Day 6 & Day 7

Thursday I awoke to stomache cramps and just an overall nauseated feeling. I did manage to put away some of my breakfast but left most of it on my plate. I hoped at the day went on it would go away but no such luck. We left the B&B to walk around downtown and spent a couple of hour walking around until it started to spit rain. Since I was not feeling well and the rain we decided to go back to the Inn. For the most part I was in bed yesterday. Late in the evening I was able to eat a sandwich from Panera Bread. After spending 7 hours of the day in bed I went to bed early and slept probably the best sleep I had slept the whole time we were gone. This morning I woke up feeling better but still a little ache in by belly. I got a shower and it felt wonderful. Shortly after that it was time to go down for breakfast. We had omelet souffle with a raisin muffin and fresh fruit. Yum..I finished all but the muffin. After breakfast it was time to pack up and leave. We wedged, cramped and stuffed all of our stuff into the trunk and I was surprised it closed. We said goodbye to our host and away we went on our trip home. The first stop was to gas up but shortly after that we were on our way. After a couple of hours we arrived in St.Louis. We were getting a little hungry so we stopped off at Ruby Tuesday. After eating it was time for the main event for the ladies. The stop at THE LOOPY EWE yarn shop. This is for knitters and yarnaholics almost like seeing Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster or so I am told. We walked in and the ladies went wild screaming waving their hands in the air grabbing skein after skein of yarn off the shelf and yelling "I must have this!" Well maybe it didn't quite go like that but close. Let's just say that I was surprised that the ladies cut their visit at an hour, I was expecting more. After the ladies got checked out with their purchases we headed East in the direction of home. We rolled in the drive way around 4:30pm exhausted and glad to be home. I think we all had a good time and we couldn't have asked for better travelling companions. Vacation 2008 is in the books.....Now time to plan for 2009?

Day 5 Continued

In addition to the day, after we got back to the B&B and rested for a bit, it was time to think about supper. Ragged suggested the Springfield Brewing Company. We drove down the street and made a mad dash for the front door in the pouring rain. After settling in we ordered drinks followed by the main meal. Before long our hunger was satisfied again but we needed another caffeine fix so off to the "Mud Hut" Mud House we went and then back to the B&B to call it a night. Tomorrow will be our last full day in Springfield and the ladies are feverishly looking for things to do.

The picture above was not taken by me as we were being bombarded by big ole fat drops of rain. Not very conducive for picture taking.

Vacation Day 5

Today we started the day off with a nice breakfast. Today it was Spring Herb Egg Strudel with sausage and fresh fruit. After that we were off to battle the rainy day. Our first stop was Bass Pro. After a run through we decided to go back through and pick up the items for purchase. Bass Pro proved to be an expensive stop. Cynical and I scored some nice The North Face wind breakers and I snaged several shirts. After we checked out and had taken our items to the car we went back inside to eat at Hemingway's. We all had the buffet and it was very good. There was fried catfish, cherry glazed ham, roast beef, smoked turkey, salad, several soups and sides to choose from. For desert I went with a little of all the choices. Bread pudding with rum sauce, apple cobbler, ambrosia and chocolate mousse. After we stuffed ourselves it was time to move on to a stop the ladies had planed. We stopped off at a yarn shop and Cynical and I looked over a used book store and a comic book store. When we left there we thought we might stop by the Springfield Tour Center and check to see if there was any information we might have missed about things to do. After visiting with the very friendly people at the center it was time to head to our next stop, a coffee shop. Cassil's coffee was one we had marked to check out so we stopped in to satisfy our caffeine cravings. Shortly after getting hopped up on our beverages of choice it was time to move on. With all the rain we decided to return back to our B&B and make plans for supper and make out a plans for our last day in Springfield.

Vacation Day 4 (Rainy Day)

This morning we awoke eager to take on the day and the schedule we had planned. We first descended down the stairs and into the dining room for breakfast. For breakfast we had Eggs ramekins, bacon, orange juice and fresh fruit. After finishing breakfast we were off to Mansfield and the museum and last home of Laura Ingles Wilder. A quick look through the museum and the tour had begun. We first toured the home that was build on Rocky Ridge Farm. The guide took us through each room talking about the furniture and what Laura liked best about each room. She also spoke about Rose, her daughter and the items that were purchased by her for her family. After we finished the tour of the home it was back into the museum to finish looking at some of the items near and dear to any Little House fan. Items like Laura and Mary's slates for school, Ma and Pa's marriage certificate and even Charles Ingles fiddle. We then strolled over to the gift shop and made our way to the Rock House. The Rock House was purchased by Rose for Laura and Almanzo and was very interesting with some of the modern conveniences of the time. One being window screens that rolled up into the wall like a window blind. Another interesting fact was of the 11 thousand dollars spent building the home 3 thousand was spent just getting electricity back to the area. After we left there we went into town to the local cemetery and the grave site of Laura, Almanzo and their daughter Rose. While in the area the ladies scoped out a yarn shop in Rogersville so we stopped by for them to visit and peruse their yarn. To keep our day rolling we then decided to make a run to Lambert's Cafe. The atmosphere was interesting and the throwed rolls a bit intimidating but Cynical was up to the challenge and had one hurled his way. I ordered the BBQ ribs and the slab that arrived had me questioning by ability to finish it. I however did finish it and then some washing down the rest of my tea , baked beans and half of Cynical's throwed roll with a little molasses on the side. After our bellies were full we then decide to finish off the day at Fantastic Caverns. This was something I had been wanting to do for several years and finally can mark it off my list. After the tour we took a small walk on a wooded path and then made our way back to the B&B sans and side trip to Panera Bread for supper. We ate our carry out on the back deck of the B&B and finished off our daily cookie left by housekeeping. It is now time to kick our feet up and relax in preparation for tomorrow. Bass Pro for Me and Yarn shopping for the ladies.

