STRAIGHT UP - NO CHASER

May I have a vowel please?

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:21:14 PST

I always wanted to be tall, blonde and flat chested.
I figured my life would be so easy if I had all of those things.
I also thought it would be wonderful to be a WASP.
I wanted a last name like Smith or Jones. I wanted to eat fried chicken and meatloaf.
To me that was like Leave it To Beaver, The Brady Bunch and all the other shows on TV whose names did not end in a vowel.

I grew up in a loud Italian American Family.
My friends and play mates growing up were my cousins and that to me was normal.
My fathers parents were from Italy and my dad was the youngest and he was fortunate enough to be born here in America. My mom’s parents were Italian as well and my mom was born in America. I had no chance in hell of being tall, blonde and flat chested. Sigh!

Sundays were always the same. After Mass there were the big family dinners. Pasta of course. Only we didn’t call it pasta. My family called it spaghetti or macaroni. Unless it was ravioli’s or gnocchi or some such thing. My dad’s brother, my Uncle Angelo, and his wife lived with their 5 children and my dad’s Mom. They would come over on Sunday’s or we would go there on Sundays. Either way it was always so much fun! Afull day of food, laughter, playing and fun.

It was a fabulous way to grow up. I loved all my cousins and I so looked forward to the weekends when we were at Uncle Angelo’s or they were at our home. It normally ended up being the whole family of Uncle’s and Aunts, and cousins. There were a lot of people in a small house by today’s standards and lots of kids. You know those crazy Italian Catholics and birth control.

We moved to the suburbs when I started school. I still was ensconced in my extended family. The only time I ever felt different in grade school was when a kid asked to trade sandwiches. I usually had Genoa Salami or Prosciutto or Capocollo. For some crazy reason my mother felt that peanut butter and jelly was not a proper sandwich of nutition. Which is hysterical really since these luncheon meats she fed us were so much fat. But anyway this kid looked at my sandwich on hard crusty Italian Bread and looked at the meat and said, “what is this?” as he gave it back to me. (it was Capocollo and provolone) I really wanted his PB & J but he wouldn’t trade so I ate my sandwich and didn’t think much of it at all until junior high.

Living out in the suburbs was a whole lot different than living in the city with the rest of my extended family. This exposed me to all the wasps. I never knew people who’s last name didn’t end in a vowel. I suddenly realized my family was different….really different. Short, dark, loud, funny, talked with their hands and were very very expressive.

My father was a master plumber. He owned his own business. He was successful and I never wanted for anything. But living in the suburbs I realized I didn’t have a lot of stuff and certainly wasn’t spoiled in comparison to my school mates..
I was in school with doctor’s kids, and executives and CEO’s children. I didn’t have name brand clothes or expensive cars. Our home was big compared to my relatives in the city but by suburb standards it was on the smaller size.

I began to notice all the differences and I was embarrassed. When I went over to someone’s home after school it was different than mine in little ways. After school they ate Oreo’s and I ate homemade pizzelles or biscotti. They would ask what they were and smell them and say, No thanks. I begged my mom to buy Oreo's.

The last straw for me was when I went to friends home after school to work on a school project. The week before she had come to my home as we started the project. I was to eat dinner with she and her family as she did the week before with mine. Her father was the CEO of Hammermill Paper. I didn’t know what a CEO was back then.

When we came home from school there was a woman ironing in her house and I knew that wasn’t her mom so I asked her who that was. She said she was a housekeeper. WOW……That was my first and only thought....WOW. Then she told me her mom was playing tennis and would be home later. Okay stop right there. My mom never played tennis in her life, she was our housekeeper and what kind of world is this? I suddenly felt very self conscious as you do when you are a young kid in junior high.

By the time dinner rolled around and their 7 kids and myself went to the dinner table I was completely overwhelmed at everything at their home. The size, all the nice things, the housekeeper, the tennis outfit her mom showed up in and then her father who sat at the table in a suit and tie. That was Sunday Mass clothes to me. My dad came home in “work clothes” Got cleaned up and then sat down in a clean shirt and slacks but never a suit and tie during the week. For some reason that too was intimidating to me.

We all sat down at this big wooden dining room table with a spinning lazy susan in the middle of it. I had never seen anything like this table. Again I thought they must be rich! We all said grace and then their lazy susan began to spin as 7 kids and 14 hands were grabbing at bowls like it was feeding time at the zoo.

My mother would have been horrified if I did that so I sat there like “a lady” as my mom would say and waited. My friends Dad speaks up and welcomes me and says, “Peggy your dad came out to fix our furnace this past Christmas Eve, he was such a nice man. We couldn’t find anyone to help us. He was a God send. He was so jovial and wonderful and it really made our Christmas.”

I am now completely and utterly embarrassed. Instead of being proud of my father with the wonderful words this man has just bestowed on him I wanted to crawl under the table. I remember that call on Christmas Eve when we were all so upset that Daddy had to go out to fix some family’s furnace. I remember him telling us that he couldn’t let a family not have heat on Christmas. He hugged us all as he left in his Santa hat. ( I later learned he didn’t charge extra for a holiday rate - he just told them Merry Christmas)

So my friend speaks up and says, “You wouldn’t believe the stuff we eat when I go to Peggy’s house. I can’t even pronounce the stuff we ate last week’
Honest to God I was praying for a trapped door under my seat. Now all eyes are on me.
My Friend’s Mom asks, “What ever did you have dear?”

Oh. My. God. Please take me away from here. Please. I couldn’t even look up from my plate, which gave me anxiety because I knew my mom would be mortified that I did not look someone in the eye when speaking to them….but I just couldn’t.

I mutter that we had braciole and rigatonis. (I left out the antipasto & daddy’s homemade wine) To me that isn’t exotic for heaven’s sake. Oh, but they have to ask for me to speak up so I look at them and try to act as though this embarrassment isn’t killing me and say, “We just had braciole and rigatoni’s”
All together now, “WHAT IS THAT?” I so wanted to cry. I think my friends parent’s picked up on that and had the kids shut up. They both just said it sounded wonderful and asked how our school project was coming along. I was so thankful they changed the subject.

I went home that night and cried to my parents. Why did my father have to do work for my friends family? Why can’t we have meatloaf like normal people? Why do we have to be so different? I ran to my room telling them I didn’t want to be Italian anymore and cried. My parents were hurt. They didn’t understand. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t be blonde and be named Susie and eat meatloaf. I just wanted to grow up and eat macaroni and cheese from a blue box and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches like “normal people” what's not to understand?

