Julie Loses it, My Weight Loss Journey

Hello, Goodbye

2008-10-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

So they think they can end this, they think they can stop my daily entries of boredom! Well they can't. They can't. This is not the end. This is the begining of a new start. So goodbye old journal. Goodbye J-land. Hello to blogging. Am I sad..... you bet cha

So you say goodbye...... I say Hello. Join me at the new blog site. See ya there. Julia's New Journal

Sigh

2008-10-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

            I have been trying to get a really positive outlook about this entire thing but the truth is...... It sucks.

         Maybe I am just running on tired this week and can't seem to think clearly. I look at the instructions for moving my entire journals over to the blog site and I have a headache.

    Outside my window a doe quietly eats grass, no concerns about anyone ripping 3 years of her life out from under her. She doesn't have to look at her pictures, all 3000 of them, and decide which to keep and which to let go. She doesn't have to look in her archives for old entries she doesn't want to lose.

     What bothers me! What if we do start all over and it is closed down in the new site. Could happen,

      Now I have 2 deer by the way. Mother and fawn. The little one is getting its first horns, so cute. The coat has darkened for winder. They look healthy this year. Must be getting enough to eat.

     Anyway, back to my whine

      I will give it a try. I probably won't go overboard again. Learned my lesson. I have photo's in several different places, hopefully they will stay open. The reality...with the economy I guess I can't blame them. Some places will go under. But why did it have to be this place?

Blogging

2008-09-30T15:29:00.000-07:00

So, I hear we can migrate our journal to a new blog. So to test it I started a new blog. Frankly I don't care for it as well. I don't like the photo's as well but I guess I will get used to it. So I created a blog and I don't see a migrate button. Hopefully they will tell us how to do that.

I have had this journal for 3 years. I am a paid AOL user because of my journal. That is really the only reason I stayed with AOL. So now I will be able to free up this money. May be a good thing. Because I certainly won't pay for them without being able to have my journal. I can get the same things for nothing elsewhere. I hope we all go to blogs. I don't want to lose touch with everyone from here. So as you all create your new blogs please let us know so I can add them to my newly created blog folder. Hope to see you all there.

Julia's New Journal.

Sad day

2008-09-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

Just hear AOL is closing us down. All my journals will be lost if I can't figure out how to save them. AFter all the work on my vacation journal. Why is that. This truly sucks. So if anyone wants to help walk me through how to save the journals I love drop me a line. This is sad.

I'll Live to ride again

2008-09-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

       I thought this picture of Rick turned out so strange. It looks like the type of fake background they use in portraits. It is however the real thing, He looks cute though.

      Had my doctor appointment. Surprisenly my lung function isn't much worse then it was. My lungs are just inflamed.   Get me back on my medication, and take like I am suppose to and I should be good to go. I have to take a steroid inhaler for a month which doesn't make me happy but I do want to be breathing better.   He was very nice and didn't lecture me about going off my meds. They say every patient does it at least once and usually one bad attack is all it takes to get them to be good little patients again.

    Now I am going back to bed. My back is seriously out and I didn't sleep much because of the pain. I want to try and get a few more hours in as I have to work tonight. I am going to put my ten's unit on and sleep away. So Night all.

Vacation journal

2008-09-29T18:42:00.000-07:00

I have added some new pictures to the vacation journal from the Tetons. I want to go back. Check out Yellowstone also. I am slowly getting the journal finished.

We just got back from eating and are going to watch a movie we rented. Hope everyone is having a great day. I am trying not to think about my stocks crashing loud enough to be heard in the most remote area of the world. Who wants to retire anyway. I have heard its overrated.

A Day off

2008-09-29T06:16:00.000-07:00

    I am glad I made it to my day off. It was a long weekend. Work was busy and some family problems have surfaced that I need to take care of. So a day off is welcome and much needed.

   Below are the sandhill cranes we saw.

   I see my asthma doctor tomorrow to see if I ruined my lungs forever. I still can't take a deep breath without coughing. Did get a ride in the the other day which went well that was good.

     My son as been doing weight watchers. He looks great. He has lost a lot of weight and is walking everyday. I need to get motivated to do the same. Just in a slump. Everytime I get back into it my back goes out or something happens. Excuses excuses but it wears you down.

    I am thinking of quiting the gym anyway. The way our government is screwing everything up I figure we had all better hunker down and save every penny we can. I think this is their way of getting the all world money passed they want in play. This has all been orchestrated. China and Japan are all for it. Old Bush wanted. This might be all just a step they created to get us there. Our federal government has royally screwed up. Scary times. I learned to live within my means, why can't they?

   Well, its bedtime. I am tired. Take care all.

fall colors

2008-09-24T11:20:00.000-07:00

   Soon it will be time to go out and get some new fall pictures. I am thinking they will be really good this year. For now I look at last years.

   Crisp leaves crackling under your bike tires.   Today under out feet. Today we are going to walk one of our favorite bike trails so we can bring the dog and walk her.   She loves this type of weather. The hot weather really bothers her and in her older age she prefers the AC but in the fall, she could walk all day.

   I got my hair cut short today. Got me a Kathy Bates hairdo. I liked the new haircut she is wearing and decided to take the plunge. It looks pretty good. Rick got his tooth fixed this morning so we are getting a late start but will be ready soon.

   My last day off. Tomorrow work. My back is still acting up so I want to take it easy today. A nice lazy walk will be good for us all.

Thanks

2008-09-24T06:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks Helen for the help with my plants. I was pretty sure on the 2nd one but had no clue on the first one. Turns out it likes more water then I would have given it. It took me a long time to learn not to overwater my plants, LOL. Now I get one that likes to stay moist!

Anyway thanks all.

help with houseplants

2008-09-23T16:18:00.000-07:00

I got these 2 houseplants I don't know the name of. The first one is one I planted in the pot my son gave me for my birthday.

The 2nd is a type of fern I think. Is it an asparagus fern? Any help so I don't kill them would be appreciated.

The new Journal

2008-09-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

I have a long way to go on the new journal but enough is done I decided to make it public if you want to see it. I am still adding entries and pictures as I go. Mostly I add the entry and then go back and add pictures and it is a work in progress. Anyway you have to go to the first entry in the journal and work your way to the front. Maybe I should have started from the end and worked my way to the beginning for it to make sense but I am not starting over. Anyway. here is is Vacation 2008

The Phone Call

2008-09-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

       So I got the call from Rick. Nervous little chuckle.   Guess where I am....... Small town USA.   Motorcycle broke down. Sigh. What to do.....

        My son is just such a nice man.   He showed up accidentally to help me bail out Rick in his time of need.   My son drives a big ole pickup.   A truck which I have told him frequently was just a gas hog and not at all practical.   I was thrilled to see him pull in today.

     Gee wouldn't it be a great day for a road trip I asked?   Well.... I do have plans he said, Why? Well....you daddy is stuck again on that sorry &*$%!)#HH piece of metal he calls a motorcycle and needs us to pick him up, pretty please.

    So off we go to motorcycle neat road number 85 to pick up Rick who is stranded with a bike that doesn't like to travel as much as he does. It was a good day for a ride and I am just happy that his old self is safe.

     After supper we are watching a movie. I am happy he is here to watch it with me. I hope the bike stays broken for a long time.

Sunday

2008-09-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

         The above picture was from the Battle of Little Big Horn National Park at the Indian Memorial site.   Very cool sculpture. Very thought provoking park.

         Well, we didn't go out of town this weekend after all.   I cleaned my basement out as it needed it and then last night we went to the roller derby. We are sponsor's. It is fun watching the girls out there skating away and now that I know how they score I can really get into it. A couple of the woman on the team are from our hospital and I work with one of the players. Heck, 30 years ago I would have loved to do it. I was always good on skates. Now a days I would probably break if I got slammed down to the ground as often as these women do. It was a fun night though.

     Now I am nervously awaiting Ricks return. He is out for a motorcycle ride. He always leaves early and never lets me know which way he is going. The phone is still here so he can't call. His bike is old, but he keeps it running very well. I worry about the other people on the road. So I always get a little tense until he gets home. He has had 4 accidents and it was always the car's fault. Remember his hit and run a couple of years ago?

     Anyway silly of me but I do just feel better when I hear him returning. Today I am going to go get a plant for my planter Luke gave me for my birthday. It is very pretty and I want a special plant to put in it. My back is out so I am taking it easy today. Don't ya just hate it when you do a little weeding and some cleaning in the basement and just doing that little bit causes your back to go out. At least it could have been after doing something wildly fun like rafting down a raging river and a night of hot sex. Not weeding. Life is weird sometimes.

     Would you still believe I am going through pictures. I decided to do a new journal of the vacation so Rick and I can remember it. So I am writing it out and adding pictures. Slow work. When I am finished if anyone wants to read it and see the shots let me know. Boring to most unless you were there.

    Well, guess I had better get busy doing things. I am getting my outdoor plants ready to come in for the winter soon. I think it might be a snowy cold one. They are getting so huge it is difficult to find room for them indoors anymore. My jade tree is huge as it the cactus. And I have to get rid of the buggies that move into the soil during their outside time. Don't want the buggies inside.

     Take care all. Hopefully will get a bike ride in this evening.

Last day

2008-09-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

          Work has a way of effectively erasing most memories of vacations from you brain and bringing you sharply back to the present.   I spent the first day back with my head in the clouds on long lonely highways but after being charge and having a full house yesterday I have difficulty even remembering what the mountains look like. Sigh.

        Today I was looking at rentals on the Upper Peninsula in Michigan.   Houses on Lake Superior with a deck overlooking the beach.   Trying to tempt Rick with another road trip. To see the fall colors. Not having much luck though. Darn.

    One more night of work.   We are running pretty full as we tend to do in the cooler months.   My low census days are probably over for awhile. I have a cold and just don't feel up to par so am looking forward to my long stretch off even if I don't do anything but rest up. I do have to start on cleaning out the basement. No fun.

    Oh and something surprising happened.   My BIL paid us back our $400. Surprise surprise.   He is getting ready to go back to Arizona. The cold weather is not his cup of tea. Can't blame him there. Another chapter ending. A disturbing upsetting chapter.

    I have been talking to my younger sister. Her health is very bad. I also want to drive there and visit. See my niece. Greenbay Wi. isn't that far away. Time to mend some fences. Also I am not done withmy wanderlust it seems, LOL.

Great Day

2008-09-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

   First of all Happy Birthday to all you other September birthdays. I had a great day. First of all I slept well, way up there on my too do list.   Got my floor vacuum and it works great, both sons came over and took me to eat and got me a present. I am now dressed and ready to go back to work.   My last night and then I am off tomorrow. I am still working on the photo's.   I loved the one in the last entry. There are two salamanders there, did you see them both. I like that it was drinking when I took the picture.

    I am way behind on journals but slowly catching up.   Having to work this week isn't helping. Anyone want to send me the winning lottery ticket so I can just stay home?   Anyway.   Be good and I am so glad to hear from the Texas ladies that your all safe and well. I was so worried about you. Glad you were spared the mess. Glad it wasn't as bad as they feared.

   Below, two of my favorite things to shoot. Old wood and flowers.

2008-09-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

        Well, one more night of work. It has been like I haven't been gone at all.   Tody is my birthday so they made me a sheet cookie decorated and we had pizza. I got some pretty candles, they smell so nice.   And the Rick gave me what I wanted. At the cabin they had a eureka floor vacumm for bare floors. It was light weight and wouldn't harm the floors.   I wanted one and I got one.   Those dust bunnies can't escape me now. Of course i already got some jewelry and a new purse and wallet. '

      It is strange being 54. 2 years older then my mother lived. 2 years younger then my grandmother lived to be. Will I make it that old or am I in my twilight years Things that seemed important now don't seem the same Work is watching you. Hoping to find a way to fire you before you get all that retirement money.They are watching you hoping for failure.as they can replace you at half your salary and bennies, I can't even begin to tell you how many nurses lately have been fired that have worked their over 20 years. Valuable nurses with years of experience. It all comes down to the bottom dollar. Everyone is worried about it.

    Anyway, enough of that. I am going to bed. I am sleepy and hope to sleep a few hours Night all.

Work tonight

2008-09-11T15:43:00.000-07:00

Well back to work again tonight. Remembering being above the clouds as we climbed the mountains. It will be hard to stay awake after this long. I am slowly sorting pictures and getting them in order. May take awhile. I spent today reading everyone remembrances of 911. I will never forget that day. Take care all. Its a beautiful country and world. Enjoy it.

Good Morning

2008-09-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

    How would you like to catch that monster rainbow trout on your fly?

        Today is going to be spent unpacking, grocery shopping and cleaning house.   My sons did a great job taking care of things and we could not have done this trip without them but deep house cleaning obviously is not their strong points, LOL. Thats OK. I am just happy they were so helpful.

      Poor Dan moved back in to take care of things. Some Obama supporters stopped over to talk.   Dan politely told them he wasn't interested in voting for Obama and told them why when they asked. The got more and more heated and started calling him a racist and other names. Dan isn't, just doesn't believe in his politics and couldn't believe they were knocking on his door and then attacking him for his viewpoints. So much for a open discussion.   I would have slammed the door on them.

    Today they are delivery our tiles. Yup, we are finally getting our roof. They will be here tomorrow and had better be done by Thursday night because I need to sleep Friday. Figures they would come now.

