When I rule the world

Do the Right Thing

2011-03-19T23:41:00.004-04:00

I've always been a law abiding citizen. Well, mostly. I do follow my own set of rules from time to time but for the most part I adhere to the mores set forth by society. I have good judgement and know when it's OK to bend a rule here or there. I also know there are certain things you just don't do, especially if you can easily be caught. Take shoplifting for example. Years ago I may have thought nothing of sliding a Slim Jim up the sleeve of my shirt at 2am in a 7-11 but I'd never do such a thing now. I'm certainly more mature, have money to pay for munchies and wouldn't dream of eating a Slim Jim anyway, but mostly because the stakes are higher. I am a mother. I could never look my kids in the eye again. Then there's the humiliation in front of my peers, my friends, my family. What would my mother-in-law say?

Then there's technology to consider. Cameras are everywhere now. So much more so than in those old days when all you had to do was have a friend distract the cashier for a moment. Now there are cameras in the stores, parking lots and in every cell phone of every customer. Getting caught red-handed, I mean, in the act is so much more of a possibility. It would be on You Tube in minutes. Within five minutes there would be a Facebook page about it. Global humiliation. Not to mention the arrest.

That's why I was shocked, stunned really, Friday to watch a well dressed woman bolt out of the liquor store with a bottle in her Louis Vuitton purse. Before I even knew what I was doing I pointed at her and yelled to the cashier, "She's got a bottle in her purse. She just stole it!!!!!" I felt kind of like that smarmy kid in class who wrote your name on the board for talking when the teacher was out of the room. But I was so aghast I couldn't control myself. I followed the action into the parking lot. The clerk caught up with her at her car and took the wine from her and told her never to come back. I quickly flashed to a scene in a dusty town with the Sheriff running off the outlaw with a,"Don't come back, ya here?"

I asked what she said in response and the clerk told me she just started crying. "Poor thing," I thought. I really did feel badly for her. My friend Parker was with me and as we loaded my purchased booze into the car we pondered why she did it. Was she poor? Didn't seem to be. Well groomed, nice purse, drove a Highlander. Maybe she's an alcoholic and has no cash and can't charge it because her family will see it. Parker wished we could follow her to see what she would do next. I figured she would be long gone and was a little sorry for it. As I pulled to a stoplight Parker mentioned once more that he wished to follow her and lo and behold there was a Highlander pulling into a convenient getaway spot in the CVS parking lot! We had her.

Unfortunately the light was red. I was really wishing I had a siren and one of those Starsky and Hutch police lights I could throw on the roof to cruise through and nab the perp. However, I waited until it turned green and drove the posted speed limit, used my turn signal, and parked in a marked parking space. Parker wanted me to park her in but that would have blocked the drive-thru lane and I couldn't do such a thing even in the name of justice. I had no authorization.

We ran into the store and quickly made our way from aisle to aisle searching for the woman in the black and white top. And there she was in the pain relief aisle. Parker went to scout out what she was up to as I informed the store personnel. As the clerk called the manager who announced for security to scan all aisles Parker followed the lady around the store. She was carrying 8 bottles of Motrin PM and two boxes of Crest White Strips. I guess if you drink enough Motrin PM it could wreak havoc on your smile. Parker continued to follow her periodically updating us as to her behavior: walking erratically, putting the items in her purse, running out the door. The crack CVS staff did nothing to stop her. It seemed as though they really didn't care. But not to worry. Parker and Bebe were on the case. We ran out after her as she was pulling out of the parking lot. I think she's a pro. She knew just what she was doing. The look of surprise on her face as Parker ran after her was priceless. I don't think she thought we'd follow. Parker got the license number from her car and we went back inside.

Now, I didn't expect to be greeted as heros but when we told them we got her license number and the make of the car they didn't seem to care. The clerk reluctantly wrote down the information and shrugged mumbling something about maybe filing a police report.

For the second time in 15 minutes I was stunned. Really? You're doing nothing? I was so disappointed. I felt we had really done a good job tracking her and telling on her. But no one cared. We considered calling the police ourselves but chose not to. I'm not sure why and in hindsight it may have been a really good idea to call. This woman is obviously suffering in some way. Why else would she steal a magnum of Yellowtail Chardonnay one minute and Ibuprofin and teeth bleach the next? Then I started to feel guilty. Not for telling on her and following her but for not approaching her and calling her out and then asking if she needed help. Maybe she wanted to get caught. Maybe she needs attention because her kids are grown and her husband left her and she feels lonely. Maybe she's off her medication. Maybe she has some serious debt and is really desperate.

I'm a little disappointed in myself for realizing too late I may have been able to do something to help her. I was way too caught up in the chase living out a real life cops and robbers game from my youth. But maybe that's just it. The thrill was what it was all about for her. It certainly was for Parker and me. I can imagine the story she's telling her cronies or those at her shoplifter's support group, "... and then he came out of the store to get my license number! I almost hit another car trying to get away from him!" And as she finishes the story she chuckles and basks in the memory of it and how it made her feel.

So the next time I have a glass of Chardonnay I'll be sure to think about her and wonder what she's up to. I wonder if the next time she's in a store contemplating taking something without paying if she'll think about me.

The Ugly Side of Spring

2011-03-16T22:36:00.003-04:00

I am sick of Winter. I am tired of wind. I am tired of rain. I want it to be warm. I long for flip flop weather. As the days have been warming ever so slightly I've walked a little more slowly to the car, dawdled while getting the mail or taking out the trash. I've noticed some things I wouldn't take the time to see if it were cold. The hyacinths are poking their way through the mulch. Snowdrops have bloomed in the back yard. The spring birds have joined the winter birds and are singing louder.

While walking down the driveway to the mailbox today I noticed a naked snail slowly making its way. No. It was not a slug. It was a light brown snail, no shell. I do not usually fear bugs and creepy crawly things and I took the sighting as a positive move in the warm direction. It was pretty too though now that I really think about it. It was a very light brown and speckled with white with delicate antennae searching to and fro. I wondered where it was going and how it knew where to go. It made me happy to see yet another sign of the return of life that comes this time of year.

I didn't give it too much more thought as I headed to the street careful not to step in the bit of mud in front of the mailbox. Mud. There's a part of spring I could do without. I know, I know "April showers,...." blah, blah, blah. Of course I know rain is a good thing (country songs tell me that) but if only we could have less at once. Whenever there's a deluge a large mass of silt and mud is deposited at the bottom of the driveway. This debris settles into the treads of the kids' bike tires and shoes and inevitably shows up on the living room floor.

And then there's the walk to school. The path we take is through a yard, over a foot bridge and through a grassy plot. The path is muddy on a good day. After a rain it's down right Woodstock material. Slippery slopes and squishy puddles make a mess of shoes and hems along the way. You'd think the remaining walk along the street would work the mud out of the shoe treads but that doesn't happen. And again, more mud makes it's way inside no matter how many times I say, "Wipe your feet. Take off your shoes."

They do take off their shoes after wiping their feet but there's still mud there. Mud that will dry overnight. Mud that becomes a fine dirt that will fall from the shoe the next morning as the final step of the morning rush commences: putting on the shoes. For some reason it seems that it rains most when the house has just been cleaned and the shoes are hardest to put on the day after a muddy walk. Feet must be pounded into the shoes to get them on just right shaking that now dried mud into a pile on the freshly mopped floor.

The cats play a part in the ugliness of spring too. Monday was a mild day. The cats who usually spend their winter days curled up somewhere warm inside were itching to get outside. I saw Tiger doing what I thought was frolicking on the deck. Later as I opened the back door to check the temperature I was greeted by a sight I haven't seen since fall. Feathers. Lots of them sprinkled here and there and all over the welcome mat. Not so welcoming if you ask me. I realized now the frolicking I'd seen earlier wasn't a cat's dance to welcome the return of spring. Instead it was pouncing and chasing. Poor bird.

Not to be outdone was Jerry on the front porch. I found him later that afternoon licking his chops, a stray gray feather on his head. And more feathers by the door, under the chair and table. And right by the welcome mat a bird wing and a blood stain sat as a warning to other birds who might come calling. I reached for the broom cursing under my breath as tiny feathers escaped my sweeping and drifted under the storm door, into the house, onto the freshly mopped floor. Ugh. Gross.

Like all things in life, good comes with bad. So I guess if I have to suffer through mud and dead bird clean-up to get to wear my flip flops that is just the way it will have to be. Maybe I should instead embrace the ugliness. Rejoice that this is all I have to worry about today. My house is still standing. My family is safe. I'm not picking through rubble in search of survivors. I haven't lost everything I own. I'm not worried about radiation levels. Next time it rains I think we'll all put on our rain boots and go puddle jumping. Splash right in the biggest mud puddle we can find. Feel blessed that Mother Nature has chosen to be kind to us with a rain storm that will renew life rather than a calamity to rob us of everything. Marvel at the wonder of trees turning green. Listen to the sound of a giggle in the rain. Smell the freshness of the air after a storm. Remember all that we have and how precious it all is. Thankful for the ugliness of Spring.