I’m now grown up and I would give anything for my Mom’s braciole, her homemade biscotti or her homemade pasta that she made without a machine I might add. I now cherish that upbringing as crazy and loud as it all was.

Mangia!

In a Funk

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:25:30 PST

It's cold, wet, dreary and just plain shitty around these parts today.
Money is tight and baseball season is over.
I'm in a Funk.

Someone sent me this link (http://twitter.com/shitmydadsays) and I have to tell you this guy's father cracks me up.

Apparently this 29 year old writer wanna be had to move back home with his father.
His father says some funny things - never meaning to be funny mind you- but this kid thinks they are hysterical and he is correct.....and he writes them all down verbatim.

He then started a Twitter account and he writes them daily.
I was sent the link and haven't been able to stop reading them ever since.
Some make me laugh out loud. I can hear my father saying the same things!
Especially the 1 about the kids new phone.

Now this kid got so much attention for this that CBS announced that they'd signed him to write a family sitcom based on the Tweets. The series will be overseen by "Will & Grace" creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick. He's in the money$$$$$

To think all the dumb ass things my parents have been saying over the years that I could be making a fortune and not having these financial headaches right now.

How dumb am I?

Some Life From The Past 7 Days

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:32:47 PST

Here is our gal Izzy lying on the floor looking like she's drunk from a bowl of candy.

We were so worried she would be difficult as the trick or treaters came up to the door.

This being her first Halloween and all. As you can see she was thrilled.

It was warm so we pulled up a chair and sat at the door with the door opened. She sat and watched a few and then just laid down and fell asleep. The real little ones got a real kick out of it. The older kids asked if she was okay. I think they thought she was hurt or dead. Some asked if she was real. I guess they thought that was our scary Halloween bit - a dead dog in the foyer. That made us giggle. We even tried to get her to move but then she started snoring so we figured the kids would realize it was a real live breathing snoring dog.

This is our gal who can't let a delivery man or truck allow her to move. She will stop dead in her tracks if there is a delivery truck near by. She will stop and stare until they leave. She does not move, bark or annoy. She will just watch. She will watch the men like they are food. It's funny. This one just pulled over to the side - got in the back of the truck and moved boxes around and made a ton of noise. She just stared. He got back up front and drove away. Then, and only then, could we continue on our walk.

I've been up since 2:30a.m. It was a long, stressful, and ultimately good night/morning.

NINE (9) Long Years I have waited for this.... I love these guys!

2009 World Series Winners.

Part II

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:28:41 PST

Rick walked into her home and she greeted him like a little kid.
She was jumping up and down and as he described it…..she is off her rocker and I couldn’t figure out why she was doing this. He still has no explanation of that behavior. (It just makes me laugh)

She told him that she will be downstairs if you need anything, anything at all. Just call me or come downstairs. He told her this repair wouldn’t take long and he went to work.
Because he does not mix chemicals in a customers home he does a lot of going in and out of their homes to his van to mix the chemicals.

Every time he went out the door she was standing at the side of the door when he came in with a barrage of questions. Do you need anything? Do you want a cup of coffee? Pop? Can I make you lunch? To all of these questions he said, “No thank you Diane I just need to work so I can make my next appointment on time.” (like that would make her back off)

He goes to work and as he is kneeling in front of the tub he turns around to get something out of his box of tools & she is standing there. Stealth Diane he called her.
It startled him and he asked her to leave because she should not be in the room when the chemicals are sprayed. To which she stated it didn’t matter she didn’t mind the smell.
He told her it mattered to him, so you will have to leave the room now. She said, “Gosh you are so kind.” How he doesn’t laugh I don’t know but then again being scared may have something to do with it. He closed the door and locked it.

He went in and out a couple more times to his truck for things and for mixing. She was always at the side of the door when he returned. Just out of sight enough so you couldn't see her when you opened the door at first. He said he actually had goose bumps he was so creped out.

When the job was completed he gave her the invoice and she held the check. She kept her hands over her mouth and acted as though she was horrified. He asked if it looked okay. She said it was wonderful, "You are such an artist".... and then she said, "Working with you has been shear joy." Shear Joy??? Oh c’mon who the hell says that to their contractor I ask you? Try to read that sentence and not laugh your ass off.

He said he literally grabbed the check from her hand since it didn't appear that she was going to fork it over. At that point he said he didn't care about being professional and then he ran out of there before she could try to hug or touch him. He called me from the truck and told me he does not ever want to go back there and if she calls please, please, please tell her we have no room on the schedule….EVER.

So last night when he went into the bathroom to pee I quietly walked in behind him and startled the shit out of him and I said, “You are such an artist when you pee and watching you gives me shear joy!”

Oooh, how that made him jump.
He didn’t find that funny AT ALL....Bad Wife.

My Favorite Expression

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:51:18 PST

Two weeks ago I had a woman call our office for our services. Rick did the job and she wrote me an email saying that he did a fabulous job and thanked us again for getting she and her husband on the schedule so quickly (had a cancellation) and then all these niceties.

Now I don’t get those (niceties) often so you would think I would just love them and not complain. But something about this woman was a bit creepy. I thanked her and thought that was the end of it.

Then she wrote to me on Thursday and asked if she could speak to Rick.
I said he wasn’t in the office but I could help her.
She said, “No I need to speak with him.”
I told her I would page him and have him give her a call when he was able.

Now remember I do not tell people that I am Rick’s wife. They think I am just an employee who works here. I even go by my maiden name here. So keep that in mind.

Rick called her and then Rick calls me from the field to tell me that she is psycho and he thinks she is divorcing because she kept saying she wants this job done before her husband gets home and “that everything has changed in my life in the last two weeks”

He asked me if I could fit her in somewhere so he could drop by and see what needs done and get her on the schedule. "Why the hell couldn’t she just ask you Margaret? “
“Cause I think she’s hot for you “and we both laughed having no idea really.

I told him that his schedule looked like he could swing by there Friday afternoon in between appointments to see what is involved and if it’s as small as you say it sounds you may be able to do the job on Tuesday afternoon. So he told me that when she calls see if that will work for her. "I am not talking to her again - please deal with her for me okay?"

She did indeed call me immediately after I hung up with Rick.
I squeezed her in for the estimate on Friday as Rick and I talked about.
She was thankful I could do this on such short notice.
She thanked me over and over again and then went on a tirade about her hubby, complete with crying. Apparently he just came home one day and told her he didn’t want to be married anymore. She was surprised. He then left the next morning for California for a week. She got a realtor and she is trying to get the home ready to sell. It’s her dream home and yada yada yada…..whimper, whimper, whimper. TMI to me.

