July 4, 2008

Child support hearing items to complete by Monday 7/7/08

* Finish answering the interrogatory questions.
* Sort paypal payments by employer, copy/paste to text file.
* Email the above documents and 2007 1099 forms, to be printed.
* Scan Sebastian's settlement trust papers, and email the jpegs to the Maine DA by 9am Monday, 7/7/08.

July 4, 2008

Perfect every time.

It is so far, a nice quiet day here.
Mark will be going to my sister's house for the night, Sebastian will be staying with me, and I'll have to figure out what the heck to cook he and I for dinner.

I have the most awesome recipe for sweet n' sour chicken poured over rice, but every time I make it, the boys refuse to eat the rice.
It's because I am probably the only person alive who can screw up instant rice.
I love rice, and I know the boys do like it, they eat it elsewhere, so I know it's the way I personally cook it.
So maybe if I had one of those rice cookers, I wouldn't mess it up so bad.
Lucky for me, Buy.com has one on sale this week as part of their weekly deals.

They have a Fujitronic 10-cup electric rice cooker, for just $26.99
The regular price is $54.99, so that's a huge $28 dollar savings.

It comes in either a flower or turtle pattern, and is a multi-function use pot. It can make perfect rice, porridge, or soup. Has an automatic keep warm function, a non-stick inner pot for easy cleaning, and helps make even terrible rice cookers like me, be able to cook perfect rice every single time.
At the sale price, it is definitely something I can afford to pick up, and then maybe the teens will eat my most awesome sweet n' sour chicken with rice dish.

July 3, 2008

It's a bit of a challenge.

First, I just want to give a screaming loud shout of thanks to Christine for installing MT version 4.12 for me over on my new blog.
It still doesn't have a name yet, but battles were never won in just a few short hours!

I swear, getting a whole new blog and an upgraded CMS, is like buying tons and tons of discount furniture and trying to cram it all into a tiny little house.
You just had to have it because the price was so dang good, but now it's going to take a few days to fit it all in the house the right way.
Version 4.12 is not like the version of MT this blog uses.
This one is still using 3.35, and I'm completely used to it, it's like a perfect fitting glove.
4.12 does things a whole lot different, and it's going to take me a few days, or a few weeks, to get the hang of just what it is they've done with everything.
For the life of me, I cannot switch up the sidebars.
I messed with it for like 2 hours I think, and got nowhere.
Oh well.
I will have plenty of time tomorrow to learn things.

Sebastian decided to go home with my sister tonight because Matthew has invited him back over to play again tomorrow, and it's just easier for Jo to take him home with her, than it is to try and pick him up really early in the morning again.
He will be home tomorrow night though.

Mark and I went and did the shopping, ate dinner, and watched a bit of tv, and now he's playing his video games again.
It's all good, he earned that play time tonight.
He picked up, carried, and put away all the heavy stuff from shopping, and then he changed out the litter boxes, took out the trash and recycles without me asking him to do any of it, so yeah, play on young man, play on!

Ok, I really need to go catch up on some work and stuff, and then maybe try and learn some more new stuff.
Later days!

July 3, 2008

Notice anything missing?

That is the titanium bar tongue ring I wear.
It's missing the other ball at the end.
Guess where it is?

See, I had to have that MRI today, and they make you take off all of your jewelry, so it requires me taking out all my piercings as well.
When I got home I put them all back in, and I must not have tightened it enough, and during dinner, it must have come even looser.

I decided to have a little snack a few minutes ago, and I took the first bite and felt this scraping feeling against the roof of my mouth.
I immediately panicked and thought I chipped a tooth and it had scraped the roof of my mouth, so I ran to the bathroom to take a look.
No chipped teeth, so I stuck out my tongue and that's when I saw it.
My tongue piercing was missing the top ball.

Now, it didn't fall out on the floor or into what I was eating, I definitely would have noticed it falling out of my mouth, so the only obvious place that tiny titanium ball went is down the old pipes.
Yup, I swallowed it.

I came out of the bathroom and told the teens, and they both got this look of horror on their faces.
Ha!
I've had this tongue ring since 1999, so 9 years, and in these past 9 years, I have never had an issue with it.
I've never accidentally bitten on it while eating, and I certainly have never swallowed one of the balls.
There's a first time for everything they say!

I do have others so I just replaced it, not really a big deal, but I thought it was quite funny.

July 2, 2008

We're all busy tomorrow!

I was getting ready to head out right after dinner to do a little grocery shopping and to stop at Walgreen's for a few things, and to see if they had any lipovox so I could check out the ingredients after one the girls on the local forums posted about taking it and it's helping her lose weight, and just as I grabbed my purse, it started down-pouring.
It figures.
I'll just have to try again tomorrow after I get home from the doctors.

Sebastian will be gone all day tomorrow, he's going to work with my sister so he can spend the day with his friend Matthew again.
Matthew is the brother of the boy Greg, that my sister takes care of.
Sebastian and Matthew get along so well, they both like the same video games, the Sims, and Cary (Matthew and Greg's mom) takes them to the mall and let's them go to the movies and stuff.
The two boys always have such a good time together, so I never say no when Matthew asks if he can go over.
It's up to Cary and my sister, but they hardly ever say no.
I'm just glad that Sebastian has a really good friend he can go do things with this summer.
Things in the neighborhood haven't been so good over the last few weeks.
I can't remember if I posted about that yet or not, but I'll check my archives and if not, I'll post about that later.

Mark is going with his Big George tomorrow at 11am, so when I get back and he gets back, I'll take him to the store with me.
I have to have someone go with me because I can't lift the bags of cat litter and cat food, etc.
And then we'll just cab it back and he can carry all the heavy stuff in, and help me put it away.
Mark isn't a fan of grocery shopping, but he has no choice tomorrow.
Heh.

I wanted to also tell you all to go check out my sister's blog.
It's called Jo's Mojo, and even though she doesn't post often, she does post some pretty cool stuff.
She's getting better at blogging each time she posts. (she'll get the blogging bug, everyone does )
You just have to go see what her and my niece Susan are doing!
It's a little project for a plant nursery so she can make a few bucks when the neighborhood she lives in has this HUGE community yard sale, and as a way to do fun and crafty things with the girls.
Go check it out, she took some awesome pictures of their progress step by step.
Most of the pictures are clickable for bigger so you can really see the stuff.
Check out the mean faced tree!
My niece Susan just loves to do stuff like that, she loves to be helpful, and she is just too darn cute in some of those pictures!

July 2, 2008

Ack! I'm running a little late!

Oops! I got caught up reading emails and forums, and then I looked at the clock.
Ack!
I need to get in the shower and get going!
I'll post when I get home.
Later days!

July 2, 2008

The teens and I had a talk.

My first surgery was extremely hard on the boys.
Sebastian didn't handle it well at all, Mark did ok, but if we ever talk about that time, they both get a little shaky and start tearing up.

I had to talk to them about the possibility of a neck surgery, it won't be anything like my spine fusion at all, it's a one day thing, and out of the hospital in 2-3 days, shorter recovery time, much much shorter recovery time.
They got very upset, I knew they would, but it was something that we had to talk about, they need to be prepared in case it happens.

I told them about all the help that we would have this time, Mindy said she would definitely help take care of them, my sister as well, it would be much easier this time.
They told me all of the fears they have about it, the what ifs, and I can totally understand that because I have those what if thoughts myself.
They told me that I have to tell them everything, every visit with a doctor must be explained to them when I come home, no details are to be left out.
They said knowing every detail helps them deal with it much better.
I hope so.

After our talk, they were ok, they said that they will be ok as long as they have people to lean on, people to talk to and just listen if they need to talk.
I assured them that they would have all of us around to help, we'd be here for them and it would all be ok.
They are scared and I so totally understand that, I'm scared myself.
I really don't want another surgery but if that's what I have to do, then that's what I have to do.
We will keep talking about it, they insist on knowing everything, so I'm hopeful that they will be able to handle this a bit better than the last time.

It's so hard.
I'm all they have, they are all I have, and things like this are very scary for all of us.
I know I'm rambling right now, I'm flooded with all kinds of emotions and thoughts and have been since my appointment today.
It's just not what I wanted to hear and I'm hoping upon hope that Doc R is wrong.
I want Doc M to say nope, it's not that bad, we don't have to do anything drastic, and the waiting until the 15th is just going to be so hard.
I will try not to talk about it much, I know people get sick of it all, I am sick of it all, so I will try like crazy to not talk about it, but when I get overwhelmed with emotions like right now, I'm probably going to bust out rambly posts like this one.

