Well we went and let Noah go to school today as he is feeling better. He apparently tried to BITE another child's arm however in the sink area as they were fighting over the water being on and on..etc. THANKFULLY the other kid had a long sleeved shirt on, which protected his arm! BUT....we were upset when we found out this. Sometimes it sounds like Noah has been regressing but at the same time he has made tremendous progress.

Meanwhile...the school psychologist met with Noah's assigned IEP teacher aide today and us after school and we talked about what we found out at the doctor's yesterday and the school psychologist said she thinks Noah is gifted....or GIFTED TWICE or GIFTED/LD ....basically meaning he is extremely intelligent but has learning disabilities/behavioral issues to deal with that he is struggling with. Weird......but after she explained it it makes better sense too. They are bringing in a behavioral specialist to observe Noah again and see what she thinks. She I guess also is familiar with Aspergers syndrome and gifted twice or gifted switch outs I think they call them...as they switch from one thing to another so quickly? I found websites about this and she gave me books to read about it.

Anyway...all is overwhelming. Now we wonder if Noah should even be in a public school setting at all....he is doing well...but yet he has problems behaviorally/socially that for some reason seem to be flaring up really bad lately. He is not a monster or does not treat anyone badly..don't get me wrong. BUT...he can totally lose it for no really good reasons lately.....he is hard to predict.....just has major meltdowns or seems to get overloaded...so we wonder if the school stuff is just too demanding on him right now? I HAVE NO IDEA at this point but know we are probably headed in the right direction. I am hoping the pediatrician will call soon and let me know about the referral to the specialist at the CHildren's Hospital so we can go from there.

Anyway...just an update!

We took Noah to the doctor today as he has been really sick. Finally got him some medicine....he MAY try coming back to school tomorrow. He has a bad sinus infection now and is being treated.

We did review some things while there and did find out that Noah does NOT have autism (as MOST have mental retardation which Noah does NOT have) ....he does NOT have autistic spectrum disorder (again as most have mental retardation) or ADHD. However....it is POSSIBLE he could have Asperger's syndrome....and sensory integration issues (which we already know he has)..or a combination of BOTH. We are currently in the process of getting a referral to have Noah seen and evaluated a bit further by Dr. Goldson at the Children's Hospital not so much for more testing....but to review our more recent concerns and his symptoms. He also does NOT have Fragile X syndrome which was something we had wondered about years ago when he was smaller. Again they would normally have to be severely mentally retarded in most cases..especially with boys..and again Noah does not meet that criteria. The school psychologist is wondering about him being GIFTED....or GIFTED TWICE which means he is highly intelligent but has learning disabilities (such as behavioral, language, sensory...etc). So..time will tell and we should know more down the road. Will be interesting.

One of the new PHASES of menopause I guess you could say I am experiencing now is PURGING or streamlining. I am NOT quite sure what brought all this on but I am thankful in a way it finally is happening. I THINK perhaps it was the fact that I have had so much STUFF just sitting around and not having a place for things that I finally got tired of the house being like that and living like that? I mean except for a few things... if I was on CLEAN SWEEP right now I would probably tell them to pretty much SELL most of my things. I am even now considering selling my collectible things I have accumulated to give someday to Noah. They are mostly Christmas things now......and I wonder if he would even want them when he got older. I mean he might...but then again might not. I am planning on giving him all my ornaments someday too...and I imagine he will like those...but then again perhaps not. Regardless we cannot take anything WITH us and our LIVING rooms are meant to be lived in and not having to walk around things on eggshells afraid we will trip over something or knock something over cause we have no place to put it!!! I have had PILES just sitting around for so long I am tired of it. I have to really be careful now (and it is getting EASIER all the time)...to NOT buy things for DECORATING my home or a room....or to HAVE. I mean right now I am even rethinking my entire decorating scheme of my home.....so until I know for sure why buy? AND.....I want to replace some of these cheaper things with more nice quality items...

SO..I sit here in the midst of piles and look around...this really motivates me and is how I was already able to get together like 20-25 boxes and bags of stuff to donate to the Salvation Army. I am ANXIOUS to get out to the outside closet and see what is out there that I can get ready to donate as I KNOW there is much out there to get rid of. I also have to stop and think about STOCKING up on things. I have a tendency to BUY several of about anything I buy (just in case I need more or for some weird reason). SOMETIMES that might be a good idea...but other times NOT.

Anyway...I was watching Clean Sweep tonight and it really really got me to thinking. We are to LIVE in our living room. Our bedroom is to be a retreat. NO clutter in the home. I know clutter places chaos in your life and you cannot relax..etc.. It basically MAKES YOU TIRED...SO....you have to then stop and ask what is really the most important things you have around you. Then reality hits and you realize there are not many material items that would be of great importance. The people in your life are.....and LIVING with them. BUT how can you do that if clutter has taken control of your life. So...I enjoy some of my books....MY CANDLES for sure....and my craft stuff for scrapbooking and painting etc. Clothes are not important to me. Never really have been. WHY do I have like 50 sets or kinds of coffee mugs? COFFEE is something I enjoy...but I never get to appreciate all my mugs..as I tend to use the same ones over and over again. I am so blessed...but also see where I have really spent a lot of money on things someone will someday have to give away...sell or donate anyway (or pass down to other family members if wanted). Weird.......so....I need to get my butt in gear and get cracking now on the rest of the house. I imagine when I am DONE...STORAGE will no longer be an issue here and our home will become more comfortable and we will have a more enjoyable living space. AND not so much to worry about then huh? I mean if you don't have that much around to replace if you had to....you don't think about it as much or worry about it as much if you are not there and something happens to it. Course I kind of got over that anyway...when you move and have things you find 2-4 years later that are still packed up you CAN OBVIOUSLY live your life now without them sitting around out of the boxes!! So......it is time. I wish I had the space outside to do a true CLEAN SWEEP but I am doing pretty well with the space I have I guess.

Have you found this purging or streamlining coming into your life lately? It is almost the exact OPPOSITE of NESTING that you go through prior to having a baby I guess you could say. Weird but that is how it feels.


me

Well....everyone in the house is or has been sick with a sinus infection/cold/virus or something. Noah started out with what I thought was allergies....runny/itchy nose and eyes.....cough...etc. I treated him with Benadryl and he improved. Then I got it.....but much worse of course. I also started out with allergy-type symptoms and then it went into my chest....and coughing....blowing of my nose....more coughing and hacking....coughing stuff up....blowing more out...aching all over.....feverish...chills....you name it. It has been a week and while I feel better I still am not completely back to baseline. NOW Keith has it too..and of course with a MAN...it is soooo much worse. It is amazing how even if the woman is sick life still goes on and she still gets no rest and still has to do all the things needing done. I managed to work this morning...then did a couple loads of laundry.....put dinner in the crockpot.....made lunch...made a homemade chocolate cream pie....dishes.....Noah a bath.....and still going....and Keith has just laid around all day like he is dying. Well...join the crowd. Talk about a double standard. US WOMEN SURE get tired of that all the time!!

SIGH.....................AND HE IS SO NOSEY!!!!

Meanwhile....the weather has warmed up a lot again. I guess this could be our INDIAN summer even though it is kind of early for that. I still think we will have an early fall and cooler temps than normal as we have so far this summer and early fall.

Noah has been doing very well in school and really enjoys it which I am happy about. I pray he continues to do well and enjoy it.

Keith's other kids are another entire story I doubt I would ever have time to write about. YES....more COMPLAIN about...so I guess I should just hold my tongue. Suffice to say that they are pretty much selfish, self-centered inconsiderate kids. AND nothing will ever change unless Keith puts his foot down. Won't matter if I DO...HE has to also. ENOUGH of that though.

What else is new.....not too much I guess. Noah shocked me the other day as he was in the bathroom and asked: "Remember when you were 36 and saw that scary monster with the big nose, little eyes and little mouth?" I told him I did not know how HE could not about anything like that as he was not even born yet. He said he was sitting in the hall watching me. He said he saw ME see a scary thing.....when I was 36 years old...and he wanted to know if I threw it in the trash. I was not quite sure what he was talking about....but then also did remember that time WHEN I was indeed 36 years old and I DID see something in my bedroom at night. ANOTHER story...but yet somehow Noah knew all about it and I have never discussed it with him. LOTS to ponder on that one.

Well....this is kind of a boring post. I probably should just delete my blogs and start over somehow as these are all just ramblings.

Later

Looks like a storm is moving in. I swear..I lived most of my life in Ohio and could probably count on both hands the number of tornado warnings there. Since living in Colorado where supposedly you DON'T have tornadoes..seems we have tornado warnings and watches all the time. Yesterday afternoon there were NINE warnings in one afternoon for one county!

We are presently under a tornado watch here...and rain seems to be moving in. Maybe it will miss us but we hope not as we need it.

I woke up with a migraine this morning. MAN did it hurt. Noah had cramps and diarrhea last night. Maybe we have a bug but I don't think so. My migraines seem to be associated with right before that precious time of the month..haha. I finally took some migraine pills and then Tylenol and laid down. My head feels better now but I feel out of sorts. I have not even gotten dressed today.

Keith also had a migraine. He took some migraine pills also and went to work. I work tonight.

Nothing much new I guess to report here. We went to the annual sculpture show in Loveland, Colorado Saturday. That was a bit disappointing though...seemed they did not have many BIG WOW pieces this year. Noah was amazed with all the port-a-potties! I think he hit every one...some more than once!

Supposed to be much cooler tomorrow. HIGH of only like 70 degrees! MY KIND of summer weather!

Well..this is a bit boring I think. I am thankful to be alive and for all the blessings God has given me over and over again even when I don't deserve them.

