did.

I love all of you that visit me here... I don't think I mention that enough. You give me a reason to sit down and express myself, even if that expressing becomes boring and tedious, even for me. I can't thank you enough for that.

Peace. Love. Joy. Tis the Season... Merry Christmas!

Present Wrapping

Looks as if I will doing my Xmas wrapping Wednesday night. No reason except that I'm a procrastinator. So if you have nothing better to do on Christmas Eve you are welcome to stop by the Kitty Cam and watch as I challenge 4 cats to a wrapping challenge. Since no one suggested any times, I'm going to shoot for 9pm. I've got family time from about 4:30pm till about 7 but should be done in plenty of time. I'll be sure to have my sound on so you can hear me say "STOP IT" a million and a half times, along with the sounds of ripping paper. Who knows? It may not be that bad at all.

Released From Tyranny

That thing on my face finally fell off... with minimal help from me. A nice scar has been left in it's place. I don't mind scars, though. At least you can use make up to cover those up. Hard to put make up on something that protrudes unnaturally from the face. For anyone who happens to suffer from these things, once it quits being a fever blister and just becomes a sore, Neosporin + Pain Relief is your friend.

Like my face, my voice is also almost back to normal.

I feel human once again.

Happy Winter Solstice / Merry Yule

Welcome to the shortest day of the year... hope you got up early to enjoy the limited sunlight today.

Let us rejoice in the knowledge that today the Sun is reborn and will now begin it's journey towards the Summer Solstice. The promise of warmer days is made today... even though it's only 20 degrees right now and my toes have frostbite.

Throw your Yule log on the fire this evening, drink some hot cocoa, snuggle with a loved one, take a break, enjoy the moment...

Early Morning Surfing

Curious as to what other people are streaming compared to what I've been streaming, in terms of boring vs. entertainment, I have found I am right on track with others who have their pets online for the world to see. Plus I found a lot of stuff I was surprised to see people streaming. One person had a camera pointed at their baby sleeping.

My USB extension cord arrived day before yesterday. I haven't had a chance to place it other than where it is now, but I plan on switching angles from time to time just to mix things up a bit.

Which do you prefer? When you click on Kitty Cam, do you prefer where the link takes you now, which is the social page of Kitty Cam on UStream.TV, or would you prefer to have a window pop up with just the video without all the crap? Go vote up there and let me know.

Present wrapping session sometime next week! Be sure to watch the chaos as I try to wrap presents with 4 cats! No one has commented or left me an email to let me know what days or times are good for them, so... Since I am such a procrastinator, it's either going to be Tuesday or Wednesday evening to give me time to finish up my shopping. I don't have that many presents to wrap so depending on how frisky the cats are feeling, it shouldn't take long. I hope you stop by to watch. I will announce the day and time in a post on Monday, December 22.

Not much else is happening in this part of the world. I still have this awful thing on my face. It's by far the worst I've ever had. A friend suggested I take a picture. I did. It's too horrific to post. Worse than even the giant vomit I graciously didn't post pictures of. (I tried to find that post, but I can't, sorry) Anyway... I have to face the outside world today with my mom as we do a bit of public shopping. I'm considering a band aid on my face to avert the general public's eye of the monstrosity that is my face.

I Think I'm Funny And That's All That Matters

I realize my sense of humor may not jive with a lot of other people's sense of humor. I do try and be objective and think of you, reader, before putting up a picture or video I have found to be quite hilarious. The people I know IRL (in real life) that read my blog get me... or at least they tell me they do. Most of my friends tend to have the same sick humor as I, which is usually a sure sign of a mental problem. But I'm okay with that... and them.

Some of my humor comes from my family. Growing up, I remember word games that would start accidentally and get WAY too out of hand where we were groaning by the end of the game. Trying to explain this game we would play in this post would not do it justice so I'm not even going to try. Suffice it to say, this was a common enough experience for me to remember it, and that says a lot. My grandmother, who will be 105 in January, will tell you a new joke every time you see her. Humor runs in the blood.

A lot of my humor also comes from my job. It tends to run on the really sick side and I usually save that stuff for work... unless I'm talking to my Dad or oldest brother... both of which were/are in the same line of work as me and understand the dark humor that is born of really bad situations.

