Merry Christmas

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On Overdoses and Meanies

I once accidently overdosed myself. At that point in time, I didn't know you could do that with over the counter meds. I had worked sick all weekend. I work at a hospital and sick or not, you do not miss work on a weekend. It wasn't my weekend to work, but I was doing it for a co-worker who was out of town at a wedding...but I digress. Once I got off work that Sunday morning, I stayed up to call my boss to call in for Sunday night--didn't want to call and wake her too early. I had gone by the drug store and picked up some tylenol and cough syrup. I ached all over, was running a fever, was coughing and my throat was raw. My roommate was home and in her room studying for an upcoming test. She had told me to call her if I needed anything. I went to bed after taking a normal dose of my meds and tried to go to sleep. Everytime I started to doze, I would start coughing, which made my chest and throat hurt so bad..! I was totally miserable, tired, sleepy, sick but couldn't stop coughing long enough to sleep. Finally, after an hour or two of this, everytime the cough started, I'd just grab the cough syrup off the nightstand and take a swig. I did this quite a few times and finally the cough settled enough and I was able to drift off to sleep. I have no idea how long I was asleep, although it was less than an hour. I was asleep, then suddenly, my eyes popped open and I felt as if someone had just suddenly woke me up. I laid there kinda confused for a few seconds, then I realized that my skin felt as if millions of tiny little bugs were crawling all over me. I kicked all the covers off, but there was nothing there, it was just my skin crawling, head to toe skin crawling. I looked around, but nothing seemed real, like I was dreaming, although I knew I was awake. I started panicking, scared, then the thought hit me....How much of the cough syrup did I drink??. I picked up the bottle and over 3/4ths of the bottle was gone. I had drank nearly a whole bottle in about an hours time. I knew I had to get up and to my roommate, just to see and speak to another person would help me lose the dreamlike-unreal feeling, I hoped. I got up and opened my bedroom door. I had to walk across a small entryway, then the living room and her room was on the other side of the living room. I started across the living room, then-I swear(!!)-the living room walls moved forward and touched right in front of me, then went back into place. I started running and as I got into Sandy's room, I tripped and fell across the foot of her bed. I was hysterical! I starting trying to tell her about the walls moving, how much my chest hurt and that I drank too much syrup. She calmed me down and had me stay there while she went and got the bottle. She came back in and told me to get dressed--I was in my jammies--she was taking me to the E.R. to have my stomach pumped cause I had OD'ed.

Now, the problem with this is that we worked in labs at the hospital. We both actually worked in the E.R. lab, she full time and I as a fill in person. We know those people, we have to work with those people. Not to mention the people in the main lab, where they would be sending the sample they would collect from me for a drug screen. I told her I would not go, she could not make me. Besides, it had been at least an hour since I took the last dose, so it was already in my system. She thought about it for a moment, but told me if there were any changes in my behaviour, or if I became unresponsive, she was calling an ambulance. I agreed to these conditons. She went and got a blanket and a pillow. She pitched the pillow onto the couch, then told me to stand up straight. I tried to tell her about the meanies...you know, the ones from the Beatles "Yellow Submarine"..that were in the kitchen peeking around the wall at us. I'd see them out of the corner of my eye, only when I looked, they would hide behind the wall again. She looked at me and asked....What really stupid thing did you do today?? I mumbled that I drank to much cough syrup. Are there really any meanies in the kitchen?? No, I told her, there probably aren't. She had me raise my right arm straight up, then she put the blanket under my arm and had me drop my arm back down to hold it in place. She then mummy wrapped me up in the blanket. She helped me lie down on the couch and put the pillow under my head. She told me she would be studying for her test, but she would be talking to me every few minutes and unless I wanted to be carted off in an ambulance, I'd better answer. She went back to her studying. I laid there for a few minutes, then someone way far off started calling my name. I asked her to listen and help me figure out who it was and what they wanted. She again asked...What really stupid thing did you do today?? I mumbled my answer and she went back to her studying. I was lying there wishing my skin would quit crawling and those $#@% meanies started popping up from behind the couch, from under the couch and over the arms and they were laughing at me. They'd pop up and laugh, then when I'd turn my head to look, they'd duck back down out of sight. I called Sandy again and told her to check behind the couch and she said....What really stupid thing did you do today?? I, of course, answered, very ashamed of myself. I kept seeing those stupid things and hearing my name being called, but eventualy drifted off to sleep. My poor roommate, who had to study that Sunday, then had a date planned for that evening, wound up cancelling her date to stay with and keep an eye on me. She said she needed to study more than she needed the date anyway, but I still think this was very nice of her. She did go and rent the Beatles "Yellow Submarine" for us to watch the next weekend. She seemed to think that was really funny.