ME

Well...Noah I think caught what I had. He had cramps and diarrhea yesterday and even ended up vomiting. SO much fun for the poor guy. We were out checking out model homes and he had several spells....and had to keep going to the bathroom. That is where he finally ended up getting sick and pooping at the same time. Needless to say we went straight home after that and cleaned him up. Today he has stuck to toast and crackers but acted much better.

We were NOT going to go to church this morning but when Noah realized today was church day (Sunday) and we were not going he about had a fit. Keith slept till almost 9:00 a.m. I slept till about 8:30 a.m. and man is this a boring entry or WHAT!!!!??????????????

We ended up going to church. I felt really bad. I mean I could not even give GOD an HOUR of my day? Brother....so we all got ready like in 10 minutes and went to church. Straight home afterwards. Noah got a bath today and I washed his hair. I then got a shower. I have to run into work tonight. I put that off all week.

I made a few phone calls. Not much else happening. I have a lot of Christmas presents and I need to start wrapping them. I then need to start sending the boxes to Ohio to mom and dad's house if they have room to store them. I am about out of space here.

SO much to do and so little time. I sometimes just get overwhelmed and feel like to heck with everything. I think I have LIVED in that mode for a long time now.

Well..I am off. A show called The 4400 comes on in an hour we have been watching. Kind of weird...but different and so far interesting. We are not sure where they are going. BUT in the bigger spectrum of things nothing like these little things we do or watch on television are really important anyway are they?

Now in church some of the teenagers I felt were not being too appropriate. I mean these are supposed to be Christian teens and they were whooping and hollering and spanking each others butts and acting terrible we felt INSIDE the sanctuary!! I always try to think and ask myself "What would Jesus do?" or how would HE feel or what would HE say....I don't think he would approve of how they were acting. Course He also would not have approved of my sorry butt and wanting to stay home today cause Noah had been sick (BUT was better today) and I had a headache and felt crappy...and just felt I could not give an hour of my time up for HIM? Yeah...see the point? Who am I to call the kettle black? BUT there is still such as thing as APPROPRIATE behavior inside a church.

Well..Noah is swinging his golf club inside the house. I better see if he will play on the computer for awhile.

Later

Well....today they are calling for severe storms and possibly 2-3 inches of rain PER HOUR! WOW...they are already posting flash flood watches all over the place. The skies are turning cloudy and gray as I sit here and type. SO look out this afternoon is all I can say! The birds have come back to get some bread I put out on the balcony this morning. I love to hear them out there chirping and singing.
 
I still have not been feeling the best. I get crampy pretty much every time I eat anything...and then soon I have to head to the bathroom. Real exciting...makes for aches....tired/dizzy....etc. Oh well...also had bad headaches. Maybe it is a bug.
 
Our neighbor man Floyd had to have a shunt put in the other day....the neurosurgeon thinks he had water on the brain that was causing his neurological problems for the past 18 months or so. We always wondered what was wrong...he seemed as if he had a stroke or CP or something. Well...he asked if we could feed his cats while he was in the hospital. I said no problem.  I went over and since we live right across the entry way from him Noah and I would run over a couple times during the day to say hello to the cats and make sure all was well. Noah enjoyed doing all this. One morning the cats got into a cupboard looking for the good dry cat food before we made it over there to feed them and they knocked tortilla chips and all kinds of things on Floyd's floor we had to clean up. So...that got me on a cleaning spree. Floyd's place was a little messy to say the least and probably because he cannot really do too much as one side of his body is nearly paralyzed. So...I cleaned the kitchen up and had Keith take the trash out. I mopped his floors in the kitchen and bath...and scrubbed his sinks. The second bathroom was apparently the CAT's bathroom and it showed. Litter box in the tub but also litter IN the tub with pee and poop everywhere...man...litter all over the sides of the tub and floor...what a mess. SO I cleaned it all up and changed the litter box. Hope he did not get offended by me cleaning all that up.
 
So..he got home last night..said the surgery went well. I took him over some homemade chicken herb stew and homemade french bread...and homemade chocolate cream pie for dessert. He was thankful. He told us to hang onto his keys if we did not mind. I normally don't like doing that but since we will NOT be going over there unless there is an emergency or he asks...I guess they can hang inside here on our hook. They had to shave half his hair off his head..so I think he will eventually have to get out and have the other half shaved off pretty close to his head too.
 
So...today I am exhausted. I guess from doing all those other things nonstop yesterday and working. Only 2 tapes to pick up Tuesday night so I skipped running down there last night. I will plan on getting there tonight to hopefully pick up anything else that has been turned in...transfer a couple things over maybe and print some things off and come back home to work.
 
Been some Christmas in July movies and things on tv. Keith, Noah and I always enjoy that. Course I already listen to Christmas music year round. BUT....HSN had their Christmas in July I think Monday ...I watched all that. Then QVC has theirs this Sat./Sun. Keith wants to watch that so bad he even wants to switch days to church to Saturday so he can be home Sunday to see it all day long. They have also had a couple of Christmas movies on tv that have been good.
 
Well...I made 4 cheese raviolis for lunch today and some more bread. Noah had garlic bread with his. We skipped the pie as we wondered if the richness of that set me off again and Keith too. Maybe tonight or tomorrow.
 
I am going to go lay down. Noah is playing on the other PC. I have to go to the bathroom AGAIN.....more later
 
me

Kind of feel like crap today. I ache all over.....can barely walk around...been to the  bathroom more times than I can count....and my stomach is not feeling the best. I have had a pain in my left chest/breast area for like 2-3 days now...felt like a sharp gas pain but it only feels better if I lay down. I think I popped a cartilage out of place the other night transplanting plants bent over without a BRA ON. NOW you KNOW your breasts must be pretty HEAVY to do that just by bending over without a bra. I have done this before...but it is uncomfortable and reminds me of when I had broken ribs. So it hurts to take a deep breath or move around a lot. Not helpful when I already feel crappy.
 
It is cooler today which is nice. MUGGY for us in Colorado though....as it has been raining. I mean right now it is only 62 degrees....FAR COOLER than 101 and 99 degrees like it had been. I was going to finish laundry today. I guess I still could but I really feel too crappy for that. I try to get that done before the weekend so my weekend is free. But shoot...I end up not getting other things done on the weekend I should anyway..so what huge difference does it make? haha
 
I announced to Keith this morning after making a nice big breakfast that I was not going to be making lunch...he could MAKE something or go buy something. of course he did what I figured he would> NOTHING! Noah got a bowl of Cheerios I guess as I was asleep. Keith I guess snacked. I got nothing and Keith left without having anything for us down the road. Noah had originally asked for pizza...Keith convinced him to go for a bowl of Cheerios...which means NOW Noah wants the pizza again and I WILL be the one PAYING for it instead of Keith...as usual. He could have bought the pizza this morning for lunch and then Noah could have warmed some up for supper tonight. I guess Keith assumed I wanted nothing as I was not feeling great. But he could have asked or gotten some gingerale for me or something. I am not vomiting thank goodness...but.....Noah does not even have enough Sprite. It is funny how little Keith does if he is having to WATCH Noah if I am asleep or not feeling well. I HOPE he understands then how my days normally go...as I am here watching Noah by myself while he is at work during the day. I think he tends to think I lay around and do nothing or watch tv or whatever when he is at work. TODAY I don't even care what he might think I feel so crappy. I think I will call him and tell him HE can fork out the check for the pizza for Noah tonight for supper. I will put his information on it and all that....they don't care as long as someone pays for it.
 
Anyway...called grandma yesterday. SHe was to have hand surgery performed today. Hope and pray that went well for her. Today is grandpa's birthday. He would have been 85 I think.
 
Well.....I am getting off here. Feel too crappy to write much. I have received notice about being nominated for the Who's Who in Poetry. I need to send them a poem ASAP I guess.
 
okay....off

Well....today is my 7th anniversary. Keith asked me if it felt like I had been out here 7 years and it feels like I have been out here at least 5 years I guess now. Noah is doing great potty training....has it all down now. THANK THE LORD for that!!

Looks like a nice day today. Only in the 60s so far. I have sausage roll slices in the oven baking for breakfast. I already made Noah some toast with butter and apple juice for his breakfast. Keith is still sleeping. He had a long work day yesterday so he is probably tired.

I guess we might try to go see some fireworks this year somewhere. The last time we went was when Noah was like a year or I think.....around then. He wants to go and I kind of do also but NOT IN BIG crowded areas. We will go somewhere like to a parking lot at a park or something and park and watch them from a distance. Keith had originally thought about going to the Westin and getting a room to spend the night after seeing the local fireworks which are right beside the Westin. BUT I felt that was kind of a waste of money being right here in the same town and just down the street from us. Shoot...we never thought...we might be able to see the fireworks from home this year!!

Anyway...been nice weather wise. We have actually gotten a lot of rain this year even though we are still considered to be in a drought. Thankful for that. Been much cooler and nicer this summer so far too.

Well..I cleaned up and fed and watered the squirrels and birds outside. They finally got our parking lot resurfaced and new lines put on yesterday and finished! WHOO HOOO...no more parking miles away from your home!!

I guess I better get off here and get some things done. We may check out some paint this weekend at Lowes and start painting the inside of the house!

Later

Carnival. Hot sun. Thirsty. Hungry. Happy. Pictures. Restaurant. Stores. Home. Tired feet. Thirsty. Ham sandwiches. Dishes. Sweep. Clean bathroom. Pajamas. Phone calls. Here.

(trying to make a post with the FEWEST words possible)

WHOO HOOO! Noah finally POOPED in the potty today!!!!!

