There's A Reason We Don't Keep Candy In The House

We had a great day. We ended up getting the pups all dressed up and took them out to Osborne Park for the Dog Halloween Party. They had a costume contest. Not really knowing what to expect, we just entered Viking. He ended up winning 3rd place for scariest costume. Ha! Ha! Too cute. He got his picture taken and had to walk in a big circle so everyone could see him. And he got a goody bag filled with treats and a toy. There was even a ribbon attached. Of course he shared with his sister. We then stopped by Petco and Pet Supplies Plus. I definitely miss being able to take them out as much as we did in New Orleans, or even Michigan for that matter. It's not very pet friendly around here and when you only have 1-2 places to go, it goes pretty fast when you take them out. I posted some pictures on Flickr, so make sure you check them out. Tonight we had trick or treating. That was fun. Not as busy as we expected, but it was steady. And I think people appreciated our decorating, at least our older neighbors did anyway. I think a few want to kick their decorating up a notch next year. That'd be fun. It's just not the same as back in the day. I remember going to Aunt Cindy and Uncle Kyle's on central ave and even waiting in like to get candy. They weren't huge lines, but still, the street seemed packed. Of course I was young at the time and everything feels huge when you're young. But that's one of those fond memories that sticks out in my head. Ewwww, I had too much candy while we were waiting for kids to come around. There's definitely a reason why we don't keep candy in the house. I'd eat it! And David was guilty too. As I sit here I can just feel it in my stomach. Yuck! And I hate to say it but we still have a good amount left over....great....ah well. Since it was our first year here we didn't know what to expect. Now we know. Tomorrow's Monday Night Football with the Vikes, so the Henrys will be here to help us cheer them on. Hope everyone has a wonderful beginning to their weeks.

Christmas Craziness

Okay, I'm feeling better now. I don't really think I came down with something. However, I'm not usually a type of person that suffers from allergies. Whatever, either the Zicam worked wonders or I just felt crappy for no reason. I think of writing on here a lot, but it seems as though I never get around to it. Either I don't feel inspired or I just don't have time, which makes no sense, because I should have more time now than I did in the summer. I did take some time to make the website about the McKelvey Plat. If you want to check it out, click here. I hope everyone changed their clocks last night, or your sitting here reading that at the "wrong" time. It's always nice to gain an hour. David and I have been truly crazy with the whole Christmas thing. Yes, we ended up buying an entire tray of blue lights. Hey, they were on sale. And if we have too many, we'll take them back. However I think we'll make use for them all. And we got a few other things for the windows that light up and some new Christmas ornaments. I have always felt I don't need anymore ornaments, which really we don't. My mom and dad always went out the day after Christmas and fought the crowds at hallmark. So then we'd always get the ornaments one year later, which means all of us kids have a decent sized ornament collection of good ornaments. But I've come to the decision, I do not have to put them all on every year. I've always felt obligated to do so, but this year will be different. And of course we found tons of cool ornaments at Kohls and Hallmark has some really cute ones too. It's hard for me to believe it's only October with all of the Christmas around us. But I like Christmas time. Just like fall, it gives me that warm fuzzy feeling. So I'm going to enjoy it. We're going to have the problem we always had when we had leave. Not enough time to enjoy the tree, etc. While David was in the Marines we always had almost a month of leave at the time of Christmas, meaning we put our tree up, left, came back, and then had to take it down. It's not going to be so much like that this year, but with us being gone for over a week, it takes time away for us. I'm sure once New Years hits, or even before, I'll be ready for everything to come down though. But, back to reality, it's Halloween this week and trick or treating tonight. So today we're going to spend a little bit of time putting a few more decorations up outside that normally aren't out (the ones that aren't weather friendly). We may even take the dogs somewhere, so they can wear their costumes. I still have to make a list for things to take to Chicago. Believe it or not, it's here. And as always I must be ready way ahead of schedule. I've already got things mapped out and ready to go in that area. I better get to my daily cleaning ritual before David gets up. Hope everyone has a great fall-filled day!