Lesson here: Always follow dosing instructions on all meds, even the OTC stuff. It can hurt you, or at least give you a weird, interesting afternoon.

BTW...I wrote down the ingredients in the cough syrup and read about them in the Physician's Desk Reference at work. Turns out 2 of the 3 of the main ingredients when taken in excess can cause auditory and visual hallucinations, the 3rd in excess causes the skin crawling sensation.

True dat!

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Keep this in mind all you posers

Apples

Hendersonville Apple Festival.
I went.
I saw.
I brought home Honey-Crisp apples.
I am happy.

Celebrities & stalking & stuff

I once stalked a celebrity. I didn't mean to and didn't realize how it must have seemed to him at the time. Let me start at the beginning...

A number of years ago, my friend Tim (in Atlanta) & I made plans to surprise our friend Weezie for her birthday. "Annie" was playing at the Fox Theater in Atlanta and the plan was for me to get Weezie down to see Tim in Atlanta (have I written Atlanta enough?? Atlanta, Atlanta, Atlanta), then we would surprise her with tickets to the play. She knew we had a big surprise for her, but neither of us were going to tell her until we arrived at The Fox on Sat evening.

So, bright & early Sat morning, with many hours to kill before our big plans, Weez decided she wanted to go to the mall. Now, being stuck inside a mall in Atlanta on a saturday is probably the last place on earth I'd choose to be, but it was her birthday weekend/celebration, so I decided to suck it up and go with her. After a couple of hours of mindnumbingly looking at everything I cared nothing about in multiple dept stores, I spotted a bookstore and suggested we go there next. Weez knows that being in a mall is pretty close to hell on earth for me, so she graciously agreed. So in we go.

At that point in time John Schuck was traveling with the play in the role of Daddy Warbucks. For those of you who may not know, John Schuck was the guy who played Rock Hudson's sidekick, Sgt Enwright, on the TV series McMillan & Wife.

So in we go to Waldenbooks....at last, a little heaven in the midst of hell. I headed down the first aisle and who's standing at the end but Mr. John Schuck himself??!! He was taller than I expected he would be and his head was shaved for the part, but it was him!

My first instinct was to run to Weezie & tell her...but if I did that, it might give away the birthday surprise. So I chose to follow him around the store, one aisle from him, and try to screw up my courage enough to ask for an autograph and tell him that my friends and I would be seeing the show later that night. I tried very hard to not be obvious about following him around. I suspect that in trying not to be obvious, I became all the more obvious. I stayed one aisle either behind or in front of him, watching him and trying to calm my nerves enough to approach him. I would watch, and everytime he looked up, I'd pretend to be looking at a book. This went on for at least 30 minutes, if not more. I'm a fairly shy person and not versed in approaching total strangers for any reason, much less for an autograph from an genuine TV ACTOR!! So, after a few minutes, he would look up and I'd quickly look down, then when I looked back up, he'd quickly look down. As the minutes ticked by, I began to realize that he had an almost fearful look on his face, that his eyes were darting around as if he was looking for the quickest exit. I mean, when you're walking around a bookstore and everytime you look up the same woman is staring at you over the aisle...well I can see how that might make someone a little nervous. The poor man kept switching aisles, trying to lose me, but I stayed on his tail like a bad memory. Finally, while standing directly across from him and making an effort to look inconspicuous, I actually grabbed a book and randomly opened it and a name on the page jumped out at me, I knew someone by that name. I flipped the book over and looked at the cover and as fate would have it, it was written about one of the old mill villages in the little town I grew up in. In the time it took for me to take this all in, Mr Schuck had seized his opportunity and made a break for the door. I glanced back up and he was hoofing it through the mall. I've never seen a person move that fast through that kind of crowd. He was throwing nervous glances back towards the bookstore, no doubt looking for that crazy eyed woman stalking him through Waldenbooks. I thought it was best just to let him leave and be thankful he got away. Wonder if he still tells the story of his narrow escape from the Atlanta Waldenbooks stalker? By this point, I was laughing so hard I couldn't have chased him down anyway. Weez came up to me and wanted to know what was so funny, but I couldn't tell her until after we saw the play that night. An excellent play it was too. Mr. Schuck played his part to perfection and as far as I know, never spotted me in the audience.