Day 2 continued and 3

Sunday night after the Art Festival was over and they were all packing up the gang and I walked down the street to a local Bar called Ebbet's Field. The bar was filled with 20 somethings and the atmosphere was a bit loud at times but the food was great. Cynical and I had the Bum. A cheeseburger with a side of greasy under deep fried fries in oil that needed to be changed awhile back. Needles had a salad and Ragged had the chicken sandwich. After a couple of drinks we walked back to our B&B and took up our comfy spots in our room. The next day we took it easy to allow our bodes to rest from the travel. We did get to visit a local coffee shop and the cappuccino was perfect. The place was called Oaxacafe pronounced (Wa-ha-ka-fay). A little later the ladies spied a yarn and craft place and were eager to descend upon it. They loved the place called She's Crafty and return a little over an hour later with yarn in need of a new home. The lady that owned the place was very nice and tried to get them to come back and have a knit in, but the ladies were afraid to leave their men unattended and up to or own devices so they hesitantly left to check in on us. Later that evening we walked to the downtown to Maria's Mexican Restaurant. Since it was Cinco de Mayo we waited for a table and was able to enjoy the celebration. It was very loud and packed. Standing room only while a strolling guitarist belted out familiar tunes from south of the border. The food was fantastic and just what I wanted to satisfy the spicy craving I had been having. While downtown we walked around to discover a very neat coffee place called the Mud House. We rolled in after our meal and after ordering our drinks, set up residence at a table. The place was very neat and the coffee gave us just the energy kick to get us back to the room. Last night was stayed up late talking about the plan of attack for today. We plan on going to Mansfield and the grave site, home and museum of Laura Ingles Wilder. We also plan on having lunch at Lambert's and finishing up the day with a visit to Fantastic Caverns. I am sure I will post more later of the days events. Stay tuned boys and girls.

Day 1 and 2.

Friday evening after work I began my last flight of the bumblebee in an effort to get the house ready for guests. Needles was on her way home from work with the fixins for Tacos. Around 6:30pm Rudy and the bunch showed up followed by Cyncial and Ragged just a few minutes later. We all filled our bellies with supper and conversed with each other until late in the evening. After Rudy and bunch headed home we sat and talked until our eye lids got very heavy and decided to call it a night. The next morning was officially our first day of Vacation. We rolled out at 9:00am and arrived in St. Louis around 12:30pm and walked down the Boulevard to the Arch and stood in line for security in the very cool windy weather. After emptying our pockets and walking through a metal detector we entered the museum. Just after entering we stood in line to do something I have wanting to do for along time. I went to the top! The ride was interested and the view at the top was amazing because the weather had improved while we were in the museum and waiting for our time to go. We then decided to grab a bite to eat at Laclede's Landing, Hannegan's Restaurant and Pub, their Chipotle Cheese Dip was amazing and their burgers were perfect. It was time to head out of St.Louis and try to find a room on the other side of town due to the fact that the Cards and the Cubs were in town and rooms might be hard to come by. We decided to venture to on to Route 66 State Park otherwise known in a previous life as Times Beach. We walked around and found that most if not all of the trails were closed and the bathrooms were glorified outhouses. Not much to see or do so we headed down the road to our next destination. We rolled into Meramec State Park shortly after 5pm and after a few round abouts found the visitors center to see about a room. The scenic drive was very nice and our rooms to say the least were secluded, Crystal Lake secluded. After settling in with out no interwebs, beds as hard as a rock and our T.V. that got only 3 channels we had no choice but to enjoy the scenery and the it did not disappoint. The next morning we were on the road again minus one pillow and on to our next destination, Rolla, Mo. for Stone Henge the sequel. After a few photos we were in search for B'fast. Huddle House was just across the road so that's what we did. After eating way too much food we got on US 44 and on to our final destination Springfield, MO. We are now at the Walnut Bed & Breakfast and enjoyed the Art Festival being held just outside the front door. We walked up and down the street for a couple of hours looking at all the amazing artists work and the unique items for sale. Before long our feet and bodies needed a little rest so back to the B&B for a little rest and relaxation because that's what Vacations all about.
That's all for now folks.

Polished Weapons.

Today Needles and I had dental appointments. I am ashamed to say that this is the first time I have been to the dentist in 5 years and it has been roughly 10 years since I have had my teeth cleaned. We both passed without cavities and I am very surprised, however I do need to go back to get a filling that is probably 20 years old redone due to wear and tear. We both wanted to get our weapons polished up because I plan on using them next week when we are on VACATION. I seem excited about it do I? I can't wait. At first the weather forecast kinda got me down but after realizing that I am going to get away from work for a week and the excellent company we will have on our trip has turned this frown "upsidown". I have also noticed that the weather forecast has been a little revised so it looks like we might get a nice day or two which will be nice. When I was at work today, I received a phone call from Needles asking me if I wanted her to pick me up a sandwich since we were leaving at noon for our appointment. I said "Sure where ya goin?" She said "Quickies." I said " What kinda sandwiches they have?" She said "Subs." She then proceeded to name them. There's The Nooner, Mile High Club, Big Willy BLT, Moby-Dick, Maui Waui, Hog Wild, Colossus and last but not least the Bootknocker. I of course had to have the Bootknocker because that just spoke to me. The sub was very good and don't forget their slogan. Get It Fast and Go Away Satisfied!
PS. One Day til Vacation.

One and one half.

