a semi-busy-nothing-important-but-alot-getting-done kinda week pt1

Monday night before going to bed, I popped on the site that has my medical file and requested refills for my medicines. I know I wont have time this coming week to deal with them so I figured to get them outta the way. While requesting the refills, one of them popped a flag up telling me that it was going to need to contact my doctor because there were no refills available. Well damn, I didn't realize it had been so long. I suspect that when I had gone in the dr only gave me 2 months worth of prescript. Well you dumb-head! My files said I was on it for months now. Sheesh I hope the next dr is a bit brighter.


Tuesday we had a stop or two before the doctor's office. Hubby's in the middle of consolidating his collection of comics in the catch-all room and needed some more small boxes, bags and boards to get them at least protected properly. The boxes were bought mostly to make them more manageable (they're mostly in long boxes which are a bitch to move from one area to another....especially since they're too heavy for me to help out right now). We ended up going to 2 different comic shops for bags n boards...wiped them clean of their stock and STILL don't have enough for him to complete the project. Yeah, he's got THAT many books. He's got a good portion done though and has my old desk set up in there with things neatened up some. It's so neat in fact, that I can go in there farther than the litter box (which is just inside the doorway).

Sometime after the trip to the comic stores we popped on over to the dr's office (there was a trip to WalMart in between but that will be dealt with later). We were about 30 minutes or so early. I got myself checked in and talked with the receptionist for a bit, getting my next 5 appointments set up. I let her know that it was getting to be that time of year to have that "special" appointment so I may as well set it up on one of the Tuesdays to either go before or follow my allergy shot. She told me that 5-7 days prior to "that" appointment that I was going to be required to do lab-work so we got that appointment set up as well. On the 19th of August, I'll be going for lab-work so I have to go in a tad early and fast before hand. *bleah* The appointment isn't until 230pm so I may just stay up a bit later the night before and grab a snack before bedtime. I hate 12 hour fasts...they always give me a nasty headache. The appointment on August 26th is not only for my shot but for "that" dr appointment. I was told to check in a bit early and they'd see about getting me my shot first and then the dr would see me. This way I'm under the dr's observation during the 30 minute wait period that I have after my shot. *wrinklez nose* helluva way to spend my 2nd wedding anniversary..eh? Well anyhow, I got shot number 2 this week. Yet again, it itched like a big ole skeeter bite for about a couple hours. At the time, it didn't lump up or go pink. There was simply a small red dot where the shot was administered. Then, it got worse. By Tuesday evening, I had a pink patch at the injection site that was roughly 2" in diameter and it lumped up like a spider bite. It stayed itchy and pink into Thursday with the spot feeling tight like just before a spider bite heals. Oh how I look forward to next week's shot *sarcasm*.

While there, I picked up my meds. Thank goodness that some of them are a 3 month allotment! Good heavens are some of them expensive. Most especially my Astelin. The bottle has 50 days worth of doses in it. I wish it was cheaper but it works...so I guess it's worth the money. I'll be so glad if they take me off it eventually. Even though it works, it tends to leave a bad taste in your mouth....both literally and figuratively. Everything...dr's appointment and medicines cost me roughly $150 this week. *sigh*

I made a decision regarding my kitchen window treatments. I have decided I really don't want to bother with the blinds I have up. Even if I get them spotless, they're really still kinda jacked up badly. As much as I'd rather just replace them, that middle window requires a special order because it isn't a standard size. This cost money and I'm really not up for spending extra money for a custom-made blind if we won't be here more than 18 months or so. Unfortunately, I've made this decision AFTER the season containing the pattern I bought so the matching tier curtains...well WalMart doesnt carry them anymore. My biggest choice was to either buy all new curtains again so the tiers and valances match OR find something that at least matches colorwise. I opted for the latter. NO, the fabrics dont match...no the cut doesnt match BUT the tiers are a solid white which brings out the bit of white that is in the tiers. I think it'll all get left with the townhouse. I'm pretty sure the next people won't want the jacked up blinds anymore than I did so I'll pitch them with the next trash day. I'll be getting the curtains up this next week. I have to do it before our trip because I have company showing up the weekend after we get back here and I may or may not have time to do it then.

None of that sissy crap!

Oh do I ever love this. Just got it from my SCSis and thought I'd share.

None of that Sissy Crap

Are you tired of those sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good,
but never actually come close to reality?
Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship.
You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card-
Just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.

1. When you are sad --I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.

4. When you're scared -- we will high tail it out of here.

5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!

6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.

7. When you are sick --Stay away from me until you are well again. I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall -- I'll pick you up and dust you off.

9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end. 'Why?' you may ask -- because you are my FRIEND!

Friendship is like peeing your pants,
everyone can see it,
but only you can feel the true warmth.

white bikes

While cleaning up my computer desk top, I came across a file that had a scanned picture in it. The picture within had been scanned on July 9th so I'm guessing the magazine it was in was either the May or June edition because I'm not finding the article in the July edition that I have on hand. Anyhow, it reminded me of a pic I took back in March sometime. Ya'll may remember it (shown to the left). I took it about the time iggy started his rather imaginative (and informative) OCHA articles. While on the way to the townhouse I had seen this fence made of white bikes. I snapped the pic and filed it in the appropriately labelled "iggy pix" folder of my Photobucket. If I recall, someone said that sometimes a white bike fence is just that, a white bike fence. At that point I was willing to just let it go.


That is until my Reader's Digest came in and I found this pic. Now I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't more to the story of that white bike fence. Oh I'm not curious enough to pull into the fella's driveway and out and out ask a stranger about the fence. Why? Because I'd hate to think that the fence is just a creative use of old bikes and hence, just a fence. I am however, curious enough to wonder about it. Is this the purpose they had in mind when they assembled it? Was it assembled a little at a time with one bike added for every death? Were they family members or just victims that died at that corner and in essence the bikes are a memorial. Worse yet, was it one huge accident that took them all at the same time? In any case, I know I wont be biking near that corner any too soon.

Gas humor

The one that looks like a newspaper scan came out of the Claiborne Progress...the newspaper from hubby's hometown.

Busy busy busy

Boy has the email inbox ever been busy today thanks to the wonderful questionnaire that iggy sent along. I'm sure we all got it a few times over today. Between that and the back and forth communications with my gal in NJ regarding her wedding in a couple weeks and hubby checking in on me. *whew* It took me most of the morning to get through my edjumakatshunalz (got a few of those to post in another post or two...so Tori you could probably skip those when you finally rejoin us), then the blog entries (there's a couple out there that need to be working on theirs too.... :P~~) and a last minute suggestion about a bumper sticker idea (I sent him 3 and now he has trouble choosing! LOL Careful whatcha ask for hun...). On top of that I'm in the midst of doing laundry so I'm up and down the stairs more frequently than I'd really care to be doing. Anyhow....

