Today - feeling righteous

Well, today I gave blood. It worked this time. Sometimes I guess I am not hydrated enough when I go and the blood stops flowing just before I have the bag filled. So disappointing. But the Red Cross called last night, saying that they really needed my blood type (O positive), so I said I would go in. Last night I startd drinking water and then this morning when Dave and I went to breakfast, I drank coffee and water, plus I had about two bottles of water over and above what I had at breakfast. Needless to say, I had to use the restroom four times while I was at the Red Cross. But, success! I was able to give up my precious pint of blood and pushing me closer to the 8 gallon mark. This is the only charity work that I do.

Then Dave and I decided to start our spring and summer routine - hiking on the weekends. For some reason, hiking is easier on me than "walking". Not sure why. I have less pain in my joints. I dressed warm, put a knee brace on my left knee, put an arch brace on my right foot, packed our backpack with water, combos, binoculars, and camera. I checked the backpack to see what else I had in there: first aid kit, sewing kit, ibuprofen, kleenex, sunblock, disinfectant hand gel and a insect bite relief stick. Yep, we were prepared for anything.

We took off for Kensington Metro Park and headed straight for the nature trails. We took the 2.5 mile hike around the pond. This is some of the scenery along the way.


Mama swan was sitting on her nest.










Dave and I stopped to rest and look out over the lake/pond.


A whooping crane posed for a picture. He blends in pretty good. He is in the center towards the bottom of the picture in the water and weeds.


The highlight of the hike is at the end. There is a large group of trees in the pond/lake and there are millions of nests at the top of the trees. The great herons nest there. They are awesome.

So we were able to hike the 2.5 miles with minimal problems. To me that seems pretty good considering we have been quite sedentary during the winter. Hopefully we will be doing this every weekend we can.

April Fooled

Dave was checking out his MAC bulletin board and he found that it had been hacked. The website that came up instead of the bulletin board had a name on it. George P. Burdell. I looked up the name and found out that this person is the oldest and greatest student of Georgia Tech. He has shown up in history for the last seventy years.

Well, when I told Dave that he mentioned that the person that runs the bulletin board is a Georgia Tech graduate. Then when he tried to get back into the website, the site said, "Sucker". It was an April Fool's Joke. It fooled Dave.

The George P. Burdell story is quite interesting.....here it is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_P._Burdell

http://cyberbuzz.gatech.edu/tbook/traditions/burdell.html

http://www.ncaabbs.com/forums/mac/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=32652


Has anyone else heard of George P. Burdell?

The Smart Girl's Guide to SPORTS

I have a delimna. I was reading this book and enjoyed the first chapter about basketball. The author had some stuff in the book that I didn't know yet and she has a witty way of writing. So I looked forward to the next chapter, which was about football. The second paragraph of this chapter turned me off and I have not been able to read any further. I know it is petty, but I dislike what she said and now cannot get past it. It has been two or more weeks and I still cannot get past this.

This is what offended me:

"One could argue that you have to be a little dumb to play a game where guys who can weigh 300 or more pounds - most of it muscle - come charging at you with all their might to bash into you and knock you down. Human instinct would compel you to run for your life in the opposite direction. But the truth is that football is too complex to be played by dumb players. Of course, some player are smarter than others. (But this is also the case with our esteemed presidents. Need I remind you that our current president has trouble staying conscious and eating pretzels at the same time?)

I cannot even read any further. This seems like a very cheap shot. I don't like the reference. Up until now, I have enjoyed her wit, but this is not witty. It is mean and untrue. It is like laughing at someone who trips and falls and goes into a coma.....okay that is extreme. But anyone can choke on something they are eating, and passing out is the normal consequence of having your airway cut off by something that you are eating. Geesh. I don't know if I will ever be able to finish reading this book. Maybe I will get over it....maybe.

ncaa dance

This blog is for the men that might be reading this. Hubby Dave wrote an editorial about the NCAA selection that some may find insightful or just funny. comments welcome.

http://www.macreportonline.com/Vindication.html

putting myself in others shoes

Sometimes I thimk I have a gift...at least I think it is a gift. Or maybe I just think way too much of myself. I think I am like the Counselor Deanna Troi from Star Trek, the Next Generation. ( Counselor Deanna Troi, a half-human/half-alien (Betazoid) empath with the ability to read emotions and sense what is happening around her. "Deanna is also a very wise person...) There have been times in my life where I think (and hope) that my ability as an empath has helped someone else. I think that I am able to tell (fairly accurately) what someone's mood is.

The problem is that I also take on the mood of the other person way too easily. If Dave is in a bad mood, then it is hard for me to distance myself and let him get himself out of the bad mood. I remember Mindy and I talking about this "ability" to take on the mood of others. We both lamented that it was hard to learn to recognize when we were taking on the feelings of the other person and getting upset ourselves. This also is why I cry so easily at movies and when reading books. I have trouble watching violent movies because I can sometimes physically feel pain when watching. I have noticed lately that when I see someone on TV fall on concrete or something like that, that a jolt goes through my body as if my body just fell also. It is a very uncomfortable feeling, although the jolt doesn't last long, so it is tolerable. I have not heard of anyone else having this same thing happen to them.

I have been able to help people with their relationships with other people, because I can sometimes articulate to them what the other person is feeling or thinking.

Just recently someone was talking to me about the child whose mother just recently died. They said that this 7-year-old boy was not talking and was having problems at school. His mother died the day after his 7th birthday after a year of fighting cancer. He is the oldest of the three children and his father doesn't want to talk about his wife's death. He wants to move on. The person who I was talking to has been asked to talk to the son.

Now maybe some of what I am going to tell you, you will tell me that it is just common sense and that I didn't say anything that anyone else would have told her. If that is the case, please do comment about this. Because if I do not have a special talent, but just an ordinary human response, then I need to know, so that I can stop thinking I have a gift or stop using my imagination, if that is what I am doing.

While she was talking, I sort of could imagine what the boy looked like...I still feel like I can when I think about his situation....although I doubt I will ever know what he looks like. But it seemed so clear to me immediately that he is mad at his mother for leaving him. I think that he might have made a birthday wish to make his mother feel better and then she died the next day. He feels anger and hopelessness that his wish did not come true. Also, he is angry at himself for being mad at her because everyone around him is saying how wonderful she was and how much they are going to miss her, but he is mad because she isn't around to take care of him. All his friends have a mother, but he doesn't.

On top of that he is confused about what happened to his mother. He saw her body in the coffin and then the coffin was put in the ground. He is scared for her.

Lastly, his father doesn't want to talk about his mother. He hasn't really told his son that, but the boy can sense that his father doesn't want to talk and that he shouldn't ask questions.

Well, the person I was talking with is going to try to talk to the boy and will let me know if any of my insight is valid. I think it will do the boy good to have someone to listen to him, especially if he feels he can say anything and not have that person get mad at him. I gave her some suggestions to start him talking and I hope that all goes well with them.

House for rent

Well, Dave and I checked out a house for rent that is on Merriman not far from 7 Mile. It has three bedrooms, finished basement, two full baths, and two car garage. Nice yard. Rent is within our budget. We are filling out the application. I so want this house. It is so cool. The landlord seemed nice. He and his wife lived in the house for about 15 years and then they bought a larger house. Dave has to keep telling me not to get my hopes up, but I am already trying to figure out what furniture will go where. There is a deck and the yard is landscaped. All the appliances are there. I feel like it is just what we wanted. Dave doesn't want me to be disappointed if we don't get it, but I told him that it is too late...I will be disappointed no matter what. But I can handle the disappointment. I will just focus on the next thing if we are turned down. I like to dream and plan.

A new hairdresser

I am still in search of the best hairdresser for me. I thought that I had found a really good place. Back in November you may remember I wrote about Manny. Well, their prices were very high. The haircut was pretty good, but really, with me working from home, I don't need to have a pricey haircut. Well, in the same plaza where I get my nails done (which by the way are looking just the way I like them, kind of short, pink and white, gel, shiny) is a new salon. So I walk in last night to see if they take walk-ins. I am such a spur of the moment person, it is hard for me to make appointments ahead of time. Well, the place is all fixed up with white doilies and painted pink, red, and black. Patricia greets me warmly. I ask if she has time for a haircut. She says that she does in about 30 minutes or so. I said that I had to get my nails fixed and that I would be back. I had broken a nail at the final game of the basketball championship....a ball came rolling under the table where I was at during practice and somehow the gel nail cracked when I tried to push the ball back out. Don't know how. Anyway, when I came back, she had me come in, sit a table, chat, gave me some water. She had other people she was also working on, her mother and one or two of her friends. The shop just opened last week. She had nice music on. Patricia is Irish and had long, curly red hair. She was probably around my age. I had to wait quite a while to get my haircut, but while I was waiting, I read my book. Periodically, Pat would wash my hair, put a "treatment" on my hair (free because of their grand opening), have me sit under the dryer. The whole atmosphere reminded me of the movie, Steel Magnolias. I was wondering to myself, "Is this the place for me? Do I fit in? Can I see myself coming here over and over again....making friends....relaxing? I hope she cuts my hair okay, so I am not embarassed to go out." Well, finally it is my turn to sit in the chair. She asks if I have ever had my profile read? What? No, I guess not. She shoves my hair all to one side and hands me a mirror to look at my profile. Supposedly I have a good profile that many hairstyles will work with. Good. Then she wonders if I like to take a lot of time with my hair or just like to dry and run. Of course, I am dry and run, no mess kind of person. So she cuts a little bit, uses the razor a little, and voila (vwä-lä), I am done.