Treme: Homefront Log; The Early Days, Day 8

2009-11-04T21:10:00.002-05:00

This morning Colson was already finished eating breakfast and on his way to brush teeth before I could even get downstairs. He had also already read 15 minutes before he woke up. The kid is truly a morning person. Bella on the other hand, slept until a very reasonable 7:30 again. She had a much better day today. I think she is finally caught up on her sleep.

We had a full car on the way to school this morning. I drove the girls so Siri wouldn't have to leave with sick Bitty. She looks much better. Her strep test was positive. She should be able to go back to school tomorrow though since she's been on the meds since last night. Fortunately no one else has gotten it. Brigid was home sick yesterday but she is better today - hers was not flu or strep - something she ate she thinks. Yikes.

I took down the Halloween decorations after my run this morning. Then I blew the leaves almost into a pile. There are so many! Dave did the way back today with the rider. Thank goodness I don't have to do that. I think I'll save the raking for Saturday after soccer and try to get the kids to join in - they dried and put away dinner dishes tonight, so I should probably cajole them into raking.

I took Dan, Krista and Ben out to lunch at Dukem today. It was so good. I was thoroughly stuffed too. They all had never had Ethiopian before and the all liked it. It's so close to Ben's apartment - only a 3 block walk. He's glad to have a good restaurant so close. Krista is very lovely. Her Aussie accent is slight but still sounds cool. Dan seems quite smitten. They may come with us to DC on Friday if we decide to go. Gran is planning a crab feast for Sunday for Dan. Krista has never had steamed crabs before so it should be interesting for her.

After school the kids did their homework and opted for a little Paul Blart, so I made dinner and we ate in front of the TV. Then it was time for a rousing game of Sorry. Bella won by getting a "1" card and said "Booya" as she moved her last piece into the home spot. She cracks me up.

Colson lost interest in the World Series since the Yankees were winning so he went up to read. I went up at 10 and he was still awake. Hopefully he'll sleep in a little tomorrow. We'll see.

Bella's got some news for you in the morning. See you then. I love you.

Treme: Homefront Log; The Early Days, Day 7

2009-11-03T23:07:00.002-05:00

This morning I was awakened at 6:30 by the sound of a metal spoon scraping the last bits of Apple Cinnamon Cheerios from the bowl Colson was having for breakfast. Daylight savings time has made this kids quite the early riser. I decided to join him downstairs, leaving Bella snuggled in our bed (when she came in during the night I have no idea). The beauty of getting up so early is that there's so much more time and the morning is that much more relaxed. I was finished making lunches by 7:00 am. Bella eventually woke up and joined us. I wanted her to sleep in though. She's been up late a few nights and been so weepy. Hopefully a few good nights' rest will help. I intended to begin a new work out routine after dropping the kids at school but I really wanted to get the kids' rooms cleaned first. Bella's was actually the easier of the two this time. I had a light lunch then headed to Baltimore Research for a market research panel about LEGO board games. They are actually pretty cool. Unfortunately they are not yet available here. I think Colson would really enjoy some of them. They seem to be a little more boy oriented. There's one game where you have to build items and the other players must guess what you are attempting to build; kind of like Pictionary with LEGOs.

I grabbed some soup at Atwaters and vegged on the computer while eating it. I then tackled changing Colson's sheets. It took me 10 minutes to put new sheets on that bed. Boy, if we had the room I'd get rid of the loft bed just so I wouldn't have to climb up to change the sheets.

It was a really beautiful day today. Sorry to have spent so much of it indoors but I did get through all of the laundry.

When the kids got home from school they did homework and watched a little TV. I had a Corned beef in the crock pot all day so dinner was ready early and we were able to eat before Guitar lessons. Parker and Chris stopped by on their way home from a hike at Oregon Ridge. They had a little dinner with us and took a look at the lodge. They were impressed. I hope to have them over one evening to sit and enjoy it a little.

During guitar lessons Bella and I shopped around in the store. She played the pianos and sat and played drums on the kid-size drum set. She wants those drums so badly. I guess it's good we don't have the room for a drum set.

When we got home Bella had a little melt down over nothing and we talked about how to handle feeling sad that you are away. I hope it helps. I need to come up with some solutions for her to express how she is feeling rather than just skipping right to sobbing. After she calmed down we played a math game together. We chatted with Nana for a bit too. Bella went to bed and Colson and I played a game of Sorry before he went up to read. We've got to bring back pizza and game night - although perhaps we'll do sushi and game night since I can't eat pizza.

We'll, there's a load of dry laundry begging to be folded and a tub that wants me to soak for a while so I'll bid you goodnight. I love you and miss you. Have a great day tomorrow.

Treme: Homefront Log; The Early Days, Day 6

2009-11-03T00:05:00.002-05:00

Colson popped out of bed and into the shower at 6:30 this morning. That kid just doesn't know the meaning of the words "sleep in". Bella wasn't too far behind. The morning was uneventful and according to plan. Bella did a nice job with her piano lessons and Colson built a hive dive for his mansion that touches the ceiling in the basement. We walked to school and it was pretty chilly. Bella thinks she's going to start wearing a hat and mittens. Perhaps if she wore a coat rather than a sweat shirt she may be a little warmer. I went for a 6 mile run after dropping them off. It felt great but I am beat. I am going to try a new routine tomorrow if I'm not in too much pain. I'll let you know how that goes.

I cleaned again (I seem to be doing that every day). The floors were trashed from Saturdays party since the rain made the leaves stick to everyone's shoes when they came in for the bathroom. So, I ran through with a mop and a vacuum. I still haven't gotten the bedrooms done but I hope that can be accomplished tomorrow. Bitty had a fever today so I went and sat with her while Siri took Liv to the doctor for her 2 month check up. She was up to 103 last time I saw her. I hope she's doing better. Siri's really nervous that she's getting the flu.

The girls walked home with us today since Bitty was sick. I think Bella liked that a lot. She wanted to play with them after homework but we needed to boogie to the airport to welcome Dan and Krista home. We picked Jimmy up at the house where he's been working and headed on down. We hit a little tunnel traffic so we didn't get to see them come through the gate. We met them at baggage claim. It was cool - we had quite a crowd. Merey, Richard, Sophie, Sue, Walter, Ben, Mitch, Mom, Shane, Finn, Ian, Me and Bella and Colson. Bella's favorite part was when Ben was swinging them around and spinning them on the floor. In fact, Bella said she was glad she didn't stay to play with the girls because she had so much fun with Ben.

We all went to dinner at a really bad restaurant in Catonsville. Well, the Barden's didn't join us, but every one else went. It was nice company, but the food was not so good. There weren't too many choices there for me either. Sue picked up the check which was very generous of her. All the kids sat at a table by themselves. It looked so strange to see a table of 5 kids and no adults. They behaved fairly well though. As we pulled into the driveway, Colson saw the Volvo and I think he thought you were home for a minute. He said he wished you were here. I agreed. They are going to be so psyched when you come home on the 13th.

Bella was so tired when we got home. She was asleep in no time. Colson watched a little of the World Series but decided to go read instead. He was happy that the Phillies were winning though. And I am now quite sleepy myself so I shall go to bed. I love you. Hope you had fun at the Saints' game.

Treme: Homefront Log; The Early Days, Day 5

2009-11-01T21:31:00.002-05:00

I thought Colson might sleep in this morning but he woke up at the usual hour. It was nice though because instead of going down and getting his breakfast started, he snuggled in bed with me and we talked for about a half hour. It was such a treat to have him all to myself. We talked about trick or treating a little and we talked about school and friends. I will treasure that time.

We had some breakfast and I was putting off going outside to cleanup the aftermath. Joe said he'd come help after Church and Jen Stoner called to say she would come help soon. I went out and did trash patrol - 4 bags! Lots of stiemies. All in all though it wasn't too messy. I washed the dishes and Jen and Cindy showed up to take what they could. We loaded everything into the Lidard's wagon and they set off to deliver everything to the rightful owners.

The kids and I headed to Target to get a gift for Bella's friend Eva whose party was this afternoon. I guess the Mom's not much of a Raven's fan considering she scheduled the party for 1:00pm. I left Colson in the car so he could listen tot he game while I dropped Bella. He gave a pretty good summary of what had missed. We grabbed beverages at the Starbucks drive through and then hit SuperFresh to pick up some snack I could eat. Finally we got to the Sabo's. Jen, Glinda, Kerry and Cindy were there. Drew, Brigid and Emma showed up later. Bloodies were flowing but I held off until after I picked Bella up at 3:00. It's funny that when we pulled up to the house at the end of the first quarter they scored a field goal and when I pulled up to the house at the end of the third quarter, they scored another field goal. I was still a little nervous at that point about the game and said I'd like them to score another touchdown. And they did two plays later. That was nice of them to listen to me. The Sabo's TV is wounded and you can't see the top of the screen - so the score and timer were obscured. Colson and Matthew were TV snobs and decided to go to the Jahries house to finish watching the game. Colson got his arm stuck in the recliner while I was picking up Bella. They said he cried a bit about it but was OK. It must have been fine as he never mentioned it to me.

