Random photos for you to look at

Here's my loyal companion and "still puppy at heart, I hate to pee in the rain" pitbull.


















A carved tree in my Niece's front yard.














My son David when he was 1 day old. He weighed 10 pounds 4 ounces when he was born. Let me just add that I did NOT have a C-section.










Here he his at the age of 24 and the last I knew at only 175 pounds. He ended up being a full 6 feet tall. This was taken right before he moved away to Jacksonville, Florida. You can bet I sure miss him alot.

This was taken on a day that he and I and the puppy took a walk in the park so I could have some company while looking for some photo opportunites. The 2 of them were watching a little waterfall from the creek that dumps into the duck pond in the city park.





My Bob snapped this photo of my puppy eating an ice cream cone. This was on one of Bob's visits here and we took the pup for a walk in Mochican State Park. Bob misses the woods and that was the best place I knew of around here to take a walk in the woods. That was a great day for us all.

Take note that Cerebus is NOT chomping away on this cone. All I say is easy and NO BITE and he just licks away till all the ice cream is gone then eats the cone. It's really quite fun to watch.



I'm not sure I've shared this photo in here yet, but this was taken this past Spring break while my Sister was here visiting my Nephew (her Grandson). she lives out in California so we don't get together all the often.

She has her braces off now but I haven't yet recieved a new photo to see how well the results turned out. Notice any Family resemblence between us??...( hehehe) She's 2 & 1/2 yrs older than I am...(makes me the baby of the Family...hehehe)







This is one I've shared before but it's one of my favorite photos. I caught my Granddaughter and Cerebus looking over the side of the porch. I feel that it's a classic photo of a girl and her dog. The only thing that would have made this a more perfect shot would have been it I had put away that damn snow shovel...lol











So that's enough photo sharing for today....it's just the mood I was in this morning. Now it's time to take the pup out for a walk. We both need to get out of the house for awhile.

And it just keeps getting better!!!

I have a great update!!

I FOUND THE CAMCORDER BATTERY!!!!

I took some advice you all gave me and went to google.

found the model of my cmacorder and a battery at Ebattery.com.

It will be shipped in about a week and was only $22.50 with FREE shipping!!!

My daughter was here and passed me here debit card!!

Now we are off to buy tapes for it and new born diapers...LOL

*EDIT*.........Found the battery on Ebatts.com........I was in a hurry and typed the wrong thing..lol

It's a better day today

Work went rather uneventful and was quite pleasant lastnight. We weren't busy at all and that can be rather boring as I'm the type that needs to stay busy...I hate being idle. I get bored to easy that way. The kids working lastnight had attitudes but I pretty much ignored them. As the night progressed the last 4 of us working got a little goofy and had some "water" fun. Yes your's truely participated and shocked them all. I have to admit...it made me laugh.
This morning I woke by 6 a.m. and wasn't expecting to. It was pouring rain outside and the poor pup just didn't want to leave the porch. There I was...in my jammies...if that's what you can call them...and my bathrobe out on the porch shoving him out into the rain so he could do his "business". My dog is a great dog and the most well behaved and loyal dog I've ever had in my life. Ever since he was 6 weeks old (when he used to be my son's) he was told to "go pee" when put outside. Yes....he even was taught "go poop". My son had a sense of humor. In all my years of having pets..this is the one and only dog that goes to the bathroom on command. After pushing him off the porch he stands there getting all wet and turns and looks back at me as if to say..."Mommy do I have to". Once I said "go pee"...he sauntered over to the grass and did the deed. Thinking he could sneak back up the steps and find shelter from the rain...he stopped in his tracks as I was standing there with my arm stretched out pointing back to the grass and said (yes you guessed it).."go poop". Sure enough...off he went. LOL Is that not the funniest thing you have ever heard. My neighbors must all think I'm weird telling my dog to pee & poop. But hey..it works. He loves the hairdryer too. I think it's the thing he looks forward to the most after being wet. Some dogs like rolling in towels...he does too for a second...but he loves the hiardryer on him. I obliged him and then gave him a "cookie" for being a good boy. (sillyness I know)

I was blog reading this morning and came across this over at Steelcowboy's. Check it out. I relate to that post so much. I too feel just like I've been put in a tumbler and have been knocked around and beat up and I know I'll come out clean and refreshed. It's just going to take some time. It's amazing to me really, that after I ranted yesterday I came across things that I related to so much. Like the post my sister had on her blog yesterday. "My Miserable Childhood". I'm not sure where she found that, but I sure enjoyed reading it and related to it alot.

I wanted to really thank all of you that read my enormous rant yesterday and offered comments. I truely didn't expect anyone to take the time to read something so long and scattered about. I just needed to have that moment. Today is a better day and I'm going to go enjoy it. It's my day off and I need to go do something (in between the rain drops).

