Somewhere in the world...

it is 2009. A couple of my resolutions (all completely do-able, I think):

be wiser with money
return emails more quickly
respond to blog comments (either through email or here)
actually DO the things on my to-do lists
finish projects I've started
repaint the boys' room
walk to get healthier
eat healthier
and possibly the most important...
be more positive!

So Happy New Year to everyone! Be safe and have fun!

Peace out!

Comment replies:
**Anja, you said you'd help me paint their room! So our lists are the same! ha ha ha**

I hired a personal blogger...

and she hasn't been doing her job. She will be let go.

Anyway, over here in my world we're just getting ready for Christmas. Exciting, I know. Here's a breakdown in case you're interested:
● Working on an 8x8 scrapbook for a gift.
● Took down all the regular household brick-a-brack (is that how that's spelled?) to prepare for Christmas decorations.
● Have most of the shopping done.
● Made a gingerbread house
● Penguin lawn decorations are set up (I'll get pics of them later)

I still have lots to do. Small stuff. I'm also revamping the photos above our entertainment center. Painting frames black for that. Changing out pics. I just got tired of the old stuff, which has been there for way too long. It'll be nice to have new stuff to look at. Art from friends, art from fave etsy artists, art from the husband (most of the pics around the house were taken by me...but I spend a lot of time here, shouldn't I get to see my own pics that I love?)

Ok, so now this post is old news. I wasn't finished and just saved to drafts. So all of those things are done (well, mostly) but have been replaced by a new list. Isn't that how lists work? I'll put it on my list to research the dynamics of lists.

I'll try to post more. Haven't I been saying that for a long time? :D

Peace out!

To All my Internet Friends:

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm counting you all in my blessings. Have a safe and wonderful day with your loved ones.

Peace out!

PS: Back in 2001 a group of wonderful ladies joined together on Yahoo to chat about scrapbooking and life and whatnot. We all became good friends! But the last couple years we've spoken less and less. This week one of the members, Anna, contacted us and invited us to become a group once again, this time on Facebook. I joined and quickly found my newest, older, and oldest friends again. Isn't the internet amazing? So if you wanna link me on Facebook, click on my link over there ---> and add me!

PPS: I also added a "follow my blog" thing below the clock. So if you wanna see what's up when I post a new post, click there, okie dokie?

Dwigt

●Search and replace doesn't work on misspelled words. Referring to two episodes of The Office...the pic is something Pam made in art school that makes me laugh. :D




●So what up, blog land? Not much here. That's about it! Watching Season 4 of The Office, doing a little bit of digital scrapbooking, etc etc.

●Had some Halloween fun. The usual. School parade. Candy. Trick or Treating. More candy. Click on that for a bigger photo.






●That's about it! This must be the shortest blog post ever (at least on my blog!)

●Peace out!

Weekend Frenzy

Well, it was really only a frenzy for a person who has recently become something of a homebody. Have not had the desire to leave the house for anything but picking up the kids from school. So going to breakfast, Franklin Covey (got THE cutest calendar pages for my planner!), the costume store to finally get E his costume, and then the shoe store to get some proper shoes for idiotic foot structure.

This you may or may not know...I honestly can't remember ever having a pair of comfortable shoes. Sure, I've had less-painful, tolerable, mediocre shoes. But for my high-arched, anatomically-skewed, wide-as-the-Grand-Canyon excuses for feet, I needed something special. I found that at New Balance. Walking shoes. That hopefully won't have me in tears after walking two miles. They felt like heaven in the store, so keep your fingers crossed that they will live up to their rep. They have amazing arch support and some sort of metal rod in them to improve the step. They look a little strange, but as long as I don't feel like having a foot-ectomy after walking, they could be neon orange and I wouldn't mind.

As for the Halloween costumes...I had hoped my boys wouldn't be enticed into the freaky/gory/scare the sweet bejesus out of children costumes. But that seems to be the case. Last year E had a gladiator costume complete with a mask that had such a disconcertingly blank stare, I refused to let him wear it at home. This year he has some sort of grim reaper which is not much better. At least it isn't that horrifying mask from the movie "Scream", which I saw eons ago and that mask still brings tears of fright to my eyes. I never wished for a girl child so much as this Halloween costume dilemma; I would gladly shell out the ducats for a nice fairy princess costume. Or a hippie.

Word of the day: pu-pu. Pronounced poo-poo. Remember in A Bug's Life, the waitress in the tavern walks around and says "Who ordered the poo-poo platter?" and these flies all land on it and go to town chowing down? Very clever double meaning. It's actually a tray of Hawaiian hors de'ouevres.

So there you go.

Peace out!

Speaking of lists...

So as I lay in bed after a really bad day during which we all seemed to be at each other's throats, I found that thinking of the things that make me laugh til my face hurts chased away the tears. Here are some of those things:
1) Bumper cars
2) Jumping on the trampoline
3) Teeter totters
4) Arcade racecar or motorcycle games
5) Listening to my little sister's stories
6) Looking at pics of my nephew where he's making hilarious faces (which seems to be nearly every photo)

Shows/Movies that make me laugh til my face hurts:
1) Along Came Polly (specifically the bathroom scene and the club scene, both with Ben Stiller)
2) Phoebe and Ms. Pacman
3) Jerry Seinfeld as Raif
4) The Scrubs cast does A Charlie Brown's Christmas
5) The faces of Jim Halpert from The Office
6) The Chinese Backstreet Boys singing "That Way"

Random things that make me giggle:
1) B saying "1.21 gigawatts!" said in the voice of Doc from Back to the Future
2) PJ's goofy dances
3) E's neverending, outrageous stories complete with talking-with-his-hands
4) Little inside jokes between me and my friends and family
5) Chats with Rhian-that girl is so funny!

I may add more. But that's it for now. Click the links. You won't regret it!

Lists, Lists, Lists

My sweet friend Rhi and I had a hilarious chat about to-do lists the other day. Lists make me crazy. They really do. I write down all this stuff I need to do and then I basically don't look at the list again. Or rarely. It's almost like my brain figures that once it's written down, it's done.

The tricky part comes when I realized that I never did the things on the list. Didn't I do that already? No you weirdo, you didn't. I need a hand to come out of the list and slap me if I don't actually do the thing.

Oh, and sometimes, to make myself feel like I did something productive, I add things I've already done to the list, and cross them out. See! I did something! Proof!

Today I did do a few things that were on my list. Held some books at the library (then I will pick them up when they are set aside for me, very handy!), got some stuff to finish a very late birthday gift, and did the dishes <--- one of those things I add later to make it seem like I did more. I also dropped off a utility payment, called and paid a bill over the phone (also very handy), checked out a new quilt shop, called in an rx refill, looked around for a photosafe pencil...all before NOON! See, I did something!

Whatever works, right?

Where DID you get those peepers?

I'm not sure, but they ARE splendid, don't you think?

That's my niece, I got to tend her for the day last Saturday. She's such a hoot! I lost my phone (it fell down in the couch) and I was like "H, where's my phone?" and she goes "Phone, where are you?" lol We were looking out the window at the rain and she was totally bummed that everything was getting wet. She kept saying "oh-oh, wet" and "rain". And while we were looking out the window, we heard a car honk twice, and she goes "beep beep" and then I said it and then she said it and we just laughed and beeped. It was so cute! And then when my sister-in-law got here to pick her up, as they were leaving, she said "see you". See? A hoot, I tell you!

