Getting Ready for a New Year/SNAGS

As always, I'm a day late; a dollar short. I've had a mind block with PSP. I've had a mind block with many things lately. The winter season is not my best emotionally. This year, for no apparent reason, has been harder on me mentally than most.

I'm still processing Christmas in my mind trying to figure out where the glow went. Christmas Eve I spent at home alone. I super cleaned the family room which felt good and productive. Christmas Day was at my mom's with my brother and SIL and children. I do have a photoshow but haven't felt like putting it up. My children, bless them, bought me some neat gifts. My favorite, believe it or not, is a stainless steel dish strainer thingie. They were going to get a wooden one but I love the stainless. I got my mom a digital photo frame at Radio Shack. Waiting until Christmas Eve; not a good idea. But the frame is a really nice wood frame and 7 inches, I believe. She's not fond of huge frames. The pictures look awesome in it. I think I would love one also.

My son has bronchitis, at least. He has a doctor's appt. anyway on Friday. I called today. They are closed but offered some medication to hold him until Friday.

I'm days behind on my dashboard. Wow, I avoided my computer which is rare for me. I took the day off today but have to work Friday so I'm planning on playing catch up with everybody. Wow, I'm missing AOL journals for some reason today.

Anyway, I got a Christmas card from Jan and Maurice and Barb in Texas. Bless you, both. I bought a bunch of cards. Next year I'm going to get involved in the card exchange.

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve. Be safe; don't drink and drive. I'm hoping to spend it with my BF. Love you all....the rest of my NY's snags are below. LOL...see ya next year! *Yikes...15 hrs and counting here in the eastern USA.

Do You Believe in Miracles? (Snags, if you would like)

Do you believe in miracles? Of course, as a Christian, my miracle at Christmas is the birth of my Savior. But I do believe that miracles happen to us whatever our persuasion.

I'm not sure how many are still with me from JLand but there are at least a few who will remember my Christmas miracle 2 years ago. You will also remember the telephone call I received on Halloween from an hysterical child of mine with the cancer word.

The colposcopy was performed around Thanksgiving. We waited forever and a day for the results but, once again, heard the word Stage 1A ca (abbreviation in medical terms for cancer.) I cannot even begin to tell you how many comments and messages I got from others who had the same diagnosis or that were praying for us and adding us to prayer chains. I had prayers, good thoughts, vibes, whatever. I wasn't particular about the type of prayer being said; just thankful to have my child in the thoughts of so many. And the miracle of all miracles was that the second biopsy taken on my child showed nothing but irregular cells. All the samples were gathered and sent to several independent labs to check for errors. Nope. My child was basically healed. It took over 3 weeks for this to be done so the results came a couple of days before Christmas 2006. She was treated with cryosurgery and still gets follow-ups every six months.

I was skimming through the Dashboard the other day after my newest epiphany and semi-miracle and saw a posting about another Christmas miracle. A mom, Melissa, was reuniting with her estranged daughter, Emily, after a disastrous Christmas and separation of a few years. It touched my heart but for some reason I lurked and didn't comment.

Yesterday, once again, I was skimming through the dashboard and saw Please Please Pray. I was brought to my knees when I read the post. It was Melissa again....but this time a heartbroken Melissa because her daughter has been diagnosed with Stage 2 cervical cancer. I commented, and the words just poured out of my mouth into my fingers because I do believe in miracles because I've seen firsthand that cancer can disappear. So, I'm leaving the link for Melissa's blog Just Another Day In Paradise. Click on the link and let her know that you are thinking of her and Emily, sending prayers, good thoughts, vibes, support, etc. We may be at Blogger but the heart of JLand is still pulsing here and that heart lends support and love to so many.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Yule, etc. my dear friends! I love you one and all........May you all find peace of mind and happiness in the coming year!

My Personal Epiphany

Ephiphany a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) . (2) an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) . (3) an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b. b a revealing scene or moment

I can count on one hand what I would consider to be a personal epiphany in my life. The first was when, after 50 years of life, I quit battling my mother and our extremely different personalities. It didn't seem necessary anymore to voice my opinions when she was so set in hers. The battles ended. She was well into her 80's. Shortly after that, my child support ended instantly when Megan turned 18. My mom rescued my family. Without her help, I have no idea where we would be living. This was a huge moment of realization for me. Huge! I had battled verbally with my mother from the time I was a child. We are as different as night and day. She wanted me to be a carbon copy of her. Of course, I fought it but how long do you keep it up? I am just thankful my mother is still alive at 89 and has a clear mind. I don't need to prove any points anymore. And to be quite honest, I know my mother loves me. She was angry at me, for some reason, for years after my dad died. We've come full circle in our lives and relationship. Thank the Lord!

The second epiphany was Friday, Megan's graduation day. Lord, this has been a month full of doctors appointments, yucky procedures, and worry/stress. Why I just don't let it go and let the Lord handle it, I'll never know. My BF had some A-fib this past week and had to get it checked out. He couldn't go. My ex's wife didn't go. Of course, my brother and his wife had 100 excuses but I really didn't care. Those who showed up have always been there for my children....except for their dad. Yes, he showed up. I hadn't seen him in 4 years which was fine with me.