Lots of random thoughts today

Not only do I have a 1,000 things on my mind today it seems like; but it's so early to have them all. I had a rough night sleeping because of this. Being how this is my journal and I dedicate it to "thoughts about my life... my days ...my everything", I can't not write about something that is on my mind for "fear" of someone reading it and forming an opinion about me. Most of that statement came from the previous blog I had where I mentioned my job one to many times and was simply told that my behavior was unacceptable. Most all of you that visit here know that's the reason for this new blog. I have went out of my way to not mention my job in here ( with the exception as to right before I went on vacation) and it drives me crazy that I can't journal about that part of my life. It's a huge part of my life and frustrations at times and I have no real "outlet" for talking about it. I hate "bothering" Bob about it because he gets worried that I'll either quit and walk away from it or that I'll be fired. I don't want to upset him like that. It's hard enough with us being so far apart from each other. ( warning...this post is going to be a long one and all over the place I just know it). It's so very frustrating to have a man in your life that you feel so normal with and that you get along with so well and can't be near him most of the time. I'm tired of being in this lonely , quiet apartment with just the dog to keep me company. When Bob is here it just feels so right and the way it should be. I feel so much more alive and happy when he's near me. When I'm there it's practically the same feeling. The only reason it's different when I'm there is because he lives in his Brother's house and it's just not the same as it would be if he had his own place and could relax fully and truely be himself and do anything he wanted to whenever he wanted to or how he wanted to. It's not bad for him there or anything, it's just that feeling you get when you live in someone else's home. I had that same feeling when I lived with my Mother a couple of times. His Mother also lives with them as last year they took her in because of her health and they take care of her. I think his Mother is the cutest little lady and I'm sure she has a side I wouldn't like...all Mother's do. When Bob is away from there it's natural that he's more relaxed. I am more than willing to help Bob take care of his Mother and we have had this discussion numerous times. Bob & I have been together now since August of last year. We want to be together and have alot of "things" to figure out as to how, when and where. I'm always doing my best to be patient and know that time will come. We are both working on some financial issues that should be taken care of before this time comes of us being in the same house somewhere. There are other issues that only Bob and I need worry about. I've always thought of myself as a pretty independant person. I can do alot of things myself and not need anyone's help with. I have liked that I don't have to "depend" on someone's help in order to survive in this world. However, in being this way, I have become quite the lonely person at times. I hate that feeling. I don't want to be alone anymore. Bob likes it that I can do things yet he likes to do things for me as well. I love helping him when he's working. With him being a self employed carpenter and a damn good one I might add, I get to go along with him at times and help him on the job sights he works on. We get along and get alot accomplished. I love it and could do that all the time. It's not practical for me to do that all the time. I just enjoy it. I miss the interaction with him. I miss his snoring for that matter. I can't sleep very good now when I do go to bed. Being with him is great. It also makes it that much harder to be away from him when one of us has to leave and "go home". I will have some things taken care of by March of next year. He and I are both hoping that by that same time he will have some things taken care of as well. That alone will make things much easier for us. March seems so far away yet it isn't. Sometimes it feels like just yesterday we had our vacation. It's been 3 weeks ago already. Time just flys by so fast anymore. I know in my heart that when the time is right Bob and I will be together. I think we have done a terrific job in not rushing into anything that would hurt this relationship. It just breaks my heart to be away from him. I feel more empty. I trudge along everyday looking forward to that "final countdown" as Bob called it once. I need to be stronger and hate when I get this mushy girlie attitude. I don't have time for it. That's just part of the things that has been on my mind lately. I love Christmas. It's always been my favorite holiday. Not for the gift giving and the shopping and the Christmas Carols etc, but just the "feeling" I get when I do something nice for people. I know we should all be in that Christmas spirit throughout the year and most of us don't. Anymore, Christmas time depresses me. I have put myself in this financial mess I am digging out of from making stupid decisions in the past 3 years. I am the type of person that loves to do nice things and surprise people with things anytime. Especially Birthday's. I love to give when I can. When I have to struggle in giving, even if it's a small struggle, I get depressed about it and then get so down on myself because I'm in the situation I'm in. Like now...I hate this job I have. It's harder and harder each day to go in there and act like nothing is wrong and that I like doing what I'm doing. I don't care for 90% of the people I work with. Yet I have to be there because I can't afford not to be right now. I'm making a sacrafise and not doing a good job even with that. With it being Christmas most work places have a gift exchange. Well not only do I not want to participate because I don't care for these people, I really don't have the money to be doing so. They have a sign up sheet to be in the gift exchange with a $15 limit. Okay, that's not so bad really and it's do-able. The thing that I have been upset about since yesterday afternoon, was when I walked into the office after clocking in and doing some routine things, my GM and another assistant were in the office chain smoking when my GM (who has been not speaking to me unless she has to...not even a hello each day when I come to work) says to me in a mater-of-fact voice that she and the other 2 assistants are putting together $50 each so we can get the staff Christmas gifts and would "like" me to participate in this..(while said in the tone that makes you feel like you were just told you have to). Needless to say I was pissed immediately. She didn't ask me in private. She didn't ask if I would like to. She didn't ask if I could afford this. They need the money this Friday as that is payday. I said sure. The only reason I said sure I'd "chip in" was because of the feeling I would get if I didn't. I should not have been made to feel this way. I feel like if I don't do this then she will have yet one more thing to look down on me for and will continue to not speak to me and judge me and make my life more miserable at work than it already is. I'm just irritated about it and needed to vent it out. I have to put these feelings behind me. For my own good. I'm tired of letting things bother me so much. I wish I was one of those people that can just let things slide off their backs. This will all pass I know that. It's just hard day in and day out dealing with it. I have been frustrated because there are things I want to get for my Daughter to help her out with the new baby that is on his way. I haven't been able to. I want to do more for my Grand daughter and haven't been able to. I simply want to send my son a little $50 gift card from Wal-Mart and don't know now how I'm going to swing that. I haven't decorated for Christmas in 2 years. I decided this year would be different. I was going to go Friday and get a small artificial tree and some lights etc to decorate my livingroom a little. Right now at this very moment, I'm not so sure I'm going to spend the money to do that. I "feel" as though that opportunity was taken away from me because I "have" to give my money somewhere that I don't want to give it to. I can still do it, that's just my mood at the moment and I'm expressing myself. That's what I do. I'm a big ranter. If I don't get this stuff out my head it's going to drive me completely nuts. I have never trued to be someone that I'm not. Not in here, or anywhere else in life. This is me. I don't knoe how to be a fake person. You either like me for who and what I am or you don't. Perhaps this is why I don't have many friends. I don't know. My best friend that I've had for several years now lives about 5 minutes away. I was a maid of honor in their wedding 6 years ago. She and I rarely speak. Our lives have gone in different directions. We email or call each other now and then and we always say we need to get together..then we don't. What's up with that?? I'm a simple person. I go to work..I come home. I don't go out and "hangout" with people. Bob has a hard time believing that I'm a shy person. I'm not as shy as I used to be, but truth be known I really am. It's hard for me to initiate a conversation most times with people. I'm constantly thinking they are judging me. Bob and I hit off it right from the start. He and I have alot of things in common and he's always been easy to talk to and I feel safe with him and can be myself without fear of him judging me. He calls me a goof now and then but I do the same to him so it's okay. Staying to myself most of the time isn't the healthiest thing. I believe we need that interaction with people. My biggest thing is trust. I have the worst time trusting people because I used to be very trusting until you have done something to break that trust. Well I have been a victim too many times with people in many different ways and have developed this "I don't trust you ...you have to earn my trust" attitude. You guessed it....that's makes you a lonely person that way. Everyone wants to be liked...so I know I'm not alone in that area. I just won't change who am I in order for anyone to like me. I want and need to be accepted for who I am. It needs to be that way for everyone. Which brings me to yet another thing that has been bugging me somewhat. I read on Jenny's blog yesterday that she is closing her blog because she feels she hasn't been herself and hasn't shared her other side. This is something I don't want to happen to me. She feels like she has been blogging for "others" instead of for herself. Perhaps this is a reason that Brico went on a hiatus for awile. I know he said that he was spending too much time on his blog and needed to set limitations for himself. I agree, we shouldn't let something like the interaction of our online journals become a focal point of such in our lives. ( I'm glad he's back now...that was a long month ). I'm not willing nor ready to stop blogging. For me, right now, I need this. I like to be able to sit here and write. About how I'm feeling...about what I'm doing...etc. It makes me feel good. I want to be myself here. I have been visiting a variety of different blogs in this 8 months now that I have been blogging. I visit blogs I can relate to. To ones that make me laugh. To some that make heart go out to them. I feel bad for Jenny that she feels she has to stop her journaling. If that's what is the right thing for her to do I completely understand. I used to attend church on a regular basis. I have in a good long while. I'm sure that's why I have the attitude towards life right now that I do. I'm not ready to go back to a church. I love God and know that without him I have nothing in my life. I don't read my bible like I should. I pray to him and it's always from my heart and I know he is with me all the time. I just tend to keep him at bay and I shouldn't. Like Jenny mentioned, I too haven't mentioned that side of me. I don't dwell on it. Religion and Politics are 2 main subjects I stay away from. Why?...it's just easier for me. I'm not good at a debate and those conversations usually end up in a debate. I feel people judge you for your beliefs rather than allow you your opinion.

This has been by far my longest post in my journal yet I feel for me it has been an important one. I had to get things out of my head. I do feel better and that was my sole purpose when I started this. I started writing this at 7:45 am. It's taken nearly 2 hours of my morning and been well worth it for me. I'm sure in a day or two I'll look back on this and say .."oh brother what was wrong with you" but I have mornings like this alot. I just haven't opened up about it. After reading Jenny's blog and a few others that I haven't added to my blogroll yet, ( here and here ) it made me think about things. For anyone that actually took the time to read this rant .... God bless you for taking the time....I would have closed it and looked for a shorter post to read...hehehe. I highly doubt I'll have another post this long. I just needed this outlet this morning.

Honey...if you read all this...Im fine. You know I just miss you. I love you..Muah!!

A - Z of Me

I found this while visiting Melody's blog this morning. I thought it would be interesting to do in here so here it goes...................