That's one of the things I miss about having small kids. My boys were hilarious and always making me laugh with the things they said, and the way they said it. They still say hilarious things though, so I still get the laughs. But the way small kids say such things, so fun!

Like the other day, we were walking home, and E (out of nowhere) said he likes fog. I was like, why? Then he tells me the fog gives him a "moisturizing sensation". lol I think those were the words he used, I'll double check. But he definitely said 'moisturizing'.

I write down these things they say, I have for years. Anytime I need a laugh, I go read some of them. It's as close as I will get to having them be small again, I guess.

I am so glad I have pictures and the little snippets of the things they said. And now I have the little things she says and does that make me laugh. This little girl cracks me up and makes me smile, and I absolutely adore her for that!

So there you go. Enjoy the little people in your lives. They won't be so little for very long. :D

And your point is???

The weather has been cooler. Sort of. The afternoons are a little warm, but otherwise the days are nice. I adore fall. I wish it could be fall all year. No extreme hot, no extreme cold. I like spring, but not as much as fall because I know the extreme hot is coming. And yes, I know that with fall, the extreme cold is coming, but I much prefer the cold. Heat just makes me feel icky. Bleh.

So the picture up there is an odd tree I found in the parking lot at B's work. It's like half and half. Weird, huh? Click on it to see the full photo.

That would be the first time I've used the camera in a long time, to take pictures of something other than my quilt or one of my self-portraits (and I even missed a week, but I didn't beat myself over it. I missed one in 66 weeks. I deserved the break).

So I've been quilting. Playing Brain Age, CrossworDS, and Solitaire Overload (mostly just for golf and freecell) on my Nintendo DS. Best investment in the world people! If you don't have one, I highly recommend it. I have a lot of puzzle games for mine. Actually, the only non-puzzle game I have is the Sims and that got boring PDQ.

Speaking of Sims, I've been playing the old skool Sim City (from 1001) that we downloaded for our Wii. So fun! Back in high school when I was getting really bad sinus infections, I'd skip my afternoon classes and B and I would go to his house and play Sim City and F-Zero. So naturally, whenever I get a sinus infection (still after this long!) I get the urge to plop and veg and be a captain of industry. It's fun. We have newer versions of the game, but the old one is way easier and we know the cheat code to get $999,999 dollars. Usually you start out with $20,000 and rely on taxes and whatnot to build and stuff. I like to completely cover my land with park though, and that takes a lot of money. And it the little neighborhoods and factories and train tracks (less pollution, see?) have to be in perfect alignment. Except for waterfront properties...I treat my residents right and give them beach and views. Sometimes there's a plane crash. And you get libraries and casinos and amusement parks. Very relaxing.

I've been on antibiotics of the strong variety for about a week. The ones I was on early last month did enough to get me through our trip and some, but my infection came back with a vengeance and I went in and got on the good stuff. It has some odd side effects (I've never farted so much in my life!) but I think it's doing its job. I hope.

I really need to post more often, so the posts are shorter. See, when I go to a blog, and I see big chunks of text in a post, I get overwhelmed. And here I am, doing the very same thing to you. I'm sorry! I will try to post more often!

And thanks to my peeps who still visit and comment. I love you guys! I really do! So I will end this post now and see you in a few days!

Peace out!
--J

Busy Busy!

Working madly on two quilts, one for charity (which I will upload a photo of sometime this week) and one for my sister in law. The charity one I had to handtie, which I am not crazy about, but I think it looks great! The other one I took to the quilt store for the most amazing longarm quilter in the universe to do for me.

I am so glad those two things are done! They were big projects, weighing on my poor, overtaxed brain for months and months.

I also have stories galore from our trip to Montana (including a treacherous hike in which I tumbled down a shale slide and got pretty banged up), Yellowstone (where we saw several large animals cross the road right in front of us), the Tetons (hello, is Jenny Lake the MOST beautiful lake EVER? I think so!) and all the while in excruciating pain from the fall which happened on the 2nd day of vacation. Still recovering. Hurts to breathe, may have injured my ribs. I also have this rattle in my chest when I cough, which is probably unrelated to the rib thing, but it makes my ribs hurt very badly.

So I have some more quilting to do. Dentist appointments. Boys go back to school next Monday. Birthday packages to ship. Photos to take of SD cards, but not sure how (different camera and file format than we usually do). Busy busy!

TTFN!

To Clarify...

my last post.

I honestly do not send the holiday cards in hopes that the doctors will call in rxs for me or anything. I send them because I am truly grateful for them; I know (as my friend kimmy pointed out...and I'm glad she did) that there are, umm...less grateful patients out there. Patients who act as though the doctors should be or are superheroes and when they run behind in their schedules, it's unacceptable. I know that's not the case at all. I also know that when the doctor would 'squeeze me in', it caused him to run late, and risk getting scolded by the other patients. So for that, added to all the other things they do for me, I am grateful.

And I'm also not one of those people that will call every doctor they know til they get what they want. When the nurse called me back from the doctor's office I'd never seen, and said that not only could they not call in an rx, nor see me anytime before Sept 15, I was geared up to go to the urgent care to be seen.

So I called my gyn office to get the results of my blood work for my thyroid, and figured, hey, why not at least ask? My motto (if I have one) is that it never hurts to ask. I fully expected her to say no and to say I'd need to be seen first.

This morning, my regular GP was in and the nurse called bright and early and said he'd squeeze me in as soon as I could get in, even though he didn't have any openings. I told her that I'd called my gyn office and they called in an rx for me. And she said ok and we hung up.

But I felt badly...I didn't want her to think I am one of those people who would call around til someone did what I wanted. So I called her back, and told her that. And I explained in a little more detail what happened, and that I was going to go to the urgent care place. She and the doctor (whom she had told our conversation) were both cool about it and glad I got what I needed and not to worry about it, they know I'm not like that.

So anyway, just wanted to clarify that.

Never Underestimate the Power of Greeting Cards

And I am totally serious here people!

Of 3 doctors, 2 of whom I see regularly (gyn and GP) are totally willing to call in an rx of antibiotics for my chronic sinus infections without seeing me, since I only call when I am certain I have one (maybe twice a year total). The 3rd doctor is in the same practice as my GP. The two that would call them in without seeing me first are doctors I send Christmas cards to every year. Cheesy? Maybe. Heartfelt? Yes.

You see, for about 3 years we didn't have any health insurance. And lots of medical issues. So they would give me samples to avoid pharmacy full-price expenses, draw blood for tests so I wouldn't have a separate bill for labs, avoided ordering costly tests that I believe they might have done if we had the insurance, etc etc. And not just for me. My whole family. So I am eternally grateful to them for that.

Coincidence? I think not.

And to clarify, my GP was out of town or he would have called in the rx. So I ended up calling my gyn office about some other blood work and figured since I had the nurse on the line, why not ask about the antibiotic? Never hurts to ask, right? And if she said no way, I'd make do without, since neither had an opening for that sort of problem in the foreseeable future.

But in that 3rd doctor's defense, even though I had been seen by another doctor in his practice, I hadn't personally seen him, though I believe that one or both of my kids has. So I get why he wouldn't.

I am content to believe it's because of the Christmas cards though. :D

And thank you for the commiseration on my last post. I beat myself up more than necessary, so I definitely don't need it from some outside force. It all worked out though.

