Rocket J. Squirrel lives up to his name

This is our new friend. He decided to take us for a run today and take Duffy with him. He can run like the wind. I opened the garage door and he and Duffy went after the cats. Big Mistake. He'll be 3 on Valentines day. He wants to be inside and cries alot. What he really wants is to check out the cat. the cat wants nothing to do with him. I hope to God I have the energy for this. We will be making trips to the Dog Park quite often with this one to let him run and get his yayas out. Have to have 2 people since one dog goes to big dog park and other one goes to little dog park.

Kid #2 has finals this week. She is off to library with her study group so she can do well on her gubmint final. I hope she does well. She is really turning out to be quite the student. No AP classes for her. And no extra college classes.

I don't understand these kids who graduate with their high school diploma as well as their AA from a community college. I think kids need a transistion from high school to college. I know I wasn't ready to go to a 4 year school when I was 18. I loved school no matter what.

You have no idea what a disappoint it was for me when I actually started to teach and most of the kids I taught could have cared less. It was an example of apathy at the highest level. Of course these kids had been told they were crap since they were little so why would one teacher make a difference? i had kids who were had such severe mental illness that they belonged in hospitals and not in classrooms. Kids whose parents thought that to solve the ADD all their kids had , was to give them sugar. Yep, good old sugar. And when their kid punched through a window in a door because he was late to class, that it was the teachers fault for obeying the instructions of the principal to shut the door when the last bell rang. Oh the stories I could tell. The kid who slugged me in the abdomen when I was trying to get kids out to lunch. I should have filed a police report on that. Oh the things I know now that I didn't know then.

Well tonight is meat loaf, mashed potatoes and gravy and veges. Need to go defrost the meat. Sounds good to me.

Ciao.

-30-

What is this falling from the sky???

Yes!!! It's raining. We need it. There may even be thunder lately. I don't know when or where, but it's raining.

We are thinking about adopting another GSP. He's nearly 3 and he looks pretty sweet. The kids and I are supposed to go and meet him today. of course it all comes down to the big guy. We shall see.

Life goes on. High school has finals this week. 1/2 days and then Friday off.

DHS says no work till after 6-30-07. Tenative date of return. I can't lift 70 lbs so I won't be going back to doing any thing like that. I hurt too much to even think about it. Hell I can't even lift a gallon of milk, how in the hell am I supposed to think about a suitcase. And waving a wand is a joke.

Not much else exciting. I am jazzed about the rain though.

Ciao.

-30-

Still coughing like the energizer bunny

This is getting really old. I think I may have to break down and see the doc and ask for some codeine and something to stop this damn hacking. And it's time to refill the BP meds too. Must make appointment.

Life is generally going on okay. I made lasagna from scratch for dinner. It's in the oven now. I couldn't mix the cheeses up though, had to ask for help. My arm just screamed when I did that. Hope it tastes good. Lots of cheese in it and I added extra sauce.

Dog got groomed. Cutie patootie. Tried to hump an elderly English setter who wanted nothing to do with him. Dumb dog but cute.

Kids are fine. Husband worked 6 days this week. He's still tired and Lord almighty he snored like a chainsaw last night. I didn't sleep well at all. Tonight I will take the sleeping pill and hope that it works.

Supposed to rain. I see clouds but no rain. House is even cold upstairs.

Ciao babies!

-30-

A Dry Unproductive Cough

Well....that is what I have had for the last couple of weeks. It's just really irritating but it's like a choo choo train that just needs to keep chugging along. Cough, cough, deep cough....

Nothing terribly exciting has been going on. Kids to school, running errands and just finishing up a couple of books that I had started. I am waiting on the delivery of the new Kris Radish book, Sunday List of Dreams. That should be fun to read.

American Idol === God the losers are just that. I can't wait till next week when House and Bones come back with new episodes. I can't take all this crap. Yesterday I watched my very first episode of 24. That is kind of a scary show. I am not too thrilled with the a bomb going off in Valencia. No more Magic Mountain in that show's time line. Oh well.

Sometimes there's just not a lot to write about. Normal things going on, being a mom and being sore.

