Werk Stoof

Unlike many departments, our department does not require us to rotate shifts. The entire time I've worked there, minus training and minus that one month not too long ago I thought I wanted to work on day shift, I have worked midnights. The officers that work midnights, like working that shift. The ones that work during the day, also like their shift. So I rarely work with any of the daytime guys. I know them, okay. But not like I know MY officers.

So, yeah... it's been uber crazy at work. This past Friday was one of those nights where it was weird people, weird calls night. We get those from time to time. But Friday was unusually weird. There was a point in the night... probably around 0130 or so, where I had some reserve officers calling it a night. They come into dispatch to sign out on a sheet that keeps track of the time they put in. They were kind of standing around and we were all yapping and laughing and stuff and I heard the front door open. Actually, what I hear is it slamming shut and I turn around and look at the camera that monitors the lobby. There was this HUGE guy in our lobby and he was very obviously drunk. He barely made it to the lobby door (which is kept locked, only opened by someone from the other side, or by me flipping a switch and unlocking it) and he tried the door. Then he leaned in reeeeeal close to the buzzer (that buzzes in my office) and he pressed the button and when I pressed the intercom button to talk to him, I heard him mooooan into the speaker.

Have you ever seen Trading Places with Dan Akroyd and Eddie Murphy? There's this one part where it's Christmas time and Dan Akroyd is dressed in this really dirty Santa Claus suit and he's really drunk and he takes a swig off of his bottle and turns to Eddie Murphy and just kind of moans/grunts at him. This is what I thought of when I heard him mooooan into the speaker.

My dispatch office window faces the lobby on the other side of the door. I very rarely let anyone in. I'm there alone most of the time. The dispatch office is also closed off from the rest of the building by its own locked doors, so even if you come into the building, you can't get in unless I let you in. Well... this is how it is suppose to work. Unfortunately, because of all the computers in dispatch, that room heats up quickly when the doors are shut. We don't have our own thermostat, so most of the time year round, the doors are open. Anyway... before I even say anything to the guy, one of the reserve officers and the Sergeant were opening the front door to talk to him and I'm standing there with just a window and an unsecured door separating me from them. The officers push him out from in front of the door and the guy seems to be extremely unsteady on his feet and falls back a bit and the officers are able to get him up against one of the lobby walls and another reserve officer goes out with his taser pointed at the guy (the tasers have red laser lights attached for aim purposes and I could see the red light on the guy). Then the guy pushes himself off the wall and the officers are trying to get him through the door to head towards the jail area down the hall. They succeed in getting him through the door but instead of heading toward the jail area, the guys swerves to the left and is heading in the direction of my unsecured dispatch door.

I've been asked before if I ever had any interest in becoming a police officer. The answer is and will always be NO. I'm a big chicken when it comes to dealing with people face to face. I like the phone. I like my intercom system where I don't have to let people in. So what I'm sure you are able to surmise as this guy is heading toward my unsecured dispatch door is that I am totally freaking out at this point. I don't get to see live action. Ever. I hear about it a lot. But I never see it.

So I'm still standing there, watching as three police officers are unable to get this guy to stop coming towards my door, my mind tells me to go towards the door and shut it before the guy can get through, so I take a step in that direction... and when I do, the guy comes barreling through my unsecured dispatch door and he raises his arms and comes right towards me and yells RARRRRR!!!... and then I see all the officer's faces and they are all laughing and smiling and I realize the guy never even touched me and I look at the guy's face and it actually takes my mind about 10 seconds to process who he even is. I realize it is one of the officers I don't work with too often, dressed very convincingly not like himself at all. He gave me a hug and I am very aware of how thoroughly I have just been GOTTEN by these guys. Totally duped. A prank that actually outshines all the others I've either been a part of, or have had done to me. A stellar performance that seriously has made me giggle many times over the past day or so. Bravo, to my fellow co-workers. I am very thankful I didn't pee myself.

Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow!

That's what I'm saying while I'm typing... or walking... or just sitting. We have a cool front coming down sometime today and boy do I feel it! Mornings like this I know to just go ahead and roll up the windows on my car. Right now there are massive storms in Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. We're suppose to get some pretty good ones as well, but later this evening, last I heard.

