Scribblings

Halloween

Today is Halloween ... and everywhere I go online and off, everyone is talking or writing about Halloween! I got this off the Internet but I don't remember where. Ooops! Anyway, it seems that Halloween started with one of my triple quadruple Irish ancestors:

"Halloween is generally thought to date back to 700 B.C. to the Celts in rural England, Ireland and Scotland. On November 1, the first day of their new year, the Celts celebrated a festival called Samhain ("sow-in"), which signified the end of the harvest season, the onset of winter, and a day of the dead.

On the eve of Samhain, October 31, the Celts dressed in costume, lit bonfires, and offered food and drink to masked revelers. Many say the costumes and fires were used to drive away the spirits, and the food given to placate the dead. In later times, the Christians named this day All Hallow Eve, a day to celebrate saints who had no day of their own. The name was eventually shortened to Halloween!

Some Halloween traditions came to America in the 1840s with the Irish escaping the Great Potato Famine. On Halloween, Irish peasants begged the rich for food and played practical jokes on those who refused. To avoid being tricked, the rich handed out cookies, candies, and fruit - a practice that turned into our present day trick-or-treating."

Pumpkin by Heidi:

Halloween dress-up parties are always more fun that door-to-door begging and extortion (what happens to the ones who want to give a 'trick' instead of a treat? The old toilet paper? Egging the house or car?) but what kid would turn down the opportunity to collect a bagful of candy?

Times change. When I used to go around with my brother and friends, we'd bring a big brown grocery bag. We would come home loaded. I guess once upon a time candy wasn't expensive and people could afford to give out generous helpings.

My brother and I would go home for a break so that our parents could raid the bag. They'd pull out all the taffy and other undesireables to give out to kids coming to our door.

I enjoyed parties. It was always fun to get a good look at other people's costumes. The games ... like bobbing for apples ... was always a lot of fun too!

Now I am content to raid the much smaller bags of loot the kids don't want to eat and giving them out to trick-or-treaters coming to my door.

Past, Present & Future:

PAST: Because we haven't delved deeply into childhood trauma lately, tell us about the scariest event from your youth.

After my grandma broke her leg, my mother spent the weeknights at her little cottage. Mom took care of Grandma during the week and on weekends, my Aunt Betty took over. It turns out that my mother always felt the arrangement was unfair because my brother and me were younger than Anne and Robert and we probably needed her more.

Okay, anyway, Mom came home one Friday night and just went to bed. She didn’t feel well and was exhausted. My uncle Bob brought Anne and Robert over to play. He and my dad sat at the table and us four kids watched TV.

Anne said there was a really cool movie on called “House on Haunted Hill” and she put it on. Not long afterward, I was pretty scared and asked her to turn it off. By then, Anne and Robert were really into it and refused. So I slipped into my mom’s room, woke her up and told her I was scared.

Here was the real scary part: my mom rose up off the bed in a flaming rage, rushed into the dining room and began screaming/signing to my Uncle Bob. She told him to get his kids and get out.

I didn’t see my cousins again for almost a year. My mother refused to have anything to do with my aunt or her family. My grandma would cry about it. It was flat out horrible. That really made an impression on me. Terror comes in all forms!

PRESENT: Creepy-crawlies? Heights? Large dogs? Oblivion? What are your phobias nowadays?

I have claustrophobia. I get nervous on elevators and escalators. If I am in a crowded room or theater, I have to be neat the exit or on the aisle so I can get out fast if I have to. I am phobic about diseases and medical problems, especially the new ones. I always think I’m going to catch it or develop it.

FUTURE: Who (or what) do you want to be for Halloween? Price and practicality are no object, here.

I would like to be an Irish dancer, like the men and women in “Riverdance”. I think that is so cool and the costumes are pretty neat too!

Last Minute Plans

I have tried to get my kids to understand that I want them to have fun activities with their friends ... they just need to make sure all sets of parents know what's going on and approve. The girls are especially famous for plotting with their friends, making prearrangements and then springing the plans on us at the last minute. Even when the other parents are people I know and trust, I'm not thrilled about being in the dark until the eleventh hour and then having the whole package thrust into my face. Usually, details of the plans are pretty ambiguous and there are holes here and there ... usually with supervision. The kids seem to assume that everyone is trustworthy.

Right.

This year, Kristin wanted to go around the neighborhood with her friend Katelyn. The original plan called for Kristin to have her friend here for the night. They would go trick-or-treating and then come back and watch scary movies. I thought it was a great idea and said if it was okay with Katelyn's parents it would be fine with us.

Kristin started out with good intentions. She called Katelyn and then found out that her friend was supposed to go out with the neighbor next door. Well, that was too bad, I thought. That happened 2 or 3 weeks ago and I thought that was the end of it.

Today, Kristin asked if she could trick-or-treat in Katelyn's neighborhood. Well, I don't know that neighborhood. It's not far, maybe in walking distance. I wanted to know who would be going around with them and Kristin said one of the kids was 15. I wasn't convinced. I know kids, especially teenagers, can get wild and it's so easy to run into trouble out there in the dark. I said I wanted to talk to Katelyn's mother ... who wasn't home.

I told Kristin why I was concerned and she seemed to understand that. I said if Billy could go around with them, I would be agreeable to the new plans -- once we'd talked to Katelyn's mom.

When we finally got our acts together, TB spoke to Katelyn's mother about the girls going out. The mother, Debra, said she wouldn't get home from work until 5:30 and no one else would be home. I was listening to the conversation and then said I wasn't comfortable with just the 3 girls going out and would she object to Billy being there? She said it was okay with her. One hurdle cleared.

It all rested with the parents of the 15 year old. The father nixed the idea. He said he doesn't know Billy. He wasn't planning to go around the neighborhood with the girls and I wasn't comfortable letting Kristin go around at night in a place I'm not familiar with.

Kristin is a great kid. She's disappointed but okay with it.

What we're still hoping to do is have Katelyn come over later in the evening to watch movies and stay over. This way I know the girls are safe and I won't have to contend with agita as well as worry.

Thursday Three:

1. What's the scariest story you’ve ever heard?

As a kid, I was frightened by the gruesome tale of “Black Aggie” of Baltimore, Maryland. My next door neighbors said she was a witch and had been killed in a cemetery. She would rise up out of the grave to “get” anyone walking by. Even though we didn’t live near the cemetery, I was still scared because the kid next door said “Black Aggie” could get me from anywhere.

The real story of “Black Aggie” can be found at Baltimore: A Link to the City. “Remember Black Aggie?” is a link in the index on that page.

2. What's the scariest movie youve ever seen?

It’s got to be the original “Night of the Living Dead”. I have yet to be able to watch it all the way through without getting the heebie jeebies!

3. What's the scariest thing thats ever happened to you or in your presence?

My first thought was to think of something supernatural. One night, my cousin Anne and I were playing Uno with 4 friends. To make a long story really short, my late grandmother came to us as we were snacking. We didn’t see her but Anne and I knew it was her. We all watched the cookie plate rise from the center of the table and move toward on of the friends, as if to offer a second helping. There is more to this story but the thing is: I wasn’t scared. This was my grandmother and there is nothing scary about her.

On December 13, 1972 a school janitor totally flipped in my high school cafeteria. He pulled out a machete knife, stabbed some security guards, grabbed a 15 year old student and held her hostage in his little office … right next door to my classroom. We could hear the girl screaming and begging God to help her as the deranged man cursed and threatened her. It was truly the most scary experience of my life. After long hours, the man finally let the girl go, charged the police, and was blown into little pieces by the SWAT team. I’ve never forgotten it.

Ooops

Fatigue and stress make me really careless sometimes.

Before I took Billy for karate, I took what I thought was Motrin for my joint pain.

When I got home, I took my blood pressure med ... cardizem LA. As the pill was going down, I suddenly had a flash of me taking a pill from that bottle earlier. Is this for real? Or am I just imagining it? I kind of had a picture in my head of taking cardizem instead of the Motrin. The pill bottles sit side by side.

I felt uneasy and mentioned it to TB. I slept pretty well through the night. This morning, though, I had a headache and felt lightheaded. I decided to call poison control (as was recommended at a site I looked up for information about the medication). The lady there felt I should go to the emergency room.

That scared me. My symptoms aren't that bad I assured her. She said that my reaction was only beginning and that it might get worse. When she realized that TB was here and would be here all day she was mollified a bit and said if I felt worse I should go to the emergency room.

I am still holding out. I feel more anxious now than anything else. I don't like the idea of going to the emergency room by ambulance because how would we get home? TB can't drive.

I'm feeling better ... I think. The medication has been in my system now for 12 hours (first pill) and 10 hours (second one). I'm praying my symptoms don't get worse.

Now off to relax more.

Why Stay?

When I was a teenager, I used to pray that my parents would get a divorce. I didn’t think about the consequences of being in a broken family. I just wanted the fighting and drinking to stop. I used to wonder why my mother would stay in an unhappy marriage.

Eventually I learned that she felt trapped and had no where else to go.

For a time, she tried.

I’ll never forget this one night as I was getting ready to move from Baltimore to Laurel, MD. I was to start a new job on the campus of Gallaudet College (then the only liberal arts college for the deaf in the world). I was going to move in with my parents until I was settled enough to get my own place.

My mother came to the door of the apartment my friend Alice and I were sharing. She’d left my father. I don’t remember if he’d been hitting her or just arguing with her.

I was very upset but more because of my plans going right down the toilet … and I was starting my new job in just 2 days! I’ve learned to roll with the punches and think fast over the years … there was always some crisis that needed to be resolved. I called my friend and previous supervisor, Esther, and explained what happened. Esther thinks fast, too, and by the end of the evening, my mom and I had a place to stay across the street from the college.

I was feeling very relieved about finding an alternate living place so fast. It didn’t bother me that this house was in a crummy neighborhood. My mother just mostly seemed dazed.