Well, now at home, looking at my hair, it looks pretty good. Definitely I will go back and try again.

Home again

We are home safe and sound. What a great time we had. We have ideas for getting sponsors for MAC Report Online and we met a lot of new friends. What an exciting time for us. I constantly tell myself to not get worked up because things are not happening fast enough with the MRO. I tell myself to just enjoy the journey.

Championship Game at the Q

Well, I will try to update this post as the game goes on. Dave and I are at press row, but this time we are in the front row at the end near one of the baskets. They are just now announcing the players. Cool lighting and effects. Crowd is really excited. ESPN2 is covering the game. Is anyone watching?

Toledo vs Kent State - I forgot to say.

I expected a bigger crowd, but Dave says it is because it is Toledo and Kent. If Akron was playing Kent, then there would have been more people. Well, what if by some weird chance it had been a Michigan school? Then there would probably be even less people. The championship will be at the Q for the next five years, so maybe a Michigan school will be in the finals one of those years, and I hope I am here to see it.

I haven't had to take pictures because a guy from Kalamazoo is taking them for our website. His camera is a little bigger than mine, but still not as big as everyone else's.

Something that amazes me, although it probably shouldn't, is how well run this whole thing is. Everyone seems to know exactly what to do and as far as Dave and I can tell, there have been no snafus.

The roar of the crowd is deafening

Tonight I have my laptop here at the Quicken Loans Arena, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Watching the first game of the night, Akron vs Ohio (U). The arena is packed and this isn't the finals. The crowd noise is awesome. Dave and I are sitting in the second row of press row, right in front of some very boiterous fans. At each time out and halftime, Dave lets me update the website with the current score. Last night we didn't get back to the hotel until midnight or later.

We are staying at the Renaissance, and I might have written about this yesterday, but there is a walkway between the hotel, through Tower City (shopping and food) and then to the Q Arena. I estimate that it is at least a mile from our room to the arena, although since I have been so sedentary of late (work and poor weather), it feels like 3 miles at least. Of course, too, I want to be slightly stylish and am wearing my hush puppies, which are suppose to be comfortable, but after my feet have swollen to twice their size, they aren't.

1st day at MAC Basketball tournament

Well, we got to Cleveland last night. We were suppose to be at a meeting for the MAC News Media, but that wasn't well attended. We did run into a bunch of Eastern employees that we knew and also one of our internet competitors. It was a late night. We were staying the first night at the Super 8 motel, so we went back there last night. Then this morning, we headed into downtown Cleveland. We valeted our car at the Renaissance Hotel and put our things at the concierge's office. We will be checking in later.

The first two games were intense. The first one, Toledo won and the second Akron one. There are two more tonight. Dave will be writing his first article soon. I will probably go check us in to the hotel.

I am very tired and there are two more games. Whew!

My people will be extinct

Yes, my people will be extinct. Society will kill off all of my people. Natural selection will slowly make so that no one who looks like me will be around. It saddens me. Blondes will be extinct in 200 hundred years. What can we do to stop this decline? Forget that blacks, asians, mexicans, and others are being overlooked and downtrodden. Soon there will be no blondes. What am I to do? I feel that I need to raise awareness for this. Infomercials will probably be the best way to get my message out. But first, I probably need to write a true story book to help bring together the few blondes that are left in existance.

Please, please, do not kill any more blondes, as you are killing my people.

From Geraldo at Large Blog (click on my title above to view full blog):
"According to a study just published in The Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior, blondes are about to stop having more fun.

Reported this weekend in both the London and New York Times, the study maintains that it's because blondes have become obsolete. Flashback to the end of the last Ice Age in Northern Europe: 10,000-11,000 years ago, times were tough. The only real food available was the herds of wooly mammoth, reindeer, bison and horses. But hunting the critters armed with at best primitive weapons was dangerous, sometimes deadly work — and a disproportionate number of the mostly male hunters were killed.

That made for intense competition among women for the scarce men. The study authored by Peter Frost of St. Andrews University in Scotland maintains that blonde, blue-eyed ness, which began as a rare mutation then caught on. Every cave man wanted one, and as they selectively sought them out, increasing numbers of Northern European women evolved with blonde hair and blue eyes with which to stand out from their darker female rivals — kind of a Darwinian makeover to help them score that hard-to-get caveman.

But Mother Nature's roots are showing!

Because relative to the entire population too few people carry the blond gene, natural as opposed to bottle blondes are likely to be extinct within the next 200 years. According to the study, the last natural blonde is likely to be born in Finland in the year 2202.

See, you thought you just had global warming, or Iran getting the bomb to worry about."

Monk

A new Monk was on last night. That is just the best show. Kind of dorky, but very entertaining. I find that I am a little like Monk. If I see someone who has their collar eschew, then my fingers itch to fix it. When I am at a restaurant, I have to line up the salt and pepper shakers and other items on the table so they look nice. But in other ways, I am nothing like Monk.

MAC basketball championships

Next week, Dave and I head to Cleveland for the MAC basketball championship games. I look forward to this. One it gets me out of the house and it is sort of a vacation. Two, I like watching live sports. I will be trying to take some good pictures and post them on the website. Dave and I will have media credentials, so we will have access to places at the arena that the average person does not have access to. Last year, Dave just had media credentials and I was left to fend for myself in the bleachers.

We hope to make connections with certain people this year besides covering the games:
1. The MAC news media association is going to have elections for president on Wednesday and Dave is hoping to get elected. The elections seem very informal, so he may have a chance. This will get him (and I) recognized in the media for the MAC and we will develop more connections.
2. We will be talking to someone from the MAC office to see if there is a way we can promote the weekly radio show, maybe get it syndicated and/or sponsored.

There will be some interesting games at the arena. Toledo and Kent State are two teams to watch. Eastern probably will not be there again this year, but hopefully their program will start turning things around and maybe next year they will make it to the tournament. They have another game on Saturday.

Dave announced the MAC Report Online basketball awards and received a lot of discussion on his picks. He picked a WMU player for one of his picks and the WMU website immediately put that on their page. Then on Sunday night, the same night that he announced the awards, Kalamazoo Channel 3 did a newscast about it. So we are getting some recognition. It is slow going and we are learning as we go.

I have signed up our website to be an affiliate with a few websites. We have Google adsense on our website and so far we have earned a whooping $35 dollars. (so if you check our the website, help us out by clicking on a google ad - ) Sirius has approved our site for affiliate status, so if someone registers with them and even buys their hardware we earn money. Lastly, we get points if people download the Firefox browser or the Thunderbird email client. These are good alternatives to Internet Explorer and Outlook. They aren't as prone to hackers causing problems through IE and messing up your computer.

Well, as you can see, it is 3:30 a.m. and I am finally getting a little tired. I had about two hours sleep and then woke up with a very stuffy nose. I must have forgotten to take my allergy medication this morning and this is what I get.

gas station

While getting gas at the local gas station, a red car pulls up across from me. There is a heavy bass beat eminating from the car. In fact that is what makes me look at the car in the first place. The overwhelming bass pulsating the air around the gas pumps. The car is a beautiful cherry red, long, four door, white top, possibly a cadillac? The wheels are chrome and gold with the gold part of the hubcab spinning. The car looks like it is breathing, the bass whoofers vibrating inside.

I wait for the driver to emerge from the car. I assume that the driver will be a black male, probably dressed very nicely in a suit or even a Nike jogging outfit. Probably a tall male, possibly football player size. But as the driver door slowly opens, I am surprised to see a tall blonde, slightly heavyset woman exit the vehicle.

V from DC

I happened to click the button that says "next blog" on my blog and found this cute and entertaining blog. Check it out. http://thecountdownofv.blogspot.com/

Dave is boring me to death. (not really). He has been typing on his MAC Report Online articles ALL DAY. Sheesh. But the upside is that I was able to finish my Patricia Cornwell mystery about the medical examiner, Dr. Kay Scarpetta. Thinking about starting my J.D. Robb mystery soon.

A good day

Day at work:

Wake up at about 6:45 a.m. - crawl out of bed, half a sleep, make Dave's lunch.
6:50 - crawl back into bed to sleep so more.
7:50 - wake up, crawl to bathroom, then go to office. Dial phone number to switch Intrascript phone number to forward to my home number.
Make bed
Take medicine
Put hot water on for capuccino.
Log into Microsoft Outlook and check emails that have come in over the night.
Respond to important emails. Take note of ones that need more thought or research.
Log into vpn and the pcanywhere to check Atlanta computers - make sure programs are running. Restart programs if necessary.
Log out of that, log into other three vpn computers - do the above.
Make coffee
Through out the day, answer client calls regarding problems, answer emails, research problems, try to write update help files, go to the bathroom at least 5 times, talk to Dave either through email or phone, etc.
4:00 - switch phones back to boss's house (Intrascript)

This week I was on call for an extra four hours Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. My boss called me one day and I said that my computer was running slow...that I probably need a new one. He asked if I wanted him to order a new one from Dell in lieu of paying me overtime pay and just because I am doing such a good job. I said sure. I would be glad to get a new one. Later he emailed and asked what my current address was. So....I think I am getting a new computer. We will see if he is as good as his word. But I do love working for this company. It is the best job I have had.