     I have hundreds of pictures to go through. I couldn't get my laptop to work at any motel so I could go online but it did work great to store my pictures. So now I have to transfer them to a on-line site and CD and then see if any look wonderful. I had Rick use the Soni and he got some great shots.   A million times I wished I had a good zoom lens on my Canon and Rick actually got better shots on the Soni then I did on the Canon. Also turned out my new battery wasn't any good so I was down to one.   70 dollars and it didn't work. So I have to return that one.

    Zoey is very happy to see us and very clingy.   I wish she was the type of dog we could have brought with us. She would have loved it. However being a scent dog she doesn't walk well on the leash, Zig and zag smelling this right and left she would have run right off the canyon smelling something. Plus she is not doing so well these days. But she is happy we are here and we are happy to see her.

   Well enough of a break.   I have a house to clean. Darn. Vacation is over.

    Oh, on my near fatal asthma attack. It came on our 2nd bike ride. We did 25 miles and the first 8 miles was uphill. Then we drove down to the first tunnel. It was steep going down and when we turned to go us I started to have trouble catching my breath. Which turned into a full blown asthma attack like I have never had. I couldn't talk the my airway got more and more restricted. You could hear it squeaking to get in. They call it strider and I had it big time. I could feel my throat close off .    I couldn't breath to inhale my inhaler so just squirted it in my mouth and prayed. We were out in the sticks, no phone service and I was starting to black out. I knew I would die if I didn't get my breath and that is probably how people die from their asthma.

   The medicine must have worked slight because my throat started to relax and I was able to get a good puff on the inhaler. My chest hurt like mad and my ears were roaring. I still couldn't talk and every time I tried to get a deep breath I would have a coughing fit. I was scared to death. And I had a 5 mile, 4 percent grade hill to climb before we hit the downhill.

     I rested and tried to ride but I just didn't have the air. So we both walked and rested all the way up. Thank goodness my legs are strong even if my lungs are shot. At the top it was pure joy to get on my bike and coast all the way into Hall City without having to pedal. I am still having problems here 2 weeks later. My lungs gave me problems the rest of the trip. Every mountain had me wheezing and short of breath and my chest hurt for a week. It didn't stop me from hiking but our bike rides were over. I was very very disappointed but I tell ya, happy to be alive.

Pic

2008-09-08T21:11:00.000-07:00

Just a couple of pictures. There are more. Trust me.

I'm back

2008-09-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

We made it back. We hit South Dakota, North Dakota, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and back to Iowa. I had a blast. Bull moose crossing in front of us. Canyons, mountains, Streams, rivers, mud pods, We saw deer, coyote, fox. Sand Cranes, eagles, You name it. I had a asthma attack that almost killed me. The cabin was great. I had a great time. I took 1000 pictures. I can't download them today. What fun. It is a beautiful country. I had a job offer in Cody and would move to parts of Montana in a heart beat if I was rich. What fun. Tomorrow I start downloading pictures. Hi all. I missed you.

Bye all

2008-08-22T04:43:00.000-07:00

   Well, its early morning. We are finishing up the packing. Sipping some coffee. Watching Zoey pout because she does know we are leaving I swear. She just lays there with her face down and follows us with her eyes.   OK dog. Make us feel guilty, LOL. In fact right now she just crawled under the bed and only her back feet are poking out.

    Chester however acts like he has no clue. Busy begging he has one thing and one thing only on his mind. Breakfast. To have it so simple.

   True to tradition Rick is busy this morning packing his clothes. True to tradition I was packed last night. I slept like a lamb until 6, Rick got up at 4 am. I feel fresh and ready to go. Rick....well Rick looks tired. giggle.

   The weather is going to be a combo. Cool in the evening, even cold some evenings, but in the 70s to 80 during the day. So we have to bring both sets of clothes. I will have Rick bring the saddle bags for the bikes so we can store the extra coats etc if it gets warmer when we ride. We probably won't hit the trail until Sunday.

   Tonight we are eating at the Firehouse Brewery in Rapid City. We are spending the night there and then on the cabin in the morning.

   Well, its time to start loading the van. Can we say excited. YES we can.

   Last I was looking up some witty travelers prayer to leave as a ending. Some were pretty bleak, Please dear lord don't let us crash and burn up in a horrible way I beseech thee blah blah. Oh my goodness, that sets the mood doesn't it. Instead I leave this travelers prayer from my heart..

    Dear Lord. Thanks. For all that I will see, for all that I will do. For the means to do it..

                            Amen

Its here

2008-08-21T11:41:00.000-07:00

          It's a miracle.   Got a call. The hitch is here. Can you come right out to put it on. Yes. Leap out of bed. Run outside. Rick!   Rick!    No Rick! Oh no. Run back inside. Call them back to see if we can get it on in a hour. No go. Oh No.   Run to the bedroom and start throwing clothes on. All this after being woken from a sound sleep less then 3 minutes before and I have had No Coffee!

    Come running out of the bedroom pulling on my pants and collide with Rick. Oh good....you have to leave NOW. Pushing him out the door with a hurried explanation.

   So the hitch gets on after-all.   Life is good. Now I am sitting here sipping my coffee. Waiting for my pulse to get back to normal. Thinking about sleeping for another hour since he will be gone a hour. Then thinking about all I need to do to pack and get ready.

    Yup, the day is almost upon us....finally. We will get the van packed up tonight and leave bright and early in the morning.   For the first vacation since 1998. I am so excited I could spit, except that wouldn't be lady like would it.

   Gosh, maybe I should check the mail. Maybe my camera filters will be here. Maybe Ricks shoes. Maybe the winning numbers to the Readers Digest Million give a way. Or is it more these days?

   In the morning I will be switching off my alerts. Don't want the daunting task of seeing 900 alerts when I return. I am not sure if and where I will be able to use my laptop. Not at the cabin it sound like. Maybe at some of the motels.

    We have decided to go to Wyoming. Drive around and maybe slowly get to the Grand Tetons national park.   or Yellowstone. I have always wanted to go there. My camera and I will go nuts. Rick might have a good time also, LOL. I don't really care where we end up. It will be nice to be traveling and just relaxing.

    Rick stresses sometimes about where we will sleep at night, but I remind him if all the motels are full we have a very comfortable luxury van with soft leather seats that fold completely down to make a nice resting place. We'll be fine.

Well. Time to stop putting off the packing. I have one cup of coffee in me. Take care all and hopefully I will be checking in from time to time with a photo or 2000.

What a nice surprise

2008-08-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

I woke up and checked my journal and saw all the nice comments left congratulating me. I won't tell you how many of those contests I have entered but obviously I did hope to win one some day. It was on my bucket list for those who saw that movie, LOL. So thanks you all. I am thrilled.

Last night of work

2008-08-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

       Last night was a good night. I was charge so the night just flew by. One more to go. I am excited.

      Yesterday I spent cleaning house and doing laundry. I have everything pretty organized so I can throw it all together when we do pack. Still no hitch. We are now looking at the unpleasant prospect of putting the bikes in the back of the van. I have light beige carpet and will have to put a blanket down. I don't want grease on it. We still have today and tomorrow for it to get here. They said it will only take a hour to get it on so keep your fingers crossed.

     I am trying not to stress about Zoey. I know Dan will take good care of her along with Luke. I almost wish we had boarded her though. Hopefully it will work out fine.

     I read in the Rapid City news that bikers should be careful about the rattlesnake on the trails. Great. First maybe mountain lions, now rattle snakes. What next, black widow spiders! Yikes.

    Tomorrow we have to get our energy jells and Rick is borrowing some bike shorts from our son. He has resisted getting bike shorts but it really helps on a long trip.

     The weather is suppose to perfect for riding. Mid 70's. Not too hot. I can't wait to be on the trail. I am bringing my laptop but don't think I will be able to get wireless so you probably won't hear from me until I get back. We might go to the Grand Tetons after we leave the Black Hills for a week so I am not sure when we will get back. We just might bum for awhile.

     Well, I am getting tired. Time for sleep. Take care all.

A day off

2008-08-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

        I am off work today and glad of it. It wasn't a bad week at work but I have much to do and am running out of time to do it.

    I will sleep until around 2:30 and then get some shopping done.   Hopefully they will call to say they got the hitch and can install it. They we have to get a adapter for our bike rack.   I need to get food on hand for Zoey and Chester. Need to get some energy gel for riding. Wash and iron some clothes, clean the house, give detailed instructions to both kids plus emergency numbers where they can reach us.

      Clean out the van, clean out the fridge. Plan a menu. Etc..... etc.... I want to get some pepper spray as they have had some mountain lions around.   Don't want them chasing me on my bike but that should would motivating me to get up that hill, LOL.

      Sounds like a awful amount of work for a vacation. It also doesn't look like my camera parts will be by then, sigh. I want to go to the library and get a good book to read and some good wine to sit out and stare at the stars with the man I love.

     The last time I was at the Black Hills was with my in-laws. It was our last trip. My father in law was already sick and didn't live much longer. I wish they were going with us again as we had so much fun and I miss them.

     Well, I am drifting here.   Time to get to bed. 2 more nights of work to go. I just might make it.

Saturday

2008-08-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

       I find myself getting antsy and distracted. Waiting for the day to get here. Thinking about all the little things we still need to do. It is bad having to work every day until the trip. I will have one day to get everything packed and ready. We have to have a good plan on what to do if they can't get the hitch on the van. I have a great bike rack. Just no way to put in on the van and I am not taking the old van up there. We will probably have to store the bikes in the van which takes up so much room.

       Work is going well. Very very busy. It is making the time fly. During break I was looking at the TV in the break room. One of those infomercial. Reminded me again why I don't have TV. Tell me. Why should we have to pay for them to advertise to me. And if your paying for TV why should there be commercials anyway? I maybe could understand it when TV was free and easy, but now that you pay a fortune..... why commercial? They should be paying me, and plenty at that, to watch all the crap they advertise. That is why I don't wear name brand clothes with their logo all over it. If they want me to advertise there product, pay me.

     I see these cars with advertising wraps on them. They ARE paid to do that. Now that I might do. If I liked the product. But this insanity of paying them to let me watch their stupid infomercial.....no way.

    Ok, off the soap. Guess I am not ready to get a TV yet. Every time I think about it briefly I remember the things that make me mad.

    Rick is grilling supper and we are having a pot luck at work tonight. BLT's with fresh tomatoes and homemade bread. Yummy. I will probably get pulled to an different floor tonight. Our census is low. So hopefully won't be so busy I can't get to it.

    Well, supper is ready.   I love it when someone else cooks for me. Its good to be the Goddess, LOL.

      6 days to go.

Counting down the days.

2008-08-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

         One day of work gone, 5 more 12 hour shifts to go. Can you say counting down the days. I am getting excited.

   The bad news is our hitch still isn't in. How to get our bikes up there if we don't get the hitch. I guess if we have to I can bad the top of the roof and they can ride up there because I haven't been planning this trip to the Black Hills to ride the bike trail for over a year only to have it all go up in smoke. Of course you can rent bikes there but I want to ride on my bike. My bike that my camera bag snuggly fits on. My bike that I have trained on. MY bike.

    Did we train enough for the trail? Probably not. Oh well. If I can't ride up all the hills I can walk. I am determined to go on the trail and get pictures of the tunnels. Greg, what setting should I use to shoot in a tunnel, LOL.

     Friday we are spending the night at Rapid City and going to the brew pup. Firehouse Brewery. Then Saturday we go to the cabin. They don't give you the directions on how to get there until the week before. Very private and seclude.   I can't wait.

     I had to be charge last night the first 4 hours. Total chaos. I must have heard my name called 500 times so it was a relief at 11 to just take on my own patients and do my own thing.   I no longer care to be charge. Spend to many years doing it and just want to concentrate on my own group of patients these days. And a lovely group I had.

    I have actually been reading my manual for the new camera. On line there is a great site with step by step instructions on using the camera with pictures on what buttons to use. Should have done this class first.

    Well, time to get ready for work and visit some of your journals. I am way behind as usual on my week to work. Have a great weekend all.

I owe, I owe, its off to work I go.

2008-08-14T16:30:00.000-07:00

    I have one more week to work. Next week, friday morning hopefully, we are on are way to vacation time. Unfortunately I work every day until we go so next Thursday will be spent packing. I can't wait.

   Both my son's were here to eat and I told them Zoey's routine. I think my youngest is planning on just staying here. That will be great.

   I didn't get all my pictures finished. Problem with taking so many is going through them all. Yikes. I didn't realize I had shot quite that many. Have to control myself on the trip.

   Well time to go. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

   The windows at the butterfly garden seem to be where all the butterfly's hang out. Nice and cool. See whats outside the window!

Some pictures

2008-08-13T17:02:00.000-07:00

We went to the Zoo. I have a ton of pictures to sort but have some posted to my photo journal. The good and the bad. Check them out. Expect many more. Some are even good.

Please stop by Indigo's and leave of word for her daughter. She needs our prayers and good vibes.

I am waiting for my BBQ steak to get done, yummy. Then I will work on photos again. I have some good ones.

Grandma's secret pie tip

2008-08-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

A really good day.

2008-08-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

   Just a lovely day in fact. I think everything went just perfect.   Today we got my snap on pack to fit perfect on my rack. Both camera's fit nice and snug. So barring a wipeout I have it made in the shade.. It was cloudy and overcast today but cool for riding and I felt good and strong. We went 13.5 miles. I could have even gone farther today, My muscles feel good and we are doing hills. I still hate them but am doing them. What fun.

