Friday, February 29, 2008

Happy Leap Day!

I had such a nice day planned to celebrate Leap Day. I was going to get up early and go to Build-A-Bear-Workshop to make a special friend with a birth date of February 29. Then I was going to go to the great library across town (which is kind of on the way back) and stock up on some mysteries. Then a stop at the Polish Deli and a ride on Harley. That was the plan.

Instead, I had to go to the doctor's office because I was so sick. He did a culture and it's positive-I have the flu! I don't remember ever being this sick. Right now I have a fever of 102 and I can't do anything. I can't even stay long on the computer! That stinks. The good news is that we caught it early so I got this expensive prescription that's supposed to take the edge off and shorten the duration by a day or two. Hey, I'll take what I can get. I think the worst part is that the fever keeps triggering a migraine. Yuck. The chills aren't too pleasant either, and the painful hacking cough...but the migraine is the worst.

Here's hoping for good health soon!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

So Sick!

I was getting better. I just felt fatigued all the time, even after just waking up. Last night after work I felt a slight something in my throat. I woke up really sick. My throat is sore, my voice is lower by an octave or two, I have a fever, which is getting higher each time I check, and I'm racked with chills-even wearing a long sleeved nightgown, sweatshirt, sweatpants, heavy winter robe and down blanket. This sucks! Especially since I have to get to the grocery store tomorrow, no matter how I feel.

Fizzle

Well, the "big storm" pretty much fizzled. By the time I woke up yesterday the roads were clear and there was only about 6 inches of snow. It was cold, it stayed in the teens all day, but nothing too extreme. I was kind of hoping not to be able to make it in to work. Oh well. I think today will remain in the teens, but temperatures will rise Friday. We'll see. I'll snuggle with the kids tonight!

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Winter Storm

It started snowing Tuesday morning, and although it isn't snowing heavily, it hasn't stopped. Roads were bad driving home and I'm hoping things will be OK getting to work today. I need to get up early to shovel my driveway. Highs are only supposed to be in the teens and we could see 10-16 inches of snow. Hard to believe it was near 40 two days ago! They say March comes in like a lion!

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Why Men Have Better Friends

Why Men Have Better Friends

Friendship Between Women:

A woman didn't come home one night. The next day she told her husband that she had slept over at a friend's house. The man called his wife's 10 best friends. None of them knew about it.

Friendship Between Men:

A man didn't come home one night. The next day he told his wife that he had slept over at a friend's house. The woman called her husband's 10 best friends. Eight of them confirmed that he had slept over, and two claimed that he was still there.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Draining

Work has been just so draining lately. I can't stand dealing with people with borderline personality disorder. They just suck the life out of you. You just want to smack them and say, "Snap out of it!" or "Grow up!", "Get a life for God's sake". But you have to try and cajole and reason. Ugh. Then there are those damn punk ass kid malingerers. Not a thing wrong with them, but got the docs fooled and so we're stuck with them. Annoying. Why can't I work in peace with my nice schizophrenic murderers? I like them, they like me. Easy, peasy. I wish!

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Interesting Dreams

Sometimes I have such interesting dreams. Last night was a night in point. I had several dreams, including one where I was communicating with ghosts through a light (it would blink or grow brighter or dimmer in response to my questions) in my Aunt Bert's former house. I wasn't sure if I was communicating with her spirit or not-but ghostly things were afoot. I also was taking classes and got annoyed that every Tuesday and Thursday I had a class that ended at 7AM and the next one wasn't until 9:30AM. Then I was head of a group of people that found these guys in a building and the others let them go without IDing them. My concern, what if we found a dead body in a room and then where would we be?! Then the hostage, and the outdoor class...I had a busy night. No wonder it was so hard to get up. I was so comfy in bed, the cats (all 3) around me, and I was interested in the stories in my head! I could have stayed in bed all day...if I didn't have to go to work, I would have stayed even longer!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Fun with Horses

You don't need to ride to have fun with your horse. I rode today, but the other day Harley and I just went into the indoor arena and played. I led him in, then took off the lead rope. He took off for the far end and rolled. Then he got up, cantered away and bucked. I wish I had the video camera! I had the jolly ball my parents gave him for Christmas. I threw it near him and he ignored it. Then he cantered down the center of the area, made a tight circle around a cone, cantered back and sniffed at the ball. Then he walked over for some pets. He was off again, rolling a few times, before he stopped and stared at me. I walked over to him and suggested a race. I said, "On your mark..get set...go!" And we both took off. He went from a trot to a canter and thus beat me. He is a former race horse after all. After a few more pets, he was just standing next to me, so I suggested a walk. I started to walk and he came right with me. He was walking as if I had a lead rope on, but there was no rope. We just walked companionably together 3 times around the arena. Then I called it a day. It was a very nice time and I think we both had fun!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Rant Against Humanity

