You look Beautiful!

Before surgery....

After surgery...

We would tease Dad about beating Mom about the face but he'd just shrug and not find the humor in it. My Mom inherited lazy eye lids from her mother. So after she had cataract surgery last month, the doctors wanted to remove the access skin from above her eyes. We were very pleased about that because we've always talked about her getting it done. The doctor made the decision for her.

Now, I wonder if we will still be able to tell if she is tired. Mom's eyes would tell you how she felt, if she was tired her right eye would almost close shut. I would ask if she could see and she said yes but it really didn't look like it.

It's all done and she seems to be doing okay. I did have to laugh at her when I first saw the black eyes. Its amazing how if you know the person is okay or going to be okay it's alright to laugh at them. If you are a Facebook friend of hers, feel free to send your good vibrations her way.

Enough for now...

Hit the Brakes! Hit the Brakes!

You know sometimes you can wollar around in your own self pity but when you watch the following video it just might make you think "my day wasn't so bad." There are days that I feel as though I am driving through life without a wheel. However, if I were in this guy's place I would have been wigging out completely! This dude was way to calm.



Enough for now...

Let the Sun Go Down!

Summer Solstice is tomorrow, June 21, 2011 at 12:16 PM in Oklahoma City. It will be the longest day of the year. The day with the most sunlight for the whole year. LIKE I NEED THE DAYS TO BE ANY LONGER!

If I could run away and start fresh, I would but all the crap that bugs me here would be were I ran away to. So running away is not an option, my mortgage also makes running away a non-starter.

You know, if we still had the pagan rituals of dancing naked around a bonfire while getting royally wasted maybe I would look forward to tomorrow. But at the same time I would probably be paralyzed at the thought of (one) dancing and (two) getting naked. Nobody wants to seen a middle aged woman dancing naked while drunk dialing some ex-boyfriend (Eeewww).  All I'd need to see it the two ugly boys such those in the picture and I would have to renounce my pagan ways. Yeah, I can't even be pagan. Crap.

So if I cannot run away or dance naked while getting totally blitzed, I guess I will just have to endure tomorrow. But I will not like it!
 
Enough for now...

Smoking Hot

Where this cart path leads nobody knows.

Friday was the day of the charity golf tournament where I volunteered to take photos for the event. This was the event that Co-Worker Theresa runs and Co-worker Linda and I took a day to scout out Roman Nose State Park. What we did not know in February was that by June 17th, it was going to be a blast furnace out there. Record heat, 105 degrees with gale force winds and 18 rounds of golf - makes sense huh?

Actually, the tournament went real well and we managed to raise money for the scholarship fund. I managed to bring home a migraine from the heat and wind burn. But I also brought home some funny memories of my golf cart driver Melinda who struggled with the lack of cart paths on the golf course. But hey, we drove all over the greens and more than likely over some areas the course managers didn't want us to go.

Another hysterical thing was that Theresa and I both wore white Capri's in an area of flying red dirt. I have never gotten so dirty taking photographs. I came home filthy. It looked like I rolled all over the course.  It didn't help when I walked into Theresa's SUV tire - giant black mark on white Capri's. Yeah.

So in an effort to recover, I went to the casino on Saturday - you know indoor activities, staying out of the heat. I took the amount of money what I was prepared to lose and still be able to eat during the month and off to the slot machines. Now I don't think I want to go gambling ever again!

I will never ever do that do good again and I don't want to spoil the memory. I won so much on one machine that I moved up from the $1.50 bet to the $3 bet. Now that was really scary but the machine was paying and gave me a big jackpot to the point that I didn't think it would pay anymore at $3 bet so, ahem, I hit the $6 bet and low and behold it paid -- repeatedly!

I had a ball. I felt like a big spender! Only thing is that I won't spend MY money that way - the casino's yep but not mine. I managed to profit a cool $600 bucks that is now in my savings account.  I needed a little silliness and that's just what I got.

Enough for now...

Roll Baby Roll

This video gave me the best laugh I have had in a long time. Why you ask? Because this last month has made me feel just like this puppy. No matter how hard I try, I just rock and rock and rock and I just can't get over! It only 59 seconds, watch the video - then click on an ad to the left so that next month I might actually make it over!



Enough for now...

Porn for Chicks and No One's the Wiser

Former Co-worker Ed would say that novels were porn for chicks and when I accidentally got a romance novel I have to agree that he's probably right! Now, I love the Sci-Fi books with elves, dwarfs and all things magic or the Jane Austin's prim and proper - why such diverse genre? I have no idea. I like what I like. The Three Musketeers was the absolute best!

