Trick or Treat

We had our first trick or treater today. We've lived here 19 years and he was our first. It was our grand-nephew and his parents. We were looking forward to having five more trick-or-treaters tonight but they were delayed & will arrive tomorrow.

When I was a child, we went to the fire department for a Halloween party. My dad was chief and the auxiliary always decorated the bays with old fashioned decorations and provided every kind of treat that you can imagine.

You know that creamsickle ice cream/sherbet stuff that you eat with a wooden "spoon"? That was the big treat of the night. We always brought some of the leftovers home. For everyone else that is a summer treat, for us it is an October treat.

I lived on a lake so treating was tricky. Houses weren't easily accessible so my parents or brothers would take me to see friends then to the fire hall. From there, when I was older, I could walk over to what they called The Boulevard. It was a narrow street, that used to be one way, that all the kids used to walk down.

People talk about safety when it comes to treating. We always went in groups and there were certain houses that we didn't go to. I think the bigger kids were the ones that told us where not to go. I don't remember there being parents around much.

There was the one house on the hill that everyone said was haunted. I think it just had windchimes. There was the one house that always gave apples. I don't ever remember being scared. Cold, yes, and wet, sometimes. This is Washington State after all.

Despite those memories, I've never been a big Halloween fan. I don't enjoy dressing up. Even at the school, I wore Halloween themed clothing not costumes. It's not the fear-of-clowns thing, I just don't enjoy it.

Also, because of the school rules, I have the habit of decorating with the "friendly" decorations instead of the scary ones. When I am in Target, I do appreciate all the fun decorations, I just don't have them.

Kevin brought home a Halloween cookie for me on Friday that I didn't eat. Finally, he ate it. It had a big plastic spider on it that he threatened to hide on his mom's bed. (I know, right?)

I started making dinner tonight and went to phone my nephew. I about came out of my skin when I noticed this:


Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

What's your Halloween memories?

We need to Paint

As you are aware, I have been at death's door. Well, not really but there have been times I have wished for it.
I haven't had a chance to be bored yet. I have been busy sleeping, taking pills, eating and staring alternately at the walls & television. This has been a special kind of miserable.

Let's talk about pills. I feel like I need charts & graphs:
Take 3 times a day.
8 hours apart...do the math...
With food
But not alcohol so be careful of mouthwash. Seriously.
Eat yogurt but not within an hour of taking the pills.
Drink lots of water because those effers are uncoated & thusly Bitter.

I know, right?

Have I mentioned the stomach ache and dizziness?

I am grateful that I will feel better, don't get me wrong. I try to imagine the pills as. Mini warriors headed down to battle with the bacteria. It makes the twinges of pain a little more bearable.

I remembered when Kevin was sick. He said he felt so poorly that he would get teary when people acknowledged that he looked sick. I felt that way in the grocery store today. I know I am ghostly right now. I felt like asking permission to just curl up in the cereal aisle for a wee nap. And I gently scoffed at the man who sanitized his grocery cart, saying " you have to this time of the year." I just wanted to say "You don't even KNOW."

Hopefully this the last of the sickness posts. I do appreciate all the well wishes. (Hi Wendy!) I am happy to hear from Bea also! I miss you Bea! (And I said fiber but meant starch before)

Meanwhile, I will be here immersed in the world of Ally Mcbeal and eating crackers. Try not to be jealous.

Surfacing

So, um, hi. We're on Day Three of quarantine. Well, not quarantine but it feels like it. I am still, still, still waiting on test results. They said I "should" hear by the end of today but I'm a little "Psh, whatever." Not because I have little faith in them but because no matter what the answer is, I am still sick.

To recap, the antibiotics allegedly gave me C. Diff, which means my digestive system is jacked and I am unable to keep any food. At all.

I tried eating high fiber& starch, didn't work. I tried fasting, didn't work, and I tried eating normally and sing it with me: it didn't work. I am on the eating regularly thing, with high fiber thrown in for good measure. I threw myself a pity party yesterday,I felt so lousy.

Today I've stayed upright most of the day. I've been working on the laptop, paying bills, making phone calls, voting, and generally getting caught up on everything I've ignored since last week.