My father found us within a day or so of us moving into the house. My brother had helped us move in. He’d clearly been upset about it. Maybe he told my father where the house was. All I know is, he showed up at my new office and said my mother was moving back to the apartment in Laurel and that my brother and friends were moving all our stuff out.

I was taken aback. I was also a bit annoyed. Here I’d gone to all this trouble for my mother and she turned around and went back to my dad! It didn’t make sense to me.

Now here is an interesting ‘coincidence’. My mother ‘fell’ on the stairs at this house in Washington. Was it while my father was there? Probably. In fact, I’m inclined to think she did not fall down any stairs.

My dad was at work when I got to the apartment in Laurel. My mother was on the couch, obviously in a great deal of pain. She wouldn’t let me call a doctor and refused when I offered to drive her to the emergency room. She was having trouble breathing. I picked up the phone and called an ambulance.

She had several broken ribs which caused her lung to collapse. She was in the ICU for several days before being moved to a regular room.

My father was as sweet as pie. My mom just looked resigned.

She did try leaving him a few other times after that. She had deaf friends that would urge her to get out, that she didn’t have to live that way and so on. By then, I’d moved out and was on my own. I just couldn’t handle the environments. Anyway, my mom would take refuge at a friend’s house and my father would track her down. She’d end up going back to him. My father then destroyed the friendship between my mother and whoever had given her refuge.

She lost several dear friends that way.

Once she told me it was useless to try and get away. She said my father would always find her no matter what so what was the use? I tried to convince her that she did not have to go back with him. She’d shrug and say, where else could I go? She couldn’t stay with the friends forever and she had no money, no car, yadda yadda. I said she could go to her sister’s on Long Island. My aunt would never get rid of her. That’s exactly why my mother would never do it. She was always afraid my father would ruin the loving relationship between her and her sister.

So there you have it.

Many times, I think to myself no matter what, I would not ever live my life like my mother. I would find a way to stay away. I would like to think I would walk away and stay away from a relationship like that. I don’t know … but maybe the fact that I would not get into a relationship like that in the first place shows I learned something from that dysfunctional relationship.

My parents are still together. They can’t live without each other. I’m amazed.

SAD and EDT

I never quite accepted the idea that people could experience depression more in the fall and winter. It didn't make a lot of sense to me. I have periods of depression that come on pretty much at any time of the year. But in the last couple of years, though, I've wondered if I might not have some degree of Seasonal Affective Disorder(SAD). I sure do eat and sleep a lot and I do feel pretty lethargic. I also crave sweets (especially chocolate) in the worst way.

I've felt especially low today. I can't pinpoint a reason so I'm thinking that it might be hormonal highs and lows. It might be related to the fact that we started daylight savings(EDT) time this weekend. Maybe that is it ... already I miss the sun.

Why do we have to have daylight savings time anyway? It doesn't seem as though we're saving any daylight. It is dark much earlier than it was during standard time. Maybe the reason we have it is so that the kids aren't standing out in the dark during the early morning hours.

I remember during an energy crisis in 1973 or '74, daylight savings time was suspended...or maybe standard time was. I remember how dark it was walking to the bus stop. I took a bus into work in Baltimore City. It was a bit unnerving to be in the dark but I got used to it. After all, the other way around I'd be going home in the dark. I think I felt best during that year or two when we didn't switch back and forth.

As for what to do about it ... I'll sit in the sun with Buddy more often. That's supposed to help.

As for the other things ... I used to enjoy writing and stuff and I feel like, eh, I don't feel like it anymore and so maybe the sunshine isn't quite enough. Maybe I'll talk to the doctor about it. Maybe she can prescribe a cruise to Bermuda! That's a happy thought!

Monday Madness:

It seems lately any channel you switch to, any day of the week, there is a 'reality show' on. This brings me to this week's questions................
1. Do you watch any 'reality shows' on television? If so, which is your favorite? If not, why?

The only one I watch is Survivor. I tried Big Brother when it premiered and I didn’t like it. It just seemed cheesier than Survivor and a whole lot less interesting. Survivor takes place out in the wilds and the castaways have to find a way to adjust to the conditions … and connive themselves to the #1 position. The other shows just don’t do anything for me and leave me feeling like I need a shower or something.

2. If you were offered a chance to be a part of any of the reality shows, which one would you choose? Why?

Ah well I feel I would decline. I don’t want a million dollars bad enough to put myself through all the crap the castaways contend with: hunger, lack of sleep, bug bites, etc etc.

3. If you could pick your own team on 'Survivor' what qualities would you look for in the 7 people you would choose?

Strength, integrity and good humor.

I don't get some people

There was a particularly horrifying news story on TV last night and this morning. It seems this couple in Collingswood, NJ had four adopted sons and they starved these kids. It gave me the creeps when the reporter talked about the conditions these kids were in. The oldest, a 19 year old, is only 4 feet tall and weighs like 54 pounds. That is just too sickening.

No one might have known about these kids if the 19 year old hadn't been caught rooting around in a garbage dumpster, looking for food. Neighbors called police and the police found the other boys inside the home. The really shocking piece of news is that the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) should have intervened. For crying out loud, apparently people from DYFS were visiting every month! How could they not know?

Of course, now that the story is all over the newspapers, TV and Internet DYFS is doing something now when it's almost too late. What if one of those kids died?
They've suspended five people, including managers and supervisors along with the caseworker. I was just thinking that these people ought to have a cell next to the so-called parents.

Here is the kick in the head about the DYFS caseworker ... she was monitoring another kid in the house the parents were trying to adopt. This kid is a girl and she seemed to be of a normal weight and height so apparently she wasn't included in the abuse. Anyway, this caseworker was evaluating how "safe" the household was and never 'noticed' the condition of the boys. Did the worker look the other way? Or just didn't care?

In addition to the four starving boys, these parents from hell also had two adopted little girls. They seemed to be in a normal range for their ages. So why did the parents only starve the boys?

Even more than that question, I'd like to know the answer to why did these people adopt so many kids if they were just going to turn around and starve them? Maybe the answer is that they would get this stipend from the state. I suppose that money was supposed to be used to support the kids ... but what if it wasn't?

I don't get how these people were able to continue adopting kids? I don't get some people ... and in this case, that would include the DYFS employees as well as those parents from hell.

Accountability

The fish in Texas won’t be depressed anymore! I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to read an article about blue gill fish on prozac of all things. Prozac never worked for me. I went into hyper-drive and couldn’t sleep while I was taking it. I don’t know how it’s affecting these fish. It’s definitely an eye opener to learn how the drug got into the lake water in the first place.

If people on prescriptions pee into the toilet and the water is then carried to a filtration plant that does not remove the drug byproducts then it’ll go right into the lake or … our drinking water too? Now there is a scary thought!

Every once in a while, I’ll remember the farmers feeding their cows and chickens high levels of antibiotics and other vitamins and what-have-you. I know it shows up in the meat. There is a concern about people becoming immune to some of the drugs that could save their lives because they are getting too much of it in the food.

A few years ago, I interpreted at a natural preservation park that had a day focusing on Rachel Carson. I’d heard of Silent Spring but had never read it. I saw a film about the author and about that book. It turns out that Rachel Carson did her best to warn us about the dangers of crop dusting with pesticides. My hair about stood on end watching clips of the planes dropping these poisons … right on the head tops of kids in a school yard! That wasn’t the only place pesticides were being dumped.

I was disgusted to see the big chemical companies attacking Carson, branding her as a hysteric and a troublemaker. She was discredited and mocked. And then … the government learned that hey, she’s right, we’re doing a lot of damage here! By then, well, it was just about too late.

When I left, I went right to the library and checked out Silent Spring. The title comes from a particularly horrifying scenario in which the earth is so damaged by these toxins there are no more birds to sing in the mornings. It hasn’t gotten to that point but it almost did. DDT got into the water and into the bodies of the fish. It got into the air and into the bodies of the birds. The most chilling fact I read in that book is everyone born in 1954 and after have some DDT in their livers.

For awhile, it looked as though we were trying to do the right thing. The Environmental Protection Agency was formed. Use of certain pesticides, fertilizers, drugs and so on became banned because they were harmful to the air, the soil, the water, to animals or to people.

Not too long ago, I read that President Bush might relax some of the restrictions placed on industries that have polluted our world in the past. Apparently these industries are whining about the burden of cost placed on them to clean up their acts. Please. Give me a break.

I have heard some people say something like, “Well, why should I care? I can’t do anything about it anyway and I won’t be here when the toxins choke the earth to death.”

I guess maybe they think their kids won’t have to deal with it … or their grandkids.
I’m not so sure. God gave us this world to care for and we are doing a pretty botched up job when we look the other way or when we don’t speak up when regulations are relaxed.

Scary thoughts.

Saturday-8 :: No Deposit, No Return!

Welcome to this week's Saturday 8. As the holidays approach and stores get ready for the onslaught of consumers, we propose a new kind of store. One where you can get in and out without annoying lines, where you don't have to stand behind a little old lady returning her toaster from the 60's because it finally stopped working or the guy returning his 20 year old turntable for credit towards a CD player. A store where unaccompanied/unwatched children are escorted outside to a holding pen. In short, a store where you can get in, find your item, get out and on with your life. In an effort to create such a store we've prepared a market survey to see how consumers such as yourselves would respond to having such a store in your community. Please be honest and elaborate on any answer you wish to share your opinions on. Hopefully we'll be coming to a city near you soon!

1. All products come with a manufacturer's warranty. Anything you buy that has a problem will be replaced by the manufacturer. Knowing this, would you shop at a store with no customer service desk? If no, what if they had a UPS Store or similar shipping counter that would send it to the manufacturer for you?

Who wants to wait on a long customer service line to return something? If all products come with a manufacturer’s warranty to replace problems then it doesn’t matter to me if there’s no customer service desk. If they had a UPS store there, I would be even more inclined to shop there!