Dave got a bonus and used some of it to buy himself a new laptop. It was much needed. It is lighter and will be easier for him to use at the media tables at games.

House - the TV show

When House first came on the television, I thought it would be a good show. I watched one, maybe two episodes, and probably would still be watching it, but Dave also watched one or two or parts of one or two. He noted that in every episode someone has a seizure. I then started noting the same thing, and even the commercials for the upcoming shows had the seizure scene in it. Now Dave calls it House of Seizures.

I am allowed to watch Bones. He hasn't found anything real wrong with it, yet.

But the star of Bones was in a movie called, Boogeyman. Emily Deschanel. She is interesting to watch.

Valentine's Day - bah humbug

I am so tired of all the hipe and commercialism. Dave and I didn't buy into it this year, which I am thankful for. Who really believes that a man will be miserable for the rest of the year if he doesn't buy his wife or girlfriend a 3-karat diamond ring?

gruesomeness

Dave and I do not watch much network TV. Mostly Dave has control over the remote and I either read or dose while he tries to find a show that we both can agree on. This is not an easy feat. I refuse to watch big time wrestling and he refuses to watch "lifetime" type movies. So, here is a list of the shows that we tend to watch:

• Cops
• Forensic files
• Untold stories of the ER
• Animal cops
• Intervention
• Dr. G Medical Examiner
• Monk
• Dog Whisperer
• Most Extreme Challenge

I am sure there are more, but you see the trend. Monk is the only show that isn't "real". I love his obsessive compulsiveness. Dr. G is so funny as she cuts up dead people. Intervention reminds us just how selfish addicted people are. The dog whisperer is very cool. Dave and I are learning how to be "calmandassertive" around dogs. A lot of the techniques used to control and handle your dog can be also used with humans.

I know we are weird.

scratchy throat update

Well, I have been sleeping on the couch, so as not to bother Dave at night. I am taking all my asthma medications, increasing the inhaler, and drinking lots of fluids (mostly water, Kari). I hope to have this "cold" just run its course as any normal cold would. I am crossing my fingers that this will not go the course of the last cold.

I don't want to call the pulmonologist because she will tell me that I got sick again because we still have the lovebird. But I really do not think that is it. What happened is that I sprayed the shower curtain with mildew remover and didn't wear my surgical mask. I think I have a reaction to certain chemicals.

Well, enough of this silliness. Let me see if I can figure out something else to talk about.

scratchy throat

Darn. I have the scratchy throat, upset stomach, headache, and tiredness that I had last fall which started the 10+ week asthma flare up. I hope that it doesn't get worse. I have been taking all my medications and it makes me mad that I am getting the same symptoms again.

Super Bowl

If I close my eyes, I can pretend that I am on the sidelines of the Super Bowl. Having been on the field (sidelines) at Ford Field for the MAC Championship and for the Motor City Bowl, helps me be able to sort of "know" what it would be like to be there today at the Super Bowl.

Being a left-handed wiper

Does anyone know how hard it is to be a left-handed wiper in the world of right-handed wipers? Extra weight adds to the difficulty. Yesterday I had to go to the restroom while we were shopping before the concert. The stall at the Mall was barely wide enough to allow me to turn around. I had a package to hang up and I had my leather coat on, which is kind of long and has to be held up while I sit. Also on my back is my purse (back-pack style). Now I should have taken my coat and purse off and hung them up, but I was in a hurry and there really wasn't enough room to manuever taking off the purse and coat. Well, I finished my business, which was more than I had expected to do, and suddenly realized that the stall had one of those large toilet paper rolls attached to the right side of the stall. The kind that takes up most of the area next to you as you are sitting on the throne. Well, I am a left-handed wiper that needs to lean to the right. Sometimes I need to lean to the right a lot. I tried, but I had my coat hiked up around my waist, the pants around my knees (trying not to get them dirty from the floor), my purse straps constricting my arm movements, and the toilet paper roll holder blocking my way so that I could not get a good lean. I won't tell you how I actually got everything handled, but I will say that I finally found a solution, and was able to leave the stall in one piece. But I was worn out and very testy for a little bit afterwards, feeling like I had just finished a round of boxing with a midget.

Blues

We went to Monroe Community College to see "4 on the Floor: Songwriters in the Round". This was a free concert.....donations accepted. The Monroe County Library System is having a Black History Month Blues Series and put together these four artists. They had never been on the stage together, so it was interesting watching them get comfortable with each other's style. As the evening wore on, they started to participate in each other's songs. Each one had a chance to perform a song and the others were encouraged to join in. We had seen both Guy Davis (second from the right) and Rev. Robert Jones (first from the right). They both are awesome. Usually they both do traditional blues. Guy is my favorite. Dave has interviewed both of them.

Robert is from Detroit and has an active church, the Sweet Kingdom Missionary Church. He did a song about his grandmother which made me cry. What is bad is that I have that album and have cried before when listening to the song. So I tried not to cry, but there is one spot in the song that catches you off guard. Here is a small video of him singing the song: Robert Jones

Guy is the son of Ozzie Davis and Ruby Dee (most younger people do not know who I am talking about, but if you are my age, you will know - two beautiful people, actors both). Guy taught himself the guitar (never having the patience to take formal lessons) - (kind of sounds like me, I have no patience for formal training). He was on TV as One Life to Live's Josh Hall. Now he goes all over the world performing his blues music. It is pretty close to the traditional blues and he has a wonderful sense of humor. This is a small video of him playing the banjo: Guy Davis

But it was nice "meeting" EG Kight and Ellis Hooks. EG is the woman. She had a voice that was a clear as a bell, a sense of humor, and had some smokin' riffs on the guitar. Ellis was notable for his energy and passion that he puts into his music. He seemed like a really nice guy.

After the show we had planned to go out to eat for our anniversary. Dave had found an Italian restaurant. We were hoping that it was not closed at the late hour that we got out of the concert (9:30). It wasn't and it was a very nice place. I had the pasta trio and Dave had the gnocchi. If we are back in the area, we will probably go back.

one more thing

I forgot. Last night we went to see our friend Mike Katon and his band. He was playing at the Northfield Roadhouse. We didn't get a chance to really talk to Mike, but his drummer Johnny came and sat with us during the breaks. He is always fun to talk to. He is a construction worker in his real life and an awesome drummer when he can fit in. The band, minus Johnny, since he has to work, will be going to Europe on Tour. Katon's band is pretty big in Europe. Another drummer will be taking Johnny's place (Johnny Bee). But Johnny was telling stories about some of their escapades in Europe that had us laughing until we almost fell off our chairs. I still chuckle when I think about it.

Dave sent Mike an email and this is Mike's response.

Hey Dave & Debbie,
Thanks for coming last night!...It was good to see you...I wish I could have talked to you a little more but we never took another break!...I think the last set was over two hours! We got some shows soon after we get back from touring...I haven't posted them yet but check my site and you can see when they are.....Are you ever gonna have a 'Blues Site/Mag' again?....I always though you were a good writer and honest reviewer man!...........It would be cool if you could do something in that capacity again.....
The drummer that is going on tour with me'Johnny Bee Badanjek's son is the publisher of 'Real Detroit' mag....maybe I could make a connection there to see if they need a new columnist something...Let me know what ya think.......Later Gator (and Gatorette)

We hadn't seen Mike in almost a year and so it was nice to be able to see him perform again. So now our ears are ringing still. Mindy and Joanie, do you remember when you heard him at the Beats and Eats Festival? If you want a brief taste of his style of music, go to www.katon.com and you will hear a small clip of Rip It Hard.

Anniversary

Our anniversary is today. Two years. Wow! I have enjoyed every minute.

Yesterday, Dave was feeling generous and said we could go to a Chinese restaurant, since we had never been to one together and he knows that I like Chinese food. We found a local one (they are everywhere and it is hard to know which one will be a good one). We were pleasantly surprised. It was clean and the atmosphere was very quiet and comfortable. Good service. I steered Dave toward the sesame chicken, as I thought it would be spicy for him and have the last amount of vegetables in it. It was offered as either mild, medium, or hot. The waiter said that hot was way hot, so Dave went with medium. He was glad he did. He loved it. He is still talking about it. I got the sweet and sour shrimp, which also was very, very good. Probably the best I have eaten. But of course we could not eat all that was there and have leftovers for tomorrow. I think next time we will order one meal (sesame chicken) and share. The waiter said that we could have the sesame chicken mild for me and the hot sauce on the side for Dave. Perfect.

We went to breakfast at Baker's Square. Soon we will head down to Monroe for a blues concert with Guy Davis and Robert Jones. We might check out some outlet stores or something on the way.

Tomorrow, we will chill in front of the TV and watch the superbowl.

psychic

Note: I waited to send this. Still not sure if I should post this. Don't want to sound sillier than I am. Oh, well. I guess I will.

"When your guide (spirit) draws close to you, you will know because you feel a welling -up of love. You will want to share this with others. When you feel these waves of love, a sense of wellbeing and deep knowing often follows."

I really want to develop my psychic ability. Some people will laugh and humor me. That is okay. I know I might be crazy, but just in case I am not, I am going to document what I have done so far.

I have purchased books in the past, but I think I gave most of them away. I bought a book called "Are you Psychic?" by Dorothy Chitty. She has a no-nonsense way of talking about her experiences and some exercises for people to do to get in touch with their sensitivities and spirit guides.

