Whew! Monday is over... well as far as my work day it is! I finally got my balancing done! What a load off my mind. It took me pretty much all day to do, but its done. My friend Sandi is back from her vacation, its been about 3 weeks since I'd seen her between my travels and hers! We chatted and got caught up on things. She's such a wonderful friend and I've missed our daily chats. She's so incredibly supportive about everything in my life. I called my RA doc and told him about my cough and he put me on antibiotics. I just took the first dose, and they said they should kick in fast. I am feeling so much better today, as far as my energy level, looks like I just had a bad few days. No dizzy spells at all today. Well, not much else to say... I'm gonna get a couple things done then hit the hay. Oh, by the way... 4 days to Jeff! Woohoo! *snicker*

Well, here we are... Monday morning. My day isn't too bad so far and hopefully won't be a day from hell. I've got quite a bit to do, but nothing so stressful. I still have to finish my financials/hours balancing which is driving me nuts. Hopefully getting a fresh start on it today will make a difference. I'm wearing a new dress, which always helps the attitude. One of the dresses I'd ordered a while back finally came over the weekend and it fits really well. I got quite a bit of rest last night, and my cough wasn't too bad (didn't keep me awake anyway!) but now that I'm up moving around, its breaking up and starting to hurt. I'm not feeling quite as exhausted either. YAY. I'll still be a good girl and not over-do things today. J Dee told me all about his surgery last night, and all I can say is ouch. They're doing a new technique where most of the actual surgery is done from his stomach. That way most of the muscles in his back remain undisturbed. They're going to have to take bone from his hips to use as bone to fuse the disks together. The thought makes me cringe, poor guy! My other brother Bob and his 3 girls came over last night too... all I can say is I'm so glad I don't have teenage kids. The two teenagers (17 and 14) are little snots, but I still love them. The youngest, Morgan is 9 years old today. She's such a sweetie, I gave her the b-day prezzie she wanted (she requested some shower gel, lotion and shower scrunchie) and she was most pleased that she got it. A little later, J Dee's two sons Travis and Adam came over and I got lots of hugs before I headed off to bed. They're such great guys. Closest to sons I'll ever have. Well, I best get to work! Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Today's dinner turned out really well. It was just Mom, Dad, Susie and I. Everything was delicious, even if I do say so myself! I shouldn't have eaten what I did, but what the hell... it sounded really good. I even had a small piece of keylime pie for dessert. Mom said she hadn't seen me eat that much in months and it was good to see. I'm gonna pay for every delicious bite, I'm telling ya. I've rested pretty much all afternoon, and am feeling a bit perkier. My cough is getting worse though, so first thing in the morning I'm calling the doc. They'll probably have to put me on antibiotics right away, since I have to be really careful with infections. I've got some hot Tang to drink which is a cure-all/pamering thing that makes me feel all warm inside. In a little while, my bro J Dee and sis-in-law Patti will be coming over and I'd like to see them. J Dee just found out he's got to have a disk in his lower back fused on May 21, I feel so bad about it. The disk is acting like a guillotine and is cutting off the nerve and he's in so much pain. He had some minor surgery on it a couple of months ago, to remove a cyst, and they were hoping it would buy him some time, but no such luck. Seems like we're all falling apart in my family! LOL!! We're too young! Anyhoo... I'm off to rest until they get here.

Another quzzie snagged from Christy
You're Hobbes. First of all, the makers of this
quiz would like to congratulate you. You have
our seal of approval. You are kind,
intelligent, loving, and good-humoredly
practical. You're proud of who you are. At the
same time, you're tolerant of those who lack
your clearsightedness. You're always playful,
but never annoying. For these traits, you are
well-loved, and with good cause.

