One of the guys here has this beautiful Hibiscus plant in his yard. Every morning, he goes out, pics the flowers and brings one to each of us. Beautiful, isn't it? Always makes our day...

I feel like I've been hit by a big emotional truck this morning, but am feeling better than last night. All this stress and turmoil just isn't worth risking my health over. I need to draw the line and not cross it. I am human though, and I go along dealing with things pretty well on a daily basis then all of the sudden BOOM it explodes. I wish so much I felt strong enough to work out again, that sure helped get my stresses out before and I know it will do it again. So frustrating. I'm also so tired of being tired. I still haven't heard from my RA doc about my hematocrit blood levels so I'll call today - we've got to find out what's causing my anemia. I won't let any of this beat me... I may have had a bad day yesterday and will probably still have a bad day today, but its getting better and it WILL get better, one way or the other. I need to keep my fighting spirit (its still there, I can feel it, its just taking a beating right now) up. I sound brave, don't I?! I'm also trying to convince myself even as I'm writing this that I'm so brave and can handle anything. Really though - I've been through so much in my life, I'm not giving in now. Just having some set backs this year. *Concentrate on the good things, concentrate on the good things*. I have such incredible friends and family to help me through things and am never alone. I'm so fortunate to have all of you in my life. No matter how much I bitch you're always there, sending hugs and leaving supportive comments. I have 7 hours to work today, will be off at Noon, then will take my car in to the mechanic. Dad is meeting me there and will take me home. If I'm feeling up to it, I've decided I'm going to clean the hell out of my room. It needs it and I need the therapy ;-). Have a good day everyone and thanks so much for listening and your support... and if you want to play 3 for Thursday the questions are up!

I thought my day and emotional state were improving... then I got home. The long awaited decision on Kathy's disability claim has been extended another 6 months. I could look on the bright side - at least it wasn't denied - yet, but I'm just too upset that it wasn't settled today. Its just prolonged for another 6 fucking months. I don't know how much more of her and her situation I can stand. I don't know how much longer I can see my parents being dragged down financially, emotionally and physically. I don't know how much more I can stand of her so-called-husband not getting a job to support HIS family before I am going to beat the living shit out of him. I just really don't know how much more our family can take. I'm at a loss. I'm going to go have myself one hell of a good cry and take a Xanax or two (its allowed).

I hate waiting... I'm waiting for my RA doc to call me back with my blood test results and he hasn't yet. Usually when I have blood drawn on Fridays, they call me Tuesday evening to tell me the results. No phone call last night. So, this could mean two things: he didn't get the results or he is deciding what to do with me. Hopefully I'll hear something this evening. As I got in this morning, another guy, Kasey came in right after me. He's in the next cubical over the wall, and said, "Karen?? is that you?" I said, "yes..." Then he said that he and other people are starting to wonder if I've started living here - sleeping on a cot. LOL!! Ummm... nooo... I told him I'd just gotten here and was just a few mins early. He's in here about 1.5 hours early himself. He and his wife have a new baby and he was up anyway so decided to come in and get caught up on some work. But no, I definitely don't live here ;-) In fact this week, I'll have my 40 hours in by noon tomorrow since I haven't been taking any lunches. Today is the day for my sister Kathy's disability hearing. I am praying to God and anyone else who will listen that she will get it. The house will come tumbling down if she doesn't. Her lawyer (at her meeting last week) didn't sound as optimistic as he has in the past, but we're hoping he's just being 'realistic' and trying to prepare for her for the possibiblity of not getting it. Since her first go-around, she's developed other physical disabilities (her main claim now is mental as if anyone couldn't guess that) so we're hoping those will help. Not much else to say right now... feeling kinda grumpy today since I didn't sleep well, and I'm really worried about a lot of things. Car, my test results, etc., I really wish I could have just stayed in bed today and hide from the world, but I won't do that. I need to keep going... but I am going to let myself be grumpy that's the only way to get rid of the grumps and get back to myself. Hope everyone has a great Hump Day though!! *hugs*

I've run out of the creativity and motivation that I had this morning about my financials... I started to plan out my idea, then I asked myself if it was really necessary. No, can't say that it is. I can still extract the data I need in another way - a couple different ways actually. So, there ya go, I've talked myself out of doing it. I've worked on the database all day long but I'm finally caught up on everything! YAY! Its nice to have the time to do this stuff so I'm not complaining. There will be some more stuff coming in on Thursday that I'll have to do for sure, but I think tomorrow is going to be one of those "gimme something to do before I die of bordom" days after I get my regular/daily stuff done. I hope not, I hate those kind of days. I've made and appt with a mechanic for my car on Thursday afternoon. Its been running rough for quite a while, and its due for inspection in September. My friend Robin's hubby Jerry fixed what he could figure out on it back in May and he recommended a mechanic that he trusts (which is a very good thing). So, I'm going to bite the bullet and get an estimate, and hopefully its nothing *major* and can get it fixed and tested for safety and emissions. I can't afford any repairs, but then again I can't afford not to have my car! What do ya do?! This car really needs to last me at least another year. One hour before I get to go home... YAY. Its hot in here yet again... the air con is partially working and it stays kinda good until 1pm then it becomes an oven in here. UGH. A nice cool shower will be in order when I get home. Have a great night!

I had to do it... I just had to do it. I had to order this today. I just love Piglet, Pooh and the gang!!

I don't know where yesterday went! It just flew right on by... I had a break yesterday afternoon and was able to blog-hop for a little while which was nice. I had a ton of database stuff to do yesterday, and still have some to do today but I've got all day to do it, unless something else more important comes up. I also had an idea as I was waking up this morning on one more way I could sort my financials to make things a bit easier. So I may work on that this afternoon... when these brain storms hit, which I might add isn't very often, I better take action. tee hee I heard from a guy on that match thing I'm doing, and he sounds really nice. His name is Robert and he's from Idaho (about 70 miles away) and we've started e-mailing. We've exchanged messenger IDs but haven't chatted yet. Its worth a shot... I'm not expecting to be swept off my feet (by what I've seen so far), he may just be a good friend, but we'll see what happens. I've got to quit jumping ahead of myself and just let things flow! LOL!! I think and analyze things too much at times... got to quit that. Fun pic of the day:

I just found the BEST thing in my Inbox today. It was my annoying cubemate Greg's timecard (which isn't due until the end of this week). Its all filled out for this week with LEAVE HOURS! He's going to be out of the office and I didn't even know it! Oohhh... this is looking to be a good week already!

Well, its Monday... how did it come so soon again?! Time just goes by too quickly on the weekends. I've just gotten to work and am settling in. I see all the e-mail in my inbox and want to cringe, but I'll take one at a time. This week shouldn't be too crazy, unless something comes up that I don't know about. I forgot to write about the excitement in my neighborhood (well, this IS exciting for my neighborhood) over the weekend. When I got home on Thursday, there was a policeman sitting in front of my neighbor's house across the street. I thought it was odd, thinking maybe something was really wrong. So I told my Dad and he went over to see what was going on. Apparently my neighbor had seen a bobcat in her garage. The policeman couldn't find it, so he sat in her driveway for a while and kept watch while filling out some reports. After a couple of hours, he gave up and left. He thought my neighbor had lost her mind and was seeing a stray, wild cat. She asked him if stray cats have pointed ears, spots on their back and brilliant yellow eyes... Ummm... no. Saturday rolls around and the bobcat decided to show up again (or he could have just stayed and hid in their garage). It was indeed a bobcat. They had animal control come out and get him, tranquilize him, etc. Luckily no one got hurt. We live close to the mountains - probably about a mile or so from the base of the mountain range but we've never seen so much as a deer in my neighborhood, so this was really strange. Well, I better get to my e-mail! Have a great day everyone! Chant for today "We love Mondays... we love Mondays."

Do I have the word "fuckwit" stamped to my forehead?! I was online, checking my e-mail and had Yahoo Messenger running. This guy contacts me, he's 36/single/white/male says his name is Bruce and is from Missouri. Asked if I wanted to chat... sure, what the hell. He tells me he's a hypnotherapist which is cool... then he asks me if I have a webcam... yes... then he tells me he "helps people online" and says "its safe" Ummm yeah... then he asks me if I'd like a "demo" No thanks, I'll pass on that one. Wonder what he wanted to demonstrate... Can we say IGNORE LIST?! LOL!!