When the Hour is None

I've always liked that phrase for some reason. Maybe because it implies that time can be nothing, or maybe stopped, even for a fraction of a second. Or an hour. I guess an hour.

Just finished reading a fantastic book called My Name is Will by Jess Winfield. Parallel eras. Drugs. Shakespeare. Excellent read. Might want to remove the dust jacket while reading as it does clearly state 'sex, drugs and Shakespeare' on the Bard's forehead right on the cover art.

It seems I've become the type of person who is terrible at being independent. I have this God-awful list of shit to do, and yet, during the times I should be shit-doing, I'm doing nothing. Afraid of my shit list. Seriously. I cannot handle one thing on it. Well, maybe the smallest things. But the list seems so...what's the word...inconceivably overpowering that it threatens to swallow me whole if I engage it.

I also cannot make any decisions while shopping for some lame reason. Every time I go to Target or something, I have to call my lovely husband to make a decision on something so random and mundane. And when I realized that, I was sickened and ashamed. So today, I went to Costco, made a decision on some t-shirts for our upcoming trip (since I have 3 shirts to my name, I would like to have a few more so no repeats shirt-wise). I selected 3 of these tie-dye ones, and they don't have dressing rooms. So I got them knowing I might end up bringing them back. Then I saw the two-pack of fitted t's that just called out to me, so I got them too. Knowing I might end up bringing those back. While the tie-dye ones make my jugs look nice, they are too tight around my waist. Pity, they are so cute. The other 2 make my jugs look smaller than my belly, which is more honest, but they fit better. So I am keeping those.

Back to my point, I made these decisions (as well as to take the 3 cute ones back) all by myself!!! Gold star for Jocelynne? No. As soon as I told my lovely husband of the shirt debacle, I was scolded most severely as apparently I was warned last week that we can get no extra ANYTHINGS to save for the trip. Nevermind the fact that I desperately need t-shirts, nevermind the fact that any time I've bought myself a necessity I end up taking it back out of guilt in lieu of something my family needs more, nevermind the fact that I'm taking the 3 back; the two I am keeping are apparently an extravagance the likes of which have never been recorded in history.

So I pouted. And I'm mad. At being spoken to that way. Hmph.

And in addition, I've apparently pinched a nerve in my neck which has been sending excruciating pains down my arm and burning in my shoulder. Lovely.

So, my dear internet peeps, it has not been a most joyous week, I am sad to say. And yesterday I had one of my lovely crying jags whereupon I burst out crying for seemingly no reason and every reason simultaneously.

Here's to a better rest-of-week and hopefully I've not brought you all down to the bottom of the barrel with me. Who will throw the rope if you're all down here with me?

Peace.

PS Click on the pic to be taken to the full-size version. Just a bit of tongue-in-cheek humor.

Bad Friend

I've been a bad friend since I started using this laptop. I need all my old links on here and in the meantime, I intended to use the links on my blog to keep up with blogs. Well, it hasn't happened. Same with email addresses. The email program I'm using on the laptop is the a very basic thing, and it doesn't have any of my contacts. Grr.

So I hope everyone will forgive me! It basically comes down to the fact that I am probably the laziest person on the face of the earth. Seriously. Or maybe it's just a summer thing.

I gotta go to the mall and hopefully find a decent pair of non-RX sunglasses as mine fell in the river/stream in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Friday. Lovely. I get migraines in direct sunlight (even cloudy days now that I think of it), so I've been forgoing my contacts to wear my RX sunglasses. So I can't see at night or in the house during the day, unless I wear my sunglasses around the house. And that just seems weird to me.

I decided I'm not cut out for manual labor. Or at least two days of manual labor. My back and feet hurt like you would not believe. We laid some sod our neighbors gave us on a small area in our backyard.

I've also been dogsitting (is it dog sitting if you leave them at their house and go put them in and let them out and feed and play and bring in mail and water flowers?) for my brother- and sister-in-law. I'm usually rather uncomfortable around dogs, but this has been a great way to get used to them better. Love the little one, Pookie. She's a Boston Terrier and she's the perfect size and has the cutest personality. She looks at you with her head tilted and ears up, like "what are you doing?" Cracks me up! The other dog Roxie is a Boxer, and she's a little too big for my comfort. I swear, I must have had a bad experience with a dog when I was little and I blocked it out. I should ask my mom. I'm extremely weary of dogs. But maybe it's like with kids, people are weary of other people's kids til they have their own. Who knows?

Well, I better get. Places to go and housework to avoid. You understand. Right?

Cricket Serenade

crickets serenade me
they sing their songs
in the dark part of the day
a nice contrast to the sting
of my blistered fingers
blistered from cutting
the unwanted growth in nature

it's too warm for sheets
too cool for the fan
stuck in the middle
of being asleep
and being uncomfortable

sleep eludes me
and on the nights
when sleep eludes me
i realize just how much
i hate how my brain is wired
how much i long to be outside
myself
even for a short time

i know that won't happen
can't happen
so i shall lie and listen
to the crickets serenade me

Now...

Sorry, it took me a few days to get off my lazy butt and photograph the pages and get them loaded. Click here to go to the 52 weeks mini book! Though it's not really 'mini' anymore. It's fat. I need to take a side photo.

Also, I didn't finish week 32. I think I messed up the page the first time and ended up starting over, and I haven't printed a new picture for that page yet. No biggie!

Peace out!

Prayers and peaceful thoughts...

please, for my friends Monica and Kimberly. Both are having rough times right now (understatement of the century) and I know they would appreciate all the help they can get.

My heart aches for them...one I've met and love, one I haven't met and love. And their families, because when one member of a family is in crisis, it affects the whole family.

Thank you peeps!

In other news, I finished my 52 weeks album! YAY! It's fat and messy and I LOVE it! I shall post the remaining pages over on my SIStv gallery...the link should be over to the right. Such a huge project and I'm glad it's complete! As you may also know, or not, I am doing the 52 weeks project again, for a second year. And I plan to do the pages as I go instead of trying to do it all massively.

My boys began 5th and 3rd grades. I am a mom to a 5th and a 3rd grader. Umm. That seems weird to me. Sheesh! Oh, and get this, E and I have the same size feet. I kid you not. Barefoot, side by side, same size feet. I must take a photo before his feet surpass mine.

Virtual Vitamin C thoughts to my friend Jen K. who has succumbed to a summer cold. I do hate those and I am glad I haven't had one yet (knock on wood).

My friend Mike is the new sheriff in town, or at least switching cities, so really just a cop in a new town. He's been a cop for a long time. I just wanted to say that sheriff thing cuz they always say it on tv.

My sister's family in Texas came down with cryptospiridium from a lake they swam in before coming to visit Utah. Last year, Utah had 1900 confirmed cases of this parasite, mostly in public pools and so far this year, the public pools are clean. Yay!

My mum (I got that spelling from my UK friend Rhian and I love it, so I'm using it more) seems to be doing better. Surprising due to the severity of the heart attack she had. It's left us all with questions, but do we need the answers if everything seems to be ok? I haven't called or seen her as much as I should, mostly because of B's surgery and post-op care. I had a hard time getting the bandages to work this time, last time I was quite proud of my handiwork, but this time? Not so much.

