As most people are doing this time of year, they are taking stock of their lives over the past year and setting goals for the upcoming year, I am doing the same.
Things I have done in a nutshell:
traveled to a foreign country
zip lined in the jungle and rappelled down a 120 meter waterfall
camped a whole lot - nothing new there
became a red head
signed up for online dating service
went to Vegas - twice
volunteered for two charity events - bike ride and beer run
raised a shit load of money for charity
made some new friends via Twitter and other social media outlets
took up running
completed my first (and not the last) half marathon
walked in a parade
I look at this list and I realize I did alot this past year. Many things I thought I would never do and a few things I do more frequently.I'm very proud of this list.
I know many people set new goals for themselves each year. I have a few as well. Some are private but some I will share.
complete a half marathon sub 3 hours
care less about my weight but focus on a more healthy overall lifestyle
join a book club
go back to school and finish my degree - this one seems the most scary to me
volunteer more with causes that mean something to me
be an awesome mentor to runners for Team Challenge
spend more time with my nieces. They need a good role model.
What are your goals for the new year? Can I help you accomplish them?
I was expecting the worst and pleasantly surprised.
I'm talking about Christmas. The last several years, I have pretty much boycotted the holiday.
Let's recap the past few years, shall we.
2009: Only a few months after my dad died. Things between my sister, mom and I are strained to say the least. I barely talked to any of them. They made some accusations that I could not forget. I go over to my sister's and she makes a snide comment about me bringing the dogs, which she knew I was going to do. I am there all of 6 minutes, tops. I drop off my food and presents, pack up the dogs and leave. I end up going to a movie with a friend. I hear from none of them for 2-3 months.
2008: Only a few weeks after Randy died. So not in the mood to begin with. Christmas morning started out crappy when I got the phone call from mom's girlfriend saying that mom is having a heart attack and they are taking her to the ER. Lovely. Spend most of the day at the hospital. Dad isn't doing much better. He is still recovering from chemo and radiation and pretty weak.
2007: Randy and I are in the middle of divorcing. We accepted an offer on the house and I was trying to find a new place to buy. Things between us were estranged and he wasn't really even living in the house much at that time.
Fast forward to this year.
As in years past, one tradition is to go out to dinner on Christmas Eve with P, K and Stb. It is always a good time with friends. While out for cocktails, I get a phone call from mom that she is not going to be at my sister's. Oh well. I have learned to not expect anything from her so it really doesn't bother me too much. Get home a bit late and it seems that Santa has left me with a bit of a hangover the next morning.
I call my sister mid-morning to find out the plans. She is all sorts of crabby because the oldest niece and her were fighting and so my sister decided to not do anything. Note: Sister has more of an attitude problem than niece does. I was now starting to dread this. Wondering how I can get out of actually going over there this year. I realize that it is not all about me but I should go over there for the kids. I take a bit of a nap and head over there.
I get there and am shocked that my mom is there. Hmmm, wonder what happened but am not asking. Middle niece is so happy to see me. She hands me a little bag and tells me to open it. I don't even have my coat off yet. I open it and it was an ornament that said Aunt on it. It was really sweet of her and she was so happy that she picked it out all by herself and the school's Secret Santa Workshop.
I go into the living room and hang with the kids for awhile. Getting hungry so go into the kitchen for food. Thinking I should probably talk to mom and sister for a bit. We chat and by this time the kids are getting antsy to open gifts. Head back into the living room. Dole out the gifts. Youngest niece opens one of her gifts from me. It was a pink messenger bag that could convert into a back pack. It had been in the middle of her list so didn't think it was a big deal. She did. When she seen it, she screamed. LOUD! You would have thought she won the lottery. She was so excited about it. She sat down on the floor and proceeded to inspect it very carefully. A few minutes later, she came over to me and was showing me where all her stuff would go into it. Pencils, pens, folders. She wanted to put her stuff into it right then and there. When she realized that it was a whole week before she could use it to go back to school, you would have thought her cat died.
Middle niece got lots of books from me. She loves to read and I will do everything to encourage that. Once the gifts were all opened she grabbed a book and sat on the chair and read.
Oldest niece was fairly easy. Being 15, she wants clothes and cash. She got gift cards and one of my old Coach purses. She loved it. I did give her the lecture that it was a fairly expensive purse ($150) and that she needed to take care of it and make sure to not leave it laying somewhere. She assured me that she would. I hope so.
For a change, mom and sister listened to what I asked for. I told them gift cards. Barnes & Noble, Target. I really don't need much but can always find things to buy there. I did ask for the registration to the Summerfest 1/2 marathon this year. I ended up with Summerfest gift cards. Perfect. I will definitely use those!
The kids wanted to go play football outside. I was still a bit tired and didn't have the clothes to be outside for more than a few minutes so I had to decline.
It was starting to get late and I wanted to get a nap in before bed. (Hey, it was my holiday to do with as I pleased. Nothing beats a good nap with snuggly pups.) So home I went.
It was a nice time and I was just happy it didn't totally suck.
Way back in August, I signed up for this crazy little thing called a half marathon. Running 13.1 miles. Me. hmmm... Who would have guessed it??
After months of training. The time is finally here.
I think back of the milestones I have accomplished over the last few months.
Running 3 miles without stopping to walk. Run/walking 10+ miles.
It seemed like every Sunday at our group runs, I was setting another personal best. You know how cool that was/is? Very.
When I first signed up, I thought that I would just walk the half marathon. But then I started training and realized that I can run. It certainly wasn't easy. That's for sure. But I guess, most things in life aren't easy. So a running, I went.
I looked forward to the Sunday runs where we would gather as a group and get to know a huge group of runners. There was always a silly question that we had to answer. I got to know a few things about some people that I really didn't need to know.
Wednesday runs were always just 5-6 of us and in the end only another girl and I. They were nice as you got to know people a little better and bond more. The Wednesday group did a great job of really pushing me, supporting me and not letting me quit when I wanted to. I like to think that I gave them the same support and pushed them.
As I write this, I think and wonder how just 4 short months ago, I set up a journey that has changed me. I like to think it changed me for the better.