I was up really early this morning. I didn't sleep well at all, woke up at 1:30 and couldn't really ever go back to sleep. My leg was bothering me, so I took a pain pill and still couldn't go back to sleep... so I was up and showered by 6:30! LOL! Crazy... I know. I was contemplating a pajama day but decided to put shorts and a t-shirt on instead. I'm contemplating doing some cooking today. Not sure what I'm in the mood to make and who knows, by the time lunch time rolls around I may have changed my mind about the whole cooking thing anyway. I seem to be losing the motivation of doing anything really quickly, even as as I'm writing this... I think its the pain pill... hmmmm... maybe... I'm obviously babbling (more than usual)... la la la I'm going now. Have a great Sunday!

I know you all are hanging on the edge of your computer chair awaiting the news of how my company picnic went. tee hee So here it goes... It was OK, not as horrid as I thought... but if it hadn't been for Gordon being there I wouldn't have had anyone to talk to. Gordon was my boss a few years back (he works in a different location now). He brought his wife and daughter and we sat under a shady tree in our lawn chairs and visited. I stayed for about 1.5 hours then was outta there. I finally met the division manager Mike, and he seems nice. He was the chef and was all excited about it, kinda made me laugh. I came home, put my leg up, watched TV and finished a small doily. Nothing exciting at all, but relaxing. TTFN!

Cheers Roo for this link!

You Are a Like Eyes!

Sly, mysterious, and very sexy.You have a deep stare and lure people in with your gaze. Anyone would be lucky to get with you. Why? Because your big on doing things all the way... And making sure the pleasure is distributed evenly. And if not fifty/ fifty, your lover will get even more. You're sweet, kind, and love to be a tease at times. Congrats! You've got it all. What Body Part Are You Most Like?
More Great Quizzes from Quiz Diva

I just got this in my e-mail and thought it very puzzling. For the record, I'm not a dating service or pimping mamma (tee hee). I did reply and suggest he go through an online dating service such as Match Doctor. "Yes Karen hope your having wonderful day.Thanks for the massage your giving to the world.Well am XXXX XXXX from Uganda east Africa.am 28 years old.Am requesting you to get me a female friend from there.I really need one but I don't know how I can get one.So it my request to get one." Sorry dude! But hey - I'll keep the e-mail if anyone is interested in contacting him, let me know! Hey... maybe I'm turning into a pimping mamma... what do ya think? *Update* I just got another e-mail from this dude apologizing for contacting me... he's looking for friendships with females of common interests. Nice of him to write back and apologize...

I had a good time out with Mom yesterday afternoon. We practically shopped until I dropped! Compared to how I used to be able to shop, it wasn't that much but sure felt like a lot. We got the things we needed to and a couple things we didn't... but that's what makes shopping fun. I had a nice relaxing night, just watched movies and did a bit of research on the internet about my health stuff. Today is my company picnic. Yipee. I'm so excited to go. This isn't with the gov't organization people I work with, but the corporate people who I: 1) hardly ever see, 2) haven't met 90% of (since a merge of offices 6 months ago!), and 3) may never see again. It starts at 11 and they're having food I can't have, games I can't play, and is going to be hot. Yes, I'm being a boob. I'm taking a lawn chair to prop up under a shady tree and perhaps a book... or would that be too anti-social?! LOL!!! I don't have to stay all day, just as long as I can/want to. I will make an appearance and at least meet the division manager. I've e-mailed him and talked to him once on the phone but never met him. I don't even know if my boss, the Timster will be there, he acted like he wasn't going to go. Greg said heand his wife (she's cool) will be there, and there's probably 3 other peope that I hope will be there. That's all for now... I'll be sure to write again this afternoon with all the fun details of the picnic. tee hee I know you're as excited as I am and will come back and read my post! *snicker* Have a great Saturday!

Snagged this from Egypt *snicker* what do ya think... fits me doesn't it? LOL!!!
Innocent

What's your sexual appeal?
brought to you by Quizilla

Health Log updated...

Happy FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wooohooo! I was dreaming that I was hearing thunder, could smell the small hint of rain in the air... then it dawned on me, I wasn't dreaming! There actually was a bit of thunder and a few drops of rain in the middle of the night. Its all gone now of course but they say there is a "chance" of more. I'll believe it when I see it. We need the rain desperately so I hope it hits big time. I had a great afternoon yesterday. Lunch with Robin is always so fun and we got caught up on things... we are so connected that we finish each others sentences, its scary. I came home after lunch (she had to go back to work) and got half my cleaning done and paid my bills. Then I made dinner for my parents and I then just relaxed the rest of the night. I was really exhausted! I started watching Mr Deeds and fell asleep before it was even half over I think! LOL!!! I didn't even hear fireworks in the neighborhood (for the Pioneer Day Celebration) so either I was too dead to the world, or the city outlawed them this year because of how dry its been. I'm guessing they were outlawed because my cat freaks out when there are fireworks and she definitely would have woken me up. I better get my ass in gear and get the rest of my cleaning done. I've got a doc appt this morning with my general doc to check my blood thinner levels, then will take Mom to lunch and run errands. I also have to run to the hospital to get some blood tests done for my RA doc to see what's going on with my anemia. Fun, fun. I'll post about that later in my health log.

This was an e-mail I just got - I don't know if its really true, but its so damn funny I had to share it! This is even funnier when you realize it's real! Next time you have a bad day at work, think of this guy. Rob is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana. He performs underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs. Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister. She then sent it to radio station 103.2 on FM dial in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, who was sponsoring a worst job experience contest. Needless to say, she won. Hi Sue, Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother. Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you've been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it's not so bad after all. Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my job. As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to the office. It's a wet suit. This time of year the water is quite cool. So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose. Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I've used it several times with no complaints. What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wet suit. This floods whole suit with warm water. It's like working in a Jacuzzi. Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse. Within a few seconds my butt started to burn. I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened. The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit. Now, since I don't have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn't stick to it. However, the crack of my butt was not as fortunate. When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my butt. I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator. His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with five other divers, were all laughing hysterically. Needless to say I aborted the dive. I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops totaling thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my brass helmet. As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber. The cream put the fire out, but I couldn't poop for two days because my butt was swollen shut. So, next time you're having a bad day at work, think about how much worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your butt. Now repeat to yourself, "I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.”

I slept the best I have all week last night, despite the heat! We broke some record hight for the day in history. My car said it was 106 on the way home... UGH - enough already. Today is Pioneer Day here in Utah. Happy Pioneer Day! Its a state holiday so of course I don't get paid for it, and there's really nothing that I wanted to "do" as far as seeing the parade, etc., so I'm working. BUT only until 11 when I'll have my hours in for the week. I'm going to meet my good friend and twin sister (from different mothers) Robin for lunch. Then home I'll go. I need to pay my bills and I'll get part of my cleaning done so I don't have so much to do tomorrow. I don't think we're doing anything to celebrate Pioneer Day for dinner, and that's OK. Its not a huge holiday, but I know it gives the kiddies and the adult kiddies in the neighborhood a good excuse to do fireworks again. They should outlaw them this year since we've had no rain in so long and the high temps. Too much of a fire hazzard. I'm still not motivated to do anything this morning... *sigh* I've got some database work to do but I'll work into it slowly ;-). 3 for Thursday questions are up if you want to go play.

I can't believe it. Its 2:15 on a Wednesday afternoon of "Financial" week and I am DONE with my financials. Totally and completely done. All balanced. All printing done. All filed. Everything. What I thought was going to be the week from hell has turned out not to be. Gotta love that. I'm feeling a bit perkier now, but had such a hard time getting motivated to do anything this morning at all. I guess you can even say I *could* have gotten things done even earlier today if my motivation had been there, but I wasn't stressed about getting stuff done and its done now. So who really cares?! LOL! Now I'm going to relax some and do some blog hopping. YAY! One of my fav things to do!

