Pucker Up

Last night was truly awful. To be honest, this past week has been kind of stinky, but last night was the icing on the cake, so to speak. I received terrible news, from not one but two people, and my head is reeling. I've been trying to go about my business this morning like normal, and I debated whether or not to write about this, after all, you come here to read something interesting, funny, light. But, I'm going to ask for your indulgence today because I feel really crappy right now and I need a cyber hug. Is that okay? (Please say yes)

To begin with, my MIL has been dealing with some health issues of late, and they have finally reached a point of no return for her. She has been a heavy smoker for over fifty years and apparently her lungs are waving the white flag of defeat. I accompanied her to the doctor two weeks ago because she had a recurrence of pneumonia/bronchitis which she had at Christmas time. She has had frequent infections over the last several years and her breathing has become very difficult, she wheezes all the time and can't walk very far, etc. She has been told by doctors for years and years to quit smoking and hasn't. Long story short, she has COPD/emphysema, which means she has chronic obstruction of her lungs, they aren't getting enough oxygen. After several tests they have determined that she needs to be on oxygen 24/7. She absolutely must quit smoking (or she will literally blow up, not good). The only good news is her CT scan revealed that she does not have lung cancer, which we are all very relieved about. So, she is not happy, as you can well imagine. She now has a tube hanging from her nose and 85 ft. of hose running throughout her house. She is cranky because she has had to quit smoking cold turkey, and she is mortified. She is refusing to leave the house, because she doesn't want anyone to see her carrying around a tank of oxygen. We have tried to convince her that it's no different than seeing someone with a wheelchair, it's a handicap and no one will stare at her, etc. She isn't having any part of it. I guess when she is ready to face her new reality, she will. It's just going to take time to get used to it. I feel so bad for her, it's really hard, and unfortunately it isn't going to get any better. So, that's one thing that we've been dealing with.

Then,..I got the phone call I didn't want to get. My best friends MIL Fay passed away yesterday. Thankfully she didn't linger for a long time, they had her on lots of pain meds so she wasn't in pain, something to be grateful for. Our friends are grieving, we're grieving, it's a horrible part of life that we all must go through at some point, it's hard. We have the wake and funeral this weekend and it's going to be awful, I'm so dreading it. Ick,ick,ick.

So, we were already feeling like we'd been run over by a truck when my phone rang again. I answered it, and it was my sister. I'm always happy to talk to my sister, she's far away and we don't get to talk that much, and with everything that's been going on, I was happy to have her shoulder to lean on. I unloaded my tale of woe before I could notice that she sounded kind of strange. She said she had some bad news. A chill ran down my spine, literally, as I braced myself for whatever it was she was going to say. I was completely unprepared for her news. She went on to say that her son, my nephew, has cancer. He is in his twenties and is engaged to be married this August. His life is just beginning, and what should be the happiest time ever, planning his future with his soon to be bride, has somehow turned into this. They are very hopeful that they have caught it in the early stages, he is undergoing tests today to determine where he stands and what type of treatment he will need. The doctor told him that sugery is neccessary and that radiation will most likely follow. He also said that the radiation will effect his fertility, and that he will have to prepare for that now if he wants to have children. To say that my sister and BIL are devistated is an understatement. She is just sick about this, as are we. I know this happens to people every day, you just don't expect it to be your family, your nephew. It's a bitter pill to swallow.

So, I'm trying really hard to find that proverbial rainbow here today. I feel like life has handed a bunch of people I love and care about way too many lemons! I know they will all get through it, they have no choice really, but, that doesn't make it any easier or change the fact that it flat out stinks. Thanks for letting me vent. This at least, does help me a little bit. I'm going to be a nervous wreck waiting until he gets the results back, think I'll go clean something! It always helps me to scrub the floor or bathtub for some reason, must release some pent up energy. Weird, I know!

My New Baby Pictures

Here's my new, pretty, fast, sleek, portable, fun, shiny, red, piece of technological wonder..
I Introduce to You my Laptop, Little Red Corvette!

Here is a picture of my beautiful screen saver. I wish I could be where ever this picture was taken, sitting on that pier with a tropical drink in my hand, aaaahhh!

Hey, Gateway! Notice I'm promoting your name here? (I'm just sayin') :) Did I mention that I LOVE this little machine? Oh, I did? Alrighty then!

So, while I'm on the subject of stuff that I love, I will now pass on the "Excellent Blog" award to ten people that have blogs which I think are, well,..excellent! This award came to me by way of Kami at Kami's Klopchyk. If she hadn't given this to me and already received it herself, I would most definitely be giving this award to her. Kami is one of my favorite, favorite bloggers!! She has a witty sense of humor, she's sweet as can be, a wonderful mom to two of the cutest little boys ever, and I look forward to reading her posts every day! Thanks, Kami for the award!

Hallie @ Wonderful world of wieners is one of my absolute favorites! She has me in stitches from laughing so hard every day, that, or wiping tears from my eyes when she talks about her sons whom she loves so much. No matter what, I know my emotions will get a good workout when I visit! She paints a vivid picture of life with two wieners, and that my friends is no small task! Hallie, you've become a real friend to me, and that makes me so happy! She has a contest going on right now to win a fabulous necklace made by a jewelry designer friend of hers. Please go check it out!

Kim d @ Lifeafter is another absolute favorite, must read blog for me! Kim has a unique perspective on life. She has experienced some really wonderful moments in her life and some very sad moments, but at all times she views life as a magical journey. No matter what, Kim remains positive and uses her life experiences to learn something new about herself and the people around her. She is a fabulous story teller. She is honest, sincere and funny! Kim can make me laugh out loud! What can I say? I love ya Kim d!

Stacie @ Staciesmadness is the real deal people! Another favorite blog of mine since day one! Stacie is funny, vibrant, witty, honest, and hardworking. She's a mom to two beautiful kids that are her pride and joy, and she shares her families happenings with such candor and humor. Stacie, you're mad skilz with the computer are always amazing me with your page design, music, pictures, slide shows, etc. I wish I knew a teensy bit of what you know, you're awesome! Keep up the good work, babe!

Kellen @ On The Upside is one of the best writers I've ever come across! She is amazingly talented and has a true gift when it comes to expressing herself. Her blog is a huge favorite of mine and one that I look forward to reading every time! Not only is Kellan a really genuinely nice person, she's a wonderful mom to four beautiful children she lovingly refers to as the twins, the boy and the girl. Her daily observances of life with her husband, the cowboy, and her children make even the mundane chore of sorting socks hysterical! You're my hero, Kellan!

Julie b @ The Daily Rhythm is another one of my favorite blogs to visit! Julie balances being a full time student with the rigors of being a mom to two gorgeous little girls, and a new baby on the way! It's a balancing act that few could handle, but she seems to do it with ease. Her honesty and easy going way of teaching her girls about nature and the world around them is really refreshing! She also has a food blog because her daughter Mara has food allergies and it's sometimes a challenge at mealtimes. Check it out, it's very interesting!


Girlymom @ The Red Door gets my vote for Super Woman! She's mom to four of the most gorgeous little girls you've ever seen who keep her busy, busy, busy! She's married to a handsome Naval Officer and has lived all over the place but currently takes up residence in Michigan. She lives in a beautiful older home that she and her hubby are renovating and decorating and it sports a great big red door, hence the name! She's always coming up with fun ideas for her family and her readers alike. Go check her out, she has a fantastic "100 crazy things to do" list going on right now! Girlymom, you're one of my favorite bloggy friends!


Kimmy @ Tales of a Blender Kimmy is fast becoming one of my mainstay favorites! She's another girl from Maine who is witty, funny, intelligent and has a fabulous sense of humor! She's a married mom of two children, a boy and a girl who are so beautiful, they look like they've just stepped out of magazine. The stories she shares about her daily life are so enjoyable to read, she's the kind of woman you wish you lived next door to so you could chat and share a cup of coffee with her! If it weren't for those darned attached ears of yours, Kimmy, I'd say you were perfect! (am I bad or what?) I know you can take it, hun, I'm just foolin' with ya!


Tracy @ just another mommy blog is really anything BUT just another mommy blog, and she is one of my favorite go to girls! Tracy is refreshingly honest in her writing. She's smart, witty, no-nonsense, tell it like it is, and funny to boot! Tracey is a great mom to three darling children that she so clearly adores. Her thoughtful writings about motherhood and her keen observations really make me think and appreciate the good things in my life, too. Thanks, Tracey for making me slow down and smell the roses, laugh at the little things, even notice snow flakes on the window! (and make me want to decorate, but that's another story!) :)


Candace @ Our family of 4 is someone I hope to know a whole lot better! In fact, I'm not entirely sure if Candace is your first name, I think you told me that a long, long time ago. If I'm incorrect on that, my sincere apologies (and foot in the mouth!). I really love your blog and I hope you'll start posting more often. She's a married mom who hails from Canada and is raising two beautiful children, a boy and a girl. Her stories and accounts of daily life are hysterical and I truly enjoy reading about all their adventures! (the big Woody and toilet paper pyramid are two favorites!) I also love the famous quotes you add to the end of each post. They are always thought provoking, or funny, or both! Go check her out, she's great!



alex elliot @ Formula Fed and Flexible Parenting is one of the funniest ladies I've read in the blogging world and another favorite of mine! Alex is a business professional who is married and has two little boys at home, and writes about the challenges of motherhood and life with a wonderful sense of humor. She's thoughtful, intuitive, and has an inquisitive mind, I love hearing her perspective on things! She writes with honesty and ease and always makes me laugh, her "Lesson Learned" that she includes at the end of each post are so interesting! She's also quite the athlete and is training to be in a triathlon. Go, Alex, you rock, girl!


