Getting Ready for Christmas

Well, sort of. I put up the tree, stockings, nativity, wreaths, and a few other things here and there. Definitely don't have the florist coming out to deck the halls in garland like several of the neighbors do. If it weren't for the artificial tree we got last year, I probably wouldn't even be putting up Christmas decorations.

Still have lots of shopping to do - although I don't really shop for many folks. I've got Dad, Sylvia and Mom squared away. 1 Sibling down, and stuff for Lauren. Ray and I are talking about buying exercise equipment for our joint gift to each other. We'll see. So that only leaves about 6 or 7 things that I need to get. Not too bad, I guess.

Here's the tree. I had to move it from the Keeping Room this year, since we have the chairs and Plasma in there now. I think it actually looks much better in the Living Room - especially at night, since you can see it from the front door and the back yard. You make the call.

Fake Trees Rule!

Nativity Set from Childhood (as proven by the holes meticulously punched in the bottom of each of the Paper Mache figures) with "Story of the Nativity" cross (gift from Louis and Charlotte)

Back on the Grid

Well, it's been six weeks of working 7 days a week (with 2 days off for my birthday), but it's finally over - for now. I got to sleep until after 8:00 this morning, AND take a 3 plus hour nap today - sweet. Not that work is going to be super slow, but hopefully it can be managed with just a few hours late here and there until things pick up again in January.

And it's good timing, as I've got some stuff coming up. Lauren's 2nd birthday is next weekend, and Margaret will (hopefully) be coming in for her birthday in three weeks. Then Thanksgiving, followed by the Tara High School Class of 1987 20th reunion. Although the status of that is questionable, I'm hoping to have a gathering of about 20 or so fellow graduates over here on the Saturday following Turkey Day - with or without the official event taking place.

But the fun doesn't stop there, folks! Beth is coming into town in mid-December and four of us are going to drive to Houston to see Third Day and Jars of Clay in concert. And then Christmas. And thanks to Governor Blanco, we'll be off two days each for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. I always did like that lady.

OK, now that I've bored everyone with my schedule through the end of the year, I'll go see about catching up on all of the housekeeping that's been lacking for the past six weeks. Yikes!

Aunt Hoohen Rocks!

'Nuf said - that's all there is to it.

Motorcycle Musings

The weather has been beautiful for the past week, and T.S. and I have been roaming around a lot. On the way into work this morning, I was thinking about some of the "surprising" differences that I've noticed between riding a motorcycle and driving a car.
Of course, there's the obvious - you're on two wheels - duh! But what I'm really talking about is the enhanced sensations that you have (or as John Travolta said in Pulp Fiction, "It's the little differences"). Here's 3 things:

1) The Wind - OMG! When you're riding around on an asphalt parking lot in training class, with maximum speeds of about 18 mph, you have NO idea what riding at 60 mph is going to feel like. The first ride for me was a shock. The first stretch of Airline Highway where I got up to about 45 mph scared the crud out of me. I still don't have a windshield, but I'm considering getting one this fall.

2) The Temperature - Even though I was told that the temperature feels about 15 degrees cooler when you're riding, I still wasn't prepared for last winter. I mean, I got this information during training class, which was held on the last weekend in June on a tar covered parking lot. At that point, the concept of a 15 degree drop in temperature still equated to "hot as hell"! Flash forward 6 or 7 months to early morning rides when Diane Deaton is saying that the temperature is 36 degrees. There were many December and January mornings when I arrived at work not sure if my fingers were still attached. I've upgraded my gloves since then. The other thing about the temperature is coming across cool spots. It's really neat to be riding down the street and all of the sudden hit a small patch of cooler air. That happened this morning - although since the temperature was about 55 degrees to start with, I wasn't much of a fan of the cool spot today.

3) Smells - All that metal and those windows really block out a lot of the "fragrances" of the world around us. And sometimes, that's a good thing. Skunks and roadkill - nice. This morning, I was 2 vehicles behind a big garbage truck. It wasn't terrible, but every now and then, I'd catch a whiff of that unmistakable scent. Then I passed through an oily/gassy smell. A little farther down the road, I could smell the unmistakable grease of McDonald's. When I was almost to work, I passed by somewhere bread was being baked. I don't think I've yet to encounter the scent of a field of flowers yet - something to look forward to.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Yep - that's me - 39 years ago. Apparently, I felt that the delivery room nurse didn't sufficiently clean out my nasal cavity, and photography being what it was back then, retakes by "Nursery Identi-Foto" weren't an option!