I've also watched my fair share of daytime television. Of course, I have my observations, because that's who I am.

Too. Many. Commercials.

I miss Not having feminine hygiene products on television. I have seen every product imaginable to television. I can't imagine watching television with my mom, like I did when I was younger, and see commercials for KY Jelly. It is just too much.

I tried watching The Closer with Kyra Sedgwick. I just can't do the accent. It's grating and makes her seem pouty and too Paris Hilton.

I did watch Las Vegas (hello, Josh Duhamel) to get myself (more) excited about our trip. In 21 days. (can I say how irritated I am going to be if I'm not well before then?)

Now I am watching Nate Berkus. I love him. I don't watch every show but pick & choose. He makes me want to paint and reorganize. He makes it seem so easy. I need to reorganize the bookshelf in my office. Not today, maybe this weekend.

*PAUSE*

So, yeah. C Diff it is. NICE. Another antibiotic. Double NICE. Guaranteed to make me sick. Just Kill Me. I'm not surprised but there was a tiny part of me wishing it was anything else. GAH!!!! *foot stomping*

And the pills are bitter. Insult to injury.

Now it's two more days off work to see just how sick the pills make me. More Ally McBeal. I get to eat A LOT with these pills so there's that.

If you need me, just holler. I'm here, hanging around.

Blergh

I am frustrated to report that I am still sick. It is a little after 10 pm on Sunday and am posting from bed. Thank God for my droid.

This is what I have eaten since Friday night:
Top ramen...twice
Mashed potatoes once
Oatmeal twice
Saltines...too many to count
7-Up...twice
3 liters of water

Sadly none of that still resides with me. Thus the trip to the doctor in the morning. Effing antibiotics. The cruel irony is that it will take them to fix this. *fun*

So hello 'ick Time....wait, that is a typo and I am going to leave it because that's funny right there.

News & Notes

It's the end of another week. Is everyone else as relieved as I am?

Have I mentioned how much antibiotics suck? Oh, I have? Well, it's because THEY DO. The latest development with the bug bite adventure is the possible diagnosis of C. Diff. Basically, the antibiotics messed with my digestive chemistry. *fun* she writes with withering sarcasm.

I bargained my way out of stool sample today. (After explaining this to Kevin, he just muttered "That is so...sexy...")

I have to do the clear liquid, high starch diet until all is right with my world again. If I were a baby, it would be the BRAT diet but that's just Too Freaking Easy. B=bananas...which are evil, R...Rice...I'm okay with that, Apples...you know, poison for me, and T=toast...luckily no problem.

So GAH.

I have no plans for the weekend, other than pretend packing for our trip. It's time to make sure we have enough clothing for Vegas. One of the things we might do differently this year is just buying the toiletries once we get there versus having to pay for a larger luggage weight fee. (yes, I might overpack a bit)

The in-laws little dog is really, really sick. Her pancreas stopped working, if I understood correctly. We're hoping that she turns the corner and stays with us just a little while longer.

Have I ever told you the Sassy story?

Everyday, multiple times during the day, Missy Jo goes to their sliding glass door and looks in. Sassy sees her and barks, barks, barks, barks, barks, barks until someone gets the treats for them. The procedure is this: first Missy gets a treat. Sassy waits until Missy eats it then eats her own. I think of it as Missy is the Godfather and Sassy is the Consigliere. Kevin's mom thinks that Sassy is buying Missy's protection should she ever find herself outside.



Have any of you ever played Angry Birds on your cellphone? OMG, that is the stupidest game EVER. But isn't it fun!?!?!!

What's your new favorite television show this year? I actually enjoy The Whole Truth, even though I'm not a Maura Tierney fan. I like the three sides to every story plotline. Of course, it's at risk of being canceled so there's that.

At 11:00 last night I was alternately heartbroken and pissed with the Project Runway show. How did I get so invested in this show? What has happened to me? Let me just say: Michael was ROBBED.

While I'm busy asking social trivia questions: what is everyone's opinion of the GQ Glee pictures? I was disappointed. It just seemed unnecessary.