A is for age: 44 (until January 21st)
B is for booze of choice: With dinner now and then I like some ameretto sour
C is for career: currently an assistant manager of a restaurant
D is for Dad's name: Carl
E is for essential items to bring to a party: Hmmm...I don't go to parties so I'll guess... a date.
F is for favorite song at the moment: My give a damn's busted...JoDee Messina
G is for favorite game: Minesweeper...My Bob & I play nearly everynight online.
H is for hometown: Canton, Ohio.....yeehaw
I is for intruments you play: that would be none
J is for jam or jelly you like: Strawberry
K is for kids: 1 Daughter (26) 1 son (24)
L is for living arrangements: one bedroom apartment with just me and the dog.
M is for mom's name: Maxine
N is for name of your crush: I don't have a crush..I don't get all gaga over actors....but I will say I can stare at Mel Gibsen's eyes alot....LOl
O is for overnight hospital stays: Giving birth twice, hysterectomy
P is for phobias: I'm not so sure I have a phobia about anything... I'm "uncomfortable" in elevators and small places but I'm not afraid to be there.
Q is for qoutes you like: "good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after".
R is for relationship that lasted the longest: my marriage of 15 years.... (that was 12 years ago)
S is for sexual preference: with a man....and not just any man will do....it will be with my BOb or not at all.
T is for time you wake up: anymore it's 7am unless I need to the alarm set earlier.
U is for underwear: Bikini briefs
V is for vegetable you love: corn....I'll eat green beans but I HATE VEGETABLES!!...lol
W is for weekend plans: does going to work count?
X is for x-rays you've had: wrist, forhead, chest, back
Y is for yummy food you like: Lobster comes to mind
Z is for zodiac sign: Aquarius

I've calmed down now.....

This morning is behind me now. Hopefully I can download a good spyware "thingy" and figure out what's going on inside this piece of machinery that is suppose to help "relax" me. Let me just say this, The closest I ever get to looking at porn is the HNT photos I view on other blogs...LOL. (as per Brico's comment to my morning Bitch session over my computer). Is a computer that is nearly 4 years old really considered "elderly" now?? sheesh.

It just figures as much. Technology is passing right by me. For instance, I have a cam-corder that I purchased in 2000 when my Grand daughter was born. It's a Sony. Been a great cam-corder too. The battery is long shot and for that matter just plain missing. I when to a reputable camera shop here called Van's Photos. Inquiring on how I could purchase a new battery for it, the sales rep politely informed me that this particular cam-corder is now obsolete. It's been replaced by the "newer" models. A very nice model too I must say. However, I do not have a mere $485 to purchase said cam-corder, even with their 20% down lay-a-way. Being utterly disappointed, I left the store. Guess I'll have to start shopping around for a new one. I so wanted to have that battery replaced in time to video tape my Grand daughter on Dec 20th during her kindergarten Christmas assembly. I don't see a miracle happening here. I guess still photos will have to do. I am hoping against all hope that I can have a new cam-corder before the arrival of my new grandson due Jan 4th (or sooner we hope). Time will tell.

I did get off my lazy ass this morning and leave the apartment. My daughter the hairstylist has been on me repeatedly to allow her to "trim" my straggly hair as she calls it. "It's no sense having long hair if you constantly having it looking like a rat's nest" she tells me. I went through my stages of hair styles over the years let me tell you. I'd show you some of the hair styles but I don't have any of them on my computer. I'll try to post a picture here of my hair recently then show you what it looks like now with my web cam. Then you tell me if it looks like she cut more than 3 inches off. I saw the floor when she was through. It really didn't appear to me that she cut any more than that off. I can just feel the difference.






The web cam doesn't take the best pictures and this isn't a good comparison, but it's all I have for now. It's still long which is good. I don't look very good with short hair. I have no perm, this is all my natural curl. It can be a royal pain in the butt if I don't have hair products in it to "control" it. Just ask my Daughter the "professional" who tells me repeatedly that I need to "do something with my hair". I'm so very proud of her because she knows her shit and is great at it. She's the top seller at her salon. She's been doing hair now since she graduated High School in 1997. I just get lazy and hate to "mess" with it I guess.

Well enough about that. It's time to sign off . I am picking my Grand daughter up from Day-Care to take her Christmas shopping for my Daughter. Wal-Mart...he we come...the 5 year old is looking for gifts.

Sometimes I really hate this computer!!!!!!

I was sitting here typing away on a rather lenghly post of my thoughts this morning when (as usual anymore) my computer decides it's done working. Pages "freeze" or "hangs up" I believe is the terminology techy people use. I hate it. Not only does it throw out anything I've said, but it ruins my train of thought or my desire to start all over. I know it isn't my ISP. I'm sure I have spyware or something that is the culprit. I have defragged and dumped "cookies" and files. This is just aggrivating!!! Perhaps it's a sign to get off my fat ass and do something more constructive than journal my thoughts.

To think I was in a good mood too...now I'm just pissed off. Perhaps later after I've contemplated setting a bomb to this computer, I'll change my mind and try to post again after I'm not so irritated!!!!! Could it be that I just need a new computer??? I bought it brand new in April of 2002....is that old in computer years????

Any bright techy people out there have any ideas for me before I use my son's aluminum baseball bat he left here on it??????

What a morning........

I swear I felt better yesterday.
Didn't sleep very good lastnight.
My ear itches inside.
Makes it hard to sleep.
I tossed and turned nearly all night.
Woke up at 6am but went back to bed for a little while.

It's only 10º outside....Brrrrr!!!
Ice all over the snow that's on the ground.
I don't like crunchy snow.
Well I really don't like snow at all.
The roads look pretty good, but I'm sure there is ice out there.
Driving in the winter sucks.

Okay..time to snap out of my mood.
Time to take my pill and inhale my nasal spray.
Have to put drops in my ears.
Better get dressed so I can go to work.
Not looking forward to cooking from 10 to 8.
Hope were not swamped with people.
Ugh!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Now I never gave that a thought...to pre-stretch my Thanksgiving wardrobe..LOL. I'm cooking today but just a small Turkey breast for my Mother and Daughter and Granddaughter. We won't be eating enough to have to pre-stretch our clothes....will you??

I know I have a lot to me thankful for in my life right now, but when I read this cartoon this morning it made me realize that I was forgetting to be thankful for the simple things in life that we all tend to take for granted. Like the fact that I was happy at midnight to be able to throw snowballs at my dog and make him happy because he loves them...lol. As you gather with your family and friends thinking about all that you are thankful for...reach deep and think like a child and see if you can be thankful for the "little things" in life that make us happy.

Have a wonderful day !

Happy HNT and Happy Thanksgiving too....

I thought this would be the appropriate HNT photo considering all I've been through recently...LOL. Looks like nothings wrong with it now doesn't it.



I'd like to wish all my online friends a very Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving. I hope you all are having lots to be thankful for. I know that I am.

That's what I knew it was...........