Ciao.

-30-

Listening, an art to Master

I am listening to A Young Lutheran's Guide to the Orchestra. It is so wonderful. Garrison Keillor has such a way with words. I've met him and seen APHC in person a couple of times here on the West Coast. It is neat to listen to him describe the different parts of an orchestra to a bunch of people, a goodly number of them who are midwestern Lutherans.

Warmer today but still pretty cool at night. The dog curled up so close to me last night. He wanted to get up at 0300 to go outside so I threw him out there and he did what he had to do and came back and curled up. After I got up he trotted down the hall and went to see the boychild and slept with him.

I wrote to my case worker a while ago and I still haven't heard anything. In the meantime I suffer. Wonder if they ever got hurt and had to wonder what was going on? A nice cushy government job. Oh to wish?

Still no news on the inlaws. Sent an email and not one answer. Guess they are either too busy to answer or we are still SOL with them. Not that I care.

Now we've switched to Asleep at the Wheel. I love Texas Boogie. Makes me wanna dance which I cannot do.

So, have a nice day out in the ether.

Ciao.

-30-

I want orange chicken....

I tried to do this on Safari but it didn't seem to like me so I am back to Mozilla. Works well, so why change?

Rain and cold off and on with sun peaking through. Grapevine is closed. WhooHoo.

Am having Panda Express tonight for dinner. Already decided. I smelled some orange chicken last night and it was so tempting. Will send the kid out tonight to get some for all of us.

I don't even know what day it is. That's how confused I am. I think I am going to take a nap this afternoon and try to catch up on the sleep that I miss at night. Just a bit of stress. No that's not true, a whole freaking truckload of stress and I am not dealing with it well at all.

Well it's time to turn the computer to sleep for a while and do something good for me.

Ciao.

-30-

Damn Dog

Oh I am pissed off. The dog chewed through my ear bud wires. Now I can't listen to my Ipod. I am not a happy camper. He's in his crate now and every so often there's a bark. Tough shit. He gets to stay there for a while. I can't replace them till Friday, but I will and they will stay in their little case. How come he doesn't chose to chew the ones my kids leave all over everywhere. And don't get me started on shoe laces. Yes he's not 2 yet, yes he's in need of training. He chewed the handle on his leash for cripes sake. I need some quiet time in a nice room with a view and a spa tub and a bottle of a nice Chardonnay cooled very cold.

I didn't need that today. Kid #1 got po'ed at the father after the father yelled at him last night, went out with his friends to another friends house and watched Firefly DVD's and came home at 4AM without a key. Had to call his sister to unlock the door so he could get in. Am I happy? Well i was pissed off at his father too and had to stay in the same room with him.

You gotta wonder sometimes dont' you?

Ciao.

-30-

¿ Que Pasa?

YES, I should be paying lots and lots of money for all the whining I've done in the last 4 years. Today the pain level was maybe 7-8 and I finally sucked it up and went out. I have not left the house in 3 days. But we went to Costco, big friggin mistake. Left the basket, did get gas though, cheaper than anywhere else. Then to Vons and found something my mom was looking for. Made her happy.

Kids are making noise. Glad they are down stairs. I have turned the heater off, but will turn it on to 58º tonight. It was a sauna in here last night. Not so cold outside today. But chilly.

I miss my big brown dog. the little black dog is okay but I truly miss my big brown dog.

Nothing else new. We had mail today, WTF was that???? I thought postal offices were closed. Oh well. Not that anything exciting except the cable bill came. Whew. I wonder if we need all those channels?

Aliens is on the tv behind me droning on. I am not terribly thrilled but there is no football and I like this one and Alien Resurrection of all of them. It's like I really enjoy watching Terminator 2, but could care less about the other 2.

No pain pills tonight. 3 glasses of white zin rule that out. I will put on a lidoderm patch and see if that helps. Not that I expect it to. It hasn't yet.

Well not much else to update. Little black dog is gnawing on a crust of pizza. He doesn't like the good stuff, he only likes the crust. Smart dog. I don't like crust.

