Unexpected Liberation

Wow! Has it been three years?

2010-01-08T14:09:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe it has been three years since I posted anything here. Amazing how much my life has changed in those 36 months! I will be re-vamping this blog to better represent where I am now on the road of life.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2007-02-14T07:19:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!
Originally uploaded by HamWithCam.

May your day be filled with love!

Summers end

2005-08-15T11:58:00.000-04:00

Summers end
Originally uploaded by victornado.

.

Today is very much like the last day of summer for me.

Certainly there are still hot days ahead. Fall begins early, though, here in Pittsburgh. At least compared to Oklahoma. As a rule the summers are not severe in Pennsylvania and fall transitions subtly as the weather gradually turns cooler and the days shorter.

It is not the weather that will end my summer.

Tomorrow we will drive to Terre Haute, Indiana to retrieve the man-child after six weeks in Arkansas. We meet half-way for both parties for the exchange. We'll return on Wednesday.

I won't lie - I have enjoyed the time my husband, LB, and I have shared together these past six weeks. Not that our son cramps our style too much. He is 13 1/2 and has his own agenda. Still, to come and go on a whim without any responsibilities has been nice.

I can tell my son is ready to come home. He has a habit of telling me the day's date and how many days there are until an important event. For the past two weeks he has relayed that information to me over the phone, counting down the days until August 16th.

Yesterday we visited the grocery store to prepare for his return. I stopped in the bakery to pick up his favorite flavor of cupcakes, white cake, white icing with sprinkles. Somehow I managed to wind down the cookie aisle, an aisle I haven't visited in some time, and picked up a package of Oreo Double Stuff cookies - his favorite. "Are we trying to fatten him up??", LB asked as the cookies took their place in our cart. OF COURSE I won't let him have all these treats at once but there are only two weeks left until school starts. A little indulgence won't hurt - will it? I also purchased nectarines and peaches - more favorites.

Soon the "back to school" shopping will begin. His room will be thoroughly cleaned and organized. I know he'll need a haircut. I'll have him go to bed and rise in the morning at a specific time to set his internal "school clock".

But this week is our freebie. We'll finish out the week with wild abandon. Okay, we'll go to the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh and see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the IMAX screen. We'll race each other via Play Station and stay up late.

Yes, summer is over in a sense but I have no complaints. It's all good.

Where do I begin? Or...What I Did During My Summer Vacation

2005-08-12T11:22:00.000-04:00

Where do I begin? Or...What I Did During My Summer Vacation

I deliberately avoided looking at the date of my last post while signing on to Blogger today. I know it's been a long time - even for a slacker like me.

The good news is: my hair is looking good!

The other good news is: I had an awesome summer.

It has been a honeymoon, vacation, and life journey I won't soon forget.

The vacation started off with the four of us: Me, LB, the man-child & Dugan.

First stop was Burnsville, NC. Burnsville is nestled in the North Carolina mountains near Ashville. My half-sister, Barb, spends her summers there in a lovely "cabin" (that seems bigger than my house!) I hadn't seen Barb in 17 years although we have always kept in touch over the years. The first time I met her I was 25 and I saw her once more a year later. That was it. Long story. She the only child from my father's first marriage and I am the youngest from his other "child-bearing" wife.

My mother passed away last February and Barb is truthfully the only sibling I have left. Yes, I have a older sister from my parent's union but she hasn't liked me from birth ("That thing has my blanket" and it went downhill after that) I have to admit I was a bit aprehensive about the visit and deliberately kept it short in case things didn't go well. It turned out I should have planned a week there. We had such a lovely time!

Our next stop was Euharlee, GA. Now, I would only go to Euharlee, Ga for one reason and one reason alone: to meet Kitty. Kitty and I have been online friends for a couple of years now. We met when we both wrote for an online site that shall remain nameless only because we both left about the same time for the same reason...and I'm not giving them any press.

Kitty is the third person I met online that I have met in person. The first became a very, very, very dear friend and then he was tragically killed in a car crash. The second is my Sweet Baboo, LB. We met in an online poker game on New Year's Eve 1998.

He's the best hand I ever won.

The time spent in Euharlee was too short. I think it took longer for the AAA lady to find it for our trip-tik than we had time to spend but it was worth the stop. Meeting an online friend, especially one that has been such a good friend and so supportive, is surreal. Spending time with Kitty in her gorgeous home, meeting her s/o and her menagerie of pets made her 100% real. Now when we talk on the phone I can imagine her surroundings and I feel so much closer to her.