I put up an extra finished birdhouse outside that had been laying around for a few years about a month ago. This morning I see the birds are finally utilizing it. I tried a different kind of attachment on this one because I've had problems in the past with hanging them by the roof with hooks and the glue deteriorating, then the bottom half of the birdhouse falls on the ground. And it's heartbreaking when it's baby bird season. I put some small plastic brackets on the back of the house and attached it to... to that thingy... on my porch... it helps hold the roof up but its decorative. Yeah... that thing (WAY past my bedtime) with zip ties.

I think I'm losing the battle of the fleas. The powder thing seemed to work the first day, but this morning, it's like it was before I dusted and the cats are scratching bad again. Plus, my bed right now is enveloped in a light mist of powder. That stuff drifted onto and into everything. But I think I found the culprit to the whole problem... I was just out on the back porch telling Cricket it was time to turn on the air conditioner and when I came in, I happened to look down at my slippered feet and I had about 5 fleas on them. The back porch is the favorite of all the kitties. It's almost like being outside. Too many open nicks and crannies I suppose. So... I might buy a flea bomb to set off out there as well as some hard core poison for my carpet and my cats. We'll all just have to grow tumors, but at least the fleas will be gone, right? Right?

Meow

Snow Day

It is powdery and white at my house. After the first treatment, kitties are very happy. I need to get a dust mask, though, because the entire room filled up with a cloud and I really didn't enjoy breathing in all the dust. But it's got a very light citrus smell which is not bad at all. I covered most of the living room in white and left it over night. I'm about to vacuum it up here in just a minute. But the most important thing, is that there's not a lot of scratching going on any more. Spazz, being a fatty, doesn't wash his back very well... okay, not at all, because he's too fat to get back there. And the back of his neck is just torn up from the fleas. He is a much happier kitty today. Libby evidently got a mouthful of this stuff as I was trying to massage this stuff into her fur and she foamed at the mouth a bit. But she got over the foaming pretty quick and is also a happier kitty today. I have yet to even see Cricket scratch. Jynxy, being the fraidy cat he is, tolerated just enough, I think, to do him some good as well. The only drawback to this, or any treatment really, is at bed time. Everyone wants to sleep with momma and it felt kind of icky when they were all on my bed shedding powder everywhere. But this would be true of any flea treatment I would have given them.
BEST SLEEPING POSITION EVER

I Smart

Found that reading level thing over there on the right on another blog. I have no idea how it decides on what level a blog is, but after testing mine and all the other blogs I read, I learned something interesting. The blogs I enjoy the most are the ones that are at an elementary reading level. And they are also the more successful ones. But does that mean I need to dumb it down if I want more readers? Use less big words? I thought I was pretty much being an idiot all along, when in reality, I was just being a college idiot.

My flea powder is scheduled to arrive today. Me and the kitties are very excited. They are miserable. I am miserable for them. I tried the light and the water trick someone described. After about 2 and half hours I had succeeded in capturing about 10 of the little buggers in a bowl. But I was too nervous to leave the light that I was using on while I was away from the house at work. I had visions of the thing getting too hot and catching on fire and I kinda want to live here for at least a little longer. I'll let you know how the powdering festival works.

We had some sudden storms pop up yesterday evening. We got some pretty heavy rain along with some amazing wind. Normally, the flower garden on my porch rarely gets any rain water because it sits up under the overhang of the roof. Last night, though, the wind was coming from a weird angle and now I don't have to water today. I watched my northern neighbors set out sprinklers yesterday before the storm. His yard was nice and watered and he had just turned them off when the storm developed. When it rains heavy, that yard becomes a lake. And it did. And I wondered if he was mad because he had wasted about two hours worth of water on his yard that he didn't need to waste. I thought about going over there and thanking him for watering his yard, because surely it would not have rained if he had not done that. We use to thank my Dad for rain because it would always rain the same day he washed his car. Kind of like every time he washes their motor home, it hails. I wonder if he washed his car yesterday? Should I also mention that the window on my car was cracked about 3/4 inch? When the rain died down enough to where I wasn't going to be soaked in the time it would take me to roll it up, the inside of my drivers side car seat was already soaked.

