Rain Rain (^@#(%^$%(# Go Away

Well at least the weather is appropriate for that Evan Almighty film. The weather was so bad yesterday that I had to shut my computer off TWICE because of lightning. Worst part of the day came around 830pm when I was catching a House episode I missed and the power decided to go off. Not just solidly off at first...off, then on, then flicker flicker and bam completely off. Meanwhile, I ended up wasted some of the meatballs I cooked because I was in the middle of scooping them from the pan into a dish to store them. %%**)$$(*^& *sigh*. Thank goodness for a small generator that can power the travel tv. According to the news, we're all under a flood watch until noon tomorrow. Possibly later. I hope we dont lose power again...if it does I hope it at least waits until after 8pm again because I have to cover for my TxSis's stream tonight. I hope I dont have to call da boss and inform him otherwise. The power was out for about 3 hours. I aint bothering to fix any of the clocks right now on the off chance we lose power again. This wont surprise me with the way those clouds are looking today.

For those of you who were watching those videos I posted day before yesterday and were curious who was who, the following is part of the comment I left for Chicago :

The picture on the gravestone was their wedding photo. He was coast guard and she was army. The young man holding the boy in the second photo is my brother and the little one in his arms is my nephew. The fourth pic in...the man in the middle with the suspenders is daddy. The 5th pic...the lady on the left is a cousin (she's bro's godmom), the balding man in the center is my godfather (friend of the family) and the lady on the right is his wife (my godmom isnt his wife it's actually his sister and I dont see a pic of her in here....). Next pic in...the gal with the pink purse is bro's godmom's daughter.The first group shot of the table of people, the gal in red with the glasses is my bro's wife (the one Ive been referring to as my SIL). The older man in tan with the glasses I *think* is George. I cant remember how he fit in all this, I just remember he was important to gramma (gramma's sister's hubby's brother I think) and was close with her. The rest in the buffet section of the pix Im not sure about. I know most were relations of some form or another.



I got a call today from the place doing the CT scans on my husband and me. We're scheduled for next week on the 5th @ 8am. Im going to call shortly and schedule my obgyn. By day's end, if I havent heard from the therapist's office I'll give them a jingle and set for next week.

I guess I'd better get off here and get a couple things done before the sky opens up for the day.

50/50

It's been raining off and on here in my neck of the woods. Wet enough to whine about it (and check for webbing between the toes), but not so much I can bitch. I cant overly complain because there are others west of me who are getting it worse than I am.

Got an invite to this site called Quechup from a friend. It's ok I guess. Got myself an account there but Im not sure Im going to keep it. I have no clue why really need another place to stick a blog when I have Blogger, 360 and 2 MySpaces. The only thing I see that's different is they have an extensive gaming area. I could always use it to drive peeps this way ;) LOL.

Still waiting on the place that the dr wants to do a CT scan on hubby and myself to call for an appointment. We've been getting a few calls that have said Unknown and havent had a phone number attached to them on my Caller ID. I certainly hope it aint one of them. The nurse called today to check on something on my hubby and I mentioned it to her so Im not sure if it registered in her head or if she was too busy to notice.

Got a pressy from my SCSis today. She's burned me a cd and sent a scented candle in a pretty tin. Not sure Im fond of the smell but that tin is awesome. It's tiger print with a leopard print lid. It's so friggin me. Im not sure on the cd...I think it was supposed to be music. Im almost afraid to pop it in as her tastes and mine are...well....ummm different. She really likes the heavy bass and rapping stuff that I normally cannot stand. We'll see.

I was surfing online the other day in sporting good stores and finally found an exercise bike that has a weight limit required to hold my fat ass. It's at a reasonable price too. Most that I've seen that have the higher weight limits run $300-$800 +. Much to much for our budget. This one came in at a nice $178 at Academy Sports (Dicks and Sports Authority had the same model for $41 more). Now it's seeing if it's in the funding here. It all depends how far behind we are on the bills n shit (and how much it 's gonna cost to fix the wipers on the truck). I may just insist on it for my birthday. All I know is I really gotta do something about this extra Im huffing....Im really tired of it.

Anyone miss me?

Nope, I didnt think so.




Thursday and Friday were slightly busy days for us here. Thursday we had a going away luncheon for 3 of the guys at hubby's work. Looks like there's going to be one of these every other week for a while (if not every week). This time we went to a chinese restaurant. Yeah, me who doesnt like eating anything I cant identify readily actually went along. Personally, if Im going to go to a restaurant like this, I prefer the buffets as I can pick what I like. This time...it wasnt the case. In this restaurant, it was order from the menu. They had where you could order each person their own dish OR family style. Family style is where they bring out several dishes and everyone picks what they want from the lazy susan in the center of the table (read modified buffet). Thankfully one of the gals that works at the U.N. (the nick I have for T.I.) was with us and spoke chinese so it was easier to order. I was told by someone at our table that half the fun going out with that lady is watching the floor show as she haggled with the waitresses in their own language. She did us well though as there was maybe one dish I didnt sample (tofu...ew). I liked the seafood soup that was brought. It looked nasty but I did recognize the crab meat so I figured it couldnt be ALL bad ( somehow I think Im better off not knowing what that clear jelly stuff was in there...so please no one tell me ). The pork they brought out was tough, but edible. The beef dish, we were informed, seems to be an American favorite in their establishment. It was really good but too spicy for my liking. The fish....umm... well let's just say I have this thing about eating anything looking back at me (to the point where when Im eating boiled shrimp I cover their little exploded eyes before I rip their heads off....then I turn the torn off head so it's facing the other direction) !! Their crispy chicken was really good (thank God they served it on the bones...you know The Rumor about those Chinese restaurants). It was much like deep fried turkey.

After lunch we went to see The Fantastic Four movie. It turned out pretty good. I liked it better than their first movie which is unusual as the first movies usually are much better than the sequels. It was fast paced enough to keep me entertained the whole time and with the exception of the fact I drank my whole bottle of water during the first half of the movie (mouth was still burning from lunch) I think I could have sat through it without fidgeting. I wish I could have said the same for Spiderman 3 which lagged so bad in places that it was almost as bad as that huge steaming turd called The Hulk (2003 version). You know it's bad when you nearly fall asleep in the middle of an action film (and my now husband actually DID several times and he's a comic book buff). All in all it was a very nice day.


