The Bliss List

So I recently read this book called “Choosing Brilliant Health” by Greg Hicks and Rick Foster.

A lot of what they have to say I’ve heard already in other forms, etc. But the way they have put it together and the research they have done make it an interesting read. It’s a step beyond just saying “think positive” and has a few concrete steps you can do. I like more than just theories/ideas. Practical how-to’s are my thing. [Which is why I have a hard time implementing Cesar Milan’s dog-training, but do well with Victoria Stilwell’s advice. But that’s a post for another day.]

Alas, it was an inter-library loan, and my timing couldn’t have been worse. Not enough time to do more than a hurried read (no renewal allowed. So I don’t remember all 8 steps.

The ones that stuck with me are regarding the Bliss List and Centralizing. What I got out of it is that you should come up with things that make you happy, that you enjoy. Not just what I'm thankful for having in my life (although there's plenty of that.) But more a focus on what I like to do and have around me. Create this list and then centralize it. Focus on one or two of those things daily; make them happen.

At first I was like, “Huh? I don't know about that.” But the more I thought about it, the more it appealed to me. A bit of a challenge so-to-speak. So here’s my attempt at a bliss list, in no special order: 

• Laughter
• Reading a really good book
• Writing
• Learning (especially history, religion, culture)
• Hanging out with friends
• Family (talking with, visiting)
• Leia & Max (the new dogs)
• How I feel after working out/accomplishing workout
• Belaying for Little Sis
• Scrapbooking

I know; a lot of these things aren’t that concrete. And it doesn’t seem like a long list. But these are the thoughts that come to mind today when I focus on my “bliss” list. These are the things I enjoy, that make me feel good.

So I’m going to try to incorporate as much of this into my daily life as possible over the coming year. Let’s see how I do!

Bliss List Attempt Goes Awry

So I got up today with the intention of doing a "Bliss List" post today. But apparently I'm now in a foul mood and going to vent.

I have been trying for 2 weeks to find out if one of my meds is available under generic pricing under our new pharmacy plan. (The insurance company switched pharmacy providers on us). Our insurance company Allegiance (yes, I'm outing the SOBs) tells me to call CIGNA (ditto). CIGNA tells me to call Allegiance. Neither one will answer one freaking simple question.  ^%$%$#!%$

I've spoken with our agent twice as well. And now I've had to provide her with specifics on what prescription it is to see if she can get me an answer. Frankly, I don't like having to do that. Yes, she's our agent. But I also have to deal with her as a customer. I don't like her knowing what medications I take. It's nothing major; it's the principal. And what's the point of finding out now, since I was required by my employer and the insurance company to turn in our FLEX plan paperwork last week? That's why I needed the info. And since the insurance company takes your money if you don't spend it, I put the minimum amount in. Let's hope it's enough. (We're talking a difference of $400 here.) I told all this to my agent and both Allegiance & CIGNA. I also told all of them I'm 2 seconds away from filing a complaint with the insurance department. It really should not be this difficult to get this question answered.

Not that complaining will do any good. Their lobbyists are too powerful...hence the defeat Dec 15 of the bill attempting to get FDA approved drugs from FDA approved facilities outside of the US. Like from Canada. The way they act (lobbyists, congress), it just might kill us if we bring in drugs from Canada. Although how they survive getting their drugs from such apparently dangerous drug makers, I haven't a clue. (rolling my eyes). But what's cheaper for the consumer makes the US drug companies lose money. So the consumer - ME - gets screwed yet again.  Just take a look at what's been done to health care reform.

$%!*;%)*^# 

I need to go back to bed. Seriously. Hopefully getting that out of my system will make the rest of the day go better. I sure hope so. It's not even 9am. God.

(Did I mention my employer won't have the parking lot plowed when it snows, so the several feet we got over a week ago that keept melting and refreezing is now pretty much solid ice? My car slid into the parking lot yesterday morning. And it was worse today. A nice half-inch dusting of snow on top of the ice does wonders for traction. I slipped the second I stepped out of the car this morning. In spite of my good snow boots. Thank goodness I was being cautious...I was able to catch myself on the car. Which hurts, but at least I'm not broken. Which will most likely happen just after the new year when our deductible goes up to $2000. Yeah, yeah...I know there's work comp. But knowing my luck it wouldn't be covered....)

As a former co-worker used to say when I got all cranky "Do you need a lollipop?" Although I doubt any sugar will sweeten me up this morning. Holy smokes am I cranky or what?

Unexpected Power

This article on CNN about "The unexpected power of $10 to $20" really moved me today. So I thought it would make a great post. :)

I like the premise of this group. Pooling funds to meet some short-term money needs.

When I first realized my new dog needs a $1000 surgery, I was pretty stressed over where I'd find the money.  I researched online and there are plenty of groups offering financial aid for animals needing medical care. But the demand is so great and the money so limited, most are now limited to life-saving requests only.  Turns out I don't need help (Got that???? I have Max' surgery covered - this is not to be interpreted as a hint or any kind of request!!! We're just waiting until after obedience training before scheduling the surgery!). But it made me rethink my annual donation strategy.

Every little bit does help. And it doesn't have to be monetary, either. A condolence card in the mail from someone you least expect, someone picking up a prescription refill for you so you don't have to visit Wally World 2 days before Xmas...(hey, they were going anyway!!)...bringing someone dinner (or inviting them over to eat) when you know they're low on funds & food...basically just sharing what you have...those things can make all the difference.

And they come back on you three-fold. Good for your karma. ;)

I think I need to add this site to my "Destinations" list. Here's a direct link to Modest Needs.

Happy Belated Winter Solstice!!!

Weekend Aftermath

Yesterday was M's birthday, so the party was, naturally, at my house. I like to entertain (yes, I do, strangely enough) so it was fun. But the house needed some serious cleaning. The type of cleaning I've been delaying by piling papers and shuffling them from room to room as needed. (In other words, living room to bedroom to living room.)

I started on Saturday with the bathroom. The bolt on the toilet broke - in October - so it rocks back and forth, and lately I could sorta smell some fumes. I'd been debating for weeks about calling a plumber or fixing it myself. Being cheap, I decided to give it a try. Found easy enough instrucctions in the do-it-yourself manual given to me (thanks Janet W!!!) upon moving into the house. In the long run, it was the right decision. In the short, it stressed me out and sparked a mini-anxiety attack and pouting session. I wanted to do it myself, and ended up needing help. :(

M's husband came to my aid when the shut-off valve at the toilet caused a leak instead of shutting off the water, and I couldn't find the main shut off valve. I made a valiant effort, though. Which required 4 separate trips into the bowels under the house (shudder) trying various valves to no avail. Turns out the main water shut-off is tucked away into a corner of the basement, in the shadows, with the spider webs. No wonder I didn't see it. [g]  (It's nicely tagged now, thank you very much!!!)

Then S helped me lift the toilet off, replace the wax ring (gross x2), and realign the toilet. Good thing he was there, since I couldn't just use a bolt from the top-down. Flooring is too deep. Had to use the the bolt that looks like an upside down T. Put that in lengthwise, twist it so the t-part goes left to right and then that goes up through the base of the toilet. Don't know as I would have figured that out! Added benefit, since we had to move the tank & bowl, I was able to peel off the remaining disgusting wallpaper from behind the tank. Whoo-hoo.

While waiting for them to arrive to help, I swept, vacuumed and cleaned the kitchen. Even moved the throw rug & sofa in the living room. Thanks to Leia & her stupid mini-tennis balls, I discovered just how much dust accumulates under there. 

Sunday required an early morning dash to W.ally Wor.ld for cake fixings. I spent several hours sorting through papers and dusting and mopping the house, and straightening the living room. The lovely orange scented furniture polish proved too much and I started on a headache. Took some meds, ate a quick lunch, and started on the enchiladas. Great hit thanks to my sister's recipe (M's sister D was surprised that her husband even ate them - he's not a veggie kind of guy).

The dogs were overwhelemed by the sheer amount of people in the house, half of them kids. There were about 20 of us, I think. All inside. With the game on. Acckkk. Leia was a nervous thing moving all over the place. The kids delighted in coaxing her to their sides with dog treats. I was distracted and didn't realize how many until later when I saw the nearly empty zip-loc baggie. Max was more timid and stayed near me most of the time. Poor fella. I moved him around though, and handed him off to various people so he'd get more socialized. He stopped shaking after the first few minutes, and even stayed with one of the little kids on the sofa without me. Cool. However, both dogs must have had indigestion, because they woke me up three times between midnight and 4 am needing outside. Sigh.

Party lasted about 3 hours, and when everyone left I collapsed onto the sofa. It was 6pm and I was done. Watched the latest Star Trek movie, and was in bed by 8:30pm with a doosie of a migtraine. But hey. Party was a success, & my house is spotless (this group always cleans before leaving!). Which means it's ready for Christmas dinner Friday. Yay!!! I also have enough leftovers I don't have to fix lunch or dinner today.

But this morning I feel like I have a hangover. And I didn't even have any alcohol.

