My Single Mom Life

Yeah, I just sat through ABC's new show Eli Stone, so I could see the special LOST content commercial, only to reach the website under heavy server use.

I sat through that crapfest just so I could see the supposed golden ticket, find 815.com stuff.
The show, Eli Stone, irked me.
Not just because it's trying to be all religious prophety and bring in the Christian viewers, but because it was crap.
Eli Stone hears and sees George Michael singing the song Faith, and connects the dots between and old girlfriend and what he's supposed to do now.
Which is help her win a case against a pharmaceutical company that uses a preservative in their vaccines which gave her son autism.
And he might be a prophet.

He ends up being diagnosed as having a brain aneurysm which can cause auditory and visual hallucinations, and could also go kablooey at any point and kill him, or he could live a long and happy life.
But Eli Stone has spoken to some Chinese guy who says there are supposed to be prophets in every generation, according to a conversation between Moses and God, and why not a lawyer?

So on one hand, the show is using science to prove Eli's behavior, and on the other, we have faith as the reason for his behavior.
He might be a prophet.
The old science verses faith argument in a tv show.
But so far, it's a wee bit heavy on the faith side. The only science we have is the brain aneurysm discovery. Everything else has been George Michael singing that song a dozen times, (shut the hell up!) and visions of his alcoholic father, climbing a mountain to dump ashes, and being told he's a prophet.

The teens gave up on the show 15 minutes in, and I stuck with it the entire hour.
I'll never do that again.
It's all about faith changing who you are, making you a better person because this mysterious thing comes over you and tells you that you have this greater purpose for a greater being kind of reason.
Not doing good for the sake of doing good, but because something tells you to do this good deed.
People can and will do what is right without being told by a higher power to do so. We do not have to have faith in some higher power above us, we can simply do good because we want to.
Just because Eli Stone is some big powered lawyer, doesn't mean he has to live the life of an asshole, and only start being a good person because George Michael is singing on his coffee table.
It's a completely ridiculous premise but ya know what?
It will do great because there are millions of people out there that have faith that someday some higher power will speak to them and give them a purpose too.
Creating your own purpose, doing your own good things, never enters their mind.

Posted by Kat at 11:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I have been getting calls non-stop from some credit collection people for my old room-mate Heidi.
It's been weeks of them calling 2-3 times a day, and me hanging up after they ask for Heydee.
I don't know anyone named Heydee.
Hee hee.

But today I snapped.
I hate collection calls, Heidi has not lived here in what now, 3 and a half years?
So instead of hanging up after the message that says "Please hold for a call from something something LLC", I waited to speak to one of the idiots.

Some guy with a thick foreign accent jumps on the line and asks me if he can speak to Heydee.
I say who? Playing dumb, want to hear him screw up the name again.
He repeats, "Heydee".
I say, you mean Heidi?
"Um, H-e-i-d-i, Heydee."
No, that spells Hi-dee. Heidi.
"Oh, sorry about dat ma'am. May I speak with her?"
No, Heidi has not lived here in like 3 and a half years. As far as I know, she's back in Seattle, I haven't seen her or spoken with her since she moved out.
"Are you sure ma'am? She put this telephone number down as a contact number."
If she put this number down as a contact, she lied to you, because she has not lived here in over 3 years now.
"Do you have another number for her ma'am?"
No, did you hear me? I have not seen or spoken to her in over 3 years. I don't know and don't really care, where she is. And take this number out of your system.
"We can't do that ma'am."
Excuse me? What? You can't remove MY number from HER contact information? This is not Heidi's home, phone, or address. It belongs to me, Kat Cooper and my sons only. Remove the number from her contact sheet.
"We can't do that ma'am, it's the only contact information we have for her, she must be using it somehow. Sorry to bother you, we will try again later."
He hung up.

Excuse me?!
They won't remove my number from her contact information? The bitch has not lived here in over 3 years, yet she's still using it as a reference number for stuff?
Man, if I ever see her again, I'm gonna fucking hurt her.
How dare she keep using this number and address for whatever it is that she's doing.
Makes me glad I did get her out of here when I did, who knows what kind of shit she's gotten herself into now.

Posted by Kat at 2:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

It's a wicked dull day around here.
Nothing going on except the stress I'm causing myself.
I think I'm just gonna curl up on the couch with a blanket and a Kali kitty, and tune my brain out to the mind numbing crap that is day-time tv.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 11:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I haven't really had a lot to say over the last few days, I'm still shaking off my flu bug, still kinda wankied in the head from that, and been sorta down in the dumpers about stuff.

I've been attempting to get all my tax stuff sorted out, so I can pay what I owe on my self employment earnings, and am attempting to wait patiently for the 1099's to come in the mail.
What I don't like is being asked to re-create my account at an on line company I no longer work for, because when I quit and they deleted my account at my request, they didn't create any back-ups of my tax information which includes my SSN and mailing address.
I refused to re-create that account, and instead sent my information through a secure email connection.
But now I'm slightly, ok, a lot, worried that my 1099 is going to have the wrong information on it.
See, my SSN should have been tied to my earnings in a database some where, but nope, they didn't have my SSN or address, so how are they going to send me a proper 1099?

I received a second email from them after sending them the information they needed, telling me this is the amount you earned, you don't need a 1099 to file your taxes, just jot this amount down in the space provided on the tax form.
Maybe I don't need the 1099, but I prefer to be professional, and have the proper forms should my tax preparer ask for them.
And quite honestly, the fact that my information was not kept in a secure database with my name and SSN tied to my earnings, I have to question if it's even the correct amount.
I don't think it is.
The number they gave me is more than I recall making, even if they added in the $100 for a focus group, it's still about $200 higher than I have written down as my correct earnings.
I kept very detailed records of my earnings, and the number they gave me is more than I have recorded in excel.
It's just another one of those phew, glad I got out when I did, moments for me.
I have zero trust in this company. I lost it quite awhile ago.
I want my actual 1099 in hand, and I want to add up my records again and compare it to this amount. Something is not right and I know it in my gut.

What this means if I am correct about that extra $200, is that I have to pay taxes on that extra amount. I am already going to be paying nearly $1,000 in self employment earnings, and this will just add to it.
I'm freaking broke people, I can't be paying more than I should have to because someone kept shoddy records.
And if the records are indeed wrong for me, how many others will it be wrong for?

Posted by Kat at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Most of the women would be as upset as my neighbor, one guy blames the wife for not pleasing her husband in bed, some think she should just tell him she knows, some think she's a liar too, some people think porn is just fine, others think she's violating postal laws by opening his mail.

On the mail issue, the husband has given his wife permission to open all the mail no matter what it is, because she is the one who does all the bill paying.

For the guy who says she's not pleasing her husband as the reason he's turned to porn, what if she is pleasing him? Does that change your view on his porn ordering?

For those who think porn is just fine, remember now, to each person their own. Not everyone likes or enjoys porn like you do. Some people find it nasty and disgusting, and truly oppose it.

He may indeed call the company and ask where his product is, and when they say they were shipped, he'll just keep checking the mail even more. This guy is not the brightest bulb in the bunch here, he lies about where he ate lunch everyday, he's not gonna come out and ask her for this.

For those who think she's a liar as well. Yes, she is, but as a wife who opposes porn of any kind, and has this show up in the mail with her husbands permission to open all mail and packages, she's doing what she thinks she needs to. This is her marriage on the line, not mine, not yours. Two liars under one roof makes for a lot of secrets about a lot of things on both sides of the marital bed.

Would it make any difference to any of you if they had a 12 year old son who shares the exact same name as his father, and could possibly open these packages thinking it's for him?

Does having a kid in the home make any difference at all?

Posted by Kat at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

My neighbor called me up yesterday, asked me to come over for a few, so I went.
I get there and she's wicked upset, like crying shaking upset.
I ask what's wrong and she hands me this package that she opened, it contains 2 DVDs.

They were 2 of the girls gone wild DVDS, uncensored, and the girls on the cover look to be way under the age of consent, but maybe that's one of the reasons why Joe Francis is still sitting his ass in jail.

So anyway, she's super upset that her husband ordered these, and she asks me to help her get rid of them because he'll just look in their trash for them.
I say yeah sure, why not, I'd be pretty upset if my husband ordered this stuff myself.
If I had a husband that is.

About 20 minutes later, her husband pulls into the driveway and checks the mail box.
He comes in the house, asks if the mail came yet, she says yes, she shows him what came.
I've got the package hidden amongst my huge stack of crap junk mail and Netflix movies.
He just stands there and says he has to get back to work.

Now today, he comes home at lunch time again, and again looks in the mail box and asks her if the mail came.
She asks him what he's expecting to come, she'll keep an eye out for it.
He says nothing, just curious what came in the mail.
He leaves and her and I crack up.

He is not gonna tell her what he ordered and waiting for. He ordered porn basically, so he'd be really stupid to say honey, I ordered girls gone wild and they are coming to the house.
What husband in his right mind, would tell his wife about those DVDs, if he ordered them behind her back?
He isn't going to tell her, but every day this week, it will be hilariously funny watching him race home to check the mail.
He won't tell her what he's waiting for to come in the mail, but he thinks he can get the mail before her.
It's funny to me that he's trying to get them before her, but oops, she already got them, and they have been sent out with this mornings garbage collection in my trash cans.

Posted by Kat at 1:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's songs being credited to the wrong band.

When Shell was here, she had a small mp3 player problem that Best Buy was able to take care of, but we had to dump all of her mp3's on my pc for them to do it.
So I ended up deleting most of her files after she left, I should have kept them all, but in the ones I did hang onto, I found a huge mistake.

She had attributed the song "Once bitten twice shy", to Poison.
I played it and it definitely was not Brett Michaels, but in fact Jack Russell belting out those famous lyrics.
That's Jack Russell, of Great White.

You didn't know what rock and roll was
Until you met my drummer on a grey tour bus
I got there in the nick of time
Before he got his hands across your state line, yeah

I went looking on line to see just how many other people have screwed this up, and found that not only Poison was given credit, but Warrant, White Snake, and omg ugh, White Lion.
Seriously people, how could you make such a mistake?
I have to forgive the younger crowds, they have just recently begun finding the joy of 80's hair metal, but not the people of my age group.
There is no forgiveness for any of you!

I am now left wondering if I should have kept all of her files and gone through them to see if she made more attribution mistakes.
Shell honey, are you getting old?
Your memory of going to see Great White at the Civic Center, must have gotten lost to your alzheimered brain.
Or was it the alcohol? *wink*

Posted by Kat at 12:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Floridians, please vote NO on amendment 1 tomorrow.
I've blogged this before, but here we are on the eve of the vote, and you people who are thinking yee haw on the homestead exemption, really need to sit back and think more about this.

The exemption will give you as a homeowner, a max exemption of just barely $300.
That money has to come from somewhere or other services will get cut.
Like what?
How about emergency services like police, fire and rescue?
The schools statewide, stand to lose about $3 billion in funding.
All you parents who have kids in the Florida public schools, and complain now about the lack of education monies, need to think about the loss of $3 billion additional dollars in school funding.

The money for emergency services and schools, comes from property taxes.
By voting yes, you will gain barely a $300 property tax relief, but you will have major cuts in those other services.
Plus, our governor can do better by us.
Much better.
This exemption is simply a band-aid on a much bigger problem.
This exemption needs 60% to pass.
Think about this and then vote NO tomorrow.

Posted by Kat at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Have any of you been following the Anonymous messages to Scientology on youtube?
This is their first message.

Knowledge is free. We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. WE DO NOT FORGET. Expect us.

Arm yourself with knowledge. Be very wary of the 10th of February. Anonymous invites you to join us in an act of solidarity. Anonymous invites you to take up the banner of free speech, of human rights, of family and freedom. Join us in protest outside of Scientology centers world wide. We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. We will be heard. Expect us.

There have been some DOS attacks on their website, complete take-down by hackers.
It's made the news quietly, but this is starting to get really interesting.
I'm wondering when mainstream media is going to take a look at what is going on.

Posted by Kat at 5:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I am anxiously awaiting NBC's new show, The Baby Borrowers.

He looks thrilled doesn't he?

It starts on February 18th, and it's 5 super young couples, that's teenage couples, that want to be parents and think they can handle it.
They are all given the fast-track to adulthood by setting up a home, getting a job and becoming caring parents first to babies, toddlers, pre-teens and their pets, teenagers and senior citizens -- all over the course of three weeks.
They are calling this a social experiment.
I'm calling it fun.

How many of you women out there took the parenting class at their high school?
You know the one I'm talking about. Don't lie.
The teacher handed you a 5 pound sack of flour, and made you "take care" of it for a whole week like it was a real baby.

I did ok until the very last day when John Gagne decided to kidnap my "baby" and take it to all of his classes with him for a day.
Luckily he gave it back to me before my end of day parenting class, or Mrs. Lords would have bitched me out something fierce.

It was such an odd thing, that 5 pound sack of flour.
Nothing like a real baby at all.
It didn't cry, poop, eat, or sleep.
It just was.

This new show will be highly entertaining to me because as a single mom, I didn't have another person there to help me 24/7 like these young couples will have each other.
I want to see how these young dads handle it.
Men are always like I can do it, it's not that hard, but when it comes down to it, they usually cave faster than the girls do.
The catch phrase for this show is "It's not tv, it's birth control".
Betcha 5 bucks one of these teen girls will still want a baby at the end of this.