Anywho... just wanted to touch base with you and let you know that when I post stuff like this:

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRzTfgds0UI
...it's because I think it is the most hilarious thing I have ever seen... at the moment.

Sometimes, though... I'll post something I have found because I know certain people that read my blog with think it's the most hilarious thing they have seen, like this:

My Dad and I once had a good laugh at each others driver's license photos. I look all strung out and high and my dad's looks as if he's about to jump out of the picture and kick some ass, which is not him at all. So next time he gets on here and sees that picture, he will get a very good laugh.

All in all, my blog is just that... MY blog. I could just as easily entertain myself without posting pictures and videos... but I do because when I laugh, I think the whole world should laugh with me... or at me, whatever the case may be.

Hamster on a piano... eating popcorn? Funny stuff internetz... funny stuff.

How To Take A Shower In Winter At My House

1. Dedicate about 2 hours of your day for the event.
2. About 45 minutes prior to taking a shower, go into the bathroom and turn on the hot water faucet in the bathtub at full blast.
3. Let hot water run until you hear the hot water heater engage.
4. Turn off hot water and go find something to do.
5. After 15 minutes, go check to see if hot water heater has turned off.
6. After 5 more minutes, forget what time you checked last and go see if hot water heater has turned off.
7. Write time on paper.
8. Pull up computer game to pass time more quickly.
9. Glance down at paper and realize one hour and 27 minutes have passed.
10. Go check water heater.
11. Turn on hot water faucet in bathtub and let run until the water heater engages.
12. Lower lid on toilet and sit for 41 minutes until water heater turns off.
13. Undress
14. Turn on water to desired temperature.
15. Engage shower.
16. Quickly jump into shower and scrub as fast as you can.
17. After 5 minutes, hear water heater turn on.
18. Start 5 minute countdown.
19. Rinse off in cold water.
20. Turn off cold water and towel off all icicles.

Anatomy Of A Cold Sore

Pain, swelling, crusty, and ugly.

My Favorite Season

...is no longer Winter. I've gotten too old. The cold hurts where once it didn't. When there is wind involved, I do my best to hide and keep inside. 30 degrees with no wind is tolerable. In fact, 20 degrees with no wind is tolerable. Maybe it's just the wind I hate, but any other time of the year I kind of like the wind.

My new favorite season is Fall... or Spring. I like Spring a lot. There's just never enough Fall or Spring around here. It's either really freaking hot, or really freaking cold. Some days, like yesterday, it was both. Less than 12 hours ago it was almost 80 degrees. Now it's 26. With the wind it feels like 17.

My first day back at work went well. Nothing major happened and only one call. My voice is wanting to go away, but I don't think I'll end up losing it completely.

10 days till Christmas. 6 days till Yule / Winter Solstice. 6 days till the start of Chanukiah. 11 days till the start of Kwanzaa. 15 days left of being 40 for me.

Stay warm dear reader.

Dear Face

I know you and me go way back. We've been together a long time. Some days you're tired, some days you're dry and some days very wrinkly, but I always like having you around. We go together like bread and butter, kitty and litter, cake and my mouth. We've had times of clarity, times of breakouts... but you always seem to come around eventually.

This thing that you've brought home... it's unsightly. I'm upset. I don't like it one bit. I know you always call this thing when I have a fever, but I just don't understand why. Is it because you feel ignored? Mistreated? You know when you call this thing, it sticks around for weeks. We both try to get rid of it, but to no avail. It takes no comfort that we offer. It ignores us like we don't matter, even though we are the one providing it a home.

And what's up with where it decided to camp out? It's never camped out there before? And why does it wait to be at its worst when I have to go back to work tonight? Tell me, face, what's up with that? I'd rather you had called your friends pimples or blackheads. At least I can kick them out when they have overstayed their visit. Not this guy. No... this guy will overstay his visit and offend my friends, family and co-workers, all the while irritating me.

So I'm not real happy with you, face. Not one bit.

As Usual, I'm An Idiot

When considering an extension for my USB cord, I didn't really think that I already had 6 feet of original USB cord already attached to my camera. I should have plenty of footage with a 10 foot extension and I just finished ordering one. Should be here in a few days. I've already got a few ideas on where to place the camera. I realize things are pretty boring for the most part... Unless you're lucky enough to catch what little action there is. I will always try my best to catch some decent shots on video so you can at least see that sometimes the lazy cats really are alive.

