I'm resolved to NO new Resolution

I'm not making any new New Year's Resolutions this year folks.

I'm keeping last years. *grin*

I have been working on a story and it's gone through the fine toothed comb of three edits. The process is long for me because I've not dedicated myself exclusively to it. If you've been reading my blog for the last few months, then you know what has been distracting me. Initially it was my being a reviewer, then came the crisis with my son. That saga continues. I have an apppointment with an attorney tomorrow BUT that might be affected by the 2 inches an hour of snow predicted for Late tonight into tomorrow morning. My appointment is in the morning. Oh Joy.

My other goal was to lose weight. Lose weight? Hahahahaha.

All I wanted was to lose 5 pounds...I GAINED it. Can anyone say "Stress Eating?"

I tried a new flavor of coffee the other day... Double Chocolate. Can you say "YUM" ?

So, What are YOUR plans for New Years Eve?

For the first time in years, we have plans. We've been invited to my co-workers house and it should be good. We're bringing the wine: Blackberry Merlot.

It has become my absolute favorite. It goes well with food, never looses its flavor and is smooth and tasty. I'm not a wine drinker but I make exceptions for this wine.

I have to make chocolate chip cookies and brownies too...who won't eat chocolate?

BTW - My Christmas dinner was Hot Dogs and Beans. LOL

We ended up not going anywhere because my DH and youngest ended up with colds. The two houses we were to visit on Christmas had people with compromised immune sysytems. We couldn't expose them to germs so we stayed home. Since we anticipated eating well and coming home with left-overs because we always do, we had nothing in the house. Hence, Pork and Beans for supper.

You make the best of things when you have to.

The best thing? Staying in our PJ's all day! And playing Monopoly with my little one for 2 hours. Eldest built a LEGO masterpiece - tried to anyway. It has over 1300+ pieces and he had to stop when he found he had legos missing. Replacement parts are on thier way. The Lego Company is really awesome in customer service for replacing missing parts from their kits.

Anyone have a Wii yet? Three families got together to get it for my kids.

Oh my goodness! It is SO COOL!

My kids were playing the baseball game and begged me to try it out.

Woot!

Mom goes up to bat. Not only do I get all bases loaded, I HIT A HOME RUN!!

My kid's jaws dropped to the floor. Mom is GOOD!

**VBG**

OH! I promised to show you my Cyber-Buddy, Bubba. You know, the cat who claimed me via rubbing on the PC screen? He is SO cute!

Holiday Message

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

May the Spirit of the season bring you warmth, joy, peace and comfort.

May you eat happily, sing gustily, and have plenty of reasons to laugh.

May the day after bring you Alka Seltzer, an ice pack and a foot rub.

May you have plenty of great pictures, left overs and no hangovers.

Whether you've arrived at my blog by accident or design, Hugs to ALL!

I've Been Cyber-Claimed by a Cat

It's true. Honest!

You know Bailey?, one of my blog buddies?

Well, she has four kitties. We both have MySpace IM.

When we chat, we like to use their sound effects, limited as they are.

One that we utilize and which works incredibly loud is the 'smooch'.

We accidently discovered that Bubba responds to my cyber-smooches, muchlike if I were right there calling him.

And last night, I was cyber-playing with Bubba and Bailey said he was rubbing all over the screen.

HE WAS CLAIMING ME!!!

I was so tickled pink! I mean, here I am, a person allergic to cats in general (I pet, hug and get scratched anyway, I"m a glutton)

and I get to play with a kitty hundreds of miles away! And with no sneezing and runny eyes?

How cool is that?!!

Yep, when I MySpace IM with Bailey, I get a Very Big Grin on my face cuz I like sending smooches to Bubba.

Oh, and she nicely sent me the CUTEST picture of the furry dear so I can put in on my computer.

I had a happy moment last night.

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

In other news:

More serious, so you might want to quit reading now if staying in a happy mood is important to you.... because I will now VENT my displeasure.

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

I only sent one Christmas card out - to my little sister.

I finally went shopping yesterday and was ready to drop by the end of it.

It was nice to finally be free of the shackles that bound me for a month.

