Just fragments

I got this award from Yaya. Thank you, darling. I still have no clue why I receieved it. Is it because I still make my rounds to everyone else's blogs even when I'm not writing in mine? For I certainly have not been faithful to my own blog. The decor's stayed the same for a few months now....it really needs to be refreshed.

Now, I didn't see any rules to this award...but only one name was picked (I'm flattered as Im sure there were others much more worthy). Although a good many of my readers really DO deserve this award (and if it isnt presented to you in the next little bit, please feel free to come by and snag it off my blog...I won't mind), I think all will agree that the next person this absolutely MUST go to is our darling, squirrel stalking, OCHA loving, Spongebob infatuated buddy Iggy.
The weather's been really kinda aggravating lately. It can't seem to decide on whether it wants to be cold or warm.Today we have rain and cold. I think in a week or so, we'll be bringing the fans to the storage unit for the season. I think this week's going to be the week I break out the winter gear. I am wondering how much of it is actually going to fit. I suspect, considering my love of t-shirts and other knit items, that most of it'll still fit.

Got a bag of clothing from the friend of a friend again. Seems she's lost more weight. Kudos to her. I had to laugh while I was trying the stuff on, though. The size 24 jeans wouldn't even come up to my hips. Rather depressing, wouldn't you say? Then I tried on the 20s and they came up and over the butt, but wouldn't button...yeah...that's when I started giggling too. Then I tried the size 22s...which turned out to be a smidge too big (and as of today....I can slide them on and off without unbuttoning or unzipping them). Gotta love the fact companies can't be bothered to standardize their sizes.

Heard from my most recent problem child. Things are starting to work themselves out between us. Im still mad at the situation, but I think I've figured out why certain things haven't been said. I still have to deal with the one email but I suspect this should clear up sometime before Christmas. Her and her sister will be moving to another location soon, without THEIR problem child. I suspect things will clear up soon for them once removed from that situation. Also once they're moved, my problem child will be able to finalize her divorce. In fact, I ~think~ the finalization is this coming Friday. It feels like it's been forever, Then again, mine took even longer to get done.

Hubby and I have been fighting illness all through October and the latter half of September. Well, lemme rephrase, HE'S been sick all this time, I've been fine-ish. I've also had several specialist appointments since I last dropped a serious entry. I won't go into them now because they're an entry all and on their own (the podiatrist appointment was particularly ~fun~ ...sarcasm intended). I may or may not cover them, haven't decided yet. I have another specialist appointment later this month so the medical entry may just wait until then.

I've got some pictures on one of the flash drives around here that I've been meaning to share. I caught a shot of a bird a month and a half or so ago that we don't normally see in our area. If I recall, there were quite a few in our little bloggy circle that posted the same kind of bird and I figured that I'd hold off for a bit on it.

If there's any topic that I've brought up in previous entries that you were wondering about (either I didn't an update on or just haven't given enough details on), please leave it below in my comments and I'll see about getting it addressed in this next week or two.

thinkin of a friend, buckle up, shoppin, and somethin else

I'm trying to get myself back into the habit of writing every day or at least every other day. I'm gonna tell you, it's rough when you're not used to bloggin quite so often. However, I find that I'm finding enough mish mosh with the pictures I click from week. If that doesn't work, I'm sure there's plenty in all the different files to come up with ~something~ to post more than once a week.
This last week we were out to the allergist's office. According to any online directions sites (Mapquest, Google Maps, etc), it's supposed to be a 35 minute drive at best but we've found it usually takes 45-50 minutes due to the flippin traffic. We always arrive early though because hubby insists on leaving 2 hours early...just to be sure. Anyhow, while we were on our way to the allergist's, I saw the above sign and immediately thought of our dear friend Tori. Now if they could just create ones that say "Idiots Crossing" or "Idiots at Play", then I'd be all set. The only problem is that I suspect that such sign will need to be posted on every damn corner around here considering some of these neighbors.
When we pulled into the parking lot and headed inside the building, we came across the above bumper sticker. It was the funniest one of the 7-10 stickers on the car. Considering the number of OCHA and OSBAs around here, I think this is a very good warning to have! There's some really great alien type stickers on Zazzle's website. Several versions of the above sticker and many many others like this one (nf/d warning). Oh look, it says you can create your own. Anyone willing to bet that iggy will be on that site to make a professional version of this sticker? Maybe I better see if I still have a copy of that one and redo it for the next election. Whatcha think?