2. Would you be willing to do without a sales team roaming the floor trying to help some of the customers if the item you were interested in had a full and complete description listed? For example, a computer would list every part in it, the specs of each part, descriptions of all the software as opposed to bullet points taken from the side of the box.

I’ve noticed that not only are most sales people annoying, they’re also pretty ignorant sometimes of the products they carry. I could do without a sales team if I could understand what the description said. Sometimes the descriptions have too many techy words in them and go way over my head … although I suppose if that was the case, I ought to bring a knowledgeable person with me in the first place!

3. If you entered a store that was organized more like a grocery store, having each area clearly labeled as to what products are sold where and not just by category, would you refrain from asking where things are?

I doubt it because sometimes I can’t find an item even when the aisles are clearly labeled. For instance, I have been looking for OTC soup crackers for the last 2 or 3 weeks and I still haven’t found them. I’ve been up and down the cracker aisle at least a dozen times. I need to ask but so far the store has been too crowded for me to brave the hordes at the customer service center.

4. Often we find ourselves waiting in line behind the person that feels the need to update their checkbook ledger at the register or they are a checkwriting challenged. Therefore, would you shop at a store that only took cash or credit?

No because then everyone who is credit-or-debit card challenged would go to the store and get in line ahead of me anyway. ;)

5. Stores loose money when customers do not pay their bill. This cost is passed on to you in the form of interest rates. Would you obtain or use a store card where they refuse to sell you any merchandise, regardless of payment method, until you've settled your delinquent bill?

Are you kidding? I like that idea! If I owed a store a lot of money I’d be too embarrassed to go in there and buy more stuff anyway!

6. Often stupid or ignorant consumers clog up the works for the rest of us. In order to weed out such consumers, would you be willing to shop at a store that treated these types of customers like they deserve? Some examples:

Q:You people aren't very helpful, are you?
A: Only to those that deserve it.

No way. At some point maybe it’s me who is the moron and I sure don’t want some sales person to be sarcastic or rude to me.

It’s all relative. Maybe these customers seem stupid to us, but they have real concerns. It’s not our place to say they should be treated badly. :P

7. Most stores force you to shop at their hours, only extending them during the holidays. If there were a store open early in the morning (from 5am - 10am for example), closed during the day for cleaning, tagging, stocking etc., and reopened at evening (4pm - 11pm for example), would you find that more suitable to your shopping hours? If not, what would be a good schedule?

My schedule varies day to day. I like the store hours as they are now.

8. Finally, when a store closes, it's closed. Lingering customers not shopping or rushing to buy trivial things like film or batteries just get in the way of those that have been there the last hour trying to complete that HDTV purchase. Would you shop at a store that refused entry to new customers 30min before closing, warned you that the registers close exactly when the store does and basically ushered everyone out of the store once it closed, purchase complete or not?

No, I don’t like shopping in stores that are so anal about their closing policies. And I do understand that the clerks want to get the heck out of there and go home. But if I went to a store a half hour before closing and was made to feel like I needed to hurry up or get out I sure would not go back!

We feel having a store without customer service, not wasting payroll on sales staff when you know what you want and can help yourself if given the information on the product, filtering out those that clog the shopping experience for the rest of us is in fact giving you a place to get done what you need and on with your lives. After all, you're shopping for something to take away and use in your life, not for the experience of sitting behind someone asking the difference between a CD and a DVD. Your survey will be reviewed by our home office and your comments incorporated into our business philosophy design of a new store, hopefully coming soon to your hometown.

Thank you for your time.

I don’t think this would be a store I I’d go to more than once! Heh.

Which 70s Show Character Are You?

You're Hyde!


Which That 70's Show Character are You?
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Tipping … not the restaurant kind

But first ... 10 things I am grateful for today:

1. Michelle made it through the procedure yesterday and recovery and is back home
2. It was a beautiful weather day in spite of the cool temperatures
3. I didn’t have to drive anywhere and didn’t have to drive anyone anyplace!
4. I’m thankful that we are in relatively good health
5. I’m glad TB is not in pain today
6. I’m actually thankful for the dopey dog
7. I’m glad I was able to stay on program(Weight Watchers) so far today
8. Rupert wasn’t voted off Survivor last night!
9. I caught up on my email and news groups!
10. I’ve been able to think of topics to write about

************************************************************

I’ve heard of kids tipping cows over for kicks. I wondered how in the heck someone could tip over a cow! Today, I think I know how it’s done. Move the heavy animal too much in one direction, and the cow loses her center of balance and topples over. I came to the conclusion after tipping over on Buddy.

I’d been feeling out of it all day. It was my time of the month and so I had some cramps. More than anything else, I just felt very tired. I even took two naps! I still felt a little light headed after the last one.

Trying to shake it off, I sat down at the computer. Billy had Buddy on the long lead and the puppy came over to say ‘hello’. I hugged him and scratched his chest and ears. I leaned over to hug him again and all of a sudden, I felt myself going over. The chair went over with me and I was momentarily tangled between it and the dog.

TB and Billy both jumped up. I was on the floor trying to free myself and just felt totally stupid. As for Buddy, either he didn’t mind or realized something weird was going on because he stayed where he was at first. As TB reached down to try to help me up, Buddy shifted to get out of the way and we were down again.

I finally got up and felt both shaken and foolish. What was the matter with me that I would just tip over like that? Old ladies tipped over, not me. I had this horrifying flashback image of Rich’s grandmother (Fred’s mother) being pushed or pulled up or down the steps. Someone had to get in front of her and someone behind because she would lose her balance and topple over. This can’t be happening to me! What a scary thought!

With my hypochondria, I started imagining all kinds of things that might explain what happened. A stroke. A fainting spell. You name it, I probably had it. The real reason I fell over probably has more to do with my weight and shifting my center of balance too much. Another reason is that I’ve been fairly congested and fluid in my ears would affect my balance too.

So it's all nothing to worry about ... riiiiight? ;-)

The rest of this could be titled "Buddy, ADD" or "Pele Pup, ADD"

Since the kids went back to school, I’ve been taking Buddy out for a stretch of the legs. I’m not strong enough to hold him on a leash so I’ve just been backyard babysitting.

Buddy doesn’t want to be alone. We would try to put him out in our fenced back yard and then go to the bathroom or make coffee or something. It doesn’t work because he throws himself at the door, barks, or cries. It’s really annoying and I felt a bit resentful toward him. I never expected him to be as needy as a newborn!

Since Billy is in school for six hours and since being crated that long is bad for the dog, I’ve been taking Buddy out several times a day. I have to be honest here … it’s sort of fun! He wants me to chase him. I want him to “fetch” and then I’ll throw the stick or ball. At first I wasn’t into that kind of play. I quickly realized that chasing him around the yard is a great way to get some exercise. I can’t run but I can walk and I can walk pretty quickly.

How do you categorize walk-chasing a dog around the yard? Weight Watchers gives credit for all activities but there’s nothing there for pet-play. Hmmmm… so I’ll look for the next closest thing. That would be … Frisbee? It’s the same sort of start and stop activity. It involves reaching out and grabbing for an object. Yeah, Frisbee, that sounds good! Every 10 minutes of play with Buddy takes off a point.

When Buddy gets ahold of the basketball, we play a weird form of soccer. Yes, Buddy pulls and pushes a basket ball around with his paws. It’s fun to watch him. He looks like a cat chasing a ball of yarn. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dog play quite this way. He’ll guard the ball with his body, too, and when I manage to kick the ball out from under him he goes charging across the yard churning up a fountain of sand from the ground where the pool used to be.

That's where I got the name Pele, after the great soccer player from Brazil.

The other lovely name, ADD, actually means 'a dumb dog'. Before I go much further I just want to put this disclaimer here: I love Buddy. I don't think he's a dumb moron. It's an affectionate name. Heh.

Actually, the name came from either Michelle or TB after a particularly frustrating episode with Buddy. I just remember hearing, "The vet says Labs ae ADD."

I thought it meant Labrador Retrievers have attention deficit disorder. No ... ADD is the anagram of 'A Dumb Dog'. Cute! I mean, what would you call a dog that chews sticks to splinters and tries to swallow them, inhales sawdust like he thinks it's going to get him a high, and drinks water from any container he can find even though he's got a water bowl filled with fresh-from-the-tap H20?

Truthfully, he's a pretty smart dog. He learns pretty quickly when he feels inspired.

He's true-blue loyal as well. He knows the sounds of the kids' buses stopping to drop them off and he races from one side of the yard to the other to catch a glimpse of them. He is happiest of all to see Billy but he also gets excited over Heidi and Kristin. I told TB that Buddy probably does a jig inside his crate when we get home ... we just can't see him doing it.

He's become more terroritorial as he's gotten older. He barks and wuffes and his hackles go up. I'm glad he does that. I'd rather people think he might be dangerous.

Yeah, I guess he's a keeper now!

Lists, lists, lists

Today was very busy from the time I got up and will continue probably right up to the time I turn in.

The best news about today: TB is not in pain! He got a good night's sleep, too. His temperature is back to normal. Thank God!

Billy is really pushing himself to the max. He has 8 advanced classes and no break during the school day except for a half hour after his physics class. He doesn't use it to eat or relax, though. He is either studying or doing homework.

Wednesdays are going to be especially rough for him. After school, he has the debate club. From 5:30 to 8:30, he has play rehearsal. He is playing Senator Fogbottom in "Lil Abner". He will cut out early to go to karate class.

What makes it busy for me? Today I met with Heidi's guidance counselor to set up a 504 plan for her. More about that in a minute. Then I took her to the allergist. After dinner, I'll need to go pick Billy up from his play rehearsal. Heidi is coming along tonight because she needs new shoes. I'll drop Billy off for his karate class and then go to Payless Shoes. Then we'll go back to get Billy and then drive home. Whew!

What's On ... Now?