Which famous feline are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Happy Mother's Day to my Mom and all Mothers!
I'm going to make dinner for my Mom today, its mostly prepared since I prepared as much as I could yesterday. About killed myself off, you wouldn't think that making sour cream augratin potatoes and some baked beans would wear me out so much, but it did. I about passed out a couple of times. Mom wasn't home so she doesn't know, and I don't want her to know because she'll only worry more and it will make her feel bad. She deserves this dinner and I want to do it for her. So, all I have to do this morning is make the rolls (I'm cheating - Rhodes frozen rolls!), and put the ham, and the potatoes and baked beans in the oven, set the table, and be done. Susie is coming over for dinner too. I think the rest of the siblings will stop over later on for pie and ice cream. In the back of my mind I'm really hoping that Kathy doesn't come out of her den of stinkiness and eat with us, but I think Mom would feel bad if she doesn't. I know it sounds selfish, but Kathy eats like a pig and I didn't go to all this trouble for her. I cannot stand the site of this woman, she totally and completely disgusts me, in her appearance as well as how she is and what she's become. I almost want to pity her. She and her husband think the world owes them, well, I got news for them. You have to give the world something before it owes you anything, and even at that if you think the world owes you something then you won't get it. OK - enough bitching about her. I don't want her to ruin my day any more than she already does. The stress she's creating is not good for me, or anyone. I worry so much about my parents too, and the strain they're putting on them. The side effects of the Remacade are really starting to kick my ass. I will call the doctor tomorrow and let him know what's going on. I was fine for the first few days so it must be kicking in, doing what its supposed to do. ?? Fingers crossed. I'm sure its just a matter of getting used to the meds and the side effects. Last night about 5:30 I was sitting here, and just totally exhausted. I thought why am I fighting it? Just go to bed! LOL! So I did! I didn't go to sleep, just got in my jammies and watched TV in bed, and snuggled with my cat. It was great. I didn't sleep very well through the night thanks to my stomach, but I did get a lot of good body rest. I'll be a good kid today too, and just take things easy. With Susie coming for dinner, she'll help me clean up. She's such a great sister. Oh, I'm excited to see if Mom likes her prezzie from Susie and I. We found her a heated stone (foot pads are stone and they radiate heat) foot massager. Mom's feet get so sore, and she deserves to be pampered. Well, have a great day everyone!!

Snagged this from Christy.
Which Peanuts Character Are You Quiz

I had another "out of sorts" day yesterday. I'm just so exhausted and frustrated... just a little bit of everything. I needed some Karen time and cleaned like a mad woman yesterday morning. I payed for it though, really over did things. But its nice to have everything sparkly and clean. I think a lot of my problem is that I'm hoping so much for a miracle with this medication Remacade for both my RA and Ulcerative Colitis. The RA pain is managed OK right now, but I'm getting soooooooooo tired of the UC. Tired of feeling tired, tired of feeling like shit. I don't see any difference in the UC yet, and I know I've only had one treatment, but I was hoping to see *some* slight improvement. I have another treatment this coming Thursday, right before I head to Indiana and Boston. My trip to Indiana, meeting Jeff!! and then heading for Boston are things I'm really I'm looking forward to, the things that are keeping me from going completely bonkers right now. I'm getting so excited to meet Jeff I can hardly stand it. Constant flutteries in my tummy. I'm trying to stay positive, I really am... I need to chalk it all up to a bad week, let myself feel rotten, and move on. I keep forgetting that it IS OK to feel rotten from time to time. I hate feeling rotten, and feel my energy is better spent feeling nice. It also seems like I'm not the only one having a bad week, as I've gone around to visit people...hmmm... maybe its lunar?! Who knows... if anyone figures it out, let me know! Happy Saturday!

Snagged this quizzie from Rilana.
The Mustang Th spirit of the Mustang, the everlasting symbol of
love and of generousity protects you from being
used by others who would take advantage of you.
You are the kind of person willing to lend your
strengths to those who are true to you so that
they may better themselves and get back on
their own feet. Your quote: "He who learns
but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but
does not learn is in great danger"

What is your Inner Spirit Totem Animal?
brought to you by Quizilla

YAY for Friday! Have a marvelous day!!