Some interesting notes from my baby book:

Mother said: "I'm glad it's another girl."

Father said: "Good." (Good that I was a girl or that my mother was glad? Or maybe the Cowboys had just scored a touchdown. Who knows!)

Shape of Head: "Just perfect" (sorry, Margaret)

Character: "very loud and strong" - who me?

Position: "Normal - only 3 hours of labor"

OK, the reason these two things are funny, is because they are under a heading called "Birthmarks" - as in, what is the character and position of any birthmarks? Mom got that one kind of confused, I think!

And then, being the second child that I was, it doesn't go much beyond that. Oh, well, those are the breaks, I guess.

But today, I had a pretty good day. I took off from work and went for my semi-annual dentist check-up, got my motorcycle inspection sticker renewed, saw Dad and sat with him while he ate lunch, ate a late lunch with Ray at Monjuni's (WAY off the diet, but delicious!), had some alone time with Ray this afternoon, and then swam a mile. I spoke to all 3 of my siblings and my Dad (and talked to Mom yesterday afternoon), and got an email from Brittany and Lauren, and one from Sylvia. And a special birthday posting from Beth on her blog, and a follow-up phone call. Best of all, I got a surprise phone call from Lauren saying "Happy Birthday, Aunt Susan." Precious!

Yesterday at work, I was pleasantly surprise by a beautiful fall arrangement of cut flowers from Mom. I can't get over how pretty they are. I'm not sure if the pictures can do them justice.

One other note of interest from my baby book: First Bank Account: "Plano Bank and Trust - savings". I WILL be calling Mom first thing tomorrow to check on that. I wonder how much 39 years of accrued interest amounts to???

Now THAT'S More Like It!

T.S. is home safe and sound, and has made two successful round trips to work. Picked him up Saturday morning and rode him straight into work. Rode in again today, and so far so good. The diagnosis was a bad Crank Position Sensor (whatever that is). It was under warranty - hooray!

Trip to the Dr. for T.S.

T.S. had to go in for a bit of maintenance this week. There is a heat shield recall that is applicable to that model, so I took him in to get all fixed up. Also, the last time I took him in (June), I asked them to check out a couple of things and possibly adjust the idle. It seemed to be idling very low after riding and then stopping for traffic lights. Then, when it was time to take off, the throttle would kind of hesitate and "stumble". I really had to give it the gas to keep it from killing. They supposedly adjusted the idle in June, but it's still having the same problem. So when I took it in this time, I left it running (barely) and then hijacked a mechanic on his way back from a donut run. He wasn't thrilled, but he agreed that it was idling low and he's the one who used the phrase "stumble". He said the throttle cables seemed loose, as well. So I told all that to the guy who checked me in, and hopefully they'll get it right this time.

If not - anybody interested in purchasing a year old bike???? Well, I have a few other options. A guy at work who owns a couple of motorcycles, and works on his, told me to ride it to work and he'd check it out for me. Also, I have a few old friends from high school who are pretty mechanically inclined (hint, hint).

Say a prayer for T.S. - I know he's nervous being away from home.

Redemption for Some

Just want to congratulate David, and his Wolverines on the stomping they put on the Fighting Irish this weekend. And also to say that although LSU skunked Middle Tennessee Saturday night, that I am a bit disappointed with the 3 field goals. If you're #2 and playing a nobody in your own house, there is no reason to have to settle for 3 points.

The score should have been 56-0, at least. Shape up, Tigers. You're only #1 in the fan poll, and everyone knows how crooked elections are down here. USC jumped farther ahead, and Florida is creeping up from behind.

The Harder They Fall

This post isn't really a commentary on anything. It's just a way for me to get the picture below to my friend, David. Is David my "friend"? I guess so. Maybe I should say, "my former co-worker, David." Even that wouldn't be quite right. Maybe it should be "one of the hired project consultants on a project I worked on at a former job." Yeah, that sounds better.

Oh, wait. I did guilt him into sending my a Christmas card every year, beginning a few years back. And he and his wife (also one of the hired project consultants on a project I worked on at a former job - but now a full time state employee in that agency) have been to several Mardi Gras balls with us, where another friend (yes, really a friend this time) and I made him the meat in our bumping and grinding sandwich on the dancefloor. So, maybe he really does fall into the category of "friend" afterall.