I would like to take this day to encourage anyone who does smoke to make a plan to not smoke today. If you can do it today, then maybe you can not smoke tomorrow and so on. One day at a time.
The American Cancer Society offers many great resources to help you quit.
I quit smoking over 10 years ago. It got to be one day that Randy (who chewed tobacco) and I said enough is enough. We were probably both bitches to be around for the first few weeks. I know we both had our setbacks. I remember taking a puff or two, three from time to time. Especially when drinking. But eventually it got easier and easier to not smoke. I look back at it and even though I gained close to 40 lbs since then, it was still the best decision I have ever made.
I look back and think how smoking has hurt people in my life. My inlaws both dies from smoking related complications. My dad's cancer was more than likely caused by his smoking. My mom has sorta stopped but still has health issues related to her smoking. My sister seems to always be sicking and coughing. Same thing with my nieces. One of them always seems to be sick.
Since I stopped smoking I noticed that my colds have decreased in frequency and intensity. Somoe of that may be to the more healthier lifestyle I try to lead but I'm sure that by not smoking it helped my lungs have the ability to heal and stay stronger.
So, I urge you to give great thought to take this day and make it the first day of your life smoke free!
I had a weird dream last night. It was pretty easy to figure out the meaning of it but it was strange none the less.
I am at Disney in Florida. It is early in the day. I'm getting ready to run a marathon. I can't find things I packed. No shoes. No Carmex.
My dad is there. He and someone else that I don't know are supposed to take me to the starting line by 1:30. It is like 1:00 and they can't get the tractor started. It is an hour drive to get there. I am all upset that I depended on them to get me there and just before I need to leave they are trying to fix the tractor.
I am yelling at them to get me a cab. They tell me that everyone else is trying to get to the race so there are no cabs.
My alarm goes off and I never made it to the race.
I wonder if this has to do with the fact I have already started to pack for Vegas.
Lately, I have been finding articles in the local newspaper that just make me go "Huh??". Some are things that irritate me, some are funny and other are truly just weird.
Like the one from the AP. There was a conference that ended this past Saturday for priests to learn how to do exorcisms. Yes, exorcisms. I guess someone has to teach them how to do this but it just seems really odd.
More than 50 bishops and 60 prieists attended this conference. That is alot of people. The one fact I found interesting is that the Catholic church receives 400 requests a year to perform an exorcism but they only end up doing 2 or 3 a year. I wonder what they think is going on with the other 397 cases. Are the people nut jobs or faking it? Makes you wonder....
I give thanks to the men and women, past, present and future, who have fought and gave their lives to protect the freedoms we hold dear. Or at least you should.
I remember on this day, my dad and uncles who served during peace time. During WWII, my great uncle, Ray served in Africa. Uncle Herman who served in Germany. I will remember my great uncle Melvin, who gave his live in France on July 30, 1944.
At our last family reunion, I found out that his transport casket had been located on the family farm. It is being donated to the National World War II museum in New Orleans, LA. Here are a couple of articles about it.
I remember my brother-in-law, Corey, who served during peace time in the Air Force and now continues to serve in a civilian capacity with the NSA.
I am remembering my nephew, Kyle, who also works for the NSA in a civilian capacity, who by now should be in Afghanistan for the next few months. May God keep him safe.
I am remembering my many friends who have served or are serving in peace time and war.
Thanks you for making sure that we can continue to call the United States, the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!
This afternoon StB and I volunteered at the Tyranena Brewery's 5th annual Beer Run. We had previously volunteered at their beer bike ride last month and had a good time (even if it was freezing cold, cloudy and windy out). We had such a good time we decided to do it again. It also never hurts that there is good beer there to drink.
The day was cold but sunny and calm winds. Much better than last time. As we walked in, I ran into some Team Challenge friends. They were out there cheering on a couple other people.
Our duty, this time, was in the recovery tent. It is where runners come after they finish to get water, snacks, heat blankets and their much coveted medal. We had cookie table detail. Keep the cookies well stocked and organized. Not too terribly difficult. Also much more fun than taking ticket for the food line like we did last time.
The first runners came in. They cranked out the 1/2 marathon in about 1 hour 14 minutes. An awesome time. Tried to give them some cookies but there were more interested in the fruit and peanut butter sammiches.
A few more runners started coming in here and there. The people who ran the 1/6 barrel (4.37 miles) were now also coming in. Then the rush hit. We had a good time laughing and cheering the runners as they came past us. StB kept trying to push the orange pumpkin frosting cookies. He kept comparing them to the McRib. Saying that they were only around for a limited time and when they were gone, they were gone until next year. He got some laughs out of people and more than a few strange looks.
The runners kept us busy for the better part of the next 2 hours. By about 3 it was dying down so I moved over to the area where they were collecting the timing chips. We had to fold them back up and attached them to the boards that they came on. Not a difficult job with but there were just alot of them. 1500 to be exact. Like the saying goes "Many hands make for light work" That was true here. Some people were folding them up and others were putting them back on the boards. The task was quickly completed.
I was excited to see one of my dailymile and Twitter friends, Augie complete his first 1/2 marathon. It was nice to finally get to meet him.
I was also super happy to see one of my Team Challenge teammates, Courtney (you read about her story here). She completed the 1/6 barrel run. She said that she was saving her 1/2 marathon for Vegas next month.
By this time there was not much left to do except pack things up. We found Stacey (who did a kick ass job of running the event today) and asked what should be done with the food. Got that quickly put away and went to enjoy ourselves. Ate a bit and drank a bit. Got a good laugh out of the people who brought a couple of blow up New Glarus Brewery cows.
We sat in on part of the brewery tour. I loved the tour guy. He was cracking jokes and having a good time. The one question I wanted to ask but didn't was who was always responsible for the labeling mistakes that they always seem to be having. Almost every other newsletter has a note about how someone messed up and labels a batch of bottle wrong.
Things were now winding down, so we headed for home.
It was a great day and knowing that you got to help put on a great event made the day even better.
The past few weeks I have been playing more games on my phone. I am normally not a gamer type person. Don't get me wrong, I love playing with my Wii but don't use it every day. I tend to go in streaks.