Wow... I got this palm reading link from Cindy. Hmmm...kinda spooky! You have a good imagination, and often exhibit sensitivity to others. The general flexibility of your character is a useful attribute. At certain times in your life, you may have romantic conflicts and difficulty maintaining friendships. You will overcome these problems after a little introspection. There may be times in your life when you give in to feelings of sadness or depression. At certain times in your life, you may have romantic conflicts and difficulty maintaining friendships. These problems are not likely to last long. You have a basically strong constitution, and should enjoy good health most of the time. You are likely to make many changes in the direction of your life. This may be based on interruptions due to health problems, or it may be that you just have trouble focusing your energy. There is a strong intuitive side to your nature, which may border on psychic or mystical ability.

Ahhh, my weekend has arrived. Whew, what a week. I feel so much better than I did this morning. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to today, but ya know what? At this point I could care less. It will just have to wait until next week. I got the high priority stuff done, so that's all that really matters. I'm sure next week will be a better week and my head will be clearer. I plan on getting a lot of rest this weekend. I wore some light blue and white pin striped jeans to work today (it was my "Friday" after all). Then one guy came in and pointed out that both he and my boss Tim both had light blue pin striped shirts on. We all matched! Too funny! Hmmm... well, I guess you had to be there. I wish I had my camera with me! LOL!! Yeah, OK... I'm brain fried...

Yesterday I was a complete stress monster. I don't know what my problem was, but it was so not a good day and not a good day to be around me. I was so stressed about stuff here at work, and everything I guess. Chalk it up to one hell of a bad day. I finally took a half of a Xanax to calm down so I could concentrate enough to get some work done. I didn't even feel up to blogging, not that I had time anyway. By the end of the day, I'd made myself sick. I have to stop doing that to myself. Its just not worth it. I went straight home, and went to bed. My Harry Potter DVD *finally* arrived from Amazon (the first one got lost) so I put that in and watched it, and kept falling asleep. I was just utterly exhausted. I'm feeling a bit more perkier today, but still not feeling back to my old self... I shall keep my chin up though and keep plugging along. I hate feeling ornery, its a waste of my time. I need to concentrate on the good things that are coming my way like next weekend with Jeff (ha, cha, cha), then off to Boston to see Colin and his wife D. OK. Postitive thinking starts again right here, right now. I'll be around to visit everyone in the next day or so... I've been so busy I haven't been able to visit anyone. Have a great day everyone!!!! 3 for Thursday questions are up if you'd like to go play. I wanted to thank Colin for taking care of it all this week :-).

Just a quicky post before I start another crazy day! Its gonna be nuts again. Oh well... I'm taking one thing at a time. I'm feeling a bit funky today but otherwise OK. I think I'm just tired. Last night as I was about a block from home, I saw my parents car coming in the other direction. We stopped in the middle of the road (yes, I cuss at people who do that but there was no one else on the road tee hee) to see where they were going. There was a passenger in the back seat, my Aunt Lou Jean! She'd come from Idaho and was on her way to Salt Lake to stay with her daughter, and they were on their way to get some dinner. They invited me, so I swung my car around and followed them to the local family drive in and had a ham sandwich. Lou Jean and I noticed a guy and his family sitting in another booth. This is so awful, but we couldn't help but laugh. This guy was heavy, and his pants were half way down his ass, and his shirt wasn't covering anything. Full Moon at Kirt's Drive Family Drive-in! His underwear were even half way down so we did see actual ass crack. My Mom kept saying "OK, you two..." Its so sad though, I wonder if he was even aware of it. Then Lou Jean said something about his moon being an "appetizer" and I started giggling and said "No, its more of an appetite killer. Maybe we should start calling this the Full Moon Diet." My Dad started laughing at that one. We went home, and Lou Jean drove to Salt Lake. When I got home, my sis Susie was there to see Kathy for her b-day. I didn't say anything to Kathy (she was outside smoking when I got home) and as I was getting out of my car she actually thanked me for the card and gift certificate. Shocker. OH! I've found a new CD that's really good. Audioslave! Its got the song "Like a Stone" on it. I can't stop listening to it, its good to do financials by, gets me rocking. I best get to work now! Have a great day everyone! *hugs*