After the delicious win, we hit the hot tub in Glinda's yard. It was lovely. Brigid, Jen, Glinda, Cindy and I all soaked while Kerry watched. She didn't feel like walking all the way home to get her suit on! Typical Kerry.

After I dried off and Bella made arrangements with Kerry to party on a Saturday morning, we grabbed Colson and Matthew and headed to Gran's. Bella really liked Jane's dog. I was surprised though when she didn't bug me about getting one. I thought for sure that's all she would talk about. But she didn't say one word about it.

Sue brought some poster board and markers so we could all make signs for Dan's homecoming tomorrow. I translated Welcome home Dan and Krista into Korean and put that on my sign. Bella made one that said "Welcome home Dan. I Love you." Finn's said, "I thought you were never coming gome." The plan is to get as many of the family as possible to go to the airport tomorrow to hold the signs to welcome them. I think it will be Sue, Lilly, Walter, Ben, Mom, Merey, Sophie, Mitch and the kids and us. I think he'll like that very much. Can't wait to meet Krista. Sue thinks it's pretty serious with them. They are already planning on staying another year in Korea. They are both currently looking for jobs for when they get back.

OK, that's all. Gotta go soak. I love you and miss you more than Dairy and Eggs.

Treme: Homefront Log; The Early Days, Day 4

2009-11-01T21:09:00.004-05:00

Halloween was a blast. The kids really had a great day. Bella crawled into bed with me and the first thing she said was, "Happy Halloween, Mommy!" She was very excited. Soccer was cancelled due to extremely muddy field conditions so it was nice to just laze around a little. We eventually got going and hit the grocery store. You'd think having two helpers would have made the trip a little easier, yet it seemed to take longer than usual. Could have been the constant Bella nagging but I can't say for sure. We saw Mrs. Corbo on the way into the store and saw Mrs. Dyer and baby in the store. The kids were thrilled. It was like rock star sighting.

We unloaded the groceries and the kids were a big help putting things away. I didn't even have to ask Colson to help. Wow! Bella helped but was more interested in putting the Halloween candy into the bowl.

I was hungry and in no mood to make lunch so we headed to Nordstrom Cafe. We had a great lunch and they were both so well behaved. They sat still and ate and colored their place mats. I almost hated to leave they were getting along so well. We rounded off our Hampton sightings on the way out when we saw Mrs. Kaiser lunching with her mom. We chatted for a minute with them, then were off. They told the story of seeing three teachers last night and today as well. They really got a kick out of it.

Next we headed to Lorenzo's and Alicia's house. Jr. Boom is getting quite large. He's very cute too. He showed his crawling skills a little but mostly played with toys. He was dressed as Yoda - very cute. They had cupcakes and cookies for the kids to decorate with icing and sprinkles. They loved that. Colson had about a pound of icing on his. We stayed for about an hour and had to get going as there was much to do to prepare for the evening.

We were going to get more pumpkins for carving but we all agreed time was running short and we probably would not have enough time to properly carve them. Oddly enough, I was not that disappointed about not carving a pumpkin. It typically is my favorite thing, but I just wasn't that into it. It's interesting to note that as we discussed not carving this year - we were not the only ones. A lot of folks said they just didn't feel like it. Strange.

Once we were home, the phone call flurry began. Suggestions were made and opinions were gathered as to where to hold the party. It was decided that the Lodge would be the safest bet as it had the best rain protection. So, I set into partial party mode. You should have seen me in my orange pashmina handling the leaf blower in style. Joe set up the pop up and Kerry arranged the furniture and we were all set. I had quite a few kids in the makeup chair this year. Bella wanted a horse shoe and USA on her cheek, Annaliese got spooky vampire makeup, I made up Emma Carter's face for her Hannah Montanna transformation, Bitty got whiskers and a pink nose. The party was in full swing by the time I got outside. The pork was delicious. That and the carrots were the only things I could eat but everything else looked great. The Lodge was full but not crowded and the couch can hold a good amount of people.

We headed out to trick or treat around 6:30. The kids were so excited. We got to Tenbury and the big kids broke off to go further while I stayed with the smaller ones. It began to ran soon after we turned around so we tried to pickup the pace a little. We got to Jack's house and everyone had some delicious cider. Jim took the hearse for a spin. We finished up at the Lopolito's house and decided to go see Gran who was hanging in the back yard. She of course had candy for all the kids. We realized that we missed the court so we took the kids over once the big kids got back. Bella was done at that point so i took her home while the older kids continued to the street with no name. They had a blast. The first thing Colson and Ben did when they got back was to weight their candy. Emma Carter had the most with 7 lbs.

The kids changed into PJ's and watched Paul Blart, Mall Cop. We were trying to arrange sleepovers but no one wanted to stay. Bella, Emma, Emma and Annaliese headed to the Carter's and didn't get to sleep until almost midnight. Colson was so jealous when he heard that.

Jim, Siri, Jen and I hung out for a while longer until there was no fire wood left. It was a realy fun night. We missed you.

Treme: Homefront Log; The Early Days, Day 3

2009-10-31T08:24:00.002-04:00

The day began in typical style. Colson was up first, followed by Bella then me. Matthew came and brought a pair of jeans for Colson's school party where they dressed as their favorite book character. Colson was dressing as Jack from The Magic Treehouse series. I asked him how he liked the jeans and he said he didn't like them at all and that he felt claustrophobic. By the end of the day though he liked them a little more but not enough to warrant me buying a pair for him.

Bella was up, dressed and ready to go in her cowboy boots, jeans and new t-shirt. She had her vest and hat in a bag which she brought down and placed by the door. I think she was a little excited about her party. wWe added braided pigtails and she was all set.

We walked to school, just the 4 of us. Everyone else has wimped out this week and driven. It was down right chilly though. I was dressed for running and couldn't wait to start so I could warm up. I ran almost 4 miles and felt great. I'm really looking forward to a nice long run on Monday. I may try for 5. It's strange how the longer I run, the better I feel.

I came home and cleaned the bathroom and had some lunch. I made a delicious grilled Haloumi, ham and tomato sandwich with jalapeno and cilantro mustard. Yum.

I hopped in the shower and began to ready my witchy self for Bella's party. I really had fun with my makeup this time: very dramatic eyes, hollowed out my cheeks and played up my wrinkles. The look on Bella's face when I walked in was priceless. She looked so cute in her costume. The kids really had a good time. They played pin the nose on the pumpkin, made bookmarks and had cupcakes and pretzels. I didn't dare go to Colson's class. I can only imagine the mortification of my showing up as a witch. He said his party was a lot of fun though.

I came home and washed most of my face leaving the dramatic eyes. I figured since I was going out later I may as well just keep it. I quickly changed and walked back up (alone again) to get the kids. I considered staying in costume to pick them up but I didn't want to embarrass Colson. Of course, I was telling that to the gang at pickup and Colson overheard andsaid it would have been cool if I was dressed as a witch! Go figure, I guess he's getting over his being embarrassed by me.

We came home and Matthew and Colson played legos and football while Bella, Emma and Annaliese wrote and illustrated a Halloween story. Jill came by to pick up the boys while I took Bella for her hair cut. She just got a trim but it looks much better - less shaggy. She and I picked up a chicken at SuperFresh for dinner and she picked out a few salad bar items for herself then we grabbed Colson on the way home. The kids were very excited for Hana to come and Bella hid to surprise her when she came in. They were eager to show her the back yard but Bella's thoughts soon turned to a movie. So they ordered "Monsters vs. Aliens" popped some popcorn and had at it.

I picked up Mom, Sue and Walter and we headed down to Mob Town theater. I bought a bag of props and a bottle of wine. We had quite a crowd - we took up the first two rows. When Parker walked in he created a stir and we all hooted and hollered as he walked down to his seat. He wore a blue dress, black wig, zebra bra and black low heeled sandals. He sat in the front row and got a nod of approval from Frankfurter from the stage.

Before the show started one of the actresses came out to give the lowdown on the show and the audience participation. She asked who the Rocky Horror Virgins were and asked us to come up. So, Ben, Alicia, Mic and some others came up on stage to be marked as virgins. We got v's on our hands in red lipstick but before she would write them we had to fake an orgasm. Somewhat embarrassing - poor Mic had to go first and he was right in front of Merey, Richard and Sophie. Then Ben went, right in front of Gran, Walter and Sue. Then it was my turn, I started but got too embarrassed to go to far. Poor Alicia just said, "I can't do this, my boyfriends whole family is here including his Grandmother." So, she let her off easy. It was really funny.