By the way, I bought the book and read a hilarious collection of stories by a man who grew up in the same small town I did. And he mentions many people in this book that I also know. How funny is that?!

Moods

Lots of things on my mind lately, lots of jumbled emotions. Dunno why I feel so much internal conflict, feel like things are spiraling out of control. I'm just not happy lately. It's been a busy few weeks, maybe all I need is a day trip....out of town....alone. Never enough, it's never enough. Maybe I'm just tired...? I need changes.....

Oh what a night!

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Fireworks

4th of July, 2009....I so look forward to fireworks displays.
I was supposed to work all weekend, but our last patient was sent home Sat morning, so I was called off Sat & Sun night. Ordinarily I hate that, I'd rather work than use my PTO to make up the hours, but I was happy about this one. My neighbors had planned a cook-out and I really wanted to attend. I got to meet 2 more of my neighbors, the newest 2 to move in. Both early to mid 20s guys. Nice enough young men. We cooked out, ate, talked and had a great time.
I left to go meet a co-worker & her son and to watch the fireworks at Redemption Outreach on Haywood Rd. It pays to know the right folks, and we got to go on the roof of a building nearby to watch. I set up my tripod and took some practice shots to get my settings right. This year, I used the remote for all the shots and they turned out so pretty, much better than last year! See the samples..? I love fireworks!! Afterwards, my friend, her son & I went to Stax's & looked at the pics. The blue one posted here was his favorite, so I've had it printed and I've framed it and I'm leaving it at work for her to give to him. I love that kid!
Then yesterday, I went with my neice & her husband to see the house they've put a bid in on. They are so excited. She showed me the pics on the computer of the inside, since we could only see the outside. It is beautiful. Great location, big yard, in a cul-de-sac, beautiful home. I'm going to help her landscape her yard. She's got furniture picked out and when we went back to her house, she showed me what her ideas are. I'm going Thurs with her to drive to Ikea in Charlotte to get some more ideas, then we're going to deep clean her apartment and get it move out ready. I'm so happy for them and so incredibly proud of them! I thoroughly enjoyed spending the afternoon with them. They're just interesting people to be around. And I love them so much!
What a great weekend!

I love these guys, even if they are nerds!

Caption is "Nerd Suit, Activate"

Best weekend ever

Friday was my birthday. One of my best friends and I have the same birthday, but different years. She had called me about 3 weeks before my birthday and said that her husband was making big plans for she & I and told me not to make any plans. It was dinner reservations somewhere & he wouldn't tell her or me where. I thought that was so sweet-we all 3 celebrated together last year too-and was very excited to go. They picked me up on Fri and he told me on the way that we were dropping by to pick up another friend at her daughter's house. No prob, the more the merrier! We stopped by and she ran out to the car and asked me to come in because her daughter had a birthday present for me. As I was getting out of the car, Gary leaned over and told me to make it quick or we were going to be late for the reservations. I followed her up to the door and as I walked in, all these voices yelled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!" It was a surprise party. I was so shocked, then I started crying. It was great!! They had collected pictures of me from about 3 years old and had them posted all over the house, had put together a CD with top 10 hits for every year since 1959, had news headlines from '59 posted, house values, cars...etc. It was a blast. I didn't get home until 2am. Then was so wound up that I couldn't get to sleep until after 5am. I have the greatest friends!

Went out to eat to celebrate some more on Saturday night, then had dinner with dad, mom & sibs on father's day. Then my brother took me & one sis boat riding on Lake Jocassee. What a great weekend!

Oh Yeah!

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Oh Yeah

Park, park, I love the park!

I got a call from my neighbor Linda this (Sat) morning. She'd never been to a Shakespeare in the Park play and wanted to know if I'd go with her and her son. If you've never been to one of these plays, you owe it to yourself to go. I've never been to one that I didn't throughly enjoy. They're funny, different and free. Yes, free. They use the language of William Shakespeare, but dress in modern clothing. They include an audience member at some point, tonight was when one character was being chased by another and pulled a man in front up out of his seat to protect her. Then, in spite of multiple warnings to TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES, a phone rang up near the front. One of the characters (they move in and out of the audience), picked up the phone and answered it, then told the caller why the call-ee couldn't talk on the phone, then turned the phone off and gave it back. Needless to say, the audience was howling with laughter, and the silly dumb*** who ignored the instruction was completely embarrassed. 

