tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70035217804230725792024-02-18T20:33:34.503-05:00My Life-So FarMusings of nobody importantSeacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-11059312370389680352017-01-25T22:06:00.000-05:002017-01-25T22:06:44.572-05:00Th Rain StormI'm the kind of person who always has my inner child close to the surface. I think thats why kids like me so much. I can reconnect easily with the child I once was to relate to them. As one friend's niece put it one day, while talking to her cousin " Miss Cindy is the funnest girl in the world!"<div>
Now, as a child, I loved to go out in the rain. I'd run around with my face to the sky, loving the feeling of the fresh rain upon my face. Wet hair, wet clothes--didn't bother me! I got into trouble more than once for sneaking outside to play in the rain.</div>
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I swing shifts to a degree and one day I was working 1st shift. It came time for me to leave but a monster storm hit about the time I was ready to go. I work in a hospital so I stood at the front desk chatting with the concierge and security guard, waiting for the rain to let up so I could dash for my car. It just kept getting worse. I looked around for something I could cover with to not get wet but the only thing I found was an extra trash bag that housekeeping had left behind. I thought, might as well and I pulled it over my head. Now this was a clear thin plastic bag, so I could see through it, and it came to my knees but, even though the other 2 laughed at the way I looked (basically like I was wearing a giant condom) I decided it was perfect. I headed out the door. The wind was blasting the trees to one side and no matter how fast I went, I was soaked from the knees down in about 2 secs. I stopped for a second and thought...wth. I yanked that bag off, I jumped into every puddle with both feet and laughed all the way to my car. For those few seconds, I was 10 years old again. No worries, no mortgage, car loan or bills to worry about, just the pure enjoyment of being in the moment. It felt so good. My shoes were so wet that they were squishing with each step. I was soaked thoroughly. If any of the patients or staff were looking out their window, they would have pegged me as nuts. But I didn't care. I got home, took a shower, put on my jammies and thought about how wonderful life is, if you just sometimes let go and let yourself be a child again! </div>
Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-36896489551012965362016-02-04T19:52:00.002-05:002016-02-04T19:55:22.130-05:00FunnyLife is funny. Crazy how your whole life can change in a day. One thing and boom, your whole life changes.<br />
I feel that I've been kinda upside down and on edge since the ER visit in Oct. So many procedures, so many office visits, IVs, drugs, scary diagnosis......finding out my heart is failing. In that one moment, in hearing that phrase "it's heart failure", my whole life, my whole world changed. It's odd to know that my heart cannot support my life, it's odd to realize that without the pacemaker and drugs, I won't survive. Sometimes I wonder if it's all borrowed time but that really doesn't matter. All that matters is I'm still here and I HAVE to make these changes if I want to live. So my life is centered around a handful of pills in the morning, another handful in the evening. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it all. Some days, I'm scared, some days I'm sad, most days I'm ok. I have to remind myself this isn't a death sentence. I could live for many years like this...or I could drop dead tomorrow. Why worry? No one knows when their last day is going to be but I can't help but think about it. It has made me think about my priorities....all the "One day, I'm going to do this or that" stuff. Lots of things I want to stop thinking I'll do one day and start working on doing it now.<br />
I think I notice things more too, although I've always thought of myself as someone who sees things others miss. But the colors in a sunset or sunrise seem more vibrant, the wind on my face-even when it's a cold wind-, the owl in the trees across the street from my home that I notice calling at night when I'm coming home from somewhere, the peaceful beauty in watching a silent snowfall, the way I can see the emotion reflected in friends eyes when they talk. Things I noticed before but that seem even more important now. I report what my doc tell me to family and friends but I don't really discuss all the ramifications to my life, thoughts and "internal world". I've seen that the few serious discussions I've had seem to make people uneasy, so I just keep it to myself and make jokes about it all. I guess that's the best way to handle it. My biggest fear is ever getting to a point where I lose my independence. I live alone, I like it that way, I don't want that to change. But if it has to, I'll deal with it. In a lot of ways, I feel that this has already taken a lot of my choices away. Never been much of a rule follower but now I have to learn to follow rules.<br />
Life is funny...Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-64385587879348110932015-11-18T10:30:00.001-05:002015-11-18T21:01:29.585-05:00Matters of the (Wimpy) HeartWhat a wild ride the last month has been. I was born with a congenital syndrome named Holt-Oram. This caused 2 ASDs (heart) defects that were corrected with open heart surgery when I was 7. I also had 2 thumbs on my right hand and both hands/thumbs are slightly deformed and my arms are not quite as long as they should be, again a slight difference that goes mostly unnoticed. When I was<br />
3 1/2, they removed the 2nd thumb. This was a real thumb, not a skin tag, one I could move and use. They waited until I was that old to figure out which one to remove, which one would look more natural. At 37, almost 38, I was diagnosed with arrythmias and a low heart rate (25-30) and wound up with a pacemaker. I was told at the time that with this syndrome, there could be other heart problems that come up as I age.<br />
Mid Oct, I started having some breathing problems. Our weather had turned colder and that's usually when my asthma gets triggered, so I put it down to that. Over a week and a half, it just got worse. I couldn't sleep unless I was sitting up, I got deathly sick every time I ate, walking any distance made me gasp for breath. I still told myself...it my asthma and kept using my inhaler. On 10/24, I walked upstairs to weigh myself, because I'd not eaten more than a few bites of anything a day for a week and knew I'd dropped a few pounds. I walked up my stairs, which greatly winded me, but when I stepped on the scales, I had gained 8lbs....?!? What?? This was when that little voice in the back of my head started saying..something's happening here. I chose to ignore it. A friend called me that afternoon and wanted to meet for dinner, so we met out. I ordered, but couldn't eat as I was so uncomfortable from not being able to breath well. I got mine in a take out and she and I walked out to my car. When she saw how winded I was, she begged me to let her take me to the ER. I told her no, let me go home & think about it. I went by the grocery store on my way home and when I almost passed out on my front patio from carrying in 3 bags of groceries, I realized that I needed to do something. I fed the cats and put out a full bowl of dry food for them, packed an overnight bag and headed off to the ER. I was in such distress by the time I got across the parking lot and in the front<br />
door that I could hardly talk to the guy at the desk--who just so happened to be someone I had<br />
worked with in the ER at Greenville Mem years ago. He immediately called for a wheelchair and they took me straight back, started an IV, gave me aspirin, clipped on an O2 sat monitor, popped on heart monitor pads, took labs....lots of activity. I had called my friend on the way there to let her know I was going, so I called my family from the ER. The doc came in and told me they were going to do a chest X Ray. I had been looking at my O2 sat numbers and they were normal. If this was an asthma problem, they should not have been. I asked him why they were normal, and he just looked at me for a moment. I said, this isn't my asthma, is it? He answered, no, you're in heart failure. For one of the few times in my life, I had nothing to say. I just stared at him, then said, what does that mean? He started explaining heart failure, but I told him, I know what heart failure means, what does this mean to me, my life, what do I do next? He said we would talk more once the X Ray was done. They did that then the nurse came in and gave me nitro and hung a bag of lasix. My step mom and some of the people I work with were texting me and wanting to know if I wanted them to come up but the friend from earlier lived very close by, so I texted her, told her I was scared and if her offer to come<br />
up was still open, I'd appreciate the company. So, everything pointed to heart failure. The lasix made<br />
me trot to the bathroom every 15 mins or so but every time I went, I could breath easier. Once they released me, I headed home and even with having to get up and dash to the potty the rest of the night, I slept better than I had in a couple of weeks. The next morning, I got back on the scales and I had dropped 9lbs overnight.<br />