She says that we can ask for anything of our spirit guides and we will receive it. (similar to praying to God) This morning I did one of the exercises and ask for something. I also asked for there signs that my request was heard. While watching TV today, there were three programs on Discovery Channel about psychic phenomenon. I will let you know if my request is answered.

She also says that we have to be atuned to coincidences and patterns. Sometimes, our guides are trying to tell us something or tell us something to share with others. For instance, I have woken up at 5:55 three times in a row. I am not sure what the significance of 555 is, but if this is significant to anyone, please let me know. My first thought is that Charley will be born on May 5 at 5:00 a.m. or p.m.

free wi-fi

Wow, do I love free wi-fi. Dave and I just had a lovely time in Plymouth at Hermann's Olde Town Grille (why didn't they put an "e" at the end of Town also?). We had found out that we can get a $5 pepperoni pizza on Sunday night. There are multiple TVs mounted high on the walls and some projection screen TVs. Most are tuned to the sports event of the evening. Lots of noise and testosterone tonight. There is a no smoking section, but I still have to wear clothing that I can wash easily and I probably should be using my inhaler before I enter the establishment. The service is usually good and friendly. AND they have free wi-fi. So tonight we took my laptop so Dave would be able to finish his articles and post them on our website. It was fun...

new website layout and look

Someone helped us get a new look for the MAC Report Online. www.macreportonline.com

Dave increased the font size and I think it doesn't look as professional. (We go to the eye doctor next Saturday and I think that Dave will agree with me when he gets contact lenses or glasses)

Please check out these two webpages and let me know which you like best.

1. www.macreportonline.com/index.html

2. www.macreportonline.com/index_small.html

Greatly appreciate the comments on this. By the way, I like #2.

TV shows with background music too loud

I guess I am getting old. We are enjoying watching Discovery Health's Dr. G, Medical Examiner. But the background music is so loud and annoying that I am trying to get Dave to turn the closed captioning on and turn down the sound. I wrote to viewer relations at Discovery.com and maybe they will listen to my complaint. I will let you know.

big brother watching

Dave and I often email each other during the day so that we can keep in touch. Important things like, where did Dave put the wet bathroom rug from the night before that caught the leak from the apartment above's shower, or when will he be home, or what does he need from the store. Today I emailed him to ask him why he forget the lunch that I had made for him the night before. He emailed me back to say that it was because he was a forgetful moron, damn, damn, damn. I emailed back to say that he shouldn't be so hard on himself. Well, after I sent that email I received an email from DTE energy security, saying that the email that I was attempting to send had violated their email policy, it would not be delivered and I should contact the recipient. The problem is that I wasn't sure it was the email that I had sent to Dave. Although, what else could it be? So I called Dave. Nope, he hadn't received my last email. So I sent the email again, but I put **** instead of HARD, so the message read: Don't be so **** on yourself. Yep, the email went through. I sent the email again: Don't be so hard on yourself. Nope, the email was rejected. DTE's email policy denies any email with the words "hard on" in them. Geesh.

American Idol

Dave loves to watch the first night of the American Idol. He is making me watch it because he said, "You need to laugh." Oh, my gosh, I cannot believe the people on that show. Why do people want to be famous? It is hard work. 10,000 people showed up in Chicago thinking that they would be able to sing acapella in front of Simon, Paula, and Randy. They are all idiots. But I am laughing a little.

Friday the 13th

Two days until I turn 54.

Rockford 1970 Class Reunion

This is the picture from the 35 year 1970 Rockford High School class reunion. What a bunch of old people. :)

Sometimes life goes your way and surprises you.

I am so excited. It is just a little thing, but it really made my day. Dave and I have a website, if I haven't mentioned it before (hehehe) * www.macreportonline.com * and we have been paying 9.95 a month for the website. We had 200 mb of data storage and 5 gb of bandwidth for transfering data. Well, with all the pictures and movies and stuff that we want to put on the website, I wanted to find a better solution for the same or less money a month. I tried one web hosting company, but they didn't support the Gallery program that we use for the photo album. So I found another one that was awesome. 10 gb of data storage and 250 gb for transferring files for 7.95 a month. And they handled the Gallery. I transferred all our files to that site, and then I was notified by the old web hosting service that I was over the 5 gb file transfer. I decided that I had better hurry up and transfer the domain name to the new service, so I called the CyberMind, the old service. The young girl answering the phone couldn't find my account. I was irritated with her, as we have been with them for a year and a half and I know I talked to her this summer. Plus they charge our bank account monthly. I told her that I was in the process of ending my account with them because I found a better deal. So I asked to speak to the technician or the owner. The technician called back and he remembered me and actually found my account on their system. He said that I was a good customer and he didn't want to lose me, so he said he would talk to Tim, the owner, and see if they could make me a deal. Tim called back and said that they fixed the transfer quota for this month and that he would match the deal that I had with BlueHost, so would I please stay with them. Of course, I said yes. I was flabbergasted. The plan that I have now with them is not one that is advertized on their website. This is so cool. Now I don't have to transfer my files and get things set up on the website and I have a much better plan for less money. I canceled the other plan and they were very nice about it. I would recommend them to others who want to host a website.

mall etiquette

New book I am writing. Mall Etiquette.

• When you walk in the mall, please walk at an even pace. Whether slow or fast, at least be consistent.
• Stay to the right of the hallway, not on the left.
• If you have to bring your whole darn family or all your friends, walk two abreast. Do not try to all walk side by side.
• If you have to cross to the other side to get to a certain store, then cross quickly.
• Know where you are going, don't meander aimlessly, stopping and starting intermittently.
• Please shower before coming to the mall.
• Keep children with you at your side or behind you.
• If you have a screaming, kicking, crying child, please remove the child from the mall.

Saturday afternoon

Sometimes it is hard to find things to write about. I guess that is why I haven't written a book yet. Right now I have finished putting a splash guard on the bathtub, painted my nails (but I really need to have a manicure), fixed the zipper on a pair of shorts (getting ready for summer). I found a zipper repair kit at Joann's Fabrics. I fixed the zipper on a coat earlier. It is pretty cool.

Dave is driving me nuts with his diet. I am suppose to be losing weight also. He does so well at documenting everything he eats and then he does 30 minutes on the treadmill. I am just trying to eat small portions, no sugar, and no diet pop or regular pop. I do about 5-10 minutes on the treadmill. I hate the treadmill. The first day I had problems with some nerves that were being pressed in my back so that my butt, back of my leg and bottom of my foot were numb. Dave has lost 4 pounds and I have lost two.

Right now Dave is on the treadmill, listening to the Eastern Michigan basketball game. I just did a few floor exercises and will try to a little on the treadmill when he gets off.

I think we are going to go to a movie tonight, since we can't go out to eat (diet). But I will want popcorn and a drink. Maybe that will be my dinner.

I am looking forward to seeing all you "kids" next weekend.

mumble, mumble, blather, blather

Well, I am just about footballed out. If I don't have a vested interested in the game, it is hard for me to watch it on TV.

We had a good, quiet New Years. Not sure what the new year will hold, but I am hoping that Dave is able to get a job in the sports writing field or our website take off and get going making enough money to either break even or even make a decent income. Maybe have the internet radio program become syndicated. That would be awesome.

I am still having some health problems. I am suppose to be using Advair twice a day, but I think that I have developed a yeast infection in my mouth from it. So I haven't been using it. My cough and breathing seem to be okay. Not perfect, bu okay. I am done with the Prednisone for now, which I am glad for because I was getting that puffy look in the face that comes with taking steroids. But I have tenderness in the region of my adam's apple and my ears feel like there might be slight inflammation in them.

Trying to grow my hair sort of long - but with my fat (steroid induced) face, it is not looking good.

Dave and I went to the grocery store today together. He wants to get back on the diet where he lost so much weight. I will also try to follow his diet, also. I am going to keep drinking more water (bottled, because I hate tap water). I am going to exercise with Dave. And I am going to try to meditate.

I am sorry that I didn't call anyone for New Years. I hope everyone had a wonder full weekend.

a clean apartment is a wonderful thing

Well, Dave and I broke down (in light of the horrible asthma attacks this fall and last fall) and hired Dave's previous housecleaning service. They came today (two of them for the first time) and cleaned the whole apartment, top to bottom. Wow, it feels so good. They will be coming every other week, and I have to believe that my asthma will be getting better real fast. I already am feeling a little better. I know it is a little more expensive to have someone else clean my apartment, but it is better than me spending money going to the doctor.

Little Sister/Big Sister

Being a big sister can be a big responsibility. But I don't remember ever really having to do much as a big sister. My sister and brother were fairly self-sufficient, and didn't need me to help them. Plus, I have a terrible memory. I do remember when I was six and my sister was five that I had to walk home from school with her. As we grew up, Cindi and I were either pals or enemies. As we got older, we developed different interests and went off in different directions. I know I was fairly insecure for much of my life and felt that my little sister was more domineering and self-assured. I was even a little jealous of her. For many years now, I have not felt that sisterly relationship that I am sure we had at one time. Distance and busy lives make it easy to not even think about it. But 47 years later, I had the chance to be the big sister again. And it felt good. My sister was sleighted by someone and it hurt her feelings. I had the chance to say something to the other person in defense of my sister. What surprised me was how this affected me and my sister. Cindi called to thank me for sticking up for her and being her big sister. I was very touched by her words. It felt very good to be the big sister again.

I don't tell my brother or sister enough that I love them, but I do. So I hope they are reading this.