Happy Hump Day! It seems like Wednesday should have been a long time ago, but at least we made it! Not a lot to say this morning, I'm feeling OK, just having a quiet morning I suppose... I had a pretty good night after I took a shower (and had fantasies about the rain tee hee). I went to bed and watched Grease (on of my fav movies) until I fell asleep. I woke up once in the night and had a bit of trouble falling back asleep, so I put a tape of the Brady Bunch in the VCR and that did the trick. tee hee I really love the show but it does put me to sleep - I guess its a comfort TV show. I'm not quite in the mood to do actual work quite yet... but I need to get in the mood. Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday! Here is the pic of the doily I made - it measures about 36" across. Its the biggest doily I've made. (image is clickable)

PHEW! What a day!!! I kicked ass on my financials. I got my files by 9am and started right away on getting them sorted and balanced. I even got my invoice to balance today (which usually I have to bug a lady back East for it) too! They went really smooth, all the items that cleared the system I accounted for and then I started on my financial report. One hour before I left, I gave the written and financial report to the Timster (my boss), he reviewed it, gave his stamp of approval 10 minutes before I was going to go home... so I sent it off to our division manager so he can have a looksee and if everything is OK (I have to give him 24 hrs to do it) then I can deliver it on Thursday and I'll be done! I still have to do my internal balancing "double check" tomorrow, but I've got the big stuff done today. It was a nice and toasty 107 when I came home today... Oh yeah... gotta love this heat. At one point on the freeway my car said it was 110. Too damn hot. We really need rain. I find myself having fantasies about a nice big, long, heavy, wet.... rain storm that lasts for days... *snicker* We're on our way for another record year for days in a row hitting over 100. Can't remember what it was last year, but we broke the record. I hear that Idaho is having the same problem we are. Rain, please... rain!!! Gimme some rain! I'm off for my nightly ritual... a nice cool shower... and maybe to have myself another rain fantasy. Sorry... I've been on one all day... and am even more goofy tonight since my brain is fried from doing all the financials. I'll give you an example before I go. Colin and I were chatting today via e-mail, and he gave me some code for a pic and with the width and height included. He said innocently "so you don't have to dick around with the width and height." Well, of course I had to take it the way I had to take it... it can be a very good thing to dick around with width and height, right? Surely I am! Good night! tee hee

I got into work 30 minutes early. I got up at the usual time, but got ready quicker than normal and don't know how I managed it. I guess sometimes your butt is dragging and other times it flies. I didn't have anything constructive to do at home (especially at 4am) so I just decided to come into work, and that makes less time I'll have to work on Thursday afternoon. I think I made it here in 15 minutes too, I cruised! It usually takes me 20-25. No one got in my way today, maybe that's why. tee hee My financials weren't in my e-mail this morning so I'll have to wait until about 8am to call Bart and bug him. I have other things to do (my regular duties) until then, but I'm anxious to get started on my financials and get them out of my hair. There were a lot of corrections that had to be made and I need to make sure they were done. Cute pic of the day: New meme Blog Candy by Annie. Go play! If you haven't read Annie you should, she's one of the kindest and sweetest souls in the world! She's so creative and has a beautiful blog. *hugs* Annie!

OOOHHHH 104 outside! TOO DAMN HOT! At least the air con was working half way today. It stayed under 80 degrees inside. They're still working on it trying to get it to work right, we knew it would be an "all summer" job. Figures. Today was a pretty good day, I got my written portion of my report done and tomorrow - if I get my files from the Bart dude as requested - I can start on my financials. I hadn't gotten them by the time I left, but hopefully they'll be there waiting for me in the morning? Too much to ask for? Hmmm... we'll see. He's usually pretty good at getting them to me when I ask or at least telling me when he'll get them to me. OK - I'm outta here, gonna get in a nice cool shower before I hit the hay! Have a great night!

Well, here we are... MONDAY again. I sure wasn't ready for it to come around again, was anyone else?! I wanted another Sunday, it was so nice and peaceful. I finally finished that huge doily I'd been putting off. It took me 3 hours to do the last two rows. Mom saw it when it was finished and she said, "That's so big, I don't think I have a place for it." I LAUGHED heartily and said "Sorry to break it to you, but I'm keeping this baby." I don't have a place for it right now either, but I'm putting it up for when I do. Its MINE. I don't keep many of my doilies but this one, is definitely a keeper. I watched the Minority Report and it was a pretty good show. Tom looking as nice and yummy as ever... Then I watched a cute little movie that was on TNT a couple of weeks ago called Prince Charming. I watched a few other shows - as I've always got the TV going. That was about it really... just a nice relaxing day. My boss will be back in the office today, and this week is my monthly report and financials week so it will be a busy one. Thursday is the Utah holiday (I don't get paid for it though) Pioneer Day and I'm having a hard time deciding whether I want to take it off or not. I guess it would depend on how the week goes. If I get all my financials, etc., done, maybe I will. Try and have a good Monday!!! I know its hard... but try...

Thanks so much for everyone's support about my "sister" situation. It means so much, more than I can express... really about everyone's support with my life period! Its just does my heart good to know what incredible people are out there! Love ya all! I had a pretty good afternoon and evening. I heard from a guy (on that online dating match thing) that is 31 and lives in Salt Lake! I replied, and after a couple of days we finally hooked up on MSN Messenger last night! His name is Ed and he's really nice and funny. We chatted for over 2 hours I think! We do have a lot in common, (sense of humor, etc.) but there are some life goals, beliefs, and other things that would definitely stand in the way of a "relationship" so I think we'll just be friends. (He's just looking for "friends" right now anyway) He asked if I thought "friends" could be intimate. I think they can, yes but I told him that I wanted more. I want it all and am not settling. We'll continue on as friends and keep getting to know each other, but I'm going to keep looking for someone and something more. Colin has posted the buttons I made at CoolText.com (via Meg's site) on the server so now I have new buttons. YAY. It was a snap to make the buttons. There is a button for the link to my Health Log for anyone interested. Nothing much to report now, but I'll let you know when there is. On the daily basis I'm using it as a journal but feel free to read it. I've got to behave today, my foot and leg are really swollen so I won't be around too much. I need to keep my leg propped up and at as much of a flat angle as possible. I am planning on watching the Minority Report that I taped last weekend, and perhaps get the doily done that I've been putting off! Have a great day everyone!

OMG - Thanks Cindy for this quizzie link! I've been found out!!! ROFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are a complete FUCKTARD!!!!! 100% Pure
Stupidity. People are always laughing at you
and you don't even know why. Then you start to
cry..You're a complete idiot, why don't you
just kill yourself!!!!!!!!

How much of a FUCKTARD are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Why do I never learn? I should have known that what I said to Kathy would be turned around and put on me. Me being the bad guy. She told Mom and Dad that I raked her over the coals and yelled at her yesterday. She is just utterly and completely sick. I know I probably did hurt her feelings but they were things she needed to hear. There are two sides to every story so I told Mom my side. Mom said, "I thought things sounded a bit "off". Why would Kathy lie about the things you said?" I replied, "Because she's sick. Because she needs to take the negative attention away from her and put it on someone else to make herself feel better and look better in other people's eyes." That's why. Then I told Mom "See why I don't talk to her?" Point well taken. Another lesson learned. I WAS having a good afternoon until that happened. BUT its over now and I'm not going to let it spoil my day. I'm working on a new blog - not a new template, but a health log. I often feel like I'm whining here about my health problems, so I want a seperate place that the people who do want to read about my test results, etc., can without having to read it on my regular blog. I'm also making it out to be journal as well. Just for my own benefit of how I'm progressing. I've tried to have a normal journal (actual hand written) but I'm not very faithful about it, and I think I will be more faithful with a blog. I'm addicted to blogging if you haven't noticed! LOL!! Anyway, I was having problems with the template and asked my wonderful friend Connie fixed everything and even found me a better template. Thank you Connie - you're the best! Its up and running now and I will link to it when there is something of interest there. I'm going attempt to make a button for my sidebar via Meg's resources. If you haven't checked out her site, you should, she's got a lot of fun things.

Well, I've been up since before the crack of dawn (3AM)! I'm used to waking up at 3:30 anyway and today wasn't any different. I watched Goonies then got up at 5AM, took my meds and ate breakfast. I felt an anxiety attack coming on, and needed to do some organizing... my OCD was cropping its ugly head... I couldn't believe what I accomplished in 2 hrs. I put some some quilts in the vacuum storage bags, got rid of a bunch of sweaters (going to see if my nieces want them, if not I'll give them to a charity shop), re-arranged some of my closet, and the wardrobe that the sweaters were in, and then some shelves that are outside my bedroom in my hallway. After all that, I feel calm and satisfied. I'm breathing easy and anxiety is gone. I put up a new pic under mine on the sidebar. This is my cat Ashley (a.k.a pook-a-bear, Ash, Asher, monkey butt, baby, cooter pie - no jokes about the "cooter" tee hee it just fits her at times). She was sprawled out on the top of MY recliner (we always have a fight over just "who's" recliner it is) and she looked so cute I couldn't resist taking the pic and decided I wanted it on my blog all the time because after all, she's my baby! Snagged this quizzie from Dyane.
LOVE is your chinese symbol!