So the last 3 weeks have been a flurry of tests, cardiac echoes, pacer checks, cardiologist appointments, 2 day stress tests and in 2 days another pacer query to try and pinpoint when my A Fib started. I've found out that my ejection fraction, which was 55-60% 2 years ago has dropped to 25%, normal is 50-70% and I'm in a constant state of A Fib. I'm now on a diuretic, a blood thinner and 2 ace inhibitors. This coming Tuesday, I go back to the cardy and find out what comes next. This can<br />
not be cured but it can be managed. It could also be a whole lot worse, so I'm trying to stay positive<br />
and remember that.Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-83987718740769368132015-10-22T04:31:00.000-04:002015-10-22T04:31:40.931-04:00The AngelsI once saw Angels. I know that sounds nuts, but it's true. I was around 6 and had rode with my dad to take my younger sister to my grandma's to spend the night. My dad was in the yard, standing on the walk talking to my grandma who was standing on the porch, holding the screen door open while my sister was on the floor of the porch, playing with something. It was that part of the late afternoon, when it's not yet dark, but it's coming soon, and the sky has all these beautiful almost sunset colors across it. I tried to get Kim to come out in the yard and play but she wouldn't. I was very hyperactive and was running circles in the yard. I ran to the edge, towards the water tank that was across the street from my grandma's house, when something in the sky caught my eye. I stopped and looked up and there on a fluffy white cloud stood 3 angels. Now, even at my young age, I knew this was not something you normally see but I was awestruck. I couldn't see facial features but they were standing side by side, not facing me straight on but turned slightly to their left. I could see wings and halos and long flowing gowns, and they were bathed in a reddish-orange light from the sunset. As I stood there, they, in unison, raised their hands together, clasped them in a praying position, placed them under their chins, bowed their heads then all 3 slowly lowered to their knees. At this point, I was so thrilled by seeing this I ran across the yard yelling for my dad & grandma to look at the Angels in the sky. I was jumping around, looking at my dad and pointing back behind me, but when I turned and looked, they were gone. I remember a funny look passing between my dad & grandma, almost a frightened look, then my dad looked at my grandma and said...Oh kids and their imaginations. I tried to explain to him and her it wasn't my imagination, that I did see them, but they just dismissed me. I stood in the corner of the yard, hoping they'd come back until we left. I was so mad at my dad for not believing me that I wouldn't even speak to him on the way back home. As soon as we pulled up, I jumped out of the car and ran in and told my mom. She looked shocked and looked at my dad, who again dismissed it as my imagination. I was so upset with them. I know what I saw!<br />
Years later, I had a friend over for dinner and during our conversation, I told him about this. I then picked up my phone and called my dad. I reminded him of this and asked if he remembered it. He said he did. I told him that speaking as an adult, I was telling him that I did see them, that it was real and that moment is still so clear in my memory. He quietly said....I never doubted you. I asked him why, why did you and mom say it was my imagination at the time? My poor dad said, Cindy, we were looking at you having heart surgery the next summer that no one was sure you'd survive. Your mom & I didn't want to think about what you seeing Angels might mean.<br />
That was kind of a kick in the gut. My poor dad and mom, how this must have scared them.<br />
But I did see them and have no doubt they were my guardian Angels.Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-16232185823139141702015-09-05T04:08:00.002-04:002015-09-05T04:37:55.213-04:00Homemade CoastersSo, I have a friend with a birthday coming up and I decided I wanted to make her a unique, one of a kind gift. She's a wine lover so I made these cute wine label coasters. They were so much fun to do, I thought I'd put the steps here:<br />
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I bought 4x4 sandstone tiles at a local home store. They were less than $4 for a square foot, which of course, is 9 tiles.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpeAdYaeLi-IYYKFIjAAV4a4-dIK02fJhkcEwixlX06rmhGbezHGvVVjFFFK8SG7jCNGwcAS8ve1QvRcN6IlyULNBBSRFmUm6oEypK22t0bABT_i1ao6Ux0mAKXgxcRjztGDFoQoGcTA/s1600/IMG_1702.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpeAdYaeLi-IYYKFIjAAV4a4-dIK02fJhkcEwixlX06rmhGbezHGvVVjFFFK8SG7jCNGwcAS8ve1QvRcN6IlyULNBBSRFmUm6oEypK22t0bABT_i1ao6Ux0mAKXgxcRjztGDFoQoGcTA/s320/IMG_1702.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I added these cute felt stickies on the underside. I did add a drop of glue just to make sure they stayed </div>
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I found pictures I liked on line and did a screen shot, trimmed them to the size I wanted then reversed the picture. I printed them up on my printer on plain paper--don't use picture paper, it won't work. There are many free apps you can use to do this. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxc5zsglfdXRWrBKhyphenhyphenUiGXoANXd5ujsTUphmkduDMkwxARxPro_yOEeseigKTttl1A27WBhGO3Y0OtdTz3QoEq0arQNcZv6BpFoRkpA6pW_CzB27R-dJe_pg0TTJEiCi5Gz4kVDWznjc/s1600/IMG_1699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxc5zsglfdXRWrBKhyphenhyphenUiGXoANXd5ujsTUphmkduDMkwxARxPro_yOEeseigKTttl1A27WBhGO3Y0OtdTz3QoEq0arQNcZv6BpFoRkpA6pW_CzB27R-dJe_pg0TTJEiCi5Gz4kVDWznjc/s320/IMG_1699.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Now, I painted the top of the tile with Modge Podge and put the picture face down on the tile. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioz9H6tPAdU0Kq7rbeQ3NApBH0hd5cQbvx9oiuu0Sy7uyPCjknOsrk3fAos3dyVyIXETMhPAeffhCaAA9_IEvyZSpii4z0W8wfqeF7O0bsV6-qjucuk7cM_W35or9TgqU6wJ6WifCbFV4/s1600/IMG_1705.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioz9H6tPAdU0Kq7rbeQ3NApBH0hd5cQbvx9oiuu0Sy7uyPCjknOsrk3fAos3dyVyIXETMhPAeffhCaAA9_IEvyZSpii4z0W8wfqeF7O0bsV6-qjucuk7cM_W35or9TgqU6wJ6WifCbFV4/s320/IMG_1705.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Let this dry completely. I usually let it sit overnight, but you can put it under a fan for an hour or so. </div>
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Once dry, put the whole tile under running water and soak it well. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjP7uiCLxcirMjwdtAA5y4c4lO1l0jY9DPohYDfeXHL8byxzFct6-JhjbqUMLm6NRvv3FA9Xi7ZDpIhFgt8c70vKULBoDT1k-199DcvmQol6ntWNj7IkoDKVJHg8P-q-uNa1GeL1wvH_A/s1600/IMG_1707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjP7uiCLxcirMjwdtAA5y4c4lO1l0jY9DPohYDfeXHL8byxzFct6-JhjbqUMLm6NRvv3FA9Xi7ZDpIhFgt8c70vKULBoDT1k-199DcvmQol6ntWNj7IkoDKVJHg8P-q-uNa1GeL1wvH_A/s320/IMG_1707.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Then gently start rubbing with your finger. The paper will rub off and leave the print on the tile. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIwN-kTw0jF2-q3vgKwycBVLi_wMkxAyCVqLvoGl_o7y4gUFPhD4ULF4Pe5ygwIg9q1hp1brKhHNDvFbPPfyGVNjXvybBUDKQ0aXqGn0O_DSr4OMQIGbV4IyhBN-_tqvCSJ3-M_EMIqo/s1600/IMG_1709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAIwN-kTw0jF2-q3vgKwycBVLi_wMkxAyCVqLvoGl_o7y4gUFPhD4ULF4Pe5ygwIg9q1hp1brKhHNDvFbPPfyGVNjXvybBUDKQ0aXqGn0O_DSr4OMQIGbV4IyhBN-_tqvCSJ3-M_EMIqo/s320/IMG_1709.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtO_S5bn3tSAP4gbJKHxVif_TBE0thjWLJ3RTNKUKWt_U2bq85X6Mf1thrd7tsssHlspaEXqIAjyDVtfjgEpB2dSLA0MaE8yIfDy_EUo1Y4tahPJowxF24mxaGOa0d3xBEo8KktaH5CeI/s1600/IMG_1710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtO_S5bn3tSAP4gbJKHxVif_TBE0thjWLJ3RTNKUKWt_U2bq85X6Mf1thrd7tsssHlspaEXqIAjyDVtfjgEpB2dSLA0MaE8yIfDy_EUo1Y4tahPJowxF24mxaGOa0d3xBEo8KktaH5CeI/s320/IMG_1710.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Once it looks acceptable, allow it to dry, then brush on a clear glaze/protectant. </div>
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And here's the finished product. Suitable for use as coasters or to use as decoration!</div>
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<br />Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-15829710440587429392015-05-03T21:48:00.001-04:002015-05-03T21:48:57.149-04:00The Problem with the Security Guard<span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: large;">A number of years ago, I had a roommate. We took turns running bills to be paid...etc...although we did split all down the middle. Now at this point in time, I worked an odd shift (4:00pm-4:30am) and my roommate worked evening shift (4pm-midnight). I had more days off than she and we were both night owls. This means that bill paying, most of the time, was done at dropboxes in the middle of the night. </span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: large;">On the night in question, I was off work, my roommate was working until her usual time and we had pizza and a movie planned when she got home. The power bill was on the table and I decided, before she got home, I would take it to Duke Power and drop it in the dropbox. I got the bill and payment and headed out the door. She was usually home by 12:30 but she was picking up the pizza so I left out sometime around midnight. Greenville is a smallish town but even in the smallest of towns, traveling after dark can be a little scary. I always circled the parking lot and made sure I saw no one around before I'd get out of the car. I saw the security guard standing to the side of the door, in a large glass window--there was one on either side of the main door--so I felt a little safer getting out of my car. Now, I am a somewhat shy person, even more so then than now. The guard just stood there as I approached--me not making eye contact. He just stood there staring, not moving. I threw him a quick wave and he still didn't respond. I dropped the bill in the box and again waved but he still just stood there staring. I wanted to look him straight in the eye and give him a dirty look, he was being so rude, but I didn't, I scurried back to my car and left. </span><br />