I experimented with light the other night. I turned on every light I have in the room and the picture cleared up pretty good. The only problem with that, though, is that I really like the dark. Not complete dark... I just enjoy the whole mood lighting thing and I never have all the lights on. But I promise if the kittehs start going, I'll turn on all the lights for the duration. It's the least I can do.

Christmas present wrapping time will be coming soon. I'm one of those people that buys everything first and then wraps everything at once. It's a unique experience if you've ever tried to do it with a cat around, but even more so with 4. I thought it would be great fun if I scheduled a time and day for this so I could broadcast the mass hysteria that ensues with my cats and paper. Still got some shopping to do but if you knock around some times in your head and let me know when a good time for you is, I will try to accommodate whoever lets me know. My email link is located in the profile section of my blog page.

Someone stole my decorating idea. And I promise... one day... I WILL do this:

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

I do believe I see a dim glow at the end of the tunnel. A soon to be end to this plague I have somehow survived for 7 days now. I had the best sleep I've had all week last night. A continuous 6 hours from start to finish. This is a rarity even when I'm not sick. I can now utter the words, "I can't wait to go back to work", with some truth to it. I'm scheduled to go back Sunday night.

I had a few visitors while I was quarantined. My Dad, my son and his friend (prospective new girlfriend, I think), and J. I was always grateful for the company, but there are a few apologies I probably need to make.

Dad... I'm sorry I let the air out of all your tires, but you have to admit, we had some good bonding time while you used my hand held air pump to air them back up. No matter that it took 4 hours... it was 4 hours of father daughter wonderfulness... between all the swearing, at least.

My son... okay... I'll admit it... locking your brand new girlfriend in the bathroom probably didn't go over like I thought it would. But we got to spend 3 quality hours together looking for the key! When's the last time you and I spent 3 whole hours together? Exactly! And I swear I didn't know that darn key was in my pocket the whole time...

J... Like I told you before, I did not notice that the cats had dumped the sleeping pills in the stew. And the rope burns are not my fault, either... I told you to quit struggling against them! Okay... I'll admit that taking your clothes, soaking them in water and putting them in the freezer was a bit extreme. But how much fun was it watching them melt like they did? I'll tell ya how much! 3 and half hours worth of fun, that's how much!

So I thank each of you for your extended visits. How lucky I am to have such a great family and friends!

Happiness is...

...getting your blood-work results in the mail and finding out that you no longer suffer with hypothyroidism, your blood sugar is normal, liver is good and all other things are functioning as they are supposed to for the first time in many years.

I did not know hypothyroidism went away.

Can't help the thought that maybe they got the wrong blood,though.

All of this from eating better, exercising a little more, and losing only 50 pounds.

It was happy news on an otherwise sickly day.

10 Things I've Learned While Being Sick

1. The cat box doesn't clean itself, no matter HOW bad you feel.

2. The garbage men will NOT pick up your garbage unless you move it to the curb. Even if they can see it piling up at your back door.

3. There are no magic elves that do dishes while you sleep off a fever.

4. Magic grocery fairies don't exist either.

5. Time does not stop when you are sick. But with a high fever and some codeine, it becomes quite distorted.

6. There is never enough hot water.

7. The most expensive and most softest tissues and toilet paper in the world are just not soft enough.

8. Sneezing and the distance to a bathroom become an important daily mathematical equation... and challenge.

9. This week has been the first time in over two years that I have missed having cable television.

10. Kettehs snuggling are the best medicine of all.

Delusional

I'm sure there was a time when I was more miserable than I am now... I just can't think of when.

I keep forgetting what day it is.

Who are you again?

Why is it so cold in here why is it so hot in here who keeps turning off the heat?!

I can feel my cats staring at me.

I Am A Big Fat Liar

A couple of days ago I said in a post that I would much rather have a runny nose, fever, diarrhea, etc. sort of thing instead of coughing. Yeah... scratch that, because for some dumb reason this sickness has expanded from my chest area to my head area. This is opposite the way it is supposed to work. First I get the head cold, THEN comes the bronchitis and pneumonia and all other sorts of sickness. I don't recall ever having one run backwards like this.

