%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |   Nadanother blog...sheesh, I guess I DO blog. Completed. |
|
I've had a rich past, yet am making a new one with plenty of life's experiences to draw from! I invite you to come along and see what trouble I get into. I'll blog about my life, present, past... whatever comes to mind at the time. I'll try not to be too serious most of the time, heck we get enough of that just living. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** Happy New Year! For the mirroring blog series we do on Saturdays:
and
|
| I guess it me. Since I found out we are going on our trip, it has been crazy here. All the things I should have been doing to get ready previously, didn't get done. Of course going on vacation was not exactly at the top of my list. I can't believe how many days have gone by since I blogged...this may be a first for me. I'm rushing right now to get something in here, it's raining here...and more to come, heavy too. Could be saving us from the driest year ever. Oddly it happens to be the one day I have to drive the freeways to go to LA for a morning appointment with our attorney. Nothing like a gloomy day to meet and discuss your Last Will and Testament. Gawd. Earlier in the week I'd had it with my hair...it was looking horrendous, as I'd been growing it out. I suppose that, combined with "the face", all of the stress with Hubby lately etc. things just got the better of me. What better way to make you feel in control than to get a new hairdo? Well, at least that's one thing I do. So I've cut it all off again, but it is still darker. Then I had a day of "gown" shopping, as I think we have seven formal nights....I'm only buying one gown this year, as a result, I have spent hours trying on the thirty or so I've accumulated since 1994. I sold about half of them when I had to give up my closet. I'm afraid less than a third of them fit....hard to believe it, but the rest are too small! Some of that is in part to a changing, more mature body. If you knew how difficult it was for me to say that....because it isn't for the better, according to my gowns. I also have a new criteria...comfort! Yep, I'd love to be able to get dressed in a gown and feel like I had enough room to eat some dinner! Since I won't be trying to pack for thirty days of vacation, but rather in two week increments, with a change in ships midway, I can wear the same two weeks on each! That is if my clothing doesn't mysteriously shrink from the salt air. I also decided that I would try wearing some short cocktail style dresses instead of all long gowns. I should have some descriptions for those interested...by next week, not too much in black I hope. Hubby sent me on some errands too, a request for bathing suits. Gawd, even though it is California, I don't have many places that carry bathing suits nearby...and then, once I did find some, I bought him the wrong size.  He has lost some weight since he has been ill...but apparently not so much in the waist.I have been sneaking a peek at some of your blogs...I've not forgotten you! I also have my Blogville Newsletter to write, but I will be back in here this weekend. Oh.....there is going to be a guest for dinner tonight....yep, my son has....a.....girlfriend!  For those of you who think love isn't out there...it is, when you least suspect it. I'm so happy for him.Have a great day, I miss you all!  |
If anyone has any doubts as to how much of a difference in your life the friends you make on this site can make, I’d like to clear it up for you. This morning we found out that Hubby doesn’t have to have heart surgery! Yep, happy dances abound here! Whatever they saw in Hubby’s heart doesn’t appear to be a tumor....and his “case” was presented to a conference of heart surgeons and specialists last Friday who all agreed! We found this out this morning! Yes, he still has the clot, yes his heart is still not on rhythm, BUT the clot should go away with medicine, and nothing can be done about the arrhythmia until the clot is gone....so in 18 days it’s BON VOYAGE! The doc says go, have fun! I have no doubt in my mind that had it not been for the concern, interest, caring, prayers and thoughts from so many of you I would not be here trying to thank you. Words do not seem adequate at a time like this. I’ve spoken to so many of you, in comments, emails and/or by phone over the past several months. Your generosity in spirit and of support overwhelms me at times. I have never known a more giving group. You’ve propped me up when I have felt down, given words of comfort when I’ve been worried, and lifted my spirits with your sincerity and words of encouragement and hope. When things looked so bleak to me, when it was all I could do to maintain Hubby’s outlook, and to try to lift his depression (not to mention my own) you each have offered bits and pieces of yourselves which helped to build me back up to be able to be a stronger person. You understood that I “lost” myself amidst the worry for Hubby...you never wagged a finger at me for feeling sorry for myself...you let me do it to myself, after you helped to make me strong again. You never let me down. That alone is worth the price of admission here. Thank you. I’m fortunate to have you all looking after me. I only hope I can do as much for you when you need it. Never underestimate the power of friends. I really hope that you all can understand how much I love you. I really do. I know I speak for Lance too...because I have always relayed your words to him, he knows how much you all care for both of us...he knows how much you mean to me. As the sun sets here I wish all of you a wonderful night. Sincerely, Sheila and Lance I now return you to Nada...and hey, let’s get the party started! My blog has not been much fun in awhile. Champagne for everyone! |