Taking it back to the 2nd of July...I made another unsupervised excursion out of the safe confines of my town home to the Haircuttery. It had been a couple months since the last cut and it was really beginning to need it desperately. I also opted to spend a little extra (OK...alot more)and have them color my hair as well. Every time I try to do it the color doesn't look quite right...at least not how I imagine it to look. It's either to orangy or too dark and I look all washed out. My stylist opted for a blend of two colors that looks great on me. It's closer to my natural color but it still has some of the red hi-lights that I love so much ( I HATE the blond ashy hi-lights I got naturally). I'll have to get hubby to take a pic the day I go back in for a touch up. Gotta make sure the metallic hi-lights are still gone for the wedding on August 2nd ya know. Especially since I know my gal was showing them several years back so if she hasn't taken to coloring....well I'll look younger than her and her sister. ~grinz~

On July 5th, I got to spend time with my SCSis. Boy we had a wonderful time. They were due in somewhere around 1130 and 1pm. Yeah I know according to Mapquest it's about a 40 minute drive at best BUT it doesn't take into account how horrid the traffic can be...plus they had a couple other stops they wanted to go to before they got here. On the way in they noticed the Air and Space Museum, so when they got here she pointed out that Bull Run was just down the road. Ummmm...I know I don't get out often but I'm pretty aware of what kinda historical crap is around me and I don't care too much about it thankyouverymuch . Well...that's the look she got when she point out Bull Run was close. Then she mentioned that the Smithsonian Institute's Air and Space Museum was there. OK, not my thing but she was trying to find a way to spend a bit more time than just lunch with us so OK, I guess I'm game.

Since hubby and I hadn't eaten yet, we all went to lunch first. The place was OK. I'm not in any real hurry to go back to it again but I wont complain if we do. The food was good but I don't really think it was worth the price (ka-chingville). After we went to the Museum. We were hoping to catch an IMAX movie while there but the machines that print the tickets went on the fritz and Lord knows when they'd come back up so we decided to just hit the museum and more than likely will go back another day when they visit. Like I said before, this place wasn't really my type of thing so I was merely aim n shooting my way through. Here I am, the slowest member of my party because my knees are whack and I'm so heavy that being on my feet for long periods can be quite bothersome to not only my feet but my sciatic nerve, just cruising through and making better time through the sections than the rest of them. It allowed me to get some really neat pix of the planes, satellites and such though (not to mention some "alien" pix for iggy's enjoyment). After I get this entry posted, I'll put the links for my Photobucket accounts over to the right on the homepage so ya'll can see the pix if you care to. The folder on Photobucket is 2008-07-05 Air and Space Museum or something like that. Make sure you get the right year as I have 2 Air and Space Museum trips in there...the other's from a Dallas trip. There's more than a hundred of that museum trip with SCSis...fair warning.

When we were done with the museum, SCSis decided she was ready for an adult level beverage so we carted ourselves off to a sports bar in the area. The idea was to have a drink or two out on the patio and then go to the restaurant we had in mind for supper. After our first round, we pretty much decided it might be a good idea to just stay there. We brought our drinks in and were seated. They had a trivia game going with these electronic answer pads so SCBro grabbed one of those and we played as a team. SCSis had a bit under her belt already and when her hubby asked for a team name she decided on the FluffBunny. *shakes head* Of course the name wouldn't fit and he starts fishing for a new name ....to which I blurt out (thanks the the second daiquiri) yes it does FlfBny. *shakes head again* Yeah, it don't take much....not at all. We had supper and played 4-5 rounds of trivia, winning all but the last game.

They brought us home and wouldn't you know, there wasn't a space to park ANYWHERE in a 4 block radius of the townhouse. Thank goodness they'd been driving and not us because after a long day if I'd gotten home and our spot was taken I would have been pissed. It happens way too frequently for my liking. Now if the vehicle is in and the flashers are on, more than likely it's an emergency. However, it's generally someone that's come for a visit and obviously cannot read that it's reserved. Many of the people in this cul-du-sac have been here a while though and should know to instruct visitors to not park in the spaces with numbers on them. Shoot, I've been here since March and all my friends and family know where to park. *inserts eyeroll*

From the blogs I'm seeing a couple of my fellow bloggers are in the hospital so have them in my thoughts today . I am happy that Tori's getting her eye taken care of and will be outta pain soon. Looks like it may be in time to be healed nicely for the wedding she's going to in August. Marmy's back in for her knee. I'm a little worried about her because it shouldn't be taking this long to get it sorted out. I hope they get it fixed up nicely so she's got one less thing to worry about. She seems to be keeping her chin up from what she writes in the blog but I know it's ~gotta~ be frustrating to say the least when something that was supposed to fix a problem does nothing more than generate more troubles. My thoughts are with both of you two today as you get things taken care of.


As many of you know, I've been having fits getting my allergy stuff sorted out. The allergist had assured me that she did, indeed, write the script for the Manassas Clinic. I got an email on Tuesday morning from her stating that the serum was in the refrigerator at her clinic and that she'd send it to where it needed to go. That email arrived around 9:30am. Hubby had a 3:50pm appointment at the dr's so I figured while I was there that I would ask and see if it came in...maybe get my first shot taken care of . Well, when I got there...the serum hadn't shown up yet (they called and it was in transit) but I was brought back to meet the nurse who would be giving the shots. I went through with her a basic scheduling. The shots are administered on Tuesdays and Fridays. Because hubby works Fridays (and the fact it's $15 every time I go in for the shots), I told her it'd have to be once a week ...it didn't much matter if I could get the shots twice a week. The only way Friday works right now is if I take a cab in and that's extra money out of pocket. Once hubby goes nights in September, I may be able to come up with a second trip in a week but right now I just don't see making a special trip by cab if I didn't have other business up that way already ya know? Oh well....so I set my appointment for next week...the 22nd.

So I sat...waiting on hubby to come outta his appointment when a delivery showed up. The receptionist laughed when she saw it grab my attention and said "No...it's not for you". LOL She sounded like me talking to the dog when she acts up as I'm handling food! Not a few minutes later, the nurse poked her head out of reception and called me back...it had arrived via a different carrier at the other entrance. YAY. I was brought back and she explained what the shots were going to be. Each of the 1st 3 vials would have 4 shots a piece in it. Each shot more of the allergen would be injected....each vial would be 10x stronger than the vial before. When I start a new vial, the smallest possible dose is given. She gave me my first shot...hardly felt it. Well at least hardly felt it until it started reacting to the serum. It got all pink and itchy but no bump which is good. I was sent to the waiting room to fill out a questionnaire while I waited for the serum to start working into my blood stream (they like you to wait for 30 minutes in case a bad reaction happens). Another 20 minutes later, hubby came out from his appointment and was surprised to find me sitting with paperwork. I told him I had another 10 minutes or so before I could go so he stepped out to pollute his lungs (man I wish he'd quit). The nurse called me back again and asked me some questions (which I didn't have an answer to...I've sense gotten the answers and written her via the medical site with the info) , then checked on the injection site. Told her it itched ...like a skeeter bite but wasn't too bad.

Not much more happened after that. Went to the Dairy Queen for a late lunch/ early dinner and then grocery shopping. Didn't need much , just the staples. About an hour after the injection I ended up with a slight reaction...runny nose and coughing, almost like I had a cold but it cleared up after a while.


Oh...my desk! We got the room torn down, carpet vacuumed and shampooed and the desks put back up. As you can see there's a bunch more room now. I took the pic from the doorway and as you can see, I'm not blocked in anymore! There's pretty much space for everything now too. We had to get that cart on the right near the trash can for the printer but it didnt fit where it needed to be so we moved my file cabinet to the left and put the cart near the window for the phone and other small equipment. At least it gives room for the one project that was hogging my desk, namely his box of pictures. I'm working on scanning them and putting them in a photo album. I'm liking the cubby holes for all the little stuff, I was tired of digging around for things when I needed them.

I guess that's about it. It's time to go downstairs and get the load outta the dryer and folded.

