For K...

...because, strange as it may seem, I can't watch or hear Bob Dylan without thinking of my daughter.

Another Pretty Day

Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful morning. A cool front is pushing through and the wind is up and the air is clean and cool. It's not a crisp morning, but it's beautiful all the same.

It's a morning to work in your flower gardens, if you have any. It amazes me that it's almost October and I spent zero time on any of my flower beds this year.

The last time I mowed I had a lady stop her car in the middle of the road and get out of her car and come over to me to ask if I would share my daffodil bulbs with her. She sees them come up each Spring. I gave her my phone number. She said it was that time of year to dig up the bulbs. I smiled and nodded and went back to mowing. I'm at a loss as to what to do now. It's not like I could tell her no, I'm not sharing. I'd LOVE to share them. The problem is... I've never dug up bulbs to store OR share. I like to call myself a naturalist gardener. That means, when I get the energy to actually plant something, it's staying in the ground forever and I sure hope it likes weeds and grass as neighbors. I don't mulch. I don't weed. I don't replant. What grows, grows naturally without any pruning. This year, I didn't even make an effort to water... anything.

So do I go out and dig some up myself after reading online about what to do with them once they are out of the ground? If she calls or comes by do I give her some sweeping arm action and tell her to go for it? Is there some sort of bulb etiquette? How many should she get? One or two? Or a half dozen or so?

There is a story to the yellow daffodils that are here. I just can't remember what it was. I would like to be able to pass this story on with the bulbs I share. On the East side of the front porch are some very dainty miniature white daffodils. I believe those are decedents of my grandmother's grandmother. I THINK. Again, I have forgotten and I hate, hate, hate this part of getting older. I do know, though... when I leave this place... I will be taking as many bulbs as I can with me.

Scuse Me While I Throw Up A Little

My smile turned upside down a few hours after yesterday's post. Not sure if it was due to consuming a food substance that didn't agree with me, or if I caught a bug somewhere. I'm thinking the latter since I was not the only who consumed the same food substance and they seem to be doing just fine. Still... I think I will be hard pressed to have a chili dog any time soon. Yes... just sit and picture that for a while. I think further details are not necessary.

I woke up at some point in the early morning hours drenched in sweat. I slammed my window shut and closed my door and turned on some air conditioning. I woke up half frozen but feeling quite a bit better. A few stomach cramps, but no nausea. I think I'll live.

It's going to get hot again today. But this is the time of year where the hot days only last for a couple of days before another cold front comes through. Those aren't so bad. It's the day after day after day of 90+ degree weather that gets old quick. I think we are about done with those for the year.

The sun is waking up turning everything pink. Although a hot one, I think it's still going to be a beautiful day.

Sunshine. No Lollipops.

The light is dramatically different this morning. We've not had a sunbeam come inside the door in a while. It may have been here the last few weeks or so, but constant cloudiness and rain did not allow it to shine through. This morning, Cricket is enjoying the sunbeam... with a light cool breeze, I can see her fur dancing and reflecting the sun. It's a beautiful morning.

Spazz is on his stool next to me snoring away.

I think today I will find it difficult not to smile.

DWTS - Week One Results

I was spot on about who got kicked from Dancing With The Stars. I was pretty accurate last year as well, although I didn't post most of my predictions. I think I'll make it a weekly post for those who care. I promise to title each post with DWTS - Week Whatever so if you are not a watcher of the show you can bypass these posts completely. Wouldn't want to torture those who don't watch.

Seasons Change and Dancing With The Stars 2009

It's a crisp, cool 58 degrees this morning. A wonderful morning to start my days off with.

My lawn needs mowing. Of course.

I think I'll take advantage of the beautiful day to go outside and be productive. Or maybe I'll just sit here with my windows open and watch it grow some more. I'm feeling quite lazy today.

The wonderful flu has hit our workplace. I'm hoping I can dodge that bullet for as long as possible, but then again, I was wanting to take some vacation time anyway once it got cooler. This will probably be how I take time off.

The kitties have been extremely active the last day. Kitty Cam is up for now. I believe my problem lies within FireFox, not my computer.

Dancing With The Stars has started again. I predict Macy Gray (whom I've never liked AT ALL) and Ashley Hamilton (son of the very tan George Hamilton) will be the first to go. Macy Gray was clunky, at best, and I've never been able to watch her without thinking she was completely high on something. I don't mind her music but if I hear more than one song of hers in a month's time her voice starts to sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. Ashley Hamilton, although gorgeous and handsome like his dad, and a whole lot less tan, just didn't have any personality in his dance, which was sad because I would have liked to have watched him more, just for aesthetic reasons. Yummy!