In general, I don't like people. Individually-I like a lot of them, but on the whole-people suck. Nowadays people take no responsibility for their actions. We are ruining the earth and think we are the prime reason for existence. Sorry people-we are not the be all end all! While I have these thoughts most of the time, I usually keep comments to myself. I know a lot of my beliefs are quite radical. I won't even go into most of them. So, what brought on this diatribe? A person on a weblist I'm on described an injury to her pet and asked what she could do, qualifying it with, "I can't afford to take it to the vet". Hello?! Then why do you have animals if you can't , or more probably, won't take care of them? And I'm not talking about a $50,000 procedure here, just a trip to the vet. I bet if you had a human kid you'd take it to the doctor. It just steams me. You know what also steams me? People who just join a group and ask for handouts! Don't get me started...wait...I already am. Well, I'm going to play with my furry kids and ignore humanity-I'm in much better company!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Missed it!

Drat! I missed it. There was a lunar eclipse starting about 10:30 last evening. Unfortunately, I didn't remember about it until after midnight. I went outside, it was kind of dark...but then I saw the moon! Oh well. Perhaps in 3 years, when it happens again, I'll remember to look!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Cards

I have my idea for this year's St. Patrick's Day cards...but then I realized that Easter was less than a week after that. I really don't see myself making and sending both this year. I think I may save my St. Patrick's Day concept for next year (it's a good one!) and just make Easter cards this year. I have some nice paper-just haven't figured out what to do with it yet! Maybe I'll make the St. Patrick's Day cards in preparation of next year. I'm thinking of putting a St. Patrick's Day ATC in with the Easter card though...we'll see.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Mandated Again!

I left work at 7:20 AM and I have to go back now. And I might get stuck again tonight, even though I'm supposed to go to training Wednesday morning. So I got about 4 hours of sleep now, and even if I don't get stuck, I'll only get about 5 or 5.5 hours to get to a morning training. This sucks.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Cereal Bars

While grocery shopping I saw this package I couldn't resist: Special K Bliss Chocolate Dipped Raspberry Cereal Bars. Perfect to throw in my lunch for work. That's what I did today-leftover ham and cheese loaf and a cereal bar. Yummm. This bar is delicious-chocolate and raspberry,a fantastic combination, works wonders here. I highly recommend them. I only wish they were a little bit bigger.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Over

Another weekend over-and so soon. I got some things accomplished, but, as usual, not a lot. I didn't even find the time to ride Harley! I did do some cooking though. I went grocery shopping and got ingredients for a few new recipes from the magazine Simple and Delicious. Yummm. Saturday I made Breaded Chicken Tenders with Noodles and today I made a Ham and Cheese Loaf. Delish!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Demo Day

This morning I went to a papercrafting store for a demo day. That's a day with free demonstrations. Today's topic was clear stamps. I have, and enjoy using them. In addition I received a card making packet. This is a neat concept. People that participate get a bag of supplies to make a card. You have to use all the items in the bag (well, parts of everything, LOL), but you can add your own stuff too. You turn the card in at the end of the month and see what everyone else has done with the same stuff. It'll be neat to see the different things people do with those same materials. Then the cards are given to a local nursing home. Some residents receive the cards to brighten their day and some will receive the cards so that they can send them out. It's a win-win. I have to contemplate the supplies and figure out what I'll do.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Time to Vote!

Five surgeons from big cities are discussing who makes the best patients to operate on.
The first surgeon, from New York , says, "I like to see Accountants on my operating table; because when you open them up, everything inside is numbered."
The second surgeon, from Chicago , responds, "Yeah, but you should try Electricians! Everything inside them is color coded."
The third surgeon, from Dallas , says, "No, I really think Librarians are the best. Everything inside them is in alphabetical order."
The fourth surgeon, from Los Angeles , chimes in, "You know, I like construction workers. Those guys always understand when you have a few parts left over."
But the fifth surgeon, from Washington , DC , shut them all up when he observed,
"You're all wrong. Politicians are the easiest to operate on. There's no guts, no heart, no balls, no brains, and no spine; and the head and the ass are interchangeable. "

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Bad Roads

The roads were bad last night. And the 2 people that called in due to weather when the roads were fine came to work! Go figure. After scraping all the ice off my car-yes the snow had turned to freezing rain (lovely) I put the car in 4 wheel drive for the whole way home. I was in a pack of vehicles coming up a section of the highway where a 36 car pileup with fatality occured on Sunday when an SUV about 3 cars ahead spun out across all 3 lanes. Fortunately, our pack was spaced out well-so no one else was involved. Another car pulled up to his and apparently the driver was fine. Scary though. Took me a LONG time to get home, especially after seeing that. But at least I was able to get into my driveway!