This Is Why

This is why I believe health care should no longer be considered a commodity:

We were just notified at work that our health insurance premium has increased by 23%. And that's after it went up 25% when we renewed this past January. Not only that, but they've switched to a new pharmacy. Which has a different formulary of preferred drugs. And yep. You guessed it, two of my meds are now on the third and most expensive tier.

Which means the cost for me has doubled per prescription.

And since our wondeful accountant only budgeted for an 18% increase (what planet is she on???), there's a shortfall. We had a meeting yesterday to discuss options. The boss wanted to know how we value the additional coverages added a few years back - dental & vision. And whether we'd prefer to drop that or increase our deductible.

By the end of the meeting it was basically this: dropping dental & doubling our deductible to $2000 would just cover the increase. Just.

Heaven help me if I need anything next year, because it will all be out of my pocket. There's that 80/20 split after the deductible until the maximum out of pocket is met (that will most likely increase to $2000.)

Well. The CPAP machine better not break, and hopefully my doc will call me back with some alternative meds that are more affordable. I know I need to share in the costs of my health care, but we've had an increase of  almost 50% over two years! And I can guarantee my income & my employers' income haven't increased by that much!

Turkey Tales

This was my first thanksgiving actually hosted in my own home. I was the hostess. That's not usually a problem for me. Especially as it was just Shanni's family and I've had them over a bunch of times. Wednesday work let us leave at 2:30, so I was home early. Shanni was dropped off that evening...along with the turkey. Mom M had done all the prep work. All I had to do was turn on the oven at 8am and pop in the turkey. Easy, right? Well, that part was.

Had a great evening with Shanni, went to bed at a decent hour even. Mom M called at 8am to remind me about the turkey. Got Shanni up & moving, and she was out the door to her Dad's about 10:30am. Put the potatoes and eggs on for the two dishes I was responsible for: mashed potatoes and deviled eggs.

Watched some TV, and worked on an afghan I'm crocheting as an X-mas gift for Mom M. Popped in "Rebecca" (Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine - great movie) and prepared the deviled eggs. All was calm, quiet, and wonderful.

Now, when I first put the turkey in, some of the broth or whatever spilled out and burned off the oven floor. So it got smoky. I'd just gotten the thin haze out and closed the windows when Mom M showed up. It was about 12:30, and the turkey only had 30 minutes more in the oven. Mom M decided there was too much liquid (she was the one who had me add another cup at 11am!) and Steve started taking broth out (said he needed it for the gravy & stuffing anyway).  This was when it spilled/dripped all over the oven. He then pushed the turkey back in. Sigh. Not even 5 minutes later I look back at my kitchen and it is full of smoke. No exaggeration. it was so thick it stung the throat and made the eyes water. You couldn't stay there long. At least I know the new fire alarm upstairs works. Sigh. Had to open up the entire house, even upstairs. No fun when it's maybe 40*F out. At least it wasn't snowing. We even had to go outside (with the dogs) for a few minutes. Sheesh.

They're in my house ten minutes and all heck breaks loose. I swear. Mom M is a source of chaos. It trails in her wake. 

So I got that all sorted out, and turned back to peeling the potatoes, which were cold by then. I got the mixer out to start mixing and...it looked weird. Seriously. The potatoes were gumming up and looked...mucosy. Enough to make me gag. And it broke my hand-mixer. Turns out Yukon Gold potatoes don't mash well. Who knew? Not me, that's for sure. I'd forgotten I'd switched to Yukon Gold instead of Idaho potatoes last year. Can't have those white meat potatoes, remember?

This was the point I, the non-drinker, poured a glass of wine. With a ton of milk & butter, Steve managed to rescue the potatoes. Everyone ate them, said they were good (with that much butter what wouldn't be?) I couldn't get the mucous comparison out of my mind so I passed them over.

At one point I kicked everyone out of the kitchen. Mom M announced the food was ready, but Steve hadn't even taken the turkey out of the oven to carve. Actually, about 3 other dishes were still in the oven. They mobbed the kitchen and I couldn't take it. My nerves were shot. I guess I was not prepared for chaos that day. [g]

The food was good, after a glass of wine I mellowed, and started in on the Black Friday ads. Then we got out the Wii and ended the day on a great note.

In & Out

And no, I'm not talking about the fast food joint on the west coast. Been a busy day; no time for a long post. Just got a look at my daily horoscope, and have to share this:

If you don't express yourself, illness may result.

Still laughing. I guess I don't have to worry! It ends with:

Your goal should be to be true to your inner self; that's the only way, ultimately, to be happy and healthy.

What's in a name?

Sitrep: No exercise since last Thursday. Ackk. Tonight is a gym night, though.

And PERFECT CARDIO is now launched. For those of you who've been reading my blog for awhile, this is the latest and greatest from BodyRev, the workout I've been so successful on these last years. Check out their site. http://www.perfectonline.com/store/index.php/cardio_home (Don't forget to read the testimonials.)

I'm being reminded there is quite a bit to choosing names. And that there are way too many choices. I'm having troubles choosing a name that fits my new puppy. I've been calling her Leia, but it's kind of an "eh" name for her. Not like Max, whose name came to me while I was thinking of him, and everyone agrees is his name. But Leia...eh. I'm used to calling her that. She doesn't come to it half the time. Max has come to his name from the get-go.

She is a sweet, loving thing, and looks like a little bear. So I've tried several incarnations of that. Little Bear is too long. And my neighbor's dog is Bear, so there'd be some confusion. The Spanish version is Osita, but the beginning is awkward.

I spent several hours in Barnes & Noble & Borders last week looking up names in baby name books and in pet name books (only one, but they have it!). I've also looked online. Came up with a list of names that I liked. Only they fell flat when I came home and tried them out on her. Names sure are different when you say them out loud.

Names I liked but failed: Osita (little bear), Fala (a crow in Choctaw & also the name of FDRs dog), Lucy (light), Mina (strong willed warrior, blue glass/gem, or south), Mhina (delightful), Olivia, Livvy, Trixie (bringer of joy)...

That last one almost worked. I like the meaning of the name, and it's also the heroine of one of my favorite book series as a kid "Trixie Belden Mysteries". I was going to go with Trixie Belle. Just calling her Trixie. It's still a contender, but is only just above or tied with Leia.

Here's the latest list: 

• Zoe (life)
• Sophie (wisdom)
• Bella (beautiful)
• Esme (Spanish, from Emerald)
• Michi (Guarani, means "little, small", commonly used to call cats in Paraguay).
• Flora (for flower, and for the Skunk in "Bambi". That always tickled my funny bone, and her markings are upside-down skunk; also one of the fairy godmother's in "Sleeping Beauty")

Right now I'm leaning toward Esme or Michi. Will have to try them out verbally later. What do you think?

Fait Accompli

Sitrep: 10 min bicycle, 20 min treadmill.  Edited to add: Just read yesterday's post on Charlie Mike. Ouch. Was this post spot on for me or what??? I am so glad I worked out last night.

Yay! I did not get dessert last night. Although I did have most of a 10oz steak. But I opted for the rice pilaf instead of the potatoes. Is rice better than potatoes? I thought it was. But I digress. Got back to the hotel and made myself go work out. 10 minutes on the bicycle for a warm up and then 20 minutes on the treadmill. Did a 20 minute mile. :) That's good for me!

And sheesh, just looked over the last post. Boy, was I in a bitter/cranky mood or what???? Not today. Today I get to go to the bookstore: Barnes & Noble here I come!!! Books, glorious books!

Stepping Into the Fray

Okay, you knew I would do it. I ended up checking out the news. I  just have to comment on the Stupak Ammendment to the Health Care bill.

So if I can't afford the premiums and need assistance to pay for my health plan (something that is not too far-fetched of an option for me), I can't have a plan that allows me to choose if I want to have an abortion or not. Unless I purchase a rider. Okay. A) That's assuming insurance companies are going to make these available and B) My employer will offer that and C) I'll be able to afford it. Considering I can't afford the regular plan, odds are I won't.

And there is an interesting impact - this applies if the small business you work for takes advantage of the tax credits. They won't be allowed to offer abortion as part of the plan. Even if the premium is paid for without any subsidies. And what small business won't take advantage of every tax credit they can? Again, this pushes women to have to buy separate coverage. A) Assuming insurance companies will offer it and B) Assuming the employer will offer it to their employee and C) Assuming the employee can afford it and D) Assuming there will be no fear of retribution from employers and coworkers for those employees who do opt to purchase abortion coverage.

I work in a small office. I can guarantee you, we all know who has what, does what, chooses what.

It just pisses me off. Why the hell aren't we hearing about ammendments that affect coverage for men? I know, I know, pro-choice and pro-life isn't as simple as that. But it should be. I want to be able to choose on my own. To make my own decision based on my life, my beliefs. Others want only one choice. Based on their belief. Let me choose yes or no, and you choose no. I won't force someone to have an abortion, just don't force me to go through a pregnancy. (Which has a whole set of health issues & mortality fears of its own! Something like 11-13 in every 100,000 live births results in the death of the woman in the United States. And it's most likely an under-reported figure. Race also plays a factor. African American women are 3-4 times more likely than white women to die in or because of childbirth. No one talks about that, do they?)