Son was discharged from the program.

We had an attempted IEP meeting Friday morning.

The school is fighting me.

THANK GOD FOR MY ADVOCATE!!!

The school liason tried their hardest to NOT allow me to have in writing my request that my son be allowed to be in a special program even in light of the fact that he is NOT to return to the only program they're willing to put him in upon his return. There are NO supports for him there. Yet they claim that what they have is enough. Is it geared towards teaching children with Aspergers? No.

But still they claim it's 'enough'.

NOT!

Anyway, back to the special program - we requested that he be allowed to be entered into the SCIP program for 8 weeks. They declined. Said that they couldn't, that it wasn't possible.

My Advocate forced the issue, reiterating that I still wanted it in writing that I requested it and they very reluctantly allowed the formal request to be included on the IEP meeting summary.

In the meantime, the LLP program they have him in is all they'd offer.

Oh, I take that back; they generously offered a tutor to come to my home for 2 hours a day in place of schooling.

Like THAT IS A SUPPORTIVE EDUCATION FOR A CHILD WITH ASPERGERS WITH SOCIAL SKILLS AND MEDICAL ISSUES?????

That is their bright idea for him while THEY come up with a plan to teach him. No time line given to accomplish that BTW.

So, like, I'm supposed to lose time from work and he lose ground in learning for what - Weeks?? while they see if....Grrrrr, I am NOT able to be gracious with my wording the more I think about what went on in that meeting.

What I find disturbing is that their offer came after they admitted that they do NOT have the ablitiy to provide everything we asked for that WOULD give him the education he needs. AND deserves. I'm supposed to be OK with that.

Because it's the holidays, my hands are tied.

The fact that the psychotherapist that helped us so much is gone - on an emergecy medical leave of which no one knows if he's alive or dead and have had no contact with since this journey started - is causing a major stumbling block.

I have to find a NEW child psychotherapist AND child psychologist. And I have to do it yesterday. The school demands letters and info from a therapist I no long have and one yet to be assigned.

It's a very difficult position to be in right now.

The unknowing, the uncertainity, the feeling that I will possibly have to miss work and my child's educational needs are sorely not being met and will continue to be unmet because my child won't be allowed back to school come January 2nd, is daunting, disturbing and frustrating.

And I think I rambled and perhaps wrote out of sequence, sorry about that. But I'm venting, writing as the thoughts come to me. Sharing my fears and worrys.

How the heck have other parents gotten the educational compliance they need for their children with Apergers?

Is it like this in every school district?

Doesn't anyone anywhere OFFER services without a price in blood and migraines? Not to mention serious funds having to be invested in pursuing what's best for our children.

*sigh*

It's the Christmas season; a time of miracles and hope.

I need both, but I'm also willing to work for my child to make it happen.

HUGS to all parents out there who have to deal with similar issues.

How do you keep your sense of humor alive???

If you read all this, you need something to pick your mood back up...here you go.

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

Help! Get me Outta Here!!! I don't wanna be clean for Santa!

And if you want to see a pic about what said disgruntled kitty could DO with dear old Santa..click here for this cute pic!

I wanted to actually HAVE the pic, but it wouldn't load.

LOL

TTFN!