   There weren't many people on the trails so it was nice. We could ride side by side which you don't get to do often. Rick is doing better lately. We finally laid his mother's ashes to rest. He was having a problem getting it done but is relieved its over. We haven't talked to BIL since a week and he still hasn't paid us so we are going to sell his half of the coins for the money.

We saw some pretty flowers I got shots of.

          Then I saw this pretty little spellway.

        If you zoomed in. Pan out and the worst of people comes to light.

          Doesn't that just make you sick. Its right by the dock. I suppose everyone just cleans out their boats and toss it in the water. Things like this really anger. Forget about global warming and being green. Clean up your mess, don't litter.   That is far more important.

Class went well

2008-08-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

The class went well and I learned alot. Now I wish I had the type of memory that could retain it but practice makes perfect. I want to just keep taking shots to get the hang of it. You all will be sick of my pictures.Check out the Photo Journal. Here is the one I am happy with.

My first shot

2008-08-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

There is much to learn. Button not where I expect them to be. Downloading pictures completely different the I am used too. The battery only took 2 hours the first time. I have found cheaper on line. So ta da. Rick hates the picture but look how clear it is.

I bought the Canon

2008-08-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted to hold both camera's and get a feel for them both but alas, they didn't have the Soni. I was pretty decided though and just took the plunge and bought this one. I didn't buy another lens though as they are so expensive. I am pretty sure I can pick them up on line for less. I also bought a new circular polarizer filter and a neutral density filter. I forgot to pick up a extra battery and will do that tomorrow when I show up at the unheard of hour of 8 AM for my first class. They are around 77 dollars to that really is awful. Liked the Soni's much better.

The class is taught by someone they call the professor. I hope he is not one of those pro snobs, you know the type. Since the class is $80.00 I want to really learn my camera and feel comfortable asking questions. Not knowing how long it will take to charge my battery I may not get to use it until the class so I will be having to learn a new camera on top of what else he teaches. He seemed nice but I have a feeling I would be much happier with you Greg.

There will be 5 in the class including me. 2 couples. I never could get Rick interested in learning my camera's. I wanted him to learn how to use my brothers and then teach me. When he gets into something he really gets into it and I know would master it. He is one of those people who can read to learn. So he would read and re-read and read again the manual until he had it down pat. Just not interested though. He couldn't even use the camcorder which was a bummer.

I wish the battery was charged as there are 2 baby deer, the mother deer and about 20 turkeys and assorted bunnies, squirrels and birds eating around the pear tree. I would love to get a shot.

Now I have to go through all the old lenses I have from my brother and try and sell them and the camera body. It will help pay for the next lense I want. They have some really nice macro lens with my name on it

Well, I should get back to reading the manual and learning all the controls. The bad thing is without the battery in it it won't even turn on. But at least I will know what the buttons are for before class.

Beautiful ride

2008-08-08T07:07:00.000-07:00

   We finally got off yesterday and had a beautiful ride.   I didn't bring my camera and am kicking my butt now. I could have gotten some great shots. We went to Adams trail and rode around that. The short trail is only about 6.7 miles. When we got back to the parking lot we had decided to keep going and hit the rural highway. There is very little traffic and it just looked like a nice ride...and on pavement which was nice.

    Up the road there was a crop duster. I swear this small yellow plane went right over my head a couple of times. I felt I could almost have reached up and touched him.   They go so low. I could feel the breeze from him flying overhead so close. Scary but cool. They look like they are going to crash any second. So I wish I had my camera. We rode to the overpass and then got on another long lonely highway. That one we rode down to the next overpass. The closest thing I could think of for getting my hill legs going. The next overpass was more traveled but that loop brought up back to Adams where we finished our ride. 12 miles.

    Of course by the time we got started it was hot. My brain felt fried. We went home and cleaned up and went out to eat at the river and listen to live jazz. Got a lovely bottle of chardonnay wine and I had blackened Walleye. Yummy. It was a perfect day.

    This morning I am NPO. Nothing by mouth as I am going to get my cholesterol checked along with my fasting sugar. That is for my wellness thing for work.    I am hoping I have lowered my cholesterol as it was higher then it should be. I am craving a cup a coffee but sigh. Soon enough.

   Well since I didn't get any pictures on the ride, the baby deer were in the yard last night. Aren't they cute.

          Momma was no where to be seen but I bet she would have shown up real fast if I had tried to pet one.

   Well, time to get ready to go. Have a great day all. I am getting my test, riding my bike and buying my camera. The Cannon I have decided....or...

Just a thought

2008-08-07T10:29:00.000-07:00

Yes.... I am still waiting for Rick to get ready.... Sigh.

Anyway. Listening to the radio. They were talking about how America might not be ready for a black president. I suggest, humbly, turn off the TV and just listen. Don't let color, race, sex, etc.... be the issue when choosing the next President of the United States. That doesn't matter at all. Listen to the words. Listen to the person behind the words, keeping in mind also that these speeches are written for the people running. But that should be what makes you vote. Really the rest doesn't matter. Vote for who is best to run the country. Period. My opinion.

Personally if President Palmer from 24 was running and as good as making decisions in a tight spot, as moral as he was in the program, I would vote for him. Not the actor who is way out there in his views, but the character. Sigh, it is after all though just a show and maybe someone like that only exsists in some writers imagination. But we can dream.....Right?

Made it the week off.

2008-08-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

         I was running my behind off at work last night.   So busy.   I hadn't done any charting, but was wasn't worried as I knew I would get to it eventually when at 10:30 they told me I could have Low census. What! your pulling my leg. But yup, we had a ton of nurses on at 11.

        Now part of me thinks all I will do is go home and sleep, but this is where its important. I will be awake during the day if I go home tonight. I can take a early morning bike ride instead of a middle of the day, hot as hot can be bike ride. And maybe.... just maybe go get my camera.

       So I went into high gear and finished up all the little things, sat my butt down and charted at double speed.   And here I am in the morning. Sipping my coffee. Planning where to ride today and looking forward to the next week off. Blissful.

      I get sentimental about things. I am looking at my Soni super steady shot.   The camera I yearned for and saved for and used and love. Here I am ready to toss it aside like a old worn out shoe. Actually looking at it you can tell I have taken a few thousand shots on it. Feeling guilty. It has been a very good camera, a great camera. But..... I have had several times when I see a beautiful shot. The sky is so perfect, the clouds just right. I set it up and take the shot and it doesn't capture it. If you don't get it then you won't get another shot at that perfect shot you just saw.   Plus. I want to be able to accessorize.   That is what women do. I want more lens, more filters, more frosting. I want that great big lens I see the professionals using, LOL. I am going to the Black Hills. Beauty will be surrounding me. I want to capture it in all its splendor. You know what I mean?

     Of course hauling all that on a bike gets tricky, Especially climbing mountains in altitudes I am not ready for. Probably puffing so hard no imaging stabilizer in the world will help. So I also have to haul my tripod. Poor Rick. He is really going to be loaded down isn't he. 2 camera,s tripod, filters, extra lens, extra battery, more water and ice. Sure glad he is such a big strong man, Are your reading this Rick?

     There is one more camera I have been looking at. Around the same price range, but some things I really like, tilt live view and a soni which my last 2 camera were. Bad thing is it comes with a lens that I would not rather have, but you can update. Once again I would have to change batteries. Not sure about the memory card. Takes great action shots, important for my flightly deer shots. Has really good reviews except for the battery change over and lens. Decisions decisions. More megapixel then the cannon but really that isn't important. And.... would I still miss those once in a lifetime shots.

Sony- Alpha 14.2-Megapixel Digital SLR Camera- Black

Anyway, enough rambling on. Time to get ready for my ride. I haven't ridden for awhile because of my toe. The toe is down to just a bothersome slight nagging discomfort now. I have 2 weeks left before the big ride. I got some training to do.

     Thanks everyone for you wonderful suggestions, Greg...your the best!

What do you think

2008-08-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

I looked at camera's today. I am thinking about a Canon EOS Rebel XSi.

I have been reading reviews and now need to do comparison reviews. There are some things in the camera I don't like. I will need new batteries, the ones from my Soni won't work and they are expensive. The camera comes with one, but I like a backup. the memory cards are expensive and you can't use the one I have now in it. More expense. The pictures are good and the camera is nice and light. The lenses are expensive and none of the lens from my old camera will work on it.

Pro are they have camera classes to teach me how to use the camera to its full potential. I am terrible about reading the manual and always have done better with a hands on learning experience. But they would do that with any camera so should I get a better one or keep looking. Anyone use this camera? What do you think. Happy or wish you had looked further. Maybe I should look into the newest Soni as I think I could use some of the same things I already have. Decisions decisions.

I am looking to keep the entire package around 2000. No more but less would be good. So opinions welcome.

Monday, Monday...so good to me

2008-08-04T13:19:00.000-07:00

       There is something about a day off that just lifts my spirits. Puts a smile right smack on my face. Kind of like this song from my past and the thought of my vacation that is a short 18 days away.   Counting down the days.

     Weather report.   Wet...hot....humid....wet.....lightening. That about covers it.

      I want to ride every day I am off but today will be a bust. However.....the rest of the week is suppose to be wonderful riding weather.   Now if I can get through Tuesday and Wednesday at work.

    Tomorrow I am going camera shopping.   Greg gave me some great advice so even if I do get the new camera, the old one is going with me. And maybe the new one. We shall see.

        Well, Rick is up from his nap so time to go.

Pain Free

2008-08-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

           I may not be quite up to skipping yet but I can honestly say my toe is feeling pretty darn good.   I haven't bumped it for a week, just some slight pain in the side if I wiggle it, so I don't, and work hasn't been aggravating it. The first day it was really bothering me but now, I can stand it for sure. What a relief.

      Then for my previous entry.   I got a email that the plane picture was fake. Well it isn't a fake but it may be nothing to get upset about. You read the story and decide on Snopes. My apologies. I usually check out all my emails to see if they are just urban legend, but didn't on this one.   It seemed so typical for some of the outrageous things he has done I took it at face value. What is it they say these days.....My Bad.

   This is my final night of work on my 4 day stretch. It is 100 degrees out so it hasn't been bad sleeping during the day. I wouldn't want to be out riding my bike anyway in this heat.. Good thing is with my toe I could and will ride now. We hope, barring some other life altering event, to ride everyday I am off.

    Vacation is 19 days away. I can almost smell the pine and see the faces already.

        We are also going camera hunting.   This week. Hopefully I will get the one I like but it is pretty pricey and for the way I shoot this one I have is really good enough I suppose. I want one with more options for lenses though. I want....I want. I need I need. Nope, don't need but do want.

      Well, time to get ready for supper. Rick is grilling turkey. Sounds yummy.

I want a patriot

2008-08-02T14:30:00.000-07:00

I want my next President to be proud of his country. To be a patriot. To shout it from the rooftops. Is that too much to ask?

WHAT A DISGRACE!!! AND HE IS ALL AMERICAN????

Obama the Patriot - Removes American Flag From His Plane

The Patriot Room Posted on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 8:11:07 AM by Bill Dupray

Barack Obama recently finished a $500,000 total overhaul of his 757. And as part of the new design, he decided to remove the American flag from the tail...

What American running for President of the United States would remove the symbol of his country? And worse, he replaced the flag with it with a symbol of himself...

He won't cross his heart when they do the Pledge of Allegiance, He removed the flag from label. He ignored our soldiers during his last visit. Wounded soldiers who are fighting for our freedom!

The American's Creed

“I believe in the United States of America, as a government of thepeople, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derivedfrom the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; asovereign nation of many sovereign states; a perfect union, one andinseparable; established upon those principals of freedom, equality,justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed theirlives and fortunes.”

“I there fore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, tosupport its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and todefend it against all enemies.” -William Tyler Page

What is it going to be next?

2008-08-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

          Woke up today and signed on to the computer only to find 2 articles talking about the ugly crocs and how they should be banned. One in spoof and one dead serious. Banned?

        Whats it going to be next?   My favorite oversized t-shirt I wear to bed.   That ugly blue shirt my hubbies likes so well?

         I tell you when we start letting THEM dictate our lifes it was just the beginning. THEM decided to ban trans- fat.   THEM decided to ban not wearing a helmet. THEM decided the maxi skirt was DEAD!

        You know I love my toe friendly crocs. I wear the ugly shoe biking, to work, in and out of the water. I walk through yicky stuff at work, spray them off with heavy duty anti yicky germ and bug killer and happily trot on home.

        Did I make fun of those shiny white platform shoes some men used to wear?   Well, actually yeah, but look at them......

       Spiked heeled sure tobreak your ankle shoes seen everywhere on date night atthe meat market?

            Noooooo. So back off fashion editors. Leave me alone. You with your tops that only go half way down so the belly shows. You with your low rise pants, you with mens baggy pants drooping around their knees with dirty boxers showing from mid crack up.

       You don't want to get this middle aged overweight croc wearing woman mad at you. Be afraid.....be very afraid.

2008-08-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

       Work went well until around 6:30 when my patient coded. It was unexpected as he had been stable so kept us busy.   There are always lots of people in the room when there is a code running back and forth with supplies and things we need. I was pretty protective of my poor toe I tell you. You have to watch for needles, what out for vomit, watch out for other people and watch out for my poor toe.

     I pray my patient improves. He is a nice man and has a lovely family.