I Have That Yucky Feeling

I must say I feel kind of crummy right now. Yesterday I woke up with a weird throat feel. Not really sore, but just not right. Then last night I was achy. This morning I just feel weird. Nose is a little more stuffed and I still feel achy. I'm using the Zicam in hopes that it lessens the time of whatever I have. Because don't you know I'm going to Chicago in a week. This cold will not stop me! I had the day off yesterday but needless to say it didn't feel as though I did. I had a list of things to do and hardly got anything done. It was time to take 2 exams for my classes. And each exam had two parts. They are timed but the good thing about them is you can retake them. And in the past I’d do well, but I’d always retake them to get a new bank of questions and to try getting as best of grade as I could on them. Well, this time was no different, with the exception that I felt as though I didn’t know any of the answers! So I kept taking them, saving the text to Word (for future reference), and then retaking them. However, at this point I was just hoping for a passing grade. Say what? Yeah, I don’t know if what they’re teaching isn’t matching up or if I’m just not absorbing what I’m learning. Not to mention as stated in a previous post, I’m “learning” things that I will NEVER use again. Things that doctors usually are learning in school. Whatever, I took them and it’s over with. At least those exams. Thank God I can retake them as many times as I want. It just took me an entire day! Last night I tried posting of Blogger but it said the site was under maintenance. And this morning I could sign in but when I went to post it said that it was not connected with Blogger. So I don’t know what’s up. But right now I’m typing in Word and then plan on transferring it to the site. Hopefully that works. We’re getting involved in this group that trying to better our community, especially our neighborhood. So last night we had our second meeting for that. I feel as though it’s going to be a long process, especially to get fire under other people’s butts. But I think at the same time, it’s worth it. According to city officials we’re located on what used to be know as the McKelvey Plat. So we’re trying to go off of that. We’re thinking of small ideas that could possibly lead to bigger ideas to make us a more connected and possibly more picturesque neighborhood. As stated, we need to get more people involved. But our ideas to begin with are….starting a form of “honey do” list and then individuals in the area can help each other, since everyone has different sets of skills. Kind of like forming more camaraderie. And having monthly meetings to get more people involved. And then to take the neighborhood farther, apply for a grant through the city to install special street signs in the area of the plat so it’s distinguishable to everyone, building a sign for when you enter the neighborhood, plaques for everyone’s house, spray painting everyone’s address on the curb/sidewalk, trying to get the city involved in taking some of our huge trees down that mess up the sidewalks, and then replant smaller ones that could all possibly be decorated for the holidays. So ideas such as that. Anyone have any other ideas? But with anything, we must start somewhere, which is where we are. We brought up the idea of starting a form of a website and I threw my name out there to help. They seemed up for it, so I think I’m going to build another blog and go from there. I figured it’s free, and it will definitely suffice for what we need right now. Hopefully it would help get everyone on the same page and let everyone know what’s going on with pics and stuff. Anyway, when I get that up and running I’ll get ya’ll to check it out. I better continue getting ready for work.. Have a great day!