I'm sick and tired of having my choices limited because I'm female and not wealthy. God damn it. And you know, sometimes, there are only so many things I as a female can do not to get pregnant. Abstinence is unrealistic. And frankly, in my mind, for 100% of your life it's not healthy! Mentally or physically. Birth control is only 99% effective. It just pisses me off. It puts the burden, the onus, on women. I guess that's what pisses me off the most.

The only effect this ammendment is going to have is further restrict the ability of women to choose for themselves.

And I'm sure this post is going to anger people I know and further confirm the opinion that I'm a flaming liberal. I just am tired of it all.

From the Road

Well, my plans to workout each day while on the road, and to eat better have gone by the wayside. (sigh) Ate like a pig last night. Definitely should have said veggies and not potato, and desert should have been a "no". I'd already eaten cookies during the afternoon break. This morning - and lunch - were no different. Although I started well at lunch. It was a buffett, and I got a little bit of a few offerings. Then went back and had seconds on the spaghetti (yeah, tomato, can't resist!) and had a brownie wedge & small slice of german chocolate cake. (oink, oink). Will I do better at dinner? One can only hope. Maybe. [g]

The dogs are doing fine...Max is eating, which was a worry for me. Leia adores KT. (She's house & dog sitting for me). Monday night Leia wouldn't sit with me on the sofa. Instead she draped herself across KT's lap for hours. And I do mean "draped" and "hours". Most animals and little kids react this way to KT. I think it's because she is very calm, non-threatening, and just plain doesn't care if they like her or not. They know she won't be constantly kissing and hugging on them. Something Shanni doesn't get. Yet.

I feel bad for KT. She didn't get into the college she applied to. I was afraid she wouldn't, but hopeful if they did an interview her personality would work for her. They went strictly by grades. She's a 2.7, with a middle of the road score on the ACT. So. Poor kid is crushed. And her mom! It drives me crazy. I love Mom M, but am really irritated. KT should be okay, she should be in college. But her mom just didn't give her the attention she needed. I know, I know, she was a single mom working night shift so many of those years. But not during KT's high school years. She could - and should - have been helping her during that time. It makes me want to cry. But what can I do? I'm Shanni's big sister, and the deed is done.

Only thing I can do is encourage her, and hopfully help her get into the local technical college that has a 2-year program affiliated with one of our state universities. Then she could transfer.

I'm sure there's tons in the news I could comment on, but really. My head aches just thinking about reading any news stories, so I'll just not. [g] Give myself a break so to speak. I should get some work done, but think I'll go back into the seminar I'm running and listen. It's the biggest seminar we've held since I started at this job 8 years ago. One hundred and one participants. I'm pleased at the turn out. :) Now if I can just keep these kinds of numbers going through the next year. It's great two of my board members are attending this seminar, too. Makes me look good!!!!

And tomorrow I get to go to a real bookstore. Hoo-yah. How's this for motivation: no workout tonight, no bookstore tomorrow. Deal?

Backward Steps

A local State Farm agent gave away free pedometers at my gym recently as part of the 50 million pound challenge. I managed to grab the last one, and used it for a couple of days. Until the novelty of it wore off and the itchiness of it attached to my waist band broke through.


But it got me to thinking. About how many steps forward I’ve taken over the last 3 years or so regarding health and weight loss and living a healthier lifestyle. And how in the last 7 months I’ve taken as many steps backwards.

I’m putting back on the weight, feeling sluggish, and eating poorly. It’s a vicious cycle. And while rock climbing is back on again, it’s hard to get us there every Tuesday and Thursday. Especially with being sick, my parents in town and doing home renovations, and what not.

I have GOT TO get my motivation back and start working out again. At the gym, and at home. Especially at home. Thanks to a good friend, I have an advance look at a new workout. Watched it, looks great. But even that I'm having a hard time getting motivated for!

Return of the Dark Ages?

I am flabbergasted by the news I’ve been hearing about the change in recommendations for mammograms and breast self-exams. And especially the reasoning behind it.

I’ve been reading the articles, listening to the reports, and I’m still going "What in the hell are they thinking?" The quotes that bother me the most are the ones that talk about saving women from the “endless stress” and “false positives”. Are they kidding? Really? Reading between the lines I’m hearing/seeing these two words: CUT COSTS.

Maybe it’s because a good friend of mine has a daughter in her 40’s who was diagnosed in the last two months with breast cancer – all because of her regularly scheduled mammogram. And it is advanced and fast-growing, spreading…she’s had 4 surgeries already. She does not have any of the risk factors. No history of breast cancer in the family. Yet they would have waited until she was 50.

She’d be dead. She still might be dead before then. But at least now she has a chance.

I don’t know. The reasoning seems weird to me. Especially at a time when curbing costs is so prevalent in the news.

And not encouraging women to do breast self-exams? WTF? Why not? So there’s no clear cut data either way. Yet they say unequivocally "don't do it." Does it harm to do the exam? To become familiar with the look and feel of your breasts? Logically to me I would think you would pick up on changes much more quickly. Especially now that they aren’t going to recommend the mammograms any more until women are in their 50’s.

But oh yeah. We have to save those helpless women from the stress of false positives. And those biopsies showing they don’t have cancer. Turns out they weren’t needed, so let’s not do anything that might trigger doing them.

Who cares if it does help some women stay alive? Oh, wait. That’s negligible. Have to screen another 300 women in their 40’s to save one life. Gee, I hope that one life isn’t my sister. My friend. Me.

Trying to Be Cheerful

What's that old saying? It never rains but it pours? Well, KT got in a car wreck last night on the way home from work. She's okay; very shaken but unhurt. And very, very lucky. No other vehicle involved. She says she saw something out of the corner of her eye, swerved to avoid it, then overcorrected and rolled the car. She was on cruise control at the time, so I think she didn't brake. She was driving north, the car ended up on the hood facing south. Scary. Thank goodness she was wearing her seatbelt as there were NO air bags in the car.

But her car is totaled. And they only had liability on it. (For Pete's Sake!! On a teen driver? Her dad was not thinking when he got her coverage!) At least no one was hurt, she's okay, and she has a job & few other expenses. So she might be able to get a car and make payments.

So. Focusing on the positive: I've been reading some interesting books. The first I saw in the bookstore, and got from the library after quite a wait:

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe (hardback, 2009 release)

It was actually pretty good, for a first novel. It's set in modern day with flasbacks to the Salem Witch Trials time period. There were times the heavy wording got to me (very scholarly in parts, but then, the main characters were grad students working on theses, so...) and some aspects of the plot were too lightly/quickly developed for me while others were overdone, but overall a decent read. I do wish there had been more of the book spent on the flashbacks/historical chapters. But that's me. I like that time period. Anyway. I'll keep an eye out for future books by Katherine Howe.

Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles

I just got this at the library on Saturday after seeing it at Costco. (A good source; I browse Costco's book section, enter interesting titles into the notepad feature of my phone, and get them from the library.)

So far it's good. The story is set in the Missourri Ozarks during the Civil War. Admittedly an area of Civil War history I haven't read about. Warning: There are NO quotation marks used to indicate speech. Which is difficult for this grammar freak to deal with. So each time I pick up the book it takes me a bit to get past that and let the story take center stage. But I'm still pausing every little bit going "Wait, did she/he say that or think that?" [Almost makes me giggle, because I have a tendency to wonder that about myself. One of my little idiosyncracies from being single and having a pet!!!] But the book is interesting so far. And I am able to get past the no-quotations thing. I'll post more when I finish the book.

Define: Luxating Patella

Sitrep for Last Week:  60 mins treadmil x 2, 30 minutes weights (arms), 50 mins weights (arms & legs).

After the good news I get to keep Max, and a really great weekend that included a "Girls Day Out" along with a trip to the gym, yesterday sure was a rude awakening.

Took Max to the vet for his initial exam. Weighing in at 6.8 pounds & at least 2 years old, here's the summary:

Diagnosis: Loose and infected tooth. (No wonder I have to coax him to eat.)
Remedy: Tooth gets extracted on Thursday.

Diagnosis: Luxating Patella, Grade III (Basically means dislocated knee cap. Both rear legs.)
Remedy: Surgery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxating_patella
http://petsurgery.com/medialpatellarluxation.html
http://www.cpvh.com/Articles/78.html

So. Along with tooth extraction this week, they are going to do x-rays of both knees to see how bad it is and the vet can decide which type of surgery is necessary.

Max doesn't seem to be in pain, and moves around. But this could be why he's not as playful as you'd expect a 2 year old dog to be. Today at lunch Max jumped up on the sofa into my lap. I checked his knees and actually felt one pop back into place. Gross. Poor thing. Except for a flinch around the eyes, which I'd've missed if I hadn't been looking so closely, he didn't let on a bit. He's probably had this for quite awhile.

I've been gong to this vet for about 8 years now, so I don't think he's scamming me for money. Especially since Leia does that funky hop-skip with her back right leg when she's on the grass. But only on the grass. Vet says her knees check out fine; her feet are very soft so it could just be the grass tickles/pricks her feet. Makes sense as to why she only does that on the grass. And she runs like the wind, so...