Many times, I've sat back and tried to remember just why I married him. I knew I had to have loved him at one point in time but I failed at trying to bring back any good memories. We met in 1975, married in 1978 and separated in 1996. He was ugly and is an alcoholic. He begrudged every single penny that he had to pay in child support. He never paid one cent more than he was ordered to. The children were on my health insurance. He never paid his share of the medical bills. It would cost more to take him to court than he owed. He came to three graduation parties at my home here and contributed nothing, ate like a pig and left. He's said terrible things to the children over the years. When my ex SIL got married, he was invited to the wedding but my son gave her away. My children say that was the beginning of a change I didn't see. Of course, I didn't. I haven't seen or spoken to him in years.

Until Friday, when he came to Megan's graduation. LOL...I had my boxing gloves on. I wasn't going to make a scene but there was plenty of fill in time when I could let him have it. I also budgeted the money for the meal. I had it in my savings. I told Megan not to even bother saying a word to her dad.

We went to a place called Monterey Bay on Mt. Washington. It's a highly upscale restaurant with excellent food. I never could have afforded the dinner menu but was pleasantly surprised at the prices on the lunch menu. It was Megan's first choice. And suprises of all surprises is I noticed a change in my ex. He acted normal. He is drinking again but hadn't drank that day. We acted like a normal family. Weird, what is a normal family? He didn't make the stupid little assinine comments that he is known for. I actually caught a glimpse of the person I married. The man who proudly carried our Becky around like a little princess before he got lost in alcoholism and taunted his little princess and his son.

When the bill came, I took it. He pulled out his checkbook and wrote me a check for over half of the bill. I was speechless. My mother also. He did it with sincerity also. Not showboating. I know him well enough to know the difference. I was more than touched. I still am. I took him aside and thanked him. I have prayed for years for him. I want him to make amends with his children. They will be better for it, as will he. He needs to realize that they are his legacy also. I know he's been thinking back to previous Christmas' when we were a family with traditions. I'm wondering just how happy his marriage is. He needs these beautiful children in his life. I continue to pray. He is drinking again. I continue to pray about that.

I've been away from my computer. I'm not sure why. I haven't had much inspiration to write or create. I need to catch up with reading your entries. I know the next few days will be crazy days for most. I'm just going to sit back, listen to my Christmas music and reflect on my perceptions.

I did do a photoslide of the day. I'm hoping it comes out ok. I have so many problems posting photoslides with pictures. I loved the top picture of Megan and her dad. It looked like something called the winds of change. Love you all!

SAY WHAT????? and Snags

The tree is up and decorated. Whoo hoo! I put the decorations on Tuesday night after work.

Now, strange but true....the surgeon said Joey does not have a hernia. He could feel nothing. Over the past two years, two ER doctors have said there is a hernia. This last one said he could stick his finger through it. WTH??? I asked what was causing the terrible pain. Hmmm....don't know. Pfft...not a good answer. Maybe a tendon pull. Ugh. Joey just happened to have a follow up appt. the next day with the GI specialist. He feels a small bump, which he's not worried about but says it's not a hernia. So.....I'm sending him to my new doctor here for a 3rd opinion. Something doubled him over.

Fun, fun for me Tuesday. My new doctor is having me get a baseline colonoscopy done. I have to start drinking this God awful stuff tomorrow and can only eat broth and jello. I'll be a biotch with a capital "B". My new doctor also asked me if I knew I had a heart murmur? Nope. So, I had an echocardiogram done last week. The technician said there's nothing to worry about. I still need my mammogram done plus a Pap Smear. I'm so tired of taking days off for appointments.

Megan's graduation is Friday. We have 11 people going. I'm taking them all out to lunch afterwards at a very, very nice place plus Daddy dearest who hasn't offered a cent towards this gathering, which includes many of his family members. Oh well, some things never change. Her health insurance expires Dec. 19th. The college will renew it until May for $500. Ugh, I'm praying to come up with something or some way to pay for this. Financially, this year has been difficult but at least I have a job.

Sorry, I haven't been around. I plan to try and get caught up today. Once again I had damaged AOL files and had to uninstall and reinstall. This ususally happens a couple of times a year but it's been a while. It seems to take forever to do this, then my DSL was out....grrrr. I apologize if I've missed an entry. Let me know.....

And there is a Christmas giveaway raffle going on. Go visit Koda, the handsome little Corgi in California. Here's the link; just click and leave a comment (send him a doggie treat and your chances are even better): a corgi in southern california.

HUGS TO ALL.........

17 Days and Counting/SNAGS

The tree is up! Not decorated but at least it's up and the lights work. It doesn't take a whole lot to please me. Digging a hole in the back yard and climbing in it is becoming less appealing right now. Of course, I believe I'm in or have been in a dark place. If I look back through my archives, I see that it appears to be a seasonal thing. I hate winter....pure and simple. I also have some sort of crud that goes away and comes back. I'm just starting to feel better again.

