October 2007 Archives

I had the weirdest thing happen to me last night. I was just standing in my kitchen, when all of a sudden I got a really sharp pain on the top of my right foot. It felt exactly like I was being bitten by something! I looked down and nothing was there, but I kept an eye on it to see if it was going to swell or something, just in case the little scoundrel that bit me had quickly scampered away. Well, nothing happened, so I thought it was simply another weird thing about me. Then it happened again! And again, and again and again! It kept happening for HOURS last night! So now I'm certain it's another weird thing about me, but it comes close to tipping my personal weirdness meter. What do you think could cause something like that to happen? It hurt like hell, too! It felt like whatever WASN'T biting me had big ass teeth! LOL! I dunno. A phantom spider, maybe? Or no, I know! It's the pissed off spirit of a spider I killed! Yeah, that's it. The little turd was getting back at me!

Bwahahahahaha!!!

Spiders, Bites, Pain, Ghosts

Do any of you guys watch "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"? I am a faithful fan of that show, and watch it every single week. I always end up crying by the end of every episode, too. LOL Last night's show, however, was even better than usual. They did a completely green build for a family on the Navajo reservation. It was SO enlightening and educational! It got me to thinking about how wasteful my lifestyle really is. I think most of us can say that, can't we?

Did you know that even the Christmas lights we use are wasteful? I had no idea! Take, for instance, the fact that LED Christmas lights use 1/10th the energy and will last for more than 50,000 hours compared to less than 2000 for standard incandescents! Did you know that? Me neither! Additionally, a recent EPA report determined that if 20% of American homes switched to LED Christmas lights during the average 30 day holiday season, it would save 400GWh of electricity -- and that assumes replacement of incandescent mini lights, not the bigger C9 style bulbs.

You know the saying "It's the little things that matter most"? Well, it's really true -- even about Christmas lights!

LED Christmas Lights, holidayleds.com

I read just yesterday that Google has been spanking people all across the internet with lower Pagerank, and I received my spanking today. This blog went from a 5 to a 4. To those of you who do not do paid blogging, that probably means nothing to you, but it means a big loss of $$$ for me. That's the bad news.

The good news is that my other blogs, The Inconvenient Truth and Imagine That went from big fat zeros to a 1 and a 2, respectively. That means I'll be able to make a little more $$$ on The Inconvenient Truth, so maybe it will all wash out in the end. I hope.

It's a cloudy, chilly, windy day today. My daughter and I went BIG grocery shopping last night, which totally sucked. Cramps from hell, a headache and backache made it suck even more. Timing. It's everything.

Next weekend we turn our clocks back an hour. I really hate that! It will be getting dark SO early. Icky.

My bestest friend in Australia lost her beloved dog, Muddy, the other day. He was very old and died at home surrounded by the love of his family. Even when you're expecting it, though, it is very, very difficult. If any of you would like to send Debbie your condolences, you may do so here in my comments. Debbie whispered in Muddy's ear that he should find Daisy when he crossed over, so I'm sure they are frolicking around together and having lots of fun.

That's all I have. I hope ya'll have had a happy Friday so far. :)

Cheers!

Dogs, Shopping, Pagerank, Google

Do you dream a lot? Are any of them ever bad? Do you have true nightmares sometimes? Are you fascinated by dreaming and why we do it? Do you find yourself thinking more clearly after a good night's sleep? Do you think the phrase "sleep on it" holds a true secret of learning and/or memory?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you really must read In the Dreamscape of Nightmares, Clues to Why We Dream at All and An Active, Purposeful Machine That Comes Out at Night to Play on The New York Times web site. They are honestly the BEST articles I have ever read on the subject of sleep and dreaming. In fact, the former of the two taught me more in just two pages of reading than I have learned about dreams and nightmares in years of study, reading and research. It answered SO many questions for me and gave me insight into many issues, including why my daughter had certain dreams when she was very young and why my dreams are always so strange. I had no idea that bad dreams are so common, or that they are actually very beneficial. On the other hand, true nightmares (bad dreams that wake you up) are not beneficial at all, and you'll find out why if you read the article.