Email the service men/women overseas

I just sent an email to all the service men in the Army. I went to http://operationdearabby.net and there you can send a email for free to any service branch. I think this is very cool. I plan to send emails throughout the year. I feel very strongly that whether the war is right or wrong, it is important to the morale of the troops that they do not feel like they are alone over there.

Sparky, the lovebird

Our child, Sparky, is sick. He has a bladder infection. He is to get two drops of antiobiotics twice a day for 10 days. Luckily, the vet said that otherwise, he seemed to be pretty healthy. I had noticed that it looked like Sparky had blood in his urine and he was acting a little different, wanting to be in his cage even when we were watching TV. Just seemed a little lethargic. So I am glad I took him to the vet today......don't want the bladder infection to turn into kidney failure or anything like that.

The vet also said that there is a thing called allergy relief for birds that should help with my asthma. You wipe the bird down with it.

I cleaned the apartment pretty good and plan on not having Sparky out of his cage most of the day (instead of him sitting on my shoulder while I work). I have asked Dave to keep Sparky out of the bedroom if at all possible. I still have to find a cleaning lady to come to clean twice a month and possibly buy a humdifier for the bedroom.

Water, and other little things

Kari, I am drinking more water and hardly any soda. You will be proud of me. I have to counter act the prednisone that I am taking by trying to really lose some weight. The prednisone is going to give me a puffy face and make me look like I have gained, but I hope to not gain, and even lose a little.

Thank you Mindy

Mindy, thanks to your EasyGiftExchange idea I am all done with Xmas shopping and can relax. It feels so good.

Dave has taken care of New Years Eve......we are giving ourselves a gift of a romantic night at the Sheraton, champagne, evening snack, breakfast in bed, free movie. Just my kind of party.

Okay, okay, I give up, I have asthma

Yep, asthma supposedly is what is causing my "illness". Crud. I am fighting the fact that I have asthma. I have to start making major changes in my living area to prevent me from not being able to control the asthma.

Here is the list:

• Get rid of the lovebird (not going to happen)
• Okay, then decrease amount of time spent with lovebird.
• Clean apartment so that it is very clean (yeah, right) -
• Someone other than me has to vacuum weekly (I have purchased face masks to wear so that I can vacuum and will look into hiring a cleaning lady)
• No curtains (nope, don't have any)
• No carpets (cannot remove carpets in apartment - have to move)
• No feather pillows (we have two; mine has a plastic cover and a cotton zippered cover and Dave's has two cotton covers.)
• Change sheets weekly (well, I will certainly try)
• Take all medications - advair, singular, claritin, flonase, astelin, prednisone (for 10 days), sudafed

I am going to clean the bedroom today (real good and use my face mask). As Joanie, Kari and Mindy know, this will involve probably rearranging the bedroom, and as Joanie knows, that will "bother" Dave. But I know that the bedroom is very dusty and the only way to decrease that is to move furniture, therefore, I might as well rearrange. I will let you know how I do.

_______________________________

Well, the bedroom is clean and I didn't rearrange anything. It is so small that there isn't any real good way to position things.

Tommorrow I will try to tackle the office. I will see if I can get Dave to vacuum the front room and hallway.

I am learning the art of pacing myself.

Dave and I are going to pick a 3.95 movie to watch on cable. Cheaper than going out or renting one.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

free time

It looks like this weekend we do not have anything scheduled. Oh my....what will I do. Nevermind, don't answer that. I know what we will do.....NOTHING.

I thought of something the other day......I tend to live in the moment a lot of the time. If the doctor asks me how I feel. I tell him how I am feeling at that moment. The problem with that is that I probably was feeling rotten for days before that. I find that I rally and feel better when I am out and about and around people. I think it is a survival mechanism inherent to all animals and humans. You don't want to be perceived as weak or ill. I can usually make myself "feel" a little better for short periods of time. But even more than that, if anyone asks me how I am doing, the answer is always how I am doing at that very moment. I could be having a horrible day, but then one good thing happens to me and then someone asks me how I am doing, it will be, Great!

Weird.

Cathy Bates

Do I look like Cathy Bates? Someone told me that I did. But I want to know which movie?

Shopping

We had a great time shopping with Mom Joanie last Sunday.

Dad in WWII

I am having a fun time. My dad has a computer. He is slowly learning how to use it. He can receive email and send emails (doesn't know how to reply yet). I am sending him links to look at on the internet of his wartime experiences. He was in the 503rd infantry when they landed on Corregidor. He was a parachuter. Here is a picture that I believe is him. He is the eighth one from the left on the 1st row.

The weekend so far

I took my daughter's advice and "puttered" yesterday. I thought I wouldn't be able to because Dave was home and he usually has something planned for us. He wanted to write a couple of articles for the website. I was able to take my time and vacuum and dust and reorganize a little bit the living and dining rooms. I still have more to do, but feel better that I accomplished that much. I was even able to watch two Lifetime movies. Something that is unheard of when Dave is home. He is better at realizing that I need to watch my programs sometimes.

We then went out to eat and did some shopping for Xmas gifts. I am way ahead of schedule on buying gifts for Xmas. This is because of my daughter's wonderful idea to use EasyGiftExchange. I used to have such a problem trying to find something to buy for my sons-in-law and my children, not knowing what they have already and what they want.

I am an idiot

Just thought I would confirm what everyone suspected. Yes, I am a dumb blonde.

Proof: I took more than 100 pictures at the MAC Championship game. (Did anyone watch? Did you see me on the sidelines?) I thought I uploaded all the files to my computer and then deleted the files off the digital camera. Well, I lost all of the files. :(

busy week

We are having a busy week. I quit my part-time evening job so that I could get more rest. But the week has been full. Besides working my daytime job.....

Monday, I went to Smokehouse Blues with Dave for the EMU Coaches show on WAAM. One of the announcers was not feeling so well, so they asked Dave to stay for the last hour of the show to be the second announcer. Dave is getting some good experience.

Tuesday, we went to the EMU basketball game.

Wednesday was the MRO radio program and then I called my dad to see if I could help him with his computer. That is another story.

Tonight, we go to Ford Field for the MAC Championship game.

Friday, looks like we do not have anything to do.

how do i publish to my profile

I can't figure out how to get this picture on my profile. I feel like a dunce.

reorganizing

Kari mentioned in her blog that she loves to reorganize. I do also. Mom Joanie commented that she also loves to reorganize, especially the house, but that Les loves to have things stay the same way forever. Dave is like that also. I find it ironic that Dave loves to have things stay the same, he is very routine oriented, yet he loves to flip channels on the TV or the radio. In an hour's time, we can be watching four different shows. Is that attention deficit disorder?

Can you have it your way at Burger King anymore?

It has been a long time since I have been to a fast-food restaurant. Dave and I were both hungry after the radio show and were on our way home. I needed to get back to home so that I could call my dad. I am going to see if I can have him connect to my computer with his so that I can fix some settings on his computer. Anyway, Dave and I thought we would get something quick to eat. We chose Burger King because we can get a fish sandwich and a chicken sandwich there. We chose one on the way home. Dave ordered a chicken whopper, mayo only. I ordered my standard fish sandwich. I was not looking forward to eating it really because they always put too much lettuce and sauce on, so that in the dark car it gets all over everything. But still it is better than McDonald's, I told myself. We pay and then get handed a bag with our two sandwiches in it. I'm ready to take off, thinking that our order was not a difficult order, so it is probably okay. But no, Dave has to check to make sure that there is no rabbit food on his sandwich. I open the wrappers and low and behold, there is lettuce and tomato slathered on his chicken sandwich. Everyone knows that lettuce and tomato is Dave's kryptonite. Nothing turns him off more than lettuce and tomato touching his chicken. I think even the thought that lettuce and tomato has been in the vicinity of his sandwich makes him ill. Well, me being the "problem solver" that I am, I tell him to park and I will take the sandwich in and tell them they made a mistake and get it fixed. I am confident in my ability to be forceful in a friendly, but not condescending manner and to get my loving husband the sandwich that he, by now, so desperately wants.

I go inside to the counter and proclaim that the order was wrong, we asked for a chicken sandwich with mayo only, but clearly we did not get what we asked for. I then open the wrapped sandwich with a flourish and lift off the bun to show the "manager" what I mean. She takes it from me, while explaining that I should have asked for a grilled chicken sandwich, plain, with mayo only. She then turns to her cook staff and asks for that very item. I wait a few minutes, a sandwich then appears at the warming shoot, and the "manager" hands me my sandwich. I thank her, turn and leave, not even thinking of checking it again. That would be silly. How could they not get it right this time?

I get back in the car. Before Dave starts the car I decide I better check the sandwich again. Yep, you know what happens. Lettuce and tomato is again on the sandwich. Now steam is coming out of my ears. I grab both sandwiches and go back into the restaurant (if you can call it that).

I show the "manager" that there is again lettuce and tomato on the sandwich. I tell her that we do not want either sandwich anymore, we just want our money back. She throws the chicken sandwich into the trash.
She says, "Where is the rest of the food?"
I say, "That is all of it."
She says, "No, where is the rest of the food?"
"We only bought two sandwiches. We haven't been to a fast food place in a long time and I guess this is why."
"How much did you pay?"
"$6.71"
"Oh"

Morale of the story - You cannot have it your way at Burger King anymore.