The show was great and the singing was really good. Jimmy played a mixture of Jimmy/Timmy which was really pretty funny. He looked like he was really having a good time. At the end of the show the cast invited people onto the stage to do the Time Warp. The narrator came over and grabbed Mom and took her up on the stage - she didn't do the time warp but they danced together. She really enjoyed it. After the show we were talking to various cast members. Jimmy was talking to the director and I wandered over in that direction and started singing what was on the radio. The director heard me and told me to audition for the next show. I asked him what they were doing and he said "Little Shop of Horrors" so I burst into "Suddenly Seymour" and he smiled. Maybe I will have to think about that.

Treme: Homefront Log; The Early Days, Day 2

2009-10-29T20:54:00.002-04:00

Today began a little earlier as Colson woke up at 7 and was ready for action. Bella slept in a little. I did not. I joined Colson in the kitchen as he was finishing his breakfast. You've just gotta love a self-sufficient kid. He went upstairs to practice guitar and as I helped Bella pick out her clothes I heard a much improved "Don't Stop Believing" coming from his room. At guitar practice Tuesday, Matt taught him "Crazy Train" and "Fire on the Mountain". He'll be very well rounded in terms of musical genre.

The weather was pretty nice today, overcast at high 50's so we walked even though Bella insisted that she hates walking. It's nice to walk with the crunch of leaves underfoot. I returned home and attempted to clean the kitchen. I was distracted often. As I cleaned the table I noticed how dirty the outside window sill was. So I spent 20 minutes cleaning the exterior kitchen windows and frames. Of course I then had to do the kitchen doors as well. The phone rang a few times and the dinging of fresh emails caught my attention once or twice. Cleaning the countertops led to cleaning out a cabinet to make room for supplements which led to washing some water lined mugs to put in the freezer which led to wiping out the freezer. Finally though I did get most of the room clean. I took a lunch break and watched "Clean House" (go figure!) before heading to school for Finer Diner.

Siri stopped at Micky D's for the kids' lunches and she was kind enough to pick up some fries for Colson and me to share. He was thrilled. The kids were pretty well behaved and seemed to enjoy their prizes of Halloween themed erasers and pencils. Once back at home I organized some art fundraiser papers and reluctantly went back to face the kitchen floor.

My focus was better and I whipped through the task not stopping at the end of the kitchen though. I cleaned all the wood floors, then vacuumed the rugs. I cleaned the bathroom and butlers pantry too. I was on a cleaning roll. Nothing could stop me. Next, on to the upstairs. Well, maybe tomorrow. It was time to pick up the kids so the bedrooms will have to wait.

No dead animals on the way home today. Only Bea running amok with the kids trying to catch her to get her back in the house.

Ellen Birkenthal was waiting on the porch for us with a dress form her daughter bought at a yard sale. She no longer wants it and thought I might so she sold it to me. It's very old and a little junky, but I think I can make it work. Mostly, it's going to be a wicked and creepy Halloween decoration. I'm going to get some gauzy black fabric to make a dress. I think it will be a headless ghost of some sort. I may try to rig a sound effect in it too.

After homework, Bella headed over to Theresa's where she stayed to have dinner. Ben Stoner came and played with Colson and wound up having dinner with us. When Bella got home we all went to Old Navy for a shirt for Bella's costume. We then just had to check out the Spirit Halloween store after how creepy and scary it sounded from Ben's description. Thank heavens I didn't need to buy anything there. The line went all the way to the back of the store. We browsed all the scary and bloody items then decided it was time to go. Ben thinks the owner of Spirit "really thinks outside the box." He then described an item in the store that made him think this. It's a portrait of a man, but when you walk past it, the picture is of a skeleton. Therefore - out of box thinking.

We got home a little before 8 and I told the kids to head up for PJ's and teeth. The doorbell rang which creeped me out a little but it was only Mitch and Shane. Mitch is dressing as a country singer tomorrow for work and needed a wig and hat. So up to the attic I went and with just a little digging I found what she needed. Why I didn't get my costume out while I was up there I'll never know. I'll have to go back up in the morning though. Bella wants me to dress as a witch for her class party.

So, now they are in bed and I've still got dinner dishes to do - and no, I'm not slacking. The dishwasher was still running when dinner was over so I couldn't do them right away. I do not really like the whole cooking and cleaning of dinner. I took trash and recycling out today too. Heavy lifting can't be too far off.

Hope you had a lovely day. Goodnight.

Treme: Homefront Log; The Early Days, Day 1

2009-10-28T23:29:00.004-04:00

So far, so good. Of course, he's only been gone one and a half days, so how bad could it really be. We spoke twice yesterday after he left and 4 times today. Soon, the video chats will commence and we can have dinners and breakfasts "together" on the weekends. I have high hopes that this initial separation will fly by and Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Then he'll be home for Christmas and we'll drive each other batty by the end of the two weeks and he'll be off again. Of course, this is all speculation. I've got lots of projects in the Lodge and in the house to occupy my idle hours, soccer and homework, baths and music lessons and general child entertainment to occupy the others.

I shall now enter the days' activities for Frank's behalf so he can feel more involved in our day to day. It is completely understandable for the rest of you to want to ignore the rest of this posting as it will most likely be dull and uninteresting unless you were married to me or the father of my children. Read on if you wish. There will be no personal messages, gushy "I - miss - you" type entries and certainly nothing vulgar. At least not yet. Maybe later in these 5 months of separation, but not now.

This morning I woke sandwiched between the kids, Bella's elbow in my face and Colson's feet on my legs. Pure bliss, but tonight I vow to sleep alone. Colson hopped directly into the shower and Bella dressed and joined me downstairs. I opened the doors and was so surprised by the warmth of the morning. It was a little drizzly but there was not a chill in the air.

Matthew came in shortly and went directly to the basement for some Poptropica. Shortly after, as I was getting the lunches in the bags (the lunches I had prepared the night before - what a time saver!) the lights flickered on and off a half dozen times ending with full power outage. Colson exclaimed we had blown the circuit breaker but as all the power in the house was out, I assured him that was not the case. We opened all the shades in the house and the doors in order to let in more light, but as it was overcast, this was barely helpful. So, we dug through the dining room and found two candles and lit them. Matthew lamented the loss of computer when Colson joined us in the kitchen. At least he was able to finish his shower before the lights went out. I prepared breakfast and the children ate by candlelight. I tried to find a working flashlight in the kitchen, but since the kids use them so much to play flashlight tag, neither had any juice left. I put in new batteries, and even replaced a bulb in one but still neither worked. I have to remember to get new flashlights tomorrow.

I went into the dark basement and into the dimly lit garage and sifted through the camping gear until I found the bag o' flashlights. Thankfully, most of them worked and the kids brushed their teeth and played checkers and chess by their light.

Soon we were off to school. We walked even though there was a light misty drizzle (fo' shizzle). We spoke of Halloween and leaves and Bella told me what she liked best about fall and winter. Fall: leaves falling, Halloween candy, trick or treating, Halloween parties. Winter: sledding, hot cocoa, s'mores by the fire, friends coming over for parties after sledding.

I went for a 50 minute run and felt better than I have felt running in a while. I guess I need to go more than once a week. I came home and the power was still out which made me a little nervous about the fridge and freezer contents, but my worry was for naught when the power came back on shortly after. I had some lunch while finishing my library book - quick read, nice story - then I headed to the Dr.'s to pick up more supplements. My spirits were buoyed somewhat after she told me my dietary changes would most likely not be permanent. Here's hoping. I really miss eggs!

I headed down to Arundal Mills Mall to return something to J. Crew and meandered though Bass Pro shops hoping to find some fun thing for the Lodge. I didn't find the perfect thing, but I got some ideas from the fish mounts, bear welcome signs and deer wind chimes. I hunted down some perfect cowboy boots for Bella's costume and got her some new jeans with "Hello Kitty" on the back pocket - she's really into jeans suddenly - we'll see how long that lasts.

I got home with plenty of time to spare before picking up the kids. So I set about looking for the origin of the fruit flies. There are about 100 of them stuck to the fly traps I placed near the vinegar traps. It's disgusting, but I think they work more quickly than the vinegar traps so maybe this will stop them before they can procreate.

I walked up to pick up the kids - the weather now quite beautiful, partly cloudy and warm. The walk home was quite normal, though Bella made plans with Courtney and Caroline for later in the evening. We hurried home to get ready for Colson's hair cut, but first I made a quick stop off at the Collins' house to see Bitty's new gap-tooth smile. She had her two front teeth pulled. She was quite eager to show them to us in her new tooth box. She looks adorable.