Joey goes to the surgeon today to see when he will have his surgery on the hernia. I'm praying it's before the end of the year because we've met the deductible. I have such a day ahead of me because I basically vegetated on the couch all weekend feeling like doo-doo. I just couldn't muster the energy to even drag the tree into the familyroom yesterday. My son is always kind enough to put it up. It still needs decorated but I have all week. I also have a little 4 ft pre-lit that has never been opened. I was going to put it on the sunporch. Joey said I should put it next to the bigger tree. For those of you that have been reading me for a while, I fuss every year as to live vs. my slim Martha Stewart pre-lit tree. Live ones are huge. This one looks small but doesn't get battered by Grizzly as much. Now, I'm intrigued with the idea of 2 slim trees next to each other. One very tall; one 4 ft. I certainly have plenty of ornaments. And to think he was teasing.

17 days to go. I'm thinking there will be no outside lights once again this year as there is a good 3 inches of packed snow on the ground. I hate to admit it but no one uses our livingroom. Lazy me left my snowmen up all year so the livingroom is good to go. It gets harder each year to work and keep up with things around the house. I keep rolling around 10 hrs days again in my head but think I will wait until it gets nice out to try it again. I'm not sure why I'm so indecisive about something I loved when I did it.

Megan graduates Dec. 19th. Nerves are on edge all around. I have a longtime online friend that I met on an AOL message board years and years ago. I didn't realize that she was reading my journal until some problems arose a while ago. It was so nice to know M was around and still is. She is very wise. She recently sent Megan a graduation gift. Thank you, M! You are my guardian angel. You give me the best advice when I need it the most.

I got a Christmas card from Lisa Jo....love you so much. I just don't think I will get any cards out again this year. I'm terrible with sending cards...just terrible.

Gotta run and get ready to go to the surgeon's, pick up Griz' meds, go to Walmart, drop my son's car off for his snow tires, and then grocery shop. Ugh....I really don't want to wear myself out but can't cut any of these trips out. Have a good day all.....HUGS N LOVE

Winter SNAGS

Gingerbread Dreams/SNAGS

I remember as a little kid, my mother always started baking right after Thanksgiving. I would help with cutting out the sugar cookies and the gingerbread. The house felt cozy and smelled so good.

My mom still bakes quite a bit which amazes me since she just turned 89. I baked quite a bit when my kids were small but I ended up eating far more than I needed to. My three weren't extremely interested in helping and didn't like most of the cookies anyway, so I stopped. The only thing I baked were nut rolls which came from my dad's Slovak heritage. He loved them because somehow I came upon a recipe that was just like his mother's. I haven't baked a nut roll since 1993, the year before my dad died.

Hmmm...I have no idea where I'm going with this post. I woke up this morning with a really sore throat and ears. My head was pounding. I really felt like I was getting the crud. I took the day off and did a few things. I went and got my snow tires put on my car. It's been pretty bad getting down my hill.

I'm supposing the blues are striking because somehow I can't quite grasp the Christmas spirit. I put fewer decorations up each year. Dang, I used to have 3 trees up. I didn't get any lights outside because, once again, I'm so undecided this year. I saw a $300 tree at Sears on Saturday that I loved. It's $200 this week but I refuse to spend that much money on a pre-lit tree. Ugh...I feel like Ebeneezer Scrooge. Plus I'm thinking I'm probably putting on weight...double ugh. Just a bad day :) Tomorrow a few old friends from work and I are doing our annual Christmas luncheon at the Spaghetti Warehouse :) Just what I need, more food. I really need to put those walking shoes on and brave the weather. Anyway, this too shall pass. Dang, this seems like such a downer....HUGGIES Another set of snaggies on the way.

THANKSGIVING 2008

LOL TO THOSE WHO SAW THIS BEFORE. I HAD TO DELETE MY WHOLE ENTRY BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON MY SIDE BAR VANISHED. I MADE THE PHOTOSLIDE SMALLER AND QUIT MESSING AROUND WITH THE EDIT HTML. GRRRR.....ANYWAY, THERE ARE 2 THANKSGIVINGS IN THIS SLIDE. MY FAMILY PLUS MY EX-INLAWS. THEY ADORE MY CHILDREN. MY CHILDREN NOW HAVE A NEW UNCLE PLUS A NEW COUSIN, BRIAN. HE'S BECKY'S AGE. THEY ARE VERY CLOSE. CURIOUSLY, MY EX AND HIS WIFE DID NOT GO. THEY HAD THEIR OWN THANKSGIVING. HMMMM.....

ANYWAY, I'LL ADD TAGS LATER. PHOTOSLIDES AND BLOGGER BLOW MY MIND. AND, YEP, THE FIRST PHOTOSLIDE WAS HOOCHIE MAMA'S AGAIN. WHERE DO THEY COME FROM? I DID SEE YOUR COMMENT JOYCE BEFORE I DELETED. HUGGIES.......