That is the number of work days left between me and Vacation. Tomorrow Needles and I have dental appointments and then I have to come home a mow our lawn to get ready for our trip. I have been anxiously awaiting this moment for a few months now and I have to say I am ready to go, not physically but mentally. The last few days I have keeping an eye on the weather at our Vacation spot and over the last couple of days my worst fear has now become reality. They are calling for rain every day we are in Springfield. In a way I am disappointed in the weather but in away I am hoping to get a little down time. I just wish we could get a couple of nice days in there. Just goes to show that maybe after 12 years without a Vacation, we just aren't supposed to go on Vacation.

Old Setter's Day Entertainment

Part of the Wabash Cannon Ball.

Old Settler's Days 2008 Pictures

WOW!

No not World of Warcraft Rudy keep your +27 enchanted warrior britches on. I can't believe we went a whole 24 hours without a aftershock. Maybe this region is settling down and not becoming the Mid West California. That's good because I don't care to live next to all those movie stars. Too much drama with their drugs, who's partying with who and the decision to wear panties today or not. Today we are going to go to Old Settlers Days and I will try to get a few pics to post later. Have a good Sunday.

HAPPY B DAY!

Happy Birthday Baylee!

Now thats a sandwich!

Today while I was at lunch talking with my good buddy Greg we had an aftershock. I estimated that it was a round a 3. After about 30 minutes the USGS updated their site and said it was a 4.2 but then down graded it to a 3.7. I wonder if we are just setting into a trend and going to have these for awhile. FYI 7 days to vacation!

VA-CA-TION All I ever wanted.

Tomorrow it will be 1 week until we leave for vacation. I am so excited I have chewed all my toe nails down to the nub. Just kidding, but I am excited. To quote Cynical "Eeeee!"

I lub the Go-Gos.

Human Footprint

This is an estimate of what each average American consumes in a 77 year life time.

5 bulls

6 hogs

1,423 chickens

19,826 eggs

20,000 potatos

4,376 loaves not slices of bread (not including hotdog and hamburger buns)

5,500 hotdogs

12,100 hamburgers

14,500 candybars

1,000 pounds of sugar

5,000 bananas

12,800 oranges

44,300 cans of soda

28,433 showers (700,000 gallons of water.)

156 toothbrushes

389 tubes of toothpaste

656 bar of soap

198 shampoo bottles

272 stcks of deoderant

1.2 million gallons of water for things other than showers

500,000 gallons of sewage

We will each generate 46 tons of trash.

Something to think about.

Earth Day

Today is Earth Day and I have to admit, I didn't even know it until I went to Google and noticed the change in their logo. Because of my selfish and uncaring human oversight I thought that I would make the ultimate sacrifice for Earth Day. My sacrifice was that when Needles and I went to the Dairy Dee and they asked me if I needed any napkins to wipe the ice cream off of my face, I declined and instead decided to use my tongue. I know you might say that this kind of sacrifice is too much and that how can a human go to such lengths but I have to admit I feel like a better person for it. Some people say that I am a person that gives of myself a little too much. What can I say, it's all for a good cause.

PS. 10 days til Happy Time!

Illinois Earthquake video

This video was taken at Bridgeport, IL. at Blue Star EMS.

This was the 5.2 magnitude earthquake that happened 4/18/2008 @ 4:37 am.

Last nights/this mornings 4.0 tremor awoke us. We must be getting used to them because the following conversation ensued.

Needles: Wonder how big that one was?

Ramblin: I don't know......snore.

PS. 11 days til Vacation!

Earthquakes and outboard motors.

If it isn't a 5.2 magnitude earthquake to wake us out of a dead sleep it's the neighbors brother with his pontoon boat reeving up the outboard motor. It's not like we don't have enough idiots around here making noise that they have to bring others in that don't even live here to shatter a moment of peace and quiet. I swear the people around here have no consideration for anyone around them. So if you want to work on your hot rod truck at 3 in the morning, or run up and down the block multiple times day and night and see how fast and loud you can get before you have to hit the breaks and make the corner, just move to Sumner, IL. you will fit right in with the rednecks around here.

Making a list. Checking it twice.

Here is the original earthquake and aftershock details we have had so far. I myself have only felt 5 or 6 of them. We are located 19 miles North of the epicenter.
UPDATED 4-25-2008



3.7 2008/04/25 12:31:00pm 8 km ( 5 mi) NNE of Bellmont, IL (Felt)
2.6 2008/04/24 6:44:24am 7 km ( 5 mi) N of Bellmont, IL
2.1 2008/04/22 8:32:34pm 9 km ( 6 mi) NNE of Bellmont, IL
1.6 2008/04/22 08:01:00 8 km ( 5 mi) N of Bellmont, IL
2.2 2008/04/21 02:58:46am 8 km ( 5 mi) NNE of Bellmont, IL
4.0 2008/04/21 12:38:29am 12 km ( 7 mi) NW of Mount Carmel, IL (Felt)
2.3 2008/04/20 5:34:26am 6 km ( 4 mi) N of Bellmont, IL
2.8 2008/04/20 12:02:41am 5 km ( 3 mi) WNW of Mount Carmel, IL (Felt)
2.8 2008/04/19 11:55:17am 6 km ( 4 mi) N of Bellmont, IL
1.7 2008/04/19 7:45:38am 7 km ( 5 mi) N of Bellmont, IL
1.3 2008/04/19 4:46:44am 8 km ( 5 mi) WNW of Mount Carmel, IL
2.7 2008/04/18 11:05:53am 6 km ( 4 mi) NNE of Bellmont, IL
4.6 2008/04/18 10:14:16am 11 km ( 7 mi) NNE of Bellmont, IL (Felt)
2.6 2008/04/18 6:55:57am 9 km ( 6 mi) NW of Mount Carmel, IL
2.2 2008/04/18 5:46:24am 7 km ( 4 mi) NNE of Bellmont, I
3.4 2008/04/18 5:36:33am 9 km ( 6 mi) NNE of Bellmont, IL (Felt)
2.5 2008/04/18 5:15:31am 9 km ( 5 mi) NW of Mount Carmel, IL
2.5 2008/04/18 5:03:59am 5 km ( 3 mi) NW of Mount Carmel, IL
2.6 2008/04/18 4:59:31am 6 km ( 4 mi) NNW of Mount Carmel, IL (Felt)
5.2 2008/04/18 4:37:00am 7 km ( 5 mi) NNE of Bellmont, IL (Felt)

