1. Crap your internet crashed, what are you going to do next?
play solitaire
2. Have you ever pierced something the old fashion way with a needle?
No.

3. It’s Friday night, who are you usually with?
My husband or my co-workers
4. Ever eaten an entire thing of frosting?
No

5. Would you want Spongebob as your friend?
I think I do.
6. Last person you slept next to?
Mr. Tater.

7. Do you own any casettes?
I think there are some still around here, yes.

8. Have you read To Kill A Mockingbird?
yes

9. Weirdest dream you’ve ever had?
Probably the one where I re-designed and built my own house
10. Have you ever been in a police car?
No
11. What instrument would you like to learn?
mandolin

12. Were you ever a safety patrol in elementary school?
Yes! and Ronnie Myers (the captain) asked me to be one. ahh…memories.

13. Did you used to watch Hey Arnold?
Yeah, football head. with my son.

14. Ever have a water balloon fight?
LOTS of times!

15. Do you like dodgeball?
yeah, I was good at it,too. weird, huh?

16. Do you crack your knuckles?
No, it makes your knuckles big.

17. Ever order anything from the tv?
yeah, plastic containers and I loved them. I still have most of them.

18. What was so much fun about Hot Wheels?
Cool cars and got to play with the boys.

19. Are you supposed to be doing anything?
drinking water

20. What are you listening to?
Monk on tv.

21. Are you tired?
not especially

22. What are you up to next weekend?
visit the parents.

23. Left or Right foot?
left

24. Can you write with both hands?
no, but i can write well enough upside down.

25. Did you ever watch the Kid’s Choice Awards?
Yes. When the kid watched.

26. Most random thing in your room?
I’m in our living room and there’s a mostly unused Total Gym
27. Do you own a karaoke machine?
nope.

28. Ever see the Saw movies?
Yeah. Pretty good for that kind of movie.

29. Do you get cold sores a lot?
Not a lot.

30. Close your eyes, turn around, count to ten and open your eyes, what do you see?
the tv
31. Did you actually do #30?
uh…no.

32. Ever cheat on someone?
yeah, actually. with my soon to be husband!

33. Ever talk back to a teacher?
no

34. Chapstick or Lipgloss?
lipgloss

35. Do you buy stuff at Bath and Body Works?
yeah, the antibacterial instant hand sanitizer in many scents

36. What time do you get up for school?
Don’t have to anymore.

37. Last time you got poison ivy?
two years ago

38. Ever go to a tanning bed?
no

39. What is below you?
couch

40. What pet do you wish you had?
the ones I have now

41. Would you want to live in Alaska?
No, Ohio is cold and dark enough

42. Your best friend just called from another country, what country is it?
England?

43. Rain or Snow?
snow?

44. Do you deep condition your hair?
once every couple of years

45. Did you go to pre school?
hehehe…they didn’t even have pre-school. Heck, we didn’t even have kindergarten.

46. Last movie you watched at home?
easy…just this morning …Beowulf

47. Where do you want to go to college?
Akron U

48. Don’t think about gluesticks.
hopefully wouldn’t dream of it.

49. What are you thinking about?
Monk and his brother, Ambrose

50. Did you just ask yourself, ‘wtf is with the gluestick?’
Now I am.

I borrowed this from Bubblysox. It kept me busy for a while.

I was about five years old when I inherited a bike from my cousin. It had training wheels and my Dad kept readjusting them. When I finally graduated to having both training wheels off, (they came off one at a time), Daddy walked beside me holding me up as I rode out the flat part our lonnnng lane. He kept talking and encouraging me. I noticed his voice getting farther and farther away. “I’m riding! I’m riding!” I shouted and then hit a mud puddle and lost control. But Daddy was there to pick me up.

   

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

I am writing this in response to the Kween of the Queens challenge:

