on my own

Tomorrow I will attempt to be "Dave" at a football game. This is exciting and I may fail. Dave usually types up a brief play by play for notes for a weekly article where he features the game that he is attending. This weekend we decided to split up. Usually I sit with him and try, try to identify who is making the plays. It is trickier than you think. Dave is going to the big MAC game, Kent State versus Ohio University. I am going in the other direction to attend the Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan game in Kalamazoo. I wanted to go see my sister with on Sunday, and this works out pretty good. I will stay overnight at Kari's apartment and then she and I will go over to Grand Rapids to see Cindy and her family. So all the cousins will hang out at her house.

Anyway, I am nervous that I will not be able to do the job that Dave does. He will have to write up the article about the Kent State/Ohio game. But if I do a good job, then maybe he will write up my game also, from my notes. We will see.

tastes from my childhood

There are certain tastes that I remember from my childhood and sometimes try to recapture. My mom's barbecue spareribs was my birthday meal. I would get the barbecue sauce all over my face.

My mom also would make mashed potates, egg noodles, and crumbled crackers sauted in butter to top them. You would pile the noodles over the mashed potatoes and the sprinkle the crackers over the pile. Then gravy poured over all of that. A heart attack waiting to happen, but my mother didn't die of heart problems and my dad is still alive at 84 years old.

But the one taste that I keep trying to recapture is the Frisch's Big Boy fish sandwiches. I don't know how often we would go there and how often I was allowed to have one, but it was at least two or three times. I remember the taste and feel of the tarter sauce and cod, mixed with the bun. It was delicious. My mouth waters just thinking of it. But trying to relive that taste can be disappointing. Elias Brothers Big Boy sometimes doesn't live up to the Frisch's Big Boy. One time I went to a Big Boy, all set to relive the experience and taste. I bit into the sandwich and almost gagged. They had run out of Big Boy tarter sauce and were using Gordon's Foods tarter sauce. Yuck.

Tonight I had a Swiss Miss, which is also made with the BB tarter sauce. It was good. But there was one bite that had just enough tarter sauce, lettuce, and bun that reminded me of the taste that I remember as a child. Heaven.

What tastes do you remember from your childhood?

first snow - 2006 October 11

my wish

Sometimes, just for a brief moment, I get scared that I will not be allowed to stay on earth long enough to see my kids have families and watch them grown and be able to interact with them. Probably that is my greatest fear, but I try not to think about it too much. My mom didn't really get to hang around long enough to do that, although, she didn't really seem that interested in being part of my life or even part of my kids' lives. My dad has been around for 84 years, which is a nice long time, but he doesn't seem to want to be involved in our lives either. He just wants people to call him and visit him, but doesn't call us first. He never asks how my kids are doing.

Me, I want to be around and involved. If I end up alone as I get older, I am moving to one of the cities where one of my children are living and they will have to invite me over their house for things. I will get a long distance phone plan where I can make long distance calls to all the other kids and grandkids. I want to go to school functions and recitals and sports events that they are involved in. My wheelchair/walker/oxygen tank will have to be allowed also.

almost knocked myself out cold

I don't know what happened. I laid down on the bed for a few minutes (during work) just to rest my eyes. About 1/2 hour later, the phone rang. I finally heard it ringing and jumped up and tried to get to the phone in the other room. Somehow, maybe I wasn't quite awake or something, I tripped, stumbled and finally fell headlong into the wall across the way from the bedroom door. Bing, bang, and boom! I jumped up to still get to the phone.

I don't know how I didn't knock myself out cold. I am still finding places that hurt. Bruise over my left ear, blood bruise on my middle finger on my right hand, left wrist tender, left knee now starting to swell and hurt, right side of my neck tender, left elbow scraped up and sore. I wasn't doing too bad until now, when I tried to go to sleep. Everything started hurting.

If someone could have taped me doing that, I am sure we would have won on America's Funniest Videos.

family of squirrels

Well, we do not have birds to watch or other critters in our backyard, but we seem to have a family of squirrels that live in the tree in front of our house. One was sitting on our front porch the other morning, eating his/her breakfast. He/she looked at me as if I was interrupting something. Then this morning I noticed that both were in the front garden. One was eating the flower weed that had grown quite large (we are having a hard time keeping up with the yard work). The other was sitting in the shrub eating the red berries that are all over it. They like to play in the front garden also. I notice them running in and out between the shrubs.

I will have to get so I name them and stuff. This is the same squirrel, just two different pictures.

Dear God letter

Dear God,

Thanks for creating me. Not sure why you did, but I hope to know more later. It is kind of hard not knowing what your big plan is for me. I think I have figured somethings out already. I hope I am right. For instance, I pretty much have it figured out that we are put on earth to learn lessons. Or to help others learn lessons. It seems very complicated, because I never know when I am learning a lesson or I am helping someone else to learn a lesson. Maybe a little of both.

I did want to know though: Are we humans suppose to be bugging other humans about what to believe and what not to believe? Or are we suppose to be paying more attention to our own beliefs and our relationship with you? The reason I ask is that I have had so many people try to tell me that I am not going to go to heaven because I don't believe the way they do. They try to push their ideas on me, saying that the Bible backs them up in this. It is almost like they need me to think the way they do so that they can feel good about their beliefs. The ones that really get to me are the ones that say that they are "Christians" and that they love me, and then in the next breath or behind my back, they say mean and hurtful things about me or other people. What kind of Christian is that? I don't get it.