What's On your '10 interesting facts about me' list Right Now?

1. I am fluent in sign language

2. I like to write stories

3. I am bicultural and bilingual (deaf world/hearing world) and (ASL/English)

4. I am a Survivor nut!

5. I’ve gotten my husband, TB, hooked on cats and TV programs he wouldn’t normally want to watch

6. I love to read “big” books, over 500 pages

7. I love all kinds of music, everything from classical to classic rock … all except for hip hop and rap

8. I have survived the death of my first soul mate

9. I have a great capacity for love

10. I am totally in love al over again!

Make a list: 5 favorite things about autumn

1. I love the bright colors of the leaves when they are at peak

2. I enjoy going through corn mazes and hayrides

3. The weather is comfortable, warmer during the day and cooler at night

4. The new fall season begins on TV!

5. I love the fall trimmings and decorations, i.e. Indian corn on the doors, horns of plenty, pumpkins, gourds, and crafty items with a fall/harvest motif

What are your five rules for living happy?

1. Be grateful for everything I have
2. Appreciate all the loved ones in my life
3. Accept people for who and what they are
4. Love and respect nature
5. Careful spending

"I Thought of You"

It's always sad to hear that an expectant mom has had a miscarriage. People who mean well will sometimes say really dumb things to the mom that totally does NOT help.

I feel sad about the baby Michelle was carrying. I know she was excited about it and looking forward to having another baby. She had a feeling the baby was a girl. It just seemed like one of those "feel good" stories.

Michelle thought of her mom Sunday when all of this began to go down. She is sure that her mom carried the baby across to heaven. I'm sure too.

What is the right thing to say when something like this happens? Sometimes there just isn't a right thing. You can just hug and hold a hand and just be there.

I was online this evening trying to think of something to say that didn't sound trite or stupid. I found this:

Post-Op II

Today, I am feeling frustrated. TB is not sleeping well, he’s uncomfortable and his spirits are drooping. I think it’s from the combination of drugs, after effects of anesthesia and just general stress from not feeling well. There is nothing I can really do to alleviate that, not even kisses and hugs, and so I feel helpless. That leads to feeling frustration.

This, too, shall pass. That is what I keep telling myself. There's an end in sight, I say to TB. Each day that passes is one less to be endured.

It sounds nice rolling off the tongue but it's easy to say. It's quite another thing to be the one who is sick or injured. The days ... and the nights too ... must seem endless.

Monday Madness:

1. Which room in your home is your favorite? Why?

Oh, I have to pick one? Eeny meenie … I’ll say the family room because it is large and bright. It has lots of windows and gets the morning sun. It’s also where my computer and desk are. Not only that, but the dreadmill is in here and so is the TV and CD player. There’s even a bathroom. The only thing lacking is a kitchenette! Then it would be like having an efficiency almost. Hey … wait a minute … nah, I don’t want to give up my room!

2. Which room would you most like to remodel or change the look of? Why?

The bathroom in the family room. We couldn’t afford to remodel it with all the other unexpected expenses … like the kitchen! It looks like the original fixtures are still in there. The tub has a leak and needs to be replaced. The grout is old and yucky. It’s dark in there and so it seems very gloomy.

3. Which room do you hate cleaning the most?

Well, I don’t have to do much of the cleaning now because I have three able bodied and not-so-willing helpers.

TB and I clean our own bathroom. I use 409 to clean and wipe everything down and TB takes the much harder job of scrubbing to get all the nasty orangy iron off the walls and inside the tub and inside the toilet bowl. Yech!

TRIGGER 2::: If I was ever fortunate enough to find a winning lottery ticket, the very first thing I’d buy would be a water treatment system that would eliminate all the iron and cedar and yucky stuff from all of our water.

As it is now, there’s always an orangy residue left on the walls, inner sides of the tub, in the toilet bowls, and all over the clothes of our washer. That same stuff turns up in the dishwasher and in our drinking water.

When we bought the house, we were assured it wouldn’t be a problem once we put a filter on. So we contacted a water treatment company and the guy came out and installed a new filter. He told us it would take care of the stinky discolored water.

Ha.

The salt to soften our water doesn’t help that much … and this is iron-out salt. A very nice salesman came to talk to us about a water system that would treat all the water in the house. There is also a reverse osmosis system for the drinking water. It sounded great – we agreed with everything the man had to say. It is $4000 … and we couldn’t get credit approval.

Just an aside: ya know, it’s really ridiculous how credit works. TB was able to get a mortgage on this house and yet we’re turned down for the water treatment system.

Anyway, the bottom line is that we have to live with this water for awhile. We’ve taken some steps to make it more bearable.

We have a water cooler and use about 15 or so gallons a week. We refill our water at our local friendly Acme.

TB scrubs our bathroom’s tiled walls and the inside of the toilet with some really strong stuff. Maybe it’s XLR-someteen number or Iron-Out. I can’t remember. The stuff helps take out the dingy orangy color but it lasts a week if we’re lucky. Then the discoloration begins again.

I’ve got a sort of equivalent to iron-out for the whites in my laundry.

Really nice whites can’t be washed here at all. Gotta go to the Laundromat for that.

Still, I love this house. It’s a big house with spacious roominess. What I mean by that is that some houses have lots of rooms but are tiny. There aren’t many windows. But our house has lots and lots of windows and the rooms are huge … except for TB’s office but it’s big enough to suit his purposes. So I can live with the icky water for a while, until we save up the money for a good treatment system.

Puppy Possessed

Don't get me wrong ... he's much better. Much better than when I wrote this in frustration at the beginning of summer:

It started with the purple pansies. That’s when we realized there was something wrong with that dog. He didn’t seem to be like that when we first saw him at the Puppy Barn. He was a cute little guy, very friendly and sweet with adoring soft brown eyes and a silly puppy grin. How could we resist him? We couldn’t and brought him home. So began our adventures with Psycho Puppy.

He seemed to be normal at first. I called him Buddy instinctively. He’ll make a great pal for TB and me and the kids. Buddy wanted to be around us all the time. He loved to play and seemed to have unending energy. We were sad when we said “good night” to the little guy and put him in the crate we’d bought, following expert advice that this was humane and practical.

I feel like we’ve got the canine equivalent of Damian, the devil child from “The Omen”!

Well, that's the way I used to feel. We were seriously discussing giving Buddy up for adoption because whatever we were doing was not enough for him and it wasn't fair for all of us, including the dog, to be so miserable. Billy volunteered to take care of Buddy, keep him exercised and happy. I warned Billy that this was like becoming the parent of a young baby.

Billy needed to be reminded several times. Buddy couldn't run loose in the house unless Billy was right on his tail. So if Billy needed to go to the bathroom or eat, Buddy had to go in the crate. Billy would no sooner close the door to the crate than Buddy would begin to whine and cry. The first week, Billy was patient and understanding. After that, he became more and more aggravated.

He wasn't saddled with the dog 24/7. During the school day, TB and I take Buddy into the yard and play with him. But Billy seems to take it as a criticism of his parenting skills so on weekends he insists that he should be the only one to care for Buddy. But today, Billy looked amazingly like a stressed daddy with too much to do and not enough time to do it in.

Buddy's definitely benefiting from all the attention. He is never alone. Someone is outside with him everytime he goes out. When Billy totally gets tired of chasing the dog, he puts Buddy on a leash inside the house. You cannot let that dog be unsupervised for anything more than 5 seconds. It's amazing the damage he can do in that amount of time! Buddy sleeps up in Billy's room now because he'd begun barking and whining in the middle of the night as he used to.

You know, it seems the more Billy does and the more we do, the more demanding Buddy becomes.

TB says he's ADD (a dumb dog). Buddy does seem to have attention deficit disorder though. ;)

I think he's got some underlying emotional problems that makes him so needy. So it's like having a special needs kid in the house.

At least I don't think he's possessed anymore!

Very Fortunate

That is how I feel this evening. That accident was a lot more serious than I realized. David and Michelle's van not only is totalled, it is one seriously wrecked car. It's a miracle that no one was seriously injured or killed! David and Brandon both had pain. I think they mave have whiplash.

It seems that they weren't Xrayed or treated at the hospital. My mind boggles. I can't imagine that. The ambulance brought them to the ER ... so what is up with that?

Bits and pieces about the accident are coming out. The man that hit them was driving a Ford pickup truck. It looks like he may have been talking on a cell phone and couldn't stop in time.

There ought to ba a law against talking on cells while driving.

Thank God no one was hurt or killed! I guess we'll find out more details a little at a time. It's such a traumatic experience I'm sure the family is a bit shell shocked.

Billy and Heidi took their PSATs this morning. They were with a neighbor's son, Paul, when I picked them up. I gave him a ride, too. He's a very nice kid and I'm glad that he and the kids are friends.

It was a relatively quiet day for a change. The last couple have been hectic!

TB seemed to be in more pain today than the other two days. His face is flushed. What worries me is the rash he's got. It might be a yeast infection but it also might be the start of another allergic reaction to pain meds. That would really be awful if that's so. He is sensitive to just about all of the pain meds.

It's always something, isn't it? But this too shall pass. These may sound like platitudes but they are not. They are little nuggets of truth.

Several of today's prompt sites focused on movies. I went with Saturday Slant:

How has a movie impacted your life?
Whether it was recent or ten years ago, film can have a profound impact upon our lives. While a fictional story is not real, it always contains elements of reality to which we can relate. Thereby good fiction can inspire emotion and thought. Great fiction inspires emotion and thought that affects change. Thus the question is posed: How has a film affected change in you and in your life?

I’m sure there are other examples of films that had an impact on my life. The first one that I thought of was Parenthood. It definitely had elements of reality I could relate to! The main character, played by Steve Martin, is a man who’s been married for several years and has three kids. His life isn’t so perfect and he has worries about his kids and their problems. He has troubled siblings and a neglectful father. Yes, I definitely could relate!