Money, money, money, mon-ah.....(high pitched) Mon-ah!

Doing our part to stimulate the economy, today Needles and I went to the big city to do some shopping and to eat out. We started out at Quiznos and had brunch since we skipped breakfast. We both had small toasted sub to be faithful to our diet and off we went to Big Lots to see what goodies they had. We saw a kitty condo there a few weeks ago and since the kitties are going to be left alone on Vacation we thought we would give them a treat. We didn't find the condo so we left there empty handed. We then ventured ventured to two grocery stores to get things we needed and then stopped off at Wally World for more Pre Vacation shopping. Needles ended up getting a couple of shirts and a couple pair of capris. I picked up a couple more shirts and we got a few things to keep in the car for our trip. Things like cleaning wipes, spray on sun block and a first aid kit just in case. I grabbed a travel toothbrush holder since I have been needing one for years. We also picked up a Super Scratcher for the fuzzy folks since we couldn't find the kitty condo. We put the cat nip on it in front of the cats like the instructions on the box told us to and they both began to rub and love all over it. Tugger went away to let Copper have his way with it. Neither of them has put the first claw in it but it has been chewed on, slept on and drooled on by Copper. The local small Wally World has really cut back on the items they have on hand since they are getting close to the change over into the new Super Wally World. There were several empty shelves and it seems like part of the store isn't as well lite as it used to be, almost like they are saying don't bother replacing the light bulbs that go out since there going to knock down this building in a few weeks anyway. We still have a couple of items on our menu but I think for the most part we are ready to go. Have a great weekend everyone.

PS. Tugger has now moved out from behind the washer. He has taken up residence under the table in the corner. He still isn't back to himself but we are taking it day by day. He is very skittish and spazzy at any noise that is a bit loud.

Nothing like an earthquake to start your day.

This morning about 4:36 am I was awaken by the windows in the bedroom shaking. At first I was confused as to what might be causing this but only for about a second as the real shaking started and I could feel the bed shifting back and forth. This lasted for about another 4 to 6 seconds until Needles became aware that we were having an earthquake and awoke with a start. I took a few seconds to try to calm Needles and inform her we were having an earthquake. After we road out the quake in the bed we decided to get up and check things. First thing we noticed was there wasn't a cat to be seen. After a quick search of all the usual places we Needles discovered Tugger behind the washer and I found Copper in the pantry. A couple of pictures were knocked off of the book shelf and a picture in the kitchen had fallen and the glass had broken but hadn't come out of the frame. We were startled but otherwise fine. Needles checked the interwebs and found out some more information. The epicenter was about 6 miles East of West Salem, Illinois and the magnitude at the time was registered at 5.4 only to be revised to 5.2. We had another aftershock about 2 minutes after the initial quake and the again 20 minutes and an hour later. We didn't feel another aftershock until about 10:20 when the 4.5 magnitude aftershock hit that lasted a reported 6 to 7 seconds. The epicenter was stated at 7 miles North East of West Salem, Illinois. When I returned home from work I noticed another picture was in the floor and a few items was a little out of place but otherwise non the worse for wear. I also noticed that only Copper was in the living room nestled under the table in the corner. I went on the search for Tugger only to find him where we left him this morning, still behind the washer. He currently resides there so if you have mail for him just send it Rum Tum Tugger (behind the washer) Sumner, Il. 62466 and we will make sure he gets it. Hope we all have a nice still weekend.

Tugger in his hiding place. S'cuse the lint, it's camouflage.

PS. We had 3 earthquake related injuries come through ER today. One child ran for Mom and Dad's room in the middle of the shaking and injured his foot. Another child bailed out of the top bunk of a bunk bed during the earthquake and a women had a "heavy eagle" fall on her foot. Yep and eagle. I am assuming it was a sculpture of an eagle.

16 days and counting.

I can't wait!

Waiting

I am not sure what, but I feel like I am waiting for something. The thing is I am not sure what it might be. I know we are slowly but steadily marching toward some technology changes at work but Vacation will be here before you know it. Like I said I feel like I am waiting for something? Hmmm, Maybe it is the Summer and all the things that go along with it. The time spent outside in the sun, setting in the yard in lawn chairs, mowing the lawn and camping. Maybe with the lot of bad luck we have been having I am waiting for the other shoe to drop...I hope not. I think we have earned a bit of good karma for awhile. I guess that is all I have to say for now... No wait. Yep, I 'm done:)

19

19 days til Vacation.

Home All Alone.

This morning the gals headed north to fiber land and to ooo and aah over yarn, fiber and fiber bearing animals. It looks like the gals are going to have come crappy weather for the weekend but I hope they have fun. They should return late tomorrow night but until then I have the house all to myself. Have a great weekend.