Friday started earlier than I would have cared for. We both had dr appointments and were scheduled to be in at 915am. His was in the computer for 930am and mine for 10am. They're learning to get me in 30-45 minutes early so my blood pressure has a chance to come down some. They took him in for his at 9 am (we always run earlier than the appointment time so they take us early if no one else is in). I sent him in with a list (which he dutifully produced for the dr from what I hear...such a good boy) and with all that needed to be addressed I didnt get in until nearly 10am (which is fine because I spent the time talkin to the receptionist Maudi). While they were getting me weighed (273...*sigh* gotta get back on track and knuckle down), they still had him held hostage in his room. I, too, had brought a list in for the doctor (mine was twice as long). My blood pressure was up a little (134/78..I usually run about a 120-125 on top) but considering what of one of my items was it's really no surprise (gotta love those Well Woman visits...*bah*). I was informed one part of my Well Woman visit isnt done until the age of 40 so I have a few years before I need to worry about that part...unless something's found that shouldnt be there...then well...*sigh*. While waiting on the dr the nurse had me leave a urine sample (they pretty much test me each time now as hubby and I are trying to have kids).

The first thing we discussed were my sinuses. She took a look and even after an hour and a half after I took my meds (and Im taking the extra Flonase on top of my Astelin this week thanks to those damn friggin crepe myrtles blooming) my nose, ears and throat still looked horrid (and to think I was actually feeling good...just a mild sore throat). I told her what the other dr suggested and also told her I'd been thinking back and remembered taking a box of formula to the face (right on the bridge between the eyes...didnt have any bleeding nor bruising just a major headache the rest of the day) while unloading a truck a few years back. She thinks it's possiblethat that's the problem and has sent in an order for me to have a CT scan to see what's going on up there. They'll be calling me this week to set an appointment. If they havent called by Tuesday, I'll be calling them.





Next thing we discussed was the results of the above mentioned urine sample. Nope, the rabbit didnt die this month either. Oh well...at least practicing's fun! My dr basically decided that due to my age we need to stick things on a faster track. It's not as though Im still in my 20's and still have a whole lot of time to keep trying. As she put it, we dont have time to futz around anymore. As such she gave me the number for a ob gyn to call this week and get in. We'd discussed what I like best in a dr and why I dont like certain ones so she said that this one should fit my needs quite well. I'll be giving them a jingle Tuesday to make an appointment. Why wait? Because Im hoping for a call from the CT people beforehand (and another that I'll discuss in a minute) so I can schedule things accordingly. I'd like to try and get it all done in one day if possible although it would be a great excuse to get out of this house more than once a week.

In the last several months, I've had a couple moles show up on my skin that I find worrisome. They're not showing the signs of being cancerous, but you never can be sure. I told the dr that we need to keep an eye on them. My mom had had a couple that kept cropping up after being frozen off so she ended up having them removed surgically (which was good because they were pre-cancerous). I was one of those sun-worshippers as a child and teen and as such I need to keep my eye out for stuff like that. My dr said my skin looks good so no worries there.

While checking south of the belly button she took a look at my feet as well. She says the toe nails are looking good (from that surgery back last spring) and that the podiatrist did a good job on them. I asked her if the occasional pain I get on them is due to them growing in and the fact the ends are rather thick. She is pretty sure that that is probably why and if it really is bothersome then to take some ibuprophen for the pain. I also had her check the cyst that's on my foot. It's been there for years and hurts now and then. The worst it does is bug me for just being there and wear holes into the insides of my sneaks. She said not to mess with it but yes we'll keep an eye on that too. Im gathering as long as it doesnt infect (like my mom's did years ago) and it doesnt cause me much pain I wont need to have it removed.

We also discussed my weight a bit. I told her that my main problem seems to be after 5pm when I seem to get really hungry and not really satisfied. Mornings are ok (I just have a breakfast bar or small bowl of cereal and juice), afternoons are ok (when I have a sandwich, or salad and a yogurt), but once I get to 4pm or so I get the munchies which last for hours. Worse yet is the fact I'd like to have ONE meal with my hubby and because of this dont eat supper until 8pm. I then went on to tell her about my brother who managed to lose 31 pounds on Atkins. Her response, then try going heavier on the protein and lighter on the carbs and see if it works for you too. I think Im going to rearrange my eating schedule and start eating earlier and having a light snack at hubby's dinner time so it at least FEELS like we're sharing a meal. Im also considering an earlier bedtime so I get 8 hrs of sleep a night. I found when I was getting that sleep I was losing a bit of weight. Im also considering looking into a diet aid that can be taken in the evening and will help me sleep a whole night and not toss and turn all night like I do now.

Last thing we discussed was my back. That one spot still hurts some (a level 2 out of 10 in discomfort) no matter what position I put myself into. It really makes doing some things rather uncomfortable. She told me it's in the muscle but was worried enough to say she was going to fax in a referral to a therapist. I'd only have to go a couple times or so just long enough to learn some exercises that would help that part of my back out. My luck the therapist will take one look and say I have to come more often just for the benefit for the rest of my back. I just hope the insurance covers all of this. What I need to do is if there's a local pool that has an aqua-slimnastics program affiliated with it. Then I could exercise a bit more comfortably. What I also need is an exercise bike that has a weight limit higher than the 250 pound standard limit. It's pretty piss poor when ya gotta lose weight to get on the equipment that will help you lose the weight. The bikes with the higher limits run no less than $400 in most places. My NYBro suggested waiting until September or so when the stores are trying to get rid of the old stock for the newer models and see if there's one in my price range then.

After my appointment with the doctor, I was sent to play with the vampires. Man, I hate doing that. The one I got didnt play nice at all. Usually I walk out with maybe a drop of blood and no major marking on my arm. This time...well the cotton had alot more blood than usual on it and I have a bruise on my arm. Definitely not usual. Thankfully I dont usually get the same person again so maybe the next one wont leave a mark. If they do, Im going to start bringing in a clove of garlic when I go.