*HUGZ*

Allergy update

Looks like it's all sorted out. Just waiting on them to call me to set an appointment. I was hoping to start the shots this week but it doesnt look like it's in the cards. It started with 2 emails yesterday morning.


From: MD
Sent: 7/14/08 10:28 AM
To:
Subject: RE: Medication Questions

Thank you for emailing, I ordered for manassas, have calls in to clarify, will let you know, thank you.

To which I responded:

From:
Sent: 7/14/2008 5:27 PM
To: Office of MD
Subject: RE: Medication Questions

Ok. Thanks. I'd like to get at least a couple of the shots under my belt as Im making a trip at the end of the month (long weekend to NJ) and if there are going to be any complications, I'd like to get it figured out sooner rather than later.

Oh...and did you mean to send me this email or was it meant for someone else?:

RE: Medication Questions
To:
From: MD
Received:7/14/08 10:27 AM

I ordered shots for manassas, can you clarify with patient and extract lab, thank you.


This was the message this morning:

To:
From: MD
Received:7/15/08 9:45 AM
Thank you, I sent message to you and our allergy nurses. Claudia found your vials in the Springfield refrigerator last night and was going to send to Manassas this am.


Oh so damn close. Im hoping they call before we leave for hubby's appointment at 3:50pm to say it's there and sure they can squeeze me in for my first shot. I think while Im there (and knowing the medicine is on it's way)I'll just see about setting myself up for a standing Tuesday appointment for the next 25 weeks.

Allergies

I was out surfing the web and was checking out my brother's Flickr account to see if he had any new pictures up (him and his wife compete in a Farkography club thingy). As I was scrolling through, I noticed he'd posted his allergy results several months back. There were several comments so I got nosey. *laffz* His response to one was priceless.... Lemme back up a little though and let you in on what's been going on this week allergywise.....


It's been a little over two weeks now. I hadnt heard anything from the dr's office in regards to my allergy shots yet so Tuesday I dropped an email to my PCP office and asked after them:

Sent: 7/8/2008 12:44 AM
To: Office of
Subject: General Question

Good Morning! Dr McNally was supposed to write an order for allergy shots for me. She said that it would be two weeks and the dr's office would be calling me so I could set up appointments to get my shots done. I'm dropping this email to see what the status is on it.
Best Regards,

That morning when I woke up, I found this in my email inbox through the medical site:

From:
Office of
Received: 7/8/08 8:33 AM

I am pretty certain that you can send a message to Dr. M******, as well as to your primary care doctor. Dr. K*** is away this week. If you cannot get a message off to allergy department, let us know.

RN Manassas Medical Center


(names removed for privacy)

Ummm excuse me? I had been in contact with my allergist 2 weeks prior and she said she'd write it for the Manassas clinic because they were closer. Hmm. SO I shoot off this message to the allergist's office:


To:
MD
Sent:
7/8/08 1:26 PM

I dropped a note last night to the dr's office asking about the allergy shots to see if they came in yet (it's been a touch over 2 weeks). Is there anyway you could chase this one down as this is the response I got from them:

At which point I copy and pasted the response into the email for her to review. I waited all of Wednesday and all of Thursday for a response. Now, mind you, I do realize I could have called and gotten an answer faster; BUT knowing how busy those offices can get AND the fact that I seem to have the knack of calling at all the wrong times and getting an answering machine...well it's just easier to pop a note over. It also is a way to make sure everyone is on the same page and that I understand completely what is being discussed. Anyhow, by Friday I figured I'd have a response because maybe they were having trouble chasing down why the dr's office didnt seem to know anything about it or maybe it wass just getting finished up and transferred over or whatever. By 230pm or so on Friday, I gave up hearing from them and shut down the puter for a bit. Friday evening, hubby comes home and brings in the mail. There's a snail mail from the allergist's office. HUH? I was told to expect a CALL from the nurse at my PCP??!!? I fired up the computer and wouldnt ya know, there's an email from the allergist's office from the doctor covering for her. It basically says the same as the snail mail:

RE: General Question
To:
From:
Office of MD
Received:
7/11/08 3:23 PM

Ms. B,

I am covering for Dr. M who is away until July 14th. I have checked, and your allergy extract is now here at Springfield. You can call us at 703-***-**** anytime to make your 1st allergy shot appt.

Dr.V,MD

Mmhmm. Do they not check the notes on file and prior communications beforehand?

So I wrote back:

To:
MD
From:
Sent:
7/11/08 7:43 PM

Dr V,

Thank you for your response. I got the memo in the mail today as well. However, according to the communications I was having with Dr M in mid-June, I was under the impression she was going to have them sent to the Manassas Medical Center where my PCP is located. Here is the email conversation we were having in regards to this:

I copy and pasted the last few communications she and I had had regarding the shots. With any luck I should hear first thing tomorrow about this. I'd like to start getting my shots out of the way to be honest. I was hoping to have more than a couple under my belt before my trip...

So basically now I need a really good laugh. Those of you who have said that I'm quick thinking and at times quite funny in what I say...well Im nothing compared to my brother. So Im reading the comments on his results (he's allergic to just about everything) when this question comes up from one of his friends:

How the fuck does an allergy to cockroaches work? Do they have dander? On another note, sorry to see that you're so uncomfortable! Must suck! :(

Here Im thinking...good question! How DOES that type of allergy work? Subconciously, Im sure we all know the answer to this question and just dont exactly want to face the answer to it. However, my darling brother had this to say (warning, his language is a tad crass):


Meh, allergies suck, but its not that I feel uncomfortable per se -- I've always had some level of congestion, for me its "normal". Go fig.
There's a LOT of very disturbing things all wrapped up in that one line.
First, you're right, how DOES that work? I'm thinking dander, but... *shrug*
Second, this is a common enough problem that they actually TEST for it? Who the fuck is allergic is to cockroaches?
Third, how the sam hill did they ever figure out someone was allergic to cockroaches in the first place? Did someone walk into Doc Brown's office one day with a pet cockroach in tow on a leash, saying "every time I play with Fluffy here, I start sneezing."
Fourth, just how do they develop the allergy test for it? Do they have a roach in the back room somewhere? Are they milking it some how? Or worse, do they have peeing in one of those little dixie cups?
Last... in order to find out I was allergic to them, what the fuck did they inject me with? Am I walking around with a microdose of roach piss in my skin? Is that the bump on my arm that hasn't gone down? And why do I have this insatiable urge to hang out in the kitchen and eat bread crumbs all night now?

As you can see...Im not the only one that's quick thinkin...

So, anyhow....I got curious, looked it up and it's as bad as I feared it to be:


Q.
What causes the allergic reaction?
A.
The job of immune system cells is to find foreign substances such as viruses and bacteria and get rid of them. Normally, this response protects us from dangerous diseases. People with allergies have supersensitive immune systems that react when they inhale, swallow or touch certain harmless substances such as pollen or cockroaches. These substances are the allergens.
Cockroach allergen is believed to derive from feces, saliva and the bodies of these insects......


Excerpt from : Cockroach Allergy

Thankfully, since my allergy to them is so negligible that it barely registers and isnt worth having to treat, I can look forward to my serum shots to be cockroach secretion free.



Edit: 11:51pm: ~grinz~ Couldnt get this image outta my head so I just *HAD* to create and add this pic.....

Stars & Stripes FOREVER!