We headed to Texture and I asked Marcus to cut is short but stylish. We looked through a book and agreed on a style that was short in the back but still long enough in front not to be above his ears. He looks adorable and young and I can see the toddler he once was if I look hard enough if he's not standing that is.

When we got home, the kids went into the Lodge to do their homework. Colson was on the couch already started when I came out. Bella was pushing a dead squirrel with a stick across the patio. It was a rather small squirrel, probably the one I'd been watching forage for nuts yesterday morning. He had no sign of any trauma: no cuts, not blood, no deformity. It was our second dead squirrel of the day in fact. In front of Dave's house there was a large dead squirrel with a broken rock next to it. Colson, CSI detective that he is, immediately blamed a few of the neighborhood kids for murdering the poor creature. I asked a kid from the Street With No Name about it. Sure, he'd thrown the rock at it, but it was already dead. Colson didn't buy it at first. But then we talked about how hard you'd have to throw a rock to kill a squirrel and how accurate you'd have to be in that throw and we determined that kids just didn't have that skill set and it must have been a car. Why throw a rock at a dead squirrel? Why not?

Back to the baby squirrel in the back yard: Not being a vet and never having before performed a necropsy, I decided it best to just assume the poor young squirrel had eaten something it oughtn't and move on. So I picked it up with some paper by it's tail and threw it into the woods. Bella was a little annoyed when I wouldn't let her do it but she soon got over it and began her math.

With homework completed, the earlier plans for a get together between Bella, Courtney and Caroline came to fruition. They played well together at first, but Courtney soon became somewhat weepy and cried at the drop of a hat. That combined with her runny nose gave me cause to put an end to one half of the play date. She seemed really tired and didn't balk at the suggestion of going home. So, I called Kerry and she soon came and got her.

Caroline and Bella continued to play as I began dinner and Colson finished up his homework.

He wrote a great story for reading homework. I'll have him read it to you tomorrow. He made up some really great characters with unusual names.

We had dinner in the Lodge while I attempted to start a fire with slightly damp wood - the open flew and the rain combined to thwart my scheme. But I prevailed with many a match, a few pieces of cardboard (from the box the bottle opener arrived in!) and lots of the fire starting goo. Cindy came to pick up Caroline soon after dinner and the kids munched on some Thin Mints while building club houses and staircases with the pine scraps. I foraged for a few dry pieces of fire wood to keep the fire going for reading time. The kids got into their PJ's and grabbed blankets and books and we read out on the new couch under the floor lamp borrowed from the den. I put Bella to bed (in her room - here's hoping she stays there) while Colson continued reading. I joined him and did a little fundraiser paperwork but he was growing sleepy so I helped him in with his things at sent him off to bed.

I poured a glass of wine and cozied up to the fire and did a little catalog shopping for a bit. Popped myself some popcorn and watched "Northanger Abbey".

And so that has us caught up on Day 1. Enjoy your evening. We love you and miss you.

The trouble with Spring

2009-06-11T11:02:00.003-04:00

Each spring as the grass turns green and the air fills with the heady scents of lilac and vibernum I grow excited about the season. Warm weather, rainy days, and blooming flowers combine to encourage us outdoors. I willingly go outside and take a deep breath, sucking in the newness to revive my soul. But when I come back in the house is when I remember what it is that irks me so much about spring. One little four-letter word sums up the bane of my spring: ants. Little tiny ants invade my kitchen each and every spring without fail. They are small, yet they come en mass crawling up and down the cabinets, across the counter tops and into the pantry. Sometimes they feast on the cat food, other times they find a open sweet on the microwave. But mostly I just see them running back and forth, not carrying any food to the nest, not really doing anything useful as far as I can tell.

So, I put out my tried and true ant poison Terro. Sounds scary and intimidating. Should strike terror in the hearts of my little uninvited guests. Typically the ants feast on the sugary syrup, return to the nest to poison the rest and I never see them again. But this year I think they've built up an immunity. They've been eating the poison for at least a month now and still they are in my house every day.

I try to ignore them but that is so difficult as each time I open the pantry I see ants scurrying. When I use the sinks, ants run from the water. When I wipe down the counters, I swipe the little bugs into the cloth and rinse them down the drain. And they are not just in the kitchen. Oh, no. They've found a way in through the den where the cable comes into the house. They march across the carpet as I'm watching TV, searching for a crumb or a bit of dropped popcorn.

It's amazing to me how many ants there are. How, no matter how many I squish, more keep coming in the house. When I vacuum the floor, sucking up ants as I go, I feel as though I'm defeating them until I see them crawl back out of the vac later on.

I have some options I know. Since the ants seem to be from an advanced colony immune to my poison, I could call in the big guns: Orkin or Paramount. But the thought of more chemicals in my house really bothers me. I could ignore them, hoping they will get bored with my food and go off in search of some high fructose corn syrup in some other house.

Or I could just decide to peacefully coexist with them. That's probably what Buddah would do. I could see them for the amazing creatures they really are. So industrious and strong. So determined to find food and water. So f-ing annoying!!!

OK. The peaceful coexistence is not going to work. Anybody know a good exterminator?

Health Insurance Absurdity

2009-05-06T20:42:00.003-04:00

The closer I come to turning 40, the more health conscious I become. I try to eat organically grown produce. I rarely eat meat. I eat wild caught fish and try to stay away from the "bad" ones. I make healthy choices when it comes to snack foods skipping trans-fats and high fructose corn syrup. I rarely drink soda and if I do, I opt for one made with natural ingredients.

After living this way for a few years, I decided I ought to make sure I'm as healthy as I think I am. So I scheduled an appointment for a physical. For those of you who know me well I'm sure this comes as a surprise. I haven't had a primary care doctor since my pediatrician. But, I made the appointment and went in for a checkup. The doctor thought I was in pretty good shape but wanted me to see a dermatologist for a skin check. I made the appointment and 6 months later, went in for my skin check (note to those who are looking to go into the medical profession - dermatology may be the way to go - these docs are seriously busy).

Immediately the doc noticed the large amount of sun damage on my face and arms. Fortunately she didn't see anything needing direct attention in terms of biopsy but she did prescribe Retin-A for the brown patches on my face.

So, I took my prescription to my local CVS, dropped it off and came back to pick it up 2 hours later. It wasn't ready and the pharmacist seemed a little baffled but told me he'd call when it was ready. Well, before I arrived home he had already called. I called him back and he told me that the prescription was pending pre-authorization from the insurance company. It seems that the insurance company needed to talk to the doctor to be sure I really needed the Retin-A. Obviously a written prescription from the doctor for the cream was not enough proof that she wanted me to use it. They need to be super sure so they need to talk to her first. So CVS told me to call back in 48 hours and maybe everything would be taken care of by then. By then, hopefully, the doctor would have convinced the insurance company that, yes in fact she did want me to have it other wise, I can only assume she would not have written the script in the first place.

I wonder if this ever happens in the case of something a little more timely, say blood pressure medicine or asthma medication. Are there people out there being hospitalized while awaiting drugs requested for them?

I also wonder if the doctor ever says, "Oh yeah, I forgot, I really didn't mean to prescribe that. Boy, it's a good thing you called, otherwise my patient would have taken something they didn't need." I don't put all my faith in doctors of western medicine but I can't imagine a doctor is going to prescribe Retin-A unless she thinks the patient needs it. Strangely enough, I've been prescribed and received Oxycodone a number of times with no further authorization. And that's a drug I could sell on the street in a heart beat.

I guess there is a reason for this delay and I'll probably never understand it. Hopefully this is not the kind of thing that happens in a more critical situation. And hopefully I can get my Retin-A soon and get rid of these brown patches so I can look as healthy as I feel.

2009-03-12T09:53:00.002-04:00

I ran yesterday and I passed 5 blonde haired women and 2 brunettes. One blonde said hello to me (I know her so it doesn't really count). Of the four others, only one nodded a greeting. She was easily past 60 and her hair was no longer naturally blonde so I'm not really sure she can count either. The 2 brunettes looked at me and one smiled, one nodded. The 3 remaining blondes though avoided eye contact. One looked straight up in the sky as I passed her. I looked too just in case there was a UFO or something interesting to see. But there was nothing more than the overcast sky. Before I approached her she was looking straight ahead, so I waved and nodded. That's when she looked up. The other two were walking together. I passed them from behind and looked over to nod my greeting. They both looked right at me and continued their conversation as though I had made to attempt at civility. I soon got to my turn-around point so I passed them again, this time head on. I thought I'd try the friendly thing again (that's just how I roll) but instead of looking at me as I passed within 2 feet of them, they both looked off to the right avoiding all eye contact. So, is it a blonde thing. Are brunettes friendlier? Are we more sure of ourselves and therefore able to see the fellow runner/walker as a sister in exercise rather than a competitor or perhaps someone to be ignored. I certainly will be conducting further research into this. I wish I had recorded the hair color of the people who ignored me last time I rode on the trail. Maybe I should call Cambridge University. I think I'm onto something here.