I'm really bummed. I don't want to take him back to the shelter, because you know no one else will adopt him with this issue. But I'm so bummed because I thought I'd done with medical issues, and was going to get him insurance, just like Leia. But they require the initial exam, and it's now a pre-existing condition. Which basically means that even after surgery, anything that goes wrong with his legs, period, won't be covered. And while surgery very much decreases chances of arthritis and torn ligaments (both of which he'd almost certainly get without surgery), they are still a possibility. Sigh.
 
So I've had custody of the dog just over a month, been official owner for a week, and already have a vet bill nearing one grand. Good thing I got that bonus last week. And a very small payraise. Ain't life grand? [g]

Max is Mine!

Whoo-hoo. Just got the call from the shelter and Max is all cleared for adoption. What a relief. I was getting a bit worried about how attached he is to me and to Leia. Now just need to get him neutered and up to date on his shots and we'll be all set. Yippee!! :)

Upgrades

Well, it was a whirlwind two weeks with Mom & Dad. But the upstairs is finished, the bathroom looks a million times better, and the master bedroom has the needed new trim. Oh, and the garage is cleaner than when I moved in. No wonder I'm beat. [g]

They left Friday. It's always sad to see family leave, and the dogs miss them a lot. Max hardly ate Friday and Saturday! Yikes! He was finicky anyway, but this was almost reverting to the first few days I had him. Leia is a little pig. She'll eat hers and Max' if I don't watch her. [rolling eyes]

Saturday was a run-around-town day. I ended up upgrading my cell phone. With a $50 rebate and a $50 new-every-two credit, it was free. Gotta love that. But I did spring for a new case and a media card. Couldn't bear to lose the pics of Scully I had on my "old" phone. I ended up with the Samsung Alias 2. Which is the new version of the phone I have. What can I say. I really like the dual flip feature, and the QWERTY keyboard.

The Alias 2 is about a half inch longer and a quarter inch thicker, which is a bummer. I really liked the slim lines of the original. However, this negative aspect is offset by the dynamic keys. The layout of the keys switch depending on which way you open the phone, and what function you are using. There's now a power on/off button on the outside edge, and an additional button on the outside edge to go into Voice Activated Dialing. Sweet. Much better than having to feel for the key on the keypad itself. There's also a key to quickly switch to vibrate mode. Love that.

I'm sure the dynamic keys is going to kill the battery life. But the coolness factor outweighs that. For now. Although I am irked that they changed the connector type so I had to buy a new car charger. Seriously. If I'm upgrading the same phone to a newer model, could they at least keep the charger connectors the same? Is that really so hard to do????

Setting up shortcuts and programming the directional keys is still a nice feature. However, I don't like the fact that I can't set a shortcut or direction key to pull up the Tip calculator, like the previous phone. Deepest I can go is to "Tools". Bummer. But all in all those couple extra selections to get to it are a minor inconvenience.

I just wish I could keep my donwloaded ring tones, and the Crossword puzzle game I purchased and downloaded. I'm still trying to figure out how to get those. Verizon store was no help. Kept saying, well, they're copyrighted, etc, that's why. Kiss my @$$. I paid for 'em. I should be able to move them off one phone and onto another, as long as I'm still the user/owner of the phone. Geez. I'll do some research online and see what I can do.

Warp Speed Ahead!

Sitrep: Painting low walls & sloping ceilings = squats. Oy, do my butt muscles ache this morning!

Mom & Dad arrived Friday evening. It's great to see them again. The dogs are doing okay with them, I supppose, although they were both intimidated by Dad. Max warmed up to him first. Leia is still a bit skittish. But whenever he or mom walk into a room the dogs are in and I'm not there, they freak out barking. Ughh. And this morning, when Dad got up, Leia flipped out which set Max off. Poor thing. Half the time I don't think he has a clue why they're barking. Just knows something upset her so he must need to bark as well! But he settles down much quicker when I tell them to be quiet. Definitely need to start working on that!

And oh, Max can fly. [g] We painted the upstairs yesterday. To keep the dogs out of the way, I put up the baby gate in the doorway from the living room into the kitchen, so they couldn't get to the stairs (off the sunroom you access through the kitchen). Well, they didn't like us upstairs without them. The usual whining, barking, scratching at the gate, etc. After a few minutes of painting, I heard the pitter-patter of little feet on the stairs. And there was Max, looking mighty pleased with himself. The gate was still up, and Leia was still on the other side. So I had to put a second gate up in the doorway above the first. [g]

Later on, Mom didn't realize Dad & I were outside cleaning up the paint trays (she was in the kitchen cooking dinner) and she let the dogs out. Ooops. Of course, they charge through the wet grass & paint splatters. I chased them back inside and Leia went right through a paint spill on the cardboard we'd placed on the sunroom floor. I yelled at Mom "Catch her! She walked in paint!" Of course, the second Mom moved for her Leia dodged and made it to the living room.  I had to come in and catch her because Mom couldn't.Then had to clean up the little white paw prints on the nice laminate flooring. LOL. At least it cleaned up easily. We should have gotten that on tape. One silly little 6.5 lb dog successfully evading two adult women. Sheesh.

Today I'm going to get color samples for upstairs and hopefully we'll paint that tomorrow. Wednesday the trim, and maybe Thursday we'll be able to move all the stuff back upstairs. Whoo-hoo!

First Sighting of the Pink Beast

We do not quit playing because we grow old, we grow old because we quit playing.
~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

I've been forced to drag out my winter coat. It's warm, but a bit on the bulky side. And purply pink. Unbelievably so. You can't miss me when I'm wearing this thing. Wind chill was 8* this morning. Ughh.

It doesn't help that I'm fighting off whatever bug is going around. I'm sitting here at work, alone, all wrapped up in a fleece wrap and I'm cold. I better not get the flu. Especially not with Mom & Dad arriving in one week. Way too much to do.  But I'm tired, and have had this headache since yesterday afternoon that nothing helps, and starting to feel achy. Thankfully it's Friday.

Dog Update
The dogs are doing good. Lots of progress with Max. He even ate his breakfast today without my having to stand next to him. I was able to move to the other side of the room and fix my own, only redirecting him to his bowl once. He's been like a shadow. Outside, he doesn't just hide behind my legs, he'll wander now. He and Leia were actually playing the other night. Too bad it was our last potty time before bed...Not the best time to play. [g] But I let them for a few minutes.

Leia is just too adorable for words. They both are. She is a hoot. Every once in awhile while running around the backyard she'll suddenly pick both back legs up and run forward a few steps on her front feet. It's bizarre, and hilarious. I remember Cherie, the mini poodle we had growing up, was finicky about walking on grass. I'm hoping I can eventually teach Leia to do this on command. And why not? There's a reason poodles are circus dogs! I'm thinking of training them as therapy dogs to visit M's group home. They are a good size to cuddle, and love cuddling. Especially as their resident dog is nearing her final years. We'll just have to see how they do at obedience training. So far so good though, just with the commands I'm using at home. Leia is beginning to understand "drop it" and "leave it" as well as "off".

Book Review
But enough on the dogs. I just finished listening to J.Evanovich's last Stephanie Plum novel "Finger Lickin' Fifteen" on audio. I must say, I was a bit disappointed. Was there this much reliance on bodily funtion humor in previous books? I don't remember it that way. Maybe I'm too much of a prude. Maybe I'm just being female. But I don't like the majority of the "humor" being about farts, etc.

Had a couple other quibbles. Like Ranger hiring Stephanie to figure out who was doing the break ins. Huh? Like the guys working for him wouldn't know she'd report everything back to him. And then when they did catch who it was, they never explained how they knew enough about the accounts to be so particular about what they stole. Because the crooks were from outside his organization. And great emphasis was placed on the types of things stolen, etc. I just find it hard to believe that someone with Ranger's background, skills and supposed experience could be stumped that easily...

And the whole Chipotle killer ending...I don't know. Just was off to me. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood.

And seriously. How many years has Stephanie been a bounty hunter now? How many times has she had someone go in the other room to get dressed/used the bathroom/whatever and then sneak out? Or put handcuffs on one of their wrists and they take off? She's not the best bounty hunter, but she's not as stupid as in this book, either. It's getting irritating.

And the paint thing, flour thing, where Stephanie is the only one that gets hit with the stuff, and Ranger never does, even when standing next to her for the paint...Yeah, right. He'd get splattered a bit.

And speaking of Ranger. In this book his interest in Stephanie didn't seem good to me. I can't quite explain it. It just came across as he's just toying with her, she amuses him because she's less. You know, the blond bimbo type thing. More of a paternalistic/superior attitude. I don't know. It's hard to put into words.

I'm starting to wish Evanovich would just finish the series.

Next on the list to read: The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Part of the "Big Read in the Big Sky" events this month. The author is going to be here to discuss the book. I'm thinking of going.

Next on the list to review: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard (Young Adult book). The book series Little Sis and her mom were arguing over.