Holiday Fa-La-La-La Folly

This is a lament. No cards sent. No shopping done. Almost got hit by a car when my vehicle slid on the snow and ice, propelling me into the street, into the path of an oncoming car. The same day, went to work in my heavy clunky boots and forgot my shoes. Had to walk bare foot at work. That same day, was the holiday party at work. I remembered at 9PM the night before that I needed to make brownies. So, I was up late. Said party, I refused to attend. Barefoot with a wrinkled shirt? A shirt that I thought was OK in the light of my home but in the glaring flourescent lights of the workplace, looked like I slept in it? The same day, DH's brakes failed. Yesterday I almost hit a tree at the bottom of my driveway. A BIG tree. I was saved by the snowbank I got stuck in. I looked to my right and spied a UPS truck parked in the driveway next door and a UPS guy was looking at me. I watched him get out of the truck and as he's heading over, I think, "Oh, how sweet, he's coming to help me." I rolled down my window on the passenger side just as he walked up to my window. I opened my mouth to say something but whatever it was popped right out of my head when the UPS man leaned over and popped a PACKAGE through my window and said, "Hey, thanks for waiting!". WAITING? I was stuck! I just narrowly missed a TREE. Men. On top of all of that, Eldest is getting discharged from the program this Friday. I called the school to set up the re-entry meeting which will actually be an IEP restructure session and was told they'd do it after the new year. WHAT? That is not appropriate! Without a program to go back TO, what use would his going back to that school be without an academic program to meet his needs? I fought. I got an IEP meeting for Friday. Called my advocate. My academic commando. My firecracker of a guide. I have a meeting with her tonight to make battle plans to fight for my son. That means I have to get all my documentation in order. I had to chase down the OT report - it was never forwarded as promised. I spent an hour and a half in my cellar looking for documents from three to five years ago. Never thought I'd need them again, you know? **sigh** At the meeting yesterday, I was informed that when my eldest was four years old, the neurologist supposedly put in his report that my son did NOT have Aspergers. At FOUR. I never knew or saw that sentence. I wasn't even there for that but for his epilepsy! (He had had multiple seizures just after he turned four years old ) The school had put it in their reports and now I have to find that neurologist report they quoted from to find out in what context that statement was made. Then I was told by the neurologist's office that I need to come in and sit down with the medical records department head and sift through the records MYSELF. I have to do that today and my boss was counting on me being there one last day to tidy up things before I'm off for a week and a half. Can you say Chaos? Can you say Stress? Can you say Why now? Why does it have to be so hard? So convoluted? So Crazy when this time of year is inherently crazy to begin with? Fa la la LOOPY That's me. Wish me luck, please. I think I may need it.

12 Inches!!!!

Yep, we got our first major snow of the season.

If you click on the pic it should enlarge.

Why would you do that?

Look at the snow coming out of the CHUTE. It looks like it came out like a solid ribbon and is shattering in the air!!!!!

And all the sparkles in the pic?

Light reflecting off of the snowflakes that are STILL falling! Pretty- yes? Best thing? Being inside while it's falling and swirling like inside a snow globe.

Worst thing? Having to drive in the aftermath tomorrow and HOPE that I make it back up our driveway.

It IS beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

*grin*

It was pointed out to me that I TOTALLY FORGOT THE BIG NEWS FOR ROMANCE READERS!

Humans Suffering from Elevator Syndrome

I've noticed an interesting human phenomenon during these past few weeks while taking my eldest to that program.

I've mentioned before that the program is in a locked down facility, right?. You need a code to get in AND out.

Us parents/guardians have to enter a waiting room which is actually a part of the hallway - the separation is made by huge metal doors. The hallway becomes a room slightly bigger than an elevator and is partially soundproofed.

My observations are driving me barmy. Why? Because I want to TALK. I want to say something. But I believe even a simple "Hi" and eye contact would result in dragging these people kicking and screaming out of their comfort zone.

Seriously.

No one makes eye contact.
They ALL stare at the floor - men and women alike.
It is so silent, you can hear the whisper of fabric while the people fidget and shuffle their feet on the berber carpet.
It's very eerie.

The ceiling must be enthralling - everyone stares at that too.

I lean against the wall and make it a point to look at every one there. No one makes eye contact. No one smiles. Heck, they hardly even move!

If, say, someone leans against the emergency exit (no alarm sounds) and accidently opens the door with their back, they will quietly chuckle, briefly make bashful eye contact, hurriedly shift to a safe spot and hunch into themselves and/or angle themselves away from the person who've they made eye contact with.

I've been the one they avoid because I'm the one watching, daring to breach their visual personal space. I can't help it. The Elevator Syndrome fascinates me.

When their child is brought through the program doors, they can't herd themselves back into the hallway fast enough.

I don't get it.

In essence, we all are there for the same reason.

It's a curiosity as to why they exibit as being uncomfortable and awkward.
There is no reason to deny the situation, their reality.
Hey, it's my reality too.
Nothing to be embarassed about.