Anyway, David is from Michigan, and is a 1,000,000% dedicated, diehard fan of the Wolverines. Their loss last year to Ohio State, which kept them out of the championship hunt, killed him, so you can imagine how he felt a few weeks ago! (And last week, too, for that matter.)

My mother's parents, on the other hand, are originally from a small town in North Carolina, called Lenoir, just a hop, skip and jump from Boone, NC - home to.....the fighting Mountaineers of Appalachian State University. As such, my mom has occassionally vacationed in the area. About 10 years ago when she was there, she brought me back a T-shirt. Said T-shirt was used as a sleeping garment for a good while, but has been hidden away at the bottom of my T-shirt drawer for quite a few years. But now it's been revived, and here it is, and me, in all of our glory:

I know I'm taking a big chance by posting this picture for him, what with LSU getting all of this hype this year. But I figure, what are the chances that he'll go out and buy a T-shirt at the Bama bookstore and post a picture somewhere, if they happen to beat us in November????

Sorry about your team, David. But there is always next year.



Quack, Quack. Go Blue!






******************************

Here are the outtakes. I depended on Ray to take the picture this morning, and his skills with the camera are questionable, at best:

Too much background and belly

Nice blue shirt, huh?

Cut off my hair

I finally had to frame the shot for him

Scenes from Nevada

Well, it looks like I did take a few (very few) pictures during the trip, after all. I guess once we got to Sparks, I must have figured that there wasn't much worth preserving for the ages.

Sorry that the video is dark. This was the room we stayed in when we were in Vegas. The Venetian is an "all suites" hotel, and I have really wanted to stay there since we visited in November. One funny thing about the floor layout: when you get off the elevator and step out of the elevator lobby, you're in a circular room, with halls leading off in three directions. On the archway above the first hall it reads, "Suites 100 - 199". The second hall is labeled, "Suites 200 - 299". The third hall reads, "Ice Suites 300 - 399". We were in Suite 317, so this was our hall. When Beth checked in the following night, she got a room on our floor, but in a 200 suite. I was so curious to see how her room differed from ours, because she had just a regular suite, but I had an Ice Suite. When I got to her room, I couldn't tell any difference (other than her view was much better). It was puzzling. Then, later that night, when we were returning to the room to pick something up between dinner and the show, I voiced my puzzlement to her. In the instant that the words actually left my mouth, I realized that I was reading it wrong. It didn't say "Ice Suites". It said, "Ice Suites". Yep, my room WAS special. I was closer to the ice machine than she was. What a dope!

After arriving Wednesday, we "took a nap" from 4:00pm to 4:30am. When we woke up, we walked down the Strip for a healthy breakfast at Fat Burger. Deeelicious. We walked back up to Caesar's Palace, and then decided to walk downtown. On the way, we saw that it would probably take all day to walk there, so we decided to ride the enclosed double decker bus that runs up and down the Strip. It's called "The Deuce", and for $5.00 you have unlimited on and off privileges for 24 hours. We caught it going the wrong way, so by the time we reached downtown, we had traveled the entire Strip. It was actually pretty fun, but Ray and I did both escape into our books after about 30 minutes. Below are some pictures from the front seat on the top deck of The Deuce.

Friday, we drove over the Hoover Dam and into Arizona to the Grand Canyon (West). Below are some shots taken at Guano Point (so named for the bat guano that they used to mine). Some shots with people...

Some shots of scenery...including the Colorado River, the drop off the side of the trail (pictures don't do this one justice), Guano Point, and the top half of my head in front of the Canyon.

Saturday, we got up and drove from Vegas to Reno/Sparks. Beth had already warned me that it was a monotonous drive, with very few places to stop on the way. I still had no idea. Here are some pictures from the scenic drive.

This one below, to me, was the most scenic part of the trip (aw, how sweet!):

The only pictures I took once we reached our final destination were the three below. We decided to drive to Carson City, which is up the mountain from Reno. It was a nice drive, and the houses that people are building on the side of the mountain are really something to see. Some of them were amazing. About half way up, we got to this scenic overlook that looked like it used to be a place for camping. There were some old brick fire pits and what looked like old campsites. I don't mean old as in the 1890's. I mean old as in maybe the 1980's. There was also an outlook/alcove little thing that we climbed up to in order to take these pictures. If you're wondering why I have that look on my face, it's because I'm deathly afraid of sitting on either a used condom or hypodermic needle. Yes - it is used for things other than camping these days. The smell was like an elementary school bathroom, but the pictures were nice, with the valley and hills in the background.