Not much else is going on. We went to WalMart on Friday after the drs office and dropped off all our scripts. They told us an hour, but when we got back the orders weren't ready. Come find out once the scripts are entered, any WalMart pharmacy can fill them. This is good for when you are travelling and need an emergency refill on the medicine. It ISNT good , however, when it happens and you're in your home pharmacy. Seems that one of the pharmacy across town filled it and it was sitting over there. As such, the one we were at couldnt fill them until the first store returned the orders back to stock and that would be at least 24 hours. Stupid shitz. Only good thing that came out of this trip is the new Bon Jovi cd I bought (Lost Highway). It's got a more country flavor than his older stuff but doesnt steer away from his sound entirely. I played the title track last night on my stream (the room consisted the most part of me, myself , I and the dustbunnies under my desk with a brief appearance of a little chirpy lady in the room for about a half hour). I also played Till We Aint Strangers Anymore (gotta love those hick titles) which is his duet with LeAnn Rimes.

Last night I went to the link on the paperwork for the CT scan and found where they had the paperwork online so it could be downloaded and filled in early. This will help out because invariably I forget something while doing it in the office and this way I can look up certain info needed to complete the papers. Im not looking forward to any of this, to say the least but it's either this or stay sick the rest of my life.

Feeling like a jigsaw puzzle

It's one of those days where Im not sure how I want to feel. Part of me is worried, part of me is happy and another part is hopeful. I feel just all mixed up inside.

Got an email from my mom this morning that worried the hell out of me. It was dated 9pm her time. Well, she got a call from my brother saying that they had to batten down the hatches there. Why? Because someone in the neighborhood called the cops to report a domestic disturbance a few doors down from him. When the cops arrived they found a 15 yr old boy beating the hell out of his mother. As they approached him, he pulled a gun and shot the 2 cops dead. This boy's still on the loose and they dont know if he's still in the neighborhood or not. I havent heard an update yet today. Mind you their neighborhood is a bit more rural then mine so the houses arent quite so close together BUT they have little ones (my niece is 4 and my nephew is around 2). Needless to say, Im pretty worried.

I learned something new today. Chicagolady commented on the home page yesterday that she liked the way I posted those lyrics. For those who liked them also I got the code from http://www.metrolyrics.com/ . They have a way where you can customize them too. Some of the lyrics dont have the pictures with them like that Avril Lavigne one I posted yesterday. In fact, the Ace Frehley picture didnt come with the lyrics..it had a blue discball behind the lyrics *bah*. I figured it was alot like my My Space codes so I used what I needed and substituted one line in it to get the picture up. Im very happy with the result. That's an awesome picture of him too (thank God for Google). Im very happy when I can apply knowledge of something I learned elsewhere into a new environment.

As for the hopeful part, Im not going to blog about that yet because I dont want to jinx things.

EDITED 409pm central: The boy in the first paragraph was found dead. Details on this link. http://www.wave3.com/Global/story.asp?S=1745472

Just another day

We've got another grey, dreary day here in Garland. Im sitting here in my office at the computer and my body's wondering why the HELL Im vertical at this hour. Most of my friends are probably looking at the time and wondering the same thing as Im notoriously afternoon type person. Mornings and me, well we just dont see eye to bleary eye. I dont know why the heck Im up. Days like this make me so sleepy and I find getting up really rough....especially now that Im mostly caffeine free (just one of the changes I made after my surgery in November..the other being reducing the sugar intake). It looks like we're gonna get more rain today. I have some mixed feelings on this because the ground really can use it and it also washes a good deal of the pollen out of the air which makes breathing easier as my allergies wont be kicked up so much from the myrtles which decided to bloom right on the heels of the magnolias dying off. Looks like there's no real break pollenwise this year. The rain, however, washes it all outta the air but then we end up with the nasty mold spores that kick up because of all the moisture. *BAH*

Called and talked to daddy for a bit yesterday. Not much going on out that way. Seems we're about 20-25 degrees cooler and are having more rain than them. He requested we get one of those big movie fans they use on set and blow some of this out their way. He's been to his surgeon again for his shoulder. For those of you just getting to know me...he was in an accident around the time I was in the hospital for my gall bladder (me, then daddy and then gramma dying in January...I guess that makes 3 for my family and I dont need to worry for this year right?). I guess he's holding steady. Not ready for work yet (though he desperately wants to go) but better than he had been. They are working at paying things off so they can move east sometime in the next few years.

Hubby forwarded an email from work. Looks like one of his workmates has put in his resignation. I guess he had an offer from a company called TriQuint. I checked their site out and they had lots of posting for openings in the Dallas plant. The good thing is that they also have a plant in High Point , NC. If he was to apply for a position there it'd put us 4-5 hrs from his folks, 7-8 hrs from my brother and 2-3 hrs from my SCSis. Unfortunately, they only have one opening there right now and hubby doesnt have the training for it. He is, however, considering going back to school for it...it'd only take 2-3 yrs to get the degree needed. It wouldnt help us out now, but would look good on a resume later. He was telling me that the Dallas plant for TriQuint is in an old TI building. I told him...go to the company and have them buy the plant you're in, then we wont have to worry about moving! LOL

Got an email yesterday I wasnt really expecting. Let me rephrase that...I was half not expecting but knowing this person I should have known I'd get one. I really need to get it answered sometime today. It was very nice to hear from her again. I realize that things will more than likely not be the same as they were because of my own stupidity, and I dont really expect them to be as such, but it's a start.

Does anyone remember how many cubits it was supposed to be??

One more day like today and it'll be too late to build that ark. I woke up to nasty thunder, lightnin and a deluge like you wouldnt believe. My Sunday paper's soaked clear through and hubby's going to need to bring one home now because it's completely unreadable as it is. There's so much water out there the dog's refusing to even step foot on the patio. She's gonna be one unhappy pooch when I get outta my chair and head for the kitchen the next time as Im going to carry her out , drop her in the yard and make her go potty (as long as she just goes through the motions and fakes it I'll be happy). Maybe she wont give me a hassle though as I see the sun fighting to come out. EWwww...that means it'll be humid later....BAH!