On our way home Friday, the truck decided to overheat. When hubby popped the hood, even this vehicularly stupid gal could see that there was plenty of fluid in the thingy where the coolant is supposed to go. *UGH* it means the thermometer ~finally~ gave out on us. So we let the truck cool as we were off shopping and then drove straight home. Mind you, it's less than 2 miles where we were to home. In that short time, the truck overheated again. *shakes head* Hubby decided to let it cool overnight and then bring it in to the repair shop. I don't wanna hear it, really. I DID tell him to take it right in and that way it could cool overnight and they'd be able to get to it right away. Did we do that? NO. *sigh* He woke up about 7am and took it in as soon as he knew they were open. Thankfully they are just around the corner so the truck didn't have time to even get luke-warm.

Around noon-ish, we decided to walk on over to the Buffet place for lunch. After lunch, he decided to walk over to the repair shop to check on the truck and told me he'd meet me in McKays afterwards. On my way over to McKay's I saw this awesome cloud formation.

While hubby was headed to check on the truck, I decided to pop into the Payless next door to see if there were any specials. My sneakers are looking rather beat and since I have to wear them every day to ride my bike, they don't exactly have a decent amount of time to air out. I was hoping for a nice cheap pair to wear on the alternate days. I ended up spending a bit over $20 for a nice comfy pair. They were originally $24.99 and they were on sale for $19.99 which is a decent deal. Seems the feet shrank by about half a size. The last pair I bought I needed a size 9 to get a pair that was wide enough for my feet. This pair is only an 8.5. I really hate my wide feet. Mom always called them Fred Flintstone feet because they were short, wide but they got me to where I needed to be. The suckers are only a 7.5 when you measure toe to heel, but wide enough to need the next full size up in a wide to get the width where it needs to be for comfort.
Well the truck wasn't done yet, unfortunately they had alot of appointments that afternoon and of course those take priority. *grumbles* Hubby and I met up in McKays and went home shortly after.

When 2-3pm showed up, with no call, hubby got antsy and went over to see if they were done. Why he didn't call, I don't know. Near's I can figure he just needed to get out of the house. Not that I blame him any. He called me before leaving to come home, it wasn't done yet but they were just bringing it in to have a look see. Oh dear. I saw it coming. He was told that they'd call before quittin time (5pm) to let him know if they had it done or not. By 430pm, hubby needed to get out again and decided that we'll both walk over and check. Anyone who's thinking that it wasn't done give yaselves a nice gold star. Now before anyone spouts off on the hubby (which it would be deserved for delaying) OR on the mechanics, you need to know that the truck is an '88. It's old and has served us very well. Plus the part needing repair is an ORIGINAL part. That said... it wasn't finished because a bolt was giving them a hassle. It's one of those things you need to take it easy removing because too much pressure will break the bolt and THEN you're really screwed (literally and KY aint provided). So they were gonna need to soak it down with something and let it set for a few hours to see if it can be removed easier. Yeah. Quitting time on a SATURDAY and the truck's not done. They're not open on Sundays and hubby needs to get to be able to get to work on Sunday. *sigh* Ya know what though. The head mechanic really surprised us. He handed over the keys to the company vehicle and is allowing us to use it until the truck gets fixed. With any luck it'll be done Monday afternoon or evening sometime because I really hate riding in a rolling billboard.



Below is a shot of the 2 new colors. I did, indeed, buy an Adam Lambert blue...which is the next color I plan on wearing. I really love the shade I have on right now though!

there will be a second post much later tonight....sometime between 11pm and midnight.

cleaning out, new acquisitions,classy slippers

I saw a few comments about the crafts in the last entry. I didn't bother answering any of them via email because I knew I was covering it in this next entry.