Thanksgiving in Akron

Well, the football game in Akron was fun. It was a blizzard. I took some pictures from the sidelines and then returned to the press box to get out of the cold. After the game, Dave and I looked around for a grocery store that was open so that we could get the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner. We finally found one and bought the fixings to cook at the motel. (We had a suite with a stove, refrigerator, and microwave.) While dinner was cooking we tried to watch the football games that were on. The Lions' game was disappointing. Dave and I called our families to keep in touch with everyone. It was a very relaxing time at the motel. We slept in a little. Then drove home. The rest of the weekend Dave spent writing articles for the website. I read a mystery and did a little bit of work on the computer, but mostly I tried to rest. Illness still getting me down.

I go to a pulmonologist tomorrow. I have to find out why I am not getting any better.

My dad got a computer, and wants people to email him. I have to try to help him figure out why he is not able to send emails, though. I will be working on his computer via gotomeeting on Wednesday, so I hope I can help him get it fixed.

Well, it is getting late. I will blog more later.

Wednesday

As soon as Dave got home from work, he and I packed up our stuff as fast as we could for our trip to Akron for the football game tomorrow morning. Dave was miffed at me because he thought I would have more things ready and he felt we didn't have much time, what with the bad weather and all. I was just getting out of the shower. Work today was a little time consuming, but plus I worked on our website, getting a Windows Media Player movie to play when you go to the website. It is an add for the MAC championship game at Ford Field. They had sent it to me as a Quicktime movie and I had to buy a program to convert it to Windows Media Player format. I did first put it on the website with the Quicktime format, but we thought that for it to be more convenient for more people, it would be better to have it in Windows Media Player format.

Anyway, we got on the road to head down to Milan to go to Al Fellhauer's house to do the MAC report radio program. On the way, I realized that I didn't have my reading glasses with me. I didn't even have my spare pair in my purse and I am all out of contacts. I have to go to the eye doctor to get more. So here I am without reading glasses. We stopped at a gas station and all they had was a magnifying glass. I bought it, as I needed to be able read the maps that Dave had for our trip to Akron.

We are staying in Streetsboro, I think. Dave is sleeping now, but for some reason I cannot sleep.

I am using the magnifying feature on Windows XP so that I can see what I am doing.

Well, I hope that everyone blogs how their Thanksgiving went, and I will also.

sickness

Darn it, darn it, darn it. I completed my ten days of antibiotics on Monday. Today, started coughing my fool head off again. Went to the doctor. Running a fever, still hears noise in my lungs. Got a chest x-ray, don't know what the results are yet. Probably will find out tomorrow. I was suppose to work tonight, but I think I will have to quit starting today. I know, I know. You all have told me that I should. But I am stubborn, but obviously my body is trying to tell me something.

Sorry about Thanksgiving

Just wanted to let everyone know that we will miss you all on Thanksgiving. Dave and I will be enjoying two nights at a motel and a football game. I will try to call everyone on Thanksgiving to say hi. Pretty soon, Dave and I's honeymoon will be over and all of you will get tired of seeing us.

Sunday afternoon

Well, we are home now. It has been a full weekend. We stopped at Niagra Falls, since both Dave and I had been there when we were little (me a little more long ago than him), and we felt we might not take the time to go there again in the very near future.

Here are some pictures.

Relaxing Weekend

Dave and I are relaxing, no really, we are.

Friday

1. 2:00 p.m. - Got two new tires for my car, as I had a slow leak in one. I need four, but they only two in my size.
2. 4:45 p.m. - Tried out a new hairdresser. His name is Manny. I was assured that it was very unusual that I could get an appointment with Manny, as he was the "best", especially with color. I was tried to a deep conditioner and an awesome haircut/style. He is good. I have finally found "my hairdresser". I will be getting my hair colored soon by Manny. I did feel out of my comfort zone slightly though, as Manny is probably gay and white, but all the other clients in the place were black. It was fun. I loved it.
3. 6:00 p.m. - Left apt. for Eastern. Alumni reception (food), and men's basketball game. We initially were not going to stay for the whole game as Dave thought it would be a blowout with Eastern losing. They played the University of California - Berkeley Golden Bears, a PAC 10 team. The deal on this game was that the new Eastern Basketball Head Coach, Charles Ramsey, was the assistant for the Ben Braun, the Bears' Head Coach. Ben Braun, who used to be Eastern's head coach between 1986 and 1996, was the winningest head coach in Eastern's history. So when it looked like Eastern might have a chance to win, we had to stay. Eastern won by two points. Hoohah.
4. After the game, we went home to pack for our trip to Buffalo to see the last Eastern football game of the year. We got on the road around 10:00 p.m. or so. We stopped for the night in Canada somewhere halfway between Livonia and Buffalo.
5. We left for Buffalo in the morning and experiencing an hour long back up at the Canadian/American customs we finally arrived at the football stadium at 1:00 p.m.
6. We went to the press box first to get stats and check in with other media people that we know. After the game started at 1:30, we went down to the field to take pictures and watch the action up close. Eastern played pretty well. We watched the last half of the game from the press box because it got pretty cold on the field and I am still recovering from my whatever it was.
7. Then after Eastern won the game (finally a win), we left to get something to eat.
8. Now we are relaxing at the Residence Inn. We have a suite with a couch and kitchen and king size bed. There is wireless internet, our two laptops, football on the TV, and Dave is again soring on the couch (minus Sparky the lovebird).
9. Tomorrow we will be driving back home. Might stop to see one of his coworkers on the way back. Then home to start getting the information together to right the recap for the Saturday MAC football games.
10. I have some work that I will try to do tonight, as I was not able to get it done on Friday because I had to go get the tires.
11. Soon, I will be shutting down the computer, cuddling up with a warm blanket and a mystery and hopefully relax enough to get a good night's sleep.

Never a dull moment with Dave, that's for sure.

Dave and his best friend

Two Sleeping Beauties

I couldn't resist taking this picture and posting it on here. This is where you will find Dave and Sparky (lovebird) most evenings.

SLI

I have SLI - street lamp interference. I cause street lamps to go out when I drive under them. This usually happens when I am concentrating on a problem in my head and the problem has me a little stressed.

I think that Dave is noticing that we are having to replace lightbulbs in our apartment at a greater rate than when he lived here alone.

I cannot wear a watch. It quits after a week of wearing it.

I sometimes can "fix" computers, printers, and other "electrical" equipment.

Strange but true.

Two passengers

Okay, this will be controversial. A pregnant lady has been using the commuter lane ever since she became pregnant. She was stopped by the police because there was only one person in the car. The rule for the commuter lane is that there has to be at least two passengers in the car. She stated that because she is pregnant, there are two passengers in the car. I believe if I was the judge I would have to rule that she is correct. If she were killed, then the person who killed her would be convicted of manslaughter of two people. If she was hit by another car and died, then the other person would have committed vehicular manslaughter of two people. And the right to lifers believe that the unborn fetus is a human being with rights at the time of conception. Therefore, this lady is correct, there are two passengers in the car. Does anyone else agree or do you disagree?

A raise

Shameless patting of the back:

Hip, hip, hooray! I got a dollar raise. This is really good for my self-esteem. My boss said that he has been getting some really good feedback from his client on my helpfulness to his business and theirs. So he decided to give me a dollar raise. Now I am making 2 dollars more than when I was working for the Kalamazoo company. Also, having been fired because "my telephone skills were not adequate", this just proves to me once again that the company that fired me was just using me. Not sure why, but as with all "bad things that happen", it has now turned into a good thing that I was fired. The radiology account that I transcribe is still a pain, but they also are very happy with the quality of my work. They do QA on 10 of my reports every other month and I have been getting 99% accuracy since I started working for them. I am sure they are unhappy with the amount of work that I have been doing, though. As it is hard to work all day and then work in the evening also. Oh well. Can't be perfect. (but I can certainly try).

PS: I bet Onstar employees feel like I do. I solve problems. If feels good.

Sunday afternoon

Just to be typing something......I need the practice. Maybe something will come to me as I am typing and letting my thoughts out. I am kind of impressed with how much Brett and Kari actually type in their blogs and the comments to other blogs. It is interesting because I think they are the two kids that I find hardest to get them to talk to me. Not because they don't want to, but because of circumstances and allowance of time. Mindy and I "chat" off by phone, but I love reading her blogs also.

Sunday afternoon. It is a beautiful day, sun intermittently (mostly) shining and very windy. The windows are slightly open so you can hear the wind in the trees and get some fresh air. Watching the Lions. They are up 16 to nothing. I am hopeful that Joey has gotten his groove and the team will actually win this game, but after yesterday's disappointing football game, I have my reservations. It is funny, the Eastern Eagles football team has mimiced the Lions for the last two years. Makes you wonder.

Yesterday also was a beautiful day, especially for football. The game was suppose to be at 1:00, but was rescheduled for 6:00. That was a little disappointing, but it allowed Dave and I straighten up the apartment and do a little shopping. I had to buy a new monitor because I was using Dave's old one and it was going bad. I wanted a flat screen, but they are still too expensive and I cannot convince myself that I really need it when a regular monitor works just as well.

Eastern was having a green and white basketball game and tailgate at the Convo Center. They had a really good chicken dinner for five dollars. The chicken was grilled, a full half of chicken, baked beans, delicious potato salad (and I am picky about my potato salad), and hard rolls with butter. A wetnap was also provided. They had three big screen TVs and a larger projection screen with football games on. Dave and I pigged out on the dinner and watched Western beat Central.