Shut UP!!!

2009-01-17T09:42:00.003-05:00

My darling husband and I went to lunch together yesterday at San Sushi II in Towson. We came in from the freezing cold to be seated at a cozy corner table. We ordered hot tea and soup and were soon sipping the warmth. It was lunch time and the place was pretty crowded but being seated in the sushi bar area is not too noisy as the padded walls absorb so much of the sound. There were two business men having lunch behind us. I hardly noticed them as they were not the type to yell their conversation, rather they sat conversing in quiet tones. Frank and I were having a nice quiet conversation of our own.

And then, the loudest most obnoxious ring tone was heard. I wasn't sure where it was coming from at first as no one was moving to answer it. Then, slowly business man #1 dipped into his pleated khaki pocket and drew out the still-ringing phone. He looked at it and said,"Ugh." He continued looking at it as it continued it's nerve-jangling sound. He finally decided to answer it on the 5th ring. But the noise did not stop there. Oh no. He took on a completely different vocal quality from his conversation with his dining partner. I'm pretty sure the guys in the kitchen could hear him over the clanging and banging of pots and pans. He informed his caller that he was at lunch and I thought that would perhaps be the end of it. But he kept on talking. The conversation was not about any emergency. Children were not dying and he certainly was not a brain surgeon needed back at the hospital stat. He was making arrangements to watch a movie with this person later. And he would be sure to call him back as soon as lunch was over and he got back to his office so they could firm up their plans because that's what he was doing. "Yeah, I'm going back to the office. Are you going to be around? OK I'll call you when I get back to my office."

Maybe I was supposed to be impressed that he had an office. I'm not really sure. But I couldn't wait for him to get off the phone. He was talking so loudly that Frank and I were unable to continue our conversation. It was terribly distracting. Then, after a few assurances of calling back later. He hung up. He and businessman #2 chuckled a little about the caller and then went right back to a normal toned conversation. Which was great as Frank and I were then able to continue our conversation. Of course, I was inclined to talk about how irritating it is when people talk so loudly on their phones. And how annoying it is that people don't put their phones on vibrate when in a restaurant. And how I can't understand why people don't just ignore the call.

I have been in the situation before where I've needed to use the phone when in a public place. If I can't ignore it, I excuse myself and go to an anteroom or outside. And if I were to answer in a restaurant at the table, I would certainly do so in the quietest tone I could. I don't really have a problem with people talking on their phones in public. My real problem is why they feel the need to raise their voice to talk. It's a phone, right next to the mouth. No yelling is really necessary. I could understand if the phone were across the room. But it's right there connected to your face!!!!

Phew. I'm glad I have this forum to vent about things that piss me off. So, when I rule the world there will be punishments for people who use heir phones in a rude manner. It will be completely acceptable for me to do what I wanted to do when BM#1 answered him phone: Take his phone, hang up the call and yell,"Shut up." in his face. Perhaps it will even be legal to confiscate the phone of an obnoxious user. Kind of a modern-day stock. The offender will be publicly humiliated, condemned by his peers and unable to offend again without the cost of replacing the phone. I think that it would only take one confiscation to make someone really think long and hard about answering and talking loudly. Ah, I can dream can't I?

Mi Fit

2009-01-15T10:03:00.002-05:00

Now that the house is back together after a whirlwind Christmas/Vacation period I thought it was time to get this body back in shape. I could go to the gym but the thought of running indoors on a treadmill depresses me a bit. So I cracked open the Wii Fit Santa brought to us. I set up my profile and took the Body Fit test. This test rates your balance, BMI, weight and gives you your Wii Fit Age. I'm happy to say I'm 35 in Wii Fit years. I don't like that I'm only a pound or two away from being overweight though according to my BMI. I think Wii Fit is putting a little too much stock in the BMI. I'm not sure that's so accurate a measure as it does not take into account fat vs. muscle. But I now have a baseline from which to measure my progress. And I have a real way to track my workouts. each time you "play" Wii Fit, your minutes are charted on a graph. And if you miss a day, the animated balance board will give you crap for it. I worked out two days and took a day off. When I turned it on on the 4th day the board asked, "Too tired to work out yesterday?" I love it. A smart ass computer to motivate me.

In addition to the Body Fit test there are 4 Training Categories : Yoga, Strength Training, Aerobics and Balance Games. For the Yoga and Strength Training you are given a trainer who shows you how to do each move and encourages you and gently tells you improvement is needed. For example, I suck at pushups and after I did what I thought was a good job on the pushup move she said, "I can see you're not quite strong enough for this move yet. Keep working out to improve your strength." Well, I'll show her. And I have. I no longer cheat and do my push ups with my knees on the floor. You see, the balance board is constantly measuring the weight and when I was on my knees, it knew and wouldn't credit me for having done the pushup. They aren't pretty push ups, but I do get credit for them now.

Another good motivator is the Piggy Bank. For each move or game you play you are awarded credits. These credits unlock new games, moves or increased reps or activity levels. As I run through all the Yoga moves, I may unlock a new balance game. I was overjoyed yesterday when I unlocked Snow Boarding. Frank asked if he could try it. "Oh, no," said I. Only I have unlocked it. And if he got on the board pretending to be me, it wouldn't work. So of course I gloated about all the games I had unlocked already and got the reaction I wanted. Frank signed on and registered his Mi. Now, he and I have a healthy competition. The Wii Fit tracks the standings of all the games for all the Mis registered. So we are now trying to knock each other out of first place in all the games and yoga moves. In fact, Colson topped my Hula Hoop status today and I can't wait to get back up there and kick his butt!

All this competition can only be good for us. I know I feel good. I've got muscle pain in my abs and thighs that I have not felt in a while.

I think this Wii Fit is going to be a good thing and I hope I stick with it. The competition within the family and the encouragement from my trainer should be enough to keep me interested. And, I've still got a lot of games to unlock and master. I'll keep you posted.

There's thumbthing about camping

2008-11-22T22:38:00.000-05:00

This past summer was the annual Vaeth family trek to Rocky Gap State Park - a 5-day camping trip. Our first day was filled with traveling and setting up and a late evening crab feast down by the lake. The crabs were full, the beer was cold and the glow sticks were bright (even though they did get stuck in the trees). Thursday was overcast and rainy. Bella's bike had a blow out and we decided to head to Walmart to get her a new bike as the old one was really getting too small for her.
The Walmart trip was pretty non-eventful. Bella rode her bike around the store as we shopped and Ian got lost for 15 seconds.
When we got back to camp it was raining and that put a damper on things. Suddenly, things got a little more exciting. Walter ran over to our site to let us know that Sue had a terrible accident. Sue yelled,"It's not a big deal." Walter then told us that Sue had cut off the end of her thumb and he was taking her to the hospital to have it reattached. I was a little surprised when Sue came over smiling and laughing and asking if I wanted to see it. Of course I did. I had expected her to take off her bandage to show me a thumb tip badly cut. What I wasn't expecting was her handing me a plastic baggie with ice and a paper towel in it. I was a little grossed out but eagerly took the baggie from her, opened the towel and screeched when I saw the tip of Sue's thumb with the nail still attached right there in the paper towel. Eeew!!
Long story short, they reattached it. Call her for the gruesome details that are too much for me to repeat here.
Needless to say, the tip and thumb jokes started before she even returned from the hospital. But when she did, each time you'd ask how she was, she'd give a thumbs-up. Of course she couldn't help it considering how her thumb was wrapped - in white gauze 3x normal size - kind of cartoonish.
The next day was again uneventful as far as injuries. A bunch of us took a ride on the Cumberland Railroad on an old steam train to Frostburg. It was a cool ride. We went to the first car on the way up and stood in the vestibule and found ourselves covered in soot. Anna even had it in her belly-button. On the way back, we hung out in the vestibule of the last car. It rained again on the way home.
Saturday was finally a beautiful day, sunny and warm and we hung out at the beach. We rented a canoe and Bella, Frank and I took a trip and saw lots of turtles, ducks fish and birds. Colson had a great "Colson" day; he played volley ball, football, and hung out with the big kids, went mountain biking and got to eat more s'mores. In the evening, after dinner I started thinking about the evening's fire. I coerced the youngsters into going to fetch fire wood. I got the money for the wood out the Pilot and as I closed the door I suddenly realized my right thumb was closed in the door. Ouch is not the right word. I was speechless and couldn't breathe. Unfortunately, I also couldn't talk and I just breathed heavily as I tried not to cuss in front of the children and fell onto the ground. Sophie seemed to understand something was odd about my behavior and came over to see if I was OK. I still could not speak but she saw the blood and went to fetch ice and paper towels (very calmly I may add).
Turns out it hurt like mad but the cut was not deep and nothing seemed to be broken. I wrapped it in towels and ice while it swelled and slowly calmed down. As family members mingled from camp to camp, the news of another thumb injury spread. Of course, more jokes came.