She said her husband is cheap and wouldn’t do all these things to fix up the house and she wanted them done before he came home to avoid him bitching a fit. She said he would complain to have to do it but if he doesn’t know it’s been done all the better.
I wanted to scream – I REALLY DON’T CARE LADY..
But I just muttered, Mmm, yes, etc.

Now on Friday Rick goes to do the estimate and then she calls me immediately upon his departure. (in the mean time Rick gets in his truck and tries to call me and gets voicemail because I’m on the phone with her!)

She wanted to book this ASAP and it must be before the dreaded hubby comes home from California. Then she went on this whole tangent on how wonderful Rick is. He is so sweet and handsome. His wife is so lucky. I wonder if she knows how lucky she is to have such a wonderful man in her life. He seems to be such a warm person and he is so good and kind that I know he will be rewarded. (Okay I am stifling a huge laugh here and it’s killing me!)

She then said, “I asked him for a hug and I think I scared him a bit and I just went for it.”
Now I am thinking, do I tell this nut job that I am his wife or what do I do?
I say nothing.
She repeats that he sure is sweet and cute. Okay already I get it!
I book the job for Tuesday – today.

Rick in the mean time has left me a voicemail while I’m on the phone with her to tell me to call him as soon as I get off the phone. I do.
He said, "OH MY GOD this woman is nuts. She started to cry and I put my hand on her shoulders which I know I shouldn’t have and she went in for a hug. I was standing there with my pen and invoices and my tools and I didn’t put my arms around her just stood there with my hands full. She is telling me stuff like I could give a shit. it was so odd and awkward you have no idea.....she's creepy man"

I am now laughing at him.

"I need a shower Margaret this isn’t funny."

He asked, “You know the worst part?”

“That you’re married?”

"No, Margaret that she is gross. Why don’t good looking young ladies do this to me?"

That is what you think is the worse part? Oh brother Rick.... What is wrong with her?"

"She’s been ridden hard and put away wet ya know?"

Ah, there it is…the expression that I had never heard of until I met him and it never fails to make me giggle.

“And she’s old.”

“What are you calling old, old man?”

"Well 60 is my guess.....maybe late 50’s but looks terrible. She has black hair that is like Elvira.
Not a shade found in nature you know? A smoker so her face is all crinkly. And no big boobs like Elvira or curves– she's just a scary homely stick!"

"Okay so what you’re telling me is if she was 25-40 and good looking I would have a reason to be worried."

"Well Bubbaloo…..not worried exactly….and he trails off like I won’t notice."

"Ah, laugh now funny boy she could be dangerous!"

"I know and that is what I'm worried about. I'm telling you she gives me the creeps and it's not becuase she is not nice looking but because she is just creepy."

So today he is at her house working on her master bath.
I called him and he sounded odd. It went like this…..

"Is she standing right there with you in the bathroom as you work?"

"Oh Yes, that’s right I can probably do it on this Saturday."

"Do I have to worry about finding rabbits or my dog boiling in my pot on the stove?"

"You may! I will call you when I leave here and head to the next job and we can figure the schedule as well as the proper top coat?"

"Sure, you’re making me laugh you know, like I’m a stranger."

"Yes,I know but I believe the low VOC top coat will have a lesser warranty."

"Are you scared?"

"A little bit. I’ll talk with you soon and we can discuss it then."

So blogger friends I’ll let you know what happened tomorrow.
I can’t wait until he leaves her house I know he will be calling me immediately.

M & M's and lousy baseball

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:28:14 PDT

Not a great day for me.

My team got their asses spanked last night & I have a new addiction..
M & M peanuts…..oh sure they are gluten free but not good for me.

My husband bought Halloween candy this year.
There is a damn good reason why he never has done this before.
I normally buy it every year and I buy candy I don’t like for a reason.
I buy Snickers, Reese peanut butter cups, Kit-kat bars other things I will not eat.
Normally we buy the full size bars from Costco but this year money is tight so we discussed buying Halloween size candy this year and not be as popular as in previous years on the block.

I guess since we discussed this he figured while he was at Costco picking up a Rx he could just pick some up….which is thoughtful kind of….
I really hate when Rick goes to Costco alone because they sell lots of stuff in big amounts. It’s a manly store with big ole sides of beef that he can’t walk away from and bricks of cheese the size of his head so when he walks in there he goes ape shit nuts.
But I digress…. I will tell you some of the escapades another time….back to Halloween.

Numbnuts brings home the variety pack of candy the size of Rhode Island from Costco.
Doesn’t he know that I can rummage through this until I find something I like?
Don’t you think after 22 years he would have figured out that I can hear candy call my name no matter how high you put this enormous bag? (I have step stools goof ball)

Yes I am short, 5’2” and hubby is 6’2” so he thinks if the candy is high I won’t eat it. HA!

The damn fool believed me when I told him that. But last night I kept hearing little whispers of, “Peggy eat me, eat me, up here, c’mon get me, Peggy eat me.”

How can you resist this I ask you?
(Honestly it wasn’t Rick saying those things either – he was already snoring in his chair)

So last night during the horrifically embarrassing game I hit that bag like a raccoon to a garbage can. He and the dog snored as I gained 5lbs from sugar and nuts.
So wonderful for my health issues I know. I ate 8 of them….8!! I am a pig.
While there may only be 4 in each of those mini bags that is still 32 chocolate covered peanuts I unconsciously ate while screaming at my TV.

I waddled upstairs feeling sick from M & M’s and my team’s lousy play.

I am feeling like shit today.

Anyone got any Ben and Jerry’s that may help settle my tummy?

Apple Pie ...part II

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:12:37 PDT

My sister wrote & asked me for this recipe after she read about it here.
Then a friend called and asked how to make this as well.
So my ugly but good pie is listed below.
I will write the directions as the recipe called for.
Then I will tell you what I did differently.

Now you are all assuming it’s good and I can’t tell you that because I can’t eat it.
You are going by my husband’s reaction.
He will eat anything…..that my friends is my disclaimer in case you all don’t like it.
BTW he has finished the whole pie as of last night.
I took it out of the oven at 4pm on Saturday and it was gone by Monday night all by himself.
If only women could eat like this....oh we can but then we look like a barn. Sigh.

INGREDIENTS
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work of crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Now here is what I did differently than above directions.