How did this movie affect a change in me? I saw that this movie family was a lot like mine. They seemed to suffer from “it’s-always-something” syndrome just like mine. The grandmother says that when she goes to the amusement park, she prefers the unpredictable ride of the rollercoaster even if it is scary. The merry-go-round is just boring, going round and round and round.

She didn’t say it, but the grandmother could say that about life. After I saw that movie, I think I didn’t feel so alone when bad stuff happened. It happens to everybody. I kept a more positive outlook on life. I think it improved my disposition tremendously. I might not love the rollercoaster ride but I don’t freak out so much over it.

Post-Op

TB seems to be recovering so much better than after the first surgery. Probably Dr. Farrell is right. It'll be less painful because he didn't have to make as much repairs the first time around. I think the only thing that troubles me is that now the percocet is making him itch, too.

We were both up really early this morning. TB wasn't in pain but couldn't lie flat on his back any longer. As for me, I was just suddenly wide awake. Later on, we would both nap.

It was pretty laid back most of the day until the late afternoon. Then David, our SIL, called looking for Michelle. He and the kids had been in a car accident.

Thankfully, none of them were hurt seriously. The car, though, was totalled.

David managed to contact Michelle and she and her friend Mandy drove to the ER ... and that's when they realized there was not enough car for all the people! Michelle called to ask if we could help by driving her and the kids home. Of course we could so we drove out to the hospital.

Michelle, Brandon, Ryan, Taylor and Mandy's youngest, Christina, piled into the van with us. Mandy and David went to get stuff out of the van.

Taylor looked at me and said very solemnly, "The car broke." I almost laughed except for the expression on her face. I think that this would be a scary experience for 3 little kids. Thank goodness no one was hurt badly!

Around dinnertime, TB began to run a low fever. The doctor told us that it would be a normal reaction to surgery. He prescribed Keflex for TB to take to prevent infection. Right now, TB's temperature is back down to about 99.

So far so good.

Friday Five:

1. Name five things in your refrigerator.

Milk (Lactaid, 1 & 2%), diet Pepsi, tomatoes, carrots, and yogurt

2. Name five things in your freezer.

Roast beef, pork roasts, chickens, hamburgers, and bratwurst

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink.

Liquid dish soap, dishwasher detergent, Brillo, 409, sponges

4. Name five things around your computer.

Pictures of TB and me, pictures of the kids, beanie babies, bears, and an hourglass my son made in shop a few years ago

5. Name five things in your medicine cabinet.

Dental floss, toothpaste, toothbrush, nail clipper, and hydrocortisone

Past, Present & Future:

PAST: Mickey Mouse, rotary, cordless... what kind of phone did you have in your house, growing up?

We had one of the old standard table top phones. It was black and had a dial and an old fashioned receiver. It was heavier than the new plastic models. Our phone numbers had letters in them instead of numbers. Like, our phone number was BR3 somthing something. My grandmother's was JU4 blah blah blah. I liked those phones better than the plastic phones. The old ones just have more character! ;)

PRESENT: Describe your current relationship with mobile phone technology.

Well, I have one cell phone that I hardly ever turn on.

FUTURE: What do you suppose is next? Implanted cellular technology? Videophones? (Yeah, they've been promising that since just about forever, huh?)

Implanted cellular technology? Not for me, thanks! I’ll stick with videophones, maybe as small a screen as a wrist watch face. That would be pretty cool!

Extended Entry (?)

Blessed Relief

My body has been so tense lately -- and I didn't realize it -- I feel like a rag doll now that surgery is over and TB is home again. I was worried about the pain TB would be in after surgery, wishing he didn't want to have it but realizing it was the only way to stop the pain he was in.

This time, so far so good. We got to the hospital around 6 a.m. TB was taken to a room and prepped for surgery. The nurses called me to go back and see him around 45 mins later. They were about to bring him to the operating room but I did get a chance to give him a kiss.

And then I prayed and watched TV all day. I began to feel all right cuz I knew the Lord would help guide the surgeon's hand and I thought it will be all right, he is safe.

I'd brought the book I was reading but I couldn't concentrate on it at all. Watching the news was easier, helping me to get perspective on all this. It coulda been a lot worse. That helped me feel better too.

Sometime before 11, the surgeon, Dr. Farrell, came out to tell me everything went well and TB was going to recovery. The doctor said he'd be there another 45 minutes or so.

It felt like a long, long time.

When I went back to see TB, he was awake and sipping at some diet Pepsi. The coffee I'd brought him tasted good but it was too much after the surgery and it all came back up. After a while, the nurse brought the page you get on discharge, with all the doctor's notes all over it.

I drove TB home in my Toyota and we about collapsed.

I felt more refreshed when I woke up but still felt like a balloon that had all the air let out. Now my limbs feel rubbery. This is going to be a very laid back day for me and hopefully I'll be feeling my old self again.

Best of all is that TB is comfortable and not in excrutiating pain like he was before.

Thank God.

Surgery II

Tomorrow morning, TB and I will leave the house around 5:30 a.m. (yes, there really is such a time and drive over to the hospital. The surgeon is going to repair the tear in his shoulder for the second time around. He was healing well after the first surgery last April and was into physical therapy, working hard, and suddenly he had intense pain again 2 months post-op. That wasn't supposed to happen. Who'd have thought physical therapy would create a new injury or undo repair to the first one?

My job in all this is relatively easy. I sit in the waiting room, read, watch TV and maybe run down to the cafeteria for a bite to eat. And I worry. Ted is knocked out cold on the table. It's all on the surgeon at that point.

Last time around, the surgery took longer than I expected and I really had agita waiting an hour beyond the time the operation should have been done. It turns out that the reason it took so long was because the doctor needed to reinforce the sutures with a couple of pins or something.

After the surgery, it's all on TB. Last time, he was in a lot of pain and I felt so helpless. I don't like to see him sick or in pain.

I keep saying to myself this, too, shall pass. This, too, shall pass.

Time is relative though. Time passes quickly when I'm having a really great time. It slows to a snail pace recuperating from surgery.

So I'll be praying extra hard for God to guide the surgeon's hands and fix TB's shoulder so that nothing will ever tear again. It better not!

Crayola is 100!

Crayola is celebrating its 100th anniversary! Is that cool or what? It’s like celebrating Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck’s birthday! They are introducing four new colors: jazzberry jam, mango tango, wild blue yonder, and inch worm. Four colors are being retired – colors that must have been introduced after I stopped coloring because I never heard of them. I wonder how they know which colors to retire?

I can’t remember how old I was when I got my first box of colors. It was probably when I was around 4. I remember using fat crayons. I think there were five in the box.

I liked to color with my Grandma. She had all kinds of coloring books for us kids. I look back now and I think this must not have been the most interesting thing to do but I did appreciate it! One time, though, I remember her saying that if I stayed in the lines, the picture would come out better.

That seemed like such a big revelation to me! I had no idea how to go about it. Grandma said to outline what I wanted to color and then fill in. I could use the lines in the coloring book to help me. What a great idea! I gave it a try, following the lines of the little girl’s dress with a red crayon. It seemed to work pretty well. My Grandma nodded approvingly. I filled in the rest of the dress with red, stopping at my outline.

I was impressed. Eventually I got old enough to stay within the lines all the time and I must admit, the pictures did look much better!

As I got older, I liked using a variety of colors. So many of them looked alike but had different names: sea green, olive green, yellow green … cornflower blue, cadet blue, sky blue … and so on. One of my favorite gifts was a 64 color Crayola box. There was a sharpener on the back of it, too, so I didn’t have to worry about flat crayons.

When I was a kid, my favorite color was blue. Sometimes I’d make a shade scale, starting with my lightest blue and moving down the colors to navy. My favorite color now is burgundy … but I’m not sure if that is a Crayola color because I really haven’t used them in several years. The last time I remember sitting down and coloring was with Kristin.

I thought I might like to color again though. Brandon and Ryan, the two grandsons, aren’t especially into coloring. But Taylor is a different story. Right now Heidi has the monopoly on coloring with Taylor but I’m sure there will be a day when TB and I are watching Taylor while the kids are in school. I can color with her then.

You never really outgrow Crayola crayons.

Costumes for Halloween

After seeing “Secondhand Lions”, we stopped at the Halloween store across the street. Heidi wanted to get some face makeup. She wasn’t planning to dress up, she said, she just wanted to paint her face. What a cool store! They had just about everything you could think of.

When I was a kid, there weren’t any stores devoted solely to Halloween – not that I knew of anyway. Still, it was pretty easy to dress up with just a few props. My brother went as a bum several years, borrowing one of my father’s shirts and smearing his face with black makeup. My parents bought a cheap derby and a play cigar and there you go. Bum made easy.

The coolest costume I ever created was that of an elderly lady. I bought a gray wig, a fake cane, and a pair of wire rim glasses. I used my mom’s makeup for my face, drawing wrinkles around my mouth, nose and eyes with a grease pencil. I wore one of my dad’s shirts and a folded over bed sheet pinned around my waist. My mom let me borrow my baby blanket, which made a great shawl.

I was the hit of the neighborhood and of the bowling alley. I won first place for most creative costume at the bowling alley. Around the neighborhood, people kept inviting me to come in so everyone could take a look at my costume. It was so cool.

When the kids were little, part of the fun was putting their costumes together and adding the props. I didn't want them to wear masks because they aren't to easy to see through and I felt they are a tripping hazard. We made a little Batman costume for Billy using his pajamas -- which looked like Batman's gear -- and making our own cape and hood. We got a colored wig for Heidi, some clown makeup and mismatched clothes. When they got older, though, they didn't want face makeup anymore.

Well … the last few years, I haven’t seen much more than vampires, witches, grim reapers, dead teenagers and other gruesome and gory characters. I guess it’s cool to go around covered in blood makeup and looking like a horror. The first couple of times I saw these costumes I thought, oh, that’s cool … it’s scary. But after the first dozen times it got old.

