Vacation, party time!

Ha! I did not purchase this alcohol. I was asked what I wanted to drink. We were heading South about 200 miles to visit relatives smack dab in the middle of Wild Wonderful West Virginia. I said I would get it at the store when we arrived at the motel. My daughter's beau would not take no for an answer, so I suggested lime-a-rita.

As I predicted we ended up hauling all this liquor down to West Virginia and all the way back to Ohio. I didn't even open the case of lime-a-rita. The Jack, vodka and Bud were missing a few. And the jagermeister is down about 1/8th. Whoop! 

I had one margarita at the bar. Then ginger ale.

Sigh.

We had 14 show up. Usually it is 20 or more. The young ones who really like to drink were unable to show. That's what happens when you have kids! One niece was kind of excited though because she had not had a drink in....I don't know how long. She had just weaned her little girl and was going to celebrate. She drank two drinks that I saw and got silly. LOL!

We did get to visit with some wonderful people. Our relatives that we visit are just the best. There are others, but we just do not seem to meld with them as well. Not that they are not just as nice and funny. There is only so much time to visit.

Sunday I awoke with a crushing headache. Advil (or the generic form) did not touch it, another migraine tablet and I felt the nausea. I was miserable. My daughter and her beau stepped in and packed me up and into the car and drove me home. As I was resting in the back seat - my headache finally abating (after some weak coffee - caffeine!), I thought to myself "Hey, I could get used to this!"

Note: I am kind of Independent. I have to be the one driving, I have to pack all my own stuff and I have to do this myself and this....it was easy to let things go this time because I was so damn sick.

So, I missed out on the last visit or two. The others went and took pictures. We had a great time. I am going to talk to the doctor about changing my migraine medication. I have been on Imitrex (or the generic form) for about four years and the rebound headaches are killing me. Causing me to take a second tablet the next day to fix the rebound headache. I took another the third day and today I awoke with the same crushing headache.

But, I was home. I had my fan blowing cool air on me. I gulped down three generic Advil (no migraine pill today) and moved around and got my coffee in me.

In no time, the headache was gone and we will see what tomorrow brings when I return to work.

I always take an extra day off after vacation to recuperate. I know from experience that I am drained and can barely function, so I had today off also.

I think I will be ready to tackle getting up and going and having my head on straight by tomorrow  morning.  Whew! These darn headaches just slay me!

Makes me SO angry

This is a picture of some sort of decoration I had hanging from my porch or patio this past summer, or perhaps the summer before. I didn't check the date of the image.

Anyway, I get blood drawn this morning. The procedure where you can't eat or drink anything but water for 12 hours prior. And, I wake up at 4 a.m. I was awake at 3:30 but finally gave up and got out of bed at 4. So here I sit at the computer for over two hours. No coffee, nothing to eat. I am the type of person who cannot eat when they first get up (not many folks can). But within an hour to two hours I am hungry.

And, coffee. I really, really want my coffee. I love sipping my coffee reading all your blogs.

About the time I am supposed to go and get my shower I could really go back to sleep.

It makes me SO angry! And, of course - today is a long day. I have plans after work with the girls from the office to go out and eat. This is where I get giddy and goofy. From sleep deprivation. Some people get grouchy or quiet when they get tired. Not me. I am liked some over-wound toy on crack.

On a brighter note, the downstairs toilet is fixed. No more running water noise. The plumber told me a story (which made me realize partially why they might charge so much).  He said one time he got a call that a lady had water in her basement and could he swing by on his way home.

He got to the house and he said that lady had 3 feet of water in her basement. He said it covered the first three steps. Holy cow! He had turned my water off at the main, and I pointed across the basement to it and I said "You had to wade through three feet of water to turn it off?" He said Yes. I said "Weren't you afraid of getting electrocuted?"  He said 'Yeah, but luckily the electric had all shorted out by then.'

Aw, hell no! You couldn't get me to walk through water not knowing if I was going to get shocked or not. NO THANK YOU! He also mentioned that she had somebody finish her basement and for whatever reason they had covered up all the drains. And really? To work with toilets and sink/bathtub/shower drains. It is gross. Gross, gross, gross.