Well I did it. Thanks to the comment left by Chicagolady, I actually grew a backbone and went into her blog and left her a note. It was the first one in that entry so it couldnt have been missed. I just hope it didnt cause her any grief with the others.

I also went and dug up an old email and found at least an email account for the other that had a loss in her life. I sent a condolences ecard for her and her hubby. I bet it was a great shock to see it sitting in the inbox yesterday morning. She did manage to send me a 2 word email to say thank you. I cant ask for more than that with the way I treated her. At least she thought to send it to me (unlike the other who sat and sent her thanks for her snailmail card to my TXSis instead...yes Im a tad bitter there).

Hubby and I have dr appointments this coming Friday. I've been dreading this because I managed to gain 5 pounds while on that 4 day trip to NY. It's such a fight to try and keep that weight off. Well I got on the scale today and it looks like I dropped that 5 pounds back off so I should be breaking close to even on Friday. I've gotta remember to sit down and make a list of what all I need the dr to check on the two of us while we're in. I know it's about time for my Well Woman stuff but I need to have my blood rechecked as it's been more than a year and while we're taking bodily fluids we may as well check my fertility. Yeah hubby and I have been talking babies and I'd like to know NOW if I can still have them rather than find out later after trying for months and months. If it looks like I cant have them because something in my body then Im considering having the plumbing yanked. No sense having all that *bleah* and pain if I cant have them. I'll also need to see about therapy as I have a bad feeling if I cant Im headed straight for a total meltdown.

Not much else going on today....gotta remember to call daddy today for Father's Day. He's 2 hours behind us though so Im going to wait another hour to be sure he's up and awake. I left him a pressy on his MySpace though so maybe he'll get that before I call. I know for sure his card didnt show yet as I had waited til this week to get them instead of 2 weeks before the holiday which is my usual. Damn Im such a bad child. No wait...I was accused of being HUMAN the other day so maybe that's it. Here all this time I thought I was a Reubenesque Venusian....

Just doing some thinking

You ever make a promise to yourself or anyone else (in some cases several other anyones) and find it hard to keep that promise? Oh I dont mean anything major in the slightest. I mean something very little. Several months ago I had gotten into a tiff with a few people on this particular site and in my hissy fit I had vowed to never go back to their blogs and promised they'd never see me again unless they so wished. I even went as far as to dump those particular bookmarks off my favorites file just to be sure. Thankfully one was nice enough to forgive my theatrics and said it was ok for me to go in her blog she didnt mind (thank you hun ..I know you're reading this). She was even nice enough to give me her link back. Unfortunately, now I have a couple problems.

First, there are times when I want to leave a comment in regards to what she put in her blog but dont want to stir up anything with the others that I know go in there. On the otherhand, I'd hate to keep making my comments in here or in email when I could simply just put them in the blog. It'd be easier if she had it so comments could be made annonymously but then Im sure they'd ask her who the comment was from.

Second, try as I might to stay out of the others blogs, I just had to see how they were doing. We'd all been friends for a little while and even though I was mad and upset...well I still care about them a great deal. Im glad to see the one tried to diet and wish she'd get back on the horse because I KNOW she can do it. In another I've seen where critters invaded her home and how worried she's been over a family member. Today I find out that that family member has passed. As much as I'd like to leave my condolences in her blog, Im not sure how it would be received by her or the others. Last thing I need is to add any tension among the group. Thing is, I shouldnt even know this because I'd said I wouldnt go into them.

Got an email from my friend in NY wondering if I was going to our 20th highschool reunion or if she just wasted $90 (for her and hubby to be). Wrote her back to tell her I wasnt going and why. I hope the other girl in the addy box is going. I'd hate to think she'd wasted her money.


Not much else is going on here. Just SSDD for the most part.

If Im bored, where the hell is my day going?

Again filed into the "picture says 1000 words" category. Kudos to the photographer on this one. Pretty much the way us Leos look when we're bored.


Bored, bored, bored....Yet for some reason my day flies away and next thing I know it's almost bed time. Where does my day go? Well it's mostly spent online reading emails, blogs and working on my MySpace. Nothing really exciting going on.

I got a call yesterday from my SCSis. She wanted to thank me for the tee-shirt I picked up in NYC for her. I had planned on picking up something nice for my TxSis as well while I was in Charlotte on my layover but we all see where that plan got me. Well SCSis was so happy when it arrived on Monday that she wore it to work yesterday and plans on packing it when she goes on her trip to visit her daddy at the end of the month.

Got a call on Monday from hubby while he was at work. Seems his buddy on the night shift wants to swap shifts for a bit as he's never seeing his wife (she works mornings M-F) anymore. I'm kinda torn with this as it means I'll see less of my hubby but then the wage differential would help pay off the credit cards from our trip. *sigh* I guess yesterday they decided that the switch will occur for just a month for now and will start July 8th. I told him no way in hell because friends (WHOOOT! SQUINT!!) were coming to town on the 7th ( a Saturday night which means yours truly is playing hookie from her stream again ) and dammit I wasn't missing visiting with them again. The last time they had been in town was in November or December last year and I was just coming off surgery and couldn't get around much at the time. I reminded him today and he said he's taking the 7th off so we can go (early BDay gift!! WHOOT!).

Got a thank you card in the mail today from my godfather and his lovely wife. When we were visiting I noticed they had a collection of lighthouses and decided then and there that one of the ones I painted was going to then. I reminded hubby that his family just shuffles money at Christmas and that maybe these lighthouses needed to go to other homes instead. This is one lighthouse placed and one to go. I already know where I'm going to send the other though. It's just a matter of time.

Got an email from a friend that I hadn't heard from in a long time. Only emails I had been getting are those forwarded jokes to let me know she was thinking of me, but nothing substantial. The only news I get about her anymore is through the grapevine. Man I hate getting news that way. I also hate when people get news about me that way...I'd much rather if they want to know what's going on or if they have new they want me to know that they drop me a note. Dammit you have my email... you just proved it. No, I'm not mad...just a bit irritated about it. Well anyways her email was telling me that she's moving at the end of the week. I wish her all the best.