     I forgot to mention the roofer was here and I picked out my roof. It will have a lifetime warranty. whose lifetime? Heck I could die any second.   I am in my twlight year in my family., Anyway we shouldhnt have to roof the darn thing again

            And we are getting hitch on,

          Well time fore me to get some shut eye.

Days off Just fly By

2008-07-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

          Of course I have noticed the older I get the faster all the days go by. Why the hurry? I am in no hurry to be 6 feet under.

          Work tonight. It won't be bad. I missed a couple of days so I need to make me some money. Since I got a raise it's not bad money either for Iowa.

        The good news is my toe is much better. As long as I don't whack it on something it is so numb it doesn't bother me much. An occasional sharp painful stab but much better.   I still can't wear normal shoes though. At the concert the other day I was a paranoid mess that someone would step of my foot and put me back a week but I was careful and am wearing shoes all the time.

       Ricks back is better. We are slowly healing. Our vacation is in 3 weeks. I am not ready for the riding, but will do the best I can. Rick was doing 27 miles with hills before he hurt his back so he is ready. The worse thing that could happen is we will suffer and die, LOL.   But I will have some great pictures.

It is close enough I have to start making my list and checking it twice. Extra rechargeable batteries, laptop with cord to download my pictures on each night so I have room for all the great shots I will take on my camera's memory. We are getting the hitch on the van next week. Have to get the bikes in to get worked on and extra bike tubes. Make sure we have plenty of food for the critters.   Extra minutes for the tracphone, etc...   I am getting so excited.

       We still haven't heard from BIL about paying me back my $400.   He was calling 3 times a day when he wanted the money. If he doesn't call by next week we are selling his half of the coin collection which will pay me back. One way or another by golly. Plus if I really wanted to be mean, which I don't I could threaten to let his x wife know he has come into a lot of money. Personally I think she should know. I know he owes back child support. Selfishly though if he loses the money he will be back bugging us and I don't want that.

         It has been very hot and muggy. I have the house shut up and all 3 bedroom air conditioners going. The house has actually been cool. We will see what that does to our bills.

      I talked to my grandchildren today. It is so hard to be a long distance grandparent. When you are with the conversation just flows. Talk talk talk.   Trying to have a good talk on the phone though especially with the 4 year old.   How are you today?....good. What have you been up to?   Nothing.   What are doing right now?    Playing. Like pulling teeth. Plus they are hard to understand on the phone. I must be also as they keep saying what?   Sigh. I would rather have them close and be hugging them.

     Well I have to get ready to go shopping.   Need my meals for work and am making brownies for work. I am using a recipe I got from one of the journals comments.   You take hines devil food cake mix and a can of pumpkin pie filling. Mix the 2 and cook per directions. You don't use any of the other ingredients on the cake mix. Low fat brownies. I haven't made them before but they said they are very moist. I will let you know why they turn out.

      Well, time to run. Må jeres liv være velsigne.

Weird Al

2008-07-29T22:07:00.000-07:00

I had a blast tonight. He did all the songs I love and many I don't know. Since I don't have TV and am not much into MTV some were lost to me but he did enough that I know and put on a great show. I couldn't hear for 10 minutes after.

Auction, backroad attractions and adjuster

2008-07-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

      Yesterday I went to an auction.   I kind of miss my shop and they had some depression glass I was hoping to buy and make a profit on. Can't outbid collectors though. I did get some Weller potter which I love so that made me happy.

    On the way home we stopped at a roadside attraction of the midwest's largest antique windmills. So cool. A couple were damaged from the storm but most were in working shape and very neat.



    The weather was very hot and humid so we went out to eat last night and then retired to a cool room. Rick's back is still pretty bad. Hopefully he will see a doctor soon.

   Today the adjuster is here. She is still outside writing up her report.    Hopefully they will do right by us. We are waiting for a roofer to call us back also. We are thinking of getting a metal roof. Anyone have one? What do you think?

    Then we are going to try and hunt down my BIL. He owes me $400.00.   Of course he has crawled under some rock so he doesn't have to pay me but we found out where he is staying. You can run but you can't hide.

    Tomorrow we are going to see Weird Al.   I am excited.   Weird but I like his parodies

      The adjuster just left. She gave us a pretty good size check. They come through after all.   Now to get the roofer to call us back.

    Have a good one all and I leave you with one of my favorite Weird Al songs.

Just things

2008-07-26T17:37:00.000-07:00

      Well would you believe our insurance company still hasn't come out yet. They are suppose to be here Monday. A full 2 weeks after the damage. I just have a feeling this isn't going to go well. We were all set to change insurance companies this month to the one my son has as we were so impressed with them. We are probably going to regret procrastinating on it.

     Rick was working on his bike yesterday when his back went out. Sciatica pain big time. He can hardly move. I was hoping to ride my bike today. I should have gone out by myself as he slept most of the day due to the pain medication. Instead I did some housework and ironing. Hate to iron but it needs to be done.

    My toe is actually feeling better tonight knock on wood. After hitting it at least once a day I finally got smart and am wearing my shoes all day. I get these simply awful stabbing pains up my toe into my foot but it isn't all day. Things are getting better.

   I gave the guinea pig and Zoey a bath. They are both happy fluffy critters now. I was reading about the guinea pig festival in Peru.    They dress them up in cute little costumes, have a parade and judging contest and then eat them using their favorite recipes. Poor Chester. The poor pigs in the video look like they know what their fate is. I hear they taste like chicken.

    I haven't ridden for a week. I am feeling fat and fluffy. Thursday I am going to a open house on non surgical weight loss classes. They won't tell you the price over the phone. Always a bad sign but I need to get motivated. Seems like every time I get my motivation up...something breaks. Weird.

Bike riding journal gone private

2008-07-24T05:03:00.000-07:00

    I went private on my bike riding journal. I added everyone I could think of who used to read it but if you can't get in let me know.   Someone at work stumbled across it and it just felt weird so, private it is.

   We had a big storm all night. No rain in the house. Yippy. I missed work last night. My toe is just throbbing and the thought of wearing shoes on my swollen foot made me want to cry. Believe me when I say rebreaking it so soon after the first time was twice as painful.

   Have a good day all.

I'm Singing in The Rain

2008-07-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

       It rained cats and dogs and my roof isn't leaking. WTG Rick.

       Poll time

     Is it me or does Madona look more and more like Tammy Faye Baker everyday?

I married a MacGyver

2008-07-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

      When picking a husband try to see how his home and car repair skills are first. It can save you a ton of money.

   Rick is a true MacGyver. Able to take gum and duck tape and repair almost anything that is broken. True I have a garage so full of stuff while my vehicles sit outside, but when the furnace breaks down in the middle of the winter, when a tree crashes through the roof in the middle of the night, when the car breaks down 200 miles from a service station, when the boat breaks down in the middle of the biggest wilderness lake in Canada, etc etc etc..... Rick has something saved he can fix it with. He's clever that way. Born that way because you can't learn this stuff. Glasses break in half in the wilderness, Rick just happens to have contact cement in his pack pack......might come in handy. Car blows a fuel line, Rick just happens to have some tubing just the right size. And sure enough I now have a roof without a hole in it.

   Good thing too because we haven't seen hide nor hair from our insurance adjuster. Personally I suspect they are at the dunes. The dunes is the rich side of town. Doctors, Lawyers and other VIP's live there. And they got hit hard also yesterday. Difference is they probably already have checks in their hot little hands from their insurance companies where we just have empty promises of repairs in the future.

    Rick spent yesterday on the roof with sheet metal, some black tarry stuff, and old roofing shingles patching our hole. It didn't rain after all so we aren't sure it won't leak but personally, since I married a MacGyver type man, I have faith it will see us through.

    I proved not to be any help at all getting the tree limbs cleaned up. Running through the house to get ready to clean up I hit my.... you guessed it, toe again hard. You should have heard the screams. Lifting the roof right off the house. Thats OK, we need a new one anyway. Really got it off center this time so off I drive to the doctors using the gas with my big toe as my foot was in throbbing pain. Xrays showed it to be fractured pretty bad and off kilter so they straightened it, ouch and gave me some pretty good pain pills and sent me off with instructions to wear wooden shoes and stop kicking my husband. The toe which was almost unbruised is now bruised all over again so I start from scratch. I have it all taped up and they said no croc's. How am I going to work with my regular nurses shoes. Hurts like the dickens getting them on.

    Also he told me to stay off the bike for just awhile. If I keep bending the toe it will not heal. Unless I can ride in wooden shoes. Or splint my toe somehow. Wonder if Rick could rig something up with things he has in the garage? Lets see, leftover shims from setting the cabinets 4 years ago, duck tape.....

There's a hole in the bucket.....and my roof, two

2008-07-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

Got some of the tree off my roof. Found 2 holes around 6 " across. One still has the branch. Now how to plug it until we can get it repaired. Because guess what its suppose to do all week? Why rain of course. Can you tell we are getting very tired of this all. Still haven't heard from the insurance man except to tell me I have to pay 1% of our appraised value of house. Guess I am glad I don't have a very expensive house. Since I was taking picture anyway, aren't these pretty.

I suppose it was inevitable

2008-07-21T07:57:00.000-07:00

   That with one of these storms we have had we would get hit. Last night was the night.

   I had gotten off work at 11 for low census. We were having a severe lighting storm so hurried home. Around 1225 am I decided I had better shut down the computer and get the flashlights out. The computer was almost done when boom, sounded like we got hit by lightening and our transformer blew. Stumbling in the dark to the kitchen to get the flashlights and boom something hit the house. Hard. Boom boom boom.

The rain was pouring. When the lightening flashed we could see out the window and tell a tree was on our house in the front. I have to admit to being scared to death. We could hear things crashing outside and were making our way to the basement when I felt something wet under my foot. Shining the light on my ceiling I was a couple of cracks with water coming through. Oh crap. Forget the basement and get out every pot and bucket in the house. Then sat down to wait it out.

   Finally about 6 am it was light enough to see the damage. We have a large branch on our roof. Our plum tree that the woodpecker hollowed out was down.

Branches down all over the road and trees down all over. What mess. I need coffee before I tackled the insurance company and taking the tree off the house so we drove to the cafe. Trees and wires down all over. A couple of other neighbors have tree damage and one neighbors car is flat.

So this is suppose to be my day off. We were going to do the big ride today. Instead we are doing the big cleanup.

On no sleep. But they did get our power back on after 9 hours. And the weird thing. On my microwave. A year or so ago the digital numbers stopped working. The microwave worked well, you just couldn't tell how much time you had. Today....all the numbers are up and running just like new. Isn't that strange?

      The weird thing about the branch, it was from the top of the tree. In the back by the road. It had to go straight up and over the rest of the tree to then fall back on our house. They say no tornado. Winds clocked at 78 miles per hour. Sure sounded like the end of the world. Sure hope my insurance is worth the money I have been paying.

The Price of Vacation

2008-07-17T10:56:00.000-07:00

      The price of taking a vacation is adding up. Almost to the cost of feeling very guilty about such wasteful spending. A year ago when we planned it the cost of gas wasn't so high. The cost of food was quite a bit lower. Boarding the dog, went way up this year.

   Rent the cabin for 800, figure gas will cost us around 600, the dog boarding costs 270, loss of income for 3 weeks 3500. Food another 300 or more. Getting the bikes ready 100, new hitch on the new van 500 and the list goes on and on and on.

     I try to tell myself that I work hard all year and I haven't taken a vacation, a true vacation for 8 years. But still. It is a lot of money. And the Black Hills isn't even that far away. This trip will cost me more then it did when I went to Canada for a week fishing 15 years ago. I am seriously tempted to just cancel the whole thing and go camping locally on my 6 days off. 8 dollars a night. 15 for a fishing license. 4 bucks for sunscreen and 2 dollars for worms.

    I don't know how a whole family can afford it. Staying in a motel, going to amusement parks, out to eat. Yikes.

       Off to work tonight. I am hoping and praying it is a good night. We are once again expecting severe weather. They keep saying golf ball size hail. Oh my poor van. Hope it is wrong. We are suppose to be running around getting some chores done but can't budge Rick from working on his motorcycle. I will give him another 15 minutes and go onmy own. We are suppose to have rain the next week so I won't miss out on any bike riding days. Now I will keep my fingers crossed my toe survives the weekend without a bed or cart rolling across my toe.

Last day off

2008-07-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

        There is something sad about that but I am grateful to have a job. Things could be worse and the truth is I like my job so that helps.

      We are getting ready for another ride this morning. We have been reading the site on the trail to get us pumped up. I am really looking forward to it. I have to start doing hills though. Some of the hills are 14 miles long of just a gradual incline. After awhile your muscles just scream doing that. But then the joy of a downhill.

      I have been happy to see more plus size people out on the trails. I know when I started I was so self conscious. I am my own worse enemy. It doesn't help that my face sweats terribly and I burn instantly. By the end of our rides a look like I am going to have a stroke. I still love it and hope the woman and men that are riding are having as much fun. Maybe I should start a bike club. Call it plus peddler's or something. There is safety in numbers. What do you think?

       Yesterday I got my hair highlighted. It looks pretty good. We ended up not getting our ride in as we had to many candles burning. So today we are going for sure.

     I was talking to my hairdresser, yes they are just like a bartender, about my worries about Rick having early Alzheimer's.   I haven't mentioned it here as sometimes he reads my journal but I finally voiced my concerns to him. Some of the things he does is what we all do, forget names or calls the phone the iron, right Donna! But some things he is doing worries me. Like forgetting how to use something he uses daily. Like starting the car! Or dates. And when you tell him he swears you never told him. Plus he has had these anger bouts. Not like him at all and out of the blue for nothing. Lots of little things but they go slightly past the things we all do. So I am nervous. And try getting him to a doctor.