Have any of you experienced the Elevator Syndrome OUTSIDE of being in an elevator?

Where and what, if anything, did you find amusing?

Or is it that I have a perverse sense of humor?

Marmite

I just tried Marmite for the first time today. You know, the British Version of the Aussie Vegemite?

This is a picture of the exact product I bought.

I spent $6.79 U.S. for 4.4oz or 125g of the stuff.

It said to "spread a thin layer on toast".

So I did.

This morning.

Amazing texture - almost like molasses, looked like it too.

What was my reaction?

Projectile Spitting.

I've heard it's an acquired taste. They're right. No questions, no doubts, - they ARE right.

I had put a swipe of butter on the toast beforehand, did that make a difference?

I might try it again without the butter to see if it does.

It also suggests "as a treat" to have it with a bit of cottage cheese on a "crisp bread", whatever ever that is.

Is that a CRACKER?

I may do that.

Just to give the stuff a fair shake - or should I say, a fair spit?

Have YOU ever tried this stuff???

What was YOUR reaction?

HOW does one acquire a taste for this stuff anyway??

Or maybe I should ask, WHY?

LOL

Crash and Burn

Did you ever have a day where the end didn't end? When you stopped moving but your head kept spinning? Where you looked back and asked "Where did it go?"

Surely in a day like that, something happened that you wished it hadn't, or that you could have done differently.

See my hand raised? Today counts as one of those.

I was up just after 5:30AM. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. I certainly didn't want to be up before the sun.

I had stayed up late (12:20AM) to try to get in most of the latest in the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series by J. R . Ward - I finished it ...well, that comes later, but before I forget, I will go on record as stating that all the hoopla about Vishous and Butch is silly. I totally "got" what J. R. wrote and enjoyed the story as written. One line by Butch says it all; connected the feelings and emotions and made it plausible and solid.
How did everyone miss that?

Anyway, today was work.
At work I got a call. My son is now being treated for depression on top of Aspergers.
No. I'm not surprised.

At 8 yrs old he was diagnosed but there were so many things going on at the time, what with his epilepsy, ADD and med changes - the depression wasn't deep enough to medicate.
The next two years had teachers mentioning the word, but never followed up.
They wrung their hands and cooed yet no real red flags went up.

During those years, the epilepsy changed. It morphed from a single location to engulfing his entire brain. Neurologists are seeing more of that phenomenon and they don't know why.

Again, medications were being tweaked and blood was drawn. He's an expert now, doesn't even flinch.

We needed a calm period - a time for no changes to see, really see him as his is.
That came this year.

So, it came to pass that he has Aspergers, which as of last post, you already know.

But the depression has followed him and hasn't changed. Praise Be, it has not gotten worse. But, it's gone on long enough. We now have clinical proof in addition to the historical proof that it is real.

He'll start new meds tomorrow.

Then,

From work to home
Race to trumpet lessons
Race back home , Cook supper but no chance to eat..put it on low and rush out again to bring youngest to the library.
The Paws For Reading Program started tonight and he got to read to the cute black and white dog that does tricks.
Rush back home, inhale two tacos
Rush out to the book reading by John Robison.

Yep, I made it. I went and I'm now the proud owner of his book AND it's signed. Woot!

I didn't have too many questions. Heck I didn't ask a one. I sat there and absorbed.
I found myself smiling at his stories but I don't think I LOL'd in a robust manner like I'd heard around me. I envied that. I was so into listening that my response seemed dulled.

I did raise my hand as the last person to pipe up. Told Mr. Robison that my son was diagnosed last week and how listening to him, hearing what he had to say, was a light for me.

And you know what? I felt like I crashed and burned. I knew that I'd get all flustered and hot in the face. I raised my hand anyway. And I felt my comments to be so ineffectual.

So, I got in line to have my book signed. A first for me. It was kind of cool but I still felt like a fish out of water.

Upon my turn, I had a two pronged mission. First to clarify the one piece of advice he shared that I felt would mean the most to my son. There was so much to take in but this one thing struck a chord for me.
I understood right, so now I have a new goal to set and reach.

The second was a bold and brash thing to do.