The play was great. You can see that the actors just enjoy what they're doing. At the end of the play, they walk around with pillowcases and take donations. It's held at Falls Park, behind Falls Cottage. You can bring a blanket, and sit up front in the area reserved for blankets, or bring a fold out chair. Coolers-food & drink-are welcome. The shows start at 7pm, but to get a good parking spot and sitting spot, you need to be at the park by 6pm. To get  more info, go to this site:

Upstateshakespearefestival.org

Man, I sound like an ad for them, huh??! I just love going and would recommend this to anyone looking for an inexpensive evening out...free play, bring a pic-nik and you're set!

Hee-Hee

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This and That

For many years, my dept at work was run by a manager who was slowly spiraling into some serious emotional and physical problems. She has never had the insight to recognize this, and seemed to believe that everyone was out to get her. This was not true, we all were very concerned and worried about her. But she made work very tense and any contact with her was very uncomfortable. She was erratic in her professional behaviour, gave conflicting answers to questions from one day to the next, reacted to problems either by ignoring them or by becoming emotional and ranting, would not be honest-if she told you to do something that later turned out to be incorrect, she would deny ever telling you to do it and would go behind your back and complain to coworkers about you screwing up, brought personal problems that were better kept to herself to work and blabbed stuff we didn't need to know. This all is on top of a suspected drug problem, prescription drugs, and alcohol. 

We, as a group, used to get together for dinner, holidays...etc... but stopped all that after a particularly painful Christmas dinner. She showed up at the restaurant very drunk, continued to drink after we arrived, complained in a very loud voice about how crappy the salad bar was-the whole time she was putting together her salad, bitched, griped and complained about her meal and sent it back, I think 3 times. Then started complaining about her (grown) daughter's plate and tried to send it back too. Her daughter told her to quit complaining and told the waiter that her meal was perfect. This was at Steak & Ale, where there are 3-4 tables per room, so everyone in the room was subjected to this nonsense. The more she drank, the louder she became. It was embarrassing. I told several people after the dinner that this would be the last time I would attend any get together that she would attend. I think this was everyone's feeling as this was the last time we all got together outside work.    

Well, she lost her job about 6 weeks ago. I hate it for her, but it was a long time coming. I wish they could have found another position for her, one where she wasn't in charge of others. But I suspect there was a lot going on behind the scenes that we weren't privy to. It's been upsetting, but the tension at work is gone. I no longer pull into the parking lot and get a knot in my stomach when I see her car, or try to scoot unseen past her office door. That part was usually easy, as she'd wait until you got on down the hall then start yelling for you. I could just ignore that and claim I didn't hear her the next time I saw her.

Well, as we all know, yesterday was Memorial Day. One of the newest members of our team suggested a cook-out. It was held at a co-worker's house, we all bought dishes or supplies and we had a ball!! It was so nice to be able to get together outside of work. I think getting to know your co-workers outside of work can make your work relationship better. Most everyone brought spouses, kids or some combination. We got to spend time together, catch up, see how much the kids had grown and just had a wonderful time. OMG, it was so nice to be able to do that without the loud, drunk, obnoxious, inappropriate boss around. Those of us who could stayed and helped clean up. I took several bags of left overs to work to Kelli & Sunny, who had to work. 

I hope this is the beginning of many more such get-togethers.  And the beginning of a new phase at work with our new manager!  

Gee, that's great

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Hee-Hee

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My Tibbe

Isn't she a cutie! Yeah, I'm the weird cat lady. I'm on my computer, and she's napping on the comforter on my lap. I love my cats....Tibbe, Liu-Liu & Bacchus.

Lazy Day

Yes it is.

Temp has dropped quite a bit, it's rainy and dreary. Perfect day to say in, snuggled under a blankie watching TV, with one, or all three, of my kitties curled up with me. Right now, it's Tibbe, although she's not happy she's having to take a back seat to the computer. I feel guilty if it's nice outside and I don't feel like doing anything, but it's ok on a rainy day!

I did a portrait photo shoot downtown yesterday. The more of these I do, the better I like them. I had so much fun, then after, the person I did the shoot for brought a pic-nic and we all sat and ate lunch. Then coffee after with them reviewing the pics on my computer. I've been doing these for free just to get the experience, but that's about to end. I'm going to work up a price list and add this to my website.

Okay, gotta go work on those photos.