The latter of the two stories is four pages of amazing information regarding sleep and its four stages, and what each stage does for us. Turns out the brain, which was first thought to basically "shut off" during sleep, is actually a very busy piece of finely-tuned machinery at night. Completely fascinating!

Go on, take a few minutes and read them. I think you'll come away with a whole new understanding of sleep and your dreams.

Sleep, Dreams, Nightmares, Bad Dreams, The New York Times

I received the following from my oldest friend (we've been friends since we were 2 years old!) today and I just HAD to share it with you! It is so funny and SO true! LOL I'm pretty certain that I have said ALL of those things to my children at one time or another! LOL It's called the "William Tell Overture for Moms". Enjoy!

William Tell Overture for Moms,

Oh man. Can you say stomach ache? Here it is, almost 4:00AM, and I'm running back and forth to the bathroom. Let's just say that Imodium has become my new best friend. *groan*

Callie and I did manage to have some fun watching a bunch of old Psycho movies tonight, though (or maybe I should be saying this morning). We watched the 1998 re-make of the original, then Psycho IV: The Beginning (which was pretty good!), then most of the 1960 original. Can you believe she'd never heard of Norman Bates before? Now she knows all about him! LOL

It's raining softly outside right now. I just love that. As soon as my stomach settles down, I'm going to go to bed and let the rain sing me to sleep. :) There's supposed to be some snowfall later, but only about an inch. It's sure going to be a cold night for the Broncos game. I hope my kids manage to stay fairly warm!

I guess I better go see if I can get a little sleep. Hopefully I can lie down and stay there. Hope ya'll have a super Sunday! :)

Psycho, Norman Bates, Rain, Denver Broncos, Stomach Aches

Unless you live under a rock or haven't paid attention to the news, you probably know that a school board in Maine has voted to make birth control pills available to middle school children as young as 11 through its health center -- WITHOUT parental consent! What in the hell is wrong with those people?!?! I'm sorry, but unless you are a DOCTOR whom I have consulted myself, you will NEVER be the one to decide to give my child medication, ESPECIALLY something as personal as birth control pills!!! Not to mention that prolonged use of birth control can have serious and life-long health implications! Condoms are one thing -- they can't affect anyone's health by using them and can actually save lives -- but an oral medication that alters a body's natural cycle? I think not!! Those people might reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, but do they really think it's going to stem adolescent sex? And what about sexually transmitted diseases? Do they really think that an 11 year old girl is going to stop to think about using a condom, too, in order to protect herself from STDs??? Hell no she isn't! All she's going to be thinking about is that the danger of pregnancy is out the window and she can now have at it! Even 14 and 15 year olds are going to think that way! What's next? Are they going to start offering free abortions at school? This is just wrong, people. Wrong, wrong, wrong! I think those long, cold winters in Maine have caused those school officials to have frostbite of the brain!

What do you think about this??

Maine, Middle School in Maine, Birth Control Given in Maine School, Birth Control

I mentioned to you guys not so long ago about how Hubs and I are seriously thinking of doing some Home improvements, right? It's exciting to think about for sure, but it's also kind of mentally exhausting. LOL There is SO much we want to do! Luckily we agree on almost everything we want, so that's one less hurdle. One thing we'd also really love to do is get replacement windows. We could really stand to update our windows and increase the fuel efficiency of our house. There are a few places that are kind of drafty, which is NOT a good thing in the dead of winter!

Wow ... our list is really growing. LOL Have any of you done any home improvements recently? I'd love to hear any tips you have to offer!

OK, first of all let me apologize for pulling such a disappearing act on ya'll. I certainly didn't do it on purpose. So many things have pulled me in so many different directions lately -- most of them good, some of them not so good. The main thing is that I've been engaging in "real life" MUCH more than I have in years! Not only has it kept me away from the computer a great deal, but it has felt GREAT.