Monday's Thought For The Day

Restful Weekend

Hello! As always I tend to ingnore this thing and then when I sit down I have tons to write and I feel as though I'm writing a book here. Today will be no different. I decided to take Friday off. The schedule looked good and I was "sick". The office manager was on the bandwagon with me, the doctor wasn't. For all he knows, I was at work on Friday (he was out of state, remember?) And if you remember he had forgotten about trying to give me Tuesday off, so I figured when I show up tomorrow he won't remember that he told me to take Monday off and not Friday. Whatever. So I took Friday off. I didn't really sleep in though. Mom invited me to Grandparents Day at Cassidy's school, so I figured I'd go with her. I know I'm not a grandparent, but Dad couldn't go since he was working, and I figured I'd just take his place. Mom took the day off specifically for that. It was great. We got to see where she went to school and then her locker and desk, and got to meet her teacher. See read a book to us and we even got to play a game with her. I think she was happy that we came, as there were some kids that didn't have anyone. I took some pictures while we there. They're posted on our Flickr account. I'll get back to my story, but I heard a few of you were having a hard time figuring out the Flickr thing. I have it set up a few ways to get to it from here. First, you can see the "badge" to the left with all the pictures. If you click on "what is this" it will come up with "This is a Flickr badge showing public photos from heidihvt....." If you click on heidihvt, it will take you immediately to our collection. Second, if you scroll down on the left side of the screen you'll see a section that says "Heidi's Links" and below it says "Our Flickr Collection." If you click on that, it will take you immediately there also. (You do not have to perform both of those to get there, but I figured you can choose whatever's easiest for you.) Usually I post that I've posted new pictures but if you keep an eye on the badge and see new pictures, then that means I've posted some (it shows our most recent pics). When I post a picture in our collection it puts it in our main pool of pictures and then I can choose to put in a specific "set". So you can either browse through the pool (shown from most recent on) or choose a set which are listed on the right side of the screen. Hope this clears any problems that you may be having. Please let me know if you have any issues. So back to my story.....after Grandparents Day mom and I decided to go on a mission. Just last week mom saw on Oprah the (Product) Red stuff. If you missed it, check out Oprah's Site. It's a cool concept that Bono from U2 and another guy thought of. It links this concept with companies in order to support the prevention and treatment of Aids in the world and especially Africa. Basically how it works is there are certain products from certain companies called "red products". When you buys these products a certain amount of the proceeds goes toward helping. And these "red products" aren't necessarily red in color, some are, but not all. For instance, Gap is one of the companies participating. They have these shirts that say Inspi(red) or Empowe(red). They even have coats, normal jeans, bags, and accessories that are part of the (Product) Red line. With their products, 50% profit goes to the organization. And some of the products are even made in Africa, or the material comes from there. You get the concept. So mom and I went on a mission to find shirts. I had the 3 closest Gaps mapped out and all. We found our Inspi(red) shirts at the first stop. Sweet! They didn't have as much as we hoped for, but we got something. I don't think they have all of their products out that they are planning to release, since there are certain sayings that we had hoped to find and didn't. Of course they plan on keeping this organization as an ongoing effort. With the Gap signing on for at least a couple years, I think that they plan on releasing items throughout that time and not all at once. But of course with the demand they are going to start out at their Flagship store and then trickle on down to the rest. Needless to say, I can't wait to go to the Gap in Chicago! I think the whole (Product) Red is an interesting concept. As my mom and I discussed, we cannot go to Africa or anywhere else for that matter, to help. We'd love to be able to, but we can't. And just with the buying power that we have, we can give in just a small way. And as I stated, the products are cool anyway. If you want to know more about (Product) Red, check out their site.So we did that and then we still headed to the Great Northern Mall. We had a great lunch at Brown Bag Burgers. I definitely recommend it. VERY good and VERY affordable. Even one of the Cleveland News Channels recommended it. We went to the mall and walked around. Didn't find much but did find these super cute bandanas for the pups. This woman made them and she even had a Minnesota Vikings one. And for a couple dollars more she embroidered Viking's name on it. He's so handsome. So all in all we had a great day. It was nice to spend time with my mom and to be able to chill. We didn't do much else the rest of the day. On Saturday I woke up early to mow the lawn while David was at work and then as usual we bummed around and then finally ended up at a friend's house watching the OSU game. While we were out bumming we bought our first Christmas lights for the season. I can't believe it. It's right around the corner. We're going to have a "blue house" for Christmas. We've always loved houses that are all blue lights outside, so we figured we're try it. As for our tree I think we're going to go with teal, purple, and blue lights, with our usual Hallmark ornaments. I swear, we change the color of our tree lights every year. This year will be no different. On Saturday night we had hoped to go to the movies but were blindsided with the fact that they aren't showing the ones we want to see around here. First, Nightmare Before Christmas 3D. I guess it has to be shown on a specific screen and the closest one is in Columbus. That's a no go. And Marie Antoinette. The closest one for that is in Elyria. Since we had just been to Elyria last week and mom and I up that way on Friday that was a no go either. So we sat at home, with our candles lit, watching our Nightmare Before Christmas. Of course I fell asleep. Today we woke up and David surprised me by taking me to McDonald's for breakfast. Okay, I know it's only McDonald's, but he took us down to Jackson Street Pier and we sat watching and eating. Those are the times I cherish and want to hold on to forever. We did our usual grocery shopping and David had NFL Sunday with his dad while his mom and I tried to figure out my sewing machine. It's been over a year since I used it and it's amazing how little details slip your mind. We figured it out and I finally finished altering Viking's and Lily's Halloween costumes. I'll post pictures soon....too cute. We had a our last bit of weekend freedom a little while ago....Cold Stone. Yum! Tomorrow it's back to work. But hey, one more week closer to Chicago and Disney!!!! Smile Everyone!

Just to fill you in on all that happened yesterday.....I went to work, and my coworker wasn't mad at me. She was actually glad I showed up. And she didn't get called away to her child. The morning wasn't too bad and more than likely she could've handled it. But as expected when surgeries hit it was a good thing I had decided to come in. I could only have imagined how long it would've taken for them to have them completed. The office manager thanked me for coming in, the doctor didn't even remember he had told me to take the day off. Say what? So I sat up worried all night.....However I did plant the seed about Friday and Doc said, "how about monday" Boo, I'd rather have friday off. Of course the office manager and doctor disagreed again and the office manager said I could take it off as long as the schedule looks light. And this time I'm going to follow the office manager's advice! So as always, it's a wait and see. I don't know if I proved my integrity to the doctor. And I'm not really sure about the office manager either. I think I have already proved myself in the past so it wasn't that big of a surprise that I showed up. And I must say they still tend to notice the little things I do that I don't even think anything of...and they acknowledge me for them. I know my other coworkers appreciated it. And my heart and mind definitely appreciated it....it took a load off. Thanks for all of your words of advice. Love to you all!