It will be interesting to see just how real it is, who bails out first, and how often the parents and others who are right next door, have to come step in and help.
This isn't exactly real life if someone is right next door to bail their asses out.

"all the while under 24-hour supervision by nannies and the real parents who are stationed next door, watching via monitor, and able to step in at any time."

Most young moms and dads do not have help right next door, heck, there usually is no help at all.
The show will be interesting though.
I'm curious to see how these kids do, and if this experiment changes their minds on having kids so young.

Posted by Kat at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

There's nothing on tv thanks to the writers strike, so I'm stuck watching extreme home makeover.
I generally loathe this show because while the house ends up being majorly kick ass, the property taxes skyrocket and the families end up not being able to afford the home after a few years.

But anyway, there's nothing on, this episode is on for 2 hours, and here I am blathering and tearing up like an idiot.
I know the show is supposed to be all good feely and tear jerkery, but I can usually get through it without shedding a single tear.
Oh no, not tonight.
The lack of sleep combined with lack of proper nutrition from expelling it within minutes of trying to eat, has made me a giant emotional mushball.
I hate being a mushball especially over this damn show.
Gah.
I think I should watch repeats of family guy or something.
Need to get rid of this mushy shit.

Posted by Kat at 8:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Blogging is not only a hobby, fun kind of thing to do, but also a business for a lot of people.
If a business valuation was done on me right now, my value would be incredibly low.

I have several emails sitting in my inbox right now about contextual links, promotions, and reviews.
I simply can't get to them right now. I wish I could because every day that passes with no reply, is a day I may be losing business.
I could respond to them, but my brain is in such a fog, I don't want to make any mistakes, come off wrong in my written replies, and have these adverts don't run screaming that I'm a blathering idiot.
I am so greatful for my spell checker, and I read and re-read my posts to make sure they make sense before publishing.
With an email, if I make a mistake, I could very well lose business.

How do you deal with business requests when you are ill or have other pressing matters?

Posted by Kat at 2:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm still sick as all get out, feeling like total crap. I'm so tired, but every time I lay down, I feel dizzy.
Of course, every time I sit up, I feel dizzy.
There's no happy medium here.
I am also wicked bloated.
I swear my stomach is protruding like I have a set of quads in there.
I'm wearing this giant t-shirt that comes down to my knees, it's like maternity clothing it's so big.

I'm staying as hydrated as I can. It's not easy though because I feel so bad, like barfing at the site of food.
Never mind the smell of food. Oh ma, that's no fun at all.
Mark made dinner last night, and the smell sent me to the bathroom a half dozen times in the 40 minutes it took to cook.
I just want to feel better. I really hate being sick.
And ya know, I'm so damn tired of being sick.
I have spent so much of the last 2 years being sick for one reason or another, and then to catch the flu, is just miserable.
You have no idea how much all that retching strains my back muscles, and then my back is in pain along with my stomach muscles from all the strain.
It sucks.
Make it go bye-bye? Please?

Posted by Kat at 12:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I wish I had known about LogoYes and their logo design creator for business cards before I had mine made up.
The logo creator was really easy to use, there are literally hundreds of logos to choose from. I spent nearly an hour going through them all, and was simply amazed at just how many they have.

Once you find the logo of your liking, you can match the colors, the style of the card, change the size of the logo, the font, the size of the font, and really create a logo to start branding your business.
The logo creator is very flexible. If you make a mistake or don't like the way it looks, just click the back button on the creator or the number of the step you want to change, and bam! You're right back to where you want to change that item. Maybe the font wasn't right, or the logo was the wrong size, it's easy to change any part of the design you want to make different.

I took a screenshot of one of the designs I was working on to show you how easy it is.

I didn't add all my personal information for this display because there are certain things like my address and telephone number, that I don't want to be quite so public on my blog, but I can go back in and add all those things, change up the color and sizes before selecting to purchase my cards.
I'm not even sure if this is the logo I want to stick with. I am going to go back and look through all the various categories again and try several different designs and colors before making my final selection.
The logo creator is fun to use as well. It's quick, easy to understand, so simple to use, anyone could do it.

I really wish I had known about this site before I had my cards made up, I would have been able to truly customize my cards, brand my name to better suit what I do, and have a truly unique card unlike anyone else out there.
I may just go ahead and make some up anyway. I could have two sets of business cards to use.

Posted by Kat at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Fred Phelps and loudmouth hate-monger of the Westboro Baptist Church, (that link goes to their site, be warned) loses it on the Kane morning show on 99.5 in Washington, D.C.

Shirley was being interviewed about her fanatical church's decision to protest the funeral and memorial for Heath Ledger.
She got a bit upset when the radio hosts brought up her illegitimate sons.

Hahahahah!
You can listen to it here.

Posted by Kat at 8:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

This flu is kicking my ass.
I cannot believe how bad I feel. I can't hold anything in my head for any lentgh of time.
My memory, my short term memory is affected here. I wish I could fix that. Like take one of the computer memory cards I have tucked in a drawer out, and insert it in my head so I have retention of just minutes ago.
The boys have been telling me stuff, then just a few minutes later, I'm like what did you say? Who wanted what?
They go "Mom, no one said they wanted anything, they asked how you were doing."
Oh. Ok.
Who asked how I was doing?
"Mom, just lay down."

This is the absolute worst I have felt in ages.
My hands are shaky, I'm going through the sweats, then freezing, then when I sleep, I'm having bouts of restless leg syndrome. I keep jerking my legs around.
It's annoying ya know.

I had the boys do the dishes, and Mark followed my directions to make dinner.
I can recall recipes and directions with ease, but 5 minutes ago?
Nope, gone.
Maybe I'm getting Alzheimered.
Maybe, this strain of flu is attacking memory cells.
Anyone else with the flu right now having this issue with their memory?

Posted by Kat at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I just got a child support payment for $23. It's the first one I've gotten since the end of November.
I don't understand this. He owns his own business, why did a whole month and a half go by with no child support if he owns his own business.
I know he has 6 kids, but if he's that broke, he needs to go take out a cash advance or something and keep up with his child support payments to all of his kids.
I'm so tired of this game with him. The boys are getting older and when they turn 18, they can sue him for all that back support. I wonder if he even knows how bad it will be for him if they decide to do that.
He can basically kiss his business good-bye then.
They'll own it.
I'm still waiting on news of the modification hearing, they said I would get that months ago and I still don't have a date for that.
I did get a letter that said they will be garnishing his taxes. That is, if he even files taxes.
I don't believe he will. I think he'll avoid having to pay any of his kids anything at any cost.

Posted by Kat at 12:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

So, I think I have the flu.
No, I know I have the flu. I'm sick, I'm barfing, I'm running back and forth to the bathroom, I'm sleeping on and off for hours.
I feel like one of the fat people on the Biggest Loser who falls off the treadmills and ends up hitting my face into the floor.
This is bad.
I'm so tired and exhausted, but I have work that I need to get done.
My body just can't deal with this at all.
I'm trying so hard to stay awake and take care of everything I need to do, but I'm having trouble.
I wish I could get someone else to take care of all this stuff.

Posted by Kat at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm still not feeling well today, been sleeping off and on all day. I really just think i need the rest in a bad way.
I over did things so much last week and the beginning of this week.
I pushed myself hard to do things and get things done, and now I'm completely wasted.
I have no energy at all.
I'm sorry to those who are waiting on emails and stuff, I just can't stay up long enough to get anything done. I'm sorry.

Posted by Kat at 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

This is all starting to be too much for me.
I think I've finally hit the single mom/super woman/can do it all, wall, and crashed into face first and obtained bodily injury.

Let's take a small tally of the things I have to replace shall we?
1. Lawn mower that got blown up by asshat neighbors dumping charcoal on the lawn.
2. Answering machine that fried due to lightning.
3. new telephone that fried due to lightning.
4. router that fried due to lightning.
5. xbox360 due to ethernet port taking a shit. No longer under warranty.

Yes, these are all material items, I know this.
We have a home and food, and the kids are in great health. But these things are things that either made life easier, or brought joy to this home.

I'm exhausted, I'm sick, I'm feeling crazy.
I have no sympathy for people today, so don't look to me for comfort.
I also recommend not coming to me to complain about anything. It may end up in some type of bodily injury for yourself.
Don't bitch at me for things I have not done. Man, that one gets me riled up like you wouldn't believe. I simply do what needs to be done, and bam! It's all my fault that you feel oppressed.
Oppressed? For serious? And she was. And I don't give a fuck.
And ya know what? Life isn't fair. Shit is gonna happen and that's the way it is.
I had heap loads of shit dumped on me since Sunday morning, lost a lot of items I don't have money to replace, and as much as I want to just sit down and bawl my fucking eyes out, I'm not. I'm still attempting to maintain my home and take care of my family and think of ways I can take care of all these things and everything else that landed on my plate lately.
My home is a complete disaster right now.
Days of trying to fix things while sick and in pain, and nope, it didn't work. All I have left now is a giant mess.
I think I'm just gonna tune out for the night, stick in a movie and ignore things.
I can't help anyone else anyway.

Posted by Kat at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I'm not doing so well today.
I have a wicked fever, it came on out of nowhere, so I'm trying really hard to take care of things I have to do today and not pass out.
I think I just need to go back to bed again.
I'm wiped out.

Posted by Kat at 11:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I know most of my readers know that I insert contextual links for pay in my blog posts.
I write my posts, then go look at the list of possible links to see what will fit with what I've already written.
It is in my privacy policy, so I know people know I do this.
I'm glad my readers know, I like being upfront about it, it's a good thing that you know.
Sometimes the links are a bit out there, sometimes they are for vacation places or other things like
swing sets or shoes or whatever.
I'm glad that my readers can pick them out, but it kind of irks me when someone constantly picks them out, makes a big deal out of spotting them.
This isn't a game to see who can find the most contextual links with the one finding the most getting a prize.
They just are what they are.
If it bothers someone, I wish they'd speak up instead of being passive aggressive about it.
Maybe they aren't really being passive aggressive, but that's how it feels.
I feel like every time I open the comments up, I have to defend my posts.
I have neighbors who every time something goes wrong, the husband starts flipping out and yelling about moving to a new state or buying land and building his own house somewhere on that land.
I've heard them yell back and forth over about 13 different states to move to in the last 6 months.
Pissed off at Comcast or Verizon, or the weather, and omg, let the state name dropping begin.
It truly is comical, and next time he starts up, I'll be sure to record it so you can hear the absurdity of it.
Tonight, her car broke down, their son has been here since 2:45 this afternoon. She called him to come help her and here it is 8:00pm, and he still has not gone down there to get her.
She keeps calling me up crying, she starts yelling about how much she hates him and can't wait till she gets her money cuz guess what?
She's buying a new car, packing it up, and moving to Idaho.
Is she really?
I don't know, but that's what I listen to every single time there is some kind of problem.
So yeah, I know this stuff sounds crazy, but it is what it is.

Posted by Kat at 7:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Source
Heath Ledger has been found dead in one of his apartments in NYC. No cause of death yet.

Posted by Kat at 4:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

George came over with a router for me, and I have been at this the entire day now and cannot get it to even register the internet signal.
I'm so freaking frustrated!
The teens are gonna come home, think I have all their stuff back up and running, and no, I don't, and they're gonna be upset, and that's when I'm going to throw a whole bunch of camping gear at them, tell them to sleep in the freaking yard, because if I get asked one more time if it's fixed yet, I may hurt somebody!

Why the hell is it not even seeing the DSL signal?!
And of course, the stress of this whole mess, has my back twitching like an epileptic with a grand seizure.
Why can't someone just come over and fix it for me huh?
Why does this have to be so much more complicated than it should be?
The Linksys router I had, a couple things plugged in and bam! All good to go.
This one, is simply not working and I'm ready to take a sledge hammer to it!

Posted by Kat at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

My progress is a bit slower this week.
I had company for a few days, and we did a lot of walking and sight seeing, so I didn't get any exercise in, and now I have a back injury.
I have absolutely no idea what happened, but my left lower back is on fire and the muscles are tight and spasming.
I think it may have happened on Saturday night when the power blew out.
It was so loud and so bright, I'm not kidding when I say it felt like the neighborhood had been bombed, and we all jumped and screamed.
I may have pulled those muscles when that happened.

So, I'm taking it very slow on the elliptical the past 2 days.
I'm only doing 10 minutes a day and very slow. I'm trying not to flare that injury up any worse than it is.
I have done 10 minutes per day, then a hot shower, then rest.
I have to be as careful as possible because I don't want to cause an injury that knocks me down for the count ya know?
I'm going to keep going though, even if it is only 10 minutes a day, I have made progress with the elliptical.
My legs are stronger, my knees especially are not getting as sore as they used to when walking. My hips are still always sore, but what do I expect?
There's a broken screw in there.
Next time I go to Publix, I'll do a weigh in, might be going tomorrow after the teens get home from school.
I'm not sure if I've lost any more weight, but we'll see.