Puppy Pics

Sitrep: 30 minutes treadmill, 15 minutes swimming pool. Climbing team starts again tomorrow, so my 2x week trips to the gym are back on! Yay!

These are funner to look at and blog about than the snow we've been getting. First snow in town for the year. Whoo-hoo. :(

Here's Leia (much cuter in person)

Here's Max

I'm starting to think Max came from some type of puppy mill situation or one where he was never let out of his crate. Because when left home alone he will pee on his bed and still lay on it. {sigh}. He doesn't go in the house if I'm home...only when I'm at work. Even though I come home at lunch to let them out. So I'm going to have to get him used to feeling clean & liking that, and reinforce potty training. Crate training not really an option since he'd pee in his crate. Lovely.

I'm liking having them around, although it's hard to be out of the routine Scully & I were in. I'm very much a routine type of person. :)

Book Censorship Map

Another lovely Goo.gle Map. Here's one compiled by the ALA showing book bans and challenges from 2007-2009 in the US.


View Book Bans and Challenges, 2007-2009 in a larger map

Dogs in the House, Part Two

Meet Max

Turns out his name is actually “Neo” and I heard “Neil”. Neo sounds too much like “no” to my ears, and I don’t like it much anyway. Even though I’m just fostering him, I’m changing his name. Max is the name that came to me when thinking of him the weekend I first met him & Leia, so Max it is.

He is very timid. More so than I expected. I got him to the house and showed him the kitchen, where food & water are set out, and then the sofa. And that was that. He jumped up on the sofa and hid in a corner of it. Wouldn’t come out. I carried him outside to go to the bathroom, to the kitchen to eat. He wouldn’t eat or drink that first day. When I took them out just before bedtime, Leia came back in on her own but he didn’t. Even though he’d used the doggie door when we first arrived. I had to get a flashlight to find him. He’d bedded down in the tall grass along the side of the house. He was trembling so when I got him and took him inside for the night. He stayed where he was put those first days. On Saturday evening, he inched closer to me on the sofa while I was reading. And later that night he came running across the sofa to me when I patted my leg. I’m trying hard to ignore him when he’s being timid…no soothing pats to reinforce the timidity. It’s tough. Poor little thing.

Also Saturday I got him to follow me to the kitchen where he drank; he wouldn’t eat until I tried desensitizing him to my presence/hands with kibble. Sunday he followed me outside. Now he comes outside most of the time when I take them out together, and comes back inside when I tell him it’s okay. Yesterday morning he started wandering around when I wasn’t in the room. Today he learned how to get on and off the bed using the stairs. That was great. I also put the leash on him for a few minutes so he can get used to it.

So slowly we make progress. He is going to be tougher than Leia. I’m not sure on too many details of his past; the shelter wasn’t very informative. I think they can’t say too much because there is a pending court case. I do hope I can keep him. At the least, I’m going to do my best to get him stabilized and have more courage.

I’m currently reading Cesar Milan’s “Be the Pack Leader” which is pretty insightful. If you watch his show enough, you already know most of it. That’s what the first half of the book is about. But now it’s getting to the nitty-gritty. If he is stable enough, we’ll do dog training in January as well.

Dogs in the House

Friday afternoon Little Sis, Mom M and I went down to the shelter in B___ to pick up the dogs. I think we made record time getting there! I was so excited. Nervous, too. Did all the paperwork (they are very thorough, and gave me tons of great info), and then they brought out the dogs.

Meet Leia

The nine month old poodle is adorable. She’s timid, not sure what all is going on, but adapting much easier because she’s so young. She is a hoot. She took to the doggie door fairly easily, and now runs in and out like it’s the coolest thing on the planet. I guess it is, to her! Second best was when she figured out the stairs to get up on the bed. That was on Sunday night. It was up-down-up-down-up-down until I thought I’d go mad. I invited her up on the bed, and then moved the stairs away. She promptly went to sleep. She listens well, but is still a bit skittish coming to me, especially when I put my hand down or lean down to her. But we are working on it and she improves daily.

This morning I actually walked her a few minutes in the house with a leash on. I’d put in on her for a bit yesterday and let her walk with it dragging. Just so she’d get used to it being on. The trainer we’re going to recommended this. The next scheduled training class starts in January, but the trainer is great. She gave me tons of advice and told me to call her if I have any questions or need advice before the class starts.

Today she also started playing with the little stuffed toy I gave her. It was quite cute. We’ve been playing, but without toys. She really wants the Yorkie to play with her, but he’s a bit too timid right now. I'm going to focus on training her on the leash, and getting her to learn her name. Those are the priorities on top of the usual house rules. She's doing great so far.

New Additions

Well, I got the call last night. I'm adopting a dog! They approved me for the 9 mo Miniature Poodle. They've been calling her Sileshia, but I'm renaming her Leia. Yep. Star Wars wins. [g] It was on my list of potential names, and when I met her she reminded me of one of my favorite scenes in the original trilogy. The one where Han says "There's no time to discuss this in committee" and Leia says "I am not a comittee!". (Empire Strikes Back.) So there you have it.

Here's a not so good picture of her from the shelter's website. She's much cuter in person:

I'm also going to foster the 2 year old Yorkshire Terrier, Neil. There's a court case and they don't have custody of him as far as an adoption goes. But I can foster him, and am first choice once they do have custody. So it looks like I get two dogs on Friday. I want to rename him, but am not sure if I should or not. I have a hard time remembering "Neil". Dunno why. Max is the name that comes to mind for him. Clear as a bell, that name is, whenever I think of this dog. I'm undecided on if I should rename him now or wait a few weeks until (hopefully) the court case is resolved.

But in the meantime, I'm elated. It'll be nice having dogs in the house. Although Mom M laughs and says there'll be a ghost dog war. Because Scully came to me last night. I was having a nightmare, and was woken up by the feel of her doing the little walk in circles before laying down manouever. Just like she would do when she got cold in the middle of the night and pushed her way under the covers. I felt her steps on the bed, and then her curling up against my back. It wasn't until I reached over to pet her that I realized she wasn't physically there. But it pulled me out of the nightmare!

And as much as I love her and miss her, and believe she loved me, we can all be agreed on this: Scully wouldn't want me to have another dog. [lol]

Banned Books Week 2009

During the last week of September every year, hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. The 2009 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 26 through October 3. Join the celebration of our freedom to read, visit http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/

A little over a week ago my Little Sis called me in hysterics because her mom was threatening to restrict her from finishing the latest installment in the Gossip Girl series she was reading. Her mom also wanted to know why I don’t “monitor” what Little Sis gets when we go to the library.

Honestly, it really hadn’t occurred to me. Until this past year, the books she got were from her school or public library recommended reading list.

I was surprised her mom was this upset. Little Sis is on book 5, and has been telling me about each one ad nauseum since discovering the series. How her mom hasn’t heard about them until now I’ll never know. I’m thinking she just tuned it out until one day she didn’t. Her objection is that the series is too adult for Little Sis. Too much sex, etc.

Apparently she was threatening to have to read any books first before Little Sis could read them. [Like she has time!] I told Little Sis it was her mom’s right to monitor what she reads, and told her to say “Ok Mom.” I also told her to tell her Mom I’ll read the books myself to see what’s what. [May all the Gods save me!] Little Sis is still reading the book so I guess they worked something out.

But I've never seen either of them get this worked up over the appropriateness of a book before. And I haven't really known Mom M to threaten restricting a book, either. She's as big a reader as I am.

Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2008
Out of 513 challenges as reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom

(Books in bold are ones my Little Sis, her sister KT, Mom M and I have all read)

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age group

2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
Reasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, and violence

3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
Reasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence

5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
Reasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, and violence

6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group

7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

8. Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
Reasons: homosexuality and unsuited to age group

9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper
Reasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group

http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged/21stcenturychallenged/2008/index.cfm

Did You Know?

There are 1 million deer in West Virginia, and about 1.8 million people.

In Montana, drivers have a one in 104 chance of hitting a deer.

In Hawaii, one in 9,931.

Just a few facts I picked up from an article about State Farm's ranking of car vs deer crashes. No surprise to me, my state ranks in the top 5. I mean, our town has implemented a deer culling policy for our town herd. Seriously. The city pays to have so many deer killed each year to keep the town from being overrun. Not that that is working all that well.

Just last week I saw a two-point and a three-point buck meandering around in the heart of town, along the busiest street.