That's all I got, folks! Hope you enjoyed it.

That's "NeVADa"

My friend (make that BEST friend) Beth, tells me that she has run into very few true "locals" since moving to Las Vegas last year. Almost everyone who lives in Vegas is from somewhere else. So those folks may not take the time to correct you in your pronunciation of their state's name.

However, on a recent trip to Reno (actually to Sparks, which is to Reno like Gretna is to New Orleans), we were fortunate to run into a few locals who love their state and will quickly set you straight on the pronunciation. It's not "Nevaaaada", but "NeVADa". They say the only people who pronounce it the first way are either "not from here", or are hoity toity. These gals were Sparks locals, so there was not a scent of hoity toity on them! But I don't blame them. It's annoying to hear someone say "New Orleeens" or even "N'awlins". What's wrong with just plain old "New Orlins?"

I was not too good about pulling out the camera on the trip, but fortunately Beth has written an extensive and humorous post on her blog, complete with a few pictures. Here's the link, if you're interested and haven't already read it.

http://thejackson4-lasvegas.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html

Scroll down until you get to "Ray and Susan Visit" and then read all of the stories through the end of that page. We had a great time, and I miss her and her family, as usual.

I'll get the camera out and see if I have any pictures from Reno (I mean, Sparks), but I don't think I do. It was fairly uneventful. Ray and I didn't even go on the group outing for the Lake Tahoe cruise. The highlights (for me) were going to Long John Silvers (of course!), the Reno Harley Davidson shop, to Boston Market twice, and to In 'N Out Burger almost every day. Man, I wish we had a Boston Market and an In 'N Out Burger here. Yum!

Sorry if I took the easy way out on the Vegas trip, but Beth is so much more eloquent than I am. I didn't even remember half of the things she wrote about until I read her blog.

The Freaks Come Out

Even though I pretty much know the working or home life status of each of my 6 faithful readers, I'm going to pretend I don't. So, whether you work and have to attend continuing education courses; or if you teach adults in a work environment; or if you can think back to your time attending college classes...you'll get this post 100%.

Last week I was out of the office a lot. I had a 1/2 day class (taught by my stepmother, no less) on Tuesday, and then a 1.5 day class on "How to Conduct an Effective Interview". Both classes were actually very good, and I know I can use some of the things taught to help me in my job. In the Tuesday class, I was very curious about these reports that were being taught. And seeing as how Sylvia was the teacher, I was not at all reluctant to ask lots of questions - and re-questions when I needed her to follow up. At one point fairly early on, I realized that all of my questioning was probably getting on some people's nerves, so I decided to shut up and just listen. After all, I could just call Sylvia after the class and get her to clarify anything that was still unclear.

Then comes Thursday, and day one of the Interview class. I have come to realize that in every class, there is always as least one major freak. (Please note that I stopped myself in the Tuesday class so that I wouldn't become that freak.) So we're in this class of about 30 people, sitting at 6 different tables. Based on overhearing certain conversations prior to the class starting, I was already homing in on a freak or two. Then comes the introductions. "Tell everyone your name, where you work, how long you've been with the state, and what you expect to take away from this class." Blah! So we get to Table 2, and "The Soapbox" from the DMV introduces herself. She decides to stray a bit from the standard intro and tell the rest of us how hard they work at the DMV, how much they've had to do since Katrina, and how because of this, and the fact that they are so underpaid, that they can't keep anyone. Therefore, they are constantly interviewing. She finishes up with, "I mean think about it, people!" The room was silent. Well, not quite totally silent. You see, Freak #2, aka "The Parrot" was sitting back to back with me, and she's verbally agreeing with The Soapbox. It was like we were in a non-denominational church or something. "Yes, you're right. Uh huh. You know that's true." Oh, I knew this was going to be a long day and 1/2.