My hat is off to all of you, and it was hard to pick only ten. There are so many great blogs and wonderful bloggers out there, more of you deserve this award than I gave it to. I know that some of you have already received this award, but this was supposed to be who I thought deserved this, and I sent the award your way again for being excellent, what can I say? I think this award has been around a few times, so if you want to continue with it, the rules are to send it to ten people you think have an excellent blog and include a link back to the person who sent it to you. If you've already done your excellent ten, just consider this a little "I love you"!

Bite Your Tongue, Lizzy

First of all, before I say anything, I must first tell Kami that I have not forgotten my "Excellent Top Ten" list, I'm still working on it (I'm so darned slow, geez!), and I promise it will be done within the next couple of days. Second, I was completely rude today because I neglected to say thank you to Hallie for giving me the "Excellent Blog Friend" award, so Hallie, Thank YOU so much for giving me this award! It means a lot to me, and the really nice things you said about my blog and about me, just make me feel great! I feel I've found a friend in you, too. I think you're an awfully nice person with a wonderful family and wonderful wieners (that sounds dirty, but it's not, trust me!) and I look forward to reading your blog each and every day! Now, I'm a little confused,...I'm supposed to pass this award on to ten people I feel have excellent blogs, but now that I've received it twice, does that mean that I need to give out twenty awards or will ten suffice?? I'm not sure if I even know twenty blogs to give the award to! This should be interesting! Anyhoo,...Kami, I'm gonna take some pictures of my beautiful laptop and post them for Wordless Wednesday, how's that? See, that doesn't actually count as talking about computer stuff, 'cause it's just pictures. I figured out a way to beat the system! :)

Okay,...now that I got my "official" business out of the way,...let the ranting begin!

I have a new gripe! Well, it's not a gripe exactly,..I don't know what you'd call it. Here's the thing. There is this mom who has a son on my son's basketball team. She has five kids, ranging in age from 22 to 5. Big family, big house, lots to be done, right? I get that. So, the other night we're at a basketball game, it's halftime, Andrew actually attended one of his brother's games, which is rare due to his own basketball schedule, so Brian starts motioning that he forgot his drink. Fortunately, this school had a concession stand so I went and purchased a Gatorade. I handed it to Andrew and asked him to take it across the court and give it to his brother. He gave me one of those, "Do I have to?", kind of looks. I shook my head and said, "Please, will you take this over to him? Hurry! Halftime is almost over, please?". Well, Mrs. Mom hears this and says, "I would never beg my child to do something like that!". She went on to explain that all she has to do is ask her children to do something, and they do it! "Apparently", she continued, "You are trying to be your son's friend and not his parent." Okay. (and who asked YOU?) I must have looked like a deer standing in the headlights. First of all, she doesn't know me or my family very well, so what exactly she was basing all of this on, I'm not sure. Second, I thought it rude of her to comment on something that clearly was none of her business. "Well, it's not that he wouldn't do this for his brother, I think he feels a little awkward walking across the basketball court, that's all.", was all that I could mutter. She then went on to give me a twenty minute or so (give or take) dissertation on child rearing, how she disciplines her children, the chores they have to do (and questioned me about what chores I have my children do at home) and how if only I were more stern with my boys they'd be so much better off. Is your chin hitting the floor right now? Cause mine was, I think. I may have had drool seeping out the sides, too. I'm not saying my boys are perfect, God knows they're not, and neither am I. I'm not a perfect mom, I make mistakes, probably every day! But, for the most part my boys are good kids. They're loving, they care about others, they're helpful when I need them to be. They're both good students and they both enjoy being part of a team and giving their best effort. They do have chores at home, albeit, not a list of twenty things to do every single day, no. They take out garbage, clear tables and let the dog out when he needs to go. They carry in grocery bags and put food away. They mow the lawn and shovel snow. I happen to think it's enough. I don't really care what she thinks, or what she has her children do each day, that's her business. So, I brushed this off, planted a smile on my face and decided I'd just kill her with kindness. I assumed this would be the end of her "advice" for me. I was wrong!

Sunday night Brian had another game, we arrived and sat down in the bleachers. No sooner did I sit down, and I hear a voice. "So, how are the chores going?" it's Super Mom again. "What's that?", I pretend not to know what she's talking about. "How are the chores working out? Did you start the boys on some of the chores I was telling you about?", she asked again. My husband looked at me, I looked at him, and he said, "Yes! I started Lizzy on the chores you were talking about. It's working out great!". I looked at my husband like he was delirious, as did Super Mom. "Oh, you mean Lizzy started the boys..", she didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. My husband interrupted her, "If Lizzy doesn't have the chores all done by the time I get home from work, she doesn't get to eat dinner that night.", he continued. "If the laundry isn't done, I take her car away!", he said proudly. I started to laugh. "Oh, very funny. I see, you were making a joke.", she said. "No, I'm dead serious! I think you're chore list idea is working out great! Once I get her trained, the boys should be easy!". Mrs. Know It All shut up quickly and took her seat. Did I tell you how much I love my husband? :)

She's Fast, She's Sleek, and Crimson Red....

No, she's not a car, she's my brand new, pretty laptop! (You're probably asking yourselves, "Can a laptop really be pretty?", to which I reply an enthusiastic, "YES!") I LOVE it! I LOVE my husband for buying it for me! I LOVE Monday! (Okay, maybe not Monday so much)..but I'm just feeling so happy today!!!

My husband tried hard to fix our computer, but in the end it just didn't help. The last conversation he had with the tech people on Friday is what broke the proverbial "camel's back". They told him he needed to replace the motherboard, which is essentially the heart and soul of the computer, and costly, and with the price of personal computers coming down it just seemed stupid to do that. *Not to mention all the comments that all of you have been leaving, my husband got the hint! :)

At any rate, we're back up and running and I absolutely love the fact that I'm mobile now! Heck, I can type my blog while lying on my tushy eating bon-bons if I want to, how cool is THAT? Okay, enough about the computer,...I promise no more talk about it for a long, long time. (Is that a big sigh of relief I hear from the peanut gallery?) ;)

Hey! Guess what? I wasn't able to brag about this last week, but I feel I must mention it because it is momentous in our lives,....my "baby" got his first driver's license! I took Andrew last Tuesday for his driving test and he passed with flying colors, thank goodness! Since then he has been driving, driving, driving all over the place, even to pick up his brother at his friend's house, which in itself is a miracle! Ken and I figure we'll send him on a few errands until the novelty wears off, right now he's just excited to drive anywhere by himself. It is kind of scary, but we do trust him and we have to let him grow up, even though it makes our hearts ache a teeny bit. It's weird how certain events in your life are imprinted on your brain, I can remember vividly my own dad taking me for my test and how great it felt to know that he was proud of me. I hope Andrew felt the same way, and I'm so glad that I got to share that moment with him.

Thank you all, by the way, for the nice comments and concern about our friend's mom. I truly appreciate it. She is not doing very well, I'm afraid. In the past week she has declined considerably, and it's just so difficult to watch them go through this. All we can do is offer our support and love, unfortunately, there is nothing one can do to make it better, you know? She is a truly beautiful woman, the kind that is a mom to everyone she meets. If you told her you had a hang nail she'd say, "Oh, honey! That's just terrible, you poor, poor thing. Have a cookie, I just baked them this morning." We love her, too, as I think anyone who knows her does, she's just that kind of a lady. One time our friends had a birthday party, and my husband did a little too much celebrating, if you know what I mean? Fay (that's her name) had baked a huge tin of cookies that she always brings to all the family gatherings, and my husband ate practically the entire thing himself. He kept coming up to her and hugging her and saying (very slurred) "Fay, you make the best cookies in the world, you know that?". She thought it was so funny, a few days later she brought over a big tin of cookies that she said were just for Ken, her biggest cookie fan. He was embarrassed about the party, but couldn't get over the fact that she had done that for him. They've been smitten with each other ever since!

Well,..folks, I'm off to the grocery store this morning. I sometimes feel kind of freakish when I shop alone, people ask me if I have ten kids at home and are shocked to learn that I only have two. Neither of my kids are fat, but I guess my overflowing grocery cart leads people to believe they must be morbidly obese or have a food fetish or something. Teenage boys can put away an incredible amount of food! I go through five gallons of milk a week, several boxes of cereal, two loaves of bread, they eat me out of house and home. (not to mention all their buddies who stop by for a snack) Oh, well,...let the freak show begin! :) Have a great day everyone!