July 1, 2008

Well that zipper tat I am planning can now go all the way up.

I went and saw my pain doc today, and I hope he is wrong, I'll know for sure when I see my surgeon on the 15th, but he thinks this is the cause of all of my pain.

Click for bigger.

This is a slice cross scan of my neck.
My vertebrae from C2 -C4, are fused together and compressing on my spinal cord.
That's not a good thing.
He thinks it will require surgery to fix, and Doc M will be the one who decides all that.
The compression is actually called stenosis, and what it is is seriously crushing my spinal cord.
I know it's kind of hard to see, but my spinal cord is being squished pretty bad.
Doc R thinks this explains why I have so much pain in my neck, shoulder, and pretty much my whole left side.

I really don't want to have another surgery, but if it comes to that, I'll have no choice.
The stenosis is at such a level that ignoring this could mean some really bad things, and I'm not even going to get into all of that.
I can't let my mind go there.
I've been dealing with this since I got home today at 1pm, and I did my crying and screaming, and now I've moved on to the let's deal with this part.
I have to go in for an MRI of my left scapula tomorrow, back to Doc R's on Thursday, and then to my surgeon Doc M on the 15th.

So that's my update for now, I need to go make dinner for the teens, and then find something else to do.
I'm not going to dwell on this bad news, Doc R could be wrong, so I'm not going to think about it until I really have to.

July 1, 2008

Eww, something is dead.

I just went outside to put some mail in the box to go out, and noticed that the city had come by finally, and mowed the ditches.
As soon as I got to the mailbox, I smelled it.
Something is dead in the ditch but I can't see it because of all of the grass clippings in it now.
It's foul though, rank, something is surely most dead, and as the sun heats up the ground today, it's only going to get more foul smelling.
Ugh.
I am not going to go digging through there though to try and bag up whatever is dead under there.
No way.
I know if I wait long enough, the city will come back around and scoop out the ditches to make sure the rain doesn't flood out during the rainy season, but in the mean time, it's going to smell really bad out there.

And why is it that when I'm waiting on a payment that is usually in at 9am on the first of every month, is not in now?
It figures.
It's because I need it that it's not there.

July 1, 2008

Rabbit rabbit July 1 2008.

I don't know why I do that some months, maybe I'm hopeful that the first words of the first day of the month, will somehow make me have a great financial month.
Even though I don't believe in superstitions like that.
Heh.

Anyway, I should be asleep right now, I have a follow-up doc appointment in the morning, and here I am, wide awake again.
I didn't sleep at all during the day today, I just laid on the couch attempting to get some rest and not upset my stomach any further.
I haven't eaten a single thing all day.
I'm afraid if I do, it will come back up.
Or come shooting out.
TMI I know, but I hate being sick like that, I have food phobias because of past stomach bugs.
Sebastian does think it was the subs, specifically the Parmesan cheese that were put on all of them.
He said his stomach was a little upset today, not like mine, but he kept burping and tasting the cheese.

I'm really hoping that everything that is supposed to come through for me tomorrow, does.
I have a lot of stuff to take care of, and so yeah, I need those payments to come through first thing in the morning.

I guess I should go and try to sleep, I have a lot to do tomorrow and the rest of the week.
Later days.

June 30, 2008

Not quite the way to start your day.

I'm really not sure what caused it, but something I ate yesterday did a one-two punch on my stomach.
It (my stomach) was a bit upset last night before I fell asleep, but man, when I woke up this morning, I was sure that every ounce of food I've eaten in the last week was making an explosive get away from my body.
If it was the subs from Publix, it hasn't affected the boys, at least I don't think.
They are fine from what I can tell.
So anyway, I'm wicked way tired from spending the entire first half of my day running in and out of the bathroom expelling the contents of my bowels and intestines, so if I'm not around much today, it's because I'm trying to rest and not upset my stomach any further.
Later days.

June 29, 2008

Migraines are truly the suck.

We had a really good time at Mindy's house yesterday afternoon and evening.
Good food, conversation, the kids all played video games while Mindy and I chatted and her husband leveled up on WoW.
I was way stiffened up by the time we got home, and laid down for about an hour or so, then I got up and dealt with emails and stuff.

I woke up this morning with a migraine from hell, and have been fighting it unsuccessfully all day and night now.
So seeing as I was defeated, I just laid around and watched movies for most of the day interspersed with going back and forth with a Bill Keller fan on a websites posting section.
There's nothing more fun than knowing more about the scriptures than the people who claim to live by them.
You all do know that no preacher is supposed to receive any pay for preaching the word of god right right?
Look it up, Corinthians 9:18.
The Keller fan has been refusing to acknowledge that little part of the new testament.
Keller has an income of $1million dollars at the end of the year, yet he tells his flock and tv viewers, that he only takes $60k as a salary.
He's a liar and a fraud, and it's time people start learning the truth about this very corrupt tv minister.

So anyway, today we watched the movie Funny Games (2008).
I just want to warn you that this remake starring Naomi Watts and Eli Roth, is absolute garbage.
I don't give a crap that it's a social commentary on our obsession with media violence, when at the crucial moment of the film, the bad guy picks up the tv remote and rewinds the movie to change the outcome, that's a complete waste of freaking time.

But we did watch a movie that we all really liked on Friday night, Otis, starring Jere Burns, Illeana Douglas, Daniel Stern, Kevin Pollak and Ashley Johnson.

After being captured and tortured by the psychopath Otis (Bostin Christopher), teen cheerleader Riley Lawson (Ashley Johnson) escapes and informs her parents (Daniel Stern and Illeana Douglas), who quickly sidestep the sluggish FBI and take matters into their own hands. But the Lawson's revenge plan hit a snag when Otis's unusual brother (Kevin Pollak) enters the picture. Jere Burns co-stars as the FBI agent assigned to the case.

I suppose I should get back to work now.
I have some stuff I need to do before I can go to bed.
I hope when I wake up in the morning this migraine has left.
It feels like my right eyeball is going to pop out any second.

June 28, 2008

Off to eat and play!

We're all finally awake, and the teens are taking their showers, then I'll head in to take mine.
We're heading over to Mindy's house this afternoon for some bbq and video gaming.
Not really sure how long we'll be gone, but we'll be off having a good time.

I hope y'all have a great day and enoy your weekend!
Later days!

June 27, 2008

Coral and over cast.

My medical tests went off without a hitch, and much faster than the estimate they had given me.
They said it would take any where from 2.5 hours, to a possible 4+ hours.
I went in at 10:30am, and was out by 12:15pm.
I really, really liked the seated/open MRI machine.
That was awesome.
They had a huge flat panel tv in the room with it, it was on the Fox news channel, *gag* but eh, it was better than nothing.
They did my neck MRI first, then I had to sit sorta sideways while they did the shoulder MRI.
Then I went in for the CT, and when it was done I went out and waited for Mindy to pick me up.

Then we stopped off at Publix really quick so I could get the cat food, toilet paper, paper plates and trash bags I didn't go get yesterday.
Just as I was heading out the door yesterday afternoon to go, it started raining a little bit.
Rather than risk getting soaked, I just waited.

I took the above picture while waiting at the medical park for Mindy.
These bushes of flowers were all over the place, and they were just so pretty and bright in today's over cast skies.
I love that beautiful coral color of the flowers.
I have no idea what kind they are, but they are just really pretty I think.

I barely got any sleep last night, perhaps 3 hours, my alarm never went off, so I woke with a quick-start panic to my day.
Mindy's clocks at her house were all off by like 20 minutes, so she was running late as well.
We had a good laugh about that though.
It's kinda funny that we both were totally screwed up this morning.

Tomorrow, both our families will be getting together to spend some time hanging out.
Maybe the beach in the morning, a little bbq in the afternoon.
The teens can all drive each other crazy playing video games.
It'll be nice to be leaving the house to do something fun, rather than the usual leaving the house to go do sucky stuff like doctor's office visits.
I need a just take it easy kind of day.
I'm always doing stuff, so it will be really nice to just chill out for a few hours.