Posted by Kat at 9:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Was the loud cry out in the driveway on Saturday night by my neighbor. He was out there yelling at midnight.
We all just sat in here laughing because it sounded so ridiculous.
Like yelling to the sky was going to somehow get it back on.
But now that everything is back on, I get to listen to them complain about the house, the weather, the lightning, the customer service of all these companies who made us go without service for all that time, and now he's talking about looking at South Carolina land for sale to get the hell outta here.
Every single time there is some type of weather situation, he starts talking about buying land in some state.
Last time, it was Tennessee, the time before that, Utah.
He claims all those places don't have severe weather problems.
She however, does not want to move, so I get to listen to him yell they are going to move, and listen to her yell that they aren't going to move.
It's pure entertainment people.
I just wish they would wait till a decent hour to start this yelling.
5:00am is not the best hour to be out in the driveway arguing about moving to a new state.

Posted by Kat at 9:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Verizon came out today and fiddled around for awhile, claimed that my house shorted out when the lightning struck. They never did climb the pole.
I thought for sure, the way things were going on Saturday night, that Shell would be packing her luggage by candle light on Sunday morning at 5:am.

It took FPL about 3.5 hours to fix the damage. They had to remove the blown transformer and install a brand new one.
They were in the back yard yelling all that time.
When the power came back on, certain appliances had completely blown out in some homes.
I lost my answering machine and my router.
Some things did short out, but that does not mean that their wires on that pole are fine, and they refuse to climb the pole and look.
I swear, if I have to go through hat I went through a few years ago, with having on/off service for months again while they tell me it's not their fault, I will seriously kill somebody.
When Verizon finally got around to checking that pole on their map, they found the grid had been blown.
But for months, they told me it was fine, that it was my computer and telephone that were broken and causing the problems.
They ended up giving me 4 months credit on my DSL bill back then, and if they have screwed it up again this time by refusing to climb the pole and look at those wires, they are going to be sorry.
I'll go to the media this time.

Lightning struck that pole. An FPL transformer is attached to it, along with Comcast cable lines, and Verizon phone lines.
They will not climb the pole and look.
I can almost guarantee you that the Verizon phone wires got melted or holes blown in them just like last time, but they won't even go look.
That's ignorant if you ask me.
They know what happened and will not even just go check it.
If I run into those same problems, they are going to have bigger problems.

Posted by Kat at 5:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Oh, not coming?
When will a line pole tech be coming then?
Tomorrow, sometime between 8am and noon?
That's just fabulous.
I love not having any phone service at all.
It's really awesome.

Posted by Kat at 5:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

The problem is not my equipment inside my house.
For the last time, last night at about 7:30pm, lightning struck the pole in the back yard, blew up the power transformer, we were without power for about 8 hours. FPL came and spent 3 hours repairing and replacing the blown up transformer.
Your phone and internet wires are connected to that pole.
Do you honestly think that your wires were spared the lightning?
If I use the internet, I have no phone. I actually have no phone at all, just dead air.
I really think it's ignorant of you to tell me that my equipment is at fault, when I was using my phone and internet last night, when the explosion that lit up the entire neighborhood happened.
It was so loud and so bright, people ran screaming from their homes thinking the neighborhood had been bombed.
Now, get someone over here to fix this ASAP, quit telling me my line tests fine. The problem is at the pole with your copper wiring.
This happened a few years ago, do you remember?
For 4 solid months you told me it was my fault, then you suddenly discovered that the grid had been blown.
Ooops, your bad huh?
I am a very unhappy customer right now.
Pissed is how I would describe it.
See, people have been trying to call here, and they haven't been able to.
They were worried.
I cannot be without the phone for months again while you tell me it's not your problem.
There's a tech of yours here right now, and he says yes, it is your problem. So uh, how about treating your customers with a bit more respect?
That would be far too easy, I know, it's more fun to make our lives miserable with your shitty service and lack of customer service.

Posted by Kat at 1:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

No Power.jpg
Originally uploaded by onecattykat

Posted by Kat at 9:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I have some time right now while Shell is off visiting an aunt of hers, so I thought now would be the best time to tell you about Cloverfield.

This is not your normal monster from the sea type movie, but in a way it is.
It's definitely not a Godzilla, but this monster is a thousand times better.
The movie is all done with a hand held camcorder, just like Blair Witch. A lot of people hated the way Blair Witch was done, but other movies have been done with the shaky camera style, like the Bourne movies, and been successful.
This in my opinion, is not nearly as bad as the Bourne movies, those ones make me feel sick.
I was fine during this entire movie and so were the boys and Shell, although Shell was absolutely terrified during Cloverfield. It's not her kind of move at all.

****Spoiler alert below the cut*****

The teens and I really enjoyed the movie, it scared the shit out of Shell.
It was a very shaky cam, many people have reported getting motion sick, but we were all fine.
On a 1-10 scale, I give it a 9 for originality, drama, suspense, tons of action, and keeping me on the edge of my seat.

Oh yeah, to the asshat who sat right in front of me, eat shit buddy. Shell was scared and she screamed. Sorry if her scream upset your movie watching experience. It's a monster movie, it was made to scare people and it did, so eat it buddy.

The movie opens with some type written words on the screen from the U.S. government about a tape recovered from the area now called Cloverfield, but was once known as Central Park.
It is classified information which has now been leaked.
The tape starts with Rob and Beth at his father apartment in New York, they are best friends, had one night together, gone to Coney Island the next day. This is important later on in the movie.
Then we cut to a going away party for Rob being filmed at first by Jason, Rob's brother, and then by Hud, one of Rob's friends. He takes his job of documenting the entire party very seriously, and that is why we have the footage of the party and subsequent monster attack.
Hud has a crush on Marlena, and tries filming her at every chance. He films the party, going away messages from Rob's friends, an argument between Rob and Beth because she showed up to his party with a date. Beth and her date end up leaving the party. Rob confesses his love for Beth to Hud and Jason, then all hell breaks loose.
A news report says an oil tanker has capsized, they all run to the roof to see if they can see it, and witness an explosion of another building.
They run to street level and see the statue of liberty's head rolling down the street.
Several of the people from the party and the building elude to 9/11, and yes, this movies beginning is eerily like that day with buildings exploding, people dying, dust and papers falling from the sky.
Very intense scenes.

Rob, Jason, Lily, Marlena and Hud all head for the Brooklyn Bridge. While on the bridge, Rob gets a call from Beth, who is now injured and trapped in her Midtown apartment after an explosion. The creature's tail then comes out of the water and destroys the bridge, killing Jason among many others. Rob and his friends flee back to Manhattan.
Rob decides he has to go back for Beth, tells everyone else to go with the military to safety, but Lily, Hud and Marlena decide to stay with him.
Marlena said she saw a huge thing eating people, news reports show spider like creatures dropping from the larger monster, they are large, the size of dogs, and they attack people instantly.

They have a run in with the military, and then go underground into the subways to get to Beth's apartment.
While walking through the subway, Marlena is badly bitten by some of the smaller creatures, they all end up being found by the military again, and it is noticed that Marlena has been bitten.
She is grabbed and pulled away by people in suits behind a plastic sheet barrier, where she explodes. This upset Hud greatly.

Rob argues with the officers that he has to get to Beth, an officer leads Rob, Lily, and Hud to an exit, but tells them the government has decided to bomb all of New York, if they want to live, they need to meet at a certain helicopter location by 06.00 hundred hours.
The 3 then run to get to Beth's building.
Her building is partially collapsed and leaning on another building. They enter the other building and climb the stairs to the roof to get to her buildings roof. They make their way across and down into Beth's apartment, and find that Beth had fallen and gotten impaled on a piece of steel bar from the building.
They free her and escape to the waiting helicopters.
Lily is separated during the evacuation on another helicopter, Hud Rob and Beth board another. They see the military bombing the crap out of the monster, think it's dead, and then the monsters giant arm swipes at the helicopter causing it to crash in Central park.
They survive the crash only to look up and see the monster towering over them.

Hud is killed by the monster, Rob and beth escape to a nearby bridge where Rob gives the final testimonial about what has happened to New York. Caught between the monster and the military, the bomb sirens sound, Rob and Beth say I love you, the bridge collapses on top of them presumably killing them both.
The film then cuts to the original footage of Rob and Beth's day at Coney Island, the party had been filmed over their day.
They are looking out at the ocean, something falls from the sky into the water but they don't notice it. Beth says she had a good day.

The credits roll, the movie theaters lights are not coming up so we stay for the end of the credits.
After what feels like an eternity watching names roll by, we hear static, then a voice.
"It's still alive."
We are to presume it's Rob's voice, they sound the same.
Lights come up, movie is over.

Posted by Kat at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

There were 34 entries including the people who had double entries for writing posts.
And the winner is.....

Thanks to all who entered!
There will be more contests coming up so stay tuned!

I will be contacting Maggie for her mailing address to send her the card.
Congrats! Maggie!

Posted by Kat at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I will be contacting the winner for their address!

The winner is BlytheE!
Sorry the video got cut short, but Shell came walking into the kitchen going "cuckoo cuckoo!" and starting to say something, so I had to cut it short. *LOL*

Thanks to all who entered, and stay tuned for tomorrows winner results!

Posted by Kat at 6:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm totally overdoing it and I know it. I'm exhausted.
Blah.

Cloverfield was excellent, I really enjoyed it and would love to tell you about it, I just don't know when I'm going to have time right now.
I will say though if you are planning on seeing it this weekend, if you suffer from motion sickness, take some dramamine before you go, or look up at the ceiling a lot.
The entire movie is done with a hand held camcorder from the point of the view of the victims.
Lots of running, therefore, lots of shaking.
None of us felt sick, but they warn you when you go into the theater.
I'd say, the shakiness in the Bourne movies is worse actually.
It has some excellent scare the shit out of you moments. Good stuff.

Right now I'm making some un-fried chicken legs for dinner, something for a side dish, no clue yet, I'm so tired I can't think straight.

Oh, people need to stop being asshats.
My neighbor has driven me bat shit the last 2 days.
She's uber needy, and apparently she thinks it's perfectly acceptable to call me a dozen times a day because she needs things and she can't reach/get them.
Um, I'm busy, I have company, I have a ton of things to do and I'm barely getting any of it done, and seriously, people need to get off my case about what I need to do or I'm gonna snap so freaking bad.
I just really need a night to just sit still and do my stuff or I'm gonna be useless.

Ok, gotta go figure out what the hell else we are eating.
Later days.

P.S.
The Mad Money swag give-a-way will be coming up at around 6:30pm.

Posted by Kat at 5:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Every time my friend Shell has come down to visit, the John and Mable Ringling mansion, the Ca d' Zan, was closed.
They spent years renovating it, restoring it, to all the beauty and amazement it held while they were alive.

In 1924, they commissioned New York architect Dwight James Baum, to build their dream house. Though Ca d'Zan may translate from the Venetian dialect into "The House of John," the project was always listed on Baum's plans as "the home of Mrs. John Ringling," and Mable was the principal contact for much of the construction and decoration of the interior. The mansion was completed in 1926, and would soon become the epicenter of cultural life in Sarasota, evoking the Venetian Gothic palaces admired by the Ringlings. Lavish parties were held with orchestras serenading guests from the Ringling yacht to the lovely marbled terrace.

Shell and I took the premium tour, that means being allowed to tour the rooms of the house that regular visitors do not get to see unless they pay extra.
It was just Shell and I, one tour guide who was a sweet old woman with a fear of heights, (I'll explain this later) and one security guard.
When touring these rooms, no more than seven people are allowed to go at a time, that includes the guide and the security officer, for safety reasons.
If there were ever a fire at the mansion, trying to get more then seven people back down all 89 steps, would be time consuming and dangerous.

The mansion is absolutely beautiful.
The exterior and interior, are simply gorgeous.
All images are clickable for bigger.

More pictures below the cut.

This solid marble tub is in John Ringling's bathroom.
It is 7 feet long, was cut and shaped into this solid marble masterpiece.

All of the mirrors inside the guest bathroom medicine cabinets, are hand painted with completely different paintings.
Each guest bedroom and bathroom, are different colors and styles.

Mable Ringling had most of the bed linens and bath towels monogrammed with her initials.
She thought they looked better than his.

This bed, called a viewing bed, was in the most popular guest room in the mansion. It was covered with windows on 3 sides, giving guests an almost panoramic view of Sarasota Bay.
The bed was used for displaying the dead bodies of loved ones. They would be laid out and candles placed on all 4 pillars, and then the viewings would begin.

During the prohibition, John Ringling actually had what we now call, a panic room, but during this period of time, he stored thousands of bottles of wine and alcohol in that room.
It was hidden behind a huge steel vault door, and then a wall panel covered it. When guests walked through the hallway, they had absolutely no idea there was another room behind the walls.
They now use the panic room during hurricane season to store the mansions most valuable items.
On the other end of that hallway, was John Ringling's parlor room.
The entire ceiling is covered with paintings of circus type people.
This is a portrait on the ceiling of John and Mable.

The poker table.

One of the most beautiful parts of this tour, was the solid marble steps, all 89 of them that wind up in spiral form, that took you to all of the floors.
We were taken to the very top of the mansion, to the deck overlooking Sarasota bay.

The grounds of the mansion are incredible.
Here is the gazebo of Mable's rose garden which grows hundreds of varieties of roses.

The grounds are full of all kinds of statues placed throughout the rose garden and hidden among the banyan trees.

Here is one statue being completely overtaken by a banyan tree, and the caretakers of the mansion and grounds, have chosen to let nature do what it wants.