Instead of using face makeup you can buy all kinds of rubber masks. It provides anonymity. No one knows who you are. On the other hand, the rubber masks are kind of generic looking, you know? When you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.

Another thing I’ve noticed is the increase in big menacing looking teenagers going around for candy. When I was younger, I went trick or treating until I was 14. Some of the adults giving out the candy would ask, “Aren’t you too big for this?” The following year, I was the one passing out the candy because I wasn’t into running the neighborhood egging cars and wrapping houses.

Don’t say that to a big kid today though. They look scary! What’s more, after they get candy from you if it’s not what they like they’ll come back and egg the house or cover the car in shaving cream.

Every once in a while I open the door and there is a kid who is in an original costume and it looks cute or cool. It’s worth it to hand out the treats just for that reason.

Monday Madness:

1. How often do you change or add to your blogroll list? If you don't use blogroll, how often do you add or change links to your 'favorite reads' list?

This is a relatively new blog so I don’t have any blog webrings or ‘favorite’ reads yet other than TB’s. Eventually, I’ll get around to adding some and I would check maybe once a week.

2. Do you visit your blogrolls regularly? If so, how often?

Once I get into them, probably daily or every other day.

3. Do you visit other people's blogrolls or 'faves' list?

I bookmarked blogs that I read every day. Some time I’ll make a “faves” list for this blog and list all the ones I like to read.

4. About how many blogs have you blogrolled (or have linked on your blog)?

Just TB’s on this blog so far.

5. Do you change your layout or color scheme regularly? If so, how often? If not, have you thought about changing the look of your blog? Feel free to elaborate!

I know next to nothing about making my own template. I’d have to download a free one designed by someone else. If I could do it myself, I’d have my kitties and my loved ones’ faces in a border. I’d pick one of my favorite colors (they tend to be the “warm” ones) as a background.

I have found some templates online that I would like to use in the meantime. I’m just not sure how to upload them to the journal program we have on this website. TB, who has a lot more patience than I do, has been looking into how we could do that. My inclination would be to download a template and use the html in place of what is on the index template now … but if that was the wrong thing to do, the whole thing could get screwed up.

Better to leave well enough alone for the time being!

Second Hand Lions and the Old Days

What a wonderful movie we saw today, Second Hand Lions! It looked pretty funny from the previews, young city boy goes to visit his elderly eccentric great uncles who live on a farm. “Nice doggie,” the kid says to the pig that approaches him.

It was a lot deeper than that, though. It was about being abandoned and abused (by the boy’s mother and new boyfriend). It was about acceptance and love. It was about how love never really dies. I was in tears several times through out the movie and so was TB. Even Kristin got misty-eyed.

I know the critics didn’t like it but most audiences say they think the movie was terrific. This was yet another time when the critics didn’t seem to know what they were talking about!

The boy was horrified to learn that his uncles didn’t have a phone or a television. My first reaction would have been about the same but then I think, like this boy did, I would make do. There is so much to enjoy without the interference of the television.

There are studies that show kids are losing their imaginations because all story plots are fed to them in a formula. I’m not sure about that, but I do notice that our kids are getting heavier. I didn’t watch television much when I was a kid. I remember being outside playing all day. TB has the same memory … my kids don’t.

I liked to read comics when I was a kid. My kids read anime books, all are Japanese and there’s some violence there. I used to read Little Audrey, Richie Rich, Archie, Jughead, and Betty & Veronica. I also liked the superhero comics which had violence in them, Superman, Batman, and Spiderman. When I got a little older, I added Mad magazine to my reading list.

Not too long ago, I saw some of these comics again. Mad and the superhero comics still look pretty much the same. Archie, Jughead, Betty & Veronica are now little softback books. Maybe that is so they sort of look like the anime comic books? I haven’t seen Little Audrey or Richie Rich any where.

This must be where we get “those were the good old days”. They were good memories for me … some of them. I wouldn’t mind if we were still living that way but I know it can’t be. So it goes.

A Shared Journal?

If you had the chance to have a 'shared journal' with your partner, what would it be like? What would you use it for? How deep would you want it to go? What is your fantasy of sharing a journal with someone else?

If TB and I shared a journal, I think we would write love letters and notes to each other. Sometimes it’s so much easier to express in writing your heart’s message. I’ve found that when I try to talk to someone on a deep level, I don’t always feel that I’m saying all I mean to say. That is why I so much prefer a letter or email to a phone call.

Anyway, getting back to the shared journal, if it was online I suppose it wouldn’t get into the deepest levels. These are feelings TB and I have for each other. Do we want the whole world to know? If this was a public journal I think we might just share our views about events and beliefs. Maybe we wouldn’t always agree. That would be interesting.

If I shared a journal with one of the kids, we could write each other letters about our values, what we want and hope for, complain to each other about stuff ... now that could be really unique! Maybe a journal like that would bring us closer together? Now there is a thought! If I shared a journal with a friend, I imagine it would be somewhat similar to a journal with the kids.

My fantasy of sharing a journal is that it would be such a unique, witty, and fascinating experience … enough to get our journal published into a book!

Saturday Slant:

What is your favorite rainy day activity?
When you don't have to work, when the day is all your own, what do you choose to do on a rainy day? Do you: build a fire? Pop in your favorite DVD? Read the latest bestseller? Play board games with the kids? Clean the house? Just what is your favorite rainy day activity when the day belongs entirely to you?

The last thing I’d want to do on a rainy day is clean the house. To me, rainy days are lazy days. I don’t particularly like being out in the rain and if I don’t have to drive, I won’t. Probably my most favorite rainy day activity is sleeping. After that, I love to listen to music, play with the computer, read a good book, and watch old movies. I would like to play board games but the kids don’t seem to be interested in that anymore. They would all be busy playing video games or watching cartoons or messing with their computers!

Just some thoughts

I have piles of magazines just about all over the place. I subscribe to magazines that I really enjoy. I just don't take the time to read through them. My magazine rack is full of magazines ... luckily, they are all ones I've read and want to keep. I went through a magazine read-and-purge a couple of months ago. It's time to do another one.

I love to read. If I'm not writing, I want to read. I enjoy all kinds of books but fantasy is my favorite genre. Romances bore me. Science fiction goes over my head and out the window. I don't like mysteries or detective stories either because it seems like there isn't any depth to them. I love historical fiction. When romance is mixed with historical fiction or fantasy I am not bored. Usually it's because those books aren't written to a certain formula.

I was pretty happy to see this prompt. Past, Present & Future:

PAST: What was the first book you can recall reading?

The first book I remember trying to read was Moby Dick. I didn’t make it through that reading. The only title I remember from childhood is Lad: A Dog because I checked it out over and over. I loved it. The rest of the books are a blur of titles. I was always reading. I read when I was in kindergarten but I don’t recall any of the titles of the books.

PRESENT: What are you reading now, or if applicable what's the most recent book you read?

Right now I am reading The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

FUTURE: Name some books you'll be adding to your personal library when time and finances permit.

I would like to get the first two books of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. I’ve read the books over and over but don’t have copies of them anymore.

I’d also like to get Stephen King’s entire Gunslinger series. He’s coming out with the next one this fall.

"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain." ---Maya Angelou

Is there anything worse than “yes but” people? They’re the ones who are always complaining but they don’t ever do anything about it. There’s always a reason. It’ll take too long, I’m too busy, I can’t do it, because because because. It gets boring after a while.

My mom used to complain about my dad all the time. He’s too stubborn, he doesn’t listen to me, he doesn’t care and more blah blah blah. She wanted to confide in me because she couldn’t or wouldn’t go to a therapist. I was, she told me, the only one she could talk to.

I tried to be helpful. Talk to him. No, that’s no use. He won’t change. Then leave him! Yes I would like to but where would I go? Go to your sister’s house in New York. Yes, but I can’t because … Blah blah blah.

The same thing: a secretary doesn’t like her boss. The boss is too demanding and overbearing and she doesn’t feel like she’s being paid her due. Well, the obvious thing would be to either talk to the boss and try to change things or leave the job and find something better. Well, maybe she has to stay because she couldn’t get better benefits anywhere else. Then she should change what she can and just find a way to live with the rest.

The reason? Complaining doesn’t accomplish anything without a solution to the problem. Complaining just for the sake of complaining doesn’t help. You bitch about it and bitch about it and what happens? Blood pressure goes up and you get frustrated and even more unhappy. Even if you play the victim and you get sympathy, there’s no real satisfaction in it.

I really like Maya Angelou's quote. It reminds me of the Serenity Prayer:

That is a prayer I say even to this day. It helps.

You Have Two Cows...

A friend sent this to me a while ago and I thought it was hilarious.

Political Clarity ... Ah, political clarity at last!

DEMOCRAT
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
You feel guilty for being successful.
You vote people into office that put a tax on your cows, forcing you
to sell one to raise money to pay the tax. The people you voted for
then take the tax
money, buy a cow and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous. Barbara Streisand sings for you.

SOCIALIST
You have two cows.
The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

REPUBLICAN
You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
Sooooo?

COMMUNIST
You have two cows.
The government seizes both and provides you with milk.
You wait in line for hours to get it.
It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

DEMOCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
The government taxes you to the point you have to sell
both to support a man in a foreign country who has
only one cow, which was a gift from your government.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE
You have two cows.
The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you
for the milk, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and
are reducing expenses.
Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.
You go to lunch.
Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and
produce twenty times the milk.
They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.
Most are at the top of their class at cow-school.

GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give
excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows but you don't know where they are.
While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman.
You break for lunch.
Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You drink some vodka.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You drink some more vodka.
You count them again and learn you now have 42 cows.
The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

TALIBAN CORPORATION
You have all the cows in Afghanistan ... a total of two.
You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private
parts. Then you kill them and claim a US bomb blew them up while they
were in the
hospital.