So, the class is trudging along (after the 30 minute fire drill in the blistering sun), and the Soapbox keeps doing her thing, and the Parrot keeps doing hers. Then we get to a video, which was cheesy, but amusing. So we have to discuss the video, and the teacher is fielding questions from the class, and the Parrot is answering them. It was DRIVING ME CRAZY! It wasn't that she was disagreeing with the teacher, but she was answering them as if they were being directed at her. At one point I was asking the instructor a question, and she paused for a minute to consider, and Parrot decides to answer. I just kind of ignored her, but she kept on. Finally, I said, "That's great, but I am REALLY interested in what SHE has to say on the matter." It shut her up for about 3 minutes. Later, someone asked about taping or recording interviews. The instructor said that you could do that, but she didn't really think that was a good idea. And, because you have to treat all interviewees the same, you have to get permission from all of them if you decide to proceed in this manner. So I (being the fascist that I am) said, "Well, couldn't you just tell them when you are scheduling the interview that it is the department's policy to video all interviews at that level? And if they weren't interested, they didn't have to interview at all." The instructor: "Well...." The Parrot: "Oh, no, you can't do that. They all have to agree. Otherwise you're violating their rights!" Me (pissed off): "Well, by that argument, then if they walk into the interview and see that there is a panel of 3 interviewing them, they could just decide that they want a one on one interview. You're allowing them to control the way you interview." The Parrot: "Blah, blah, blah, blah violation of privacy, blah, blah." Me: "Whatever. That's just ridiculous."

Don't think that The Soapbox was quiet this whole time. No, sporadically, she would pipe up with her opinion on things, both on and off topic. Her main sparring partner seemed to be an LSU cop who was taking the class. He was loud, but funny, and not offensive. However, she seemed to want to argue with him about everything. At one point, he was trying to pin down the instructor on what would be the best way to react when someone tells you some personal health problem they have (when you're not supposed to react at all). He kept asking, and The Soapbox kept answering him, and he finally said, "Look. I'm sure all of your encyclopedias have already been sold, so I'd really like to here HER opinion." I'm not really sure exactly what that meant, but I'm pretty sure it meant "Shut the f@*k up!" And she did - for about a minute.

So, all of this to just affirm that no matter how old you get or what kind of group dynamics environment you find yourself in, there is always a Freak in there, and sometimes, it just may be someone besides yourself!

Victim of Fraud

Now I'm going to have the Eagles' "Victim of Love" running through my head all day, but I like that song, so I guess that's OK. Back to the topic:



I was looking at our joint bank account online and noticed that there was a $96.00 hit for check number 1009. So, since I am the keeper of the checking account and I know I didn't write a check for $96.00, I first called Ray to see if he was up to no good. He was not. Looking back in my check register, that check number corresponds to a check that I wrote for a graduation gift back in May of 2006. Last year, I continued to watch for this check to clear, but it never did. And since it was written not to a graduate that I really know, but only because the parents had said graduate send us an invitation, I voided out the check in my check register and moved on, happily keeping my $25 for myself.



Aside: Why do people think it's OK to send graduation announcements/invitations for their kids to people who they rarely, if ever, see or talk to? That really irks me. Not to reveal who these people are, but just because you and my husband share about an 1/8 of your blood, please don't think you need to waste a stamp sending us an invitation for a child that I've never met in the 12+ years that Ray and I have been together. Now, on the other hand, I don't share a single drop of blood with my "niece" and "nephew", Ella and Bradley. However, when it comes time for them to graduate, there will be hell to pay if I don't get an invitation. Weddings are a different thing all together. I am not offended to receive a wedding invitation in the mail for distant relatives or long lost friends. At least if someone sends you a wedding invitation, they assume that you MAY come. (Nobody goes to graduations for people they barely know.) Plus, for a wedding, I get to choose whether I go or not. And if I do go, I get something for my troubles. Food, maybe some drinks, and definitely some wedding cake. So, if I go, I bring a gift. If I don't, no gift required. Simple quid pro quo, and I like it that way.



So, in between the time I started this post, and while I typed off subject, and heated my lunch, and ate half of my lunch, the Credit Union has called me back. Here's the deal: Check #1009 that posted to our joint account for $96.00 was actually Check #1009 from Ray's individual account. He had written it last week for our football board dues, and when the teller at LaCap cashed it, she posted it to the wrong account. And while this mystery is solved, I am still marveling a little bit at the strange coincidence that the only check number that is outstanding in our joint account just so happens to the the same number as the only check that has ever been posted incorrectly (maybe the bank system has edits for not posting the same number to the same account more than once, who knows - who cares?). Some people would call this a sign. Maybe I'm supposed to resend a check to that graduate...