Found this when I signed in to my MySpace and just wanted to share.

Not much going on around here. Just the usual. A couple thought provoking blogs have pretty much kept me quiet the last few days as I ponder the subject matter. I think I pretty much said all I had to in the comment on the one though; if I dissect the topic it'll just result in a long rambling entry (no surprise there) as my mind freely wanders about the subject matter and doesnt come to a definite decision on anything (I hate seeing both sides of issues...it really sux and makes me feel like Charlie Brown at times)...much like my MySpace blogs on Wednesday mornings during American Idol season. No definite answers just alot of why it'd be right ifs. Now many of my readers will know exactly which topic Im touching on but my other readers, that dont share that particular aspect of my life, are scratching their heads believing that they finally found proof I went off the deep end. In any case, events like that seem to happen in that particular world a few times a year and once a year there's always a blow-up of nuclear proportions so this was no real surprise. The only surprising things were 01) the time of year it happened in (from what I noticed they usually happen in the autumn) and 02) for the first time in 4 years, I wasnt involved in it in any shape or form (whether it be the stirrer or the receiver) so Im mighty glad of that. Dont get me wrong, I dont like knowing my friends went through this problem....not at all. It was enough to have me decide to pull down the ads from all my sites. If another site goes up that I feel good about, then I may just be convinced to put another ad up. Until then, however, I'll be staying out of chat for awhile. Sorry. Anyhow...on to other things.

The other one that got me to thinking was Tori's. In one of her entries she asked which Harry Potter character we saw ourselves as. Im going to quick apologize to Tori for hijacking the comment section to ask a few of my friends who I seem to liken. It wasnt right and I should have brought it over here if I wanted to ask it. Anyhow, I went and found a bunch of those quiz thingys you find online and most of them place me in with the Hermiones but I also got Luna and Ginny as results also. What I didnt admit to in her comment section but I will here is that I actually got a Dumbledore result too. I've always said I had a bit of an old soul. I guess that just proves it. Iggy was quick to point out that I had gone through alot in my life and as such really couldnt be classified as a student and had suggested I was more like Lily Potter with a little Proffessor McGonagall and Proffessor Sprout put in the mix. If I recall he tossed in some Firenze and Rolanda Hooch. I know a reference was made about how I'd fit into the HufflePuff House and I have to agree as I most closely resemble the character traits of the house. On the otherhand, with the comment that I was much like Lily places me firmly in Gryffindor. Why? Because every result in those quizzes (with the exception of Luna...who was a Ravenclaw...which house character traits closely fit me as well) were all Gryffindors...as well as many of those that were suggested (Lily Potter and Proffessor McGonagall....Prof Sprout was a HufflePuff). The only question is which houses Firenze and Rolanda Hooch would fall in. I know he was a Centaur (very cool choice by the way Iggy) but I dont recall what house Rolanda was in. All I recall was that she taught flying and was the ref for the Quiddich matches. I suspect with the traits she displayed that she was more than likely a HufflePuff too (loyalty, honesty, fair play, and hard work). Oh and yes Tori, from what was said in the last book...Hermione and Lily sound an aweful lot alike. I suspect that's why the Harry and Hermione characters were never intended to become a love interest for each other as she was too much like a mom. So, if Iggy's going to place me predominantly with Lily Potter (it was due to her fiercely protectiveness of her child right?) then I have to guess that I have a bit of Molly Weasley (nee Prewett) because she was just as fiercely protective and a pinch of Buckbeak as well. Anyone who's seen me working in a chatroom will probably agree that if you get on my bad side it's like getting Fluffy, Norbert(a) and Buckbeak rolled up in one mean-ass critter (Karla for sure can confirm this one). So Im going to ask in here (just in case you've missed Tori's blog)...who are you in the Harry Potter world?

*gets sidetracked* Oh look, their emblem was the lion and the element is fire....hmm Im a Leo with an element of fire...I guess that settles it. *gets back on track*

I know Iggy's already said he's much like Hagrid and I really have agree with that and I know Tori's said she's Luna/Hermione. I dont know Tori as well but from the way she writes, I'd say that's pretty accurate.

While we were out last week, we stopped off at McKay's Used books and after not finding something I'd like in the music section....I wandered into the youth books. I've pretty much decided to get some of the books I'd read as a child. It would be nice to be able to read them when I like and not have to pop into a library to borrow them...especially since most of the books take less than a day to read if I read straight through. I bought The Secret Garden (19th edition from July 1982), The Black Stallion's Filly (Im guessing the 2002 printing as that's when the artwork is copywrited for) and King of the Wind (the latest date is 1976 but the cover looks like it's in way too good condition). I've got all but the garden one read right now. I've also decided to make a list of all the books of each of the horse series that I need for the collection and plan on getting them all eventually. While writing out the list I looked up a couple of titles and found out they were actually each book 2 of a 3 book series. Well then, I just added those down as well . It'll give me something new to read as well as the old stories that I loved so well.

While we were getting ready to go out last week, I got an interesting shot from out my office window. You can just see it in the center there. It's not often you see the moon out as late as 930am.....

This coming weekend my SCSis is coming for a visit. Her and her hubby will be travelling to DC to see the fireworks for the 4th and want to take us out to supper. Originally it was supposed to be them seeing the fireworks and then coming afterwords but we all decided it'd be too late to do anything on the 4th, especially since it's nearly an hour drive in bad traffic between us and the Capitol. It was decided that she and her hubby would come in on Saturday instead and we'd do lunch or supper that day instead. I cant wait, it's been almost 2 years since I saw her last. I wish they lived a bit closer. *laffz* Actually she says the same to me when she and I get on the phone. Im considering getting my metallic highlights covered this Wednesday. I know that if it looks like crap, SCSis'll be honest enough to tell me so. This way I have time to get it fixed before the wedding I have to go to in August.

I may be offline for a couple days this coming week, so heads up. Hubby decided he doesnt want his desk any more because it's too big for the spot it's in. Im using an old pic because I want to spare everyone the chaos that's our office. What you cant really see in this pic is that there's ~maybe~ an inch between those two desks. His is the one with all the cubbyholes (something that I could really use with all the "projects" on my desk...) on the left. To the left of his desk is the closet. There is just enough room for a file cabinet between him and the closet. The closet door doesnt shut because all the stuff he has crammed in there....or is it because he needs things handy so he keeps it open?? Anyway. He's got little to no room over there. Less, actually, because since this pic was taken he's bought a new computer which has a larger tower (less leg room now) and a bigger monitor (less desk space now). He's decided he wants a smaller desk , so we'll be moving his one with the cubbies over to my corner and moving the one that's presently mine to the other room. Not sure if he's going to buy a new one or use the small one that's in the bedroom (the one that used to sit in our guest room for my sewing machine while we lived in Texas).

Well, Im gonna scoot. Hubby wants to watch a movie....

Strange phone call

I had a bit of a fright yesterday when a freaky call showed up. This afternoon I got a call and so I checked the caller id as per usual. There was a name there that I didnt recognize hooked to a number that I was pretty sure not in our local calling area. I kind of ignored it until later. When I was starting the prior entry, I needed a picture of that one ring and thought I still had it handy in my doc file. While I was looking for it (and no I didnt have it anymore I had to find out what site was selling it and then grab it from there), I came across a couple letters I had written. One was in late 2004 (November) and the other was in early 2005 (January)........