I tend to want to stay away from people who are always telling me how to run my own life, but yet they don't seem to be able to run their own lives. Well, maybe I need to pray for them. It seems that they like to "control" other people because they don't seem to be able to control their own lives.

They think the devil lives inside of me because I don't believe exactly how they believe or because I have made mistakes in my life. Mistakes are how we learn things in life. We make a lot when we are young. Oh boy, do we. But the mistakes are how we form our beliefs and learn life's lessons.

The funny thing is that I feel this need to "preach" to them what my beliefs are, as if that will change their minds. So then I am doing the same thing back to them. When I feel the temptation to preach, I instead look inside myself and ask over again what do I believe? Does it feel true and right? If so, then I don't need to tell anyone. My actions and words and deeds will reflect my beliefs.

Glade Cinnamon Sticks air freshner - gone :(

Okay, I need everyone's help. That is if you want to help. I love the LADE® Air Freshener in Cinnamon Sticks® fragrance. It is the only fragrance that handles the odor, if you know what I mean, without making me sick.

The Glade company has stopped producing this product. Read the letter below. I need anyone who wants to help to email them at this address and ask that they reconsider their decision.

Contact Us

Thanks for your help.

Dear Deb,

Thank you for your e-mail regarding GLADE® Air Freshener in Cinnamon
Sticks® fragrance. We always appreciate hearing from our consumers.

SC Johnson has decided to stop producing this product. Although there
may be product still available in stores, it will become increasingly
difficult to find as inventory is depleted. I'm sorry for this
disappointing news. Please be assured your interest in GLADE® Air Freshener in
Cinnamon Sticks® fragrance will be shared with the appropriate people in
our company.

We have a wide variety of other wonderful GLADE® fragrances available.
So you can find a new favorite, a complimentary coupon has been sent to
the address you provided. To learn more about our fragrances, please
visit our Fragrance Finder on www.glade.com.

If you have future comments or product information needs, we invite you
to visit or e-mail us again at www.scjbrands.com.

Regards,

Stephanie

Consumer Relationship Center
SC Johnson, A Family Company
Toll Free Number: 1-800-558-5252
www.scjbrands.com

Reference Number: 012815248A

Amazing hand shadows

Dancing hand shadows - Pretty cool

drifting apart - well not really

Well, I am not sure how I feel about this. Dave went to the first MAC football game of the season without me. He took time off of work, drove to Muncie, IN and stayed overnight. Part of me enjoys the time alone. Part of me wonders if he doesn't need me anymore. I know that couples are suppose to have things they do separate from each other, but so far I haven't developed any friends separate from Dave and no activities that I do on my own, except grocery shopping and getting my hair and nails done.

Actually, I am not sure I want to develop new girlfriends. I have my family to tend to and Dave, and sometimes when you have other friends, they take up more time. But it does seem a litle lopsided. Dave has friends from work, and friends from his fantasy football league, family, and friends from the MAC. I am just "the wife" that tags along.

Actually, I probably couldn't have gotten off of work to go to the game. But I never like to be left out of fun things. This is a left over feeling from childhood. I get jealous whenever someone gets to do something that I don't get to do. Yet, it doesn't bother me when I get to do things someone else doesn't get to do. I remember that it made me feel a little better if someone went away somewhere that I couldn't go, if they brought be back something. Like if my mom went to the store without me, I wanted her to at least bring me back something. Guess what. I still have that childish wish. So if Dave brings me back something (even if it is a candy bar or a plastic football - well maybe not that), then I will feel a little better. Geesh, do we ever grow up?

Okay, I have to update this post. I was a little off balance. Things are back to status quo. The air has been cleared. More communication will take place in the future and I will be taking my medication more regularly. (just kidding). But seriously, things are all better.

more cute pictures, at least I think they are cute

Well, I was emptying some boxes and found this water fountain that Dave's sister, Diana, gave him a while back. I cleaned it up and put some water in it and turned it on. Immediately the water started coming out of the flower on the side and running down from the top, gurgling and sputtering. Sparky hopped off my shoulder and went to the fountain. He was quite intrigued and was trying to find a way to take a bath in it. That is why he is all fluffed out. What a riot it was to watch him. I had to take pictures because of course he probably won't do it again when anyone else is around.

our child - well, not really, but he is cute

Sparky was so cute tonight. He decided to go over the window via the couch. He then found the cords for the shades and started climbing up them. Once up in the curtains, he peeked out from behind the curtains and then sat on the outside of the curtains for a bit. Then I held the cords out for him to climb/slide down. He did a couple of flips on the cord and then landed on the couch again.

Of course the batteries in my camera decided to run low at that moment and I had to reload before he got off the curtains. So the first few pictures were dark and then the latter ones were too bright. But I did take the time to make a small collage so that the blog is not bombarded with pictures. Of course if someone wants to see more of the cute lovebird, I will be glad to post more, because there are more.

It must be that Sparky is getting more comfortable in his new surroundings. He also wanted to check out the towel closet today. He has a special clucking sound when he is in the closet. Kind of a cluck, cluck, cluck. Sometimes when he is on your shoulder and you go into a dark room or closet, he makes a whistle that Dave taught him.

a good time was had by all

This last weekend Kari, Mark, and Charly came to visit. We didn't really do anything special. Just sat around and watched the grandchild grow. We had good food and watch TV, talked about sports, and other burning issues.