         Last year I finally convinced him to go and see the doc for a checkup. Took me 3 months to talk him into. Get there and voiced many of our concerns to the doc who completely dropped the ball. Found out he was in a fib and that is all he cared about. No sleep apnea test, nothing about the depression or memory loss, nothing nada squat. That happens alot. So I am thinking about getting a different doctor. One that will listen. because early treatment is important. And I hope I am wrong. Pray I am wrong actually.

    Anyway it was good to talk to someone about it. It runs in Ricks family.

     Besides that worry Luke's divorce hearing is today. His x has kept changing their agreement thanks to her Dads so he has been very depressed and upset. He couldn't get into the lawyer yet and we can't get them to hold off. Whats the big hurry! I guess they want to keep on ruining his life. I worry about him as he is as depressed as I have ever seen him and have made him promise not to do anything stupid.

         So some things of concern. Heavens forbid we just have a quiet happy little life here. LOL.

     Oh and of less concern. My puter is really causing problems.   I have lost all my memory. I have nothing downloaded. My son came over and checked everything out. There should be tons of memory but there isn't. At night Rick and I watch Netflix instant movies on the computer and cuddle on the spare bed, just cuddle. Now I don't have enough memory to even do that. So we need a new computer with as much memory as possible. No one seems to know why this is messed up, but I don't have a huge memory card anyway. With my pictures I need a bigger one although I don't store them on it.

    Last but not least. Have you ever noticed how often you bang your little toe? I keep hitting it. I hate wearing shoes so that is part of the problem but sheesh. The bruising is going away but it still crunches when I walk so I can tell it isn't set very well. From the bottom it is completely numb. Like I don't have a toe at all, but from the side, yikes, touch and yell. I keep telling myself. 5 more weeks and it will be healed if I don't break it again.

     Well, Rick isready so I had better get ready. My trusty bike awaits me.

My first and only Memenna

2008-07-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

I read this on Donna's and decided to do it. First time for everything right!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My grandfather Julius
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? When I broke my toe the other day
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Used to but now a days its messy
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? turkey
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? 2 by birth and 2 by the fact they were here all the time and I basically helped to raise them
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Of course.
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Sarcastic humor
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS Got a bad infection and they rotted off, gross I know.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? when I was younger definitely.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Toasted cinnamon square thingies my grandson turned me onto.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? ties?
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Mentally yes, not so much physically now
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Moose track frozen yogurt.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Smiles, natural or forced.
15. RED OR PINK? pink, its my granddaughter favorite color
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Weight
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST. My Mom.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Please send the links.
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? barefoot but usually black or nurse white.
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? supper last night, chicken, spring salad and veggies.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the radio, Rush Limbaugh
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? yellow
23. FAVORITE SMELL? The woods in the fall
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? dentist
25. FAMOUS PERSON YOU WOULD LIKE TO MEET? Nikola Tesla
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Why yes I do.
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Motocross
27. HAIR COLOR? light brown
28. EYE COLOR? hazel
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? glasses
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy Endings
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Born into Brothels, didn't have a happy ending...
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Maroon
34. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer
35. HUGS OR KISSES? both
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Apple slices dipped in melted peanut butter
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? no Idea
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? no idea
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? What Would MacGyver Do?
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Ruby Lane Antiques
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? No TV
42. FAVORITE SOUND? Children laughing
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Flin Flon Canada
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Gee, I can flare my nostrils, does that count?
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Iowa, across town actually.
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? All of them :)

The start of another week.

2008-07-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went on a great bike ride.     My toe didn't bother me at all so today we want to go for a longer ride. One with hills as I have to start getting ready for that. Times just flying. We will be on the trail in the Black hills soon. I can't wait. I ordered some bike shorts and we both are getting our bikes in to get tuned up for the ride. Rick is having trouble with his brakes and I want mine oiled and adjusted.

      Today, except for riding we have no other plans. Of course I could clean house, but it isn't going anywhere. Later we are going to try and get hold of my BIL and get the 400 he owes me. Now that he has his money...and owes me some of it ....we haven't heard a word from him. Before he got his money and wanted some we got calls everyday. Typical. Of course he always thought I had money running out of my ears. What tipped him off. My paint peeling house or my 16 year old car? Giggle. The rumors nurses are made of money! Remember I am in Iowa, state of the lowest paid nurses in the country. Lower then Guam and the Virgin Islands.

    My toe actually feels a little better today. So I will just hold off on the doctor for now. As long as I don't bang it again I can live with it. I can even get my bike shoes on. What else do I need?

Sunday already

2008-07-13T05:54:00.000-07:00

       And my front and side yards are covered with the orange wild lilies. definately a summer attraction. I love these flowers as they are so easy to grow and transplant.

     Yesterday was a bad day.   We had some running around to do in the morning. The longer I was on my foot the worse the entire darn leg felt. You find yourself favoring the leg with the broken toe. So then your calf starts hurting. So you favor the calf and the toe and your hip and back complain. Oh the importance of good posture.

     The toes is numb and swollen. Unless I hit it. So yesterday I hit it again on Ricks big old shoe. Put me through the roof with pain. And throbbing, oh my. And it hasn't stopped since. So I laid around the rest of day with ice on it.

     I have been having trouble with this same toe and foot. This is the same toe I broke a couple of years ago. Then I got arthritis in it. So this isn't helping. I have gotten 2 different suggestions. One says I should go see the doc in case it isn't set correctly. It it needs to be a lined better or even have screws put in it it will heal better reducing my chances of getting arthritis worse. Plus I would get pain pills. The other suggestion is to just tape it like I am doing and suck it up for a few weeks until it heals. That the doctor would probably just tape them together anyway.

        So...Poll Time

        The weather looks nice out right now. I am going to still try a bike ride. It might make my calf feel better. I don't use my toes to ride, just my middle foot so it might be OK and it would do wonders for my mood.

      Well, just wanted to whine a little. Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

Scary Drive

2008-07-11T15:32:00.000-07:00

Man oh man I tell you you take your life in your hands driving around these days. I wish I was a patrol cop as I would be giving tickets out right and left. Just some examples.

One woman was pointing something out to her passenger along the road. While they were both looking off to the side the car went over 2 lanes of traffic! Right in front of my new van. When they finally looked back at the road and realized she had strayed she zoomed right back to her original lane without checking traffic first. Once again right in front of us as we were doing evasive driving.

Another block later a car weaving back and forth. Getting up to it a young teenager was texting someone with both hands while steering with her elbows. She was probably all of 16 or 17. Already a pro. Able to drive blindly and kill unsuspecting middle age people with a single finger pushing send. Probably calling another teen who was driving.

Hi Sara, what are you doing?

Hi Cara, texting you, what are doing?

Texting you back.

Anything new since the 5 minutes I texted you last?

I saw a cute guy driving...how about you.

No...just mad looking old people behind me......

Couple of blocks further great grandfather Jo let loose from the senior center for the day slowly pulled out into the interstate at all of 12 miles a hour. Never mind the speed limit was 70. Forget about speeding up as he was only going 10 miles and he couldn't see good enough at high speeds to read his exit signs anyway. Life was going by fast enough without hurrying it along any faster.

Jim was mad at Jane. Loudly and with both hands to empathize his anger he was raging at her all the way down the block. Narrowly missing the poor bike rider ahead as he jabbed a finger in her direction to get his point across. So mad he was seeing red and went through the red to prove it.

And just to prove that idiot drivers don't necessarily need to be driving a car a bicycle rider runs a red light in front of a dangerous SUV, notorious for killing people anyway, and narrowly misses becoming tomorrows headline. "SUV kills innocent biker in mad road rage over gas prices".

Finally arriving home I was doubly grateful I had spent the extra money to be in a minivan rated to be among the safest on the road. They should sell insurance for driving across town. Hazard pay for drivers.

I feel like I should get a medal for arriving home safely. Kissing the ground I stagger in the house and to my room to meditate. Surely this is the real reason for high blood pressure and heart attacks.

Be safe all....be careful.

3 Years Journaling

2008-07-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

   Today is the day. 3 years of Journaling madness. It doesn't seem that long.

   It started out to keep a record of my weight loss. It has turned into kind of a diary type journal for me. I just jot down things as I think of them. Keep tract of dates of certain things so I can look back and I have found some wonderful people around the world to get to know. It brings home how much people all have pretty much the same goals. Just to live life. Have food on the table, a roof over their heads, family health and a little fun thrown in once in awhile. If only governments would journal they would see there is a wonderful kind world out there.

    I get to travel through all the wonderful photo journals throughout J-land in the comfort of my home and in my jammies. Cheaper on gas also. I get tips on hobbies, dieting, growing tomatoes. And wonderful friendships. Who would have thought all this from a on line journal.

       I don't write everyday and most entries are just puff stuff but looking back through the 3 years I have had some pretty good entries also. When I really miss my MIL, which is often, I go back and read entries before she got sick. A chuckle here and there.

    So anyway, Ta Da, 3 years.

    Today I am going to go pay some bills and boring stuff. It is hot hot hot out. It will be a challenge as my toe is purple and walking isn't fun. I am hoping my bike riding won't be affected. I have the broken toe taped to my other toe for support. Since I have broken toes before I know the next few weeks are going to be painful. With Ricks bike injury to his foot and my toe we will just hobble along holding on to each other for support, LOL. Hopefully we won't tip over.

Nice Day off

2008-07-10T23:05:00.000-07:00

I had a nice day off. Didn't do a darn thing productive. My oldest son is ill so we got him soup and jello and then took off so we didn't catch it. Such a good mom.

It is hot and humid in Iowa and all over from what I have been reading. So dinner out. We made it a long drawn out affair. Then I decided I was feeling lucky. I rarely gamble but felt in the mood so we went to the casino. I spend $8.00 in a dollar machine machine and hit $100.00 so left. Always quit when your ahead. Back to town to have a night cap and visit with friends. It was good to relax.

Rick has been cranky all week getting everything done to finish the estate so he needed some R and R also. He was in a much better mood by the time we left and I got my perfect rose. Just lovely and I do deserve it, LOL.

At home we watched a movie. Nothing most people would care about. It was call A Certain Kind Of Death. Its about what happen to people who die that have no family and what they do with the body and estate. Morbid I know but interesting as we get quite a few people these days who have no next of kin. They say it is going up also. All I can say is make sure you make your arrangements before you go. That is on my too do list.

Well it is late, I am tired. Didn't get a ride in. Just too hot and humid and Rick had a bike accident yesterday so is hurting too bad to ride. Also I broke my small toe and am hobbling around. We are quite the pair. Hope everyone has a great Friday.

If you can cultivate wholesome mental states prior to sleep and allow them to continue right into sleep without getting distracted, then sleep itself becomes wholesome.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Thursday and all is well

2008-07-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

         The start of my long stretch off is always cause for celebration. I am ready for it.   After the week at work I had I just need to shut down the ole brain for a while and relax. Some days the stress really gets to you. Have to be on top of it all the time. Usually I kind of enjoy it but the last few days were just a strain.

       Yesterday they finally closed the estate. Finished. What a long time that takes. Rick must have signed a million papers. I thought a will was suppose to make that easier. I swear it was easier when my mom passed and there were 5 of us kids. It will be nice not getting the daily call from my BIL to see if the lawyer has called yet. We have been trying to guess how long it will take him to go through the money. When I hear how he plans to invest it I think 8 months tops. I sure hope he moves.

       I am hoping to ride today. It is raining of course but maybe will clear up by the time I wake up. Hope so.

       I have been having computer problems for a few months here. Sometimes I can't sign on the computer. I have to shut it down and then sign on again to get it to work and sometimes not even that works. No internet connection it says. We had cable check their wires. Anyone have problems like this and what caused it. Is it cable or my computer?

      Well, time for bed. I am way behind on alerts. hope to catch up soon. Take care all.

Darn Weather

2008-07-07T06:22:00.000-07:00

        We had a tornado touch down in town yesterday and more bad weather expected today. We are starting to get a little punchy here everytime there is a cloud in the sky. It has been a unusual year. No riding again today. I am going to go to where the tornado touched down when I wake up and try and get some shots. Fortunately no one was hurt here but the park outside of town had some damage and 2 campers were injured.

     It was so hot and muggy right before the storm you just knew it was going to be bad when it hit.

   Well, I am off today. Getting ready for bed right now. Hope I don't get woke up to go to the basement. I am tired.

       Night all

Sunday already

2008-07-06T06:16:00.000-07:00

I just read about Linda's house fire.   Please stop by and offer support to this wonderful J-lander. I hope she will be back with us soon. I am just grateful they are all alright.

     I am on my last night tonight. The census on my floor is low, but the trauma's and accidents have been hot and heavy all holiday weekend.

    On the 4th I watched some of our fireworks from one of the empty hospital rooms with some patients that could get up. So pretty. I just love fireworks but not to let them off myself. Firecrackers are just plain boring compared to these big displays.

    I had some really cranky old patients this weekend who complained bitterly about being kept awake. Thing is if they hadn't been so darn sick and near death I would have let them sleep. Sheesh what do they think. Come in with a life threatening illness and don't want your sleep disturbed. Excuse for waking you up to save your cranky self. They all need manners matter awards to remind them.