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Tired

I am just so tired. I've been sick for a month now. Yes, Monday made 4 weeks to the day that I have been unwell. I've had the same symptoms and course of illness as one of my co-workers (everyone's been sick-but we've had the exact same thing). Two days ago he tells me that he's starting to get back the same symptoms as when it all started. He took his temp and it was fine, but later in the shift he had a fever and went home sick. I took my temp and it was fine, but before I left work I took it again and I had a low grade fever. Aughhhhhh!!! He called in sick yesterday, but I had no fever and came in. But, periodically the dizziness is returning. When will I be well again??????

Monday, February 11, 2008

How are the Roads?

That's a commonly heard phrase in this part of the world from November even into April at times. Preparing to leave for work you check the TV or radio, or ask people that have been out. Leaving from work, you ask the people coming in, "How are the roads?" That question was asked many times yesterday leading into today, with varying answers. Most said, "fine" a few said, "slippery". Two night shift people called in due to the weather. Everyone looked askance at that-it wasn't that bad out. We're used to winter driving here-just leave early and drive slowly. No driving ban, not even word of white outs, and it wasn't snowing, what's the problem?! Anyway, for my commute home the roads were fine-not a problem. Then I turned the car and saw my driveway. Or didn't see it. Wind and plows had left a snowdrift about 3 feet high blocking my entire driveway! No way, even with 4 wheel drive, could I attempt to get in. So I put on the emergency blinkers, climbed the drift, got my shovel and started to dig. Unfortunately, the temperature was 4 degrees, the snow was more ice that anything, the wind was blowing and after I got about a foot deep and the width of my car wide I couldn't feel my fingers anymore. So I said, "I have 4 wheel drive", I got in, backed up to gather speed, and gunned it. I got about half way in. Stuck! For a half an hour I tried pulling in, pulling out, shoveling around the car...no dice. Stuck. So I called AAA. Thank God for AAA. I went in the house and waited. Soon I heard a truck outside. So I went out and saw the tow truck guy walking towards me. "We've got to stop meeting like this, " he says. It's the same tow truck guy who helped me 2 weeks ago when my car wouldn't start! Anyway, he took my keys and told me to go inside, it was -15 degrees wind chill factor he said. (Yes, that's negative 15!) No wonder I couldn't feel my fingers! Anyway, he eventually got my car into the garage and told me to start my snow plow up early tomorrow. I told him I didn't have a snow plow-just my shovel, he said to call a snow plow guy as the snow was mainly drifting snow and therefor mainly ice. Great. So wish me luck getting out of my driveway in the morning. I have a feeling I'll be canceling my riding lesson!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Burial Site

In Otherwise Engaged by Suzanne Finnamore, she offered the following quote by Jane Hamilton, " In the end maybe what marriage offered was the determination of one's burial site". I think marriage would only make it more complicated. Are you buried with your family or his? It may not matter if you're from the same place, (you could be in the same cemetery as both families) or you live together in a town away from all your relatives and just get buried there. Nowadays most people move away from their hometowns, but many do go home eventually...even if it is after death. Rick James died in LA, but he chose to have his final resting place in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, NY, his hometown. Do you know where you'll be buried?

Saturday, February 9, 2008

One Fabric

I am almost finished reading Otherwise Engaged a novel by Suzanne Finnamore. It is, to quote the back cover, a " wickedly funny account of an intelligent, rational woman's transformation into the bundle of anxieties that is the bride-to-be". It's not bad. Although I keep wondering if everyone who was sucessful in the late 1980's did cocaine. Anyway...there are a couple of things said in here that got me thinking. At one point the future husband is thinking about fabric and says if there was only one fabric, it should be rayon. I disagree. If there was only one fabric, it should be cotton. Cotton is comfortable and good for everything from underwear and socks to more formal attire. I'd miss fleece for my rattie hammocks and tubes, but cotton would work too! What fabric would you choose?

Friday, February 8, 2008

Intolerance & Ignorance

I was astounded when I read the following article by Patti Wigington. It's amazing that something like this occured today, especially in Toronto. It's something out of the 1950's American South, not modern day cosmopolitan Toronto. It should be noted, however, that this group is not run by the city of Toronto or the Tourism Department. SO...we can't blame Toronto, but these people sure make it look bad. I was going to just link the article-but I decided to post the whole thing here, as I'd really like you to read it.