At the game, we were on the sidelines again. I love being on the sidelines. We are getting to know quite a few of the personalities on the sidelines. Most people still do not recognize me unless I am with Dave (he is quite recognizable), but there are a few camera men that know me. Two games ago I lent my extra gloves to one of them, as his fingers were red and raw from the cold wind. One of the bummer things about the game being later in the day is that my camera does not take action/zoom pictures in that kind of light. I need a bigger and better camera. I was astounded when I asked one of the camera men what his camera set up cost. $3,000 for the camera, $1600 for the lens. Guess I won't be getting one of those any time soon. :)

Well, Eastern was playing Ball State (Cardinals) and we were ahead 22/0 at the half. The defense was playing good and actually the offense was doing fairly good. Had to settle for quite a few field goals, but still, doing well. (Note that Detroit is playing the Arizona Cardinals, ahead 16/3 in the first half with 1 minute to go). When Eastern came back from the halftime, they fell apart. Especially in the 4th quarter. I don't know what the coach was trying to do, but it didn't work. We lost at the very end 25/26. We should have won that game. (Hopefully the Lions are more mature and will come out of the halftime still a winning team.)

Today has been nice so far......sleep late, take our time getting ready for the day, breakfast at our favorite place (Baker's Square) and now watching the game, Dave writing his reviews of the three MAC games yesterday. I am going to try to do my nails, freeze some turkey patties for Dave, and some mending of some clothes that need buttons, and other repairs.

I am still not feeling up to par with my cold/virus/whatever. Lots of rumbles in my chest and coughing. The coughing is controled with medication, so that helps. But there are times that I have bouts of coughing, especially first thing in the morning. I will get a chest x-ray next week if I am not any better. I have only been on the antibiotics for 2 1/2 days.


Football groupie - On October 1, while on the sidelines, I took this picture of Charlie Batch. (He is the one on the left. Al Fellhauer, McDonalds mogul and Dave's radio co-host on Wednesday nights is the one in the middle.)I was that close to him.....but was not introduced, darn. Now he is filling in for Ben Roethlisberger. Cool. Al knows everyone, every where we go. I don't know who the other gentleman is, but he obviously was a friend of Charlie's. I just don't know if he is a Pittsburgh Steelers teammate or not.

Well that is all for now. I think I did pretty good just typing my thoughts and it isn't too boring. Hope everyone who reads this is having a wonderful day also. The sun is still shining. It is balmy (and it is 14 minutes into the 3rd quarter and the Lions are ahead 26/11. Life is good.

Hurray! Lions won.

doctors

Well, Dave and I went to a new doctor this evening. The other doctor was too far away, he had crappy hours and he was a brat. I didn't like the fact that he always was having Dave and I come back in three months. It was like if we didn't come back in three months, he wouldn't be able to keep his practice in business. Anyway, I found a clinic nearby that had evening hours and Saturday hours. They had more than one physician. And they accepted our insurance. We were both scheduled to see the same physician, a woman, a D.O., internal medicine physician. We got to the clinic and were greeted with a friendly receptionist. Within minutes, we were called in to the exam room. The assistant was friendly also and she was fairly efficient in taking our blood pressures, weight, and medication history. Then the physician promptly came into the room. She was not put off that we both were being seen for the first time. Dave explained that he was just establishing himself with her as a new patient explaining that he has a condition called congenital adrenal hyperplasia, very well controlled, as long as he takes his medications regularly. She seemed to know what CAH was, so that was good. I explained that I had been sick for about 4 weeks with the same thing that I had last year at this time and also again in May of last year. She said she heard crackles in all my lung fields, but I was not running a fever. I guess I had some fluid in my ears also. She prescribed antibiotics and cough medicine. The cool thing was that she put all the medication orders on the computer in the exam room and then submitted the orders to the Walgreens pharmacy immediately. The prescriptions would be ready when we got to the pharmacy, as a fax was sent to them and they would fill the order. She also put in an order for lab work for Dave to be done when ever he had time in 4-6 weeks. I love the technology. Our previous physician was in the dark ages. He hand wrote all his notes and didn't have a transcriptionist. Archaic! I think this will be a good change.

Also, I should be starting to feel better quicker with the antibiotics. Dave will be glad, he is getting tired of the coughing. Me too.

Work - the internet brings the world closer

At work today I had to cover for my boss who is in Arizona. I work from Michigan and he is based in Arizona. I have never met this man. I have only talked to him on the phone. His name is Dave Drabo. I really like working for him. I answer the phones for the company from 8 to 4 EST and then Dave has the phones the rest of the time. He has two or three programmers that work on the Intrascript program. Dave gets clients lined up and he and I train the new clients on the program. We also answer and troubleshoot problems that the clients have. It can sometimes get quite busy. One of the clients is paying extra to use me as their main help person for the Intrascript program. Anyway, today Dave had all his wisdom teeth pulled, so I was fielding all the calls. A lot of the times I communicate with clients through MSN messenger and also with Dave. Well, he IMd me and told me that someone had called and left a message and asked me to call them back. Then he IMd me saying Help, and asked me to call his mother to tell her to bring him some more gauze because he was bleeding more, oh, and sorry to gross me out. So I called his mother. It took me a little bit to explain to her that I was her son's new employee in Michigan, calling her to let her know that her son needed some help from her. She was confused at first, but I finally was able to explain to her what was going on. She was pleased to talk to the smart lady in Michigan who she had heard about, but had not heard what my name was. She wondered why her son hadn't called her himself. I explained that he probably couldn't talk. She finally said that she would go over to his house and hung up. I IMd Dave back and told him that she was on her way. What a strange work day. It makes you think about how close we all are because of the internet. To be able to help someone and work for a company that is Arizona. I talk to clients in Portland, Oregon, and Florida, and Georgia, and everywhere in between.

Weekend - updated

After reading Brett's blog, I am inspired to tell about my weekend. It doubt that it will be as intertaining as Brett's, but I will give it a try.

Saturday, Dave and I woke up. We both showered and got ready to go to Ford Field for the Western Michigan/Eastern Michigan football game. We were to meet someone at the Detroit Beer Company. Jonathan Israel wants to help us with our website when he has time. He had other friends that were also meeting him at the beer company. They were all fairly young compared to me and Dave. Although I don't think they realized how old I was. It helps to look younger than my age. We didn't stay very long, just had an appetizer (Asagio cheese dip and nacho chips). We then made our way over to Ford Field. On the way, we passed a restaurant where a bunch of Eastern Michigan people were outside. Said hi to Greg, at student at Eastern who we have meet and talked to a few times. He might ride with us to Buffalo when we go to that game.

Once inside Ford Field, we headed for the Alumni get together. The food wasn't very good, but there was a lot of people there. It was getting close to kick off time, so we headed to the media center to get the stats. They had more food there for free for the media, so we grabbed a hotdog and some drinks.

Then Dave and I split up. I had gotten some pennents and stuff for Eric and Kumiko Holtzclaw and went to meet up with them. They are the parents of one of the players who have been emailing us. They live in Oklahoma and made a special trip just for this game. (more later)

Finally, I am going to try to finish this post.

After a disappointing loss, where Eastern was within one point of tying the game, but the coach decided to go for two points (which I predicted that he would do), Eastern lost. The game was against Western. If Eastern had won, they would have won the trophy for the Michigan MAC Championship. Western has the chance to win the trophy now if they beat CMU this Saturday.

I wasn't feeling up to par because of this cold/bronchitis/sinusitis/walking pneumonia/flu crud that I have been dealing with for four weeks now. So I sat in the seats instead of hanging out on the sidelines. Usually I like being on the sidelines. I wish I could get better at taking action shots. I think I need to take a class or something.

Anyway, we headed home, but the freeway is under construction and we ended up going out of our way, so we decided to stop to eat on the way home. Dave knew about a place called the Cloverleaf that had pizza. Surprize, surprize. More pizza. I am going to turn into a pizza soon. We were sat in the patio where there were some loud groups. It wasn't very relaxing. But the pizza was fairly good, so that made up for it.

Well, that pretty much ended our day. In rereading this, it seems very boring, but really it was fun. I just don't tell it very well. I might keep trying. Maybe. Maybe not.

restaurants with silly stupid birthday songs

Why do restaurants feel the need to gang up on birthday people and sing a stupid chant? The only thing I can see good about it is that the waiters and waitresses get a break in doing their real job, waiting on people. It is annoying. You are having a quiet dinner with your spouse/friend/lover and all of a sudden a herd of wait staff come toward you clapping and singing off key and getting louder and louder. You think to yourself. Is it my birthday? Why are they making so much noise? Does anyone really like to have all the employees in the restaurant sing a stupid song for their birthday? Most people I know would rather have a tooth pulled than to have this singfest at their table. Give me the free dessert and skip the annoying overture.

slow down, you move too fast

That is a song lyric. "slow down, you move too fast" Does anyone recognize it?

out of touch

I feel out touch because I have been under the weather. Dave says it is just a virus. I called the doctor today and even he says it just a virus. Hard to feel like it is "just a virus" when I cough all the time and feel like I am hacking up a lung. But I am doing a little better. I just am trying to tough it out, as in the past even when I got antiobiotics, it still took me forever to get better. I don't understand my body at all. Dave still has a cough, but he is feeling a lot better.

The days are getting shorter and my sleep pattern is changing. I get sleepy earlier. It seems so weird to have it get dark at 6 at night.

