Ouch! That hurt!

OK, this actually happened the Thursday before Thanksgiving. I thought I posted it, but as it turns out, I didn't. So I'm putting it in now.

Picture this:



My garage.

10pm

Stack of clean, neatly folded clothes in my arms.

I turn away from the washer and dryer and take a step toward the door when all of a sudden....BAM! I knew the box was there. It's always there. That didn't stop me from kicking into it. And it's full of stuff. Stuff that is heavy. Stuff that when you kick into the box with your baby toe, the box doesn't budge. But something had to give and, unfortunately, it was my baby toe that was doing the giving.



It's broken.

Charna

~*~ CHARNA MARIE CHALUPCZYNSKI ~*~

I received some sad news yesterday. Charna, my first baby puppy, had to be put to sleep. She had been sick for several years and she just seemed to get a little bit worse everyday. She used to get ear infections all the time and had become deaf from the repeated use of medicine to stop the infections. She had numerous lumps, bumps, and tumors that had developed over the last couple of years. Well, from what I understand, she started having nose bleeds recently. According to the doctor this was due to tumors that she developed either in her nose or in her brain.

Poor Charna.

She put up the good fight, but it was time to let her suffering stop.

She loved her Aunt Maura and always showed her affection anytime I came to visit. Even after I moved away, and my visits with her became less and less, Charna still remembered me when I'd come to visit. We would share an "Aunt Maura cookie" which was a cookie that I would give her just because.

Her tail would wag like crazy when I was around. She wanted to be near me so I could pet her and love her. And I did. Even though she was older now, she'd still act like a puppy whenever I saw her.

For Christmas I would get her a big rawhide chewy and she would hoard that thing and growl at anyone who tried to take it. She loved her rawhides.

I will miss you, Charna. I hope you have lots of rawhide chewies in heaven.

I love you

Quality Time

Today was a great day. I got to spend some quality time with my husband today.

Our day started early. We were up and out of the house by 8:30 and headed to Celebration for the local Rotary pancake breakfast and 5K run. Don't get too excited. I was there for the pancakes not the run! They had several booths there including the local civil servants (fire, police, EMT, etc.) and a couple of clowns working with balloons and face painting. Well, I can never pass up a chance to get my face painted so after reviewing the books showing all the possible selections, I got my face done.

Although I really wanted something a little more purple, I had to settle for kind of a pinkish color. Bust sprinkle in a little black and white and you've got a pretty swirly face. The topper...just a hint of glitter!

They also had a silent auction at this event. There wasn't much there that I was interested in, but the did have several long tables of items (mostly gift certificates) from restaurants, spas/salons, etc. If you're not familiar with how silent auctions work, you just write down your bid and if no one outbids you, you win.

Well John and I had gone through the tables a couple times before we decided to bid on anything. I bid on a 3 day/2 night stay at the Wyndym Resort in Orlando and a gift certificate to a spa in Kissimmee. I know that Orlando isn't that far from here, but it was for charity and I thought it would be a great way to pamper myself a little. After having a bidding war with a couple of people, I finally won the bid on the Wyndym. As for the spa, I got a $50 gift certificate for $25 without anyone fighting me for it.

The big draw to this event was the pancake breakfast. I wasn't too impressed with that. You got 2 pancakes, 2 sausage links or patties, and some fruit. They also had coffee and oj. While the portions were fine, the food quality wasn't the greatest. Plus the pancakes were cold, and so was the sausage for that matter. But again, it was a charity event, so I'm a little more willing to forgive.

After breakfast, we headed for home stopping first at JoAnn Fabric. Usually this is an exciting event for me, but this time it was just a little bit satisfying. I don't know if I just wasn't in the mood or if that pancake breakfast was trying to settle in my stomach but having a hard time that prevented me from being able to really concentrate while I was there. We left and I had only a little bag to show for the effort.

We also went to Bealls. I love Bealls. It's a great store and they have some very nice clothes. They also usually have some good deals. Well, we thought we'd stop to see if we could pick up a few new holiday/seasonal tops for my mom. Last year she wanted some new tops at Christmas as all the women at her apartment complex seemed to have a different holiday top for every day of the week! We got her a few last year, but decided to start a little earlier this year.

We picked up a couple new Christmas tops for her, but we also got a couple of Fall/Thanksgiving tops too. Now I have to get to the FedEx store so I can get these delivered before the holidays!

After our stop at Bealls, we went home. The dog was thrilled to see us and I needed a nap after all that excitement! I'm always thankful to be able to have some quality time with my husband.

Unexpected Company

What a long weekend! John and I went to Palm Beach Gardens, FL for the weekend to take part in the FCSS (Florida Council on Social Studies) conference. We left Friday morning and drove the 2 1/2 hours south stopping for lunch along the way. When we arrived, we checked in and just relaxed in the room for a couple of hours.

The room was beautiful. We had a great king size bed, nice flat screen TV, and a good size bathroom. There was a desk area set up for the laptop. The best amenity of all...a balcony! We were on the 4th floor and had a balcony! But, as is usually my luck with balconies, we had an awesome view of a wall! You know what? I didn't care...we had a balcony!

The rest of Friday and Saturday were pretty uneventful. We went to several sessions at the conference and collected some good materials and information. Sunday morning was a little more exciting.

I got up and was going to go out on the balcony to enjoy my coffee and have a cigarette. I pulled the sliding glass door open and something caught my eye. Underneath the little table and chair set on the balcony was a little black and yellow/orange bird.



This is the little bird under the chair.






I moved the chair to get a better look at the bird and I knew that something was wrong as it didn't move. I called John out and he brought it some water in one of our used creamer containers. We also happened to have a granola bar that we broke up and tried to give him, but the bird really wasn't interested in food or drink.

The bird held my attention for awhile, but then I had to get ready for conference sessions. I went back inside to get dressed and ready to go. By the time I returned to the balcony, the bird was gone.

It's always nice to have that unexpected company drop by and say hello.

What am I going to do with you?

Every year, it never fails, I get a few students that just don't feel it's necessary to do homework. Their reasons vary for not completing the work from "I forgot" to "My mom made me go shopping so I couldn't get my homework done". Whatever the reason, it's not usually the truth and they're just being lazy.

It's the same this year. I have a couple of students that just don't seem to care to do their homework. They know that they will get an "F" for the assignment and a color change (3 color changes in one day = detention) which will prevent them from getting the recess reward at the end of the week, yet they still don't do it. So I decided to talk to each student individually and ask why they don't feel that homework is something they need to do.

I asked one of my boys why he chose not to do it. He looked at me and said he just forgot. After a little further discussion (it's impossible to "forget" since I remind them several times throughout the day, have them write it in the agenda and sign it, and watch as they pack up everything they need) I finally asked him, "What am I going to do with you?"

He looked at me and said..."Love me?"

Ok. I can't argue with that.

Brush with fame

I have lived here in central Florida for 9 years now. There are a lot of people that live in this area and many of those people are famous. Athletes, movie stars, and musician have homes here. I don't usually see any of these types of people as we don't exactly run in the same circles, but tonite was different. Tonite I had my first brush with fame.

John and I went to the movies tonite. We went to see the latest Harry Potter movie. It's been awhile since I read the book, but I remembered a lot of key parts. Like the hand. I knew it was going to happen..I even knew when it was going to happen, but that didn't stop me from jumping out of my seat!

But I'm off topic already. I'm not here to talk about the movie. I'm here to talk about my brush with fame.

The movie was playing at Pleasure Island in Downtown Disney. We parked the car and started our walk to the ticket office. As we stepped out of the parking lot and onto the sidewalk, I noticed Joey Fatone walking down the walkway with his daughter! Wooohoo! Joey Fatone! Now for those of you who don't know who he is, Joey used to be a BackStreet Boy. You may have seen him on TV as host of the short lived TV show, The Singing Bee.