Itchy Feet

I want to go on a vacation. Not a staycation. I actually want to pick up and leave for a few days, have someone take care of my cats for me, pick up my mail. But I don't know where I would want to go. I have a friend in Reno and one in Austin. But I'm craving cool air and no people.

I want to sleep here:
Take a long stroll in this garden:
Eat a late lunch here:
And then grab a late night show here:
And when I want peace... I want to walk here and listen to the trees:

Bouncy Bouncy

I got a new tire yesterday. It was only 15 dollars because I had a warranty. I went ahead and bought two new tires for the ones on the front were in pretty bad shape. I thought after leaving Discount Tire that these would probably be the last tires I would buy for this car. I now have almost 105,000 miles on my little green Saturn. I bought that car right after I got my high falooten new job. I am needing my little green Saturn to last another three years... two years? But I doubt it will live that long. It's 10 years old. Lots of miles. Lots of miles... I'll probably end up with another Saturn. Who knows. I'd like a truck but I drive a minimum of 200 miles a week back and forth from work. Can't afford the gas. Can't afford a car payment.

I can tell it's Summer at work. Angry people everywhere beatin' up on everyone. The hot makes people mad.

R.I.P.

Just found out that George Carlin died. He was only 71. He will be missed by many.

Infestation Continues

Fleas abound at my house! It's a flea circus, I tell ya! Flea collars didn't work. The spray I bought is the same stuff I got one other time, except in drop form, and the cats run from the spray like it's a big barking dog. So I ordered some powder stuff online because my search everywhere else has ended in poisons and harmful to animals and humans. The stuff I ordered is all natural, not harmful to humans or animals and kills on contact. Not only do you put it on the kitties, but you put it on your carpet as well and bye bye fleas and ticks and mites. I was going to express ship it, but 33 dollars is a bit much. I settled for the free ground shipping.

Going to get my tire fixed in a few hours. I've been needing to get one of my front ones plugged anyway because of a nail. I sure was hoping that was the one that was stabbed the other morning. But alas... it was one of the better back ones.

Got all my flowers watered at first light this morning. I've been up since about 4am. That's what happens when I go to bed at 10pm. I hadn't realized it's been so hot outside. I've kept all my doors and windows shut and have been hibernating during the daylight hours... my Hibiscus were droopy. Going to have to pay more attention to them, I guess.

Happy belated Summer Solstice! This puts us on the downside of the year where the days will slowly be getting shorter and shorter. I'm looking forward to more dark and more cool.

Can I Call In Sick?

I have a big gaping hole in my back tire. It happened on the way home from work this morning. Luckily, before I got on the highway, yet not so luckily because driving on the highway at a top speed of 50mph tends to make for angry drivers and I was a long way from home. It being Sunday, though, traffic was extremely light and I had no problems. Plus, it's a nice feeling to know I can change my own tire when the need arises. The last three times I've had to, I've been able to be back on the road in under 15 minutes.

Now finding a place to get a new tire installed on a Sunday is another story. It will have to wait till Monday. So I'll be calling in sick because my car is sick. I'm hoping our new part time guy is ready to be thrown in the lake to learn how to swim. But only with the promise of my phone number for him to call if the need arises. He's a sharp kid... I really think he'll be fine.

CRICKET WANTING INSIDE

MINI ME TIRE

COOL VINE THING... THAT'S MY BATHROOM WINDOW IN THERE.

SWEET FRAGRANT MIMOSA

MORNING GLORY

Just Today

I had a wonderful night last night... complete with some Southlake Town Center cruising, a movie at the Harkin's Theater (which I had never even heard of) and an Italian restaurant called Campanias. Them Southlake people know how to live! And, of course, the company weren't so bad either. We saw Kung Fu Panda. It was pretty good. Amazing how they can make pandas and other assorted animals come to life on screen.