Sue was not at camp during my injury but when she came back she visited me and we thumbs-upped each other. And made some lame thumb injury puns. Laughter really is the best medicine. That and vodka. I did make a drink for myself. That and the ibuprofin had me feeling better in no time.

So now it's 3 months later. Sues nail came off but the scar looks great and things seem to be healing very nicely. I lost half of my nail but it's growing back. I have a small scar too but nothing compared to Sue's. Mine would be much better had I not caught it in the mouse trap last week, but that's just just how I roll. Being injured is just a way of life.

Hopefully, our next camping trip won't be so injurious. At least no one died this time. But that's another story I'll tell later. Here is the teaser - It's best not to ignore the sound of human suffering in the woods in the middle of the night. Someone just might end up dead.

They're not Indoor Mousers....

2008-11-15T11:58:00.002-05:00

I was sitting in the dining room a few days back when, from the corner of my eye, I spied a mouse creep from under the refrigerator and scurry over to the cat food dishes. I jumped and yelled at it. It hightailed back under the fridge. A few minutes later, the mouse repeated his trip. I yelled and threw something at it. Again, it cowered under the fridge. I knew this method would not solve my newfound rodent problem. So I went upstairs and found Tiger sleeping on my bed. "We have a mouse in the kitchen" I told her. She looked at me through sleepy eyes, put her paw over her face to block the light I had just flicked on and went back to sleep. Apparently, she is in a union and this was her break time.

So back to the kitchen for me. I remembered we had a mouse problem two years ago and thought we may still have some traps left over. I found them and set to work baiting them. One is a nice trap that only cages them. So I set that one with a little peanut butter and put it next to the fridge. The next was a little more sophisticated. It's an enclosed spring trap, basically like to old fashioned type you see on "Tom and Jerry". I'm afraid of this kind so I picked it up very gingerly and SNAP! It closed right on my thumb - the one with no nail from when I slammed my thumb in the car door this past summer. A few swear words later I was calm enough to figure how to bait it without further injury to myself. I put in some peanut butter, set it and put it on the other side of the fridge.

As always when at war, it's best to use all the weapons in your arsenal so I also put a few glue traps under the refrigerator. Now I felt well protected from any advancement the mice may make from their new home in the crawl space under the fridge, so i set about my day. Upon returning home, there were no mice in the traps. I have to admit I was a little disappointed. I must have really scared the poor thing when I yelled at it earlier. Either that or he was building his own army. (And to Sue and other feminists, it's a he because that makes it easier somehow for me to kill them. There's still a part of me that thinks there are adorable little mommy mice in pink calico dresses rocking mice babies in walnut shells living in the walls.)

The evening arrived with no sign of mice. We ate dinner and the kids went to bed. I was sitting quietly in the dining room on the computer when I heard a snap. Jerry heard it too because before I could even get into the kitchen, he was at the mouse trap. He had the top off and was now walking around the house with the mouse in his mouth. The mouse in the trap in his mouth! That was probably one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I tried to help Jerry out by taking the trap away from him to let the mouse out for him to play with. (Imagine the shame he would feel if the other cats in the neighborhood knew he used traps to catch mice!) He would not let me near him though. Each time I tried, he would growl a low intimidating growl at me. Tiger tried too and was growled at. By this time, Colson was downstairs joining in the fun but he got growled at too. So, we let Jerry prance around the house for a while with his treasure until he tired of it. I carefully took the trap away and released the now dead mouse. Jerry lost interest in it very soon. Then Tiger knocked it around for a minute until I got too grossed out by it. So I picked it up with a paper towel. Of course Colson wanted to see it so I showed it to him. He remarked on how big the eyes were. I guys they pop out a little when their necks are crushed. I tried to shake off the bad feelings I had about causing so much pain to a little critter, then I thought about mouse poop in my house and I didn't feel badly anymore. So I threw it in the trash and reset the trap.

While I was sleeping later that night I heard a commotion downstairs. I went into the kitchen and found Jerry under the table with a mouse in his mouth...in a glue trap. Again, I tried to get it away and was rebuffed. But I persevered. I was afraid Jerry would get stuck in the glue too. I picked up the trap with the wriggling mouse and wasn't sure what to do with it. I was a little groggy still from having just awakened so I just pitched it in the trash thinking it would die soon enough.

I went back to bed and after another hour or two of sleep heard that distinctive snap again. This noise no longer aroused any interest from the cats so I went down to a mouse filled trap. When I went to the cabinet where my trash can is kept to dispose of the creature, I was surprised to see a live mouse scurrying around the floor of the cabinet. I slammed the door shut and panicked. How could I trap him. I couldn't just let him escape. Although I was proud of him in a way for being able to wiggle out of the glue and get out of the trash can. So I just opened the cabinet and let him run back under the fridge.

So, I've got two confirmed kills and haven't seen any mice for a day and a half. Maybe they've found a new home. Maybe they are scheming a way around the traps. Maybe they are in peanut butter rehab learning how to avoid the lure of fresh roasted peanuts for the safer cat food. Either way, I'll be ready with my traps cause I know my two felines will be of no use. And that's the craziest part of the whole story. My yard is littered with skeletal remains of mice, moles, voles, chipmunks, snakes, rabbits (although no heads have yet been found) and squirrels. There are fresh dead things almost every day on the deck, porch or driveway. I've even had nightmares of a Poltergeist type situation where small skeletons pop out of the lawn and steal my children.

That makes me wonder though if perhaps there is a deal my cats have made of which I am unaware. Why else would I have to trap the mice? Why else would they wait until the mice are in the traps to play with them? Maybe there is something to that union idea. Maybe I should have adopted cats belonging to the indoor mousers union. I guess I'll never know.

And I Ran...

2008-11-10T18:30:00.002-05:00

I was working at University of Maryland this morning (with Gary Williams) on an UnderArmour commercial. I was involved in dressing some very muscular athletes and wetting them down to make them sweaty. They were jogging in place and doing push-ups to pump themselves up before each take (testosterone city!) and I began feeling very antsy. I wanted so badly to work out right then and there. Of course the cashmere sweater and wedges I was wearing prevented me from going at it right then, but I was very inspired to exercise by the time I was off work (which was only 5 hours after I went in). So I came home, checked email, facebooked for a few minutes and talk on the phone. The urge to move was still there so I got on my workout gear, dusted off my weights and did a nice 30 minute strength workout.

It was nearing time to pick up the kids so I thought I would first walk my old running route before heading up to school. I power walked up and down the first hill and felt invigorated. I continued walking up the second hill and as I got to a nice flat spot I began to jog. It felt pretty good so I picked up the pace a little. Before I knew it I was running. Wow, it was great to feel the pounding of my feet on the pavement, to feel the wind in my ears, to get into a rhythm of pumping arms, breathing in, breathing out, step, step, step.

I thought I'd just go a few blocks but there was no real pain so I kept going. I continued to run past my turn around spot and kept on running. I figured I'd get to the upcoming hill and take it back to a fast walk. But at the base of the hill I still felt great so I charged it. I made it all the way to the top and then some. Then, I felt a little ache and slowed it down. I turned around and walked back to the school. I was sweaty, tired, winded and sore and I felt terrific.

I'm probably going to pay for that run tomorrow in aches and pains in my knee. Judging from the way it feels now I'm going to need a little ibuprofin and ice tonight. But no matter what it feels like now I feel renewed. It's been 5 months since I've been for a run. 5 long months. I'll take a few days to recover before I try again. I'll strengthen it a little more and take some bike rides. But I'm definitely running again.

Thoughts on Love while Missing Frank...

2008-10-22T20:49:00.003-04:00

Did you ever wonder why we get so lost in love stories? Is it because we wish ordinary life were so exciting? Does anyone really ever fall in love like they do in the movies? Probably not, and that is why we keep going back for more. If it ever really happened that way to us, we wouldn't need to keep watching the next one. No one wants to see their own lives rerun.

But real life is not the same. It's better. Who has the energy anyway for the way it is when you first fall in love? Or is it lust? Really, we think it's love at the start but that's not what love is about. Love is discovery, knowledge and trust. Those cannot be gained in hours or days. Love takes time and insight. Then the real deal happens. I think the best passion is gained only after time. Looking back upon my greatest love affair (the one I'm still in) I can see how it has only gotten better with time. When someone has seen every side of you, every emotion good and bad, and they still stand by you, that's real. When everything you do and say is a result of your consideration of your mate, that's true love. When good thing and bad happen to me, I immediately think of sharing them with Frank. I know he'll laugh or cry with me, praise me or give me an idea what I could do to make it better. And that's better than any movie I've seen or book I've read. Although, I guess I'll keep watching and reading. And still I'll know that in the end, I've got the best story out there.