Previously, I had told my favorite librarian, Jennifer, the coordinator behind the Paws for Reading program, that I was going to attend my first book reading and why and her eyes lit up like an excited and hopeful kid.
She hurried into her office and came out with her business card, gushing about how wonderful it would be if Mr. Robison could speak about his book and Aspergers to our community. AND would I ask him and give him her card.

ME??? Me, talk to someone up-in-coming-famous and ask him to consider speaking at our library?
Isn't there some kind of protocol to follow for something like that?
Heck, I don't know, but for Jennifer I'd do it.
I did it.

Crash and Burn.

I have my book, my memories of a moment in time not to be forgotton. Just to make sure, I'm here blogging about it because this is one day, as crazy and filled with life as it gets, that I don't want to forget.

A Smile, Aspergers and Education

Thanks to everyone who entered my poll. I am So glad to see that I'm not the only one that burns pans and things BUT I'm the ONLY one that burnt a soda bottle.
Figures.
:-)

*****************************
Just reporting that Santa was in a Jolly mood over the weekend. I was freezing my tuckas off while he was cracking jokes and Ho Ho Hoing - must be because the frigid temps and slicing icy winds reminded him of the North Pole. For the first time ever, Mrs. Claus was in the house. She was a delight but- Man!!!! She looked like she ate half a dozen batches of her own cookies!
ROTFL

They both were a treasure and my kids had no qualms about listing the few items on their lists.
Wouldn't you know it, the items were all electronics. My, how times have changed.

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

As far as Education? I went to a presentation last night that featured a group of mothers who shared with standing-room-only attendees, thier trials, joys and successes in raising children with full blown Autism and Asperger's Syndrome.

The height of the evening was when the lead speaker, a man named John Elder Robison spoke.
He has Asperger's and has written a book called Look Me In The Eye. I WILL be reading his book. He was a fantastic speaker and he taught me a few things in relation to my son. He gave advice that only another Aspergian would be able to give. He gave me hope and showed that a sense of humor is necessary in shoring up my low levels of patience when I'm facing a moment of not understanding when a behavior isn't intentional but a sign of the syndrome. My emotional response is to be...well, emotional. Hysterics teach nothing and will get me nowhere fast. I need to learn where my son is coming from - what HE sees as going on in that moment because when I do, I'll understand that he's no where near the same page as me. He's forcing me to think "Out of the box", if you will. And some of the greatest thinkers of our time and times before have all thought that way, garnering civilization with advances and amazing leaps in mathmatics, technology and understanding of our world.

THAT is what I need to remember. I need to remember those mothers - I need to remember Mr. Robison; that Aspergians CAN succeed in life, there IS a healthy future in front of my son AND not to be so concerned with what he can't do, but on what he CAN.

I saw those moms do it last night and I need to do that too. Going to the program last night was the first step of many on a road to knowing my child.

And, I'm taking you readers along for the ride because education of this sydrome is not just beginning for me, but for society as a whole. You'll be hearing more and more about Aspergers as time goes on - there are more undiagnosed adults than you can imagine -and that blows me away.

Lighten the Load

I have this urge to bring a little lightness to my blog.

Gee, I wonder why?

I heard the CUTEST song today on the radio - Dominic, the Italian Christmas Donkey.
If anyone has heard this one, isn't it a riot? Today was the first time I'd ever heard of
it and I couldn't get over the originality and humor of it. It's better than Grandma Got
Run Over By a Reindeer.

THANKS TO JUDY I HAVE A short LINK TO SHARE WITH YOU!!!


Please enjoy - I"ll have more cerebral conversation later!

Gee, did someone ask for a change ?

I know, it has been awhile.

I have news:

Not great news.

Three things have transpired to affect my day.

First, my son was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome. He is considered high functioning but it has made an impact on his life - not in the positive.
Other than that, I have NO idea what that means.
What I DO know, is that it will take us on a different journey into understanding our child.

I called the school. Found out his special teacher has been fired.

Then a call was placed to his therapist and found out he's on medical leave until early 2008!
No idea why or who is taking over the case load.

It's just been a dandy day.