It has been a trying few days. I decided over the past few days to work with Noah FULL TIME on potty training. He HAS to get this. I hate to be a mean person about it or get too tough on him but it has to be done I guess. He is doing real well so far today in his regular underwear. No poop in the potty yet but pee. I told him NO COMPUTER, SWIMMING or EATING OUT till he POOPS in the potty. Very frustrating for him but he is listening. HE BETTER!!

Meanwhile I am wanting to redo our home if we are not going to buy a new one. SOmetimes I think when things start to overwhelm you in your own home instead of getting your act together it sometimes seems easier to just start all over again somewhere else! I think since we would have to fix some things here anyway we may as well probably just stay put here for another year at least. Meanwhile we can organize and clean and paint and remodel things only making it easier to sell down the road. Lately I am in the mood to get rid of many things and to make entirely different rooms. CLEAR things out so to speak. I know that is not always practical.....and something my dad and my sister do sometimes and have never understood. Maybe I am finally realizing you cannot have disorganization around in your life space or you too will be disorganized and a mess?? I don't know. It can make my head hurt to just THINK about all these things anymore!

I have to run into work tonight as they had Chartscript down for maintenance and I could not run down last night. OH WELL. I need to get some more things done for work....as I am also doing things here.

Looks cloudy outside and like it could rain soon. We sure could use it!

I am signing off for now.

Me

I ache all over today. Not sure why. We have had some nice storms...and sunshine in between. Now the sun is shining again. I went to a seminar at church today. About 3 hours. Learned about spiritual gifts and your calling and "Investing in Ministry" basically. Very insightful and interesting.

Not much new news I guess.....I have tons to do here. I should go for now. Just wanted to check in at least.

Me

WOW....I LOVE finally being able to POST PICS online!!! WHOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!

I LOVE that smile!! 

Noah and Garfield
Posted by Hello

What a SMILE! 

My Little Noah 

Hey there. I am coming in tonight if not before to work. I was going to go in last night but we had problems with our neighbors downstairs last night. I had to call the police.....JUST exactly like the old situations when we lived at the apartment. I DO WISH the man who owned that condo had NOT rented but SOLD to someone. Only the renters seem to cause problems around here for the most part. The woman rented from him....and then a few months ago this guy showed up. I hate to judge people but you could tell by looking at him that he was no good. AND I found out last night I was right. I was trying to sleep as Noah and I went to bed early...and something woke me up shortly after Keith got home. I heard all this banging around downstairs...so bad I thought a couple of times one of our walls was going to collapse. I mean it sounded like he was cussing and banging her or himself or his hands or something into the walls and slamming things around...REALLY LOUD. LOUDER than I have heard things before....really tearing the place up. I thought you know....we don't have to put up with this crap. I wish I knew the owner as I would call him. I DID call the police....took them forever to finally come out. I had to call back asking if they were coming as it sounded so bad downstairs. They finally showed up. By that time of course the guy had quieted down some because I think they realized police were outside. Back up officers came and they approached the condo. They took the guy outside to talk to him while 2 other officers went inside to talk to the woman. The guy was talking so loud because he had been drinking we could hear what he said. Here he is ON PAROLE.......he used to run a CHOP SHOP he said and steal cars...etc. Had been placed in a MAXIMUM security prison for (not sure what maybe the chop shop) and then HE said they realized he should not be there. BUT BEFORE they could transfer him or whatever he apparently ESCAPES prison through a laundry bag!!!!!! Was out on the RUN for 13 months. FINALLY (he said) HE decided to turn himself in. I would assume he went back to prison...his story got sketchy at times...but I assume he went back to prison.....maybe not. Anyway..he is on PAROLE now....and he kept saying his parole officer would have to be contacted about the police coming out and that she did not believe a word coming out of his mouth so she would contact the police. Well gee...wonder WHY she does not believe anything coming out of his mouth? This guy sounds like nothing but trouble. He was saying he had worked for 14 days straight 2 jobs (which was a lie as he only delivers pizza at night and has NOT ever worked 14 days straight-more like 3-4). In fact he only recently got the pizza delivery job. Anyway....he said he has been working and that she works in the days and he at night and they never get to see each other "WHA....WHA....WHA". The police officer said well I face that same problem all the time and so do many others even some living here probably face that. He asked what HE did. The police officer said "I DEAL WITH IT". He talked to the guy about DRINKING....and how they had to take domestic violence calls seriously because they have found people dead before because of calls like that...etc. Anyway.....I do not know what this guy COULD DO. It sounds like he has a tremendous problem with temper and getting into trouble in the past at least. I know we live in a so-called CONTROLLED environment and I HIGHLY doubt they want this guy living here. As a matter of fact I don't believe he OFFICIALLY lives here as the woman was the one who rented from the owner not this guy. THAT is probably HOW he got to live here....because any record check would have flagged him as he is on parole..etc.

So anyway...they talked to the woman and the man. Finally left saying they could finish resolving their problems in the morning. I got a horrible migraine....no sleep as I was afraid to leave....thinking something could happen while I was gone. I kept thinking what if this guy blows her head off or tries to or something and a bullet comes up here and hits Noah...or someone. Terrible things to think about etc. but I do. REMINDED ME SO MUCH of the apartment life and how we lived after a BAD CROWD moved in around us ....I DO NOT want to go back that route. After the police left Keith and I sat out here and talked...and the guy downstairs went outside and came around to the front to look up here. I guess seeing if we were up or maybe had been the ones who called. If he says anything to us (like a fake apology about the noise) we may just PLAY DUMB and act like we had not heard anything because our AC was on. Then they can think it was someone else who called on them. BUT....I was sitting in the dark up here so he could not see anything. You know a couple nights ago this man and younger woman came over here knocking on the woman's door downstairs. Now she did not answer for some reason...they were really pounding.....the man was looking around her patio and trying to see inside her condo. FINALLY she answered and they went inside. I wonder what that was all about and if they were worried about her and thinking something had happened to her? This is not the first time these people have argued. BUT the first time I had heard all this banging around. The woman the guy said is a critical care nurse......and supposedly just got TRANSFERRED from Lutheran Hospital to some nursing home. That sounded odd to me and Keith as hospitals don't transfer you to nursing homes. They both have drinking problems...and she does NOT have custody of her kids. Makes you wonder. When she first moved in she was driving a different car like every month or so. Maybe the guy was putting her in stolen cars..who knows. Anyway..they now have a beat up old white car from D.F. Auto sales and NO PLATES ON IT.

I am torn about what to do. I want to contact HOA about this....but I doubt they can do a lot about it. Maybe they can though because tenants are supposed to live QUIETLY and follow the rules here...etc. I guess I can write a generic letter and ask and see what they say is possible to do. Anyway..the whole event took over an hour....and kept me up over 2 hours......I got no sleep.....and a horrible migraine. SO I stayed home to work the rest of the hours I had to get in for last night (because I had worked in the daytime some)...so I will be in to work tonight. I know clinics were canceled Monday and I know more were canceled this week....so there should not be too much happening there anyway. The cancellations are giving me the chance to finish up some tapes Robin had turned in to me that were extremely LONG.

OH..Dr. Phil was on yesterday. They were having couples on from relationship rescue. They did a parental challenge thing where the husband and wife both have to think about their mother and father and what bad things they brought into their marriages because of their parents...and anything good they thought about their parents..etc. WOW>..really made me stop to think. One of the questions was "what do you love about your dad". I HATE to say this but I could not think of anything. I thought to myself SURELY I could think of something......the ONLY thing that came to my mind was not something I loved about him so much as something I appreciated and was thankful for him for. I mean he is my father.....and the fact that he has always provided for his family and has been faithful to mom (as far as I know). I feel kind of guilty for not thinking of something else or anything that I could say I LOVE about him. Then I started thinking about all the bad things that happened when we were growing up...and how dad never really did express any love to us kids or wanted to be part of our lives or thoughts. He was not interested in what we did with our time or lives and in fact still does not really want to talk about anyone or anything but HIMSELF. I thought to myself no wonder us kids are all messed up!!! Dad also has a problem with fat people. Since I have gained all this weight he is on me all the time about it. Making fun....making comments...laughing. When I was there for Easter my sister Becky had taken a picture of me that was not really flattering. Dad could not wait of course to print off a copy and bring it to me....I about freaked as it showed all my DOUBLE CHIN...etc...and I said "WOW". He started laughing. I said "well I remind myself of someone but I cannot think of who". Dad said " I thought you reminded me of MAMA CASS"!!!! I could not BELIEVE he said that. Mom proceeded to tell me she thought I looked like dad's MOM (dead now) who I look NOTHING LIKE....she was really heavy....etc...and I have NEVER LOOKED like her...so not sure where that came from. Now these are my parents who are supposed to say good things about their kids all the time and loving things and love their kids unconditionally....but that has never seemed to be the case. Dad has many times over and over (AND MOM TOO) looked at us kids with disgust or even almost hate for various things....now how can you do that with one of your own kids???? I DO PRAY I NEVER experience that with Noah. I also pray NOAH can be raised to avoid a lot of the normal crap a lot of kids go through.....and mainly because I want him to KNOW GOD and BE A CHILD OF GOD and hopefully that will save his butt from having to go through much of it!! Anyway...my sister Angela called me last night and I told her about Dr. Phil's question and she said she could not think of anything she could say she LOVED about dad either. That is sad. I think Melissa would say the same thing and not sure about my sister Becky. Or my brother Chris. It is sad. Dad seems to be totally wrapped up on himself and only wants to talk about himself. I cannot remember him ever saying anything POSITIVE or good about his own kids.....he has never dished out compliments to us for anything. It is all about dad and I guess always will be. I have long ago accepted that about dad and I can tolerate being around him and he was in fact much better and more enjoyable to be around at Easter time this year. Mom seems to have distanced herself from everyone more I think. She almost acts like she is afraid to get too involved or too close. She has become more judgemental over the years which has actually surprised me....as I thought she used to be more like my grandma Custer and not judging at all and more accepting of everyone. BOTH my parents seem to have problems with African-Americans. I still haven't figured that one out. OH WELL.