Michael Irvin is on this season. I don't think he will last very long either, but I think that has to do more with his dance partner then anything. She is new this season, voted in at the end of last years season via a competition type job interview. I didn't like her then and I don't think I'm going to get a chance to like her much this season because I doubt she and Michael will be around long. She's got beautiful eyes, though. She's Russian and her name is... lemme go copy and paste... Anna Demidova.

I loved the season where Marie Osmond was on and I'm VERY happy Donny Osmond is on this season. I grew up watching the Donny and Marie show, but more importantly, they are both so much fun to watch. You just can't help but have a smile on your face when watching those two. Smiles are infectious, indeed!

I think the funniest thing so far, though, was watching Tom Delay. He wasn't that great, but it was akin to the time that Jerry Springer was on. There's just something fascinating about watching an old guy, or gal in the case of Cloris Leachman in 2007, getting up there and letting it all out. You could clearly see in his face what a great time he was having, and I think that's a big part of why I think he will stay for a few more rounds. Although I must admit... I'm a little curious as to why ABC would consider him a "star". Especially with so much controversy surrounding him.

Libby wants to snuggle now. Hard to type one handed.

The Blogosphere

My eyes were opened a little bit today. I am well aware that I do my best to shut out the rest of the world in my daily life. I do this because there is so much hate out there and it makes me intensely sad to see it.

I started blogging because... well because I could. I enjoy writing, most days. I am NOT an aspiring book writer. It's a way for my family and friends to stop by and see what's up and if, in the end, if other people that don't know me in real life are somewhat entertained enough to come back, then great. I welcome any and all who stop by.

I also like to read blogs. I have a list of about 15 that I check on a daily basis. Each with their own personalities, each with their own themes. It's a small window view of someone else's life and like most of us that read blogs, it feeds that quirky little voyeuristic bug that we have hiding inside of us.

I purposely avoid certain topics in my blog. The top ones being religion, politics, abortion, racism and work, although I've cheated on the work one a few times but that's just because I couldn't help myself. You might be interested to know that I have written posts about the others. No one has ever seen them for I never pushed the publish button when I was done. It keeps things light and fluffy around here and I'm able to avoid confrontation, which for those who DO know me in real life, know how I avoid confrontation like the plague.

But I have found that the blogs I enjoy reading the most, are the ones who are not afraid of confrontation. One in particular. I would consider this blogger a professional blogger. Also, a mommy blogger. She is outspoken, hilarious, insightful, and extremely entertaining. Out of the tens of thousands who read her... yes, tens of thousands... there seems to be quite a few who don't like her. Today I found an entire blog based on hating her. Specifically, making fun of those who do enjoy her. Quoting comments from her readers and then making nasty comments about them as well.

What I found interesting about this concept is that all of these people that are contributing to the hate site, including the hate site's author(s), take time out of their day to visit the very blog that they so despise to be able to contribute to the hate site. My question to them would have to be... if you hate this blogger SO much, why do you keep going back?

First of all, just from skimming the surface of the hate site, it's obvious there are some jealously issues going on over there. I guess it's the hate part that I find so confusing. I've come across many, many blogs that I didn't like for various reasons. So I never went back to them. Just like I won't go back to the hate blog I'm talking about. But I wonder at the kind of hate that is in these people's hearts, to so openly hate and encourage others to hate, on a daily basis. How exhausting their lives must be. And how small.

The coolest thing about this kind of media, including TV, is that no one is making me watch or read anything I don't want to. If I don't like something, I don't read it, or watch it. It's quite simple, really. An amazing concept that many have obviously not been able to wrap their minds around.

I really do understand when someone is passionate about something they either agree or disagree with. Because of that passion we have some of the coolest things ever, like the internet, and running water, and air conditioning, and compression socks. But on the other side of that, the passion runs towards racism, murder and hatred. It has always been this way. I fear it will always be this way. But in the end, this is the world that we live in. And I understand this, too.

My heart does not deal well with hatred. I see it almost every night I go to work. I do my best to separate myself from it. It can be done. But while I'm at home, I choose not to open myself to it. Granted, I'm not always successful... but I do my best. And I definitely have a hard time understanding those that feed on hatred with whatever or whoever that hatred might be geared towards. It never fails to boggle my mind.