Its good to be back to in my own office after two weeks... oh, did I just say that?! LOL! I must be nuts. Anyway, its been a crazy day. I have soooo much to do with my financials. Its going to be a bugger of a month due to a lot of changes that had to be made to labor rates since the first of January. I've got a 300 page report I have to go through to log each correction. Fun, huh? I started the day off by getting settled back in, then I had to run to my doctor appt for my first treatment of Remacade. I was there about 3 hours, as they warned me. I took my laptop computer with me and worked for a couple of the hours, and then just read the rest of the time. So far, so good. I should notice some improvement quickly, as most people do. I ran a couple of errands for work on the way back to the office, then dug back into my financials. I'm now brain dead and its about time to go home so I'm taking a break. I've just got to laugh at Greg... he's the dork that expected me to make travel arrangements for him while I was in Boston. Well, he never had Cindy make them for him until... get this... today. The DAY I'm back in the office! This man blows my mind - completely. I even spoke to him at the conference last week to make sure he was having Cindy do them for him. He said, "Oh yeah, I'll send her an e-mail." *knocking on his head* Helloooo... anyone in there?! I also go an e-mail this morning from a lady in corporate accounts payable needing some "original receipts" for his expense report that he submitted while I was gone (he can't follow instructions either). I looked at my copy of the expense report and sure enough, there were the originals. So, he's screwed himself out of a week's time of getting reimbursed. Its a good thing I don't travel much or the poor guy would be at a complete loss, I think! ;-) Hmmm... well, I guess that's about it about my day. I'm so glad its almost over!! Its going to be a looooong week though. UGH! Have a great night everyone!

I wanted to wish my two great friends Pete and Emma a very Happy 1st Wedding Anniversary!! It was one year today that they got married, and I had the honor of being with them (in ENGLAND baby!).

I need to babble for a minute... I'm just so excited right now I could burst. I've been planning something for the past couple of months, that will take place on my way out to Boston on May 16. I haven't written about it, because I really didn't want to jinx it and have been almost scared that it wouldn't really happen. Some of you who have read my blog for a while, know the history of Jeff and I. Jeff and I have talked on line for 2.5 years, he living in Indiana, me in Utah. I was totally crazy about him, and he broke my heart last fall. We kept in contact, staying friends. Well, things have worked out that we are finally going to meet. This was totally his idea, wanting to meet this time, and with me flying out to Boston for work, I was able to swing a good airfare and save the company money by stopping off in Indiana, so the trip is pretty much paid for. We were talking this morning and he said that he's so excited to meet me and to have me come out. He's not backing out this time. I think he's finally letting some of his past baggage go and is really ready for this. I'm keeping this all in perspective though. I have to. I don't want my heart broken again. As much as I want to fly out there, meet him and fall madly in love and live happily ever after... I know that may not happen, despite me being a HUGE hopeless romantic. This trip is to see if anything could possibly really be there. Either a beginning or closure. There is something there, I've felt it and so has he, otherwise we wouldn't still be talking. Yowza... I can hardly wait! Butterflies are fluttering in my tummy and other places *snicker*.

Soy milk. Hmmm... I can't have dairy products any more and need something to replace it (I can't take any vitamins either), as well as a good protein source so I decided to try soy milk. Hmmmm... interesting indeed... can't say its yummy but not bad. I got the vanilla flavored and I think that was a good move. Hmmm... I hope it settles well with my stomach, if it does then I guess I'll be drinking this stuff on a daily basis. They need more flavors like strawberry, banana, etc.