Then great-great grandma, great-grandma, and great-grandpa came over on Sunday.















Father, great-grandfather Les, and grandfather Dave with Charly and Sparky.















Grandma Deb and great-grandma Joanie















Great-great grandmother Helen.

Sister and her husband

Well, I have been trying to post this picture for a while, but there must be a new security thing with Internet Explorer and I kept getting a runtime error. So I tried it with Mozilla and was able to upload the file.

Aren't they a cute couple?

neighbors

Well, the neighbor across the street from us came over to say hi....we think. He is an older gentleman. He came to the door, rang the doorbell, and sat down in the chair on our front porch. This was at dusk one evening.

Dave went to the door and at first did not see anyone, but then noticed that the man was sitting in the chair. So he felt like he had to open the door. I put the bird in the cage and went out with Dave to "chat". Well, it was Bo from across the street. He came to say hi he said. But I am not sure that is exactly what he was trying to tell us.

I cannot detail the conversation, but can give you some of the topics he touched on. His wife died a couple of years ago. He misses her terribly. They were married 50 years.
********
Then he tells how she died. She went to get her hair colored. When she came back her head itched. After a day or so, she went to the ER. There, either because of the discomfort or the pain, they gave her morphine. She was allergic to morphine. She died.

His daughter, he says, represents the big-wig doctors at the hospitals. He does not sound fond of his daughter. He says he has bought her a house and a car and she is not grateful.

He wondered if we knew the people who lived in our house. We say no, but that we met their children. He says that Mr. Delvecchio was a nice person. He says that one day Mr. Delvecchio came over to his house, which was unusual, and said good-bye. The next day he shot himself in the backyard, killing himself. His wife found him. (We did not know this.)

Then he says that the lady in the house next to him came over to his house one day, about a year after her husband had passed away. She missed him greatly and was wondering what she should do. Bo says he didn't know what to tell her. She went home and took an overdose of her diabetic medicine. (Yes, she died also.)

Bo says that he misses his wife greatly. His feet hurt him at night and he cannot sleep. He is in pain a lot. Nothing seems to help.

He had a mercedes (he used to work for Ford, had a little money). He wanted to sell the mercedes. A man in a junker car came by one day. Offered him 25,000 dollars cash (Bo was asking for $50,000). Bo said, you got the cash? The man said yes. He went to his car, pulled out a paper bag, dropped the cash (100 dollar bills) on the table. He said he would be back for the car the next day. Bo says how do you know I will not take your money and take off? The man says, I am from Columbia, I will know where you are and will come and get you. (Drug money?)

Now Bo has his boat for sale. He says this was a custom made boat. Someone has purchased it from him.

As Bo got up to leave, I said that I would like to come over sometime and meet his dog and that if he needed help with anything to not to hesitate to ask. He turned and said, this is a one time thing. I will not be back. No, you may not come to meet my dog.

Dave and I were perplexed. Did he come to say "good-bye"? It has been a few days since he came over and he is still around, so I don't think he plans on committing suicide as so many, if his stories are true, have done in this area.

I asked our next door neighbor about Bo. She said she wished that he had not told us about Mr. Delvecchio. She grew up next to the Delvecchios and seemed embarassed that I knew about it. She also doubts that either Mr. Delvecchio or the lady across the street went to his house before they died to say good-bye. She cryptically cautioned me to stay away from Bo. She would not say more.

Bo did say that his house was the first in this area. Then the trailer park was built. Then our house was the first house in the subdivision and used for the model home.

Not sure what to make of it all. But makes for an interesting story.

ghetto birds

At our apartment we liked to watch the birds in the backyard. We put out bird feeders and the birds would come and eat, a few at a time. Never too many. They all seemed to behave themselves well. The squirrels would sometimes be bullies and push the birds away. We saw cardinals, cowbirds, sparrows, wrens, woodpeckers, and sometimes a gold finch.

So when we moved to the house, we wanted to put out the bird feeders and did. Oh, my gosh....what a mistake. We didn't realize that ghetto birds hang out in this area. They swarmed the bird feeders. It was like a sight out of the movie, Birds. I had the bird feeders in the front, and I thought I heard a couple hit the front window. In fact, one of them was lying dead in the garden. It was a horrible sight. The only birds that came to the feeders were the ugly ones. The sparrows, wrens, grackles, and cowbirds. They were pushy and demanding.

I moved the feeders to the back of the house and decided that when all the seed was gone that I would not fill them up again. I hated seeing them act like that.

Then I told our neighbor about them. She said that one year she had tried to re-seed some of her grass and the birds kept coming and eating the grass seed. So she thought if she put some seed in a pie pan it would keep the birds away from her grass. She said they swarmed the pan and that later there was a dead bird lying in the middle of the pan.

Tonight, I saw a swarm of birds hanging out on the street corner. They found a piece of bread and they were all fighting over the piece, stealing it from each other, pecking at each other. I swear we have ghetto birds living in this area. That is probably the only thing I miss about our apartment.