I didn't get home until the wee hours of the morning and I'm wiped out today. I am really in need of catching up on the housework and although I'm getting it done, little by little, I'm finding myself without a lot of energy to keep on going. But I will persevere... even if it kills me! I read somewhere one time that a clean house is a sign of an empty life. All I can say to that is that my life must be WAY too full.

All in all, even though I have to go back to work tonight, it was a very good weekend for me. As I was driving home this morning around 130am I had my window down. I took a back way home and listened to all the frogs and other insect type things that make a lot of noise at night. In the sky all the way home was a beautiful display of lightening. It was peaceful. And the peaceful feeling has carried over to today.

Good news at work! They hired a part time dispatcher which means I can take a guilt-free vacation. I'm feeling one coming on. Soon. He's a very young and very enthusiastic guy who's bright, funny, nice on the eyes and all the dispatchers think he's cute as a button. I truly believe he's going to be a great addition to our work family. He fits well, and that makes a BIG difference then just hiring anybody.

I have new neighbors! My neighbors to the north of me moved in a few months ago. They are another young couple. I think he's some kind of landscape guy. Not really sure what she does. And as of yesterday, I have new neighbors to my south as well. Can't really tell much about them since the house sits so far off of the road, but there's been a lot of moving trucks and things in and out, new cars in and out and the for sale sign that has been in the yard for so long is now gone. I'm going to miss watching the fast lawnmower guy. Curious to see how they will mow their lawn. Probably hire out.

I'm off to be constructive now... at least I'm going to try.

Storms

Storms are rolling in this morning. I can hear the thunder in the distance and see the lightening. I was going to go back to bed when I first woke up, but then I heard the thunder. Its that time of year where it's so hot during the day, you cherish the random storm that comes through.

I dreamed last night that I bought a truck. It was either a Ranger or one of those small Mazda trucks. Don't know which. It was black and it was a 5 speed manual and I drove it just fine. I've had dreams before where I was driving a stick shift just fine. I've never been successful at driving a stick shift in real life, though. Last time I tried to drive one was when I was married... almost 20 years ago. If I were to interpret this dream, the stick shift might signify something I know how to do, yet am scared to do because of past failures. But in my dreams, I am always very successful at it. Hmmmm....

If you've not heard about this, here ya go:

You'll shoot your eye out!!!

The storm is almost here. I'm going to shut down now. Hope everyone has a safe and rainy day.

Fond Memories

It was exactly 7 days ago that Mr. Code Enforcement came to visit. I'm anxious to see if I get another visit today. We will see. Personally, I think my yard is looking mighty spiffy this morning. I had so much energy last week, that I even planted flowers. I bought a flat of Moss Rose (which I absolutely love) and planted them in the flowerbed with the Zinnias that are now blooming. And I planted some in a pot on my porch and I bought a couple of annual Hibiscus that I put in the two pots that flank the stairs coming off my porch. Here's some photos:

MOSS ROSE (blooms more after the sun has been out a while)

HIBISCUS

FRONT PORCH FLOWERBED COMPLETE WITH A SPAZZ

ZINNIAS AND MOSS ROSE AND OTHER ASSORTED FLAVORS

JYNXY TRYING TO GET JIGGY WITH LIBBY

I know... that last one had nothing to do with my flowers, but it's a darn funny picture that was still on my camera when I transfered the flower photos.

A Letter To A Local Resident

Because I have no place to send this, and because some of you have been concerned since my last post:

Dear Resident of North Richland Hills,

First and foremost, I want you to know how sorry for you that I feel. Your lack of quality of life saddens me beyond words. How you must suffer inside when Spring comes and brings life into people's yards. I can only imagine what tortuous thoughts go through your head each time it rains.

I must apologize for something before I go on. A fact that I'm sure is brought to your attention every time you drive by my home. The house that I reside in is old. It is not one of these new and monstrous homes that NRH is currently building throughout this city. You know the ones I'm talking about, I'm sure. The ones that are replacing all the beautiful trees and fields that once made this city so beautiful. It will probably appall you to know that this house was built in 1940. You see, this was my grandmother's home. Her house sits atop this small hill and she owned all the land that more then likely is where your house is sitting now. And since I don't know you, I imagine I once fished where your bed now sits.