Anxiety? What Anxiety?

Hello all! Today was an interesting day (what day isn't?) Try following me on this one.....My boss comes up to me first thing and says, "how was your weekend?" As usual I reply with a hearty "great!" and continue about my business. Later, he pulls me aside and says, "we were kind of worried about you last week. Did you get enough rest?" Once again, I say I was fine and even slept in until 10:00 on Sunday. He then continues saying, "well, what can we do to make sure you don't get burnt out again? I think you should take tomorrow off." ? ? ? I kind of look at him confused and say, "I'm fine, I've been fine, and really I don't need a day off." So about 15 minutes later the office manager (his wife) approaches me and says the same thing. So I finally say, "I'll take a day off, but only at your request...it's not my choice." So I go through the day thinking I'm having tomorrow off. And of course I begin to think to myself "this isn't going to be half bad. I'm going to get paid for a day off of work. sweet" Then the end of the day comes and drama begins. We look at the schedule for tomorrow and it's packed, including 3 procedures that require anesthesia. With me not coming in that leaves only 1 tech and 1 receptionist to carry the burden. I pull the office manager aside and say, "hey, do you REALLY want me to take the day off, it looks kind of hectic. I'm more than willing to come in, but I definitely don't want to be called in when the day's half over" She says, "no, we'll be fine. Just pass it by Doc to make sure." So I ask Doc the same question and he says, "crap, you better come in." Then the office manager says to him, "no, we'll be fine." So I said, "well, how about taking Friday off...." You see, him and the office manager will be gone, meaning less appointments, plus it'll allow me to have a 3 day weekend. And Doc says, "oh, this morning you don't want to take time off, but now you do." How dare him! So I explain, "when you have something given to you, then taken away, it kind of sucks." But he said, "no, that's not a good idea because they wouldn't have any back up if necessary." And the office manager said (in front of everyone) "You've been stiffed by the others, what difference would it make" Which is true. As stated in the last post, I'm always the one being called in. Being the low man on the totem pole and not having kids kind of puts me there......I'm the only tech that works full time now since the others have children. So we left it at me not coming in and then the girls tomorrow being slammed. Not something good to do. So the tech that was working today (not the same one tomorrow) was saying, "ooooh, she's going to be pissed tomorrow" and "when we worked full time we never got days off." So here we go.....I'm sitting there with tons of anxiety about ready to cry. I don't even want to take a day off and then it's going to come back on me, making me look bad. What's up with that? I didn't want to call the tech for tomorrow, I just couldn't. So the tech from today called the tech for tomorrow and then I finally received a phone call from the tech for tomorrow. She was fine with me, but was still pissed. Not to mention one of her kids is sick and she may even receive a phone call to leave work tomorrow to go pick him up. Which would leave the clinic with no one, and they're going to end up calling me. And she tells me not to pick up my phone, and just leave them hanging out there. So what am I to do? This is just straight up ridiculous. I'm darned if I do and darned if I don't. If I don't go in I'll leave the tech hanging and then possibly get called in or choose to leave the clinic hanging. And if I go in then the tech may get "mad" at me because she was hoping to make a point of the whole situation (calling the office manager out) and I may be screwed (once again) if she has to leave to pick up her kid. I just hate tension. I've already been in the situation where my coworkers don't care for me, and I never want to go back. I don't think my coworkers would make me an outcast, but you know how people talk and nit pick. What would you do? So after much thought and prayer, I feel there is only one answer. Go in to work as usual. It's just not me to leave anyone hanging. In my heart I can't do it. Call me a sissy or whatever you want, but that's how I stand. My coworker may not be able to call the office manager out, but the way I look at it, there will be less tension that way. And you never know, maybe they'll offer me a different day off (especially if I get screwed again). It doesn't matter anyway, since it wasn't my idea to begin with. Nothing lost. Nothing gained. I'll keep you posted. So did ya'll follow all of that????