Speaking of which, I have a bit of a crush on B's podiatrist. What will I do when B is completely healed and it's no more Dr S? I keep teasing that my toe hurts, I better go see Dr S, or my ankle hurts, I better go see Dr S. lol B just rolls his eyes and laughs. He says if Dr S doesn't know about my crush, he must be blind or an idiot, because apparently, I am subconsciously flirting with him. Ugh! It's all harmless, so don't get all your panties in a bunch. :D

Movies. We saw "The Bank Job"...excellent film people! Watch it! I am now enamored with Jason Statham (no clue if I spelled that right), the lead in that film. We also watched "Reign over Me"...yes, old news, I know. I really think Adam Sandler did an amazing job with this serious role. Not like Spanglish, which I think sucked. But this was a whole other side of him and I am impressed! And you gotta love Don Cheadle. That guy acts so well, that it doesn't even seem like he's acting! Like in "Crash". His delivery is flawless, and so seamless, it's amazing. He's either a total genius, or he's really good at playing off the other characters. Incidentally, both "The Bank Job" and "Reign over Me" have the same actress, her first name is Saffron, I don't know her last name though. Like that song..."I'm just mad about saffron, and saffron's mad about me. They call me mellow yellow. Quite rightly." Saffron. Now that's a cool name.

Crickets chirping, time for sleep. Gotta get my beauty rest for the a.m. visit with Dr S. ;)

Favorite Lyrics Part 8

Superman (It's Not Easy)
by Five for Fighting

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
I'm just out to find
The better part of me

I'm more than a bird:I'm more than a plane
More than some pretty face beside a train
It's not easy to be me

Wish that I could cry
Fall upon my knees
Find a way to lie
About a home I'll never see

It may sound absurd:but don't be naive
Even Heroes have the right to bleed
I may be disturbed:but won't you conceed
Even Heroes have the right to dream
It's not easy to be me

Up, up and away:away from me
It's all right:You can all sleep sound tonight
I'm not crazy:or anything:

I can't stand to fly
I'm not that naive
Men weren't meant to ride
With clouds between their knees

I'm only a man in a silly red sheet
Digging for kryptonite on this one way street
Only a man in a funny red sheet
Looking for special things inside of me

It's not easy to be me.
-----------------------

Why do I like this song, you ask? I think it's an important reminder that the people we look up to or idolize or try to emulate are just people dealing with their own shit. I've always held firm to the idea that, while I admire certain people, I wouldn't go so far as to call them heroes, because that's putting them on a pedestal they may not want to be on. There are so many expectations on people, especially celebrities or popular figures in the media, that I think we as the general public forget that they still have to poo and brush their teeth every day, just like the rest of us.

Puts it in perspective.

And again, that photo really has nothing to do with this post. I couldn't find anything to go with the song lyrics. So you get an old school Fisher Price Little People playing hopscotch. Click on the image to go to the full size version, if you please.

Peace out blog peeps!

Toe, Part 2 (really long, but possibly interesting!)

So the Mr had his left big toe bones fused like he had done with his right big toe. Man, those people at the outpatient surgery center really need to get their act together and schedule better. Or maybe it was the surgeon, who is consistently way behind on appointments. Or the people that do his scheduling. Anyway. The surgery was scheduled for 2 pm, They told us to get there at 1 for paperwork, not realizing that the same excruciatingly detailed questionnaire had already been done the last time. So we sat in the lobby and waited and waited and waited and waited and waited. Finally got called back to the 'gown room' as I shall call it. This is where the anesthesiologist and surgeon come to discuss the procedure with the patient prior and go over any last minute questions, and also where the patient changes into a gown. This time we had the boys with us the whole time, and we waited and waited and waited and waited. We took goofy pics of B looking like a pregnant mom in her gown about to have a baby (again!), played emesis basin ball (I put one of those little pink puke trays in the corner, gave each of the boys a paper towel to ball up, and see who could make their ball stay in the tray). (I think I could be persuaded to sell that picture for the right price! lol)

Finally, when the little boys couldn't handle the waiting, we bid adieu to B and left to go eat. This was at 3:15 or so. I stopped the nurse in the hallway and asked about when he would go back (30-45 minutes, and how long the surgery would be (I swear she said an hour) so we calculated that we should be back at 4:30. So we went to eat and then went to Kmart to do some pics in the old school photo booth they have, as well as look at school supplies. We got back to the hospital at about 4:50-ish. He was just barely going into recovery part one. It's a good thing his dr is incredibly hot (at least I think so) or this scheduling thing would be a lot worse. ;) We met with the dr to go over the surgery and stuff.

We were literally the last people there. They had actually locked the lobby. Well, why not? It was 5:30. So the nurse took us back to the recovery part two area and set us up with some cold beverages and about 20 minutes later B came out, barfing. Bleh. The dr told me that the regular sedation they use for that procedure (as they used last time) didn't quite work, and B kept kicking and resisting, so they unexpectedly had to put him under a general instead. Hence the barfing.

All the while P is messing with this damn wheelchair, making this clanking sound that was irritating the hell out of me. E kept changing the channel on the tv and making weird sounds. I was snapping at them, P kept getting upset and crying and running into the other room. Ugh! Such a different experience from the last time! B is barfing and I'm trying to keep the boys from seeing that, only they won't mind and kept going around to watch, therefore getting nearly ill themselves. Kids!!!

So we finally get B in the car, and partway home, he says he's going to barf. I realized the puke tray we took from the place was in the trunk, and told him to just wait, I'd pull over. But he couldn't. So as B is barfing, P is screaming in HORROR and I'm screaming P's name over and over to chill. I pull over, get P out of the car and tell him to sit on the grass, open the trunk, dump all the crap out of B's plastic clothes bag, and run over with it. The 7-11 hot dog box B grabbed to catch the stuff wasn't up to the task. He let loose in the bag.

Ok, back on the road. B has his bag, P is calm. We pull into the driveway and B starts hurling again. Luckily P was asleep and woke up as we pulled in, I jumped out, pulled open his door, told him to hop out quick (which he actually did!) so we wouldn't have another screaming fit. Finally got B into the house.

Now let me tell you about the first time (right toe). Went to the surgery center, filled out the paperwork, promptly called back to the gown room, took goofy pics of B in gown looking pregnant, met with anesthesiologist and surgeon, they took him back, I drove home to get the boys from school, came back to the surgery center where we were promptly called back to the recovery part two room, sat for about 20 minutes, drove him home, and settled in.

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED??? I guess when you're having the same procedure twice, you have certain expectations for the second one. My advice: don't. Assume each thing will have its own problems or lack thereof, and go with the flow.

And once again, the photo has nothing to do with the post. :D
Peace out!

I SSOOO Need This

A hamburger phone a la Juno. The only glitch is that I don't have a land line. I wonder if the company would consider making a hamburger cell phone? I would be first in line for that bad boy. Oh yeah.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Ok, so I stopped in at Costco to drop off a roll of film to be processed. In line ahead of me is a lady with a baby, and apparently she and the employee knew each other. So the employee takes the baby and is all oogly-googly at the baby, and I since I was next in line, I commented on how absolutely adorable the baby was. She even had her little piggies painted purple! Aww! And she had the most beautiful eyes, and knuckle dimples! And thigh rolls! Aww!

Ahem...

I digress. Anyway, so we're all just gabbing about this cute baby, and finally the mom (whom I suspect only stopped there to show off the baby) said her goodbyes and walked away.