POLISH CORPORATION
You have two bulls. Employees are regularly maimed and killed
attempting to milk them.

FLORIDA CORPORATION
You have a black cow and a brown cow.
Everyone votes for the best looking one.
Some of the people who like the brown one best, vote for the black one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of out-of-state guys tell you which is the best-looking cow.

NEW YORK CORPORATION
You have fifteen million cows.
You have to choose which one will be the leader of the herd ..... So, you pick some cow from Texas

I wish I knew who'd written it.

The Early Bird

What does "the early bird gets the worm" mean to you?

If you want to get your Christmas shopping done early, be prepared to get up at 3 in the morning the day after Thanksgiving to catch the best deals. Amazingly – or not – a lot of people are willing to get up in the middle of the night for a good bargain. One year I totally finished Christmas shopping on one trip. On this same day, you could go later and you’ll still find some good bargains. You’ll also wait on long lines.

Isn’t that nearly always the case?

If it’s something you value enough, you’ll there early to make sure you get ‘it’. ‘It’ could be concert tickets to Billy Joel and Elton John concerts. It could be to get free computers for your kids. It could be for a new house in a development. If you get there late, you may lose out.

Some people get on line days before the event. That’s going a bit too far for me. I have not wanted anything badly enough to camp out overnight or 2 or 3 nights.

An October memory:

The scene is my grandparents’ front yard. My grandfather has swept up several huge piles of leaves. Burning leaves was still allowed and there is a homey smell of smoke in the air. My grandfather hasn’t set fire to his leaves yet and so my brother and I jump into them. We grab handfuls and throw them up over our heads. The leaves at the bottom of the pile are wet and soggy. Those leaves stick to our hair. We laugh as we throw the leaves at each other. We take turns burying each other in the leaves. There’s a spooky feeling to being inside. It’s dark and there’s a funky smell to some of these leaves. Then my grandfather comes out and yells at us because we messed up his piles. It was worth it!

Thursday Threesome:

Onesome: Saturday- Is Saturday a day to relax, maybe do something fun, or is it a day spent on the run, chauffeuring kids to activities, yourself to the gym and getting the errands done before it's back to work on Monday? Do you need a day off to rest from your day off? Tell us about your day!

It can go either way. Sometimes on a Saturday, we need to run errands and buy groceries. Sometimes we’re going to do something fun, like go to a picnic. Other times it’s nice and laid back and I just kick back and relax.

Twosome: Morning- What's different about your weekend morning routine than the other days of the week?

There’s no pressure to get up early because the kids are going to school. Usually we have a bigger breakfast, too.

Threesome: Cartoons- Do you have a favourite one? Do you still watch it and/ or other cartoons?

I rarely watch cartoons anymore. My most favorite was Bugs Bunny, especially the ones where he is outwitting, outplaying and outlasting Elmer Fudd! Long live Looney Tunes!

No free ride

I have another sinus infection. TB and I both had colds about 3 weeks ago. Mine never cleared up, but I’d heard from someone – maybe it was my mother-in-law – that there was a virus going ‘round that took weeks to clear up. I kept waiting for this darn virus to go away. I had no intention of wimping out to a cold.

Today, though, I admitted I was beaten and went to see the nurse practitioner who not only wrote out a prescription she also cleaned my ears out. Now I can hear myself hacking. Heh.

When she found out I’d had this thing 3 weeks, she looked at me and said, “Most of the time you should get checked after 10 days to two weeks. You don’t have to suffer with symptoms like this for three weeks.”

Yes, I do.

I was a sickly kid. I was always getting strep throats and missing time from school. When I was about 8 or 9, my doctor had enough and recommended tonsillectomy. This is just an aside … in those days, tonsillectomies were surgery du jour. Nearly every single kid had to have one whether their tonsils were unhealthy or not. So at the same time I was scheduled, my brother was too. Poor kid. :P

The tonsillectomy took care of most of the strep problems but didn’t help much in keeping germs away from me. I got scarlet fever. I had no idea what was up. I just knew I was hot and sick and my hands and feet were red and peeling. It took me to adulthood to learn that scarlet fever is like advanced strep or something.

Anyway, my mom kept the shades down in my room. My brother was banned altogether and I was totally bored. My father would bring home little things to amuse me: comic books, coloring books, cheap little dolls. He wouldn’t stay and read to me, though, and my mom said it was because he’d never had “it”. I thought I must have some horrible disease and everyone was afraid to come near me.

I missed a lot of school. I don’t remember how many days it was. I just remember it seemed like I’d been in that dark room forever. One day, there was a knock at the door and I told my mother. Now, she’d been pretty nice to me up to that point. About twenty minutes later, the banshee from hell ran into my room and started screaming at me. I was scared almost to death.

What had happened was the truant officer came for a visit. I’d been absent so many days without word (I guess) that the school decided they had to know what was up. I think once the officer found out I had scarlet fever, all was forgiven. My mother didn’t know that.

She screamed that this was all my fault, she was going to go to jail for being a lousy mother, I would be expelled from school and why did I have to keep getting sick all the time?

I was scared that truant officer would come back and take her away. I wondered if I always 'faked' being sick. Maybe! I was just about hysterical when my dad came home. The next day, my grandmother called the school and found out that my absence was excused. Nothing else would happen to my mom.

Whew! Got off that time, I thought. So I didn’t want to be sick ever again. Except for a miserable year when I was in 7th grade, I never complained about feeling sick. The nurse would call a neighbor to go next door and tell my mother I was in school with a fever and she’d have to come pick me up. Another time I had these coughing spasms and my teacher asked me why my mother would send me to school with whooping cough. Well, I didn’t have that and I suppose the cough was scared right out of me.

This is why I really understand what TB is feeling with his shoulder. He was sort of relieved when the new MRI showed another tear in his rotator cuff because it was “proof” he was not faking his pain. Now I don’t think TB’s mom turned into Monster Mother when he was sick as a kid. But I do know that coworkers and bosses can be mean. I think that’s what he was worried about, that the workman’s comp people and the boss and all these other yo-yos would think he was faking it and trying to get a free ride.

I had a similar issue with my repetitive motion injuries. I was an excellent sign language interpreter. I worked my butt off to make sure I communicated the entire message to my deaf clients. In the stone age of interpreting, we were expected to do the entire assignment – it didn’t matter how long it went or how difficult it was.

Picture having your arms in the air at chest level and moving them continuously for up to six hours at a time. When I was younger, I could do it. It got harder and harder as I got older. The soft tissue injuries began in the mid 1980’s and just got worse and worse. I had to go out on workman’s compensation. I needed a modified schedule … which I didn’t get.

The other interpreters thought I was shirking. I could see it in everyone’s eyes. The attitude was like, oh, come on, how hard is it to do sign language? It’s not like you’re lifting anything! Once they got hurt, of course they understood. But by then it was too late to do me any good.

And so I can relate to how TB feels.

More, I think it stinks. The first surgery went well but he was in a great deal of pain, couldn’t sleep and couldn’t rest for the first few weeks. Gradually he began to get better and it was all looking pretty good when he tore his rotator cuff again at physical therapy. Now he’s back to square one. Next week, I’ll be back at the same hospital waiting and worrying until the surgery is over.

I tried to look for some positives in this mess. One is that TB is out of the shop for the rest of the year. There’s still no work in the office. Another is that we have gotten to spend a lot of time together. When he worked, he really gave it his all and he’d be exhausted when he got home. So now he’s more rested. What else? Well, I guess I’ll keep thinking!

On My Nightstand

That little paragraph I wrote the other day about Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater was a “right brained” activity. Today I wanted to try a “left brained” activity. They’re just a little bit easier for me, sometimes … I guess I am more left than right brained but I can’t remember which side does what.

Ten Things on My Nightstand:

1. Double side 5x7 picture frame with Christmas portraits of the kids

They were taken at JC Penney years and years ago when the kids were just barely out of babyhood. One picture is of Billy and Heidi at age 4 and 3, about a month before Kristin was born. The next one was taken a year or so later.

It was not easy getting the kids to sit still, look at the camera and smile! Still, the kids photograph very well and it was worth every minute of coaxing!

2. A tube of garden therapy “butter” (skin lotion)

My skin is so dry now! Regular skin lotion doesn’t help alleviate the dryness much so I’ve been using thicker creams. The best one of all is has the consistency of Vaseline jelly and I can’t stand it.

I got this box of garden therapy products from one of the department stores, maybe Sears? It was last Christmas and TB and I had taken the girls to buy stuff with their gift certificates. I really like the smell (it’s an aloe type) and the consistency of this “butter”. It helps a lot, too, and so I will probably buy more of it.

3. A lamp

The lamp has to be over 15 years old because I remember having it in my apartment in Laurel, MD. That was in the early 1980s. I can’t remember where we got the lamp exactly. It might have belonged to Rich’s grandparents on his father’s side of the family. After his grandmother died, his grandfather went into a nursing home. The family sold the house. We split up the furniture and stuff that was inside. It sounds cold-hearted doesn’t it? It wasn’t meant to be that way. Rich’s grandfather didn’t remember anyone anymore and I think he passed within a year or two of his wife.

4. My CPAP machine

A real life saver for me! Rich probably had it and was never sent for a sleep study. Who knows what difference it might have made? If not for TB, I wouldn’t have realized that I have sleep apnea. The machine has made a big difference for me!

5. A small wicker basket with a whole bunch of stuff in it, including keys, bookmarks, coins, and nail clippers

6. Wind-up clock – We’ve had this thing for years. Now it’s not keeping time very well anymore but in its heyday it was better than one of those plug-in clocks!

7. Orange scented candle – This was a Christmas gift from my son or daughter. They all gave me candles last year. I used to burn candles every evening. I haven’t in a long time because there’s not really much room on my desk.