Time to end and to prepare for the week.
Ciao.

-30-

Clavicle Shmalivical

Okay, so what gives? Why does the shoulder ache so bad and have pain across the top and bottom of the right clavicle? Where are the muscles that really hurt and why does the pain keep on coming.

Like last week, I missed the 2nd half of the afternoon football game. I just couldn't keep my eyes open. Not to mention that it is colder than cold down there, even with the fire going. It's just not fun. Slept for a couple of hours and feel a little better. Tomorrow will be a so/so day, have the whole crew again thanks to the MLK holiday.

Damn cold last night and early this morning. i got up to let the pooch out at 0651 and it said 28º on the thermometer on the patio. That is cold. But I have my Hudson Bay Blanket on the bed so it was nice and warm when I crawled back in. The pooch decided to favor the 2nd kid with his presence so that was okay with me.

Older kid went to the Queen Mary to see RHPS last night. He had fun. He's got some good friends. I did tell him that the weeknight curfew is now midnight. His sister has to go to school and she needs sleep too. She won't sleep with me because she says I snore. Oh the horror...me snoring? No. Can't. Be. True.

The Patriots versus the Colts. Go Colts.
The Bears versus the Saints. Go Bears.

These are just what I want. Would be a lot of fun.

Not much else tonight. at 2045 it's 46º outside. Brrrrr.

Ciao. Babies.

-30-

Tell me whacha want what ya really really want

The weather is changing. My hands are cold today and my shoulder hurts like a sunnaofabitch. It hurt most of the night too. Could't get a comfy position to stay in. Such fun, and then the dog decided that sometime after 3AM he was the most important being in the room and he had to get me awake to let me know that. I said sorry pooch, I am staying in my semi warm bed and going to sleep. I am tired of being cold.
But I did get up and out of bed to take my kid to school since her brother has a headache and considering the hours he's been keeping he gets to sleep in today. She didn't make the play but that's no great loss. Unless you were one of the drama teachers favorite little twinkies you didn't have much of a chance. I told her to excel in her singing class and forget about the play. She's got much more important things coming up for her than that.

I hope this year is better than last. Scraping by is not the way I envisioned my life.

And oh yeah, David Beckham is joining the LA Galaxy. Does that mean the hallowed environs of Beverly Hills will meet and greet his oh so anoxeric wife and they will be BFF with da stahsssss???? I don' give a flying f**k. So there.
Ciao.

-30-

From Hot and Windy to Cold and Wet and a Shuffle or something like it

That's what the weather guys are saying. From beach weather to light a fire and curl up.
The fires last night really were scary, especially since they were on the ocean side and not in the hills. I am sure the people are insured and they will rebuild.

So far so good in the new year. Just staying ahead of the pain.

Here's the Shuffle for a Tuesday night:

1. The Young Lutheran's Guide to the Orchestra ////////Garrison Keillor
2. The Devil Went Down to Jamaica ///////Weird Al
3. This Old House ///////Bette Midler
4. Act 2- Finale ///////Spamalot
5. Lord, I Want To Be A Christian ///////Chanticleer
6. He Shall Purify Them ///////Handel's Messiah
7. In The Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening ///////Bette Midler
8. Diva's Lament ( What Happened to my Part?)/////// Spamalot
9. The Thrill is Gone ///////B B King & Eric Clapton
10. Louie Louie ///////The Kinks

And that is all she wrote.......

Ciao

-30-

4 days into the new year

So far 2007 isn't much different than 2006.
I spent most of the 1st of the year sitting in an ER with my Mom. I had the good sense to call 911 to get her transported so she would get a room. The ER was jammed and we were there 6 hours. She waited 3 hours to be seen. People were getting nasty and rude and it was not a pleasant thing. She will be seen by a pain mgmt specialist next week and hopefully that will be the start of something good. I pray that it is.

Got some interesting books to read. A Kathy Reich' novel and a non fiction book written by a female neurosurgeon. Then I have 3 Nora Roberts to read. Slowly but surely.

The clouds are here. It wasn't cloudy earlier. I guess we are getting some rain perhaps.