Monday's Thought For The Day

Whirlwind Of A Week

As usual, it's my last bit of quiet time before the hectic week starts. Last week was a whirlwind to say the least. As posted I got tons of stuff done on Wednesday and as soon as Thursday hit, it didn't slow down. Work has been as busy as busy as ever, and I must say the clients are getting meaner and meaner. I'm figuring it's the state of the economy around here in addition to people's job security. And at this point I hate to say it but I can just see it getting worse throughout the holiday season and winter months. You know, when February/March hits, everyone seems to be in the gloomy stage. I can remember when I worked up in Michigan and the winter gloom hit. I swear I got yelled at by clients on a daily basis. I just continue to grin and bear it and just remind myself they aren't trying to target me. It's hard for them to understand that I too am going through ecomonical/emotional struggles too. But anyway, it's been very busy. I even got called in to work on Friday morning. 3 out of 5 times I'm called in early so I just wish I could go in early all the time but they don't want me to get "burned out" and since I already average about 48 hours per week they'd prefer not to pay me anymore overtime. I like being busy because that's what I thrive on, constantly moving, thinking "what can I be doing now to make things go smoother and to make the most of my time." When it ends, I sit down and crash for a few moments, and then the adrenaline kicks in again and my mind just won't stop. It's horrible because one part of my mind says, "no, I can't go on." and the other says, "go, go, go!" So last night I took a Tylenol PM and boy did it work.....I slept until 10 this morning. That's got to be a record for me....at least for the past couple years. And I must say it was a pretty lazy weekend, I think because of the craziness of the week. I got off later than expected on Saturday (of course, I ended up working over) and so we decided to have a late lunch and headed up to Elyria for Texas Roadhouse. It's one of our favorite restaurants. It's the typical steak place with peanut shells on the floor, etc. but their rolls and cinnamon/sugar butter are to die for. We used to go there all the time when we lived in NOLA but we don't have one here (probably a good thing). And if you know us, we will travel for food that we love. So that's what we did. Our trip was unexpected, but that's what makes life fun. It sounded good, so off we went. Then we made a stop at Target to try and find me the long sleeved tees that they carry (ours didn't have my size). I got what I wanted and since we were already up near there, we stopped at the Avon Commons to check out Old Navy. I must say that Old Navy's let me down over the past 2 years. And it totally bums me out. I used to LOVE their clothing before it became popular and now I just don't like the styles they come out with. I don't think they're quality is that great and as with everything, the price just continues to rise. I used to be able to grab a cart and fill it and at this pint I may be lucky to find one thing I like during one season. And with my luck it won't fit. I can't tell you how many jeans I've bought from there that never fit right. And I can't say that it's because I'm older, because I don't even think they're trying to target the tweens or teens, but possibly the late 20's to early 30's group. I dunno, they keep continuing on with this bohemian type of look or something....Okay, now I know I'm not making sense at all. But you get the idea. I'm not ready to Boycott yet, I'm still giving them a chance, but at this point it's not looking too bright. Hey, at least they got on the dog clothes bandwagon and David still likes to get his jeans there. Some pluses for them. Enough about that. We decided to head home after our short trip but instead of going the highway we took the "coastal trail" on the lake. It's always a nice ride and it's fun to remember all the fun times David and I had when we were dating and would drive that same route just to have something to do. Just adding more great memories. We crashed when we got home. I fell asleep on the couch while David watched the Ohio State game. And then finally had a late dinner, cameo pizza. It had been forever since we have had it (I'm talking probably 6+ years), and it was great. While David went to pick it up I chose a movie to watch...Phantom of the Opera. Surprisingly I stayed awake and that was our Saturday. As I stated, I slept in until late on Sunday, then decided to finally get off our butts and headed out to Harvest Happenings with David's mom. It was perfect weather for it. We didn't stay out their that long, but long enough to enjoy fall, see Mona and her animal's, and to check out the photographs. As expected I didn't get to take home any ribbons, but I definitely think I'd like to submit more pictures in the future. It made me feel good in my heart to show off something I'm proud of. And as with anything, I don't need a ribbon in order to prove something. Me just going through the steps of taking the pictures, having them developed, and submitting them proves to myself that I can do it and have fun at the same time. It's still great to be evolving as a person. I can only hope that my mind stays as open in the future as it is now, so that I can continue to strive to do thing's I never thought of doing and possibly excelling at them. Cassidy's birthday is today, so we stopped by her party at skate world. As with all children's birthday parties, it was crazy. And we ended our evening with a quiet family dinner incuding homemade apple crisp, thanks to Sita...And here I am. David's in bed and I have the animal's quietly sleeping around me... It's getting late and time for bed. Sleep tight everyone!