Wiccan Beauty Queen Bumped as Pageant Judge
By Patti Wigington,
Miss Canada Plus 2007, Stephanie Conover, is an absolutely lovely woman. She's beautiful, she's smart, she's witty... oh, and she also happens to practice Reiki and read Tarot cards, which is why she says she was rejected as a judge for this year's Toronto Tourism pageant. Conover said she was approached recently and asked to be a judge in the Miss Toronto Tourism pageant on Feb. 2. Conover agreed to participate and says all was well until she was asked to submit a personal bio.In her bio, Conover mentioned her many activities: singing and dancing, charity work, songwriting and knitting, yoga, Reiki, and tarot card reading. A few days later, the Miss Canada Plus pageant got a letter from Miss Toronto Tourism pageant director Karen Murray, saying that Conover had been eliminated as a judge. In part, the letter reads, "We need a judge who has an upright reputation and we would be proud to introduce to the audience." It goes on to quote passages from Leviticus, and says, "Our board of directors has eliminated her as a judge as tarot card reading and reiki are the occult and is not acceptable by God, Jews, Muslims or Christians. Tarot card reading is witchcraft and is used by witches, spiritists and mediums to consult the dark world." Finally, there's a line saying that the pageant folks hope Conover will "turn from these belief systems and will repent from her practice of them."Conover, who is Wiccan, is fuming. She says that pageant judges didn't know about her religion at the time, and simply rejected her on the basis of her practice of Reiki and use of Tarot cards. Karen Murray says that Conover is a "vindictive person" who is "just trying to stir up trouble." She adds that because her group recieves no government funding, they have the right to eliminate any potential judges from their pageant.I should note -- and this is important -- that the Miss Toronto Tourism pageant is NOT run by the city of Toronto, and is a completely separate entity from the city's tourism department.Anyway, the level of intolerance here just amazes me. Let's hear from some of our Candian readers -- if Conover sues, does she have a legal leg to stand on? What sort of rights does she have?

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Gong Hee Fot Choy!

Happy New Year!!! Today starts the Year of the Rat. What a wonderful year this should be. May you all have good health, prosperity, and happiness. I think I'll get some Chinese take-away today to celebrate.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent. NO MEAT! I must remember that today and for the next several Fridays.

I'm still sick. It's been 3.5 weeks now. It really sucks. People at work keep dropping like flies, and those of us that are there are still sick...or getting sick. I can't wait to be well!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Mardi Gras!

Laissez les bon temps roullex! Today is the last day to party before Lent begins tomorrow. I had a great riding lesson, but now have to go to work-so no partying for me! For those who will be celebrating tonight-be safe!

Monday, February 4, 2008

Anyone for a Tea Party?

A friend forwarded the following in an e-mail to me.

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me and my brother who is four years older than I am. I was maybe 1 and a half years old and had just recovered from an accident in which my arm had been broken among other injuries. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys. Daddy was in the livingroom engrossed in the evening news and my brother was playing nearby in the living room when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home. My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was 'just the cutest thing!!' My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up, then says, 'Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get water is the toilet?? 'And sure enough........!!!

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Doggie- and Kittie-Mail

Want to send a free Valentine's Day e-card and support a good cause at the same time? Go to Purina's Petcentric place. Between February 1 and Valentine’s Day, Purina will donate 50¢ for every DOGGIE- or KITTIE-MAIL sent with all proceeds benefiting homeless dogs and cats across the country. So swing by the Petropolitan and create your own custom Valentine complete with selectable accessories, backgrounds and pets…you can even upload your own dog or cat photo!

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Happy Groundhog Day!

Bundle up, Phil Says Six More Weeks of Winter!
Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/08 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:
Here Ye! Here Ye! Here Ye!
On Gobbler's Knob on this fabulous Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2008 Punxsutawney Phil, the Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators, Rose to the call of President Bill Cooper and greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths.
After casting a weathered eye toward thousands of his faithful followers, Phil consulted with President Cooper and directed him to the appropriate scroll, which proclaimed:
"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be!"
Punxsutawney Phil has his own official website. Check it out, while he goes back to sleep!

Friday, February 1, 2008

The Animal Rescue Site

I read about The Animal Rescue Site in my friend Vinnie's blog. It's a website where you can click everyday to help provide food to abused and neglected animals. You can read rescue stories. They also offer a gift shop with unique items for sale. So take a moment of your time and click to help feed the animals.