Well, off to try and catch up on all my blog and forum reading and stuff I do with those.
Later days.

June 27, 2008

Running way late! It's the suck!

I woke up late, my alarm didn't go off, bad start to a long day.
I'll be back around whenever the hell I get back around.
Later days!

June 26, 2008

Did you watch the Baby Borrowers?

The teens and I watched the Baby Borrowers tonight on NBC, and I'm pretty sure we'll be watching it all the way to the end.
Some of those teenagers who came in there all gung ho "I want a baby, I love kids! I'm great with kids!", learned really quick that no matter how cute you think babies are to look at, they actually require you to do more than hold them and dress them up cute.

I have a feeling more than a few of these teens came from families where they were spoiled by their parents, all the best clothes, shoes, schools, jewelry, Sector watches, and lives that didn't require them to lift a single finger.

Take Kelly and Austin.
Kelly is a spoiled brat of a girl.
She refused to wear the pregnancy belly, she screamed at Austin and threw a temper tantrum, and she thinks she can be a mother?
Uh, no.

Then there's Cory and Alicea.
Here's another young girl who is obviously used to getting her own way.
She was absolutely terrible with the baby, she was swearing, said the baby could "starve" because it was being fussy about eating, she cried several times during the episode.
It got so bad with the pure neglect of taking care of the baby, that the real mother had to come over late at night and tell these two idiots that the baby needed to be fed, have it's diaper changed, and bathed, and put in clean pajamas.
Seriously, they didn't do any of those things, and when the mother came over to tell them all of that, Alicea made excuse after excuse why she didn't feed the baby, bathe it, change it, she said it was the babies fault. She actually said the baby was refusing to eat.
Honey, as a parent, you HAVE to feed the baby. You are the adult who knows what's best.
You must be patient and not throwing a hissy fit if the baby spits some of it back out.
They do that.
A lot.

All Daton and Morgan did was fight with each other.
Daton was another crybaby of a girl.
I think their couple bio says everything about these two that anybody ever needs to know about how they are as would-be parents.
This on-again, off-again surfer couple has been dating for over a year and a half. Morgan and Daton live a life that is virtually free from responsibility where they get to surf and skateboard everyday. Still dependent on their parents financially, they feel that this social experiment is about taking on new responsibilities and will put their relationship to the ultimate test.
'Nuff said.

Jordan and Sasha actually did pretty good.
When they opened up the door to the baby room and saw all of the items that needed to be put together like the crib, changing table, and dresser, clothes, toys etc, Jordan told Sasha who was wearing the pregnancy belly, to go lay down and rest, he would do it all, and he did.
He built every single piece of furniture and made the room look very nice.
They only had one rough night of the baby crying, but they got a handle on it pretty quick.

Sean and Kelsey.
Kelsey wants to be a mother, right now, Sean knows he's not ready for this, so he's actually enjoying watching her have a hard time when the baby cries and things become difficult.
These two didn't do too bad, Sean actually has a decent thing going on with the baby, he bonded to it, and the baby bonded to him, rather quickly.
Kelsey is struggling a bit, only a few moments of frustration and tears, nothing at all like the way Daton and Alicea were though, which is a good thing.

This week's episode ended on the eve of the very first day with the babies.
They will have the babies for 2 more days, then move on to toddlers, pre-teens, teens, and then elderly parents to take care of.
Oh, and whatever and how many pets the "families" have too.

I really hope a lot of teenagers are watching this, and I think there might be from checking out the poll on the main page.
But it looks from the results that a lot of teens who are voting in the poll, think being a parent in your teens is best.
These are the current results as of the time of this post;

When are couples best prepared to become parents?
A) Teens
45.48%
B) 20's
25.90%
C) 30's
27.56%
D) 40's
0.78%
E) Later
0.27%

Yeah, teens think being a teen parent is the awesome.
I'm hoping by the time this show/social experiment ends, those numbers will change, or the show will at least have a positive impact on some teen-aged girls.
I know there has always been, and there will always be, teenage moms, but we can hope those numbers decrease right?
Maybe they just don't get it, how hard of a job being a parent is, even if you are happily married and financially ok in life, own a home and all that jazz, being a parent is the single hardest job I've ever had in my life.
I still struggle from time to time, babies don't get handed to you with a manual when you walk out of the hospital.
They just get bundled up and handed to you.
You might get a gift bag from Enfamil or some other baby formula company, but there's no manual in that bag either.

Anyway, the teens and I watched the show together tonight.
They actually paid attention to it, sat through the entire hour long show, and said they'd watch it every week.
Maybe it will have a positive impact on my boys.
I'm so not ready to be a grandmother just yet.

June 24, 2008

I have to switch to digital anyway.

Oh man, I really wish I had some extra money right now.
Buy.com has an awesome sale price on a Westinghouse 26inch LCD HDTV right now that I would so love to have!

A 26 inch set is the perfect size for our house, it's the same size I have right now with my regular tv.
It's a refurbished one, but that's ok, I don't need to have a brand new one, used and reconditioned is a-ok-fine with me.
Heck, the tv I have right now is used.
It was given to me by my sister's boss when they bought a new tv for their house.
And this one looks good.

The Westinghouse has a 26" screen, with 16:10 aspect ratio, and can produce 16.7 million colors with a resolution of 1366 x 768.
That sounds so saweet!

It also automatically finds and switches to the best digital source for the cleanest picture, so no more of that messing around with the remote that came with my converter box, the tv will just find the best channel for me if I choose, for example, channel 40, the local news channel, which is so hard to tune in with the converter box.
It has two HDMI inputs so that if I hook up the dvd player, it will still give me the cleanest picture.

I can't afford a new tv right now, not in the foreseeable future either, but I hope when I do get some extra money, Buy.com will have another really good deal on a digital tv.
I'd really like to have one before the analog broadcasting stops completely in February 2009.
It's so hard to tune in channels right now with the converter box.

My antenna isn't strong enough to pick up all the local channels clearly, so it gets frustrating trying to watch the local news and the picture chops up or disappears completely.
I will have either a new digital tv or a much stronger antenna before the switch happens though.

June 24, 2008

Save some, spend some.

I wish I had had some extra cash on me tonight, because Publix had this huge shelf section filled with all sorts of clearance items.
They had so much stuff on it like some really nice place mats, their cute little matching salt and pepper shakers, table cloths, candles, soaps, laundry detergent, baby items, and holiday items.
All of it marked way, way down.
I always look at the clearance section, and if there are any good deals on food items like canned foods or pastas, I snag those right up because I like to keep my cupboards stocked with the basics.
I did grab a couple different spices they had on the shelves, and I asked the manager who was stocking even more items on it, why these were all so cheap now.
He said they had decided to no longer carry that particular brand of spices and herbs any more, so they had to make room on the regular shelves for the other brands and a new brand they now carry.
I bought 4 bottles, cinnamon, oregano, basil, and garlic salt.
All 4 bottles were normally priced at $2.99 each.
I got all 4 of them for exactly $2.00
Bargain-o-rama baby!

I picked up some more lunch meats, ham and Genoa salami, more bread, a pound of burger so I could make spaghetti later in the week, and some subs for dinner tonight.
Summer is sub and lunch meat season at our house.
It's amazing how much teenagers can eat.
I just went shopping on Thursday when I got paid, and had bought ham, salami, and roast beef, a pound each, and when I came home from the doctors today, all of it was gone.
It lasted about 5 days, that's not too bad I guess, with all 3 of us eating it I suppose.

Oh!
While I was waiting in line and ordering the lunch meats, Sebastian was waiting to order the subs.
The guy who was working the sub counter completely ignored him, and waited on 3 other customers who came to the counter after we did.
I got done getting the meats and walked over there, and Sebastian was like "Mom, let's just go, he keeps ignoring me, let's get something else, he won't wait on me."
The guy heard him, and I looked right at him and said, "I've been standing over there getting what I need and watching my son. You did ignore him, you took people who were in line after him, why? We are in here all the time, you know him, he buys subs all the time."
He tried to say he didn't see him, and I said "You didn't see this 6 foot tall young man standing here?"
He stuttered an apology, and a lady who always works in the deli and usually waits on the teens, came over and pushed the guy out of the way and took Sebastian's order.
There was a manager standing there, she heard the whole thing, and she pulled the guy aside and spoke to him. Then the guy took off his apron and walked into the back room.
Maybe she sent him on a break or fired him, I don't know, but I do know that this isn't the first time he's ignored the teens when they order subs or deli meats.
Mark can't stand the guy, he says he does it to them all the time, and Mark has had to raise his voice to get service.
It's not like the teens are really young kids with no money, they always pay for everything the buy, and the amount of times we are in there buying subs and other lunch meats from Publix, you'd think they would treat them a little better.
Maybe that guy just hates teenagers, and I know some teens can be real idiots and troublemakers, but my boys are always respectful and polite.