So one day about a week ago or so, I got tired of seeing the over filled baskets in the hall closest. They were put in there to make life easier for us instead of having all this little stuff scattered in there. The system seems to work well, except when we get lazy and just toss stuff in...which is most of the time. *laffz* Anyhow, I got it cleaned up and had to re-adjust what got put with what other items. At one point, my items only took up one basket. Thanks to my mom (and a great sale at Bath and Body Works) my stuff now takes 2+ baskets. Oh my! You see, mom used to work for Gottchalk's and was forever getting samples from the girls at the perfume counters to send off to me. If that wasn't enough, she'd send perfume sets for Christmas. Some of you remember that I'd mentioned getting the same set two years in a row. You can see them in the above photo...one's still in its box. Anyhow, she's telling me that she's looking to get into a different industry and not stay in retail so I'm hoping this is the last of the perfume because as it stands, with as often as I wear it, I have YEARS worth of scents in those baskets! If she ends up in retail again, I may send her the picture and just write "Please, for the love of God, NO MORE!" *laffin* I may do it anyhow just to get a laugh out of her.

This little beauty I found in the local Salvation Army store. If the matching piece had been in better condition, I would have bought it too. I figured it was a great deal at $4.99 as something like that runs nearly $10 or more brand new in the department stores. That piece next to it is a dolly my mom had sent me for Christmas. The kitty will look better with some of the other "girls" but I don't have them unpacked yet. I'm hoping to get a nice lighted case one of these days so I can get them displayed properly. As it stands right now, there isn't enough room for them to come out of their boxes yet. Besides, I don't want to unpack them to simply have to pack them back up in a few months. I reminded hubby about our choices again today regarding the living arrangement we're in but I don't think he was overly receptive to that kind of conversation yet. All I got was an "I know" but no details. Men!


A few weeks back, hubby called me from work and let me know that his friend had just come back from vacation and had very generously bought all his friends a bit of beach front property. Wow. Ok, maybe a time share? That would be cool. Get outta the house for a weekend and put the camera through its paces. Then I noticed a couple days later the item below sitting on the DVD case under the thermostat:
Ok, quit ya groaning. Don't you dare tell me you didn't see THAT one coming from a mile off!

The last picture is for punkn Deanna. These are the leopard "they're classy cuz I say they are" slippers I mentioned in an earlier entry. They're my favs to wear around the house. If I could wear them out to every place else, I would. Could ya see me popping into Olive Garden wearing these?
Had a follow-up appt with the allergy dr today to discuss how the treatment is going. She's said that it seems like those that have the roughest time with the build-up shots (like I've been having) tend to have better results in the long run and the serum helps. That's good to hear. We're hoping to get me off the expensive daily pill and have me down to just the OTC meds and possibly just the one spray during peak season. That would be awesome. Good news though...all this hard work for my weight is paying off. No, I didn't get weighed...but I did have my bp checked. I came in with a beautiful 115/60 (normally I'm a 120/80 or 118/78 or so). Yeah, I'm stoked.

After the appt, we went shopping a bit. Stopped in to Burlington Coat Factory because their window advertised a HUGE clearance sale. Gosh that store's gotten rough looking. I don't remember shopping in one of them before with it looking so rough. Ahh well. Found a nice pair of jeans that fit but would feel nicer with a couple more pounds gone. Definitely NOT "that time" jeans. They don't have the stretch that my usual pairs have but I was pleased to see the 22W fit anyhow (especially after the 24W I tried on before it wouldn't even snap!). God bless the Gloria Vanderbilt lines! Best bet? The original tag price was $21.98 (which makes me suspect it was a first mark down price and they'd been much higher at one point) and the mark down price on the tag now? $9.99. Yep. A bit over $10 and I have a nice pair of jeans. Women's sizes NEVER come that cheap. I may have to pop in again another day and give a proper look around.