It was a beautiful day at the Ringling mansion. I have many more pictures, but these were just some I thought you might find interesting and beautiful.

Posted by Kat at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Yeah, it does say 4 tickets for the morning showing.
Cuz I'm a cool mom like that.

Posted by Kat at 6:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Shell and I are headed out to see the Ringling mansion today, and do the tour, take pics and all that fun stuff.

I will be around later on to answer emails and register contest entries.
I hope you all have a good one.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Shell landed at TIA about an hour ago, so she should be arriving just about any minute now.
She took late flights to get here because they were cheaper, I'm up anyway, so no big deal.

It's going to be so nice to see her, been almost a year I think, since we went up there last.
I have no idea what all we will be doing aside from the Ringling mansion and maybe a movie, but we'll make the best of the time.

The teens and I got the house really good and cleaned up, fresh sheets, blanket and pillow.
No stack of dirty dishes, all the offensive teen smelly laundry has been cleaned and put away.

Well I have some fixing up of myself to do, so time to go.
Later days!

Posted by Kat at 12:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I was doing some stat watching tonight, and one of the fun things about doing that is that you get to see how your visitors found your blog.
I love looking through the search terms to see what brought them here.

In no particular order, here are the most searched keywords that brought people here so far in the month of January.

original little mermaid movie cover
stick figures
term life insurance quotes
check n go lawsuit
fuck math
milk phobia
no on 1 florida

That's just a small sample of searches that helped people find their way here. I hope they were happy with the results they found.
I can't post some of the other searches because then I'll just get more of those searches, and trust me, I do not have what they are looking for.

Posted by Kat at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Gawker has the video that has been passed around amongst reporters, showing Tom Cruise making the argument for Scientology.
The video shows Cruise in an even more scary light than his jumping on the couch on the Oprah show, and stranger than his interview with Matt Lauer on the Today Show.

In the video he says that as Scientologists, they are the only ones who help, the only ones who can, the only way to happiness.
That they can bring peace, and unite all cultures.

Gawker is hosting the video and is so far refusing to remove it, unlike the others who had posted it yesterday and pulled it down after only a few hours.

Most of the video is rambling, it's hard to make sense of any of it, in one part he rambles this like we're all supposed to just "know."

"We know...we just know...I don't know, but we just know...ya know, it's just it...we see things...whatever, we're here to help..."

Um yeah, ok Tom, I totally got that.
He goes on and on about SP's, suppressive person, people who are enemies of Scientology.
He has this wild look in his eyes, maniacal laughter every few minutes, he fidgets through the entire thing.
This video is about him receiving the Freedom Medal of Valor award from the Scientologists.
What that means, I honestly have no idea.
The whole religion is so bizarre to me, thetans, Xenu. It is not logical or rational, and perhaps that is why I cannot wrap my head around any of it.
But Tom Cruise, if he is the way they are recruiting, they may want to rethink that because in this video, he is clearly nuts.

"If you are a Scientologist, you see things the way they are, in all their glory, in all their complexity... It's rough and tumble. It's wild and woolly. It's a blast. It really is. It is fun. Because damn it, there is nothing better than going out there and fighting the fight, and suddenly you see -- boom! -- things are better. I want to know that I've done everything I can do, every day... I do what I can. And I do it the way I do everything."

Click the image to go see the video.

Posted by Kat at 8:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Of the Incoco dry nail applique's is...

Congratulations!
I will be contacting the winner for their mailing address soon!

Thanks to everyone who entered, and don't forget the other 2 contest that end Friday.
It just lucked out that these 3 all happened this week.

Posted by Kat at 8:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I will be drawing a winner and uploading the video in a few moments.

Posted by Kat at 8:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just wanted to update this entry I wrote, on Incoco Dry nail Applique' polish.

As I said in my review, they were super easy to apply, match the right size, and I said I'd come back to let you know how long they really last.
They say they will last up to 14 days, and they are absolutely correct!
I probably could have gotten more than 14 days out of them if I didn't wash my dishes by hand.

Because I love these so much, and I want you to love them too, I'm giving away 1 package of these in the color Rose Tea, as pictured below.

This is a super duper, quickie fast give-a-way.
If you want this package, you need to leave a comment on this entry no later than 8pm tonight, EST.
I will then draw 1 lucky name, and will post the winner and request their mailing address.
In accordance with my privacy policy, your mailing address will only be used by me to send you this give-a-way.

You still also have until Friday night to enter both the Mad Money Swag give-a-way, and the Bed Bath and Beyond $25 gift card give-a-way. And don't forget, to get 2 entries on the gift card give-a-way, all you have to do is leave a comment on that entry, and write a post on your blog about the contest, and let me know.

Y'all just may want to add me to your feed reader or bookmark my blog.
This is looking to be the year of give-a-ways on My Single Mom Life.

Posted by Kat at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

Cleaning the house that is.
I've started the laundry so I have clean sheets and blankets for Shell to use, I need to do the dishes, vac, mop, and then the boys can do the bathroom and their rooms when they get home.

I stayed up really late last night, it was about 4am when I finally went to bed.
the alarm went off at 5:45, I got the teens up, sent them off to school at 6:30, and then went back to bed, hoping to sleep till at least 10am.
I set my alarm to get up at 10, but I didn't need to, my phone woke me up over and over again starting at 7:30am.
Grrr.

I have a feeling it was my neighbor, because at 9am, she called, and when I answered the phone in a gruff, she was all 'what's wrong Kat?'
I explained to her about the phone ringing repeatedly, and the person hanging up, and she was all sorry, I didn't wake you did I?
I said some jerk kept calling and hanging up, so I'm awake now, but I hate it when people do that.
She just kept saying sorry.
I know it was her.
Grr.
Then some doctors office called looking for a patient.
I said no, wrong number.
The nurse said 'are you sure?'
Why gee lady, let me double check my ID, I might have forgotten my name over night, or maybe(!) that person moved in while I was asleep, let me check the rooms!
I said yes, I'm absolutely sure that person does not live at this phone number, check your number again.
'Oh, I dialed a 5 instead of a 6, I'm sorry.'
Uh huh, and I'm the one who doesn't know my last name or who lives here. *eyeroll*
Stupid people.

I have tons of stuff to do today, I need to get busy on all of it. Home stuff and work stuff.
Oh, what did my neighbor want?
She wanted to know if I was going to the store because she needs dog supplies, dog food, a de-wormer, and some flea stuff.
She said she's too sore to go anywhere today.
Um, she have a car, I would have to walk, and I'm sore today as well.
See, Shell is headed down, and it looks like she's sent some cold Maine air ahead of her so it will feel like home.
It was 40 degrees last night.
It's warming back up again though.
High's will be mid 70's for the rest of the week, nights will be low 60's.
That's perfect Florida weather for winter.

Posted by Kat at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

So it's almost 3am and I'm sitting here wide awake, bored, surfing the net, clicking through channels, just doing anything I can to relieve myself of the insomniac boredom.

Finally, I see that a couple of blogs have been updated, and I rush to my feed reader to be entertained.
I find this most awesome post by Sarcastic Mom, a letter to her son Braden on his 15 month anniversary of being alive.

It was a long and beautiful, and hysterically funny letter.
I was laughing at all the silly things 15 month olds do, what mine used to do.
I felt the frustration when they do things that aren't quite so funny, like try to touch things they shouldn't, and peeing and pooping with free abandon.
And oh, all the wonderful moments, the laughs, the first potty achievement, the first time they knew what to do with toy trucks and discovering how things work.
Then the things that just grate on your very last nerve, like non-stop crying, shrieking, wailing, tantrums, all those things that make a mom question not only when will this phase end, but will I be sane when it does?

My sons are almost full grown now, this letter made me all nostalgic, even a little weepy for those days that are now so far gone from my life.
What has replaced the running around naked days, and the discovering belly buttons and other body parts, the smiles, the teeth growing in, the huge wide-eyed wonder, is young men with ideas of their own, stretching out, reaching out, for lives of their own.

Most days are still really good, they amaze me every day with how much they have grown, but now it's not just testing the limits, it's pushing them.
There are days they come home from school and are in such foul moods, all I want to do is help, and it's met with "I don't want to talk about it!"
Saying no to letting them stay up late on school nights so they can finish this one last level, is retorted with "I hate you!"
They are taller than me, stronger than me.
Where did my cute little babies go?
Where did the time go?

Sometimes I wish I could go back to that wonderful age, and yes, it is wonderful, to hear the shriek again.
Oh how I miss the days when they would bolt up after I would wipe their ass clean and try to put on a new diaper, and they would run giggling at decibel 10, naked through the house as I raced frantically after them.
I miss the days when they discovered bugs for the first time, or a family pet let them cuddle, and how much happiness lit up in their eyes.
I miss the light in those eyes, the wonder, the curiosity, the poop and pee, the everything.

They'll be gone soon, and I'll be left wondering where the time went, and what did I miss?
Was I good enough, did I teach them enough, was any of the struggle good enough?
I'll miss the 'I hate you's and the battles to stay up.
I'll miss it all, just like I miss the baby days, the lack of sleep, the poop, the pee, the worrying over fevers, the teething, and yes, even the shrieks.
Time just goes by far too quickly, it's simply not enough time to take it all in and find the awesomeness of every little thing.

Posted by Kat at 2:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I almost forgot to tell you about how much money I saved today!
My mom has been sending me coupons for quite awhile now, our newspapers down here just don't ever have many coupons in them.
Anyway, I've been hoarding them to go shopping during one of Publix's big buy 1 get 1 free sale weeks, and today was that day.

Before all my coupons, my total bill was $294.78.
After all my coupons, just $123.58
I saved $171.20!
Booyeah!

I love it when I can do it big like that.
I used so many coupons, the poor cashier kid looked at me like I was crazy when I handed him the stack of coupons. It took him about 5 minutes to scan them all in, and the people in line behind me kept peering over at the screen to watch my totals drop down.
It was awesome.
Go me! hahaha

Posted by Kat at 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Wow, today totally flew by wicked fast man.
I can't believe it's the time it is already. I think I lost a few hours some where.

Anyway, I'm so totally excited about my weight-loss so far, even if it is just a little bit, it's a start to where I want to be.
I've been asking some of the health nuts on the local forums the same questions I asked here on my blog, about supplements and stuff, and most of the guys came back with taking bodybuilding supplements like protien powders, creatine, that kind of stuff.
I'm not looking to bulk up here, I just want to lose weight. I know that taking in more protien will help with not only that, but with muscle growth as well, which I do need to have in my legs and lower back.
I like some protien powders, but some of them are just awful, I'll have to shop around for some good flavored ones.

I gotta get busy. I have like 3 days worth of emails to reply to.
Yikes!
Later days!

Posted by Kat at 5:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I wanted to update you all on my weight-loss progress so far.
I went and did my grocery shopping, and then stepped on the scale at Publix because it's more accurate than mine at home.
I am happy to say that I have lost 2.5 pounds so far.
It's not a huge loss, but it's a damn good start doncha think?

And here's my video explaining all about my new Nordictrack elliptical.
No, I couldn't edit out the silly and 'and all that' thing I did, but go ahead and have a laugh on me.
This machine seriously rocks.
It's so easy and fun to use, and that makes exercising so much easier for me. It's not boring so I have fun doing it, and therefore am losing weight.
Yay me!

Posted by Kat at 3:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

It takes me a long time to get moving in the morning due to my spine being all stuck and locked up in a corpse type position, but after I get myself unstuck, I do my 20 minutes on the elliptical, and then set to getting everything else around here done.

I'm so insanely picky about pictures and videos of myself, that even though I have taken some of me using the elliptical, I'm still editing them (the videos) to be just right.
I found that I say something really weird when talking about how the elliptical works.
I asked my kids if I say this all the time, and they were all 'no, but it's weird that you do it almost every time you make a video mom.'
What is it I'm saying?
"And all that."
And all that?
What the hell does that mean?
I have no idea, but it sounds absolutely bizarre in the videos, so I'm attempting to edit out that weirdness, and then I'll show you the videos I've made.
If I can't edit that part of my stupidity out, I'll just have to suck it up and let you hear me be a fool saying and all that.
I'm also waiting on something else before I post the video, but I can't tell you, so neener neener.

I have to go grocery shopping today, after I un-stiffen anyway.
I swear, it takes me like 2-3 hours to get un-stiff.
I am hoping that with more and more exercise, that this stiffness issue will start going away.
So Shell, if you are thinking that I'm going to be able to just get up and go while you're here, it's not gonna happen. Sorry girl, I'll do my best, but maybe I'll just have to get up earlier than normal in order to be able to be ready to go by a certain time each day.

Posted by Kat at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm sick and tired of seeing Rudy Giuliani's ads on my tv.
This one especially makes me loathe him.

One more attack is only moments away ya know?
How many times is Rudy going to play on the fears, the sadness, and the anger over 9/11?
I'm sick of it.
The sad thing is, that people will vote for him because they are afraid more attacks will happen, and they will believe him when he says he's ready for it, that he will take care of it and us.

It's just really sick to keep bringing up 9/11, and using that day to try and make himself look like some kind of hero, in the hopes that people will be afraid enough to vote for him as president.