<span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-size: large;">I got home and shortly after, so did my roommate. We ate a couple of slices while I told her about the very rude, unfriendly security guard at Duke Power. She couldn't believe he was so rude either, so, we decided to drive back up there, in her car, and she would march right up to the door and wave at him while looking him in the eye. If he ignored her, she was going to tell him off through the door. We went back up there and I decided I was walking up with her. We parked and started towards the door...and he was still standing there. However as we got closer, we both cracked up laughing. The "security guard" was actually a cardboard cut out of the maytag repair man they had placed in that window. We got back in the car but we're laughing so hard it took a few minutes for us to get it under control and go back home to cold pizza and a movie. We never did tell him off!</span>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-63985348613766012602015-01-25T00:16:00.000-05:002015-01-25T00:38:14.409-05:00Gloom, despair and agony on me......ohhhhhhhhhhDeep dark depression, excessive misery. If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. Gloom, despair and agony on meeeeeee!<br />
Remember what that's from??<br />
This has been my attitude for months now. Months! I go through my bad moments, we all do. But I've been in this black depression for months that I can't shake. This is unusual for me. I have my poor pitiful me moments, but I get over it quick. These days I'm feeling particarly ....... Useless, pointless, of no good for anything, like all I touch turns to crap. I'm tired of friends who are only friends when they want something from me. Too much has changed in the last 5-7 years and not all of it feels for the best. Maybe I feel things too deeply. But I'll never show it. Maybe that's part of the problem.<br />
I dunno. All I do know is that functioning day to day is becoming a major struggle. I don't sleep or I sleep too much. I've lost joy in anything in my life. Just go through the motions, no thinking, no happiness. I can fake it, I've always been ablet to hide what's going on in my head from others.<br />
I have an appointment with my doc on Feb 2. Something's got to give. I can't be this person. This isn't living.Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-73381922909152181062013-07-22T09:15:00.001-04:002015-01-22T00:24:47.282-05:00Remembering Mom<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">July 20th, 1966- This is the day my whole world collapsed. This is the day my mom drowned while we were on a picnic at Hartwell lake. My whole life was turned upside down and everything in my life changed. In a matter of months, we moved, I had open heart surgery, my sister and I moved in with my dad's parents, dad became someone I rarely saw or spent time with and he was usually drinking heavily when I did and was difficult, at the least, to be around. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">As it turns out, my "grandmother" did not want me but did want my sister. I know this because she told me this daily, among many other horrible, soul destroying things. Needless to say, my childhood was not an easy one. I missed my mom, I missed my dad, I missed my granddad James and all my family from my mom's side. When things got really bad, I would go find a quiet place outside to hide-to cry or think or write. When things were really bad and I was at my lowest, this butterfly always showed up. A yellow zebra swallowtail, every time. It would land near me sometimes but many times it would land on me, my arm, my hand, my shoulder or chest and just sit there waving its wings. I always believed that this was from my mother, letting me know all would be ok. It was the only sign of hope I had back then, the only thing that kept me from running away or hurting myself. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">Saturday was the 47th anniversary of mom's death. I've gone back to Madden's Bridge, which is where it happened, a few times over the years but do not feel the need most years to do this. This year though, I've had this on my mind very strongly for a couple of months. I decided that I was going to get some roses and have my own memorial and drop the roses over the side of the bridge into the water. I was going to do this alone, but then decided to ask my oldest friend, Gee, to go with me. I thought I might need the distraction afterwards. I'm not much for showing emotion, hate to cry, and didn't feel particularly emotional about doing this, just wanted to honor my mom's memory. So Gee and I rode down with 6 beautiful red roses. The water was back up to full level so I wasn't able to get back to the spot where we picnicked that day but that was ok because I wanted to drop the flowers off the bridge anyway. We walked over to the side looking over the spot, then we crossed the road and looked over that side. I wanted to find a spot where I could drop them and they would float under the bridge then out into the lake without getting caught in shallow water or float onto a bank. I moved down the bridge until I found the perfect spot. I asked Gee to stay on the opposite side and let me know when they came out on that side of the bridge. I really just wanted to be alone when I said what I wanted to say and dropped them. I think Gee knew this even though I didn't tell her. I said what I wanted to say, then slowly dropped the roses in, one by one. I took some pictures and watched until the last one went under the bridge. Still not feeling particularly emotional, just sad. I walked across the road and Gee and I watched the flowers float free of the bridge and out into the lake. There were some people way out in the lake, evidently practicing their skiing and we watched them and talked, mostly about how this spot, that day, had had such a major impact on my life. After the flowers were out of sight, I told her I was ready to go. She started walking towards my car, which was parked on that side of the road just beyond the bridge. I hesitated and turned to look back to the other side one last time.....and sitting on that side of the bridge was a zebra swallowtail. I cried out and pointed and before I thought, ran out into the road. I realized what I was doing and ran back, thank God no car was coming! Gee ran back to me and asked what was wrong. I just pointed and then I totally lost it. I was crying so hard that I couldn't even tell her. The butterfly sat there for a few seconds, then lifted off and fluttered up and down across the bridge then went into the trees on that side of the bridge. Once I was able to speak again, I told Gee about the butterfly. She started crying then and we both just stood there crying and hugging each other. I don't think I've even seen her cry since we were kids. This wasn't my imagination because she saw it too. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">I really feel that this was mom again, letting me know she knew why I was there and what I had done. Its a nice feeling, that even all these years later, she's looking over me. I understand now why I felt the need to do this. I wanted to honor her but she needed to get a message to me too. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #e06666; font-size: large;">Love and miss you mom!</span>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-4809505758336781452012-04-26T11:29:00.000-04:002012-04-26T11:30:32.614-04:00I'm so honored (blushing)I'm so honored! I've been nominated for a Versatile Blogger Award! Thank you Sunny!<br />
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<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="color: #222222; font-family: cursive; font-size: 15px; font: normal normal bold 30px/normal 'Coming Soon'; line-height: 21px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.75em; position: relative;">
<a href="http://bitofthisandthat1.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/versatile-blogger-award.html" style="color: #993300; text-decoration: none;">Versatile Blogger Award</a></h3>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are the rules for the Versatile Blogger Award:</span></b></div>
