Black Friday II

So I have to say this about Black Friday.  It sure wears a girl out.  We left at 11 and came home at 5 and I was wiped out.  That's not me in the picture but that's what I felt like.
However, much was accomplished.  Everything we wanted to buy, we bought.  Every coupon we wanted to use, got used.  Every store we wanted to go into, we went.  Every item we wanted, they had. So, it was all good.
DD got her whole shebang done! I still have a tiny bit to do but it's stuff to do on line.
So the potential for a relaxing Christmas is closer to becoming reality.
So, thanks Black Friday! (although, I wish you'd change your name to something less gloomy)

Black Friday

I can't believe I got talked into this but I'm going shopping today with DD and DH!  They have the whole thing mapped out and I figure it will only take until 10pm or so to finish all they have planned.  They are both positive thinkers.
Well, I'm positive too.  Positive that everything will take at least twice as long as usual.  Interesting that DD could forget the time we went to Kohls on Black Friday and the two lines for registers wrapped around the store!
I'm pretty much done with shopping so I don't care if there is a crowd or if I don't get a fabulous bargain.  I'm going for the thrill of it all!  HA!
Really, I'm going to be the sensible one.  The one who says, I think we've had enough.  Let's finish this another day.  Or,  there are always sales.  Or, you don't really need to get him/her another gift.
I will be their Jiminy Cricket.  Hey, I like that.  Wish us luck.  If it is interesting, you'll read about it here!

Happy Thanksgiving 2013

To one and all!

Thanksgiving Eve

I know I'm supposed to be all grateful and stuff today and tomorrow, well, I guess, all the time but today I am wallowing in a little self pity.
No particular reason.  Just being self indulgent.
I feel fat.  I hate my hair.  None of my food seems to be turning out right.  I have to make dinner for my family and I don't want to.  I'm too hot.  Then I'm too cold.  I hate my slippers.
See? None of that stuff really matters.  Well, the dinner thing might be a problem but the other stuff is not that big of a deal.  Yet, I feel defeated.  I am sure my rolls didn't rise enough.  I'm sure my cheesecake didn't totally gel in the center.  I have a gigantic zit on my face.
Whew, I guess I wasn't done.(haha)
Well, I hope you feel all grateful and thankful today and tomorrow and every day, for that matter.  Me?........well, tomorrow is another day.

At the Library

Well, when I went to the library this week, the most amazing thing happened.  First, I noticed a police car parked in the lot which seemed weird. I never saw one there before.  As I parked, I turned my head and there were five patrol cars all clustered at one end of the lot.
WOWZA!  Stuff like that never happens at the library.  I wondered what on earth they were all doing there. As I approached, I saw an officer handcuff this old, scruffy looking guy and another officer handcuffed a blond woman.
I couldn't stop staring.  Well, to be honest, nobody could from the little baby with his grandpa to the library workers all standing in the lobby.
I can't imagine what they did.  Maybe they had huge outstanding fines.  Probably not, but what would bring them to the library???
I'll never know, but it was the most exciting thing I've seen in a long time.

Gobble Gobble Yuck

I'm not a big fan of turkey.  Ever.  I'll eat it on Thanksgiving but I'd much rather have stuffing or sweet potatoes or broccoli casserole.  On Thanksgiving, I could easily be a vegetarian.  When I saw this:

 I just about threw up.  I think it is the grossest thing I ever saw in my life.... Thanksgiving food wise that is. Who would do that?  I know there are giant bacon fans out there.  My gosh, there's even bacon scented deodorant.  But this just looks crazy to me.
A turduckhen grosses me out too.  Why would anyone stuff a turkey with a duck and then a chicken?  I never ever want to eat duck.  And I sure don't want it stuck in a turkey.  Turkey is bad enough on its own.
I guess that's why I'm a big fan of Thanksgiving stories for kids where the turkey reigns supreme and the pilgrims eat corn and bread for the feast.  Go on over to http://readaroundsue.blogspot.com/ and you can read about a couple of them.
Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving whether you like turkey or not.

Phone-y Baloney

I was taking my daily walk at the mall this morning.  It was a pretty cold morning so I wimped out and didn't walk outside.  Anyway, as I was walking, a young man was coming toward me(going in the wrong direction, of all the nerve.  All of us walkers know the rules and which way is the right direction!) and he was talking to himself and shaking his head.  I felt sorry for him because I thought maybe something was wrong with him as that isn't natural behavior usually.  Silly me, he was on the phone.  As he got closer I saw the wire that went to his earpiece.
Then, later I saw a lady who was talking and not even moving her mouth.  Was she a ventriloquist.  But the longer I listened, I realized, she had her speaker phone on.  She wasn't talking her friend was.
Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me.