Thanksgiving Thoughts and SNAGS

I think I missed Thankful Thursday by a long shot. I wanted to do this entry last week but ended up with some sort of bug. I pushed myself through work. It's actually gone away, thank goodness. What am I thankful for right now? A smile on Becky's face :)

Actually last week started off great. Both my girls took me out to lunch on Monday. Becky hopped on the bus and came into the Burgh to meet Megan and me. Just a short 5-10 minute trip for her. What a joy to see a smile on her face again and to see her actually eating. She seems to be doing quite well. Thank you all for keeping her in your thoughts, prayers, etc. I did find out she has a new romance budding on the burner. Oy, those rebound romances. Oh well...I also want to thank Sugar, Teri, Joan (dang, can't remember who else) who nominated me for the Marie Antoinette Award. I'm supposed to pass it on to 7 people but I'm so far behind that it appears that most have gotten it already. I love to see a piece of JLand resurging.

I was in a tag/graphic rut. Now, I'm posting a bunch of Thanksgiving tags almost after the fact. Actually, I had them made but didn't like em. Pretty typical for me.






So, anyhoo, I got a phone call from Joey at work on Thurs. He had just gotten home from school and was doubled over in pain. Sort of sounded like appendicitis to me but he has a hernia on that side. Silly me asked if he could wait til I got home from work and then even sillier me asked if he could drive himself to the hospital. I had no way to get home for at least 2 hrs. I called my BF who took my son to the ER. They were still there when I got off the bus so straight to the hospital I went. Turns out the hernia is huge. The doctor can stick his finger through the hole. My son needs surgery. He's scheduled to see the surgeon on Dec. 8th. I'm praying it can be done before the end of the year since I've already met the deductible.

Grizzly's ear is fine. I'm not sure why he was still shaking his head. The vet said he still had some medicine in there. He actually allowed them to totally clean his ears out. But, he should have been whooped by then. He made a total "jackass" out of himself in the waiting room. I mean he acted up soooo bad.

I'm off today because I'm having the pleasure of meeting my new family doctor. What is nice is that he is located at the bottom of my hill. No more hour trips to Pittsburgh if I get strep. Another thankful is that my stress test came back fine; no blockages. No results from the lipid panel yet. Boy, is that lab slow. Ugh, though, I know I have to get on that scale. I haven't been walking because I HATE cold weather....HATE IT! LOL, I'm not kidding. I absolutely do not like cold weather at all. I would love to hibernate. I wish I could retire and be a snowbird. Not gonna happen for a very long time. Megan is out running. Am I gonna walk? Heck no. Because I can't stand being cold, out in the cold, shopping in the cold, etc.

I've rambled on enough. I hope you all have wonderful Thanksgivings here in the US. I go to my brother's house, nuff said. I make Megan a turkey with gluten free stuffing and her own gravy and take it for her. I won't go into why I don't care for Thanksgiving yet another year. I am thankful my SIL is alive and well and survived her terrible crisis but nothing has changed otherwise. I am very thankful my mom is still here to celebrate another Thanksgiving with us.



Love n HUGS CHRIS

Baby It's Cold Outside SNAGS

Baby, it's cold outside for sure. The snow has been falling today. There's about 1/2 inch on the ground. I do believe winter is here. For Pennsylvania standards, it's really not frigid but as I age, I can tolerate the cold less and less.

Boring weekend...uhem. Grocery shopping, bought new jeans which is always a chore. I've been searching for a month. LOL...then I saw this body shaper that Joyce ordered. Lose 15 lbs as soon as you slip into it. I'm in the process of ordering one. Only problem I can see is when I go out and have a few beers. See, you can buy a top and bottom. I'm thinking the bottoms might cause a problem in the ladies room. So, skip the bottoms and just wear the top. Great, lumpy butt and smooth, shapely top. I'm still giving this some thought.

I got a new purse today. OCD sets in. I absolutely hate to change purses. I have to find new pouches to stick all my treasures in, such as my bus pass, cell phone, etc. I'm breaking out in a cold sweat just thinking of it and...drat....to top it off, I got a new wallet. Oy, this will be a major milestone for me. Add that to the dilemma of my hair which looks great in the front and frightening in the back...youch.

Megan called and wants to do lunch tomorrow. The job search is very slow and not very promising but she is being prayed for so the right job will present itself. She will graduate in a month. She had one pre-interview and nothing....keeping the faith is so hard.

My BF just dropped some clothes off. My dryer is dying a slow death. It takes 2 hrs to dry just a small amount of things. I need to buy a new one. Problem is no one will deliver a new one beyond my kitchen because of the narrow 100 year old basements steps that twist. I need to wait until he is physically capable of moving one to the basement with Joey. This is getting old really quick.

I added a guestbook to this blog. It's at the very bottom because it was too big for my sidebar. My template I use doesn't have a space at the top for it so if you get a chance, please scroll down and sign it. I got the widget from Sugar. So, ya know I'll be bugging you.