It started with Angry Birds. This originally was an iPhone game and has now been developed for Android. The Beta version was out for about 2 months. I could get so far and then got stuck and kinda stopped playing for awhile. Then two weeks ago they released the production version. It was sooo much better than the beta. I would sail thru several levels and then get stuck. I would go nuts trying to get past a few levels. One level had me for almost a week. Them damn pigs are going to be the death of me yet. For some crazy reason the big ones with mustaches remind me of Randy. No idea why....
Then, earlier this week WordFeud happened. It is basically Scrabble against another person. I've been playing against several Twitter tweeps and other random people. At any given time, I will have 5-6 + games going. Several of the games have been going on for a few days now as you wait for the other person to make a move.
I like the thrill of getting some crazy ass tiles and then being able to make a word from it. I spend alot of time rearranging the tiles in my tray before some words pop out at me. I guess that is just the inner geek in me.
If you don't know by now, I'm running a half marathon in December.
Here is why I'm running this. Courtney is a teammate of mine on Team Challenge WI. If this doesn't inspire you to donate, I'm not sure what will. She is a rock star and kicks some major ass!
Here is her story.
Courtney’s Story
I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in August 2006.I didn’t think too much of it at the time.What most concerned me was that my doctor said many people have to learn to make dietary changes, and he mentioned cheese as something some patients had to limit.I was appalled – “You mean even like cheese on tacos?!?” was my reply.I clearly had no clue what I was in for.
I maintained on my medications relatively symptom free until January 2008.Right at the start of spring semester, I went through a very serious flare up that eventually landed me in the hospital.I opted to go to a hospital in Kenosha near my family and the GI doctor I had been seeing.I was in the hospital for 10 days, and left in even worse condition having contracted a C Difficile infection on top of the UC flare.I saw my doctor a few times on an outpatient basis and he insisted I was getting better but it would be a “long road.”He was wrong.
At this point, I was barely able to walk (partially due to abdominal pain and partially due to my enormously swollen feet and ankles from the prednisone).I was taking around 25 different pills a day, and I had dropped from a healthy 130 to 103 pounds.I had been unable to attend school or work for over a month. My father was getting frustrated and urged me to get a second opinion.He brought me to Froedtert.
I will never forget the look on the GI doctor’s face when he saw me.He went completely white.I didn’t see him again because when I came back from my X-Ray I was greeted by the surgical team.It was the scariest moment of my life.Everyone who has UC knows that surgery is a possibility (and everyone who has UC also knows this means ostomy, perhaps the scariest word in the English vocabulary to a 23 year old female).I began to cry.
Little did I know, this doctor who was making me so angry was really just trying to save my life.He told me I had toxic megacolon, and I needed emergency surgery to remove my colon.However, they needed to get me hydrated and give me a blood transfusion before they could do the surgery, otherwise they weren’t sure if I would make it.They scheduled me for the 8am slot the next day.Nobody wanted to tell me at that point, but I was basically knocking on death’s door – had I waited much longer my colon would have eventually burst and fatality was a real danger.I found out afterwards that I may have been in the worst condition anyone there had ever seen.
Surgery for me gave me a new life.Yes, it was a long tough road, but I felt immediately better.Adjusting to life with an ostomy was hard at first (mentally and physically).Because I had been in particularly horrible condition, the construction of my jpouch had to be broken up into three surgeries over a 9 month period.I also tended to be a patient plagued with unexpected complications.Even today, I have to be on maintenance medications to treat recurrent pouchitis which my doctors think may be a by-product of the C Diff infections.
However, the ordeal has made me stronger. I am proud to say that even though the most difficult part of my illness occurred while I was in school I was able to stay on track with my program and graduate with my Master’s degree in Educational Psychology in May 2009.Despite small adjustments you have to make for living with a jpouch and pesky pouchitis flares (which, honestly, you may as well just have ulcerative colitis), I feel like myself again.I still have challenging days here and there, and I never know what the future will bring but, given all I’ve already been through, I do feel like I can handle just about anything.For me, this ½ marathon is extremely personal, and will make me feel like I have finally conquered the disease that kept me down for so long.
What is a j-pouch you ask?
A j-pouch is a surgical procedure that eliminates the need for an ostomy (external pouch) for patients who’ve had their colon removed due to ulcerative colitis.When the colon is removed, the rectum is also taken out because it is typically diseased as well.The surgeon then constructs a new “rectum” out of the patient’s small intestine.
The surgery can be performed in two or three steps, depending on the health of the patient, and a temporary ileostomy is necessary until the new plumbing is healed enough to operate.After the operation, “j-pouchers” are able to pass stool through the *ehem*” usual route,” but because they lack a colon, they have to use the restroom much more frequently than other people.In addition, there are new dietary restrictions – generally, people with a j-pouch would want to avoid veggies and other high fiber food as they take longer to digest, and well…. Let’s face it, we just don’t have as long as the rest of you ;).
With the Halloween season approaching, I thought I'd write about scary movies.
Part of this post started with my watching Ghost Adventures on the Travel Channel. The first episode I seen was where they went back to a place called Bobby Mackeys. This was a place where several years ago they had some video "proof" of something they called a spirit. They captured EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomena ) telling these guys that they were not welcome and other weird stuff. In many cases if you closed your eyes and didn't see the words on your TV you could not make out anything but white noise. There were a couple that you could make stuff out.
I watched another episode last Friday. They went to the Stanley Hotel. The inspiration for Stephen King's "The Shining". Here to the caught something in the background that looked like a person walking into the woods. I don't know. I'm not sure. Same thing with the EVPs. Not very clear.
Now I should back up and say that I'm not sure if I believe or not. I have never personally experienced anything paranormal but I can't say that it doesn't exist. This thinking would also apply to my opinions on UFO and aliens. I think it is very naive to think we are the only intelligent life form out there. I should also say that stuff like this I do not like to watch alone. I do freak out easily.
Ok back to topic. I started to watch Paranormal Activity last weekend. I say started. I got about 25 minutes into it and had to stop. I was home alone and it was getting a bit to freaky for me. I will try to watch the rest of it this week. I really only seen the first part of it when the door moved a little bit. That was enough to freak me out.