Ok, I’m about as gullible as anyone, but even I can spot things that are blatant hoaxes. {i)I know, I just opened the door for big trouble, but I also am capable of ignoring stuff too. So I was doing some research on the internet, hardly a surprise I know, when I ran across a site that has to do with internet hoaxes and urban legends. Who wouldn’t be curious? My gawd, I couldn’t believe what I was reading, but I’ll try to give you a flavor for it. There are several categories to choose from; urban legends, basics, current legends and hoaxes and classics. I don’t know which I clicked onto, but I can tell you it had to do with some man from Taiwan who supposedly was shown eating a fetus. I know, totally gross. Being the brave person I am I clicked on a photo of him and promptly busted out laughing. Come on, even I could have painted a doll and its parts better than that. It turns out the man is an artist ...GAWD, I suppose you can slap the label artist on dang near anyone, and whatever they churn out is deemed art. Sigh. Having had my fill of that stupid artist I moused another word for scrolled I just created, being the superb word artist I am, over a bunch of headlines to see what was available to educate me further. I passed over the NutraSweet Warning, an Atlanta Restaurant Serving Mice As Food....  , Bananas Spreading Flesh Eating Disease.... pu-lease, Don’t Drink Bottle Water Kept in Car... that was on the news, Cook An Egg With Your Cellphone ...gawd bad enough it fries your brain, Chicken Head Found in Box of McDonald’s Wings...hey, you DO deserve a beak today, and so on until...I found another worthy of my time to read...”Bisquits For Brains.”Oh yeah, this definitely peaked my interest, I clicked it open. According to the this site, dedicated to finding the truth, the story was given to them by a woman who wanted to know if it could be true. I â€ll be paraphrasing what I read: A young woman was visiting her in-laws. She went to a nearby supermarket to pick up groceries. Later, some people noticed her sitting in a car, the windows were rolled up, her eyes were closed and both hands held up behind the back of her head. One customer was concerned enough to walk over to the car. He noticed that Linda's eyes were now wide open. He thought she looked very strange. He asked if she was okay, and the woman replied that she'd been shot in the back of the head, and her hands were holding in her brains. The man called the paramedics, who broke into the car because the doors were locked, the woman had refused to remove her hands from her head. When they finally reached her, they found she had a wad of bread dough on the back of her head! Apparently a Pillsbury biscuit canister had exploded from the heat, making a loud noise, sounding to her like a gunshot and she felt something strike her head. When she reached back to find out what it was, she felt the dough and thought it was her brains. Initially she passed out, but recovered quickly and tried to hold her brains in (for over an hour) until someone came to her aid. Uhhhh, right. I’m sure I’ll be back to read more stuff....when I need a good laugh! |
| Slow down, you’re not in L.A. now! I saw that angled, hand-painted sign propped up on the side of the road today as I drove home. Being aware as I am of the fact my street is deemed an alternative to the main drag I know why the sign is there...mainly because of a couple reasons; no stoplights, and it is so much more scenic than the road through town. I mean given the choice wouldn’t most of us prefer a curvy two lane road running alongside a creek to those of commercial buildings lining the main road? Looking at giant sycamore and oak trees interspersed with a horse or cattle ranch now and then is far more appealing to the eye. However, despite the fact our town built a bike path winding its way from somewhere in Ojai all of the way down to the beach, for some reason the cyclists prefer taking my street. I’m not speaking about an occasional bicycle, nope...we have groups of cyclists who regularly come to town to bike. I’ll be driving along and then find a dozen cyclists, all dressed in gear comparable to the Tour d’France entrants. So that brings me to another point, I have never seen an overweight cyclist. But I have seen overweight people wearing bicycle pants. I don’t particularly think those stretchy tight pants are flattering, even on the fittest of bodies, but especially on men. I don’t know, there is just something sort of visually unappealing about a scrunched/squished/mashed up crotch...or”man-parts” as ccstring has dubbed them. I know, there is something aerodynamic about the outfits or they wouldn’t wear them for cycling, or speed skating, but come on...dayglo orange and neon green? Yeah, I know, it’s all about safety.... yadda-yadda-yadda. Sorry, but they are just plain ugly. My eyes hurt when I see ugly. The