Sweeny Todd

A delightfully dark musical. I do believe it is the best musical I have ever seen. I am not a big fan of musicals but I think that I like Tim Burton's work along with the people who are actors trying to sing. Oh, and there's a drop or two of blood thrown in. The ending has a twist that twists again. I loved it.

Vacation toys

Today I received a new toy. It is a camcorder that is about the size of a 8 track tape that will record up to 2 hour of video in high definition. I am planning on taking it with us on our vacation so Cynical and Ragged you better polish up your acting skill cause your gonna be in the movies. The camcorder is also a 8 mega pixel camera. If you just do photos it will hold over 1600 photos. Think that just might get us. Can you imagine watching that in a slide show. At 3 seconds per image it would take you 80 minutes. Dats alot of pichur takin. I think Needles might take it with her to Greencastle to get a few pans of the booths.

Mom and Dad are up this week and it has been good to spend some time with them. I think my diet is going to backslide a few pounds until they leave though. Have a good evening.

Happy Birthday Needles!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart. I love you very much.

Supper brought to you by the Dairy Dee.

Today after work I stopped off at the Dairy Dee in L'ville to pick up a couple of pounds of smoked pulled pork for supper and what ever is left we can have for leftovers tomorrow. After waiting in line for almost 10 min. I finally got the food and was on my way home. When I pulled out of the parking lot an older driver pulled out in front of me and decided to drive as slow as physically possible up to the stop light. The light changed red just was he pulled out of the lane I was in. Just then a black truck with lights pulled into the intersection. I thought whats going on as I couldn't see the WIDE LOAD sign at the angle I was to the truck. As I looked to my distant right I see 2 halves of a house being trucked toward the intersection. I thought to myself crap if that old guy would have been just 5 mph faster I would have been ahead of all this. Of course the trucks go by at 5 miles an hour and me being in the left turn lane already, I was committed to pull out behind them. I had to follow them for 4 miles until they finally turned off making a turn at the intersection in B'port taking 5 minutes. So my usually 10 minute trip home today with my stop for supper and other delays ended up taking me 45 minutes. I wonder why they decided to move this thing in the middle of the day when a lot of people are getting off of work. I bet they had traffic backed up from B'port to L'ville.

This evening Needles and I made our first Dairy Dee dessert run for the year. I got a large hot fudge shake and she got a small oreo tundra. YUM!

Tomorrow my parents are coming up to make funeral arrangements for my great aunt. I was hoping for a Sat. burial but it looks like its going to be Fri. so I will have to take off of work. I am to be a pallbearer in the funeral. I know we are supposed to get a lot of rain tomorrow and into Friday morning but I hope it moves out of the area by the time of the burial.

I have just been a very pessimistic mood lately. I wonder if it is because of the run of bad luck.

30 days

30 days until Vacation.

The Hits Just Keep On A Comin.

If this is the way things go when you plan a vacation then I think I can wait another 12 years for the next.

1. My co worker backs into a lady's car.
2. We get rear ended in E'ville.
3. Cynicals car gets backed into.
4. Needles Uncle passed out and totalled his truck last night.
5. Today was notified that my great aunt that fell and broke her hip 3 weeks ago died this morning.

All this added on to my previous list from a week or so ago has made it a trying last few weeks. 2008 isn't getting off to a very good start and we are just 3 months into it.

Getting into shape.

Needles and I have made a effort to try to eat better and lose a little weight in the hopes that we might feel better. I have been somewhat successful in dropping a few pounds but Needles says that with women its a different story. I have lost approx 22 pounds since the first of the year and I can honestly say I do feel better. I can at least bend over and tie my shoe without feeling winded from having my air cut off by my belly. Today I made the ultimate leap a bought a set of scales. Do you know what I did just as soon as I got them out of the package?.......I weighed the cats of course. Tugger is a whopping 12.4 pounds. They say the average weight of an adult cat is 10 to 15 pounds. Copper has a bit of an issue however. He's a big boy. An 18.6 pound big boy. Even if we don't weigh ourselves regular at least we will have fun weighing the cats.

Back from the Body Shop.

Today after work I stopped by our local body shop to see how much it would cost to buff out the scuff marks on the rear bumper. I was surprised when the guy said "Oh...20 bucks." I asked him if he thought the marks would come out with the buffing and he said there was a good chance of it. He checked the crush bumper underneath the bumper cover and it was OK. We have to drop the car off Thursday and they are going to fix it Friday.

Tonight Needles if fixin spaghetti. Mmmmmm pasta. Pasta is like a dessert since I had to go almost a year and a half with it limited strictly in my diet. Now that we found Barilla it is now back into the regular round up and as Yin would say "I lub it."

I find myself wishing it was Friday. My parents are planning to come up and this will be their first trip up here in several months.

We are currently getting some storms and it is knocking out the TV reception. Oh well I have seen all of the ST: Voyager series anyway.

What a day.

Today Needles and I went to the BIG city to celebrate her upcoming B'day. We went to Roger's to get her ring it's 6 month inspection and cleaning. We also went to Joann's so Needles could pick up a few buttons for some sweater projects she was needing to "button up." After Joann's we 2 stepped next door to Lone Star for brunch as we didn't have breakfast. After we got our bellies filled we decided to do some shopping for our upcoming vacation. After a few fruitless stops we were driving through the parking lot to decide where next to go when we were rear ended by a guy in a Jeep Cherokee. We pulled up and I got out to survey the damage. We got a little scuffed paint in the shape of a license plate frame on the rear bumper but he got busted bumper plastic and a broken license plate holder. It could have been a lot worse. We got information and are wondering if we should turn it in. It's not that noticeable but we have only had the car a month and it just goes to show you can't have anything nice without some dumb ass messing it up. I may take the car to a local body shop and see what they can do and what the price will be to maybe buff it out. After this incident we were a bit upset but we decided to stop at a couple more stores and then made our way home. Lets just say that I am in no hurry to go to E'ville anytime soon.