He stood behind us in line to get the movie tickets. He followed us inside and stood behind us again in the popcorn line. After that I lost track of him. I don't know what movie he was going to see but it was Harry Potter.

That's it. My brush with fame. I was in the front of Joey Fatone in the ticket line at the movie theater.

So much excitement for me. I think I need a nap.

Milk and Bread

On the way home from work yesterday, I thought I'd stop and pick up some milk and bread. The weekend was upon us and we were dangerously low on both these items. So rather than wait until the last minute, I thought ahead (for once). I pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store and ran in for the much needed items.

When I walked in I saw the Coke display. It was on sale! Woohoo! Can't pass that up. Four 12 packs in my cart. I proceeded down the aisle. Another sale...Capri Suns. Hey, we needed some of those. Six boxes in my cart. We didn't have any fruit and the price on the seedless grapes was doable. In my cart they go. And bananas are always good to have.

It had been awhile since I had last shopped and our meat supply was low. A roast, some chicken, and a couple of quickie meat dinners found their way into my shopping cart. Snacks! We needed em! For the last week we've been whining there was nothing to munch on so I had to get some chips. Of course, you can't have chips without dip or salsa so picked that up too.

Now that school has started, we need more lunch type foods. Cookies cakes..I need cookie cakes! And string cheese. And regular cheese. And cheese for cheese and crackers. Ohhhh...and crackers! Yeah, that's what I need!

And we can't forget Shae. She was out of puppy ice cream. So I picked up several boxes of ice creams for her. And chewies. She needed snack chewies.

Well, when all was said and done, I walked out of the grocery store with milk, bread, and an overflowing cart and $204 less in my pocket.

Dang, milk and bread are expensive!

Budget cuts

It was with great sadness that I ate my lunch today in the teacher's lunch room. It was at this time that I learn of another beloved member of our school family that bit the dust due to budget cuts. Today I realized that the water cooler has been removed. (sniff sniff)

That water cooler has been my good friend for many years now. I would take my big insulated mug to lunch with me each day, fill it with ice, then add fresh, clean, clear water from the cooler. That mug of water would last me the entire afternoon until I went home (usually around 5 or 6pm). If the water got too warm, all I had to do was add more ice and my cool refreshing water was once again thirst-quenching.

Sometimes I would take in Ramen soup for lunch and again, my water cooler friend would be there to add hot water to my noodles. What a warm fuzzy I would get from having hot soup from lunch with my good friend!

But, alas, budget cuts have forced my friend and I to part ways. Needless to say, I was not happy. My healthy water beverage no longer is there for me...to comfort me on those long, parched days. Oh sure, I could drink a Coke, Sprite, or Rootbeer, but those beverages, while tasty, don't have the ability to quench my thirst, cool my throat, and make me feel energized! Not to mention that those empty calories and high sugar content drinks are no good for my health.

So, with great sadness, I said goodbye to a dear friend. Never again will I be able to enjoy a quick energy boost or relaxing and soothing drink that will calm my nerves on a hectic day.

Goodbye my friend. You will be missed. And, budget cuts be damned!

Side note: Both the Coke and Pepsi machine have managed to make the cut. Oh, the horror!

Wednesday Chuckle

Thanks to my good friend Ree, I have this joke to pass along as my blog.

A LITTLE THREE YEAR OLD BOY IS SITTING ON THE TOILET. HIS MOTHER THINKS HE HAS BEEN IN THERE TOO LONG, SO SHE GOES IN TO SEE WHAT'S UP. THE LITTLE BOY IS SITTING ON THE TOILET READING A BOOK. BUT ABOUT EVERY 10 SECONDS OR SO HE PUTS THE BOOK DOWN, GRIPS ONTO TO THE TOILET SEAT WITH HIS LEFT HAND AND HITS HIMSELF ON TOP OF THE HEAD WITH HIS RIGHT HAND.

HIS MOTHER SAYS: "BILLY, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? YOU'VE BEEN IN HERE FOR A WHILE.

BILLY SAYS: "I'M FINE, MOMMY.. I JUST HAVEN'T GONE 'DOODY' YET."

MOTHER SAYS: "OK, YOU CAN STAY HERE A FEW MORE MINUTES.BUT, BILLY, WHY ARE YOU HITTING YOURSELF ON THE HEAD?"

BILLY SAYS: "WORKS FOR KETCHUP."

Happy Wednesday!

Teacher Appreciation Day

Every year, just before school starts, some of the office supply stores have a Teacher Appreciation Day. Teachers are invited to shop during a specified shopping hours to stock up on school supplies they will need for their classroom. All kinds of sales are run at that time and teachers are provided a bag of freebies as well. Usually, the free give away items are things like a package of pens or pencils, a few sticky notes, some coupons for future services like copies or laminating, and things of that nature. Today, both Staples and Office Depot had Teacher Appreciation Day so John and I both went to see what bargains we could get for our classroom.

First we went to Office Depot. We signed up for the free drawings and enjoyed the complimentary breakfast foods they had (danish, donuts, cookies, oj, coffee). While snacking on our danish, just a few minutes after having signed in and receiving our bag of freebies, they had a drawing. Guess whose name they called? Mine! I won a basket of Avon bath products (shower gel, lotion, etc.). A minute or two after that drawing, another drawing was done. Guess who won? Me again! I had won a second Avon gift basket (coffee beans, aromatherapy candles, etc.). I had already received a bag of freebies and won 2 drawings all within 5 minutes of entering the store! John couldn't believe it!

We started shopping and picked up some things that we could use in our classroom. Students don't always have everything they are supposed to have so most teachers will buy extra supplies like pencils, erasers, paper, etc. plus the necessary "office" type things we need throughout the year like file folders, indexes and other things to help us organize. They had some really good deals so we were able to pick up some of the necessary supplies.

After about an hour, we had finished up with our purchases and had decided it was time to check out. John was looking at "one more thing" when they called another door prize. Guess who won? Not me this time....John! He won an office chair. You know, one of those adjustable height seat, lumbar back, rolly chairs. We couldn't believe it!

Since we were so lucky at Office Depot, we decided we'd try Staples so off we went. Again we got a bag of goodies, had a little oj and danish, signed up for 20 free business cards, and shopped around looking for more bargains. I have to say I was a little disappointed with Staples. Their sales were not nearly as appealing and they didn't seem to have much of anything we really wanted or needed. They didn't have hourly drawings like Office Depot (although we did sign up for several drawings they were having at the end of the day). Neither of us have heard from them about anything we might have won, but I'm still holding on to hope! Maybe they'll call tomorrow!

To pick up all the things we couldn't get at those to stores, we headed to Walmart. They had some great back to school sales and we were able to pick up things like crayons, markers, glue, etc. The only thing I wasn't able to get today was pencil sharpeners. I'm specific about the type I want and I didn't want to pay $2 for one pencil sharpener. They break too easily.

Overall, I have to say it was a productive and enjoyable day. We got a few things that will make our beginning of the school year go a little smoother, a chair to sit in, and Avon products that will make us look and feel good for the first day of school.

I felt appreciated!

Mystic Monk Coffee

This summer we visited my brother Mark and sister-in-law Barbara in Reading. It was a short visit, but we had a nice time. We wandered the Amish stores in Lancaster and went to an "Amish Experience" to learn a little more about their culture, customs, etc. It was educational and interesting.

Now anybody who knows my brother knows he is quite the connoisseur of coffee. Everytime we visit he has either a new fangled machine or some exotic type of coffee. This time he had some coffee that is made by Carmelite Monks. It's called Mystic Monk Coffee. It was actually very good.