I used a Pillsbury frozen pie crusts that you roll out – I cheated!I brushed egg white on the bottom crust so that it didn’t get soggy.I added a tsp of cinnamon to the apples and didn’t think that was enough so I just put in more. How much more you ask? I have no idea – maybe another tsp. I also put in a pinch of nutmeg.
When it came to the syrup I took the ¼ cup water and removed 1 tsp of it and replaced that with 1 tsp of vanilla. My thinking was it would be the same amount of liquid.I also didn’t pour it over the apples once in the pie crust because I knew I wasn’t doing a lattice top– I mixed it in the apples in the big bowl and then transferred them all to the crust.
I didn’t make a lattice top crust. I left some of the syrup out and poured that over the top so I could still get the sugary crunchy top. I am guessing about ¼ c was left out and used on the top. Again though I am guessing. I have to admit I sometimes cook and bake like the old Italian women in my family. All of it done by eye balling it.

Now Tallulah I expect you to perfect this because you are the high priestess of baking and cooking unlike myself. I dabble in comparision.

As Julia would say, Bon Appetit!

Monday Morning Tidbits

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:26:50 PDT

• It’s fall and I am loving it. I walked the dog this morning and all the leaves were fragrant and the smell of the air was just…..well fall like. Reminds me of apples. I love everything about fall. The colors, the weather, the leaves, the energy I get from it all. It really has its own energy and it’s one I enjoy much more than summer. It truly is my favorite time of year.

• My boys of summer are now my boys of fall and heading into the World Series. I was up way past my bedtime to watch the final out and jump around my tv room like a crazy old woman. Honestly if someone was looking in my windows they would have seen a woman in her pj’s and high on ½ a pain killer jumping up and down and no one else in the room. Hubby and dog went to bed at a normal hour like normal people. I never said I was normal.
• I made Rick an apple pie. Since I have a gluten intolerance I can’t have any goodies but it sure did smell good. The way he has been eating it since Saturday I would say it was good. He moans when he eats it and that’s a good sign. He laughed when I told him I was going to try something a little different. You see I decided to try this recipe I saw. But I never completely follow a recipe. It didn’t have cinnamon or nutmeg and I wanted both in there. C’mon who doesn’t have cinnamon in your apple pie? Then there was this carmel-y sauce you make and pour over the apples and then again over the top of the lattice crust. I added vanilla to that sauce because well I thought it needed a tsp of that as well. I also didn’t do a lattice crust – and just poured it over the top. It made it sugary and crunchy and everything that Rick loves. He was in heaven. I so wanted to have a piece but I just smelled it. He told me this was by far the best apple pie he has ever eaten so I guess I’ll do this recipe again. That’s a big deal since his mother’s recipe is the one he always wanted me to make before. Not pretty but apparently very tasty.

• My shoulder is giving me a lot of pain. I am concerned because it is just like it was before my rotator cuff surgery. Not good. Yesterday the pain was so bad it made me cry. I fear that something happened to it again. I hung in there until evening when I couldn’t stand it anymore and broke a pain pill in ½ and took it. I hate pain pills. But it took the edge off and that helped me to sleep….some. Not enough though.
• I heard Rod Stewart on TV this morning. No matter what genre that man sings I just love him. Gosh he has to be 60 something by now too. He looks great. I am sure he has had work done but he doesn’t look disfigured you know? I just saw a trailer of a new black comedy with Meg Ryan that looks great to me. But the whole time I just kept staring at her face. Why she did this to herself is beyond me. I too would love to look like I did at 25 but I have never seen anyone be able to without looking odd or disfigured so I guess I’ll just grow old and not I’m sure not gracefully either……going into old age kicking and screaming like I’m doing today.

Depression.

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:47:02 PDT

I read a lot of blogs and have noticed a common theme amongst them of late.
Everyone is depressed.

Is it the season? Is it the economy? Is it much deeper than that? I wonder.
Perhaps depressed people write more?

My first thought on reading one today was that I too was depressed when I lived in that part of the world. And the therapists I found there were most unhelpful, unconventional but not helpful by any stretch of the imagination.
So, I wondered if you get depressed living there or do depressed people find their way there?

Then I remembered a friend who lived in Pa. She had SAD, sun affected disorder. It’s that time of year and maybe that is what is causing all the depression.
Could it be that easy? Is it ever that easy?

Doctors don’t know shit about this trust me.
I remember when I had the world by the ass. Wonderful marriage, loved my job, making buckets of $$ and yet I could burst into tears at moments notice.
I couldn't understand why I was in this very dark and alone place.
No sleep, a walking zombie of depression. But my doctor kept insisting there must be something wrong with my marriage. The asshole had me leave with a box of anti-depressants and said, "this will help you." Ah the magic pill which I took.
I felt even worse. When I called his office to tell him that I hadn’t slept in 2 days because of the effect of these he told me, “but you feel better overall don’t you?” WTF?
Come to find out it was my thyroid which every numb nut said was normal.
I hate doctors but you all know that.

So why are so many of us depressed when we seem to have it all?
I don’t like my job, I make no money at said job and I have a wonderful hubby and we are stressed beyong belief with finances right now yet I’m not clinically depressed although a smart person sure as hell should be.

Why do so many women most of all get undiagnosed? Why are we made to feel less than if we do open up and say, “Hey things aren’t working for me right now.”
Why is this such a stigma?
If my heart didn’t work there is no stigma.
It’s an organ it’s not working properly end of story.
My brain is an organ too. If it’s not working properly then why is that a stigma and not workable? Just putting it out there. Got an answer?

Monday Mornings

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 07:57:58 PDT

Not a fan of mornings....any morning honestly.

I am not a morning person as my husband and dog are. Hubby wakes up all happy and talky and I want so scream at him but I remember I don't like to talk in the morning. If he had a tail like Izzy they both would be wagging like crazy in the morning. Both to drive me nuts I swear. How does one wake up like that?

I remember the 1st time I spent the night with him waaaay back in the day. That first night I remember thinking this guy is nuts, his water bed is set to 80 degrees and I'm dying here. I kept opening the window and there was a foot or more of snow and he kept getting up and closing the window. But it was worse come morning.

He got up humming! Humming I tell you!! Whistle while you work sort of thing.
Who the hell does that I ask you?
He was all perky and talking and singing his little song.
I wanted to just get dressed and go home.
But he was having none of that. He just kept talking and asking questions as I slowly moved about looking for my clothes off the floor.

Can't I make you something to eat?
Or would you prefer to go out to get breakfast?
God it's a beautiful day isn't it?
Wanna go to the beach this afternoon?
We can cross country ski or walk on the paths?
Do you have plans today?
Are you mad or something?
Cat got your tongue?
You are okay aren't you?
C'mon let's go get some breakfast on Peach.