I would love to see a pic taken about 2 seconds later!
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Movie Time

OMG...I went to see the new Star Trek movie tonight. Now, if you know me at all, I rarely will pay full price for a movie. The vast majority of the drivel that passes for movies these days are not worth paying matinee prices, much less full price. But, I went after our pre Mother's Day dinner, with my step-mom & youngest sister. It was physically painful for me to pay that price, but I have to say that it was well worth paying the full price to see. Watching the old Star Trek tv series is one of my fondest childhood memories. I loved that show then and I love the reruns now, when I can find them. The next "generations" were ok, but not as good as the original IMO. This movie stayed true to the characters personalities, the wordplay and the relationship / friendship / competition...and even included a large role for Capt. Pike---ok any trekkies, do you know Capt. Pike and his relationship to the crew and the old series..??

Needless to say, I highly recommend this movie, especially to those who loved the original series...you will not be disappointed.

I can't wait till it comes out on DVD!  

Cindy Moment

Okay, major Cindy type thing happened last night. I woke up at 4am-ish for a potty run. I, half asleep, stumble into the bathroom. Evidently my cat(s) have been trying to figure out what the heck the scales are and had pushed it out into the floor from it's usual resting place against the wall beside the toilet. As I stumbled in, I stepped on it, slid across the floor until my knees hit the toilet, then I flipped over the toilet and went head & left shoulder first into the bathtub. 

This was in no way, shape or form fun for me. In fact, from the time my foot hit the scales it was more of a pure, abject terror type of experience. It's really funny-odd-how many thoughts can go through your mind in such a short period of time, the main one being---OMG--will I survive this and if so, how long will I be hospitalized??

When I realized that I was still conscious and could move all my limbs fairly easily, I got up from the tub, very shaken. I then changed my sleep shorts....literally, I was going in originally to empty my bladder after all. It's very hard to remember to clamp down that bladder when you feel your very survival is possibly in question. Amazingly, I was able to go back to bed and fall back to sleep fairly easily. 

So, I had to work today for 4 hours. I got up a little sore, mostly a couple of toes on each foot, got ready, went in, had my yearly evaluation (excellent, btw), then went to my assigned post, which was sitting at a computer logging in paperwork. After doing that for a while, I turned to get up and had a really hard time doing that. My back hurt, my left shoulder hurt, my hips and knees hurt. And it had only gotten worse. I'm thinking I'm just too old to be nose diving into my tub. I will make a solemn vow to give it up, to the best of my ability.

Surprise Ending

Did not start out as a great day. I went to get my Mac outta my wheeled cart I take it (& other stuff) to work in and ....... no power cord. I called work, they didn't see it anywhere. I called the front desk to see if it was turned in to lost & found....not there either. DANG! Now I gotta go buy a new one. 

I called my niece to congratulate her on her last exam, last day of college today. She as at the mall & I went to meet her. We had so much fun, hung out, window shopped, got make-overs and just enjoyed each others company. I love spending time with her!

Then went to get my hair cut, then to meet a friend for Cinco de Mayo at Sabroso's. I headed to work after to retrace my steps and see if I could find my power cord. I parked where I did Sun night, walked the same route all the way to the lab, no luck. I went in the lab and asked Kelli if she'd seen it. She hadn't. I checked the top of the file cabinet where I usually put my backpack and my mail tray, not there. I plopped down in a chair and just happened to glance down and there it was, still plugged into the surge protector. I did the happy, happy dance. I can now play on my comp and stop those withdrawal symptoms. 

Yea!!! 

Sunny day and turtles and stuff

I spent Sat at Furman doing some pics for a co-worker & his family. Nice guy, his wife was the same and they have 2 beautiful kids. I completely enjoyed spending a couple of hours with them doing the pics. I spent most of yesterday going through and cleaning them up. Doing some B&W's ...etc... I'll take them to him on Friday.
This guy here (above) was chilling, keeping an eye on us and keeping cool. It was a hot day! Sunny, beautiful and hot. I'm so glad warm weather is finally here. Don't even mind the itchy pollen eyes. It's nice to have energy--which I lose during the Winter months--to be able to open my windows and doors and feel the breeze, the fresh air. I'm finally getting some long overdue housework done too, another plus! Yeah, all in all, been a good few days off.

Great Saturday

What a beautiful day yesterday was! This is the 1st day in about a month that I've been felt like and been able to get out and just...loafer all day. No extreme coughing jags, no getting tired after a few minutes, no asthma wheezing, no naps! 