It's okay to be mad. It's okay not to agree with other people's opinions. Whether you hate Glen Beck, Obama, abortion, murder, suicide, blacks, whites, illeagal aliens, Christians, Athiests... where ever your hatred may lie... might I suggest eliminating these topics from your daily life? Don't misunderstand me here. I'm not saying to not be passionate about something. Without passion we would not be who we are. But there is a distinct difference between passion and hatred. Learn to know the difference. And learn to love the world you live in, with all of the different kinds of people, all of the beauty, and all of the PASSION. I promise, you will not be disappointed if you do.

Love. It's easy.

Compression Socks - Day 3

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch. The ankles look beautiful. My lower legs feel as if they have been repeatedly beat on. They feel bruised and are very tender to the touch. As ugly as the swelling was, there was no pain involved. Makes me go hmmmm.

If I were a doctor, and I am not by any means, I would probably suggest to myself that I get a less firm compression. So I think that's what I will do.

I know there is someone out there thinking to themselves... why doesn't she just go to the doctor? The answer is simple. I have. Many of them. In 2005 I had so many different doctors and specialists that that is all I did was go to the doctor. Every stinking week, many times more than once a week. I was at one point on so many pills, that I spent about two years of my life high on prescription medicine. It was enjoyable while it lasted, but when I finally got off of all the crap I was on it was like the world suddenly had color and meaning again. I like colors, thank you.

This is not to say that if I am terribly ill that I will avoid a doctor. I know that doctors save many lives. But I also believe that people have been conditioned to go to one for the least little thing. And I HAVE gone for the swelling. And the "rain pain". Many times. We've ruled out heart problems and blood clots as the cause of the swelling and there is still no definite answer about the rain pain although the last time I talked to one about it she said it was probably rheumatoid arthritis. Have you SEEN the side effects of RA meds? Yeah... again, no thank you. It's much more fun for me to complain here where I can get complete strangers to read about it. That's just how I roll.

Compression Socks - Day 2

I was able to keep the silly things on till about 4am at work. I had developed a crease in both ankle areas which means they were not put on correctly and it started to get a bit painful. I was unable to adjust them due to the wonderful pain that has intensified and spread... again. There is no possible way I can get them on again until it lets up. BUT... for the time I DID have them on... OMG it's fantastic the difference just a day made. It's like I have real legs again and ankles. I have ankles!

Kitty Cam is up and down. Not sure if you noticed or cared. My computer has been a bit sick so until I can find out what's causing the problem it will be up and down intermittently. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. I know how disappointing it has been not being able to click and watch my dust balls grow. Maybe one day it can get it's very own designated computer. Just don't hold your breath on that one.

Compression Socks - Day 1

So I finally opened my pocket book and bought some compression socks. I just got them and I just put them on. I know my family knows about my lymph edema, but I'm not sure the general reader here may. So now you know. I was diagnosed with this last year or year before last or maybe longer than that. Can't really remember. My left leg has always been worse than my right leg and I've had all the scans and there is no clot present in either. I think it's a case of fatness and little activity. I had some thigh high compression socks but it was akin to wearing pantyhose which, in my opinion, are the most uncomfortable thing a woman can wear. Being a compression thigh high... you can imagine what it felt like to have the band of those things squeezing your thighs. It was torture and I couldn't stand having them on.

If you are not old like me you might not know that compression socks come in a variety of styles and compression amounts. I got the super duper strength. 30-40mmHg. And they were NOT easy to get on. I opted for the ugly looking ones since they were half the price of the fancy ones and since I have no plans to be showing them off.

When I put them on a while ago, I realized something I did not take into account when I ordered them. Had I gotten them yesterday I probably would not have thought about this at all until I put them on today. It's seriously a chore to get these on. I have not had my "pain pain" in a couple of weeks. Today one of my fingers has changed that. After getting them on, that same finger screamed at me. I can't repeat to you what it said, but it was NOT nice.

After wearing these things for about two hours now, the difference is already amazingly noticeable. They are comfortable enough that they don't seem to be bothering me one little bit. I can feel them... compressing. It's almost like a leg massage. Okay, not really, but it's nice to dream. I'm hoping to get to the point where I only wear them to work. I might not ever reach that stage, but again... it's nice to dream.

In the picture you can see that my lefty is worse than my righty. I chose open toed because I have only a little swelling in my feet area and the freedom of the toes seems to make these more tolerable as well. Only time will tell and I will be sure to tell you here.

New tube additions. Now it's THIS long:

And Cricket is loving it.