OMG I WILL DO ANYTHING IF YOU PROMISE TO STOP TALKING AND HUMMING is what I am thinking but I say nothing and barely make my lips curl up to a smile.

You're not a morning person are you?

Ya think?
Do you get up this happy every morning?

Of course it's morning. What's not to be happy about?

Oh my God I wanted to crawl back into bed with the covers over my head but we all know his bed was hot as hell and the window was closed.
A good lay can only take get you so far is what the song in my head is playing!

He hasn't changed in all these years either only now he has a dog to talk to in the morning. Bad thing is he talks to her about me like I can't hear him.

Mommy is cranky in the morning isn't she Izzy?
She's no fun like we are is she?
It's going to be a beautiful day today too.
Do you want to go for a walk and let Mrs. Cranky Pants wake up and finish her coffee?
Maybe we'll get her to smile by the time we get back.

I guess he thinks this will make me feel better, or talk or smile but really.....
They leave and I swear if I had the engery I would do a happy dance but I might spill my coffee.

I need to just sit and enjoy the quiet non humming home.

This just makes me happy.....deal with it.

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:28:46 PDT

Tonight is the 1st game of the playoff's before the World Series.
I will be on the edge of my seat all night. I hope it will be a happy ending.
This is now my life for the next few weeks.
It's a sickness that has no cure....and I love it!
I can not even articulate how much this means to me.
Here comes #27!!!!!!!!!!

This makes me want to move to Canada......again

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:52:37 PDT

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/15/jon-stewart-takes-on-30-r_n_321985.html

Brrrrrr........

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:22:35 PDT

Okay those of us in the East and North are freezing our asses off right about now.
Man it's cold. And yes I am a wuss.

Our average temp at this time of year is 68. I even looked it up to be sure it wasn't wishful thinking. It's going to be a high today of 47. It's pouring rain and it's dark out. Jeez this is early isn't it? Kind of like Seattle weather as I remember it.

So here I sit in fleece in October for heaven's sake. I can't imagine my boys of summer will be be able to play ball this Friday night in this weather.
Halloween should be a hoot just like where I grew up....only without the snow.
It always seemed to snow on halloween when I was growing up but honestly it just always snowed up there period.

Last year here we sat out on the porch with our lawn chairs and cocktails and handed out candy to the kids. I love halloween. I love seeing all the kids and I love the chocolate.....hey I bought it.

I remember having what I thought was the most beautiful halloween costume of my whole life.
I guess I was about 6-7 yrs old. It was a fairy costume. White dress with sparkles & big sparkly wings and I wanted to wear this outfit all the time. Yes, I was a fru-fru little girl. (and still am I love me some sparkly) How I loved these wings. That is what I remember most.

It snowed a few feet and I had to have on my snow pants and boots and I thought that was quite enough. But noooooo, my mom wanted me in a coat, scarf up to my nose, hat and gloves.
I really didn't mind the gloves I could still hold my sparkly wand with gloves.
But to cover up my wings?

I am a ole menopausal woman now and I remember this like it was yesterday.
I sure as hell can't find my car in the mall parking lot on most days, but I remember this vividly.
I cried like crazy. I wanted people to see my sparkly wings!!!! I was told that if I kept up this behavior I wouldn't go at all. The idea of no wings AND no chocolate was more than my 6 year old self could handle so I behaved.....kind of.

I know I was wimpering when my coat had to be put on. Just as we were leaving my Mom's sister showed up. My Aunt Dee Dee was a spoiler. I mean to say she spoiled my sister and I like you wouldn't believe. She had no children and being with Aunt Dee Dee was always so much fun to my sister and I. Dee Dee walked in and saw us all wrapped up in snow clothes and said to my Mom, "where are their costumes?" I immediatley asked if I could show Aunt Dee Dee my fairy wings. So off comes the coat and scarf. She makes a fuss just like I wanted.
She asked my mom, "why don't you just cut them off and put them on the coat?"
My mom responded with, "The way they are attached it will rip her costume."
My Aunt said the magicial words, "So what, it's not like she'll be able to fit in this next year right?" At which point I jumped up and down and said, "Yes, mom pleeaaaasssse!"

I don't know how Dee Dee did it but my mom gave in. Dee Dee winked at me and I hugged her.
My mom uttered something about "your Aunt Dee......
So the brat I am got to have my wings on the outside of my snow suit. You could only see my eyes, my wand and my wings but I just didn't care!! I wish I could find a photo of that because that would be a hoot. I know it must have looked completely ridiculous but I was happy as any kid could be on halloween - 2 feet of snow or not!

Toxic People

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:34:07 PDT

Toxic People don't know they are toxic.
Negative people don't think they are negative.

Would they see it if they were shown hours of video with their comments and behavior?
You know like the surprised targets see their ugly clothing choices on What Not To Wear?

Something happened to me when I turned 40.
Yes, something other than my tits and ass falling that is.
I started to not be a people pleasing person. I no longer was going to say YES, when I really wanted to say NO. It was truly one of the most difficult things to do. Yes, even more difficult than eliminating carbs or trying on a bathing suit in winter with those glaring flourescent lights!

I started slowly. I found saying No was uncomfortable. I would squirm. But I continued.
I found the uncomfortable place was better than saying yes to do something I couldn't do and then going home to bitch to my husband about how dare they ask me to do this. So I realized that Dr. Phil did say one thing in his life that made sense - people treat you the way you allow them to treat you. I was being walked on because I was afraid if I didn't let them they wouldn't like me. So began my era of "people treat me the way I allow them to treat me."
That became my mantra as I continued to forge ahead with my No's. Oh my family was the worst. I was a bitch they would say. I heard it all. But I stuck to my guns. Even though some of those times made me cry I was determined.

I will bend over backwards for family and friends but I am finding that most will just suck the life out of you if you let them. So are those really friends? I mean c'mon we all know family we're stuck with good and bad. But "friends"? We don't have a lot of options here. We can talk to them. We can try to explain our point of view. Perhaps a when you do this it makes me feel like XYZ. But if they don't understand and continue to do this then is it time to move on or is that mean?

I have chosen to move on. Life for me has been a lot of highs and lows like for most people. Right now I don't need all the negativity. I also don't need the bullshit.
I am straight up no chaser for God's sake - c'mon I don't like bullshit.
One does not have to be hurtful to be honest. That can't be said enough - "you can be honest without being hurtful" repeat after me.