Shoulder hurts. Nothing new there.

Ciao, babies.

-30-

Here's to 2007!

May 2007 bring Peace, Prosperity & Happiness!

The News Drones on and on and on and on and ...

CNN is droning on in the background. I have it on for white noise. But now Mr SH can see if the 7 virgins waiting for him are nuns with rulers and an evil dispostion. Bwahahahaha. I wonder if it will change things in Iraq?

I had a hot toddy earlier. Gentleman Jack, lemon juice,sugar and hot water. I hope it will do some good. My ears feel like there is cellophane in them. Crinkle, crackle, crinkle.

Tomorrow I am going to go on a mission to replace a small appliance. I have looked several places online but haven't found it. I will look at a couple more places and see if there is anything even close to it. And also hit the book store, hit Ross for a new purse and then come home and watch FOOTBALL.

I have the new Nora Roberts triology. This isn't going to read as fast as her other books. I just finished 2 advance reads though. One a mystery set in Southern CA and one set in a village without men in Colombia. Both were extremely good.

My kids got me the 1st season of Bones. It's a lot of fun. Reminds me of the Xfiles, but with a sense of humor, not that DD and GA didn't have a sense of humor, but CC didn't allow them to work with a group and express it. This one rocks.

Oh well. 2007 is around the corner. I have 2 calendars already. I need to get myself a small purse calendar too.

Ciao!

-30-

One holiday down

It was a nice holiday. Gifts and laughs and lots of good food.
Woke up with a miserable cold on Tuesday and it's not much better today. I am pushing fluids, not talking if I don't have to and just lagging behind everything.
I have DVD's to watch.
Kids had a good holiday.
Lots of good food. Crab, shrimp, sammies, honey baked ham. Waiting on the hambone to make pea soup. Sounds good on a cold and windy day like today.
Enjoy your week.
Ciao.

-30-

and they said it wouldn't last

We celebrated our 21st anniversary yesterday. Who'da thunk?

-30-

I saw the lump of coal today

But it was chocolate coated popcorn balls. I think tomorrow I am going to go to the market and buy them just for the hell of it. I am also going to tear apart the living room and make my son help me because I think there is some spirit creeping into my life.

I had an astrology chart made for me. Considering it's computer generated, it's rather accurate. Hmm. I don't put much stock in those things but what the hey, it was free. Just some printer paper.

My friend is getting snowed in but she'll have green grass on Christmas I bet. It's strange when the snow falls in places that are used to it, life goes on. Here, in the passes, it's such a strange occurence that people get all frazzled and freaked.

Back to the antibiotics. I hope they knock this shit out. I don't need my jaw giving me more problems, especially this weekend. I may call them and ask them to refill the scrip just for good luck.

I managed to get out of driving to BFE for Christmas. We are going to go to my Moms. My mom is sicker than hers and I don't know how many Christmases we are going to have with them. Mom's 82 and Paul's 86, and it will be peaceful, easy and just us on Christmas afternoon. If we drove out to BFE it would be us, 3 SIL/ 4 BIL's, 5 kids under 13, MIL and various sundry other people. + 4 dogs. This way the husband and the kids can go out on the 30th and visit. I can plead sickness or something. I just don't want to deal. And at my Mom's I can have a glass or 3 of wine and not feel like I am going to be crucified on the cross. Their house is dryer than the Sahara midsummer, it's not "The Christian" way of doing things.

And then there is the deaf BIL who is sending me emails left and right to get serial numbers and things off the Imac that my daughter has adopted and which is going back to the original owner. We don't mind that but to have a conversation with him, is really hard because he has no sense of syntax in his speaking /patterns. They will get the whole shebang back when the troops make the trip out.

So life goes on. I have a few places to start tomorrow as far as shopping and I will do that.
I got an online coupon from World Market that I can use at their store. I loved Cost Plus and they have improved over the years. I know what I want to get there and I hope I can do it in one felt swoop.

So that's it in a nutshell.
ciao,

-30-

holiday cheer....?