Not only do I hate going to the Doctor's office; I really hate going to hear them tell me what I already knew. My ears have a hard wax build-up in them from sinus drainage. (No shit sherlock). Then comes the big question..."why haven't you been using your sinus medications prescribed?" Well Doc..it's like this..."medical insurance is so expensive I can't seem to afford to have it deducted from my pay inorder for me to be able to pay my monthly bills and still have money left from pay day to pay day so I don't have any. The sinus medication that you keep prescribing for me...although it works and I would faithfully use it....costs so much that without the insurance I can't purchase it".
He tells me after using his ear thing to look deep into my ears....(and I nearly jumped off the table when he stuck in my left one.....OUCH DAMMIT THAT'S THE ONE THAT HURTS YA KNOW!!)...to continue using the ear wax removal kit I bought at the store. The same kit I stopped using because I thought I was doing something wrong and making it worse. The same kit that is a pain in the ass...(well ear & neck really) to use because it's awkward to do by yourself. He told me that if I can't get the wax to soften up and come out after using this kit, to come back in and he'll cleanse them out for me. He would have done it today, but the wax must be softened first. Needless to say, I'm just going to be miserable for a little while longer until this all gets fixed.
He said that today I have alot of drainage...(something else I already knew). He did give me 2 bottles of Nasonex nasal spray to use once a day along with a huge bag full of Allegra-D tablets that are 24hour release that I'm to take once a day. I love this Doctor and his Daughter..(she is my usual Doctor but was off). He has been my physician now since 1988. My children contnue to use him as their doctor and even my parents use him now as well. We have always been treated quickly and have rarely had to go back because we were still ill after a treatment. It's hard to find good quality doctor's these days that seem to not just want to take your money and give you 1/2 assed treatment. Anyway..................................

I'm going to start over again and really try harder this time to get this ear wax removal stuff time to work. Hopefully now that I have good meds to use on a daily basis, my sinuses will clear up and stop this drainage.

Now off to sniff up some spray and swollow a pill and put drops in my ears...then head off to work till midnight...what a great day!!!

Ear remedies.....

With all the thoughtful solutions to my ear troubles this week...I decided I'm sticking to my doctor's appointment in the morning.

So far I've had Kathi give me insight to burning a candle in my ear (conning as Wendy called it) to Wade hoping it's not more serious and for me to pay close attention if my body starts to feel dizzy to this letter from a friend in a community group I belong to... :
Jan,

I have chronic ear problems . . . from years of loud noises (war, etc....) and high-altitude parachute jumping (war, etc...).... and to this day I always feel like I have "Swimmer's Ear". What I have to do often is take a deep breath, hold it, hold my nose and swallow until my ears 'pop' . . . it's a little painful, but bearable. This will puff out your ear drums and will often allow fluid to drain, that's that 'closed' feeling you get in your ears. It works for me, and improves my hearing slightly . . . for you, it may completely clear up the problem.

William

Now, I'm not so sure anyone that is a clutz by nature like myself to be burning a candle in or by my ear....I'm not doubting that works....I actual would believe that over the email letter that William sent me for Heaven's sake. Wade...thanks and I'll be aware and will be going to a Doctor ASAP if anything like that should occur. I'm most positive the Doctor will be telling me that they are just impacted with wax and will clean then out. The entire time he yells at me for not being on the presciption sinus meds I'm supposed to be on and for not visiting him in well over 2 years now. Not having insurace plays a huge part in my not taking what I'm supposed to. That shit gets very costly these days. I'd rather be able to buy groceries and fill my gas tank than pay out the ass for meds for the rest of my life. Now on the other hand I do want to be able to breathe without all this stuffyness and pain in my ears. Oh what to do. Guess I'll just be patient and find out tomorrow what's up.

Stayed tuned as you know I'll post an update.

Wish I had a turkey for tomorrow's HNT photo....hmmmmm....I am going to the store in a minute......naaaaawwwwwwww....I can't to that...I'm no where near brave enough...LMAO!!!

Here it comes...ready or not......

Today: Scattered flurries and snow showers. Colder. Temps nearly steady in the low to mid 30s. Winds NW at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of snow 30%.

Tonight: Scattered flurries and snow showers. Low 24F. Winds WNW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 30%.

Tomorrow: Cloudy with some snow showers early. A steady snow likely later in the day. Cold. High around 35F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 80%. About one inch of snow expected.

Tomorrow night: Snow along with gusty winds at times. Low 31F. Winds WSW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Significant snow accumulation possible.

Thursday: Windy, snow showers possible. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the upper teens.

Friday: Mostly cloudy and windy with snow showers. Highs in the low 30s and lows in the upper teens.

I really don't care for snow. The first snow fall of the year is usually exciting as I love the picture Mother Nature paints so I can photograph it....but after that, until Christmas day, it can all melt and never come back. I don't like being cold. I hate driving in it. Sheesh, what a whiner this morning. What's your weather forecast for Thanksgiving? Maybe I'll offer a trade.

November 21, 2005....Already....

Didn't this month just begin and now it's nearly over.

So it's Monday and I have the day off. Lots to do today. The first item on my agenda is to actually call my doctor's office and beg for an appointment. ( I owe them money and haven't paid in quite awhile). My ear is driving me crazy with it's constant "closing" on me and not being able to hear well. I'm not in any pain which is good, but there is pressure on it. Just looking down makes it worse. Every morning lately when I wake up my left ear is closed and never fully "pops" open all day. I know it's from my sinuses. I'm sooooooooooo stuffy all the time that it's becoming normal for me to not be able to breathe unless my mouth is hanging open. (talk about annoying.) I swear it's been worse since the sinus surgery I had in February of 2000. I had a cyst in my sinuses that needed to be removed and while they were in there, they scrapped the tissue of my sinus cavities. (gross to some I'm sure...my appologies...but this is my journal remember...hehehe). It was then that I discovered several allergies I have. In a discussion with my Mother the other day, we have figured that I've always had some sinus problems since I was a kid and we just never knew. I have had numerous ear infections over the years as well as strep throat. I used to have my mouth hanging open as a kid and even that is evedent in some earlier childhood photos. I'm positive now that it was because breathing was labored for me. My Mother said my Father always had sinus problems in the weather change from summer to winter. Well for me anymore it doesn't matter what the weather..I simple struggle to breathe. Don't ask me how something smells either. Most of the time I can't smell a thing. I have even stopped burning candles because of that. Guess this turned into more of a rant than writing down my busy schedule for the day...Lol.

I need to get over to Mother's so I can make a few phone calls for her that I didn't make on Friday. My head was pounding too bad then to be on the phone with the gas company.
Since the weather is decent today, I have to get the "dog yard" cleaned up too. That's always a joy....NOT.
It's time also to gas up the truck. That won't be such a chore since the gas price is down to $1.94 in most places today. I have a Giant Eagle advantage card for the local grocery store that gives me gas percentages. Today I have a 20 cent a gal off discount. Getting gas today for $1.74 is pretty good compared to how things have been around here. I have to take "advantage" of this .
I'm sure there is more on my agenda but seeing how I never make a written agenda, I'll end up forgetting to do something.

Better get up and get dressed and get started on my day. Though going back to bed sounds damn tempting to me.

Well don't I feel stupid now.......

You know how it is. It's football rivalry at it's best. You have your favorite teams for whatever reason they are. You brag about them. You boast nonstop how "your team" is the best and will beat the pants off the other team.

I'm a long time fan of Ohio State University
. Always have been. I must get it from my Mother who was and always has been the sports fanatic in our house. (My Father was a game show junkie). Knowing that OSU Played longtime rivals
yesterday, I was forever saying how OSU was gonna win. I'm happy and thrilled that they did too. I wish I could have watched that game as it was a sudden death win for OSU. Michigan sure made them fight for that victory. Way to go Buckeyes for hanging in there and and showing your fans you have what it takes to make them proud of you. Now My Bob just loves Penn State
. He makes sure I know that Penn State is league champs even though they were tied with OSU. In his reminder he must point out the fact that Penn State is on top BECAUSE THEY BEAT OSU back in October. (Yes Dear).