This Is How I Drink Water, Too

Through The Years

My daughter's boyfriend has requested to see some baby pictures. Although I have quite a few pictures, I opted to just scan the pictures that were professionally done... meaning I'm not the one who took them. That way, when my kids see that I have posted these pictures for millions and millions of people who have internet access to view, they won't be completely ashamed of me for sharing. For some odd reason, they really dislike looking at themselves when they were younger and for the life of me, I don't know why. I've always found it fascinating to see pictures of myself when I was a baby and a young child. Granted, I don't like looking at pictures of myself now, but that's just 'cause I'm old and fat.

I hope you find these at least a little bit as enjoyable as I do every time I take them out and look at them. 

The quality of the scans are not that great, but I can't complain since the scanner I used was free.  Closer inspection can be achieved by clicking on them.

Hongry

I was starving the other day and I didn't really have anything at the house to fix. Odds and ends was pretty much it. I didn't feel like leaving the house to go forage for food, either. So I threw the odds and ends together and WOW did I impress myself! Here's what I threw together:

One pound ground chicken
One can of Rotel
One package of dry Onion Soup Mix
One cup of wild and brown rice (not instant)
A small pinch of salt
A few sprinkles of black pepper
A handful of slivered almonds

I browned the ground chicken with a very small pat of butter. (ground chicken and turkey tend to stick to the pan and don't brown as well as beef so I add the butter for flavor, non sticking, and browning all in one.) Got it all cooked up and I drained it. I added about a cup and a half of water and the rest of the stuff minus the almonds. I simmered it for about 15 minutes covered, added the almonds and cooked it uncovered for about 5 more minutes. I seriously didn't think it was going to taste all that great but I will be making this again. I had a serving and packaged the leftovers in individual Glad freezer bowl things. I took a picture just because and this is what the finished product looked like...

It really doesn't look all that appetizing to me. I thought by looking at it that some shredded cheese would have been good to have on it, but I think the cheese would have taken away from it. But I think I will drop a half of an avocado cut up on the top after I dish it up next time. I can't say for sure why I added the almonds at the end. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time and it was.

***
Cricket has a new thing to do. When I get home in the mornings, or when I wake up, or pretty much any time I'm at home, I have my hair pulled back out of the way in a pony tail. In the mornings, Cricket will get up on the back of my computer chair and I will flip the pony tail up there with her and she will play with my hair... sometime pulling too hard and always matting it up really good. Here's a not so good picture, but the best of the one's that I do have:

 

And one of Jynxy looking like he fell asleep mid thought...

The Toad

There is a toad that seems to be frequenting my break area at work. I saw him for the first time last week. I opened the door and there he was. Just sitting there like he had been waiting on me. He looked up at me. I talked to him and told him what a pretty frog he was since I tend to talk to things that usually don't talk back. I told him I wished I had some big fat crickets for him to eat. I've seen him almost every night since. May or may not be the same one each night... but I like to think it is.

He made me think back to a random day about 15 years ago during one of my son's practices on his pee-wee baseball team. He was playing outfield... which included dancing around, playing in the dirt, yelling across the field to a friend... pretty much anything aside from watching what was going on, which, for me, was SO funny to watch. Because all of the boys this age would do this. This particular evening, my son came running off of the field because he found a toad. And then it became our "pet" toad. We had an aquarium and we bought live crickets from the feed store so he could eat.

I'm not sure how long we had that thing. I don't even remember his name, if we even named it. But one day my son decided that it was time for him to go back out into the world and on one of my parents excursions, they took the frog and set him free.

I hate the way that getting older makes you forget so many memories. Like a pet frog's name. My son would travel with my parent's in their RV when he was younger and I can't remember if he went on that trip with them to set the frog free. Something in my aging brain mass is telling me he did.

Forgetting such precious memories makes me sad. But having a silly toad remind me of such things makes me happy. And the only time I realize I have forgotten something is when I remember it... or most of it.

WHATever

This month's menstrual cramps lady days hell week hormonal imbalance brought to you by Rosey Grier:

Long Road Home

It took me an hour and 20 minutes to get home from work this morning. Got stuck in a massive traffic jam that involved the highway being shut down. When I heard that they had shut the road down over the radio, saw that the nearest exit was about a mile away, that nobody was moving, and that my gas light had just come on, (the only way I can keep my car from overheating in a traffic jam like that is to turn on my air conditioner which uses even MORE gas) I pulled over on the side of the road, turned on my hazards and waited it out.