Smoky Weekend Wanderings

Well, it was quite the weekend! Friday afternoon Morning Owl and I went down to B to visit a couple of potential dog rescues. The first was a 5 yr old male Poodle. Turns out to be a Poodle/Lhasa Apso cross. Food aggression, child aggression (although food was also involved in that incident). A saveable dog, but not one I can have as I travel for work and need a dog that can be around kids now. Then off to the animal shelter to check out a 9mo miniature poodle. Love her. She’s very timid due to no socialization. She definitely wasn’t cared for! I very much hope to be approved to adopt her. There is also a Yorkshire terrier there, about 2 years old, male, and all of 10 pounds. Smaller than I ever thought I’d get but there’s just something about how quiet he is. He’s not free for adoption yet as he’s part of a court case. But he and the poodle have bonded. More so on the poodle’s side. I planned to have 2 dogs eventually…So I told them I’d like to adopt both of the dogs. There are several applications on both dogs, so….Hopefully I’ll get some news this week. I hate waiting. Driving back into H about quarter to five we noticed a huge plume of smoke to the west of town. Someone started a fire up on the pass, east and south of the highway at one of the campground trailheads. They aren’t sure yet if it was arson or not. But it’s definitely human caused. Second one of those around the valley in 1.5 weeks. It’s less than 300 acres and only about 30-35 homes were evacuated on Saturday. But it was a bit nervy there. We had 60 mile per hour winds and it was hot…luckily the winds actually worked in our favor – kept it from going uphill and whipped it back around itself. But it got to within 6 miles of H so everyone was on edge. It's not contained, but doesn't appear to be a threat to the city anymore. Cool front coming through (snow forecast for higher elevations!) and rain by Wednesday should help. Although there is a potential now for it to jump the highway and move west. Saturday went to M. with Little Sis and her mom & sister. It was KT’s birthday last week and she wanted to go shopping in the mall. So off we went. The drive the pass was clear (just down to 35 mph due to emergency responders for the fire), but you could definitely see the smoke off to the south of the road. All in all it was a fun day. I got to go to the “big” bookstore, found some adorable clothes for my new niece and the coolest outfit for niece G who has a birthday coming up. Now I need to get a present for nephew N who also has a birthday coming up. And Dad. Then yesterday there was a fire up by Morning Owl’s place. Scary. Like being in the path of the M Pass fire wasn’t strain enough for her! At least the one in O. Gulch stayed in the grass and didn’t get up into the trees. It’s all the dead pine trees due to the Pine Beetle infestation that is worrisome. There are dead pines everywhere. That fire took 4 hours to be put out. Considering she’s about a 15 minute drive from downtown H, that fire could have been a disaster. So in the last week and a half, we have had 4 fires in the county/valley. Keep your fingers crossed we get that snow in the mountains!

Catching Up, Hanging in There

I'm doing okay after losing Scully. Last weekend sucked, big time. But I'm making progress. Still teary eyed thinking of her, heart aches, etc. Going to the shelter in B tomorrow afternoon to look at several possibilities. Keep your fingers crossed I make the right decision!

It figures...I wait over a year and a half before caving in and buying my Wii, and a mere two months after they reduce the price 20%! (That's $49.80 for my fellow math-challenged out there.) Of course, I don't have the extra cash on hand to buy it now. But that's not the point! [g] My boss' college age daughter was diagnosed on Monday with pneumonia and on Wednesday with H1N1. He's banned from the office this week. Good thing he was already planning to be on the road all week. Of course it sucks for him to be away from his daugher when she's so sick. So now we're sanitizing even more than usual. Which sucks for me because everything is scented. Good thing the office I'm now in has a door to the outside. I can air it out. :0 My sister is still doing well, although very tired. Apparently this baby is a bit more like I was as an infant, and prefers to sleep rather than eat. G (their first child) isn't so thrilled the baby sleeps so much. [g] Mom & Dad are there doing what they can to help...Dad a bit bored, I think. He should just head up here and visit. Let Mom do the Grandma thing. But those two are joined at the hip! We haven't told my sis about Scully yet. I don't think she'll be heartbroken or anything, but I'm sure she'll worry about me and then feel guilty that Mom & Dad are staying there instead of coming to be with me. But I'm handling this much, much better than I thought I ever could. So they don't need to rush to my side! Besides, I wouldn't have anywhere to sleep since the upstairs rooms aren't done. Which brings me to the remodel. All is on track for my upstairs to be finished by October 6th. Whoo-hoo! After deciding to focus on siding, we discovered only the front and back are not asbestos siding. So only repairs I could get done without an asbestos abatement team (talk about pricey!) were on the front. Which is where the worst damage was. So. That got done and then apparently we decided to do the upstairs walls too. Paneling gone, new wiring & lights (love those cam lights!!!), new drywall, new subfloor. It looks a million times better than before. Taper comes next week on Monday, and the floor gets put down the Monday after that. :) There's one weekend in there where I can paint without worries. I'll probably wait until after the floor goes in. Was able to do that in the bedroom and it worked better for color selection. But anyway. Enough of this novel. I think I've had enough coffee this morning!!!

Goodbye, Scully

EPITAPH TO A DOG Near this spot Are deposited the Remains Of one Who Possessed Beauty Without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, And all the Virtues of Man Without his Vices. This Praise, which would be unmeaning flattery If inscribed over Human Ashes, Is but a just tribute to the Memory of [Scully], a Dog Who was born at [Aregua, Paraguay August, 1995,] And died at [Helena September 17, 2009.] ~Lord Byron written in memory of his dog Boatswain.

Welcome to the World!

My niece was born just after 5pm last night. She weighed in at 5 lbs 13 oz and 19 inches long. Mother and daughter are both doing well at last report. I can't wait to meet her! :) It's a great day in my neck of the woods.

I'm going to be an Aunt! :)

Just got the call that my sister is in labor. Yippee. Only 12 days early this time. (Four weeks early for her first child!) I'm so excited. I hope my sister is okay, and the baby. Going to be another girl. That will make it 4 nieces, 1 nephew. Gonna be a great day after all! :)

Wading In

So I've been preoccupied, naturally, with the health care reform attempts going on in Washington. Especially now, since my employer lost a government contract that provided a third of our income. It also cost us three full-time and two part-time employees. We are a small business. Even smaller now. Only 5 of us. And our premiums increased 35% last year, when we had 8 on staff. Who wants to bet our premiums won’t increase again in January? Didn’t think so. Odds are it will go up substantially (especially since I’ve had some medical costs – about $2000 out of pocket so far. And several co-workers have had health issues this year. We are also predominantly over 50. Only 2 of us are under that.) I’m expecting to have to start paying part of my monthly premium. Which is at $383 now. If it stays the same, if I only have to do maybe half, I could squeak by. But all extra spending would go out the window. And if energy costs or gas costs go up… After months of thought, research, and unending news coverage (ad nauseum!), here's what I keep coming back to: The free market isn't working for health care. We need a public option. Frightening, no? Especially for me. Because as the years progress, I have developed a less-is-better mentality when it comes to government. You could say I'm Anti-Federalist. But the fact of the matter is that the free market/capitalism isn't working when it comes to health care. A) It's not really a “free” market. Example: limited competition. For instance, we have 3 carriers in my state. And one of them only became available in my state about 3 years ago. So we have one big player, and two small ones. Making it easier for insurance companies to do business across state lines may help, especially in more populous areas. But not for me. There’s just not enough population, ie premium volume, in my state. Too many small businesses. B) The market is going to focus on profitability, economies of scale, supply & demand, etc. That's just the way it works. Which means there will always be a section of the populace insurance companies won’t cover, and a section they’ll try to drop, and coverages will decrease as premiums increase because costs will keep rising. C) Health isn’t a product. It isn’t a commodity. It isn’t a thing. But insurance is. So we are combining the two. I just think the public option should be a choice. Is it a perfect one? No. Will there be problems? Yes. Do I entirely trust our government to manage the program efficiently when it comes to money? Not entirely. But while the insurance companies might manage money more efficiently, they’ll cover fewer people, with less benefits. Arghh. I’m giving myself a headache. I want the public option. But I also want cost cutting. Price standardization (ie, same price for same procedure for same area regardless of who you have insurance with, or if you have insurance at all.) Reform of the court system (you think changing health care is bad…the lawyers are worse!). Something has run amok here. Maybe an easier solution would be for small businesses and individuals (whether because self-employed or pre-existing conditions) who can’t get affordable insurance on their own should be considered federal employees for the purposes of health insurance and allowed access to the vaunted federal insurance program. That would allow entry into an already existing pool, allowing for more affordable premiums. Supposedly. An intermediate step, so to speak. All I know is the system so far isn’t working. More of the same isn’t an option. The Republicans have had nearly 16 years (8 of them with White House control) to do something. It’s time to put up or shut up. Seriously. To me the rancor has more to do with the fact that they not only lost the presidential election and control of congress, but they lost to a black man advocating change. The bogeyman is in control. Sorry, but I really believe for many that is what they subconsciously feel. Racism is alive and well. They’re angry and they’re scared. The system as is, the status quo, has served them all quite well. But when you aren’t the one orchestrating the change…yeah. Reactionary fear.

New Orleans. Bourbon Street.

Sitrep: Walked 4+ miles last week and over weekend.