Now Mark buys the kind where it is actually the bean and he grinds it as he needs. I had made comment at that time that I don't buy the bean as I don't have a grinder. A few days after we arrived home from our summer trek north, a delivery was left at our front door. Inside the box was a sampler package of Mystic Monk coffees, already ground, along with a note that said "Enjoy...Mark and Barb".

So this morning as I sit and type this blog, I am enjoying a cup of my Mystic Monk coffee. Mmmm, those monks have truly mastered the art of roasting coffee.

Thanks Mark and Barb!

I'm back!

Wow! I can't believe it's been over a month since I last wrote on my blog! The time has passed to quickly and I've done so much since the last time I'd written that I should be good for at least a couple of new entries before school starts again. (That's next week for teachers...the 24th for the kids. Yikes!)

Well, I'm going to start with what went on today and use all my other vacation stuff for another day. Today we went to the beach. We've been on summer vacation since June 10 and here we are, a week away from returning to work and we finally make it to the beach. We got a late start (I'm sure that's a shocker for all you who know us, ha ha) and left the house about 1:00pm. It was about an hour drive to Melbourne and the beaches, but we were in the convertible, top down, enjoying the day so it didn't matter. We finally arrived and lugged our chairs, cooler, and towels to the beach. After applying an ample amount of sunscreen on John, we grabbed our boogie boards and headed to the water. The water was a little cool at first, but after the intial splash it felt great and spent a good 40 minutes in the water before returning to our chairs. I have to say I'm not a big fan of the taste of salt water, but it felt great to be washed over by waves and floating on the boogie board.

While sitting on the beach we cracked open an ice cold bottle of water and just sat in our coca cola beach chairs soaking up the rays. There was a breeze blowing so it felt wonderful. We sat there for about 20 minutes before returning to the water for a final swish.



We made friends with a woman on Facebook who lives in Australia. I promised I'd build her I'd build her a sand castle farm so, borrowing a yellow shovel that someone had forgotten to take home, I built what was a poor excuse for a castle...with a pond and some trees.



John added a silo, which was not much better than my castle, and we took a few photos to share with her.




Another hour drive home and a quick jump into the shower revealed that a) I brought home way more seaweed than I thought, and b) we got WAY too much sun! Both John and I are RED (like the color of my wallpaper on this website) but we had a great time.

It was indeed a great day to be living in Florida!

Big excitement

Since school is out, I haven't had much to write about. John and I haven't done much this summer yet. Between my workshops and his summer school stuff that he's been working on, well, we've just been homebodies for the most part. We've gone shopping a bit and done a few little together things...like spending time at Barnes and Nobel, but our summer has been been pretty uneventful. Until Wednesday.

I got a new phone! Woohoo! It meant getting rid of the coca cola phone, but it was worth it. It's small and has a full keyboard for texting. So if you've been hearing from me via text, you'll understand why. Plus, and here's the bonus, it's PURPLE! Woohoo!

So that's it. My big excitement so far this summer. Oh, and John won $350 at the casino last Sunday. But I got a new purple phone!

In two weeks I go to Williamsburg. I hope to have more exciting things to talk about.

I can see!

It seems I've been pretty lax lately with blogging. Maybe it's because I haven't had much exciting to talk about. Or maybe it's because I have been spending too much time on Facebook. Whatever the reason, my blog entries haven't been flowing.

Well today I actually have something to chat about. I finally had my eye enhancement surgery today. It was scheduled originally for June 11, but had to be rescheduled because I was sick. So today was my time. I was only having one eye done today...my distance eye. I didn't feel as though I was seeing as well as I should so they agreed to do the enhancement.

So off I went to the eye doctor this morning. Although I'd been through this before, I was still nervous. It's not about the doctor, who I trust knows what she is doing, but it is my eyes. I'm very picky about my eyes. I mean I can't even do eye drops without a fight! So they gave me a happy pill to calm my nerves. It sure did that!

The actual surgery took only about 5 minutes, but the entire appointment was about 2 hours. By the time you fill out all the paperwork, reconfirm perscriptions, allow time for the happy pill to take affect, and get set up in the surgical chair, quite a bit of time passes.

Once the surgery is over, you're supposed to put some drops in your eyes and then take a nap. So home we went. Like I said, I don't like eye drops, and now I have to put in 3 different types. It's a bit of a struggle for me, but I manage. The nap part really wasn't a problem. I took the sleeping pill they supplied for me and off I went.

Unlike my original surgery, this time I can actually see pretty well. There is no blurriness, no starbursts, no halo effect. There is also no pain. Unless you knew I had surgery, you wouldn't even be able to tell.

So all is well. My eye is feeling pretty good and looks good. I'm getting good with eye drops. And I can see. What more could I ask for?

Who had 8?

Today is our 8th anniversary. It's hard to believe that it was 8 years ago today that I walked down that aisle and said "I do". It's been 8 great years. Yes, we've had our arguments but what couple doesn't?

Today we spent the day together. First, we went shopping at Walmart. John bought me a battery for my watch, and several other watches that I have in which the batteries had died. We also bought a new grill. Our old one was beginning to lose its life...the starter wouldn't kick in and the dials didn't want to turn to easily. So we decided it was time to buy another one.

We also went to dinner tonight. Off we went to Texas Longhorn. As we were looking at the menu, John suggested that we have some wine. So we ordered a bottle of white zinfindel (berriger) with dinner. Sparkling wine, good conversation, great company...what more could I have asked for?

The evening is coming to close and as I think back over the last 8 years, in good times and bad, in sickness and health, for better or worse, I wouldn't change any of it!

I am curious though. Who had 8 years in the poll?

Surgery cancelled

I hate being sick. My head is clogged, my eyes are puffy and itchy, my ears feel like I'm under water there is so much pressure and everything sounds like it's coming through a tin can, I am sneezing like crazy, and coughing almost nonstop. I'm still not sure if it's a cold or just my allergies, but whatever it is, I hate being sick! (How can you tell the difference anyway?)

And because of all this, my eye surgery has been cancelled until later this month. Arrggghhhh!

That's it! I'm taking my ball and I'm going home.

What I'm going to do on my summer vacation

This summer I have many things planned. Now that I finally finished packing up my classroom and getting it ready for my return in August, it's time to start thinking about what is yet to come this summer.

For starters, I am having eye surgery on Thursday (that's tomorrow). Ever since I had the lasik done two years ago, I just didn't feel as though the vision in my right eye (the distance eye) was a good as it should be. After my last annual visit, the doctor agreed that an enhancement may be in order to improve the vision. So tomorrow I'm having that done. It will require a follow up visit on Friday. Most of what I'll be doing the next couple of days is sleep as that helps to speed the healing process.

Next week I have an all week workshop to attend. It's all Social Studies related. I believe the theme government...specifically, the Bill of Rights. Believe it or not, I actually enjoy these workshops. And I learn some neat things that I can take back into the classroom and do with my students. Plus, there's usually a lot of "freebies" that go along with it. So I'm looking forward to that.

The following week I have 2 half day workshops. One is a training on the new reading assessment program our county is using next year. The other is a lesson planning session for Social Studies. Booyah!

In July, I'm planning a week long workshop in Williamsburg, VA. For those of you who don't know, Williamsburg is a very historical city that revolves around colonial times. It is not uncommon to wander around the various pubs and shops and see characters such as Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson. The workshop will be an indepth study of colonial times which I will be able to share with my students next year. Again, another fun time. Booyah twice!

Finally, I'll be working in a trip north in July. My great nephew, who is growing so quickly and I'm missing it all, will be baptized and I'm going to be there for it!