Posted by Kat at 1:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Has anyone ever tried Miracle burn as a diet supplement when working out?
I'm not trying to lose weight the wrong way here, I am just curious what people have used, and how well it worked for them.
I figure between exercising every day on the elliptical, trying to eat right, and adding more fiber to my diet, I may just lose some weight quicker.

I know I don't eat right, I pretty much hate most vegetables unless they are covered in some sort of sauce, like cheese, and my fiber intake is pretty much nil.
I don't eat many bread items to get my fiber because most wheat and gluten products cause joint pain.
Pastas, breads, all that kind of stuff, I end up hurting in my knees, lower back, etc.
I've tested this and had a few doctors confirm it for me, that some people do have issues with wheats, flour, gluten, and joint pain.

So on the suggestion of a friend, I decided to try getting my fiber another way, swallow it down in a pill.
I already take a bunch of pills every day, what's another one added to the mix right?
Wrong.
See, when you don't normally consume lots of fiber, your body has to take some time to adjust to it, and during that adjustment period, you end up a bit, shall we say, gassy.
This is the 4th day taking the Benefiber, and let me tell you, it's like I won the chili eating contest.
Woo-eee!
I'm not even taking the recommended dose, it says to take 3, 3 times a day.
I'm only taking 3 a day, and I've got enough gas to power a car.
I am trying to imagine if I actually took all 9 caplets they recommend.
It's a scary thought.

So what are your health supplements, what do you take to help you get your weight under control, help you lose it, and to help you get the stuff your body needs without having to actually ingest all those fruits and veggies?

Posted by Kat at 11:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The Florida homestead exemption amendment is not good for Florida homeowners no matter how they market it to you.
It says you will save on your taxes, but do you know how much?

The average Florida homeowner will only get a tax savings of $240.00.
Peanuts.

Source.

"The four-part tax package would:

# Increase the $25,000 homestead exemption to $50,000.

Proponents have framed this measure as a doubling of the current $25,000 homestead break, but that's misleading, as the new exemption won't apply to school taxes, which make up roughly 40 percent of property tax bills.

# Make accrued benefits from Save Our Homes -- which caps annual assessment increases at 3 percent -- transferable to new homesteads.

# Cap assessment increases on commercial and non-homestead property to 10 percent annually.

# Create a $25,000 exemption on tangible property for businesses, usually for things such as machinery and equipment.

What benefit would those changes provide?

The average Florida homeowner would get a tax savings of $240 from the added homestead break.

The commission's report offers a unique chance for the start of a major tax system overhaul this year, whereas Amendment 1 offers a piecemeal approach to tax relief at best.

Voters should turn it down.

Florida needs, and must get, something significantly better."

Posted by Kat at 6:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It's amazing how bored I can be even when I have a lot to do.
I need to clean the house, dig out extra sheets and blankets, make a shopping list, do laundry, the mountain of dishes that lay in the sink, and keep an eye out for the UPS guy.

The headsets for the xbox are 'out for delivery' according to the UPS website, but considering they never knock, and leave my packages near one of the cement pillars, I have to practically stand in the doorway to keep an eye out for it so my packages don't get swiped.
I hate that.

On Wednesday after school, I'll be having the boys help me do a deep clean of the whole house so that Shell doesn't have to walk into, and deal with, teen slob hell.
I have to constantly remind them to flush the toilet.
I know, they are teenagers, what is up with that right?!
Well see, during the rainy season, when the streets flood and the septic drain fields are completely saturated, the rule laid down by the landlord goes like this;
"If it's yellow, let it mellow, if it's brown, flush it down."
Yes, I know, totally gross, but on septic, it helps to keep the tank from having the pressure build up and then if it does, your toilet backs up, and your house gets flooded with gallons of water.
It's happened about 6 times in the 10 years we've lived in this duplex.

But it's not the rainy season anymore. It lasts from June 1st to November 30th.
It's long over, they can flush safely again.
But breaking them of the yellow mellow habit is rough. By the time I get them broken of it and flushing after use, it's rainy season again.
Oy!
So anyway, I've been harping on them for the last 2 weeks to flush, they can, it's safe, please for the love of all that's right, flush the damn toilet when we have company here!
So Shell, I am apologizing in advance, if you go into the bathroom and are faced with a bowl full of piss, it's their fault and my landlords, it's a man thing, sorry.
Oh what am I saying, you live with men too, I'm sure they have nasty toilet habits too. It really is a man thing. Ha!

So we're going to deep clean the whole house on Wednesday after school, and then I'll be awake until Shell arrives around 1am.
Then her and I will climb the 89 steps at the Ca d' zan, and I'll beg her to go see the monster that ate New York a million times.
I mean, if I have to walk up 89 steps cuz the mansion is NOT handicap accessible, she should have to sit in a comfy theater seat for 2 hours and watch it with me right?
Right?!
I thought so.

Posted by Kat at 1:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

(1) Mad Money swag pack, containing:
-2 branded lottery ticket scratchers
"Mad Money Scratchers will not only offer players the opportunity to win cash prizes ranging from $10 to $1,000, but will also include unique second chance prizes as well. Second chance draw prizes include: a trip for two to the Los Angeles premiere of Mad Money, a trip for two to a future Overture Films movie premiere, a set visit for a future Overture Films production, a walk-on role for an upcoming movie, Mad Money DVDs, autographed Mad Money movie posters, and a Starz subscription. Odds of winning any prize are 1 in 5.45 and odds of winning a cash prize are 1 in 11.96."
- A full-sized movie poster
- A solid brass Masterlock, packaged in shredded money
-----------------------------------------------

To enter, simply leave a comment below. This contest runs from today, the 14th, through Friday the 18th, with a winner being drawn around 6pm EST.
Only 1 winner will be drawn for this prize pack.

Posted by Kat at 10:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (21)

When I went to the store, I bought a pound of hamburger, a gallon of milk, a loaf of really nice Italian bread for sandwiches, and a pound of ham from the deli.

I decided against using the hamburger tonight, and instead we had sandwiches.
I made myself one sandwich, and left the kitchen so the teens could make theirs.

I went back into the kitchen to dispose of my plate and clean up any messes.
Someone had left the miracle whip on the counter, so I put it back and noticed the meat drawer wasn't shut all the way.
That's when I saw it.

The pound of ham I had bought just this afternoon, had been reduced to 2 slices.
Two.
2.

A whole pound of ham gone between just the 3 of us, and I only had 2 slices of it on my sandwich.
Each teenage food disposal, ate 2 sandwiches each, and must have each used a half pound of ham on each of their sandwiches.

Food disappears around her faster than I can replace it.

Posted by Kat at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

On our way to Publix, we noticed that the new video game store, or what I thought was a video game store, had it's open sign on, so we stopped in to check it out.

We opened the door and walked in, and were surprised to see that it's a game playing place.
For $6.75 per hour, you can go in and play xbox 360, PS3, or a Wii, or pool.
They had giant flat screen tvs up on the black painted walls, leather recliners for the people to sit in, 2 pool tables, and not much else.
The guy said that in a few weeks he'll start buying, selling, and trading new and used games, but for now, if you want your kids to come play, they have to read all the rules, (1 page, single spaced) and the parents have to sign a contract, and leave their CC number.

The contract basically states that if your kid breaks a controller, a recliner, a pool stick, or whatever, the parents are legally responsible for full price repayment.
The games are not worth full price because so many people would be using them all the time, same with the controllers and other items, so no way should the parents have to pay full price for them, they would be used price at that point.

It was dead quiet in there too, because all the kids are required to use the full ear covering headsets, there is no jukebox or soda machines, no food is allowed to be eaten while there, it's strictly for game playing.
While the concept is ok, there is no way my teens will be going there to play.
Let's say some kid breaks a Wii controller, doesn't say anything when their hour is up, Mark rents an hour and tells the guy the controller doesn't work.
Guess who has to buy a new controller?
Mommy, and mommy ain't paying for that.
There are no security cameras to verify what kid is doing what in there, so it would all come down to whichever kid is the last kid to sign the contract for a particular game system.
No thanks.

But in other cool video game news, I just saw the Xbox 360 Text Messaging Kit.
It plugs into the headset port, and allows you to text message people in game, or with people using Windows based pc messenger systems. One review I read said it can be used to send text messages back and forth to cell phones as well.
If you watch the demo video on Circuit City's website, you can see it works with cell phones. Not sure how that works because I don't have this text pad yet, but if it can do all that stuff, and even comes with a special headset that works with it, it might be a kick ass add-on for the xbox360.
A lot of the video games make heavy use of texting like Phantasy Star Universe does, so this would be a very nice addition so you don't have to leave your game screen to send messages back and forth, you could just do it in game from the chat pad.
I may have to check one of these out.

Posted by Kat at 4:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I took a package of hamburger out of the freezer yesterday morning, and set it to thaw in the fridge.
I was planning on using it tonight for dinner, so yeah, about 24 hours in a cold fridge to thaw should have been fine.

I just went to check it, make sure it was thawed out, and when I looked at it, it had that nasty grey/brown color to it, indicating that it's no good.
I mean, maybe it is good, but I don't take chances with meat.
I have food phobias about rotten foods, I just can't use them if they even look a little bit off.
Maybe just the top layer was discolored, but nope I can't do it, and I tossed it in the trash.

So now I have to go to Publix again or more hamburger.
*sigh*
I really just wanted to have a super lazy Sunday and not do a damned thing.

Posted by Kat at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Well I did say that I would post my starting weight and my target goal, so here goes.
After all these years of being pretty much sedentary, (almost 7 years now) a weight lifting restriction of no more than 10lbs max, and no strenuous exercise beyond walking, my starting weight is:

I know that is accurate because I used the scale at Publix. My house scale is old and while it was close, I know that is my real weight.
Ugh.

I've been working out on the elliptical everyday now for 20 minutes a day, and I just pop my earbuds in and crank up the music on my Sansadisk mp3 player, and go to it.

Once I figured out how to get the batteries in, having the control panel lit up and working, makes working out much easier. It keeps time for me, miles, measures my heart rate, and beeps when I'm supposed to end.
I'm really enjoying this a whole lot more than just walking.
As for my weight, I am going to lose weight, but I'm not going to obsess over the numbers on the scale.
I'm not going to weigh myself daily, or even every other day, only once a week so I don't get all nutty looking at numbers.
I feel really good so far, I'm not having too much pain after working out, just the usual left hip area, but that's to be expected with a broken iliac screw in there.

I have two workout and health buddies Belle and Mindy.
We're going to do our best to help keep each other motivated, be a sounding board for each other when we just don't wanna keep going, swap healthy recipes the whole family can eat, and just be supportive.
That's the most important thing in my opinion.
Working out and trying to lose weight can be so difficult when you don't have a good support system to keep you encouraged, to keep you motivated, and applaud your accomplishments no matter how little they may be.

My goal is to get back down to what I was pre-sedentary, before they told me I could no longer work, and that surgery was needed.
I weighed 145 then, and it was perfect for my height and frame. Any lower than that, I start looking like a skeleton.
My weight right now is not horrible, but I'm not happy with it either. At least it's not what it was when I moved here 10 years ago. I weighed 235 when I moved here, got a job doing manual labor, and dropped down to 145 within 6 months and kept it off for 4 and a half years. I would have kept it off longer than that too, if I hadn't been forced by my doctors to stop working and to not do anything to further complicate my back and spine issues.

So there we go, my starting weight and goal weight.
I know I can do this, it's what I want, and if I want it bad enough, I will achieve it.

Posted by Kat at 3:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

That is a sticker from waste management, on the side of the box the NordicTrack came in.
It says they won't take the box.
I broke down all the cardboard the elliptical was packed in, and placed it in the box. There was no way it was going to fit in the small recycle bin.
But no, they won't take it.
I now have to place as much of the cardboard in the recycle bin as possible, every week until it's all gone.
I called them to come get it for a one time pick up, they said no, I had to break it all down and place it in the small recycle bin.
It's going to take about 3 weeks to get rid of all this cardboard.
I don't understand why they just couldn't take it.
Grr.

Posted by Kat at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I know everyone and their mother has written something about the whole Britney Spears mess, but I wanted to add my 2 cents.

It's time for her parents to go to LA, throw her in a car and drive her away from all the flashing lights of cameras, and get her away from the people who are obviously enabling her to do this crazy stuff.
They need to take her back home to Louisiana, or look into a secluded Pigeon Forge cabin rentals deal, and just take her and hide her away from the fast life she's living. It's time to drag her far away from LA, the cameras, out to some secluded place with no phones, no visitors other than her family. Just take her far away from the rushing real world, go to the country and get this girl the family and medical help she so desperately needs to have. She's on the fast track to her grave, and if someone doesn't step in soon, there'll be nothing left of her.

She has to go to court tomorrow, she'll either be a no show or really late, and she's going to end up losing her sons forever.
Her family needs to step in now. Get her out of that life, and take her away, have a serious intervention with a shrink, a medical doctor, and her entire family around her, and show her what her life has become.
Maybe she's so messed up she doesn't realize what she's actually doing, maybe she has no clue that her new boyfriend/papparazzi guy, is using her. All the new pictures of the two of them together, are so clearly set up.
She doesn't even seem to care that her kids are gone, that she could lose them forever.
The same day she gets released from the hospital, she's back out driving around at 3am.
Something is so wrong with her, and it's beyond time for her family to step in.
They should have stepped in months ago, done some type of intervention months ago.
I know she's an adult, but she's spiraling out of control, and this girl is going to end up dead if they don't step in soon.
She obviously has some mental issues going on, perhaps abusing prescription drugs and alcohol. She is surrounded by people who are using her for their own reasons, for fame, for money, for someone to latch onto, and she is so lonely, so in need of true companionship, she's letting these people in probably in the hope they really do care for her.
People are making bets on how soon she dies.
That's really sad.