I was in New Orleans last week for a conference. Wandered around the French Quarter Tuesday morning. It was the nicest day there. Just wonderful. Meetings didn't start until the afternoon, so I had a half day. The conference was at the Hilton, right on the edge of the French Quarter. I wandered up Canal Street to Decatur, and then down it to Cafe Dumonde for breakfast. Beignets and Cafe au Lait. OMG. Are those beignets fab-u-lous! Managed to eat them just about every day, including for breakfast my last day there. Thank goodness for the beignet stand at the airport! That breakfast Tuesday morning was lovely. Sitting on the outside patio with a slight breeze, some coffee, those beignets, and live music. Just perfect. The cafe is right on the corner of Jackson Square, the sun was shining, there were trees, lots of greenery, a park is right in the square. Was bummed all the museums and other attractions closed by 5pm. What the heck? We were in meetings all day! So no aquarium, zoo, or WWII museum. I really wanted to see that last one. And the factory that gave tours on making a Mardi Gras float, start to finish. That would have been interesting. Had dinner at Gordon Biersch, a microbrewery. Yes it's a chain. No I didn't eat cajun/LA food. I don't do seafood, or really spicy stuff. Loved the beer at Gordon Biersch. The last night in New Orleans a group of us "did" Bourbon Street. Much less crowded than I expected, and a lot more run down. Not sure what I thought it would be like. Honestly, the buildings reminded me a lot of Paraguay. Makes sense, given their age. Wasn't enjoying the smell of pee and throw-up that wafted by occasionally. Makes me wonder how disgusting it is for Mardi Gras. Being a lightweight, I had a beer with dinner, then nothing else until we got to Pat O'Brien's about 11pm. I wanted that Hurricane glass, so waited. Drink was okay. (Half rum, half hurricane mix, which I would swear was kool-aid). Strong, though. I don't like the taste of rum, so that's probably why I didn't like it. I did like the grenade drink one of my compatriots got. That was melony/lemony or something. We also stopped at the Cat's Meow bar, which is karaoke. A few of our group got up on stage. I did not. I also got some beads, and didn't have to do anything for them! [g] Some girls were up on a balcony and threw them at the guys in our group. All I knew was beads were raining down around my head, so I grabbed them up. ;) And now I'm home and back at my desk. Ah, joy. I haven't been in the office for most of the last 2 weeks. It's no fun being back now. :(

The Canine Health Wars

I'm on the road again. Fourth business trip of the year, two more to go. And this is the second one since end of August. I get back from this one Saturday only to leave Monday afternoon for New Orleans. The South. In September. Hot. Sticky. Hurricane season. Oh, joy. I hate traveling for work. Especially with Scully being sick. She's got pneumonia for the second time since June. She's been on one antibiotic for four weeks (two more to go for that one), another antibiotic for one week, plus pred.nisone, a bronchodilator and an inhaled steroid. {sigh} Excessive to some, I suppose, since she's "just a dog". But how can I justify not doing for her what I'd do for me? She's a living breathing being. I can't just consign her to pain, distress, because she's a dog. Doesn't seem right to me. Not when I can see her struggling. I've had the talk with the vet about if it's time to let her go or not. She's 14, and the health is going. Even non-dog people I know have noticed. But the vet doesn't think so. After all, Scully is still eating well (most of the time), is moving around, going outside, etc. The fact that she begs from the neighbors when they are outside grilling is a good sign. I suppose. Although my neighbor T feels guilty if she doesn't give Scully anything. {rolling my eyes} I am forcing myself to face the fact Scully might not be with me much longer. I have several friends promising to tell me when I need to let go in case I can't face up to it myself. I'm hoping we can knock out this pneumonia soon. At least keep her comfy until Mom & Dad get her the end of September.

Skeptical Me

Sitrep: Move Office. (uck)

So much is going on in the news lately I hardly know where to start. I want to blog about health care, but I haven't quite sorted stuff out in my mind. And then there's Mi.chael V.ick. I had the misfortune of watching/listening to him on 6.0 M.inut.es last Sunday. I don't know about anyone else, but I firmly believe the man is lying. He doesn't give two hoots about animals. His opinion about animals and the way they ought to be treated hasn't changed. He said he was brought up with that attitude toward animals. Well, those kinds of attitudes don't change because he lost his NFL contract (temporarily) and went to jail (temporarily). Oh, he might not participate in dog fights anymore. He might pay lip service and do appearances with the HSUS to save face and get his career back. Frankly, I think it's a crock he's getting back in the NFL. What punishment did he really get? Not much if you ask me. Personally, I think the publicity surrounding his crimes, punishment and subsequent release have only served to increase the popularity of dog fighting, made it more "cool", and encouraged those participating in the minimal consequences endured if caught. More info: http://www.hsus.org/acf/fighting/dogfight/dogfighting_fact_sheet.html http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2009/08/vick-60-minutes.html http://www.hsus.org/acf/

Icon or Eyesore, It's the End of an Era

This morning at 7:40 am the three large smokestacks at the A plant in EH came down. I stopped on main street, just a block from Smith's Bar (the only other business remaining from A's hey-dey), to watch.

I'm glad the weather was overcast and damp. Definitely kept the dust from blowing across the street into EH. But just to be on the safe side, I shut the windows on that side of the house before leaving for work.

It will be nice not to have them in plain sight from my backyard. I won't miss them. But for many of the valley's residents whose families made a living there for several generations, it was a sad moment. A lot of people are disappointed they couldn't stay. But it was part of the EPA cleanup of the site. But whether they're an icon or an eyesore, it's definitely a marker of the end of an era. EH isn't a company town any more. And the outward signs of that time are disappearing.

Water Thoughts

For some reason, I’ve had water on my brain for awhile now. Perhaps it’s because we’ve been having a fairly wet summer, or the Flood classes I’m arranging for work, or going to the water park in June. It startles me sometimes how much we take water for granted here in the US. I suppose we do so in most of the “first” or “developed” countries. On the History channel the other day there was a show on bottled water and how that phenomenon evolved. A few weeks ago there was one on the power of water and it’s uses through the ages – including such things as the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas, etc. Last night there was a show on Discovery about extreme water parks. I only watched a bit, but apparently in Wisconsin Dells, WI there are over 20 water parks on 19.5 square miles. Between them, those water parks hold 15.7 million gallons of water. Think of it. Fifteen point seven million gallons of water. For entertainment. Then I remember the lack of water in Paraguay. People just minutes walk from the town I lived in struggling to capture and store water. I read articles about the lack of potable water around the world, and how people (mostly women and children) walk hours, many times taking most of the day, to get water for household use. And what about right here at home? There are so many articles about towns having water shortages or running out (some town in GA had to bring water in by truck this summer; or was it last?). Especially out in the West. Watching American Experience: We Shall Remain this past spring on PBS, they had a short film after one of the episodes about the Navajo Reservation in Arizona (I think that was where it was). Half the reservation, about 80,000 (?) are without potable water. They have to haul water. It seems unreal to me. Water issues are intense in the West. I guess I’d thought that was really a thing of the past in the US. It’s just one other way to highlight the large discrepancies in our culture/society. Water parks that feature one ride using 35,000 gallons of water a day. Hotels in the desert with fountains that use so much fresh well water? I’m sure they attempt to recycle and reuse as much as possible, as do the water parks. It just seems so extravagant when people in the same country are hauling water to drink, wash and cook with. Absolutely bizarre. It’s not like I’m naïve enough to think closing down the Bellagio fountains or the water parks will help people across the world or in the US that don’t have water. More likely it would just hurt the people in those areas economically. But it does make me uncomfortable, and squirm in my seat at my own waste of water and how even with my experience in the Peace Corps I take it for granted.

Too Many Thoughts

I've had so many thoughts lately I want to blog about. But when I actually sit down at the computer, my mind's a blank. Things that have skittered through my mind -

• Sotomayor hearing/confirmation
• Health reform
• Returning home
• Books I've been reading

and more I just can't remember. I managed to listen to the Sotomayor hearings while at work. And watched some of it on television. I have to say, I was impressed with her performance. The way she just wouldn't rattle or lose her temper, etc, was great. She came across to me as steady, thoughtful, intelligent. And frankly, someone willing to acknowledge that we all have biases and it's good to recognize that in ourselves and understand our bias for what it is, well...she has my vote. And while I'd love someone who would stand there and say reproductive rights for women come hell or high water (ie, no overturning R v W) it's okay with me that she's moderate. It really was quite the contrast seeing her facing down a table of white haired men. I've long felt that congress doesn't have a clue where I'm coming from as a single female in her thirties. It's a frustrating feeling, really. Am I really represented? Who knows. Oh, and every time someone said (or says even now) "legislate from the bench" it drove (drives) me nuts. They are interpreting based on law and precendent. And people's interpretations/definitions change as culture/society changes. Really. Otherwise, whites could not marry blacks, women wouldn't have the vote, it would be legal to not hire minorities (including women) because of their minority status, abuse would be accepted...Legislation doesn't always keep up with changes in societal beliefs and thinking. It's often controlled by congress pandering to the loudest voting blocks in their districts, not what's best for the majority of the people in their districts, regardless of party affiliation or votes. Or it's motivated by fear; fear of something or someone different, of losing something, of that great unknown change signals. I find it hollowly amusing when legislators complain about the courts and judges not doing what they want them to do when it comes to legislation. In other words, saying that their legislation isn't legal. For Pete's Sake. That's what they were designed to do. The justice system is supposed to be a check and a balance against the legislature. They are supposed to be independent. Did nobody get taught about the deliberate checks and balances of the US system? He-llo-oh...