You will be happy to know that I sacrificed two weeks worth of gasoline for my vehicle to invest in a weed trimmer/edger to appease your over-sensitivity to my unruly yard. Driving down my street and seeing the other unruly yards, which were actually, in my opinion, even more unruly than mine, I can only assume you were a busy man/woman/idiot as you filed your complaints with Code Enforcement. What a day you must have had! I'm sure it's an exhausting job making other people's lives miserable. If you have a family, I imagine they probably don't come to visit often... if at all. Unfortunately, I don't have enough money now to buy an extra extension cord to edge the three feet of yard by my gravel (WHAT? NO CONCRETE???!!!)driveway. I will leave that for now, so you have something to complain about later. I'm very giving that way.

You will notice as you drive by this week that I have yet to mow. Although my plans were to mow this past Wednesday, the day the nice old code enforcement man visited me and my other neighbors, I'm choosing not to at this time. I figured if we ALL mowed our lawns, what in the world would you do with your day if you couldn't find someone's yard to criticize? I'm just considering your feelings, you know. Plus, if I were to have mowed on Wednesday, I'm sure by the time the nice old code enforcement guy came back to visit me, there would be a stray weed that would have grown over three inches and I would have to mow again, and frankly, in this time of extremely high gas prices, I just simply can't afford to mow as often as you seem to need.

You see... I don't make a lot of money. Sure, I could go out and get a high paying job that I hated and I could go and buy one of those fancy new houses that I can't really afford and that would contribute to the current foreclosure rate our country is experiencing. I could go and live beyond my means and rack up a fortune in credit card bills that would cause me to file for bankruptcy, just so my yard would compare to the Johnson's. And I would surly die an early death because of the stress of it all. But I choose to live within my means and I have no debt. Alas, I choose to work at a job that I love and sacrifice monetary things because I know to be happy where one works, makes a happy life indeed. So I'll continue to work at my low paying job, taking calls from people like you, Mr/Ms/Idiot. People who honestly, have nothing better to do with their time... with their life... then to call up their city and needlessly complain. And you know what? It's not just me that thinks your complaint was needless and petty. You know that nice old Code Enforcement gentleman that came to visit me because of your complaint? Well... when I asked him what exactly there was to complain about, you know what he told me? His exact words were, "I don't even know, really. Maybe those wispy things around the mailbox, or something."

And as a side note... if that was you I saw the other day, pulled into my private driveway, just sitting there... your best hope is to not do that any more. You see... I use to wave and smile at people as they drove or walked by. I've always been quite friendly that way. It never bothered me before that my driveway is often used as a turnaround point. But you stole that from me. And that, dear sir/madam/idiot, is something I am quite unforgiving about. For now, at least.

And as hard as it is for me to say, may you find peace in your heart someday.

I'm Moving

I'm not going to go into the WHY of this post. I'm too mad right now and it would be a string of cuss words directed at the person (people) who made me as mad as I am right now and who don't read my blog anyway.

Suffice it to say, as soon as I can find a way, I'm moving out of this city of snobbish people who think they are better than other people. I don't do well with hatred, and right now I'm a hatin and it ain't pretty folks. I now know that it's not my job that makes me hate other people... it's the other people that make it WAY too easy to hate people.

At least I know a little of what my future holds now.

Nuff Said

Let's Talk Vomit

So I have four cats. The inevitable fur ball is just a part of having cats. It's gross, it's disgusting, but it happens. Anyone who has a cat, knows there is nothing worse then waking up at 2am for a bathroom break, stumbling to the bathroom, looking forward to falling back into bed, and then stepping on a nice cold and wet fur ball, neatly deposited in a location where you are sure to step on it. You are sure to be jolted wide awake and even after you have completely sterilized your foot with scalding water, that feeling of cold, nasty wetness will linger long into the early morning hours. If you've never experienced this, you're SO missing out. It doesn't take long to learn to wear slippers any and all times that the shoes are not on the feet. The worst part (yeah, I know... how could this blog BE any worse) is that when I moved into this house, the carpet just happens to camouflage quite a bit of puke because the food they eat ends up being the same color as the carpet when it comes back out half digested... or not. This is bad because the pile doesn't get noticed until it's stepped in and tracked onto the kitchen floor... the bathroom floor... the car. And again, they will never do it in a corner. No... it HAS to be in a place where it is SURE to get stepped on.