Where's Bill Murray when I need him?

Our computer is a worthless piece of crapola and my hubby got it running again. Our computer is a worthless piece of crapola and my hubby got it running again.Our computer is a worthless piece of crapola and my hubby got it running again.Our computer is a worthless piece of crapola................


Tired of sounding like a broken record over here!!!!


Okay,....so, I'm feeling just a wee bit frustrated today. Can you blame me? What I'd really like to do is pick up this monitor and CPU and launch it out my window,...but I refrain. That would take care of the computer, but then I'd have a big hole in my window and it's 2 degrees outside, creating a whole new set of problems that I don't need. Cooler heads prevail, thank goodness!


So, how are all of YOU doing today? Happy Friday, by the way! I'm grateful that it's the end of the week, it's been a tough one for several reasons, and just a really hectic one. It seems like it is always feast or famine, ya know? Either we're bored to tears and there is nothing going on, or we have so many activities and deadlines that we are feeling overwhelmed and our heads are spinning. There never seems to be a happy medium! (and I don't seem to be happy unless I'm complaining about something,..so..whine,whine,bitch and moan!) :)


Actually, I have a really heavy heart right now, our dearest friends in the world are going through an awful time. They have a parent who is in the final stages of lymphoma and has been given weeks to live. It is such a difficult part of life, maybe some of you have been through it (hopefully not) but, there just is no good way to die. The only "upside" (pardon me Kellan for using your phrase) is that it gives people the opportunity to say goodbye, to share their feelings before that person is gone. When someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly it's such a shock and often there are so many questions left unanswered. On the other hand, watching someone decline and suffer is absolutely horrible. Ugh! It's just nasty no matter how you look at it. I apologize if I'm depressing you all, I guess in addition to being called "Lizzy" and "Zitty" you can now add "Lizzy Downer" (Debbie Downer from SNL) to the list!


Well,..I do have some good news to report! My son, Brian, received a gold ribbon at the science fair last night, whoo-hoo! He was very excited and I think more relieved than anything that the darn thing was over with. May I just say that I now know more about popcorn than I ever wanted to know! I also have the satisfaction of knowing that I'm at least as smart as a seventh grader, (can I get a high five?) seeing how I had to help him with so darn much of the project! I'm thinking about going on that show "Are you smarter than an 5th Grader?". There were parents there last night walking around saying "I didn't help him at all, not one tiny bit!". To them I say, does the word Pinocchio have any meaning to you?? Seriously, you're lying through your teeth, and you know it, so just knock it off already!


Anyhoo,...since "merry maids" haven't rung my doorbell yet today, I guess I have the joyous task of cleaning my house. Yuk! I'll be getting right on that just as soon as I have another cup of coffee, read the paper, read blogs, comment on blogs, pick the lint from my belly button,.... Cleaning is not my favorite thing to do! What do you all have planned for this weekend? Anything exciting? (I like to live vicariously through others) :) We have two basketball games on Saturday, a basketball game, and an open house/book fair at school on Sunday, which just about rounds out the super fun packed weekend for me, yippee. (Yes, I know, I'm trying to contain my excitement. Can't you tell?) I think the 'ol hormone wench is visiting with me today!


Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! (I do mean that sincerely and in a nice way, really!) The good Lizzy is in here somewhere, she's just hiding out. Talk to you all soon, computer willing!

Broken water main + Bulldozer = No phone, tv, blog

It may be Mother Nature's fault, it may be human engineering at fault, I don't know how or why it happened, all I do know is this,...one and a half days with no technology to amuse, entertain, and communicate with the outside world makes my whole family really CRANKY!

In a way I feel guilty and slightly ashamed for being so dependent on these gadgets, I suppose we could survive without them, however, life would be infinitely less interesting. Good or bad, I must admit we do learn so much about the world and all the people in it through these means, don't you agree? Well, at any rate, Little House on the Prairie, we ain't! Nope. We'd have turned that covered wagon around and headed back into town before you could say "I'll die from boredom!".

My cable tv, telephone and computer all came back on simultaneously tonight at 6:25 pm and I dropped to my knees and yelled "Hallelujah!". (Okay,..I didn't really do that, but I did contemplate it)

Apparently, a water main about a block from my house broke yesterday morning because the temperature which had been sub-zero went up 25 degrees over night causing the pipe to burst. The village I live in came out to repair the pipe and inadvertently dug up the cables that control all things technological for myself and 100 or so of my neighbors. We were not the city of brotherly love, no, we were the neighborhood of grumbling, crabby patties for 36 hours.

Well, it's over now, (sounding as if I've survived some harrowing ordeal). I'd just like to mention one thing before I scamper off to bed, Kami, of Kami's Khlopchyk, has given me a wonderful new award (because she's nice that way) and I'm very thankful to her for it, so, Kami, thanks so much! It's the "E" for Excellent award (and looks suspiciously like the "E" for Everyone label that goes on games, movies and cd's, doesn't it? At first that's what I thought it was, duh!) I'm supposed to pass it on to 10 people I feel have excellent blogs. I will do this, but I'm not going to do this tonight because it's late and I'm tired, and well,..looking up all those linky things takes too long and the dark circles under my eyes are begging for a pillow. (am I rambling? That last sentence was a little crazy.) Anyway,..I will pass this beauty of an award on to ten very deserving people a little later.

Hope you all had a great couple of days, looking forward to reading all of your blogs tomorrow and getting all "caught up" on everything. 'Night!

Just Call Me Zitty!

Hi, my name is Zitty! I'm a zit picker. (Hi, Zitty!)

Remember me? The girl who just three days ago said she was going to "cut herself some slack" and "let her hair down"? HA! I've had an extremely busy weekend, have pushed myself to complete several tasks that needed to be tackled, helped Brian FINALLY finish his science fair project from hell that's due Thursday, attending basketball games, registered children for baseball, went grocery shopping, tended to sick children, tended to sick relatives, cooked, cleaned, did laundry, you name it, I'm your girl! So, how does my body repay me for doing good deeds and chuggin' along even when I was pooped? It unloads the biggest, ugliest, zit you can imagine, right smack dab in the center of my chin, that's how!

I know they tell you not to pick a pimple, that it will make it worse, leave it alone and it will go away by itself. (right, not buying it!) However, every time I look in the mirror and see that Mount St. Helen of a zit staring back at me, I just have to pinch it, just a little, to let it know how really ticked off I am that it has decided to take up residence on my face! How dare it??

I've tried using cover up and face powder and it just ends up looking like some big powdered donut on my chin. I'm waiting for someone to tell me, "Excuse me, you have a little crumb on your chin there". Um,..no...it's not edible, but thanks!

It doesn't seem hardly fair at all, I'm 43 years old, I went through all this when I was 16, I truly do not need to relive that experience, really. It wasn't that great the first time!

I have a basketball game to go to this morning for my older son, I wouldn't miss it for the world, but I'm honestly feeling very self conscious about this pimple. Maybe if I wear a turtleneck sweater and pull it way up I can tuck my chin and it's new inhabitant inside? If not, I'm afraid I'll have to make introductions to the other parents. "Hi! Have you met my new Zit? She's a beauty isn't she?".

This blog will now be called "Life According to Lizzy and her great big Zitty". 'Nuff said. Have a good one people!

Thinking Outside of the Box

It's not as easy as you might think! Girlymom over at The Red Door http://momof4girls.blogspot.com/ tagged me for this meme, the "Think Different Challenge" a couple of days ago, and I've been mulling it over ever since! Hmmm.....what do I want to think differently about? What can I think differently about? I don't know whether to address an important issue like global warming, or if I want to change my opinion of Miracle Whip vs. Mayo, (Mayo all the way in case you're wondering!)

Well,...I guess I'll try and think differently about something that bothers me and effects me every day. I am an admitted perfectionist. It takes me ten times longer to do something than the average person, be it cleaning the house, making dinner or putzing in my flower beds,...everything has to be "just so". I don't know when this started or why, but I can remember being like this since I was a child. I admire people like my sister in law, she is a free spirit, easy going and doesn't stress about anything very much. If she is having a birthday party for one of her kids, she won't start preparing for it until the day before. She'll have no idea what she's serving, hasn't been to the store yet and hasn't cleaned her house. "Oh, I'll go tonight. I'm just doing something casual, it's only family. I'll give the house a quick once over and that's good enough." she'll say. How I wish I could be like that! I'd have been planning for two weeks, the menu, the decorations, would have started cleaning my house days before, (better clean out the china cabinet just in case, it looks a little dusty in there), I go absolutely overboard! I stress for the whole week, stress out my family for the whole week (Don't touch that! I just cleaned it!) and in the end, we all wind up having a wonderful time, the food is usually good and we always have more than enough, the house looks fine, and honestly, no one EVER looks in my china cabinet! I realize after the fact that I was worried for NOTHIN'!