We then wound our way through Georgia, Alabama to Mississippi to spend the night before heading to Ardmore, Oklahoma. My two grown children, Rocky & Blondwinkle, live there as well as my two beautiful grandsons. I was also scheduled to attend my first high school reunion after THIRTY years. After we left Mississipi we drove through part of Tennessee, then Arkansas to our final destination.

I can't begin to describe how wonderful it was to see my kids and grandkids. It has been seven years (another long story!) One of my grandsons I had never even seen in person. The high school reunion went equally well and the sense of "home" was overwhelming as I drove around to my old haunts, showed LB and Matt around Lake Murray, heard "kids" I had known from grade school holler my maiden name when they recognized me, and felt the arms of my children around me.

Wow. The sense of belonging. The feeling of love. Worth many miles and hours on a sore tailbone.

After nearly a week in Ardmore we set off for NW Arkansas. The man-child was set to spend six weeks with relatives there...and that's when the honeymoon began.

LB and I drove back to Pittsburgh and dropped Dugan off with his breeders. They wanted him home to participate in a dog show and baby-sat him a few extra days while we visited my sister-in law and her husband in Williamsburg, VA. We spent the 4th of July there.

If you ever get a chance to spend the 4th of July in Colonial Williamsburg - do it.

After that we stayed home for about 10 days to catch up on responsibilities and then headed back to North Carolina. LB's oldest son and his wife live outside of Charlotte. We spent four days there and then went back to spend more time with my sister, Barb, in Burnsville.

This time I took several boxes of pictures from the early 1900's of our family on my father's side. Barb knew my Grandmother Victoria and her sisters. They had long since passed before I was born. (Barb is 23 years older than I am). Barb had a 40 year gap in contact with our father (due to her mother) so...

She could tell me about my family from before I was born and I could help her get to know our father better. It was a beautiful exchange and has cemented our relationship. We also found out that we do many of the same things, love many of the same foods (spicy) and generally are very much sisters even if it took us nearly 50 years to get to know each other.

That has to be all, right? Almost!

A week after returning from THAT trip we went to a four day dog show in Canfield, OH. Dugan is finally finished! He is now officially Champion Calgar Shadow Boxin McGregor! No more dog shows!

Well, almost. My photography bug has hit hard this morning and I took some great (if I do say so myself) candid shots at the dog show. I have been asked to take pictures at a Rotating Specialty next spring. Woo hoo!

I love taking dog pictures. I love taking pictures period.

If you are feeling adventurous and would like to look at some of the pics I took during my travels you are welcome to view them HERE.

Some are better than others, what can I say? There is a link at the top of the page to the different albums.

I also joined flickr and am just starting to figure out all of the tools. Eventually I hope to have one of those flickr thingmabobs here on my blog.

It is good to be back. But, damn, did I have a good time!

Yes, as a matter of fact...

2005-05-08T11:28:00.000-04:00

Yes, As a matter of fact…

I did fall off the face of the earth. It was an amazing journey!

It all began about a month ago. I woke up in my usual manner, groggy but still my amazingly cheerful self, and began my day with four slices of cinnamon toast and a nice glass of cold Dr. Pepper.

The memo holder next to my computer held an ominous url in its clutches. Our insurance company’s website of “in network” health providers. My only task was to find a doctor for my son that lived with-in a 10 mile radius, make an appointment and find the help he so desperately needed. Piece of cake, yes?

Piece of cake, no. Most of the phone numbers did not lead to a nice little office with a nice little reservation taking employee. These numbers went directly to doctor’s pagers where you could leave a detailed message and never have your call returned. I have a list of about 15 doctors in the Pittsburgh area that aren’t professional enough to return a phone call if anyone is interested.

Then there is the clinic where my son’s last evaluation took place in February. We found out (on our own because the clinic wouldn’t take the time to follow up) after the evaluation that our insurance wouldn’t cover his therapy and care. We have requested a copy of the evaluation by mail, phone and fax. Nothing.

These things are just the tip of the iceberg and I will not bore you with the full details. Needless to say, I have been obsessed and not much in the mood to talk about it. Dealing with it is enough.

There have been many high-notes in the past month. My husband and I stumbled onto an opportunity to take “Swing” dance lessons for four weeks…for free! Free was the operative word for me because I have never danced a day in my life (in public) An upcoming class reunion in June featuring a dinner/dance as the main event have made dance classes seem like a reasonable idea.

The first night I thought I was going to die. I am not an active person, per se. Walking from my computer to the refrigerator or bathroom makes up my daily exercise routine. I want to do more. It is just SO BORING. I can’t say that about the dance classes. After getting past the initial embarrassment of not knowing my left from my right foot ( a piece of knowledge that continues to plague me the first 20 minutes of class each week) I start having fun. I have to take several breaks through out the class because my leg muscles eventually just go limp. But, I have noticed more stamina each week after the class and I have finally gotten “out of self” and found myself just enjoying the experience.