Why, oh WHY have I chosen this topic? Yesterday morning when I got in from work, one of my darlings left the biggest fur ball deposit that I have ever seen on my kitchen floor. No, I didn't step on it. But only because it was so huge that I saw it as I was pulling into my driveway. I seriously thought that whoever had done this, couldn't have lived through something like that. But they did. I can only imagine how much better they must have felt.

The sickest part of all? I actually had the fleeting thought of taking a picture of it to post here. It really was that incredible. You can thank me later for not following through on that thought.

Instead, here's another picture of my pretty flowers that my pretty daughter brought to me last Thursday, with almost all of the lilies opened up now.

Un-loved Today

Today, my cats are looking at me like I am a spawn of Satan. I have never put collars on my kitties. They all have been scratching and unbearable for the last week. This morning they are ALL wearing collars and they are really, really, not liking me right now. I tried some natural drops one time and it blistered every one of them. I won't do that to them again. And I would not be able to bathe any of them by myself. It was hard enough tricking them into my lap so I could pretend to love on them when all the while all I wanted to do was put a stupid nasty thing around their necks. I'm doing my best not to feel guilty and I know they will eventually get use to the collars... but if I didn't do anything at all, they would be miserable for longer.

Going to go cry now.

Sports

When asked what my favorite sport is, I will always reply with boxing. And I prefer light-weight boxing to heavy-weight, but only because light-weight is a leeeetle more exciting. Please don't misunderstand, though... I normally don't CHOOSE to watch boxing, but if I'm flipping through the channels (the entire 4 channels that I have) and come across boxing, I will stop and watch it. Can't stand basketball, baseball bores me, football is eeeeh. I dated a guy once who liked hockey and I kind of got into that one year, but once he was gone, so was the hockey interest. (yeah, I know... co-dependent) But boxing I will watch.

I've Found My Calling

Seriously... if I could, I SOOOOOO would!

Mooovie

Last night the electricity kept going off. I could hear transformers blowing and see the bright greenish flash through my windows. I went outside after one blow-out because I heard sirens. I know when those things blow they shoot sparks out everywhere and this area is under an extreme fire hazard right now. The wind was blowing at a steady 40mph with gusts up to 50mph. As I was standing on my front porch, I heard the sirens getting closer and closer and then saw a couple of firetrucks in the church parking lot across the street from me. They spotlighted a field next to the church and I saw the familiar glow of flames and smoke. The wind was blowing in my direction so I quickly made a mental note on how I would evacuate me and the kitties if it came down to it. But I didn't have to. They got the fire out pretty quick. From about 8pm till the last blow-out at around midnight the electricity went out about 5 times. My clock wasn't flashing when I got up this morning, so I guess it finally settled down. Up until this evening. I'm writing as fast as I can right now because so far, I've heard two transformers blow in the last hour with loss of power here yet again. The wind is still blowing, but not as hard as yesterday and it's suppose to calm down quite a bit by 9pm tonight. And it's hot. Oh, my, is it HOT! Opening the front door with the wind whipping in at 30 to 40 mph is like opening an oven door. My electric bill will be nothing to brag about this month.

Went on a date this afternoon. My date arrived with a pretty bouquet of lilies which are beautiful! Went to the movies and saw Sex And The City. Afterwards we went to the store where I purchased some food and then we came home and played with the kitties, had lunch, and then my date left to go home. Had a most wonderful time.

***lost power again... typing REALLY fast now***

My date was my daughter, by the way. I'm closing this now and turning off the computer for good this evening. Or at least until the wind dies down. Just got back from inside and the wind is still very strong.

***Update***
Had to call 911 because there was another grass fire over by the church in the same field. Lots of smoke, but the FD got there quick and it didn't get out of control. Shortly after the firetrucks left, I saw the electric people over in that area and it is now almost 11pm and I haven't had any power loss since. Hopefully they found the problem because they extended the wind advisory until 4am.