Well, my head is beginning to ache. My eyes are seeing spots and I am so sick of drinking water. I have to drink lots of water- it makes it so much easier for them to draw blood. Remember that if they have trouble getting blood from  you. Drink lots and lots of water the day before and the morning of the drawing. It really helps. Of course, I had to pee twice during the night which may be why I am up so early.

Games

My family enjoys playing Left,Center, Right and Tripoley after the Thanksgiving meal. I notice that football was scratched from the menu this year. I did hear somebody  mention it, then somebody else said "Wait until after this play" as they were watching football on TV. They never got back to the actual going outside and throwing the ball around. One person did duck out at six and go shopping. She came back by nine with stories to tell us about the chaos.

Left, Center, Right is safe enough. We play with nickles. Only about five of us played that. When the Tripoley board came out, though - it turned to eight and nine. We only play with nickles and it always take a few rounds for us to get into the "swing" of things as we never remember how to play until two or three hands in.

I tallied up that if I had never won any of the money on the board and if we played (I estimated) 25 rounds, and having to pay an average of ten cents at the end of each game the most one could lose was about  $12.50 total. Not too bad if you are working, but for those not working it may be hard. I think the only one we had not working this year was the six year old. My sister made certain that he had his little satchel of nickles, though. He was slow, but most of us were patient. The trick is to wait out the players. Most had to bundle up and leave and the die hards that stayed until the end had the best chance of winning. I was spending the night so I was in for the long haul.

The meal was fantastic. We had way too much. My corn pudding went over very well. As did my cheese ball and tray. The tray consists of various sliced cheeses, pepperoni slices and trail bologna sliced up with spicy mustard. I must have picked out the extra hot jalapeno cheese this year as a lot of people were loving it. Not one of my favorites. I prefer brick/butter/muenster cheese.

Another hit was the cranberry nut bread that I made. I may make more of that today. It goes very quickly.

Today I plan to bake a turkey with all the trimmings. I don't feel like it. Yet. I slept in until 9:00. That is so rare for me. I did not sleep well the night before (being in a strange place) and now I am out of sorts. My head hurt all day yesterday and by evening we were getting a light dusting of snow. The day had started out at 51º . It became colder all day. And, yes - I did have to take a migraine pill later in the afternoon. Ugh!

Sister 1956 and I had planned to spend the night and chat with sister 1944 after the dinner because she is always so sad when it is time for everyone to go and she and her husband and my oldest brother are left in the house. Sister 1954 had to work Friday and was going back that evening until she got wind that we were staying. She was drunk before she even go to the dinner so she was determined to stay. She did until 3:30 a.m. and more or less ruined it for us. Again. She picks at things with us trying to get a reaction. I try to tell the rest of the family not to believe what she says. She starts rumors about family members etc, and my other sisters believe her. I told them the next day not to.

Side note: sister 1954 had a driver and she lives over two hours away. Whether she made it to work on Friday or not  has not been determined. I am almost certain she did. She only had to work 9 to 1 and she usually can function well enough to get by when she is hung over or drunk or both. She has had enough experience doing both.

Now, to go and get that turkey in the oven and peel some potatoes. I can't believe it is 10 o'clock and I have not even had my first cup of coffee. What is wrong with the world? My head will be in a fog all day!

This coffee...

...might make your hair stand on end.

I need a little bit of this about now. I have been getting on average 6 hours of sleep a night since the time change. I hate that. I need more sleep than that. I have my annual presentation at work today. I talk two hours about the appliance I manage. (The filter). I know my subject, but I need to wake up and to be alert. There are still questions I do not know the answers to.

This coffee was located at the same store where I found all the hot sauces. I do have more sauce photos, but my actual images are very blurry so I have taken the liberty to look them up online and downloaded a much cleaner image.

I chuckle at the comments about me hanging around the hot sauce area too long. I must get caught up in what I am doing. I have no idea if people are watching me (hence the creepy lady). My daughter gave up long ago being embarrassed by my antics. Grin.

I requested and received one of these for Christmas. Drat. I just realized I got a silver one. I love this blue. It works just like it says. I did knock it over on my desk and I have to admit a little drop of coffee did appear on the desk, but not like the usual splash or flood of coffee. Yes, I spill my coffee a lot. I knock things over on my desk a lot because I am not organized and I heap things onto my desk and after this many years I doubt that I am going to change.