It's supposedly all around me but for the life of me I can't figure out where it went and why I can't locate mine. I absolutely have no spirit this year. Could it be for the following reasons:
● Lack of funds
● Lack of help from the kids to get the house ready
● Worry about parents illnesses
● Constant and continious pain
● Worry about same
● husband who spends nearly 90$ before Christmas on some putty to mend his
trucks manifold?
● Kid who expects a Nintendo Wii when I don't have money to buy groceries and he didn't get off his game playing ass to get a job in the fall when he needed to
● Other kid who's room looks like the wrath of whomever and shines me on.
● Can't find lumps of coal but I think it's going to be rampant around this house
● Just feeling blue

Oh well, this is Monday and it can be a day for me to just whine a little. Tomorrow will be better. I will manage. We may have paper dolls for presents but at least we will still have roof over our head God willing.

Ciao,

-30-

Where is my holiday spirit, can you find it????

Okay where are you hiding it? Did it get shoved into the back of the closet? I want to know and I want to know now!!!

Got some ideas for gifts today at Cost Plus. I need to go back there by myself with cash and put together some baskets of goodies for some people. Just a few. But since I have no money till next weekend, we'll just have to wait. Bah.
Humbug.

I am going to have to say sorry to the trip to the groomers. I can't afford the gas to drive around and my checkbook is so low that it's going to have red rubber soles soon .
But I am taping the dog show for my friend to take to the owner of the dog who was in the Eukanuba / Long Beach show the 1st weekend of this month. It's taping now.

Went to church today. Roof did not fall in. Had to come right home since child had a Christmas party to attend to. She made goodie bags for lots of people at the party. Cute.

Walmart wasn't too nuts yesterday. That was nice. But it sure was warm inside that store and cold when you stepped outside. Right now the fireplace is going and the heater will come on soon and make it warm upstairs. One more week of schlepping the child to school. Hope I can make it.

We have our 21st anniversary this week. Who would have thought it?

Happy days.
Ciao!!!
-30-

Santa Baby.... The thing, a ring...

I heard the original Eartha Kitt song this week and it keeps running through my head, "put a sable under the tree, for me, "... though today Peta would put me in red paint.

Tough Shit. I'd like to see Peta go to a place like Siberia where fur in the winter is the norm, or even Northern Alaska and pull that shit. Might get a harpoon up the ass.

Today was a good day even with rain and wind. We went to a friends house and he gave us a really nice loveseat which makes the family room a lot more comfy. With just a futon couch, it's kind of hard to have a bunch of people down there. Thanks big guy for the couch!

Was going to go to the Olive Garden for their soup/salad/breadstick lunch but they were not open yet at 1145 so we went to Fridays. it was okay. The soup was good. The meat was so/so. I can deal with it though.

Didn't go to Costco but we went to WalMart and except for meat, got basically everything we were going to get at the other store, including Water. Why doesn't Sam's Club sell Sam's Water? The 20 ozers that are really nice. They don't sell their own brand of water. Weird. We were going to go to a nicer Sam's Club but time got short.

Came home and watched Star Trek ( Sarek dies) and watched the kiddo #2 put together Candy goodie bags for her friends for the party tomorrow. I think she is really a great kid and she had a lot of fun doing it as well as eating a bunch of M&M's. Her friends are good. I am glad she has them. She is still not speaking to the boy person, 6 weeks now. Wonder where his brain went?

Rainy cold and damp. Bones ache pretty much all the time but I am doing a bit better mentally. I'd really lose my mind if I didn't have some kind of frame of reference.

Garlic bread, angel hair pasta and sauce and meatballs for dinner tonight. Wow I cooked. And someone else is doing the dishes. You go girl.

Kid is happy. Her blood tests show that her ovaries are producing eggs. She is overjoyed. She still has to have pills to have her cycle but down the road she should be able to conceive. I could be a grandma someday along the line. Other kid is joining a digital photgraphy class in Jan. Cool.

Well I think I am going to fill my glass with ice, get some water and do some exercises to loosen up my neck. I am pretty tight right now. It's a flexeril night tonight.

Ciao!
- 30 -