Movie Time.

How many of the Netflicks Top 100 movies have you seen?

Needles and I have seen 55 of them. There were about 10 we have no intention of watching and about 20 thats a maybe. The others might get watched if they are on T.V. and nothing else is on.

I have learned something about our movie selections. If the movie has Mandy Moore, Hillary Duff, Lindsey Lohan or Hugh Grant in them they are an automatic pass.

Trying Day.

Today started out to be a nice day. Things ran smoothly and it seemed like we were all running like a well oiled machine. That is until the afternoon when a office that regularly sends us orders decide to start omitting information that is required and needed to do the testing ordered. This has happened occasionally over the last few months but we went out of our way to correct the omission and continue on like nothing has happened. Today I receive 2 orders that way. The first didn't have a name so I called them to find out the name, wrote it down and go on my happy way. The second order was missing the diagnosis. I again called the office and informed them of their missing information. The person on the line acted like I had just asked her to do her job or some crazy thing like that, so I informed them in a firm but kind way that this is a legal document and that it must have 4 items of information. 1) patients name. 2) exam to be done. 3) proper diagnosis for exam. 4) Doctors signature. Dear sweet baby jebus I just wish that people would do their expletive job. I am tired of picking up after people like they are children and going out of my way to allow someone else to be lazy. I have a co worker that thinks she is special and doesn't have to do the "crap jobs" the rest of us have to do. It's getting old and I think she is in need of a attitude adjustment. We will see what tomorrow brings because you know what they say about pay back.

PS. 36 days until vacation.

39

39 Days until Vacation.

Happy Easter!

Out and about.

Today Needles and I decide to go do a little shopping for vacation. We are both in desperate need of some new clothes as most of our recent clothing purchases were well over a year ago. I was needing some new summer shirts that are nice and not the faded, stained t-shirts that seem to make up about 90% of my shirts. I found 3 shirts at JC Pennys and Needles found a shirt. Other than a few odds and ends I think my shopping is done. Tomorrow we are going down to visit Needles family for Easter dinner. Needles is cooking a ham for the occasion. Happy Easter everyone.

Friday night out and back by 6:30.

This evening after work I came home and told Needles get your dress up clothes on cause were going out. We went to town and ate at a place that has been open a couple of years but we haven't even step foot in the place. Recently I have been hearing them advertise their BBQ ribs and pulled pork sandwiches. I was intrigued to say the least, being a BBQ rib fanatic. We arrived and I ordered the 1/2 rack platter with fries and baked beans. Needles had the pulled pork with a salad and smoked potato. They were both very good and on a scale of 1 to 10 I would have to give their ribs about a 9. The smoke flavor was good but almost a little too much at times. The BBQ sauce is on the table so you can add as much or as little as you like which is a plus. The amount of food is very good for the price and it is cheaper than the Trace Inn. After filling our bellies we went to the grocery store for our monthly grocery getting. We buy in bulk to keep us from having to do this too often. We both hate grocery shopping. We came home unloaded the car and now are relaxing on the couch wondering if there is anything good on T.V. I think this is a free weekend of HBO and Skinamax on DirecTV. Joy!

PS. 42 days.

Giggle

44

44 days until vacation. I think the waiting is almost like torture. I am so in need of a break from work, life and everything in between. Here is a list of the things my "work family" and I have been dealing with over the last few weeks.

1. Family member diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.
2. Family member receives botched spinal surgery with complications.
3. Death in the family.
4. Family member fell and broke hip.
5. Family member loosing blood and diagnosed with tumor in stomach possibly cancerous.
6. Flu all around in office. Several days of missed work and grumpy co-workers.
7. To top it all off a family member was murdered in cold blood while holding her 16 month old son and her child laid in his mothers bloody arms all night until they found them the next day.

This has all been within the last 4 or 5 weeks. Enough is enough.

45

45 Days until Vacation.

Rain, Rain, Rain Rain Rain!

It has rained all last night and today. Town was flooded this morning and it has rained all day on top of that. The back patio hasn't been under water since I cut a ditch to divert the water away. That is until this morning, the water was about 1/2 inch over the patio and now it's more than that. Tomorrow is more of the same. I just wish this stuff would move on to Georgia to one of those southern states that is still in a deficit for water. Rain rain go away don't come again some other day.

Back from the weekend.

Last Friday Needles and I headed South for the weekend. We arrived at my parents around 7pm and upon walking in the door, supper was ready. I love my Moms cooking and in short order I was enjoying green beans, corn, real mashed potatoes, fish fillets and home made hush puppies. YUM! We then retired to the living room to catch up on things and enjoy each others company. We stayed up late, finally going to bed around 1:30am. The next morning we stayed close to home until noon when Needles and I visited my cousin at his shop. When we got home Mom and Dad drove us around to see the tornado damage that ripped though the area a few weeks ago. It was amazing to see the destruction up close that blazed a trail through the area. We then drove by the trailer court where the 3 people had been killed in the storm. All that was left of the trailer was bits of metal stuck in and around the trees at the end of the lot. Several garages were just gone and the same with roof tops and some that were patched back together as best they could with blue tarps. We would see one house with the windows intact and the one next door with every window blown out. One house was completely destroyed and the trailer right beside it was unscathed. Hundreds of trees were twisted off mid trunk and a lot of evergreens were bent over from the several inches of ice and snow that just hit the area just a week before but has now melted away. That evening my Aunt brought homemade vegetable soup and we got to talk and catch up. Sunday we went to the hospital to visit my great aunt that had fallen just a few days before and broke her hip. She had surgery and is now in a sheltered care center. We got to spend some time with her but with the medications they have her on she was slipping in and out of consciousness so we decided to leave her to her nap and go back to my parents house and prepare to make the trip back home. We left around 2:15pm and arrived home at 5pm. Last night I got laundry caught up and we watched our Netflicks movie that arrived while we were gone. We had a good trip but it was too short. I am counting down the days until vacation.