There may be an occasional long weekend trip here and there throughout, but that is the bulk of my summer vacation. It will be nice to visit friends and family and squeeze baby Jack (whose real name is Camron, but I'm still calling him Jack dagnabit!) for the first time.

Thank goodness for summer vacation!

Top 10 Safest Cities

A recent survey showed the top 10 safest cities in the US. While Orlando didn't make the cut, I was surprised by the ones they did choose as the safest.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/lists/americas-safest-cities/boston.html?state=play

Another year past

Woohoo! It's official. The 2008-2009 school year has ended! Today was an emotional day as we sent off our students. We had a very nice promotion ceremony with the deputy mayor as our guest speaker. He wasn't too used to speaking to elementary students and seemed to get a little off track at times, but overall, not a bad speaker. We also had a police officer from the local department come and speak to the kids about setting goals, making right choices, and avoiding drugs and alcohol. He did a much better job and was a great choice to represent the police department.

And the tears flowed! Some from teachers, but more from the students. They cried and cried about leaving their elementary school. They cried about receiving awards. They cried while singing the closing song (Proud to be an American by Lee Greenwood). Another year has past. I'm a year older, a year smarter, and looking forward to a great summer vacation. Just think, in another two months I'll be back, doing the same thing all over again.

Happy summer!

Bar hopping

Last night was fun. It was spending quality time with Paula night. We started out about 5:30 and our first stop was "3 Sisters" in downtown Kissimmee. The weather was perfect so we grabbed a table outside. The neighboring coffee house had contracted an acoustical guitarist to play for their crowd so we had some live entertainment while we ate dinner and enjoyed a few adult beverages. The music was "elevator" type music, but nice background sound. I really don't have any complaints, but I think the Christmas music she chose to play was a little inappropriate. But hey, it was free entertainment so who am I to gripe?

After we left 3 Sisters, we weren't quite ready to go home. There was a Pizza bar/restaurant kind of kitty corner from the sisters, so we decided to stop there. We pulled into a parking spot and popped in for a beverage. Again, we had an oustide table with a nice view of the street. We were able to people watch as we chatted and enjoyed our beer. There was a little guy there with his parents who decided to come visit us while we were chatting. He had a spiderman bandage on his head, which he pointed out to us, (it covered his owie) and he liked watching the train from our window. He was a cute little guy and entertained us for a bit.

After a beer there, we left and went to our final place for the night, Gators. This is the first bar we started going to when we moved here. It was where we celebrated our first birthday her in Florida and is kind of our fall back place.

It was like the old days...hopping from bar to bar, looking for people, a little fun and excitement. Unlike the old days, we were home before 10pm. Just can't hang like I used to, but at least I still know how to have fun!

Spa day

My dog goes to the puppy spa at least once a month. She gets a bath, gets a brushing, and gets her nails done. Every month. Spa day for my dog. But what about me?

Well today was my spa day. I figure if my dog can get her pampering each month then, by golly, I deserve a little pampering too. So today was my day. Off to the spa I went early this morning to begin the pampering.

I started with a bikini wax. I've never had a wax done before so this was to be a new experience. It wasn't nearly as bad as they lead you to believe on TV, but I will admit that some of the more sensitive areas (this was a bikini wax mind you) were a bit more painful than others. But it was ok as following the wax came the one hour massage.

This part was quite nice. A couple of tough moments when the massuse got a little rough, but overall, a relaxing experience. It ends with some hot towels to soothe the skin and remove some of the excess oils followed by about 10 minutes of quite, low light relaxation. Ahhhh.

Following the massage, it was time for my pedicure. I love having a pedicure. I like to walk around barefoot most of the time so my feet take a beating. Today my tootsies were given some much needed attention. The soaking, the pumicing, the clipping, scraping, and finally the painting. Yep, these are some happy piggies.

Last came the age defying manicure. That's just your basic mani with a parafix wax dip. I don't know about age defying, but it felt good.

All told, my spa day took about 4 hours. That's 4 hours of me being pampered and waited on by someone else. My every whim being honored. And, as an added bonus, I stimulated the economy! So there. What did you do today?

Me Day

Today was a "Me" day. I took the day off from work today. No particular reason other than wanting to take the day off. Figured I deserved it. Did some laundry. Made some iced tea. Emptied the dishwasher and reloaded what was in the sink. Played with my dog. Went to Chipolte's for lunch. (John doesn't like Mexican food much so I have to go when he's not around.) Bought myself some new combs for my hair. Also got some of those Aqua Globes for a couple of the plants that are still alive in my house. Took a nap.

The sun was shining and it was a hot, beautiful day. It was great...no stress, relaxing, carefree. I think I need to do this more often!

Art Fair

This past week we had the first annual Kids Art Fair at school. Basically, it's a fundraiser for the Art Department, but it gives the students a chance to shine with some of their original artworks on display. The nice thing about it is that any student that was planning to attend had a piece of artwork framed and on display. It's amazing the difference framing makes. She could have just put the artwork out, but when it's framed it takes on a whole new look. And that leads to the fundraiser part. Parents are getting their child's artwork but paying for the framing. I felt the price was a little steep, but matted frames aren't cheap. And, from what I understand, they did pretty darn well with sales. So I guess overall, it wasn't too bad.

One of the highlights of the art fair was the classroom artwork. Each classroom teacher had to choose an artist or painting that we liked and the art teacher then had the students recreate it on paper. She enlarged the painting then cut it up into even blocks. She then displayed the original artwork and the students colored their block accordingly. Once all the pieces were finished, she reassembled the pieces to show the artwork. These items were also framed then displayed for a silent auction.

I have to say that the work the students did for this project, for the most part, turned out beautiful. One of the pictures even auctioned off for $50 and another for $40. They really were beautiful pieces of art.

My choice, of course, was Andy Warhol's "Three Cokes". I even made sure my students were inspired while working on the project by serving ice cold Coca~Cola as they worked. It paid off as they did a fantastic job! Just look for yourself! Hard to believe that 25 students had a hand at it. It looks as though only one person did it.

Ok, it's not the best photograph, but it really is a good piece of artwork. And yes, I did bid (and win obviously) on my own students artwork. I couldn't let somebody else have this one of a kind Coca Cola item. It goes perfect with my collection!

The funny thing is everybody in the school knew it was my class selection. Guess I've become a little predictable. That's ok though. I'm the one with the priceless piece of artwork!

Time for an ice cold Coca~Cola and a smile!

Fun Fun Fun

Tonight I had more fun than I've had in a long time. I went to a concert tonight with my husband, brother and sister in law, Paula, and some friends. The Beach Boys were in town tonight and we had tickets! They played all the classic hits like Help Me Rhonda, Good Vibrations, Little Old Lady From Pasadena, 409, and on and on. I was singing, dancing, and rocking to the great sounds. There were several beach balls that were bouncing around the audience throughout the night too. We were up high and way back in the arena, so the ball only got to us once. Paula and I both were able to bat at it. We had a blast! I think John might have been a little embarassed as I was the only one in our row that got up and danced, but I couldn't help it. The music just moved me! I have to get to the store tomorrow and pick up a few Beach Boys CD's so I can continue to jam to the tunes next week!

I took a few pictures of the event with my phone camera. Not the greatest, but not too bad.

All I can say is, it was FUN FUN FUN (and I still have my car keys!).

Poop

Yesterday I talked about my new Chicken Poop Lip Junk. Today, a bird pooped on me. Destiny?

BUY ME SOMETHING

Everyone knows my mantras...I have a few. The standard "It's all about me" is first on the list. But the one that goes along with that is "Buy me something". Everytime some tells me they're going shopping, I say "Buy me something". I'm not all that particular as to what that something is just so long as I get something. If you had to stop and think about me, then I'm happy!