Let me take a brief moment now to catch those not familiar with the Padded Room ramblings up at this point. It's common knowledge among my friends that this is my second marriage. What some may not know is the background on the first. The first time around I was married to the most obnoxious, verbally/mentally/emotionally abusive, manipulative sorry ass excuse of a piece of kahuna sized turd that one could ever imagine. Well...maybe some of you can imagine because you've seen someone as bad or worse. Anyhow, in 2003 I ran. I couldnt handle it one more minute and so I ran. I ran for my sanity and I ran for self-preservation. Up til that point, the only thing good about him was that he'd never raised a hand in anger but once to me. Like I said, up until then. Once I got away and settled, I had to wait 6 months before I could file for divorce. During that time I was convinced by one of my family members to open an email addy for communication with the kahuna turd, so that the divorce could be done amicably. Ok fine. For the first little bit, things were amicable. He told me that he'd moved in with his sister and their family which was a really good step for him. He needed the structure of a family. Later he told me he'd moved out on his own and gotten a new job at a school. This all I confirmed with a few keystrokes on my computer. I saw his bio on the school's website and found his addy in 411.com. Then things got wonky. He told me that he'd "moved on and found a new love in his life" and to "go ahead and file for divorce and get it over with". I told him that it was going to take a bit to do that because I had a waiting period where I was at and it would be faster if he filed in Pennsylvania because he already had the residency requirements. You think he would? Nope. Said I wanted it so I had to file. During my waiting period, I got no fewer than 3-4 letters from him every damn day. I told him, I really didnt need to know everything that was going on in his life and that one email a day would really suffice. At one point, I gather he'd had a very bad day and decided to take it out on me via email. I wrote him back that the next time he did it I was going to 01) file a complaint with the FCC because what he was doing is highly illegal and is considered harrassment even though it wasnt face to face and 02) I'd close down the email and he'd have no way to talk to me ever again. For the first time ever, I got an apology that actually LOOKED like he meant it.

So when the 6 months passed, I filed....then I sent the paperwork to his job with a delivery confirmation attached to it and instructions on what needed to be done...I even sent a money order to pay for notarization. Several weeks went by and he'd gotten quieter on the emails which was fine by me. So I dropped an email and told him if the paperwork wasnt in my hands and signed I was going to send it by courier and have him served in his classroom. I didnt give a damn if he had to pay the extra to overnight it at this point because I was footing the cost on everything else anyhow. I got the waiver, signed, in a few days. I go to court with the signed waiver, thinking things will just keep rolling when the clerk tells me that they needed the final decree signed as well and not just the waiver....WHAT?? They couldnt at least be helpful and let me know this when I'd been to file paperwork before?? *sigh* So I sent the paperwork to the school again with a letter he needed to sign ALL the papers. The envelope came back....he no longer was working at the school. I decided to play it smart, if he wasnt there then he may have gone to one of three homes to live because things were tight. I packed up 3 envelopes and sent them to all of those places. I sent separate instructions a week prior regarding what I was sending, how it was coming and if he wasnt there if they'd kindly just refuse the package so it came back to me. I was due to make a trip to Pa for my PaSis's wedding September 2005. The day before we left, all 3 managed to show back up...all RTS (return to sender). Needless to say I was really upset. I called my mom and she suggested that I make copies of the paperwork and have it on me, just in case he showed up anywhere I was (which was entirely possible because I was going to be in the town that I had run from). He wasnt there, and I had a peaceful visit. When we got back to Texas, I went to the courts and had a posting put up that I was looking for this man to sign some paperwork (more money out of pocket...this was beginning to suck). A couple days after putting the listing up, I was online with a mutual friend and she let me know the reason why I couldnt find him is because he'd been sent to prison....she just had no clue why. A few keystrokes and having an idea of where to look proved that yes he'd been arrested. Another mutual friend was kind enough to buy the archived article and damned if the bugger had been in prison since July 2004 for 5 counts harrassment and 3 counts stalking with the intent to do harm (said he'd kill them with a knife or gun after raping them). With some help from a friend of mine, I was able to get an addy for him and a prisoner number. I was given the info on who to contact and how to go about things. I left him a letter telling him that he either signed or I went and got the divorce without him, there were other ways around his signature now that he was in prison. The same day I dropped a letter to the DA over his case and introduced myself. The letter was 15 pages long and detailed life with the jerk over the period of 1990-2003. I dropped a message to the lady over the office I was dealing with in the courthouse and let her know that I did indeed manage to find him and that I was sending the papers along to him to sign. I was in contact with that office DAILY for weeks afterwards. Again, on the last possible day...I got the envelope with the divorce decree in it and signed. Unfortunately, there was another envelope with it. I wont go into details with it because I'll eventually be typing the letter in it's entirety in the Padded Room later. Just let's say that the letter was definitely beyond creepy. The critter is definitely psychotic. That day I wrote the DA and sent him a letter expressing my concern and sent along a copy of the letter idiotboy sent me as well as a photocopy of the envelope it was sent in. The handwriting on the envelope...wasnt his. This told me that someone else there had my address....plus it had a drawing of a flower on it....he cant draw worth shit. I got an email from the DA's office a few days later. It basically said I had enough to press charges if I care to and what that would entail. It also basically told me that since he did this from behind bars that it would add on to his already existing sentence (his sentence at the time was 7 months to 7 yrs for a first offense). Im thinking that letter and the fact I contacted the DA added onto his sentence and he wont be out until at least 2011. I thought about it for a day or so and wrote the DA back that he should place the stuff in the prisoner's file for review during his future parole hearings....that I was going to court the next day and having things finalized. After then, I wouldnt be family and after what he'd pulled I definitely didnt consider him a friend any longer so it would be illegal according to the rules of the prison for him to contact me. Once the divorce was finalized I filled out envelopes to the DA, the dingbat, the Superintendant of the prison and the mail room clerks. I told them that under code number whatever in that prison that the prisoner should be having no more contact with me. I also sent along copies of the finalized decree and letters that I had sent to everyone else so all were on the same page. In dingbat's letter I told him I'd contacted all of the others and sent him a copy of the email correspondence between me and the DA. I got a letter a couple weeks later from the prison....he'd been brought to the Super's office and officially ordered to never contact me again while behind their walls.


....ok that said...back to the phone call. The caller id name MATCHED the name of the DA over kahuna turd's case. You can pretty much guess exactly how freaked I was. The first thing I did was pull up the prison's site to make absolutely certain they still had him listed there. He was and considering the time difference between when the site had last been updated and the time I was checking, I was fairly certain he wasnt calling from that location. I did, however, suspect it was the DA because it was a Pennsylvania number (thank goodness for 411.com) and the addy hooked to it was a mere 90 minutes or so from the prison (thank goodness for Mapquest), so I called.....



are you ready for this?




It was someone who pays those that deliver our phone books wanting to be certain that it had indeed arrived on our doorstep a couple weeks back. I told them no and laughed (Ive since found out that it did arrive...hubby had brought it in and forgot to tell me... so I'll have to call later and let them know). The guy's wife (who'd picked up the phone) wanted to know what was funny so I told her why I hadnt picked up in the first place and the only reason why I even called back was because I'd been going through some old files and seen the name in my files. That yes, there was another man in Pennsylvania roughly in their area with the same doggone name that was a DA. She found it strangely funny too. It must have made an awesome share when the husband got home.