What Chinese Symbol Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Pirates of the Caribbean was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best movie I've seen in a loooong time. Full of adventure, laughs and oh, Johnny Depp ;-). If you haven't seen it already - GO SEE IT!!!!!!!!!!!! Definitely going to have to have that one on DVD when it comes out. Linda and I had a good time, visited at lunch and got caught up on some things. It felt good to be out with her again. OK... big ass long story ahead. I had to get some groceries on the way home. When was unloading the groceries when I got home and my sister Kathy was in the kitchen. I set a couple of bags down and went out for the second load. She poked her head out the door and asked if I needed help! I was shocked. Me thinking WTF are you talking to me for and WTF are you even asking if I need help! I really don't even want to talk to her AT ALL, don't want to look at her, be in the same room let alone the same house... anyway, I just said "no thanks, I've got it." Then she said, "Ellis (her ^$%$& husband) would be more than happy to carry the heavy things for you, especially down the stairs." Me thinking WTF again. Right. This man would do anything for me. Anyway, I put the second load down on the counter and started unloading the things that needed to stay upstairs. Then Kathy starts talking to me again. Saying that she really hates it "when we fight". You all would have been so proud of me. I kept my cool. I said "Kathy, I am so tired of what you and Ellis have done and are doing to our family. I'm tired of what you've not done and what you are not doing. You are killing Mom and Dad." Then she had the NERVE to say "We're not killing Mom and Dad, we're not doing anything to Mom and Dad." I still kept my cool. She's so delusional its not even funny. I said "You don't see it when Dad is pacing the floor when you and Ellis have either disappeared or are late coming back. Giving him chest pains from the stress. You're constantly dumping the care of your child onto them has got to stop. She's your daughter and you should be caring for her." She started whining about her problems and I just put my hand up and said "I don't want to hear it, it is gettng OLD and I cannot deal with it any more. I'm fed up and so is the rest of the family. We all bust our asses every day to make a living and we're tired of supporting you two sitting on your asses." She couldn't say anything to that. Quick - change subject... take negative attention away from herself. Then she started saying that Ellis would have helped me a few months ago with my car - saying that he didn't even know something was wrong with it. I came right and said that I don't want anything from that man. I told her I've had nightmares and fore-warnings about him and he's going to cause more problems and major ones for our family if she didn't get rid of him. She got a very strange look on her face on that one (she knows I've got a strong sixth sense). THEN I decided to go further. I told her that I hated what he has done to HER. He's beat her down so much that she is actually party to them being dishonest and pulling the shit they have (not all on the up-and-up as we found out last weekend) and taking advantage of my entire family. I told her it broke my heart to see what she's become. I still remained calm and was really sincere in the last statement. The look on her face told me that it stung but KNEW it was the truth - she needs to get rid of Ellis somehow. I know Elyssa deserves a Dad, but ya know what? She deserves the BEST Dad not one that won't support her, not one that disappears all the time, puts partying with his friends ahead of her. Even when Ellis was working, and they had their own apartment (when Elyssa was under a year old) Ellis would kick Kathy and Elyssa out of the apartment to come stay here in the bedroom upstairs because he wanted to "party" with his friends. What a good dad, huh? All the time saying "I'm the man, I have the job, its my apartment." Yup, he's a man all right. I have one wish for him - that he can become the man he *thinks* he is. 4 years ago Kathy was living in Ohio, working for P&G (PhD in pharamacology pulling about $80,000 a year - very successful). She lost her job due to downsizing. Somewhere along the line she got involved with Ellis' uncle and that is how she met Ellis (who lived with her but didn't work)... anyway... Kathy blew $40,000 in sev. pay in less than 4 months, and was on the verge of losing her house (she eventually lost it). It took over 6 months to get another job and when she did, it was in California so they got married and moved. Within 3 months she lost that job, then 3 months later was evicted and about living on the streets. This was January of 2001. The parents had to go down to Cali and move them here. Then Kathy finds out she's pregnant, and the rest is history. She's been on her ass since. He worked at Walmart for about a year but then lost his job for beating the shit out of a customer. He's been on his ass since. Kathy does have a lot of of problems, I'll give her that. She has been trying to get mental disability for almost 2 years now. Sometimes I think she really deserves it, and then others I wonder if she doesn't. Anyway, she's been turned down once but was approached by a lawyer who said he could rebuild her case. After months of waiting, she's finally got her hearing at the end of this month. Now besides her mental problems, she's got knee problems, a cyst on her spine, and is now diabetic. The plan is if she gets the disabiltiy, she will use the money to get back on her feet again (and make a home for Elyssa), go back to school and get another sort of job because she doesn't feel that she can use work in the stressful field she was in before... waste of a good Ph D! Ellis *thinks* that he's going to be in charge of the money (which is probably the ONLY reason he is still around actually!)... he's wrong. Mom will be in charge of it. Will be soooo sweet to see the look on his face when he finds this out. tee hee I really pray that she gets the disability because if she doesn't, I don't know what will happen. My parents have helped her out so much financially that they're going in the hole constantly and struggling to make ends meet. My parents cannot afford to have them continue to live here both financially and for their health. I wish I could help out more, pay more rent, but I can't. I struggle to make ends meet and that is one of the main reasons I live in the basement here. I'm proud of myself. I said things I needed to say without causing World War III. I also think I showed her that I still cared about her - because I do - I love her... I just can't stand her. LOL! Does that make sense? I really used to look up to her. She was ambitious enough to get her Ph D and did it on her own. Now I see what she's become and it sickens me. I curse the day she ever got involved with Ellis. I was going to come around and visit everyone tonight, but I wrote this story instead... and my butt has fallen asleep. Speaking of getting off asses ;-) tee hee I need to get off mine now. *snicker* I'll be around tomorrow to say hi! I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!!!!!!

I was just dusting and discovered a copy of a certificate near a home copier that belongs to my asshole brother-in-law. Its a certificate that proves he passed some sort of mechanics test... ohhh... dare I hope that he's actually looking for a job?! Is this my imagination?? Someone pinch me, please. Actually, after the blow-up last weekend, he did tell my Dad that he was "willing" to get a decent job now that his unemployment ran out. He's now "willing" to get a job and take care of is wife and daughter... isn't that great news?! What a loser. I'll believe it when I see it.

Woohoo for Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm looking forward to today. I've already got half my cleaning done (did it yesterday afternoon) and then I'm off to meet my friend Linda for lunch and a movie. We've been estranged for quite some time, but are starting to work through things again. We've talked a few times on the phone, but haven't "seen" each other since March. We're going to meet at the diner where my sis Susie works, then off to see Pirates of the Caribbean. Ohhh Johnny! YES! Here's a cute little movie clip Cat Slap The look on the kids face breaks your heart but I can't help but giggle. Friends... what would we do without them?? Well... I better get the other half of my cleaning done before it gets too hot and I run out of time! Have a great day everyone!!!

Another one... snagged from Kate

What Is Your True Aura Colour?
brought to you by Quizilla

Snagged this from Kane
I'm Marge, who are you? by Lexi

Some days are just great... I was just filling out my timecard and discovered that I'll have my 40 hrs in at 1:30 instead of 2:30! Woohoo!

I got the nicest surprise last night! Kat called me! It was so great to talk to you, Kat! You're just as cool as I thought you'd be! I'm here at work, and I got both fans/swamp coolers up and running. They've been going for about 20 minutes and so far its tolerable. I've dressed for the heat today (and since it is my "Friday"), I wore shorts. I'm sure I look scary but I really don't care ;-). I'll be done working about 2:30 so hopefully it won't get too hot before I go home. It would be really great if the base people would get their asses over here and do something with the air con. Anyhoo... this is the gov't we're talking about here, they only do things when they're good and ready. I got a comment on my previous post - from someone at socoool@hotmail.com asking me if I was for real... ummm... yeah! This is me... I'm real. I wonder what seems so unreal about me? I know I'm a goof... I best busy - hopefully I'll have some time to visit ya'll a little later! Meanwhile, have a great Thursday and go play 3 for Thursday if you so desire... Cute pic of the day:

Did I say it probably wouldn't reach 100 degrees? I was wrong! UGH! 103. Match score: 2 possible friends (one from England (25) and one from Mali (36)), and the other 4 of were over 50. What is the deal with that!? I put that I wasn't interested in anyone over 42 - I guess they still gotta try. Takes courage so I guess I shouldn't judge... unless they're just dirty old men. I gave the 2 guys my "anonymous" e-mail addy - both just mentioned friendship but I feel better about using it for now. That's all for now... I'm BEAT!