Sometimes the mantra doesn't work, but when it does, it's worth it!Like today for example. I opened my mailbox only to find a small package from my sister back home. It's not my birthday, anniversary, or any other special occasion so I know it has to be a "just because" package. I rip it open to find a letter and a small boxed item. I open the letter and read..."I haven't slept for two days just thinking I missed an opportunity. And a voice in my head kept saying "buy me something". That little voice was me ... you say something often enough it actually sinks in and subliminal messages hit you whenever you go shopping now.

She passed up the opportunity to buy this item the first time she went to the store, but as you can see, she was haunted until she returned to the store and bought it for me! What is it? Well, it's something I didn't already have and I'm wearing it right now! My wonderful sister bought me a tube of "Chicken Poop Lip Junk"! And, believe it or not, it actually says on the box...contains no poop!

And just in case you're feeling a little jealous and would like a little Chicken Poop Lip Junk of your very own, you can go to http://www.ilovechickenpoop.com/ and get some poop of your own! Oh, and while you're there, don't forget to BUY ME SOMETHING!

It's all about me!

Tonight is "me" night.

John had to go to a dinner tonight for Rotary. It was a black tie affair. He asked me if I wanted to go, but it cost $60 a plate. I said I'd go if he really wanted me to, but I just as soon not go at that price. I don't think there's any dinner worth us paying $120. John agreed and said I didn't have to go. So instead, I stayed home with the dog and it's been "me" night tonight.

I ate dinner when I felt like it.
I ate what I felt like for dinner...didn't make anything fancy...just a sandwich and a Coke.
I've been playing video games and winning!
I did my Wii Fit.
I have control of the remote control...hahahahahaaaa!
I'm gonna get ready for bed and just stretch out in bed and relax.

Tonight my motto rings true...it's all about me! (I might have to sing!)

Ugh! What a day!

It was just one of those days....

I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. I just opened my eyes and laid in bed a minute enjoying the moment. I then started to think..."Gee, it's awful light in here." So I looked at the clock and discovered why. It was 7:45! Yikes! I should have been almost to work by now and I was just getting out of bed. Turns out I didn't set the alarm last night. That set the tone for the day.

I called into work to make arrangements for my kids to be taken care of until I got there. Fortunately, we have block (specials) 1st period so it isn't a big inconvenience for my teammate to take care of getting my kids ready to go to 1st period. I don't have to pick them up until 9:30 from block so that gives me a little time to play with.

I had also made arrangements earlier in the week to take Shae to the vet today for grooming. She had been chewing herself raw lately so I also told them the doctor needed to check her out as I think she is having allergy related itching. So I rushed to get myself ready for work and get Shae to the vet.

Fortunately, for John, he wouldn't be late. He doesn't start work until later so he was still within the range of time that he could get ready and be on time for work. Sometimes I just want to slap him!

Anyway, I got ready and off I went with Shae. I got her to the vet's office and was back on the road in no time. I made it to work before 9:00, which, considering the way my day started, was pretty good time.

I called my sister on the way to work. The night before my dad had fallen and was in the hospital and I was just wanting to follow up on how things were going. Maryann didn't have any new news really, but promised to keep me informed as things changed. By this time I was at work and had to start my day.

The day went pretty well for the most part. My classes were mostly fine and the day passed relatively uneventful. After dismissal at 3:00, I started working on grading papers and entering grades. I was a little behind on this so it took a little longer than I really wanted to spend there. Finally, about 5:00, I started to pack up and head for home. I jumped into the car about 5:05 and saw the dog leash sitting on the seat. OMG! I have to get the dog before 6:00 and I needed to stop and get gas! Yikes, again!

Once again, I shifted into "zoom" mode. I made it to the gas station and filled up the tank. As I was driving to the vet's office, my phone rang. The time now was 5:38. It was the vet's office calling about Shae. I told them I was on my way at was just around the corner. (That was true...I actually was just around the corner!) We hung up and I pulled into the parking lot at 5:40. I zoomed inside and had to wait only a moment before they came to talk to me about Shae.

Turns out, she does have allergies. Problem is, we don't know to what specifically, but she does seem to have "break outs" periodically. What used to be just her ears that would flare have turned into body break outs. It's not just the ears anymore, but other body parts that she's having flare ups with and unless I want to spend $600-$700 on testing, we'll just kind of have to hit and miss guess what is causing it. And it could be pretty much anything...grass, trees, bushes, mites, dust, etc.

They had given her a shot of some type of cortizone to help with the itching and reduce the inflammation. This shot is supposed to last for a month. At the end of the month, I have to start back up with the prednisone she had been on before and give that to her as needed. In the meantime, they gave me information to look at for the allergy testing and suggested our next step might be a thyroid test. Apparently, it is not uncommon for dogs with underactive thyroids to have allergy issues. And that can be a quicker fix to the problem she's having with allergies....assuming that she has a thyroid problem. They also told me that a lot of dogs have that problem. Well...I guess I have something to think about for the next month or so.

When I got home, I called my sister again to see how things were going back up north. Turns out, they had admitted my dad to the hospital and he has 4 fractured ribs and 2 fractures in his right scapular for a total of 6 fractures. He's got a lot of pain (no duh!) but meds are helping and he will be staying overnight so they can keep an eye on him.

On the plus side, my dog looks and smells good and I didn't have to cook as John took me out for dinner.

What a day!

Sometimes you just gotta sing

I got tickled today. It's not often that this happens, but today something happened that just tickled me. As I was standing in front of 22 eager little minds, teaching vocabulary words for our next story, one of my little guys did something and I just had to smile.

I was going over the new vocabulary words that we would be seeing in our story this week. I usually do this so when they come to these words while reading, they already have an idea of what the new word means and how it relates to what is being said in the story. Basically, standard teaching procedure.

After reviewing the words, I asked the students to get out their book and open to page 606 so we could read the short story that uses all the vocabulary words we just learned. All the kids started to search their desk for the appropriate book and turn to the page as directed. Except Robbie.

Robbie has a tendency to get side tracked. So, to help prevent this from happening, his desk is right in front of me so I can tap his desk to get his attention back on track. Well, today, Robbie was listening and trying to find his book. While he was doing this, he began to sing a little tune to himself. Unbeknownst to him, he wasn't really singing to himself. We all heard his little tune. So I stopped talking and just looked at him and listened. So did everyone else. Robbie, oblivious to it all, kept on singing as he pulled his book out and placed it on his desk.

It was at that moment that he looked at me. I was standing in front of him, smiling. He stopped...and it suddenly hit him what he was doing. He began to laugh and we all joined in with laughter. Of course, he was a little embarassed and it prevented him from being able to read aloud with us, but eventually he regained his composure and was able to participate.

Ya know, sometimes, you just gotta sing!

Wii Fit

Brace yourself...I've been working out! Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but I've been working out using my Wii. This past Christmas John bought me all the things you need to play Wii. I love playing it. Some of the games are a real hoot and you really get a workout when you play the sports games like bowling or tennis. I'm actually working up a sweat!

For my birthday, John bought me the Wii Fitness package. Well, over spring break, I got out the fitness stuff and put it to the test. I thought I'd never make it through any of the programs and I'd hate it, but I have to tell you, I'm really getting a workout!

My favorite part, so far, is the Step Aerobics. They start you out slow, but as you get better, you can unlock more challenging levels. I'm actually up to level 3 on the step aerobics. I love doing them unless Shae gets in the way...which she does...a lot! Otherwise, I've been doing great and breaking my own records.

I've also tried some of the balance and fitness programs too. Those, I'm not so good at. I have terrible balance. And I think I'm lopsided. That little red dot that you're supposed to keep in the center of the yellow spot keeps bouncing all over the place!