On Saturday there is a Haunted Brewers tour. I'm not sure what it all entails but sounds like we meet at this bar and walk over to a cemetery and visit the graves of some of Milwaukee's founding brewing families. It is supposed to be nice out and could be interesting. I think I will bring my camera along to see if I can capture anything.
This morning I was talking with a couple of other women while getting a birthday bagel.
I asked them if they had been watching the miners being rescued.
One girl, who is 38, said what miners?
I replied with "The ones in Chile. They have been trapped there since late August."
She replied back with "Oh, I don't watch the news."
I asked her if she read the paper either online or in print.
She said that she never read the paper. But she does read People magazine every week.
I was dumbfounded. How can someone at that age be so, for a lack of a better term, ignorant about the world around them?
I guess I have always loved to read and the newspaper is something that to this day I look forward to reading each evening. I may not always be the most knowledgeable about some topics but I try to at least have an idea of what is going on around me.
Back to the miners. I have been reading the coverage on CNN.com most of the morning. It is riveting. I remember being in Las Vegas and getting ready for lunch one day and turned on the TV to catch a bit about the mine collapsing. I remember hearing that they thought the miners may be down there until Christmas time before they could be rescued. I'm glad that the miners didn't have to wait that long.
I watched the first miner being brought up last night. It brought tears to my eyes to see how a group of people and a government can work together to achieve something so good.
I'm glad this mining accident has a happy ending. Most do not.
Well as of about 6:00pm tonight, I will have committed myself to raising awareness and money for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation and Team Challenge WI.
That means I need your help.
I need to raise a shitload (yes, you will get the bad jokes about digestive diseases) of money. $3600 to be exact. So far, I'm at $645. Very short of my goal.
How can you help, you ask? Well, go to my website and make a donation. It doesn't have to be alot. I know that not everyone can afford large donations but maybe think about just giving $1 for each mile I am running. $13.10. For some of you, that may mean giving up your Starbucks for a couple of days. But to me, that will move me closer to my goal.
My fundraising deadline is Nov 15th. I don't want to be sitting there a day or two before that stressing out about this, when I should be concentrating on my training.
As an added bonus, for every donation that is made, you can pick a song for my marathon playlist. I figure I need about 100 songs to cover my running time. Just leave the song and artist in the comments section of this post and I'll add it to my very empty, as of now, playlist. All I ask is that there is no Christmas music. Anything else, I'm game for.
So here are a few of the latest emails I received from Match.com.
Do guys think this really works? I hope not.
First up we have this guy. Guess his name is Mark. Maybe. Has he ever heard of a capital letter? I don't think so. Also, I know I look good. Thanks you for pointing that out.
Then we follow it up with Bruce. WTF!?!
Did he really say "I Guess the Lords Angel spent several Hours when Creating you"?? Where do guys gets this crap?? What is up with the random capital letters on words? Can you send a few of them to mark. He is missing a few.
Needless to say, I hit the delete button on both of them.
Yesterday was the annual Susan G. Koman Walk for a Cure in Milwaukee.
We have walked this as a group for the past several years. Ever since our good friend, Gambino became a survivor.
I was thinking about that time yesterday. I remember getting the call that she had been diagnosed. Thinking "What the hell! " and "No fucking way! ". Next thing I recall was sitting in the bar, waiting to hear from A on how the surgery went. Feeling relived when the call finally came and the news was good.
Gambino had to go back for a second surgery. I'm still not sure it wasn't a ploy to get out of Thanksgiving at her home. (J, you know I'm only kidding ). That was followed up with several weeks of radiation treatment. She was fortunate to not have to go through chemo.
Much of that time seems like a blur to me. I'm sure she will never forget it.
Note: Apparently, the blog app on my phone only saves things in draft mode and you can't edit the posts from your phone. So, sit down and enjoy part.
It is camping week for the gang. We are short one gang member, who's wit is missed. Sadly, sometimes real life gets in the way of fun.
The ride out was uneventful which is good. Stopped for lunch in Blanchardville. It is scary when the waitress remembers you from previous years. I guess we are the unforgettable sort of folks.
The weather was a little uncooperative. We still have a credit crumming for the rain on the way out and overnight Monday.
Tuesday dawned rather windy. Thank God for pony tails. The day started out on a sour note as one of the gang was not able to work from the campground. We had tested use my phone's internet connection and tethering her laptop to it. While I have a good cell signal my 3G coverage faded in and out. It was a downer for both of us. So we did what any good camper does. Hit the @newglarusbeer brewery.
Picked up a bunch of new beers to try. A few are their regular year round beers and a few were what they call their R&D beer. Trial runs of potential new beers. Since they have special labels I will wait to try them at home so I don't mess the labels up by sitting in a cooler of water and ice. I will have pictures when I drink them. Or see my #beerclub tweets.
It was cold overnight. Thank goodness for campers with furnace in it.
Ok folks. You knew this was coming. I have talked about it in my last couple posts and you will continue to hear about this until December. So if you don't like it... get over it.
I am run/walking in the 13.1-mile Las Vegas Rock N Roll Half Marathon on December 5, 2010. I have to raise $3600.00. Yes, that's right 3600 smack-a-roos. Now if one person wants to be super generous and make a large donation, I would love it. But I'm pretty sure most of you can't do that so here can be a guideline to donating. Donate if you have:
You’ve been cursed at, honked at, or flipped off while biking or running. – $1
You lost a toenail because of running. – $2
You spend more money on training gear/clothes than regular clothes. – $3
You stopped making fun of fanny packs because your running belt looks very similar (and cooler) to one. - $4
You run barefoot or with those five fingers thingys because it feels better. – $5
You’ve ever discovered a hole in your pants during a fitness class. – $6
You’ve had chaffing near your lady (or man) business – $7
When someone tells you their pace, you calculate their 5k/half marathon/marathon time. – $8
You extend the length of your runs or rides so you can have another beer (or three) guilt-free. – $9
You have no problem talking about bodily functions with your training buddies. – $10
You’ve come in first in any race you’ve ever competed in. – $20 (screw you)
You’ve seen one of the following during your swim, bike and/or run training: a.) Asian Carp – $10 b.) mountain lion – $15 c.) bear – $20 d.) dog – $1 e.) frog or turtle – $5 f.) deer - $3 add $2 if you have almost hit one
If none of those apply to you, then give what you can. I know times are tough for alot of people now. Think about donating $1 or $2 dollars for each mile of the race.