Why do I always forget that Wal-Mart and Saturdays are not a good thing until its too late? My Mom asked me to go run a couple of errands with her today, and I felt up to it - which is nuts because I swear that this morning I didn't want to go anywhere. So, we went to Wal-Mart. The grocery part of the store was the worst, people are so rude bumping into you with their carts and shoving their way in front of you when you're looking at something. Where are their manners?! I decided to show Mom that $5.88 DVD bin that I looked through yesterday. LOL! We had a good time looking through it and I found a couple DVDs that I hadn't seen yesterday. I found another Western one for my Dad but I'll save it for part of his Father's Day gift. After the Wal-Mart experience we went to the new "dollar store". Quite an adventure. I got out of there with spending only $4.00. LOL! Now, I don't plan on going anywhere for the next 36 hours or so. My ass is planted. Dad's doctor called today with a bit of good news. Since Dad's chest pains are coming and going "quickly" they're just going to watch him more instead of doing the angiogram/balloons/surgery right away. I'm relieved, but still worried. I can sense something and its scaring me. He's being a good boy and resting today. If things flare up again he's to go into the hospital right away. Mom has spoken to the dipshit twins and if they pull any more stunts like they have been, there will be hell to pay. She has told them that the dipshit #1 Ellis needs to get a job and take care of his wife and child and quit putting all the strain on my Dad, and that both of them need to make a home for their daughter. We'll see what happens, but I'm not holding my breath. Kathy's 40th birthday is on Monday and she is whining to Mom that no one in the family likes her so they won't come over to see her. I really don't see how she can expect anyone to "like" her when she's taking such advantage of my parents and treating everyone like shit. I for one, don't plan on attending any party for her. I did get her a card and a gift card (from Wal-Mart tee hee), and that's gonna have to do. Hmmm... I really sound like a bitch, don't I?!

Busy day today. I got up, cleaned, got my ass in the shower and went to the doctor for my weekly iron IV treatment. When the doctor came in the room, he sat down and said, "We have a problem. Your iron count is not coming up at all despite all the efforts to bring it up. I think we need to do a bone marrow harvest to see what's going on." I about shit right then and there! I composed myself and asked why that would be necessary since its my ulcerative colitis that is causing the whole anemic/nutrition problem. He said, "Oh..." We discussed it a little further and I explained that I'm starting Remacade treatments on Monday, which will be for both the ulcerative colitis and rhuematoid arthritis. He's not going to give me any more iron - go figure on that one. Even though its not coming up, at least its not dropping. I'm so tired - literally! But he wants to wait a few weeks and see if it drops. So, we decided to let my RA doc monitor my blood tests, and hopefully the levels will start coming up on their own. I will also discuss this whole thing with my RA doc on Monday too, to let him know what's going on. I ran a couple of errands after that, then came home and had to do some work for a couple of hours, despite the long days at the conference I still had a couple to work to meet my 40. Not sure how that happened... but it worked out OK and I got some of my financials done. I went to Wal-Mart to get a couple of things, and I found a bargain bin of DVDs for $5.88! LOL! I hit the motherload! I bought a few, and found one for my Dad, a double DVD set of old Westerns. He'll be in hog heaven while watching them. I couldn't find a movie or shows for Mom, but she said as long as Dad is entertained with his Westerns, she's happy. LOL! My Dad has been having chest pains this week, and they did an EKG and blood work on him yesterday, and today they did a thalium treadmill. Dad has been due for a 3rd open heart surgery for a few years now, they watch him pretty close and are putting it off as long as they can. His heart is fine, its the arteries that are shutting down due to the insulin he takes for diabetes. I had a feeling something was up while I was gone, despite me calling Mom and Dad to see how things were, they'd say "fine". Right. I'm pretty worried right now and am hoping things are going to be OK. It could be due to all the additional stress lately that Dad has been under and we can thank my lovely sister Kathy and her husband for the majority of that. Grrr. But I won't go into that! I'm going to relax now and do some blog hopping until I'm too tired to sit here any more. G'Night!

I'm FINALLY HOME!!!! It feels sooooo good to be home. I am utterly exhausted. I feel terrible I haven't been able to visit anyone this week, things were so crazy at the conference and by the time I got back to my hotel, it was all I could do to check my e-mail. I WILL be around this weekend to catch up with everyone!