If I were Amber on Big Brother 8, I think I'd take this as God's way of telling me that on October 9th (10/09), I will try out for, and be selected to be on America's Next Top Model, and that I'm about to launch my career as a cover model for various fashion magazines - because I'm charismatic, outgoing and not as small as I look!



Hey, Amber: "What kind of love have you got? You should be home, but you’re not. A room full of noise and dangerous boys -still makes you thirsty and hot. Victim of love, now you’re a victim of love. What kind of love have you got? "



Editor's Note: Apologies for those of you who may not understand each and every reference in this post. I fully admit that it is one gigantic non sequitur. Out of the 8 people who may read this post, I'm thinking that there are possibly 3 who will get it all. And I'm sorry for all of the Latin.

Happy Anniversary!

Thirty-three years ago today my dad took the plunge again with Wife #2. He and Sylvia were married at Broadmoor Methodist Church (neither one of them being Methodist, of course!) and then they were off to Jamaica for what was, I'm sure, a romantic honeymoon (although I get ooged out if I think about that too much).
Once they returned stateside, they moved into a 2 bedroom, 2 story apartment in Dallas, then into a house in Dallas, and finally (in '76) moved to Baton Rouge. I'm sure all was blissfully happy for the young couple and their German Sheppard, Heidi. Five (not so) short years later, the "#1 Son" was born, and all was going swimmingly. Until...
October of '81 when the 2 stepdaughters (that would be me and Margaret) descended upon Baton Rouge and life was turned a little bit upside down for everyone. It was touch and go there sometimes, but things picked up a bit when "Baby Girl" was born in '86 (of course none of us had ANY idea what a little toot she was going to be!!!).
Now, here we are, all mostly grown up (the little toot is graduating from LSU in May), and mostly pretty darn happy.

So, thanks, Dad and Sylvia for choosing each other all those many years ago. And thanks for putting up with each other and with us! I love you guys!

Now, Dad, GO CLEAN UP THAT ROOM!!!

August 24, 2007

Sympathy Diabetes?

I think everyone has heard of the term "sympathy pains". It's most commonly thought of when a woman is pregnant, and her husband (boyfriend, significant other, sperm donator, etc.) seems to experience the same or similar feelings that she is experiencing. According to "the Internet" there are these things called mirror neurons:

Mirror neurons are a layer of brain cells which act as a reflection, both of our own actions and moods, and of actions and moods which we observe. In the cases where people report feeling "sympathy pains", there is some evidence that the firing of the mirror neurons is actually having a real effect on the neurotransmitters released in the brain. There is no way that the observer can possibly feel something with the strength or immediacy of the principal individual, but it is entirely possible to provoke something of a "pain" response through such signaling.

OK, maybe and maybe not. But let me tell you what's happening with me.

Ray was recently diagnosed with Diabetes Type 2. This basically means that his body's insulin is not reacting correctly in the way it maintains his blood sugar. Having high blood sugar can be a dangerous thing, leading to blindness, loss of limbs, stroke, and even death. In order to learn how to manage his condition so that he can continue to count to 10 using his toes, he had to attend 3 half day sessions at Ochsner. As the loving and devoted wife, I, of course, went with him. And I'm glad I did. It was very interesting and informative from the standpoint of both a diabetic's wife and a lifelong fatty. The dietician gave us some really good and easy to use methods of eating in a more healthy manner, and we've been really working hard to put them into practice. We've also kicked up the level of exercise we're getting on a daily basis - which is an important way to manage your body's use of insulin. So, with all of this, slowly but steadily Ray's blood glucose readings are coming into a normal range, and a little bit of weight is coming off of both of us. The "normal" range for a fasting blood sugar reading should be between 70 and 100. The first day we went to the pre-class appointment, they gave us both blood glucose meters. Ray's reading was something like 150 and mine was 84. 84 - hot damn! I literally jumped up and down in the office in front of the nurse (really). I figured with all of my girth and inactivity I was going to be a diabetic for sure. But, nope, it was 84 and I was as happy as could be - I couldn't wipe the stupid smile off my face for the rest of the doctor's visit.