I've like totally rambled on, sorry about that, but bad customer service just irritates me.

June 24, 2008

I probably glow in the dark by now.

I cleaned out my SD card from my camera, so I have tons of room on it to take pictures with, and in a little bit, Sebastian and I are heading to Publix to grab some easy and light food for dinner, and then something for the teens to eat for lunch tomorrow because I won't be home.
I always take my camera with me because I just never know what I'll see along the way, or even while I'm in there.

Tomorrow I have to go have a 3D CT scan done at 12:30, and then a cervical (neck not cervix) and shoulder MRI at 1pm.
I'm hoping my sis can drop me off at least, and then I'll take the bus back home.
The radiology place called me back this afternoon (at frigging 3:45pm) with these appointment times, and so I had to ask sis if she'll be able to drop me off because Mindy already has plans to take her daughter swimming tomorrow afternoon, and I'm not going to screw that up.
I'd rather be swimming with them instead of spending 2 hours inside giant machines being scanned I tell ya.
Katie, Mindy's daughter, is such a good sport.
She goes with us to my doctor's appointments, and it's boring as hell.
I get bored sitting there waiting, so being an 8 year old in a boring doctor's office is pure torture.
I think she does great though, she does her best to behave and wait it out, and my doc was running behind today, so yeah, major long boring waiting time.
I'm pretty sure bus 15 runs the full length of Clark road, so I should be able to catch it and ride it back to at least the intersection by my street.

I've had so many of these tests in the last 6+ years now, I wonder if my organs glow by now.
Seriously, I've had 17 MRIs, 13 CT scans, 4- 3D CT scans, well over 100 xrays, and then about 10 or so specialized radiation type tests where they strap you to a table and inject dye in your spinal canal and tip the table all over the place.
I'm not a fan of the 3D CT scans though.
That stuff they inject you with, it makes you get instantly hot, you get nauseous, and it feels like you pissed yourself.
It's not too much fun, and then I have to go straight from that test into the MRI machine.
I think Doc M. checked off that I can use the seated MRI machine though, which is cool because you sit on this special chair, and the front of the machine is open.
So it won't be as claustrophobic as the laying down machine.
I'm just going to go do it and get it over with though.
I don't have much choice anyway, so do it and then sit and sweat while for the bus to come back home.
That's another reason for me to need my mp3 player charged up.
It'll keep me from losing my mind while waiting for the bus.

June 24, 2008

In my head.

I had to go to bed early last night because I had to get up for my doctors appointment this morning, and I have this routine, habit, whatever, that I do before I actually fall asleep.
I have to go in and make my bed, straighten out my sheets, turn on my lava lamp, (yes, I do have one and I love it) and then get all settled in and comfortable before I pop my earbuds in.

I was thrown totally off last night because my MP3 players battery died after playing just 3 songs.
It has an internal battery that charges by usb, and it would have taken a long time to come back out here, plug it in, and wait for it to charge up, so i said screw it, I can sleep without music tonight, and I'll charge it tomorrow.

Wrong!

I had the worst time falling asleep last night.
I tossed and turned, and tried to think of lyrics to songs, hear the tunes in my head, but it didn't work.
I really do need to hear music so I can sleep.
The louder the better too.
When I came home from the docs, the first thing I did was to go get my mp3 player and bring it out to charge it up.
Tonight sleeping will come easier.

June 24, 2008

I watched Camp Rock.

Oh yes I did.
See, Saturday was just super crappy weather, it rained and rained, and so my joints ached something fierce.
And because they ached, the easiest, most non-painful thing to do was to lay on the couch all day and night.
I have watched pretty much every single movie we own at least 3 times each, so I clicked through the channels at 8pm and landed on ABC.
The Disney movie logo started across the screen, so I was like ok, cool, maybe a good animated film or something.
Nope.
ABC was doing the world broadcast premiere of Camp Rock with the Jonas Brothers.

I have teenage boys who enjoy the Disney animated movies, we all dig those, we are planning on going to see Wall-E if we can, but this tweeny bopper shit?
Um, no.
Mark and Sebastian would rather be stabbed in their eyeballs with hot knives, and have their ears cut off with a dull rusty nail, than to watch and listen to anything tween-ish.
They nearly died when their cousin Helena was here for a week last summer, and all she listened to was the High School Musical soundtrack.
The day my sister Jo took all of them to Busch Gardens for the day and Helena wanted to listen to the soundtrack on the car stereo, was a lesson in patience and selective hearing for the boys.
They were bug-eyed and stir crazy when she dropped them off late that night.

So anyway, I'm laying on the couch, nothing else is on tv at all, so I settled in and watched Camp Rock.
They heard some singing and came out to see what it was, and both of them in 2 part harmony said "Aww hell no. Mom! What are you watching?!"
I explained that there was nothing on, my bones hurt, so the Jonas Brothers it is.
They turned around and left, retreating to their game room, and closing the door tightly behind them.

I watched the entire thing, all the little conversations between the commercials and the movie where the Jonas Brothers talked up their album, what's going on at Disney, and promoting their new cd and video which was making it's world premiere at the end of the show.
I was mesmerized I tell ya.
I thought the movie was absolutely the suck, but I couldn't turn away from it.
I was like hypnotized by these teenagers on my screen.
The constant breaking out in song, the dancing, the absolute gayness of it all, held me captive.

I have absolutely no idea how mothers put up with this crap, and I don't understand how mothers can even be fans of this stuff.
I guess I would understand if I had a few pre-teen daughters who dug this shit, and because it is oh so wholesome and clean, it's good tv viewing for tweens, but dear god gag me.
It was sicky sweet, sugar-gumdrop gag-worthy crap.
And now there's a High School Musical 3 coming out?!
I haven't even seen the first 2, and honestly, you'd have to tie me down to a chair and pin my eyes open like in A Clockwork Orange, to make me sit through any of those.
If they are anything at all like Camp Rock, I'd sooner be dead.

But if you haven't seen it and want to, click that link up there and you can watch it absolutely free on the Disney website.
The whole thing.
I'm sure there are some tweens who will do just that, they'll watch it a gazillion times, because those Jonas Brothers are just so dang cute in their emo tight pants and sugary sweet good boy charm.
Me?
If I ever have to watch another one of these types of movies again, I'm going to make sure I have some booze on hand, and I'll make a drinking game out of it.
Every time some emo-tight-pants-wearing over the top happy boy breaks out in song or dance, I'll take a big drink.
That should make the movie much more enjoyable.

June 23, 2008

I just need about 20 minutes.

I need to be totally alone in the bathroom for like 20 minutes, so I can Veet off all my legs hairs.
The problem is that we only have the one working bathroom, and it never fails, as soon as I get in there and ready to do my stuff, one of them needs to pee or take a dump.
Usually it's taking a dump, so now that I'm standing in the tub with the shower curtain drawn, they proceed to take the most foul smelling turd of their lives, and I'm trapped in there with the stench of whatever it is that's been rotting in their intestines for the last 2 days, and stuff all over my legs.
Trapped.
I even go so far as to ask them if they need to use the bathroom before I get started, and they always say nope, it's all good mom, go for it.
I think they hold in their turdnuggets until I'm in there taking a shower or removing leg hairs.
I swear they do it on purpose.

But what I might do is give them like a huge bowl of chips and other foods, make them a couple of sandwiches, some sodas, and maybe, just maybe, they'll be so busy eating and playing video games that I might actually get to remove the leg hairs and wash my hair before the stinky dumpers have to smell the place up.
And what's really terrible is that there is a can of air freshener sitting right on the back of the toilet, and they purposely don't use it after taking a dump if I'm in the shower.
Mark will come in, say sorry mom, I gotta drop the kids off at the pool, and then he'll stink it way up in there, and I'll tell him to spray the damn air freshener, and he'll laugh and say "Nope, smell it, smelllllll it! Mwuahahaahhaa!" and then leave the bathroom with me stuck behind the curtain with goop all over my legs and I can't get out and spray the air freshener myself.
I'm telling ya, they do it on purpose.
I just know it.