Also, the new program my daughter and I are using for her homeschooling this year -- which we both love, by the way -- requires a lot more hands-on time from me, and more book time for her. It's been a wonderful experience so far, though. :)

I've been doing fun stuff with my daughter, too, like shopping, taking in movies, getting our hair done, walking in the park, etc. It's been a blast. We went to see "Heartbreak Kid" with Ben Stiller on Monday night. She loved it; I thought it was moderately good. Ben Stiller is always funny, though, no matter what he's in. Last week we both had our hair trimmed and colored (highlights and shadows). I love doing that. New hair is always such a great thing. LOL

On Tuesday we went to see my wonderfully perfect grandbaby. Oh man, what a character he is! We had SO much fun! He's going to be a pirate for Halloween, which is a surprise since he's been obsessed with Spiderman for so long and said he wanted to be him. My DIL had already purchased him a Spiderman costume and everything! LOL Suddenly, though, he wants to be a one-eyed pirate. ;)

I guess those of you who follow baseball know that our Colorado Rockies are in the World Series!! I am SO EXCITED!!! It's been such a Cinderella story this season! Not only did they make it to the World Series, but they made all kinds of history getting there, such as the most consecutive wins in a season and the first team to ever sweep both teams in the playoff series. My oldest son is going to go to one of the games in Denver. Lucky duck!!!! He's promised to bring me back a souvenir, so it's all good. :)

All three of my kids are going to be at the Sunday night game in Denver between the Broncos and the Steelers. Again, lucky ducks!! LOL My sons surprised my daughter by buying her a ticket (isn't that sweet?), and she is SO EXCITED! Of course, as luck would have it, it's supposed to be wet and verrry cold Sunday night in Denver, so they'll have to pile on the layers, but what's a football game without the cold? ;) I remember sitting through fuh-reezing weather to watch my sons play. When my son David was a senior they made it to the playoffs and their first game was in Woodland Park (in the mountains), where our asses proceeded to literally freeze to the bleachers! I'm not kidding. It wasn't a good thing. LOL But it was worth it when Dave made the biggest, hardest, most awesome hit in his entire High School football career that day! ;)

Again, you guys, I'm sorry for being silent for so long. I want to send a heartfelt thank you to all of you who left comments and/or sent emails asking if everything was OK. I love you for it. :)

(P.S. In honor of my Canadian friends, the theme now displaying is the Toronto skyline. *smile*)

Football, Baseball, Colorado Rockies, The World Series, Weather, Hair, Movies, Canada

CNN is running a story on their web site about self-doubt and the affect it has on so many of us in varying degrees. While the article was interesting and enlightening, what I found profound was the poll on CNN's front page asking people if they think self-doubt limits their ability to live their lives to the fullest. I voted yes. So did 80% of the people who voted. At that time -- about 10 minutes ago -- almost 60,000 people had already voted. Eighty percent of sixty thousand people doubt themselves. That is ... an amazing statistic, don't you think? Staggering, really.

What about you? Do you think self-doubt keeps you from living your life to the fullest? Apparently most of us do. Why is that? Why do you think the major majority of us doubt ourselves to the degree that we feel we aren't living to the fullest? That is just so sad. Is it a societal issue in that the expectations we put on ourselves based on what society deems successful are realistically unattainable? Is it because we try to live our lives based on others' expectations of us? What is it that makes us doubt who we are as contributors in this world? What is it that makes us feel we don't measure up? And what is it that we are trying to measure up to, anyway? How much do television, movies and magazines impact our idea of what and who we think we should be? Is it a subliminal invader that make us feel "less than"?

I realize I'm asking questions which can't be answered easily or simply with a few words. It's just something that really struck me when I read it. I mean, how disheartening is it that so many of us doubt ourselves in so many ways? But more importantly, what can we do to change it?

CNN, Self-Doubt

Oh man, it sucks so bad having to keep working and writing stuff when all I can think about is Daisy. I can't even express how much I am missing her. My emotions bubble over several times a day and the tears begin to flow. I can't help it. I just want her back so much.