So now, with all of this healthy eating (I've eaten more fish in the past 2 and 1/2 weeks than I've eaten in my entire life, and we've now moved into the realm of soy burgers, "chik'n" and breakfast wraps - yummy); the increased exercise (I'm swimming between 30 and 60 minutes each day 6 times a week); and the continued monitoring of my blood glucose, you'd think I'd be one healthy human, right?

WRONG! For the last 2 mornings, my blood glucose readings have been 108 and 120, consecutively. Now, maybe this morning was due to the fact that I had 2 frozen strawberry margarita's at Outback last night, but I don't think so. I think that Ray, my good for nothing husband, has given me diabetes. That's right, the bastard has figured out that diabetes is like a cold - if you can give it to someone else, you won't have it anymore. Because, boys and girls, guess what Ray's reading have been the past few mornings? 90, 90, and 101. He hasn't seen the northern side of 115 in I don't know how long.

So when we have to go back for the follow-up with the Diabetes Educator in October, I guess I may as well have her sign me up for the program. The only positive note that I can give to this situation is that, as I did this morning, I can now say to Ray at any point in time, "I'm in a pissed off mood, and it's because of my diabetes, so leave me the hell alone!"

Game Night for Geeks

Yesterday, my "little" sister, Christina, came over to hang out. Because it started raining shortly after she arrived, we had to find something to do inside. I don't have many games, but she decided she wanted Trivial Pursuit - 20th Anniversary Edition. She's only 21, so I didn't expect her to know too much about news, pop culture, etc. from 1982 - 2001. She didn't disappoint. I was, however, ashamed that I, too, knew very few of the answers. It got so bad, and we wanted to end the misery, that when we had both earned 3 pie pieces, we went to sudden death. She won. I did not care in the least.


After we got back from dinner, we decided to play Scrabble. I was really worried about us. Spelling is not, nor has it ever been, my strongest skill. I don't know what it is - maybe I have a touch of dyslexia. (Did I ever mention that I wrote (plagiarized - did I spell that right? Hope so, cause I looked it up!) a report on dyslexia way back in 5th or 6th grade - way before dyslexia was cool?) So, given my handicap, along with our shameful showing in T.P., I figured there was disaster ahead.


I started out strong (I think) with "MANIAC". We weren't keeping score (we were counting individual scores, but not keeping a tally), but I was pleased that I used 6 of my 7 letters on my first try. Christina countered with "DRIP". I came back with "CLOGS", and then she put down "ADD". I think this was the point where I yelled at her for putting down short words that didn't help the board to grow. (Have you ever played Scrabble with a full-fledged Control Freak?) As she has her entire life, she obeyed my command, and we really started kicking butt. My best move was to use all 7 letters at once by hooking into an I for the word "FRIGHTEN". The placement didn't give me any good Triple Word Scores, but I did get 50 extra points for using all 7 letters. I got a 98. Did I mention we weren't keeping score? Christina had some nice moves, as well. She got "HOAX", "HALVED" and a beauty of a combination when she used "BRAIN" to make a block and also made "FIR" in the same move. She put down "JESUS", which I told her was illegal, but it WAS Sunday, and I didn't want to tempt fate. I did put my foot down when she tried to put down "JEDI" - not in my lifetime, buddy!


So we get down to the end, and we each had 2 letters left. I had 2 vowels, and there were several places on the board that I could use my letters, so I was golden. I didn't know what she had, but she was having some trouble. So (and this is the only "cheating" that happened), I asked her to show me her letters. Then, since I had multiple choices, I placed my letters in a way that she could build off of them. In the end, the only letter that was left was a "K". She used it to spell "KA", which is in the dictionary, but may be questionable as a foreign word.


The cool part about the night was that the 2 of us, both self-proclaimed rotten spellers and Scrabble novices, were able to use up all of our letters. I felt a sense of accomplishment. I guess that IS pretty geeky. But I wonder what is geekier (more geeky?): taking pride in using all of the letters in the game, or going to extreme lengths to get a picture of the completed board???



As an aside to this story, and something I didn't realize yesterday, but it just struck me as I was typing this: when Christina and Paul were younger (and Christina was really young - 5 or 6 or 7), and I was living at home, Christina ALWAYS wanted to play Trivial Pursuit. I mean it was strange. She was way too little to get any of the answers, but she always wanted to play. We ended up getting a Junior Trivial Pursuit so that we could use those questions for her and the regular questions for the grown ups. I guess some things never change!