Off to get ready for a week of work. What to wear? Always the procrastinator.

Another snag below. It was from a challenge in my psp group. Emmi won 1st place, Bethe won 2nd. Competition was tough. Have a good week! Stay warm....

Definitely Different SNAGS

Moods are definitely a strange thing. Maybe it's the darkness that descends upon us as winter approaches. It's not that I'm depressed. Just sort of dreading the cold. Today is beautiful. It will definitely feel like winter this weekend. I don't like the barren look of the trees right now. Hillsides appear gray. Luckily, some trees still have a few leaves so the afternoon/evening sun shines a goldish color through them. Sometimes, I think many of us feel insignificant in the scheme of things. I love the phrase on the tag above. Many times, I feel that I am but a tiny little drop in a huge sea; as we all are. But take all those tiny drops away, and what would we have?

I'm also in a PSP rut which does happen quite a bit. I usually see something I like and voila....there's a graphic. Nothing is jumping out at me. LOL..well, the more serious, darkish stuff seems to be.

So, today I went for my stress test. I really did far better on the treadmill than I have in the past. Chalk that up to being almost totally smoke free plus a few months of walking. Still, it makes me nervous.

And I got my haircut last Saturday. Oy, my girl was way too scissor happy in the back. It was fine when she put the gel in herself. Utterly impossible for me to keep my scalp from showing at times. It was probably my fault because it was growing out in less than a month so I asked for shorter; just can't handle it. It best grow fast.

Grizzly goes back to the vet tomorrow. His infection is back. Poor guy is shaking his head again like crazy. I have to laugh when they say I'm going to have to cleanse his ears before the drops. Lots o luck with that one. He has the adrenaline of Superman when you try to mess with him.

Soooooo, anywho, my week in a nutshell. I worked Wed and Thurs this week...whoo hoo. Had the stress test today, my lipid panel was on Tues. I could get used to this plus I got quite a bit of cleaning done. My walking suffered. I need to work out a winter plan here.

TGIF! I'll post some Thanksgiving/fall/winter, etc. tags later on. I need to catch up on my blog reading. Later.....HUGS CHRIS

The Big 5-5 (Snaggable 1st Tag)

Today is the day, my 55th birthday. LOL, but according to Wini, I'm still one hour younger. Thanks for the tag Winivere! Love it!






On a serious note, I don't take birthdays lightly anymore or fuss about getting older. I've grown into my skin and feel better about myself each year. And, honestly, I thank God for each birthday; thank God that I'm still on the face of this earth and have lived another year.

In light of the latest news about our dear D (Donna), I do believe that each day is a gift; not to be taken lightly. My BF and my SIL had heart attacks and open heart surgery within days of each other and now D. Life is too short. Our time is numbered. We need to embrace each day, each moment because we never know when it will be our time.

I feel very guilty because I e-mailed everybody in the world besides D to see if anybody knew where she was and what was wrong. I'm kicking myself for not e-mailing D, herself. I treasure her friendship and know she will be back with us when she can be and thank the Lord she was taken care of.




I'm posting some tags I got for my birthday. Dannelle made the one above. I really, really like it.

Today is the day. I got some very nice gifts of my widget...lol. I really thought it was a fun thing to do. Ya know, there is still 8 hrs left for my birthday to add more gifts hehehe.

All joking aside, I treasure each and every one of you. I'll be adding more tags that I got as I get them.



What's a birthday without Marilyn? My BF is taking Joey and I out to eat and then we will go out for a while tonight. I took tomorrow off and have Tues off for Veterans Day. I'm not sure about a gift. Actually, I do believe my cell phone was an early birthday present. My gift is having him alive and well and there for me.

Raising my glass to another year of life! Hugs to all....

Just a Bunch of Random Things

Goodness, it's been ages since I've done a meme and since I've been tagged to do one but doggone it, last week it happened...lol. Ellie, http://ellie-crazylife.blogspot.com/
tagged me to list 7 random things about myself. (LOL, I just realized that it's supposed to be 6 things about myself. Is this what is called a senior moment?) So, here goes:

1. I have a birthday coming up. Yep, next Sunday, November 9th is my birthday.

2. LOL...did I mention I have a birthday coming up. I'll officially be a senior citizen. The big 5-5.

3. Since I have a birthday coming up (which I think I mentioned, rofl, please, please scroll to the very bottom of my blog and leave me a birthday gift on my widget down there. If there's nothing you like, you can search for a gift keeping in mind that I'll be a senior citizen. You can leave your name or make up one, doesn't matter to me. I just want some presents. Lots and lots.

4. I have no problem begging for gifts or freebies or begging for anything else, obviously.

5. I'm quite a bit looney and get worse as I get older.

6. I'm very lazy and get lazier as I get older or just don't care anymore.

7. I just want to have fun all the time.

Anyway, I'm supposed to tag 7 more but I don't know that there's anyone left who hasn't been tagged. I'll tag those who don't leave me a birthday present.