And then, it was like a switch had been turned off in the employee. She was curt, bordering on rude with me. When just seconds before we were giggling at the baby's little fingers and stuff. It stunned me! I filled out the envelope according to her minimal instructions (name. phone number. check this box.) and she walked off. When she returned I asked how long for that to be ready. (one hour.) So I started to walk away and she says one last thing to me. (2:20.) I was like, "huh?" She'd already told me an hour. But whatev.

So anyway, it just irritated the hell out of me that she was all sugar when the girl and the baby were there. The second they left, she was all salt.

So tell me...what was with the attitude? Is it because I jumped into their baby-gushing? If that's the case, it's BS. Babies are cute. I can't change what's coded into my DNA and stop 'awww'-ing over babies. Or was this some rare glimpse into her non-employee, sugary sweet personality I shouldn't have seen? Or did she realize once the baby was gone, she had to deal with a line of customers?

Color me baffled. Human behavior fascinates me usually. But she just baffled me and made me sort of mad.

And on another note: thanks for all the sympathy and comments about my mum. I know in the grand scheme of life, things could have been much, much worse. I'll try to get back to everyone soon. :D

Peace out blog peeps!

(The photo really has nothing to do with the post, but that's my sweet niece and figured hey, this post needed some cuteness, right? lol)

Some kind of July (so far!)

I've been spending less time online lately, and some of you may know why. My mom had a pretty serious heart attack early (like 1 am) on June 30th. She was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital, where she had a stent placed in her heavily clogged artery. We also later found out she had pneumonia (possibly walking pneumonia) but didn't find that out until she was discharged. So she was on the breathing tubes for that whole Monday. It's always hard to see someone in that condition. She seemed able to hear me and tried to speak, but for the most part she was really out of it. The next day she was awake and somewhat coherent. Tubes out. She knew we were there and she spoke in a whisper. The following day she was a little better, actually kind of grumpy and irritable about her shoulders hurting and her throat.

Thursday morning as we prepared to go visit we had a call from my dad, they were releasing her. We were all quite shocked by this, we'd all planned for a longer stay. And the oddest thing? She was in the ICU the entire time. She was released straight from the ICU! We were flabbergasted! We thought surely she'd have been moved to a regular room for a bit of recovery. But apparently she had improved so well, that they just sent her home. Color us perplexed! So we went to see her on Friday, the 4th and spent a few hours. She seemed fairly normal. Still had a cough from the pneumonia and she'd lost what little voice she had, so we really had to listen hard to hear her.

I spoke with her this morning (I've actually talked to her a bunch of times, mostly short 'how are you doing?' type calls so as not to stress her voice) but today we had an actual conversation. She seems to be bouncing back really well. We have trouble visiting due to her smoking (yes, even after this whole thing, but she seems to have cut back) and the smoke really messes us up. I get migraines and my little one gets a cough.

So after all that, doing my regular online things (reading blogs, looking at photos, etc) didn't seem quite so important. I took some time to read. Watched mindless TV. And grasped the reality that a)my mom's artery probably does look like the one I saw on that quit-smoking ad all those years ago; the one I couldn't watch after the first time because it made me sick to be looking at my mom's artery. b)this near miss didn't make her stop smoking. c)her smoking will probably what kills her. d)I don't think she will ever stop smoking and that makes me incredibly sad. Even now, I looked for that commercial to link here, and I watched a small portion and I nearly vomited, so I didn't link it.

Anyway...


This lovely image brought to you by the California wildfire smoke drifting into Utah, making our sunsets blood-red. While they are beautiful, it's still rather tragic. I myself have seen the benefit of the fires that raged in Yellowstone in 1988 (someone correct me if I have the year wrong), but I'm not sure California will benefit in quite the same way. Especially since they've had the fires two years in a row. It's just heartbreaking! Insignificant words from someone who can't really do anything to help, but still...

We went to the park the other day to play ball. Well, balls, really. Kicked soccer balls, tossed footballs, and played a little Frisbee. Can I just say that I LOVE Frisbee? I am so glad it was invented! It's like, almost the only sport I'm good at. I think I'm good at croquet too, but it's been a while since I played it. I took my Fisheye camera to the park that day and I can't wait to see what images I caught with it! Gotta take the roll of film to Costco to be developed. I LOVE that camera people! It's so much fun!

Well, I guess that's all for now. I'll try to update more often. I'm still trying not to vomit from that video. Bleh. Every time I think about it...

Ok, peace out!

Do you ever wonder...

what people are doing when they don't blog for a while? Sometimes I think they are off doing wonderful, exciting things. Like hiking Mt Everest. Or kayaking the Colorado. Or baking cookies.

Not me. I've not done anything except try not to melt.

Scratch that. I've been reading. A lot. See that coolio link I added over to the side? It's a site that keeps track of books you're reading, you want to read, you've read, and you can rate and review the books. And you can also add people as friends (yeah, I know, you can't go anywhere without this function nowadays!) but it's totally cool because the people I've added as friends have led me to some awesome books!

So I paid up on my library card. And checked out books and cds.

I used to be quite the bookworm and if I really get into a book, I have a hard time putting it down and even going to sleep! And then I will read it for hours on end and give myself what I call a 'reading headache'. Sucks! But oh well! lol I'm glad I'm reading again. A couple years ago I read about 50 books in one year. I kept track just to see. And then it didn't seem to be about the books anymore, it became about the numbers. Plus, I didn't know where to go to get good book recommendations.

I'm a book nerd. I'm ok with it!

Here's a picture for you to look at. I know how posts without photos just bite! lol Click to view whole photo. This is from our Sunday daytrip to the Uinta Mountains. That whole place is just so gorgeous that the beauty almost overwhelms me. Almost. And it was the perfect temperature, especially for escaping the valley heat. There was blue sky, snow and a whole lot of clean, fresh air. Ahhh! Very invigorating!

I almost forgot! Check THIS out! I made a video about the robins!

That's all for now! Peace!

Riddle for you...

What do you get when you take a sick girl who slept a lot in the day, and then couldn't sleep that night because she forgot to get her anxiety pills from the pharmacy?

Answer: ME! I could not sleep. It's been a long-ish night. Mostly I tried to at least rest, but even just laying there was hurting my head. I had a too-much-sun hangover (you know, that flu-ish, achy all over feeling) and felt like poop Tuesday night and Wednesday until about nine-ish. Then I just had a headache. And then suddenly it was 11 and I had no pills to make me tired. Damn!

There was a REALLY freaky bug in the house, plus a giant moth that could easily be mistaken for a small bird. The moth came into our room (since the lamp was on) and I wigged. Then that freaky, mutant mosquito thing came in and I doubly-freaked! B injured the moth, and it flew somewhere and died, I presume. The bug thing also disappeared, and B wussed out in fear and went to sleep in the living room. I, on the other hand, cannot sleep anywhere but my bed (most of the time) so I bravely soldiered on and covered my entire body except for my nose with my blanket. Finally, I decided to listen to some tunes, and I swear to all that is holy, that thing must have been perched somewhere, just waiting for a bit of light to flight toward. The Zen wasn't even on for one minute and the thing came at it. It brushed my eyebrow and I thought maybe it was the earbud cords, but then I saw it in front of the Zen screen and let out some sort of keen/wail/cry sound (which I couldn't hear very well cuz of the earbuds, but what it sounded like inside my head was awful) and I called for B and he came and murdalized it. We honestly have no clue what that thing was! bleh I hate mystery bugs!

Well, that's about it. I might go watch the sunrise. I feel like I should be packing to go fishing or camping, seeing as those are really the only times I'm up this early. :)

--J

Sweet Fancy Moses!