Tonight, after my 20 minutes of step aerobics, I decided I'd try something new. I had recently unlocked "boxing". I didn't think I'd like it, but as it turns out, it's another favorite on my list. I did about another 15 minutes of boxing bringing today's total to 35 minutes of workout. Now that may not seem like much to you, but for me...that is a huge feat!

The bonus of it all, I only started this on Thursday (4/9) and had gone through all the weight trials and everything. Today was day 5 since I started, but the 4th day that I actually did a workout. According to my Wii records, I've lost 5 pounds! Wooohoo! Who knew working out could be so much fun??!!!

Vacation is over

Well, vacation is over. I didn't accomplish nearly as much as John did, but I did enjoy having the week off. Once I get my lesson plans done (yes, I waited until Sunday night to do those), I'll be ready to face another week with my babies.

Only 38 days of school left!

Accomplishment!

I'm feeling rather good about myself today. I accomplished something very important... my refrigerator is now clean!

Look at it! A place for everything and everything in its place. No containers of leftovers growing mold. (eww) No sticky substances on the glass tops. You can actually see what is in it...on every level! And, it smells fresh! Mmmmmm!

Ok, not the way I had hoped to spend my vacation, but it needed to be done. And I did it! I can cross one thing off my list of things to do.

Tomorrow...laundry!

Easter towels

It's almost Easter and guess what? I remembered that I had Easter towels for my bathroom and I'm actually using them! In season! Can you believe it? Usually I remember I had holiday stuff after the holiday is long over. But not this year...I found the towels and I've got them hanging in my bathrooms. It just so happens I have one green and one blue bathroom so this works out perfect!
Woohooo! I love it when a plan works out!

1 more day til vacation!

I'm very excited! It's only one more day until Spring break! Then I'm off for a whole glorious, wonderful, relaxing week! I'm not going anywhere...just going to stay home and chill. Maybe I'll hit the beach...or the casino. Other than that, it's going to be an "all about me" week.

Man, I love vacations!

The stitches are out!

Yippie! The stitches are out...finally!

Shae finally got the stitches taken out of her ear. And, since then, the scratching she'd been doing has ceased. I guess they really itched before.

On the downside, her ear looks like she has some kind of skin lesions. Hopefully, those patches of hair will grow back. In the meantime, her new nickname is Spot!

She smells better now too. With the stitches, she wasn't able to get a bath. When they were removed, I had her go for a day of beauty at the puppy spa. So now she smells good, shorter nails, has no stitches, and is a fluffy dog again.

Let's hope that's the end of these ear issues.

Happy Birthday to John

Yesterday was John's birthday. (If you see him, wish him a happy 52nd birthday!) I had a hard time shopping for him as he really doesn't need anything. And if he wants something, he just buys it. Good for him, not so good for me. Gift buying is such a struggle. What's a girl to do?

I asked him if he wanted to go out to dinner on his birthday. Since it was a school night, and he had to have all his grading done by 9:00 Friday, he said he'd rather stay home and go out Friday night. So I thought the least I could do was fix his favorites. For dinner we had spaghetti...his favorite! We don't usually eat dessert, but it was a special occasion. I made strawberry shortcake! That's another favorite of his. So all in all, I think it was a happy day for him.

Oh yeah, the gift. I know you're wondering what I got him. Well, as I said, he's tough to buy for. I ended up getting him a nice pair of sunglasses...he needed a pair that had the darker lenses. He liked the ones I got him so that was a good thing.

I also got him a new computer chair. The one we have is ok, but we've both been having some problems with leg and lower back pain and have attributed part of the problem to the uncomfortableness of this chair. He actually mentioned something about getting a new chair about two weeks ago so I thought this was the perfect opportunity. Kind of a two-fer gift!

This chair is a high back, black leather chair. And it's a Sealy Posturepedic chair. When I sat in it at the store it was sooo comfortable. In addition, since it doesn't look like a regular office type chair, it can pass as "furniture" and will look good in the family room.

Tonight we went for dinner to Longhorns Steakhouse. It was pretty good. John's brother, Jim, and his wife Beth and their son, Steven, joined us. It's always nice to get together with family. After a good meal and a nice visit, we're home to relax and chill out in front of the TV.

Happy birthday honey.

Happy Spring!

The sun is shining. Lizards are zooming. Flowers are blooming. Birds are singing. Spring has finally arrived! And what better way to celebrate the first day of Spring than taking the day off? Well, that's what I did. Of course, it being Spring was just a bonus. The day off was to take my puppy to the vet and have her ear checked...again.

Last week when I took her, she had an ear infection. They ended up giving me more meds to help clear that up and delayed removing the stitches until the swelling went down. Friday when I went back, some of the swelling was gone and her ear looked much better than it had the week before. Dr. Hicks still didn't like the idea of taking out the stitches and, instead, gave me some prednisone to help reduce the swelling of her ear even more.

Let me just say, that prednisone is working wonderfully! What was once a thickened, puffy ear, now appears to be almost normal. She's only been on it a couple of days, but it has truly done a great job. As for the infection, she still had a little left so we are continuing the regimen of antibiotics and benedryl for the itching.

One more Friday ought to do it! So next week, I'll be taking Friday off...again. The suffering I must endure for my baby!

Ear update

Friday was the day that Shae was supposed to get her stitches out. Well, that didn't happen.

Once she got off the antibiotics, she started scratching and itching like crazy! As a result, her ear became inflamed. By the time I got her to the vet, her ear was so thick, that the stitches looked like they were embedded in her ear.

The doctor cleaned her ear, gave her a mega shot of antibiotics, and a prescription for more. Plus I have to put the cream in her ear at least once a day and rub it on the inside and outside of her ear. The swelling has since gone down and the redness has disappeared but she still has to wait at least another week. I take her in again next Friday at 9:30 for a follow up and they'll decide then when the stitches should come out. In the meantime, she is back on her meds plus benedryl for itching.

Guess I'll have to take next Friday off too.

TV repair

You know, it's true. You can do anything if you put your mind to it.

Yesterday, the TV kept going out. The power would still be there, but the picture and sound would stop. It did that several times in the morning, but I had to go to work so I didn't think about it. Then I came home and turned on the TV. Everything was fine for about 30 minutes when suddenly...no picture-no sound. I went to the set and stared at it because, as we all know, giving your TV a quizzical look when it's not working properly will cause it to revert back to normal. Nothing happened. So I turned it off and back on. Walla! Picture and sound again returned. Off I went busying myself with other things while the TV played in the background.

After a short time I realized there was once again silence coming from the TV. Again the quizzical look did nothing. So once again I turned it off and back on. Ta Dah! I'm getting good at this!

Again I'm minding my own business when the (stupid) TV went black. No more quizzical look...now I'm getting pissed! This time I pulled out the big guns. I walked over to the TV and gave it...the EVIL EYE! It too had no effect.

Not willing to let the TV win, I smacked it hard upside its side panel. WHACK! And guess what? It has been working perfectly since!

I now have a fall back career...TV repair!

Pug Bowling

I'd try this with Shae, but she's just too big. But this looks like it could make the cut for the next Westminster Dog Show!

(If the link doesn't work when you click it, try holding down the control key then click!)

pug_bowling

FCAT

It's that time of year again. In Florida, this time of year is very stressful for teachers. We are about to embark on the mother of all tests...the FCAT. That stands for "Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test". (That is not what teachers call it...) It is based on this test that the state determines the quality our of education programs. It is based on this ONE test, that they determine how well we do as teachers. Based on this ONE test, they assign a "grade" to each school so everyone in the state will know if their child is attending an "A" school or "F" school (or some other letter designation in between). Now anyone who knows anything about education will tell you to NEVER base a child's ability on ONE test score. However, when it comes to giving schools money, programs, supplies, materials, TEACHERS, it all hinges on how well your students score on this ONE test.