Onto some normal stuff, if there is anything normal for me, my dryer is pretty much shot so my BF has been doing my towels and heavier things. The lighter weight things can still be dried here. Hmmph....I hate spending money but can't get a new one right now anyway. No deliveries to my basement. They leave it in the kitchen because the house is over 100 years old and the steps are crooked. Have to wait for BF to be fully recovered.

Well, I don't hate spending money on stuff I want to like clothes. My son and I went to JCP yesterday and pulled out the plastic. I was really short on winter things.

My Grizzly has a yeast infection in his ear. They found it during his annual check up on Friday. He let out a blood curdling howl when they looked in his ear. Joey said he had been shaking his head but I hadn't seen it. I'm having a heck of a time getting the ointment in his ear. It must really hurt. I have to call tomorrow to see if there is a liquid which would squirt in better.

Ooops and my dear buddy, Sugar, has her Pet Memorial journal up and running and asked me to link it so go take a look.....http://memorial4ourbelovedpets.blogspot.com/

So, that's it for this week. I've been braindead tag wise. Don't forget to vote on Tuesday if you haven't already. We don't have the option to vote early here. It's your privilege as an American citizen. Hugs n Love to all....

A Little Whine with my Cheese and a Huge Dose of Stupidity

The week started out ok, I guess, except for the fact that I had to take a day off on Monday with some crud type stuff.

I catch my bus at Days Inn at 6 am and get back at 5:30 pm. Yeah, it's a long day but I suppose I'm getting used to it. Below my hill is a plant and a road that leads to it; probably about 1-2 miles in length and pretty straight. The speed limit is 25 mph which is really hard to stay at....really hard for me anyway. My kids tell me I drive like a grandma on the main roads but tend to go too fast on the side roads. So, I got a speeding ticket for the first time in many, many years. I had one years ago and swore never again. The policeman followed me a good distance which I gathered after the fact. I had already started up my hill and turned into my neighborhood before he put his lights on. I had no clue he was after me. A long drawn out speech ensued and then he came back and said he was only going to give me a ticket for not using my signal at the turn and a warning for the speeding. Scratching my head because it's not really a turn to go up the hill. I do use my signal when people are coming down because it's a "Y". Then he said the reason he was only going to warn me about speeding was because he had picked up several of my neighbors and warned them and not to talk about it. Weird, I thought. His parting words were I better not contest the turn signal ticket or I WOULD get a ticket, meaning my life is over in my township. I would be watched like a hawk. No points on my record but the $25 fine turned into $108 with fees due in 10 days. Stupid me! LOL...the neighbors did talk. We were all clocked at the same speed, so it was said, down to the .10 of a point. Truthfully, I know I was going over the speed limit but not the speed that was quoted but nonetheless I did deserve a ticket. Phooey! A lesson has been learned.

My dryer is still acting up so I decided to check for lint. The hose from the dryer to outside sounded like it had pebbles in it so I got Joey to take it off. Ugh....a chipmunk had crawled in and got fried. We had noticed an odd odor in the summer but it went away. Joey is as squeamish about dead critters as I am. My BF came over and took the back off of the dryer. He thought I might have a bunch of lint. I didn't but he did see the timer and can fix it. He's gonna get his handyman fron his apartment complex because he has the same dryer. Whoo hoo! One less problem right now.

So, can you all read my journal or blog (hate that word) now? I tried almost all 200 of the backgrounds and came up with this one. I refuse not to use a stretch template. Are all my words inside the lines? It looks like it to me but at work my properties are different. LOL...this thing was a hot mess on that PC.

And, the comments. Yep, I do like the new format but have decided to stay with the old one. I like the pictures and don't want to give them up. I know I could click on the name and bring the profiles up but I'm lazy. I have several who comment with the same name. I minimized my box for now but I may just go back to the two page style.

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday! The sun is shining although it's pretty chilly. I need to get out and take a walk. I haven't been walking because of the rain we've been having. I'll leave you with some autumn snags.....HUGS Chris

This is my first time adding a photoslide so it should be a challenge. I would also like to add a tag. We'll see. I took my mixpod music off and added a song through rockyou. The lyrics are below my entry.

I took my stroll today and took some pictures of the foliage. This is really one of the saddest years for leaves in western Pennsylvania. They are usually a vibrant array of reds, oranges and yellow. The yellow has seemed unchanged but the red and oranges are just drab. Many lost the leaves without changing anything but a drab brown. They say it was the lack of rain.

I took a picture of the hill I fell down. My mom was at my house about five years ago, and Grizzly got loose. He took off through the woods and backyards and ended up on the main road. A truck was coming up the hill. Griz was just standing in the middle of the road. The guy driving the truck didn't see him. I had a bright red shirt on and literally flew over the hill screaming the pooch's name. The only reason the truck stopped was because he saw this huge ball of red rolling down the hill. I sort of startled him...lol...along with myself. That's when he noticed Grizzly still standing in the middle of the road like a dufus. So, I call that Grizzly's Bluff.

Getting ready for another week. Today was actually nice and pretty warm. It's going down to 32 again tonight. My car will be frozen. I was totally chilled last night, and my ears hurt. Luckily, it seems to have gone away.

