The big dark cloud of crapiness

I'm not quite sure why I continue to come back here every now and again to write. It's not as if there's a whole lot of commenting or reading going on. I'd be partly to blame for that, what with my lack of witty things to say. Oh, and the fact that I'm having a heck of a time reading and commenting on blogs myself.

These last couple weeks have been ...... well, how can I explain? Hectic. Sad. Happy. Depressing. Hopeful.

I've already mentioned about the health stuff going on. And it's amazing what pure ignorance can do for a person. I've pretty much just put it out of my mind, and I'm not agonizing over it. Of course every once in a while I think - "Hey, March 3rd is my appointment...." and then my stomach tightens and a million thoughts go running through my mind, until "Hey, look! A squirrel!" And I'm sidetracked with something else going on.

Like my husband being sick with strep. It was like death warmed over. An ER visit and a doctor visit all in a matter of, eh, maybe 30 hours? Add in a fever of almost 103, tonsils so swollen they were almost touching and 2 different kinds of antibiotics, and you can pretty much say he was down for the count for 2.5 days. Even after that time, he was still miserable, but at least the fever was gone and he was starting to feel a little more human.

Then, as he was recovering, our son came down with something. No idea what exactly it was that he had, but it resulted in vomit all over his bedroom floor. And that? IS. NO. FUN.

Later that evening, once my son had vomited himself to sleep, I checked my cell phone to find a text message from my boss. Long story short, her adorable papillon was attacked by a coyote that morning, and suffered such extensive injury, she couldn't be saved. She was put down and died later that afternoon. I was extremely fond of that little dog. My boss would bring her into the office often, and she would happily prance about. If it was summertime and I was wearing sandals, she'd pass through my office and lick my toes. It always made me laugh because any bare toes were liable to be licked, and it didn't fail. She did it each and every time she came in during the summer.

The whole thing has made me love on my cat all the more. I'm sure he's tired of me constantly picking him up and showering him with love and affection and kisses. But he's 13 years old, and I know that someday he'll have to cross that Rainbow Bridge. My heart hurts even just thinking about it.

And of course, during the course of all this craziness, my dear friend Nanci lost her father. He had been battling cancer and they knew these were his final days. He passed away on Sunday, and while we're all happy to know he's no longer suffering, I know how much her heart hurts. And mine hurts for her.

That's not even all of what has actually gone on, but that's enough gloom and doom for one post. It's no wonder no one ever comments. No sunshine & rainbows here!

The Post Where I Try To Make it Seem Like I'm Not Afraid

Remember how at the beginning of 2009 I made a list of 52 things I wanted to accomplish during the year? One of those things was to see my doctor about my stomach issues and the finger joint stiffness that seemed to plague me.

Well, I never officially went in to talk about either of those things. Why not? One, because I'm a wimp. Two, anytime I went to the doctor it was for being sick then and there with something else. And three, I'm a big wimp.

So, a couple weeks ago I noticed I had some pain in my right (dominant) hand. Somewhere around my thumb. It was hard to pinpoint exactly where the pain was at the point, but it was worse when I moved my thumb around. In the back of my mind, I decided that it would probably go away within a couple days and I tried to ignore it.

That weekend, I was finally able to pinpoint where the pain was and it centralized itself there. It was in the small joint of my thumb, and the pain was a bit worse than it had been. I considered this, and went to work on Monday morning.

While at the office, I picked up my pen to start jotting some things down and I realized that I couldn't grip the pen entirely well because of the pain. And then while I was holding the phone to my ear with that hand, I could feel some numbness and tingling spreading across the bottom of my palm between my thumb and pinky.

It was then that I decided to suck it up and call my doctor.

Long story short, she prescribed a NSAID for me, and sent me away with orders for x-rays and bloodwork.

It was a long week, and finally at 4:30pm this past Friday, she called me. She began the conversation with my x-ray results (nothing looked abnormal) and then moved on to the bloodwork. The ANA (antinuclear antibody) test they ran came back positive. She said the positive was "borderline" and that it "could mean nothing", but that given my symptoms, she thinks there's something going on. And then she referred me to a rheumatologist.

And that's where I stand. And that's all I'm going to post about it right now. I will make the phone call tomorrow to see about getting in to see the rheumatologist soon.

The Things Kids Say

My son is 8 and if you have a son of your own, you know that certain bodily functions work rather early on. When this first started happening to my boy, he would wiggle and act uncomfortable. When we'd question what his problem was, he simplified it by stating that his peepee was like a statue.

As if that wasn't funny enough, he has recently found a new way to describe this new "hardship" (pun intended).

Imagine my surprise, however, as we're walking thru Target's parking lot and he announces that his penis is "stale".