SO I am a mess......my living environment is closing in on me. I am trying hard to still completely catch up at work......while I am also trying to get things accomplished around here.....we are realizing we are running out of space here in the condo ...but I don't know if we could actually swing a new place yet. I think we could....but......so we are trying to fix this place up now....so it will make it easier to sell down the road........and make it more enjoyable for us now......and all in all I am trying to figure out why I AM THE WAY I AM NOW....and I am sure it all stems back from my YOUNGER days. Things are starting to make some sense finally to me.

MAN...my head is pounding.

Me

Well..so much for our 85 degree temps. Now we have SNOW! We actually had some nice rain yesterday and then the temps dropped like 40 degrees and it changed to snow. Is only around 35 this morning...and it is SNOWING again. Looks like winter outside except the grass and roads don't have much snow on them as they were so warm for several days. Our pool was also filled and uncovered and cleaned up but not yet opened. Now it is snowing. NOT totally odd for Colorado but kind of weird. I had to bring in all my plants from outside except for my hardy tree and I left my flowers outside but pulled them up close to the balcony door and covered them up with a blanket. I DO hope they will be okay. I probably should have brought them in last night too. I will have to leave all inside for a couple days as it is to be cold till I think Sat. Then more spring-like temps will begin again.

Nothing much new I guess otherwise. Noah only has ONE more week of school, which is just sooo hard to believe! I know he will miss it. I am trying to think of things to do with him here at home to keep him busy and prepare him more for Kindergarten. His speech therapist and occupational therapist both gave me things to work on this summer, which was helpful. Noah has been learning to read. Keith got some of those Dick and Jane books like we used to read in first grade in school. Noah can read an entire story from one of those now. We try to teach him a couple new words every day and I am trying to teach him to SOUND words out. He is very good. I was stunned when he came out the other day and spelled XYLOPHONE! I thought his had a toy with him that told him how to spell it but he did not. Then he proceeded to spell APPLE. And then JAM.....so he is learning. THIS was from a toy Becky had gotten him one year that tells you what words are and how to spell them. He has also been grabbing at a math book we got at the end of his school year last year....from the school. It teaches all kinds of things for all different grades. Anyway...he loves to work in that and do problems. He is learning how to write his numbers better and I figured I better start teaching him how to write his LONG LAST NAME as he will eventually have to know that. He is such a sweetie. He will come up to me and put his arms around my neck and ask me "are you happy mommy?". He does that a LOT lately...but I am not quite sure why all of a sudden. But it is sweet. I tell him "YES...I am very happy" and he smiles and kisses me.

Anyway....he will be getting up soon. I got a late start this morning. Just figured you would all like to know it is SNOWING HERE. I think I will roast a chicken today and make a cold-day dinner....chicken....stuffing....veggies....etc. AND we will HAVE to watch a Christmas movie.

I ordered some new scrapbooking stuff off HSN yesterday! Fabulous stuff...now I just have to START scrapbooking!!

Later.....

I WISH there was some way for you all to see that picture....wow...what can you say?

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· Man Recovers After Six Nails Driven Into His Head




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Updated: 08:23 AM EDT
Man Recovers After Nail Gun Accident



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LOS ANGELES (May 5) - A construction worker had six nails driven into his head in an accident with a high-powered nail gun, but doctors said Wednesday they expect him to make a full recovery.

Isidro Mejia made his first public appearance Wednesday since the April 19 accident that left him with 3 1/2-inch nails embedded in his face, neck and skull. He told reporters in Spanish from his wheelchair that he does not remember much about the accident, but is grateful to be alive.



AP
An X-ray shows the nails embedded in Isidro Mejia's head.

''He says that he's very happy to be alive,'' said Dr. Rafael Quinonez, a neurosurgeon who removed the nails at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center. ''And he told me this morning that he thought he was going to die. He was happy when he opened his eyes, and he saw that he's still with us.''

Mejia, 39, was atop an unfinished home when he fell from the roof onto a co-worker who was using the nail gun, Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Mark Newlands said.

The two men tried to grab each to keep from falling, but both tumbled to the ground. At some point, the nail gun discharged and drove the nails into Mejia's head.

''They're extremely powerful,'' Newlands said. ''They've got to drive through three-quarter-inch plywood.''

Quinonez said Mejia told authorities he remembered a ''shock'' to the back of his neck and little else before passing out.

Three nails penetrated Mejia's brain, and one entered his spine below the base of his skull. Doctors said the nails barely missed his brain stem and spinal cord, preventing paralysis or death.

''We did not have too much hope that he would survive, but we did it and he survived,'' Quinonez said, calling the recovery ''close to a miracle.''

Mejia is walking with minimal assistance and speaks somewhat slowly because his brain's speech center was affected, but his progress has been ''remarkable,'' Quinonez said. With rehabilitation therapy, he should fully recover, he said.

''He is basically normal,'' Quinonez said.

Five nails were removed the same day and the sixth, in Mejia's face, was removed April 23 after swelling went down, the hospital said.

Authorities cleared the co-worker of any wrongdoing.

AP-NY-05-05-04 2311EDT


05/05/04 20:57 EDT

Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

We took Noah to McDonalds for lunch today and noticed something new they were trying. By the restrooms there was a thing called "RED BOX VIDEO"...a big display of DVDs....where with your VISA or credit card of some sort..you can decide a movie you want to see...and scan your card..and for ONE DOLLAR rent the movie for ONE night. Drop off is like 10:00 p.m. the next night..and you can drop off the movies at ANY RED BOX VIDEO at any McDonalds. IF you do not return the movie for some reason after 21 days they automatically charge your credit card 25.00 plus tax and then the DVD is yours to keep. Anyway....I had not ever seen anything like this before..and thought it was a great idea they came up with. ALL NEW MOVIES too and some older newer ones..but like they had all the ones recently released to DVD. I was amazed. DID not rent any but it is nice to know IF I wanted to we could for a lot cheaper than Pay Per View. Normally we order movies from our local library as they have all the new releases there in time and now with the new library they get movies as soon as they are released..so you can get them for even cheaper than a dollar cause they are FREE!

Anyway..did not know if you all had anything like that around where you live or not...but you might keep your eyes open if you are interested. I think it is a pretty good idea and deal.

Just got back from the local nursery. MAN they had some gorgeous flowers...so I had to get some. I have 2 hanging pots outside now and had already bought 4 new big/beautiful plants for our balcony (but they can also come inside during colder weather). So now I can make a MIXTURE of flowers for some smaller pots to mix in around the plants...and we are going back to the same nursery on Friday I think and buy these flowering trees of some sort that stay in pots. Not sure now what they were called but they were really pretty. They were all about 4 feet high and about 35.00 each. One was like yellow daisy flowers at the top the other were purple flowers. Course they also had pretty rose bushes and vines and all kinds of things. I want to put a very small fountain in the middle of my GARDEN on the balcony this year..but very small and probably fake like made from plastic as I would not trust the weight on the balcony with anything large or heavy. They had some WONDERFUL windsocks too..these 3D ones by GANZ...one was a Pilgrim Tom Turkey and he was sooo cute. I will have to go back and get him. And a pumpkin and scarecrow one...but they are expensive. I think the Tom Turkey one was like 37.00 which is cheaper than online which costs about 47.00 plus tax and shipping. So...it reminded me of a BALLOON float from Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. They are really nice and have 3 dimensions to them...making them lifelike!!

I decided to try to fix our insides to our toilet myself yesterday. MAN what a time I had because our toilet tank sits RIGHT under a shelf...as the countertops extends over and above the toilet tank but only like by a few inches. SO...you really cannot get down inside the tank from the top at all. SO...this meant I had to REMOVE the tank from the bowl...and fix everything and then put it back in place. I had to get down between the toilet and sink cabinet which was an extremely TIGHT fit to say the least. A couple of times I almost got stuck and I thought....wow..what if I do get stuck and Noah has to call 911 for me as I cannot move? How embarassing that could be!! I dropped the screwdriver back inside the tank once AFTER I had everything fixed and was trying to tighten the bolts myself...what FUN that was to get out with another tool!! Got it all done but had NO way to tighten the bolts/screws and stuff by myself so Keith had to help me with that today. I had to run to Home Depot to get a new flexible hose for the water pipe. FINALLY we got it all tight and no leaks....all is working well. I figure we would NOT make a good team for a show like Trading Spaces!! Makes you really appreciate a TOILET and a WORKING one!! Next is the kitchen faucet and a leaky tub faucet and drain.....not sure..I may splurge and HIRE someone to tackle those jobs as I doubt they would be fast for me. I still want to put a ceiling fan/light combo in Noah's room but there is no stud where the light is now. We took it apart and looked and I am not sure WHAT is even holding his light in now. Some piece of plastic things that wings out in between the rafters I guess..but nothing that could hold this heavy ceiling fan with a light. SO...to avoid messing in the attic I will probably pay someone to do that. I want to put a new floor in the bathroom but will definitely hire that out probably as I want to put in a real ceramic tile floor and I wonder if I could do that myself. I had even thought about making a mosaic design on the bathroom floor myself which would probably be easier for ME....but I don't know. We also would like to replace our kitchen floor with real ceramic tile. Well shoot..if I could afford it I would probably tear up all the carpet out here in the living room and dining room and replace the kitchen, dining room and living room with ceramic tile and down the hallway too. THAT would cost some money. SO it will have to be one room at a time I guess. Will always be something I guess as time goes on. I just want to make it more cozy now though.