Well, its 2:30 and still really hot in here. Its really muggy outside and cloud covered so its keeping the temps down out there and we haven't hit 100's. I am starting to get a little sick now, but am going to try and stick it out for another 90 mins. The longer I stay today, the less I have to work tomorrow and I'm ready for the weekend! I'll just keep drinking my ice water and stay by my fans. Randy, my bud and the facility mgr here is really trying to get the base maintenance guys here to get the air fixed again. They *thought* they had it fixed yesterday late afternoon, but it broke again, obviously. Anyway, Randy just took me around and showed me how to start up the back-up huge fans/swamp coolers so I can start them first thing in the morning, since I'm here first and won't have to wait until Larry gets here. Oh, the power ;-) he teased me and said he hoped it doesn't go to my head. tee hee I had a great lunch today with Sheri. Barb ended up not coming because she wasn't feeling well. The cheese enchiladas were heaven of course, and I was a good girl and left the salsa completely alone, although it nearly killed me because they've got the best salsa. I got all the things done today that I needed to now, so I can relax a bit and do some visiting ! I'm enjoying it while I can, next week will be back to crazy with all the financials, etc., and my boss will be back.

I just had my day made... Larry just told me I was "one hot woman". *snicker* Do you think he meant because of the temperature in here?? One second thought... maybe I am just a hot woman... just checked my e-mail! I've got 6 new e-mails from that match thing! Now... here's the question, do I get all excited, rush home again, check the messages again then be hugely bummed again? I hope not... I'm hoping there's a guy around my age that is nice?! Do I dare hope?!!! ;-) Yes... I'm very hopeful. I may not rush home quite as fast but I am excited to check!

Yesterday afternoon we got the news that the air con was pretty much fixed, there were compressor and switch problems. It actually felt pretty good in here when I left yesterday despite being 105 outside!! Then I come in this morning (85 outside) and get blasted with hot air blowing from the air con ducts that feels about 90 degrees (not exaggerating!). This is the shits. I'm dying. I've got some windows open and my fans under my desk running (cheap thrill *snicker*) and its not doing much good. My bud Larry will be here momentarily though and he knows how to get the huge back up fans/swamp coolers running. UGH. This better not be like this all day or I'm going home and charging them for the day to sit on my ass and do nothing ;-) Sound tough, don't I?! tee hee Our monthly software journal arrived a week early again so I've got about 300 issues to mail out to our new subscribers. I love it when it arrives early so it doesn't interfere next week with my financials and reports. And seeing that this is such a slow week, it will give me something to do today. Today is cha-cha-cha cheese enchiladas day! I'm going to lunch with my friends Sheri (Happy Birthday Sheri!), and Barb. At least I should be cool for an hour while in the restaurant and in Sheri's car... other positives. Well, I best get busy! I've got database work to do before I start mailing all those journals. Happy Hump Day!!

Quote of the day (my Aunt sent it to me) "Life isn't like a box of chocolates... it's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your ass tomorrow." Isn't it so true?! LOL!! I had a very strange and unsettling dream last night. It woke me up about midnight and although I don't remember all the details, I think it was a warning that there is more trouble ahead with my lovely pain-in-the-ass sister and her asshole husband. There were things that happened over the weekend, that I really didn't feel like blogging about because I'm sick of the whole situation... anyway, I can't shake this feeling of impending doom. I really hope its just left over from what happened on the weekend, but I don't know. Maybe its the full moon too?? I couldn't get back to sleep for pretty much the rest of the night - I get up and 3:30 anyway and of course I feel back to sleep about 2:45. LOL!! Figures. Work wasn't quite as boring as I thought it would be yesterday, I'm keeping busy but at a slow pace and a couple of things came up to do so I was grateful for that. I have even had time blog hop a bit and that's been fun and I got to chat with Connie and Cin for a little while yesterday. Its been ages since I've even turned Yahoo on at work, but since my boss is out of the office this week and not in the cubical here with me, I've got a bit more privacy... but then again Greggy pooh is still here but he seems to be minding his own business for a change - at least he did yesterday. I've decided to go through my file drawer today and re-organize it. There are a lot of hanging files that don't have labels, etc., and some things are just thrown in and not in order. Sounds fun, huh? Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Got home, hurridly checked my match e-mail and these are the guys who e-mailed me today: Woodflyer was 55 - EWWWW. Muffeater was 47 and MARRIED - sounds like his wife isn't a good cook and he's obviously an asshole... or I could go the other way and maybe say he and wifey pooh are into some swapping?? Riley was 48 and HELP HIM!!! OK... 3 strikes but not out. Where are the YOUNGER men????? I got a call this AM that said my contacts and glasses were in! YAY! So I stopped off on my way home to pick them up. I can see (with my glasses)! I can see! The contacts "look" like my old ones so let's hope they are the same type. I'll find out in the morning! Good night all!

OMG - I just checked my hotmail again and I have two more e-mails from that dating thing... damn internet filters here at work! One of the e-mails is from a guy who's handle is "muffeater" something Message said "let's talk" I can't stop laughing... hmmm... I know I gotta weed out the weirdos... but on second thought... maybe this guy isn't a weirdo! *snicker* At least I know one things he likes to eat! He can't be all bad, right?

I had such a great day yesterday! Just what I needed - relaxation, peace and quiet. I watched fav movies all day long, and crocheted a bit. I am working on a HUGE doily, one I started in the hospital but haven't finished yet. I'm on the second to last row which is taking up a lot of time, a lot of detail. The very last row will be easy. This doily is probably the largest I've made. It will make a gorgeous center piece for a large table... And I think I'm keeping it for ME. I didn't get the nap, but that's OK because I would have had trouble sleeping last night if I had. I think this is going to be another slow work week. My boss is gone on a trip and didn't leave anything extra for me to do. My financials, etc., aren't until next week. So... Unless a something comes up I'm gonna start getting bored... Which leads me into getting into some mischief. tee hee It has been FAR too long since I've caused some trouble around here. I joined another singles thing - matchdoctor.com yesterday. I don't know what will happen, but I've already got a reply from someone. I can't access it here from work though, they've got filters on it so I'll have to wait until I get home to see. Part of me feels like I'm nuts for doing stuff like this, but then again, its hard meeting people in my area. I don't date guys at work (and there's no single guys in here anyway), and I don't do "church" things, I hate the bar scenes... There's really not a lot of choices here. My friends don't know anyone they'd set me up with either. *sigh* I'm really ready to move on now after Jeff and need to start getting out there again. Here's something that I got in one of my mailings that I thought I'd share. On the serious side, but I thought it was good. " Taking Risk " To laugh... is to risk appearing the fool. To weep... is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach out for another... is to risk involvement. To expose feelings... is to risk exposing our true self. To place your ideas and dreams before the crowd... is to risk loss. To love... is to risk not being loved in return. To live... is to risk dying. To hope... is to risk despair. To try at all... is to risk failure. But, to risk, we must, because the greatest hazard in life... is to risk nothing...

I'm declaring today a do-virtually-nothing pajama day. I'm not feeling 100% so I need to rest and take care of myself so I can face the week ahead. I have a shower to take, movies to watch, a doily to crochet, and a perhaps a nap to take. Enjoy your Sunday!!!

I actually got around to visit everyone on my blogroll today! I may have not left a comment on all... but it was nice to catch up with everyone. I also was able to chat with Connie on Yahoo which we haven't been able to do for ages! I was feeling restless and wanted to get out today so I took my Mom to lunch. We went to the diner where my sister Susie works, and she cooked us an omelet with a side of homemade hasbrowns. Ohhhhh so yummy. I enjoyed every last bite. I ate way to much of course but I haven't done that in a while so what the hell. It gave me energy to do some shopping with Mom! LOL!! We hit the dollar store, the craft store, and then the grocery store. Nothing too exciting going on now... I'm going to try a recipe I found for crunchy tofu sticks. They sound really easy and I think they will be a fun thing to try. Its so hard not being able to eat meat (and very limited to what I can eat!), and I need the protein source and tofu takes on the flavor of whatever you put it in. I was pleasantly surprised how good it is - and I am one picky eater! So if I like it, just about anyone would. And most importantly, the soy doesn't irritate my ulcerative colitis. Ohhhhh... what I wouldn't give for a big, fat, juicy cheeseburger dripping with all the fixings. Ohhhh... I'd be in hell if I did!! I tried tofu in place of the hamburger in a 3-cheese pasta hamburger helper last week and it was good (sounds really bizzare and gross to everyone, I'm sure!). I've tried the Boca (soy) hamburgers and they're good, they taste like they've been char-broiled. The texture is really the only difference that I could tell. I bought some Boca chicken nuggets today, maybe I'll give them a try tomorrow. I'm being awfully brave (in my mind anyway) trying these things, but I'm so sick of bland things and having the same things day in, day out.