Speaking of emails...I'd gotten news through the grapevine (damn didn't I say I hated news this way?) that a mutual acquaintance had had a death in her family a few weeks back. As much as I hated the fact I didn't hear it from their own mouth (ok so in this case since we dont really talk the grapevine is the only way to get news and this is the type of news I needed to hear), I still did the right thing and sent a grievance card. This one is another that occasionally sends an "I'm Thinking of You" forward and nothing substantial ( I think in this case it's because she forgot to take me out of her group for emails). You'd think I'd at least get an email regarding the card. No I'm not wanting a thank you because it's something I'd do for anyone else ...just a simple acknowledgement that it was received. Ahhhh well. Maybe it's just me. Maybe it's the way I was raised. Sheesh I got a thank you card for my thank you card and gift from my godfather. More people need to be raised to do that.

Saturday June 2nd: Messing with the Waitress (aka: Last Breakfast with the family)

We all got up and ready Saturday morning. Bro and his immediate clan had to get on the road by noon and hubby and I had a flight to catch at 2pm (which meant being at the airport by noon for check in *ugh*). So we all congrated in the hotel restaurant and wouldnt you know the waitress we got was the same as the day before (she also serviced the buffet on Friday). We all placed our orders and commensed to doing what we do best...talk (yeah Im long winded and it's my folks' fault) and cut up (my bro and daddy are the worst when it comes to this). The waitress came out with a bowl of syrup because a number of us had ordered either waffles or pancakes. When she left, bro suggested to daddy that they pour the syrup in a different cup and hide it and ask for a refill. When she came back through daddy held up the bowl ..said it was yummy and could he please have more? I thought she was going to lose it for sure she was laughing so hard. Somehow daddy managed to get the blame for the whole thing. Bro got up to take his daughter to the potty and the waitress came back with more syrup while he was gone at which point bro's wife squealed on him. The waitress took and hid his chair on him. He gets back, looks and says "Nice", then promptly grabs another chair to sit in. A bit later another prank was pulled on her, I cant remember what it was but she came out in retalliation with a to-go packet of syrup and a straw for daddy. This escallated to daddy pouring the rest of the syrup into a to-go cup so it looked like coffee and asking for it to be topped off and if she could bring some sweetener for it... LOL. It took her a half second because at first glance it looked like coffee but then she remembered...no one had coffee at the table. You'd be hard pressed to think that we were in town for a burial and not just a family reunion with the way we were acting.
After breakfast we all stood around in the lobby for a bit for that one last visit before heading our separate ways. This was probably the saddest part of the trip. Leaving and knowing we wont be seeing each other again for at least a year. My folks have no more vacation time and I doubt my brother does either...not to mention hubby. Money is going to be a restriction on all of us for a bit as well as this was rather expensive for all. Hubby and I took our leave, got the car topped off and returned. We made it in more then plenty of time. I had enough time to call my TxSis and let her know all was well. I figured I'd better because on CNN that morning was a huge story about this attempt or threat at JFK airport in NYC. Thankfully our first leg was bringing us to LaGuardia...a whole different airport. I just didnt want her to worry if she saw the news.
The first leg of the trip was...well just let's say interesting. I know for sure my mom would have hated it. We were on one of those prop planes. GAWD you can feel every damn bump and wiggle in it. I didnt like it for sure.Thankfully it was a short flight. The second leg from NYC to Charlotte was a better flight, sort of. We touch down in NYC and check the board...the flight's on time. This is good because this would give us only a short layover in Charlotte. Hubby had time to go out and pollute his lungs and I had a little time to grab a gift for my SCSis (she's a Yankees fan- bigtime). By the time we got to our gate...the damn flight got delayed for an hour. *sigh*. Hubby went to the podium to get our seat assignments for the delayed flight and see if we were going to make our connection to Dallas (I told him if there was less than a 15 minute time between flights we may end up stuck there or on a later flight). They told him that he should be able to, he'd have to because that flight from Charlotte to Dallas was the LAST one for the day. *UGH*!! We touchdown in Charlotte and damn if the flight out isnt running on time (loading at 7pm) and we have 12 minutes or so to get to the gate. Top things all off we're in early Zones on the ticket PLUS I gotta go to the bathroom (I refuse to use the airplane restrooms as Im too big to get in there comfy and I dunno how well the clean them between flights). We hit the gate running...I threw my stuff at hubby and bolted for the restroom. When I got out we ran (well ok waddled very very very fast) for our gate (which was at the opposite side of the airport mind you). You've never seen 270 pounds of woman move so fast. We got to the gate with a minute to spare. My legs HURT so bad (yeah Denise, I KNOW how you feel on that elliptical) and I thought my heart was going to burst right out of my chest. I didnt have time to call TxSis as I had promised...well I did but I was so winded I had trouble breathing fk talking to someone (she woulda just asked me where the hell I managed to have sex in the airport and not bought the running story anyhow)....God I gotta lose weight. The plane left at 730pm (damn you mean I coulda WALKED and STILL made it???). We arrived in Dallas shortly after 830pm (remember there's that 1 hour difference and a 2 hr flight coming from east to west looks shorter on paper than going the other direction). By this time hubby REALLY needed to pollute his lungs (fkn nicotine....I hate that stuff) so I stayed in the terminal to get our bag.
We got to the truck and headed home. On the way we stopped for a bite to eat at Applebees (and a spirited drink which we BOTH needed at this point). Got home after supper to a freaked out cat (she'd been alone for a few days and all of a sudden there are people in the house) and the realization we'd lost power sometime during the time we'd been gone (the stove clock was blinking). Made the bed and quick cleaned out the frige. Unpacked and sorted all into the laundry baskets then crashed for the night.
******************************************************************************************
While in NY daddy had sent bro and I home with care packets. One thing that was sent with us was a typed out version of Aunt D's (gramma's sister who passed a few years back) trip journal from when gramma moved her to Florida. Here's the first entry out of it:
9/12/1975 THE BEGINNING
Lousy, rainy cold day. We're off after stopping at 39 Holiday Inn. That is, after MH finally released the brake after telling the trailer to move. 11:45am on-2 bus tours and we left for the first lap of the trip. Foliage on 81 was beautiful, but too rainy to stop and take pictures and anyway I didnt have a camera. Saw sun at Harrisburg and was clear and sunny all the way to Chambersburg. Got our room (nice) and went to dinner. We both had very ravenous appetites. Already had our beds turned down at 9pm. Both pooped and I didnt drive one inch of the way. Going to send a couple of cards and go nite nite. We are in our Dr Denton's.
****************************************************************************************************
translation for those who need it:
39 Holiday Inn= the Holiday Inn near exit 39 off the NYS Thruway (toll road that goes through New York). This is the same Holiday Inn was stayed at this last trip and also where gramma used to work when she lived up north.
MH= gramma
81= Interstate that goes north to south through the eastern states of the US
Dr Dentons= pajamas