Now, I just read an article on Fox News website that backs up what Ed had said, "The Real Force Behind Ebook Sales: Heaving Bosoms" [Read the article]. Heaving Bosoms? Really? Why is always Heaving Bosoms? I do find it funny that now women can openly read their romance novel at the coffee shop and no one is the wiser. All they have to do is have a copy of Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" and pop over to it if anyone comes up and nonchalantly set the e-reader down on the table. Now your not a silly woman but an enlightened and refined woman. 

I am conflicted right now. I was going to buy a Kindle but I have slew of unread books in my possession and I knew if I bought a Kindle I would not read what I have because I would want to use my new toy.  So I decided not buy the Kindle for now. I am not sure that I will ever look at a woman reading an e-reader without wondering what she is really reading. Hey, if I only liked romance novel I might have purchase brown paper bag e-reader but  I really don't have to worry about someone seeing me read Fiest, Dumas, Austin or Tolkien.

Do you have an e-reader? Do you buy chick porn?

Enough for now...

A fever in 101 degree weather???

I feel as though a Mac Truck ran me down and threw it into reserves just to make sure I was down - smashed really.  The allergy / summer cold that I came down with last Thursday really did a number on me! First, I flirted with a fever, then I grew agonizing headaches, not to be outdone by the chest congestion. The one thing though that really wore me out was all the snot! I never thought I would get that stopped.

I was down Friday, Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, I took a nap during the day, and that caused me not to sleep one wink that night. When my alarm went off this morning, I had yet to fall asleep. That made for a very difficult Monday. I was so exhausted but managed to survive the day. Now I just have to stay awake till night [must not nap, must not nap].

What I want to know is why do I always get sick in the summer? It is not the time to be sick. I am cranky and tired. Sorry no creative juices tonight, they've been all dried up with the anti-histamine.

Enough for now...

Zip IT!

Well, I think we now know why the Democrats despise the Right's stand on moral issues. They don't have morals period!  If Weiner had been a Republican they would have called for his head and the media would have crucified him. Since he is not a Republican, they are reluctantly covering it because it is so salacious. At least his co-workers are calling for an "investigation."

We all know what that means, we saw it with Charlie Rangle and he cheated on his taxes! Pull your winkie out, take a photo of it and tweet it -- no big deal! How freaking hard is it to be a normal person who is loyal to your wife?

The Democrats of American have much to be proud of, Jack Kennedy, Gary Hart, Bill Clinton, Gary Condit, John Edwards and Anthony Weiner. I have no faith in our country's leadership - "HEY WASHINGTON, You Suck!"

Enough for now...

Working on the Weekend

What happened to my day of leeeesure? I thought I would do some minor straightening of my computer cabinet to get my computer cords in some semblance of an order. So I borrowed Dad and bought some cup hooks. We started out with putting in the cup hooks on the inside side panel and I ran the monitor cable through three cup hooks then on the row below I ran the printer cable, etc.

Then Dad remember I had some cable hider things that have sticky tape on the back. Well, it would have been great if the sticky tape would have held. Plan B! Dad notched out the top of the bracket thingy so we could screw them in. After much grunts, gasping, banging of the head we got one screwed in and it worked but we abandoned that idea for any other cables.

Now though I can grab whatever cable I need and everything is neater in there and all the electrical plugs are securely in and inspected. Oh, did I fail to tell you why I wanted neat cables? I got shocked the other day and need to find out who was the culprit and I think I did.

Okay it's the weekend and you are supposed to do projects like this but it's been not stop work! Last night, I created a calendar for my mom with many of the photos that I have been scanning and archiving. That took all night to create and print out. I then went to Staples and had them add some pocket sleeves, plastic covers and spiral binding. I think she really liked it (warm fuzzy).

Then worked on my freelance website today. If  my contact doesn't give me content soon that site is going to be decked out with all the latest bells and whistles and I am making everyone of those bells accessible! I am rather addicted to this site (creative juices on overload).

Tomorrow's plan includes bathing Seamus??? And I am vacuuming as I blog this (does it count when you sit on the couch watching the Roomba vacuum? After all I did have to push the button on). When will my leeeeesure time come?

Enough for now...

X-Men: First Class

I was extremely skeptical of this movie when I say the first commercial. I really like movies in order and the prequel effect doesn't trip my trigger. That being said, this one looks good.

Since I have watched all the X-men movies, there is no doubt that I will watch this one too. I will tell you that if I was playing a character I would not like playing a younger version of Patrick Stuart or Ian McKellen. Way too intimidating!


Enough for now...

Feeling Every Bit the Monday

I had to return to work today after taking a few days off before the long weekend. The problem with taking days off, really shows you what life could be like if you didn't have to work. I don't want to work but I do want to have money and an occupation.

I have enjoyed working on my freelance job but didn't enjoy most today.  I did enjoy my lunch with Co-worker Linda. So I want to work for myself and meet Linda (and Theresa if she ever comes back to the office) for lunch. I like the freedom of making my own decisions but don't like too much alone time.