I wrote an email awhile back to some friends as a joke. I know if I posted it here ya'll would comment on the humor or comment in kind with your witty retorts. However I got one back that was negative. One. Normally I would have let it go but it was the straw that broke this camels back.

When discussing this with the person I told her there were 2 but there was only her negativity. I wanted to open dialog. This had been going on for a long time. (my husband pointed out when she was visiting how everything no matter how mundane became a negative comment from her) I was now tired of it to be honest. But I wanted to show her that she didn't have to go there but how? I mentioned that it was a joke she realized that right? oh she did she said. I asked if she could explain why she said what she did then to me I was puzzled. She went on a negative tirade. I realized right then that there was nothing I could say so why say more. She was exhausting and I was tired. I left it float there and I said nothing more. I ended the conversation and in my mind the friendship to. It made me step back and look at all the things said over the years and all the snarky comments said I realized I had to purge this and I did. I sometimes still feel badly but mostly not. She insisted there was a positive comment at the end that I was overlooking. And God love her she was correct and I told her that and that was all I said.
She didn't get it so what point was there of pointing that out to her. It did make me laugh though. The equalivant would be, "You are a Big, Fat, Stupid, Low Class White Trash Piece of Shit, but your hair looks kind of nice." What you didn't hear me tell you your hair looked nice?
That kind of thing.

So I have moved on. You are asking, so why the hell did that come up today?
Because today I saw a quote that read....
Toxic relationships are like broken glass. It’s better to leave them broken...than hurt yourself trying to fix it.

Now if only family members could stop finding ways to suck the life out of me from miles and miles away.

Fall

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:51:46 PDT

As you can see by the new header I was at the lake this weekend.

The water was cold (65) the air was crisp (67) and the water was like glass. Great for boating and there were a lot of other boaters doing the same. I love boating this time of year because the leaves are falling and it smells great, you see a whole lot more of everything because the trees are thinning out. Izzy loved all the ducks she saw, that kept her perched up front of the boat watching them all.

It's that sad time of year when the hammock comes down and all the outside furniture comes in or gets covered. The refridgerator and cupboards are emptied and it just makes me sad.

Izzy was in heaven and swam her little head off. She didn't think it was that cold. Brrr....

It's funny but I actually feel badly for her that she has nothing but a city dogs life for the next few cold months. She is so free there, no leashes, running so hard her ears are back and being able to smell everything and anything. Her tail is in constant motion she is so happy. And she sleeps a lot there as well from all the exercise.

Rick and I feel the same. I swear as soon as we pull into the driveway our blood pressure lowers and it's so relaxing. I love the smell of all the trees and fall leaves. It's a bitch to rake an acre of trees but the smell is the best. We did a lot of work on the house and getting things ready for winter but we also had a wonderful time. We drank a lot of wine Saturday while working which I must confess makes for a lot more laughter and fun for tedious jobs that neither of us wanted to tackle.

And then late afternoon on a beautiful Saturday we hunkered down together into the double hammock wrapped in a comforter and had a wine nap, a full 2 1/2 hour wine together with Izzy sleeping by the side of the hammock the whole time with us. She was swimmer dog tired, we were just buzzed in the middle of the afternoon.....life is great.

Now back to city life....kicking and screaming all the way.

One of My Favorite little Trails...by Izzy

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:41:16 PDT

Here is a photo of where those snorting deer jumped out at me and Mom that I told you all about a few days ago......

This is me just being pretty staring at the pond that my mean parents won't let me jump in.

This isn't the pond that gave me swamp eye so I don't get it why I can't go in there.

Honestly. Parents!

This below is just me watching some birds.... can you see how dark my winter coat has come in?

My summer highlights are all gone on the top of my head.

For some reason that makes mommy sad - she's nutty, I'm just a dog and I roll in poop so who cares.

Can you see the place they shaved my leg for the IV?

It's itchy and so is my belly that they shaved. I am not happy about any of that but they told me I had to because they didn't want little Izzy's around. I don't see why not they tell me I'm a good girl why not lots of me????

Life

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:21:38 PDT

I guess it’s true that you are born when you were supposed to be born. That you get the parents, children and the pets that your heart was meant to share. That everything in your life has a reason and a purpose. Never really thought about it much but as I age I have begun to see things in my rear view mirror that I think give you a different perspective.

This clarity came to me while watching my tivo’d Mad Men eipisode last night.
I watch these women who have no choices. Who have marriages that do not fulfill them.
Who have children not because they want them but because society makes them feel less if they should ever utter the phrase, “I would prefer not to have children”
Educated women who speak more than 1 language with degrees out the ying yang but to be married must give it all up to deal with laundry, dinners and being arm candy for your upwardly mobile husband. They all seem to be walking depressed pretty zombies. I just wouldn’t have lasted a minute.

I don’t think I could have held my tongue or stayed in “my place” . I don’t think I could have been put into a peg that didn’t feel right for me.
I believe I would have squirmed and wiggled until I was completely and utterly bonkers. I would have been one of those women who had a “breakdown” I guess it was good that I wasn’t born until much later.

While I am an old fart in today’s world I am young enough to have lived to see the fight for women’s rights. Oh sure we have a helluva long way to go but it’s so much better.
I have had choices. I remember in high school when all I ever wanted was to be a disc jokey. For 2 years my guidance counselor told me to get it out of my head. No college for me in communications. I was a girl and I should think about nursing or teaching. I wanted none of either. I continued on my quest. I even took a test that they gave to see what we were suited for. I am sure it a Myers Briggs type of thing back in the day. My test results came back with one of the careers well suited for my personality was disc jockey. That was when the guidance counselor told me that women couldn’t become disc jockeys because they “drone” No one will listen to them so I had to stop this nonsense. He heard about my paper for English class where I interview the “morning mayor” of a local radio station and that while the paper was good (got an A) I had to stop all the foolishness and think about another career. This was the 70’s. A decade after Mad Men and while it was better it still wasn’t great for women.

There are still so many things that we can improve on. Here in 2009 I realize that at age 50 a woman becomes invisible. A Man at 50 is distinguished and sexy.
I also know that today a woman in power or that wants power or to be moving up in her career is considered a bitch, too tough, power hungry and or a lesbian. A man who strives for power in his profession is considered a go getter, driven, and sexy. So you can see that while it is better it’s not quite there yet.