    So that makes the work less enjoyable but in spite of them I managed to stabilize them nicely and they should make up. Only to go home and complain to anyone who will listen about how they got no rest in the hospital and we darn near killed them waking them up all night. Day nurses have it nicer in this regard. At night everyone gets mad at us. Call a doctor it had better be for a darn good reason. Have to call a family member at night and you scare the daylights out of them.

      The bike riding was going good and I am trying to drop some pounds. I have even given up my wonderful after ride beer which you all know I like once in a while. Too many calories for now.

     Well, I can feel myself getting sleepy so time for bed.   Hope everyone enjoys the day. It is hot and really muggy after the rain last night. Might as well sleep through the worse of it.

There's nothing wrong

2008-07-03T10:27:00.000-07:00

        Now what I think about this. The possibility of coming to America and making your fortune is what has been the motivation for legal immigrants from the beginning.

   And it happens. If you work hard it is possible in this country to get rich no matter who you are. If your lucky you can watch your company you started from scratch take off and become successful. Employ people, create jobs, pay taxes, enjoy the fruit of your labor. Now why should they be punished for that or made to feel quilty because they are successful at what you do? Why should anyone feel bad because you realized your dreams?

   Most very wealthy, not all I know, but most very wealthy people I know work very hard and long hours to be as successful as they are. And that is the American dream. The streets can be paved with gold if your willing to work at it. But lately the news, politicians, actors, and actresses, certain newspapers seem to want to make us all feel the guilt. For what! Being successful. John Doe across the street is more successful then me, well good for him. Joe Blow 2 blocks down lives in the gutter, well get up out of the gutter.

    Time to feel the pride again people. Don't let them tell you it isn't as good as it is because that is the first step to losing what we all cherish. Our freedoms. One at a time.

    Now I know some people will be upset about his entry but since I write when I get the inspiration and for me so be it. But it is something we all have to do. Feel the pride and wear it proudly.

     Happy 4th of July

This ticks me off

2008-07-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

       I was listening to the radio. Andy Williams, remember him. He was talking about the shows they did for the troops over the years. I remember watching footage of all the soldiers enjoying the shows. A break from fighting for our freedom.

      Seems they can't get the acts they want to see these days. The new left wing performers won't go and entertain our troops. Who are fighting for THEM. Because they don't support the war.

       And this ticks me off. I am old enough to know Vietnam vets. To know what those shows meant to them. And even when I have all these mixed feelings against war I always...ALWAYS support the men and women who are there fighting for us. FOR US. So this makes me mad. It makes me mad that they think we should not celebrate the 4th of July. Are they kidding! Who are these people? What rock do they crawl out from under that they don't know what is going on in the world.

     This young man or woman over there need and deserve your support. I am proud of them. I am proud of my country. I am proud of the performers who will go over there and lighten their load. If only for an hour. Thanks to those that do.   Shame on those who won't.

Good Morning everyone

2008-07-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

         After a soothing rain during the night I am awake and well rested. Soon I will be chopping up meat and veggies for the kabobs we are having today. I want to marinate them for awhile. Don't they sound good grilled, yummy.

      Rick is at the lawyers again this morning. Every time he signs some paperwork they say it is the last one, but everyday he gets a call there is one more. I swear the estate of my mom who died without a will and with bills was tons easier to close. Sheesh, if they would just let you take of your own business yourself we could have had this done a long time ago. The gas money alone running downtown all the time is expensive.

        Last night we went downtown to eat. It was the first day of the smoking ban in public places and I wanted to see how it affected business. Frankly, I don't smoke and can't stand the smell on my clothes, but to me how can they ban a legal substance? How can they tell restaurant owners and bar what they can and can't allow in their own places? I think if smoking is such a issue then make it illegal. But the government gets so many tax dollars they won't do that. What will they decide to ban next? Personally strong perfume bothers me, I have asthma attacks, why not ban that, and the smell of sweat or strong body odor, or... or... or. What will they turn their attention to next? Why us overweight people, and then the short people, and the tall people, and the people who drink pop.

      Man, sorry about that. I seriously did not mean to rant here. I should be hitting my other journal. Sometimes I just go off. Anyway. The holiday. I am going to see if I can work. The money would make me happy. I have a van payment due soon. Gee, I haven't had a car payment for a long time. Thats the downside to the new van. I read where they are saying the death of the mini van. I think it must be the death of the brand new overpriced mini vans because the used ones are just flying off the lots here and I see them all over. At least 4 out of every 10 vehicles on the road is a mini van. I am very happy with mine even though the gas mileage is terrible.

       My vacation is next month. I am so excited. We are going to ride again today and I am exercising to get in shape for it. We are thinking of going to Glacier Park after we leave the black hills. Depends on what it costs us riding around. I am going to bring my laptop so I can download my pictures on it. I have a feeling I will be taking tons. I can't wait.

     Well, I have to get the meat cut up. Hope everyone has a great and safe 4th of July.

Well, we are doing what we said we wouldn't do.

2008-07-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

I always said I would not do like my MIL and keep giving my BIL money to do the same thing he always did, drink it away. But here we find ourselves doing it. The money for the estate is due in about 6 to 9 days. BIL thought it would be today. Calls up with a sad story about how he lost his newest place to stay and has no money. Found out he quit his job because it was harmful to his health, Say What! Probably lost it for being drunk on the job. But I know how my MIL feels.

   Thing is I know he won't starve. There are several bars in town that give out free food, buffets set out on different days. BIL knows everyone of them. His favorite gives out free coffee in the morning. He is there at 8 am everyday. He complains they only give out 2 pots and won't make more. Gee, how stingy of them. He knows several people who sell stolen meat and when he has a fridge he buys that. So eating isn't a problem. But he can't get free smokes or free booze. Everyone knows all his sob stories now and the sympathy has dried up months ago.

    Rick sees him and he looks awful. One of this teeth has fallen out, or perhaps he pulled it. His hair and beard is long and dirty. We have told him he can bath and do his laundry here... but he won't. Rick is disgusted and afraid for him. I am worried about what will happen when he gets the money. His drinking will escalate. His health is already bad. I think he has hepatitis or worse. Probably liver disease. Instead of a few drinks a day, he will drink all day. And drive.

    His car has a broken headlight, and a dent. What did he hit with it. I know if he hits another car or a person he wouldn't stay around. I feel responsible just because I have the knowledge he is out there impaired. But how to get him stopped. If we don't give him money and he doesn't drive it is a good thing. But if he can't get to where the food is that is a bad thing. And he won't come here to eat because I am after all, one of the bitches who put him where is at today. He gets a perverse pleasure in that. I am too blame, not him.

   He is starting to look just like he did when hefirst came. He looks like he might die soon. We would like to save him....but he doesn't want to saved on our terms. This is what it is like to be the family of an alcoholic. You are powerless. You try not to think about it. Late night calls chill you. Stories about hit and runs make to scared to death. Other people pointing fingers and asking why you're not helping him out. Not realizing that you have....for years and years and years and that eventually you have to stop because that is how he gets by. Or does he. The fact that he is also a social path makes it worse.

   Well, another depressing post. I am just a bundle of joy aren't I, LOL. Sorry. This is just such a no win situation. One that will not have a happy ending I think. I am a spectator watching a story where I can't change the ending.

Bike riding and BBQ

2008-06-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went on a lovely bike ride. The weather has been so rainy that it is difficult to get a ride in but yesterday was perfect and we are going for a ride after supper. Rick is grilling chicken so I will need to ride after the meal. Not much to say today just if you want to see pictures from the ride check out the link. I am rushed so will write more later. Bye all.

This is all over

2008-06-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

This subject is near and dear to my heart. Should be to us all that can't afford health care.

2008-06-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely night. Went down to the river. A fancy restaurants, good food. I had blackened Walleye, fresh asparagus, salad. The weather was nice. Good breeze. Nice looking man to spend the evening with. Couple of fresh IPA's or Indian pale ales to you non beer drinkers. Good blues music on the way home. Now I am trying to talk my nice old man into a fire pit with a good dark red wine and a dance or two around the warmth of the fire. Watch out city. Julie is off for her long stretch. Early morning rise and biking by the river. You can't tell me it gets better then this. This is what makes every breath a special one. Ommmmmmm.

And just because

2008-06-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

I ran across this and it always make me smile and want to dance and sing.

Baby Eagle

2008-06-26T06:37:00.000-07:00

         If you have been continuing to follow the blight of Eagles you already know their last offspring developed Avian flu and has a large mass on its bill. The lastest update sounds promising though as it is shrinking and drying up some which will make the surgery safer. It is thriving and getting big. Hopefully next year we will get to see them in the nest like next year. What a year they have had.

      I am done with work now.   A severe storm blew up suddenly and we got just soaked here but hopefully it will be nice later. We want to sit by the river tonight and listen to some live jazz and sip on wine. Let the sunshine in.

Work and BIL

2008-06-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

      I am on my last night of work on my stretch. I might pick up a day later in the week as we are so busy, but haven't decided. I am ready for a rest though.

      My BIL was over today dropping something off for us to store for him. He has gotten kicked out of his 2nd place he was staying. His beard and mustaches is long and dirty looking with his black teeth peeking out. He is truly scary looking. Since he has long ago gone through his money he is probably detoxing since he is sick. Turns out he quit his job as he says it was affecting his health. Hummm. So this is better? This is what end stage alcoholism looks like. You can talk to him until you are blue in the face, but he is in such complete denial and refuses to change his lifestyle even if he is dying. Rick gave him some more money and the first, the very first thing he asked him is, do you want to get a beer?

     I was really hoping maybe hitting bottom would be the key. He found a place to live and got a job. But it was short lived. We should be getting the estate money this week so he will be flush for awhile. But he will blow the money I bet before the year is out. If he lives that long. This is the saddest thing.

    Well, I have to get supper ready. Have a great day. It is hot and steamy here. Thank goodness for DC.

Tuesday's Song

2008-06-24T08:30:00.000-07:00

     It's Tuesday and I have 2 more nights of work left. Yippy. Bad thing is I have to be charge on this night from now on. It is stressful because we have new nurses, nothing against new nurses, and pulled help on this day so lots of questions and I have to be on top of everything. When I do charge more often it gets easier, but since I don't have to do it often it does cause me a little stress. But I will get through it. I just hope it isn't as busy as it was this weekend.

     I was working with a young nurse this weekend. This is the nurse I had mentioned that it was D-day one day and she didn't know what that was. She was talking about voting for president and how excited she was about voting. I asked her why she had chose the candidate she is voting for and she said she likes the way he talks. Which of his issues do you agree with I asked? Issues? Man oh man.

   I told her to go home and study marxism, in fact study all the ism's. Communism, socialism, capitalism etc.... so she could really make a informed vote when the time came. In school these days they make all that sound OK. They make you ashamed to live where we do. Ashamed of all the things we have accomplished in our short history.   Yes we do have problems but...... Be careful what you vote for. Especially if you have no clue what your voting for. It's scary. Of course they didn't know who George Carlin was either so maybe I am just getting old.

   But seriously. When I was in my teens I studied all the ism's on my own. They all sound so good on paper. Its in theory that the true problems show up. We should be able to learn from history, if they would teach it correctly.

    OK, off my soapbox. We didn't get to ride yesterday because we had.....Rain! What a surprise. Now I have ridden in rain lots of times and it can be nice, but not with lightening. I did do some exercises and have the painful back to prove it. And I am officially going back to my healthy eating as I have been so bad lately. Just eating what was sat in front of me. Shame on me. I have been using Spark people again to log my eating and exercising.

    Lots of running around to do today.   Rick is at the lawyers finally closing the estate. It will make my BIL happy. He has been hounding them all last week. As the lawyer said tongue in cheek, we have bonded with him, LOL. I have been through that bonding. I am glad they are keeping him in the loop and having a meaningful dialog with him.

    Zoey and the guinea pig Chester are getting along better. I still think Zoey would rip him to shreds if given the chance,but at least I can pet Chester now without Zoey grabbing something and chewing it up or barking like crazy. Chester is to the point where he likes to be petted also. We are all getting along.

    It is quiet here. Peaceful. I did like the craziness of last week though. Miss those kids.

Well, time to shower. My back is killing me so when Rick gets back I am going to have him help me with the TENS unit. It helps but is a pain to try and keep on and put on. Take care all.

A new Week

2008-06-23T06:41:00.000-07:00

         Last week was so busy and the weekend wasn't any better. Work was non-stop. I will have 2 more days and then my week off. If it goes as fast as last week did it will be here in no time.

         The kids made it home OK. They had a blow out and it took them forever but they arrived safely. I sent Mackenzie the picture she made. My little martian. Don't it make her blue eyes green.....

       I wrote the city a email commending the clean up crew for my basement problem.   They really saved the day and the basement smells wonderful. And on fathers day to boot. I don't know what we would have done if they hadn't cleaned it so well.

     We made it the entire night without rain.   Haven't had that happen for awhile. It is suppose to be nice today so I am sleeping until 2 and then hopefully a bike ride. We keep having to much going on lately to ride much. We need to get in condition for our ride. We need to get a hitch on the new van also.

    The new van is working wonderful. We still have been driving the old one alot because Zoey gets such muddy paws. She likes the new van though.

    Well, not much to say. Sorry to hear about George Carlin. Some of his stuff was classic and I think he might have been the first to put it on records. Not sure of that but he could make you laugh. I loved his observations. RIP.

         Bye all.