Posted by Kat at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I was asked to try two different flavors of Grey Poupon mustard, and give my honest opinion of them.
They came in the mail yesterday afternoon, and so for lunch today, we all had Tavern Ham and cheese sandwiches, with the spicy brown mustard on them.
The hearty spicy brown mustard has a really nice spicy kick to it, even Mark who generally doesn't like mustard on sandwiches, thought it was really tasty.
Sebastian loves mustard, generally the plain yellow, but he loved this one a lot.

I have not always been a fan of brown mustards, I grew up with my dad only having one brown mustard in the house, and man, I hated it. Little jar, red label, oldest mustard sold nationally in the U.S. ?
Yeah, that one.
I ate ketchup on everything instead of that red label mustard.
So I was a little hesitant about trying another spicy brown mustard.
I got some nice Chicago Italian bread slices, layered on some thin ham slices, a slice of American cheese, and a teaspoon of the spicy brown mustard.
I was pleasantly surprised.
Unlike the red labeled mustard my dad loved so much, this didn't have that same super bitter taste to me, it was spicy, and it was good.

Tonight, I decided to try the harvest coarse ground in a recipe.
I made unfried chicken, and it can be made using pretty much any sauce you like, or just eggs to hold the coating on.

Crush 2 cups of plain corn flakes in a bag or bowl, whatever is easiest for you.

Place 3 tbs of the mustard on a plate and rub each chicken leg in the mustard.

Then roll and coat each leg in the crushed corn flakes and place on a cooking sprayed baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.
Then plate up and enjoy!

The harvest coarse ground mustard and crushed corn flakes, help keep the chicken meat super juicy, and the mustard gave the chicken a really nice kicky flavor. It was mild at first bite, then the spice would kick in, and it was fabulous. All those mustard seeds they use pop in your mouth with flavor, sort of bursting with each bite.

Over all, the teens and I really enjoyed both flavors of the mustard. They were a nice addition to the food, and a nice switch from regular plain yellow mustard.
I'll definitely be buying more of the harvest coarse ground for future recipes.
I've come across an incredible glaze for ham a fellow blogger made with mustard, and I'm dying to try it with this one.

Posted by Kat at 7:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

There was a huge crash on I-4 in Polk County the other day, 4 people have died in the early morning 70 car pile up that was caused by early morning smoke and fog.

One of the trucks involved and destroyed by fire in that crash, was carrying USPS mail.
It was mostly priority mail packages, and they have all been destroyed by the fire.
That mail was coming from southwest Florida, some of if from the Suncoast, and was headed to central Florida. Officials say all those packages were destroyed.
Destroyed packages may have come from zip codes starting with the numbers: 335, 336, 337, 338, 339, 341, 342 and 346.
To check the tracking of a priority mail package mailed on Tuesday to the central Florida or Miami area, visit the USPS website.

Posted by Kat at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

One of the other things I saw in the Avon brochure, were some rings that could pass as diamond rings. This is campaign 3, not even due yet, and the description on the ring page, is that the only one who could tell the difference, is a certified jeweler.
It was a gorgeous ring too. I folded the page over, I do that when I think I might want something.
Anyway, I've never been big on owning huge wicked expensive pieces of jewelry, I do own some really nice real diamond rings, but I don't wear them places because it makes me feel like I'm gonna get robbed.
Seriously.
So I have a few rings that are fake that I wear everywhere. The bands are real SS.925, but the stones are not. I feel safer wearing fakes. I can't really explain it. I mean, if some idiot thinks it's real, I'm gonna get robbed anyway, but at least I won't be losing something that was worth a ton.

Posted by Kat at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

First, I still need 2 more people for the skin lotion field study.
I tried to get a few male bloggers to sign up, only got 1 guy willing to test this lotion, the other guys were all like, "no, I don't use lotion, or no, that's for girls, or no, all lotions are greasy, I don't care what you say Kat."
I told them I actually use the lotion, it is NOT greasy, I swear it's not, and it is an awesome thing for skin. Those of you signed up for this study will absolutely love it.
So please, I just need 2 more people, male or female. Pretty please with sugar on the top?
**Got everyone I need, thank you!**

You still have plenty of time to enter the Bed Bath and Beyond $25 gift card give-a-way.
Entries will close on the 18th at 8pm EST.
That blog entry will NOT auto close, so yes, you can still post your entry comment in it.

Also, I am having another contest starting Monday the 14th, and it will run for just 4 short and fast days to the 18th at 5pm EST, with a winner being drawn at/or around 6pm EST, but absolutely no later than 7pm EST.
Here's another clue about the second contest.

Posted by Kat at 10:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Sebastian has informed me that my grey hairs are showing again, and it's time to color it.
He did this by telling me he was going to take me to one of those communities for senior living and drop me off.
*squint*

But the intervention may be needed because I have found my love for Avon again, and can't stop buying stuff.
They sell mineral makeup now, and it works, and it's cheap.
None of that $50 for an itty bitty container of BE mineral makeup, oh no.
Check it out.

That's just $7.99 for it. Boo yah!
I keep finding more and more stuff to buy, this was my last purchase. Yes, all of it including that makeup bag.

And I totally want to buy this perfume. It smells absolutely incredible, doesn't irritate my allergies at all, and is sexy and yummy.

And then in that same brochure as the perfume, I found about 19 other products I want.
I need help. I mean, I rarely ever go anywhere to even wear all this stuff I'm buying.

Posted by Kat at 6:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

It's one of my dearest blogging friends birthdays today, she probably thinks I forgot, but I didn't.
My brain may be all over the place, but I recall important dates.
So maybe y'all could go on over and wish Lattegirl a happy birthday?
You can?
Awesome!

Have a great day woman! *wink*

Posted by Kat at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The boys just went back to school this past Monday after having 2 weeks off for Christmas vacation.
On Monday, they spent the entire day watching movies and reviewing for a single mid-term.
Tuesday, reviewed for 2 mid-terms, and watched movies.
Wednesday, nothing was scheduled at all, parents choice if the students went.
Today, Mark had nothing scheduled, did not have to go.
Sebastian had 1 mid-term, was home by 10:30am.
Tomorrow, Sebastian does not have to go to school, Mark has a single mid-term, will be home by 10am.

I don't understand why the school did this like this.
Back when I was in school, even if we had mid-terms, we had to stay the whole day in school, and our teachers actually taught us stuff. We didn't sit around watching movies and goofing off.
We were still in class being taught other things.
I don't understand why they spent time reviewing for a mid-term, then goofed off the rest of the day.
Why send kids home after the test, why tell them they don't have to come in because all they will do if they go, is watch movies.
What happened to educating students?
Why waste all this time?

Posted by Kat at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Been sorta busy all day, went shopping, came home, re-shot my video, goofed off, made dinner, and then we ate it while watching Grindhouse Presents, Death Proof.

Oh freaking hell yeah.
I loved this movie!

I really need to do a thorough review, (I'm so behind on my reviews!) but for now I'll just say I absolutely adore Quentin Tarantino more and more with every movie I watch.
I need to find the soundtrack for this too.
Tarantino always fills his movies with the absolute best music, they fit, they rock, they are perfect for every single scene.
I loved the whole thing.
It was fast, bloody, a thrill ride.
I think I have a girl crush on Zoe Bell, who plays herself in this movie.
She is a stunt woman, and I just adored her in this.
She had this major kick ass attitude, and when she jumped up and raise 1 hand up and yelled "I'm alright!", I was like fuck yeah! I think I actually applauded. hahah

Ok, off to do all the stuff I was supposed to do before I got sidetracked.
Later days!

Posted by Kat at 8:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am heading out to Publix shortly, to get groceries and some D size batteries so I can show you all how the elliptical works.
I am loving this so far.
Every morning now, I wake up, really wake up, and then do 20 minutes at a reasonable pace on the elliptical.
This machine is so exactly what I needed in my home, you have no idea.
This is a far better workout than just walking around my neighborhood, and I'm not at risk for getting run over on my sidewalk-less streets, or falling down.

This is all so exciting to me after years of being on weight lift restrictions of 10lbs or less, told not to do any exercise more strenuous than walking, so to get the go ahead from my docs, had me near tears.
Years of being almost sedentary, I have put on weight, and I'm not happy about that.
When I get home, I will officially start my diet and exercise plan, and even post my starting weight *gulp* and my goal weight.
I hope y'all stick with me and keep on reading, as I go through this journey to get back in shape after almost 7 years of being on some sort of restrictions because of my back.
It is going to be quite the process, but I am determined to not get any heavier.
I'm almost 40, ok so, turning 38 this March, but 40 is just around the corner! And I'm not going to enter my 40's out of shape.
I will be making post and posting videos as I go, and I hope y'all stick around.
And if any one out there wants to start working out and have like a workout buddy, let's hook up!
We can keep each other motivated, updated on our progress, share recipes and stuff.
All my posts about my workouts on the elliptical, will be in their own category from now on, you can find it here in the category elliptical.

Ok, time for me to get going and get things done.
Later days!

Posted by Kat at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

So my money gets direct deposited around midnight, it actually came in at about 12:20, so I get started paying the monthly household bills.
I go to FPL, no problem.
I go to the Sarasota County water company, no problem.
I go to Verizon, get an internal error, says try back in a few minutes.
I go to Virgin mobile, add some money to my phone, no problem.
I go back to Verizon, it lets me log in, click on pay bill, gives me another error.
I then go to Amazon, buy 2 more headsets for the Xbox.
I go back to Verizon, it's still not loading. God damn, I just want to pay the freaking phone bill!
I go to a few forums, post in a few threads, go looking for 2 male bloggers to do the field study.
I go back to Verizon, still can't get in.
I browse around the web a bit more.
I go back to Verizon, it finally goes to my account, I click on pay the bill, and it has todays date, 01/09/2008.
I click pay the bill.
It boots me back to the pay bill page, and says I cannot make a payment for a future date.
What?
Today IS the 9th right?
I click back to view my bill, click pay my bill, it's now populated with the date 01/08/2008.
I click pay the bill.
It says I cannot make a payment in the past.
What the hell?!
I click view my bill, pay my bill, it still says 01/08/2008, click pay the bill.
It lets me pay the bill this time.
On 01/08/2008, yesterday, in the past, like it said I couldn't do.
Today is the 9th, right?
It took over 2 hours to pay the Verizon bill, but made me pay it in the past, yesterday, after it told me I couldn't pay it today, the 9th, because it was in the future, and it didn't want to let me pay it in the past, yesterday the 8th, but then it let me pay it in the past, yesterday the 8th.

Click for bigger.

I really hate Verizon.

Posted by Kat at 2:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I have plenty of women, thank you all for signing up, but I really need at least 2 men to participate in this field study for the lotion.

If you are a male blogger and would be interested, please contact me as soon as possible.
I just need 2 more.

Thank you!

Posted by Kat at 11:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I need just 5 more men or women, willing to do a 1 month product field study.
I posted about it below, please contact me and sign up.
This is for a great skin lotion. I actually use this one, so I don't qualify for this study, but I promise you, if you have dry skin, psoriasis, want to protect your skin, this is the lotion for you.
You will not regret doing this field study.
Come on, sign up!

Posted by Kat at 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I need 12 people, bloggers would be best, to do a 1 month field study of a skin care lotion.

I would need you to email me your address so I can mail the lotion to you, and then upon receiving, you would need to use it every day as a lotion and/or as a protective barrier lotion if you work with chemicals or outdoors etc etc.
We are looking for both men and women who suffer from dry skin or want to try it as protective lotion from chemicals, irritants, etc.. We are looking for their honest feedback.

Your address will not be sent to the company, only to me, I will ship the bottle of lotion to you.
You would then need to blog about your usage and progress, likes, dislikes, etc, for a 1 month period. Approximately 1 post per week.
You would also need to email the url links to the contact person at the company, so they can keep up with the field study.

If you are interested in doing this, please use the email link at the top of my sidebar, to email me your mailing address.
Please post in the subject line of the email "Skin lotion field study".

Thank you!

Posted by Kat at 4:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

My sis and I were talking on the phone a bit ago, about the upcoming presidential elections and the candidates.
One that both her and I agree needs to take a flying leap, is Huckabee.
During an interview he gave near the end of December, he defended his statements made to southern baptist crowds where he said "I hope we can answer the alarm clock and take this nation back fro Christ".

He gave the speech the same year he endorsed the Baptist convention's statement of beliefs on marriage that "a wife is to submit graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ." Huckabee and his wife, Janet, signed a full-page ad in USA Today in support of the statement with 129 other evangelical leaders.