Watching Mad Men sometimes makes me sad for the men too. They are so confused. They would no more engage in their children’s lives than come out of the closet. They have fears of being too soft. They have the stress of being the only bread winner. They can’t be relaxed and be honest. It’s all a show for them too. Today’s man has sometimes gone to far to the feminine side for me but it’s still better than these machismo’s in 1963 any day.

I love the clothes on Mad Men although those pointy bras and girdles would kill me. But then again are Spanx that much different? I love that women dress for shopping. Yea, it’s ridiculous in today’s world but there is something to be said for proper attire in certain situations and arenas. (this goes for men as well but being a woman I will focus there) I miss that. I am not a person who will wear sweats on a plane. I don’t give a shit how long the flight is. That isn’t me. You can be comfortable without looking like you’re traveling in your PJ’s. I’m an east coast gal who believes in dressing. I fit more in NY than LA. Even though I’ve lived in neither. Stacy on What not to Wear would love me just for not traveling and going in public in sweat pants.

So while I bitch about 2009 and it’s lack of civility, manners and just plain ole niceness I believe this is the right time for me to be here. I had a career that those poor women in Mad Men could only dream of. I have a partner in my life and not just a husband. I can wear sweats to go to the grocery store if I wanted to. I can choose to not have children and while there is still a stigma I don’t have to wear a scarlet letter.

All in all I think I was born at the right time for me…..how about you?

Deer, Mommy and Me

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:12:44 PDT

Hi Izzy the dog here....I'm writing for my mom today.

My mom is a bit clumsy, like me. She dropped her camera in the bottom of the lake and ooooh boy was Daddy ever mad at her! So she doesn’t have any new photo’s of me except in video. She is always carrying that little video camera with her. (it’s the size of a phone) The poor woman needs a kid or two so she'd leave me the hell alone but it could be worse I guess. I do like posing.

She says I look like velvet and she has to capture it.

She tells me it's fun to capture all my shenanigans

I think she is just crazy. I know I’m cute as a button though.

Everyone tells me that so it’s not conceited to say that is it?

Little kids love my ears. The little girl across the street is always playing with them.

She’s 3 and she always says my ears are so soft. Whatever...it feels good so I let her play.

The other day when mommy and I were walking on a trail by our house 2 deer jumped out at us. That day she didn't have her video camera. The deer just ran out of the woods and stopped dead in their tracks and stared at us. I think we starteled them like they did us.

They were only 2 ft. away! Mommy screamed. We were frozen. I just sat there and stared at them. I was so scared I didn’t even bark. The big mommy deer started to snort and stomp her feet. We thought they were going to charge us. That got mommy really scared. I think she peed a little.

The mommy and baby deer then ran past us so fast and so close to us that we felt the wind. Then mommy and I turned and ran right behind them. They ran right into the street but no one hit them thank goodness. My little heart was pounding so hard and I bet mommy’s was too. We both ran home real fast! She told Daddy she had never been that close to a deer before except at the zoo. I don’t know what a Zoo is but I hope we’re never that close again…..they are kind of scary and big up close....especially that one that was snorting so loudly at us.

As soon as my parents get a new camera I’ll send you some new photo’s.
They keep saying that business is slow so they can’t get a new camera right now. I don’t know what that means but I miss posing for all those pictures….cause I’m cute right?

Fixer Upper

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:23:09 PDT

I woke up to Izzy licking my arm dangling over the bed.
She comes to me first every morning because I feed her. I sat up and realized she couldn't eat this morning and was wondering how the hell I was going to deal with this. Today was her day to get "fixed"

God how I love this little dog. She was so excited as my feet hit the floor. She ran around to the other side of the bed wagging her tail & Rick was already up and dressing. He said he'd take her for a walk first. I ran downstairs to hide her bowls. No water, no food after 9pm they said. And this girl is on a routine. She eats after her walk because we make her or she would just wake up and go eat.

Last night she had spa night. We figured after surgery she wouldn't be able to get a bath and such for awhile and we aren't fond of stinky Izzy as much as pretty Izzy.

So she had her nails trimmed, furminated and a bath. Oh she loves to be furminated. (if you have a dog and don't have a furminator you don't know what you are missing!!!!) She even likes the ole dremmel for her nails. But oh how she doesn't like a bath. She hates them!
I find that funny since she loves water so much....walking into puddles, rolling around in water and swimming. But a bath - she will run.

My hubby used to give her a 'bath"and take her with him into the shower.
So now every time Izzy is in the bedroom and my husband is getting undressed she will high tail it out of the bedroom so fast because she figures, "he's naked again & he's gonna want me to get a bath and I'm outta here!"

So this morning she walked to keep her away from food. We played and wrestled and then she sat at the spot where her bowl was and just did a heavy sigh. That made us laugh. She sat there quietly for a long time as we got dressed for her trip to the vet's. She had to be there at 7:30am. At 6:50am she wimpered and kept staring at the empty spot where her bowls used to be.

Dear Lord I thought I was going to cry. This poor thing. I wish I could communicate with her to say why we are doing this to her. So one more little walk to occupy her mind.
Out the door we go, the 3 of us. She sees her girlfriend at the end of the block and that made her forget all about her hunger. She ran to go play with Libby.
They wrestled as we adults discussed how the poor thing has no idea what is about to happen to her.

On the way back to the house we decided to head over to the vet's a bit early. Get her in the car and keep things moving. Izzy loves the vet.....don't know that she will after today but she loves going there. They make a fuss over her and their are other dogs there, what's not to love?
We parked the car and got out with she and her food. She was pulling us into the office. Everyone there acts so excited to see her as they take her from us. Not even a look in our direction from her and off she goes.

She is spending the night there. I don't understand why. No one is there with her after 8p so why couldn't she come home? But it does give us a night out. Going to dinner with some friends and having a date night. It should be a fun night.

The chances of us not thinking about her and how she is dealing with being alone is nil.
That is what is bothering us the most. She doesn't even like it when we're not in the same room w/her so this ought to be something for her. I am hoping she is still loopy from surgery and pain medication so she will sleep a lot and not notice that those 2 nut jobs who spoil her aren't even around.

For me to get through this I think I'll be drinking alot tonight.

Now this made me laugh

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 13:15:33 PDT

http://www.whyihatepeople.com/

I don't know why but this made me howl when I saw it.

So I'm not the only one.......Go figure.

Great Weekend

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 09:15:47 PDT

Honest to God I had a Great weekend.

Yea, I was sick. But Sunday the cloud lifted. Oh sure I sound like a heavy smoker with this hacking cough and gravely voice but I felt better.

It could have been the bottle...or 2 of wine I drank with a little (very little) help from my spousal unit.