<ol style="background-color: white; color: #060606; font-family: cursive; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nominate 15 fellow bloggers who are relatively new to blogging. </span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let them know that you have nominated them. </span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Share 7 random facts about yourself. </span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank the Bloggers that have nominated you. </span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your blog post.</span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #060606; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #060606; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">Now my problem is that I don't follow 15 bloggers. I will add the ones I do follow, and the 1st one is my wonderful friend, Sunny, who nominated me and who is the reason I started blogging! Thank you Sunny! I still miss you terribly.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">http://sunnysez.blogspot.com/</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">http://thriftathome.blogspot.com/</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">http://literallybooked.blogspot.com/</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">http://www.southernplate.com/</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">http://www.lifeasaplate.com/</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">http://sunnyovertherainbow.blogspot.com/</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">http://thegymismynewbf.blogspot.com/</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">http://thecountdowntoonederland.blogspot.com/</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">7 Random Facts About Myself:</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">Hmmmm....</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">1) I love the beach/ocean. Any beach/ocean, anytime, anywhere. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;"> Something about looking at the ocean calms my soul.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">2) I wanted to be an artist as a child</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">3) My right 2nd toe is longer than my big toe on that foot, while the</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;"> 2nd toe on my left is shorter.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">4) I was born with 6 fingers on my right hand, a real extra one, not a</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;"> skin tag. It was surgically removed when I was 3 1/2. If I'd been a</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;"> boy they would have left it because as my dad says, " You would</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;"> have had a helluva grip on a football or baseball".</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">5) I am more comfortable with animals than with most people.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">6) I am the most insecure person I know, but have learned to mask</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;"> this fact fairly well. It is a daily struggle.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">7) I absolutely detest so called reality shows and believe they are the </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">biggest </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">threat to society today. I secretly lose respect for anyone </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">who </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">talks about watching them and wonder about their intelligence</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"> level.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; line-height: 18px;">Sorry to all my reality show watching friends, but, really??!!</span></span></div>
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</div>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-76006768150552428332011-09-14T16:41:00.002-04:002011-09-14T16:46:28.866-04:00Pranking Pam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZFmFYKx_wIqM26QNAGHvfa21YOxPNg4iDlMoDBG8xgFkvwOHykhYKDh-3ERjGorUafryHIOFSyKcmO9MMDKBxv6c6wN6-o2EbuDpFyo8E05D5JGBAUIyPkOdMomBAxcu9BU29E8CHO4/s1600/IMG_0728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZFmFYKx_wIqM26QNAGHvfa21YOxPNg4iDlMoDBG8xgFkvwOHykhYKDh-3ERjGorUafryHIOFSyKcmO9MMDKBxv6c6wN6-o2EbuDpFyo8E05D5JGBAUIyPkOdMomBAxcu9BU29E8CHO4/s320/IMG_0728.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-size: large;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: yellow; font-size: large;"> Pam's Cat-Even she thinks this was funny!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: yellow; font-size: large;">I love pranks. Not mean ones, but simple, funny stuff. I have the perfect person at work to pull these pranks on and another co-worker, Rodney, and I have pulled many on her over the years. Now Pam is a very intelligent person but somewhat gullible. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: yellow; font-size: large;">So, I work in a hospital lab and someone, I don't remember who, brought in this big, black, very realistic looking rat one day as a joke... you know, he was the lab rat, as we were. Of course, I realized the opportunities immediately. My lab is part of a huge hospital system in the area and there is some testing that has been farmed out to us, which means that we do all that particular testing for the entire system. The couriers will drop off the samples around 9 am each morning. They arrive in these large, brown, non see through zip lock bags. Pam was scheduled in this department one morning and decided to go have her breakfast and coffee before the courier drop off. About 5 mins after she left the area, the courier arrived and put her bag in her area. I saw my opportunity and found the rat. I opened the bag, dumped everything out, dropped the rat into the bag, then put all the samples back into the bag. I then went back to my assigned department and to work. Some time later, Pam returned to her department. The counter she sat at was a high one and she was in a taller, wheeled chair, tall enough that her feet would not touch the floor. Underneath the counter was a metal wall that ran from beneath the counter to the floor. I am looking through the microscope, reviewing a slide when all of a sudden, I heard a blood curdling scream, followed by the metal wall being kicked then the sound of Pam's chair slamming into the counter behind her. Everyone, including me, went running to see what was wrong, then Pam yelled "Cindy, Rodney, I don't know which one of you did this, but that was not funny!" By this point we're all gathered around the doorway to her area and there was a few seconds of complete silence while everyone took in the sight of Pam, red as a beet and against the opposite counter, then the pile of sample bags on the counter with that big, black rat sitting on top... then everyone started roaring with laughter. Pam was not amused. She glared first at me, then Rodney and said "I know it was one of you". I just shook my head and tried my best to look innocent. We all started walking away, still laughing, and, Rodney, who's 6'4" leaned down to me at 5'3" and whispered.."You did that, didn't you?" I grinned and nodded and he patted my back and said "Good one". Poor Pam. It's amazing that she doesn't hate us.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: yellow; font-size: large;">There were many, many more incidents with the rat and one day, it just disappeared. I suspect Pam. But there's always other things to take its place..... Rubber snakes, the large air pillows that come with supplies and make such a loud bang when you quietly lay them on the floor behind someone then jump on them, plastic roaches....... So many possibilities. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; color: yellow; font-size: large;">I love my job!</span>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-83768738714186800582011-07-08T01:20:00.003-04:002011-07-09T02:21:13.906-04:00Beach Trip and Swinger's Club<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan;">Several years ago, I got together a beach trip for myself and some friends. We rented a beach front unit, very large one with 3 bedrooms, large living room with a pull out bed, 2 full bathrooms, a kitchen, dining room and a private balcony. We were on the 15th floor and the view was incredible! The plan was, whomever could come would come down on the days they could (we had it 10 days) and we'd split the cost each day based on how many people were actually there. I think, there at the end, we had about 14 people. One guy slept in a fold out beach chair on the balcony every night! He loved the sound of the ocean and there was always a great breeze blowing.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan;">Anyway, the 1st night was just me and my friend Sandy. The 2nd night, my friend Tim came and was there a few nights, so it was just the 3 of us at first. On Tim's 1st night there, we all decided to go eat seafood. On the way, Sandy and I were talking about how much we loved playing on line trivia. Tim had seen a bar that had a sign saying "Play NTN Trivia Here". So, after dinner, we found this bar and went in to play. Sandy and I went to the bar and got controllers, Tim just sat back alone at a bar table-one of the tall ones-and ordered a beer and just sat there watching Sandy and me play. Sandy and I played quite a bit at home and worked together to get high scores. This guy was sitting a few stools down, noticed we were kinda working together on the game (the point being to get your bar into the top 10 or 20 in the country) and came over to us to see if he could join us. Those of you who know me know that I'm friendly to everyone so I agreed. Sandy was a bit shyer than me and seemed to not be as ok with this as I was, but she was always a good sport. I'm a true gemini, the more the merrier. The 3 of us chatted and talked during the game and on breaks. He introduced his 2 friends he was there with, a couple who hung back at another bar table, beside Tim as it were. They acknowledge the intro, but really didn't approach us. I kept glancing back at them during the games and they seemed to be in deep conversation, but kept nodding towards us. I just dismissed this. All 3 were somewhat scruffy looking, but hey, we're at the beach, lots of us are scruffy while at the beach! After we played a couple of games, we quit, then moved to Tim's table to drink a beer and talk. The couple still hung back, didn't join our table, but sat there watching us intently while we talked with their buddy. Tim looked pretty thoughtful and didn't say much-which is NOT like him at all, and Sandy seemed a little unnerved. I didn't know WTH was wrong with everyone! I was on vacation and looking to have fun!