I can’t say that we’ll impress anyone at the reunion but frankly, that wasn’t my goal in the first place.

As the reunion approaches you’ll be receiving an earful on the subject so that’s all I have to say about it for now. Trust me, I’m doing you a favor.

Last weekend I spent three whole days without the internet. It wasn’t by choice. My friend Sally and I drove up to Erie, PA for a Toastmasters Spring Conference. The AVALON HOTEL in Erie boasts on their website that they have wireless internet throughout the hotel. LIAR, LIAR, PANTS ON FIRE! There was NO internet. I called down to the main desk when my laptop didn’t hook up with a wireless provider in my room.
There wasn’t even visible evidence of a data port. Do you know what they told me? DO YOU? I was to unplug the telephone and plug my modem in to the phone jack. OR, I could go down to the lobby where “wireless sometimes drift in.” It does? From where? Lake Erie? Does a seagull fly overhead with a connection on his ass?

Several of my cohorts and I tried out various areas of the lobby and not a single one ever linked up to anything.

In the long run it turned out okay. It forced me to find something to do the night before the conference. Sally and I wound up in a great comedy club right up the street called Juniors Last Laugh. Our table was right next to the stage. All three comedians were great but the headliner, Mark Reedy, was the best. The guy before him was named Buzz Nutley. Very funny guy. How could you go wrong with a name like Buzz Nutley?

On Sunday after the conference we drove over to North Tonawanda, NY. Sallie is a master breeder of tropical fish and apparently “The Fish Place” is THE place to check out fish. I have all sorts of pictures I took with my cell phone and the minute I figure out how in the hell to get them from my phone to the computer I will share them with you. I have a very cool picture of two morey eels among others. We spent three hours in that fish store. I would tell you about the secret basement that is about three times bigger than the store but I have been sworn to secrecy. (Don’t worry, I have pictures of that too!)
We departed with two large Styrofoam containers filled with assorted fish stuffed into the back of her Prius. (A Prius is a car – you sicko!)

As we were finally leaving the store I found out we were only 11 miles from Niagra Falls. There was no way I was going to be that close and not go. I dreamed of seeing Niagra Falls since I was a little girl growing up in Oklahoma. I always hoped to see it with my husband the first time but as I said…there was no way I was going to miss it when I was just eleven miles away!

Sallie is a trooper plus she owed me big time for my angelic patience at The Fish Place. We arrived at the Falls around 5 pm. I gladly paid the 10.00 for parking. We donned our jackets and took out on foot to the Falls. I cried. I really did. They are absolutely magnificent. All that power really puts you in your place. I took lots of pictures. I even emailed one to my husband (don’t ask me how I did that …I just followed the prompts that I now can’t find. No, I am not a complete idiot. I just got this damn thing two weeks ago) I can’t wait to go back and visit the Canadian side. That will be another big deal for me since I have never been outside of the U.S. But I could look across the rapids and see Canada…!

So, that is a few of the ways I spent my time while fallen off the face of the earth. Some of it has been frustrating, some of it fun, some of it life altering.

Maybe I’ll fall off again next year.

Forward this if you love Jesus

2005-04-02T11:02:00.000-05:00

Forward this if you love Jesus

I have a potential awkward situation ahead of me today. About two months ago I snapped after receiving the umpteeth stupid email from a "friend". I truly consider this woman a friend. She is a member of my Scottish Terrier club and actually quite sweet. Unfortunately she doesn't understand the proper use of email.

We all know someone like this. In fact, I know a handful. They still send me emails on a weekly basis that require some action from me to avoid bad luck, prove I am a friend, see something "so funny!" appear on my screen or some other such nonsense. I have even received an email from a usually intelligent person claiming I had to forward the email to at least 10 people AND back to them to prove I love Jesus.

What is my potentially awkward situation? I am leaving for a dog show in about an hour and the woman that sent me the message below will be there:

~~

Subject: Fwd: Fwd: Fwd: I need this back, I love this little guy!

You have been Tagged by the Froggy, which means you are a great
friend!!
You will Have Good Luck For Two Years if you send this to 8 people or
more.
And if this is sent back to you then you know that you are a true
Friend...
You must send it in 5 minutes or your good luck will be broken

~~

Note: The font in this email was about 36 and GREEN.

My response to this complete display of stupidity was:

I am 47 years old and I do not send frogs to people to prove I am their friend or that I love them.

This was apparently taken as a rude response because she hasn't spoken to me since. (And I do not equate that with my good luck being broken)

I love receiving email, I truly do. Just don't send me an email that requires that I must prove something.