AH CHOO!

I hate having a cold.  You know you feel lousy but not lousy enough to take to your bed and just stay there like when you have the flu.  No medicine really seems to help the situation either.  I stood in the drugstore yesterday looking and looking at all the choices, picked one and hoped for the best.  I didn't get the best.
I have drunk about a gallon of water.  I have a dry mouth and probably a dried out head.  My head should be totally empty because I've blown my nose about ten million times in the last two days.  I have used up three entire boxes of tissues and a roll of toilet paper( what can I say I ran out of tissues except for the Christmas ones I'm hoarding until Dec.1).
Food has no taste.  My eyes are totally red and dried out.  People keep asking me what's wrong.  Somebody even said, Look at her eyes. She's sick.  Thanks, pal.
I know I'm sick and I know I look sick.  At least Sis thought something was wrong.  I assured her all was fine, I just had a cold.
DH has been great.  He brought me pizza last night and will cook dinner tonight since I managed to get to the grocery store today.  I can just sit...........and blow my nose.

Open for Business

In case you don't know, I have another blog. It is called Read Around Sue and it is a review blog.  I review Young Adult, New Adult, Adult Fiction and once a week, I recommend children's books.
Well, today I opened up for submissions for the first time.  If you know anyone who is a budding author and needs exposure send them to http://readaroundsue.blogspot.com/
and I'll check out their book.
I don't promise to read all the books that are submitted but the rules are right there on the blog so there shouldn't be any confusion. 
Thanks in advance and have a great weekend.

Not So Savvy

When it comes to my computer, I think I know what I am doing most of the time.  Until I started to blog.  There is a graph to show how many people read you and also a number count.  They are never the same!!!!!!!!!!!!  It is so frustrating!!!
I thought I knew how to download a picture or something into a document but I didn't know about HTML. Would have never figured that out if I wasn't blogging.
I guess it only goes to show that there is always more to learn.  I'm still just a little novice, working my way through a labyrinth.....I mean, a computer.
The fact that my entire family is completely computer literate is not helping.  Oh, they are willing to help me...if I let them do the task for me.  That is  not how I learn.
They aren't meaning to be mean, just helpful.  But there is such a thing as too helpful.
So I just keep plugging along, learning one thing at a time.  I guess that's not so bad.
I just wish I knew it all...right now.  This minute. Not gonna happen, is it?

Great Advice

I probably haven't mentioned that we now have a big ass TV in our house.  In my opinion, a little too big but that's just me.  Everyone else who sees it thinks it is just dandy.
I have been utilizing the tube(hey, I bet you can't even call it that anymore..no tubes anywhere) a little too much while I recuperate but you can learn a lot from it.
Yesterday, I found out that you should not let the vial of eye drops touch your eye for fear of contamination.  Fear of contamination???  What about blinding yourself?
So in the spirit of public safety, I suggest the following:

Don't put your hand in a hot frying pan.
Never read a book upside down.
Don't try to read and watch television and eat popcorn all at the same time.(Now this one is really practical)
Don't try to swim in your bathtub.
Don't try to skate in your stocking feet across the living room floor, especially if it is carpeted.
Don't watch too much television........or should you?  Look what I learned and surmised from my viewing.

Lining Up

I've been watching a lot of television and I keep seeing women my age who don't have any wrinkles on their faces.  Some of them have had the lifeline lift and some have just had a few treatments of Botox or whatever else they use now.
So I got to thinking maybe I would get a little face lift or some kind of treatment.  I thought about it a lot and I decided I wanted to do it......
But, not the little lines between my eyebrows.  They show I have been wondering and thinking about things.
Not the lines at the corner of my eyes.  They show that I have been laughing a lot.
Not the lines from my nose to my mouth because that shows I've been talking up a storm and laughing my way through this life.
So, I bet you can guess what I decided to do.  That's right, nothing.

Idling

I am not good at being idle.  Even though I love to sit and read or watch my soap, it is hard to sit around all day and evening.  Trust me, I'm not cut out for it.
I want to dust when I see dust on the furniture.  I want to do laundry when it is nearing the top of the hamper.  I want to do.........well, pretty much anything.
How do you stay idle?  I don't know.  Do you just have to turn off your brain and let it take a vacation?  My brain hardly ever turns off and in the contest of wills between me and brain, brain always wins. That song I can't get out of my head?  Doesn't stop until brain tells it to.  Worrying about the kids even though they are successful, grown adults?  Stop it, says I.  NO WAY, says brain.
All I'm saying is I can only watch so many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress and old repeats of  What Not to Wear before I go stark raving mad.