Now my head is full of snot, I constantly feel like I'm going to sneeze... then I don't, which just fills up my head more. My eyes feel as if they are floating in mucus. After just one day, my nose feels as if it has been drug over a cheese grater and I'm now applying my chap stick to my nostrils instead of my lips. (would you like to borrow my chap stick?)

My cough is not gone, but it is now extremely loose and I'm coughing up pounds of crap... and as gross as that is, it's MUCH better then when it was full of the pounds of crap and nothing was coming up. The feeling of something heavy sitting on my chest is now gone and I am very thankful for that.

I was prescribed Prednisone which is a type of steroid. It is used to decrease inflammation for everything from asthma to rheumatoid arthritis. One of the major side effects is the inability to fight off infections. I thought it best at this point to not encourage the growth of any new sickness so I have stopped taking it as of yesterday. As fast as my cough came on, this head stuff came on just as quickly. I think my body is making up for the last 3 years of not being sick like this.

Anyway... I'm a liar because frankly, I wouldn't rather have a head cold than a cough. I'd rather not be sick at all. Period. I am just as miserable now as I was last Sunday and Monday... just in a different way. I felt better Tuesday than I did yesterday and now. I'm still having intermittent fever. It comes on about the same time I'm scheduled to take my codeine, then breaks once that stuff kicks in. Today is Thursday and tomorrow I am supposed to go back to work and I don't know if I'm going to be able to. (If any of my co-workers are reading this, here's your heads up.)

It is now 230 in the AM. My Kleenex supply is running dangerously low and I think if I have to swipe my nose with one more of those sandpapery things, my nose is going to fall off. I need some Puffs with lotion in them and I'm afraid I am going to have to venture out in the cold night air to get me some. I doubt any of my friends or family would be willing to do that for me at 3am. Actually, I take that back. They probably would. I would just never ask them to. :-)

1 hour later...
The trip to CVS went smoothly. The cool crisp air was very refreshing. Puffs Plus Lotion PLUS Vicks was my tissue of choice. And I asked some not so English speaking pharmacist what I could take that wouldn't interact with my other meds to keep my brains from dripping out of my nose... he said Benadryl would be fine. I can already feel it working it's miracle-ness.

I think I will now go back to bed and dream about a mucus free life. I leave you with a picture of my desk top.

The Greatness Of Small Creatures

LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txq_BogA1NM

Opiates Are My Friend...

...and a great way to get stuff done!

Ahhh codeine... the true cure for no motivation and generally feeling bad. Whether in pill form or liquid form, this stuff is great. No anti-depressant or other psych pill has ever come close to making me feel as wonderful as codeine. And nothing gets my butt up doing stuff better. I suppose speed would probably do that too, but I've never ventured to that side. And I know eventually my codeine supply will run dry... but that won't keep me from enjoying it while it lasts. It's like the only consolation to being in pain and miserable... that little codeine moment when life is wonderful again after feeling like you're going to freaking die. It made going to the doctor worth it. I'm thankful it is a controlled substance. I would SO get addicted.

Along with being high, codeine makes me quite the chatty Kathy... not sure who Kathy is or why she was so chatty or if I just made that up, but I talked more on the phone yesterday than I have in a months time. I've had to delete a couple of 15 page blogs that I thought I would post because when I went back to read it all I figured the only way any of you would enjoy it, or much less, follow it, is if you were on codeine, too. It also tends to take away that barrier that keeps certain comments inside where they should stay.

So I tried a Vicks Vapor Rub experiment last night. I took my meds like I did the night before, yet I did NOT use the VVR on the bottoms of my feet. 5 seconds after my head hit the pillow I was coughing. And coughing. And coughing. I got up, got the Vicks, applied generously to the bottoms of my feetsies, covered them in sockness, and placed my head back onto my pillow. I coughed once... then fell asleep and never woke up coughing. I'm not in the least bit concerned if this is all psychological. If it is, it STILL works and I'm not up all night coughing. Anyone who has ever had the experience of staying up all night coughing would agree, I think.