Gotta Love My Days Off

Yesterday was my day off. And as usual, I got tons of stuff done. And most of it all by noon. Sweet. So on Tuesday I heard on the radio that Harvest Happenings is going on this weekend and that they have a photo contest. They gave all of the rules and said you can drop off the pictures at a certain time on Tuesday or Wednesday. So I sat all day debating whether to do it or not. Since I had Wednesday off I could get some pictures printed and get them out there. So After work we headed to pat catans to get some mats and then I uploaded some a few pictures to the Walmart photo site to pick up on Wednesday morning. I don't expect to win anything, but at only $1 for entrance fee per picture, I figured it's worth a try. I guess if you win you have to go out and get your picture taken and there is a cash prize. There are about 8 different genres you can enter. Whatever, we'll see. It gave me something to do and hopefully people will enjoy seeing them. Since I had to print out pictures for that I figured I'd print out the rest of my pictures, and boy was I glad that I did. You see, I take tons of pictures and save them all to CD in respective folders, however I pick and choose pics to print and keep a file on the computer. And then every so many months I put them on a CD and take them in to be printed. Well, 315 pictures later, I had them printed. Kind of costly. I guess I waited a bit too long. But I guess considering that about 100 of them were downtown sandusky pictures, it's not too bad. Well, now they're printed and already organized in albums. I also mopped the kitchen, cleaned the entire downstair's hardwood floors, and even vacuumed and shampooed our bedroom carpet. Ahhh, much better. I made sure to stop by the BMV to transfer my tags to the new car. It seemed to take forever to get the title. I was worried there was going to be a late fee, but there wasn't. Oh, and guess what? I paid off our Disney trip! That's a good feeling. Now we have almost no money, but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end. We had the 'rents over for dinner. I made this chili cheese dog casserole. It was ok, but not the best. I guess you could say it was a learning experience. And if I were to ever make it again then the directions will be slightly different. Next week I plan to make pulled pork. Hopefully that will go better. Can't go too wrong with a crock pot. Last night we went out to the mall...surprise, surprise. I decided to get Cassidy's birthday present...her birthday is Sunday. I figured you can't go wrong at Claires. I used to love that store, actually I should say, I love that store. Me going in there is a dangerous thing. They have so many fun, cute things. Yes, things you don't really need, but it's still fun. So anyway, I got her this little bag and then tons of stuff to load it up. Makeup, pens....all that type of good stuff. I'm sure she'll like it. If she doesn't I'll just have to keep it for myself. Just kidding! Have a Happy Thursday!

Ride On!

So you're probably wondering if we had fun at CP. I don't think I've ever had so much fun feeling as though I wanted to vomit. And I've never heard my husband scream like a girl before. But it was SO freakin' fun. I didn't even have time to take pictures. We started out with the Iron Dragon thinking, "this is a good starter" and it was. Then David said, "man, I wish we could go on millenium force." (We've never been on it and we haven't been on any big rides in at least a few years. Not to mention David doesn't do to well with motion sickness, etc). So I said, "well, it's now or never because next year we're going to be one year older and it will be even harder for us to try to get ourselves on it." So we did it (of course after David took some Dramamine). Oh my gosh. As we entered the platform I could feel my heart coming out of my chest. And then as we headed up the hill....ooh my head was spinning in circles. I don't think I've ever called out to Jesus more in my life. And then we went......Wooooooo! It was awesome. Man, I was pumping my fists in the air and all. Sweet. I so wanted to ride again. We continued on and did a few other of the usual rides and that evening stopped by the Skyhawk. I think this ride is every kid's dream when they're young...you know how you try to swing higher and higher. It was a great ride. I just wish it was a bit longer. And I have to say my anxiety wasn't too bad before I got on. We headed back to the front going through the Fright Zone on Frontier Trail. I've never seen the trail as busy as it was. It was almost wall to wall people. They did a very good job of scaring people and the atmosphere. With all the fog and the type of lighting it's pretty freaky. Let's just say I hid my head in David's arm almost the entire walk. But it was a fun...you're thinking you have it figured out where the people are, and then all of the sudden they're in front of you! Ahhh! Then we ended with the Dragster. Just like Millenium, it's kind of like do it now, or never. You only live once, right? Once again, the anxiety took over and I couldn't believe I was getting on this thing. The take off is definitely the big to do with the ride. It's amazing how fast it goes. The view from the top is great too, even though you're only there for a second or two. The fall wasn't such a big deal as I thought it was going to be. I don't even remember having a weightless feeling. But that could be because it went so fast! It's amazing how "out of shape" you become with thrills. It's like I had to program myself all over again, since it had been so long. I used to ride the rides day in and day out with no problem. But after getting on them, I know I could keep going now. I wish we had the money for passes, ah well. So all in all it was a great day. We even got to play our skee ball that we love. And I've decided if I'm ever rich I'm gonna have skee ball in my house. I even got David on my favorite ride as a kid....Troika. He'll never go on it again, but at least I got him on it once. The waits for the rides weren't horrible, however, you waited for everything....even rides you usually don't wait for, including Gemini. And the we got our beloved food. That took forever too since everyone working was a volunteer. But well worth the wait. I just looked at it as though it was a warm up for going to Disney. I am more excited than ever. I don't see how I can get more excited, but I'm sure I'll convince myself otherwise. Today mom and I did go to the Harvest For Antiques in Birmingham. We had a great time, even though mom was feeling under the weather. I got some yard work done too. And our family dinner went well as usual. Hope everyone has a great start to their week. Hope you feel better mom!