Needless to say, the pressure on teachers to make sure your students have learned EVERYTHING there is to know about Math, Science, Writing, and Reading is overwhelming! We are often told "do this" on Monday, only to find out on Wednesday that we should be "doing that" instead. And by Friday, "the other thing" is a much better idea, so let's just drop everything else and try this new way. This goes on throughout the entire year. From the moment we are out of the gate on the first day of school, until FCAT, we are jumping through hoops!

We do what we can but undoubtedly, some of this pressure will trickle down to the students. Some will be so nervous about the test that they almost make themselves sick about it. Others could care less and will most likely end up "Christmas treeing" their answers sheets giving little or no thought to their answer choices. And no matter how many times teachers remind them to check their work, many are still done in 20-30 minutes with an 80 minute test. And, in most cases, they will swear up and down that they have checked their work THREE TIMES!

And parents will feel some of the pressure. They know their child will not do so well on the test so they begin to invent reasons for them not to take it or to have accommodations made available to them. One child brought in a perscription form (supposedly from her doctor, but I could read every meticulously written letter...so how likely is it that a doctor wrote that?) that stated this child should not be timed on the test. Really? A medical perscription? Hmmmm..

Another child has "fainting" sickness. He faints without warning. When this happens, don't touch his neck, but start plowing him full of Lays potato chips. Ummm, he's unconscious. How do I get him to eat the chips? Do I just open his mouth and jam the chips in hoping he doesn't choke? What if we only have Tom's potato chips? Will these have the same desired results as Lays? Would a salt lick help prevent fainting from happening? He could answer a question, take a lick, and repeat as necessary.

"Don't give them a new pencil they've never seen before the day of the test. The shock of something new could disturb their thought patterns and they will fail the test. Don't wear something new you've never worn before. If they haven't seen you in it before, it could be too much of a distraction."

I know, you're laughing. And quite frankly, we teachers do the same. You have to otherwise they'd be coming for us with little white jackets and taking us to a little padded cell. And although solitary confinement might sound good right about now, I have to wonder if I'd be able to pass the tests that they will administer while I'm in that cell? And if I don't, will I have to go through electroshock until I get it right? What if I faint? Who will shove potato chips in my mouth?

Billboard

Ok, sometimes it pays to know people.

My niece Sara, and her husband Aaron, just had a new baby. Yippie! Aaron works for an advertising company responsible for putting up billboards around the city. Apparently, a couple of his friends from work got a picture of Jack (aka Camron) and created a billboard that can be seen at various locations throughout the city. Is that cool or what? It's beats sending notes in the mail!

This is what the board looked like.
It pays to know people in high places!

Yard Sale

We had a long weekend. We had Friday off for Rodeo Day. Having Rodeo Day off here would be equivalent to the first day of hunting season off up North. Nobody would go to school that day so they made it a holiday. Of course, we had to trade it for President's Day. So rather than pay homage to our forefathers, we pay tribute to the cowboy! Yahoo!

Anyway, since we had the long weekend, we decided to try our hands at a yard sale. We've been talking about having one for a long time and every time we come across some little knick-knack, rather than throw it away, we'd save it for the yard sale. So on Friday, we pulled out a bunch of "junk" and put it in the yard. Paula came over to help. (Thank you Paula!) We put a sign out on the median on the main drag and customers started pouring in. By the end of the day, although we didn't really sell anything major ($10 for a dog house that Shae won't use was the biggest ticket item), we ended up making about $260! Not bad for mostly quarter and dollar priced items!

The thing about yard sales is you get all the "bargain hunters" who want everything for nothing. If I asked a dollar, they wanted to pay 50 cents. A few things I didn't mind as I was happy to get rid of them, but most stuff I stood my ground. They either bought it for my price or they could easily walk away. I didn't care which they chose. I'd say about half paid my price.

Today was day two of the sale. We stayed open about 5 hours today. Sales weren't as good, but overall I can't really complain. Again, nothing really big went (we had patio furniture, end tables, chairs, and a dresser set for baby--sadly we still do!) but we did sell a lot of little junk. I had two very old purses that were in halfway decent condition. One was never used (John's mother bought it years ago..the tags were still on it) and I was asking a quarter for each. One lady offered me a quarter for both. I said no 25 cents each. She said, but the one is damaged and it's not good. She'd only pay 25 cents for both. I looked at her and said "Lady this is a yard sale. Twenty five cents each." She didn't buy the purses, but good grief! (By the way, there really wasn't anything wrong with the purse. The leather straps that were decorative on the front were peeling like leather does when it gets old. Sheesh! Go to Walmart and buy yourself a new purse for $15 then and leave me a lone!)

Our sale is over and everything is packed away again. Maybe we'll try again next weekend or maybe we'll wait until Spring break. I'm not really in any hurry to sale again. But from now on, to heck with saving things for a yard sale...everything is going in the trash!

It's my hematoma month

Poor Shae. She had her surgery today, and from what I was told, she came through with flying colors! Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. She is MY dog after all.

She looks a little silly actually. Poor thing has her ear bandaged like a unicorn horn sticking out of the side of her head. Much to my surprise, she hasn't been scratching at it at all either. Perhaps she's still a little groggy from the surgery, but I'm hoping she continues to leave it alone. Otherwise, we'll have to put the lamp shade on her. I have a feeling that she won't like that very much!

We go back on Wednesday to have the bandage removed. The sutures don't come out until March 13th.

In the meantime, she's like her mommy, using this as her excuse to be spoiled. "Gimme a cookie, mommy...it's my hematoma month!"

Pay attention!

A good reminder...pay attention!

The Dead Cow and Vet School



First-year students at the UC Davis Vet school were receiving their first anatomy class, with a real dead cow.

They all gathered around the surgery table with the body covered with a white sheet. The professor started the class by telling them, 'In Veterinary Medicine it is necessary to have two important qualities as a doctor: The first is that you not be disgusted by anything involving the animal body.' For an example, the Professor pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in the butt of the dead cow, withdrew it and stuck his finger in his mouth.

'Go ahead and do the same thing,' he told his students. The students freaked out, hesitated for several minutes, but eventually took turns sticking a finger in the anal opening of the dead cow and sucking on it.

When everyone finished, the Professor looked at them and said, 'The second most important quality is observation. I stuck in my middle finger and sucked on my index finger.' 'Now learn to pay attention. Life's tough, it's even tougher if you're stupid.'

Poor Shae

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. I slept in late. I lolligagged around just enjoying the day. And baby Jack (I mean Camron) was born! That sounds like a great day, doesn't it?

Yesterday was also a scary day for me. I happened to notice that my puppy's ear was not laying flat. She is a floppy eared dog, so her ears usually flop over neatly. However, I noticed that one of her ears was not folding properly.

I called her over to check it out. When I flipped her ear over, I found a huge hematoma. Now that was scary! It was so big that it was beginning to close over the hole in her ear.

Being a floppy eared dog, she's prone to ear infections. Usually she just scratches more and we know it's time to visit the vet for more meds. She's also been known to develop rash-like blotches on her belly and lower under region. It can usually tell when she's bothered by another infection as she will itch and shake her head a lot. She has been itching some but not enough that I was alerted or concerned by it.

So today I took her to the vet's office. I picked her up after work and spoke with the doctor. She will be having surgery on Friday and reduce the swelling of the hematoma by draining it. According to the doctor, it is a big blood blister. It can reduce in swelling on it's own, however, it could cause some problems for her later if it's not properly reduced. So, I opted for the surgical route. It will cost a little more, but at least I know it will be drained properly and shouldn't cause her any problems with hearing. It will also more likely heal better after surgery than it would if left to it's own devices.