I have really bad eyes. I'm near sighted. Without corrected lenses I run into walls and trip over things and for some reason it affects my hearing when I can't see. Do NOT make me try and explain that one! Anyway, I've worn contacts for over 10 years now. I wear them when I'm awake, while I sleep, when I shower. I take them out to clean them occasionally, but just long enough to clean them and they are back in my eyes. I'm an eye doctor's worst nightmare as far as contacts go. When I tell them my contact routine I get the whole, "It's like wearing the same pair of panties day after day without every taking them off", speech. As gross of a comparison as that is, it's never deterred me from leaving them in all the time. The last time I went to the eye doctor (about 4 months ago), she examined my eyes first and THEN asked about my contact routine. She got a confused look on her face and checked my eyes again and reluctantly told me I had very healthy eyes and that she could hardly tell I even wore contacts, much less wore them the way I do. I remember that visit very well because it was the first doctor's visit I had had in a long time where I actually got a good report.

Along with the fun medicine I am taking, I'm also taking several others. The combination quickly dried out my eyes and I had to take my contacts out yesterday. It felt like I had sand in my eyes. I have a pair of glasses I got a few years back and have never been able to wear them for very long. Since my prescription hasn't changed in several years, they are like brand new. No scratches, not stretched out from my big head... But there is a vast difference in how one sees with glasses as opposed to contacts. I often feel my vision is limited with glasses. So I put on my crappy glasses and for the first time in over 10 years, I kinda liked them. They aren't bothering my nose, I feel I can see pretty good, they are comfortable... It is odd to take a shower blind and even odder is waking up and not being able to see the clock. I blame my acceptance of the glasses on codeine... along with the length of this post. If you made it this far you should get a freaking award. I'll stop now... seriously. I'm done. No more. Quit reading! As long as you keep reading, I'm just going to keep typing...

HOLIDAY KITTEHS

It's A Mystery

Have you ever gotten that forwarded email about all these silly cures and home remedies, most of which actually work? Over a year ago I read somewhere, I'm thinking it was one of those emails, that putting Vicks Vapor Rub on the bottoms of your feet at night time before bed, will alleviate a cough. And not long after reading this, I heard someone talking about doing this to a child. I then did a very small amount of research and found out that this is a widely know use for the VVR, even though the VVR company only recommends using VVR the way it says to on the label, which doesn't say anything about feet. Because I haven't been sick with a cough in over 3 years, I've never had the chance to try it.

When I was a wee little lassie, I would come down with massive coughing and fever spells. My fever would get very high and I can remember I would just cough and cough. I would go to the doctor and get what I called my "pink medicine". Oh, how I loathed that stuff! I would fight and try to bargain my way out of having to take that stuff, and my poor mom would have to invent new ways to get me to take it, barring having my dad hold me down and them forcing it down my throat. I don't THINK they ever had to go to that extreme... but as much of a fight as I remember putting up, I wouldn't have blamed them.

I missed a lot of school back then. But that was in the days that if you had a doctor's note, you didn't have to make up the time in summer school, like they make kids do now. The doctor told my mom I would eventually grow out of these episodes. And it did get better, although I remember missing a lot of high school as well. It then became a yearly Christmas tradition that I would come down very, very sick every stinking single Christmas holiday. The violent coughing... the very high fever... the disgusting pink medicine. Incidentally, the hydrocodone/APAP 7.5mg/500mg/15ml stuff I was prescribed tastes JUST LIKE THAT DISGUSTING PINK MEDICINE! I think about how much of that stuff I took as a kid and if what I was taking was similar to this stuff. I vaguely remember being sleepy after taking it, but that may have had more to do with the fact I didn't sleep too well while coughing so much. Still have that problem, a c t u a l l y.

When I was little, Vicks Vapor Rub became a staple. It was so comforting to have that stuff rubbed on my throat and chest area by my mom. The smell still has that comforting effect now. But never did my mom put it on my feet. Well I tried it last night, folks. Can't say for sure that it wasn't one, or a combination of all, of the 5 prescriptions I took last night. All I know is, I rubbed that crap on the bottoms of my feet, covered my feet with a lightweight pair of socks... and as I placed my head on my pillow (the time when the cough is the worst), I got the most euphoric feeling... and I was asleep almost instantly and not once did I wake up coughing.

I WAS THINKING MY TREE WAS ABSORBING IT ALL

Cough, Hack, Cough

I'm sick, internetz. I've always been quite susceptible to bronchitis and after 3 years of not having it I sure was hoping to never have to deal with it again. A girl can dream, can't she? Unfortunately, I do believe that is what is progressing at this very moment in my chest. As quickly as this came on, it's going to be a doozy.