We still have not started to paint..but we will probably get started on that soon. I have some colors picked out....now it is just getting the paint and starting. We decided to go ahead and do Noah's room first so we can get the stuff back into his room that has been sitting around...I want to repaint the kitchen cabinets (as I cannot replace them now)....but that will be a job as I have to SAND the old crap that is on there...the person who painted before left BIG DRIPS all over the place....the hinges also look bad and should be replaced I think. AND we want to install safety outlets around the sink. After looking at 30 model new homes the past couple of weekends.....I have some really good ideas....and they would improve the resell value for this place and make it nicer while we live here. We are really checking out some of the new homes...and man they are sure nice. AND at least affordable compared to what we had looked at in the past. The location right now for some is not exactly where we would want to live...so we will just kind of keep looking. That has become a FAMILY thing as we all go to church on Sunday...then lunch and then go to open houses of model homes!! We see about 7-15 homes every Sunday.

I found some fabulous Southwestern stuff to add to the existing Southwestern stuff I have in our living room....so that has really come along. I will have to take pictures of everything when I am done I guess.

Well...Keith just left for work. Noah has an art show at school tonight called "Commotion in the Ocean" so he is super excited about that. I will take pictures. Keith is coming back home for supper so he can go too.

LOVE...

Hey there. Well...our trip to Ohio was fabulous this year. We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit with everyone. The stress level was NON-existent due in large part to the fact we stayed at my grandmother's house this year. That sure brought back a lot of memories...and it was really hard to say goodbye and leave her home when the time came. I enjoyed seeing my sisters and doing things with my family too. Noah did very well and was very well behaved and did super around the dog. Course the dog also did well around him this time. Everyone commented on how well behaved he was and how he listened etc. (unlike what they say sometimes at school..weird huh?)So we all had a good time. It would be nice to be closer to do things like that more often...course sometimes when you do things like that more often they are not always as nice and as pleasant experiences I guess as when you only do them 1-2 times per year. Anyway.....more than once Dad told me how I had made a big mistake by moving to Colorado and being 1200 miles away...and not being around the family...etc...more often than 1-2 times per year. I just stood there...as in my mind I never made a mistake and love living in Colorado!

My dad did laugh many times at my HORRIBLE pictures my one sister seemed to continue to take of me. Seems she rarely takes anything good of me....I always look SUPER huge and super fat and really bad in all of her pictures. I sometimes wonder if she takes bad pictures of me on purpose so everyone can laugh about them as it seems that is what ends up happening. My dad checked one picture out of me and I was saying it reminded me of someone. He proceeded to take a look and said "oh yeah I know...Mama Cass!". I was stunned but not surprised given the source I guess. Then my mom proceeded to say it reminded her of my dad's mother grandma Rhodehamel (who is deceased) and I look NOTHING like. So that was NOOOO compliment by any means. She was very very large and I think my dad looks like her but I don't. Then my other sister said she thought my picture reminded her of my overweight sister when she was younger and not so fat. So......quickly memories flooded my mind as to WHY I do live 1200 miles away!

ALL went well the entire time then until discussion was brought up about Noah NOT being poop potty trained or completely potty trained yet. My dad asked if I had tried SPANKING him to teach him to NOT poop in his pants...etc. I got a bit ticked off....said that was not the right thing to do...he proceeded to tell me that is what they did back in their time and I proceeded to say "things were not always done the RIGHT way back in his time"..etc. I could tell feathers were getting ruffled all the way around. I told dad we better drop the discussion about how things were handled back in his time or that would be another story entirely and I did not think HE wanted to go there. I did tell them however we have tried ALL things with Noah and that it is just he REFUSES to sit on the toilet to do his business......so he will eventually complete potty training I guess when he is ready himself. Our pediatrician never seems worried about it and just tells us to NOT spank him or scold him but to continue to "encourage" him to go. So we are doing that. THAT was the ONLY time things kind of got out of hand I guess during my visit this year. AND it quickly reminded me of why I do live 1200 miles away. Sad.....I should not let certain things keep me from enjoying the rest of the family which I don't.

Anyway...I get back to Colorado and all is well. Dad then proceeds to tell my about my brother's weight loss so far of 31 pounds and quickly adds "you're next". What is it with him? He looked at several pics of my sister Angela who has had gastric bypass surgery and is still overweight and called them GROSS. Now how can you say that about YOUR OWN child? even as an adult? He has a problem with overweight people I guess. Seems they disgust him or make him sick...etc. Perhaps subconsciously I got overweight to displease him and to be defiant against him? haha. Who knows these days. But it would not matter if I was thin. When I was thin in the past and dressed nicely Dad said I looked like a whore. So it is a no win situation with Dad and always will be. No wonder us kids have problems. It seems dad is in competition with his own kids for many things. Anytime anyone gets anything new he has to then turn around and get the same thing or something better. It has almost become funny and absurd.

Anyway....I am doing well now. We actually had some snow the last couple of days which should help with our drought. Playing catch up for work now and trying to get things done around the house again in my spare time. The list goes on and on as usual. Haha. Keeps me busy.

My grandma had me pick something out from her house that I might want to remind me of her and grandpa. I did not know what to take or say I would like. She offered me an antique hurricane oil lamp probably worth a fortune. She had many and said many had already been sold at a prior auction. I picked one out I liked and have it at home with me now. When she asked if there was anything I wanted to remind me of her and grandpa I started to cry. She said well you are here now and I know she was insinuating in case something happened to her in the future and I could not get back or see her again...etc....to take something NOW. I guess plates and clocks remind me most of grandma and grandpa's house as he collected both. I like these blue plates he had collected.....and the clocks that needed wound up and tick/tocked all the time. Those were pretty nice too but she said many in the family were already fighting over the clocks. I would rather have the person around than THINGS anyway..so I did not know what to tell her. So she came up with the idea for the lamp. I figure if she wanted me to have something she should decide WHAT..so I am happy with the lamp and when I look at it I DO think of her and grandpa. She had also made me another super nice afghan and 2 embroidered dresses scarves with crocheted trim. I LOVED my visit with my grandma and really miss her a lot. Makes me cry to think about her. I know if I DID live closer to her I would be seeing her at LEAST once per week if not more often. I don't know why others who do live closer DO NOT go see her more often than that. I have always loved visiting with her and seeing her and spending time with her. She has always made me feel so at home and welcome. I sure will miss her a lot and if anything happens to her I would miss even her home if it was sold to someone outside the family...etc.

Anyway....this is all depressing to think about so I should stop. Noah just got up and wants to play on the computer. I wish visits could go on forever but time does not stand still that long for anything these days. I guess they can go on forever in your mind but that is not the same.

While in Ohio I saw several I wanted to see...but I also did not get to see some I had wanted to see. We are planning on making a trip back at Christmas if possible so I want to see more then if I can. Well..I need to get some work done. More another time I suppose.

Keith keeps talking about buying a new house we saw that is not even built yet. I think we would be too strapped. So...doubt if we proceed. Not this year anyway.

Well...more stress and chaos. Seems all we have been doing is eating out lately. That has been nice. Had a nice dinner at Texas Roadhouse...and then Sunday dinner at Bennett's BBQ....super good...and today salad at Arby's (new) also good! Church was great yesterday. We stopped and looked at open houses yesterday of new homes...these were paired courtyard homes..talk about NICE. WOW. I have never lived quite like that before but it would be nice. We could probably swing the payments but I don't think I want to be that crunched. So......perhaps the time is not quite right yet. Houses were so nice. 3 bedrooms and more....about 2-3 baths....2 car garage....yard.....(fenced).....all brand new stuff....just super nice and 2 floors..only ONE house on the other side....and you cannot hear anything as they put special sound proof walls in between. What we have I am thankful for and love..but MORE SPACE would be nice..and a garage! So time will tell.

Noah had a great time at church. He is such as sweetie. Stress related school issues are another story. LAST week the week before his Kindergarten transition meeting we heard as I said before for the FIRST time about them recommending Noah get into this special program SIED. Well..I have talked to many teachers and people since and have also done some research and have found out they have NOT handled even trying to have Noah meet the qualifications the correct way. SO MUCH CRAP...I am about ready to say FORGET it to everyone. SO today they tell us they are cancelling the meeting for tomorrow..gee..no suprise there. Have to get the administrator out there for the meeting too....probably to try to still convince us of this program we have already told the staff at Noah's preschool we will NOT be considering for him. MORE waste of time. PHONE CALLS...meetings..the list goes on and on and he is only FIVE YEARS OLD. I can only IMAGINE what is in store for us all down the road!!!

AND update on the Jacob story. It was NOT because of a jealous boyfriend as noted before. It was 2 guys they think one knew Jacob...anyway...the story is not out yet...but these 2 went to Jacob's house at 2:00 a.m. When he answered they asked if he was Jacob..when he said yes the one shot him. A friend of his was with him playing PlayStation type games and came out..found he had been shot and called 911. All we know is once the information comes out as to WHY this was done...no one will believe the story is what we have been told. Not sure what that means. So....his funeral is Tuesday.

Keith's dad is all set up for his hip replacement surgery. I have tons to do here before our so-called vacation. hahaha. I did get completely caught up at work...only to return I am sure to an overload again. BUT I can do the same thing and some overtime and get PAID for it and get caught back up again I guess.