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan;">So this guy starts asking where we're from and I tell him. He told me that he and his group were driving back to New Jersey via Greenville and maybe they could call me and we could all go out to dinner. I said sure, I'll give you my number before we leave! Sandy gave me a very mild kick under the table. I thought it was accidental. So, he tells us about this club he's a member of. This club encompassed all of the USA and was open to anyone who wanted to join and was great fun. They would meet locally a couple of times a month and engage is some type of fun activity, then, once a year, they would do a national meeting, always at a different area of the country and this year, they were at the Myrtle Beach area (we were at Garden City). He went on to say that they had booked a yacht and were going out for a whole day out in the ocean. There was going to be a band, free drinks and food, and a great time was expected for all! Sounds like fun to me! He asked if I'd ever been on a yacht and I told him no. Nuther little tap from Sandy and now Tim is shooting me these weird looks. He asked if we'd like to go and I immediately said YES, that sounds like a lot of fun!! I saw Sandy's eyes get big, the quiet couple started smiling and whispering amongst themselves and Tim was looking stern. I did not understand all this--let me say here that I am not a subtle person, I do not get hints.. if you have something to say to me, just freakin say it, cuz if you give me funny looks or hints or subtleties, I will not get it!!! </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan;">So this guy tells me, that's great, we'd love to have all 3 of you join us tomorrow and maybe, once you meet the others and see what we're all about, you'll want to join the club too. Sounded cool to me!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan;">He told me what time the boat was sailing out and said he could pick us up at our hotel. He asked where we were staying and what our room number was. I told him Water's Edge in Garden City and we're in room number--and Sandy literally kicked the crap outta me under the table--THANK YOU for that very unsubtle hint Sandy, that one I got!! I tried to not react to Sandy's kick and hesitated on the room number, then told him that I couldn't remember the number but we were up high...hahaha (my nervous little laugh, cuz I didn't know what was happening but knew it probably wasn't good). I then told him, maybe my friends and I need to discuss this, why don't you give me your number and I'll call you in the morning IF we decide to go with you. I did catch a strange look that passed between the 3 of <b>them</b>, and they didn't seem to like that answer, but he gave me his number. Tim then said he was kinda tired and were we ready to leave? We left.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan;">As soon as we got to the car and were on our way, I asked them what just happened back there?? Turns out these guys were part of a swinger's group. When the guy was talking to us at the bar, before he knew Tim was with us, his two friends were sitting beside Tim and Tim was listening in on their conversation. They were discussing the 2 newbies this guy was going to talk into going and how funny it would be once we were on the boat and realized what was happening.... among other things. Sandy asked if I hadn't picked up on the weird vibe from the guy talking to us..... Ummmm, no, do not catch subtle hints here, that's why I'm such a weirdo magnet. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan;">I was embarrassed, they had a laugh at my expense and we went back to the hotel. Tim went on to bed, said he'd had enough for one night. Sandy and I, both of whom were a little tipsy, decided to go sit by the pool. It was about 1am-ish at this point. I grabbed my sketchpad and a pencil, cuz, hey, drunk sketching! We sat by the pool, in deck chairs with our feet on the wall overlooking the beach. She made me laugh about something and I dropped my pencil over the wall. We had to go rescue it, my sketching pencils are precious, especially when I'm tipsy! So, here we are on our hands and knees feeling around in the sand against the wall. As I found the pencil and stated so, I heard Sandy give a little gasp. I looked around and there are 3 sets of legs standing there. I looked up and, OMG, there are the 3 people from the bar. Poor Sandy looked like a deer in the headlights. I stood up and asked them what they were doing there and the talky guy says oh, we were just walking on the beach and happened to spot your hotel and hoped we might run into you here. We wanted to let you know how much we really want you guys to go with us in the morning and how much fun it will be. Well, now that I'm clued in, I can be firm! I told him we had discussed it and had already discussed plans for the day before his offer, and we also had some more friends coming down and weren't sure what time they were arriving, so, although we appreciate the offer, we were going to decline. None of them seemed to like this and he started to say something else, but I told him again, no thank you, but I'm sure you guys will have a great time without us. I then took Sandy's arm and asked if she was ready to go up and she nodded. We left them standing there staring at us. We beat it as fast as we could, taking the stairs for about 3 flights before we felt safe enough to get on the elevator. Could not believe they came to our hotel to track us down-scary!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: cyan;">It would have been nice to take a ride on a yacht, but I guess being forced to participate in an unwanted orgy would have sucked all the fun right outta that ride. Oh well, maybe someday! The yacht ride I mean, not the other thing.......</span></span>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-17413641752154498952011-03-28T16:02:00.002-04:002011-04-10T20:25:57.761-04:00Life is full of funny coincidences!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">I had the funniest thing happen yesterday! I had worked my usual hours Sat night and had gotten off Sun morning, headed home a slept for a few hours. Once awake, I called a friend and met her and her friend out for a late lunch. Once I left the restaurant, I decided to go ramble around the "Old Time Pottery" store. When leaving the store, I noticed a young woman holding a beautiful huge painting that she appeared to be placing in her car. She was parked a few spaces from me and I approached her and told her how beautiful the painting was, she thanked me, then laughed and said she was going to have to return it as it was too large to fit in her car! She says she was so disappointed, as this was perfect for the wall over her couch. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">I told her that I drive an SUV, and I thought we could easily fit it in my car, then I could follow her to her home. She got so excited about that and asked me if I was sure, and stated she just lived down the road on Roper Mountain Rd. I told her it was no problem, that I would hate to have to return such a gorgeous pic if I were in her shoes. She was literally doing a little dance as I went to pull my car up beside hers. We got most of it in, with it sticking out the back, but secured with bungee cords. I followed her, but the whole time I'm thinking she looked somewhat familiar. We arrived at her apartment complex and detached everything and took the pic out. She thanked me profusely and I told her it was no problem, I was happy to help! I help out my hand to shake hers and said "I'm Cindy, by the way". She shook my hand and replied "I'm Toni". My jaw dropped and I said, OMG, you're Toni C*******! She looked shocked and I said Teresa's daughter, right!! She started laughing and asked how in the world I knew that. I told her that her mom was an old friend of mine and that she, her mom and I were friends on Facebook!! We both started laughing and hugging!! I told her that the last time I saw her, she was still in diapers! Her mom and I had been very good friends and co-workers many, many years ago, but had lost touch once I went back to college in the early 80s. We had just reconnected last summer and met with each other downtown. She asked me what my last name is and I told her--she said she had heard her mom mention me her whole life and tell her how much she always thought of me and what a good friend I had been! She said she was going straight in and call her mom!</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ffe599;">Ain't life just funny sometimes??!</span></span>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-68784088092724900142010-11-22T02:11:00.004-05:002010-11-22T14:35:48.582-05:00Death I went to a funeral today. During the service, the pastor said "Death is not the end, death is just a transition to another state". I hope when I die, I transition to Colorado. I really like Colorado. Or maybe somewhere warm with a beach.