All it will prove is that you may never hear from me again.

A Politically Correct Spring Weekend of Celebration...or not

2005-03-25T10:33:00.000-05:00

A Politically Correct Spring Weekend of Celebration...or not

When I was a little girl we would go to church on Easter Sunday dressed in our finest attire and then suffer through my mother’s attempt to bake a ham. Later in the day we would take decorated baskets and hunt for brightly colored Easter eggs in a field with our friends.

My parents always gave me a duckling to raise over the summer that would find a home at a local farm in the fall. My older sister always chose a baby chick.

Of course, we know better than that these days.

Now we observe Resurrection Sunday, take our age challenged family members to the mall for a picture with the Garden Bunny or perhaps on a raped chicken bi-product hunt.

Now baskets come pre-packed.

Even the chicks have a new attitude…

However you choose to celebrate (or not) (or are allowed to celebrate in your community) I wish you a happy and healthy holiday/regular weekend!

Personal tip: If the weather forces you to have an indoor raped chicken bi-product hunt and the house begins to reek after a few days…look in the shoe box under the bottom bunk.

For the rest of you…Happy Easter!

Counting the Blessings

2005-03-04T07:48:00.000-05:00

Counting the Blessings

First of all, if you ever have a pain in your leg go to the doctor. I am not referring to a twinge here and there. I'm talking about all-out-this-hurts-like-hell-I-can't-walk pain. That's just common sense, right?

In retrospect I can't imagine what we were thinking.

My husband, LB, has been plagued with a re-occuring attack of excruciating pain in his right calf over the past months. Each time it happened in the morning, prevented him from even standing and lasted about 30 minutes. He assumed each time he had slept wrong or a muscle was cramping.

Last Thursday the assault began again but this time it didn't subside. There was improvement by Friday but any attempts to move around for longer than five minutes landed him back in bed.

On Saturday he decided if it wasn't better by Monday he would go to the doctor.

I drove him to the doctor on Monday. She ordered a doppler on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday morning I drove him to the hospital for the doppler. The test lasted 3 minutes. He was admitted 5 minutes later.

He has a blood clot that starts behind his knee and runs half-way up his thigh. The technician commented that it was a lucky thing he hadn't been exercising or walking much. That sort of activity could push the clot up to his lungs.

He walks our dog, Dugan, two miles a day and works out on our elliptical 3 times a week.

He is damn lucky.

Now it's the uncertainty that plagues us. There is no family medical history to hang this on. There has been no trauma or injuries to account for the clot's development. Even though they have him on blood thinners in hopes to dissolve the clot what will prevent another one unless he stays on the thinners permanently?

This is one of those situations where only time will tell.

In the meantime I have learned to appreciate him more than ever. I've dealt with the daily household and family routines while he has been on business trips or golf outings in the past. Extra duties don't bother me much when I know they are temporary. It certainly doesn't bother me to keep up while he is in the hospital but suddenly I realize all the "unnpleasant" things he does around here for our family may need to find a permanent caretaker.

While LB's hospital stay continues I have learned to fully appreciate:

1. Shoveling snow. This is particularly annoying when you are trying to make a clear path down the driveway so the child can walk to the school bus and then said child goes out the side door, wades through thigh-deep snow to quietly watch you shoveling behind your back (already dressed for school).

2. Garbage night. Note to self: Do not allow husband to store garbage bags in the backyard shed to await Garbage Day. It required additional snow shoveling to get to the shed. It took three trips from the backyard to the front curb in deep snow. On the bright side, garbage bags slide easily on snow. Bags now stored in the garage (at least until the spring thaw).

3. Walking the dog. The dog becomes ansy and bored when he doesn't go on his daily walk. It is 6 degrees outside. I don't like to walk in the cold. I tried chasing him through the house to burn off steam and I only made it through 2 laps.

4. Entertaining the dog. Putting the dog out on the 40 foot lead doesn't help much. He has a penchant for wrapping his lead tightly around the Rose of Sharon tree growing 20 feet away from the house. Wrapping yourself multiple times until the lead is so tight your eyes are bugging out seems to be the most entertaining.

Did I mention the snow?

5. Understanding pre-algebra. Is this supposed to be math or hieroglyphics? Either way, I'm screwed. I hope LB is released from the hospital before the kid flunks 7th grade.

I miss drinking coffee with him in the morning and playing Trivia Machine with him before going to bed. His abscence resounded as I sat and watched the last episode of our beloved NYPD Blue alone.

I miss him. I want him to be alright again.

In my heart I know he will. I'm just ready to hear someone say it outloud. Like a doctor.