Friday June 1st: One Last Drink For the Road (aka Saying Goodbye to Gramma)

In a few short moments that title will become rather apparent, be patient.
Friday hubby and I got up around 9am or so. I had the alarm set for 930am so I'd have time to get ready so when I awoke at 9am I figured to just stay up. I keep forgetting how little time it takes to shower nowadays with this much shorter hair and as such was dressed and ready in less than half the time it normally takes. It's almost enough to make me want to keep my hair this short permenantly. We were ready to go early so we went down to the hotel's restaurant for breakfast and then headed back to our room to wait. Around 11am we got a call (or did someone knock on their way through?) to start heading down to the banquet room that dad had reserved for us. In the room were some of the family that live in Geneva that we dont get to see. Many I didnt even know. Oh how I hate situations where I hardly know people. My brother's godmother (gramma's neice) and her daughter were there already as were my godfather and his wife. The rest I had no clue who they were. I recognized a couple names so it was nice to put faces to the names. We spent a couple hours or so catching up with everyone and eating (daddy had arranged for a light sandwich buffet to be available for those that wanted to eat).
Around 1pm, we all gathered up and headed for the cemetary. On our way our daddy told me how to get there and made me repeat it several times (I get lost easy but if I repeat the directions several times and am not distracted any Im fine). We followed daddy out of the parking lot and as we headed off my loving husband goes "Isnt he headed the wrong way?" Sure enough my DAD took the wrong turn out of the parkinglot and the new son-in-law who'd NEVER been to the state was able to discern this. *LAFFING* Once daddy realized this and got turned back around we started off. I should have known that first flub was only the beginning of it all. Hubby decided at one point that he needed to shift to the left and shortly after he did, dad exited. We had to get ourselves turned right the hell back around and yeah I was lost at this point. Why? Because I was looking for an exit that DADDY said to watch for and I hadnt seen it yet. Daddy hadnt seen it yet either and that's why he exited but because we were in the incorrect lane we couldnt follow them. *sigh* We spent the next 10 minutes or so playing cell phone tag with mom who was trying to tell us what daddy was saying and me trying to relay to hubby what was being said. I know the Western Union on both sides was getting pretty frustrated. Hubby and I managed to get ourselves to the State Fair sign (large enough landmark that it can be seen for miles around) and parked ourselves right under it. *whew* We were found and commenced to heading to the cemetary. I pretty much told hubby to duct tape our car to dad's ass and dont lose track of him (duct tape fixes everything you know). When we got there....my brother and his crew were already there (they'd started out after us....seems to be the theme for this trip...). Got a big hug from my godmother (godfather's sister)...no denying who she was as that clan all seems to look alike.
The ceremony was short and sweet. My godfather stood up and had some really nice things to say (gramma was like a mother to him). After him the preacher got up and had some nice things to say and led us in prayer. God help me, all I could see while he was praying was gramma sitting on her cloud saying "bah", laughing and knocking back on a bottle of scotch. *shakes head* I dont know if that vision was because she wanted me to see it or because I KNEW what was coming next. When all was said and done, daddy got up and had dixie cups passed out and either scotch (her drink....that and Diet Coke) or water was poured in each cup. He then said a toast to his mother and we all knocked one back in her honor. He then told us that all her friends in Florida were gathering in a favorite wateringhole at 530pm that night. All the redhats, the people she worked with, the workmates in the hospital and others were going to knock a shot of scotch back in her honor at that time. He then poured a cup of scotch and placed it on her urn for her to take with her. I have to admit...that's the way she'd want it. Actually...I'd think she'd have rather taken the whole bottle with her.
We went to visit a couple other gravesites while in the cemetary. Actually I should say one other site for two other friends. A dear friend of ours passed a couple of years back from throat cancer and his mother passed a couple years before him. While we were in the area we thought to pay our respects at the mausoleum that holds their remains. Our friend has a small floral garden there that was dedicated in his honor. The beautiful purple flowers there were exactly what he'd pick for his own garden. He always had the most beautiful yard on his block.
That evening we went to godfather's for a BBQ and got to spend some time with them before we all parted ways. We had a lovely evening chatting and the kids had fun playing. My neice spent most of the night playing dress up. She took a turn on the swing and found she didnt like it none. I guess she's more like me at that age than my bro cares to admit. My nephew, on the otherhand , is much like my brother and ADORED being on the swing. We could barely get him off it...even to have supper. Later that evening hubby and I took our leave. On our way out, dad said not to wait up because they'd be later back to the hotel (not that I'd wait up because they are adults but it DID open the door for me to mess with him the next day). My godfather's wife hugged me tight on our way out the door and said to not let it be another 15 years before we visit again. I guess this means a trip to NY in the next 5-7 years.
On our way back to the hotel, we passed the Friendly's that we'd been to the night before and I simply HAD to have one last fix of the place before heading back to Texas. I went in to get us a boothe and hubby stayed out to pollute his lungs (the good thing about this trip is that he really had to work hard to get smoke time). When he came in I heard a familiar voice and it wasnt my hubby's. Turns out my brother had had the same thought. His wonderful wife said she'd stay with the kids so long as he brought her back a scoop of sugarfree with almonds. It was nice to be able to sit and visit with just him for a few minutes. The lucky bugger is doing well...he'd managed to lose 31 pounds on the Atkins diet. I never could do that. The diet, that is. I am too in love with my pasta and sweets to pull off a diet like that. Unfortunately, until my love affair with carbs stops...I may just end up like I am for a while as genetically Im not built to handle carbs well. Ah well.