So, I would like to think differently about my own personal expectations. I am giving myself permission to relax a little, to cut myself some slack and let my hair down! I know it won't be easy, but I'm going to try. I'll try to be more aware of when I'm turning into "Lizzy Monster" and count to ten, take some deep breaths, and say to myself, "Lizzy, it's okay to not be perfect." (having a very "aha!" experience right now) This is good!

I am supposed to tag some people now to see if they, too, can "think different" about something, anything that you might want to see from a different angle. I'm curious to see what you all have to say!

I am tagging:

Kellan of On the Upside http://www.ontheupside.info/

Kami of Kami's Klopchyk http://wer4.blogspot.com/

Tracey of just another mommy blog http://tracey-justanothermommyblog.blogspot.com/

burgh baby's mom http://www.theburghbaby.com/

Here are the rules for this meme:Write a new blog post about thinking differently. State that the post is a part of the Think Different Challenge and include a link and/ or trackback to this post http://lifeaccordingtolizzy.blogspot.com/ so that readers know the rules of the challenge. Feel free to use the above banner (inspired, of course, by Seth Godin). Include a link and/ or trackback to the blogger who tagged you.At the end of your post, go ahead and tag some fellow bloggers. Don’t forget to let them know they have been tagged.

Have fun ladies!

Something Important!

Hi,there!

I was just reading Julie B's blog over at http://thedailyrhythm.blogspot.com/ and she has a very powerful post today about the subject of Autism. There is a link on her blog to a video by Five for Fighting. They are donating $.49 every time their video is viewed to help families like the one in the video. Please go visit Julie and watch this. It's a very worthy cause.

Thanks! Lizzy

Where's my Brain Gone? I Had It Here Just a Minute Ago..

I have a tendency to be a bit of a hypocondriac. If I see a commercial for medication that goes along with some chronic disease and they list the symptoms, I subconsciously start thinking to myself, "Self, I have pain in my stomach. Oh, my,..I get headaches, too. Yes, I infact DO have back pain,..EGADS! I have ____________!" (fill in the blank with any 'ol disease). I try not to do this, and logically I know that I don't really have arthritis, indigestion, constipation, migraine headaches,..whatever. Sometimes having a little information is more dangerous than having none, you know? So, I was reading an article in the newspaper the other day about a woman who is a sports writer and tragically both her mother and father developed Alzheimer's disease at a fairly young age and are both now deceased. The article cronicled the slow decline they went through and how frustrating and heartbreaking it was for her and her brother and sisters to watch their parents slowly slip away. It listed some of the early indications and symptoms that a person might have if they are indeed becoming a victim of Alzheimer's. Well, naturally, I have those indications! I am now completely convinced that the mind robbing disease is inches away from knocking on my door. Forgetful? Who me? Yes. Putting things in inapropriate places? Um, yes. According to my family I lose things all the time. Moody? What's it to you?! Short term memory loss? I'm sorry, what did you say? Calling people by the wrong name? I do this all the time, "Brian,Ken, Andrew,..damn it, Charlie, get over here!". Well,...that's it! I must have Alzheimer's. I've gone down the check-list and I have every single symptom. This is terrible. This is beyond terrrible. I'm too young! Oh,..wait. I just saw a commercial for Premarin. Hmmmm. Actually,...now that I think about it, I may just have PMS. Never mind. :)

BTW, did everyone see Idol last night? Did you LOVE the ending??? "We are Brothers, we are together!...." I totally dug Paula's dance at the end, and could that guy be any sweeter crying and saying what a nice person he thinks Simon is? Okay, and,..I predict that blonde chick who was singing Britney Spears and Carrie Underwood will be one of the final two. Any opinions??

Thanks and Praise and Little Black Clouds

Hi, all!

Having some "technical difficulties" over here for the last few days, my computer is seriously ready to bite the dust, we couldn't even get it to turn on yesterday. My husband and some tech guy to the rescue, at least it's running but we don't know for how long. I'm just praying that it hangs in there for a couple more days so my son can type his final copy for his science report. Anyway,..I feel like I've been away for a long time (24 hrs. with no blogging) makes for one unhappy Lizzy! :( So glad to be back!

First, before this hunk of junk dies on me, I want to take this opportunity to thank Kellan over at http://www.ontheupside.info/ for the award she has bestowed upon me, for a "Blog Friend". I just love Kellan, she is one of the most talented, funniest, nicest woman I've had the pleasure of getting to know! I look forward to reading her blog every day and hearing about her and her family and the observations of life as only Kellan can tell. Thanks for considering me a friend, and I feel the same way towards you! *hugs* I would love to pass this award on to a new friend named Kimmy whose blog http://talesofablenderkimmy.blogspot.com/ is funny and honest, she's witty and has a wonderful sense of humor that makes me laugh! Oh, and we both love Desperate Housewives, so you know, I automatically loved ya! Way to go Kimmy, keep up the good work! *hugs*

Also, I received another award (Yes,..I know. They are just rolling in from all directions, folks! ;) ) from Maria over at http://mariamommyof4.blogspot.com/ for the "Spread the Love" blogging award. Thank you so much Maria! I've really enjoyed getting to know you and look forward to reading about all that you and your family are up to. You are funny and intuitive, a great mom and a dedicated runner, oh, and an awesome guitar hero player, too! :) *hugs* I would like to pass this award on to Stacie whose blog http://staciesmadness.blogspot.com/ is an absolute favorite of mine. Actually, Stacie is a favorite of mine! She's one of the sweetest, funniest, most honest women that I've come to know through blogging. Stacie was THE first person to respond to my blog and leave me a comment. For a while there, it was just me and Stacie corresponding back and forth with each other. (I think she did it out of kindness, she felt sorry for me!) See what I mean?? So sweet! I just lerve you, girl! *hugs*

Moving on to other news.........

____________________________________________________________________

I think there must be a black cloud hanging over my head following me everywhere I go lately. I told you all what happened last Saturday night at my son Andrew's basketball game (and I told my husband y'all are looking to tar and feather him, so he'd better watch out! :) ) So, last night we had two basketball games to attend, one for Andrew and one for Brian. These games were in completely different directions, one beginning at 6:00 and the other at 7:30. We knew we'd be a little late getting to Andrew's game, but we'd do the best we could. Well, it started to snow about an hour before we needed to leave the house for Brian's game and by the time we went the roads were starting to get pretty slick and traffic was horrible. As we drove through this one intersection the light started changed from green to yellow. My husband attempted to slow down to a stop, but our van hit a patch of icy road and we slid, kind of wavy through the light, and as we're going sort of sideways, some guy in the oncoming traffic who is making a left hand turn and wants to make it through the intersection before the light turns red, hits the gas and is coming straight at us. Ken attempted to stop, but there was no use, we kept going and he kept coming. We did not hit each other, fortunately, but we came within inches of each other. Let's just say it got our hearts pumping and our hands shaking, I was kind of bracing myself for an impact, very scary!

Fast forward, Brian's team played an awesome game and lost by one basket, but it was a great game! We leave around 7:40ish and hurry (but not too much) to get to the next game. By the time we got to Andrew's school it was about 8:00. We park the car and skitch across the icy parking lot to the door and run inside because it is bone chillin' cold in Chicago people! As we're walking down the corridor to the gym we hear bells going off. At first we think it's the buzzer from the gym, but it keeps going, and going and is becoming more shrill sounding. The next thing we see are the doors to the gym fly open and a huge flux of people coming streaming out, practically running...towards us. We all kind of freeze in our tracks and look at each other like, "what the heck is going on?", and then we hear people yelling "FIRE!". Oh, crap! We sort of flattened ourselves up against the wall and suddenly I see my son coming out of the gym with the rest of the team (very relieved, but still confused) so I yell to him, "What's going on?". "There is smoke in the foyer and it's coming into the gym, I think there's a fire somewhere in the school." He yells back. Okay,..so I guess we should be going outside with the rest of the herd, so we follow the crowd out the door, back out into the freezing cold. I felt so sorry for all the boys! I don't know if you've been to a high school basketball game lately or not, but the gymnasium is like 110 degrees, I swear! It can be 20 below zero outside, but the gym is just boiling. So, these boys are dripping wet with sweat, their hair and faces are soaking, and they're standing outside shivering in the freezing cold (20 degrees) and that's not counting the wind chill. Turns out there was a fire in the teacher's lounge, and the fire department came and put it out. Thankfully no one was hurt and there wasn't a whole lot of damage. Except for all the kids who had hypothermia and probably pneumonia!