Trying to get caught up with emails and routine jobs from my mini vacation made today icky. I am also trying to keep up on the new HTML 5 coming and then there's CSS3 and ARIA that I have yet to learn. It is hard to keep your skills up when the subject advances and changes every minute.

Then there is the hope that You Tube's caption program will be good enough that I can stop captioning videos, nope it's not good enough yet. But hey, they are thinking accessibility which is really great. The machine reported "they are overcoming popsicles," yeah, we help people with disabilities overcome popsicles???? How about obstacles? Well, it appears that I will continue to do it manually as it is easy to type it in clean than to have to proof and possibly miss something like popsicles.

Enough for now...

I am Number Five ... right?

What does it say about who I am when I watch Jane Austins "North Hanger Abby," then I watched Jason Statham's "Mechanic" and finished of the weekend with "I am Number Four." I went from one end of the spectrum to the other.

With the prime and proper of days gone by I love the way that the heroine always wins in the end. In North Hanger Abby Catherine, a most unremarkable heroine, has flaws and a wild imagination and yet, you fall for her innocence especially in the wild and unpredictable Bath. Where boys flirt mercilessly and chivary is found by the accidental bump in an overly crowded public ball. Only Austin can create heros like Mr. Tinley, Mr. Darcy or Mr. Fairchild.

From innocents, I move in the world of assination. Arthur Bishop, the stoic and calculated hit man is duped into a hit that has him killing his mentor. Then he falls into the guilt ridden role of mentoring his mentor's son so that the idiot doesn't get himself killed. The only way that you like the hit man character was that all the hits were on total and complete creeps. I really liked the action in this and Mr. Bishop was not too bad on the eyes.

What goes after innocence and hit men? Aliens! In I am Number Four, the action was cool and #6 had some really cool powers. I have to admit that I love Bernie Kosar in this flick and Henri. Yeah, #4 was the  focus of the movie but Henri had that something. 

What kind of a person am I that all three of these movies totally entertained me? Not to mention that the book I am reading right now involves magic, elves, and more? Not sure but I don't think I grew up as I was supposed to.

Enough for now...

Sending Grandma Home

Today we, my mom and dad and sister and her husband, went to Grandma's funeral in Gore, OK. As far as funerals goes it was nice, a fitting tribute to her but it was three hours away. That was the hardest thing about today, was getting up and getting dressed for the funeral and leave the house at 8 a.m. Then have the return trip.

Oh wait that wasn't the hardest part, getting in my brother-in-law's pick up gracefully that was the hardest part. My 5'3" mother had a harder time than me so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Our family is somewhat spread out and we haven't seen the extended the family very much over the years and my sister has seen everyone even less due to her defection to Texas.  So when my aunt came up to us, I knew Kim didn't know her and I, not knowing really how to handle it, said: "this is my sister, Kim." Then my aunt said "I am Lou." Awkward! I could have handle it better but you never plan for these things.

The good thing was that I don't think Lou recognized Kim either. Next time I will say something like, "Aunt Lou this is my brother-in-law (who she's never met before)." At least it would have clued Kim and Lou in. It is odd being introduced to your aunt who you've known since you were a baby.

I did like the fact that we held the funeral at the church next to the cemetery and we didn't have to drive to the grave side. But that little church was straight out of the 1800s. There was a respectable showing for a 97 year old who has out live most of those who knew her in life. One real perk of the day was that the cemetery was deck out for memorial day with an explosion of flowers. Grandma would have liked that.

Mom was walking through cemetery reading the headstones of all her mother's mother's family. She kept saying "oh there's Pres, and there's Walt." I asked if she thought that all these were still alive, since these where Grandma's uncles? She really hadn't thought about it and not living in that town, she hadn't processed who had gone before her mom. It was like walking down your family's memory lane of people you didn't know existed, oddly interesting.

I didn't get to visit with my cousins much as that is a tough place to catch up with the sadness of the day and the sinking of the heels in the ground of the cemetery.

It is 8:30 pm and I think I could straight to bed and sleep straight through to the morning. These are the hard parts of life, we made it through this one. Now we need a little boring. 

Enough for now...

Where's Winston

What do you do when all your babies are clean and still warm from the dryer? Do you think Winston has enough babies or should we get him some more?

What really cracks me up is that he really does not play with them - he sleeps on them. Occasionally, he will get really excited and run one outside.

This was just too cute and I had to snap the photo.

Enough for now...

It's almost June, what the Vortex?

Photo by Paul B. Southerland, The Oklahoman
taken today in my county. Yikes!

Wondering if we all (Oklahomans) are going to OZ tonight? I do need a vacation but I don't think I want to go there (but I would like to see some flying monkeys).

These storms are such a pain, I wish the science would get to the point of saying "those on 1st street and Main, take cover now." Instead, you sit glued to the TV, thinking am I safe? Do I ignore those sirens? Do I grab the dog and head for cover?