There was also another football rivalry going on here in Stark County, Ohio yesterday. The two local High Schools here that have been long time rivals since High schools were built; were matched up yet again this year in the playoffs. Mckinley High School "Bulldogs"( my Mother's alma mater) and Massillon High School "Tigers". I always root for Mckinley as I have never liked Massillon Tigers from ever since I was in High School (many years ago...lol). Both of these teams were undefeated when they matched up 3 weeks ago in regular season play. Mckinley stomped all over Massillon with a 38-8 win. Much celebrating was going on that day and for weeks after. Both Mckinley and Massillon won the remainder of their games. Now it's High School playoffs. Yesterday was the big game day for these 2 rivals to meet once again. Massillon was out for blood. Mckinley...well I can't speak for them but I'm most positive they were certain they would win like they did 3 weeks ago. I hang my head in shame this morning after all the boasting I did at work this past week. (I work at a restaurant in Massillon). Massillon not only beat the pants off Mckinley yesterday..they tore them to pieces and fed them to "Toby"...(Massillon's mascot the Tiger) with their 21-3...yes you are reading that correctly..victory. Mckinley is way better than that to have allowed such a wide margin in that score. Not only am I disappointed in them for loosing, but I'm ashamed to say I rooted for them. I'm not even calling Mother today. I'll see her tomorrow after she's had a day to calm down. Trust me when I say those Mckinley High School players should be damn lucky Mom's not allowed in the locker room......LOL....she'd give them a scolding like no coach has ever given before.

So, as I sit here reading the headlines and know this was somehow a just reward for my pompus attitude in my support of the team I was rooting for...I hang my head and wonder what the hell went wrong with the Bulldogs. I'll support them again next year and the years after, but today I'm a bit sad over it all.

Yes it's just football and just a game most of the time to me, but I and like others, enjoy it more when my favorite teams win!!

Is this true???

What is your animal personality?

My day so far............

I woke up at nearly 7:30 this morning and actually slept pretty well. I haven't been feeling well lately since my sinuses have taken over my head. During our vacation last week...(wow it really has been a week ago ..sheesh) my left ear kept closing up on me and I was having trouble with the pressure and not being able to hear very well. I got so tired of saying "huh" or "what" whenever Bob was saying something to me. I purchased an ear wax removal kit to see if the helps any before I break down and call the doctor to get them cleaned out. So far it isn't doing much to improve the situation for me.

It has only been in the 20's here so I have been using my hat, scarf, gloves and ear muffs like a good girl. It was 24 degrees when I woke up this morning and thank goodness for my electric blanket that Bob bought for me last winter. I was toasty warm all night in this super cold ass apartment. The last thing I need it to get really sick. #1 I hate being sick and turn into a super whiney baby and it's torture to be ill when the only other living soul in your house is the dog. Don't get me wrong, he's a great companion for keeping my feet warm but he knows absolutely less more kitchen skills than I do so I wouldn't get any fresh hot chicken soup from him.

I had the headache from hell nearly all day. I spent the day at my Mother's hemming 2 pairs of pants for her. With her being so short...(only 4' 7") she has a big problem finding pants with a short enough inseam for her. I always hem them up and trim off the excess material. Today I trimmed off 6". I was supposed to make some phone calls for her to see about getting her some assistance with her gas bill. Although she's on the budget plan, they just increased it from $76 a month to $127!!! She's on a fixed income and that is just outrageous for the tiny little 2 bedroom one floor house she lives in. My head was pounding from the sound of my own voice let alone anything coming out of the phone reciever. I told her I was off again on Monday and would come back over and make that call for her than. I did however, take her out to lunch.

I stopped by walmart and bought myself a small vaporizor. It's pretty cool. You don't use water with this kind. It's made by Vicks and you just plug it in and put these little vapor strips in it so that when it heats up it fills the room with vicks vapors...( a smell I detest but want my head to open up and my sinuses to stop draining into my ears.) Earlier before the Walmart trip, I had sent some digital photos that Bob took to Walmart from my computer so they could print them for me. They came out great. So now not only do I have prints here of the things I took photos of, I now have the photos Bob took to put into frames for my walls. While I was there I bought myself a lamp for my computer area. The space I have it in is just way too dark. They had some picture frames on sale...(how convinient for me...hehehe) so I bought some for my new photos.

I've been sitting here balancing up the check book and reading a couple emails. After reading a few blogs I figured I'd come post in here. I have enjoyed this day off and just wish I felt better. I can't even breathe out of the right side of my nose. Though I don't have a headache of sorts, I doo feel tons of pressure around my nose and behind my eyes. I hate having sinus trouble.

I'm wishing I knew exactly what the dog wants when he just sits in the middle of the room and whines. I swear it's just an attention getter for me to play with him. He doesn't want out because he did his business about 50 times already today and besides that, he was just out there about 1/2 an hour ago.

I have a zillion things running through my head...perhaps that's why it's been hurting more than usual..hehehe. Thinking about the up coming holidays and what that means to me...etc. Thinking about my job and how much I need it verses how much I hate it...etc. Wishing Bob was back here with me or that I was there with him. Wishing my truck was paid off now instead of in 4 more months. Sometimes I just get tired of thinking.

Soooooooooo...........that's been my day so far.


*edit time*...........after blog surfing I see that a little friendly Blog diference of opinion is in order here....Janelle...sorry Hon....but Ohio State is going to win this time!!!! GO BUCKEYES!!!

I will seek..............

I will seek and find you

I shall take you to bed and have my way with you.

I will make you ache, shake &sweat until you moan &groan.

I will make you beg for mercy, beg for me to stop.

I will exhaust you to the point that you will be relieved when I'm finished with you.

And, when I am finished, you will be weak for days.

All my love,

The Flu







Get your mind out of the gutter and go get your flu shot!

Happy HNT

Wow, here it is Thursday already. This week is flying by.

Still not sure what HNT is?......click here for more info. Today you get 2 for the price of 1...hehehe.

A little if this and that......

It was a nice surprise to see these fall foilage photos I took in October when we developed our vacation photos.





























This was another wonderful surprise as well. My Daughter used my camera to take photos of my Grand daughter's Halloween outfit. She was a Fairy Princess. I played with the picasa photo editor and added the soft touches to it. She looks like an angel in this photo. I'm having it enlarged to an 11 x 14 wall portrait for my daughter for Christmas.





She's such a camera shy girl isn't she.....hehehe.













I'm not feeling well at all today. I'm going back to bed for 2 hours and hopefully get some rest before I have to work tonight.

Bob & Jan's excellent adventure...coming to an end.

We didn't want our time in Canada to end, but we needed to head back to the States. Here it was Friday already. I had talked to Mike and he assured me the repairs on my truck were complete so there was no sense in us keeping the rental truck out till noon. We loaded up and headed back. It's amazing how much nicer the feeling was at the American boarder crossing this day compaired to the hair raising experience from last Wednesday with the Canadian Imigration. We drove toward the Enterprise rental lot but stopped at Tim Horton's for coffee and a donut. ( I really don't eat as many donuts as it seems like we have this week...sheesh). We arrived at the rental lot and they rounded us up a driver to take us back to Mike's shop. Mike is a good man and a great friend. He's always willing to help someone out. If Mike decides he's going to do something for you as a favor, there is no talking him out of it. Mike & his "boys" worked on my truck by putting on new brakes and rotors and rotated my tires. He also checked a few things out that I had concerns about and let me know that all in all I have a sound running vehicle. I'm to keep an eye on my water pump as there were past signs of a leak. I have good pressure and no leaks now though. He even looked up what the cost would be to have a new one replaced. Now you can image what this service should have cost me. Mike wouldn't hear about taking any money for it though. He did all this work for free. We settled the truck rental payment with him and thanked him greatly for all that he did. Bob & I are going to do something special for him soon. We were set now to continue on with the remaining days of our vacation adventures. After a firm handshake and a huge hug from me, we said our goodbyes and hit the road.