America's Got Talent - jugglers

I missed the first part of America's Got Talent last night, so I was glad I could see the video of the Passing Zone. I thought they were good the first time, but the judges didn't like them. This time, I thought they were entertaining.

http://www.nbc.com/Americas_Got_Talent/video/index.shtml

Too bad this show isn't about real talent anymore, though. It is like watching a train wreck. And, boy, do we like watching train wrecks. Don't we?

real car pool

http://www.centralohio.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/BE/20060802/NEWS01/608020330/1002&template=BE

I thought I had heard of everything, but I heard this on the news and wanted to find the picture of it, but only found an article. A man decided that he didn't have enough money to fix the air conditioner and his kids wanted to go to the beach. But with gas being so expensive, he decided on a more economical way. He bought a plastic tarp and put it in the bed of his pickup truck and filled it with water.

What a clever idea. I will see if I can find a picture.

sweltering heat

One more day of the heat. How is everyone else holding up?

Me, I am thankful for air conditioning. Although this poor air conditioner is having a hard time keeping up. It is 80 degrees in the house now. I am thinking of moving my computer to the basement. Actually, Dave and I should have bought an air mattress yesterday and slept downstairs. Dave didn't sleep well. Me, I had a small fan on me. Not sure why Dave didn't want the fan. Maybe I just forgot to ask him.

We also were lucky that our electricity hasn't gone out yet. The lights went out for a second last night. Later we heard that quite a few people just south of us were without electricity. I guess they were without it all night. Then their's came back on and more people lost their electricity on the other side of the road (Warren).

I have been keeping all the blinds closed, using as little electricity as possible (although I have a fan running today in my office).

Dave works at DTE and they sent an email around to everyone regarding "internal load reduction". What that means is that DTE would be turning off half of their lights and not running some of the elevators and other energy conserving measures. Dave's office is in the bowels of the building and they had half their lights off. Then later in the afternoon, the rest of the lights were turned off. Only the computer screen and the lights at their desk worked. He said that if they were working with all the lights off again today he would come home. He doesn't do well in low light. He thinks DTE got something mixed up, because another department had all their lights on. Someone threw the wrong switch or something. Or maybe it was on purpose, as his department is a contracted service and not DTE employees.

Dave's internet radio program - 7/31/06

Monday, Dave and Al conducted their first internet radio program at the MAC Media Days. Three hour program. They did well. Players and coaches stopped by the table to be interviewed.

I thought they did very well. They only had three short breaks. Otherwise, they talked for three hours. Windbags. Actually, they were awesome.

I was the "producer", making sure the cell phone didn't lose its connection, communicating with Broadcast Monsters as to when the breaks would be, making sure Dave and Al were on time for the breaks, getting the guests to sit down and put the headphones on, wiping off the sweat from the ear pieces on the headphones, keeping track of who the guests were. It was fun.

Listen if you would like here

The night before, Dave was voted the new MAC News Media Association president. This is something that he wanted, but in the past the "rules" (and I use the term loosely and you will find out why in a minute), was that only members who were full time print journalists were eligible for this position. Well, the full-time print journalists finally realized that the membership was declining and that in this electronic world, they needed to revamp the association. The three past presidents and some other members are going to be a committee to back up Dave (Dave was the only one who expressed an interest in the position and is experienced in electronic media), helping him get the membership and rules available via the internet, getting deadlines set and enforcing them for voting for awards and contests, etc. Sounds like I will be also backing Dave up in this endeavor. (People were calling me "the first lady". yuk, yuk, yuk, very funny.)

But it is nice that all Dave's hard work is paying off. People are actually starting know who we are and have actually visited our website. Some journalists use Dave's website as a resource. That is our wish, that we slowly build up respect for what Dave does on the website. Maybe this year we can actually start getting some sponsors to pay for the costs associated with the website and radio program.

Sunday, July 30

Went to the library. This library is open on Saturday and Sunday. It looks like it is brand new. So cool.

Got three mysteries to read. Hope I haven't read any of them before. I get confused easily with which ones I have read and which I haven't. I try to read one author at a time, as usually they have their stories go through a progression or a series of sort. But it is hard to remember whose books I have read and if they have any new ones out. I like to try to start reading new authors, but get fearful that the books will not be interesting. I need to spend more time picking out the books than I usually allow myself.

home and bed

Pictures of our living room. Boring, I know, but we finally got our roman shade blinds. Then we had to get valances. Thanks to Anna's Linens, they didn't break our bank account too much. The paint job was done by our loving family. Throw pillows on sale at Anna's Linens also. The runner on the table will probably be changed as soon as I can make new ones. I think the house has a homey feeling to it. Warm and cozy. The wall decorations were gifts from Mom and Dad (Les and Joanie). I am not much of a decorator, but I do know that it feels comfortable, so I like it.

Also, my bed is starting to be my friend again. I had quite a spell where I could not sleep. I would start out in bed, then move to the couch, and then finally to the floor, then back to the couch or bed. But finally, I am getting better sleep. I still have to move to the couch for about an hour during the night, but hope that gets better soon too. I wonder if I am sleeping better because I bought a mystery to read and have been reading periodically. Maybe that calms me down or something. I just finished it, so I had better go get another. I will check out the local library, otherwise, I end up with too many books that I have bought and I don't really like to re-read books.

the bed is not my friend for now

I am having a love-hate relationship with my bed. I fall asleep now, but then 45 minutes to an hour later I wake back up. Legs start tingling. Can't lie still. I thought it was getting better, but it isn't. I try not to think about it. I try relaxation techniques, but even those don't work. The urge to move my legs to get rid of the tingling, itchy feeling is just too great. I sometimes try rocking myself to sleep. That doesn't always work and I have to move to the couch to do that, so as not to wake Dave. The couch is even getting unfriendly to me. I was lucky tonight because I have been able to sit at the computer for a long enough time to write some short posts.