Gotta give the kid credit for creative adjectives.

Books I Devoured in 2010

I failed miserably last year at trying to read more than I had in '08. I was doing considerably well in the beginning, but somehow when we got to the 2nd half of the year, it was all downhill from there.

I started the year off by jumping into the House of Night series (not to mention I'm also in the process of reading My Friend Leonard). I'm about halfway thru the first book, and have the next 3 in the series lined up.

I won't set a goal this year, but I'll keep track anyway and hope I at least do better than last year's measly attempt.

1. Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast

2. Betrayed by P.C. and Kristin Cast

3. Chosen by P.C. and Kristin Cast

4. Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast

5. Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison

6. MetroGirl by Janet Evanovich

7. Frankenstein - Prodigal Son by Dean Koontz

8. Cocktails for Three by Madeleine Wickham

9. Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast

10. Tempted by P.C. and Kristin Cast

11. Frankenstein - City of Night by Dean Koontz

12. What Looks Like Crazy On An Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage

13. Girls Night In by numerous authors

14. High Stakes by Erin McCarthy

15. Bit the Jackpot by Erin McCarthy

16. Bled Dry by Erin McCarthy

17. Sucker Bet by Erin McCarthy

18. Frankenstein - Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz

19. The Host by Stephenie Meyer (reading in progress)

Settin' the place on FIRE!

It's a guarantee that when my girlfriends and I all get together, we have a good time. We've got story after story, and those stories have led us to nicknames and many inside jokes.

This past Friday, my mom & I hosted our annual cookie exchange and the usual gang of girlfriends came over.

My BFF, Melissa, came in bearing gift bags and asked us to open our special gifts. We knew it was something she made, but you could have never prepared me for what I was about to pull out....



She made us each a pair of slippers.....pad slippers. Pad as in Maxi-pad. They were custom to each of us. For instance, mine said "Snarky".

We howled with laughter, and didn't pay much attention to the candle on the table and the over abundance of tissue paper. Look closely in this next photo .... you'll see the glow of the flame and some tissue which appears to be much too close.



This is the photo I caption: DANGER WILL ROBINSON!!!!

Yes, the tissue caught on fire.

And yes, the flames were probably a good 12 inches high.

And yes, it burned straight thru the tablecloth.

And while we're at it, yes, flaming tissue came at me and singed my shirt AND my hair.

No joke. I have some evidence:



After we extinguished the flames and calmed ourselves down, we went on to have a fabulous night.





I really couldn't ask for a better group of friends. I love you gals.

Merry Christmas to each of you!!

1 week til the big man cometh down the chimney

It's hard to believe in just a week, families will be gathering and children will be placing out cookies & milk and waiting in anticipation for Santa.

The holiday season never slows it's pace, and before we can blink it's time to pull down all the twinkle bulbs, pack away all the sentimental keepsake ornaments and chalk it up as another year gone.

I look forward to Christmas immensely. I always have, but I do so even more being a parent. Yet, I think about how close the holiday is, and already feel the little nag of depression that it's all going to be over with much too quickly.

This year I started everything just a little bit earlier; the shopping, the wrapping, watching the holiday movies... Yet, I still feel like I haven't gotten to truly enjoy it. I don't understand why. We've sat around in our jammies, by the tree, watching movies or playing a holiday Wii game. I've sat with the kids and colored in their Christmas coloring books. We've gone out to look at Christmas lights. We've read a few Christmas stories. We've baked a gazillion cookies. We've donated to the local food pantry, and attended the town tree lighting ceremony. We've visited Santa, sang along to Christmas carols, and helped out a family in need.

And that's not all. There is still plenty of festiveness to be had. Our cookie exchange, the holiday light show/Santa visit on our block, getting together with family, my holiday work luncheon, and a girl's night holiday dinner.

I'm truly blessed with what we've been able to do. Able to enjoy. Able to give. I just wish it was more....

New Site

Where I work, I'm always hearing stories of crazy tips the employees receive from customers around the holidays.

I've always joked & said I was going to compile it into a book. Well, I don't know the first thing about having a book published, so instead, the idea went the virtual route instead.

And so a new website was born!!!

Be sure to check it out, and share your story if you have one! Pass the word along! Can't wait to see what sort of crazy tips are occurring outside of my place of business!!

People of .... Or should it be Creatures of

Have you been turned on to this little gem of the online world? It's People of Walmart.com and it's worth taking a look at it. Trust me.

Now I shop at Walmart with a whole new attitude - with my eyes peeled and cell phone ready. Sadly I can't say I've witnessed anything website worthy. Yet. But I know the time is coming.