We were headed to Youngsville, Pa. This is where Bob is from and spent the majority of his life there. He was going to show me all around. Along the way we drove by Chatauqua Lake in New York. I can't ever remember being there, but according to my Mother the other day while she was looking at my photos, she talked about us camping near there one summer. (News to me). We didn't spend much time here as there really wasn't anything to do or see. I loved looking at the homes around there and told Bob....."I want us to live here honey". He chuckled at me but I know he thinks that would be great too. Onward we went towards the little town of Youngsville, Pa. Beautiful country scenery. No pictures of this leg of the trip to share. We entered the town and things looked to Bob just like they did 4 years ago when he was there last. We ventured into an old hang-out of his and sure enough some of the faithful regulars were sitting at the bar. He had a good time sociallizing with an old friend. One of the young girls that was in there said outloud for all to hear...."Bob's got a girlfriend" in that sing-song voice that little kids tease each other with and that was good for a laugh from all that were present. I liked it. It was cute. We didn't hang out long. I was tired and it had been a long and busy week. He asked if I wanted to go to the damn that night and I said I was too tired. I was also too tired to try to make the drive back to Ohio even though it was only about 3 hours. We got a room at the Holiday Inn and ordered pizza to be delivered. We watched some tv too. I actually got to see one of my favorite shows...CSI. It wasn't long before I was ready for sleep.

This day had to be the day we did the least amount of things, but I was more tired than any other day. We called it a night and planned for the last leg of our trip the next day.

We woke up early Saturday and headed out pretty much right away. We left the hotel by 7am. We actually had to scrape the windshield clear of ice. It was defenately a cold fall morning in the mountains. Where we were was right outside the tip of the Allegheny National Forest in Warren,Pennsylvania. Beatiful countryside. We headed straight for the Kinzua dam. You could see the fog far before you could see the dam. I have pictures that to me are breath taking. I love how the fog was laying there like a blanket. It was very thick and you couldn't see very much at all. Now to show you what I'm talking about. Here is the Kinzua Dam in the early morning fog. I love this angle the best. I took a photo of some dam information as well for anyone that has never heard of it. I had the best morning seeing some beautiful sights. I looked in one direction and saw the morning sun shinning on the tree tops through the fog. Not long after taking that photo the fog lifted and you couldn't see the tree tops any longer. Bob took me on a drive to a lookout point. It was absolutely wonderful. Here's what I saw. That is the Allegheny Resevoir. It was a great morning to be out there let me tell you....(hehehe..I guess that's just what I'm doing). I love this journal because I get to relive the trip all over again. Bob showed me some of the best sights . I have never in my life seen a blanket of fog like that one. We drove to another look out called Jakes Rocks and this is what we saw. Amazing how different the same Resevoir looks from different places and after the sun rises more. He had me drive on a stretch of highway that crosses the Resevoir. This is the view.

We had to head back as the truck was getting low on gas and we were getting hungry. It wasn't even 9am yet and we had already seen so much. Driving into Warren, Pa, we gassed up at the fuel station right in front of the oil refinery they have. If Warren didn't have that refinery, there wouldn't be much of Warren. It's pretty much what keeps that town alive economy wise. We had a good breakfast and headed out again down highway 62 headed for a little Borough called Tidioute. Bob was born here and lived his young childhood here. It's now wonder he misses the woods...wouldn't you? If I had the Allegheny National Forest in my back yard I think I would possibly be in heaven. I know I can't post all the photos I want to but here are a few. 1st is the view of Tidioute. 2nd is the view of the Allegheny River.

As nice as all this was, we were headed back to my apartment. I found it truely wonderful to be able to do so much in 9 days and have it seem like it took forever to end. All these places were only 4 hours at the most away from where I live. I had a great time and I'm sad that it ended. We'll have a lifetime together to be able to have trips like that again. I just hope that the next visit for us isn't going to be a long time from now. Bob had a great time and enjoyed his time off work. He's back building on the addition now. I went back to work yesterday and had today off. I'm glad too so that I could spend the time I wanted to in getting this all in my journal. It's complete now. With all the troubles and lost post and having to start over a few times, I'm glad I finally got it all in here.

So honey...when's our next trip??

Bob & Jan's excellent adventure...(part 3)

Omg...can you believe that I no sooner posted, that internet explorer closed!!!! Now you can see with all the detail I'm adding why I get so ticked off when I loose my posts....grrrrrr.....but thank goodness I didn't have to start alll over again. (I doubt I would then you would all have to wonder about the rest of our trip..hehehe.)

Thursday morning I was the 1st to wake up and I peeked out the balcony window and this is what I saw. What a spectacular sun rise. With all those dark clouds we thought for sure we would get snowed on that day. We got the best surprise as it rose to nearly 67 degrees suring the day. We walked nearly every where we went. We stopped by the wax museum and found Dr. Phil and just had to get a photo for our friend Cathy in Erie, Pa. Bob had coffee with Elvis. He also sat and contemplated with our President George W. Bush. I found Bruce Willis and Tom Hanks. That made for a fun time. We ventured over to the Ripley's Believe it or not museum and Bob sat in the chair of the Tallest man in history's chair. At the end of this museum you can get your hands made out of wax. Bob & I held hands and had that done. It came out great. ( photo not developed at this writing). We left Clifton Hill and ended up at the falls. We veiwed them from the top first and snapped some photos. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th (which happens to be my favorite photo.) We took the Journey Behind the Falls tour so we could get some great photos from under the falls. Bob took the best one there and I'm so jealous. The light came through his camera perfectly. He loves it that I'm jealous too...hehehe. Here's another self photo. This one is my photo and as you can see...not nearly the quality photo that Bob's was. (he just got lucky is all; I keep reminding myself.) We spent hours walking around and enjoying all the sights we could. One visit was to the Hershey store. I had to chuckle at Bob's 1st reaction when he saw the sign. He was positive it had wind damage. Once he discovered that it was supposed to look like a partially eaten candy bar, he laughed at his reaction. It was cute. I bet alot of people do that. We decided that was enough for the day and headed back for some rest. Bob managed to get more than I did I believe. Bob chose dinner at the Skylon Tower. I have never been in there so I was really looking forward to it. The entire diningroom rotates once in an hour. Giving you a spectacular veiw. We chose to wait till dark because we wanted to see the view with all the lights. Bob ate the filet minon (sp check) and I chose the baked lobster tail. Both were fabulous. After dinner we went up to the observation deck. We managed to take a few photos but honestly my camera didn't do so well. Then again, the winds were about 40 mph and nearly knocked me on my ass. Bob snapped this one as I was turning to come back inside and you can see my hair is totally horizontal...hehehe. I managed a couple more but knew it wouldn't come out so good. We left and drove down to get a good view close up of the falls lit at night. Guess you just have to go see them because that was the best photo that came out for us.

That turned out to be another great day. Two fabulous days at Niagara Falls in a row. What possibly could top off this vaction?!