Guess I will try to read a book, but that doesn't always catch my atttention enough to keep me still. If that doesn't work, I could try doing some leg exercises and see if that helps.

How the house is shaping up.

Bedroom with new curtains. I want to make the tabs at the top so they hide and maybe shorten the curtains.












The living room. We still need to get pictures hung and the new shades haven't come yet.















But it looks warm and cozy and inviting to me. Maybe some throw pillows would be good also.











Dave's office. I wonder if we should paint the white wall with the green. The green looks good.



My office with yellow sheers. I have a picture or two to put up that will look great in this room.

Ikea takes you for a ride

I forgot to tell about our trip to Ikea the weekend before last. We went on Sunday, thinking that we could find a small kitchen table and chair set. The parking lot was in overflow mode. I considered telling Dave that we should go somewhere else. But we both were curious about what the big deal was. There were people in the parking lot directing the traffic. We couldn't believe it. Walking in was like walking into Cedar Point. You get a map and a pencil to mark off the items you want to pick up at the end in the furniture pickup. You have to stay on map's dotted line otherwise you get lost. There were crying kids, crying adults, wall-to-wall humanity, interspersed with furniture and shelves and bins. The items for sale sprung up randomly. It was a nightmare for agorophobic interverted individuals. Somehow Dave and I were able to find a table, possibly the perfect table for our kitchen. It is a half-circle with a rectangle that is the drop leaf, so that two, possibly four can fit at the time. We picked out two inexpensive chairs. I also begged for one more piece of furniture in my office (to make an L shape of my computer desk so that I can make notes with my left hand). All of these pieces needed to be picked up in the Furniture pick up area on the first floor. We were on the second floor. We tried going back the way we came, but the rush of humanity pushing forward toward their goal was too great and we were forced to conform and follow "the path". Now without the map, I doubt we would have found our way downstairs, even with the signs and the arrows on the floor. It was just to confusing. Sometimes, it seemed like a particular mean-spirited haunted house where you are turned back onto the path you just came.

Well, as you can guess, we made it out of there and yes we even were able to pick up the unassembled furniture and take them home. Assembling furniture - that is another story to tell. Dave and I are not the best people to try to assemble things together with. I think I know how to do everything, and Dave hates doing it and those two attitudes do not go along well.

Sunday, July 16

The heat is getting slightly unbearable. Our new house is holding up well under the onslaught of heat. Air conditioning set at 74, but actual is 78. Dave has been writing his football preview article all day yesterday and today. Yesterday I did a lot of errands, bought curtains, did grocery shopping, etc. I got a good deal at Anna's Linens. I will post some pictures of the rooms as soon as I have everything done that I wanted to get done and I get my office organized and I can find my camera and the connection that goes with it to the computer.

homeowners, part 2

Dave and I got up and had breakfast, the first one together in our new house. Then we got around and went outside to take care of the yard. That was the one thing we really didn't want to have to do with owning a home. I pulled weeds and Dave dug up the weeds growing between the cracks in the driveway and sidewalk. There were a lot of weeds, they had gotten out of control. Hopefully we can stay on top of the upkeep for the summer. We have someone who cuts the lawn for us, but there are still the weeds in the flower beds and driveway. I can't believe all the work that Dave did today. He got a lot done while I went to the store later in the afternoon. Dad and Mom stopped by because they were in the area. Dave told them that he was cursing me with every weed he pulled because I was the one that wanted a house to live in instead of an apartment. But I think the exercise is good for both of us. I have lost about 5 pounds and Dave's weight has come down a little also.

insomnia

Don't know why, but I have had insomnia for about 6 months now. I am so tired in the evening that I can hardly keep my eyes open when Dave and I are watching TV. I feel like I am ready for bed. I go to bed and sometimes even fall asleep, but 30 minutes later, I am wide awake. I hear Dave snoring softly and get more and more irritated that I cannot fall back to sleep, especially since he is sleeping so soundly. Then I worry that I will wake him up with my moving around to get comfortable. The more I try to lie still, the more the urge to move comes over me. So I go to the couch. There I can usually kick and squirm and thrash until I finally fall asleep. Then 2 hours later, I am awake again. This goes on all night. Starts all over the next evening.

when was the moment

When is that magical moment in a marriage when the couple stops holding in the burp or fart in or moving to the other room to let loose? When do they become that comfortable with each other?

painting

Well, we went to the Home Depot and bought some paint. Remember, I am new at this....probably picked ugly colors. But, we bought three gallons of "sienna buff" for the living room. One gallon each for the bedrooms, New Hunter (green -Dave's office/guest room), Quiet Moment (my office - blueish color), and Serene (light blue - master bedroom). We bought three rollers and three pans. We have two paint brushes. Mindy had me buy five drop cloths at the dollar store. Bought a roll of painters tape. Probably need more. We will see. I will try to get the rooms taped this week. Plus I got a gallon of gloss Swiss Coffee (cream colored) paint for the bedroom baseboards and moldimg around the windows/doors. I will see if I can get those done before Sunday when the kids are coming over to help paint.