Um, yeah, ok. Thanks, but no.
Sis and I talked about the candidates we would support, discussed some of the whacked out stuff all of the candidates have said, and are trying to find a candidate who is the lesser of all the evils.
Perhaps it's only the non-religious who can see it, but religious extremism comes in all religions.
I make no apologies for being a somewhat militant atheist, but I know where to draw the line in getting my views across.
I would never blow up a building, bomb or picket a health clinic, stand outside and scream murderer at someone taking care of their own health and body, go door to door attempting to save anyone's soul for my belief system.
This is my blog, a journal, it's shared on line, but I don't force it on anyone. Every reader who comes here has made the choice to be here and read what I write. If they find anything I say offensive, they are also in total control of themselves, and click away to read something else.
I hold no gun to anyone to force my beliefs on them.
This does all tie into our political discussion we were having, religion and politics go hand in hand.

Candidates will do everything they can to cater to, and get the votes of, religious groups in this country.
There are groups who are going out of their way to paint candidates in bad light, to say they are evil, non-religious, not doing the work of god.
There are people who believe it and will take actions based on their religious views, essentially becoming extremist in those actions.
One of the candidates that my sister and I feel stands a very good chance of being elected, we also feel stands a very good chance of having an assassination attempt made on their life if elected.
People are very afraid of change, afraid of anyone but the all powerful, conservative white man, holding the highest office in our land. Some of the things I have seen written on line about a few candidates scares the crap out of me, but also confirms my concern for that attempt on their life.

Sis and I then talked about a child we know, who is being raised in a very strict Christian life. The textbooks he has for school are frightening.
He attends a private Christian school where the science textbooks actually say things like evolution is the work of the devil.
That the people who believe in it, believe so because the devil makes them.
That fossils are satan's way of making people doubt the existence of god.
That's in a textbook. *shock*
We both wonder and worry about this child as he grows up and comes to live in the real world, outside of Christian education and possibly on his own away from family.
What if he attends a real university, not a Christian one, what will happen to this child's world when he finds no mention of the devil or god in his textbooks?
How will he handle those things?
Will his new classmates and friends, laugh at him when he says that fossils are the devils handiwork, and he's serious in his conviction?
Or will this country be "taken back for christ" by then?
I mean, there is actually a resolution that wants to change our nations history to be more religious.
See that? They want to change our history.
That's some scary stuff to me.

Posted by Kat at 12:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (9)

I'm still in a super good mood, feeling really good still as well.
I worked out on the NordicTrack elliptical this morning for 20 minutes, and feel great.
I was a bit worried about my lower back and hips, but after 2 full days of doing a 20 minute workout each day, I am not having any problems.
I have it right here in my living room so I can watch all my shows, and have the AC on me as well, and it's great.

I made a video about how it all works, Sebastian helped me with it, and I'm finishing editing it, and then I'll show it to you.
I love how easy this is to fold up and unfold, and when it's folded, how easy it is to move around.
It is heavy when it's unfolded, but when it's folded up, you just tilt it on the stabilizer bar and roll it around, it glides and moves around the rug so freaking easy!

When I go shopping tomorrow, I'm going to pick up the D size batteries for the control panel, and I can't wait to see how the heart rate monitor and the programs work. I'll also be able to change resistance right from the control panel. I've been reading the manual, and it seriously looks too easy to use.
I'll take pics and all of that once I get the batteries, and I'll also be doing a starting weight (ugh) and my target goal weight, and update as I go.
I'm just so thrilled with the elliptical already though, this is probably the best thing that's happened to me in awhile.
It's exactly what I needed to get my health going on the right track after years of not being allowed to truly exercise, and my doctors are 100% behind me on this.
I'm just so happy with it, and cannot thank NordicTrack enough for sending this to me.

Posted by Kat at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ouw!

No really, I do.
The teens went back to school today, so it was wonderfully quiet.
That means no fighting, no eating everything that wasn't nailed down, no shoes/clothes/toys/games, strewn about.
The toilet seat stayed down all day.
My throat is starting to feel better after repeated and excessive gargling with peroxide.
It's been a few days since getting off those nasty synthetic pain meds and on to something else, and my vision is finally clearing up, my brain hasn't been in a hazy fog for the last 2 days, my neck doesn't hurt, and my headache went away.

I'm feeling so good about things, physically and emotionally, I feel like spoiling myself with a mani/pedi on Wednesday, picking up some beautiful flowers for the coffee table.
Big, gorgeous ones, like a huge display of beautiful wedding flowers. Huge, overflowing, lilies, babys breath, some light pink roses, some orchids, huge blooms.

Things are just good. I feel awesome, proud, light, right, all-over awesome.
I have just had the most awesome day, and it ended in the best possible way.
I love days like this!

Posted by Kat at 12:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I will be hosting another contest very soon, it will run from the 14th to the 18th.
Want a hint?
I'm sure you do, so here's a clue.

Mad Money opens on Friday January 18, 2008.

Bridget Cardigan (Diane Keaton) is shocked to learn that she is on the verge of losing her home and comfortable upper middle class lifestyle when her husband Don (Ted Danson) is downsized from his job. Armed only with a decades old English degree and years as a dedicated mother and corporate wife, Bridget is forced into the unfamiliar labor market with no job skills. Finally, she accepts the only position she can find, janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank.

The one-time suburban mom soon discovers she has more in common with her new co-workers than she thought. Bridget forges an unexpected bond with Nina (Queen Latifah), a hard-working single mom with two kids to raise, and Jackie (Katie Holmes), an exuberant free spirit with nothing to lose. Caught up in a system that underestimates their talents and keeps their dreams just out of reach, Bridget, Nina and Jackie set out to even the score.

After a lifetime of playing by the rules, the three devise a plan to smuggle soon-to-be destroyed currency out of the supposedly airtight Reserve. As the unlikely crime syndicate amasses piles of cash, it looks like they have pulled off the perfect crime until a minor misstep alerts the authorities. With more money than they know what to do with, the women are pushed to the limits of their ingenuity to stay one step ahead of the law!

Posted by Kat at 8:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By now, I'm sure most people know about the end of analog tv broadcasts in February 2009, and all signals will be digital.
I either need to buy a digital tv, or get the converter box.
I've already signed up for the $40 coupon the government is offering, but I'm thinking I should just get a digital tv and all the HDMI cables and other stuff I'm going to need for it, before that happens in a year from now.
I've been doing some comparison shopping, browsing Amazon, Circuit City, Best Buy etc, looking at, and watching the prices go up and down every week.

I'm also looking into the whole Blu-Ray issue.
See, most entertainment studios are already planning on releasing their dvds in Blu-Ray format only starting very, very soon, and now Warner Bros. is stating that they will be releasing their high-definition titles "exclusively" in the Blu-ray disc format beginning later this year.
That means my current dvd player is going to be pretty much useless.
Almost all the major studios have already made the switch, and will be making it exclusive by year's end.
The only studios who have not made this declaration are Universal and Paramount.

So not only do I have the whole digital tv issue to deal with, but now even renting movies is going to be on Blu-Ray soon, so I have quite a bit of electronics to upgrade by 2009.
I need to win the lotto just to watch tv and rent cheap movies from Netflix.
I like never go to the movies and refuse to pay for cable, so it's either buy all this stuff, or be really bored.
I love movies! I cannot go without my movies!
Damn digital and Blu-Ray! Damn you!

Posted by Kat at 7:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

You still have plenty of time to enter to win the BB&B gift card give-a-way for a $25 gift card.
The entries will close on Friday the 18th.
If you leave a comment on that entry, it's one entry. If you also make a post on your blog, it's 2 entries.
So what are you waiting for?
Enter today!

Posted by Kat at 5:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So many people send out e-cards, and a lot of people use trusted sites like Hallmark.com to do that.
I knew that some e-cards with viruses were being sent out, and I sent my parents a warning a few weeks ago telling them to not click on any link inside an e-card email unless they knew it was legit.
But I got one today from Hallmark.com, a well known and trusted site, it said in the email header, that my mom had sent me an e-card.
Good thing I always hover over the links in any email I get, to check where it goes before clicking.
Click for larger.

The link at the bottom circled in red, is a .exe, a program that will install itself on your computer, usually a virus, if you click that link in the e-card notification.
Always place your mouse over the link and look at the link in the status bar to see where the link really goes.
If it had said Hallmark.com, it would have been safe.
There are mean nasty people out there who do this kind of crap, and ruin other people's computers.

I always worry about my parents getting a virus this way. They love to send and receive e-cards to and from friends and family, and it's sad that because of mean people, my parents computer could get ruined.
Being so far away from my folks, I wouldn't be able to help them fix the problem from here where I live. They would have to take their computer to a repairman to get the virus off.

If you get an e-card notification from Hallmark.com, hover over the link and if it's not a Hallmark.com address, send the email to abuse@hallmark.com

Posted by Kat at 3:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I have spent pretty much the whole day trying to rest and clear up these swollen tonsils.
I have been gargling every few hours with peroxide and hot water, hot water and salt, rinse, repeat, cold drinks.
If it doesn't clear in a few days or gets much worse, I'll see a doc about it, may need antibiotics for it.
Who knows.

If you have entered the BB&B contest, and not gotten an entry confirmation, please be assured I have gotten your entry, but have yet not had time to reply to all emails.

I wish other people could see the things they do and say, and step back a few paces before saying something they shouldn't.
I have a job I do because I was asked.
I sometimes vent my stress here, but I never say what it is that's going on, or who pissed me off, or name the job, nothing that could tell anyone anything that would let you know what is what.
The only people who know, are the people who go there.
Because I don't mention what my job is, who it is, what, names, links, nada, I would appreciate it immensely, if other people could keep my job at my job.
Do not come here and bring up things from there.
This is a personal blog, I vent, but I also know the limits of talking about work on a personal blog. I just don't do anything that names anyone or anything. I vent the stress I am sometimes placed under by people who do things in a combative way, and end up forcing me to do my job a little tougher.
I would never go to any of their personal blogs, and discuss work there.
If anyone truly has any issue with anything I do, they can email me. There is a link directly at the top of the sidebar, click it. I promise you it works.
Don't leave snarky comments about my job, on my personal blog.
It's unacceptable, and it shows a serious lack of maturity.
The whole thing was a bad situation, but I handled it by sticking to the points, and not stooping to the level that others chose to.
Don't come here and think that I'll allow it to continue like that on my personal blog.
It will not happen.

I'm going to go to bed, get up in the morning and head to Walgreen's to take care of my health, and then come back and take care of my contest entries, my home, and then go do my job again.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 10:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I posted super early this morning, about how it felt like my pain pill was stuck.
Well, it's not stuck, my tonsils are swollen.
I can barely swallow anything at all at this point.
I can't even get freezing cold water to go down without feeling like I have a set of large gold cufflinks lodged in my throat.
I just had Mark look in there, and he was like "Holy crap mom! Your tonsils are HUGE!"

Fabulous, just what I needed.
It has been such a super long day and night.
Tons of stress, people acting all freaking superior than every one else, people complaining about stuff left and right.
No matter what position I took, it was going to upset someone, so I just held on tightly until it ended.
It was very nice to hear though, that I handled it correctly.
It's nice being thanked for putting up with crap.

I need to get to bed.
Sebastian will be home around 8am, so no sleeping in for me, and I am in such pain in my throat right now, I have a freaking migraine to boot too.
To anyone who has emailed me or is waiting on a reply, I will get to it tomorrow.
I had planned on doing them all tonight, but I had to deal with that other stuff. I apologize.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 1:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

That's right, my best friend Shell IS coming down to visit!
W00t!
She will be coming down from the 16th to the 19th, just a short weekend visit, but it's all good.
She had to choose when she was going to come down, because she is scheduled for a dentist appointment, not a charlotte cosmetic dentist, but a root canal, (ouch!) and also some IV treatment for her psoriasis.
So, she chose to come down after the IV treatment, and before the root canal.
Hey, I'd go on a quick mini-vacation before a root canal too.

She'll be getting to my house close to 1am, I know I'll be awake, so that's no problem.
The only thing we really want to do while she's here is to go see the Ca d'Zan Mansion, once owned by John and Mabel Ringling.
Every time Shell has come down, it was closed for remodeling.
They have finally finished it, so her and I will go see it finally.
I'm very excited about her coming down.
I totally miss her.

Posted by Kat at 9:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Ok, maybe not on rock n' roll, I actually shut off all the electronic noise in the house because this required some deep reading and comprehension skills.
Thank goodness my sister is awesome at this stuff.
That's right, I never did come back last night and tell you that my sis was coming over to help me put this together, so there ya go, she did!
Jo came over with the girls, and between her, Mark, Sebastian, and myself, we managed to put this together and keep 2 little girls entertained.
There were a lot of parts, many, many parts, screws, and this big wheelie part.

Lots of parts. We had all the big parts on the floor, and all the little parts and screws on the coffee table.
Yes, that is a huge stain on my rug. I have no idea what it is or how it got there.

Sebastian was really good at figuring this out and putting it together.

There were various wires we had to hook up inside of the pole parts, before we could attach the control panel.

Getting the pedals all connected and greased up.

And finally, it's all done!