(stay tuned.......this will continue......)

Bob & Jan's excellent adventure...(part 2)

Here I go again....hopefully to write the completion before blogger decides to close 3/4 of the way through and dumping all my efforts. Bob & I had awonderful time and I just want to share the details. By doing so I get to relive it and that makes me happy. Until ofcourse blogger decides I have talked too much. So....to continue on now................................................

We walked into the emigration office and were directed to the far side. The gentleman sitting there at the computer was totally expressionless and reaches up for our ID's. He continues to ask the same questions we were asked outside. Only he added a few more. "are you employed?" (yes) "where?" ( Friendly's / self employed...(he looks at Bob) "doing what?" construction). "How do you know each other?" ( we still have no clue why we both stumbled over this one but I spoke up and said we were dating). " have you ever been denied entry before?" (no) "have a seat while I view your ID's." Now we sat in the seats provided and watched him get up and walk through some door labeled "Authorized Personnel Only". Bob was certain he was coming back out with a cop on each side to take us away somewhere. They leave you with no explaination and your mind does goofy shit like wander and think bad things. I looked at Bob and asked him.."is there anything about you I need to know about?". He was wondering the same thing as he couldn't imagine what they could have found on his ID to cause suspicion. He figured if it would have been on either of our ID's it would have been his. He answered with "I hope not...I don't think so...no." It was a tense moment I won't lie. He wsn't really gone behind that door forever, it just seemed like it. Bob was releived when he came back alone. He said we can come get our ID's that we are okay to go. Bob asked if that was a random check and the man said.."no you got the whole treatment". In both our minds we were like WTF!!!???? Neither of us dared asked for a further explaination, we just got the hell out of there and went straight to the hotel. Not caring that check in was not till 3pm and it was only 1pm. We needed to sit and rest our minds.

I will not lie...at this point in our journey I was near tears and it took tons of energy not to shed a one. Bob went in to register and I decided to check out the sound system in the rental truck. I needed the distraction. Wow, awesome sound system too by the way and made me want this truck even more than the comfy seats and nice ride. Bob comes out and says let take our things in, they said we can leave the truck here since it's raining then park it. I didn't want to see the room yet as Bob chose a "speciallty room" and it was a surprise. Still needing a moment to relax and calm down I left him at the door to the room to go and park the truck. In the elevator I nearly lost that tear I told myself not to let drop. When I returned and knocked on the door, Bob in his most boyish playful voice said ..."who is it?". That made me smile and I was ready to relax. He wanted to "prepare the room" for a photo shot of me entering. He chose the Heart room. They had "Gone with the wind" posters all around the room and a heart shaped jaccussi in there. We finally sat down and collected our thoughts and made a promise to enjoy ourselves and not let what just happened ruin our time together. I freshened up abit as he looked over the info packet that was in the room for different things to do and places to eat. We chose the hotel restaurant since it was rainy outside and just figured we stay inside. Well those plans changed in a hurry when we got down there only to discover they only serve breakfast this time of year. Go figure. So out in the drizzle cold rain we went. I drove us up to Clifton Hill. We chose to eat at Boston pizza. Let me tell you it's well worth the money. We had the best ever honey bbq ribs you'll ever find in my opinion. This place is one giant game room and we played whhile waiting on the food. We had a blast. We did a little shopping after words. One purchase was an umbrella that let me tell you is no good in a wind tunnel...hehehe. We went into a couple museums and while we were in there, the rain stopped. I drove us down to the Gorge. I just love the white water rapids. I can sit down here for hours watching the water and listening to the roar as the waves come crashing by on the rocks. It was a special time as when we arrived they had closed it up due to lack of visitors but re opened it just for us. How cool was that. Bob had never been down to the Gorge before so it was cool watching him soak it all in. We took several photos of each other. I like this one. He likes this one....(which I softened in my picasa program). Bob found a wall where people had carved names on it so he decided to as well. Isn't that cute. I like this self photo we attempted too. The weather was calm down there and we didn't feel the cold. completley different once back up to the top.

Skipping ahead to dinner, I chose Mama Mia's. Bob had a linquini with shrimp dish and I had a huge plate of lassagna that I couldn't even finish. Food was good, but we both decided the atmosphere was weird and I doubt we'll go back there again. After a very long and exhausting but excillerating day, we headed back to the hotel. Now what good is a jaccussi in your room if you don't put it to use. We had fun playing in it and I never knew you could have so many bubbles in your bath....hehehe. ( I made Bob promise not to show these photos to anyone..I'm allowed to change my mind...right?)

What a great way to end an "official 1st day of vacation"!!

(now to post and continue so I don't "loose it" again)

blogger has angered me

my draft of the continued story has vanished...when I calm down I'll start over....sorry for the delay....stay tuned.

Bob & Jan's excellent adventure

I'm really trying hard not to let blogger make me angry enough not to post this. I'm on my 3rd restart now. If this time doesn't work, then there won't be a post about my vacation.

Monday was a great day for a drive. Got on the road by 9am and arrived in Erie, Pa by 11:30 or so. We arrived at Bob's sister Valerie's house by 11:44. Valerie has a lovely home and 2 very fluffy and loveable cats. (Mischief & Ditto). Bob & I planned on getting some work done at Val's during our visit. She has a fence that was falling over for quite sometime now and this was the only time Bob could see to get there to repair it and what a better time then when he has help along...hehehehe. We had a great time visiting with Val. We all went to lunch at the Golden Corral. Buffets are awesome. The young lady tending to our section was doing a great job in making sure our drinks we refilled and new plates on the table. During one of my trps up to the buffet; Valerie made this comment to Bob..." I like her". My Bob was 100% sure she was talking about that young lady and his replay was..'' yeah, she's here when you need her and not when you don't". I wish I could have seen the look on Val's face as she was referring to me when she made that statement. Naturally they had quite the laugh over that as I'm walking back and see this and have no idea what the hell just happened but you get that "feeling" you were just being talked about and since there was heavy laughter going on, you aren't so sure you want to sit back down. My Bob was right there to let me in on what had just happened as he was sure I was instantly uncomfortable...hehehe. I had to laugh too. Bob & I ventured to Lowe's so Val could rest and we got all the supplies we needed for the repairs at hand. Once our visit was done for the day with Val we headed over to a friend's house where we would be staying the 2 nights in Erie. Cathy had a great warm welcome for me when I arrived. Just like Val, she was super pleasant and we hit it off right away. She has a lovely home and for just one person to live there, it's huge. She had some ox roast in the crock pot that she had been cooking all day. Wow was it ever yummy. We had to wait till later in the evening as we were still full from the lunch buffet. Slept good Monday night as we already put in a really full day....(one of many more full days to come).

Tuesday started off with some really yummy pastries from Panera's. Just what you need to start you off on a day of hard fence rebuilding...hehehe. I wish I would have thought to get a "before" photo of the fence but I have a during and after. At one point, Bob had me removing all the old rusty screws from about 6 panels of fencing we removed but this one stubborn screw was kicking my ass and he just thought that was a great photo opportunity. After some hard work removing some pretty stubborn fence posts, we managed to finish and realize that the total time spent working on the fence was only about 3 and 1/2 hours. Not bad. Cleaning up from all that dirty work, we all met for a nice dinner out with yet another friend of the family. Her name is Bev. We all went to a place called Joe Roots in the Penninsula. Too bad it was the dark time of the year around 6:30pm. I'm sure the view would have been awesome. Dinner was fabulous and I thought we all had a great time. A pefrect way to end a long full day. After dinner and everyone went their own way, Bob & I sat up and watched some TV with Cathy before going to bed. Now mind you I haven't had cable hooked up for 3 years and tv watching isn't something I'm used to. I enjoyed this drama that is on called "House". This is a strange doctor but it made for a great show. I'll have to add it to a list of shows I like including CSI. I guess earlier in the day before dinner was when we all watched "Dr. Phil. Now this is a show that I don't really care for. He had 6 couples on that were seeking his advise before they all ended up in divorce. Bob & I chuckled over it for the most part but did agree with a few things on the show. ( This ties into a future post ) 2 full days gone already and it seemed as though it had been a week since we left my apartment.