The cable TV will be set up Friday morning. The DSL will be set up by the 27th.

I am getting excited...the move in date will be coming shortly.

Weekend - June 17-18

Mindy came over to help with a lot of work on the house on Saturday. She was awesome. She got into the lower kitchen cabinet cupboards and pulled up the old contact paper. We got all the contact paper off of those and the pantry and the linen closet and the refrigerator cleaned. Mindy, thanks again. Then we decided that we needed a little pampering, so we went to get our nails done. Mindy had a manicure and I had a pedicure.

After that, it was back to the apartment to eat pizza with Dave. Mindy helped me pick out colors for the walls with color samples that I had.

After Mindy left Dave and I went back to the house to attempt to put in the mini-blinds that we bought for the bedrooms. Dave did a good job of measuring, because the blinds fit the windows perfectly. We had a little trouble getting the first one in.....I had forgotten some of the steps and of course we didn't read the directions. We did five windows total. Some took only 10 minutes, but the last two seemed to take longer. We both were hot and tired, but totally proud of our "home project" completion as a team. I took the left side of the windows and Dave took the right. This is new territory for Dave and it has been a long while since I had a house of my own, so it will be interesting how well we do. But it will be fun learning.

Sunday, Dave's parents and his grandmother came over for Father's Day. I remembered seeing the "Take Home Chef" cooking pork chops and yams. I thought that would be good meal. It actually turned out well. I also bought a couple salads at the grocery store to supplement the chops and yams. I forgot to buy rolls, but no one seemed to miss them. I had the coffee pot already to brew some coffee, but I forgot to offer coffee to everyone after dinner. I enjoyed having everyone over and look forward to more entertaining at our new house.

Homeowners

Monday night Dave and I signed the papers to seal the deal on buying our new home. We will be living in Dearborn Heights. It is a cute little neighborhood. I have a list of things to get done at the house before we move in on July 1st.

Paint the living - this is a possible, as it probably is a lot of work.
Paint the bedroom and my office - I definitely want some color in the house, so I hope I get these done.
Put new paper down in the kitchen and hallway closet. First I have to pull up the old paper. It is dusty and old.

The yard needs some work, but we might hire a lawn service to take care of it, because we are old and decrepit. Not really, just I think it will be a lot of work.

McMillan Clan

Excerpts from different websites.

Clan MacMillan - McMillan History

The first significant settlements of M’millans outside Scotland were probably in Northern Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries as part of the Protestant “plantation”. While some came there from Knapdale and Arran, most probably belonged to the nearby Galloway branch which contained the devoutest “covenanters” in the clan. Indeed many Presbyterians in southern Scotland were called “McMillanites” after the Rev. John McMillan of Balmaghie who founded the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the early 18th century.

Other M’millans from Argyll were among the earliest of Scots settlers further north; particularly in New York, where they seem to have been joined in the second half of the 18th century by cousins from elsewhere in Scotland.

"The Scotch-Irish were the descendants of Scotsmen who in the seventeenth century had crossed to Ireland to dwell (there)....

******************************************

Apparently there was quite a lot of Scots who were discriminated against in Scotland and who moved to Northern Ireland. Then my ancestors came to Pennsylvania probably in 1738. They lived in York County, probably around Wellsville. Then they moved to Ohio, Clinton County.

night out at the bar

Dave and I went out to see our friend Mike Katon at the Northfield Roadhouse. We went a little early so we could partake of their menu. Plus Mike had promised to give us one of his new CDs that he produced on his own label. Dave wrote the liner notes for the CD. Diablo Boogie The notes take up a whole page on the inside of the CD cover. I

Going to the bar to hear Mike is always interesting. The bar wasn't very full. The food was pretty good, though. Dave and I both had two beers and then switched to coca-cola, but the coke was flat. The waitress said something about it being the bar coca-cola. Not exactly sure what she said because Mike's music is so loud that a conversation is impossible. That is what we like about Mike, his energetic, heart-thumping, guitar playing. His drummer, Johnny, sat and talked to us for a little bit before they started playing for the night. Johnny, is an awesome drummer, who is a carpenter by day. He had an interesting story to tell. Maybe Dave will post a comment and tell the story, or at least as much as he could hear of it.

People watching was interesting also. Three drunks came in later in the evening, two men and a young woman. They were loud and boisterous. The woman kept wanting to dance and the two men took turns dancing with her. As the men staggered to the dance floor they both eyed me. I don't know why they took an interest in me at all. Maybe because I wasn't sitting that close to Dave and they thought I was available to even things up for their group. The older guy stopped at our table and leaned on it as if he was tired from dancing. I could feel Dave's irritation with him rising. I kept my eyes on the band, feinting deep interest in Mike's playing, and ignoring the man at our table. He didn't take the hint. He came over to my side and leaned over me and tried to talk to me, which was impossible because the music was loud and he was slurring his words. Finally, he went away. Thank goodness.

There was an older couple off in a corner. The woman was wearing a jean skirt that was way too short for her, especially at her age. They had been playing kissy face all evening. During Mike's song, Barbecue on my Boogie, which is kind of a suggestive song, I noticed that the woman was facing the guy, straddled over his lap, playing their kissy face game. Dave and I were totally grossed out by this ugly display.