Here's my pretty flowers I got from my pretty daughter:

That Time Of Year

Another school year has come to pass. I can tell because the kids are out and about at all hours of the day and night. Pretty soon I'll be listening to the sounds of the marching band starting up again. It's always a nice sound. Makes me think of my days in summer band, and then my son's.

I read about 20 different blogs a day. I get home and make the coffee, feed the zoo and settle into my chair to drink coffee and read about other people's lives. It's a nice way to wind down the night. Most of the bloggers I read still have children living at home and are oftentimes writing about them. The funnier ones have the small children and I'm always left with a smile reading about their antics, remembering fondly going through similar things.

So I thought, since prom was just a week or so ago, I'd share my children's prom pics even though they are years old. Each of my kiddos got to go to TWO senior proms.

MY SON WHEN HE'S A JUNIOR WITH HIS SENIOR GIRLFRIEND
MY SON'S SENIOR PROM


MY DAUGHTER WHEN SHE'S A JUNIOR GOING WITH HER SENIOR FRIEND

MY DAUGHTER AND SON AT MY SON'S SENIOR PROMMY DAUGHTER'S SENIOR PROM

The Truth

You realize I'm not really giving up the dream of Kitty-Cam right? That my frustration was born from the disease most people recognize as PMS? That I would not have done this:

if I wasn't planning on actually getting this thing up and running? Yeah... I figured you knew that already, but I just wanted to make sure you knew that already.

I Give Up

After finally understanding (I thought) how to connect everything from my network settings, to the router settings, my modem settings and my camera settings, my entire network crashed this morning and not only was I unable to get all these things to work together, but I no longer could get online.

So I'm throwing in the towel. Maybe you think I'm giving up too easily, but this morning it suddenly became no more fun. The moment it became no more fun, I knew I was done. Until I can get someone over here who at least knows a little more about this then I do, Kitty Cam will remain just a dream.

I won't be returning any of my unusable hardware at this time, in hopes that maybe someday I will be brave enough to try again. For now, I'm just tired of messing with it.

If anyone has any suggestions, I AM still open to those. Please email me if you do.

Progress #3

Drum roll please...

Stepping on the scale (eyes closed). Slowly opening eyes and not really believing what the scale is saying. Holy crap! I've lost 43 pounds! 43 big ones! No wonder I'm feeling so good lately. My body says thank you!

I have yet to reach my second goal. I have 20 pounds left before I get there. At that point, I will have lost 63 pounds.

Things I've missed since being obese:

Six Flags! The last time I went to Six Flags ( many years ago) I plopped my happy butt into one of my favorite rides, Batman The Ride, and as I pulled the thing down that holds my happy butt in my seat, I seriously didn't think I was going to get it to latch. All I was thinking was how embarrassing it was going to be when I had to leave the ride because I was too fat to ride it. I forced the thing to latch as I sucked in the gut and rode the entire ride like that. I have not been to Six Flags since. And that is sad when I think about it, because Six Flags was always one of my favorite places to go, even with all the people, which is very rare.

Clothes Shopping. I actually hate shopping, but it's made worse when everything I DO like doesn't fit.

Sandals! You would think one could wear sandals no matter one's weight, right? Well... my extra weight has caused me to have lymphedema in my lower legs, ankle area and feet. Tennis shoes have been an only option for me for a couple of years now, although I WAS able to get my favorite pair on last night, along with a pair of jeans I haven't been able to wear in two years. As of today, I still have the edema, but it's starting to not be so bad all the time, with moments of actually having real feet.

Gardening. I miss being able to bend and dig and plant without wanting to lay down, curl up in a fetal position and cry.

Movie theaters. I can actually sit at a theater... it's just not very comfortable.

Those are the major things I can think of. I'm sure there's more that I will discover soon enough.

So I'm patting myself on the back this morning and I did a little dance to celebrate. Next update will either be the first day of next month, or when I hit goal number 2. Which ever comes first. I'm hoping for number 2, personally.