Gone

2008-06-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

    Everyones face looked like this this morning. Both kids pretended like they couldn't wake up and Mackenzie started to cry. I want to stay! It was so hard. I wanted them to stay also. So we talked about the next visit and promised to save all our pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters so we could see each other again.

    We did a sweep of the house and were sure they had gotten everything, but found a shirt and shorts from Gabe behind the door. They will be too small by the next time they come. The house seems quiet and we are already missing them. I tried not to let them see me crying as they pulled away.

   We had fun while they were here. Went hiking and I finally hit the infamous Chucky Cheese. It actually was pretty fun.

        Now work tonight. I got up at 5:30 this morning so spent the rest of the day trying to nap. I just am not a napper. I husband can sit in one place for a minute and fall asleep. Wish I was that lucky. So tonight will be a little difficult but I will sleep like a dream tomorrow.

       More rain and hail today. Hope it just stops. Enough already. I will have to catch up on everyone's journals. But now. Now I am getting supper ready. BBQ chicken. Yummy.

Hello everyone

2008-06-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

     Today is the last full day of my grand children's visit. It has been so much fun and it is great to get to know them again. We have been going to parks, museums and swimming. Gramma is exhausted as I am out of practice.

   Yesterday we donated money to the American Red Cross for the flooding victims. The kids saw first hand the destruction on their trip across Iowa.

   I am pretty proud of the people of Iowa. They have rolled up their sleeves and gotten to work cleaning up with little complaints and pointed fingers about who was to blame.   The mayor is right along side them cleaning, not shooting his mouth off. The people left when told it might not be safe. Very little looting. Some businesses are already opened again. Neighbors helping neighbors. This is a huge disaster with years of damage ahead due to flooding fields. My heart goes out to them all. Many lost everything they owned. So if you see a red cross station looking for donations, don't pass it by. Who knows when it might not be your town next.

     Today we are not doing anything special. Just enjoying them. I am having spaghetti for supper we are just enjoying each other. I find myself mad at my son. I know he was miserable but part of me still thinks, he made his bed. Better and worse etc.... For the kids you stay together. I have to work on that. My granddaughter is so sad. It breaks my heart. I know my son hasn't been happy for years though. Just a terrible sad situation.

     Anyway. They are sleeping late but will probably be up soon. I have some blueberry muffins to make. Bye all.

The Grandchildren made it

2008-06-16T18:38:00.000-07:00

Doesn't Zoey look content.

They are both bigger, smarter, and more energetic then the last time I saw them. I am having a ball.

This Fathers Day Stinks

2008-06-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

Literally

     What with all the rain and things today of all days my sewer has backed up in the basement. Can you say smell! Here I spent all morning dusting and vacuuming, cleaning the bathroom and then OMG, whats that smell. I looked at Zoey, she has some pretty room emptying gas at times, but she was sleeping soundly.

   So now the kids are due in a few hours and my house stinks to high heavens. The workers are down there working and hopefully will have some tips to rid the place of the smell. I have a ton of bleach I can use but bleach triggers my asthma big time. We may end up in a motel. Any suggestions? I have never had this happen before. Fortunately my basement isn't a finished basement. What a mess that would be.

     Of course I could sleep in my new van. I think it is comfortable enough. So, hope all you fathers out there are having a better fathers day then my husband is.
________________________________________________

Well, it turned out to be the city's sewer that backed up so at least I didn't have to pay for it and they sent someone out to clean it. So here are 4 fathers scrubbing down my smelly basement and getting it to smell like a rose. The house is 100% better. They also disinfected the basement with antibacterial wash. And they were very prompt.

   The kids still aren't here though they are in Iowa. Detouring here and there and slowly making their way closer. Soon they will be in my arms.

New van

2008-06-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

Below is a picture of my old van. It was falling apart and looked simply awful but still we got years of use out of it. I needed something more reliable though.

So today I bought a 2007 Hyundai Entourage limited. It had great reviews and I love the inside. It rides like a good car. Leather seats that are heated in the winter. All the toys and fold down stow and go back seats. Low miles and the body is in great shape. So...ta da. A new van to drive my grandchildren around in style.

Nice improvement. Of course on a gravel road we will not see it this shiny as often as I would like.

Floods and Grandchildren

2008-06-14T08:30:00.000-07:00

       This is the weekend my grandchildren are suppose to come for a visit. In fact they are on their way. Trouble is a lot of Iowa is underwater. Roads are flooded all over across the state. How to get here. I want to hug them so much. I haven't seen my granddaughter is 3 years. But I want them safe. So everyone please say a prayer for their safe travel. I miss them like a part of me has been removed not to mention my son has been heartsick since he moved here.

    It finally motivated me to get my antique bed home. My MIL left her bedroom set to me. I only brought the bed so far. The dresser is next but I have to move the dresser in this room to the other bedroom and what to do with that dresser. I wonder if my son would like it. Anyway, I haven't got the pictures hung yet but here is the bed with one of my MIL's quilts. It seems strange to see it here.

          I love the headboard on the bed.

     We are going to go test drive a minivan today. It is the Hyundai Entourage. It has a great safety record and actually the interior is very nice. We also are looking at a Chrysler Town & Country. Last week I was going to buy the Town and country but it was sold before we got there. I want a used one, 2006 or 2007. The thought of driving off the lot and immediately having your car go down in value keeps me from buying new. Plus the cost. So, anyone have either of these and any opinions?

     Thats about it today. Maybe a ride later and keeping a eye on the flooding. Maybe by tomorrow evening I will be hugging my grandchildren.

In support of porta potties

2008-06-13T04:21:00.000-07:00

           In support of the porta potty

   I have a theory that more women are overweight then men due to lack of wash room facilities in our nations walking and biking trails. There is something about exercising and fluids that go hand in hand. The harder you exercise the more you are suppose to drink.

    However.... I have to be very careful about that and I know I am not the only woman out there with this problem. I have to be very careful to only drink back in what I have sweated out and not a drop more or I will have to make a potty stop. Thus lies the problem.

   Lack of adequate facilities to relieve ones self in privacy.

   Now a man has the best of both worlds. Due to the nature of the beast he can casually stand there doing his Christopher Columbus imitation, one foot propped on a rock, one hand shading his eyes as he intently stares at the horizon for new worlds to conquer. From a distance and sometimes even close you aren't 100% sure what he is doing. He can confidently go where no man has gone before.   But the woman? She wants a man to have gone before....the man who places the porta potty's!

   A woman can't pretend she is doing anything but what she is actually doing if forced to void in the wild. Go to any trail USA of any distance and behind any bush of any size you will find evidence of hopefully bio gradable tissue. When women are in the wild they are scanning the horizon also, but they are looking for the next best place to go.

    I have to plan my travels very carefully and know the exact distance from every Starbucks to the best and cleanest place to make a privacy stop. On a long trail or out fishing though it is a challenge.

       My favorite fishing hole has no natural ground cover. It has banks. Muddy banks with spiders lurking in them. I have been known to fish for 6 hours in 100 degree temps without drinking a drop of water. Pass out with dehydration instead of excitement when I catch the big one.

    On bike trails you can always tell when a woman has to go. All of a sudden with Lance Armstrong speed she pulls way ahead of the pack to try and buy herself 4 minutes of lead time to squat behind a bush or boulder.

    I think more women would exercise and fish if there was a porta potty every few miles. After all.... a girls got to do what a girls got to do. And after a couple of kids and a few years you have to do it a little more often.

    The lucky woman has a long suffering spouse set out as lookout. Ready to scan the trail and shout out a warning to you. "Biker"! "Just turned corner two". "ETA 3.4 minutes". "Get a move on"! You squat there with the tall grass tickling your cold bottom and try to hurry mother nature. Cussing under your breath that some other is biker sharing Your Trail! How dare they! Didn't they know you would have to void! 5-4-3-2- Up with the pants. Hurriedly looking down and commenting loudly on the pretty little flower you are looking at under the shrub which is why you squatting there as the smug male biker rides by. He knows what your doing. I do not know for sure but I wouldn't be surprise if the male bicyclist didn't even have to get off his bike. Its just not fair..........

   So if you got this far you are probably wondering what in the heck I am doing up at 6 am writing an entry about using the porta pot! The answer is simple. Can't sleep. Going to ride today and I had to void!

Storms

2008-06-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

   Yesterday I was suppose to be off for a meeting today. So I only slept 4 hours after working all night.. I wanted to go to Lemars and look at a van. Did I mention we are looking for a new mini van?

   Anyway when we were up there the clouds started to look very threatening. We rushed home. We could see funnel clouds all over all the way home. Very threatening weather. I wish I had my camera. Don't leave home without it should be my motto. I could have gotten some very cool shots.

   At home work called and told me I needed to work at 11 as someone had called in. Yikes. I had only slept about 4 hours out of 30. Off to bed. A hour later I got called that our external disaster plan was put into effect due to the scout camp getting hit plus the weather was hammering us.

   We got 2 blocks from the hospital and the police had the roads blocked off. They opened them up for me though, :-)

      We didn't end up getting any further severe weather that night, but we were very busy. The patients we got from the scout camp went to our ICU's and they canceled the disaster plan but since I still had to work at 11 I stuck around for my shift sipping on a energy drink.

    I suppose everyone has heard about the tragedy at the Scout camp. My hearts go out to the families.   We also have several towns and our farm fields under water. It just keeps raining and raining. In fact it looks like it is going to rain right now and some area's are having severe storms again today.

   With that in mind I slept as long as possible. If I get called in again I am rested. Hope this all settles down soon. Stay safe all.

You know you getting older when....

2008-06-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

You buy clothes from Blair catalog.

      Throughout the years my MIL was always coming up to me with her catalog saying, "Look Julie, isn't this cute"? "Yes", I would say thinking she was going to buy it. "Do you want me to order it for you"? she would ask. "Heaven's No," I would reply, with a hasty, "not that is not cute, but I really don't need any more clothes".

Sometimes thinking I was being polite she would order it anyway and give it to me for Christmas or my birthday. Oh gosh, how thoughtful of you. They would go to the bottom of my closet drawer.

   I alway thought of the clothes in that catalog as being for women in their late 60's on. That is the type of woman I saw wearing them, gray haired ladies. It looked to be full of polyester and bold flower prints or matching sweat suit items. Nothing a young hot chick like me would ever wear.



    Well.... now we are still getting her mail forwarded here. Last week the Blair catalog came. As I was getting ready to toss it a shirt caught my eye. And I bought it. 3 of them actually. And they came and I like them.

       My MIL would be so proud.

Wow

2008-06-08T06:24:00.000-07:00

      Don't you think this graphic looks like me?
   I heard we had more moods to choose from but Wow. It should fill every emotion that's for sure.

Right now exhaustion is a good one. I am down to one more shift. We have been so busy. We got 9 admits yesterday. It keeps you running. I was charge for 2 nights, but last night got to just enjoy taking care of my patients.

     The weather has just been one storm after another. The ground is just mushy and the rivers are all running full and over full in some places. Once again my basement is leaking. And hot and muggy. I couldn't even get my hair to dry yesterday. Now that makes me cranky. We are planning on finally replacing our furnace we have kept going with duck tape and bubble gum and getting central air. I will feel like I died and went to heaven.

        My youngest is finally moved over into his new home. Still has no groceries or shampoo but now has toothpaste. They showed up yesterday at 5 right when we were leaving to go out to eat, LOL. That will teach him to call first.

        Well. Time for me to hit the hay. I slept terrible yesterday so really need to get rested up. Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Dante's Inferno.

2008-06-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

   I was at my son's the other day and saw an old book on the table from 1948.   Dante's Inferno.

   Turns out my son rescued it from the auction. I didn't even know my MIL had this book. What a wonderful book.

"Through me the way into the suffering city,
Through me the way to the eternal pain,
Through me the way that runs among the lost.
Justice urged on my high artificer;
My maker was divine authority,
The highest wisdom, and the primal love.
Before me nothing but eternal things were made,
And I endure eternally.
Abandon every hope, ye who enter here."

The graphics were just wonderful illustrations by Gustav Dore. I hadn't read the book in years.

   Of course when I was a moody teenager it was on my must read list and I spent many a deary day quoting passages of this wonderful book to all who would listen. What a dork I was. However. It is still a great book and it did my heart good to see my son had saved it. So I was checking on line and found this interesting site. A very abbreviated version but still good.

Dante's inferno.. a virtual tour through hell.   Makes me definitely want to stay on the straight and narrow. It justs shows one part of the book. Not purgatory or arriving at heaven.

You have to get the book to read the rest of it. The poetry is among the best.

A different day.

2008-06-05T08:58:00.000-07:00

        Thank you all for your emails and replies. I feel better this morning.

       Death is a part of life and I do understand it. Believe me. I also believe when it is your time the most skilled doctor won't be able to save you. Karma. So many times you feel a sense of relief the persons suffering has ended and they are on their way to a brand new journey. Yes...I do believe in a afterlife.

     I guess I was just unprepared for this. Shocked. He was so healthy looking. So it hurt.

     I worked oncology for 10 years.   Loved it. People would ask me how I could work that department and get to know all these people that would eventually die. Well believe it or not not everyone dies from cancer anymore. We have some very successful treatment out there. But with the ones who didn't have a good outcome it was wonderful to be able to help them and keep them comfortable. And a honor to get to know them and their families.

     So I will get by this. I work tonight starting my long stretch. Should be interesting as my back is really on the brink today. We also are expecting severe storms. My computer has been off more then on lately due to the lightening storms all over. Strange weather.