Hope you all have a lovely week and that your trees are prettier than ours this year.


I got a pocket, Got a pocket full of sunshine
I got a love and I know that it's all mine
Oh, oh, oh
Do what you want,
But you never gonna break me,
Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me
Oh, oh, oh
[Chorus]Take me away (take me away)
A secret place (a secret place)
A sweet escape (a sweet escape)
Take me away (take me away)
Take me away (take me away
To better days (to better days)
Take me away (take me away)
A hiding place (a hiding place)
I got a pocket,
Got a pocket full of sunshine
I got a love and I know that it's all mine
Oh, oh, oh
Wish that you could,
But you ain't gonna own me
Do anything you can to control me
Oh, oh, oh
[Hook]There's a place that I go
Where nobody knows
Where the rivers flow
And I call it home
And there's no more lies
And darkness is light
And nobody cries
There's only butterflies
The sun's on my side
Take me for a ride
smile up to the sky
I know I'll be alright

To Snoop or Not to Snoop/SNAGS

Well, of course, "ghouls" love to have fun which reminded me of the photoslide I did on Labor Day when the girls and I went to Presque Isle which leads me to my title. Looking back at that video, it's sort of painful to see Becky smiling and having fun. Little did I know that even on that day, she was sliding into a dark hole. At that point in time, there was some laughter still in her soul. I'll link it in case you never saw it and want to take a peak. Becky is the pasty colored one.

The Original Cab's Creations from AOL: We Just Want to Have a Good Time & We D

I have had a blogspot account for over a year. Why? My daughter, Becky, had a private blog here that she gave me access to read, which I did, at least at first. It was a way to crawl into her brain for a while and know what was happening. It also was one of the many reasons I wasn't thrilled with the now ex BF, "M."

I just happened to be flowing through my very numerous favorite links and saw the blog. I opened it this morning. She stopped blogging August 30th for personal reasons. Wow, that was a few days before we went to Erie. I almost cried again.

She still keeps a Twitter, which is sort of a daily update, one line thingie, which shows just how unhappy and lost she is at times. I know one day things will be better. Or should I say I pray that one day things will be better. It's very difficult to actually witness the words, especially since the panic, etc. started long before August. Would I have recognized it had I kept up with her blog? In hindsight, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Hindsight is like that. I'm thinking I probably would have fluffed over the words at the time. Becky has always been a very intense, serious person.

My BF has some type of flu type bug. He went for his six week check up on Tues and is or was doing very well but his dr. didn't think he should get a flu shot just yet. My son is at a wedding. I'm not doing much of anything besides playing in PSP so I may add another entry.

It is very cold today, only in the 40's but sunny. I feel the lazy bug biting me because I hate cold weather. I definitely need to take my old boy for a walk tonight (lol..Grizzly.)

Oh, by the way, you can get comment alerts. LOL...Jeannette, who just got back from Madagascar, told me how. Now, let's see if I remember. You go to customize, then click settings. Look at the top and click comments. There is a space for you to add your e-mail address at the very bottom. I think it says e-mail notification or something like that. Click save and voila. Now, how about that, and Jeannette is a real newbie to Blogger.

Have a great weekend...HUGS Chris

I'd Lose My Head If it Wasn't Attached or so says my Mom

Tada...lol. This is the extent of my fall decor outside. It's located in my wildflower patch. It used to have a really neat split rail fence around it but the darned thing rotted out. I didn't get it replaced this past summer. ::sigh:: shooting for next year.

My pumpkins got rained upon, as you can tell, but I had to add an animation which distorted the pumpkins' color in the animation shop. Oh well. I was going to get a couple of mums but I always kill em, and they looked half dead already in the store.

So, my adventures into craziness this week have been driving me nuts. I took my car to Auto Zone. They run the computer scan for free to trouble shoot the service engine light. It came out with something to do with gas and vapors. Said to check the gas cap. Well, my gas cap was totally off and very neatly laying inside next to where you put your gas into the car. The ouside door thingie was closed. I got gas Thurs night, put 145 miles on the car and the light came on Saturday afternoon. Nothing makes sense. If I had driven away without putting the cap on, it would have been flying around with the door open. But for two days and that many miles. If somebody was syphoning, would they be so anally neat if someone almost caught them? Seriously doubt it. I almost feel it was done on purpose but who the heck would do it? I don't know anybody where I live. So odd....but eerie so now I obsessively check my gas cap constantly.

Then yesterday, I get off of the bus, and my keys weren't in my purse. Ugh... my BF was bringing my spare set down to me but my son had night school and the house was locked. When my BF got down there, I picked up my raincoat that I was dragging around and heard a jingle. The keys....I was relieved but thinking I'm losing it for sure.

Then I get home and could not find the shampoo I bought on Saturday anywhere. The pretty little bag with the pink tissue paper was under the sink; shampoo nowhere to be found. I tore the house apart. Then I was going to bed. LOL...it was on Megan's night stand. It was black and upside down and looked just like the remote. I swear I am sooooooo absent minded.