We actually had a super NICE thunderstorm with lightening and thunder the other night. WOW....talk about wonderful. COuld use some more rain and we may get some later today.

Went to the new library opening today. WOW....SUPER SUPER NICE modern library/bookstore type place. NEW DVDs now...I mean it is like you are in a video rental. NEW books...they took Noah's picture playing at a donate Thomas the Tank Engine table in the kid's section. I got several movies to watch all before we leave..so hopefully we will have time.

Well..I need to finish some things.

Later....(taking deep breaths as the stress continues to build). I do hope and pray our trip is going to go smoothly and nice and we all have a good visit.

Brother what a week so far! Today of course I am trying to develop a MIGRAINE! NO SURPRISE here I guess. Keith's oldest son Dale had a friend here in Colorado (Jacob) who got shot Sunday morning. Some girl he knew had gone to his apartment (Jacob's) and basically cried on his shoulder about her boyfriend I guess. Her boyfriend must be psycho as he then got mad and jealous and proceeded to go to Jacob's about 2:00 a.m. Sunday morning. When Jacob answered the door he took a shotgun and shot him point blank. This blew off his chin...blew out his trachea...and took a lot of his lower face off. He did NOT fall down but remained standing when a friend of his inside the apartment came out and saw him standing there. I guess they know who the shooter is. Anyway...his friend called 911 and they took him to the hospital. He was alive.. but progressively worsened...then had a massive stroke. He was officially declared dead this morning at 8:30 a.m. Dale was in Indiana at college (Keith's son)but drove all night with his fiance to get out here to see Jacob before he passed away. After his stroke he was out of it and did not respond anymore. So..I guess his parents are going to donate his organs. Not sure the details of everything. So that happened.

Then we had a PRE meeting with the preschool staff before Noah's KINDERGARTEN transition meeting next week. They tried to tell us they had someone come out and observe Noah and they had a recommendation to place him in another school than the one we registered him at..in order to receive this special help crap. GET THIS..another TITLE. They call it SIED (significant identifiable emotional disability). BROTHER. I have since done some research online about it and cannot see where Noah meets any of the criteria OTHER than his speech problems (which he has improved on and would receive MORE speech therapy at the school we already have him registered at)...as his behavioral issues he was dealing with have pretty much resolved at school. This woman who came out to "observe" Noah did it like TWO MONTHS ago before he made all these improvements..etc. SO..I really DOUBT the reliability of anything she saw and I question her recommendations..especially AFTER reading more about SIED. I swear..they try to find a label to stick on ANYONE these days. You could pick your nose different and they would probably call that something! ANyway.....I am not too happy about their recommendations...but am TRYING to keep an open mind as I do want to do what is best for Noah in the long run of things! However...the more I read about SIED ...etc...I SWEAR it is SO NOT him and not connected to him or his past problems. He needs some more SPEECH THERAPY......as they felt him not being able to express himself was perhaps the reason he used to act out sometimes at school. WELL DUH..then why place him in a small setting where he would be around kids that have SEVERE problems and acting out? He needs to continue being included in the regular classroom where he can both observe and participate in appropriate behaviors...and learning...etc. PLUS He has NO problems with learning...and to have SIED you are supposed to have a problem with learning. So I am a bit upset about this meeting..and can only imagine how the one next week will go. It ultimately is up to me and Keith where we send Noah to kindergarten and I am still thinking to stick with the school we already picked out for him. I have MANY MANY questions to ask..and the fact that there is criteria to meet with students to have a so-called SIED ...etc...and I question if they have done their research appropriately. Anyway..I could go on and on.

well. I went to our FABULOUS dollar store today. I got a cart...which I KNOW when I do that I am headed for trouble and spending at least 40-50.00. I was right on target today. Ended up with 50 items in my cart!! This is a fabulous store...has all kinds of wonderful buys! Today BEST buys were LEATHER CD holders...normally sell for 10.00 most anywhere else. Hold 24 to 32 CDs!! Also some printer paper you can make stickers out of.....wonderful PENS with 10 yes TEN different colors of ink inside. I was stunned...and opened them and they DO WORK! Wonderful Easter things and toys for the kids.....UMBRELLAS!!! ONE DOLLAR EACH! I mean I really get into this store! Got ROLL UP EXPENSIVE BLINDS for kids for cars...1.00 EACH!!! Well for each package of TWO BLINDS! SUPER NICE.....Steering wheel leather cover 1.00 EACH!!!! I never cease to be amazed at what all you can find at this dollar store. OLD MOVIES on CDs...1.00 each! Reading glasses 1.00 EACH! AND this stuff is NOT JUNK like some of the dollar stores.

I got up at 12:15 a.m....got ready for work. Ran to the hospital to work and stayed there for about 4 hours...came home and finished my time. Took Noah to school.....then off to the coffee/bread place PANERAs for coffee....then to the dollar store..back home again...and back to get Noah to end up at this pizza buffet place for lunch with Keith's youngest daughter LeighAnn. We had a good time. Noah however at the end of the lunch for some reason tosses his napkin at the table behind me. The man it landed beside did not seem to upset. I turned around and apologized.....we corrected Noah. The man behind me however.....seemed to be really ticked and kept muttering crap about how his parents would never have let him get away with that..etc. ON AND ON. I guess he did not hear us correct Noah....and I am not sure what he would have expected us to do...he was not misbehaving or acting out badly or anything like that. He just tossed his SPIT BALL napkin across to the other table..YES>>>WRONG move...but he is after all only 5 and NOT 50 and sometimes kids can do unexpected things. I would suggest that these men not choose to sit at a table close to small kids if they don't want to be bothered. WHO KNOWS. I held my tongue..which was extremely hard for me to do but I DID IT. I figured it was not worth getting into it with the man. I think the one was okay about it anyway.....the other man was probably on his male hormonal rag! (that sounds bad doesn't it?)

Anyway...been almost like early summer here. I MEAN in the 80s most days!!! Wind is picking up today. Supposed to rain tomorrow perhaps. We SURE could use some rain. I just checked the status of weather in Ohio. That seems to be all they are getting. RAIN RAIN AND MORE RAIN. AND COOLER temps. If we go there for a visit that does not sound like exciting weather huh? Keith is so panicking about possible tornadoes. Noah LOVES tornadoes right now and the winds...etc. I love the wind..always have and so does NOah. Keith cannot stand it.

So....going to try to finish cleaning this house this weekend. Not much left to do really. Need to get the Easter stuff together..and the Christmas stuff...put that all away. I WILL get it done as I am going to be working under pressure now!

Anyway....I guess I should get off here and do something constructive!

Later

Well....my blog is sure kind of boring to most people probably...and I cannot really do anything much fancy since I cannot post pictures and things like that yet...or at least I don't think so. I will have to check it out.

Anyway......been running running running endless errands errands errands!! Saw an old homeless appearing woman outside the grocery store the other day. Something about her drew me to her...I felt bad for her. She had a winter coat on and it was very hot outside.....and she had no socks...just gym shoes. Looked like she was dirty and very very tired and hungry. Acted like she wanted to ask someone for something but was too embarrassed to ask. I went to our truck and loaded in our groceries...and wondered what her story was...and how she ended up like that. Course she could have just been an older lady with a home but out and about I suppose. Anyway....I KNEW I had to go to McDonalds which was in the same parking lot and get her something to eat at least. So we drove through....I got her 2 cheeseburgers, 2 fries and a big Coca Cola. Now I had to find a way to give it to her without making her feel bad in case she was not homeless...etc. SO I prayed to God that she would ACCEPT things in a nice way....I found her over by the bus stop...sitting there..I imagine resting. I walked up and asked her if she was hungry which she promptly replied YES. I said well we just drove through McDonalds and got some extra food and thought she might like something to eat. She gladly accepted it and said she was tired and did not feel all that well. She then politely asked if I had 50 cents. I told her I did not carry any cash and wish I did as I would give her some...but that I DID carry change and would give her all the quarters I had..which was only about 2.00 I think. She took it and I told her to take care. I left and went back to my truck and cried. I see all these homeless people all the time downtown in Denver....lined up side by side on the sidewalks sleeping....hanging out. Must be something we could all do for them. Anyway...this car pulled up beside me in the truck and I was afraid this man was going to yell at me for feeding this woman who maybe hangs around in that area all the time...but instead he said " I just had to tell you that if everyone would be a little more like you this world would be a better place...you guys are AWESOME!". I was STUNNED and started to bawl even more. I guess I had no idea anyone like that was watching. I always feel GOD is watching me or with me and I know we should be as Christ-like as possible as our actions can sometimes influence others. Well..here is a prime example of that. This man was apparently behind me in McDonald's drive through and he saw what I did...and thought it was amazing. Maybe he will do the same someday.

This was all so much like OUT OF A MOVIE...I half expected to see the woman turn around and it be Jesus standing there telling me I had passed His test of some kind...which I know I did anyway even without that happening. HE definitely impressed upon me to FEED the woman....which I did the best I could at least for that moment in time. I wish I could do more for those people. IF I had a lot of money I would want to build a shelter where they could get a new start and training and FOOD and places to sleep...etc.

Anyway.....been busy getting the house cleaned up finally. Got my truck washed today. Looks nice. Course the neighbors have dinged up the side doors a bit by ramming their car doors into the side. I guess that can eventually all be buffed out. My list is endless and goes on forever...guess there will always be things to do..which is actually a GOOD THING.

Called grandma from a park on Monday. She sounded good...and we had a nice hour long conversation. She said she is anxious about our coming to visit her soon.