Water...It'll Cure What Ails You.

Yep just this morning I was wondering what I could have done to shorten the duration of the flu. Then I read about medicine being in tap water and Shezam, the cure was at the facet the whole time. As soon as I hear about all the medication properties of our tap water I bellied up to the bar and down about 6 tall glasses of the liquidy goodness. Later on in the day I noticed that my breasts seemed a little larger and my hot flashes stopped. Must be the hormones. I noticed that Mr. Willy seemed more at attention today. Maybe it's the Viagra? Oh and I think my acne has cleared right up. I did notice that the rash on my backside seems to be drying up and their is a few less warts in that area today. Next thing you know the kids will be drinking water, not to be healthy, to get high. They'll be trying to smoke it and shooting it up their veins. This upsets me so much I need a glass of water to relax. :P

Back to work.

It's Sunday and tomorrow it will be back to work. I won't say that I am 100 % back to normal but I think 90% would be a safe assumption. Today Needles and I went down to "L's" house and had lunch. We visited with Needles family until 3pm and returned home. When we got home we carried a few items out to the garage that we have been meaning to put out there but the weather wasn't making it convenient. We got that taken care of and now we are getting laundry caught up for the work week ahead. In a way I will be glad to get back to work. I just hope the first couple of days this week won't be crazy.

It's Over.

Last night around 9:30 my fever finally broke. I am feeling much better but a little weak and dizzy at times. My ears still feel a little off and some head and chest congestion. Will still be monitoring my temp today to make sure but I think the worst is definitely behind me. My only concern now is that no one else gets it. I know I have never in my life been that sick for so long. Over the weekend I am hoping to get back to 100%. Have a good weekend everyone.

Day 5: PM edition.

I thought I was on the upswing but around just after I posted this morning my temp began to rise again. I think it only hit 100.9 today so maybe a little improvement. I noticed that I broke into a sweat a lot today. Maybe this mean that I am making some progress. My temp finally dipped below 100 this evening and I think my body is adjusting to this constant fever because 99.9 doesn't feel too bad. 101 sucks and 102 give me a gun and let me end it. Its amazing what 1 degree or 2 will do. Needles prepared me some chicken noodle soup this evening and I could believe how good it tasted. It was the first time I had eaten anything substantial for almost 30 hours. I would like to think I am going to work tomorrow but I am not going to kid myself. If it works anything like today I should just accept that Monday I should be back to work. I have heard that the flu going around this year was an especially rough one and with first hand knowledge I can say that this one kicked my ass every way it wanted. I have had the 24 hour type flu but this 5 day to a week crap is rough. We will see what tomorrow brings. Thanks for all the well wishes and Cynical you might need to get those genitals looked at.

Day 5: Tis the season

Yep, Home again but I feel I am on the up swing. My fever has dropped to a comfortable 99.3 again. I think I can almost tell my temperature without the thermometer. Yesterday evening was by far the worst of this. I layed on the couch under 3 blankets all evening with chills and temp spiked last night just before bed at 102. This morning the fever is down to low grade but my body still aches. If my fever goes away today I may try work tomorrow. My boss suggested I go to the doctor but I think it's just got to run its course. I think taking the cold medicine might have delayed my body killing off the flu. Your temperature raises to keep the flu from procreating inside your body. I think the cold meds kept my fever to low grade and allowed it to get a deeper hold on me. I have done some research on the flu and I have all the syptoms and things has progressed like it said it would. I am happy that this hasn't settled into my chest any worse than it has.

How to tell the difference between cold and flu:

.........................................flu..................cold
Was your onset of illness ….....sudden?.................slow?
Does you have a …..................high fever?......no (or mild) fever?
Is your exhaustion level …......severe?..................mild?
Is your head ….......................achy?............headache-free?
Is your appetite …..................decreased?............normal?
Are your muscles …....................achy?....................fine?
Do you have .....….....................chills?.................no chills?

Sent home.

Today I woke up and got ready to go to work. Even though I felt like crap I thought I could tough it out. Today is day 4 of this illness and I am more than tired of it. I worked just fine with the occasional cough and running nose up until about 10:30am and then the chills hit. I am usually hot at work but today I wore my coat and was still shivering. I went to the E.R. and checked my temp. 98.6 I'm fine must be in my head. Then the dizziness hit again and one of my co workers said she was going to check it again. 99.5. It was then that my boss approached me and told me to go home. On the way home I felt waves of heat roll over me and my lips felt chapped like I was dehydrated. When I got home I checked my temp again and it was 101.7. I now think I have the flu. It isn't the stomach bug but the upper respiratory kind. I am thinking I am probably going to be home the rest of the week. I can't seem to shake this fever. My temp has been bouncing around 100.3 to 101 and I feel wiped out. I hate this.

Coughs, sneezing and all sorts of loveliness.