So here is the link to make your super duper generous donation. Just click here.
Back from Vegas and life is somewhat back to 'normal'. At least for a few days.
I realized that when I was unpacking some stuff last night that There really was no need as some of it would be going right back into the suitcase again in a couple days.
I'm heading up to MN for work on Monday. Visiting the mothership as we like to call it. Boss man was able to confirm that we can leave on Wednesday evening. He is leaving for Vegas on Thursday for the Badger game so he felt it was not necessary for my work hubby and I to stay a night just to leave mid morning. I was happy with that decision.
It will be a nice trip up there as work hubby and I are driving together. Hoping that he will want to drive some of the time. We are also getting to meet the rest of our team who we have been a part of for over a year now. I met a couple of them last year but one guy is also coming up from Houston.
But back to Vegas.
It was a good time with good friends. Learned how to play craps (won $86) and Pai Gow (lost $100). Thanks to StB for having the patience to teach me and answer my million questions. I appreciated it. I may now drag him down to the local casino to play more Pai Gow. It was addicting and I seemed to have the need to yell "PAI GOW" alot. Guess that means my cards also sucked alot for awhile there. Hopefully that trend does not continue.
We did the Price is Right Live game show. It was a blast. Although, no one from our group made it to the stage there was one moment at the end when he called the name Steve and two of the guys in our group got excited for a moment. Alas, it was not meant to be. I would recommend it to others if you are in Vegas and looking for something to do. Todd Newton and David Ruprecht (from Supermarket Sweep) were the host and announcer. We met up with them after the show. Nice guys and it was a pleasure to talk to them for a couple of minutes. It doesn't hurt that Todd is rather hot. I have a picture that I at some time will take off of my phone and post.
It is always fun to people watch in Vegas. You see all types. The good, the bad and the downright freaking scary. Fremont street was in the 70's theme so there were alot of street performers dressed up in that theme. Rather neat but a bit too warm at times to sit outside and enjoy.
After I got home, I went to get the pups. I missed them and Rufus sure missed me as he has barely left my side. I dropped them off and headed out to the Team Challenge kickoff party. It was great to meet the other 52 people who I will be training with over the next few months. We have our first training session on Sunday morning. Happy that it is at South Shore park, just down the road from me. I think I may even ride my bike there. It is only maybe a mile tops.
I'm really excited to do this. To try and challenge myself physically, mentally and I'm sure emotionally as well.
As I was thinking about this over the past week I thought that even though I work hard at some stuff many things tend to come easy to me. When something interests me, I tend to be a bit anal about it and will do research on the subject. A recent example was eminent domain. A friend's place of employment was fighting the city over the fact the the city wanted to take several businesses along a stretch of road using the eminent domain. So I went out and found the Supreme Court records on the issue and read. I spent several hours reading about it. It was rather interesting. I did the same thing several months ago when the Court ruled on something that could have had an impact on my job. I put together a summary of the Court's ruling and sent it along to my boss and a few higher up mucky mucks. It will probably end up being something that our legal department will have to look at but it was good to know where our legal rights may be on the issue. Yeah, I know. You are most likely thinking "dork".
Wow, I guess I got off topic a bit there. That happens sometimes. Your mind just wanders from one thing to another.
It started innocently enough. Follow a bunch of people on Twitter, interact with them, get to know a few of them in person. See them at bars or at a liquor store. Live vicariously through a few of them as the undertake new challenges. Thinking to myself, if they can do this, so can I.
I procrastinated. ALOT. Had several bouts of self doubt. Am I too old for this, too fat, too unmotivated. Until I clicked the link in a Tweet. "Who wants to go to Las Vegas in December? I do, I do! Join Team Challenge and come with!" I clicked on the link and it took me here. I looked at the page and was intrigued. I then clicked here to get more information.
Thought to myself that this looks pretty cool. I looked at a couple other blogs from people who had completed the last one in Napa Valley last month. Amy, in patricular, inspired me. She was 267 lbs and did it.
I seen that there was a meeting in Oak Creek. It timed out well that I was going to be going right past there anyway to pick up the camper. So I thought "What the heck" I'll check this out.
So I did. I showed up tonight with no intention of signing up. I just wanted to get more info. Checked in, introduced myself to several of the tweeps (Amy, Sarah, Tim and Anne) that I heard 'talking' about the last one. They were telling me about how much fun the last one was. What it felt like to cross the line. It hooked me.
So I did it. I committed myself to walk/run the Rock 'n Roll half marathon on Dec. 5, 2010 in Las Vegas!
A half marathon is 13.1 miles. 13.1 freaking long-ass miles. That is 69,168 feet. Or an even scarier number 830,016 inches. Over 3/4 of a million inches. Holy shit!!!!
So my fellow bloggers, in the coming weeks and months, I'm going to ask that you give me your moral support, pick me up when I'm getting down, kick my ass when I don't want to train as well.
I will also need your financial support. I have to raise a shit load of money. It goes for a good cause, the Crohn's and Colitis foundation of America. I have some ideas so it should be interesting.
I normally don't remember my dreams but last night I had three of them that were very odd and very different.
One was a sex dream. Let's just say it had nothing to do with Jack Black and leave it at that.
The second one was weird. Howie Mandel from America's Got Talent kept trying to steal my dogs. I had caught parts of the show on Sunday. But it was more on for the background noise. When I woke up I actually looked for the dogs. Happy to see they were all there. Even Boomer.
The third dream was the most bizarre. Was with the people going to Vegas in a few weeks. Gambino was driving. We were in a yellow Hummer convertible. There were two people in the car that we didn't know. No clue as to why they were there. We are driving to the airport and there are all these weird UFOs all over. There are like thousands of these little things in the sky. One starts following us as we are going under the airport tunnel. StB grabs his phone and starts taking pictures of it. He gets a really good picture of it an realizes there is a price sticker on it from Merchandise Outlet. It cost $5.98. It was weird how I could see that clear as day. All of a sudden one gets close enough and we grab it. We look at it for a few minutes and Gambino puts it in her purse.