Noah and I started putting up Easter decorations. (I ALMOST said Christmas!). Hopefully we will finish that this week. I seriously also need to do more in the house...want to have it together at least before we take a trip. MAYBE we can even have Noah's room painted and redone before then.

Not much else. Working my butt off for work trying to get caught up before taking vacation in April. SO I basically work every night of the week. (I HEAR THE ICE CREAM TRUCK OUTSIDE!)

Yes....been warm here. Hit 79 degrees yesterday and is already 70 degrees again today.

Well..too much to do to sit here. Need to get to it.

Ta ta

WOW. Have you ever walked by a display of clothing on a mannequin or just hanging together on hangers in a store and think to yourself "now THAT is how I wish I could dress and always thought I would?" but you realize you are NO WHERE NEAR that kind of clothing or dressing? I saw this outfit at Cracker Barrel (YES Cracker Barrel) and it looked like something I figured by now I would be wearing in this time in my life. HA!! Yeah right!! That set me off to thinking about HOW I am now and WHAT I thought I might be like by now when I was younger. Physically I have obviously let myself way down somewhere along this journey. I am SOOO out of shape and overweight now....NOT how I thought I would be at this stage in my life. Then I wonder to myself...IF I were thinner.....would I still ever be totally TOGETHER so to speak? I mean it seems I ALWAYS have things on the burners to do.....things not quite completed or I AM not quite "there". I kind of doubt that would change even if I weighed like 80 pounds! SO.....deep in thought I guess. Wonder why my life and surroundings have to be in chaos the majority of the time? When we moved here I was so organized and have continued to be organized. BUT...with being sick over the holidays and all....I really got behind on keeping up with putting things away and cleaning...etc. SO...now my life is all topsy turvy yet once again!! AAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!

My little Noah is such as sweetie pie. He keeps me on track and Keith too. I can get so frustrated with him and NOT pottying. BUT...I would not trade HIM or those problems for ANYTHING! I do have to remind and remember to be patient around him and with him and not lose it or anything. I NEVER want to put him through crap like that. I grew up around a lot of that and I swore if I ever had kids I would never let them have to experience that. A couple times when I have gotten upset with Noah and raised my voice he gets so upset and it scares him. NOT what I was going for....and it makes me feel really really bad about myself all over again. This has only happened like twice but still..it NEVER should have happened at all. SO he likes for me to talk quiet..so I try to. I also try to make sure Keith does the same thing. I have never thought any child should ever be afraid of their own parent or parents. What a life that is. I know all about that too.

Okay...I am getting depressing. Better go and work some more. Had to work early tonight as the hospital was going to do something to the network and the system was going to be down..so I ran down before midnight and got all my work done. Now more to do here at home.

Later

Found a great baby outfit....matching blanket and onesie at Mervyns...all WInnie the Pooh BEAUTIFUL stuff for Mark and Peggy's baby. Last I heard this morning she was in labor and they were on the way to the hospital. They are to have a boy...and hopefully that will be the case as I picked up all BLUE stuff today. Such nice clothes!! AND that blanket is gorgeous. AND ALL ON SALE..like 40% off and the onesie was free!!!

What a day!! My head is spinning! Started out super early. Worked and then went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast....then bought a few things for Christmas gifts and Easter. Then we took off to see where Keith's ex's new house is. Then to pay the car payment..then to Car Toys. I KNEW it would be a good day to head over there..and of course there was NO ONE in there getting anything done to their cars. We found a nice CD player from Pioneer.....they had to order the adaptor though so we did not have it put in today. HOPEFULLY tomorrow. So we left there..ran to Mervyns. Then to Pizza Hut for lunch (YES...a DOUBLE eating out day). Then to Albertson's Grocery store to pick up a few things..then home sweet home! Meanwhile however......I got a little stressed. We decided to stop at Radio Shack too..forgot that..to check on that turntable I got Keith. The needle has NEVER been right or worked in it...so we stopped in the first RS...that guy was NO HELP....We came home. Keith ran to the mall..they were more helpful and said they could switch his out for another new one..but they had none in stock. So....he left....to come to our local RS....there was a new guy there that was more helpful...but Keith came home with a DISPLAY model as a replacement and NOT a brand new one. I WAS MAD...sent him BACK to get the old one back....(which had NEVER BEEN USED yet as the needle was not right)...and had him call the other RS at the MALL and told them to go ahead and order the NEW one to replace his. I got him that turntable at Christmas and I finally unpacked it about 3 weeks ago. GOOD thing I did. RS has a warranty on it for 3 months (90 days)...which would be up like on March 24th!! So anyway...we will get a new one..HOPEFULLY on Wed. WE will make sure this time all is well BEFORE leaving the store..etc. THEN home sweet home with that and should be able to listen to the records and albums again and ENJOY!!!

Meanwhile....Keith's dad had called..said his sister was in from England with her daughter. We have never met them yet (me or Noah). Anyway...she is still kind of on the outs with Keith..but his dad decided to have everyone who wants to get together tomorrow for lunch at Panera (bread place where you can get FABULOUS breads and sandwiches and soups and pastries..etc). We will have to take something in for Noah to eat..nothing there he would be interested in. BUT....we should go WITH Keith and support him. The way his family is I am kind of just like "well...why even bother to give them the time of day...etc..." but that is not very Christian like....so we should and will probably all go along..and meet them..have lunch. Then off to get my CD player in..and back home again home again!! RUN RUN RUN..no wonder I am exhausted by the time the weekend rolls around.

So...I got all worked up...and probably ate like 15 mini Nestle Crunch bars.....but miraculously I am finally feeling more calmed down. Especially since Keith called RS back and they said they would order a replacement turntable for him. SO..SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHH.........~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now I am perking a fresh pot of coffee...just what I need. I KNOW..CAFFEINE! We are really trying hard to NOT argue in front of Noah..or things like that. It is so upsetting to a kid to go through that and live like that. I am much better about raising my voice to Keith...and he is trying to not TICK me off...etc.....but it is a work in progress I guess..hahaha. I know what it is like to have a parent or parents argue or yell...etc...and I DO NOT want to have Noah live like that. So...we have never really argued around him but a couple of times..but when that has he yells and tells us to stop it...or cries..and I know it is NOT good. He if finally at that age where we HAVE to be more careful about what we say and do to protect him etc. He is very good for us...and makes us be better people!!! We were driving home from the park the other day...and Keith forgot to put Noah's sealtbelt on. He started to cry as he said "Stop.....my seatbelt is not on" and I told Keith to pull over NOW...and he would not...said he could not...would in a minute..I really got ticked and started to raise my voice...which only upset Noah even more...he ended up leaning forward and BITING THE CAR SEAT which I have NEVER seen him react like that before. His face was all red and he was shaking he was so worked up. We calmed him down...stopped and buckled him up...and again I reminded myself and Keith how we have to be more careful about things in the future. Any arguing will have to be done in the CLOSET or somewhere AWAY from Noah. So it is actually a GOOD thing for ALL of us.

Meanwhile....I am trying to take deep breaths..slow down and actually ENJOY the day and breathe for a change! I am trying to get Keith to do the same thing!

Well..enough ranting......I am going to have a cup of coffee......Caramel Truffle...it is very good.

OFF!

We went to a new church yesterday. Was not bad. Noah was soo excited about heading back to church and so was I. He was clapping his hands and singing and dancing at church...raising his hands..shouting out Amens and Hallelujahs when the pastor asked for them.....he was something else. I did find it odd that we knew ONLY ONE song during the praise and worship that they sang. Keith said it was that way the week before too. I cannot believe I had never heard these songs before....must be like SUPER NEW? Not sure.....They did not dim the lights either during praise and worship and most places I have been do that. MOST.....they had like 20-30 min. of announcements which drives me INSANE! AND some women were twirling/dancing around during praise and worship and then one spoke in tongues and a man provided interpretation. I began to think I was in some holy roller church and was a tiny bit uncomfortable. A lot seemed almost put on to me. The pastor finally spoke but only referenced the Bible maybe twice the entire sermon. THAT REALLY bothered me. So...we may occasionally go there but will probably try a few other churches in the coming weeks...till we find one we like and feel more suited for...although I won't rule this one out completely.

Went to OUTBACK for dinner after church. TALK ABOUT GOOD!! We have NEVER had anything bad from there ever. I got shrimp...Noah chicken fingers..and Keith the pork chops. MMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM GOOD!!!

Worked on the house a lot this weekend but more to do. I have so much to go through and organize. Also trying to get caught up more for work..soI decided to NOT attend the staff meeting today but go in May, June and July. Keith is off today and Noah is out all week so I wanted to do some things with them too.

I think Keith is going to have the CD player put in my truck today. Not sure what we might do after that. It sure is windy outside..I hung a cool windsock out there and have really ENJOYED seeing it blow around. I MUST keep one out there all the time! I found some at the dollar store....A DOLLAR!! LONG ones too...like 5 FEET long!

Well..I seriously need to get back to work. More later...

me

Well...so many weeks have passed by since the kidney stone passed and I guess I have beem making up for lost time as I have not posted anything here for awhile! All is well in the world. We got our new stove and refrigerator delivered....sOOOOOOOOO NICE!! Also got some new storage things for Noah's room....white with DOORs so the toys will not be able to be seen and his room should not look so cluttered with wall-to-wall toys!! Have one more to put together. We are going to be painting soon. Also have to get a new bathroom floor down. Maybe even a kitchen floor. A few small remodeling things in place for this year finally. Doing them as we can.

Weather has been up and down...normal for this time of year. Not much else happening really. More later when I get done working.