Sometimes I get irritated at the weather men who interrupt TV for towns five hours away but at the same time I want everyone to have the same opportunity to be safe.

I do have to admit that I kind of poo poo'd my friend Linda this morning when she came into my office worried about impending storms. She was right! And I am worried that tomorrow, parts of our poor state will not resemble what they looked like this morning. I pray that this storm comes and goes with out a single injured. 

The reality of it, really boggles my mind. it's only air. Normally, you can't feel air and yet tornadoes cause so much destruction. Is that what Chicken Little meant when he said "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!"

Enough for now...

Bonnie Aretta Griffith

Entered this Earth on November 3, 1913, went to Heaven on May 23, 2011

Rest Grandma, rest.

Grandma Bonnie and Lou

Grandma Bonnie and Grandpa Lawny

Grandma Bonnie and her kids and grandkid

(L to R: Barbara, Don, Andrea, Ruth, Tom, Tommie, Grandma, Wanda, Ramona and Shirley)

Grandma with Wanda and Tommy

Enough for now...

Exhausted but my hands look good

I have had a tough week this week and I couldn't / didn't want go and get my nails done. By today they looked horrible. So mom and I decide to go and we are going to enjoy a relaxing spa moment, wrong! We got there at 4:45 and they asked if we could come back at 6:30. My salon is walk-ins only.

Okay, we need this so we decide we can come back. We return a little early and the place is crawling with teenage boys and girls. They are obnoxious and on wearing every nerve. Mom and I are criticizing the mom for not settling to boys down and making them behave. The boys are central to one young girl and when her nails are done they all leave. The mom, we were bashing, was not their mom nor in charge of them. So to the Karma in the wind, we did try to walk back all our harsh words even though she didn't know that we were bashing her, I did feel bad.

Since school is about to let out, every seat was full and we had to wait another hour before we could get our turn. I think leaving the nail salon at 8:45 pm is too late.

I am also running on nothing because the thunderstorms kept baby up all night. He is thunder phobic and I gave him a Xanax when the storm rolled in but he was not going to soothed. At 5:45 a.m. my alarm goes off and I haven't slept at all and I sick to my stomach. I push through and go to work but the exhaustion makes my work so hard. I think I will crawl into bed and sleep like a rock tonight. Would it be wrong to take one of my dog's Xanax?

Enough for now...

Laughter for the Soul

Okay, I totally take back my post from yesterday. Today I had a total ball at my supervisory training - go figure! I always sit at table of very cordial and polite state workers. My table this day consisted of Devon, Michael, Jean Marc and Stacey and much, much laughter.

Thankfully, the instructor was a good instructor and didn't do those stupid clappy hand toys and stuff. He treated us like professional adults. The class was on thinking laterally and basically ways to pull great ideas out of people, which also means crazy ideas too.

By 2 o'clock, we were punch drunk with laughter. I laughed till my sides hurt and I really needed it. It reminded me of this video! Enjoy!!

Enough for now...

Can we skip tomorrow?

As a state employee (who supervises another employee in name only ), I am required to attend supervisory training. These course are such a huge waste of tax payer money and should be assigned only when a supervisor proves lacking.

Each year, I am bored out of my gourd and much of the information taught is more than out-dated, they are passe' .  I hope that I don't get one of those instructors who pass out stupid toys, like the clappy hands that we all have to shake when someone gives a right answer. Then there are instructors who show videos from the 90s or older, and you know you are going to take home so real good knowledge.  Whimper....

I need to make a conscientious effort to move from the state government sector to the private sector. These classes insult my intelligence!

Tomorrow will be hard! Tomorrow will be a waste! Tomorrow will be icky!!!

Enough for now...

Come Plank With Me

Oh my gosh! They have a game that expresses exactly how I feel! I need to get a couple of friends to go Planking with me. I wonder if we could get a mass Planking on the banks of Bricktown's River or on Oklahoma Memorial Stadium or in the stacks at the Oklahoma Department of Libraries.

Post a comment if you want to go Planking with me.



Enough for now...

Thumbs up for Downton!

I did absolutely nothing today except watch five episodes of Downton Abby; however, that took pretty much the whole day. I am not sure if any of my three readers are pron to watch Masterpiece Theater like I am. If so, does anyone despise Mary as much as me? Her arrogance is appalling. Thomas and O'Brien cause me to scream at the screen.

Whoever did the casting for this show, BRAVO! You nailed it especially with the Violet Crawley and Isobel Crawley. I absolutely love the way these two zing each other. First sign it was going to be tough was when Isobel asks the Dowager Countess after being introduced "What are we to call each other?" and the Violet says "Why Dowager Countess and Mrs. Crawley, of course." Ouch!
My favorite lines in the show are:
Lady Rosamond Painswick: "You know me, Mother, I have to speak my mind."
Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham: "Why? ....... Nobody else does."