Next thing I know we are sitting in the airport. Waiting for our flight. We are sitting on the floor kinda like you see the teams in Amazing Race always doing. All of a sudden one of the people who were in the Hummer with us whips a guitar out of his pocket. It was small at first and then got bigger to a normal size. We all start singing. As I look around I realize that we all have instruments. It was like we had formed some weird band. I don't recall ever getting on a plane or going to Vegas.
So I'm sure the next question will be asking what I ate. I had a ham and cheese sub (left over from camping) and tuna roll sushi. No ice cream or anything else strange.
When I woke up I just remember feeling very confused by the dreams.
My company is moving about 100 people from the building that we are currently in to a new building about 4 miles away near Brookfield Square.
Every week we get new emails details the plans. Last week we got the preliminary seating charts. I was happy with that. We are away from come of the noisy people kinda by ourselves. Work hubby and I can still continue on with our daily bitch-fests about people.
This week we got more pictures of the cube designs. I'm not liking these at all!
My work recently implemented some new office policies. Not sure if I like them yet or not. What do you think??
Dress Code:
1) You are advised to come to work dressed according to your salary.
2) If we see you wearing Prada shoes and carrying a Gucci bag, we will assume you are doing well financially and therefore do not need a raise.
3) If you dress poorly, you need to learn to manage your money better, so that you may buy nicer clothes, and therefore you do not need a raise.
4) If you dress just right, you are right where you need to be and therefore you do not need a raise.
Sick Days: We will no longer accept a doctor's statement as proof of sickness. If you are able to go to the doctor, you are able to come to work.
Personal Days: Each employee will receive 104 personal days a year. They are called Saturdays & Sundays.
Bereavement Leave: This is no excuse for missing work. There is nothing you can do for dead friends, relatives or co-workers. Every effort should be made to have non-employees attend the funeral arrangements in your place. In rare cases where employee involvement is necessary, the funeral should be scheduled in the late afternoon. We will be glad to allow you to work through your lunch hour and subsequently leave one hour early.
Bathroom Breaks: Entirely too much time is being spent in the toilet. There is now a strict three-minute time limit in the stalls. At the end of three minutes, an alarm will sound, the toilet paper roll will retract, the stall door will open, and a picture will be taken. After your second offense, your picture will be posted on the company bulletin board under the 'Chronic Offenders' category. Anyone caught smiling in the picture will be sectioned under the company's mental health policy.
Lunch Break: (Love this one)
* Skinny people get 30 minutes for lunch, as they need to eat more, so that they can look healthy.
* Normal size people get 15 minutes for lunch to get a balanced meal to maintain their average figure.
* Chubby people get 5 minutes for lunch, because that's all the time needed to drink a Slim-Fast.
Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplations, consternation and input should be directed elsewhere.
On Saturday, I took my two youngest nieces for the afternoon. The older one, S, just turned 9 the previous week. The younger one, J, turned 6 last December. I owed them both the extra special birthday presents.
I picked them up and went to drop Riley off at the groomer. We then headed out to Mayfair mall. I went over the Hoan bridge which totally freaked J out. She was almost crying she was so scared that the bridge would collapse and she would fall into the lake. I didn't want to be the one to tell her that it probably would fall down before the city/county/state gets their act together and gets the bridge replaced.
As we passed Miller Park, S remembered that Randy and I had taken her and her older sister to a Brewer game a couple years back. She remembered that Prince Fielder hit an inside the park home run and that there was some glowing balloon thingy floating in the air after the game. Never did find out what that was.
Once we got to Mayfair Mall, I parked by Barnes and Noble as I promised S that she could pick up a couple of books for her birthday as well. We headed into the mall and J was amazed at all the stores. Build a Bear is upstairs so we headed towards the escalator. J totally freaked out with that. She had never been on one before and was afraid that she would get sucked into teh moving stairs. I had to pull her aside and let her watch it for a minute or so and then told her how it works. She jumped on the step and away we went. She wouldn't let go of my hand while we went up. When we got to the top she took a leap like she was crossing the Grand Canyon. She was all excited. We got to ride it a couple more times. My sister really needs to get these kids out into public places more often.
Build a Bear was fun. The girls had a good time picking out their animals and the outfits. They wanted to get more stuff but I told them that we could come back another time and get it.
We headed to the bookstore, so S, could get some new books. She loves to read and I will do everything I can to encourage that. She was so excited that she got to pick out four new chapter books. My guess is that she has already read them by now.
On the way home we picked up Riley from the groomer and dropped him off at home. We headed to Rocky Rococo's for lunch. I forgot that Randy's brother runs the place and it was nice that he bought us lunch. It was nice to spend some time talking with him. I don't get to see him very often.
It was time to get the girls back home. I wanted to get in a nap before heading out to the Waukesha County fair to see Night Ranger. Before I left my sister's the girls came up to me gave me big hugs and said that I was their favorite aunt.
Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.
The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:
1. Liberals 2. Conservatives.
Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.
Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to BBQ at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement...
Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly BBQ's and doing the sewing, fetching, and making art. This was the beginning of the Liberal Movement.
Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. They became known as girlie-men. Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of the cat, invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting, to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provide.
Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass for obvious reasons.
Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare..
Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.
Conservatives drink domestic beer, mostly Miller or Bud (not recommended). They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, engineers, corporate executives, athletes, members of the military, airline pilots and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.
Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America . They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.
Here ends today's lesson in world history:
It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it.
A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers and to more liberals just to piss them off.
And there you have it. Let your next action reveal your true self.....I'm going to have another beer.
Based on the poem Casey at the Bat by Ernest Thayer.
Once you read the poem, the video may make more sense.
The Outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day: The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play. And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same, A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game.
A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast; They thought, if only Casey could get but a whack at that - We'd put up even money, now, with Casey at the bat.
But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake, And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake; So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat, For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat.
But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all, And Blake, the much despis-ed, tore the cover off the ball; And when the dust had lifted, and the men saw what had occurred, There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.
Then from 5,000 throats and more there rose a lusty yell; It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell; It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat, For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.