Go Buckeyes!

Halloweekends

Well, our heat is finally on. For the past few weeks I've been trying to keep the windows open and use as less energy as we can. No A/C, no heat. And I would have to say we were pretty successful. But when it gets uncomfortable to get out of bed in the morning and when Lily was just laying there shaking in her sweater, I knew it was time. This weekend should be decent, so more than likely it won't kick on until the evening hours, but next week it's supposed to be in the 50's, so I'm sure it will be on. Ah, it was nice to get out of bed and walk downstairs in a warm house, with the sun shining in the windows. Refreshing. And today's finally the day. We're going to go to CP. It should be perfect....at least that's what I'm hoping for. Jeans, a sweatshirt, and maybe even a hat. No huge crowds either. Yes, that's the way I like it. I'm kind of nervous about the evening hours though. I don't want to get freaked out too much by roaming zombies. Believe it or not I've never been in a haunted house. I think I'd be able to handle it, but I'm kind of jumpy when it comes to things jumping out at me. You just never know where my hands will go...probably in someone's face or something...not good. Hey, when I was a kid I couldn't even play hide and seek. I hated it. Too much anxiety, I'd just pee my pants. Not a good thing. To this day I won't play it for that reason. Yes, we all know that I'm crazy. We may be going to Birmingham tomorrow to this arts, crafts, harvesty type of thing. Mom heard about it and brought it up. Sounds like fun to me. David won't be going though due to football and Sunday being his "lazy day" of the week. The Twins lost last night so that allows the Vikes to play tomorrow instead of monday, which he's happy about. Then of course we're having our weekly family meal. Chili dogs and Brats on the grill. Yum. Ya'll have a great weekend!

Why Must I Have Another Pet Peeve?

Okay, so I have this pet peeve. Yes, we all know I have many of these (something I'm trying to work on), but this one just hit me yesterday. I called Grandma and Grandpa Q last night. I wanted to ask them a question about something I was sending them and basically just to see how they're doing. So we're sitting there talking. Not much about anything important, just seeing what's new....just talking how anyone would talk on the phone. We hadn't been talking but a few minutes and all the sudden I hear Grandpa in the background say something to Grandma about "stop talking too much" Or something on those lines. So she says, "well, I know this is costing you money, so I better let you go." And I said, "actually it's not, don't worry about it." and she comes back abruptly saying, "okay, love you guys, bye." What's up with that? Now I know you're going to be reading this Grandma, so please don't take offense to this, but I got to get it out there. This isn't the first time this has happened. I can totally understand if they have to go eat dinner or a show is coming on. In a circumstance such as that, just say "hey, I can't talk long" or "now's not a good time". But in the situations we've been in I have a feeling this isn't what's happening. Just considering my timing, etc. I'm putting two and two together and have figured that Grandpa's telling her to get off the phone. Now I know I don't call as often as I should, but this is one of the reasons why I don't. You know, sometimes I just want to shoot the shit and not have a reason to call. And even when we're not talking about something "important" those are the moments I cherish. Just hearing a caring voice that I don't get to hear that often. And I like to know what's going on in the lives of individuals that I care about and that are close to me. Once again, I don't expect anyone to stop everything they're doing when I call. And the world shouldn't revolve around me, but this is just crazy. So Grandma, when I call, just talk to me. Forget about Grandpa trying to get you off the phone. I think I can take a few minutes out of his time with you to speak to you. Or even to speak to him for that matter. According to what you said last night, you both don't get out as much as you used to, which in my mind means that you would have the time to talk. And maybe I can even lighten your day a bit. Don't worry about costing me money. I have TONS of minutes on my phone that it doesn't even enter my mind. Even if I didn't have the minutes I'd spend that extra 40 cents a minute to talk to you guys. And it doesn't cost you a cent to talk to me. You're already paying for your home phone...use it. And you're not wasting my time or gabbing my head off. The point of me calling is to hear you talk. And as stated above, if you can't talk or just don't feel like talking, let me know, or even easier, you don't have to answer the phone. This isn't something I'm taking personal. And I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings. I just felt that I should put it out there because in my heart I feel it needs to be said, and it bugs the crap out of me. Enough said, thanks for listening ya'll!