Now on the staff side, oh my stars, will John Bates hurry up and kiss Anna! Geeze, I wanted to slap him upside the head when he was trying to push her away. And you just want to slap Thomas period! Hate him. Daisy is adorable but would probably drive you nuts if you really worked with her.

I can't wait for season two. Autumn 2011 is a long time to wait for Season Two!

Enough for now...

The elixir of the gods

I am trying to give up Coke. Now Coke is my favorite thing in the whole wide world. A large Coke will derail my diet before a pizza or some chocolate.

I am working on Coke Zero. While it is not horrible, like Diet Coke, it reminds me of vanilla coke right now. I am hoping to not notice that taste soon and forget how glorious Real Coke is. I am worried that I will learn to like Coke Zero as much as real Coke and it won't be in the restaurants.

Thank goodness it's the weekend. I need to retreat into myself and regroup.  I need to hit the tub with a good book, sleep late, annoy Winston. I need normal.

What I don't need is to clean my dirty house but I have let it go so long that it has actually become embarrassing. What is killing me is that this year Summer is here and I have yet to work in my yard. My planters have been left to their own devices. My trees have been free to do their own thing and the grass needs a hair cut.

None of these things sound fun but at the same time its beginning to be stressful not doing what I should. If I had a real Coke all of those things would be easy.

Enough for now...

In Enemy Territory But Had Fun

I went with a co-worker to Stillwater today to collaborate with some other techies on an e-learning system to make it accessible for all our staff.  It was energizing developing and working through problems and finding solutions. It was also really nice being able to talk to someone without having to explain. In fact Chris talked above my head.

I also learned the accessibility  feature on You Tube for captions is pretty good. I can’t wait to test it now.  So I went to help my co-worker and came back with new tricks. Yippee!

I think the most stressful thing about the day was that Mom’s was having surgery on her eye (cataract). Three weeks ago, she had one eye done and today was the other. It is relatively routine surgery with little recovery. I don’t like being an hour and half away when people are operating on my Mom.

I had a good day but felt guilty for being so far away. Even though, I didn’t go with her for either surgery  (she said I didn’t need to but at the first surgery I was in town). Then I felt guilty for being in OSU territory and learned something, this Sooner girl felt conflicted.  My co-worker now sees the light  at the end of the tunnel.

Enough for now…

Member of the club

I have now been initiated into the realm of mammography. WOW! I thought the tech was going to pull and then squish my boobs off!  I knew it would squished, what surprised me was how she had to pull. At one point, I wonder how high she was going to elevate my left boob. I caught myself tippy toey-ing.

Honestly, I don't think I would like working with boobs. Nope, not the job for me. I do like the fact that you find out before you even get dressed. My results came back normal.

Alright I have now done that I don't want to do that again. I am set for the rest of my life right? Right.

Enough for now...

State Capitol Hang Over

It's 6 a.m. and I am plum exhausted. I don't know why but working (mostly sitting at)  a booth at the State Capitol from 8:30 to 2:30 really takes it out of you.  If I didn't have so much to do I think I would call in sick today and recover.

Yesterday was State Web Day and a bunch of us took our laptops and monitors to the 4th floor rotunda to display our website. Thankful I took agency brochures because I talked more about our agency than I did about the website.

While not many legislators came out to talk to us, I still think it is worth while. It was the first year. Much to learn, and many to inform.

I saw my best friend from college, Scott, frat brother, Randy at the State Capitol. I didn't talk to him, I doubt that he would even remember me now. He is a legislator. For I second I wonder what Scott was up to, then I went about my day. That topic is an entirely separate blog altogether.

Now I am off to crawl to the shower and hope my Advil kick in soon. My feet are killing me.

Enough for now...

Missing My Lunch Buddies

Co-workers Linda and Theresa all but abandon me last week. Linda had the gall to actually enjoy her personal life by take a week and half vacation and Theresa was out in training most of last week. Work is no fun when they aren't there!

I was so looking forward to for us getting together and catching up - all of us didn't get to. I had crazy meetings. Theresa had commission and meetings and Linda was trying to catch up from a week's vacation. So Linda and I went to lunch and Theresa had a meeting for lunch.

So it's a Monday, we'll get together tomorrow. I have to go to the capitol and sit at booth for State Web Day. So no gossip or giggling. Maybe Wednesday, Noooooooo. I have to go to my very first mammogram. I don't want to! Is that really necessary? Crap... Okay, we can all get together on Thursday. No, no, no!! Crap, crap, crap. I have to go to Stillwater on Thursday. Waaaa, I don't think I am liking this week.

Enough for now...

Thank God!