Rings

Here's a pic of the rings I mentioned in my last blog entry. The one that is on the index finger was originally bought as an engagement ring for Christmas 2005. It wasnt even close to what I had my heart set on, but he wanted me to have something for that all important finger. The plan was to use it as an engagement one and then buy one closer to what I wanted and use the first one as a wedding band (this is the ring I had resized recently..it's a hugs and kisses ring with diamonds in the hugs positions). We went shopping around Valentines Day 2006 because we saw one that was even closer to what I wanted but when we got to the store, the particular model I was wanting (a single ruby heart with diamonds on either side) was all sold out and they werent offering rainchecks. *sigh*. So hubby picked out the one that's on my hand right now. It's kinda close enough, still not what my heart was truly set on, but close enough. At least HE bought it and didnt take an already existing ring of mine to resize and use (if that doesnt sound familiar...take yourself over to my Padded room to see whom Im talking about). It is part of a set that included earrings and a necklace. I hope to get a chain I feel comfortable in to replace the one in the set for the pendant so I can wear it for special occassions. I've yet to get a good picture of that ring...no matter how hard I try. It's two ruby hearts with two diamond flecks on either side of them. When I tried the ring on my pinkie finger (they only stocked 2-3 sizes and those of us with bigger fingers had to have it resized...stupids) with the already existing band, I realized it was gonna look wonky. As such, I decided it might be best to find a "V" band to act as the wedding band and maybe use the first ring as a "capper" ring. Well as a capper ring, it still looked freaky so I've opted to resize it so I can wear it on the same hand as the others. I didnt buy it and it wasnt a gift for a friend so it really shouldnt be treated as a right-hand ring.

This next picture on the right is closest to the one I really Really REALLY want. When I first moved to Texas, hubby and I were in the local WalMart and my attention was drawn by the little table they had set up of costume jewelry. The one ring that got my attention the most was one that looked like that one to the right, but the only difference was that the one at WalMart was done with a yellow gold plated band. Granted it was only $9.97 or so, but it was the first ring he ever bought me. I wore it proudly daily until it got to the point where the acid in my skin started eating away at the gold plating and tarnished it. He was going to bring it to a jeweler's that was connected to his work and see if he could have it custom made in 14k yellow gold with the genuine sapphires and diamonds. Somehow, between the time he'd decided and the time he got around to asking a jeweler...the ring got lost. I usually kept it in a shotglass on the kitchen window sill, but I know a couple times he'd had it in his pocket to remind him to check on it. We think that he'd had it in his pocket and it fell out. I was terribly upset when I realized it was missing because it was the first piece of jewelry he gave me and ...well fact is, I have a terrible track record with rings (the more expensive the piece the worse the record gets...). They're forever getting lost. I was miserable for days afterwards when it was lost. I thought for sure while we were packing that it would turn up and it never did.

I cant remember where I was cruising the other day...it was either in the comics on the Seattle paper page OR it was a quirky note on my MSN page...but I came across some photos. Within the photoshow was this one that I found of particular interest. Why is it of interest? Because ~someone~ posted yet another truck orgy picture AND I was reminded of a certain car spindle. In anycase, I thought I'd share this picture I found of Carhenge.The link Im leaving takes you to an interesting site regarding this and other such odd places...like The Cadillac Ranch.

The weather is quite lovely today. It was warm but not overly hot and it was DRY. Not only dry because there was no rain today, but dry humidity-wise. Oh I could just kick myself though. Yesterday I was in one of ya'll's blogs and had said something about us being due for rain again and damned if it didnt do just that! It actually rained twice. The first time was an odd one. It came out of nowhere, the precip fell straight down and it only hit my house and the townhouses on either side of me. Every other property got no rain at all !! Later in the afternoon it rained again. We lost power for about 10 seconds or so, but that's about it. It was mostly rain, very little thunder and barely any lightning (thank goodness).

Im in contact with my allergist. The results came back yesterday. The ratings are 0 (zero) for not allergic through 6 for very allergic. I have a very minor allergy to the cat, dog and dust mites...a 0 (zero) on the molds (which I suspected otherwise I wouldnt be able to take penicillian and I can take that stuff). The ones that I reacted worse to, yet again, were the weeds and the grasses (3 and 4 respectively). I noticed that none of the tests included the flowering trees and plants so I wrote and she answered there is nothing they can do about those. The pollen that come from them isnt considered an allergin because it's not airborne. she explained that a non-airborne pollen is considered an irritant. What's the difference? From the pamphlet I was given:

"Although irritants dont cause nasal allergies, they can bother the nose and make allergy symptoms worse. Cigarette smoke, perfume, aerosol sprays, smoke from wood stoves or fireplaces, car exhaust and strong odors are examples of irritants."

Ok....so this explains the year round allergy symptoms now. Im allergic to the grass and weeds with a mild allergy to everything else. Top things all off my husband's smoking, the car exhaust (that I get exposed to because we dont have an a/c in the truck and my husband insists on smoking in there) and any other strong odors exasperate the symptoms. Strong odors such as any perfumes I may wear (or in any of my detergents), bbqs, campfires, etc etc... It looks likes the shots won't completely rid me of the allergy problem but should at least reduce the symptoms to the point where I wont need to take the meds as often. The dr will be putting in the order for the shots and have them shipped to the clinic. In 2 week's time, I'll be getting a call from the clinic to arrange for my appointments.

While we were out today, we swung by a jewelry repair shop. I havent been able to wear my engagement ring for several months now (since before we moved) because the band broke on it. Strange thing, it just snapped on the back part of the band and if you didnt know better, you'd think that it was one of those cheap-assed adjustable costume rings with that break in the back. It was an inexpensive fix, thank goodness. It seems as though when I had it sized through JCPenney's, they did it the quick fix method and just hammered it out to the new size and then polished it up thereby making the back part of the ring thinner than it should be. The jeweler here added a bit of extra gold to it to not only patch the split but thicken the band a touch in the back. Awesome. A $10 fix. While I was there I decided to have another ring (the ring that was originally bought to be the engagement ring) resized to fit another finger. This one was a bit more expensive because it was being resized 3 and a quarter sizes larger to fit my index finger. They had to add quite a bit more gold so it cost me $50. It's worth it though because now I can wear all the rings my dear hubby has bought me at once now. I could have left it the same size and stacked it on top of the engagement and wedding bands, but it looked really tacky that way.

Not much else going on. For those of you who cannot access my front page, I've added some to my jokes area, my inspirational area and an entry in the padded room. I may actually add another entry there tomorrow. For those of you just joining the padded room, I suggest you go all the way back and catch it all from the beginning.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!!