The other thing that I am going to do this weekend is VOTE. I'm going to sit down with the ballot and my voters guides and vote. Have you sent in your ballot yet? I will quote my parents: "You can't bitch if you don't vote." Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it?

CK flipped me shit for the fake flowers and this what I have to say about that: I have MORE. (:-D We won't see direct sunlight until April so having real fall flowers is just mean to the flowers at this point. It only took Kevin three days to notice the fake ones, by the way. *squirrel!!!*

And the Yankees just got bumped from being in the World Series....Cha Cha Cha!!!!

Have a great weekend y'all!!

Time Travel

The other day on the radio this question was posed
"What time period would you like to experience?"

Someone answered "the future" and someone said "Any time period that had showers". I thought that was pretty clever, actually.

Kevin loves ancient Greece and Medieval stories. But I think the no bathing thing would make him crazy. My guess for him would be either Old West or in the mid-late 60's when muscle cars were The Thing in the automotive world.

I tend toward the Elizabethan Era but not being serfs. I want to be Elizabeth Bennett, actually. I would love to experience the huge estates and the lazy days of the aristocrats.

My second choice would be the mid-fifties. I love the clothes, I love the cars, I love the music. I basically want to be a Grease character.

Where I wouldn't want to go is where Kevin would probably want to: Old West, Medieval times, or ancient Greece. Nothing on Kevin, I just don't want to living primitively.

Where time period would you like to experience?

Numbers

I don't pay attention to my readership stats at all. In fact, it makes me uncomfortable to go look most of the time. For me, it just gives me a stomachache.

((Don't know what I'm talking about? Go to Google Analytics and register your blog & it will give you readership stats, if you're into that sort of thing. ))

Anyway, I worry if the number drops. I worry if the number increases. I feel self-inflicted pressure. Gah!!!!!

The same with Twitter followers. I avoid making eye-contact with that number. Not that the number is huge or that I am ungrateful with the followers of the random & occasional tweets that I do post.

The same but different with Facebook friends. I have No Idea how many friends I have. The amount of friends doesn't reflect who I am or what I am about. There isn't the pressure there because it's People I Know versus People To Please.

For instance, someone unfriended me and I didn't immediately notice. I was showing Kevin something and tah-dah, the person had disappeared! *shrug* It was someone that I was no longer close with and apparently wishes me dead. So clearly, a tidy resolution.

There was an article in the New York Times that talks about Unfriending that is well worth reading if you have the time: Defriended, not De Emoted. Unfriending has become a new phenomenon that everyone has probably experienced.

I prefer what my BFF K refers to as The Ostrich Method: I just really don't want to know. I am thankful for all the readers, be it regulars or lurkers or one night stands. (shush, you know what I mean)

Do you wonder/worry/obsess about how reads your stuff?

Fall Flowers

The weather is due to turn this weekend. It's been pleasant lately but once the storm hits, it will officially be Fall. There will just be no more denial.

The sun doesn't hit our yard anymore. Kevin leaves in near darkness and soon I won't be able to walk down to get the mail due to the darkness (and the creature that is still in the woods.)

This weekend, in between raindrops, we will put away the ice chests, the garden hoses, the sprinkler. We will make sure that Missy Jo's doghouse is good for the cold & rain. I went shopping to stock up on canned food, etc in case we get snow or loss of electricity. We had a good run but we've put it off long enough, it's time. Fall is here. winter is on it's way.

Nearly all the summer flowers have gone. I need to spend some time dumping out pots and storing them away. But first, I thought I would have some Fall & Winter flowers this year:

(they're totally fake)

How do you get ready for the winter months?

Last Day of School

We went racing this weekend in Seattle so I was internet-free-ish.

This was our second "Last Race of the Season". We went racing in our home track two weeks ago and never thought that the weather would hold for this weekend. So hurry-scurry we pulled everything together and emptied the bank account and off we go.

On Saturday morning it was in the 30's. It only warmed up to the low 50's. It was not a great track and Kevin did okay. He was, of course, hoping to set the world on fire but it just wasn't going to happen that day.