One of these days, I'm going to hold a big nasty turd in, I'll make my chili cheese dip and eat all of it and then wait until the next time I have to go, and then when one of them is in the shower, I'll say ooops, sorry, I gotta drop the kids off at the pool.
And when I'm done, I'll take the can of air freshener out of the bathroom when I leave.
And shut off the light too.
Mwuahahahaha!

June 23, 2008

Poor Kali kitty, she's too old to jump.

I was in the other room starting the laundry, Mark was in there helping me, and Kali, my old lady kitty, tried to jump up on her box where she sleeps, and missed.
She bonked her head on the side of the box, and then sat down, looked up at me, and let out this pitiful little squeak of a a meow.

I had to pick her up and put her on the box, and then she mewed a little bit more, her eyes looked all sad.
Mark started to laugh at her, and I said no, don't, she's an old lady now, she missed the box for the first time ever, this is a sad day for her.
Mark started petting her, and she really did look sad and embarrassed, it was cute and pitiful all at the same time.
She's getting so old now that she can't even jump up on things right any more.
Poor kitty baby.

June 20, 2008

Pregnancy pact?!

17 girls at Gloucester Massachusetts high school, entered into a pregnancy pact, and only one of them is above the age of 15. She's 16 years old.

17 girls at the high school have become pregnant this year, with half of them sophomores who had entered into a pregnancy pact. All but one of the seven or eight girls who set out to become pregnant are 15 years old; the other is 16. Most got pregnant by their boyfriends, but one father is reportedly a 24-year-old homeless man.

"Gloucester is a very, very proud community," she said of the heavily Roman Catholic and insular town that is accessible only by a bridge from the mainland. "It has a long tradition of fishing industry that has really gone away in recent years. Jobs are not there anymore. The jobs that these young people thought they were going to have are disappearing."
The kids, she said, can't see a way out. "None of them have a very strong life plan," Kingsbury said. "Being a mother became something they can do, gave them an identity: 'I can be someone. I can be a mother.' They didn't really have an alternative. Nobody offered them a better life."

Then there's the 24-year-old homeless man whom one girl chose to father her child. What to do with him?

June 19, 2008

They'll chop your toe off!

About a month ago, Mark was clipping his toenails, and he always clips them too short, and this time was no different except he clipped off a huge chunk of skin.
So I cleaned it all out and bandaged it really well with some staphaseptic.
I told him to A) leave it alone, and B) keep it clean and bandaged until it heals.

Well just like most kids, he kept picking it at it.
His excuse was that it was itchy, so removing the scab made the itch go away.
It's been a whole month and that damn thing still isn't healed.
I thought it was, that last time I yelled at him to leave it alone was about 2 weeks ago, and every time I asked how it was doing, he said it was fine.
Liar.

He's been picking at it non-stop and it looks absolutely disgusting!
so I cleaned it all out again, more staphaseptic, and this time, I secured the gauze bandaged to his toe with 3 wrap-arounds of duct tape, and then smacked him on the back of his calf when I was done.
I told him if he removes that to pick at it, I'll smack him again, this time only harder.
When he takes a shower he can take it off, and then I'm bandaging it again.
He seems to think this is some kind of joke, but it's been a whole month of this and if it gets any worse, they'll have to chop his damn toe off for either a MRSA infection or gangrene.
He laughed at me, but dead tissue is dead tissue, and they'll take his toe if they have to.

Why do kids have to do stupid stuff like this?
Why can't they just leave their scabs alone?
It would serve him right at this point to get his toe lobbed off.

June 19, 2008

Cool air, where are you?

I really wish I had enough money to be able to start looking for some flight deals to be able to fly back up north to Maine right now.
I just went for a walk to the corner store, and it is sooo hot and humid, blah.
I took a shower this morning, and now after taking that walk, I feel like I need another one.
It's gross outside, sweat is gross.
I'll probably take another shower just to rinse and cool off a little bit in awhile.
I had to take one the other night at like midnight, because it was just so humid, my skin felt slimy.

I do need to go to the grocery store either this afternoon or tomorrow morning maybe, need some more beverages for all of us.
The boys drink a lot of water, and they said the tap isn't tasting as good today, so I want to pick up a couple gallons of spring water for them.
It probably tastes gross because of how hot the water is.
You turn on the cold water, and it comes out hot, and you have to let it run for a minute or two before it even starts to feel remotely cold.
Warm water always has a distinct taste, at least to me it does.
Heck, even cold water tastes weird to me.

June 19, 2008

Bad skin in the summer.

Mark's acne is getting worse as the summer goes on.
He's not turning into a pizza face by any means, but when he does get a break out, they are HUGE zits.
I feel so bad for him because it just sucks to have this giant whitehead on your face.
He had a bad one yesterday, right in the middle of his forehead, and he had to go out to lunch with George and his wife Amy.
He was begging me to do something, so I sterilized a needle, and lanced it so it could drain out.
Gross, I know.
So after it drained and most of the gunk had been gently squeezed out, we cleaned his face really good, and I dabbed on this stuff that is supposed to dry them out quickly.
It looked much better by the time he had to go, so he was very happy.
But I really do need to find him something that will prevent breakouts before they get to monster status.
I'm going to keep looking and hopefully find something that works great before school starts again in August.

June 18, 2008

Movie watching freaks.

I watch so so many movies, with no cable and it being scalding hot outside most of the time, watching movies is my enterainment all of the time.
I have a fairly decent tv, it's good size, but I would absolutely love to have one of those plasma mount tvs.
A big one.
Not movie screen huge or anything, but good sized, like above 30 inches or something.
Most movies on DVD are now in HD, and it's been said that Netflix will eventually be moving to all blu-ray, so a nice digital tv would be so totally kick-butt to watch them on.
Don't get me wrong, my tv does have a nice picture, my new LG DVD player my sis bought me, is awesome, but a bigger digital tv that was meant to have all those awesome HD and blu-ray movies on would be so so nice.
I'd hook the surround sound back up too.

We got our new rentals from Netflix today, we got The Bucket List and Unknown.
I really want to watch Unknown tonight, but Sebastian absolutely loves the show Wife Swap.
It is kind of interesting, and tonight's show is looking like a good one too.
The farmer/truck guy, looks like a total jerk and the show just started.

June 18, 2008

I am not the 411.

My neighbors.
*sigh*

I was laying on the couch trying to catch a little nap, not much sleep last night thanks to Shahiro, and they called.
They wanted the phone number for the cab company.
Um, the cabbie gave them a card last time, and she programmed it into her phone, but ya know, gotta call me for it anyway.

What I need is like a cell phone repeater or some kind of machine, that repeats information and just replays it for when they call.
I can record some scenarios that they would need answers to like the cab company, the phone company, and all the food delivery places.
Then when they call, instead of answering, the machine will pick it up, recorded with my voice of course, make it say hello, and stuff, then ask what they need.
"You need the number for the cab company? It's 922-6666. Is that all, cuz I'm right in the middle of some important stuff here? It is, great. bye."

Some get right on making that for me ok?
Thanks.

June 18, 2008

Stupid annoying kitten!

She's not really a kitten either.
Shahiro will be 3 years old in November, but she is still this tiny-baby, kitten-sized cat.
It's not normal.
Everyone who comes over says; "Aaww, what a cute kitten!"
Um, she's 2 and a half.
"Oh wow, she's so tiny! Was she the runt of the litter?"
No, I think she's just retarded.

Anyway, I have all these cardboard boxes under my bed with stuff in them, there isn't much in the way of storage in this house, so when I got my bed risers, I gained some under bed storage for all kinds of crap I couldn't put anywhere else.
Shahiro was under my bed almost all freaking night playing in the boxes!
I could hear her all night, jumping in and out of them, playing with the things inside the boxes, and being totally annoying.
I kept yelling at her to get out, smacking the box spring, and she would run out of the room.
I would hear the little jingle bell on the collar she wears, jingling throughout the house, and be like ok cool, she's gone.
I'd fall back to sleep, and then I'd hear it.
Jingle jingle, crumble, dive, bat, swat, scratch, jingle, meow, jump, crash jingle and bang.
She was back.
Over and over.