Here are some things I remember from before I was ten:
♦ Woke up one Christmas morning and opened the new doll Santa left for me and exclaimed with all the awe of a two-year-old, “Look! She has blue hair just like Mommy’s!” (Mom has always had dark brown hair, even now in her seventies, and it’s natural, too!)
♦ One evening when I was three, my divorced mother was going on a (first) date and there was much happiness in the house. My older brothers and I were waiting to meet the man. When he came into our kitchen, I saw how handsome he was and walked up to him and held out my arms to be picked up. He didn’t hesitate. Once I got up to eye level I said, “Will you be my Daddy?” He still is!
♦ One weekend, when I was four, I went to Renfro Valley, Ky. with my Granny and Grandpa. We stayed in a motel room and the beds had yellow sheets. I said, “Boy, Grandpa, I don’t know how you’re going to sleep. You hate yellow!” He always told me how that “tickled” him.
♦ Sitting outside our house in the sunshine while Grandpa helped dig a new stairwell to the basement. I was positioned so I could see everything he was doing. I was singing “You Are My Sunshine”. Grandpa kept saying, “Sing it again.” He evidently was tone deaf because he seemed to enjoy it.
♦ Going to church with the grandparents almost every Sunday. Most of the time my brothers and sister would go, too. Then after church, we would go for a Sunday drive or go to our home to have Sunday dinner which my mother prepared. She would make fried chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans and crazy cake. That would make us all sleepy.
♦Sometimes Grandpa would drive us somehere and say to me, when it was time to go home, “Okay, tell me how to get home.” I almost always knew the way!
♦One time we were all watching Wild Kingdom and Marlon Perkins said something like a Cheetah can run as fast as 40 mph. Granny exclaimed, “40 Miles?!?” And Marlon said, “That’s right. 40 mph!” We all laughed so hard we woke up Grandpa. When he heard the story, he said to Granny, “I told you your voice carries!” Hilarity ensued.
♦ One Halloween, when I was 8, my Mom had this huge belly. She told me she was going to the hospital and wouldn’t be home for a week. I asked if we could go trick-or-treating, but once again, she said no. (We lived on a secluded farm and there wasn’t anywhere to go.) That evening Dad came home and told me I had a little sister. I was so happy, until my older (step) sister said, “You realize you’re not the baby anymore don’t you? You won’t be Grandpa’s favorite anymore!” I was devastated. I could deal with Mom and Dad loving the new baby, but I couldn’t bear to live without “My” Grandpa. When I saw him that weekend, I told him what she said. He said, “That’s not right. I’m a big man and I can love all of you, but you have a special place.”
♦ Months later, Mom went back into the hospital for surgery and was gone for two weeks. So was the baby. She went to stay with Granny and Grandpa. It was okay with me though, because she never really took to Grandpa, she was more Granny’s baby. Around this time, my older sister ran away from home, causing turmoil. She and Mom got into a screaming match, (she did most of the screaming) and she said, in her bitchiest tone, “You are NOT my mother!” Mom came right back with, “No, I’m not. And right now, I don’t want to be!” I was torn between my allegiances to my mother and my only older friend, from whom I learned a lot. ….especially how not to act!

Okay. After reading this over, my siblings may have been right. I was spoiled and I wouldn’t change a thing.

I live near a town called Canton, Oh. That’s right, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In the past week, it has been in the news for two less wholesome reasons.
The first was the trial of Bobby Cutts. He killed his pregnant girlfriend in June and left his two year old son with her body for two days. The real kicker was that he was a policeman for Canton. He kept quiet while the entire community searched for the missing woman for nearly three weeks. Finally, the guilt bug led him to go to the authorities. Without admitting guilt, at least to the media, he led them to her body where he dumped it. He had an accomplice, a single mother who had a police record. She turned state’s evidence.
He was found guilty of the murder of Jessie Davis and of the aggravated murder of their unborn child, Chloe. You see, this policeman, who had just two weeks earlier taken a CPR course admitted elbowing Jessie in the throat cuasing her to fall to the floor. He said he forgot how to do CPR and evidently forgot that 911 will call police to the scene of an accidental death. He then got bleach to help bring her around, evidently like smelling salts. Then he wrapped up the body, put it in the back of his vehicle, went and picked up the lady who was supposed to babysit his son, and took the body to a park where he proceeded to leave it out in the sun. Meanwhile, he left his son in the house for two days, alone. Oh, yeah, he was also found guilty of child endagering. Do ya THINK?! While the search was going on, he maintained his innocense and was indignant with the press for casting suspicion on him.

The second incident involved former President Bill Clinton. He was in Ohio to campaign for Hilary. A self professed Obama backer claims Bill took a swing at him after his speech. This man has made the national news with his claim. Watch the video and read the story and decide. cantonrep

It just bothers me that people are this caught up in the biggest high school popularity contest in existence. He doesn’t even vote.

I went to my parent’s house yesterday, armed with my camera. The following pics were taken through the glass of my car. My brother carves with a chainsaw and here are some of his creations:

This next shot is of a pond he put in their yard. Notice it also has a couple of carvings. This was taken from an upstairs window.

And finally, this is Mom’s window. She has always had glass objects in this particular window because of the way the sun comes in.

This is the picture of the boy’s car. Ugh!

This is the view from my front door window:

He’s hibernating!

And this is the view of my dratted bamboo from the back window:

Ahh! February in Ohio!

Where to begin? Nothing much to report so you may want to stop reading now.
Still with me? Okay, but don’t say I didn’t warn ya!