medical update

So Monday I went in for blood work up at the dr's office. Boy, I need to remember never to go in on a Monday again because it's hella busy. I stopped over at the pharmacy counter and put in a request for a refill on one of my medicines. It could have been done online but their way of doing refills is different. With Cigna, I could get my meds at WalMart and WalMart's way of doing refills is sooooo much easier. On their site, it gives the listing of all your meds, their 'script number and how many refills each has left. All I have to do is click the one I need refilled and tell it ok. You can even go to another section on the site and get a listing of which scripts you got for a given time and how much you spent. With KP (Kaiser Permenante), you need to have the 'script number at hand to order online. If I had known this the last time I got refills, I would have made sure to write down all the numbers and put them with my file number. Now the meds that come in the transparent orangish bottles, this isnt a problem with as the number is on the label. However, my nasal sprays dont have this because the label's placed on their cardboard outer cartons. Since I dont travel on a regular basis and usually keep them in a drawer at my bedside, I tend to throw the boxes away....along with the labels ON the boxes. So anyhow, I put in a refill and went to sign in at the lab. Man was the waiting area PACKED! While we were waiting, hubby decided to go over to the counter for the dr's office and see if they could squeeze him in because he hadnt been feeling well for weeks now. They got him right in, which was wonderful. About 20 minutes later, I got called to the lab counter and surprised when the clerk asked me if I was giving blood for a certain test (cant remember the name of it) and I said no...that I was there to have my blood drawn for allergy testing. I was given my number (remember certain things are done DMV style) and several pieces of paper to bring in when my number got called. Within a few minutes I was called in. I let the tech know right up front Im not fond of needles so they need to be as quick but painless as possible and that my skin is sensitive so the band will be leaving a bit more than the usual marks so not to worry and because of my sensitive skin not to use tape on me...pressure would be more than plenty. He warned me there would be a slight pinch but I never really felt it and that it would take a tad longer than usual because the needle he was using was the smallest possible. I said.. "oh, you're using the butterfly...that's why I've hardly felt it" at which point he confirmed that yes he was indeed using that needle. I'll have to remember to be asking for that one because it left hardly a mark on me....and this time they drew 3 vials. If it wasnt for the little bit of blood (which was clotted by the time I got to the door), you wouldnt know that I had bloodwork done. They'll be doing a detailled analysis for the following allergins:

grass, weeds,trees, mold,cockroaches, dust mites (2 different kinds!), cat and dog danders

I went to the pharmacy counter after and got my meds. The tech there looked shocked at the price of the medicine I was picking up ($70). I told her I went in for bloodwork for my allergies so maybe I wont need to fill it again but that it was a good med and well worth the extra dollars to be able to breathe now and again. All this happening and ya know, I was finished before hubby was done with his appointment. When he got out, he had a 'script to fill and bloodwork to do also. Since this was his first appointment with this place, I steered him to the pharmacy counter first...reminding him it'll take time to fill anyhow and that he could be getting his blood done while he waited on the meds. Two months and Im already getting to be a pro here..LOL. I've had 3 blood work ups, 2 appointments and 2 medicine orders in this building so far. I had to remind him to keep his id and card out because that's the first thing they ask for at every counter. He got his bloodwork done and we only had a minimal wait for his meds after that which was good. Now for the good news...the dr is wanting him to quit smoking. It's the first and foremost thing on his paperwork. ~grinz~ The dr also wants us to get rid of the cat. From what hubby told me, he told the dr no way, it wasnt an option. Awww. I had told him after we'd had her for two weeks that if we had to get rid of her it would be fine. Now, 4 yrs later, you're damn right it's not an option. It's not fair to him, me or the cat....not to mention I think Katy would miss her too. He may end up in the same boat as me....may need to get tested for allergy shots. I told him it may end up being the best thing for him.

Monday night I got an email from KP saying my test results were in and that I had a note from Dr N. Dr N??? I know I'd changed that dr a couple weeks back....hmm. Well surprise there were tests results for a CBC in my online file and a note from Dr N that the blood came back good this time. huh? I went in for an allergy workup?? Well the results were good...even my white cells were down where they should be. Well the high side of where they should be but enough in the normal range to count as good. I dropped a note to Dr N asking about the test and how I'd just gone in for my allergies...was this a standing order he had now or what? I got a call on my cell on Tuesday (I didnt get the message until Wednesday because I'd had the phone off) saying that the dr had just issued the tests that morning (Monday) as a follow up for when I saw the next dr. I suspect he'd seen me in the waiting area as he was passing through and decided that it might be prudent to do another check just to be sure. Now mind you, I'd only seen him twice but Im pretty sure that even with all the patients he sees that Im more than likely one of the unforgettable ones. I mean come on, first appointment with him I have a 2 page listing of stuff to look at and the second appointment I can tell him exactly all that's in my medical file and then some....then I proceed to tell him that although Im sure he's good I'd rather have a female dr....kinda hard to forget that. So anyhow, he'd issued the extra test to be certain. Well that explains why I was confused at the lab check in counter.

weather

So this is pretty much what is outside my office window right now. Bright, sunny, oh so blue skies and 90 some odd degrees. As much as I'd love to say the weather's been wonderful like this everyday, I wont because that would just be a big ole lie and then some. In the little more than 2 months we've been here we've had no fewer than 5 tornado warnings. Wait...arent we a tad bit east of the Appalachians for this crap??? Seems like every few days we can be absolutely certain of storms....guaranteed once a week but many times it's been twice a week. Needless to say, I've been an unhappy camper.

On the 4th of June, I got a call from my SCSis. Are you sitting? It was the first time in 4 weeks I'd talked to her. Yeah...I said FOUR WEEKS. We talked about 10-15 minutes. Up until her call, we'd had skies like pictured above. Next thing I know...the sky went a ~lovely~ shade of steel grey. Then the thunder could be heard. I told her I loved her but damn I was gonna simply have to go and right now. I had not even gotten the phone into it's cradle when it started pouring...dumping buckets of water everywhere. It didnt even have the courtesy to sprinkle first. In the first one, I shot that from the bedroom. The townhouse I mentioned in the previous entry is the one you see and I think you can see the tree the "Charlie" was in. The wood there is the sash of the window...sorry. I was trying to get a shot of the sidewalk so you could see how narrow it was but I didnt want to go into the lower part of the frame due to the screen. The second one is thru the sliding glass door. You get a real good shot of the damn bamboo we're fighting (you can see it poking up over the fence from the neighbor's side as well...their yard is pretty much being over taken by it). The yard's since been mowed. All the rain lately has made it hard to keep up with it at times. Oh...and this storm was a bit milder than the ones that had been hitting...definitely milder than the ones that hit us on the 10th or so and then headed up north to mess with Pennsylvania. That particular storm (the one on the 10th) had a couple of flashes of lightning (complete with a bright bolt) and thunder at the same time that I knew the bolt was closer than I'd care to have.

As you can see...Katy wasnt fond of them either!!

flowers

Some of the fkn flowering crap in the area. It's pretty but damn the havoc it's been playing on the sinuses. Im sure I posted the iris one before. These are the ones I'll be facing everytime I go out the front door in spring....unless I rip them all out. However, this is a rental place so Im not certain we'll be allowed to. Just past the irises in the one pick is a dogwood and to it's left just out of frame is some other fkn flowering tree. Those are on the neighbor's property and there's not much I can do about them. I really shouldnt complain much about the bigger tree (the one out of frame) as it shades the front part of the house a bit. Im thinking how nice it'd be to have a rockgarden in the front...then I wont need to worry about the weeds or plants in my yard...

a local Charley

As I was getting out of the truck a week or two back, a bit of movement grabbed my eye. Instinctively, I grabbed my camera and got a few shots. You can see our townhome behind him in one of the pix. He's sitting in the tree located in the corner of the lot that the townhouse across the sidewalk from us sits on.

medical

Since the last time I updated my blog, I've been in to see the dr once more and also had an appointment with an allergist.

The dr appt took place on May 13th. I had dropped 1 pound between visits, which is pretty cool. Now if I can curb this sweet-tooth and keep that drop in weight I'll be happy. My bp was 120/80 which really good too. He decided to send me to play with the vampires one more time to see how my white blood cells were doing. The results showed that they were just slightly elevated, but not as bad as 4 weeks prior. Since my allergies were going slightly that day, we've chalked it up to that. Not much we can do about it as antibiotics only work so long on a person , then quit. All I can do is keep up with my meds and the local honey. The honey seems to be helping somewhat....not great but better than nothing at all.