There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place; There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face. And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat, No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.
Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt; Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt. Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip, Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.
And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air, And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there. Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped- "That ain't my style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire said.
From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar, Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore. "Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted someone on the stand; And its likely they'd a-killed him had not Casey raised his hand.
With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone; He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on; He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew; But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two."
"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered fraud; But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed. They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain, And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.
The sneer is gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate; He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate. And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go, And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light, And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; But there is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck out.
I got an email the other day from a guy on Match. Here it is in all its 'glory'. I did no editing to the style except for the font changes.
Hi Dear I read your profile and really enjoyed it. You have a beautiful pictures..am Matt just join match dating service yesterday... Am new doing this online dating
scene.. I will like to give it a try and see where it will goes. I'm 45 years old am completing 46 tomorrow. A freelance researcher and love children..but am
currently out of the state doing some research in UK Norway
I work in Agricultural Soil Manuring and Productivities Organization as my profession and travel a bit for my business. Most of my trips are One or two week a
couple of times a month. I am considered a crops safety expert and do public research speaking engagements as well as events throughout the country. But
presently UK London on a research i will be in the state soon..Words to leave by. Distance does not matter to me in a relationship neither do age, be cause i
don't mind relocating for the right Woman.
I have an out-going personality, easy going, and have a great sense of humor. I meet a lot of people; my problem is there has to be that chemistry and it is
hard to find someone where that chemistry is there. I really need someone that I can hold an intelligent conversation with, who can answer at least one
question on Jeopardy by herself without any help.
I love to listen to NEW country music, I do not like rap. I enjoy going out to dinner, plays, movies, country line and couples dancing, concerts, weekend
getaways, church on Sunday and being on the water. God is an important part of my life and I hope he is part of yours. I also enjoy quiet evenings at home
snuggling with that special someone while watching TV or movie. I fit in any environment. I prefer jeans and a pair of shoes when I am working.
I am a spur of the moment kind of roman tic. A tender kiss on the cheek, a card, flowers, or weekend trip for no reason.
I am looking for my best friend, my soul, maybe a life term relationship. I have a great life and am ready to share it with someone again. I want to enjoy the
time I spend with that special someone when we are together and miss her when we are apart. I really enjoy the missing part, which means that I have
something (chemistry). I love the water also and go fishing offshore quite a bit.
OK your turn if you chose to continue. I figured I would give you quite a bit of information so you can decide if you want to continue corresponding.
Have a great day! I look forward to your response.
Respectfully,
Matt.
Needless to say, I deleted it. His profile had no picture in it so that was a big flag to begin with.
I read this article the other day about how a group, The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), is suing McDonald's for unfair and deceptive marketing practices. Because they make Happy Meals.
Seriously??
Last time I checked most kids in the target Happy Meal age are maybe 3-10ish. I don't know too many kids who at that age can get to a McDonald's on their won and pay for a meal. They have to have their parents or another adult take them.
So, then, why is that adult not taking ownership of what they put in the kids mouth.
The two quotes that I found interesting were
"The nutrition group claims that using toys to entice children instills bad eating habits and puts kids at higher risk of risk of developing obesity, diabetes, or other diet-related diseases over the course of their lifetime. "
and then this one
"CSPI director Michael Jacobson acknowledged that parents bear much of the responsibility for children's eating habits"
So a week after joining Match, I get a wink and an email from a guy.
I look at his profile*. Not drop dead hunky but not wanting me to hurl in my corn flakes either.
I take a look at his profile. Hmmm, doesn't smoke, that's good. Doesn't drink.... shit! I think about that a bit. Can I go out with someone who doesn't drink? Well, I think to myself. May be worth finding out why. I see he has kids. Darn. Not really a deal breaker but while I love my nieces there is a reason I have no kids. It was a conscious decision that was made.
So I continue reading through his bio. Nothing stands out as being too crazy or weird.
So I wink back. A little while later I get an email from him. We continue to exchange emails during the day. He asks if I want to meet him. Sure I say.
He asks if I would mind coming to his house as he has a new puppy and doesn't want to leave him alone for very long. I ponder this for awhile and say sure. I have pepper spray. We make arrangements to talk on the phone after work.
We talk on the phone briefly and set up the particulars.
Meanwhile I text my friend, Julie, to let her know what is going on. She also got his name, phone number and address.
I get to his house with no difficulty. It is nice outside as it is nice outside. He asks what I would like to drink. I tell him a beer is fine.
This should have been my first clue. The beer was Michelob Ultra. Seriously?!? People actually drink that?? Not bad if you like watered down beer. I also thought his profile said that he did drink. hmm, interesting.
We make small talk for while. It was kinda rough at times. I seemed to have to carry the conversation for most of the time.
It starts to rain so we head inside. As I am walking in, he is behind me and tells me I smell nice. I thank him. We sit at the kitchen table, which was a bit odd, but hey, who am I to judge. I look around. I notice a few things. A couple of cartons of cigarettes on the top of the fridge. Thought he didn't smoke. I also see several wedding pictures on a stand. Really?? you have been divorced for 7 years. You still have the pictures?!? and you are still displaying them?!? WTF!!
He asked if he could smell me again. I said sure, what the heck. He leaned in and kissed me. Nothing to write home about that was for sure. I get up and go to the bathroom.
Guys, if you are going to have a woman over, clean the bathroom!!!!!!!!!! I don't want to sit on a dirty toilet and would really like to have a clean sink and soap to wash my hands with.
I come back into the kitchen. He is standing. He comes towards me and starts kissing me again. Ok, yeah. I know. I probably should not be kissing him. He had his hands on my waist. In one swift move, he lifts up my shirt and catches my bra and up over my boobs they go.
I stopped things right there.
I tell him that I'm not going to do that. He proceeds to call me sweetie. Yuck. Tells me that he knows I want this. I keep telling him no, I really don't. This goes on for a minute or so. He then calls me a cock tease. Me?? seriously?? He says that I should have expected that since I came over there looking all fucking hot and all. I had on a tshirt and shorts. Nothing out of the ordinary.
He then asks me if I will give him a blow job. I tell him no.
He then asks if he can eat me out. I tell him no once again.