Thursday May 31st: Trip to NY part 2: Reunion with old friends (aka revisiting past memories).

After a wonderful night's sleep (my God a hotel that puts REAL pillows on the bed and not that flat shit you find in most!!), we got ourselves up and going. I hadnt gotten to sleep much before 2am and we found out later we were one of the first awake. Hubby called my parents around 1030am or so to see what they had on the agenda. I had to laugh as the phone call woke them up. Here we'd planned on breakfast with everyone too. We all met in the hotel lobby and got an idea of where everyone was headed for the day. Dad said lunch at Heid's of Liverpool at 2pm. For those not from the NY area...Heid's is THE place to go for hotdogs. They use Houffman hotdogs and are the only place Im aware of that sell coneys (pronounced coon- ees), a white hot dog that most find irresistable. Right next door they have Sweet Treats which is an icecream parlor affiliated with Heidi's.
Since there was a few hours before that, I decided to take hubby up to the WalMart on 31 and see if an old friend of mine was working. We went in and to the fitting room area to see if they knew if she was in. They said yes, but she was more than likely out to lunch. Our best bet was to go around to the smokers area and see. Sure enough that's where she was...on the phone home with one of her daughters (who'd come home on vacation from college). So I yelled her name and she turned around and said "Oh my GOD it's..". I guess the daughter got all excited and my friend hung up on her. *laughs* I never realized how much of an impression I left on her and her family. From what she told me during our visit, her kids would get the mail and get all excited when a snail mail showed up from me. They'd beg her to be allowed to open the envelope and she'd tell them no they had to wait til she got home. I wish I'd been a fly on the wall when she got home THAT night! *laffs* She brought me back to her office and then we headed back to receiving to see another friend of mine. Again I was greeted with "Holy SHIT it's YOU!", at which point she hung up with whomever she was on the phone with. I get the impression I was missed....LOL. After spending about 15- 20 minutes with them, catching up with things, I took hubby over to the mall in the area. We mainly went to kill a few minutes and to get out of the heat (it was in the 90s and very humid that day- actually HOTTER than Texas by nearly 20 degrees!). We bought a couple items, but mainly just wandered to cool off. Around 115pm or so we decided to start back to Heid's. Thank goodness we did as shortly after we started out we got a call from my mom saying they were there already. Geez. Good thing I wasnt out in bumfux Egypt someplace with a 30 minute commute....I was just around the corner by about 10 minutes.
We got to Heid's and bought 2 specials ( 2 dogs, small fries and a drink). Shortly after we got there we were joined by my godfather and his wife (my godmother is my godfather's sister). There was alot of catching up while we were eating. My SIL's kids were acting like kids and she pretty much was out of earshot most of the time unfortunately. It was so good to see my godfather again and seemed to be enjoying playing with the kids more than he was the conversation. LOL. We got some great shots of him and my nephew. Around 3pm or so, seeing that hubby was getting bored (and frankly I was too), I decided it was time to take him to some of the other places I grew up. I asked daddy about supper and he told me since I missed out meeting up with Gary to go ahead and do that if I chose. Mom told me if plans changed to give them a jingle later and we could join them for supper.
During our drive around some of the places I grew up, I found many many changes. More so than I was expecting to be honest. The Kinne Street elementary (where I went during 5th and 6th grades) had been torn down (which I knew) and a big huge building put in its place (this I didnt know). It's now known as East Syracuse Elementary. The library I used to go to in the summer was also torn down and relocated closer to the elementary school (surprise). I brought him to see the house on Irving St (the green house above)where we lived for 9 months. The new people had taken really good care of the property as it looked nicer than I remembered it (it's painted white now and the foundation is still in good repair). I do have to admit while we were in it, it was a rental property and now it looks like whomever's in it actually owns it. Heman St elementary (where I went for 3rd and 4th grades) had become an admin / GED building and looks like they're doing some work on what used to be a playyard. The pool at Heman park was open but since school was still in session it wasnt in use yet. I took hubby down to Second Street on the other side of the bridge from East Syracuse proper and damn didnt it LOOK like the proverbial "other side of the tracks". I do NOT recall it looking quite so ...well rough. My mom would use the excuse of "well it's because you're looking at it through an adult's eyes and not a child's eyes any more" but this isnt the case as I lived there until I was in my early 20's and it didnt look that bad then. The house I'd lived in most my life had been resided in yellow (props for the residing , boo on the color) and the eagle that had been in the peak was removed and a sunburst put up there. The foundation and the driveway were another matter though. They'd definately seen better days. I didnt even think to look at the roof. We drove around the corner so we could see the back yard and they'd fenced it off (making it look shorter), moved the shed to the back corner (it had been up against the house) and built a deck back there (making the yard look smaller still). Kudos on the removal of the huge tree in the middle of the yard though. As for the deck, it's a nice addition but unnecessary if there isnt a pool back there. While riding around I also noticed that the old park in the area had been ripped down to make room for other industry, the bar (which shouldnt have been allowed to operate in a family neighborhood was changed into a Thrift Store, the house that had been behind our house was no longer there (as well as the huge willow trees that had been in their yard), and there was a huge-assed garage in the yard where the neighbor who'd lived there used to practice his driving (he was an avid golfer). I figured to take a ride up to the second WalMart I'd worked at and it had been replaced with a Sam's Club so we headed to the other 2 schools I'd been at. I opted not to take him to the jr high as school was letting out (or at least the late bus run was going) and it's a bitch getting out of that parkinglot during that time so we headed straight up to the highschool (which looks larger...they must have remodelled the gymnasium). Hubby told me it was larger than his old school to which I replied we'd had over 300 in the graduating class alone. To think, mine wasnt even the largest graduating class either. At least we could hold ours on the football field. I know some schools so much larger they had to rent one of the Community buildings in Syracuse for their commencement ceremonies!
After the trip to the highschool, I took him to the one place I'd vowed I wasnt going but something inside told me to face it. We drove out to that one trailor I'd rented so many years ago. It was a little difficult to find, made harder by the fact it had been painted from a lovely colonial blue to a shit brown. It looked like a huge turd in the middle of that piece of property. I have to admit it looks like it held up really well all this time though as it was pretty old when we rented it in the first place. We didnt, however, drive down the road my ex's parents live on. Somehow at the time I couldnt face it. Now Im wishing I had faced that one bit of the past. *sigh* Ah well.
Once the rounds were made, we went back to the hotel to freshen up and wait on Gary to call after work. Around 530pm or so he called (Gary correct me if Im wrong) and we'd decided on 630pm for the get together. He picked us up right on the nose and we headed to his house for the 25 cent tour (another quarter coulda bought me the trip to the basement but I didnt think my knees could handle the trip down ...nevermind back up). He has a beautiful little house...perfect for two. Then we went to Friendly's for supper and dessert. For those not from the north east part of the United States, Friendly's is a restaurant that specializes in icecream for dessert. Many of their sundaes are simply not made anywhere else in the continental U.S.A. As a child who grew up in NY, this is the one place above all that I want to go when I hit the north east as this restaurant doesnt exist south of the Mason-Dixon line or anywhere to the west. While we were waiting on our suppers, he showed us the pix of his trip to Tennessee for our wedding in August. All of us had a wonderful time and I was sad to have such a short time to visit with my friends.
Hubby and I got back to the hotel and crashed for the night as Friday was going to be one long day for all of us.