least they could do is let one lag behind with a “WARNING” sign. And there truly is nothing like a bunch of them pumping away for 30 miles to get into town and then come into our antique mall, walking in while swilling some bottled water and/or eating a granola bar, and smelling like you’ve been “rode fast and put away wet”. Gawd. The other very attractive thing is the helmet. Hey I’m all for helmets, but it doesn’t look that great slung over an arm like a useful accessory. It’s ugly, on your head or slung over the arm like some basket or handbag. They stink too you know! And, they aren’t going to buy anything, that’s for sure. Geez, I dunno where that little rant came from. Oh well, sorry, but guess it was rolling around in my brain. I really think it’s admirable that people actually buy bicycles that go somewhere. Sometimes we’ll be driving around town and I see couples cycling together and I think, ”Ouch!” Okay actually I think, “there goes another couple of granola heads.”Look, I know it would be smarter greener of me to be riding a bike around town, or even ...gulp...walking, but if you had to watch every step you took so you wouldn’t step on cow patties...you’d be driving too. I see horseback riders too...but come on, I’ve had way too many close calls on horses...those dang things would just as soon kill ya as let you ride them...besides, nobody makes fun of jeans, or cowboys, it’s Un-American. Have a great weekend! Oh, and a very Happy Birthday to Anyea   ...Hope you don’t get a hangover tonight!    |
Hubby had his MRI. It took an hour and a half...which is the easy part. Now comes the wait for the report to make its way to his doctor. We’re told it’ll be a couple of days. Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers....at the risk of being redundant, keep them up, we really need some good news here! I was reading a few blogs early this morning...I know, many of you thought I’d be going to the hospital this morning with Hubby...but because of the circumstances last week, I had to cancel and reschedule my own doctor’s appointment...TWICE. It probably wasn’t that big of a deal, but is was the final appointment with the doctor after my surgery. I didn’t want to cancel again unless absolutely necessary, since I had confirmed it only three hours before I found out about the MRI. If it had been for anything else requiring my presence I wouldn’t have hesitated. Hubby had a choice of my son or Cesar to assist him. Cesar won the coin toss. That meant I only had to get up at four this morning and see Hubby off at 5:30. He also was planning on staying overnight in LA, so if I yawn a few times...sorry.Hubby and I have new nicknames for each other, I’m The Face, he’s The Heart. Now don’t go abusing the information! Yes, that means you David McClain . Oh coincidentally, I’m getting to celebrate another birthday today! I never thought I’d be celebrating number 59 again, but ...today makes 59 days since I got...”the Face.” Wahooo...and the celebration extended to the doctor’s office where he took my official “After” photos. Of course it was a day of compliments on how great I look...all from the staff. Hey, I paid for those compliments! But I do have a few small complaints;1. The doctor messed up my hair before telling me it was “ After” photo day. 2. He was looking at my before photos saying, “Look how matronly you looked.” He needs to get his story straight...I’m sure he has no idea that I am a writer, therefore I pay abject attention to every word out of his mouth. He told me how lovely I was the day those photos were taken...didn’t need any work at all. Reverse psychology?3. He said it would probably be just another six months before the swelling goes down. What swelling?4. He didn’t even notice my new hair color. Men!5. He did notice my snakeskin boots....FIRST. He grabbed my foot, saying it looked like Boa. That’s weird, gawd. You know, come to think of it, the three office visits I’ve had since “the Face” was born, he has made a comment each time about my shoes. Seems I found myself a shoe fetish plastic surgeon! What luck. If I’d have known, I would have worn my new black lace pumps just for the fond fare-the-well photos. I’m going to miss him...HAH! It’s funny, in Sept. when I booked my surgery my main was concerned was having enough time to heal before our holiday vacation. Life sure has a way of making sure priorities are reshuffled. Now we are waking up every morning, thank goodness, wondering if we will be canceling it in favor of surgery. Gawd...don’t take anything for granted. Did I mention this was the first year we got trip insurance? Kinda makes me wonder... Ya’ll have a loving night...be kind to each other. I’m off to see what you guys are up to today! |
| We get up at 4 am, Hubby has a heart MRI in the morning in LA...things are moving fast now...one day at a time. Thanks to all of you special friends for your support...I/we appreciate it more than I can express at the moment. Love you, will be back tomorrow! |