8. Lion beanie key ring – This was just something I took a fancy to. It’s so cute!

9. Box Kristin made from popsickle sticks – a gift Kristin made for TB and me, for our first anniversary

10. Cassette tapes – Well, this figures. I had a large collection of vinyl records and about 20 years ago, I went from vinyl to cassette tapes. Not too many years later, it was hard to find a sound system with a table top. Well, now everything is CD’s. I have a bazillion cassette tapes stored somewhere. I loaned some to the girls but when their boombox died, they gave the tapes back. All the new players won’t take cassette tapes. Sigh. Wonder what comes after CDs?

Imagination

"The man who has no imagination has no wings."
Muhammad Ali

I don’t think I ever met anyone with absolutely zero imagination but some have come pretty close. I believe that a person with little to no imagination must have had it stamped out by someone or something else along the way. All kids imagine stuff. They look up at clouds and see the most incredible pictures in the sky. When they play with their little super heroes they’re coming up with embellished upon storylines.

Imagination takes you to different worlds. It helps you solve problems because when you can think creatively, you can see different alternatives. You can see colors, forms and shapes and can set them down on paper … if you have the skill. You can make up characters and give them a background and motivation.

Without imagination, you are limited to what you’ve seen done before. You can’t soar. You can’t get into an area no one’s thought of before.

It’s scary to think of someone trying to lead this country who didn’t have imagination.

Television will put imagination into a deep freeze. Television sort of hypnotizes you. The programs have everything wrapped up by the end of the hour. It’s really sad when kids end up staring at the TV screen cuz they are watching cartoons or are playing some video game.

The way people put kids’ imaginations into deep freeze is by knocking them. If a kid feels inadequate because an adult has basically told him so, then his creative ideas are “dumb” too. The thinking becomes just as stilted as the brains frozen by television’s banality.

There is nothing sadder about a kid who isn’t free to be creative either through fear or inadequacy, or through television induced stupor.

I’m glad that the kids are imaginative in different ways. Billy totally thinks out of the box. He keeps a sketch book so he can jot down ideas and inventions. The teachers recognized his abilities early on. He’d solve a math problem totally differently than they would and he’d be right. He took the PSAT and realized one of the questions was wrong.

Heidi’s skills are with art and with the ability to make up characters and voices and funny situations right on the spot. She doesn’t think she draws well but she really has a lot of talent.

Kristin has made up a little world peopled by sock puppets. They all have names and distinct personalities. She is a wonderful tutor and friend to other kids. She seems to have an instinctive ability to teach … and that isn’t all that common if you ask me.

Monday Madness:

Last week I asked you to list your favorites...........this week we'll do just the opposite. "What is your LEAST favorite..........."

1. food: hot dogs

2. type of music: rap

3. subject of discussion: religion or politics

4. time of day: first thing in the morning

5. time of year: hottest part of summer

6. fragrance: something heavily flowery

7. actor/actress: Arnold Schwarzeneger/Roseanne Barr

8. commercial: Nextel

9. television sitcom: Married With Children

10. singer: Eminem

Birthdays & Other Stuff

Today is Brandon’s birthday party. Pretty soon we’ll be going over to his house for a family party.

Birthdays are really special when you are a kid. The best thing of all are the presents when you’re a kid. Next best after that would be the cool games, like pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. As you get older, I would say the best part is being with family and friends.

I don’t remember many of the kid parties I had when I was little. There is one that stands out a little more not only because there are pictures but also I can remember little snippets of it here and there.

After I was 10, the family parties stopped because we moved to Maryland and the rest of the family was in New York. I can remember a few of my birthdays but not many. I know that there was a cake and a special dinner but by then I began to realize that birthdays meant growing up but not feeling much different. I anticipated being 16 and was really bummed out to realize I felt the same as I did the day before, when I was 15. When I was 18, I remember writing something like Now I can vote and I can drink but there’s no one to vote for and nothing to drink. Big deal.

I remember other birthday parties that were a lot of fun. When my mom was 39, we threw her a surprise birthday. It was great. All of my parents’ deaf friends were there and my mom was totally surprised. We’d normally visit this other couple and their kids cuz the parents liked to play cards and that is what my mom thought she was doing. She was so moved, she cried and cried. She had a lot of fun!

One July after I’d moved back to NY, we (meaning my aunt & uncle & cousins & I) came down to Maryland to visit my parents and brother. It was his birthday, and he was kinda pleased to have the attention. He sang “Happy Birthday to me” and blew out the candles on his cake. My aunt picked the cake up to slice it and suddenly, on a crazy impulse, she pushed the cake in my brother’s face. Everyone was totally shocked at first but then all of us laughed so hard we were rolling.

I remember planning a surprise party for my first husband, Rich. He didn’t much like surprises – or so he said – and this one was going to be a doozy! A friend of mine from work had a side job dressing up as a gorilla in a white tux and top hat and he’d sing. How could I resist this? He agreed to come to the party and sing a parody of our wedding song, “As Time Goes By”. It was great! Rich wasn’t too surprised by the family party in his father’s back yard. But when that gorilla showed up, the look on his face was priceless!

I have often thought that I would enjoy a party like that, more now than when I was younger. Little kids and older people … maybe those are the people who love birthday parties the most. As a teenager and young adult, many are still into that whole “cool” image and a birthday party would be totally embarrassing.

I have outgrown all that. Now I love being silly on my birthday. I’ll go to a place like Bennigans or Applebees and get a balloon hat and ask for the waiters to sing “Happy Birthday” to me.

Brandon is still a kid. He is nine years old and I’ll bet he has a great day. He may not remember this particular birthday but someday years from now he might look back and appreciate his family coming together for him.

One of the things I do to try and keep writing actively is go to different writing prompt sites. Here is one that shows up on Sundays and it’s fun to do.
Unconscious Mutterings:

I say … and you think:

1. Coat:: jacket
2. Allowance:: money
3. Mist:: fog
4. Disorder:: mess
5. Scheme:: plot
6. Dick:: Jane
7. Homework:: boring
8. Milton:: Dante’s Inferno
9. Shampoo:: aloe
10. Z::snore zzzzzzzzzznsk

This is a silly little paragraph. The idea is to take a character and some words and try to do something with it. This particular one was Peter Pumpkin Eater given praise for smashing magic carpets and I almost thought, nah this is too dumb. But then I decided to try it anyway.

Peter Pumpkin Eater given praise for smashing magic carpets which were soaked in crazy glue by three blind mice and left to dry on a line. Once the glue dried, the magic carpets took off but lost all sense of direction and divebombed the flea market of Fairy Tale Town. Peter Pumpkin Eater, who was prowling the market looking for a good deal on pumpkins, thought quickly and averted a magic catastrophic event by grabbing a large shovel and smacking the carpets dead on. The force of his swings shattered the carpets into hundreds of pieces that showered the surrounding area. Greatful residents of Fairy Tale Town donated an extra large pumpkin to Peter Pumpkin Eater so that he might add on to his home after finishing several hundreds of delicious pies.

Change of View/Who's Who

So many times our whole day can be ruined by just one thing that ultimately doesn’t matter. Ever been stuck in a traffic jam? Been yelled at by a boss? Embarrassed publicly? My days could be ruined by stuff like that. Worse, I seemed to want to ruin someone else’s day by getting bent out of shape about it and taking it out on them … and they had nothing to do with what made me upset!

Times change.

Either it’s that I’ve gotten older and therefore “wiser” … or it’s that a lot of really bad stuff has gone down. My attitude has definitely changed for the better and I’m trying not to let the little things get to me. I have a lot of really good days now. I’m not saying there’s not a bad one in there ever it’s just that there’s less of them.

Here is a question often asked: What are you grateful for today?

1. I’m grateful for my wonderful husband
2. I’m grateful for my three kids
3. I’m grateful for my lovely new home … well, it’s a year old now anyway
4. I’m grateful for the love and acceptance of Ted’s kids and mother and the rest of his family
5. I’m grateful for my health
6. I’m grateful for the world God has made
7. I’m grateful to be in the palms of His hands
8. I’m grateful I can type fast on a computer!
9. I’m glad I have a working brain to think with and which can conjure up some good writing ideas!
10. I’m grateful for my parents … if they hadn’t met and married, I wouldn’t be here!
11. I’m grateful for my first husband, Rich, who helped shape me into the person I am now.
12. I’m grateful for my hearing so that I can enjoy music and the sound of the surf and birds singing and so many other things

This is not to say I don’t have bad moments. Sometimes I am so annoyed or upset I don’t particularly want to remember what I’m grateful for. Luckily, those moments are short lived.

Here’s a line from Ziggy that I love: we can be sorry because rose bushes have thorns or we can be joyful that thorn bushes have roses.

Later!

Rogue's Gallery/AKA My Who's Who:

TB - my dear hubby (dh), Ted. TB stands for TeddyBear

Rich - my first dh, died in 2001

Billy, Heidi & Kristin - the kids Rich and I had together

Audrey - TB's first dh, also died in 2001

Michelle & Linda - the kids TB & Audrey had together

David -- Michelle's husband

Brandon, Ryan & Taylor - Michelle & David's kids

Kennan - Linda's bf (boyfriend)

Other Friends and Relatives from Then and Now:

Mom/Dad - my parents, they're both deaf

Pete - my younger brother, he is hearing
Trish - my niece, Pete's daughter

Grandma, my mother's mother, who taught me most of what I know about being a lady

Anne, the cousin closest in age to me, my mother's side of the family. Her siblings: Robert and Edith.

Aunt Betty/Uncle Bob, my above cousins' parents, Betty is my mother's sister and both have been profoundly deaf since birth or early babyhood

Uncle Gilbert, the youngest of my mother's 4 brothers. He was "the interpreter" between Mom, Aunt Betty and the rest of the family.

Tonie, a home health care worker who took care of my Grandma and became a close friend of the family's

There are lots of others to be added as needed :)