I have a neighbor who works weekends, so I spend some saturdays, especially during this winter, with her son on his days to visit her. He called me yesterday and I invited him to go take pictures with me. We rolled down the windows, opened up the sunroof and enjoyed the sunshine. I went to Furman to take some pics, got some great ones of the water fountains and the lake, and enjoyed hanging with my 15 year old buddy. He's a great kid! He'd never been to the top of Paris Mtn, at the radio towers, so I took him there and got some more really great pics. I couldn't believe how many people were coming in and out up there while we were there. It is a beautiful spot to go and overlook the whole area, from Furman to Greer. 

I promised to take him to Poinsett Bridge next time. He liked that cuz it's supposed to be haunted! 

I had a poetry reading to go to at 8pm and his mom called once she got home, so I invited them to both go with me and my group. She couldn't, but let him go and she met us out at Barnes & Noble after. The poetry reading was by an ex-professor of my neice's and she had asked me to go. I'd never been to one before, and was excited about going and about meeting this prof that she and her husband think so highly of. I got there and met my usual gang, and the prof. He handed out flyers with copies of what he was going to read, and on the front, he had dedicated the reading to me!! That was exciting and a bit of an honor! He was really good, and after I got home, I e-mailed him one of my pics that one of his poems made me think of. He's going to go to my website and look at some more of my stuff to "get inspiration". How cool..??!! 

All in all, it was a great day!  

BTW....there will be another reading on May 16th at 8pm. If anyone reading is interested, let me know and I'll get directions to you.   

Official Now

OK....it's official. Got the call from my Doc this morning. I am now a type 2 diabetic. Hopefully it can be controlled with diet changes--goodbye Mtn Dew, old friend. I kinda feel a little numb about it, cried a little earlier. But I hate to cry, especially because of something stupid I've done to myself. Being upset is not going to help the situation. So, time to suck it up and do what I need to do. 

Life

This is from one of the most beautiful e-mails I've ever received and I say Amen to that!

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become kinder to and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie or for not making my bed or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon, before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4am and sleep til noon? I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60s & 70s and if I wish to weep over a lost love, I will. I will walk the beach in a swimsuit that is stretched over a bulging body and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose, despite the pitying glances from the current jet set. They too will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful, but then again, some of life is just as well forgotten. I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can a heart not break when you lose a loved one, when a child suffers or even when someone loses a beloved pet? Broken hearts are what gives us strength, understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what others think. I rarely question myself anymore and I've earned the right to be wrong.

I embrace my aging. It has set me free. I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am here, I will not waste time lamenting what may have been or what could be. And I shall eat dessert whenever I feel like it! 

(author unknown)

Sick of Being Sick

OMG....I can't believe I'm sick again!!! Everything from the chin up is stopped up, my throat hurts, my chest hurts...WAHHHHHHHH. I HATE being sick! I'm hoping this is just allergy junk and will go away on its own...???!!! I just finished one round of antibiotics.

And...AND......I did some lab work my doc requested...I knew the lipids were not going to be good-and they weren't-but my fasting blood sugar was way too high, higher than it's ever been before. Now that scares me! Diabetes runs in my family. We'll see what she says when I go back. Just go with the flow til then and deal with what happens as it happens. It can always be worse, huh?! 

Who knows...maybe this will be that kick in the butt I need to finally give up my Dew's and lose some weight. Yeah, that's the ticket---try to keep a positive spin on the whole thing no matter how ^&%$*(&% mad at myself I am!!

Road Trip!!!

To Monroe, NC.

To hang with Kimmy for a few days. I was going to leave Fri morning and really surprise her, but my niece called Thurs and her son's 2nd BD was today and they had a party for him today. So, I put off the trip til tomorrow morning. It would have been fun to show up on Fri morning and really surprise them, but maybe next time. I am bring her another surprise--if you read this Kimmypoopoo, you'll have to wait until I get there, but you're going to LOVE IT!

I actually-----cleaned my car------for this. I can actually seat 4-5 comfortably in it again. It just doesn't look like mine anymore. I even--are you sitting down?--washed it, vacuumed it and cleaned the windows----AHHHHHHH, can u believe it????

Gotta go dry some clothes now...

Buh-bye

OMG

OMG!!!!!!!