So,...I think I'd better just stay home the next time. My little black cloud is sticking close by me, and where ever I go, it seems to follow! In fact, the next game is actually tonight. Wouldn't you know it, but American Idol is on tonight! I told my hubby I would make the sacrifice and stay home alone and watch Idol, in an attempt to keep the little black cloud and it's bad juju away from the basketball games, but he's not buyin' it! :) Thank goodness for recorders or I'd be terribly upset, Idol is one of my favorites and I hate to miss it. I hope that tonight's game will be un-eventful, I'm starting to get a complex people! Wish us good luck. Hopefully I'll be back here tomorrow, computer willing! Take Care

You Got Me!

This is just a funny little story about something that happened this past weekend. My husband, our youngest son Brian and myself were attending our oldest son Andrew's basketball game on Saturday night. It was an away game, our son's team was the visiting team, so we were at a different high school than our son's.

Our team did not fare very well, unfortunately, or to put it not so delicately, they got their butts whooped! By halftime the score was 39-14, and it got worse after that. At any rate, during the halftime my son Brian wanted to know if we could go and get a drink from the concession stand. My husband was busy talking with one of the other dads, lamenting the game situation, so I said I would take him to get a drink. I grabbed a few dollars from my purse and off we went.

Well, unbeknownst to me, while we were off getting our drinks, my husband noticed that I had left my purse sitting in the bleachers. It was right next to where he was sitting, along with all our coats, etc., I figured it was safe with him right there. I guess this gave him an idea for a practical joke or perhaps to teach me a lesson to be more careful with my purse. He and the other dad took my purse and hid it under the other dad's coat, a few rows down from where we were sitting. He wanted to see if I'd notice that it was gone. So, Brian and I return with our water bottles and take our seats. The boys are back on the court shooting practice shots and within minutes the game resumes. My Husband tells me that while we were out of the gymnasium the announcer said over the loud speaker that a black purse had been found. Oh, I thought. Well, I know it's not mine because my purse is right h... Uh-oh!! Where is my purse?? I nervously picked up all of our coats and looked for it, but it was not there! "It has to be here, I just left it right here next to you. Didn't you see it?" I asked him. "No, I didn't see it. (the liar) I assumed you took it with you to the concession stand." he answered. "Maybe the purse they found is yours?" he suggested. Oh, my! Now I'm really upset thinking of all the credit cards, driver's license, receipts, etc., that were in my purse. "Who said they found a purse?" I asked all flustered. "The announcer, down there. The guy that sits at the score table." He answered calmly. "You'd better go ask if it's yours, don't you think?" He asked. "Well, I guess I'm going to have to. Will you go down there and ask for me?" I ask sheepishly. "Uh, I don't think I can go and ask some other guy if he has my black purse, okay? Guys don't do that kind of thing." was his reply. He gives me this "are you crazy?" kind of look. "Oh,..okay. I'll go." I say grudgingly. Of course, we are sitting at the tippy top of the bleachers, smack dab in the middle because my husband has to have the best vantage point to watch our son play. So, stealthily I squirm my way out of the bleacher and clip, clop down the steep steps to the floor. I have to push my way through the boys bench and water station to get to the announcer's table. I patiently waited until a time out was called so as not to interrupt the man while he's doing his job. And then I asked him politely, "Excuse me, sir. You made an announcement about a lost purse? I think it may be mine." I said. He looked at me strangely. "I'm sorry, what did you say? I don't think I heard you correctly." was his response. I say again, "You made an announcement about a lost purse. I believe it's mine." this time loudly so that he can hear me. Again, I get a blank stare and a look of bewilderment. "Um,..I'm sorry ma'am. I didn't say anything about a lost purse. Maybe you should go and ask one of the building security people and see if they have it?" He replied looking confused. It's at this moment that I look up at the bleachers and see my husband and his partner in crime laughing hysterically and waving my purse in the air.

I think you could have fried an egg on my forehead! I was so embarrassed, I could feel my face turning seven shades of red. I apologized to the man for bothering him and told him apparently my husband is playing a practical joke on me, which, he thought was pretty funny, at least. I clip clopped back up the bleacher steps and now even I had to laugh. He pulled a pretty good one on me! (I did punch him in the arm, though. I think he deserved it!) I'll be more careful with my purse from now on, lesson learned. I told my husband he'd better sleep with one eye open from now on because sometime when he least expects it, I'm gonna get him back! ;)

I Asked For It, And I Got It

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You,..a thousand times, Thank You!!

Well, I just can't thank you all enough for all the wonderful suggestions you've given us, you folks are really something, you know that? I ask for help, and my bloggin' friends came through with flying colors! I'm so excited about this, I can't wait to start and make some changes so that our family room will be a reflection of who we really are as a family. Right now, it's okay, but I kind of feel like it's generic and has no direction. This afternoon as I was reading your ideas I was running back and forth from my living room (where my computer is) to the family room trying to visualize everything and Brian says to me, "Mom! What the heck are you doing? Are you losing your mind?". Guess he thinks it's time to take mom to the padded room! (some days that might not be such a bad idea!) :) Ken really liked all of the ideas, too (surprisingly) and seems open to some changes which is a huge step for him, so "way to go, hun! I'm proud of you!".

Hoping you all have a truly great weekend doing the things that you enjoy! Get well soon to several blogging friends who are under the weather, feel better. Since my beloved Bears are out of the running for any post season fun, I'm throwing my support to Hallie and Kimmy, Go Patriots!!

We will once again be working on Brian's science project this weekend, notice I said "we"? He's done all his experiments and now he's writing his papers. Hopefully we'll be able to get that all wrapped up and then he just has to make his display board for the fair. He has about one week left before it's all due, I think he'll make it. (keeping my fingers crossed)

Today I thought I'd leave you with a couple of pictures of our dog, Charlie. He was following me all over the place when I was taking the pictures of the family room. He drives me crazy! He does the same thing when I'm vacuming, walks behind me and follows me like a shadow. I'm not sure if he's afraid of the vacume or the camera, if he's just curious about them, or if he thinks he's protecting me from them somehow. He is quite a character and we all love him so much. He's getting to be an old man, eleven and a half and his face is turning snow white (used to be redish brown). I took a few photos of him while I was snapping away, and they kind of look like he is saying, "Oh, mom, don't take my picture." He looks embarrassed! (what can I say? Husband, kids, dog, I like to embarrass them all equally!)

Decorating 101

I've been reading so many posts this past week about people who have that New Year vim and vigor, that newly generated need to start afresh, put a new spin on things and give their surroundings a little perking up,...and I must confess, I've caught the bug myself! You've all got me excited about decorating, mixing things up a bit, brightening things up, just adding a little pizazz!


Anyway, my problem is this; I have a hard time envisioning how things will look when they're finished. You know how some people just have that ability or sixth sense, they'll look at those tiny little squares of paint color at Home Depot and suddenly they've got all the art work, drapes, pillows, accessories to match and everything just seems to coordinate beautifully? Well,..I'm not one of those people, and neither is my husband! In fact, my husband suffers from decorating phobia, he is one of those guys who doesn't want to put holes in the walls (lest he'd have to patch) and tends to play things really safe when it comes to color, hence, much beigedom reigns!



The Hubs and I had a family room addition put on our house nearly two years ago. We are so happy for the added space it provides and spend quite a bit of time in this room watching tv and entertaining. We furnished the room and have bought a few accessories, but my walls are completely bare. Oops! No, I'm wrong. We have one tiny picture above the entrance to my kitchen, and that's it. Actually, it's not even a picture, per say, it's a saying that is framed. It's from one of my favorite movies of all time, "It's a Wonderful Life". The colors that we chose to paint the walls are extremely neutral. The wall with the fireplace is painted in a color called Hot Cocoa. It matches the brick on our fireplace, and our thought at the time was stay neutral as a base, and then add color with accessories like art, colorful pillows, knick knacks, etc. That was good in theory, however, the colorful art and knick knacks have yet to materialize! Some of the bricks on the fireplace have sort of a mauve color to them, so I went with some plum colored pillows, and a few other accessories, but it's really not doing much for me. I can't remember the name of the paint the other walls are painted in, but their sort of a very light grayish/beige (what else?) and my ceiling is actually a third color, a very, very light pink instead of white, but you really can't tell. The lady at the paint store told us it would make the room warmer with the vaulted ceiling. The walls would be fine if something else in the room would "pop", you know? Right now it's just bland, beige, blah! I wouldn't be apposed to painting and changing the color, (wouldn't look forward to doing it on account of the ceilings, had to rent a scaffold the last time) but I could. The only thing I'm really trying to stay away from is wall paper. Not the handiest at putting it up, and absolutely HATE removing it, so don't want to go there!



So,..here is where all of you come in! I'm going to post some pictures of my family room, and I would absolutely LOVE it if you would give me any and all suggestions you have, from changing the paint, what type of art, what color to accessorize in, whatever you think, I want to hear it, okay? You won't hurt my feelings, I promise, I just really need your help!

(my kid's idea of decorating, Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Wii)

Okay, so now that you've seen it, what do you think? Beigeland and Beigeworld all rolled up into one snooze fest or what?? Pretend you're those people on Home and Garden TV, the Martha Stewart of Blogdom, what would you do if this were your family room? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! That great big space above my mantel is particularly bothersome to me. Do you think one large painting or a grouping of pictures or photos? Perhaps a metal sculpture? Also, the cabinets above the bar have room on top for knick knacks, what do you think would look good up there? Help, help, help!!!!