What it takes. (Or, Newton’s Laws Revisited)

Sitrep: 45 minutes pulling weeds (squats galore!!!)

So awhile back I blogged about exercise and Newton’s Laws, etc. Well, I got a prime example of it last week. Yard work for me exists in the realm of exercise. I used to joke with my sister that if I ever bought a house there would be no flower beds. Just lawn straight up to the walls. Because I hate to weed. With a passion. It’s amazing what I can “overlook”. Friday morning I got a panicky call from Mom M. Golden Dog Radar (who’d been off his feed starting Wednesday) definitely had something wrong with him. In her words, he was crawling under the house “to die”. So off to the vet he goes. Turns out he had some Foxtail stuck in his throat/gums. Apparently that stuff is wicked for dogs/cats. Gets in their eyes/ears/paws/hair. And if consumed, the seed pods burrow into their gums/throat. Lovely stuff, Foxtail. (If anyone remembers me posting about the absurdly fast & tall growing grass taking over my lawn, I recently began to believe it was Foxtail. Sprayed for it just before the FL trip; been waiting for dry/less hot weather to do the second spraying. Well, this vet visit confirmed it.) Looks like a $265.00 vet bill (theirs, not mine, but still…) is what it takes for me to get off my butt. In other words, it’s the “unbalanced force” acting upon me (object at rest!) to get me into motion once again. Flower beds are now weeded (to best of my ability), all the tall going to seed Foxtail along the yard fence has been pulled, and the yard and exterior parking in back sprayed again. Apparently this is what it took to get Shanni’s family moving as well. Over the weekend they’ve cleaned up their multiple acres as well. Mowing, pulling weeds, etc. At least I don’t have as much acreage at they do. But oh, how the backs of my legs hurt!!!!

Free Weekend In The Woods

Sitrep: 30 minutes treadmill, 3 days non-stop walking/standing at convention(sprained ankle!)

Through Big Brothers Big Sisters, we got a chance to go camping at a "Camp" on the Little Blackfoot. It's one of my favorite places to get outdoors, especially since it's only about 40 minutes from my house.

Don't let that water deceive you. At most it's knee deep. I'm including this one just because it's the best fire picture I've ever taken:

I bought a W.i.i

Need I say more? I just couldn't take it any more. Been wanting one for a year and a half (thanks to my visit to my brother and his family!). I've spent the last 3 bonuses/tax refunds on responsible stuff, and now that I've paid the medical bills off I found I had enough to get a W.ii. Instead of paying down some credit card debt like I should have, I got the Wi.i. And Mar.io K.art. (That one is my sister and BILs fault.) [g] BUT I did get a second wheel free, and also got an extra remote 30% off. Had little sis and her family over for dinner friday, and we had fun. Mom M is very good at baseball. KT is good at all the sports. I'm fairly good at bowling. Little Sis wasn't doing to well. Until we tried out boxing yesterday. (I only have one nunc.huk, so only one person can box. I was done with "sports" by that time, so let her have a go.) She is very, very good at boxing. Pow, pow, pow. And boy, did she enjoy that. LOL. We also played several hours of M. Kar.t. I'm much better at that. Although she's catching up fast. I've already opened up 2 new racing circuits (or whatever they're called!). Only drawback to the fun yesterday is I spent all night dreaming I was playing M. K.art. Ughh.

Mount N Erupts...

Sitrep: 2x Walk (30 minutes each, with Scully)

Okay, you've been warned. Today's post is a bit of a rant. I really, really, really hate it when people forward me those stupid chain emails about a political issue that is designed to inflame, and is completely out of date. Got one today about a Supreme Court case that was already decided. In fact, it was decided over a year ago. And in "favor" of the person who sent me the email's viewpoint. Why does this bug me? Well, frankly, it makes me think I'm dealing with a bunch of idiots here, who get inflamed for no reason and can't be bothered to check their facts. They don't really care because they're too damned lazy to find out. This is why it is so easy for the fanatics to manipulate the masses. God, it drives me crazy. It took me two minutes to find out the status of the case. Seriously. And that's without even knowing the court case name. Just the generic details. Within 5 minutes I had the actual name of the court case, plus multiple articles about it. Including current articles on what's going on now, one year later. CHECK YOUR DAMN FACTS PEOPLE. Stop spreading wrong and inflammatory information, for Pete's Sake. No wonder this country is in such a mess. We're all a bunch of moronic sheep being herded this way and that by the powers that be. I just want to scream. So here goes: ARRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Fabulous Fourth, aka Successful Party

So the annual 4th of July party at my house went off surprisingly well, considering. I mean, I'd only been home from vacation for a week. This was by far my biggest 4th celebration with twenty-five people (my last head count) in attendance. Plenty of food, plenty of fun, plenty of excitement, and one 911 call. Yep. All's well, don't stress! About 7pm most of the guests were there and the burgers had come off the grill. The mad flood of food seekers had ebbed and I was about to fix my own plate when my little's mom comes in the back door yelling "N, we need your hose! Your neighbors started a fire!" I thought it would be a little thing, but no. Two doors over they were shooting off fireworks in the back alley, which is wide enough for a car, and bordered on the far side by an incline up to the highway. Did I mention it's covered in tall grass? That is, it was. Except I could see flames over the neighbors garage roof. Ooops. None of our hoses reached far enough. And they hadn't called 911. For Pete's Sake. You've got flames shooting 8 feet up, moving fast, there's a breeze, your garden hose doesn't reach, and you don't call 911? I did. M took charge of getting the hoses hooked together while I ran for the phone and started dragging the second hose from the front yard. We finally managed to get 2 hoses together at each end of the fire and get enough water on it to mostly get it out by the time the FD got there. But sheesh. I was shaking for an hour. It was breezy enough it could have been so much worse. As it is, a stretch about 15 feet long and 5 feet wide was burned. All the way down to the edge of the alley (dirt/gravel). Seven feet from the leading edge of my garage. Thank goodness my immediate neighbor and I are pretty good about keeping our sections clear. I'd just sprayed the whole area with weed/grass killer before leaving for FL. Rest of the evening went well. It got dark around 10pm, so we started dragging our chairs out to the front of the garage for the EH VFW show. I ran inside to put on pants (gets chilly evenings still) and on my way back out noticed everyone milling around in confusion, chairs knocked over...I heard someone say something about a fire...So I hollered "Don't tell me they started ANOTHER FIRE!" They were shooting off more fireworks in the alley...a stray dog had been hanging around, got spooked and attacked them, knocking them over. OMG. The rest of the world (ok, neighborhood) is shooting off fireworks from the very wide paved street in front of the houses, not the narrow, weed-choked alley...But these morons, oh no... So the dog got stashed in my garage, I called animal control (the police in EH). They said they'd have to come back for him after the chaos. Everyone was gone by midnight, house all clean. But there were so many unofficial fireworks "shows" the police didn't come back until almost 2 am. At least the owners had been found. I didn't realize until next day that the dog had knocked one of the garage door opener sensors down, and the wires had snapped. So now I need to fix that. What's that saying, no good deed goes unpunished? (Or is that just a song from "Wicked"?). I spent the next day sleeping on the couch. Poor Scully didn't even wake up until 10:30am. Which is when I stumbled out of bed and made her go out. I hope next year, there isn't so much excitement...

What I did On My Summer Vacation

Well, okay, it was end of spring/beginning of summer vacation. But it still counts. And it basically went like this: Pool - food - pool - food - pool - food I think you get the idea! It was a totally fun two weeks in the Florida sunshine; no rain until after I left. My three nieces and one nephew (poor fella!) completely wore me out. Especially that last week. We'd get up, have breakfast, jump in the pool. Get out for lunch, put more sunscreen on, and hit the pool again...I had to buy a swim shirt/rash guard I kept getting sunburned on my shoulders and arms. In spite of 50SPF sunscreen applied multiple times per day. We also spent a day at Wet n' Wild waterpark for niece K's birthday. OMG. That was such a fun day. Even if I did get a bit of a sunburn on the tops of my feet. Well, really. Who thinks to put sunscreen on your feet when you're going to be in the water? Except you're in line so much at waterparks...ooops. I did not go down "Der Stuka" again. Doing that in 9th grade was plenty enough for me, thanks. Spent the morning with the older kids, the afternoon with the youngest in the kiddie park and then the wave pool. She loved the wave pool. Then the last few hours we were able to take her on some of the bigger rides. She's not tall enough for the biggest ones, but there are 4 or 5 where you don't have to be 48" tall to ride. She had so much fun! We all did, really. It was a perfect day. And so was the day we were all at Mom & Dad's for the day. Parents, 3 kids, their spouses and grandkids. Heaven for my parents, I think. Last time we were all together was at a family funeral. Anyway. It was a blast playing in the pool and just hanging out. And the older 3 (12, 11, 8) were great with the five year old. I wasn't sure how they'd do with someone that much younger. The five year old was entralled with her cousins, especially the oldest. Well, break is over. More later!