Went to AC Moore because I needed to replace some of my brushes. I walked out with only 3 new spotters (brushes are expensive...*sigh*) but that's ok. It'll do. I have a few more items I want to pick up but since they didn't have the canvas sizes I wanted, I didn't bother getting the rest of the supplies for the projects in mind. JoAnn's is less than a half mile from the townhouse and in easy walking distance so I'll just wait until a coupon shows up in the paper and get the stuff later. I'm in no hurry to do those projects yet anyhow. I still have plasters to paint. I have about 10 pieces that I just finished the other day. All that they need is the felt glued to the bottom so I think I'll do that tomorrow. Or maybe Monday.... I really need to consider an internet free day during the week so I can concentrate on my crafting. It might be a Sunday or Monday. I haven't decided yet which day. I do know it needs to be a day when the hubby isn't around to pester me.

Afterwards we went to Best Buy and I drooled over the toy I've been wanting. Some of you might remember that I'd mentioned it sometime before this past Christmas but never got it (if I had you KNOW I would have blogged about it). I just didn't see spending nearly $200 on an item I can get via Amazon for $150 (and if I get it during one of those no shipping costs if you spend x amount...that'd be great!). If I get the smaller one, I can get it for around $85 on Amazon. Not a bad deal, but not something I can justify after spending over $30 on Amazon already this last week.

I met a couple neat bloggers the last couple days or so and would like to welcome them to my corner of the web. Feel free to wander around all the blogs that seldom get maintained. There's plenty for everyone here. While I was checking out their sites, I found a couple that I really like and have added them to my blog roll. There's another game I may just end up playing one of these days ...actually 2 new games. With one of them I'm thinking of adding a twist to it. Maybe adding these games will inspire me to at least post a bit more often.

I think I close this for now. I have one more entry that's in draft form right now (read: the pictures are loaded, I just gotta write about 'em) that I expect to drop either tomorrow or the next day. There's yet another sitting in my email inbox and there are a few more pix in the camera to upload...I got some new nail polishes. You should SEE the shade I'm sporting today (and no it's not Adam Lambert blue!).

packages, plates and preparing for a trip

A package showed up today from my folks in California. YAY!! In it were 2 packages for each of us, one for BOTH of us and a big gold pressy with a strip of "Happy Birthday" paper across the front of it. In the emailled instructions I received a few days ago I was told that "there is one package among the shipment that you'll KNOW that you can open right away". I would gather that since all the other boxes were labelled "no peeking" and "dont open until Christmas" that the one gold box was the one I was to open right away. So, like a child, I ripped right into that package and what to my eyes should appear but a beautiful porcelain dolly dressed in blue and white. According to her tag, her name's Melissa.

I called mom and let her know the pressies arrived and we talked for a bit. We decided that since
we'll be busy tomorrow with the dr appt and travelling AND because we wont be home for Christmas Day (and we didnt want to haul all the gifts to TN and back NOR wanted to wait til we got home), that hubby and I could open the gifts tonight. He got a couple pairs of really warm lounger pants for when he steps outside to pollute his lungs and a new watch. I guess the latter will be set aside for when the one he has now (one that my mom bought him last year...) finally kills. I got a nice fleece button up jacket and a Donna Karan Cashmere Mist perfume and body lotion gift set (hmm...ummm....same exact set I got from her last year...). Also in the box was cosmetic bag (I dont wear makeup *usually*) filled with perfume samples (I dont normally wear alot of perfume and am still working on the samples from 2 years ago....), and a caddy for all our small electronics stuff (like the cell phones). The caddy is going to go upstairs on the dresser. Im sure it'll come in handy. I think next year Im gonna steer her to my Amazon wishlist. I know how some people feel about those things but it's the one way to make sure I dont end up with yet another DK Cashmere perfume set ...again. Better yet, I'll hint that I need some painting supplies....or a nice piece of jewelry...I dont have much of that. Oh wait...no not that, I'll end up with another watch...