On the 19th, I had an appointment with an allergist. *Ugh* The nurse took my BP and became concerned that it was rather high (132/78). I told her she'd have a high bp too if she didnt like needles and knew she was going to be used as a human pincushion!! LOL. She explained what all was going to happen and which allergins I was going to be inflicted with. On one wrist I'd have a control which contained nothing but saline and on the other I'd have one with a straight histamine which would show whether I'd been taking my pills or not (and I wasnt supposed to be so you can be sure there was a reaction there). It also acted as a control for the opposite end of the scale. The nurse talked a blue streak asking me questions about where I was from and all. I see all my friends who have experienced me in a chatroom laughing now because they all know that's not the question to ask me. Where Im from and where Im at are two different stories and the one dealing with where Im from is a mile long. She got to laughing (just like everyone else does) when I went into where I was from. LOL. Well I gotta give her credit...it hurt like hell being poked more than 4 dozen times or so BUT she worked FAST.


What one needs to know about me right now is that I have very sensitive skin that likes to break out with the slightest provocations. That said, I can say this....EVERY LAST POKE got a reaction of sorts....yeah....even the saline. The reactions all showed up within seconds of being administered. Now, this isnt to say that all of them were allergic reactions, but they all did welt up a little bit. Whatever she nicked me with on my right arm wasnt so bad. It itched like a mild sunpoisoning...nothing I couldnt really handle. If nothing had been going on with my left arm it would have bugged me somewhat. I hardly noticed the itching when I compared it to my left arm that simply blew up in spots. The histamine spot blew up like a horsefly bite, which was to be expected. Some of the other spots on my left arm were pretty much as bad as the histamine one. The two that were the worst, however, increased to twice the size of the histamine spot EACH and then proceeded to merge into one large welt. When the nurse left, the left arm was just reacting and was definitely a nice shade of hot pink. By the time she got back, I was sniffling , eyes watering, scratching the table (because I itched badly and knew I shouldnt scratch myself) and wasnt sitting still at all in the chair. She took notes on the results and then let me wash up in the sink. I cant tell you the mess I made trying to get all that crap washed off!! She then gave me an alcohol wipe and some cream that was supposed to make the itching all better. Yeah RIGHT!


The specialist came in a bit later. Poor lady...would have been nice to meet her before I was so damn miserable. We discussed what could be done to deal with these allergies of mine. The biggest problems are grasses and weeds, the next is the flowers and trees. Basically, if it pollenates, Im allergic. She told me that she was going to recommend allergy shots but was going to leave the decision up to me. Allergy shots means that I need blood work-up first to narrow down exactly which allergies are the problem (the prick testing was more a broad spectrum to give an idea where to look for problems). Then they'll make a serum of the allergins geared for my body. The serum would be made into 5 different strengths. Each vial of the serum would be 10 times stronger than the one before. Each vial would be 5 shots worth. I'll need to go in once a week for the next 25 weeks for a shot and once those are done, I go in once a month for the next 3-5 years. The big problem is that the allergist said each one was going to be a co-pay for the insurance. *ugh* That's a bit much. I told her I needed to talk it over with hubby so she wanted me to call back in a week. *laffz* I've been so distracted lately I forgot to call her and didnt remember til yesterday. OOOPSIE! Why did I call? Because I was absolutely miserable.


This past Sunday hubby's work had a company picnic. It was an hour out...I really didnt want to go to be honest. I never quite know what to do with myself because invariably everyone there knows everyone else and has been to these things scads of times. Personally, I'd love to go to one of these things and not feel like everyone was looking down their nose at me. I always felt that way with hubby's old job too....with the exception of one couple. I felt like I could just let loose around them and not worry about anything. When hubby said we had an event to go to, my first question was always "are so and so going to be there?" Well here, we dont have that yet so needless to say I sat by myself a good part of the time. I probably came across as a snob. LOL. His boss was really nice though and Im thinking his wife was ok too. She was a bit rushed though as she had to get back to work. I've made a mental note to try and get to know her better next time.


For a few hours, I did fine out in the fresh air. I had to bounce around a bit to make sure my skin didnt get too much sunlight (I tend to get sunpoisoning really bad...didnt used to...but as I get older it gets worse). Things were fine...until the wind shifted and the pollen that was being kicked up by the guy on the riding mower (who was til then downwind of us) wafted over to our picnic area. Within minutes I was starting to feel the effects. The flowers have been doing a number on my sinuses (as you all well know) but the weeds (which took to pollenating this week) made things so much worse. My eyes itch and water like nothing Ive had before and the sneezing! Im so miserable now that I swear at least one of my meds stopped working on me...I havent figured which yet though. I stayed in all day Monday and left only to go shopping on Tuesday (mistake there). By yesterday, I was so miserable I called the allergist's office. No answer so I dropped an email as to how I was feeling. She reiterated she recommended the shots so I talked it over with hubby. I told him that it says alot that Im even considering taking them with how I feel on needles and all. He said it was my decision. So Monday I go in for more bloodwork. I suspect more blood than usual is going to get pulled which means I'll be a very unhappy camper by then. A week after that I have to call the allergist and see what the next step is. Thankfully, I can get my bloodwork and shots done at the clinic near us and not go all the way into Springfield for them.



Benefit for Tori: The comic up there had a guy in a dr's office. The dr is preparing to give the dude a shot and the dude's saying "Man, I hate needles". The funny part of the comic is the dude is COVERED with tatoos..... ~grinz~

Ummm thanks Chicago....

Yeah...it arrived faster than expected:


Tornado Alerts Severe T-Storm Alerts Special Weather Alerts

Tornado Alerts
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TORNADO WARNING FOR CHARLES COUNTY, MD FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA

Severe T-Storm Alerts
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SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR CHARLES COUNTY, MD PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, STAFFORD COUNTY, VASEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING UPDATE FOR CHARLES COUNTY, MD PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, STAFFORD COUNTY, VA

Special Weather Alerts
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SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR GOOCHLAND COUNTY, HANOVER COUNTY, POWHATAN COUNTY, HENRICO COUNTY, VASPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR KING WILLIAM COUNTY, KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, ESSEX COUNTY, MIDDLESEX COUNTY, VA


This is the 4th time since we moved into this townhouse (a bit over 2 months now??) that we've had tornado watches/ warnings in or around our area....mind you...we aint in "Tornado Alley". May as well be at this rate though!!! Top things all off...oh ya'll ~LOVE~ this one. At 7:55pm we got the beeps on tv to change the station to 21 for an alert...so I change over and it's a TORNADO WARNING for Fairfax....a bit down the road but damn well close enough for me. It was "issued" (those quotes will become apparant in a sec) for 6:32-7:33pm. I'll wait til you recheck the time on that....a bit LATE dontcha think???? Not a couple minutes later we got another warning so I turn it to channel 21 and it's ANOTHER TORNADO WARNING timed for 6:37-7:45pm. I look at my watch and it says 8pm. I turn to hubby and said..."ya know...a fkn tornado could be heading down mid-town Manassas and we wouldnt know it for 30 more minutes!" The question now is...is Comcast fkn stupid everywhere...or just in Virginia?