Me

FINALLY. About 5:15 a.m. this morning I went to the bathroom and PLOP PLOP...a HUGE kidney stone followed by a second one plopped into the toilet. I continued to have spasms and it feels like another one could be coming through soon. BUT...it is now 3:21 p.m. and the spasms are gone...and I feel SOOOO much better! SOO happy that stone has come out!!!! AND it is huge!

NOW I have to play catch up on all this work I have not gotten done here at home or at work. So I will be extremely busy the next few days. AND I want to do our taxes this weekend and get that all done. SO....anyway...I am much happier and feel much better. Keith has great hands. Is so good at massaging my back when I was in pain!

Ran some errands and ate lunch today at CiCis a pizza/pasta buffet that Noah likes. They do have pretty good food. I was not hungry but went anyway. I had a salad and 1 piece of pizza.

Trying to get some things done. More later.

WoW...after a couple of days of passing a kidney stone hopefully now down into my bladder....I have had a heck of a time. Talk about PAIN! MAN......YIKES!!! OUCH!!!! and more I should not write here..haha. I really thought I would have to go to the ER the night before last as it was extreme..but I got Keith up...he massaged my back and got me to calm down and finally I felt the stone move (it felt) like into my bladder. Anyway....I think it is there. NOW to get it to PASS out when I PEE! (and hopefully I won't pass out too!!).

Warmer here. Was in the high 60s yesterday! LIKE SPRING!! Keith of course complains it is cold. I have no heat on. It got too warm inside yesterday so I turned it off. It is already 46 degrees outside....and is to be warm again.

I go for my ultrasound this morning for my cyst and to drop off my 24 hour urine collection.

Trimmed Noah's hair last night. He looks so good and sooo cute!

Nothing else much new here. Been super busy with trying to work when I DO feel well which has not been very often.

More later

Well..no posts in awhile. Not been feeling too well. Actually Saturday was a pretty good day.....Keith got me a bouquet of flowers for Valentine's Day. I got him a card and fixed him his favorite (one of his favs) beef stroganoff for dinner. We watched the movie "Sea Biscuit" which was very good. We had a nice day at home.

I went to bed early as I was not feeling all that great. I was achey all over and had a bad headache....I woke up at 11:00 p.m. with a horrible kidney stone attack back pain. The last time I had a pain such as that was when I had a really big one stuck and had to have surgically removed. SO I was not happy about this pain. Keith rubbed my back and I was able to sleep every 1-2 hours and ended up NOT doing any overtime for work as I should have. Sunday I developed EXTREME diarrhea..I MEAN EXTREME! Like a hose out the butt!! ahahaah. Brother. I got weighed..and had lost 10 POUNDS OVERNIGHT! I figured the scales were wrong but Keith got weighed and said they were accurate. I took some pills for my aches and the migraine pills for my migraine headache. The pain came and went so I got no more work done Sunday. We watched "Pirarates of the Caribbean" and that was about it. I moaned and groaned off and on all day sipping on Sprite and eating crackers. Then the vomiting started. When the back pain got intense I would also vomit.

Finally this morning I got such bad pain I was almost not able to stand it. I had decided to NOT go to the ER but try to hold off on seeing a regular doctor today and having a CT scan that way as it is a lot faster than the ER!! Finally about 5:00 the pain subsided enough to sit here and work. I think the stone may have moved around the front more..by the way the pain felt and the fact that the kidney itself THANK THE LORD does not seem to be having spasms.....at least now now for like 2 hours which is a record this time round. So...HOPEFULLY the worst part is over and it is coming around to pass out. I will probably still call and have a CT scan done today if I can...etc. Keith may just have to miss work to haul my sorry butt around all day to the doctor.

Anyway...that is about my weekend in a nutshell! Not much else happening and I have felt too crappy to do much else. AND NOW my cyst has really been bothering me too unless it is the stone there or irritating the area.

More later...

me

Apparently that quacky OB-GYN decided to go ahead and do the CA-125 test to rule out ovarian cancer. I got those results yesterday. They came back THANKFULLY normal! I was not even told they were running that test..so I was surprised to hear about it yesterday. I am THANKFUL it was done and normal though.

I did a lot yesterday. About 5 loads of laundry. In fact..the only laundry left to do are Noah's sheets...I did our sheets and bedding....and all the towels..and all the clothes. Now for Noah's sheets....and everything will be done.

I made cupcakes for Noah to take to school for his Valentine's Party today. He had fun decorating those. He got all his Valentine cards signed Monday night all at one sitting. So those are ready too. I did up all the dishes and made a nice dinner. I gave Noah his bath and cut his hair and nails. We watched the Westminster Dog Show and American Idol. I then stayed up and watched Judging Amy. It is amazing I was still able to get up by 12:45 to be at work by 1:30 a.m. I wanted to get into work early and get a head start in case the snow started to fly. They predicted it to hit the front range by 4:00 a.m. and down here around 6:00 or after.

Well..I have lots of work to do. I need to do that and will get back here and write more later.

Well..my labs all came back fine. Figured they would be so that is good. My ultrasound is on the 18th....we will see how that goes.

We met with Noah's teachers today. That went very well. He is doing much much better and has made great progress. Has been dealing with his sensory issues much better than in the past! So we had a good, productive meeting!

I have not been able to file our taxes on time like normal ( by Feb. 4th or so) because I am now waiting on a replacement W2 form since I apparently tossed mine in the trash accidentally. HOPEFULLY I will get mine this week and can do it this weekend or next.

Tonight is the Westminster Dog Show out of New York. I look forward to that every year! Also a new 7th Heaven I think and new Everwood I think. The dog show I believe they also repeat the next morning so if I miss any tonight I can see it tomorrow morning.

Trying to do some overtime to get more work done. I SERIOUSLY need to get caught back up and am HOPING this overtime will help! So far I am making only a tiny bit of progress.

I am tired...(what's new). Need to get some things done today including paying bills. Better go for now. My little Noah is a sweetie pie. For some reason he has been interested in breast feeding again. I keep telling him I HAVE NO MILK..he keeps saying I have BIG MILK CARTONS! hahah

OKay...I have been trying all morning to upload pictures to my site.....cannot seem to do it yet. Will work on it later.

I DID install a NEW CD-ROM on my computer yesterday ..well..replaced the one that was not working..so now I have my CD-ROM and my CD-RW drives working FINE again! WHOO HOO for that!! It really was not that bad to do and fairly easy.

The furnace guy came and replaced our electric ignitor on the furnace. I came home from work and thought it felt awfully cold in the house. Well..I checked the furnace out and since we don't have a pilot light on ours (most new ones don't now) but it did have this electric ignitor ....I figured by the way it was acting that the ignitor had gone out. So...they charge an automatic 59.95 to just come out and LOOK at the furnace and tell me what I already knew was wrong with it. THEN...they charged me 43.00 more to replace that part (LABOR only as the part was still under warranty). It took all of MAYBE 10 MINUTES for the man to replace the part. I watched..saw the part..and Keith and I figure we could do it ourselves next time round. I mean it only gets plugged into a plug...and then stuck back in its holder. HOW HARD IS THAT? hahaha. SO I asked the man about electronic ignitors. I had wondered how OFTEN they go out or things happen to them. He was honest...said 2-5 years they can last. The thing is to keep them clean and free from dust. Once a piece of dirt gets on it it will slowly burn it out and burn clear through till the part breaks apart..which is what ours did. He said the part normally would cost like 150.00. I wonder about that. I have yet to check online to get prices...but he could be right. I was THANKFUL it went out on a FRIDAY and not like after hours on the weekends when I am sure they would charge MORE. I am THANKFUL I just got paid and had money to pay the man! I am THANKFUL the parts were still covered under warranty and that it was nothing more serious than it was. I am THANKFUL it only took him like 10 MINUTES to fix it!!! I am THANKFUL to once again have some heat since it is like in the TEENS temperature wise!!

SO he came and went. We ordered pizza for lunch. We did that. I fixed the computer....and all was well in the world. I decided to hook up the new turntable I got Keith for Christmas...and go figure..something as simple as that...for some reason I cannot get working!! I mean I have it all hooked up right but no sound hardly coming out of the speakers. SO...go figure. WHO knows. Keith will have to check it today. Maybe I don't have the needle on the arm correctly. It came off when I took the protective cover off...and now seems to not be on there very good. Can come off too easily and it should not do that. So maybe that is what is wrong. Anyway...HOPEFULLY we can get that up and running.

I swept all the dust off the computers today. I will have to do that on a more regular basis...man were they dusty in the back!! I would like to replace the CD-ROM drive in my other computer...but am not sure about that one..it is a little different than the one I worked on ...and may be harder to replace. NEXT is hard drives!! hahah. Yeah. Well..I will probably just get a PORTABLE hard drive and then I can back up my entire computer and still have plenty of space for MORE stuff. Those are soooo cool. Not much bigger than the palm of your hand and you can take them ANYWHERE.

Well..I have a migraine. Am to pass a kidney stone too by the way it feels. I am supposed to go for a pregnancy test and CBC today since I have had some problems this week with my perimenopausal period!! IF I had been pregnant I would have had a miscarriage the other morning after what came out of me! MAN!!! BUT I really don't think I was or am or anything like that.

TONS of work to do. I put in a request for a replacement W2 form from work. I also get to do some overtime for a couple of weeks to get caught up. So that is good and will be extra money. I am also trying to put some money back for our vacation and planned trip to OHIO in April. We will see. My grandma did ask us to stay with her while there. That will be so much fun!!!

Well..I better get some work done. Here I sit. Been up now for almost 2 hours and have done little ACTUAL work. Been messing here too long.

TOODLES!!