(JK God!) Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-73287615331329249432010-09-20T04:34:00.003-04:002010-09-20T04:35:17.760-04:00Uh-Oh<a href="http://roflrazzi.com/2010/09/17/celebrity-pictures-ryan-reynolds-skeptical/"><img alt="RYAN REYNOLDS" src="http://roflrazzi.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/a560b90e-20dc-4cd7-b6ed-977c6010d296.jpg" title="RYAN REYNOLDS" /></a><br />
see more <a href="http://roflrazzi.com/">Lol Celebs</a><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;">Maybe you should clarify??</span></span>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-188834552781534002010-08-30T06:27:00.001-04:002010-08-30T06:31:10.862-04:00Facebook<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">I just love it! I've gotten back into contact with so many people from childhood through high school. I'm even getting in touch with people I really didn't know that well back then. I was an unbelieveably shy kid/teen, so it's fun communicating with these folks now. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">About a week ago, I had a friends request from someone who had been a very good friend in HS. She also lived at the other end of the road we moved to when I was 16, so we spent a lot of time together. Once out of HS, she got married and I went to school in Ky. We just lost touch, so it was great hearing from her again. All this reminded me of a story.....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Several of the boys in my neighborhood had motorcycles back then. Of course, I thought that was cool and was forever getting rides. One day, the friend I spoke of above, Cyndi and her then boyfriend (now hubby), Frank, had walked up to my house. Hobbled may be a better word for it as Frank had an injured leg and a cast up past his knee. My parents house has a patio-type front porch, maybe a foot off the ground, and we all sat on the edge of it. Frank had his injured leg stretched straight out in front of him, between 2 of the azealeas my step-mom had planted that summer and was so proud of. As happened a lot, a few of the neighborhood kids gathered in the front yard. One of those kids was a boy named Keith, who had ridden his older brother Phil's motorcycle to my house. Phil was at work and I'm still not sure if he knew Keith was riding his bike. He pulled up and parked in the front yard. We were all talking and I had gotten up to admire the bike up close. I started asking Keith to let me drive it, just around the house once. He was not very agreeable, but I kept at him. He finally asked if I had ever driven one before (I had not) so I told him, yes I had, many times. He finally, reluctantly handed me the keys. The bike was parked to the left and side of the patio, parallel to it. I hopped on, pushed in the clutch and cranked it up. I was so excited. I remember looking at Cyndi and grinning as I popped that clutch out and.....immediately lost control of the bike. I went careening towards Frank's outstretched leg. Poor guy had to dive out of my way and I remember being impressed that anyone could move that fast with a cast on. I fishtailed all across the azealeas, destroying every single one of them in the process, then flipped off of and wrecked the bike when I hit the driveway. Thank goodness I missed all the cars. Everybody was running around and yelling, except Frank, who didn't look very amused. Keith was yelling that Phil was gonna kill him, then come after me, and making everyone swear they wouldn't tell Phil about this, my step-mom had run outside and was yelling about the azealeas, Cyndi was laughing her head off and I was inspecting myself for any exposed bone fractures, which I was sure I had several of. Keith and I worked for over an hour picking azealea material out of and off of the bike, after which we washed and shined it back up. Keith was sweating bullets the whole time. We had to have it back in the same condition it was in when he took it, and it had to be back in it's proper storage spot before Phil got home from work. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">It's truly a wonder I survived into my 20s..... And I bet Phil still hasn't been told by anyone about this!</span>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-11241783816298171542010-08-25T21:25:00.000-04:002010-08-25T21:25:02.445-04:00The Garden<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz25ziJHnnIFnqP8z6nE2ZNna_dOtsHerdqnXJgpI05FaFlztCSql1WLMRtqkBiF9NrBY8EvknDK4tMcYnVeFE0I7AK7Q47N7_P1TKSjTWbHIm7oZzpX1QmNN1enCO8ndnvxpzrCeTBmA/s1600/DSC_0051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="427" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz25ziJHnnIFnqP8z6nE2ZNna_dOtsHerdqnXJgpI05FaFlztCSql1WLMRtqkBiF9NrBY8EvknDK4tMcYnVeFE0I7AK7Q47N7_P1TKSjTWbHIm7oZzpX1QmNN1enCO8ndnvxpzrCeTBmA/s640/DSC_0051.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">At its peak. Zucchini on the right, cucumbers on the left, maters standin tall in back. There is also potatoes behind the zukes and cabbage behind the cukes</span>. <span style="font-size: large;">I had to pull out all the zukes a coupla weeks ago cuz I got infested with squash bugs and borers. I also have a lima bean on the metal frame in the back right. It has just hung out, a tiny little thing, all summer, but all of a sudden, its growing. It had flowers today..! Might get a pod or two yet, we'll see. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Gonna start working on my fall garden in the next week or so. I've told all my neighbors to feel free to pick all the maters & cukes they want as those plants are dying back. I've still got somewhere around 30 tomatoes in various stages of maturity and many, many more flowers. I hate to cut them down while they're still producing! Looking forward to starting my new stuff tho!</span>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-91141981418820275542010-08-25T20:56:00.001-04:002010-08-25T20:56:09.130-04:00Don't mess with the old guys<a href="http://roflrazzi.com/2010/08/25/celebrity-pictures-clint-eastwood-morgan-freeman/"><img alt="He'll kill you." src="http://roflrazzi.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/fd13b74d-cb47-490a-a853-95467ca76d97.jpg" title="He'll kill you." /></a><br />
see more <a href="http://roflrazzi.com/">Lol Celebs</a>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-91204170438801042332010-05-28T01:18:00.008-04:002010-07-19T02:08:20.534-04:00My Little Garden<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">I'm so proud! I'll be even prouder if stuff grows!</span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJuuEk1nJHoruyjHrhZ2s7R_oP-OHdAKWQnlNdebI2bu1DcioZamW1RUZPLY6i0khJtgu7Xg43ee8uStFF6MwsCQXmKwp5QDLsGR3bqMViT6MK7GfJwCAGeQk60ucLt9tPDJD0N7hTmQ/s1600/DSC_0017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJuuEk1nJHoruyjHrhZ2s7R_oP-OHdAKWQnlNdebI2bu1DcioZamW1RUZPLY6i0khJtgu7Xg43ee8uStFF6MwsCQXmKwp5QDLsGR3bqMViT6MK7GfJwCAGeQk60ucLt9tPDJD0N7hTmQ/s320/DSC_0017.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: yellow;">I have tomatoes, romas & better boys (?), 7-8 squash and zucchini plants, corn-that is now waist high, ichaban eggplant, carrots, potatoes, spinach, cabbage and onions. I plan to start some bean seeds in the next day or so--limas, soy & purple eye peas. I'm thinking about butterbeans too. I love beans and one of my favs is anasazi beans. I have some dry ones....wonder if I can sprout and grow those too?? Worth a shot! I've been looking at fall crops too. My spinach is not doing too good, but it is a cooler weather crop so I may try them again for fall. I am definately trying brussels sprouts in fall too...my fav veggie! </span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-52027853186873384592010-04-27T21:36:00.002-04:002010-04-27T21:49:52.458-04:00My boy, Bacchus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3Yz4qtFVXnQmDe6ibBseqSs1jKY5tfnkK-5Rs6RtnRugFjSEgyAZKSRwYbGNddm5kFJSvNF83XY9wSiV6FzrQu1sSuHSDM5h0_GtZOD93DHuQdt-K3R_k_FK_7BMizn6DYVifRry1qQ/s1600/Bacchus13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #20124d;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3Yz4qtFVXnQmDe6ibBseqSs1jKY5tfnkK-5Rs6RtnRugFjSEgyAZKSRwYbGNddm5kFJSvNF83XY9wSiV6FzrQu1sSuHSDM5h0_GtZOD93DHuQdt-K3R_k_FK_7BMizn6DYVifRry1qQ/s320/Bacchus13.