| I know, it seems as though I have been very remiss in my blogging...also extremely bad in the commenting department too. But let me explain; I decided I should do NaNo this month, so Saturday and Sunday I sat down in front of my computer and I wrote....nothing. Okay, I didn’t, but I did think about it briefly. I thought about all of my writing friends here and how so many of them were angst ridden, pulling out their hair while coming up with the next great novel and it...depressed me so much I couldn’t type a word. That’s not entirely fair, because actually I did write at least a half a page. I got the title anyway, wanna hear it? I thought you might, but I’m not sharing that, it’s far too good, I may need it when I do write the next novel. I guess you can tell I have nothing to say huh? I hung out all long weekend with Hubby, watching stupid television shows and stuffing our faces. Anyone seen “The Real Wives of Orange County?” What a crock! If these are the real wives, then it would explain a whole lot of the behaviors of some of these other people who have reality tv shows. For instance, “Sunset Tan,” or some such crap. I mean, how interesting is it to hang out at a spray-on tan shop? Sure, there are some cute chicks who do it, but I mean really, do we care who gets a spray on tan done in the strip mall? I don’t really care to watch second or third wives of car dealers or real estate developers in some golf course housing development. They are the blended families of the rich and spoiled rotten. One kid hotwiring the golf-cart because they are only 15 and can’t drive...waaahhhhh...the inhumanity of it. OMG...you mean Macenzie isn’t going to get to go to South Beach for her high school graduation? Ohhhh noooo, one of the mothers is upset because her daughter won’t wear pink to match the colors of the decorations of her graduation party? Well, now I’m hooked. Dang it, I could have gone my entire life without knowing these people, but after several marathons to catch us up on the third season, well...I need to go see if the block-pirate-themed birthday for the five year old turned out well. Actually I haven’t been feeling too well...maybe it was those dang whipped yams Hubby had to have. I appreciate you helping me to get to neener-neener Hubby about the mashed potatoes though....I just knew I could count on you for honest answers. Just so you know, Hubby appreciates the loyal, steadfast THREE of you who only serve yams and not mashed potatoes. You voted early enough to give him hope of a neener-neener...which made mine all the more delicious later! |
| Happy Black Friday. Good grief, if you are reading this in the morning the chances are you are not a part of the retail madness. Good. I trust you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. I know Hubby and I did. I don’t remember when the last time just the two of us had Thanksgiving, all alone. Usually it is held at our home. This year was different, Mike had his father’s side of the family down south, my father and his wife went to one of her children’s homes, Hubby’s mother had plans, as did his brother. Oh I think we could have pulled it together, but with the uncertainty that was surrounding Hubby’s hospitalization, we decided to let everyone make other plans this year. I cooked an 18 pound turkey, stuffed with my sage dressing, giblet gravy, mashed potatoes, homemade cranberry/orange relish, rolls and....oops, I forgot to cook the green beans! It was followed by a delicious pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Of course this dinner would not go without some mishaps, it wouldn’t be right. The first indication of trouble came when I was gathering up the things I would need to make the whipped yams with marshmallow topping. Canned yams yep, can of pineapple yep, heavy cream yep, butter yep, brown sugar..... uhhh brown sugar? Where is the brown sugar? Gawd, Cesar did not have brown sugar as a staple item in the pantry? Apparently not. Oh well, we’ll not miss them. Clarification, I will not miss them. That’s right, I can’t stand yams or sweet potatoes. Call me crazy, but I think they are disgusting. Besides, we will be having mashed potatoes, so no big deal. “What do you mean NO YAMS?” Hubby says. “Well, we don’t have the brown sugar I need to make them. Besides, since it is just the two of us, and I don’t eat them, no big deal....right?” “WRONG. You can’t have Thanksgiving without yams.” “Well...yes you can. Sheesh, we’ll have everything else.” Hubby looks ready to whack me, “No, it’s not the same.” “Ok, I can make them, they just won’t have the brown sugar.” “No.” “Well, I’ll make them tomorrow so you’ll have them for all of the leftovers.” I smile at him. “Not the same. I mean who serves stuffing, mashed potatoes and yams?” “Well I do, every year. Everyone serves mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving dinner! Gawd.” “No they don’t. They serve yams. In fact, why don’t you take a poll in your blog. “ Soooo, here is the poll, because I think it’s only fair. And yes, I will make him whipped yams with marshmallows today. After we ate...stuffed ourselves actually... I cleaned up the kitchen and cut into the pie. I thought we would have pie a little later, when the meal had settled some. I cut into the pie, lifted a huge piece onto the plate and accidentally hit the plate causing it to fly off of the counter, flipping over and dumping the pie on the floor, breaking the plate everywhere. Gawd. Fortunately there was ¾ of the pie left and I hadn’t put any whipped cream on yet! I cleaned it all up before the dogs could get in there and get hurt. We fell asleep early, full and happy. Now I am thinking, leftovers....yum! Have a great day. |