Confessions of a Kleptomaniac Mommy

I must have a magnet somewhere inside my body. It's a special kind of magnet, not the kind that draws metal objects to it. No, rather a magnet that has special powers that allow it to collect belongings of every size, shape and matter. At least this is what my family thinks.


My son, Brian, asked me this morning if I've seen his new "clicky" pencil. (I don't know what the real name of these pencils are, "mechanical" perhaps?) they're the kind that you can add lead and erasers to, they're plastic and come in all sorts of colors. My response was a definitive, "No. I haven't seen it.". To which he began to cross examine my statement for truthfulness, because, you know I am a clicky pencil thief. (Damn! He figured it out!) "I put it right here on the kitchen counter yesterday, and now it's gone.", he said matter of fact and looks at me with suspicion. "Well, maybe you picked it up and used it again last night when you were doing your homework?" I suggested. "No. I didn't use it again. I put it right here (tapping the counter with his finger for effect) did YOU take it, Mom?" he asked. "Brian, I told you, I haven't seen it. If I'd have used the pencil, I would have said so. I don't have it, nor do I know WHERE it is.", now I'm feeling defensive. "Try looking in your room, I bet it's in there." I suggested. "I already looked EVERYWHERE in my room, it's not there!", he shouted. (my son's idea of looking "everywhere" is scanning the room for about five seconds) Here is a picture of his desk, exhibit A.

Guess what I found after a ten minute search of the desk? exhibit B.

Not to mention a handful of other very interesting items, I might add. His desk is an absolute treasure trove, chock full of all sorts of school papers, old gum wrappers, a fishing reel, CD's, a toy car, a lava lamp, you name it! He's quite proud of his little garbage heap we like to call his bedroom. (Notice the stock pile of deodorant and body sprays on the upper right hand side) He just kills me, this kid! Now if I can just get my 17 year old to care how he smells as much as his little brother does, I'll have it made.

I can't wait to show him the pencil when he gets home from school this afternoon. One, because I know he'll be happy and relieved to have found it, but also, a little mommy redemption on my part. I get tired of always being blamed for "losing" everyone else's stuff! My husband (whom I love very much, but honestly, he's like a bumbling professor) who constantly accuses me of taking his car keys, only to find them in the pocket of the coat he last wore, or my older son, Andrew, who accuses me of "taking" his cell phone (why would I do that when I have one of my own?) and once even wanted to know where I had hidden his jock strap for baseball! (eeew! not on your life!)

Unless my body somehow magically attracts these items and stores them, I don't know where, (perhaps in my large caboose?) and I'm not aware of the fact, which I think would be painfully obvious (literally and figuratively), I don't have a stinkin' clue how you guys lose all your stuff! Phew...I feel better now! Thanks for letting me have my little morning rant session. I just have to get it off my chest sometimes, you know? So, I'm interested, does anyone else have a kleptomaniac body that magically confiscates items? Tell me about it!

The Heat Wand Did It

Well, I'm back from physical therapy, and while most would assume that one would feel better after having said "therapy", honestly, I'm not feeling so hot! I've been going to P.T. (that's my new patient lingo) for two weeks now, and faithfully doing my exercises that the doctor gave me to do at home every morning and night like a good girl should. After my initial visit with the doctor and the big, scary cortisone shot he gave me, my shoulder was just killing me, however, after about three or four days there was a huge improvement. My shoulder felt really great, the sharp pain was gone, I was thrilled! Until yesterday

I went to see my therapist (each patient is assigned their own) his name is Bruce, I'd say about 50 yrs. old, nice enough man. He's had me working on a bicycle type machine where you pedal with your hands, he says it's to loosen the muscles in my shoulders. Fine. Then he had me work on this pulley contraption, that also was okay and I had no problem with it. The third exercise he had me do was to stand next to the wall and pull on these big rubber bands as far as I could, out really slowly and then back in really slowly. Bruce asked me how I felt doing these (guess he could see the grimace on my face) and I told him this particular movement hurt my arm. He suggested that I try some heat ultrasonic therapy. Hmmm. What's that I wondered? The only ultrasound I've ever had was when I was pregnant, what benefit would there be in doing that to my shoulder? I must have had that "I don't know what the shit you're talking about" look on my face (guess I make lots of faces?) because he explained to me that this piece of equipment (which looks kind of like a microphone, and sort of like an "unmentionable") vibrates at such a high frequency it actually heats up and it can really help sore muscles. (okay, go ahead and have a good giggle, it was hard for me not to laugh in poor Bruce's face) So, he explains further that sometimes, if there is cartilage that has formed due to an injury, this can actually break it up into tiny pieces and increase the movement in the joint. Well,...you know, what was I gonna do? Sure, I thought, why not, what can it hurt, right?

Bruce leads me over to a cubicle type thing with a chair and a machine and tells me I need to remove my top so that he can lube me up. I stood there and looked at him, he looked at me, I'm like, "Can I have a gown, Bruce?". "Oh, we don't have gowns. Just take your arm out of your sleeve." He instructs me. (I was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, no zipper) "Um, okay." I stammered. Now, we are sitting out in the open, there is no curtain to pull or door to close, I have people walking past me to the drinking fountain, walking on treadmill things, and I'm undressing in front of them all! Call me old fashioned or whatever you want, but it was freaky, okay? So, I quickly pulled my arm out of my sleeve and pulled my sweatshirt back far enough so that he could work on my shoulder, I had to pull my bra strap down so it wouldn't get that gel stuff all over it, most of my back and stomach are exposed, talk about feeling self conscious, aaack! Well, he turns the "wand" on and starts to go to town on my shoulder. At first it felt pretty good, kind of a deep tissue massage (when he had it on the muscle part of my upper arm and back) but then he takes the thing and starts digging it into the bone, like the ball and socket part of my shoulder. He warned me that it might feel very hot (again, go ahead and snicker *giggle*) and I could feel the heat, but it wasn't like it was burning me, it started giving me these shooting pains, that, I am sort of at a loss for words to explain. It's like this pain went to the center of my being, I have never experienced anything so painful in my life,..and I've given birth twice, the second time with no drugs, so I do know pain, okay? I don't know if it hit a nerve, pinched a nerve, broke a bone, all I know is I want it to stop and I want it to stop NOW!! So, I calmly say, "Bruce! That is starting to hurt!". His response was, "Oh, really? No one has ever said that this hurts before.", and keeps on digging into my shoulder. "Well, I'm telling you that it hurts, okay? So, can you please stop now?!", this time sounding a tad unhinged. "Is it too hot?", he asks. "NO! It's not too hot, it HURTS!", now I'm raising my voice. He continued to move this thing back and forth in the same spot, so I pushed the chair away from him with my feet. "Stop it!", I think I screamed at him. I completely forgot that I was holding my top down with my other arm and hand and let go of it as I stood up. Now everyone in the therapy room is staring in our direction, I'm standing there with my top wrapped around my neck and half my boob hanging out. I quickly sat back down in the chair, not because I was embarrassed, well, I was embarrassed, but because I was now breaking out in a cold sweat and starting to hear that familiar high pitched siren type sound in my ears, I was about to pass out. "Oh, my goodness! Are you alright?", Bruce asked. "No, not really, Bruce!", I answered. He was quite perplexed by my reaction, he said that in all the years that he's been a therapist he's never once had anyone faint on him, and he's never had anyone not like the heat therapy. Well, there's always a first! He was very apologetic and quite flustered, I don't know if he didn't believe what I was telling him, wasn't listening or what, but I just wanted to tell him to get a clue!

So, after all this he has me sit down with an ice pack on my shoulder for twenty minutes, sends me home and tells me to continue to ice it, take Aleve and don't do any heavy lifting. Yeah, I'll do that, chief! I'm going to call my doctor today and tell him that I'm not going back for any more therapy until after I see him again for a follow up and I'll just continue to do my exercises here at home by myself, where I'm safe! My shoulder is just killing me this morning, I keep getting these weird pains that go down my arm into my elbow and around the back of my shoulder into my armpit area,...whaaa! Well, on that note, think I'll take my Aleve, grab my ice pack and go become one with my couch. Hopefully it will feel better soon. Talk to y'all later!

I'm in a Hurry!

I feel like I am playing "Beat the Clock" here, my computer has crashed three times today, and fotunately for me and my kids, my husband has been able to get it back up and running again, but for how long we do not know! He seems to feel it's the hard drive after speaking with some technician person, and spent the better part of this afternoon and evening loading everything important onto an external hard drive so that if the real hard drive goes, we'll have saved everything. Thank god Ken was here to call the tech people, he at least understands most of what they're saying and what they want him to do. I, on the other hand, feel as though I'm listening to a foreign language, I have no clue where this thing-a-ma-bob plugs into the hoozy-whatsit, I feel like such an idiot!