He has been fighting a fuel-delivery gremlin all season and the cold really seemed to piss the gremlin off. But as frustrated as Kevin was his brother was four-times more frustrated. The Brother had just repaired his car from an unfortunate wheelie two months ago, just to have his own gremlins. We have nicknamed his car "Christine". Even with that though, he set a new record for E.T. and perhaps MPH.

So, Saturday was not the best day. The silver lining was we got to hang out with The Nephew's girlfriend a lot and got to see a friend we don't get to see often who always makes us laugh.

Sunday rolls around and we were in "Eff It" mode. Due to lots of breakdowns, our run order was delayed which added to the frustration of the day.

Now I'll break it into a timeline:

First Round:
Kevin has a single pass because his competitor DNQ'd due to mechanical failure.
The Brother automatically advances a round because he was first qualifier.

Second Round:
Kevin goes up against a new friend from Edmondton, Canada & beats him. *awkward*
The Brother sends Cheating Douchebag home crying to his mama.

Final Round: (have you figured it out yet?)
Kevin and His Brother. They run neck & neck at most times. It was anyone's race, for sure.

The Nephew had to be in his Dad's lane and I was in Kevin's lane. We didn't even talk beforehand.

The lights drop and Kevin is EFFING GONE. Like a shot out of a cannon.

The race was nearly side-by-side the whole time. Standing on the start line, we had to wait for the winner light to come on because we couldn't tell who won.

You guys, there was so much cheering. Second time in our career that I was in tears standing in the middle of a racetrack.

Kevin won.

The Nephew hugged me, friends yelled from the stands. High fives.

It was incredible.

Totally worth the empty bank account and the hassle.

News & Notes

The kitchen light went out on it's own the other morning. It also came back on, on it's own. Twice on two different mornings. I think my dad is effing with me.

The friend who had the seizure is slowly recovering. The cause is pretty clear and it's something manageable so let's all send out a thought for her health and strength.

I am anti-pill, only for me, mind you. I think it is a very personal choice. If I needed something to keep me alive, of course I would take it, but when it comes to colds, etc. I prefer to just tough it out and let my body fight. So, it was with frustration that I took the antibiotics. I still feel like they're swimming around in my body and it's making me a little ergh about it.

On the flip side, I do take Omega-3 pills daily. I've found that they help with a variety of things: the nerve damage, the ADD, the mood. They appear to be magic. I stopped taking them while I was on the antibiotics and wow, do I notice the difference. Bring on those magic pills!!!

I dyed my hair a darker blonde. To me, in artificial light, it looks like light brown but in natural light it looks dark blonde. As I explained to BFF K, it is almost a non-color. I am going to do another shade darker and see how it goes. Kevin is looking forward to a dramatic change so we'll see. He asked what color my hair would be when we went to Vegas (in 33 days) and I said BLONDE.

Can I just mention that Bill O'Reilly is a total douchebag? Mmmkay, thanks.

I don't enjoy The View, it's just to much: too bitchy, too gossipy, too much noise. On CBS, they are trying a similar show next week that I am interested in. It is called The Talk and has Sharon Osborne, Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Leah Remini and Holly Robinson Peete. I am intrigued.

Something that you might be surprised about is that I am a huge Project Runway fan. I'm watching it now with bated breath, waiting to see who will go to Fashion Week. I love Michael C so much it is ridiculous. And Mondo. Oh, Mondo.

The Nephew has been sending us pictures of the kids regularly. I love it so much. The kids are cute and The Nephew is a good photographer. It occurred to me the other day that this must be what grandmas feel like. (shut up, the lot of you :-) We had dinner with the Nephew and The Girl. She is Hil-Ari-Ous. They seem to be the perfect match and I wasn't sure that I would ever see it happen.

We're going racing this weekend. We're having little bouts of sunshine and Kevin wants to go one last time. It means we'll be gone the whole weekend, which is never my favorite, but it will be nice to be at the racetrack.

Did I mention that in 33 days I will be in Vegas?

My Life in Pictures

I'm doing one of the Cell Phone Photos Post tonight. I was working on something else, paused to let the dog in, then a photo opportunity arose, which triggered the ADD, thusly resulting in this post and run-on sentence from Hell.

Missy Jo has taken it upon herself to "accidentally" lie on the power cord for the laptop. It happens way too frequently for it to be nothing but on purpose.