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow;"><div style="color: #fffb3d; font: 18.0px Papyrus; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #20124d;">He's home. I worked all night Sun and got off work at 7am on Mon. I went to breakfast, then picked him up at 9am. He did not like the carrier at all, but I can't say I blame him. I brought him home and held him for a few minutes, but he was more interested in going out on the deck with Tibbe & Liu-Liu. I piled up in the recliner planning on getting a little sleep. About the time I dozed, he crawled up on the arm of the chair and woke me. He crawled onto me and just started purring so loud. I just held him and let him sleep while I held him. Poor baby was so happy to be back home, and I like to think with me. I wound up with very little sleep, but with a happy, well loved little guy. He is still on meds. One is a powder that I sprinkle on his food and the other is a pill. OMG...have you ever tried to make a cat swallow a pill? He threw me all around the kitchen. These pills are to keep him calm, but getting him to take it greatly upsets me & him! I tried hiding them in his (wet) food, but he ate all around them and left them sticking out of the food. I went to Petsmart today and got a pill pocket-you hide the pill inside this tasty treat-great idea in theory. He wolfed up the treat and spit the pill back out. I gotta call the vet and see if I can crush it up and sprinkle this on is food too. I don't think I can go through this every night and he is supposedly going to be on these for life. I'm just so glad to have him with me again. He slept curled up at my side last night and up until about 2 mins ago, was curled up on the recliner with me. He's such a sweet little guy!</span></span></div></span>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-79803232461453464502010-04-22T14:50:00.002-04:002010-04-22T14:50:16.574-04:00Don't make him mad<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://verydemotivational.com/2010/04/22/demotivational-posters-red-foreman/"><img alt="demotivational posters" src="http://verydemotivational.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/129150792420213501.jpg" title="demotivational posters RED FOREMAN" /></a><br />
see more <a href="http://verydemotivational.com/"></a></span>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-30334719951245409732010-04-22T14:45:00.014-04:002010-04-26T05:07:20.856-04:00Rough Week<div style="color: #fffb3d; font: 24.0px Papyrus; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #45818e;">I have 3 cats, no children and am a 50 year old single woman. So, my cats are my children, my babies. I love them dearly. That being said.. Last Fri. I went to brunch with a friend. We spent the day looking at trees for her yard at a nursery, then visiting Lowe's & Home Depot. We both bought several new plants. She dropped me off at my house, and I put my purse inside, then headed straight back out to water my garden(s) and to get the new stuff planted. I went in briefly and Bacchus was lying in the kitchen doorway. That struck me as odd as he's usually at the door to meet me, but I picked him up and rubbed his chin, then put him back down and headed back out to do more work. I went to hook up the hose to water the back garden and it just hit me that he had immediately laid back down when I put him down. This is not his usual behaviour, he's very active. I went back in and he was lying in front of the water bubbler, with his head propped up on it. I called his name, twice, and he never opened his eyes. My heart just froze. I picked him up and loved on him for a minute. He looked at me, such a sad look! I put him back on the floor, standing up. He started to shake all over, then his back legs collapsed. I grabbed him up, ran to my neighbors, Wanda, house to get her to hold him, and I rushed him to the emergency pet hospital. As I carried him in, he started crying like I was hurting him. The vet came in and felt his belly--I was afraid he'd eaten a plant and was poisoned--and said that his bladder was full to rupture. He had a uretheral blockage and had not been able to pee for who knows how long. He'd been acting ok the night before, but it could have been happening then too. They did bloodwork on him and his levels were way too high. They had to cath him, but the doc told me he wasn't sure, b/c of the incredibly high potassium level, he might not survive being anesthesized. He's die if the didn't tho, so hey did. He's a trooper and came through all ok. They then told me that this was usually caused by crystals and that they will usually require surgery to create a new, larger opening for him to urinate through, which was going to cost between $1800-2300. OMG, I don't have that kind of money, but I knew I'd do whatever I had to to keep him well. He's my baby. Sat around noon, I called them to see how he was. The doc said he was not doing as well as they'd hoped, he was very lethargic and was refusing all food. They repeated his labs, thinking that those may not have normalized. She called me back tho and said that they were all fine. I asked if I could come by and visit him and she said that was fine and to bring his favorite food to see if I could coax him to eat. I had spent the day at my neice's helping her work in her yard, and was sweaty and dirty, but I didn't care. I left her house, picked up some tuna at the grocery, then headed to the hospital. They took me to a room and brought him in. I sat on a built into the wall wooden bench and thy put him down beside me. He was pacing up and down rubbing his body and face against me and started purring. I popped open the plastic cup of tuna and he wolfed it down. The tech brought in a cup of water, and he drank that too. They wound up leaving him with me a little over 2 hours. He wound up curled up along side my leg, sleeping with his head on my leg. God!! it as good to see him acting normal. The vet tech laughed b/c she said he had refused everything they tried to feed him. I think he was just scared. He was in pain, in a strange place with people he didn't know. He just needed to see me and know I hadn't deserted him. The vet called me the next morning and told me that whatever I did to him had turned him into a different cat. he was alert, eating like a horse and being very friendly. So, they kept him through mon morning. They removed the cath sun morn, but he wouldn't pee, so they had to put it back in. They told me that he was more than likely going to need to surgery. I had to pick him up on Mon and take him to my regular vet. Seeing as how I don't really have a regular vet, I took him to a friend's vet. They are wonderful! They left the cath in and treated him for the iritation and inflammation to his bladder and urethra. They took his cath out Tues morn, and when I went by to visit that afternoon, he had peed twice!! Looks like he won't need surgery after all. He will be there until Mon morn, when I'll pick him up once I get off work. One girl told me they might not let me have him b/c they are in love with him. They say his so sweet, cooperative and loving. Everytime they pass his cage, he'll roll over on his back for them to give him a belly rub. She said they all just automatically stop now to rub his belly. He loves that! I can't wait to get him back home! </span></span></span></div>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-75092410882013060682010-03-16T22:42:00.002-04:002010-04-15T20:34:44.966-04:00This and That<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #45818e;">Wasted day! I was going to get some much needed housework done today, but woke up at around 3am with a major headache, just a step away from a migraine. Was awake until around 8am, then I basically slept all day. It's almost gone, now just a mild thump right behind my eyes. What a pain, literally and figuratively. Oh well.</span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #45818e;">My sister is coming for a visit at the end of the month. I can't wait to see her. I miss her so much! I'm hoping the weather will be nice, and we can enjoy the outside. I have been doing some geneology research and have found a gravesite of an ancestor who migrated here from Germany. I want her to go with me to track it down. She loves this stuff as much as I do (right Kimmy!!??). </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #45818e;">I think I'm going to go all out on my garden this year. I've got seeds to grow corn, soybeans, black eye peas, broccoli, zucchini, squash, spinach, cabbage, carrots and I am going to try onions and garlic too. I'm going to buy some tomato and eggplant plants too. The eggplant did so well last year. Just call me Farmer Cindy! Gotta hit Home Depot or Lowe's. I love growing my own veggies!</span></span></span>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-23333419902414682942010-02-24T15:24:00.004-05:002010-03-16T18:59:26.915-04:00Busy Day<div style="background-color: #45818e; color: #20124d;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, yesterday I went to my friend's house. Her dad is more or less an invalid and spends most of his time in his hospital bed set up in the back bedroom. My friend, Weezy, bought her parents house several years ago and they all live there. Which turned out to be a good thing because:</span></div><div style="background-color: #45818e; color: #20124d;"><span style="font-size: large;">a) Her dad's health has gone downhill fast and her mom can't care for him alone</span></div><div style="background-color: #45818e; color: #20124d;"><span style="font-size: large;">b) Weezy went through a bout of breast cancer several years ago. For some reason, the chemo really messed with her system and she has developed neuropathy in her hands and feet. Not good for someone who works as a physical therapist. She was put on leave from work because of this-she nearly had a wreck returning from a patient's house b/c her foot had slipped off the brake & she didn't know it. Yes, the neuropathy is THAT bad. So, in addition to losing her ability to drive, she is looking at having to go on permanent disability. She's very depressed and worried about her future.</span></div><div style="background-color: #45818e; color: #20124d;"><br />