2nd Contest

Second photo contest winners list is in.....my name is not on it either. Oh well. One more contest to go. It would be fun to win, but I'm pretty new at this so it would probably be a fluke if I did win. It's fun practice tho and helps me to look critically at my work! 

I HATE being SICK

Ok....@#$%it. 

I give. 

This junk that has been slowly trying to kill me just won't go away. A couple of people I work with talked me into going to the doc today b/c I have that awlful cough and I'm losing my voice again. They did a flu test-neg, but she has put me out of work until Mon and gave me meds for  my raw throat and upper resp infection. I feel crappy, and I'm not a nice person to be around when I'm sick. Probably best that I'm quaranteened--yea, I know it ain't spelled right but I just don't care. My head hurts, my back hurts, my front hurts and my left and right hurts, so a misspelled word is no biggie.......GRRRRRRRRRRRR. MAJOR bad mood coming on ....

Gonna go now 

Best menopausal question ever

Best Menopause Question Ever:

Q:

How many menopausal women does it take to change a light bulb?

Woman's Answer:

One!

ONLY ONE! And do you know WHY? 

Because no one else in this house knows HOW to change a light bulb! They don't even know the bulb is BURNED OUT!! They would sit in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it out.

And, once they figured it out, they wouldn't be able to find the #&%!* light bulbs despite the fact they've been in the SAME CABINET for the past 17 YEARS! But, if they did, by some miracle of God, actually find them, 2 DAYS LATER, the chair they dragged over to stand on to change the STUPID light bulb would STILL BE IN THE SAME SPOT!!!!! AND UNDERNEATH IT WOULD BE THE WRAPPER THE FREAKIN LIGHT BULBS CAME IN!!! BECAUSE NO ONE EVER PICKS UP ANYTHING OR CARRIES OUT THE GARBAGE!!!! IT'S A WONDER WE HAVEN'T ALL SUFFOCATED FROM THE PILES OF GARBAGE THAT ARE A FOOT DEEP THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE HOUSE!! IT WOULD TAKE AN ARMY TO CLEAN THIS PLACE! AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON WHO ALWAYS CHANGES THE TOILET PAPER ROLL!!

I'm sorry.....what was the question?

Unbelievable

One week ago at this time, it was snowing fast & furiously. Today, it was 78 degrees, and I have been riding around with my windows down......!

Photo Contest

Got the winner's list from the 1st photo contest. My name wasn't on it... :-{

Oh well, 2 more to go, one with Flickr, the other with a regional magazine.

Total of 5 entries. Flickr had 1 category, the magazine had 5-only 4 of which 

I submitted pics. Keep your fingers crossed for me!! 

Snow

Snooooow!!!
It snowed....an actual, ground covering snow, not the flurries we normally get. It started Sun evening, right before I left for work. I opened the door to leave and it was coming down hard. Everything was dusted. I ran by to get some sushi for dinner at work later and was only inside for about 20 mins, but when I came out OMG....we were under a blanket and it was snowing furiously. It was beautiful, but the roads were getting bad. I slid on Pelham, turning onto Patewood and when I turned into the entrance at work, I slid all the way across the entrance. I was able to park under the overhang behind the     

hospital, so my car was completely out of the snow--no scraping the next morning! I just hate it that I had to work. If I'd been home, I'd have drug Wanda & Deb out to build a snowman. I clocked in and grabbed my camera. I took over 120 pictures before my battery died. I ran down to change out the battery with my spare, but it was dead too!!!!! I usually leave one charged and in my camera bag-jic. I can't believe I forgot to charge it. Anyway got some great pics. I love snow--as long as I don't have to drive in it. Driving home Mon morning was a little hairy, roads were slick. There wasn't much traffic out, but there were police cars cruising everywhere. 

Crazy weather-5 inches of snow on Sun, but it's gonna be 70 degrees by Fri.                           

 

That's the south for you.

Welome to my world, come on in & have a seat

Enjoying my days off!!! 

I just upgraded my & Kim's cell phones on 1/31. When they came, we couldn't get the new sim cards to work, so we just put the old ones in the new phones--work just fine. Then, a few days ago, I dropped mine and shattered the LED screen--CRAP!! This was during my last set of days on, so I knew I probably couldn't do anything about it til Fri morn. I got home Thurs morn and slept til 3pm, but really didn't feel like doing anything about it then. However, I had an e-mail from AT&T, something about steps to follow to update my upgrade. So, I went on line and followed the instructions. Guess what???!!! I upgraded the cards, so now I have to use the new sim card. Not a problem for me, but Kim has no phone service at all. She has the new card, but she & Alan are traveling and it's packed up somewhere in the camper. So, I go into the AT&T store on Fri to see about replacing my phone and "fixing" Kim's. However, because I have insurance, I have to go through them to get my phone replaced. And, once the card is updated, it can't be undone. So, I called in insurance company, phone is on the way, I had Kim added as an authorized user--so she can go get a new sim card in case she can't locate the other one. Kewl, all taken care of!