Being There

One thing about being housebound with a caretaker is that you can't escape one another.  I don't mean that in a bad way.  I find it has helped us to become even closer than we are already.
My DD, Son and DH have spent many days with me as they are able to work form home.  That in itself is a miracle to me.  Having been a teacher, I couldn't have phoned it in if I wanted to.  I guess that's not even true anymore since there are on line school now.
I have gained new insight into the world of work while they have been home.  I can really listen in and hear the problems and have stopped wondering why they are so frustrated at times.  I know more about their colleagues and managers.  It's not all great.
I also found out that in their own ways, they are all nurturers.  DD is the most obvious.  I wonder if it is because she is a woman.  Maybe.  I never thought that DH and Son would be worried about me so much.  Neither one of them goes for more than a half hour without asking me if I'm ok and if I need anything.
All three of them are so present.  I am trying to return the kindness by being there for them too.  Not that I am not involved with my family but you know we all get used to each other and become a little complacent.  Well, no more for me.
I am loved and cherished and I don't want the other members of my family to have to become ill to feel that way.  I am going to put more effort into letting them know they are special and loved by me.
My Sis and WP have been there every step of the way too.  Sis made a birthday that had the potential to be totally boring a wonderful tea room like experience.  WP keeps coming over with food and funny stories.  Just don't make me laugh too hard yet.
Listen, I always knew all these folks loved me.  I just never expected them to go so far to demonstrate that love and caring.
I am so appreciative of who is in my life.  If you are reading this, my caregivers, I love you and always will.   xo

HB to Me

Yep, today's the day.  I turn 64 years old today.  I only wonder where the time went?  I know I've been busy but did I remember enough?  Did I appreciate all I had and have?  I hope I wasn't too dumb or mean or sarcastic.  I hope I made some people happy and made them laugh.
Next year will be 65 and then a lot changes.  I can officially retire.....Oh, wait, I did that when I was 50.  I will have to go on Medicare.  Say what???  I've been told you have to start the process early and with all the problems the website for affordable health care is having, I believe it.
But I'm only cruising at 64 for now and I plan to enjoy every minute of it.  I'm going to share my life with my friends and family and do everything I want to do.(within reason of course.  After all, I'm 64 not 24.)
I'm going to take  better care of myself too.  I'm going to continue my exercise program and healthy eating habits although the latter may have been taken care of with the recent loss of my gall bladder!
I'm going to wear make up and buy only clothes I like....even if they aren't on sale. I'm going to wineries and the movies. I'm going to book club and invite new members to join.  I'm going to get another tattoo.....I think.  Just a tiny one.
So that's the plan.  I'll keep you posted on how it goes.

Getting Better All the Time

That was me a week ago.  I could barely move and I think I still had my catheter.  I'm not sure because Sunday, Monday and Tuesday of last week are a little hazy.  I thought I heard my family talking about some things.  Some were right and some I must have dreamed.
So only last Sunday I had an extensive gall bladder removal that required cutting.  The gall bladder fell apart in the doc's hands. Gross, I know.  Just be glad I'm not posting the picture!!
But this is about today.  Today I walked around my neighborhood twice.  I ate three meals.  I stood up nice and straight (oh believe me, it isn't easy to stand up nice and straight after abdominal surgery).  I not only walked but I didn't have to stop every ten minutes to catch my breath.  I was like normal.
My pain is not all gone by any means but it is definitely manageable.  Actually, hardly hurts at all.
Isn't that a miracle?  Aren't we just the most amazing beings?  I have to pinch myself to believe it is true and I'm not just dreaming this incredible improvement.
I also spent a lot of time thinking about people who were wounded in the really really old times and didn't die. Wow!  I needed the help of a lot of drugs to come this far but imagine if you didn't have any.  Or just something that didn't hardly work. Yikes.
So no more talking about operations or surgery or gall bladders.  I'm back to my old self and look out everyone!!

Are You Scared Yet?

That guy is just a vampire.  The other thing is some kind of monster and I don't really think it's that scary but I'm not working on all cylinders here.  Monsters and vampires are supposed to be scary and now that Halloween has been and gone we've seen plenty of both.  I even watched a special about Vampires on television last night.
I know they are scary but you want to know what is really scary?  Pain that doesn't stop.  Knowing you are not yourself. Feeling a thousand years old.  Trying to keep up your spirits for your family's sake.
No kidding.  It is a scary time in my life.  Good thing I'm not scared of vampires...or monsters.