Last night...well, Brandy and Marianne got to hear all about that.

I was torquing my body from washing machine to dryer with a load of towels. Just as I dragged the final towel from the washer, it caught on the spout of the opened laundry detergent, and you guess it, knocked it right off the dryer and onto the floor.

Bam! Whoosh!

An upswell of soapy, slimey liquid covered one entire leg, my shoe, the freshly cleaned towels, the dryer, the floor, the other innocent laundry baskets ... basically everywhere except the ceiling and wall.

I had to RE-wash the entire load, extra rinse for all that extra soap I mopped up and had to wait until it dryed to put in the other load that I needed to do, which was supposed to have been the LAST load.

Then! Then! at 11PM, I found out that the Towels didn't dry all the way!!!!
Another 30 minutes waiting!
At Midnight, I finally was able to put my poor head to bed.

It should have been 10PM...NOT 12AM.

Now I have to wonder..was that the start of some bad karma or what?


So, now you have an update .... And I most certainly wish I had something funnier to talk about , but this is a major emotional roller coaster...and I'm just getting on the ride.

Ouch.

Wish List

Have you started your wish list?

I have.
Not for the family, or for what you THINK you should wish for on behalf of others, but for YOU.

I want a can opener. Yes for me ... my wrist is killing me! I need a new one.

I want a dust eating Gecko. Truly, a critter than can walk vertically up my walls to grab and gorge on all the cobwebs from the corners of my vaulted ceiling is worth his green scales in gold! Never mind all the dust bunnies behind the refrigerator and on top of open topped cabinets. Why wouldn't you want one too?

I want a makeup mirror. You know, the kind that manipulates your reflection to show you JUST how to apply the right color and swipe of the brush?

That's just for starters.
So, What do YOU want?

Oh, and I have a Lori Foster fan who wanted me to spread the word about her review she did for a book that has a story from Lori and other authors that she's excited about.
What are friends for, right?
See Bailey's review


And to top off the smiles....





SMART ASS ANSWER #6 -- It was mealtime during a flight. "Would you like dinner?" the flight attendant asked John, seated in front. "What are my choices?" John asked. "Yes or no," she replied.

SMART ASS ANSWER #5 -- A flight attendant was stationed at the departure gate to check tickets. As a man approached, she extended her hand for the ticket and he opened his trench coat and flashed her. Without missing a beat, she said, "Sir, I need to see your ticket, not your stub."

SMART ASS ANSWER #4 -- A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store but she couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked a stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy replied, "No ma'am, they're dead."

SMART ASS ANSWER #3 -- The cop got out of his car and the kid who was stopped for speeding rolled down his window. "I've been waiting for you all day," the cop said.The kid replied, "Yeah, well I got here as fast as I could." When the cop finally stopped laughing, he sent the kid on his way without a ticket.

SMART ASS ANSWER #2 -- A truck driver was driving along on the freeway. A sign comes up that reads, "Low Bridge Ahead." Before he knows it, the bridge is right ahead of him and he gets stuck under the bridge. Cars are backed up for miles. Finally, a police car comes up. The cop gets out of his car and walks to the truck driver, puts his hands on his hips and says, "Got stuck, huh?" The truck driver says, "No, I was delivering this bridge and ran out of gas."

SMART ASS ANSWER OF THE YEAR 2006 -- A college teacher reminds her class of tomorrow's final exam.
"Now class, I won't tolerate any excuses for you not being here tomorrow. I might consider a nuclear attack or a serious personal injury, illness, or a death in your immediate family, but that's it, no other excuses whatsoever!"
A smart-ass guy in the back of the room raised his hand and asked,
"What would you say if tomorrow I said I was suffering from complete and utter sexual exhaustion?"
The entire class is reduced to laughter and snickering. When silence is restored, the teacher smiles knowingly at the student, shakes her head and sweetly says,
"Well, I guess you'd have to write the exam with your other hand."

Ba-dum-bump. LOL

Have a wonderful weekend All!

How did it go?

How was your Holiday?
Did you enjoy yourself?