I'm thinking my dog needs a walk. We've had some rain, and it's chillier so we've been lazy at night again. I'm still keeping up with the walks at lunch.

Here's a Halloween snag. Where is time flying to? HUGS CHRIS

Sanely Insane SNAGS

Actually, for once I didn't have one of those days but most times I feel like my head is stuck somewhere it shouldn't be.

On to my title today, I know everybody has "that" house in the neighborhood that goes so far with decorating that it's downright tacky. LOL..well, just when you thought I was bordering tacky with this "house" of mine here at Blogger, I had to go and add more toys. Oy, lol. I think that after a day or two, I will go back to my plain old white (in fact I'm sure I will) unless I make my own background. Thanks, Indigo! Obviously, I found the web site. I'm going to mess around with making my own when I get some time. Anyway, indulge this old crow for a day or two.

My BF and I went out last night to watch the football games at the Days Inn lounge. He was my DD. It was a very good night. He did super well because the crowd was small. I actually got to spend the night.

I called the dealership about my service engine light today. It's a second generation thingie and has to do with emissions. They said to just let it go. It may go off by itself in a week or so. It probably is a sensor. I'm not sure if it's covered by my warranty or not. I may have my son take it to the place he used to work and put it on the computer to make sure it's nothing essential. I really don't think it is but Megan is going to DC with it on Halloween weekend.

Becky continues to feel somewhat better each day. Megan is having a heck of a time with her job applications. She graduates in two months and has been getting flat out turn downs. She is having a heck of a time finding a part time job in the meantime. Betty, I told her about your prayer list and to be positive. She just laughed and asked that you pray extra hard for her because she doesn't feel lucky.

Whoo hoo, I gave my BF his scale back after he got home from the hospital because he needed to make sure he wasn't retaining water. I was shocked when I stepped on it last night and lost 5 more lbs. Probably about 12 since July. I guess the walking and tweaking the diet a bit is helping. Since I'm tall, my clothes are only starting to get loose.

I still didn't get my outside decorations up yet. Dang, I'm lazy. I did buy a scarecrow but refuse to pay $6 for a bale of hay so back to Walmart for cornstalks and pumpkins. I was supposed to do that today but did nothing except grill a pork roast and potatoes. And back to work again tomorrow. Where does time go when you aren't at work??????

Happy fall, ya'll....it's still warm but air has that fall scent to it. HUGS n LOVE CHRIS

Opinions Puhlease

Because I make huge graphics, I have to use a stretch template. I have tried several backgrounds from cute blogspot.com but they just don't jive with the minima stretch's.

Are you all having trouble reading this thing???? LOL...my old eyes are plus I think it looks way too busy and doesn't fit right. Of course, this one isn't as bad as the lower ones but still.....

What do ya think? Scrap the background and go back to white???

Honest answers wanted.....Huge hugs, CHRIS

Sunny Saturday SNAGS

Halfway through the long weekend. I mustered up the courage to migrate my last journal which happens to be my very first one created Oct 5, 2005; A Day in the Life. I'm sure many of you never knew it existed but that was my baby; my first attempt at telling the internet my story; my life. I couldn't even add a graphic and had no readers when I started. I actually wasn't worried at that time. I just loved to hear myself talk on "paper." My current journal was born from my PSP addiction in December of 2005. I kept them both up and running but it became far too much. I actually used this graphics journal as a semi-private one because my children never paid attention to it.

Day in the Life got shelved because my son blew my cover. That's when I made the decision to add the chitchat to the graphics and merge them. My last entry in DIL was Nov 2007. I wiped the dust off of it and migrated because I didn't want to lose it. I didn't realize just how much it meant to me. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it....archive it or add entries to it. I actually have 4 readers here for that one. Oh, decisions. I procrastinate and hate to make them.

I got my hair done today. Dark black with red chunks and spiky. Yikes that is one big old head. My kids think I'm narcissistic posting so many pictures of my sorry old self.




So, my BF and I tried to get out for a bit last night. It's been five weeks since his surgery but it was a wee bit too much. People kept bumping his leg with all the grafts taken out of it. We did make it about an hour. I come home because he was sore as could be and needed to get some sleep.

Becky hasn't texted me today which is a good sign. She texts me pretty much non-stop when she is stressed or upset. I hope and pray each day for my child.

Last but not least, I am so thoroughly disgusted with that car of mine. It is in the shop every month. I just had the calipers repaired the day before my BF's surgery. I come out of the beauty shop and my service engine light was on today. Blah...grrrr. It has something to do with emissions. If it's a sensor, I don't think the warranty covers it. I swear that I can pick them. 32,000 miles on the darned thing. I would trade it in but dang I'd probably get another doozy anyway.

Today is lovely. Tomorrow is supposed to be also. I haven't walked yet so I need to get my butt in gear. Maybe tomorrow...lol. My son is at a bachelor party so the house is quiet. Hugs to all......CHRIS