I tell him that I think it is best I leave.
As I'm walking out the door, he tells me to have a good life as a lesbian.
I never look back.
I blocked him from contacting me on match.
I also wonder who he was writing about on his profile. Not a perfect gentleman and you certainly showed me no respect.
* I'm using screen shots of his pictures and profile so that they are not searchable from Google or other search engines.
Remember back when..... Gene Rayburn, Brett Summers, Charles Nelson Reilly and one of my favorites, Fannie Flagg (I really like her books as well). Yeah, well this post is not about that. It is about my venture back into the dating world.
So last week I signed up for Match.com. I really had not heard much about it but I figured it was worth a try.
Maybe my first inkling that this may not be the thing for me was when I got my first 5 daily matches. Turns out that one of them was a co-worker. I blocked that person from seeing me ASAP!
Stay tuned for more adventures. You will get the good, the bad and the downright freaking nuts.
Happy Father's Day to all my dad readers. This includes you uncles as well. I know how much Randy meant to my nieces. You have more of an impact in their lives than you may realize.
I miss my dad alot today. I wish he was still here.
I'm reading the paper this evening and come across an article about the Bhopal, India gas disaster in 1984. It took the Indian court system 26 years to convict seven senior employees of Union Carbide.
I tried to find the quote by the Law Minister online with no luck.
Law Minister Veerappa Moily said that after the ruling: "It is most unfortunate that it has taken this amount of time to give the verdict. We need to address that"
You think?? 26 years is quite a long time. One of the defendants has died during that time and many are in their late 70's.
In the end they got two years in prison and have to pay fines of $2175. A small price to pay for a disaster that killed over 15,000 people and left a generation battling birth defects.
I paid the loan off in March. It took you until June to send the title release because you didn't know where to mail it to. You never had a problem mailing me a bill each month.
Why did it take a phone call to "remind" you of my address? Also thanks for sending me a check for $0.17 because I overpaid. If you could have sent me an accurate statement I would have not overpaid you.
I found a new recipe that is both tasty and easy to make. No way I can mess this one up. Even better it is low in calories. The whole pie, yes the whole thing, is only 9.5 points (if you are a weight watchers person you know what I'm talking about). How can you go wrong with that??
Crust-less Strawberry Pie
4 cups sliced strawberries 1 small box or fat free, sugar free vanilla Jell-o cook and serve pudding - not instant 1 small box of sugar free strawberry Jell-o
Spray 8" pie pan with Pam Slice strawberries into an 8" pie pan Cook pudding using 2 cups water instead of milk following directions on box Add box of Jell-o to the pudding. Mix well. Pour over strawberries.
Beginning tomorrow, June 1st, the state of Wisconsin will require that you have liability insurance on your autos.
I think it is about time that Wisconsin got with the program. Others think that it is wrong that the state mandate you have insurance.
Technically, the state doesn't require insurance but they do require that you show fiscal responsibility. In order to comply with Wisconsin financial responsibility laws, all drivers must show that they have the ability to pay for damages if he or she is found to be at fault in an accident. In lieu of insurance, driver’s can place a cash deposit of $60,000 with the Wisconsin DOT.
I know a person who I will call Z. Z thinks that it is wrong to have the state require that they carry auto insurance. Z says that they can't afford the monthly premiums. So if Z gets into a minor fender bender withe me, Z won't fix their car because it is a piece of shit and what is another dent or two. I, on the other hand, will call my insurance agent, file a claim and get my car fixed. My insurance will go after Z to recoup their loses but because Z has no money, it won't go very far. Maybe a judgment will be filed. But getting the money back is almost a lost cause. Now when my premium comes due the following year, I will see an increase in my rates to cover the losses it incurred in my fender bender with Z.
Scenario 2 is that Z gets into a major accident where both Z and I have serious medical issues. Once again, since Z has no insurance, either auto or medical, my insurance will pay for my auto and medical bills. Once again, my premiums will go up as a result. Z, since they have no insurance, will get public aid insurance (I forget what it is called) any left over money that needs to be paid will be ignored.
One good thing with this law is that if you purchase insurance and let it lapse, the insurance company will notify the state. You will have a certain amount of time to provide proof of insurance. If you don't the state will revoke or suspend your license or registration.
I hope that the insurance laws work as intended. Only time will tell.
I went to the dentist yesterday. My insurance covers to visits a year and I take advantage of that.
I really like my dentist and my hygienist. Hubby used to coach football with dentist so he is more like a friend. When my dad was first diagnosed with cancer and needed to have some dental work done he went to my dentist.
So, at this latest trip I knew I needed to have a set of xrays taken. My hygienist told me that they no longer do the ones where they stick the little pieces of film in your mouth. What?? What do they do then? She said they now do it all at once.
You stand in front of this machine that reminds me of when you get your eyes tested. You rest your chin on this thing and there is a piece that you bite down on. There is another piece that then rotates around your head. It gets a picture of the entire bottom half of your skull. They can see your jaw and up into your sinus cavity. Dentist said that this allows them to potentially see things that may be going on. He said that if my dad had been going to a dentist regularly they may have caught his cancer in the very early stages. They can also see if there are issues with your sinuses.
Years ago, I had read an article that said your dentist and eye doctor can tell more about your general overall health than your GP can. The eyes and mouth/gums can be the first places that health issue an show themselves.
First, let's see what kind of crazy people will find this based on the title. I love going to the Google stats.
OK. Another pet peeve about women and warm weather.
Ladies, please go get pedicures if you are going to wear open toe shoes.
I do not want to see your Frito toes with the nasty yellow toe nails. I do not want to see your heels that look like they could be used to sand wood.
Now you don't have to go to a nail salon every couple of weeks but you can go to Walgreens (hell, I'm sure the dollar store may sell it) and get a bottle of polish an a Ped-Egg for less than 10 bucks. A bottle of lotion wouldn't hurt either.
Guys, a little attention to your feet would be appreciated as well. Nails trimmed nicely and a bit of lotion on the heels goes a long way.
...Do women insist on wearing white or other light colored pants that are a bit too tight and then wear dark colored underwear? No one wants to see your flowered granny panties.