Long story short, we really need a new computer! You don't realize just how much you rely on your computer until you're faced with not having it anymore, then it's like aaaaah! My kids both have reports that they are working on for school presently, Brian with his science fair project and Andy with finals coming up next week has several papers, hopefully we'll make it through. My husband has a lap top that he uses for work, which they could use in an emergency, but he really doesn't want them goofing around with it. Plus, I might just go into withdrawal if I can't blog, heaven forbid the thought! :)

Anyway,...I wanted to hurry up and do this post just in case I lose you all, I know we won't have time to go out and look at new computers until this weekend at least, so I'd be without my blog for four or five days. If I kind of disappear between now and then, you'll know why. So, did everyone enjoy the first blissfully quiet (well, maybe not if you have younger ones at home) let's say semi-quiet day now that the kids are back in school? I sure did! I enjoyed doing the laundry, I enjoyed doing the dishes, heck, I even enjoyed making the beds,...all by myself! There was no music blaring, no fighting over the tv, no kids boxing all over my family room with the Wii, it was really nice! That probably sounds terrible and un-motherly of me, and I'll probably only feel that way for a day or two, but for today, I enjoyed it!

It is so weird, right now there is a big thunderstorm going on outside with big flashes of lightening, and the wind is blowing unbelievably hard. It's been blowing like this all day, very warm, sort of balmy air. Of course, because we are like Winnie the Pooh and the blustery day, it was garbage day, naturally! I went outside and picked my own garbage can up several times, plus my neighbor's can that blew over from across the street. There are newspapers and plastic bags from the grocery stores hanging on tree branches and stuck in peoples bushes, it looks rather strange. I'm just so thankful that we took our outside decorations down yesterday and didn't put it off, they'd probably be gone by now.

Well, it's past twelve here, I really need to get to bed! I didn't plan to write again tonight, and I apologize for not having anything terribly interesting to say this evening, just sort of rambling here! Hopefully I'll be able to write again and read all of your blogs tomorrow.

Just Another Manic Monday...

Hello and happy Monday to everyone! (what's that I hear, grumbles from the crowd?) Yes, I know, the holidays are officially over and a full work week looms ahead, kind of a bummer, but kind of nice in a way, don't you think? While the holidays were great and so much fun, it's nice to settle back into a more normal routine, start eating things other than cookies and appetizers (though I do luv me some Units - the little smokie wieners wrapped in dough). Plus, I did a little happy dance this morning as my boys went off to school,...phew. I truly enjoyed having them home the past few weeks, but honestly, they're wearing me out! Both mentally and physically, I think the Wii game is out to kill me! That or the science project, sheesh. My house is so nice and quiet right now, I have MY music on softly, got my big 'ol cup of Joe at hand and the computer is all MINE. What could be better? (okay,..sitting on a beach with a drink that has a little umbrella in it, maybe. We won't go there today) :)


I do have the unpopular chore of taking down all the Christmas decorations and tree today by myself. I wonder why that is? Everyone is always more than anxious to drag the stuff out of the boxes and display it, but when it comes time to take it all down they disappear....poof! That's okay, truth be told, I'm quite finicky about how the ornaments and some of the more delicate decorations are stored and I probably wouldn't be happy with the way my husband or sons would stuff them back into their containers. (yes, that's the perfectionist in me rearing it's ugly head) My husband did, however, take down all the outdoor lights and decorations yesterday as it was quite warm here (nearly 60 degrees) and all our snow has melted. It's supposed to be almost 65 degrees today with thunderstorms, very odd for January in Chicago. Maybe there is something to this global warming afterall!


So, I was listening to the Today show a little earlier and was both amused and horrified at some of the stories they were discussing. Did any of you catch it? That man that is blue (literally, his skin is the color of a blueberry) was on and was talking about how it is that he came to be blue. Evidently he made himself this way by taking some sort of powdered silver, that he not only ingested but also rubbed all over his face. He didn't realize that his skin would change color at the time, however, now knowing this he said he continues to drink it every day because he thinks it has medicinal qualities. Um,..okay. They had Dr. Nancy Sniderman on, also, and she said he hasn't had a physical in several years and he really needs one to check on the amount of metals in his blood and organs because the silver can damage them. He told her and Matt Lauer "no thank-you, I don't want one." Apparently, he is quite happy being a smurf! If it were just the skin color, that would be one thing, but why on earth would you keep ingesting something that can destroy your kidneys and liver? I don't get it.


They then had an update on Brittney Spears complete with Starr Jones giving her "legal" advise. (Oops! She did it again, and again and again...) That poor girl, I truly feel sorry for her, but most especially her children. Can you imagine the police and paramedics arguing with her for several hours in her home while her two little boys are there witnessing the whole thing? It has just become so pathetic, the whole situation. So many times you see these people who seamingly have it all and just throw it away. I hope she gets the help she needs before it's too late. (enter stage left, Dr. Phil!) Hey, if he can't help her, I don't know who else can, right? (except maybe Oprah?) The whole thing is so bizarre! Anyway,..not that this has anything to do with anything,...just me spouting off!


So, I was tagged by Kim-d over at Lifeafter to do some sort of horoscope Meme. I'm supposed to read the description of the month in which I was born and pick out of it the things that best describe myself. You with me so far? I was born in July, so I've copied that month to put on my blog. For the rest of the months of the year, please go to Kim's blog http://kimwrites.blogspot.com/ and read them, they're very interesting! I'm supposed to tag twelve people to do this after me, but honestly, I'm just not that popular *sob*, and at least half of the twelve would be comprised of the people Kim tagged, so, if you're reading this and you weren't tagged by Kim, please feel free to consider yourself "tagged", and link your blog to mine and Kim's if you'd like us all to read about it, okay? (so, are there any lurkers out there? I'd love to hear from you! It would boost my self esteem and make me feel all important and everything, you'd like to do that wouldn't you? :) )

Okay, so here goes!

JULY: Fun to be with. Secretive. Difficult to fathom and to be understood. Quiet unless excited or tensed. Takes pride in oneself. Has reputation. Easily consoled. Honest. Concerned about people’s feelings. Tactful. Friendly. Approachable. Emotional temperamental and unpredictable. Moody and easily hurt. Witty and sparkly. Not revengeful. Forgiving but never forgets. Dislikes nonsensical and unnecessary things. Guides others physically and mentally. Sensitive and forms impressions carefully. Caring and loving. Treats others equally. Strong sense of sympathy. Wary and sharp. Judges people through observations. Hardworking. No difficulties in studying. Loves to be alone. Always broods about the past and the old friends. Likes to be quiet. Homely person. Waits for friends. Never looks for friends. Not aggressive unless provoked. Prone to having stomach and dieting problems. Loves to be loved. Easily hurt but takes long to recover.



Well,..I like to think I'm fun to be with, and I do take pride in myself, thankuverymuch! (has reputation? Not sure how to take that one, I guess that could go several ways!) I try to always be honest, and I do care about other people's feelings. Tactful (most of the time), friendly, approachable (for sure). Moody and easily hurt (yes, I am a Cancerian after all), witty and sparkly (oh, I love those two, hope I am!). I'm not revengeful, and true enough, I will forgive you, but I probably won't forget. (grrrr!) I do take my time to form an opinion about someone, I try to be caring and loving (but I'm sure I miss the mark sometimes). I do try to treat others equally, and I can be very sympathetic (a big marshmellow I'm told). Hardworking? Sometimes. Loves to be alone? I enjoy being by myself, it doesn't bother me, but don't know that I "love" it. I wouldn't say that I "brood" about past friendships, but I do feel bad about friendships that have gone by the wayside. I like being quiet with my thoughts and I am definitely a home body, hopefully not a "homely" person (do you think that's a typo?), I will wait for a friend, and I do look for new opportunities to make friends, so I guess that one is false. Prone to dieting problems? Hell, yeah! And, yes, I love to be loved! (who doesn't?) :)


Well, what do you think? Do you feel like you know me better now? Are you sorry that you know me better now? ;)


Better be going now and tend to that tree of mine! Talk to you all later. Toodles!

Boil, Toil, Time and Trouble

Projects. Science projects to be exact. The junior high years are just chock full of them. You just can't get enough of slimey mold growin', volcanic spewin', ant crawlin' science projects. Why, I was just saying to my husband the other day, "Gosh, Ken! We haven't had a mind bending, complicated, pull my hair out science project to work on in a long time!". And 'lo and behold, the science fairy dropped one in our lap. Correction, the science fairy dropped one in our son Brian's lap, however, that is code for "our lap". Thanks science fairy. Really.

Yes, it's that time of year again, it seems like only yesterday we were working on a science project for the annual science fair. What's that you say, it was a whole year ago? Really. It doesn't feel like a whole year has passed. That kind of fun stays with you for SUCH a long time.