Fortunately I have Friday off! I'll be able to take her to the hospital and pick her up early in the afternoon. Plus I'll be home for the weekend to help her with the healing.
Until then, she's on antibiotics to help ease the itching and redness.

Poor Shae!

And his name is....

Today I found out what Jack's name is. They wanted to let the name be a surprise since everyone already knew it was a going to be a boy. And even though Jack was born yesterday, it wasn't until this morning that I actually found out what Jack's name really is.

Sadly, it's not Jack. And the name they have chosen instead is...Camron Aaron. Not too bad. It flows nicely. It's a good name.

I think I'm still going to call him Jack. :)

Happy Birthday Jack!

He's here! He finally arrived!

This is my great nephew! He's brand new right out of the box! It was a difficult delivery, but mommy and baby are both doing great.

Last night Sara had texted me to say that her water had broke. As it turned out, it was only leaking, but since she was having some contractions, the doctor told her to go to the hospital. By that time she was already 5 cm dialated so they said she should stay.

At 6:30 this morning, after a long night of contractions starting and stopping, they finally induced labor hoping the baby would continue on the path of delivery. Of course he had other things in mind. Apparently he was quite comfy where he was and didn't want to come out. He was still very high and not turned quite right so they attempted to coax him out, but he wasn't having any of that! After several hours of hard pushing and labor, the doctors decided to do an emergency C section. Baby couldn't say no to that and out he came. He has 5 fingers on each hand, ten toes, and passed all the tests they threw at him. He came out at a whopping 8 pounds 10 ounces. He was a little early (her actual delivery date was March 4) so they took him to intensive care for observation. Overall he looks healthy and appears to be in great shape. He does have a small abrasion on his head from where they were trying to turn him for natural delivery, but other than that, all is well.

Sara is doing well but quite tired. I'm told she did her best to push him out, but you know how men are...stubborn! Even in the womb!

But we've been patiently waiting for him to arrive and he's finally here. We couldn't be more excited about it!

To top it all off, today would have been my Uncle Jack's birthday. I told Sara that it's a sign from above that Jack was born today and that he should be named Jack. She and Aaron however have other plans for the name and it's not Jack. Call him what you want, I'm calling him Jack!

So baby May has finally joined the rest of us in the outside world! Happy birthday baby Jack!

I'm normal

I now have medical proof to back up this statement...I'm normal. Yes, that's right. I have two sets of X-rays and MRI results that basically prove that I'm normal. Well, if normal is a shooting pain from your lower back to your knee, then yeah, I guess I am normal.

So there you have it family and friends!

MRI

As you know, I've been having leg, butt, and lower back pain for a little over a year now. The pain varies but for the most part, it's a constant twang making lying down, standing up, and walking sometimes difficult. Not that you do much of any those things on any given day....

When I finally told my doctor about the problem, he sent me for a hip xray. That came back normal yet the pain continued. The next time I saw my doctor, I told him the pain was still there. He decided to send me for another xray, this time of my lower back. That xray too came back normal, but again, the pain continues. He decided that what he needed to diagnose the problem was an MRI.

Today was my MRI. My appointment was actually for yesterday but they called and asked me to come today instead. For starters, I'm claustophobic so I can't do the tube and had to go to an open MRI. I arrived 20 minutes early to do the required paperwork and at 8:10 (after having been there already for 30 minutes and 10 minutes after my scheduled appointment time) I was guided back to change and get ready. What caused the delay? It certainly wasn't patients! I was the only one in the waiting room. My appointment was for 8:00pm (that's just too late) and the place was deserted!

Finally, I entered the MRI room. After saddling up and being properly positioned, the testing began. The nice thing about an open MRI is that it's not quite as loud as a closed MRI. But noisy nonetheless. The doctor says the pictures are quite as clear either, but I really don't care. I hate being in the tube.

I can't be certain, but I do believe that I may have fallen asleep. Not snoring, sweet dreams sleep, but half way between reality and lala land sleep.

So I'm back to waiting for results. That will take 3-5 days before my doctor receives the results. Shortly after that I'll probably get a note from my doctor's office saying "everything looks normal". Ugh!

It's all about me...still

It's hard to believe, but this is the last day of January. Tomorrow is February 1st. I don't know about you, but time sure does seem to fly by for me. My birthday month could have lasted at least another week. I needed a little more time to milk that for all its worth!

On the plus side, February means Valentine's Day. Ok, it's just another excuse for the card and candy companies to make some money. But it's also an opportunity for you to remember to tell that special someone that you really love them. Sometimes we forget to do that and need a reminder. I know lots of people love me so I'm expecting to get tons of Valentine cards this year!

The best valentine I could get this year is that my great nephew be born happy and healthy. He's not actually due until March 1st, but sometimes babies decide they're coming out early and ain't nobody gonna stop em!

So Jack, if you're listening to your Aunt Maura, be happy, be healthy, and be here in time to send your aunt a Valentine's Day card! (Remember my mantra..."It's all about me"!)

Happy Birthday to me!

What an awesome day! This had to be one of the best birthdays that I've had in a very long time.

For starters, my sister Maryann and her husband Bill, were here to help me celebrate! They usually come down the end of February, but this year moved their visit up a bit due to the fact that Jack will be born during their usual trip time. Since they wanted to be home for Jack when the time finally arrived, they made plans to be here for my birthday. That worked for me!

Our day started very early...up at 4:00am! Why so early? We had made plans to go on a hot air balloon ride and had to be at the starting point by 6:00am. What an outstanding experience that was!

We drove to a local hotel as our starting point. From there, they drove us to the take off point. That ended up being a huge orange grove in Clermont. Wow! We watched as they unrolled the balloons and connected them to the basket. First they filled them with cold air from huge industrial sized fans. Followed by adding the hot air...the fire torches were amazing. It's hard to imagine how they don't burn up the ropes and balloon, but they don't.


It wasn't too long before we had to climb inside the basket and prepare for take off! The baskets are sectioned off into 5 sections. There are two sections of either side and the middle section is where the pilot and hot air tanks are. They said they could fit up to 18 people plus the pilot in one of these baskets, but we had 14 people in ours and it was pretty packed. If there were more people, we'd have been packed like sardines.

Finally, the heat was going long enough that we began to float upward. It was amazing! You didn't even feel the basket moving at first...you just kind of noticed it happening.




There were a couple other balloons taking off about the same time as us so I was able to get some great shots of them as we took off. This all took place at sunrise so the setting was breathtaking. The morning fog wasn't really visible to the eye, but quite visible in some of the pictures. If you've never flown in a hot air balloon, I highly recommend it! It's like floating on air...literally.






My sister being a goof! Warming her hands in the fire...hahaha!









Our pilot, Damien, was a real hoot! He's from Ireland and had the neatest accent. He along with all the ground crew really made it quite a memorable experience.

Sunrise over Clermont Florida

This is our view of the other balloon as we took off.
Our higest altitude was about 500 feet. We floated up and down but never went over the 500 feet mark. The winds were perfect at that level to allow us to drift on the appropriate path to our landing site. We had a few brushes with the tops of a few pines, but for the most part, we cleared all obstacles in our way.

Some great aerial shots of the area. You've really gotta try this!

These cows were mooing about below.

More sunrise pictures


Our reflection over the retention pond.

Another treetop view
Looking down at the trees below

Maryann and Bill enjoying their view

The landing was the roughest part. You don't just land...you kind of hit ground and bounce a couple of times. It's a little on the rough side, but an exciting experience.

Yep, this sure was the best birthday ever! I can't wait until next year!