The other day I had this coffee mug with me returning from a doctor appointment out of town. It was full of luke warm coffee since it was after my appointment. I had an early one so I had not eaten anything and the coffee went down pretty well. I texted my daughter (before leaving the doctor) to meet me for breakfast. She agreed.

I passed an exit and it was a good 8 to ten miles until the next one when BAM! Traffic stopped on the interstate. Both lanes. Ah, I figured. An accident. I had seen one on the way to the doctor and I figured the roads were slippery because of some snowfall.

I placed the car in park and looked around. Ugly scenery. Ugly trucks all around me. A GMC in front of me, a huge Ford in back of me. A huge semi on the right side of me. Sigh.

I texted my daughter that I was stopped in traffic and "may" be late.

I played music. I sang. I looked down. Hmm... there is some coffee left, I think. I took a big swig. Not hot, but it tasted fine. I took another. Something solid entered my mouth and went down with the coffee before I had a chance to think.

I about threw up. WTF was THAT!??

I gagged. I coughed. I think I may have spit. I rolled my window down and dumped what was left of the coffee out.

The only thing I can deduce is that perhaps some creamer clogged in the cup's lid. It is a massive lid with just little tiny openings so that it is spill proof. I am supposed to rinse the lid out thoroughly after each use. Well, who has time for that? I am starting to get sick as I type this. And, guess what? I AM drinking coffee. Not out of that mug, though. That is a "to go " mug and I am sitting at home on the computer.

I recovered. I sat in that traffic one hour and fifteen minutes. I want to tell you sitting there on an empty stomach, drinking all that coffee....well, you know. I REALLY had to pee. What in the hell was I going to do? I was getting uncomfortable. I saw two people take their dogs out. Who are all these people driving around at ten o'clock on a week day morning with their dogs? Wow.

What do the people do who sit in traffic for over four to five hours? I guess you just get out, go over the guard rail and into the bushes. Typing this makes me have to pee.

The accident itself was not too bad - injury wise. One person with minor injuries. I am not completely certain why it took so long for them to clear the two lane road. A semi was involved, perhaps he was turned sideways. I saw the van that the semi hit from behind. Smashed his rear end ALL the way up TO the front seat. It looked to be a working van (Not a family van) so it was just equipment that got smashed in the back. It looked horrible.

My sister-in-law was on the scene. She told me later a dog ran out in front of one of the vehicles. Of course I asked about the dog but they were unclear. She thinks it ran on. I told her I think she was the one ambulance that almost hit me. Emergency vehicles had to drive the berm to get around traffic and get to the scene. She laughed and said she did hit the mirror of one truck, but you have to keep going. Tough luck Mr. Truck driver.

I counted at least seven state highway patrol vehicles that passed by on the berm. Two ambulances, one fire truck and one ODOT truck. I told the people at work that vehicle probably had to pick up the dog. They were horrified. I said "Well, a state patrolman isn't going to put the dog in his trunk."  This was before my SIL told me the dog had run on because they didn't see any dog. Maybe she just said that to make me feel better.

When traffic moved I was able to take the next exit and stop in at a Fast Food place and use their restroom. It was 11:30 by this time and I grabbed some food to go and went straight to the office. I missed brunch with my daughter.

My Mom had so many little sayings over the years. Sitting there in that traffic jam brings back one she always said that was a favorite of mine. In the manner of pondering how much easier it is for a guy to go to the bathroom outside than a girl, she would say,  "Handy thing to have on a picnic!" I love you Mom.

What is residing in your living room furniture?

This is my nephew's cat and chair. Not mine. I loved this photo.

The ear ache started yesterday. Advil helps the best. The rain is pouring. I know "You don't have to shovel rain", but I am not sure I would shovel the snow either. I would just walk and drive right over it. Big whoop. It's snow. It's natural. Leave it alone.

I also am getting a sore throat. I woke up at 1:30 a.m. after going to bed at 10:30. WTF?! I am on my second cup of coffee and just about ready to go back to bed. It is 3:40 a.m.

Should I take the antibiotics the dentist prescribed for me? Is an infection of the tooth that is splitting causing the ear ache? Should I wait two days to see if the ear ache goes away on its own? Hah! Then it is Christmas day and I could possibly spend the day in misery.