Wenesday morning was a bit more chilly. Rain was in the forecast along the way. We thanked Cathy for her hospitality and more. Saw her off to work from her own house then left shortly after. Stopping by Val's on our way out of Erie to have a pastry breakfast again and show her the fence since it was too dark for her to see the evening before. We were on the road by 9am again and heading for Grand Island, NY. We had an appointment of sorts with my good friend Mike who with his brother, own's Grand Island Auto Tech for my truck to get some much needed repairs done while I was on vacation. That was a great trip until right before we got there. It started raining and I was sure the rest of the day would be ruined. We made great time all in all and arrived at the shop before 11a.m. It was good to see Mike since I haven't seen him in 3 years. I introduced Bob & Mike. We discussed all the items I wanted Mike to look at on my truck and he assured me it was in good hands. We called the rental car place to let them know we were on the Island and were ready for our rental. We had reserved a midsize car and since it's Enterprise rental, they bring one to you. That seemed to take forever and we just wanted to get on with the vacation since at this point and time we really haven't been "vacationing". The girl arrived from Enterprise and appologized for the delay. They didn't have a car for us ready but they brought us a truck. Not just any truck. They brought us a new Chevy Colorado to drive. I was happy. I'm not a big car driver since I've been driving my truck for over 4 years now. So we are all ready to sign the papers and head on our way. Only there is a problem. You see, Bob doesn't drive at the moment. I do and have a valid drivers license but have no credit card. Bob has a credit card but they wouldn't take that. I had no clue that the credit card had to match the drivers license. Sheesh. Talk about a set back. After an hour of figuring out how this was all going to happen so we could continue on with our vacation, Mike agreed to pay the rental through the business then we pay him back. Can we say unneccessary confusion. So now we load our things into this very nice and now I want one truck. Thank Mike for everything and exchange phone numbers just incase and head down the road. It's about 12:30 now and Bob and I are happy because we were finally "officially" on vacation!!. There it is....the Rainbow Bridge. Our passage way into Canada. It won't be long now. Stop at the fisrt gate to pay a toll to cross. No big deal as we paid plenty of tolls so far on this trip. There it is Honey....look over to your left...the Falls. If you look to the right you can see Michael's Inn where we have our reservations..won't be long now. Just get through this next booth where they ask you 50,000 questions as to why you are coming to Canada and how long do you plan to stay and whether you have any weapons. Pass over your ID's so they see you are really who you claim to be. Now let me pause here for a moment. This all sounds so simple. It always has been for me. I've been coming to Canada for years. Since I was a little girl. Never have I had a problem. Never has crossing the boarder meant so much to me as it did this day as I was spending my time in Canada with someone I love and care about. I have an Ohio ID. Bob has a Pennsylvania ID (as that's where he used to live and it's not expired). The rental has a New York license plate. Instead of the woman handing back our ID's she says...."Pull over to the left and go inside. They need to see your ID's". Ever have that feeling that your day just turned to shit?????

to be continued..................................................

Vacation's over

What a wonderful,very busy 9 days. I can't believe it's over now. I have a ton to post just too tired tonight. I've been resizing my photos so blogger doesn't decide for me that I'm through posting them.

I miss Bob already...well, actually ever since I left him at the airport at nearly 4pm I have been missing him. I'm anxiously waiting to hear from him. I'm sure he just got caught up in sharing our photos with his Mother and forgot he was going to call me when he got home; so I'm not really worried that it's nearly 9pm and his flight was due to land at 5:58pm and that he was going to call when he got home around 7pm....so yeah..I'm sorta just waiting for that now.

Bob & I had a great time and I most certainly didn't want him to leave without me. I hate this part of our visits....the part where one of us has to leave. I'll work on my post. I have it in a draft at the moment.

I'm so behind in my blogs out there but I'm way too tired now to read them. As soon as Bob calls I'll relax and can think better. Then it's bedtime as I'm really tired.

Care Bears Live Photos

We had a great time tonight at the Care Bears show and went to Chucky Cheese after the show. I have more photos of that, but that will have to wait till I get home on Saturday. Leaving in the morning for a fabulous time. I'll be sure to update when we return...Have a great week and allow me to post my HNT early for this week since I'll be gone...hehehe. (Amazing how Bob can twist his legs around isn't it....hehehe....funny how those feet look like mine)

It's been a great day......

Sleep was difficult since it's been a long time since I've had to listen to some snoring going on and the fact that we were both exhausted from the busy weeks we just finished. I woke up at midnight but then again we fell asleep at 9pm lastnight. I knew that was way too early to sleep but I couldn't fight the exhaustion off any longer. Bob woke up at 3:19am and thought it was around 6 till he saw the clock and don't you know I woke up exactly 2 hours later at 5:19....so we just stayed up. I tried to sleep longer when he left to walk to the corner store for coffee and a newspaper but the dog wouldn't let me.
Breakfast was a hit. Thanks to the recipe I found here for a breakfast casserole. Naturally since it was just myself and My Bob, I cut the recipe in 1/2 and still have extra to take to my Mom's when we went visiting earlier. Mom likes My Bob alot so she was happy to see him again. We dropped the dog off at Mom's so she can puppy sit all week while we are way. Didn't do anything exciting today...just enjoyed being together and went shopping at walmart since we both needed some stuff.
I haven't even been on here today so I haven't read any blogs today. I'm behind schedule. I'm going to be behind for awhile now. We are planning on leaving around 9am for Erie, Pa then on Wednesday head over to Niagra Falls. We've been checking the weather and it's rainy but in the 60's so far. We are fully aware that we may get drenched but hey..it's the falls, you get wet anyway.
My daughter and grand daughter are here. We are all getting ready to go see the Care Bears Live. It starts at 4:30pm. Right now Deydra is making Bob playdoh donuts.
I'm hoping to sign back on later and read up on the blogs I visit everyday. For now it's time to go visit with the family then head on out to the civic center for some fun.

It started 50 days ago...

and now it's finally here!! In 9 hours and 17 minutes I'll be picking My Bob up from the airport. I never used to be a last minute for anything type of person yet here it is the day he arrives...the day I have been wanting to get here and been counting down and I have tons of stuff to do before I have to leave at 2:45 to head up to the airport. Bob will tell me that I don't have to run around just because he's coming but I do anyway. I have to go help my Mother with her monthly bills and take her to the bank. I have to clean out the truck as it's a total mess. I have laundry I must do. I have a lemon cake to bake as a coworker was going to bake this really awesome carrot cake for me...(good thing I didn't pay her the $10 bucks I was going to for doing it) but she backed out. Oh hell..I'm so excited I can't even think straight. Why do I sound like a giddy teenager....lol. (cause that's how I feel inside). I'm sure I'll post again...just right now I have to get started on the zillion things I think I have to get done in the short time I have left to do them.