I ate some of everything! The greenbean casserole, the broccoli casserole, the butternut squash, mashed potato, sweet potato, orange glazed carrots, turkey(dark meat), bread stuffing, black olives, snowflake roll, cranberry sauce - I passed on the pickle beets and meat stuffing though.

For desert, we were offered,
pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling
pumpkin pie
chocolate cream pie
apple pie
vanilla ice cream

I ate only a thin slice of the pumpkin roll and chocolate cream pie with a side of ice cream.

Most everyone else had one of everything!

We stayed longer than we usually do and that was really nice. My neices are great and I can't believe how much they've grown!
Of course, the gameboy competition was held...sheesh, that is so absorbing for this generation.

The youngers went out side and played tag and kick ball while the elders traded Pokemon and battled.

How times have changed, and yet, not. Guys still gather around the TV watching football and talk politics. Women clean up and talk about medical conditions. Have have to ask...WHO Has more fun?

ROTFL!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my visitors

I hope you have a peaceful and fun day with family and friends and that no one succumbs to

playing with their food!

Silly sayings

I was driving past a lake and the temperature shifts made a fog/mist cover the water like gray ghosts on parade.

My eldest says" Wow, look at that! It almost looks like a mist!"

My Youngest says, "Yea! Scary mist ... Rated R!"

Tell me television commercials don't influence kids. Sheesh. That was a reference to a recent ad seen on TV about the lastest , I can only assume, slasher flick.

Then, at supper, youngest asks with all earnestness, "Why can't roosters hatch eggs on a roof? Because they roll off?"

We had to explain to him that Roosters don't , um ... lay eggs. Hatching isn't an issue for them.

You never know when the birds and bees will strike, do you? *grin*

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

Imagine the following:

You have just made it through your wedding ceremony and have stepped out on the front steps of the church.

The photographer raises his camera. Following a family tradition, both of you hold white doves which you will release together.

You and your new spouse stand shoulder to shoulder, each with a dove in your hands, as your friends and family eagerly wait.

The photographer gives the signal and you both open your hands toward the sky.

Not a dry eye anywhere, the camera flashes; the moment is saved for eternity...



(You think the doves are going to poop, don't you?)

The Motto??

That's why fit is soooooooooo important!!!

ROTFL

The highlight of my weekend

Have you ever had a surprise that came out of no where that made an impact that you know will affect you years in the future?

Eighteen hours was all it took to make that a reality for me.

Have you ever entertained the thought: What would you do if you had a chance to meet a blog buddy? Would you meet or pass?

Eighteen hours was all it took to make that choice a real decision for me to make.

I chose; MEET.

They were the fastest two hours of my life.

I met Marianne, the Operations Guru at LASR - Long And Short Reviews.

She was delightful, funny, gracious and no longer VIRTUAL! *gg*

Just think, if not for blogging, this would never have been possible.

What an amazing time to be alive.

I hope some day everyone has at least one beautiful experience just like mine to remember into their golden years.

Don't you?

A Bumper Sticker

Today on the way to work, I saw this bumper sticker for the first time.

Wiccans are Spellbinding People.

That has to be a first for me. It was on a huge fire engine red pick up truck with "manly" stickers all over the tail gate.

So out of place.
Or is it?
**************************
So, who watched Moonlight this evening?

This one was more active and well done. The bad guy was creepy and perfect in fangs.
I didn't care for last week's, with his ex dead undead wife come back as human because he toasted her to save Beth all those years ago and for some reason that purging by fire remade her human.
I have to say, HUH?
Next week they're going back to that Coraline thread and I am NOT thrilled. Give us a real doozy of a curve or conflict or antagonist. Drop the Bitch for good and give us a more original villain.

And Mick? He sure is handy with a sword. So Medieval ... So authoratative, so romance book hero worthy.
And did anyone else get the feeling that the "blood" he was drinking was actually GRAPE JUICE? It sure looked like it to me.
**************************

The romance book site that caters to those of the erotica line is up and running.

http://whippedcream2.blogspot.com/

Check it out.
They're always looking for reviewers. Remember that if you ever read a romance book that inspires you to want to share.
It's a crime to keep silent about those.
***************************************
Well, it's true.
They finally said the dreaded four letter word. I hoped this year would be like last year, but nope. They said it.