God really knew what he was doing when He created puppies, oranges, sunshine and the giggles. Imagine what life would be like without these - it would be less. But He was glorious when he created Moms. Imagine what life would be like without these - no thanks! I am eternally grateful that He blessed me with my mom!

Happy Mother's Day, Mom.

Evolution of the hair!



Enough for now...

Here we go - Mitt Romney for President

I am not sure that I am ready for another campaign cycle. With our current President on a never ending campaign, I am burned out. The Republicans held the first debate tonight - didn't watch - I know who I want. I am again rooting for Mitt!

I would love to see a Mitt Romney / Herman Cain ticket. While I have thrown my hat in Mitt's corner, I love Herman Cain. Herman has the best fiscal common sense that I think between the these two men, we might be able to buy our country back from China.



Enough for now...

Sleepless in Yukon

Okay I am currently sharing a KING SIZE bed with Seamus and Winston and you would think that would be ample room right? Right! Wrong!!!!! Those dingle-berries think that they must sleep right next to me. Seamus is sleeping in the middle at the foot of the bed, so from my knees down I can't move. Winston has taken to sleeping right in the middle of the my tummy with his bum pressed on me.

In a king sized bed I have about one foot of bed to sleep on. Why don't I just move to the other side of the bed, you ask? Because they follow me. A bloodhound and a beagle are not going to leave you in peace when they can snuggle with you.

If Seamus decides to use your legs as a pillow within five minutes you've lost all circulation. When Winston decides to go to sleep, he wants to be curled up right next you chin and down to my tummy.

Tonight is the final night that Seamus is our bed buddy. Tomorrow we go back to normal with our own beds.

Did I also tell that they both are sleeping like babies? I am the only one losing sleep.

Enough for now...

Finally!

It is a great day. Not only has evil been eliminated from our world, but for  the families who this evil man has caused great pain, now get the comfort of knowing he no longer lives.

I am so glad that they had to killed him. I did not want him captured alive and brought to trial - I wanted him dead.

I am a little afraid of reprisals but at the same time refuse to live in fear. So I will go about my life as normal.

I do want to say Thank YOU to -  Navy Seals / CIA / Airmen / Solders - all those responsible for executing the operation is such a successful manner.  One again America military came through in defending America!

Enough for now...

Up, Up and Away

I loved my comics when I was little and my parents never had to worry about political commentary in the storyline. Now, I really feel for parents wanting to share the childhood experience of reading comics.

I am so disappointed with latest move that the writers of Superman have taken in renouncing his American Citizenship. Wow. This really surprised me and thoroughly disappointed me. The comic will profit tremendously on this move and  I really wish it wouldn't. Even if parents didn't allow their children to buy this issue, the collectors will.

It just seems that anti-American rhetoric is every where. I really can't say I would like the blind patriotism of the 50s but it was definitely much better than what we are experiencing today. What should be a good versus evil has become political. Yeah, they will make a lot of money on this but it's the children who loose in the end.

Bummed.

Enough for now...

Close the Museums Wearable Art!

We often think of the British as just like us but what I saw at the royal wedding was anything like us! The Prince's cousins were hot messes. How in the world can these girls think that those albatrosses on their heads are attractive? How?

While these were bad the cousins weren't the only ones, there were many others who left me wondering where their minds were. Evident it is hip to destroy a beautiful outfit with arbitrary objects on your head. Then I began to think about our own culture and the things we do.

I really can't think of anything as ridiculous as wearing those odd head ornaments in our culture in very formal situations. We do have the lunacy at football games. But that's not like a wedding or the opera, American girls dress nicely (unless they are from New Jersey and some of their hairstyles could rival the British hats) at formal events.

I would really love to know what we do that seems so over the top to the Brits.

I have to admit that I would wear the blue hair before you would ever catch me in such a silly hat! What would you do?



Enough for now...

Here's Hoping for the Fairy Tale

First of all, let me start by saying, no I am not getting up at 5 a.m. to watch Will and Kate get married. I do have to admit I did for Charles and Dianna's wedding. When they got married, we did not have the technology that we do today, so I had to crawl out of bed and go into the living room to watch it. I did not have a TV in my room and I was only 14 years old.

I know that the Prince and Soon-to-be Princess are royalty but spending millions at this economically depressed time is a little crass. Also, I think that with the couple being in their late 20s that so much pomp and circumstances seems a little bit much. I am a little bit on the conservative side for weddings when you get close to your thirties.

If for some weird reason I were to get married after all these years, I think an exchange of vows in my living room would be sufficient or an elopement to Las Vegas' most cheeky wedding chapel.

Elaborate weddings when the couple is older is  like old people on the dance floor - dancing like teenagers - painful to watch. I wouldn't want to be in front of 200 people in a mermaid dress. I think that demure and classy weddings are for the young at heart with advanced years.