Sherman Almighty

Cheap takeoff on the title to the new Steve Carell movie - sorry.

So if you watched the news last night or today, you probably heard about the flooding in North Texas. And if you listened really closely, you may have heard them mention some flooding in the town of Sherman. Sherman is most well know for being the birth place of me - and probably some other stuff, too.

Anyway, parts of the town are very hilly, and there are creeks that run through it. My mom lives on a street that is not the highest, but it's close to the top of one of the big hills. These pictures are from her front yard. They were kind of dark on my PC, so I'm not sure how well they'll show up. She's the second house from the corner, and basically, if you go left from her driveway, you'll hit the cross street (or in this case, the cross river). The house across the cross street is almost covered with water. Mom said that her back yard was like a waterfall. Since she's not the highest spot on the hill, water was racing down her backyard toward her house. It got up to the patio, but luckily not in the house.

Margaret and my Aunt and Uncle live there, too, and they were all high and dry.

I'll try to blog more frequently - maybe I'll get around to doing it before 4 more months go by!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun!

I spent part of my Friday off having a play date with my niece, Lauren. She's almost 16 months now, and she's really starting to appreciate the greatness that is Aunt Susan. She's a little shy with me at first, but as you can see, she warmed up quickly.

I was willing to do whatever it took to get a good picture of the two of us - including bribery with my watch. I didn't mean to expose her belly button, but better hers than mine!

She has the knack of looking away from the camera just as the picture is being snapped. From the look on her face, she was enjoying my frustration.

Looking adoringly at Aunt Susan - what a magical day!

Finally - the perfect shot! I won't even tell you what hoops I had to jump through to get this one...but my knees were killing me the next day!!

All his taste is in his mouth

This is what Ray actually wore to work the other day. Can you believe it? It was so hideous that I had to take a picture. Check out the sleeves of the oversized turtleneck sticking out from his sports coat. Also, you can't see it here, but he had on brown suede half boots. At what age does dementia start to set in??? (Don't even ask why he's merrily holding up the Diet Coke bottle - I have no explanation.)

The Office - Top Ten (the Revival)

OK, I know I kind of ragged Beth back in October when she posted her Office top ten list - but that's my job.

But Thursday night's episode (Back From Vacation) was maybe the funniest one yet. I mean, there were "pee in your pants" moments - and the older I get, the more dangerous those moments become...

So, here's my version of 'The Office Top Ten - the Revival':

#10 - Michael to Stanley - "You are not as much fun as your Jamaican brothers - mon."

#9 - Toby - "Nine different people emailed me that photo, including my ex-wife - and we don't even talk."
Michael - "This is probably the ice breaker you need."

#8 - Michael to Jan - "And I - to you - in addition feel - the same feelings - that you are - as well."

#7 - Kevin to Jan - "You look...tan."

#6 - Michael - "I'm not dating Jan. She was very clear on that."

#5 - Dwight to Pam - "You're PMSing pretty bad, huh?"

#4 - Michael to Dwight - "...the file name is 'Jamaican Jan Sun Princess'."

#3 - Michael to Jan - (Accompanied with hand gestures) "You. Complete. Me."

#2 - Dwight - "Let the record show that Jim Halpert is a liar."

#1 - The slight darting of Michael's eyes to the camera, along with the most subtle of smiles, when he realizes that he's not getting reprimanded by Jan for sending out the photo, but instead, she's telling him that she wants to continue the 'relationship'.

OK, my number 1 might not be your number 1, or even in your top 10. But, the look on his face at that moment was classic. I had to watch it back about 3 times right then. Then, when Ray fell asleep, I had to watch the entire thing over again. And - even though he only got one mention in my top 10, my favorite character for the moment is Kevin. He is hilarious. When I first started watching, he just annoyed me, but now that I 'know' him better, he cracks me up! I think our bond began when I discovered how much he likes the shredder - a major point we have in common.

Changing topics. Does anyone watch "Dexter" - a series on Showtime? I caught it relatively late in the 1st Season, but it is really good. They've just started InDemand service through Cox, so I was able to catch up on all of the episodes I missed this weekend - it was a "Dexter" marathon. Anyway, I'm sure they will be showing them again before the next season starts up, so for any of you who have Showtime, I would recommend that you check it out.