I knew it had been a while since I blogged, but didn't realize just how long. Let's see...what have I been doing?

I have been watching what is happening with these:

Click to go to my flickr set to see for yourself!

I have been enjoying this Mother's Day gift:

The little lantern has a solar cell so after the sun goes down his lantern glows for a while. Isn't he cute?

And I've still been on the lookout for these:

Any funny signs. I took quite a few photos a couple weeks ago, but have seen more since so I need to go out and take more. This is one of my faves though.

I or we also:
☺ left MySpace (I have a regular blog, why did I need a MySpace page?)
☺ started a fairy garden
☺ planted a rosebush
☺ started my 52 Weeks Self Portrait album (which you can see here: 52 Weeks and that will be updated as I add pages.)
☺ have neglected any quilting for quite some time, just haven't been in the mood for it really. (and that should have a frownie, but I couldn't find one).
☺ added some stuff to my etsy shop.
☺ hung some heat and light blocking curtains to the kitchen, and they really do!
☺ got a laptop, for all of us, though B keeps referring to it as HIS. And it has a webcam, so we've been doing some little videos.
☺ joined twitter, which I don't fully understand yet. I think the disturbing part is the word 'following'. That has negative connotations for me.
☺ made some new friends on flickr, I can't believe the talent over there!

So that's about it, I guess. Sorry I went so long between posts. Really unusual for me, but I think I've summed it up quite nicely.

Peace!

Postcrossing

So in a recent photojojo.com newsletter, they profiled a site called postcrossing.com. So I went over and checked it out. It's freakin amazing people! Ok, so you sign up. And for every postcard you send, you get one back! And not from the same person you sent to. Someone else sends you one. It's quite amazing actually, you can list a little about yourself, what languages you speak, and you can mention if you want postcards with a specific topic (which isn't guaranteed). But it's all done based on ID numbers. Each card is assigned an ID number, which you write on the card before sending it. And then when you receive a card, you register that you received it via the ID number on the card.

I've received 3 cards so far. One from Taiwan, one from Finland, and one from Michigan (you can choose whether you want cards from your own country or not.)

I absolutely LOVE snail mail, so this is just so awesome! And the postage stamps are pretty cool too.

So check it out if you want! And if you're into photography, go to photojojo.com and sign up for their newsletter. They are great! Short, to the point, and written so regular people can understand (and they're funny too).

Peace out peeps!

Snoozefest

Click to view full photo

These tulips are pretty much baked now. But they were pretty last week. Nature is so bittersweet, isn't it?

Today I thought I had to be somewhere and I really didn't, so I was out and decided to stop at a park to chill. When I worked (for realsies, not my SAHM-job) I used to go find parks near my offices and go there to eat lunch in my car. I'd eat, then I'd put the seat back and take a little snooze. I loved it during spring when I'd roll down the windows a bit and there'd be a breeze. One of the places was actually a church, deserted during the day, and next to this huge field. So I'd hear the wind, smell the weeds, and hear the birds. Just enough white noise to send me into a little nap.

It was sort of like that today, except the wind was noisier and kept blowing this effing sign and making a clanging sound. And I didn't eat anything. And the back of my head REALLY hurt when I woke up. But otherwise, it was just like that church parking lot.

It's just weird to go from on-the-go-do-this-do-that to having these lulls where I have time to do something, but I don't want to, I just want to relax. Then I feel lonely and unneeded. WTH??? I swear, if anyone ever figures out my effed up brain, please be sure to let me know, won't you?

Well, I have an eye exam to study for. Cross your fingers! ;)

10 and MeMe5

Yesterday, my oldest E turned 10 years old. That time went so fast! He's almost as tall as me already too. He's a decade. He's in the double digits. He's stubborn (like me). He loves to read. He's still learning how to be a good person (isn't everyone though?). He's more giving and generous than he used to be. I love him so much!

Ok, enough sap.

MeMe Quiz: So here goes--the rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people, posts their names, and then leaves a comment on their blogs, letting them know they've been tagged.

Now for the fun part: =)

-What was I doing 5 years ago?
Pretty much the same thing I do now, sadly. Nothing overly exciting!

Five things on my to-do list today ( or things I did today):
1. Watch Juno
2. Pick up kids
3. Toss the birthday wrappings
4. Try to avoid the leftover cupcakes
5. Grill some chicken on the new BBQ

Five snacks i love:
1. Chocolate
2. 7 layer dip & chips
3. honey mustard pretzels
4. brownies
5. pop tarts

-Five things i would do if i were a billionaire:
1. pay off car
2. buy another car to replace our older one
3. maybe move to a newer, more energy-efficient house
4. travel to other countries
5. definitely give to charities

-Five bad habits I have:
1. Cussing
2. I'm impatient
3. nagging
4. (one's a secret)
5. I tend to cut people off when they're talking. I don't mean to really.

-Five places i have lived:
1. West Valley UT
2. West Jordan UT
3.
4.
5.

-Five jobs i've had:
1. Cashier at Eagle Hardware (now Lowe's)
2. Fashion Bug
3. medical insurance customer service
4. dental insurance customer service
5. Mom

-Five people I don't know very well and want to know more about
(a nice way of saying TAG!):
1. Michael Calanan (not sure if he will, but hey, never hurts to try, right???)
2. Kacy
3. Gloria (if she hasn't already done it!)
4. Rhian
5. Rachel (also not sure if she will, but maybe! lol)

That's all for now. I have 5 things I need to do. ;)

Isn't this pretty?

glitter-graphics.com

I got it from glittergraphics.com. I wish I was talented like that! lol Granted, it's a glitter graphic, but it came from somewhere, right?

And this one:

glitter-graphics.com

And this one:

glitter-graphics.com

I truly...

do not know how single parents handle a household. I am thoroughly exhausted by taking care of 4 people and it's starting to show in my response time to requests for extra pillows, juice, even just meals.

B is doing well. He didn't need any pain medication today. He volunteered to go with me on my errands to get out of the house for a bit, then we went to lunch. It was probably too much for his foot, but when we got back, he napped and seems to be fine.

This evening his brother and his wife brought over some DVDs for him to while his time away recovering, as well as some Coke and licorice. It was nice to have them over, even if the house was a mess (see above mentioned exhaustion).

I've been Spring cleaning my computer stuff. Contact lists on flickr, kind of closed down my myspace page in favor of this blog (though I LOVED the background I had set up over there, gotta see if there's a way to put that on here), deleted blogs I don't read anymore and those of people whom I respected at some point but turned out to be sort of snobs. Paring down the distractions, I guess you could say.

Painted a little bit of wood this evening to sell in my etsy shop. A cute chunky style dragonfly which I ended up getting on sale. It'll be hard to let that go, but I think I can manage. I'm really enjoying this little side endeavor. I also have some ideas for decorated picture frames, so I'll see how those fare in the shop.

Tomorrow I will be doing laundry, dropping off a roll of fisheye photos to be developed, and chatting with my girl Rhian hopefully, though I just realized she is most likely without internet still. Speaking of Rhian, she recently became a Fashionista for Scrap in Style TV. I'm so excited for her! I miss chatting with her though, so I hope she gets internet soon! (hint hint!)

What else...what else. No pics this post, but hopefully I can have some for next post.

E's birthday is coming up and right before B's surgery he offered to have E's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. And guess who's been too tired to even call and ask for pricing? Tomorrow. For sure.