Today I was hoping that I would start to feel better. I guess this is what I get for hoping. I have been coughing a lot more than I was yesterday, so much that Needles and I broke out to the store to get medication. I was going to suffer though it but after a couple of hours of what felt like constant coughing I had to get some relief. I have been taking a cold medication that is supposed to last 4 hours. Wrong, it barely lasted 3 so for the last hour I was hacking my head off and now that I waited the prescribed time to take the next does of medication I have to wait 45 minutes or so for it to get into my system. I am sick of this and I am sure I will have a couple more days of lingering symptoms. I did however get something fun and neat today. It is a Garmin C330 Street Pilot. I thought it might come in handy when we go on our vacation in roughly 2 months. I have pre programmed it with the sites we know we want to visit and am sure we will find a few more things to do when we get there. We tested it out when we went to the store and I think it will be helpful in our westward journey. If you would excuse me I need to go rent a jack hammer to open up my sinuses.

Laughter the best medicine.

Cold: Day 3

I slept well last night to wake up to the 3rd day of the same headache. Still coughing and sinuses are congested. I checked my temp and it was 98.3 so I got ready for work. While getting ready I felt exhausted and the old familiar fever feeling was there. I checked it again just before I was getting ready to walk out the door and it was 99.3. It is hard to talk or go more than a few minutes without coughing. I think for all concerned I need to call it a no go. My cough is worse and my head feels like it's filled with concrete. With the weather we are supposed to get today it seemed everything was telling me to stay home. So here I set on the couch hoping today will be the last of this mess.

Working sick.

Yes, I know as a health care professional I should know better, but my boss was off today and I knew if I stayed home there would be hell to pay tomorrow. My co workers usually give me flack about taking time off but when I'm sick I am usually really sick. It seems like 3 of the 4 people in our dept. was coughing a sniffling today. Needles and I went to bed last night at 11pm and I fell right to sleep only to wake up at 2:30am and lay in bed wide away the rest of the night doing the same routine. Covers on, get hot, remove covers, get chilled, repeat. All night long. I got up this morning and checked my temperature. 99.5 Hmmm do I go or stay home. The bed really wasn't all that inviting after tossing and turning all night so I thought I might as well go to work. At first it was a little rough, chills then sweats but as the day went on the dull ache in my head and my occasional cough seemed to get better. On the way home my headache returned and I still have a slight fever. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

It's Offical.

I am sick. Checked temp at about 6pm and I am running a temp of 100.3. I think Needles has it too. Her temp is at around 99. Lovely.

PS. My movie number is 164. Almost double no life.

Gorgeous Sunday.

Today the temperature was perfect although we had a little wind mixed in. The sun shined and it was a gorgeous day. We had to do a little cache maintenance so while we were there we stopped by a friends house to visit and catch up. I seemed to have developed a cough last night and it has continued today. I have noticed that I seem to be a little dizzy at times so I wonder if it might be inner ear. Needles gave me a Emergen C to hopefully nip it in the bud and I took a 3 hour nap which is very unusual for me. Time will tell.

Momma, what does Vacation mean?

Vacation's when you go somewhere... and you don't ever come back. Needles has made our reservations for Vacation... There's no turning back now! Can't wait...

P.S. This is my 500th post.

Quick Day Trip.

Today around 9 am Needles and I ventured South to the "weird magnet". We had skipped b'fast and instead stopped by The Gemini for lattes until our appointment time. We were taking the car the dealerships to get a front license plate bracket installed and to replace a driving light that was out when we bought it. While we waited on the work to be done Needles Mom "L" stopped by and took us to brunch. After we got our car back we parted ways with "L" since she had an appointment in Olney. We thought about going to Wally World but remembered what day of the month it is. All the crazies are out with their government checks so we decided to go home instead. Needles and I were astonished that you can make a trip of 100 miles and still have 7/8th of a tank of gas left. With our other vehicles it would have taken 1/4 a tank or more for the same trip. Needles is making reservations for our May vacation. It will be here before we know it. Have a great weekend.

Not much to say except HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Cynical's new gang symbol.

Not a whole lot going on in this neck of the woods. I wish I was in O'town celebrating Cynicals 35th Birthday. I am sure they are out enjoying the evening and having fun. Happy Birthday Cynical! Don't forget to give a swig of Geritol to the Homees. Wish we could be there. South Sideeeeeed Boy!

Here we go again.

Another round of weather is moving through the area to night and tomorrow. Rain, sleet, snow and ice could be on the agenda but with the temps being up it looks like what we get won't stick around. Needles got to drive the car to work today for the first time but I think she is going to drive the truck tomorrow just in case. I hope we don't get any of it except rain.

Finally!

We did get to drive the car today. The temp raised enough to clear the roads and at noon we ventured in Jenny from the Blogs direction and went out to eat at the Chinese Buffet. Yum. We returned back to Jenny's for conversing and coffee. We then went to Rudy, Brando and the kids to catch up on things. We got home around 6:45pm and it is now time to get things ready for work tomorrow. I don't wanna go.

What the heck.

Last night we went to bed with the plans of going to the big city and eating at the OP. We were going to take the new car so that a friend could see it and take her out to eat. I woke up this morning thanks to the neighbors loud truck that seems to be my new weekend alarm clock. While I was up I thought I would go ahead an feed our starving, malnourished cats and while I was bent over pouring what the cats think is gold nuggets into the bowl I noticed it was very white outside. Too white. I walk to the window and pull back the blind to see almost 2" of snow covering everything and it's still coming down. What the heck, there was NO mention of this in the forecast for today. Not even a mention of snow, flurries, rain or anything. I am beginning to think that the same gods of fate that allowed us to purchase this car doesn't want us to drive it. It has been 5 days since we brought it home and it hasn't moved and inch. If you can believe the weather person the temp is supposed to get up to 38. Maybe this will turn over into rain and all melt quickly. Maybe one of these days.