*sigh*

I guess it's supposed to get cold this weekend. That figures. Oh well, I guess it's that time of year for the cold to come. I wish it wasn't though. I don't do cold well at all. The warm part of the year always goes so fast! Bummer.

I really should be sleeping, seeing as it's almost 4:00AM. Oh, I did another 3 mile walk tonight (I guess that would technically be last night). It felt good. Hopefully the really cold weather is a very long way off so I can keep walking. I need to get a treadmill or something so I can do it inside during winter.

I'm just rambling. Sorry. I think I'll put my tired brain to bed now. Have a fab Friday. :)

Walking, Treadmills, Cold Weather, Winter

My family and I have been discussing where we should go on vacation next summer a lot lately. I guess it's because we didn't go on one this summer. We're anxious. :)

We've discussed a variety of destinations, but one place I've always wanted to visit is the Caribbean. The problem, though, is that there are so many amazing places to visit there! I don't know if I could choose! It would be cool if I didn't have to choose and could go to all the islands, but I don't see that happening. LOL I know for sure I'd absolutely want to visit Antigua, Aruba and St. Lucia! Are those places not the most gorgeous you've ever seen? I think I'd want to go in February. That's when it's bone-chilling cold 'round these parts, but the weather is warm and sultry there. That would be sooo nice! And you know what else? I really think I'd like to go there with my daughter. Or my sisters. Just the girls, you know? Now that sounds like an unbeatable vacation!

Caribbean, caribbean-guide.info

I had jury duty yesterday. I was to be at the Justice Center by 8:30AM. Due to being so emotionally upset over losing Daisy the night before, I had not gone to bed until 3:30AM. It was very hard getting up at 7:00AM, to say the least, but I managed it.

I got the the Justice Center about 10 minutes early and waited. And waited. Then waited some more. Finally after all of the prospective jurors had arrived, the new District Court Judge decided to talk to us and introduce himself. Nice enough, I guess. After that we were required to watch a 13 minute videotape about juries and how our jury system was born, etc., etc. I've seen it before. I almost fell asleep. I was happy it was over. Until they announced we'd have a 10 minute break, then would have to come back to watch yet another videotape. Groan. After all the smokers and people who needed to use the bathroom had returned, the video began. Guess what it was about? How judges are chosen. OK, that was educational, I guess, but why do I need to know that to be a juror??? Just before the video ended, we heard the phone ring for the jury commissioner. FINALLY it was time to go upstairs to the courtroom and get started. I was gearing up for a long day, because there were A LOT of people there.

So we get to the courtroom, which is quite beautiful, by the way, and take a seat. To my right was the defense table where an older attorney and his young well-dressed client were sitting. The judge has already taken the bench. He then announces that at this very late date the parties have come to a plea agreement and we can all go home. Oh.My.God. We sat there for NINETY minutes watching all of that stuff for no reason. Aside from being annoyed by that fact, I was happy and relieved. All I wanted was my bed and a niiiice looong nap, which is exactly what I did once I got home.

Jury Duty, Juries, Judges, Justice System

It's almost that time of year again! I'm sure you know I'm talking about Halloween, right? I love Halloween. I loved it more when my kids were little, though. Now that we don't go trick-or-treating anymore, it's been kind of boring the last few years, but this year our 3-year-old grandson is old enough to REALLY have fun with it! I can hardly wait! :)

My daughter-in-law got a costume for him early on at the one-and-only place you can get costumes here in town. That was always a big bummer -- we never had a great selection of costumes for the kids. Most of the time I had to make my own for them. If Hubs and I were invited to a costume Halloween party, forget it! There isn't even one single place in this town for adults to get costumes. We ALWAYS had to create our own. That's why I was so jazzed to find all of these Halloween Costumes! Oh man, they have costumes for every occasion imaginable at HalloweenExpress.com! They have costumes for kids, for adults, accessories and makeup, hats, wigs & masks, decorations & props, groups & themes, and even costumes for your pets! Now I can hardly wait to be invited to a costume party! :)