Well, all in all the night was good. We got to listen to rip roaring good rockin' blues and visit with Mike and Johnny. The food was very good and we didn't have to stay home and watch mindless television.

Of note, please, no one let me drink beer ever again. I woke up at 3 am with a migraine. It is better now, but still feel a little fuzzy around the edges.

writing

I want to write like Brett or Dave. I want to be articulate and witty. I try to talk and gibberish comes out. How can I write if I can't even talk?

Well, I am going to give it a little try.

Married couple conversation while watching Wife Swap:

Woman: Oh my gosh, look at those lips. She has had collagen treatments and they are horrible.

Man: What are you talking about? Oh, yeah, they look like a duckbill.

Woman: Domestic goddess....ugh, look she is cutting her husband's toenails. Do you want me to do that to you?

Man: I don't trust anyone to cut my toenails.

Woman: I would be a domestic goddess if my husband bought me a washer and dryer like that. No, not really. I am not a fancy person.

Man: Yeah, well you aren't getting a washer and dryer like that anyway.

Okay, that is all I can remember. That is the other problem....I can't remember details of conversations. I only remember the impression the conversation gave me. Whether it was a harmonious, sad, or contentious. My mind likes to remember images or designs, and I am most comfortable dealing with feelings about things. I could never win a debate, because I cannot articulate my thoughts about why I like a certain politician or debatable topic.

Oh, well, I will keep trying.

nature walk

Dave and I went back out to Kensington for our two mile walk. We have been a little negligent in keeping up our walking, so we are trying to get back in. We went a little different way. We thought we saw a deer, but it went away quickly. We liked the trail we were on because there wasn't much traffic. Toward the end of the trail, we saw a man with a tripod and camera in the middle of the path. Our first reaction was to groan. We hate meeting up with other people. Our desire to be away from other people is something that we both share, which is nice, since we both don't seem to have the need to get away from each other also.

But then we noticed what the man was trying to take a picture of. It was a deer just lying in the grass a few feet away from him. I was able to get some pictures of her also.

getting closer

Well, it is getting closer to the time when Dave and I are homeowners. Time to grow up. It is exciting and scary. We should be closing on the house next week.

It is a cute little house. Just my style, I think. Three bedroom, two bath. Hurray, two bathrooms. Boy do we need that.

We should have two weeks to get the house ready to move in. I would like to paint and do some other little things.

I am thinking that in August we will have to have a housewarming party.

Smoky Mountains

Well, we are back from vacation. It was a lot of fun. Had some problems along the way, but everything worked out in the end. The view was incredible.

This is a view of the foothills in the morning from our cabin balcony.








Here is every one relaxing.


We also drove to almost the highest point in the mountains. Dave and Joannie walked the rest of the way up. Les and I were affected by the high altitude and didn't make it to the top.

We checked out Gatlinburg. I still think it is too commericalized. We found the motor nature trail, but we were too tired to stop along the way. If we go back again, we will definitely do some hiking along that trail. Lots of rapids and waterfalls.


We took off to see Parrot Mountain. They have a cage where you can feed the lories. They have another spot where the macaws can be fed and they will sit on your shoulder or arm. One grabbed Les' hat and put a hole in it. Another bit my ear a little. Dave liked the hawk headed parrots. They would make sounds like a phone ringing and stuff.

vacation

Well, myself, Dave, and his parents are all heading down to the Smoky Mountains for five days. We are leaving at 6:00 a.m. Monday and will return sometime Friday. We will have three full days at the cabin. It is a three bedroom cabin in the mountains near Pigeon Forge (Gaitlinburg area). There is a hot tub, jacuzzi, large screen TV, grill. It should be fun.

New grandchild

Dave actually held his granddaughter. But he is too young to be a grandpa.















I guess I was getting tired holding the baby. She slept the whole time we were there. Thanks, Kari and Mark for letting me hold her so long.

Dave and I are grandparents (Grandma and Grandpa Ruthie)

Charly was born May 11, 2006 at Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo, MI.
At 2:35 (I think)
8 lb, 5.5 ounces, 21 inches long.
Lots of dark hair



Charly up close
.
Charly and Auntie Mindy.

Kari and Charly

Mark and Charly

Naked baby....had to make sure she was a she.

Charly and Uncle Brett

excitement

Not only am I stressed, but I am excited. Kari will be induced tomorrow and we will finally get to see the little baby that she has been carrying. I will take the day off to be with her and plan to take a few pictures to share. Wish us all luck, especially Kari.

stress

I am under a huge amout of stress. My dad is in the hospital in Winter Haven Florida. I guess he is doing okay, but because of the pain medication they are giving him, he is not able to talk very well. He has a nasogastric tube. They think he has a bowel blockage and are just waiting to see if it resolves on its own. But because I don't have power of attorney or at least the paperwork to prove it, they really don't want to tell me anything. I don't want to have to go to Florida right now, because Kari is going to have her baby tomorrow. Dave keeps telling me that there is nothing else to I can do, but it is very frustrating.

tv commercials

Okay, this is how it works. I see a commercial for a product. I go, oh wow, that is what I need for my hair/itch/hemorrhoids. I go to the store and look for the product (that is if I can remember what the darn name of the product is). I see the product and it cost way more than I think I should pay to fix my hair/itch/hemorrhoids. I look at all the other products that seem to be similar to the product that seemed so wonderful on the TV commercial. So I either do not buy anything at all or I buy another product that costs less and then find out that the product doesn't work. I never find out of the product advertised on the commercial works, because I am too cheap to buy it.