Sleep Sheep

I know, I know, I haven't posted much. I haven't been much in the mood. And since we've been trying to eat at home more I've found myself trying to make things the night before so I don't have to do it when I get home or have to make David make them. Then last night it was time for me to go out and work in our "garden". Let me tell you about the garden. I think I've already written about this but I must say I'm too lazy to go back and look. Anyway, at least you'll have an update. There's this corner in our backyard that I'm working on. It was very pretty but was way overgrown with grape hyacinths in the spring. There were tons of tulips too. However, it's such a large area to take away from the yard for just a few weeks out of the year. So about 2 months ago mom and I pulled out all of the stone edging and angled it off (used to be a square). Then I just kept digging and digging....all of these clusters of bulbs (figuring mostly grape hyacinths) were coming out. Then I would come out a week later and there were more bulbs that came to the surface. So ever since then I've been spending 1-2 hours per week out there digging up bulbs. Then about a month ago something started to sprout up. So I was digging out something that I wasn't sure was. But it has started to slow down, so I haven't dug out there for about two weeks. So it was time last night. Not too bad. I think it only took 30-45 minutes. Sweet. We still need to add fill dirt but I don't want to do that until at least the end of next spring. Because I'm sure you'll find me out there right at the beginning of spring digging out any sprouts that are coming up. I think in about a year or so we'll be able to plant grass. Patience....something I'm not good at. It's wednesday. Half way there. And the weekend is supposed to be super nice. Ah, maybe we'll finally be going to CP. Only a high near 63 Saturday. Perfect. Maybe I'll even be able to catch a few shots. David and I figured we'll probably have some time, since we're planning on making a day of it. Not to mention, everyone I've spoken to has said that the crowds are so small.....most of the rides you can walk right on. That's the way I like it. No crowds, in jeans and a sweatshirt. Maybe even a hat. Good to go. This week I've been kind of tired. However, I've been getting to sleep way earlier than normal (9:00) and even waking up before my alarm goes off. Say what?! Yeah, dunno what's up with that. Just like the good 'ol days in high school. I've been dreaming a lot too, and even remembering my dreams. I'm figuring it's because of the cooler weather. But that's just an hypothesis. But considering the past 2 days were on the warmer side....I think that debunks my hypothesis. Anyway, whatever. Guess what? It's someone's birthday today. Can you guess who?! If you guessed Justin....DING DING DING, YOU'RE RIGHT! So don't forget to holla at him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY J!!!!!!

Monday's Thought For The Day

New Project

Hello Everyone. As the weekend comes to a close it's now time for me to sit down and chill for a moment. Friday night was quite uneventful as we just bummed around, got some grocery shopping done, and got to bed at a decent time since we both had to work on Saturday. Work went fine. After hours I went with one of the doctor's to perform a home euthanasia for one of our good clients. As the baby grand piano played itself in the background, the wonderful boy slowly drifted to sleep. I'm sure Toto was there to greet him because about 1 minute into the procedure the piano began to play a slightly upbeat tune. I could just see them dancing up there. Call me crazy, but I know I'll see them both again....someday. We then came back to the clinic to find an "emergency". Yes, we had already closed for the day but one of our clients called Doc and we just happened to arrive all at once. So the day ended up being slightly longer than expected but I don't mind. I got to be there for the animals that needed me, and of course I do not mind overtime. It was a rainy almost the entire day so once again it was just a bumming sort of day. The OSU game didn't come on until late, so we weren't that productive. After dinner we decided to stop at Meijer and get a few pumpkins, and call David's 'rents to see if they'd like to come over for the game and to paint the pumpkins. It's too early to carve, so we sat around watching the game and painted our pumpkins. A good, peaceful night. We slept in today and then I got up and made some cookies for our dinner tonight. Mom and I did our usual thing at the mall during the football game. Afterwards mom brought up the idea of going out and taking pictures. So that's what we did. I've decided that I'd like to start taking pictures of churches in the area. So she hauled me around as I jumped out of the car to snap shots. I had fun, and I hope mom did too. Thanks mom! I'm not sure exactly where I'm going with taking all these pictures. Do I want to do ALL of the churches in Sandusky, or mainly just the older ones??? I dunno. We'll have to see. I'm sure this "project" will take several weeks. However, you can see one of my shots below from today. After finishing up running around, we had our new weekly dinner tradition. Spaghetti, homemade meatballs (courtesy of Sita), Cedar Villa dressing, salad, and italian bread. Yum! And as always we had a good time. Hope everyone else had good weekends!