Nobody likes being sick. But the two things I hate more than anything are vomiting and coughing. I can deal with stuffy and runny noses, stomach aches, diarrhea, fever, headaches... I'll take any and all of those at once if I could just get rid of the coughing.

I got to work last night and feared I'd have to go home. But the nice guys working next door at our ambulance service came over with a nebulizer and for most of my shift I felt much better. Unfortunately, that stuff wears off and I'm back where I was when I went in last night. And as much as I have developed a fear of them, I'm going to have to call the doctor today because if I put it off, my painful bronchitis will turn into a nice excruciating bout of pneumonia and I just had a friend die from pneumonia and I kinda like the whole heart beating, breathing (no matter how difficult), feeling, talkinglaughingsmiling... living... thing.

So forgive my absence while I go be sick for a couple of days. And forgive the silent kitty cam because I'm not going have the sound on while I'm 2 feet away coughing up my lungs. That would make for some bad watching... in my opinion.

Have a great Monday readers! And remember this:

Stoof And Thangs

I do believe the sound now works on the kitty cam. If you happen by while I'm home and on the puter you should hear various things including Christmas music, me burping, me yelling at the cats for various reasons, me talking to my cats, Cricket meowing loudly because right now she's in heat... and I guess just normal house sounds. I'm not sure if I have the volume up where it needs to be so if anyone decides to drop by I'd love it if you could tell me how things sound on your end.

I'm greatly disappointed in the quality of the picture. It's beautifully crystal clear on my end. Unfortunately, I think my connection speed is lacking. I don't see that changing any time soon. Although I'd love to share my home with you guys with a wonderfully crystal clear picture, I'm still poor and just can't afford the monthly increase in my bills at the moment and since this blogging stuff don't pay... well... let's just say any and all donations would be used exclusively for getting that clearer picture! Yeah, yeah... I'll keep dreaming.

I learned that USB cords are the length they are for a reason. The longer the cord, the less quality you get. The longest I found was a 10 footer. They DO have these little boxes you can buy to extend your USB cords so they work well. The lowest price I found was about $120.00. See paragraph above for reasons why I won't be getting one of THOSE any time soon.

And for anyone who is curious as to how I could be so brave as to place a Christmas tree on a coffee table where it could be so easily knocked down by curious kitties...

This is what the tree looks like without camera distortion

I Saw This In A Movie Once

My newest neighbors across the street from me are having a Father Of The Bride night this cool December Friday evening. The white tent has been up for a few days now. Today I watched them bring in some heavy duty lights. This evening when I woke up from my nap, those heavy duty lights are illuminating my house as bright as their front yard, which is being professionally manned as a parking lot as I am typing this. Many cars are starting to come in right now... it's 815pm. The generator which is running the lights is loud. If it weren't 40 degrees outside I'd have my windows open and I'd probably be mad. But it's cold and I have everything shut up... and my music easily covers the drone. I wish I didn't have to work this evening so I could watch the mass exodus. Not for sure if the wedding will be taking place across the street as well as the obvious reception. The previous owner of the house had a garage sale one time and I ended up having to get a new mailbox.
Here's some covert shots I took... this is at night with NO flash:

And here is the best Christmas photo so far this year. This is Cricket's first Christmas tree. She's done really well. Then again, the tree is small. Maybe that is a deterrent since Libby's not been up in it yet:

Finally!

It's here! It works! It was incredibly easy!

A friend of mine, Ms. Cassy (waving), sent me a link to watch a puppy cam. I was naturally jealous of the working puppy cam. It was streamed through a site called Ustream.TV. I looked into the site, which is free, and the light went on in my head and here we are. I ended up buying yet another camera. Just a simple Logitech QuickCam plugged into my USB port. Total time spent installing the camera software and registering with Ustream.TV and getting set up over there was maybe 10 minutes. Sigh...

It's not the best quality and for some reason the sound is not working. I can look into that later. It's 8:15pm December 4th and what is showing at this point is a tree with lights on it only and not enough lights at that. No decorations right now. I'm getting to it, though. If you happen on here later you may see me working on it. The streaks you see ever so often are the cats. The blue light up in the valance I just put in today. This may stay up after Christmas because it looks most awesome. The cat tower is on your right and my TV is over there on the left. All this stuff is in front of the living room windows. I just recently moved stuff around and I will be posting before and after pics when I'm done decorating for the holidays.