Costumes, HalloweenExpress.com

I want to send a very big and deeply heartfelt THANK YOU to all of you who have sent such kind and comforting words of support to my family and me on the loss of Daisy. It has helped to soothe the pain. Believe me, your friendship is more appreciated than I can say. ((((((((HUGS))))))))

Today has been tough. Especially at feeding time and snack time. Oh my how she loved food! LOL It's heartbreaking not seeing her eager face in the group of hungry dogs. Not being able to take her with us on our walks in the park will be hard, too. She was such a good "walker". She always stayed right with us and always obeyed what she was told. We never had to use a leash with her. An extraordinary girl, she was.

Again, thank you all so much for your support.

My family and I are devastated and heartbroken. About 26 hours ago we found our beloved Daisy dead. It was a shock beyond belief. She was only 2 years old.

The dogs had all gone outside into the back yard for a while to potty and play. When we let them back in, Daisy wasn't with them. I was in the shower. My daughter said she was afraid something was wrong because Cheyenne, our Lab, was acting really weird and had gone back outside and wouldn't come in. She got her Dad's railroad flashlight and went out back to take a look around. Next thing I heard was my daughter running into the bathroom, telling me through sobs that Daisy wasn't moving, and she thought she was dead. My husband heard what she was saying and immediately took the flashlight and went out to see what was going on. Callie was right, she was dead. Tony examined Daisy all over her body to see if he could find a wound or broken bones or something, but found nothing. We're assuming she may have had SAS that went undetected, and simply laid down and died. That's the only feasible explanation we can come up with for why a 2 year old Golden Retriever who was in seemingly excellent health would suddenly die. She was lying in her spot under the bush where she would always sleep. If we had had any idea whatsoever that something like that had happened, we certainly wouldn't have let Callie go out there alone to be the one who found her. Daisy was her favorite out of all the dogs. She was planning on taking her with her when she moved out of here in a few years. It is torture thinking of her lying back there dying all alone. That is what haunts me the most. And then I look around my house at all the places in which she would sleep, and I burst out crying. I can't believe she's gone. I just can't believe it.

Our hearts are completely broken. The shock is beginning to wear off, and deep grief is taking its place. Our sweet, beautiful, amazing Daisy is gone. The sweetest, most loving dog ever. She absolutely lived for being touched. It didn't matter if you were touching her with your hand, your leg, your foot -- anything -- as long as you were touching her she was happy. She loved us so well. I am very grateful for having been blessed with her for 2 1/2 years. I just wish it had been much, much longer.

Run free, sweet Daisy. We'll see you again someday. Until then, you and Mom can keep each other company.

Dogs, Golden Retrievers, SAS, Losing a Pet

I have a good friend who is going through a very rough time right now. He's dealing with something my sisters and I can wholly relate to: he's caring for his two ailing parents, all by himself. While my sisters and I had each other for help, understanding and support, he has no one. While we were caring four our mother -- only our mother -- he's caring for both of his sick parents. I can't even imagine how lonely and helpless that must feel at times. I wish I could do more than just send emails, but I can't; he lives in the U.K. I've discovered something, though, that I can send him in one of those emails that I think will actually be of help to him. It's a web address to a community for people living with disabilities.

You may ask me why I would direct him to a web site for people with disabilities, but believe me, this site is so much more than "just" for those who are disabled. Disaboom.com also offers a very valuable resource for caregivers, families, rehabilitation providers and employers. I can't begin to tell you how much I wish my sisters and I had had a place like that on the 'net to help us through the very hard times. Sometimes you just need to feel like you're not all alone and have someone to talk to who really knows what you're going through, you know? It's absolutely something caregivers require to keep on keeping on.