Now, I am an advocate for having children do their own work. I think that is how they learn, and they cannot learn if mom and dad are doing everything for them. What is the point of earning an "A" if dad built the model and mom wrote the report? I'd rather have my son earn an honest "C" and do the work himself and LEARN something. That is the point, right? We all know which kids did their projects by themselves and which ones were watching MTV while mom and dad were building the Golden Gate Bridge out of popsicle sticks, now don't we? "Oh, look! Little Johnny build a model of the human body with real working organs! What a talented young man that little Johnny is!".

Still, it seems like the teachers or the schools are making it near impossible for kids to do just that. Brian received a Rules and Regulations booklet about the fair that, I am not exaggerating, is twenty (count 'um) 20 pages long! He is a twelve year old boy. He has the attention span of a twelve year old boy. Do they seriously believe that he is going to sit down and read 20 pages of rules? Not only that, but the terminology is rather difficult. For example, it says "Alternatively, a close approximation for the standard deviation can be calculated by finding the range of your trial measures and then dividing that range by 4." or "Another statistical measure that takes the sample size into account when interpreting your experimental error is the standard error of the mean." Um...yeah.

If y'all are looking for me this weekend, I'll be in the kitchen helping Brian with his experiment, trying to figure out this freaking rule book, and probably running back and forth to Hobby Lobby half a dozen times. Wish us luck, please, we'll need it. Really!

Throw Mama From the Train, or Car (as the case may be)

This has single handedly been one of THE most frustrating days I've had in awhile. My mother had a saying, (she had LOTS of sayings by the way) that this was the type of day where if she had a cat she'd step on it's tail just to hear it scream. (loosely translated, misery loves company, so if she had to be unhappy she wanted everyone else to be unhappy right along with her) Of course, she did not own a cat, and if she did I seriously doubt she would mistreat it because she was a big animal lover. Anyhoo,....

I've gotten completely off track here! I was so frustrated today because we cannot find my oldest son Andrew's social security card. I keep all our important documents, etc. in a safe. I tore the entire thing apart going pain stakingly through each and every piece of paper, but it was not in there. We looked in all our wallets, our bedrooms, dresser drawers, cabinets, files, you name it,...no where to be found! The reason I'm looking for his S.S. card is because he needs it to get his driver's license. The state of Illinois will not issue a driver's license without it, period. I have plenty of documents from the bank, etc. with his name and number on it, but they won't accept that. So, after going to the DMV we quickly headed to our nearest Social Security Office, which was not actually all that near, to get a replacement card.

We walked into the S.S. Office and quickly surmised that this would be a LONG wait as every available chair was being occupied. A security officer at the door asked us why we're there and we explained. He nicely told me to go over to a computer that is on a table and press #3 on the screen. Okay. First the computer screen asks me if I'd like my questions to be formatted in A) English, B) Spanish or C) Polish. Hmmm. Polish would be very interesting.....but, no,...we'll take what's behind curtain "A"!! The machine spits out a ticket with the number D151 and says to fill out a form and wait to be called. As I'm filling out the form I hear a man calling number D128. Oy!

After grabbing two available seats and waiting for about an hour we see the man who was calling the numbers pull down a little white shade and close his window. (Perplexing me thinks. Where'd he go?) Out to lunch! Yes, you see the S.S. Office is a Federal Office, and all their employees are required to take their scheduled breaks and lunch, they have no choice. We have no choice but to sit and wait for said employee to finish his tuna on rye to come back and help us in an hour. (tick,tick,tick....) The window reopens! The man calls D150. Yes! We're next! We hear the man say D151, In a flash Andrew and I are out of our seats and we're trotting to the window. Breathlessly I hold up my ticket and say, "D151 here!". He looks at me, he looks at his computer screen, he looks back at me and says, "Um,..no. Sorry, but I called E151. You'll have to take a seat and wait until we call YOUR number." Whaaaa? Huh? No! You said D151 you evil little man! (I did not say this out loud, of course, but I so wanted to) So,..we turned around to face a sea of eyes staring at us as we slinked back into our chairs, all the while I am complaining under my breath that they need a new p.a. system because you cannot hear what number they call...grumble...grrrrr.

We finally got our turn at the "magic window" and the process of getting a replacement card took all of four minutes to be exact. We did not get the actual new card, however, they have to mail it to us and that can take up to two weeks. That means it will be at least two weeks longer before my son can get his driver's license. It's not that it's that big of a deal, it's just that my son has a schedule like you would not believe and we can't find a time to go when the DMV is open and doing the driving tests, and he has free time to go. I got excited when I looked at the calendar and realized that the kids will be off from school on January 21st for Martin Luther King Day, however, my enthusiasm quickly faded when I realized that it's a Federal holiday and all government offices will be closed. Argh!

Someday Andrew will be a licensed driver, someday. I feel bad for him because he's waited so long for this already. By all rights he should have had his license a long time ago, but a series of "unfortunate events" have prevented that from happening. He sprained his ankle badly while he was going to driving lessons (his right ankle) and had to drop out of the class because he couldn't drive. He was on crutches for months and by the time he could use his ankle again and made up the classes, he never had time with all his school work and sports activities to get his hours in. For those of you with small kiddos, teens now have to log 90 hours behind the wheel with you before they can get their license. My son is somewhat fortunate because when he got his learner's permit the law was 50 hours, they just increased it January 1st. It's not a bad law, in fact, I think it's a great idea. The more time they have behind the wheel with you before they are out there alone is a good thing. It's just frustrating!

I know everything will work out in the end, but, mother's intuition or whatever, tells me that we'll wait for two weeks, his new card will come. We'll go to the DMV and get the license, and then.....we'll find the original! I know it's here somewhere, it didn't just sprout legs and walk away....where are you stupid card?.....I'm gonna find you if it.......kills.....me.......

Me,me,me,me...oh,and uh,...Me!

I WANNA TALK ABOUT ME, I WANNA TALK ABOUT I,
I WANNA TALK ABOUT NUMBER ONE, OLD MY ME MY, WHAT I THINK, WHAT I LIKE, WHAT I KNOW, WHAT I WANT, WHAT I SEE.......HOW I LIKE TALKIN' 'BOUT YOU, YOU, YOU, YOU USUALLY,...BUT OCCASIONALLY, I WANNA TALK ABOUT.....ME! (TOBY KEITH)

Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all had a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve with your nearest and dearest. We had such a nice time with our friends, one of my favorite celebrations each year! We all managed to have a good time, but not TOO good of a time, if you know what I mean. ;) Which is a good thing because we all feel fine today instead of all head thumpy and queasy, that's just nasty and an awful price to pay, don't you think? We aren't doing much of anything today, kind of lazy and watching football on tv. My husband and boys are waiting for the Rose Bowl to start, we are of course (because we're from the great state of Illinois) rooting for the Illini. They have had an awesome season and we wish them the best of luck!

Well, I don't want you to think I am completely narcissistic, but I have been tagged by Maria over at Mommy of Four to write seven random things about ME. You're probably getting a bit tired of hearing about ME, but here I go again, talking about ME! I'm not sure if there are even seven more halfway interesting things about ME to tell you all, but,....I'll give it the 'ol college try! Here goes.....

1. I have a memory like an elephant! I can remember silly little details about things that happened years and years ago, and yet,...my short term memory is for poop! Don't ask me where I put something half an hour ago, because I will have forgotten by then. Early dementia?? I hope not!

2. I can roll my tongue and make a clicking noise with it against the roof of my mouth. I found out in one of my science classes as a kid that only half of all people can do this. (Fascinating, I know!)

3. I love to read just about anything; the newspaper, a good book, a magazine, a cereal box, you name it!

4. I once had a love for all things Precious Moments and have amassed quite a collection. The only problem is, as I've matured I'm no longer quite as "into" them as I was before. Still, they've been given to me by people who are special to me, so I'd feel guilty getting rid of them. Such a dilemma!

5. I'm a coffee junkie. I love my coffee, I need my coffee, I MUST HAVE my coffee! (sorry, that was a little scary for me, was it scary for you, too?)

6. I type very fast. I was a medical transcriptionist for over ten years and my fingers can fly over the keys so quickly you can't even see them. Zoooooooooooooom!

7. I'm kind of a perfectionist. (Okay, truth be told, I'm not kind of a perfectionist, I am a full fledged, nit-picking, naggy if it isn't done right, perfectionist. There, I admitted it. I feel better now! :)

Well, like I said, I wasn't sure if there was anything very interesting to write about, and um, I think I may have been right,...um,...hello? Are you there? H - e - l - l - o ??? For anyone who is still reading this dribble, I'm going to tag some people I think are interesting, first up is Mommi Tutu, she makes me laugh with her outrageous stories and fun loving attitude. Also, I think Kim d at Lifeafter... is one of the funniest women I "know" and has such an easy way of writing her blog that you feel like you are right there with her. Good luck ladies with the assignment, I'm looking forward to what you both have to say! If anyone else would like to join in and tell us all 7 random things about yourself, please do, we'd love to hear from you, too!