I will be looking to see if there is such a thing as a USB extension cord... thingy. The camera is now located just above my monitor. There are several hang outs that the cats have, other than the cat tower and I think different angles would be fun. I will do my best to keep this online as much as possible. For the times that it goes offline, I am truly sorry.

Please leave me some feedback if you have any ideas on what you might like to see. The most active times for the kitties is early morning around 7am-ish. That's when it starts, at least. This goes on for a good hour or two. Also in the evening around 5pm. You never know what you'll see so check back often!

Still can't believe it works. Thank you Cassy!

I See A Kitty Cam In The Near Future

Maybe. Hopefully. We'll see. If it works I will give due kudos to the person who opened my eyes. If it doesn't... well... things won't be much different then they are now.

Christmas decorations going up in the next day or so. Before that, some major reconfiguring of the living room furniture. I've been talking about moving stuff around for a month or so now... I'm finally ready for the move and it will be enhanced by the sparkling decor.

I also want to make a Christmas banner for my blog to replace the one that's up there now, after my tree goes up. I'd like to get a picture of all the kitties sitting in front of the tree together, but if all else fails, which it probably will since my cats do what they want, I will take individuals and try and figure out how to use photoshop to make it at least appear as if we are all a happy family.

Other than those few things, my days have been normally boring around here. I bought my first presents of the season finally. Compared to the last few years, I am feeling quite Christmas-y. Compared to last year, at least I WANT to put a tree up and decorate. Lots of pictures when they are available.

Yea for weekends and pleasant weather!

Miracles Of Life

I believe the world shows us every day miracles if we learn to slow down and recognize these small gifts. It doesn't take a keen eye or a college education. All it takes is a mindset to see the gifts for what they are. They can be as small as the bulbs you put out now turning into flowers in the Spring, or they can be as big as the birth of a child. Recognizing that life is cruel, unfair, and much too short-term is easy. The hard part for many is seeing between the lines of the bad stuff that life throws our way.

I've recently had some major life pitches come my way. With the death of my friend came the gift of getting to say good-bye to her hours before she passed away. I know I have mentioned this many times this month. I promise this is the last time I say anything about it this month... seeing as how tomorrow is December 1st and all. Christy and I didn't talk every day. We didn't even talk every week... or every month. She and I had not talked via phone for about 6 months, with just a few emails in between, when she did call. Every time we talked, it was like it had just been a day or so since the last time we spoke. Yes, there was some major stuff happening in her life at the time when she called... but we talked about several things that had happened, any number of which could have prompted her to call me. So I consider this one a biggie.

I'm very selective in my friends. I don't have many but where I lack in quantity my few friends soar high with quality. Losing one, though, puts a severe dent in the balance of my soul. Nothing will ever replace that exact balance. Losing people you love does that to you. As the balance shifts, though, you learn to compensate and eventually you find that you have gotten used to the feel of things... and life spins on.

Just when I started to try and learn my new balancing act, I received another gift. A friend that I had not spoken to in about 9 years contacted me. She and I once worked together and when we were together, we would laugh until we peed our pants... well... I did. Just a little. We hit a point in our lives where we went very different directions with roads that ended up being traveled by us both. Turns out, we're both in a place in our lives where happiness is reality, laughter is common and love is abundant. We spent an hour and half catching up on the phone last night. It was wonderful and I believe I know where I will be taking a vacation in the near future.

So the balance has shifted again. No, it will never be the same as it once was... but it is much more close to what it was a month ago. And that's what friends do. They balance you. True friends never forget you. No matter distance or time.

Maybe Next Year

So I totally blew NoBloPoMo for this year. I just don't know if it's possible to blog every single day for a month. I envy those who have so much to say. If I had more to do then tear up my walls and talk to my cats, I might have more to say... which makes me even more grateful for those that follow this blog regularly. I wouldn't blame you for going away. Some days I wish I could go away... if only for a week or two.