Guilt and sickness

I am feeling very guilty. I hate the fact that I cannot do my second job as well as they need me to do. They know that I am working at another job, but still I put this pressure on myself to keep doing a full-time amout of work. But I am falling short by a lot. And I hate every minute that I am working the second job. That is why I am typing this instead of transcribing reports.

Dave has a nasty cold and now my throat is feeling tingly and starting to get raspy. Yikes, there is nothing worse than two sick people in the same house with one bathroom and lots of work to do.

Keeping in touch

I called all my fathers today.  I have three right now.  I get behind keeping in touch with them.  My dad is feeling good he says.  My call put him behind on his daily morning bike ride.  His doctors are watching his eyesight just in case the tumor on his pituitary gland grows and starts causing him blindness.  He also has a cyst on his kidney, but has had that for a while and it doesn't seem to cause any problems.  He is sort of mad at his girlfriend because she is going to stay with her daughter for a week and did not invite him along.  He is also upset that none of his kids come and see him.  

Ken is feeling a little better, in that he isn't anemic any longer.  But he has an aortic aneurysm that might need to be surgically taken care of.  He has lost 20 pounds and is on a diet, exercises, and other therapies.

Dave's Dad just had two stents put in his arteries to his heart.  He is doing okay, but probably needs to rest a little more before galavanting around town.

Dave is fighting a cold.  Mostly he is coughing.  He has a tight, wheezy cough.  I hope that he starts feeling better soon.  

This is a test

This is a test of the email blog publishing.

 

Deb

just ramblings

I have to keep telling myself to slow down, take it easy.  You will be able to get all the stuff done that you need to.  It is crazy, but the new job is keeping me busier than I thought it would.   Part of the problem is that I am not very organized and I can always find more to do.

I am still trying to learn all the clients and their accounts.  There is one person who bought the program two years ago, but now wants support and all the new upgrades, but doesn't want to pay for them.  She keeps calling me asking me questions, but my boss doesn't want me to help her until she pays for some support.

I woke up with a horrible headache this morning.  It hurt in the front of my head and the back and down the neck.  Earlier in the morning (about 3 a.m.), I put some ice on my head.  Later (about 6 a.m.), I took three Tylenol (I have recently found that I am allergic to ibuprofen) and washed out my nasal passages with salt water (sinus infection prophylaxis).  Then I tried putting a hot wet washcloth on my head.  Then I remembered that I had not had any Pepsi yesterday, and so I took a couple sips of Pepsi.  I think I was suffering from caffeine withdrawal.  It makes you wonder why we poison ourselves with something that makes that kind of pain (if that is what caused it).  

I kind of like this blogging thing for keeping in touch with everyone.  

Weekend Recap

Dave and I had a good weekend.  We went to DeKalb, Illinois so that Eastern could lose again to another MAC team.  Sheesh, what is with those guys.  

Then we stayed overnight at a Super 8.  Did a little on the computer, slept, worked a little more on the computer for www.macreportonline.com and then drove the 5 1/2 hours home.

Once home, we spent a little "quality" time with the lovebird, Sparky, and then got ready to go to the Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush concert in Ferndale.

Dave took the day off so that he could write his Week 7 review of the MAC football games.  Plus I think he is finding a cold.

Downloaded the Blogger for Word, and am testing it out.

Ladybugs and cornfields

Has anyone ever heard of someone being allergic to ladybugs?  Do they bite?

The reason I ask is that I have developed spots were I was either bitten by a bug or I have hives.  My neck and face have a slight rash.  The football field that I went to this weekend had a ton of ladybugs flying around.

But on second thought, I think I am allergic to corn silk and stuff, and the football field was surrounded by cornfields.

Weekend

Hurray, it is close to the weekend. So close I can almost taste it. This weekend, Dave and I are traveling to Illinois to see the NIU/Eastern football game. I will be taking more pictures. The pictures from Toledo are a little disappointing because as good as my camera is, it doesn't take action shots in the dark very well.

Starting 10/24, I will be working the second job three days a week. That should help a lot. M,T, Th will be the days that I am working evenings for the transcription company. Wednesday nights, Dave and I will be producing that radio program with Al.

I hope everyone has a good weekend.

Well, I have Mom Joanie now blogging and reading everyone else's blogs. That is good. This way we can all keep in touch.

I am really loving my day job. I get to solve problems all day long.

Today, though, I almost burned down the apartment complex. I put a hamburger on to cook and I was browning the buns. Well, I went back to the computer and forgot about them. Yep, the apartment was full of smoke and the smoke detector was going off. Boy do I feel stupid. I told Dave that I would not be cooking myself meals during the day anymore. My kids know that I am notorious for burning things, toast and such.

Good nite all......

hitting your head against a brick wall, does it give away finally?

Dave and I are spending a lot of time on our website. Dave spends just about every night and part of his work day writing up articles, contacting SIDs, coaches, and radio station personnel. I spend time updating the website and sending emails. We also try to attend all football functions and media events that we can. Sunday is spent printing out stats and quotes and Dave writing the review of all the games. Then I upload it to the website. Then Dave writes a short note for the main bulletin board and I post that noted on the 12 other school's bulletin boards. I also have to review all the photos that I took, crop them and put them on the website gallery.

My hope is that with all this work we are doing, trying to be professional about this and doing the best we can do (both of us are very anal about having all our t's crossed and i's dotted, and still we find small errors or other people find them for us), this will work into a full time career for Dave and possibly me (if our website starts making money for us). Are we being foolish to work so hard for so little result (at least right now)? My heart says that we should keep trying. Don't give up. It will pay off in the end somehow.

cooking for the husband

Why don't I cook for my husband? This is why. I found a recipe that had all the ingredients in it that he likes. The one iffy one was cilantro. I left out the chili peppers and onions, but it had chicken, black beans, pinto beans, corn, and rice. It did have diced tomatoes. I should have used pureed. I had it hot and ready when he got home from work. He ate the chicken and picked at the rest. Sheesh. I still might try the recipe again, leaving out the cilantro and using pureed tomatoes. Oh, well, for a while he will have to fend for himself.

I did make the turkey pita sandwich that Mark told us about. He liked that. He liked it so much he asked me to get out of bed in the morning and make for him to take to work. Pushy, isn't he?

Irresponsibility

Okay, I am irresponsible. I bought the parakeets and then two years later, I decide that they are too much trouble, so I get rid of them. I think I found a good home for them, but still I feel very guilty that I did not take better care of them. I bought them when Dave and I were dating and I didn't have much hope of he and I getting together. I thought I could live my lonely life as a bird woman. But then he changed his mind and we tried to bring our "family" together. Dave, me, Sparky the lovebird, and the two noisy, unsociable parakeets. I can't help it. They were driving us insane. Now with working from home and having to talk on the phone to customers, I can't have that noise in the background either. Well, judge me as you will. I am a terrible parakeet mother.

What I have learned from my children and parakeets

These are only a few of the things that I have learned.

From parakeets: They are noisy, but they like to do their own thing and not interact with anyone else. They are harder to put up with than children.

From Brett: humor and quiet observation.

From Mindy: compassionate and faithful to her friends and family

From Kari: adventurous and fiercely self-reliant.

Dave's first internet radio program

Check out www.macreportonline.com and the MAC Report. Dave and Al Fellhauer (McDonald's mogul) are hosting a new show. I know most of you do not enjoy sports talk shows, but this is your "dad", so check it out if you can. It is live on Wednesday nite at 6:05 p.m., but can be listened to later if you miss it.

Next week it will be even better.

Coming soon to this blog is 1) the why and how of owning (and giving up) the parakeets 2) what we learn from our children 3) reflections of seeing a child at play at the grocery store

When will I learn?

I got up at 6:00 a.m. , ran to the grocery store, ran home, didn't put all groceries away, worked both jobs. It is now almost 8 p.m. and I am falling asleep at the computer, but I still have a lot of typing to do. I have a lot of documenting to do for the other job, but I will have to find time for that tomorrow, but I was hoping that I could get up early in the a.m. tomorrow to finish the shopping that I didn't finish today. I also have to get to the bird feed store to get more bird seed. I just want to crawl into bed though. Maybe I could hook up my laptop tonight and then sleep in in the morning and work from my bed for a while. Go to the store later in the day when I go get the bird seed. Hmmmm, sounds good. I might do that.

Saturday College Football & bye bye birdies

I had a great time at the Eastern Michigan game yesterday. Kari and Mark were able to come for the tailgating and the game. I feel so bad for Mark, with his back hurting as bad as it does. But I think they had fun. At least we had chair back seats for them. Dave and I went down to the field for some of the game, well most of the game. But we spent time with K & M before and after the game.

Then after dinner and K & M went home, Dave and I went over the Al Fellhauer's house. We needed to set up the logistics of the radio show that Dave and Al will be hosting next Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. It will be live on www.SportsAmericaRadio.com and then will be archived. The archive might be on www.bcmonsters.com.

Today, two people from the Rainbow Feathers bird club came to pick up the two parakeets. They think they have someone to take the parakeets. I feel bad that we had to give them up, but they were driving us insane in this small apartment and with me working from home. I think they are going to a good home.

Why did I get the birds in the first place? I will detail that in the next blog, as Dave is having me work on the MAC Report Online stuff right now. We have a lot of stuff to do with that and my radiology transcription accounts wants me to transcribe reports tonight if I can because the weekend transcriptionist's dad is in the hospital.

Hope this was interesting to someone...... more later.