Disaboom.com offers a community of bloggers, discussion boards (which I am directing my sisters to, as I saw a thread there just for people who suffer with fibromyalgia!), an amazing Living section, a Career Center and SO much more. Founded by J. Glen House, M.D., who is currently the Medical Director of Penrose Hospital’s Center for Neuro & Trauma Rehabilitation as well as a quadriplegic and leading voice for the disabled community, Disaboom.com is designed by doctors and fellow Disaboomers and is the first online company dedicated to providing a comprehensive resource to meet people's specific needs with customized expertise. I believe with all my heart that this is a service which has been desperately needed for a very long time. If you are someone taking care of a loved one, or who is living with a disability yourself, please do yourself a favor and visit Disaboom.com. I know you won't be sorry.

Disaboom.com, Disaboom, Disaboomers

I would love to hear your opinion on the following story, so get ready to share. :)

Apparently there has been an uproar in Durham, Hew Hampshire, over the Class of 2008 t-shirts. Why, you ask? Well, take a look for yourself --

The Oyster River High School class of '08 made shirts telling classmates to push the limit. Instead, they pushed the limits of administrators' tolerance. Why? Well, do you see that paw print decimal point just before the "08"? Yep, you guessed it -- .08 is the legal drinking limit. School Superintendent Howard Coulter doesn't think it's a laughing matter, but the administration has not banned the shirts. They are discouraging students from wearing them, however, and disciplinary action is still possible.

What do you think? Should they be banned? Is it just a "senior prank"? Or is it a much more serious matter? How would you address the problem if you were the Superintendent? Me? I wouldn't ban them, but I would certainly discourage them from wearing the shirts, and possibly even have a school assembly with discussion about drinking and the things that can happen when you do, indeed, push the limit.

Now, what would you do?

Drinking and Driving, Durham, New Hampshire, Senior Pranks, Class of '08 T-Shirts

Do you change or add ringtones on your phone very often? Those of you who know me well know how easily I get bored with stuff, so it will come as no surprise to you that I love adding new ringtones to my phone. And guess what? My daughter is EXACTLY the same! She's even "worse" than I am! She becomes positively giddy when getting new ringtones. LOL Well, guess what I found? A web site where you can literally get thousands of Free Polyphonic Ringtones! How cool is that! I haven't told my daughter yet because she's still doing her schoolwork and I know if I told her now the work would go out the window and she'd be here at the computer faster than you can blink! LOL

I'm not kidding when I say they have thousands of ringtones -- how's 9,000 for a number! Hmm, I wonder how long it would take to go through all 9,000? ;) I think it's very safe to say that with that many ringtones, there is something there for everyone! There are polyphonic and monophonic ringtones for all makes of phones including Motorola, LG, Samsung, Nokia, Sony Ericsson. If, for some reason, there isn't a ringtone you like or they don't have the particular one you're looking for, you can tell them and they will try to get it for you. That's what I call good service!

Go check 'em out -- it will be fun! :)

Ringtones, Cell Phone Ringtones, Polyphonic Ringtones

Five weeks ago I never would have thought it possible, but I did THREE MILES when we walked last night!! YAY for me!! I'd been doing 2 miles for about a week or so, and decided it was time to step it up. I am so proud of myself, you guys. :) I'm feeling healthier by the day! I quit smoking four years ago next month, I stopped drinking soda except for once in a blue moon, I've cut way down on any sugary stuff I eat, and I'm feeling really good. :)

Speaking of feeling really good, we here in Colorado are feeling pretty damn happy about the Colorado Rockies beating the San Diego Padres 9-8 last night in a tiebreaker for the NL wild card! It took an extra day and 13 innings to do it, but for the first time in 12 years they've made it to the playoffs! That's totally exciting! I'm going to have to start watching the games on TV now! ;)

Someone who is NOT feeling good is dear old Britney. She's lost custody of her kids to ex-hubby Kevin Federline. A court has ordered her to give up custody effective Wednesday at noon. K-Fed is to retain custody of their two sons "until further order of the court," according to a ruling by Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon. Hmmm ... can't say I'm surprised. Brit has big problems which she should have addressed and fixed ages ago. I wonder if losing her kids is hitting her personal bottom yet???

I need sleep. Hope your Tuesday makes you happy! :)

Britney Spears, Colorado Rockies, Walking, Exercise