While I was at it, I opened the package that had arrived from a dear friend in Pennsylvania. It's been sitting on my computer cart downstairs for a few days now, just waiting on an approved Christmas wrap unwrapping day. Normally, it would have waited for Christmas morning as per my usual behavior. Why? Because when I was married to The Jerkus, we never had any money to do for each other and the only presents under the Christmas tree were ones we'd gotten from family, friends and the students at the school we'd been working for. There were some really nice things in those presents. Many times, that's where our Christmas meal would end up coming from. Sad really. Anyhow, I opened the pressie from our OCHA Santa himself, iggy, and there was a small calendar (and the autographs of the people from the company he works for) and a decorative box with 2 cds of Christmas music and a dvd with a cozy fireplace! Oh lookit this! One of the songs is one I sang in choir....I dont think I've ever found that song anywhere else!!

Well I guess I better go. I have to get a shower and get packed and clean up the kitchen and and and...well you get the idea. Oh! Before I forget, I got another one of my license plates posted over at http://horriblelicenseplates.blogspot.com/2008/12/sorry-about-your-inferiority-complex.html . Thank you for the honor Mr & Ms HLP!

Oh and today's ride is the last for about a week as we'll be headed outta town tomorrow, unless the obgyn decides I MUST be sent somewhere the day after Christmas, then I wont be going anywhere. We should be back by the 28th or 29th.

Today's ride was a nice comfortable ride, not overly working it (like yesterday) but not exactly lazing off either.
Calories burned: 373.8
trip miles: 10.68
ave mph: 21.36

Everyone have a Merry Christmas, Happy Yule or whatever you're celebrating this time of year and I'll see you next week. Oh and steer clear of the inflatocrap whenever possible.

riding a bike means smaller clothing!

Calories burned: 367.6
trip miles: 10.5
ave mph: 21.00



Spent a good part of the day downstairs today. Hubby told me a few days ago that he was expecting a shipment that would be coming via UPS and that it would be delivered today sometime between noon and 5pm.

So while I was waiting, I went back through the box of clothes for donation that's been sitting on the dining room table. Back in August (?), a friend of a friend had been going through her closet and weeding out the stuff that no longer fit her (she'd had that gastric bypass surgery) so my friend figured that maybe I could use the clothes that werent needed any longer. I had originally gone through the box and found several pieces that would fit but a good many did not. Many pieces were those that are the "I need to lose 5-10 pounds to wear comfortably" kinds of clothes and some were simply "I dont likes". Since it didnt think at the time I was going to be losing any weight, I'd simply put them back into the box to send to the second hand store once I'd gone through my own closet. It's been sorta warm up until last week or so, so I hadnt gone through my own wardrobe yet and because I hadnt....well that box has been sitting on the table. Today going through, I found several pieces that would fit now and a few pieces that I had already put in there because they were too small ,were pulled back out. There were 3 pairs of pants in there that are a good 2 sizes too small, but with the rate Im going I may just be into them come late spring or early summer so I figured I'd better just save them. Yeah...they're ~nice~ jeans!

If Im feeling better tomorrow, I plan on doing some of the weeding. I need to go through some of the stuff I bought in January as Im sure there may be a few items that are simply too big now. Not sure if I should even bother keeping some of the stuff Im wearing now as it's likely that none of it will fit by next spring or summer....especially the shorts as they were getting baggy before I went to the dietician....

So yesterday I got a call from the doctor's office. Seems that the bloodwork I went in for this week had a glitch. The medicine Im on has elevated one of the counts in my liver. The obgyn had suspected it would do this though and I had been forwarned about it. She wants me to stay on it and retest my blood in 4 weeks time. If there's still a glitch, she and my dr will get together and figure out what we need to do. Thankfully, they're in the same building so all I need to do is drop an email to both and wait on their decision.

I think that's about it for now....I wanna take one last cruise through the blogs before shutting down for the night. My luck , 8 more cropped up while my back was turned....at least that's what happened this afternoon while I was reading. Just when I got caught up, 2 more showed up. LOL