Thanksgiving included an hour and a half wait in line at Luby's, food, and a nap. My daughter and I decided to postpone the movie Twilight for later. We were both tired from staying up late the night before while we went cruising and ran from the cops (what a rush!). The friend's house I was going to go to ended up not panning out either. So I spent a quiet evening listening to Christmas music and I retired early to bed. My family doesn't know it yet, but we WILL be having thanksgiving at my house next year. The thought of having them over all squished together, no where to eat, cats all in everyone's lap shedding fur in the stuffing, just gives me goosebumps!

I hope your turkey day was fantastic and that you got to spend lots of time with family and/or friends, I hope the food was to your liking and that you ate like it was your last meal, and I hope that when you laid down to sleep, as you took flight into dreamland, your day ended with a smile.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

I'm halfway through the day so far. Got to come home and chill for a bit before deciding what to do next.

Luby's was fun, as always. We stood in line for an hour and a half until we were able to start loading our trays. My kidos had a previous engagement with the other half of their family and they had to skip out on us before we were even through the line. We weren't anticipating having to wait like we did. But there was plenty of seating. I THINK my daughter is coming back over so we can go see the movie Twilight, but those plans are still somewhat in the air at this point. Now I think I'll kick my feet up, enjoy the great temperature, and maybe take a nap until the massive amount of food I just ingested settles a bit. I haven't eaten so much at one time since last Thanksgiving.

Here's some pictures from my day so far:

WAITING

THESE HANDS HAVE LIVED ALMOST 105 YEARS

SILLY NIECE WITH COOL NEW HAIR

SISTER IN LAW AND BROTHER

MOM AND DAD

ON THE WAY HOME

STILL DRIVING

WATCHING FOR TRAINS

LOVE ALL THE FALL COLORS

THERE'S MY HOUSE

PULLING INTO THE DRIVE

LIBBY AT THE WINDOW WAITING

SPAZZ AT THE OTHER WINDOW... WAITING

Thanksgiving Eve

While many of you are looking forward to eating turkey tomorrow, I will be looking forward to having Luby's Cafateria. Any time I go to Luby's, I have fish. I've never cooked a Thanksgiving dinner. I think I've only cooked a turkey one time in my entire life. Several years ago, my family and I discoved taking the whole family to meet up at Luby's was a VERY easy way for everyone to get out of having the stress of cooking a big meal and having tons of people over. There's always plenty of food and chairs for whoever shows up. I think my mom sometimes feels guilty about this since she was always the Thanksgiving dinner provider, but I love doing this. She got a wild hair last year and canceled Luby's at the last minute and went ahead and cooked. This past year, though, she's suffered with degenerative arthritus in her back and hip area and there's just no way she'll be able to entertain like she used to. One of these years... maybe next year or the year after, I would like do Thanksgiving here for my family. Yeah, it's small, but how fun would it be to have my whole family crammed into my teeny home? (If my mom is reading this, she's cringing right now.)

My daughter is going to come over after work this evening and is spending the night. Tomorrow we will all meet at Luby's around noon. We'll eat, drink tea, and be merry. Then my kids will leave for thanksgiving at their dad's and my parents and brother's family will leave to go camping. I think I am going to a friend's house later in the evening, but I will find out for sure today. Should be a laughter filled day with family, friends, good wishes, and promises to get together again at Christmas.

I hope your day will be just as special...

Every Girl's Wish

So about my whole weight loss journey... yeah... I've been very disappointed on how I've been doing. Didn't give a November update because I was just so put out on how my numbers looked. I feel as if I've been doing the same things I was doing in the beginning, but I was gaining again. A week and half into November, I had put back on almost everything I had taken off. I did not understand what I was doing wrong. I had even been using my nifty new treadmill. But to no avail. The weirdest part of all? My clothes were still as baggy and saggy as ever. I couldn't figure out where the weight WAS. I wondered if I was gaining in other places. I have been pretty bummed about it.

I had a friend come over last night. It's tradition that when he comes over, he steps on my scale. He came out of the weigh room and laughed and said my scale was so wrong. I laughed thinking he was making the typical fat person joke. My friend is in very good shape and we were able to figure out the scale was off about 40 pounds. So when I aquire a new scale, I will commence with the updates. I am feeling much better about things.

Here are some early morning pictures for you, and yes, I did miss posting yesterday and the only excuse I have is that I just plain forgot. Oh well... maybe next year.