I finally had enough, I wasn't getting any sleep in my room, so I came out to the living room, hopped on the couch, and curled up in a blanket.
Then I heard it.
Jingle jingle, scratch, meow?
I opened my eyes, and by the glow of the tv, there she was, up on the couch with me, standing on me, purring and kneading her paws on the blanket and my chest underneath.
I was all WTF Shahiro!
What do you want?
To annoy me all night?
Why?
Whhhhhhy?!
She stepped up close to my face, rubbed her cold wet little nose on mine, bonked her head on my chin, and curled up in my neck to go to sleep.

Maybe she sees me as her momma or something.
When we first got her, the boys were at school all the time, so she was with me all day long, had to be near me, and often spent her days curled up in my lap while I was on the computer.
She is still small enough to do that, she honestly has never grown any larger than when we got her, and maybe all that playing around under my bed was just her wanting to play with me, be near me.
We finally both drifted off to sleep, her on my chest with her head buried in my neck and a paw resting on my arm.

That is until about 7:15am when she decided it was time to get back up and go play.
And tore off of me by using her claws as leverage on my chest.
Ouch.

June 17, 2008

Something to smile about.

I'm still doing good with my attempts to lose weight, I've eaten pretty healthy today.
Grapes, some juice, baked chicken for dinner with some salad, not bad.

I got most of my paperwork done today, it's a total fricking pain, and I should have it all completed within the next few days before I can get it printed out.

I absolutely loved this story today.
The two old ladies who had been in a loving and committed relationship for 55 years, were finally able to get married today.
They finally had the legal right to be together.
That's awesome in my opinion.
How many hetero marriages last that long huh?
Yeah, something to think about.

June 17, 2008

I'm rich! Didn't you all know?!

I have a busy day ahead of me today.
I have to get my interrogatories done for the child support hearing that has once again, been moved due to his attorney not being available on the date scheduled.
What are interrogatories?
They are questions about what kinds of things I own, how much money I have in the bank, (Ha!) and other stuff like that.
To give you an example;
Please identify in name location and value, all stocks, bonds, mutual funds, investment accounts, or other securities which are in my name or I am the beneficiary of.
Real estate owned by me, safety deposit boxes, or other valuables being held in my name, any kind of properties that I may inherit, any automobiles, snowmobiles, boats, motor cycles or other motor vehicles.
List all my websites and how much I earn per month from each of them.

Well let's see, I have no stocks, bonds or mutual funds, none of that stuff.
Never have, never will.
I can't even win at Monopoly and I'm supposed to be playing the stock market?
I don't own a house, I rent, no safety deposit boxes or any other valuables, there is nothing in my name from anybody, I am not inheriting anything either, my parents are old and on social security themselves, I don't own any vehicles or boats or motor vehicles of any kind.
If you've been reading along, I walk to the grocery store and cab it back if I buy more than we can carry, and my friends give me rides to my doctors appointments.
This is the only website where I make any type of income, and I am bound by the rules of disability to an earning limit.
I do not ever go above that, heck, I don't even come close to that amount even if I wanted to.
I have to attach copies of my disability statements, get letters from doctors, and all kinds of other crap.
This is completely ridiculous, and I do hope the attorney enjoys seeing it all.
He thinks I'm sitting on some kind of fortune here, I'm not, and those of you who have been reading for a few years now, know me in person, know this.
I don't own shit, I am broke all the freaking time, but yes, let's print it all out so the attorney can try to say I earn a ton of money and own all kinds of valuables and property so my ex-husband can pay less than $21.00 in child support per week.
He honestly believes I'm sitting on a goldmine and lying about my health and income.
I hope he chokes when he gets all this stuff.
Idiot.

June 16, 2008

On my mind all day.

It's been a super quiet summer day here.
The teens and I haven't done much at all, we have been playing some games, watched Clerks II again, and for dinner I'll be making enchiladas.

This news story has been on my mind all day.

TURLOCK, California (AP) -- Police killed a 27-year-old man as he kicked, punched and stomped a toddler to death despite other people's attempts to stop him on a dark, country road, authorities said.

June 15, 2008

I'm losing weight again.

I have been wanting to and trying to, lose weight.
I know I need to, and not really a lot either, just about 20 lbs or so.
So I have been reading a lot of diet pill reviews on line, learning about all the new diet pills that are out there, but I'm losing weight anyway, without pills and actually, without much working out either.

I'm just getting fuller, faster.
I made mesquite bbq'd ribs and a caesar salad for dinner tonight, 4 ribs per person, and a nice helping of the salad.
I was only able to eat 2 ribs, and they were actually very small, from the smaller end of the ribs I bought, and my salad.
I ate my salad first, and then ate the 2 ribs, and when I picked up the third one, I just wasn't interested in eating it.
I ended up giving the remaining two to Mark.
I felt totally full, and really kind of over full.
It's been this way for a few weeks now, I just don't have much of an appetite anymore.

Yesterday was the same when I bought the subs for us.
I bought us all full length subs, and I had eaten about half of a half, got a phone call, and when I came back to sit down and finish eating, I had completely lost my appetite and felt full.
I don't know what is going on, but I like it if it helps me lose weight.

June 15, 2008

How will I survive summer break?!

I went and did my actual grocery shopping for the week today, and wow, the prices of food are just continuing to rise and rise.
Most of the coupons I had in my stash, were not for any food items that I needed, and the only non-food item that I needed to get (because I forgot) was dish soap, so no coupons were used this week.
That makes for a painful shopping experience.
I somehow managed to save $20.89 on in-store specials, but that's nothing really, and not what I'm used to saving.

I just don't know how I will be able to make the food and the food budget, get us through the summer months while the teens are out of school.
During the school week, I am the only one home during the day, and I barely eat any lunches most days, but now with them home, I actually have to stock lunch items.
They get reduced meal prices at school, so during the school year, I mainly just have to worry about dinner and breakfast.
On the weekends, they sleep during breakfast and lunch.

The prices on food are rising and rising, and it's getting harder and harder to manage meals on my super tight budget.
Last year at this time a loaf of white sandwich bread was just .89 cents.
That same loaf of bread today is $1.29.
That may not seem like a lot, but when you have 2 teenagers who need to eat, that's a big jump in price.
The same for the price of meat, chicken, milk, and non-perishables.
Everything has risen in price anywhere between .49, to on some items, as much as a $2.00 price increase.
It's crazy!

How are all you moms managing so far?
And single moms, what are your plans to save as much as you can on just your one income?

June 15, 2008

Allergy cleaning supplies.

I was surfing around the net looking at allergy remedies for Mark, he suffers terribly in the spring and summer when things are blooming, and even with all the windows and doors closed up and the ac on, if anyone opens the door, pollen and other allergens blow in, and he ends up sneezing for the next hour.

So I was looking for cleaning supplies and air purifiers to help clear out some of these allergens when they do come in, and I came across Sebo vacuums.
They have that Hepa filtration system, like a lot of newer vacuums do, but they have customer testimonials that say theirs are the best.
I don't know, I've never even heard of this brand before.
I really do love the vac I have now, I think it does an awesome job, I mean, the bag less canister thingy fills all the way up to the top every single time I vac, with dirt, cat hair, and all kinds of different colored dust and stuff.

His allergies have been doing better, but to keep it that way, I have to run the vac nearly every day.
He's not allergic to the cats, but there's got to be something else getting in here that makes him sneeze so much.
I need to get some good and strong cleaners that won't set off his allergies too.
Some of the chemical ones and bleach cleaners make him sneeze, but I even tried some of the "green" cleaners, and the scents they have in some of them, make him sneeze awful.
He cleaned the bathroom with one, and his eyes were all red and itchy, and he sneezed for several hours after, so even stuff that's supposed to be good sets off his allergies.
Bah.

June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day 2008

I want to wish my dad a happy father's day today.
I don't get to see him nearly enough living so far away from my parents, but I think of him often.
I'll hear a brass horn, and be reminded of my dad playing and his love of music.
I get my love of music from him.
There was always music playing in our house, and my dad, while certain types of music were his favorite, he had an appreciation for all types, and would even tolerate my loud heavy metal blaring from my bedroom.
I hope my dad is doing well today, is happy, and knows how very much he is loved and missed.