This one takes a little explanation. I took this on Saturday when we were taking Missy to get a treat at the mocha stand. It had rained A LOT during the night, resulting in a large puddle in the back of my truck. Missy wanted to go get a treat but was none-too-pleased with the idea of getting her paws wet. This is how she chose to cope with the problem.

Sing with me now: The Bluest Skies You'll Ever See are in Seattle (click the link to view a bunch of beautiful pictures of Seattle) This was the view from my commute on Friday. Your instructions are to remind me in a few months about this picture when I'm whining about gray skies.

This happened this morning. 332,233 miles on my truck.
No one will ever convince me to drive anything other than a Toyota.
Or this truck, for that matter.

What would your life in pictures look like?

That Just Happened

Last week was a long week. At 4:30 Friday afternoon I was more than relieved to begin finishing up the day. I had a date planned with Kevin so I was anxious to leave.

I was talking with coworker J while coworker S was in the office next to hers. I heard her kind of scream and looked to see what was the matter. It looked like she had either dropped something on her foot or been frightened by something. I asked her what was wrong, in a kidding tone, when she dropped like a rock.

Turns out she was having a Grand Mal Seizure. Coworker J sprang to action, simultaneously helping support her head and phone 911. I tried to keep S safe until the seizure passed.

What seems like forever passed as she slowly become conscious. Like most seizures, she became a little combative and then simply confused. It was heartbreaking to watch her slowly realize what had happened.

I don't mind saying that it was one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. Not my dad dying, not rolling the truck, this was truly frightening.

The paramedics came in a remarkably short time. Also, I am simply amazed at how much information they are able to get in such a short period of time. They had her whisked away quite quickly, leaving us adrift in adrenalin. Also, Bellingham Fire Department does not have an ugly firefighter or paramedic, I'm just saying.

We don't know the exact cause of the seizure although we have a pretty strong idea and it's not a pretty one. That will be a whole other topic and post for another day.

The only shiny side of this was that Bellingham Fire Department does not have ugly firefighters.

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

I apologize for the lack of posts over the past few days. My brain is full. We had an incident at work on Friday afternoon that frankly kicked my ass. Everyone is fine now so don't worry.

We'll be back up and running tomorrow. Thanks for holding.

News & Notes

Here we are on Thursday already. Well, not already. This week has been fought hard and nearly defeated.

So let's talk about how antibiotics suck. Other than the whole eradicating illness thing, they suck. My stomach hurts, my head still itches, and antibiotics suck.

Tonight, Kevin & I talked about how the existence of aliens would affect people's belief systems. Before you think "Wow, how intellectual" know that we were also watching Modern Family & Cougar Town.

How are you doing with the Furiously Happy thing? I am furiously happy that tomorrow is Friday, that I am currently watching Big Bang Theory, and that I didn't have to make dinner tonight.

I think "That's what she said" is being replaced by "In your pants". And this will only be funny if you watch Craig Ferguson.

Everyone is abuzz here about La Nina. La Nina in the Pacific Northwest means *snow*. They're also saying it's going to a 100 Year winter. I am so looking forward to that!! There are few better things than Snow Days.

I tried to remember to take pictures while we were at the racetrack. I don't photograph people well because I worry about being intrusive and making people uncomfortable. I still managed to get a few shots. This one is my favorite, because it's absurd. Here are two semi-professional racecar drivers eating ice cream and the expression on Kevin's face makes me giggle. If he had his hand on his jaw, I would totally know he thought someone was full of sh*t. Instead it looks as if he's thinking "Seriously, dude?"

Sad News

Photo courtesy of www.bellinghamdailyphoto.blogspot.com

Today Dwight's body was found in the bay. He has been positively identified but cause hasn't been disclosed yet. We're all kind of hoping that it was a foolish accident versus foul play.
(article here)

Toss out a thought to his family & friends.

Furiously Happy

Are you reading The Bloggess? If not, why not? what's wrong with you? (it may be because you're sane but what's the fun in that?)

Today's post Furiously Happy is probably one of the best, funniest, important posts I've read. I hope that you click through and read it, and the comments, and the links provided in the comments.