Well, I guess that's it for this round.

Peace out!

I added...

a couple things to my etsy shop. Go check it out if you want. No pressure.

That's all I have the energy to say right now. I have to go to bed. Feeling really worn out and weepy and just frazzled a bit. Stayed up a few extra to make sure B is asleep after a nasty pain flare-up in his foot. Think he stood on it too long. Delayed reaction to that. Nothing I could do but ice and time. I think. He's asleep now so it seems to have worked. And the percocet of course.

TTYL!

Captain of the Toes

Friday...B is having

done. Ouch! And I couldn't illustrate the screw that will be placed inside his toe after they BREAK it. I'm only so talented with the Photoshop peeps!

Oy! Long story. Another day.

And I just got the reminder that my parents' wedding anniversary is coming up...on April 1st. Yes. That's correct. April 1st. Forty-one years I believe. That's like Hall of Fame worthy these days, isn't it? I thought I had a pic here of my parents on their wedding day. I'll see if I can dig it up, y'all will dig it. ;)

Favorite Lyrics Part 7

An oldie, but a goodie...

I Can See Clearly Now
by Johnny Nash

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

I think I can make it now, the pain is gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is the rainbow I’ve been prayin for
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

Look all around, there’s nothin but blue skies
Look straight ahead, nothin but blue skies

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone,
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It’s gonna be a bright (bright), bright (bright)
Sun-Shiny day.

Peace out blog peeps!

Don't you think it would be cool...

if you could choose your name once you decided what you liked?

I would probably go with the name Violet. Not because of that brat on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. For the color. And it looks cool in Kanji, doesn't it? Yeah, I think I'd go with that. And of course, purple is my favorite color, so it's fitting, isn't it?

It's easy to spell, not many variations, probably easy to understand over the phone, only 6 letters, there's a flower named violet...what's not to love? And I would get to say "V...as in Victor" which doesn't happen enough, really. That's fun to say. I get to say "B...as in boy" and "N...as in Nancy" and "C...as in cat" a lot, so they're worn out.

What name would you choose if you could?

Expectations of Reactions

The picture doesn't go with the rest of the post, but it's my boys being completely bored on Easter. lol We left the grandparents' house soon after.

Anyway, the topic for today is Expectations. Most notably my expectations of how people will react to something I have given them as a gift. Especially if it's something I made. Or went to great pains to choose.

I'm not sure just how I can consistently under- or overestimate people's reactions. I mean, if I think they'll be sort of lackadaisical about the thing, they end up being overly ecstatic! And conversely, if I think they will be really excited about something, they end up being sort of, well, bleh about it.

It happens all the time. Maybe I am guessing their reaction would be the same as my reaction if things were reversed.

Let me at least say this much, I wasn't the only one confused by the reaction of the gift recipient. After intense questioning, B also said he wasn't sure what the person thought of the gift. The gift was a belated Christmas gift, which was not finished on Christmas, but I told the person that their gift was this item when it was finished. And that got quite the reaction, let me tell you! So B thinks maybe the reaction was so mellow just because the person already knew what it was.

We also aren't sure if maybe the person didn't say much due to being choked up over the gift.

I just felt kind of let down after this whole thing and now I wonder why I even do it? I know that giving is the best part, I really do. And I don't do it for the thanks. I do love the reactions though and I just wish I had a clear reaction to store away in my brain, you know?

Anyway, sorry I couldn't be more specific. I know it's me. I have to stop trying to anticipate people's reactions. I need to just be a blank canvas and accept whatever reaction I get. No matter how confusing it is.

So, my faithful blog-ience...does this happen to you too?

Some of my least favorite words...

There are some words that people use quite often that really bother me. Firstly, is the word "just". As in "just a quick layout I did..." or "just an old favorite photo".

According the merriamwebster.com, the word "just" as an adverb means "barely, only, simply". It bothers me because I get the feeling with that one small word, that the artist doesn't feel like his/her art is worthy of much more than a glance. I feel like yelling "TAKE PRIDE IN THIS! DON'T BELITTLE IT BY STARTING OUT WITH 'JUST'!" To me, the word 'just' in this usage tells me they aren't confident in their work. I've been guilty of it too, but since realizing the negative connotation, I don't use it anymore. If I feel like it's worth posting, worth people looking at, worth my time to create, it's not just anything!

It's something!

My other pet-peeve words are (in regards to photography or art): "great work, as usual." I hope to never be at a point in my arts or crafts where someone has the urge to say that to me. To me, that means I'm not growing creatively. That I'm stuck, and I'm not getting better. As a photographer, crafter, etc, I want to grow, to improve, to experiment. I think it's more of a compliment for someone to be shocked and awed by something you've done. Break the mold, the expectations. Break out of 'as usual' and honestly, this is the best thing anyone could do.

What words bother you guys? I want to know!

Don't Mess with Me!

Bought this so I could walk on the parkway alone without feeling like a sitting duck. I really wanted a taser, but Big 5 doesn't sell those for some reason. We were joking that I could get an AK47-style paintball gun and it would have better results. It was just too bulky to carry though. Gotta have my arms free to do the 'mall walker' stride.

I asked my cop friend to tell me what the stats are for women being hassled in that area, and I didn't hear back from him, so I took that as bad news. I personally think that being overweight (read: chubby or fat) will deter most perps, but there are probably a few bad guys out there that wouldn't care about that.

But seriously...I do feel safer. I'm glad to have it.

Peace out!

For Sale...

I'm going to sell prints of my photographs in my etsy shop. Click here for the photos I will offer as prints (obviously I don't want my family pics floating around out there). I'm pretty flexible as far as sizing goes, but I'd like to keep the proportions as close to original as possible. Also, if you'd like something in b/w, let me know.

Thanks all!

Peace out!

Thank you...

You know who you are! And I love you for it!

Hugs and kisses all around!

Lone & Red

Click to view larger in flickr

I'm realizing that people who say 'let me know if you need to talk' generally don't mean that. It's more along the lines of saying 'fine' when someone asks how you are, when you really aren't 'fine' at all.

There are a certain few people I know will listen if/when I need to talk. But I truly don't want to burden those people without the offered ears. And trust me people, sometimes I just need to talk. Maybe the talk won't be so pretty, most likely it'll be littered with f-bombs and s-bombs.

The few times I've reached out to those people who've offered their ears to me, I've been royally rebuffed. And that makes me scratch my skin.

Literally. I've got anxiety over God knows what, and I just wanted someone to listen, and when I bottle that anxiety...guess what happens. I scratch myself til I bleed and I pull hair from my head and hyperventilate.

I'm not saying this for pity or to freak anyone out or whatever.

All I'm saying is that if you offer to listen when someone needs to talk, be ready for that call.

And I can honestly say that every time I've said that very thing, I've meant it. I don't say that if I don't mean it, because I know how important that is.

Peace out all!

Happy Birthday to my Little Sis

She's my little sister, although she is a bit taller than me, I believe. I was joking with her that if she'd been born one year earlier, she'd only be 8 years old this year. And she replied that she acts 8 sometimes.

We have fun! She tells me stories that make me laugh til I cry and my belly hurts. When she visits, she drives slow, cuz she's used to the traffic (or lackthereof) in the small town she lives in. She likes snowboarding, aliens, and frogs (I think, she used to anyway!)

Happy birthday little sis!

A few things!