The first 30 minutes of sitting there were okay. I listened to the radio and watched the traffic not move. Then all of a sudden I had to pee. And then all the car exhaust started to get to me and I started to want to cough. And the longer I sat, the more I had to pee and the more I had to cough and those two don't go together real well. Then I started to look around on the inside of my car for an emergency urine container... just in case.

I have no idea how I would have used it. Luckily, around that same time, the cars started to move and it wasn't long before I was able to sneak my way into the wall of cars and make my way home. Safe and dry.

The good news is that the pain I had been having for the last few weeks has been absent the last few days. Being pain free is a wonderful thing. Really hoping this was the last episode for this year. No... I'm REALLY hoping this was the last episode ever... but I'll take what I can get.

And Even More About "The" Pain

My hopes are that it rains soon. I don't know at this point if it will change anything as far as the pain goes, but I still hope it does. I've had extended episodes before. This is definitely one of them.

Update on the medicine gel: It mostly works. Which, believe it or not, is a good thing. I've never found anything that has even sort of worked. Because this is medicine and even though this is a gel, I can't bathe in the stuff, although I have wanted to once I found out that I'm able to get SOME relief. I get complete relief if I stay motionless after I have applied it to the various hurtings. I have learned that I move around a whole lot more than I thought. Bathroom runs, water runs, cat petting, typing... but if I lay in one spot, or sit in a chair with my feet up, I'm painless. For however many minutes I can stay that way. But I'm happy with that. It's better than I've had before. It takes away the throbbing and burning that accompanies the pain... which is the part that makes me crazy. It does nothing to soothe the burning sensation I get when my hands are immersed in warm water, though. So dishwashing and showers are sparse. Good thing I work in a room all by myself.

I hung out at work this morning and chatted with my supervisor and the detective for a bit. Ended up leaving about 20 minutes later than normal. OH. MY. GAHH! How do you people drive in this stuff every day? While driving no faster than 40mph the whole way home, I heard on the radio that an area in the city that I live in was ranked number one in traffic congestion, boasting a total of 42 hours a week of congestion. Yay for us! You can read the short story here in our area newspaper. Thankfully, I don't have to drive that way to or from work. It really doesn't matter what day or time of week. That road is almost always bumper to bumper. As a side note, this area moved down from last year's number 4 to number 5 on the national scale. Please, come live here! Everyone else is!

It's my weekend. Which means I can go almost three whole days without putting shoes on which is good in ways I hope you never have to know. I have so much to do yet I have no idea how I'm going to do any of it. "Baby steps. Baaaaby steps. babysteps. BABY STEPS!" Have you seen that movie? What About Bob. With Bill Murray and Richard Dryfuss. Classic.

I'm Moving To Utah

I knew that one day... when I least expected it... I would find it. The. Perfect. House. Designed and captured so beautifully with just the right shots. It's SO cool, that it has it's own website. Priced at $749,000, which juuuust squeezes into my budget, I'll send ya an email when I get moved in.
Stolen from Dooce.com's Twitter.

September Is Here

Can't begin September without a little Earth, Wind and Fire so enjoy the song! I just changed it, so depending on when you read this, it may still be Chris Isaak until the change goes through. But you can't complain about Chris Isaak because... well... YUMMY! (Located conveniently in the sidebar on the right, if you didn't already know that.)

Our K-9 officer was given a brand new spiffy K-9 vehicle to carry around Nero. He's still figuring out all the buttons and sensors and what not. This is his first week with it... and Nero's first week with it as well. It is a Chevy Tahoe... not sure what year, but I think it's a 2010. It may be a lowly 2009 model, though. Nero has a built-in kennel in the back and the officer has a special button he can push that opens the door for Nero to get out, just in case. But it's been fun watching them play with it. Excuse me... it's been fun watching them TRAIN with it.

This morning about 0330 hours we stepped out front to take a break. It was SO quiet. The temperature was about 67, the breeze just barely moving the flag around at the fire department. I couldn't even hear a dog barking. It was so quiet I almost felt the need to whisper. The officer went to pop open Nero's special door so they could go patrol and when he popped the door open for Nero, the silence was shattered by this blaring, awful, loud, obnoxious alarm that was coming from the amplified horn area. I think I'm still a bit deaf from it. But oh, how I laughed as I watched the officer run to his truck and try to figure out how to turn off an alarm he didn't even know he had. When he finally figured out how to turn it off I think ever dog in that city was barking. After I was done laughing, I said, "Wow, D... way to spoil the moment." No... scratch that. I'm still laughing. But he did totally spoil the quiet moment.