The ever-so-lovely Swistle also posted a fun post titled "What's WRONG With You Today?" This was a great, cathartic post that gave us an opportunity to complain.

Everyone seems like they're in kind of a funk. Even GLEE had a case of the Ennui last night.

Anyway, I thought that these two posts were very fun and interesting ways to draw ourselves out of said funks.

And here is my current Make Me Happy video...

Not Your Whole Head

So, I had hives yesterday and part of Sunday.

Turns out that hives were the symptom, not the cause of my woes. An alleged spider bite is what the problem is. I have a red, swollen patch on my head, just at the hairline where my bangs are. Super attractive.

I thought perhaps that it was a bug bite but I couldn't find a...doctor's words, not mine...point of entry. When I woke up this morning with my head on fire, I gave in and went to the doctor.

Of course my doctor is on vacation so I got one of the other doctors in the practice. He had a Greek-like accent and I am not sure he got my humor. Until I asked the doctor "This means my head won't fall off, right?" Without missing a beat he replied "Not your whole head."

He was unconcerned with the bug bite until I mentioned that I had lumps on the back of my head. Turns out those aren't lumps but angry lymph nodes. These unhappy lumps earned me an antibiotic.

Now this is where you would hear the record scratch if this was a television show.

I am allergic to many antibiotics: penicillin, zirthromax, and sulfa meds. So that totally threw down a challenge for the doctor. He chose something I hadn't heard of that is guaranteed to upset my stomach. Win Win for me.

The good news is that I can now see the point of entry and my head is no longer on fire. I think by tomorrow I will be fine.

I did ask the bedbug question you all are thinking of and no, not even.

Here is the re-enactment that Kevin has chosen: I walked through a spider web, caught him in my hair, he went for a ride, got hungry and decided that he was hungry. As I am hard-headed, he deemed me non-edible and jumped off without my knowledge.

This is a little more pleasant to think about than a man-eating spider hiding amongst the pillows on our bed.

You're welcome for that visual. Sleep well.

Racecar is Racecar Spelled Backwards

Grey Ghost made the mistake of asking about the racecar. Oh silly boy, I can talk about the racecar all day long.

Firstly, it is a 66 Chevelle (Chevrolet) or if you're Canadian, it's a Beaumont.
Kevin bought the car in 1989, before he met me. It was the car we took on our very first date thus making it The Car Never to be Sold.

It began life as a driver and show car with a smokey ol' small block engine that grew into the current version: 572 cubic inch BBC. (big block Chevrolet) that looks like this:

1035 horsepower that runs a 8.7 second quarter mile at 153 mph with a 1.25 sixty foot time

When we started racing, it looked like this:


Now it looks like this:

I took this picture this weekend. It looks like it is sitting in a dealership, doesn't it?

This is what the interior looks like...still like an old car mostly:



But most cars don't have this hanging off the back end:


This car still has a working horn, headlights, brakelights, and turn signals. It qualifies as "Street legal" but isn't even a little bit drivable on the street.

It has also traveled extensively....here are the tracks where we've raced. I chose pictures that show the track names.

Las Vegas Motor Speedway....2008 Pacific Street Car Super Nationals

Pacific Raceways...Seattle WA....Northwest Pro Street Association

Bremerton Raceway...Bremerton WA....Northwest Pro Street Association

Mission Raceway Park, Mission BC Canada...Canadian Pro Street Association

And this is what it looks like in the pits when we're all set up:
I've mentioned before that we used to look at the pits and never think that we would be doing this or have a car as fast as we do. When we began racing, we actually drove the car to the racetrack with tools & tires in the trunk.

Oh, and it's drag racing that we do. Not just drag racing but Heads Up drag racing which means the first one to the end wins. In regular, bracket drag racing, it is the person that runs closest to the number they choose is the person that wins. Heads up is more difficult and certainly more expensive to race. Kevin has never been known to take the easiest way.

Kevin is a goal-oriented guy and this is proof. Luckily for the both of us, I love this just as much as he does. We talked about it this weekend and neither of us can ever imagine not racing.