The day went pretty well. My first appt, my blood had thickened some so he increased my blood thinners ever so slightly, put me back on a higher dose of lasix and potassium, and said see ya in two weeks. I got my hair highlighted darker because it was getting so blonde (not from past highlights), it was almost transparent! My hair dresser thought I'd been out in the sun but I haven't. Its due to all the stress my body has been under and probably all the meds I'm on. My hair was pretty limp and lifeless as well so we decided to cut a couple of inches off. Next time, I'm going to do a new style so I'm going to be looking for new ideas. I'm going to have to go shorter no matter what, which will help get my hair back into shape. Just taking 2 inches off made a huge difference, it looks and feels great, but I need a change. Then I headed for the hospital. Got my blood drawn and then did the mamo and ultrasound. Can I just share something? My boobs hurt! Especially the right one. They took 6 shots/smooshes of that one, and only 2 of the left (where there weren't any lumps). I'm thankful that they're so thorough but OUCH. Those are my boobs! They're meant to be handled well...ummm... OK we won't go there. *snicker* I was really impressed with the staff at the womens' center. I felt comfortable and at ease and things were explained so well! Even though there is definitely a density/lump, nothing showed on the mamo or ultrasound (WHEW!!!!). Which means its most likely a fibroid like we suspected - and like I had removed 2 years ago. They'll send all the results to my docs and we'll decide what to do from here, whether a biopsy, watch it, or what. I want it out as I did the others, but I can't do anything while on blood thinners. I've got an appt on July 28 with my gyno to discuss the options. Oh man its hot out! UGH! It looks like the fire is pretty much under control, they've let people back in their homes but are still battling it. Its headed East up over the mountain and away from homes. My friend Linda lives 2 blocks from where the blaze started and she stood and watched 100 foot flames shoot up last night. She said she had never been so scared in her life. The fire turned North and away from her home (and into a canyon) so she was never evacuated. Makes me sick though to think all of this damage and danger happened because one selfish and sick man. I'm off to take a very cool shower and relax for the night!

There was a big fire that broke out last night in the mountains of Farmington (about 30 mins from where I live). Its a huge blaze, 500 people have been evacuated from their homes but luckily no structure damage or injuries so far. I just heard on the news that fire was started by a homeless guy (who turned himself in last night shortly after the fire started) because he wanted to go to jail and have a place to live. What a fucking idiot. Isn't there better ways to go to jail? Less disasterous? Less damaging? I'd like to get a hold of this guy. What a selfish bastard. I'm sure its really hard to not have a home to live in, but this is ridiculous.

Its supposed to get up to 102 today. Shoot me now. My schedule for today: Soon: Vacuum the hell out of this basement... get rid of any and all spider homes. I haven't seen any, but they could still be there. I hate spiders. 9:00 Shower 10:00 Dr. M B-day gift shopping (just a quick stop at Hallmark ought to do it) Bank Lunch 12:30 Hair appt 2:00-ish Blood tests 2:40 Boob smoosh 3:20 Boob ultrasound I'm taking a book to read so I'll be well entertained while waiting... and waiting... and waiting for all my appts. I doubt any of the medical appts will be on time. Part of life. I hope everyone has a great day!!

I finally settled on a couple pieces of licorice and some smarties. I never did figure out what it was I really wanted... It was such a SLOW day at work today. I was completely caught up on everything and one project that I had planned on getting started on to keep me busy in the afternoon has been postponed for a week or so. So... just after lunch I left. I took some leave but I deserve it. I might as well take advantage of taking time off while I can and don't feel guilty about work piling up. On the way home I stopped off at Petsmart to get Ashley's Science Diet, litter and of course, her treats. Then I went to the grocery store to get a few things so those errands are DONE. Tomorrow is gonna be NUTS with all sorts of appointments. Mostly medical appointments but also getting my hair cut and highlighted. I'm toying with the idea of something new with my hair but don't know what I'd do. I want to keep growing it out but yet I'm wanting a change. Hmmm... what to do, what to do. I guess I'll decide tomorrow... maybe my hair dresser has a fun idea. Anyway, after I came home I decided to rest for a bit, then get some of my cleaning done so I don't have so much to do tomorrow morning. So now I'm half done with the cleaning YAY. Well, actually more than half done, all I have left to do is vacuum. But with my low energy level, that's half of it! LOL!! My RA doc's office called yesterday and told me my blood levels have dropped again (going anemic again). Shit. So while I'm at the hospital tomorrow getting my boob smooshing and ultrasound I need to get some more blood drawn for more tests. Dr B thinks now maybe its more than my UC causing my blood levels to drop (since its starting to improve!!) and he might have to refer me to a hematologist, but we'll wait and see what these tests say. I should get the results early next week. I called my eye doc this morning - they looked through my chart and said that they ordered the exact same contacts as last time, but would call the contact company and see if perhaps they changed the contacts some way. Right. They called me back a few minutes later and and said that the contact company would be shipping the lenses should be in on Monday, but she still made it sound like it was the contact company's fault. Ummm... I doubt it. As I remember, they had to go to a special contact company to get the ones I needed last year. Whatever - as long as I get the ones I want, I'll be happy. I don't ask for much, do I? tee hee I was hoping my glasses would come in today or tomorrow, I'm anxious to get them. I am getting tired of not being able to see clearly when I'm wearing them. I've rambled on enough... I'm going to go help my Mom clean some veggies for a party she's going to tonight and fix some dinner. She's had a bad day and me thinks she could use someone to talk to too. Have a great night!

MUNCHIES!!!! Here it is, 7am... ate breakfast 2 hrs ago, and now I've got the munchies. Dunnoo what I want but I gotta have something. Every just get the total overwhelming urge to just stuff your face for no reason? Food... gimme food. GAAAAHHH!!! I'm stuck at work - I do have snacks here but nothing is what I WANT!!! I don't even know what I'm CRAVING! GAAAHHHH!!!!

I actually ended up going home at 1:30 yesterday afternoon. The air con wasn't working and was really making me sick so I decided to just go home. They really need to get their shit together around here and get this working. On the way home I stopped off to get my contacts from the eye doc since they'd come in. When I ordered them, I specifically asked the eye doc to order the EXACT brand and type as last year. He tried several different pair on me last year and we finally found one that didn't give me problems... well, guess what? The dork didn't order the right ones. I know these aren't the right ones, they're smaller and they're tinted a blue-ish color where my other ones are not. I am wearing the new ones now, and I'm not a happy camper. Within 30 minutes they're blurry and dry. His office will get a call from me this morning and they will order the ones I need. I'm not going through the same shit I did last year with trial and error. I don't understand why people can't do as they're asked, especially when he KNEW the problems we had last year. Why can't they make it easier on everyone and just order the ones I need?! Sheesh! OK, bitch session out of the way now. After I got home, I changed clothes, relaxed for a while, paid bills (oh fun), and then decided to treat Mom and Dad to dinner. Dad said since I was paying, he'd go pick the order at the local family drive-in. I had a yummy ham sandwich that they make. We all sat there and visited while we ate. The BEST part was that my sis and her asshole husband weren't there to ruin our dinner. I'm so proud of my Mom. Yesterday just before I got home, Kathy and Ellis had some "errands to run" and wanted Mom to babysit. Mom was going to be home, but she said "NO. You take the baby with you." Its about time Mom started saying NO. Woohoo! I told Mom how proud I was of her and she said it really felt good. As much as she loves Elyssa and spending time with her, Mom needs a break AND Elyssa's parents need to be primary care givers, not my parents. PROGRESS! After dinner, I played on the internet for a few mins then headed to bed and read for a while. The last time I looked at the clock it was 6:45pm so I got about 45 mins extra sleep. That's about it for now... me and my exciting life ;-) 3 for Thursday meme is up! Have a great day everyone!

Lovely, lovely Peanut Butter Moo'd Jamba Juice minus the chocolate. Mmmm... it was just what I needed.