It took us approximately 2 hours to put it together, not too bad for what this is actually. It's much more complicated than say, putting together a child's bike on Christmas eve.
It works really well, I rode it on the lowest setting for about 15 minutes. I will definitely have to work up to full workouts.
You can feel this in your calves, thighs, buttocks, and your arms, and because of the arm grips, your torso does get some of the movement, and as time and strength, and stamina improve, I have a feeling the core will also get a fairly decent workout.
I couldn't really do more than the 15 minutes because I never did go to sleep last night, and then was doing this all afternoon and running around playing with my girls, I was exhausted.
After Jo and the girls left, taking Sebastian with them for the night, I laid down on the couch and passed out for about 2.5 hours to catch a little bit of sleep.
After I hopefully get a good nights sleep tonight, I will give myself another 15-20 minutes on it tomorrow.
Oh yeah, for some reason, I thought this was electric, and would need to be plugged in, but it doesn't.
It takes 4 D size batteries in the control panel, to make all those programs and monitors work.
I'll have to pick some up tomorrow when I go shopping, and then I can see all the neat things this elliptical is capable of.

Posted by Kat at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Blogasm 08' is coming up soon, from March 16th to the 19th, just a couple of days, and some of the girls are already booked!
They've already booked a couple hotels in Las Vegas, the MGM Grand, and New York New York.

I so wanted to go to this, and if by some miracle I have enough money to swing it come the first week of March, I'll just book late and just hunt down the girls when I get there.
I know a couple other women bloggers I know, also wanted to go, but money is tight all around right now.
I'm still hoping I can go, but it's looking more and more like I won't be able to afford to go.
I'm not gonna give up total hope yet, but I'm not making any commitments either way. I just need to be positive and see what happens.

Posted by Kat at 7:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I took one of my pain pills about 30 minutes ago now, it's this tiny little pill, and it is stuck in the very back of my throat.
I cannot get it to go down or come back up.
What the hell is the matter with it?
It feels like it's stuck to the back of my throat, like glue.
It's not a serious problem, but it's annoying the crap outta me.

Posted by Kat at 5:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I know it's so late, and here I am wide awake again.
Damn insomnia!

Anyway, my sister and my nieces had spent the whole last week up in Maine visiting our family.
They just got back, and sis and I talked on the phone for a bit today about their trip, how cold it was, how much snow they got while she was up there and all.
The girls absolutely loved playing in the snow, sledding and everything.
They behaved so well, and they are such big girls now, they no longer take naps, and go right to bed at bedtime! I'm so proud of my girls!
Sis said while they didn't go out sight seeing much, she did notice more condo hotels had been built along the beach front, and that huge one that was almost finished when I went up last year, is completely finished now.
That big huge building at the end on the left.

It's finally finished, people are living in it, and they put parking spaces next to it and across the small street from it. Several small buildings that used to be there, are now a huge parking lot for a giant condo/hotel.
I really do miss Maine, and Old Orchard Beach quite a bit sometimes, but all that snow and cold, I can totally do without.
If Maine was like Florida, I'd totally move back.

So now that Jo is back, that means my friend Shell may be coming down here to visit me soon, if she hasn't changed her plans. I hope she can still come down.
I know winter there has been really tough, lots and lots of snow, and I can't thank Shell and her husband enough for helping my parents all winter long.
Shell and her husband go down to my parents house after every snow storm, and shovel out their cars and the walkway and steps, sand and salt everything for them so my parents can get in and out of the house safely.
They won't take any money for doing this, and believe me, it's been a harsh winter, with 3 snowfalls just during the week my sister was there.
My mom makes them baked goods like home made bread, blueberry muffins and other stuff, in lieu of money because Shell and Ray will not take any money at all.
I'm gonna give Shell like the hugest hug when/if she comes down.
I so very much appreciate her and Ray taking care of my parents like that.

Wow, cant believe this. As I finish typing this post, it's turning 4am, and I'm still not tired.
I was so dead tired while sitting at Walgreen's waiting this afternoon, I figured I would have passed out by 11pm at the latest.
Man, today is gonna be rough. Ha hah
Later days!

Posted by Kat at 3:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I almost forgot I had another give-a-way!
This give-a-way is for a $25 gift card to Bed Bath and Beyond.
There are over 800 stores in the United States, and gift cards are redeemable in-store or on-line.

To enter for your chance to get this gift card, you must be a US resident, (sorry Canadians, they don't have any stores there) and you must leave a comment on this entry with a valid email address.

You may also post about it on your blog for a second entry, and email me the link to your post about the give-a-way for entry verification.

If you are not a blogger and would still like to enter, just leave a comment on this post with a valid email address (I have to be able to contact you if you win).

If you win the gift card, you must be willing to give me your home mailing address so I can send it to you.

In accordance with my privacy policy, your name, email, and home address, will never be shared or sold, to any person or company. It is used solely for the purpose of mailing you the gift card.

This give-a-way will run from today, Friday January 4, 2008, to Friday January 18, 2008 at 8pm EST.
On Saturday January 19, 2008, at 10am EST, all the names will be placed in a bowl and a winner will be drawn on video.
I will then email the winner to get their full name and mailing address.
----------------------------------

I absolutely love Bed Bath and Beyond.
They have an amazing kitchen and cookware department that I could just wander around in all day long. I covet some of their cookware and appliances.
They also have an awesome bedding department, (I have several huge and comfy pillows and a beautiful bed spread I bought from them) and they carry just about every single thing you need to totally decorate every room of your house with quality products at reasonable prices.
I hope you love their store as much as I do, and would love to get this gift card.

Posted by Kat at 7:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Charlotte is another blogger who won one of the ellipticals in the contest, there are 3 of us who won one.
Anyway, Charlotte's elliptical also came today, and she opened her box up and started putting it together.
Oh my word, this is gonna be fun, just look at all those parts we get to put together!
Hee hee, I know the teens and I will be able to do it, but instead of tonight, I may have to hold off till morning when the sun is out.
I don't have a lot of light in my living room, so we're gonna wait.

And speaking of parts, my neighbor asked me when he saw me coming home, about setting up his home network, and if I knew how to do it. I told him I did, and asked him if he had all the needed parts.
He was like what parts? I said well, you'll need a router, wireless or wired, your choice, and the various ethernet cards and cords if we go the wired way.
he had no idea what I was talking about.
Oy.
So I told him what it was, how much they generally cost etc, and so he asked for the names of the stuff. He wrote it down as I spoke, and I told him he could probably get a decent used cisco router for way less than new, and it would work just the same, where he could get the cords and cards, mainly at the Radio Shack or even Best Buy or Circuit City, but Radio Shack has them cheaper than those stores.
Then I told him once he gets everything, to call me and I'll come over and show him how to set it all up and all that jazz.
he said he'd go out and get everything tonight and some time tomorrow, if I could come over and do it. I said sure.
I have an awesome idea though.
I can go set up his network, and he can come build my elliptical!
Great idea right? LOL

Posted by Kat at 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The doctors appointment went very well.
He listened and took me off of that synthetic tramadol crap.
We talked about other options, my PT, swim therapy, and my new elliptical.
He said to go right ahead and do it, but take it very slow at first, build up to longer times and different work outs.
His PT therapist is going to create a workout plan for me using the elliptical, and it will all be coordinated with my other PT therapist.
But first, we have to build it.

That's right, the elliptical is in this box and 'some assembly is required'.
It arrived right before I left this morning.
Sebastian is going out rollerskating with friends tonight, so Mark and I will tackle putting it together.
I'll take pics and stuff as we go along. It shouldn't be too bad to build, I'm pretty good at this kind of stuff and I have plenty of tools

It was a wicked long day of waiting in offices, waiting at Walgreen's, and then walking home.
Oh, let me tell you about Walgreen's.
See, it's the new year computer and insurance screw up time.
Every year, the first week of the new year, Walgreen's computers cannot process insurance claims for some reason.
Their system totally sucks.
Their computer system kicks out every single patient they have on the first of the year, so every person who comes to get a prescription filled, has to go through the whole entering of insurance info, phone numbers, addresses, and all of that other crap, all over again.
So after going to the doctors and getting back to my side of town and handing over my script, I waited at Walgreen's for over 2 hours while they waited on a massively huge line of customers who came in for scripts and had the same insurance issues as last year.
But at least we finally made it home, and I'm taking a little rest before I begin putting the elliptical together.
Later days.

Posted by Kat at 4:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today has just dragged by so slowly.
It's been cold all day, and it's supposed to warm up again starting tomorrow.
Sebastian and one of his friends are here and they are playing Rock Band.
This is a wicked cool game, but man oh man, it's so hard singing some of these songs.
The kids are all laughing and having fun screwing up though so I guess it's all good.
They are trying to play Long Time by Boston right now.
It's hysterical...LOL

I'll be at the docs tomorrow and the boys will be here for the delivery of the elliptical.
I hope they can at least help the boys get it in the house.
I can't wait to see it and get it set up.
I hope it's not too difficult to put together though. That would suck..hahahah

I know I've been complaining about this pain medicine he gave me, and you're all probably like Kat, it can't be that bad, or wondering what medicine it is.
It's Tramadol ER, a synthetic opiate.
It affects the central nervous system, and it's affecting mine in a wicked bad way.
The side effects I'm having are some of the ones that you're supposed to tell your doctor about, but I didn't have the deductible to pay him to go see him until tomorrow.
I'm having blurred vision, anxiety, sweats then chills, double vision, neck pain, pain in my calves and ankles, lack of concentration, trouble performing any tasks that require any kind of attention.
At first, it was ok. Like the whole first week, I was like cool, this works, then slowly these side effects started showing up. It's been really bothersome having my vision all screwed up like this.
My balance is off because of it. I'm like staggering and stuff.
So hopefully tomorrow, the doc will listen to me and get me off of these.
I've been taking them for almost a full month, and instead of the side effects going away like most people, they are getting worse.
I don't handle synthetics very well obviously.

Ok, gotta go. The boys can't sing the Train kept a rolling by Aerosmith, and need me to do it.

Posted by Kat at 7:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The delivery company just called me, they are bringing my new elliptical tomorrow afternoon!
I'm so excited!
We did make room for it right here in the living room, and I can't wait for it to get here, even more so now that it's 'winter' here.
It's so freaking cold outside..hahahah
Sebastian came home and was like 'mom, it's sooo cold outside,' and I'm all dude, I know, I've had the heat on since I got up this morning, and I've been wrapped in blankets all day.

It's going to be so nice to be able to do my PT and exercise right here inside the house.
Away from the cold and the extreme heat that Florida gets.
If I end up not being here tomorrow afternoon, the boys will be here and they can legally sign for it.
I should be here.
If I end up actually going to my doc appointment, I should be back by the afternoon.
But if I can't make it to my docs, then I'll definitely be here.
Once it's here and set up, I'll take pics of it and stuff.
This is so cool!

Posted by Kat at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's cold outside...LOL
I guess I must be getting used to the weather here, because brrr baby, it's freaking cold outside.
I actually have the space heater running right now. I had it on for awhile last night too.
It dropped down to the upper 30's last night, but the wind chill made it feel like it was below 20.
Brrr.

Sebastian slept over a friends house last night, hasn't called or come back yet, must be having a good time.
Or he's avoiding the situation at home.

Mark and I are not getting along.
We are fighting with each other all the time, I got some major 'I hate you's' yesterday, he even took off for awhile and went for a really long 2 hour walk.
He stayed in his room most of the night when he came back.
I just don't know what to do with teenage boys.
They suck.
I'm tired of the arguing and laziness.
I can't take it much longer.
This boy needs a job and needs to start taking care of himself because I'm tired of being the one who pays for everything, does everything, and then gets yelled at by some 16 year old boy who thinks he owns everything in this house.
Exhausted actually.
I'm just so fed up right now.

Posted by Kat at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

I called the doc this morning, they definitely cannot get me in until my appointment I already have scheduled for Friday.
I'll have to hang until then, just stay non-busy, laying down till then.
It's a good thing it's not till Friday too I suppose.
The medical deductible is due because it's a new year and I definitely will not have that amount till Friday.
Yikes.
Well, I know I'll have at least half of it anyway from getting paid. If I don't have it all, I don't know what I'll do. I'll just have to explain it to them I suppose.
I can barely think straight right now, I'll deal with all of this later on.
Going back to my couch.

Posted by Kat at 9:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I almost forgot!
The digital converter box coupon program for the February 2009 deadline for the end of analog tv broadcast signals, began today.
If your home does not subscribe to cable or satellite tv broadcasting, you can apply for a $40 off coupon for the digital converter box.
Each home can apply for up to 2 converter boxes.
All analog broadcast signals will end in February 2009, your options are to buy a digital tv, subscribe to a digital provider, or get a converter box.
The converter boxes will start going on sale by February or March of this year, 2008.

I do not have enough money to buy a digital tv, and I can't afford cable, so I just applied for the coupon for the converter box.
If you're like me, then now is the time to apply for your converter box coupons.

Posted by Kat at 11:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I had wanted to make the first post last night right after midnight, but I ended up crashing out and sleeping in late.
Oh well.

Today has been super duper quiet around here.
The teens slept in late, I fell back asleep while watching the Rose parade, and woke up about 2 hours ago.
I'm just not feeling right, and god damn, do I hate bitching about this shit straight into the new year, but fuck, these pills are killing me.
I am calling them (doc) tomorrow morning to see if they can get me in there tomorrow or Thursday, I just don't think I can hang on like this for even a few more days.
I'm freaking miserable.
So anyway, I sent the teens out to pick us up some subs from Publix for dinner, and we'll probably watch a movie or something tonight until the new shows start that I like.

I hope you all had a happy and safe new year's eve, and that the start of 2008 is good and prosperous for us all.

Posted by Kat at 3:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)