News & Notes

I am sitting here wondering how I have hives but I do. I haven't eaten anything unusual or made any product changes. At first I thought that it was a bug bite but bites don't usually travel. I am not stressed or emotional so who knows what is going on.

Yesterday was a great day. We went racing at our home track, which is as always, our happy place. Our friends were there, including a surprise visit from our Dawson Creek friends. We didn't set the world on fire but that's okay. Kevin went 153 mph, his fastest and he returned to find a chrome piece had disappeared. We figure it was upon deploying the parachutes. Lucky for us, the safety crew found it at the top end of the track. One of our friends helped put it back on so all's well that ends well.

I spent the afternoon in my chair, watching Ally McBeal and the leaves fall outside. I just had my first official Fall meal: grilled cheese sandwich & tomato soup.

There has been no progress on the boy who is missing in Bellingham. Volunteers have been canvassing the city in an extremely coordinated effort. I can only hope that he knows how many people are looking for him.

I nearly have all of The Nephews kids names memorized. Luckily, three of the five begin with the same initial.

I still have no accomplished catching up and commenting on everyone's blogs. I am beginning to think that once the weather turns, I will be back up to speed. I think also that I've solved my commenting issues. If I log into blogger and go to everyone's blogs from there, it doesn't seem to be a problem.

And while I'm doing some blogging housekeeping...I can't see BlogHer ads on my blog. I think it's an ad block program that is preventing me (it's on both computers here at home & work) Can y'all see it or do I need to email them?


I got an email getting-to-know-you passalong the other day. One of the questions was "Who was your first boyfriend?" I instinctively answered Tony, the troubled boy I "loved" in seventh grade. But I am changing my answer. I think my first real boyfriend was someone that I dated in my sophomore year in high school. He was the first boy that I actually dated, spent time with,
and who actually pursued me. That is how I would define a boyfriend versus a crush, etc.

We are on a teeter-totter when it comes to our Vegas trip. I am purchasing tickets next weekend and making plans with our friends once we get there. The variable you ask? Taking the car. Kevin's dad really, really, really, wants to take our racecar down there. (It's our turn) But we just don't think that we can collectively pull the money together. To clarify: this was Kevin's Dad's idea, not ours. We knew we weren't taking the car.

My mom had her eye checkup last week and I am happy to say that it went well. Her eyes are doing well. (macular degeneration) and we managed to not kill each other along the way.

She did talk about American Idol...she knows that auditions are happening and that it comes on again in January. She also said that it was right that Randy Jackson sit in Simon's seat and she is unsure of the new judges. When I told her that Steven Tyler was from Aerosmith, she sounded excited but I know that she probably has no idea who he is. She said "Lyndsay Lohan" in reference to Jennifer Lopez. She didn't mention that nice Bryan Seacourt.

O.M.G. I am inches from throwing myself on the carpet & squirming around like the dog does. WTH with the hives? The only time I have had them was an allergic reaction to antibiotics. So while it's safe to assume that it is another allergic reaction, it is frustrating.

So there's that. I am going to return to my chair, itch, and know that tomorrow is another day, Scarlett.

It's a Beautiful Day

For some reason this picture that I took this afternoon made me think of this song.

Enjoy....

U2 - Beautiful Day The heart is a bloom Shoots up through the stony ground There's no room No space to rent in this town You're out of luck And the reason that you had to care The traffic is stuck And you're not moving anywhere You thought you'd found a friend To take you out of this place Someone you could lend a hand In return for grace It's a beautiful day Sky falls, you feel like It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away You're on the road But you've got no destination You're in the mud In the maze of her imagination You love this town Even if that doesn't ring true You've been all over And it's been all over you It's a beautiful day Don't let it get away It's a beautiful day Touch me Take me to that other place Teach me I know I'm not a hopeless case See the world in green and blue See China right in front of you See the canyons broken by cloud See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out See the Bedouin fires at night See the oil fields at first light And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth After the flood all the colors came out It was a beautiful day Don't let it get away Beautiful day Touch me Take me to that other place Reach me I know I'm not a hopeless case What you don't have you don't need it now What you don't know you can feel it somehow What you don't have you don't need it now Don't need it now Was a beautiful day