A funny thing happened at Publix yesterday, when we went to get our subs for lunch.
They had a table right inside the door, where an employee was helping kids decorate a cookie cake for their dads.
She asked Sebastian if he'd like to make a cake for father's day, and he turned to me and said; "Mom, would you like one? I have the money to buy it?"
The employee looked confused, so I told her I was a single mom.
She said "Oh, I'm sorry. I just thought..."
"It's ok" I told her, "everyone always thinks that every kid has both a mom and dad at home, single moms do both jobs, but we only get 1 holiday."
She looked kind of embarrassed, but I didn't mean to embarrass her, I just wanted to explain why he asked me if I wanted it.

It's also funny to me, just how many little things they had set up around the store for father's day.
Tables with things to color for dad, a display of cards and gifts for dad, and in the meat department, a big sign that said, "Grill a big steak for your dad!"
And at every one of those "stations", an employee offering to help Sebastian find the perfect gift for his dad.
At each one, Sebastian would turn to me, chuckle, and say, "After how many years shopping here, have they ever seen me come in here with anyone but you? Have they ever seen me with a dad?"
We both got a laugh out of it, but it is kind of interesting after 10 years of shopping at that store 2-3 times per week, that they've never noticed we don't come in as a traditional family package.
They know us, they know our names, they always ask how we're doing, and if I go alone, they know enough to ask me where my boys are, so they do know who we are.

So anyway, happy father's day to all the dads, all the single dads, and all the single moms who are both mom and dad.
You all deserve the cookie cakes, the cards and gifts, and yes, even the big steaks done on the grill.

June 14, 2008

Pump Up the Volume (1990)

Sebastian and I decided to walk down and get us all some subs for lunch, and the going out of business Boogie Woogie cd, dvd, and video game store, is still open, and now everything is up to 75% off.
So we swung in to check and see if they had any more good deals.
All their used dvds are now another $3.50 off, so movies are super duper cheap.
I found buried amongst some truly horrible titles, the 1990 film Pump up the Volume starring Christian Slater.
Anyone remember this one?

When a book on Lenny Bruce falls into the right young, disaffected, youthful hands, the FCC has its work cut out for it. Christian Slater plays a quiet high school student whose alter ego "Hard Harry" cries injustice and spins punk and rap records from his basement at night for a growing fan base who finds his radio frequency. When the ultra-conservative school administration starts swinging, Hard Harry's fans rally, and Slater gets the girl.

And unlike most teen movies of the 80's and 90's, there is no prom, there is no wrong side of the tracks love story with a super happy ending and pretty pink dress, this is teen rebellion with all it's angst and problems, from suicide, to coming out of the closet in a defining moment kind of way.
Instead of the usual stereotyping of being a fag, Hard Harry instead tells the young male caller how he finds the bravery of people to be amazing, and with that he signs off for the night leaving his listening fans to ponder the coming out confession and who they are as well.

The movie has it's absolutely silly moments as well, it's truly stupid in some parts, but hey, no movie is without it's flaws.
But Pump Up the Volume is a really decent flick and has an amazing soundtrack.
Liquid Jesus' anthem- Stand, to Chagall Guevera's Tale O' The Twister, and Concrete Blonde, Peter Murphy, The Pixies, Soundgarden and Sonic Youth.
The opening song that is played several times throughout the film, Everybody Knows, is done by both Leonard Cohen and Concrete Blonde in the film, yet Cohen's version is noticeably missing from the soundtrack.
I prefer his version over the latter myself.
His voice is raw and real, and his version is slowed down a bit, allowing you to hear every word, and really get a feel for the meaning behind the lyrics.

Everybody knows that the dice are loaded
Everybody rolls with their fingers crossed
Everybody knows that the war is over
Everybody knows the good guys lost
Everybody knows the fight was fixed
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich
Thats how it goes
Everybody knows

Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the captain lied
Everybody got this broken feeling
Like their father or their dog just died

Everybody knows, everybody knows
Thats how it goes
Everybody knows

Anyway, it's a good a movie, on a scale of 1-5 stars, I give it a 3.5, and only that low because of some of the silliness.
I really think they could have left that out and had a truly remarkable teen rebellion film on their hands that was unlike every other teen movie past or present.

June 13, 2008

Digital Photo keychain contest!

There's a contest going on over at Today's Gizmos.com, for a very cool gadget!
She is giving away 3 digital photo keychains to 3 lucky winners.
You can read the rules and how to enter, in this post at Today's Gizmos.com.

I really like this silver one, it has 4.8MB of internal memory, so it can hold up to 72 pictures.
That's very cool.
No more wallets stuffed full of pictures to show people the kids and other stuff, you can just slide through your pictures much like using the pictures folder on your computer.
Wholesale Keychain has tons of cool keychains, digital and car specific to choose from.

I hope I am 1 of the lucky 3 winners, I would love to have a cool digital photo keychain!

June 12, 2008

Neighbor, not servant.

This afternoon and evening, is just dragging by.
Probably because I'm not as busy today as I normally am.
It's been rainy off and on, so my joints are stiff, so I've been trying to take it as easy as possible today.
I have a long car ride tomorrow, and tend to get super stiff riding for that long, so yeah, I tried to have an easy day.

But that's just not possible when you have a needy neighbor.
I try so hard to be understanding of her, I really do.
Disabled, lonely, bored, lonely, Oh I said that one, um, alone even if her husband and son are home, so she's very needy.
She calls literally 5-10 times per day, needing help with a multitude of things.
She dropped her glasses and can't reach them, she doesn't understand her health insurance, can I come explain it to her, she needs help with her laundry, or like today, her cat knocked over the tv stand and now everything is on the floor behind it, and she can't watch tv.
Oh, and then she needed stuff from the store, and was I going to be going.
Um, no, I went yesterday, with her, and she bought $241 worth of crap.

So yeah, she needed someone to come fix all of her tv stuff.
Sebastian is not home, won't be home till tomorrow morning at 8am, and Mark was asleep all day.
I let him sleep, I don't have a problem with that.
She did though.
She wanted me to wake him up to come pick up and fix all her stuff.
I said when he wakes, I would ask him, but I'm not going to make him do anything he doesn't want to.
We are not going to spend our whole summer taking care of her and her home.
It's already started, it's been this way for awhile.
Her son is a lazy jerk, he won't do any chores even if she pays him, so she asks my boys, and because I've raised my boys to help people who need it, they do.
So she's taking advantage of us.

Today, I said no, I wouldn't make him do anything, he needs a break, a day to just have fun.
And I also played sick.
I know, it's terrible of me, but she has called no less than 7 times today, and each time I have told her I am not feeling well so I won't be going to any stores or doing anything, plus, my back hurts and I need to rest.
And when she kept calling, I had Mark answer and tell her I went to bed due to not feeling well.

I feel horrible about lying, but even after having said no to her, she continued to call and request help with stuff.
I felt like I was left with no choice but to lie.
I do not like lying to people, but when I say no and it's completely ignored like I should just do what she wants, I had to in order to just get some peace and quiet.
And I really believe it is because of how needy some of the people in my life are, that I have a very hard time asking others for help even if I truly need it.
Mindy offers so often to help me, and I know I need help sometimes, but I don't ever want to be seen as a burden or hated because I need help sometimes ya know?
Does that make sense?

So I'm going to go take care of a few things I need to finish up for myself tonight, and then I'm going to go make some popcorn in the popcorn machines, and watch some bad tv shows or play with my Sims until I need to go to bed.
I set several alarms including a wake up call, so I will be ready in the am.
Later days.

June 12, 2008

Just let me be happy.

This story just breaks my heart.
You really need to read this whole article, it is just so sad.

She was 82. He was 95. They had dementia. They fell in love. And then they started having sex. Because both Bob and Dorothy suffer from dementia, the son assumed that his father didn't fully understand what was going on. And his sputtering cell phone call reporting the scene he'd happened upon would have been funny, the manager said, if the consequences hadn't been so serious. "He was going, 'She had her mouth on my dad's penis! And it's not even clean!' " Bobs son became determined to keep the two apart and asked the facility's staff to ensure that they were never left alone together.