Roger called the evening of Valentine’s Day to report that he had taken Ali to dinner. They had a wonderful time. Later that evening, they journeyed out into the night to pick up her brother and a deer ran out in front of the car and Roger killed it. He was able to drive his car home, but it is now dead. It needs another hood, grill, radiator and headlamp. Mike says it is a mess. I will take pictures. They were wearing their seatbelts and so they weren’t hurt. Roger is torn up about killing a deer, however. I’m of mixed opinion on that. There are so many of them. And this could have been much worse for Rog and Ali. A few years ago, a lady that lives in our county was killed when she hit a deer that went through her windshield. It happens.

next item:
I’m a little put out with my work. There is anorther L.P.N. that has a slightly elevated position from the rest of us. She has a job that I would not want. Our boss hired an R.N. (the only one, except the boss) last year. I figured this lady would take over the Slightly Elevated position, if it ever became available. It is a day shift position. Well, it is open and the boss has offered the position to the R.N. My thing with it is- That day shift should have went to one of the older employees. And it isn’t even that I want it. I worked day shift for three weeks in the fall and I didn’t really like it. Yes, it is a bit easier than afternoons. But I am an afternoon person. Mike works afternoons. So why am I put out about the R.N.’s promotion? She is a great person and very easy to work with. She needs to have this position (she will be more than slightly elevated) so she can be groomed to take over the Superintendent position in years to come. I just don’t know why it bothers me. ehh.

next item:
The Vest. This is a phenomenal invention that I have become very acquainted with. My dad has COPD and emphysema. He was told years ago that death was impending. He was on Oxygen for 20 years. In 2004, I made my parents move home to OH from NM so Dad could be home at the end of his life. Once he got through a heart operation and four mini-strokes, he went to a pulmonologist that prescribed Advair and Spiriva. This combination improved his health quite a bit. But he was nominated for trial run with a new contraption called The Vest.
The Vest is used by people with cystic fibrosis to help ease mucus secretions from their lungs and has proven effective. The makers (Hill-Rom) decided to try it for COPD patients. My Dad has used it for the past two years and is now completely off Oxygen!!! That is something I as a nurse, never thought possible. If you want more info go to: www.thevest.com

Well, that is enough for now.

Hi, all! It’s been quite a while since I’ve been here. I lurked around a few days. Xanga is not as popular as it once was, but I don’t care. I don’t need to be read by everyone. Just a few people would be nice. I didn’t leave for myspace or facebook or whatever. I was gone because of a little thing called life.
Granny came to live at my workplace for the last seven or eight months of her life. I feel blessed tohave been able to take care of her. She died quietly one evening in June. I was able to be there on her last day and that was special, she put her hand out and touched my cheek and said “I love you.” I believe she knew me.
Thanksgiving Day 2006, I hurt my back while putting away my Total Gym 1500, which I was using, ironically to strengthen my back! I went through physical therapy for the next two months but then my back pain became left hip pain. The docs could find nothing wrong with my hip but on a CT scan there were numerous cysts noted on my ovaries. In the meantime, the hip pain moved to my left lower side. Off to the gynecologist I went. After just watching it for a few months, and another CT scan and an MRI, I was scheduled for surgery in June. It turned out to be a week after Granny’s funeral. It was supposed to be an easy half hour laparoscopic oopherectomy. I was scheduled for 4 p.m. and was told I would probably be going home that evening. I was also told that my recovery period would probably be two weeks. The docotor made the proviso of 2-6 weeks. Lucky for him.
I went into surgery on time, but came out 3 1/2 hours later, with another abdominal incision. I already had scars from my gastric bypass, hysterectomy and c-section. Seems that the hysterectomy had caused adhesions that had encased my ovaries, bowel and bladder. The doctor said he peeked at the gastric bypass area while he was in there but didn’t notice a lot of adhesions there. So I had six weeks off during the summer, most of it paid. I really wasn’t able to do a lot, but it was nice. I think it helped a lot with the grieving process, too.
My brother got married for the fourth time while I was off. I was asked to read a Bible passage and felt honored. The wedding was held at my grandmother’s house and it was beautiful. The reception was fun, too. I got tired and had to go home early.
My personal car troubles came to an end in February of last year. I bought a 2007 Chevrolet Aveo and I love it. Husband has a car and a truck and Rog has a usable car.
Speaking of my son, when I last blogged, he was doing poorly in high school. He had actually had problems throughout, and I had tried to work with the various teachers over the years to no avail. They just didn’t seem to care. He’s intelligent. At the last parent teacher conference I attended, I came to the conclusion that anything he had learned over the years was largely due to him teaching himself. He would get an inspiration at school but they couldn’t explain things in a way that he wanted to learn. He would come home and get on the computer and figure it out for himself. So, after another year of fretting about his grades and looking at another two years of school (at least), we talked and I convince him that it would be best for all concerned to quit high school and pursue his GED. Which he did and he passed the test on his first try, so it cost him nothing. He is now looking for a job. I also talked him into signing up for Job Corps, but they have not called him. He still has the same girlfriend and she has completed her high school credits and will graduate in May.
Mike(husband) is good. He is nearing thirty years at work and may retire soon. He is studying to become an Apple certified technician. He has a great aptitude for it and loves computers.
I still have four dogs and two cats. They still make me crazy from time to time. Mr. Tud is HUGE! and has such a personality. Mike never really liked cats, but Tud is special.
Work is good, most of the time. Today is not one of those times. I’m supposed to be off, but I have to go in due to filling in for an illness. bleahh!