</div><div style="background-color: #45818e; color: #20124d;"><span style="font-size: large;">So, she had bought her dad a VCR so he could watch movies back in his room. She couldn't get it set up and I looked at it last week and saw that she needed more cables to hook it up correctly. I had to work over the weekend, but told her I'd come over on Tues to help her set it up. I went to pick her up, we went to Best Buy to get the cables, then went to lunch. We stopped at the AT&T store and she talked to them about the crappy router they have, which only allows her to sign on if she in the same room. She wound up buying a router/modem combo and I told her I could set it up for her. I feel so bad for her. It's not that she can't do it but she no longer has any fine motor skills, so handling the cables, phone plugs..etc..is impossible for her to do. After meeting my niece at the shelter to help her choose a new kitten, we headed to Weezy's house to get this all set up. The VCR was relatively simple and I had it up in no time. I tried to program the Direct TV remote so he didn't have to keep track of another one, but it wouldn't work. Bummer, but he was OK with having 2 remotes.</span></div><div style="background-color: #45818e; color: #20124d;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #45818e;">Now, on to the router/modem combo. We went back in her dad's office to get it all set up. First thing tho was to get the filters on all the phone lines. 2 were simple, but for the 3rd, the plug was behind the cali king bed in the master bedroom. Ay-yi-yi, that thing was a bit@# to move. We only got it a few inches from the wall, but it was enough so that I could reach between the headboard slats and get it switched. 4th plug....I just thought the 3rd was a bit@#. OMG...First, we traced his phone line to the wall to the right of his desk.....behind a bunch of folding chairs and 2 card tables that we had to move. We did that, then got the filter plugged in and the phone in the correct side of that, leaving the other side for the DSL line. I then go over to where all his hook-ups are for the computer and tried to trace the line going from the computer to the wall. It actually traced to behind the desk...?? I wondered if he'd had a splitter on the extra long phone cord and went back to trace the phone line from where I had just put it to the desk phone, but no.....? Ok, I'll admit here I'm not a whiz at this, I'm just someone with (usually) some common sense in this area who can figure this out. I went back to the desk and took a second look. The desk is actually bolted to the floor and can't be moved, so I got on the floor and climbed under it. Eureka, there's a 2nd phone jack where the DSL comes in. Problem is, there's a 2x4 standing upright about 4-5 inches parallel to the baseboard. The jack is one of those with the guard that flips down...so that to change it, you have to hold the guard open with one hand and change the line with the other. I got the old line unplugged no prob, by holding it open with one finger and pressing the tab & pulling it out quickly. It was awkward, but I did it. Getting the filter plugged back in tho was a pain. I'm under the desk, on my stomach b/c it's not tall enough for me to be on my knees. There is very limited space between that 2x4 & the wall and no matter how hard I tried, I could not hold the guard open and plug the filter back in. Weezy handed me a flashlight and I propped that on the 2x4 and leaned it on the wall so that most of the light shone on the jack. I attempted for another few minutes and could not get it. I was hot, sweaty and frustrated. I thought for a minute and ask Weezy for some heavy duty tape, such as duct or masking. She found some masking and I taped that guard open and got the plug in..YEA!! Setting up the new router/modem was easy, just pop in the CD & follow the directions. Weezy was behind me the whole time and I swear I could feel how anxious she was about this. She wants to be able to use her laptop anywhere in the house, instead of just in her dad's office or right outside it. I finished up there, then we took the CD to her laptop. She wanted to try that herself, with me supervising. We followed the instructions and as we are going through the steps, her "You're connected" icon came on. She was so excited! We got to the last step and I dunno what happened. The icon indicated that she no longer had a connection and the last step on the screen was for us to connect to the internet. It took us to that step, but would not connect. She got up and let me take over. I went through everything I knew to do and could not figure it out. She was so disappointed and I determined that she would have wireless connection before I left!! I decided to close everything, eject the CD, restart the comp and then start from scratch. I was so frustrated! I sat there and it restarted. I was reaching around to open the CD drive and the connection icon indicated she was connected. She sat down and logged on, got on with no problem!!!! I guess it just needed a restart to finish loading the new software. We took it into the living room and tried and it worked!! I asked her to take it to her bedroom & try. I stayed in the living room with her mom and in a second, we heard her squeal. It worked there too! When I left, Weezy was one happy lady!! It made me feel good that I could get this done for them. They all kept thanking me over and over and talking about how much they "owed" me for doing this, but they don't understand how much I like doing this kind of stuff, even if it does get frustrating. I told them that this was like one of the word puzzles I used to love so much, and that it was fun to figure out how to put it all together. They think it was work, I think it was fun. Besides, I love them all so much and like being able to do what I can to bring a little.....joy (?) to folks who haven't had a lot of joy in the last few years. Doing this is better than sitting around bored at home! </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #45818e;"> </span></div>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-13258671130424112832009-12-17T14:35:00.001-05:002009-12-17T14:35:57.126-05:00Merry Christmas<a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com/2009/12/16/funny-pictures-herald-kittehs-singgg/"><img title="funny-pictures-kittens-sing-carol" src="http://icanhascheezburger.wordpress.com/files/2009/12/funny-pictures-kittens-sing-carol.jpg" alt="funny pictures of cats with captions" /></a><br />see more <a href="http://icanhascheezburger.com">Lolcats and funny pictures</a>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7003521780423072579.post-87034952426522368842009-10-28T22:11:00.005-04:002009-10-29T03:56:52.222-04:00On Overdoses and Meanies<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">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. </span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">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.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:16px;"><img src="webkit-fake-url://FB53049A-4673-4C6C-9C54-061499733734/image.tiff" /></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:large;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">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.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">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.</span></span></p>Seacathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03662223901212645377noreply@blogger.com0