Met Court & Joe for dinner Fri night. Always great to spend time with them. 

My new TV, stand, and surround sound system all arrived at Weezie's--her parents always let me have big stuff sent to their house since they're always home to sign for them. So, I'm trying to get the old stuff taken down so the new stuff can go up. Now that's a pain! Think I'm going to offer the old entertainment center on Craig's List for free.

And last of all, I'm very excited about submitting pics to 2 on-line photo contests. Some great prizes are being offered, and although I really don't think I'll win, it's exciting to be participating!

I'm ooooollllllldddddd

OMG, my niece is 21 today! 21!!!!!!!!!!!

We had dinner, cake & ice cream at her place tonight. It just doesn't seem that long since she was a newborn--good natured, always happy and smiling-- then a toddler and one of her fav things to do was watch me catch ladybugs and let them walk across my hand, then hers. That would just delight her to no end. What happened to me putting her up on the counter so she could help me cook? To me and her spending the weekend together, going to the zoo, the park then climbing out on the rocks and sitting in the middle of the falls eating sandwiches? She's grown into such a lovely, intelligent young woman. Open-minded, caring, has her head and her life together. Newly married to such a wonderful young man who we all love dearly. I'm so proud of her and who she's become. But every now and then, I'd love to have one more weekend with her at 5, or 8, or 10.

Wonky Eye

I just like the word "wonky". But I do have a problem with my eye. I had a coughing fit 

(allergies?) 2 nights ago. I was on my way to bed, and it stopped by the time I got up stairs. After I got into bed, my left eye started itching and feeling like there was something in it, which goes along with my allergies. I kept rubbing it but it started hurting, so I left it alone. I dunno if I scratched in my sleep or not. I woke up yesterday morning and it was really hurting and I could tell it was swollen. I got up and checked it out in the mirror and it was bloody. My first thought was pink eye and I went downstairs to put in some drops from the last pink eye episode. Only, it didn't burn like crazy like it usually does. I hit the recliner to wait for my sister to come over and it just kept feeling weirder and weirder. I got up after 30 mins or so and and the white part of my eye was swollen, bagging and hanging over my lower lid. This scared me and I called Kim and asked here to come on so she could drive me to the doc. I went and got some ice, if it works for other swollen stuff, should work for eyeballs too, right?! By the time Kim got here, the swelling was almost completely gone. I wouldn't go to the doc b/c my vision wasn't affected and it had stopped hurting. Boy does it look bad tho. I think I ruptured a blood vessel during the coughing fit and rubbing it once I went to bed just made it bleed more.It looks better today...not great, but better. I now have some bruising under my left eye and a small reddish streak down my cheek, that will probably be bruising by tomorrow. Look at the pic. I included one with both eyes so you can compare.

Ha!    

Pictures

So, last night, as I was snooping around on the internet (instead of doing housework), I came across a site called "Imagekind.com". This is a site where you can post your artwork, and they sell it for you. You can have 1 gallery with a total of 24 pics without incurring any monthly fees. I set up an account and have about 12 pics on it so far. I can set the mark-up as a % or $ amount and they do the rest. They have set prices for prints/canvases...etc... which they take out of whatever is bought, then the rest is sent to me. Plus, if the buyer decides to mat, frame or whatever, I get a 15% commission on that. If this goes well, I'm going to open a paid account, where I can post up to 5000 pics. We'll see what happens. I've posted a banner to the right with my posted pics and a link to the site. Wish me luck!  

New Year

Funny, it feels pretty much like the last one....!

Goals for this year.....

1.  Expand my website

2.  Stop being such a homebody

3.  Become a better housekeeper

4.  Lose some weight

5.  Start doing some volunteer work instead          of just thinking about it!

6.  Start drawing (more) and             painting...       maybe watercolors   

That's all for now, mostly b/c I'm nauseous and can't think of any more. 

There needs to be something deeper there, but I'm not in a deeper kind 

of mood right now.

Later