SNOW

**shudder**
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Did I tell you that my camera was either lost - fell out of my pocket book at the band concert - or Stolen - out of same pocketbook - at the band concert.
I am extremely bereft.
I bring a camera everywhere because you never know when that perfect moment will occur.

It obviously is going to be perfect for someone else.

***********************
That's all the update.
Have a great Saturday and Sunday!

Third Floor Blackout

Yesterday was wild!
Our building lost power, even the phones.
So there we were, stuck on the third floor. Thank goodness no one was in the elevator!

The odd thing? Even without power, there was still noise. Beeps from alarms, and a strange humming from somewhere inside the building.

Faint light from the emergency lights didn't do a thing, especially when you had to go to the bathroom. It was pitch black in there. But the bladder didn't care about any of that. You know?
And no one had a flashlight.
What to do??

CELL PHONE TO THE RESCUE !

Yep, open cell phone and work fast. LOL

We still don't know what caused the outage, but by the time my work day was over, the power was back up and faxes and computers were humming.

And I discovered a new use for my ER cell phone.
Guess it was an emergency.
*grin*

Review Time: Seducing the Mercenary

Today I have a guest Reviewer visiting me. She LOVED this book and really wants to pass the word along. So, Please folks, enjoy reading Bailey's ode to a new Fav of hers.


Seducing the Mercenary
By Loreth Anne White
Reviewed by Bailey Stewart

The book was done, the last page read and yet I sat there holding it in my hands, unwilling to let it go. The sounds of the neighborhood slowly emerged from the jungle in my mind; I had been so engrossed that they had been shoved back into the shadows of Ubasi. Usually when I like a book, I jump up immediately and write the review; but not this time. I want to savor the feelings that still pour through me; its story holds me in its grip. What to say, how to articulate the sensations brought on by Emily/Emma and Jean’s story; the emotions that still hold me tight.

Ubasi, an African nation in the middle of turmoil, its tyrannical leader Souleyman ousted by Jean-Charles Laroque, Le Diable, son of the merciless Peter Laroque. Emily Carlin is a psychologist who works for the Force du Sable, a mercenary group that has been commissioned by the U.S. to help Souleyman regain power. She’s an expert in tyrannical pathology, alpha dogs as she calls them. Her job is to determine the best way to control Laroque, whose rise to power makes the U.S. uncomfortable because he can not be controlled as easily as Souleyman. The adage, better the devil you know than the one you don’t, comes easily to mind. Emily has to identify the dictator’s weaknesses in order to help the FDS devise their strategy; do they take him prisoner, or do they assassinate him? She has one week to find out.

Jean-Charles Laroque, a man with a mission, distrustful of everyone. Burdened with the legacy of his father’s cruelty, he must deal with enemies on all sides. Betrayal is dealt with quickly and ruthlessly. How will he handle the duplicity of the woman that he not only let into his castle, but into his heart.

Wildly Zipping by

I don't want my blog to get stale.

I'm here only to change the words.

I got a thrill went I went to the library tonight. I found a 7 DVD box set of the WILD WILD WEST TV SERIES!!

I loved that series.

My cousin and I would call each other on the phone and gossip about what we had just watched. It was FUN. Made for great memories too.

Loved Dr. Loveless, what a great villain. He may have been small in stature but ginormous in creating wicked and devious plots.

Look at that wild eyed enthusiasm!

Of course, even as young as I was, I had the hots for Agent James West.

The man with the cool shoes that

predates Get Smart's gadgetry.

At least West's shoes were lethal.

I mean, he was the MAN.

The Alpha.

The male with the charisma to charm even the most jaded lady's petticoats up and off.

Just look how he dressed ... short waist coat to frame his flat stomach and what had to be a nice chest covered in fine fabrics.

Only the best for the bestest spy in the West.

*gg*

LOL - did you know its debut was in 1965 - I was so cute back then. *wink*

I can't wait to share with my kids the wonder that was the Wild West.

What TV show or Series are you excited to share with YOUR family from your youth??