I do, however, wish them all the best and hope that Will and Kate get the fairy tale that Diana did not.

Enough for now...

The Sky Is Falling (or Is It?)

With one ring of the phone, your world can crash. Today, that happened. Mom always the optimist. Not Dad and I, we want to crawl into a corner either cry hysterically or shut down completely. But really where does that get us?

Fear is the problem here. Right now, I am afraid that the sky is falling but in reality it's not. It's all in my head and if I give into that fear I get nowhere.

When you hear of all the studies that talk about positive thinking and positive attitudes making people healthy even in the most dire of circumstances. Hey we can do that right?

Since we are not in dire circumstances, our positive thinking should make every thing fabulous. I am going to be an optimist and I am going to make dad be one too [this will require much help as it is not in his nature nor mine, poor mom has her work cut out for her].

So when you see me dancing in the sunshine, join me as I refuse to see the rain. If you can't dance, send a prayer or two our way.

Enough for now...

What Not to Wear!

It's spastic Tuesday! Spastic Tuesdays are usually better if you are not exhausted. It's amazing how creativity is connected to your energy levels. Have you ever noticed how when you "feel" blah absolutely nothing gets done until said blahness leaves? I am blah and my house is cluttered, bills unattended to, laundry waiting and blog entries are further apart.

OH MY STARS, how many of you hate that miniature mouse pad/finger track pad on your laptop? As I type my thumb drops down and touches the pad and poof! my cursor is someplace else. Who need drugs, just type and drop your thumb a couple of times! Dizzy!

What is going on in the Middle East? Is every country going to fall this year? Well add Dictator to list of dead end careers. The biggest problem with the influx of out of work Dictators is that it will cause all the incredibly bad clothe designers to go bankrupt to! You just don't know how things will work out in the end. Hey Dictators behave! Bad designers need work too.

Alas, I will never measure up to the fashion sense of Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi and for that I am very thankful. Does that purple outfit make him look constipated or is it just me?

Enough for now...

Take Me to the Clouds...

I have uploaded a lot of my music to Amazon's Cloud and my photos to Flickr. I fully expect in two or three years we will be buying computers with absolutely no storage capability because we will be storing stuff everywhere else. The horror of not being able to get to my files last week really made me think about all this.

With the music comes via the cloud, the super treat is not having to take it with you and yet you always have it. Anywhere I have an Internet connection I can get to my music. Also, it is so much cheaper to buy the album for download than to buy the CD. I just bought the album to Les Miserables two-disc for $7.40. Yippee!

Do I really need CDs everywhere? If Amazon promises not to lose my music, I will let them store it for me. I have wanted this CD for a long time and honestly, this is too easy! I think I will be buying most of my music this way from now on.

Here is one of the reasons I bought this album.



Enough for now...

Little things are hard

I slept in today! It was nice but I bet I pay the price tonight when I try to go to sleep. I am actually being extraordinarily lazy today. Since I am on vacation, I really don't care about doing anything but I have a lot of loose ends to finish on some projects I did this week.

I have one electrical cover to put on and haven't since Tuesday. Curtains to rehang and haven't since Tuesday. The little things can nag you to death too. Dad came over and we did a repair project to the kitchen wainscotting and repainted.  Why is it so tough to completely finish?

I then cleaned out my garage neater than it's been since I lived here, I think. Yet, instead of opening the attic and really sprucing it up... I stopped short. Then there an entire laundry basket full of doggie toys that need to be washed. Why again is it so tough to completely finish?

One project that did get done completely was the repainting and repairing of a bench that goes outside. Dad did all the sanding, repairing and painting. I helped to re-assemble it.

Once I got my computer back I did kind of clean off my desk but not really. I just stuffed bills into the drawer instead of scanning and shredding them, so another half project done.

There is one job that I really want to complete today and that is installing new batteries into everything need them. I swear every battery operated clock in my house has stopped.

Enough for now...

Money does grow on trees, right?

Oh my stars, I cannot begin to tell you how much money is flowing from my credit cards to this vendor or that one. First, my TV and computer died on the same day a couple of weeks ago. The TV was old and deserved to die. It had been a good friend for many years (ten or more) and I was kind of hoping it would die.  I was ready for something more attractive than that monstrosity on my dresser.

So now, I have a huge 32 inch up there. It's really nice but I didn't realize how large that is until you replace a 26 square with a 32 rectangle. I am enjoying it but three hundred bucks unexpectedly is tough.

My three month old computer was a cheap purchase off the Internet with no warranty or return policy, now in hindsight was not such a good idea. Something broke and required a new part, $139 repair with 50 dollars in antivirus cost me a smooth two hundred. Yeah. When this happen, it took me so unprepared that I didn't have my documents backed up. That scare caused me to go and buy an external hard drive today for another 60 bucks. I am so glad money grows on trees.