Does that happen to anyone else?

McMillan Clan

This will be the first in many posts regarding the information that I am finding on the internet regarding the McMillan family history. As you know, my maiden name is McMillan. Quite a while ago I was sent part of the family tree. Martha McMillan Tollefson sent it to me. I have lost her address and do not know how to get a hold of her. Here is what she sent me.

Thomas and Deborah (Marsh) McMillan - Gen I
3rd Child - William and Deborah (Holland) McMillan - Gen II
6th Child - David and Hannan (Hussey) McMillan - Gen III
1st Child - Josiah and Rebecca (Whinery) McMillan - Gen IV
8th Child - Joseph and Emma (Dwiggins) McMillan - Gen V
4th Child - Willis and Lucille (Hormel) McMillan - Gen VI
2nd Child - Gerald and Geraldine (Miller) McMillan - Gen VII

Gerald (Jerry) Leroy McMillan, Born October 4, 1922 near Waynesville, Warren, OH; married 1949, Geraldine (Gerry) Ellen Miller, Born 1931. Divorced April 1975. Died 1/23/1996.

Their Children: Gen VIII
Deborah Lynn McMillan (Debbie)
Married Gerald (Jerry) Selleck, divorced

Their Children: Gen IX
Brett Lloyd Selleck
Melinda Rae Selleck, Married Michael Richmond
Kari Lynn Selleck, Married Mark Unrath, Born

Married Danny Ray Dailey, divorced
Married David Michael Ruthenberg

Cynthia Ann McMillan (Cindi
Married Stephen Liggett. Divorced
Their children: Gen IX
Japhy McMillan Liggett, Married Jenna

Married Kenneth Malz. Divorced.
Their children: Gen IX
Lisa Ann Malz

Married Michael Baltimore

Michael Stephen McMillan (Mike)
Married Terry ? Divorced.

Their Children: Gen IX
Zachary, Married Nichole ?
Their Children: Gen X
One child, need name and birth date
Tyler,
Stephanie,

Married Barbara.

finding just the right hairdresser

This is not of earth shattering significance, but I am still looking for the right hairdresser. Let me recap. One time at a cheap place. Four times at John Ryan's. Two times at Mannie's place. Once at the crazy razor lady's place. I debated going back to her, but my instinct told me that she was not a good hairdresser for my hair. So, I tried the Mall. Got in as a walk-in to Turner. I think he did a good job. It wasn't too expensive. Here is my picture. Time will only tell if this is the right hairdresser for me.

brain fog

I get frustrated sometimes, because I have fleeting thoughts, which I think are very profound and yet, when I try to sit down to write them down....they disappear or don't seem as profound.

I have moments when I would like to write about my experiences in my life or my thoughts on living, but again, when I sit down at the computer, but brain gets foggy. Is there a something trying to tell me not to write? Maybe the fog will lift later in my life? Do I have too much running around in my head? Is there a way to life the fog?

Quotes I like.

“Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over gain, and you will grow stronger until have accomplished a purpose - not the one you began with perhaps, but one you'll be glad to remember.” Ben Stein

“Try and fail, but don't fail to try.” Unknown.

Weekend activities

It was a pretty nice weekend. Dave and I went to Bowling Green's spring football scrimmage. Then we went to Frickers in Toledo. Dave wanted to show me where we might be holding the radio program if we can get them as sponsors for our show.

Then we stayed around the house because we wanted to watch the Tiger's game and we were kind of tired from being in the sun at the game.

Today we had breakfast at our favorite breakfast joint. We decided we would get both cars vacuumed out and cleaned before the rain came. Then I cleaned up my office a little. Put my second hard drive where I store all my pictures and stuff on into my new computer. Tried to find out where the little ants are coming from or what they are drawn to. Must be I am eating at my desk and leaving crumbs, but there are no ants in the kitchen area (that I have seen), so I assume that the ants are coming in from the corner of the building where some bricks are loose outside.

Days seem to be made of up mundane activities....nothing I do seems very important. I take care of the apartment, do the shopping, work, watch TV, relax, read and then it starts all over again.

can you guess the title quote?

Kari's title quote is from Princess Bride. Can you guess what movie mine is from? Hint: It is one of my favorites.

Mindy, Kari, Joannie.....if you get a chance to rent or see on Lifetime TV watch Ambulance Girl - Kathy Bates is in it. Think of me when you watch it. Think I should do something like that?

Another thought: Immigration problem. Solution: Make Mexico another U.S. state.

I had another thought that I was going to blog about, but Wednesday I became very sick with the darn flu (Joannie did you give that to me on Sunday?). Much better now, but oh, my gosh, I lost 5 pounds. I could not eat or drink all day. Still feel a little weak and iffy about eating anything exciting.

disinformation

Lately I have been noticing how you cannot believe half or even a quarter of what you hear in the news. I never used to watch the news, but now that I am home more, I do catch some of it. But you only hear what they want you to hear. The local news will make a big deal about a news story, but then you never hear the final outcome of the story.

Christian Coffee?

www.hebrewscoffee.us

A friend of Dave's and a group of his friend's buddies got together to start selling coffee on the internet.

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.