| I feel like I have loads to be thankful for this year, and I'll narrow it down to a quick five: 1. They found the clot and growth before they went to the next procedure, and stopped it. 2. I'm thankful for each of my friends for their genuine concern and good wishes for us. I have had to lean on you more than ever the past few months. It's an amazing feeling to see how many of you extend yourselves to me each time. 3. I'm thankful we have each other to lean on. And thankful that my dad is doing so well, my son is down with his other grandparents, sister and other family, and we all love each other. 4. I am thankful we have men and women who stand up and fight for us to always have the freedoms we enjoy, including the meals we share, the religions we are allowed to express, and our political choices. 5. I am thankful for the writers who express themselves so eloquently and passionately, educating me far beyond what I'd have imagined when I joined this site. I have many more, but you get the gist. Ya'll sleep well, bellies full of food and hearts full of love! |
| Finally got the internet working, which only took three different crews...but hey, it’s Thanksgiving and I have it. David McClain was a sweetheart to update you a little for me yesterday, but now comes the story.So there I was in the hotel, enjoying my breakfast, since both Hubby and the doctor had said it would be later, in the afternoon sometime, for his two procedures. I got the opportunity to read a few blogs when my phone rang again. “Honey, they said they’ll be taking me in for the procedures 8 to 8:15 this morning.” “In half an hour?” I asked incredulously. “Yes. “ “Okay sweety, I’ll get there ASAP.” I shifted into overdrive and raced through my shower and threw on some basic face and had them bring my car up. Even at that it was an impossibility to get there in time to see him before he would be put under. I cursed them under my breath, because I swear if something happened and I had not gotten an opportunity to kiss him and tell him again that I loved him...... I drove the two miles to the hospital and tried to figure out where I should park this time, and ended up in a lot across the street, but not one that had a closing time before late night, should I need to stay late again. I got to him room, the bed empty and made up, which made me feel horrible all over again. I sat there hoping to see his nurse and ask how he was...but after twenty minutes and not seeing anyone I went out to the main waiting room for the cardiology dept. and stood in line at the volunteer staffed Information Desk. I explained to her what had happened and she directed me to a smaller waiting room around the corner, telling me to check in with the woman there who could tell me where he was. I did so and was told to have a seat and they would call me when his procedures were done. I grabbed a newspaper and tried to concentrate. In what seemed like only 10-15 minutes I heard my name and was told they were moving him now, go into the hall. Sure enough I saw a nurse pushing a gurney, she stopped when I caught up to them. I saw Lance laying there. I bent over to kiss him. “Are you going in for it now?” “They aren’t going to do it.” He sounded funny. “What do you mean?” “They put me out, did the scope down to make sure there wasn’t a blood clot before the electric shocks....but they found a blood clot in my heart, so they couldn’t do it.” That was only the half of it though. Once back in the room we were told the doctor would be in later. They brought him in some food, took his order for lunch and dinner. He was not happy about this turn of events. We both were disappointed in some ways, but on the other hand, if they would have done the procedure without looking first...GULP....not a happy scenario. About lunchtime the doctor came in and explained that they found the blood clot and a “mass”. “A mass...as in cancer?” Lance asked. “No, it’s doubtful. Most of these growths are benign. It looks like just a growth of some kind. We want you to keep taking the blood thinners, and in three or four months we’ll take another look, to see if the clot is gone, or the growth is larger. In the meantime, you can go home.” “What about the cruise we have planned?” “You can go, no problem.” No problem huh. Easy for the doctor to say. We got out of the hospital around two yesterday, and when I got home, we had no internet, nobody on the ranch did. Our home phone was also not working, the two aren’t connected. Lance went to work today, and I know he is not very happy, he thought he’d be feeling better, but frankly, he feels worse now...mentally. Maybe he was able to speak with the other doctor today and get some reassurances, because now he’s worried about both the clot and the growth...and he still has the irregular heartbeat. I am trying my best to not think about it, because it does no good to worry. Thank you for all of your wishes the past week, it has meant a lot to both of us. We're going to have ourselves a great Thanksgiving Day, and I hope all of you do too! I'm thankful for him being home, and all of you for everything you do on our behalf. Will be trying to catch up with you all today and tomorrow! Hope everyone's NaNo's are going splendidly!! |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
I just reminded myself of the time you did jury duty!