Wednesday May 30th :Trip to NY part 1: Getting there's half the fun (aka How to make a 6 hr flight last 12 hrs).

Wednesday May 30th :Trip to NY part 1: Getting there's half the fun (aka How to make a 6 hr flight last 12 hrs).
We took the pooch to the vet for boarding on Tuesday the 29th so thankfully we didnt have much hurrying to do to get out the door. Just the usual stuff that needed to be packed at the last possible minute (medicines, brushes etc). We grabbed breakfast at McD's and read the paper. The sky was beautiful with not a lick of trouble. As we approached the airport, I remembered a conversation I was having with daddy on Tuesday night. Their layover was going to be in Dallas but they didnt think we'd make it to the airport in enough time so not to worry about seeing them off as their plane was due out about 950am or so (about the time we were scheduled to arrive and go through security). I looked up to the sky as we walked up to the terminal and saw those nasty black clouds starting to roll in. I remember telling hubby that my folks were probably just now leaving and wondering if we were going to make it out because of the nasty weather starting to head in. Man, I was hoping it would hold off at least until we took off. While waiting at our gate, it got darker and darker out there. We could see the wind whipping the rain down...it was coming down in buckets! Let's not even mention the lightning. Needless to say our flight got delayed so I fired up my cell phone to let everyone else know. We were supposed to meet Gary at the Syracuse airport, go see his house and then to supper Wednesday night. I called him to let him know there was going to be a delay, we may end up in a bit later. Then I called my cell phone to get my messages. I had to laugh at the first one...it was from my mom. The message was telling me that the Dallas news was reporting 1 hr 30 minute delays at the airport and not to believe it for a minute as the skies were beautiful and planes were taking off left and right. I take it back, I didnt just laugh...I ROARED in laughter. The next message was from my TxSis checking to see if I got out before the storms fired up. I called her back to let her know that nope I was still there in Dallas. Lord help me but I cant remember the rest of that conversation. While I was on with her I got a call from my SIL (bro's wife) to find out if we got out. Again I cant remember most of that conversation other than they were going to end up being the first ones in to Syracuse (and here we all thought they'd be last....reminds me of the tortoise and the hare story...). Called Gary again once I realized we wouldnt be in Syracuse until nearly 11pm and made arrangements for him to call us when he got out of work the next day. While on the phone with one of them my daddy called to tell me to check in at the desk and the key'd be there because my bro was going to get us all checked in with rooms. Hubby and I went to get some lunch as at this point we werent scheduled to leave until 2pm (and because of this delay we'd miss our original connection so they put us on the next flight giving us a 3 hr layover in Charlotte). I told him that if it got pushed later that we should grab the truck and just drive as we'd get there a whole lot faster. While we were eating, mom n daddy wandered down from their gate to visit with us. May as well as there wasnt anything else for them to do. They'd gotten delayed repeatedly and cancelled and rescheduled. At the end of it they were due to go out around 3 something and got routed through DC. *ugh* After a short visit mom n daddy went back to their gate. Our plane got out just after 2pm. Charlotte was a 3 hour layover and then the flight in to Syracuse. Getting our checked bag was a trip with all those damn black bags. At this point I swore when I got home I was going to paint ours with hot pink polka dots (and I hate polka dots!!). I had sent hubby ahead to get the rental car as Alamo closed at 11:59pm and he only had 10-15 minutes to get to their counter. We started off to the hotel when I got a call from my daddy asking where we were and I told him. He said to take Exit 38 off the thruway and he was waiting on the side for us. Go figure they left later than us and arrived before we did. SHEESH. Anyhow, on his way to the hotel he'd noticed construction and was afraid we'd get lost (does he know his daughter or what!) so he and mom came out to lead us in to the hotel. When we finally got to the hotel we were all beat to high heavens but by the time we got to bed in our respective rooms it was well after 1am...closer to 2am. Mom and dad had had a trip and a half with all the excitement and the airlines losing their luggage. At that point hubby was mighty greatful I'd had the presence of mind to pack a few extras in the carry-on just in case.
You know what the worst part of the trip was? Getting on one of the planes and discovering my engagement ring had broken to the point it's unwearable right now. Lord knows when or where I was when it broke, all I know is on the band (palm side) it's split to the point where it looks like one of those cheap adjustable costume rings. Man Im so upset! If hubby cant find the receipt Im going to have to get a new ring (this could be a benefit now I think of it...).