After that, Dorothy stopped eating. She lost 21 pounds, was treated for depression, and was hospitalized for dehydration. When Bob was finally moved out of the facility in January, she sat in the window for weeks waiting for him. She doesn't do that anymore, though: "Her Alzheimer's is protecting her at this point," says her doctor, who thinks the loss might have killed her if its memory hadn't faded so mercifully fast.

Before Dorothy came along, the manager said, Bob was really kind of a player and had all the women vying to sit with him on the porch. But with Dorothy, she said, "it was love." One day, the staff noticed that they were sitting together, then before long they were taking all their meals together, and over a matter of weeks, it became constant. Whenever Bob caught sight of Dorothy, he lit up "like a young stud seeing his lady for the first time." Even at 95, he'd pop out of his chair and straighten his clothes when she walked into the room. She would sit, and then he would sit. And both of them began taking far greater pride in their appearance; Dorothy went from wearing the same ratty yellow dress all the time to appearing for breakfast every morning in a different outfit, accessorized with pearls and hair combs.

When Bob's son became aware of these trysts, he tried to put a stop to them--in the manager's view because the son felt that old people "should be old and rock in the chair." When I called Bob's son and told him I was writing about the situation without using any names, he passed on the opportunity to explain his perspective. "I don't choose to discuss anything that involves my father," he said, and he put the phone down.
But according to the facility manager, the son was convinced that Dorothy was the aggressor in the relationship, and he worried that her advances might be hard on his father's weak heart.

Dorothy's son-in-law, who is a doctor, suspects Bob's son of fearing for his inheritance. Bob had repeatedly proposed for all to hear and called Dorothy his wife, but his son called her something else--a "gold digger"--and refused to even discuss her family's offer to sign a prenup. According to Dorothy's daughter, Bob's son told her, "My father has outlived three wives, including the one he married in his 80s, and your mother is just one of many." But surely Bob's safety was a true concern, too, and maybe his son had religious or moral qualms? "I don't think so," the manager said. "I don't think he meant his dad any harm, but he couldn't see what his dad needed....He wanted his dad to have a relationship but on his terms: You can sit together at meals, but you can't have what really makes a relationship, and be careful how much you kiss and don't retire to a private place to do what all of us do."

When her daughter mentioned Bob's name--Bob, who was led away in January, shouting, "What's going on? Where are you taking me?" right in front of her--it wasn't clear how much she remembered: "He came and he went, and there's nothing more to say."
Though Dorothy might or might not remember what happened, "there's a sadness in her" that wasn't there before, the manager said. Bob "gave her back something she had long lost--to think she's pretty, to care about her step and her stride." She eats in her room now rather than in the dining room where she shared meals with Bob. And she no longer plays the piano. A new couple in the facility has gotten together in the last few weeks. The manager called their families in right away and was relieved to see that they were happy for their parents, and the families have been taking them on outings together. As a result of the whole experience, the manager, who is 50, recently had a different version of "the talk" with her 25-year-old daughter, instructing her never, ever to let such a thing happen to her or her husband: "I hope I get another shot at it when I'm 90 years old."

I know most of us don't like to think about our parents having sex, or our grandparents, but just because people reach a certain age, it doesn't mean those desires and feelings just vanish.
There are stories out there about older couples who when one spouse dies, the other dies within the year, and doctors and family believe that the spouse left behind, died of a broken heart and loneliness.
Life in nursing homes is hard enough for the elderly.
If you've ever had an elderly family member in a home and gone to visit them, they are cold and lonely places.
The elderly love it when family comes to visit them because of how alone they are.
They may be in a building full of people, but in their rooms, they are alone, they spend hours and hours per day, completely alone with no one to talk to, no one to love them.
I think it's awesomely wonderful that two old people can find love again, be happy, and it's so sad and selfish, to take that away from them just because they are old or may have dementia.
Having Alzheimer's doesn't mean you have no feelings any more, it just means you don't have the memory you once had, and it certainly doesn't mean that you shouldn't be allowed to love.

I really hope that my sons will allow me to be happy in my final years if I'm lucky enough to find love again.
They may not want to think that old people having sex is ok, but all people have those needs and desires.
Just be happy for them that they found love and happiness again.
They don't have much time left, just let them be happy and be loved, be in love.
It's one of the greatest feelings in the world, and no one should be denied that, especially in their final years of life.

June 12, 2008

Not a good thing I'm thinking.

I had to wake up at 7:30 this morning and get Sebastian up so he could be picked up by my sister at 8:15am.
I had set both my alarm clock and my cell phone alarms so that I would get up one way or another.
Apparently, when the alarms went off, I did indeed get up, walked into his room and woke him up, had a conversation with him, went to the bathroom, got a drink, and said I'd be right back.
I don't remember any of that.

What I do remember is being busy making a gift basket for someone.
I had flowers, skin care supplies, candies, drink mixes, and all kinds of other stuff in this gift basket, and all over the counters and tables in my house so I could make more of them.
I guess.

And I didn't come right back either.
I didn't actually "wake-up" until the phone rang at about 8:10am.
My sister was calling to say she'd be picking him up a little bit later.
He's spending the day with her at the house she works at to play with Matthew, the brother of the boy she takes care of.
Both Matthew and Sebastian, have pretty much nothing to do this summer, and they get along really well, so they beg the mom and my sister to be allowed to play a few days a week.
I don't mind it, it gives Sebastian something fun to do, and it allows Mark to just be by himself and do his own thing.

But why is what happened this morning not a good thing?
Because I need to get up at 7:30am tomorrow morning too, for my doc appointment in Tampa.
If I'm in such a deep sleep that I don't really wake up, it's not going to go well.

June 11, 2008

Truck driver's family need your help.

The family of the truck driver, Raymond Neumann, who was killed last week in that crash on the interstate, needs your help.

Raymond was a loving and devoted father of three children, he worked as hard as he did to provide for his family that he loved so much.
His oldest son David, has built a website in remembrance of his father, and they are in need of any sized donation that you can give them.
Donations can be made at any Suntrust ATM or Banking center, and must be made out to David or Karen Neumann, account #1000076140832.
You can go to the site and read about Raymond, his life and his family, and see pictures of him and his children.

When David contacted me about the site, I could tell this was a young man grieving for the loss of a man who meant the world to him, and by the way David spoke, I could tell that Raymond was the devoted and loving father that they say he was.
David is a well spoken and articulate young man, his words touched me and brought me to tears, as I read about this so very tragic and unexpected loss.
I think Raymond would be very proud of his son David, for stepping up and trying to do everything he can to help take care of his mother, and his younger siblings in this very sad time.
Instead of just being able to grieve the loss of his father, he's trying now to help take care of his family in his father's absence.

If you are able to help out, any sized donation, or even help by spreading the word on your blog, please help spread the word local Florida bloggers , please give or do what you can to help.

June 11, 2008

Ergo what?

When I got my first little baby computer, an Emachine, back when I first moved here in 1997, I had it set up much like I do now, except that every time I was on my computer, my right shoulder and arm would hurt after about an hour of using it.
It made me not want to be on it at all, and I loved being on it just as much as i still love it today. *hugs the tower lovingly named Ace*

I complained to my sister about it, and she said it was because of the mouse I was using.
It was a standard 2 button mouse and a mouse pad.
When you have one of those, you are moving your arm and hand all over the place to click around on the screens, and the way I was sitting combined with the way I was moving my arm, was causing me pain.

So she explained to me what computer ergonomics was, and took me to a store to get a mouse I wouldn't have to do that much moving with.
She bought me an ergonomic trackball mouse that day, and I've never looked back.
It instantly felt better, my shoulder and arm never hurt again.
In the last 11 years, I've now been through 2 of those trackball mice, and when this one dies, I'll just get another one just like it.
You should totally try an ergonomic mouse if you are having pain in your wrists, shoulder, or arm after being on the computer.
Trust me, it will make you feel tons better!

June 11, 2008

It's been 3 hours, you just noticed it was missing?!

My neighbor needed to go grocery shopping, and she's currently not allowed to drive due to her health, so she asked me to come with her in the cab.
She hasn't ever ridden in a cab.
I know, I was like what?
Who has never ridden in a cab?!
So yeah, me being the good person I am, I called the cab for her, and agreed to go with her.
She spent nearly 2 hours shopping.
Up and down every aisle, had to look at everything even though she had a list.
And i