     Speaking of which. I can hear the thunder so I should close down again. Thanks again.

Life...and Death

2008-06-04T18:23:00.000-07:00

I am so full of sorrow today. If you think nurses don't care then you don't know people. Some hide it better. Some can not show it until they are alone. Some choose not to share. But we hurt. I am hurting sooooo bad tonight. Broken and wondering why I keep doing this to myself. Why did I choose to put myself into this position. I could have been anything. Done anything. Painless things.

I feel emotions are a good thing. I believe in feeling your entire emotions.....but sometimes, tonight, maybe I am wrong. Maybe not feeling this would be nice. Nice. I probably won't post this. I did post it on my other journal. Will I ruin someones night. Make them sad. Invite them to join me? In my sorrow.

Bad day off

2008-06-04T05:17:00.000-07:00

       Nursing is a great profession, don't get me wrong. But it also a profession that you have to take a lot of classes for the rest of your life.   And they always seem to fall on your day off.   So today, instead of enjoying my day off I have to sit in on a hour boring class. And learn again about things I already know and have known for years. So the hospital has proof they have competent help working there. The fact that they are adding a 8 hour day to the front of my 4 day 12 hours a day stretch doesn't seem to matter. That fact the most of them say they couldn't work that many 12's in a row much less that many with another day added to the front. Sigh. Whine. Waaaaaaahhhh.

   So anyway. That is what I am up to. Class from 8 to 4. I hope it is a stormy awful day so I don't mind being in.

     My son spent the first night in his new home last night. How exciting for him. Of course he didn't buy a single bit of food but his computer and game system are there. His room look sad and lonely. And dusty.

      Well, off I go. To fill my head of proof that I can do the job I have been doing for the last 29 years. Bye all.

The almost finished house.

2008-06-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

      I thought I would show the almost finished house. Not finished because I know he will decorate the way he wants. We just set the furniture so we could get an idea. I think it looks pretty good. Personally I would have used a satin finish instead of a semi gloss but that would be my choice. Anyway. Here is the living room before and after.

      The kitchen

      I like the way the archway turned out.

     The upstairs bedroom is being painted. I like the color.

        We didn't get a ride or photo shoot in today. What did I do?   Look for a new van. I found a couple I really like. So pretty. Now to talk them down in price and test drive them. We also went to some flea markets and just lazed around. Feels good to just be lazy. Tonight I am watching a movie. We have bad weather again all around us but not here yet. What a spring we are having.

       Take care all.

Hello

2008-05-31T19:15:00.000-07:00

        Well, we were lucky enough to not get blown away the other day. The clouds were just awesome and we saw funnels galore but besides losing our electrical transformer the tornadoes stayed away. We didn't have electricity for a few hours. That is bad when your wondering what the weather is doing.

     My son's house is finished. Today he started moving things in. Mostly his few hundred books. We all read a lot in this family. The great thing about getting rid of TV is it cultivated book reading in us all. He likes to buy his books so he always has something I can read. I don't buy them much anymore as I am trying to keep the libraries alive by going there often.

   It seems mostly these days like it is full of perverts huddled over the computers on the top floor. Hutched over the screen trying not to let people know they are trying to pick up children on the internet or looking at porn. Scary unkempt people you wouldn't want to meet in an alley.

   The library tried to bar them, but even perverts have more rights then us. Prove it! Well...their body language proves they are doing something you just don't want to know about.   Are they talking to your daughter or granddaughter? Pretending to be their age. Sending them pictures of their private parts! I did see that show on TV when we were staying at my MIL's. Scary stuff.

   Sometimes the entire computer thing makes me cringe.   My predator father would have had a field day with the new technology. He preyed on newly widowed women. Befriended them, wooed them, married them and took everything they owned. Abused them for kicks and slept with their daughters. Destroyed them. I have nothing of my father in me. Just the knowledge that these type of monsters do exist.

         Anyway. What have I been up too? Not to much. Finished the son's house. Tried to stay dry. Looking at marbles and new clocks. studying my new class on line, reading a good book. Waiting for dry weather so I can take my bike out. Tomorrow we are going on a photo shoot and to an auction to check out some clocks. I think I have room for a couple more. I promised my oldest one of my clocks for his place when he moves.

        I am behind on alerts. My computer keeps crashing. I have read most of them but right in middle....boom, the computer is down. Ticks me off. Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Take care all.

Dangerous weather

2008-05-29T06:32:00.000-07:00

They are predicting some pretty severe weather and tornadoes later today and tomorrow.   What.!   On my day off!   So we are making sure the batteries in the flashlights are good, charging the phone, cleaning any spiders out of the best place to say in the basement. and keep our ears pealed. It has been raining for hours. We have the same forecast for tomorrow. I hope nothing happens. There is a stillness and heaviness in the air. Not good.

     I am going to bed and sleep through it I hope. I am sore and need to sleep. Take care all.

                Julie

The body I want for only a Dollar!

2008-05-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

Wow, wouldn't it be wonderful if just once....once the spam mail was for real!   Send in my dollar plus S & H and a detailed list of just how I would want my body to be.   Let me see.

   I want to be taller.   Thinner is a given, but not too thin. I don't want all my wrinkles removed because there are a few I deserve to keep. I earned them the hard way. Pretty feet. I always wanted pretty feet as mine just look terrible in sandals.

I am not much of a shoe person, but always loved open toed sandals. Cute little painted toes sticking out.

Lets see, what else. Long thick hair. The kind that always looks good even when it is messy. Skin that tans. Yup, that should just about do it. Oh...a great brain. That is the most important. A thinking brain.

   Wait. I think I have that already. Must have because even though the spam mail gave me a pleasant little moment, I deleted it and all its false promises. One out of 10 not bad, right!

God Bless our Troops, and Thanks.

2008-05-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

Thank you all of the brave men and women to whom we owe our freedom too. You are all in my daily prayers and my gratitude can never be completely expressed.

Nothing like a day off.

2008-05-26T06:39:00.000-07:00

      When asked what it is about my job I like I usually say the 7 days off, and its true to an extent. I live for my long stretch off. However I do love my job.

       I had to orientate a nurse the other day. Just to make it interesting I took a stupid pill and had trouble answering the most simple of questions the entire night. Man.... just went blank every time. Its not that I don't know it... I do, its just she would thrown them at me out of the blue while my mind was miles away in the other direction. What a impression I made, LOL. Thank goodness I can do my job without actually being able to articulate what I am doing.

        Anyway so here I am with a day off. 2 more to go.   Reading the weather I had visions of a bike ride later today when I got up but storms are once again rolling through town. Makes for great sleeping, but bad riding. The trip is getting closer and closer and I am far behind in my training. Being the smart nurse I am...really.....just don't ask me any questions, LOL, I do know better then to ride a metal object in a lighting storm.

   I could sit at this desk and study. I am doing some reading about quantum physics which is a subject I really love. I used to sit in on some classes at the local college when my old teacher taught. Trying to understand the wave structure of matter in light and matter. I can understand the concept, but the math has me lost. Why wasn't I born with a clever mind. Sigh. Anyway it keeps me puzzled and occupied for the times I can't get out and about and have no good book around to waste away the hours.

    Well, time to go get some shut eye. I hope we get good weather for when I wake up. Outside the window a turkey just wandered by. The woods are green. The birds are singing. It is hard to sleep through it all.

Hello Everyone

2008-05-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

       Just got done with day 2 of my stretch. So far so good.    I had great patients and really enjoyed them. Did a short dance with on man when we got him out of bed.
Much better then the last night I worked that messed me up so bad.

        The TEN's unit is giving me some relief. Takes the sharp take your breath away pain away so its a good thing. I have been doing my exercises and taking it slow. No more painting. I have been planting some coleus in different varieties, this one is the mound one. It looks like a colorful round bush when bigger. Should be so pretty.

   And my usual flowers.

        Slowly my yard is looking better. I love it like this. We have been getting thunderstorms for the past couple of days so sleeping has been great also.

          Speaking of sleeping its time for me to turn in. take care all.

Just beautiful

2008-05-18T19:27:00.000-07:00

Turned out pretty good

2008-05-18T17:32:00.000-07:00

   I finished the room today and must say, it looks great. It really turned out better then I had hoped it would.   This room is pretty much the way it was when my MIL had it except the poster of Dan's. He kept some of the things and will slowly replace them with things more his taste. Except the bed and he actually likes the duck. He doesn't care for the sofa and loveseats pattern but free is good so he will keep them for now. The curtains came with the house and he doesn't exactly like them also but once again, replacing the curtains right now would be pretty expensive. So what do you think, is the bedroom a success?
Before

After, Ebony likes it and thinks it is a restful room now.

Before

After,

       I could rest in this room

      And last the archway downstairs. I love the way it turned out. And a picture of the last room to finish. Its the largest room.

before and after pics

2008-05-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

   We have the dining room finished. Dan isn't going to use it as a dining room though. It will be his media and game room. The color looks startling at first but really is pretty with the furniture in it and it changes colors during different times of the day. Its a very warm comforting room at night.

         Next they start on the living room. I can't wait to see it.   Yesterday and today I worked on his bedroom. We weren't going to paint his bedroom but I made a small mistake and had to.

      My in laws had painted everything antique white. So I have been going around touching up areas that we had filled cracks and nail holes on. I painted some area's in Dans room and didn't realize until it dried that it wasn't the same paint. What! You can see the smears on the wall in this shot. One was a flat and I just painted it semi glossy. So I told him I would fix it.

So then I had to try and match it. I bought a satin antique white and slapped it on. What! It was whiter.

    Darn. Dan works night like I do and wasn't happy about how light the room was to start with. Now it was even whiter.   So I called him and told him I found a nice color and would paint the room. Fine. Run to the store and start painting. OMG. It looked terrible.

    Definately darker and not at all how it had looked like in the store. Man what to do.

   There was nothing I could do but keep painting and hope a couple of coats would make it look better. I also decided not to paint all the walls, just 2 walls and make the other 2 walls much lighter. So on I went, painting away and wondering if Dan was ever going to forgive me.

    All of a sudden there is a knock on the door. I open it a crack and there is Dan. He woke up early and came over to see how great his room looks. Hummmmm. I opened it and told him in honor of him being a milk man I made his room chocolate milk colored.   Mom....."did you just paint my room dark brown"? Well...... that went over well. However. By the time the 2nd coat dried it was looking much better. Still dark but better.

      It is actually a pretty color. And you have to admit. It will make sleeping during the day easier. Today we went and got a much lighter color to compliment the other 2 walls and painted them. It looks nice. We are trying to decide if we should do the trim in the opposite colors. The window and porch door dark brown and the door and closet the lighter color. Picture a cream on your coffee. I will get pictures tomorrow to show the finished product.

   So the room got painted after all. To brighten it up a colorful comforter would really look good. And he forgave me. He really likes it now.

   So that was my day. Yup, back to painting. He did all the trim work and climbing on the ladders. Its coming along. We also almost have the kitchen finished.

    Its all painted, now to finish the windowtrim and clean up.

Thursday

2008-05-15T08:59:00.000-07:00

        Its Thursday already and a beautiful day out. Spring is really hear and the birds are cheeping and the flowers are blooming. Even the dandelions are pretty.

        I have been laid up for 3 days. The back and neck went totally south on me and I finally had to take to bed with ice packs, pain pills and my TEN's unit. The nerve pain I was having was extremely painful. I am feeling better today,but still under a fog from the effects of the medications. I hate them but am grateful for them when I get like that. Today it has settled down enough that tylenol is enough to make it livable. I think it was from working Sunday. It was such a busy night and we had to move alot of beds. That pushing and pulling really gets to me some days. Thankfully I am getting better and doing my exercises today.

     Since I have been laid up I have been reading the biography of Nikola Tesla the inventor and electrical genius whose theoretical work was responsible for AC among other wonderful inventions. He was the first to work on robotics, radio waves, X Ray and actually was more responsible then Edison for the lighted world we know. He also had OCD and everything in his life had to be dividable by 3 to make him happy. When eating soup he figured out the cubic contents in the bowl. It is a very interesting book.

One thing that interests me and worries me and that the author also addresses.   Children these days with these gifts, as he was gifted from early childhood, are often put in specialclasses and drugged with Ritalin and other such drugs to stifle their creativity and make them " behave as normal" in class. What inventions of the future are being forever lost by our insistence of putting everyone in a certain mold and punishing those who venture beyond it. Sad.

          My son's painting is done in the one room. It turned out lovely. I laid on the couch and watched the guys paint it. I like to paint so it was hard to just watch but to tell the truth I just wasn't up to it. I haven't had pain quite this bad for a long time. I hope to not have it for a long time to come.

       Zoey has been a jealous wreak since Chester came.   The other day I was feeding Chester and Zoey grabbed a snowman I had and tore it to bits. I bet with every bite she was pretending it was Chester. She never does things like that. Lets hope she never gets hold of the little guy as I think he would be chewed on also.

       Chester is so cute. Pouty little mouth and fat little piggy body he makes the cutest noises and begs when we come in the room. He loves apples and carrots. I think I could teach him tricks for them but Zoey would go mad. Silly animals.

       Rick already looks like he needs a trim. His hair grows so fast. He is finally used to it and getting over the phantom ponytail feeling. I must admit to missing his hair. It was just so him. It is still a shock at times to see him.

      Well, this is really about all I can think of to write and all the time I can sit here. What a bother. Take care all.