YAY for Hump Day! The week work is half over. At least for me, but I won't rub it in ;-) I have 19 hrs to work between today and tomorrow. I'm feeling a bit blah today, kinda flu-ish and really tired. I think its because I had the Remacade treatment yesterday and took my other weekly RA meds last night. I'm not miserable enough to stay home, but yet not good enough to doing a lot here (which is good cuz I have easy stuff to do). The symptoms are normal (unless I get a high fever) so I'm not worried... just got a double whammy. I don't think I've had both meds on the same day before so I'm probably feeling the effects more. OK... I'll quit whining. I'm fine, really I am. I will treat myself to a Peanut Butter Moo'd Zuka Juice (minus the chocolate!) at lunch time when I make the treck to our main office to pick up our mail. That will make me feel better, I know it will. Now on a totally different subject... for a laugh... (thanks, Colin!)

Wow, this day zoomed on by! I was gone for 3 hours of it to my doc appt so maybe that's why. The appt went well. Dr B was really happy with the progress I've made and cut my prednisone down from 40 mg to 30 mg per day. YAY! I go back for another Remacade treatment in 4 weeks, and if I'm still improving, he'll extend the next to 6 weeks, then 8 weeks, etc., I'm feeling pretty tired this afternoon though, so I'll go home and just crash I think! Maybe take a nice cool shower and get right in my jammies. Mmmm... yup, sounds like a good plan to me! Hope everyone had a great day!!

I found this at Lana's and couldn't help but share it. I really could have used this yesterday, but hey, better late then never, right? FRIEND'S PRAYER May the fleas of a thousand camels infest the crotch of the person who fucks up your day and may their arms be too short to scratch. AMEN.

Thanks so much for the comments for yesterday's post. You guys really know how to make me laugh and feel better. After I walked around the building TWICE (tee hee) I came back and nothing more was said about that project. Greg KNEW I was pissed and I have a feeling that Tim set him straight while I was out for my walk. Tim is just like me, we don't like a lot of nonsense and Greg needs to realize that our records are correct. If they were incorrect, we'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble around here with our contract and funds! Anyway... I got involved in another project so I didn't have to interact with Greg again before I went home. This morning, there was an e-mail from him: "Dear Karen, I have updated the inputs to the final report to include the correct hours for each task (a few items changed due to some mistakes I discovered in my hour spreadsheet). Also, I'm sending you additional information for the Final Status section of the report which explains why I went over my budget. Thanks for providing the hour and cost information. I'm sorry for making you going to all that extra work. I now realize that your record keeping is exceptional and accurate. Best Regards, Greg" Thank you... Thank you very much! Can I just tell you that I LOVE being right in situatins like this! YES! Yes, Greg... don't doubt the woman who has kept a over 1.5 million dollar contract balanced within $10. I'm far from perfect, but work tirelessly until things are balanced each month. You dork! I had a pretty good night last night, although I didn't do much. It was so HOT and still is. Driving to work this morning (4:30am) it was 80. Too damn hot! I hate this time of the year. Its gonna be another scorcher today. UGH. I have my 4th Remacade treatment this morning and I'm excited to tell my doc that the Remacade (and other therapies) are finally making a difference in my Ulcerative Colitis (and its still doing good as far as my Rheumatoid Arthritis). I'm so thankful for any improvements! I'm finally starting to feel like I'm kicking butt instead of having mine kicked all the time. I just can't wait to get off the prednisone, I'm really tired of looking like a chipmunk , but... its part of what is helping me so I just need to be patient. I better get to work! Have a fantastic day!

Someone by the name of Greg that I work with is gonna lose one of his protruding body parts if he doesn't watch it. He is working on my last nerve. To be honest, he was working on my last nerve even as he said good morning this morning but for the past 90 minutes he's driven my boss and I nuts. There's a project he's been supporting since 2000. He's doing the final report - or rather I AM preparing the final report with the information he's giving me. Now, the project is over $7000 over budget - lots of details and politics went into the over-run - mostly the customer dragging their feet in finishing the project. Anyway, Greg wants to over analyze this situation and see "where excactly all the $7000+ went." Fine. Let's check travel and workshop materials... no, we're OK there, OK, let's check labor hours. I went back to ALL my spreadsheets, got him my hours, my boss' hours and Greg's hours. Fine. Greg tells me his hours can't be right. I take the frickin' hours straight from the timecards. Greg says that MY records can't be right. How can this be? I've got the timecards, the invoices, monthly reports and all the other financial data to back up MY records. WTF?! I think my boss is just as pissed at him, because he just told Greg that our records are correct and his must be off somewhere. Now Greg just had the NERVE to ask me to get the actual timecards out from 2000. They're locked up in the vault and I can't get to them without an escort - who are the secretaries, and darn it all, they're gone for the rest of the day. Why can't he just believe my boss and I and our records?? GRRRR! I'm going for a walk before I find myself hitting him. Rant over. At least I hope it is! ;-)

So many quizzies... so little time... ;-) snagged this from Ulrika
Rainy

What type of weather element are you? (With pictures)
brought to you by Quizilla

Breast Cancer - Stop Drive-Through Mastectomies online petition. (link and words taken from Kat) In 1996, only 17,000 people signed a petition to stop drive through mastectomies. One night in the hospital is not long enough to recover from a mastectomy. Sign the petition and maybe we can force insurance companies to to guarantee a minimum of 48 hours to recover in the hospital.

Monday mornings... what can we say about Monday mornings other than they kinda suck. Its always so hard to get back in the swing of things, especially after a longer weekend. Mine hasn't been too bad so far, was able to drag my butt out of bed which was a good thing. I got here at work, opened up my e-mail and there were 189 junk mail messages. No shit. I couldn't believe my eyes, they kept loading and loading and loading. Someone in the security and IT are probably catching shit for it somewhere. (Looks like SHIT is the word of the day... don't know why, it just keeps slipping out *snicker*) Colin made a comment to me this morning in one of his e-mails about my comment about my "chipmunk" face (a side effect of the prednisone I take) and he wondered which Chipmunk I should be... Alvin, Simon or Theodore. LOL! I should actually be a Chipette, don't you think?? Maybe I better be Eleanor, she's the blonde one. (No, I didn't know their names, I had to do a google search!)

Sorry... I keep finding these fun quizzies! LOL! Found this one at Dyane's This one I COULD NOT pass up for some reason! *snicker*

Which random phallic object are you?
Quiz by Andrea.

Another quizzie :-) found at Ulrika's
You are Strawberries: sweet, colourful and
fragrant. You are the taste of summer.

Which Taste of Summer are You? *pictures*
brought to you by Quizilla

OK - so I re-thought the PJ thing today. I did get dressed... but am being a complete bum. I just finished watching "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days". I absolutely LOVED this movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And just not because of Matthew McConaughy who is oh, sooooo ohhhh this man makes me think naughty thoughts !!! Found this quizzie from Kate
What Is Your Animal Personality?
brought to you by Quizilla

Has this weekend just breezed right on by for you or is it just me? It seems like there should be another 2 days instead of just one! I had such a great time yesterday at the play! "Honk" was a musical, and such a cute story. There was a lot of laughs and my cousin did a fantastic job. She played Maureen, a duck who was a friend of Ida, the main duck. She was hillarious, all her mannerisms cracked me up. They didn't have duck costumes on, but you definitely knew she was a duck. There ended up to be 20 of us at the play, about 6 of them were friends of my cousins'. I saw my two cousins Jill and Diane (2nd cousins once removed I believe) that I hadn't seen in about 5 years! They couldn't get over how good I looked, which really made me feel good. Mom told them I was falling apart though, and we all had a good laugh about that. I'm being put back together though ;-). After the play we all went out to eat at a local restaurant called Roosters. Both food and company were good. We all said our good-byes after dinner and were on our way. Mom and I had a couple of errands to run so we went and did those. I found a new mouse - YAY. I found an optical mouse for a good price and I love it... sooooo smooth. The cordless ones were just too expensive. The next thing I need to get when I get some extra moola is a new keyboard. Its getting had to see some of the letters. Anyone else have problems with the E, R, T, S, D, C, K, L, M and N disappearing? LOL!!! Or is it just me? I was so tired by the time I got home, I went straight to bed. As I was laying there, all of the sudden that damn scooter started driving by. It drove by 12 times in 30 minutes. I was getting so pissed off. The scooter has to be the most annoying sounding thing I've heard in long time. I'd like to take this scooter smash it with a bull dozer. Grrrr. This time, it wasn't the under-driving-age teenager but her older sister. Now, how fun is it to just keep driving around and around and around the block? This girl really knows how to whoop it up. Anyway, since it was before 10pm Dad said there wasn't anything they could do - despite them disturbing my peace. That whole scooter thing that happened last weekend, we did the police were called on those people, (about the whole riding it on the street by a minor and for giving neighborhood kids rides). I'm really surprised the police didn't impound the scooter right then and there, but they were given a "warning". So, at least that has stopped (as far as I've seen). OH - and get this, with the parents not being home for most of the weekend, when the parents were home, the father was doing the exact same thing as his kid - giving rides to the little kids with them standing on the floorboard. Can you believe that?! No wonder is daughter is the is a total and complete idiot - she takes after him! Some people should not be allowed to breed. Well... enough rambling! I'm going to take it easy today and just be a bum. I'm thinking I might declare this another pajama day. tee hee Have a great Sunday!!