It could have been the codeine in the cough syrup or the dayquil I added just for good measure.

It may have been the solid 6 hours of sleep I got.

It could have been the quality of all those ingredients mixed together with my team clinching the American League Division Title..

My Boys swept the evil Red Sox. And while that is always sweet, winning the division in front of them was even sweeter. Okay it's not the world series but it's a step closer.

I jumped around my living room like a nut job high on cough syrup and wine.

Now only 5 more days until the weekend.

Sick and Tired Today

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:53:07 PDT

I am sick.

My husband goes into other peoples homes and brings home all these germs then I get sick. This time he got sick. And what a pain in the ass he is when he is sick.

First off he won’t acknowledge it. Second he won’t go to the doctor and get something so he will feel better and stop bugging the shit out of me. "Margaret I don't feel good"
"Why don't we go to the doctors?"
"Nah, why waste the time and $20 co-pay?"

I swear to God if his arm was falling off and bleeding all over the damn place he would say, “I’ll be fine, let’s just give it a couple days.”

“But you’re bleeding on my white rug you big oaf”

“Oh the Oxi-clean will get that right out! Now can you just help me hold my arm up now so it doesn’t fall to the floor?”

This was him all last week... He was coughing and hacking all over the place. He blew his nose so hard I couldn’t hear TV so I had to rewind the show over and over again to hear what I was missing. (Compassionate wife that I am)
I suggested getting something like medication from the doctor so this didn’t get worse.
But going to a doctor is just so silly and frivolous.

Each day he came home worse. He looked like shit. He whined oh how he whined.
His ears hurt so badly. His eyes hurt, his sinuses burned and he said that he thought this was moving into his chest now.

“Oh Honey I'm sorry, but don’t go to the doctors because the life insurance is paid up so after you leave me and I collect all the money I am thinking of going to Italy. I’ve always wanted to spend some serious time there”

He sneered at me and then coughed up a lung.

I offered soup, tea, aspirin, Dayquil, Nyquil, liquor, a ride to urgent care , a swift kick in the ass – anything! But do something other than WHINE and COUGH.

As the week went on it surely moved into his chest and now he was dragging his ass around the house sneezing, coughing, blowing and rattling. I had had it! I was getting his 6’2” ass in the car somehow. My plot was to approach him all seductively and tell him that I want to have sex with him but out in the car like the old days. He’d buy that you see he’s easy like that. Get him in the car and drive him to the doctors. Idiot. Reality knows that he could no more be that young flexible kid again even if he wanted to. Even sick his penis rules him.

We found out from the doctor that he has a middle ear infection that moved to his sinuses, ears, throat and down to his chest. For a month he kept telling me he felt like he had water in his ear. I didn’t know what to do for him. Apparently that water sits there and germs grew and viola you get sick and it begins to move and you end up like the mess he is. Sadly this germ is contagious which I found odd and honestly didn’t believe. I mean I don’t have water in my ear.

I’m sick now……really sick. But I do take medication….I’m thinking a Nyquil float…. ice cream and Nyquil – kicks 2 additions at once.

Tenacity

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:25:55 PDT

You've heard me rag on doctors a lot here.
Been to so many Md's and holistic dr.'s and all claim to be God's for me.
It's more like a God complex than them actually knowing squat.

It takes a lot of tenacity to keep digging when you know they are wrong and something is not right with you......

This young lady is my hero!!!

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/archive/Teen-Outsmarts-Doctors-In-Sciene-Class.html?yhp=1

My Garden

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 05:50:43 PDT

I'd show you a picture of my garden if my camera was not at the bottom of Smith Mountain Lake. So you will have to imagine....

I have always had a green thumb. I was big into plants and flowers. Then when I lived in Seattle I got into food gardening. I planted my first food garden as I like to call it with all the things I like in stir fry. It thrived and so did I. So the following year it expanded as well as me moving into flowers. Everything thrived. I was in heaven. I couldn't wait to come home from work to go out to my gardens and see what was happening.

Was it the water here? The temperate climate? The lack of sun and heat? I'll never know. But it was my best experience of that city sad to say.

After leaving Seattle I never had a food garden again. I never had the time with the new job and all the traveling. I had flowers but they were never as big and beautiful as when I lived in the PNW. I longed for the big tulips I grew or I bought there and not the little ones I was now getting.

Every year here I have a patio filled with beautiful flowers. My neighbors always comment and when a friend was visiting from Seattle she said that when you walk into my home and see all that glass and the flowers behind it you are drawn to the patio immediately. I loved that. It made me feel good because that is how I feel as well.

But this year that wall of windows into my patio hasn't beckoned me. I don't know what is going on. The dirt? The weather? I actually had a farmer give me cow dung so I could mix it in my dirt to fertilize everything. Didn't help the petunia's much. My dwarf dhalia's were just damn sad. My basil was picture perfect until some critter started to eat it. My tomatoes were not my best....good to most folks but not me. The rest were thriving so for the life of me I can't figure it all out.

It wasn't as humid and miserable this year as most. Is that the reason? My dirt was new and mixed with prime fertilizer. I actually did nothing different this year. Watered the same etc.

So standing out there this morning removing some dead petunias and other things to get ready for fall I felt as sad as my flowers looked.

This made me laugh!

mhugill@verizon.net (Margaret (Peggy or Peg too)) — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:53:45 PDT

I have been in communication with a customer who was hysterical about the chemicals to reglaze her bathtub. Her landlord was requesting this work be done. She called daily for a week to ask about the chemicals. She asked how bad this would be for her lungs, her kitty cat's lungs. She wanted to know if she had to move for a few days. (NO) We made an appointment. She called to cancel because she was feeling under the weather and didn't want to have to leave and if she stayed she was worried about her lungs and these chemicals. She decided to move out of her condo with her cat and went to a friends over night so they didn't have to be exposed to the chemicals. A bit extreme to say the least. None of this was toxic and while it does smell it also dissipates quickly. I explained the industrial fans etc all to no avail.

Finally we arrived to do the job. The landlord was meeting Rick there to let him in. The landlord showed up with his wife in tow. They let Rick into the condo and as they opened the door they were met with a heavy foul stench of cat and heavy cigarette smoke. The landlords wife immediatley covered her nose and proclaimed, " OMG It smells awful in here - it smells like a bar!"

These people who smoke like this are always the ones concerned about their lungs. Don't you think that's a hoot?

It reminded me of this from back in February.
http://straightupnochaser.blogspot.com/2009/02/from-service-point-of-view.html