Decisions, decisions.

On a side note. I work in an office where some of the employees are school psychologists. One guy told me that the way to test to see if you have ADHD is if you do not respond to caffeine. My second cup of coffee and I think I can sleep better than without it. Huh. Who knew?

Coffee with milk

Makes me want to barf. I am so used to creamer that I cannot stand coffee with milk in it. Since I am so busy (excuses, excuses!) I have not had any time to go to the grocery store where I need so much stuff - one being coffee creamer.

I have been drinking my morning coffee with 1% milk. Barf! I should just drink it black at this stage. Or (horror of horrors) begin adding sugar to it.

And, you know - I do not want to put a downer/damper on your day (so do not click on the following link). Seriously. It will depress you. I was doing some research on September 11 attacks and read this article. I immediately lost my appetite (it was right before a lunch break). I watched a couple of documentaries from National Geographic (very good!) and I personally have no opinion of the memorial they are holding. (As to whether they allow prayer or are allowing the rescue workers to attend).

I remember in my heart.

Coming soon

This is the view from the top of the hill at our motel in WV. This photo was taken last year.

I broke down and bought the coffee. I had to go to wallet mart. I needed other (dry/paper) products. I rarely get my groceries there. I paid $9.78 for a 2 1/2 lb can. When I mentioned the price difference to the cashier she said "Yeah, but 'the grocery store'  has milk cheaper than we do."  She is correct. I guess it all evens out.

I picked up things for the BBQ gift basket that I am making for the reunion.

Gift baskets are a nice way to raise money for an event. Somebody creates a basket with a theme and there is a paper sack or a container for people to place a ticket in. They buy six tickets for five dollars or a dollar each and place the one half of their ticket in the container for that basket.  They keep the other half so they know the number on the ticket if it is called for the winner.

My daughter and I won a puppy basket and a movie basket at a fund raiser earlier this year. 

You can really get carried away. I will (of course) take pictures as I create and assemble the basket. My brother is doing a fisherman themed one, one sister is doing a ladies luxury basket, one a cookie basket, one a lottery and the other one a children's themed basket.

I found a nice basket at Jo-Ann Fabrics for $2. Marked down from $8. I purchased two of them and will give my brother one for the fishing basket. I picked up grilling chips, spatula and tongs, BBQ sauce and grilling seasonings and since Borders is going out of business stopped at Walden's (part of Borders) and found a book on grilling recipes for $4.

The object (at least for me) is to get creative with it and have fun! A lot of it is in the packaging and the display of the basket. The prettier and more attractive it is the better chance it has of getting more tickets.

What big ears you have!

A photo of Belle from a couple of weeks ago. She is changing rapidly. My daughter and her beau cannot see it because they see her every day all day. I see her once a week or so. Her nose is now twice as long, her ears twice as big, a huge tail, very long skinny SKINNY body and lovely almond shaped eyes. The vet says she will fill out. She eats like a horse, or like a growing German Shepherd puppy.

Ugh. my mouse battery is near dead. Sigh. I have a long list for the store today. Very long. I need everything. Double AA batteries and coffee for starters. Yes, my plan to drink coffee at work is fine except I did not take into consideration the week-ends. I had a wee bit left this morning and drank it all. Good to the last drop. I have the time to shop around today to find a better deal than I saw last week at the grocery store. The dollar store has it for $9.95 a 2 1/2 pound can. Maxwell House. Beats the grocery store price of $14.95. Sheesh!  Maybe I can find it on sale somewhere. Sigh. I hate shopping.

Misery loves company

I had a few items on my list of things to get at the grocery store. Coffee was on the list. I came home without it. My reasoning? I'll drink it at work! 

I figure Hell, I have headaches all the time anyway! At least not having my cup of java in the morning will give me a reason to have the headache. At least for a week or so.

I do get my caffeine fix once I get to the office. They have a basket for donations there. I have cut way back on my intake.

Headache? Yeah. But, how would I know if it is from caffeine withdrawal or just my daily nuisance? At least now I have a good reason to feel the pain.

Anyway, I found this mug on line and figured since my boxer has been on my mind a lot lately, I chose this one.

$14.59 for a 2.25 pound container of coffee, my ass!