I hope everyone had a great and safe 4th of July!! I'm looking foward to today! My Aunt Linda and cousins are coming from Idaho to see my cousin Kelsey in a play called "Honk". Mom and I are going to the play as well. I haven't been a fan of the live theatre much at all, but this will be great to see someone I actually know in a play. About 6 months ago my friends and I went to one and I really had a lot of fun, so I decided to give this another try. "Honk" is a musical based on the "Ugly Duckling Story". I'm not sure what part Kelsey plays, but I'm sure she'll do great. My Aunt Linda's girls are so very talented in all sorts of arts - music, singing, dancing, acting. Kelsey has the lead in another play "Annie Get Your Gun" in August and we have tickets to that as well. Some other cousins that are coming from Salt Lake to see the play as well, so it will be so great to see them and catch up on things. I used to see them every year (at least!) at family reunions, but since my Grandma and all her siblings passed away, we don't have the reunions any more which is sad. We used to have so much fun at the reunions - each one ended up in a huge waterfight. Its been about 5 years actually since I've seen these cousins, I wonder if they'll recognize me! I've lost so much weight and changed a lot. But on the other hand, my face is puffy from the Prednisone I take (I call myself chipmunk face) so maybe they'll recognize me after all! LOL! I think it would be fun if we all went out to dinner after the play, so hopefully we can. Its going to be a busy day, so I'm going to rest as much as I can this morning. So, I best be off! Enjoy your Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think its time for a new mouse. My mouse was acting up this morning, so I took the ball out (tee hee) and cleaned it. Now it is acting worse than before I cleaned it. Despite my great love for balls, I'm thinking I'm going to get a ball-less one. Balls are great, balls are wonderful but they do get gummed up. *sigh* There was this guy named Lloyd that sent me a message from E-mode (a match making thing I signed up for a while ago) this past week. He's 47 and said on his profile that he was divorced with a child living at home. E-mode said we were a 96% match so I figured what the hell, I'd write back. We talked on Yahoo the other night, and I find out that he is not completely divorced, due to some financial problems. He made several comments about his soon-to-be ex wife and all these "funny" things he's doing to her to piss her off. Now - I know that I've never been married, don't know what its like to go through a divorce but the fact that he was doing these "funny" things to piss her off bothered me. He started talking about wanting to meet me - yeah right. After 10 minutes of talking online I'm gonna go meet him. We work on the same Air Force Base, but luckily he works on the other side of the base, and I didn't give him any details of where I worked - though he tried to get them from me. Then he starts talking about all these board games he likes to play. I told him I didn't like board games all that well, and rarely played them. He told me that he wanted to meet me (again!) and bring over a bunch of games. Can this man get a clue?! I told him I wasn't ready to meet him, or even talk to him on the phone (he even gave me his cell number). This man just had icky written all over him. I decided to give it a day or so to think about things. This morning he sent me an IM and I decided to tell him that I don't want to continue the relationship for several reasons. I didn't think we had anything in common - despite what Emode said!, and I am in a place in my life that I don't want anyone with so much anger and baggage. He really needs to work through all his anger of the divorce before he even thinks about getting involved with anyone. I also want someone closer to my age. I pissed him off - he said some crude things... and that proves that I did the right thing. I live my life by my gut instincts/6th sense and today it goes to prove once again its a good way to live.

Happy Birthday, America!!!!!! I'm wishing everyone a great and safe holiday! Enjoy!!

I wanted to get up early and get started on my cleaning before it gets too hot... and whew, I'm tired already! I've cleaned my bedroom and rest of the basement. I'm taking a rest before I tackle my bathroom and the organizing. I definitely see a nap coming this afternoon. Nothing much else happening... have a great Thursday! 3 for Thursday questions are up if you want to play along. TTFN!!

Christy has really come up with a fun HumpDayHump today - go play and see how many clips you can guess. My answers (no cheating) are on my meme site - and I think I got them all right. You wouldn't know I was a TV/Movie junkie. tee hee I had a nice lunch today with Sheri, and the cheese enchiladas were oh, so good. I ate half of them, got a to-go container, went to pay my bill, and left them sitting on the table. I had that "I forgot something" the entire way back, then it dawned on me what I forgot when I got in my car to come home. Don't you hate it when that happens?! I had to run a couple of errands, and my Mom needed to go as well so I came home and picked her up and off we went. We had the 4th of July grocery shopping experience at Wal-Mart. She wore me out, but we got everything we needed! Nothing fancy, just hoagie sandwiches and the fixings. When I got home, I was going to curl up and take a nap with my cat but I decided to watch Days of Our Lives instead. I'm caught up for the week now, and its going to be pre-empted because of Wimbeldon the rest of the week. *sigh* I'll live... it will be hard but I'll live. tee hee My cat doesn't seem to want to have anything to do with me since I got back from Wal-Mart. Me thinks she's pissed that I came home to get Mom and didn't stay home with her. LOL! She's so funny. She'll come around though, when she realizes its dinner and treat time. I'm going to get my cleaning done tomorrow morning for the week, and I'm hoping I'll have the energy to re-organize some things in my bathroom. I bought an organizer and want to - ummm what's the word I'm looking for... organize stuff! LOL! Yeah, that's what I want to do! I've really been in a re-organizing mood lately, more than usual. If I'm not careful I'm going to have to admit I've got a problem and start attending Over Organizers Anonymous! Have a great evening everyone! *hugs*

I've made an executive decision. I'm not coming back to work after lunch today! I need to make more of these decisions, don't you think? tee hee I'm so caught up on things and its soooo quiet. My boss doesn't have anything for me to do, so at 11:00, I'm outta here!

Happy Hump Day Everyone!! I'm soooo glad this is the last day of the work week for me! Woohoo! Nothing much to report this morning... probably not fully awake yet. I'm going to meet my friend Sheri for lunch today, we're going for cheese enchiladas, cha, cha, cha... fiesta time!

Damnit - he was wearing a wedding ring. *sigh* Oh well... I could still enjoy the scenery even if the scenery belongs to someone else, right? *snicker* I got a lunch invite from Nicole, Janna and Dave from work today, and we had a blast, lots of laughs. It was nice to get away from the office. While we were eating lunch a couple of really sexy policeman came into the restaurant. Nicole, Janna and I all had to wipe the drool from our chins. Its been quite the day for good looking men! Doesn't happen very often so we oogle while we can.

Went to the eye doc yesterday after work. My eyes have been a bit blurry and its time for new contacts and glasses. It took about 1.5 hrs by the time I was done. He dilated my eyes too - hate that. I could hardly see driving home, thank goodness it was only about 5 miles! My contacts should be arrive in about a week. I ordered lenses for my existing frames since they're still in excellent shape and its saving me about $200. I will have to make payments and can't have the lenses until my balance is paid, which is OK, hopefully I'll be able to get them in about a month - with my recent pay raise and some scraping. I'm anxious to get the glass lenses since I like to wear my glasses when I'm home to give my eyes a rest from my contacts. It would be nice to *see* tee hee its been at least 2 prescription changes since I got new glasses. I didn't even get on the computer when I got home - couldn't see much and it was driving me nuts. Lots of catching up to do this morning, and its going to be a pretty quiet day here, I think. I have a few things to do, but nothing major. I hope I can get around to visit most of you. It made it to 103 yesterday, with no air conditioning in here. I was so miserable. They had it up and running last week, so I don't know what the problem was yesterday. It better not be that hot again today or I'm gonna scream. The managment knows how sick it makes me and a few others here because of health probs. I've got the windows cracked now, and my fans blowing but the sun isn't even up yet. Oh... there are some guys working on our sprinkling/fire system this week... one guy is quite yummy and I'm getting nice looks and views while he's up on the ladder. tee hee I keep getting distracted with other things to see and forget to look for a wedding ring... I shall do that today for sure.