I am a little unnerved by all the surprises financially that when we learned of mom and dad's health issues, I want to run away and hide. Mom had cataract surgery today. Dad has a biopsy Monday.  I am ready for a whole bunch of boring!

Winston is currently on the couch pouting since he had his bath at the groomers. He seems to like the girl who does his grooming and she loves him but I think it stresses him out a little. This was his second time ever so hopefully the visits will be less and less stressful. I do have to admit they can make him feel so good, his coat is all fuzzy and soft.

Enough for now...

Death is Expensive

I bought my last home today and while it was a good thing, it is kind of weird putting money down on a burial plot.

Three grand to rest in peace? For that kind of money, I should have a live band playing continuous so my after life has party music. I plan to dance for eternity. Oh, and that is just the plot, vault and head stone.

One of the things that is hardest of all is that I am having to do many grown up things like plan for my death or buy a house and I don't feel like a grown up. It is a surreal feeling, if I am not looking in the mirror, I feel too young to be doing these things.

It is nice to know that when something happens to me that the details will be taken care of.  It's hard to blog about death. I know I am going to die one day but I don't want to dwell on it either. While vampires make a good story, I don't believe that I will be bitten, made immortal and live forever. So I must buy a home for when I must leave my home.

I told mom that if we leave everything up to my nephew, I'd be lucky to get in the cemetery much less in a plot. My ashes might ride around in his trunk till he got around to releasing them to the wind or digging a hole somewhere. Nope, I will handle all the details and pick out a pretty urn and give him the name of the cemetery to call when I finally kick the bucket.

Enough for now...

Feet Up and Oatmeal Cookies

My agency today, through the wonderful help of fantastic volunteers, was able to host our annual awareness day where we probably moved more than 500 people through the state capitol to visit legislators and the 64 exhibitors. Our door leaders were equated to the most awesome valets our exhibitors ever met.

I ran up and down the stairs a million times. It was so easy flying up the stairs at 7:30 a.m. and by noon
I was crawling up them. Now a few hours later, my thighs are starting to be sore. I know marble floors are really beautiful but why can't the Capitol be carpeted? It wouldn't kill your feet as much.

While I did get to see a lot of familiar friendly faces, there were so many I that did not get to talk to. Most  everyone wore green so we stood out.  I am so happy that this year's event lacked any negative drama and I actually had very little to do because everything went so smoothly.

We now have about three to four days of work to do the analysis on the event and feedback survey and after that, I don't want to plan or think about this event for at least eight or nine months.

Enough for now (my feet really really hurt)...

It aint easy being green but it's kind of sassy

My house fairly clean, yippee dippee! I have be living rather pitifully lately, well actually dirty! I started with my guest bedroom that had more than a month's worth of dress clothes piled high, then I moved to the bathroom where I cleaned and rearrange, on to my bedroom and then all cleaning stopped for lunch. After lunch, I did a crash course on the kitchen and living room then off to play at the casino.

I did get a couple of treats this weekend my $6 lottery ticket yielded $8 in winnings - woohoo! -  the other treat was Tangled. Adorable little movie, I put it right up there with The Little Mermaid. I loved the chameleon and I really loved that it doesn't talk but has an adorable personality.

I have tried to be calm and relax this weekend but alas that has eluded me. I did settled down a great deal when the weather men took the chance of rain for Tuesday off the forecast - super duper! I do have to admit the one nice thing was starting of the weekend with a manicure and polish change for the toes, green tips on the fingers and solid green toes, I, for once, looked like I could be related to my sister (she brunette and tall and I am blond and not so tall). For those who know my sister, know about her affinity to chartreuse.

Enough for now...

AWK! Don't make me do that again

Today was not fun. I went shopping with no make up on, messed up hair and this fat that I take everywhere. This means that every item I tried on, I looked bad.

First, I went to CATO expecting to run in and get something new and green. Well everything I tried on looked absolutely atrocious. So out I walked and went to Kohl's, I went into the dressing room with six or more shirts and two pairs of pants. I walked out with one possible shirt. Then I looked over all the store again and found another two pairs of pants and a sweater.  Back to the dressing room I go, success would not be what I would call but I left with a new outfit for Tuesday and along with a migraine. I got a sherbet green tunic with white embroidery and new black twill pants with new black wedges with a short heel.

Of course then I needed new earrings and bracelet to match but ended up with two bracelets and cute earrings that I might or might not wear but had to have.  The bronze bracelet won't go with the new outfit but will go nicely with other stuff on other days.

I hate being overweight and I hate shopping for an overweight body. Today totally sucked! While I am working on the weight, some days it feels so overwhelming and frustrating. The weight can come on fast but incredibly slow to go off.  I don't know if today was a wake up call to make me determined to lose or a surrender to be fat and okay with it.

Enough for now...