So happy for this sweet girl Rhian! And that is one of my favorite pics of her. Go check out her news!


Me and my sweet niece at her first birthday party. Such a little doll! She was tired and a little sick and she just snuggled up on me and played and then fell asleep. I can't even explain how much I adore her! She makes me smile!

No pics of the new car yet. I was going to do a fisheye but I used up the roll and haven't put a new one in yet. Digital has made me lazy! lol

And a tag!
You must post the rules before you give your answers.-
You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name.
Each fact must begin with that letter.-
If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name. -
After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers.-
At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name.
(Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details).

tagged by Gloria. She used her first name, I was going to do that too, but my first name is SOO long, and my middle isn't, but I don't want to put my middle name out in cyberspace. Hmm. I'll make up a name. And no, it's not my middle name.

o-overly emotional sometimes
l-loves photography
i-into crafts
v-very valuable
i-is hard on herself for a lot of stuff
a-always honest

this says i need to tag someone.
like 6 someones.
if it's not too lame for you
then i choose
rhian
monica
elizabeth
greta
kimmy
all of whom can be found to the right.
play if you want.
heck, it's always good to share a little something
about yourself. :)

Peace out peeps!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Today is my gorgeous friend's birthday...
Elizabeth! She loves vintage finds, she clips coupons for fun, loves all things zodiac (in astrology, not the killer), has the sweetest sunshine eyes, makes lists, loves Seinfeld with me and has the most beautiful heart in the world!

If you have a chance, pop over to her blog and wish her a happy birthday and scroll through her posts to get to know her a bit and drool over her vintage goodness!

Happy birthday Elizabeth! I can't recall how we came to be internet friends, but I'm so, so glad we did!

Love you!

PS: I borrowed the pic off flickr, I hope you don't mind Elizabeth! :)

If this bed's a-rockin...

at 7:16 am it must be an earthquake.



The walls rumbled and the whole bed shook. B and I felt it, but the boys didn't. Nothing fell off the walls or anything. The town where it was apparently located (Wells, Nevada) had a lot of damage though.

There was a second, smaller one about 7:35 which we didn't feel at all.

We live near a municipal airport where they also have some military buildings, so they fly Apache helicopters quite often. When they come in low, all the glass things on shelves rattle a little. So when the whole bed shook, I knew it wasn't an Apache, which are quite loud and I can hear them coming.

Put Something In

Put Something In

Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-gumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
'Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain't been there before.

by Shel Silverstein

Eta: I challenge everyone to take Shel's advice, and when you've done it, and it's something you can post, post it and the poem, and link me up to it! I wanna see!

Favorite Lyrics Part 6

Another by Jewel, called I'm Sensitive.












I was thinking that I might fly today
Just to disprove all the things you say
It doesn't take a talent to be mean
Your words can crush things that are unseen
So please be careful with me, I'm sensitive
And I'd like to stay that way.
You always tell me that is impossible
To be respected and be a girl
Why's it gotta be so complicated?
Why you gotta tell me if I'm hated?
So please be careful with me, I'm sensitive
And I'd like to stay that way.
I was thinking that it might do some good
If we robbed the cynics and took all their food
That way what they believe will have taken place
And we can give it to people who have some faith
So please be careful with me, I'm sensitive
And I'd like to stay that way.
I have this theory that if we're told we're bad
Then that's the only idea we'll ever have
But maybe if we are surrounded in beauty
Someday we will become what we see
'Cause anyone can start a conflict
it's harder yet to disregard it
I'd rather see the world from another angle
We are everyday angels
Be careful with me 'cause I'd like to stay that way

Weekend

Click any of those for larger images in flickr.

Finished the charity quilt (it turned out so cute! I hope whomever gets it will love it as much as I do!). Got my hair cut (16-18 inches!!!). Bought a car (a charcoal gray Mazda6!!!). That's about it!

Peace out!

For Sweet Little 'H'

Click to see full photo on flickr.

So, this is weird. I went to see my GYN a couple months ago due to a feminine problem, and my regular GYN had stopped seeing non-OB patients. So I saw this midwife (you can see a midwife for general GYN visits, I had no idea!) So I started seeing her. She was super nice. Got me going on my thyroid meds again, did my annual exam (is it still an annual if the last time I had one was 2004?), etc etc.

The other day I call to follow up on my thyroid and stuff, and they tell me she has left their practice and moved to an office quite some distance away, and has taken her patient files with her.

I called and left a message for her nurse, and have not gotten a call back. But at this point, I'm already irked because if I had KNOWN she was moving, I would have asked her to a)leave my file at the old practice or b)sent my file over to my GP. Because both issues I was having can be handled by my GP. I was only going thru her since she did my annual exam.

So anyway, I'm irritated. That my original GYN never told HIS patients he was not going to see non-OB patients anymore, that the new doctor left without telling her patients, that I've never been called back regarding things she was handling before her move. I'm going to stop in to my GP's office and ask that my records be transferred.

That's all for today! Peace out!

52 Weeks...Week 33...

Click to see full photo on flickr.

Thanks for the comments girls! My neck is one of my least favorite spots on my body, but this photo actually made it look good! Seductive? I'll take your word for it. lol

Cleaning House

You guys are so funny! No, nothing juicy is getting deleted. I actually blurbed it...into one of those books. So I kind of didn't see the point of leaving all that on here.

But...

It's turned out to be a royal pain in the arse to delete more than one post at a time. So they may end up sticking around since I'm way too lazy to sit here and his the buttons that many times.

No worries! Just felt like cleaning up a bit and that felt like a good way. Mostly since yesterday was my two year blogiversary. Two years! So I wanted a clean slate, so to speak.

My lovely husband has offered me my own domain on which to do a blog, so I may end up deleting this one completely and doing that, depending on how much work it ends up being.

I will definitely keep everyone posted! :)

Bullets

*Rhi sent me the most awesome camera ever for my birthday! It's a little fisheye camera and I have been having a BLAST with it! Haven't had any pics developed from it yet, since it used real film. But as soon as I do, I will share!
*The snow has been amazing this winter! I am glad I don't have to drive far in it, but when it's fresh and new it's absolutely gorgeous! And so much of it! I made a little snowman today, with an actual CARROT nose! I took some pics with the fisheye camera Rhi sent me.
*I have 3 packages to send tomorrow. One is a VERY late bingo prize from October (eek! I'm so mad at myself for letting that happen!). One is a package full of fun stuff, sort of a cross between a late Christmas gift and a just because package. And the last one is a box full of birthday goodness for my little sis, whose birthday isn't til March, but I don't want to wait to send it. :)
*I really like sending cute little notebooks to people. Maybe because I love cute little notebooks so it's kind of like giving what you'd like to receive?
*Why the HELL is Solitaire Golf so DAMN hard people? I played this as a kid and I swear I won a lot. Out of like 950 games (they go quickly, don't judge me!) I've won 14. FOURTEEN! Wth??? I much prefer Pyramid or Freecell, but this Golf has me obsessed!
*Got a heart shaped cake pan (to make heart shaped cake) and some velcro (to make myself an MP3 player armband). It really IRKS me that if you don't have an iPod, the accessories out there are slim to nil. As if EVERYONE has an iPod. Maybe they do! But I know one person who doesn't, and probably never will. Can you say MONOPOLY???
*I plan to go walking around the indoor basketball gym in the mornings. We'll see how that goes.

I guess that's all for now! Peace out!