Just say no to Wampler

2008-10-21T20:32:00.003-04:00

I got a call today from Wampler and Sons. They are a local home improvement contractor. The very polite woman was offering someone from the company to come out and give me a free estimate on our next remodeling project. Great. I have another company coming tomorrow. It would be good to get some other estimates. I was ready to set it up for sometime this week. I told her my availability and she wanted to know if my husband would be there as well. I told her he would be out of town. She thought maybe we could set it up when he returned. It seems it's company policy that both spouses be present as they give a lot of information. I guess little ol' me couldn't understand the big words and numbers the contractor might use. I told her he would not be back until December. "OK," she said, "lets set it up for then." "Uh, no. I have others coming out this week and would like to get something done sooner." "Oh, sorry no can do." I said I'd have to use someone else and she said, "OK." and hung up.

What? Excuse me? What year is this! I was so pissed. I tried to call back to tell her to tell Mr. Wampler and his chauvinistic sons that I do not approve of his policy nor will I ever use his company or recommend them to any one. I am quite capable of getting an estimate. I am certain I would be able to relate the necessary information to my spouse. I was so fired up I think I scared the kids a little. I did get over it quickly. Unfortunately the woman must have known I was calling back and she didn't answer the phone. Chicken Shit!

So when I run the world... estimates can be given to a wife home alone, holding down the fort in her capable hands. Sheesh!

Rudeness on the Trail

2008-10-19T21:54:00.003-04:00

I have recently started biking the NCR trail again after a long span of bicycle neglect. I thought since I can't run anymore I would try dusting the cob webs off the bike and see what a little exercise felt like. It felt pretty good physically. Mentally though, it's not what I thought it would be.

I noticed the first few times I was out how unfriendly most people are. So I decided to do a little tracking the last time I was out. I tallied how many people I passed face to face (those I passed on the way don't count as I can't see their faces) and kept track of how many smiled, nodded, waved or greeted me in some way.

At first I was delighted. I got smiles, waves and hellos from the first five people I met. Then the numbers got dismal. I noticed women more than men will completely ignore the fact that another human being is in their midst. Male/female couples seemed to be the friendliest. Groups of women seemed to be the least friendly. I don't know what is in the tree branches when I pass some women but it sure must be interesting. So often, just as I am peddling near enough to make some sort of greeting, they look up in the trees.

I went 7 miles north and was very disappointed to count less than half of my fellow cyclers and pedestrians greeted me in some way. And by greeting I don't mean I am looking for a "Hello! How do you do?" All I really need is a nod, a small raising of the lips into a partial smile, a grunt would even suffice. We're all out there to enjoy the beauty of nature while we get a little exercise so why can't we be friendly in the process?

On one outing, I had the kids with me and I recognized a passing biker as a friend from my childhood. I called to her and we stopped, moved out of the way of passing cyclists and joggers and chatted a bit. One burly biker coming toward us stared and shook his head as if we were somehow ruining his ride. We were not in his way and on no way did we slow him down. And yet, he still thought it necessary to glare at us and pass judgement. So, of course, I yelled out as sarcastically as I could, "Sorry we ruined your ride!" My friend was mortified at my boldness. Then she related a story in which she and her friend were riding along chatting and a rider came toward them and asked if they could talk a little louder. Voices do carry at some points on the trail, but when did having a conversation while exercising become a crime?

I could understand wanting uninterrupted exercise time if you're training for a race or if you are really hard core. But, I don't think the NCR trail is the place for that. It's a flat wooded trail friendly to walkers, joggers, bikes, strollers and horses. It's not exactly a trip trough the Tour de France route. There are tons of little kids and families, old people, young couples, people on their lunch hour getting in a walk. It's a casual place. And should be a friendly one.

Fortunately I don't let the rude ones keep me from coming. I'll still take my 14 mile rides and soon make them 20 mile rides. I'll still take the kids out on the weekends and evenings for a ride to the ice cream shop.

So if you see me out there, ignore the branches overhead and give me a little nod.

I know, I know, it's been a while...

2008-10-19T21:41:00.002-04:00

I have been very busy. Well, sort of. I did get a facebook page and that eats up a lot of my time now. So I am going to make an effort to get back in here and start blogging again. Lots of interesting things have happened to me lately so I should have quite a bit to blog about. One of which is my awesome new computer. I had gotten one too many viruses on my old PC and I just couldn't take it anymore. Not to mention, Frank has the laptop in Louisiana and I didn't have his as back up anymore. Now I have an iMac. It's fantastic. And, I can iChat with my beautiful husband. That's the best part about it. It's easier to miss him when I can see him a few times a day. So, it's good to be back in the blogsphere. I hope you enjoy what is to come.

Stay tuned.

My Fearless Children

2008-08-12T11:26:00.004-04:00

Last week we went on our annual trip to Cape Hatteras North Carolina. Each year as the kids age we wind up doing more than just sitting on the beach and playing in the ocean. Of course, Frank still surfs and Colson spends every possible second boogie boarding or body surfing. But we have added lots of activities to our agenda: mini-golf, go-carts, half day charter fishing, ferry to Okracoke Island, Native Amercian Museum.
This year we added another one much to my fear and amazement: parasailing. Whenever we drove down to Hatteras Village we would see the parachute high up over the water and the kids seemed interested to know what it was all about. So Frank told them and immediately they both wanted to do it. Reservations were made for the following day for four people. When I counted the members of our family I realized I must have been included in that count. I began to get nervous.
You see, I am afraid of heights and I always think about what could go wrong. I have only been able to drive across bridges without white knuckles in the past few years (I used to close my eyes as a passenger - that doesn't really work when driving). So, the thought of parasailing was enough to really get me into a small panic (it was an internal panic though - I couldn't let the kids know I was scared).
So, the day of dread dawned and we were up with the sun to go fishing. We had a great time with Captain Fun except for when we were out on the ocean and Bella got sea sick. But, we ended up back in the calm sound fishing for blues and Spanish mackeral. We only got two keepers, but we had a great time. I wasn't really looking forward to the day of fishing to end because I knew soon after would be time to go up, up and hopefully not away.
So, we headed home to regroup. Frank went surfing and I took the kids to the Indian museum. We hunted for shark's teeth in the fossil pit and were eaten alive on the nature trail but had a good time all the same. When we got home, Frank was back from an awesome surf session and we started preparing to go.
We had the bathing suit/no bathing suit debate. I wore mine, Frank did not (more on that later) and off we went to the dock. We went to the desk and signed ours and the kids life's away. It's weird how we will sign a piece of paper stating that the activity we are about to do may cause death, and yet we signed anyway and hopped on the boat.
My stomach was really fluttering when the captain explained how everything worked. I tried some deep breathing which helped. I wasn't as scared as I thought I would be because I really thought I would chicken out at the last minute anyway and Frank would go twice.
So Colson and Frank got into their harnesses and life jackets. The chute was inflated. The bar was clipped to the chute. First Frank and then Colson were clipped on to the bar. They sat on the platform at the back of the boat and slowly they were lifted into the air. Smiles beamed across both of their faces as they raised higher and higher. They were only up for 15 minutes but it felt like forever. They dipped into the water and rose again. By the way, Franks choice was not the wisest - his wallet and shorts were soaked, so I'd go with a bathing suit if I were you.
When they were being reeled back in, Bella and I got into out harnesses. I thought I'd play along and get geared up. I could still back out and was pretty sure I would. Then I saw Frank and Colson's faces as they came back down. They had a blast. How could I not see what it was like?
As I stepped up onto the platform, I began my outward panic. "No , I can't," I said shaking my head. The captain wasn't having it. "You'll be fine," he said. So I took a deep breath and got hooked on and took my seat on the platform. Bella got hooked on too. I asked,"What if I change my mind?" "Just wave your arms and legs and we'll bring you back in." So, with that they let us out and very gently we rose in the air.
I was scared to death and told Bella so. She looked at me and said, "Mom, your not dead!" and smiled and waved to the folks on the boat. So I waved too. The feeling of rising into the air was very peaceful but I was still really freaked out. I was talking a mile a minute. All the while, Bella was sitting next to me swinging her feet, smiling, leaning back and generally having a great time. She looked as relaxed as if she were on a swing at the park. So I decided I needed to calm down and just enjoy the ride. And I did.
The view was amazing and the water was so clear Bella saw some rays swimming. The birds looked tiny below us just like Colson said they would. We played I Spy, Cloud Shapes and gave each other the highest high-five ever. When they dipped us in the water Bella got in up to her mouth which she got a big kick out of. It's funny how silent and peaceful the descent is. We went up again and I couldn't believe how high we were. Frank said it was about 700 feet! I still can't get over that.
Eventually our time was up and we were slowly brought back to the boat. Frank was amazed that I did it and frankly, so was I. I was proud of myself. The most interesting thing to me though was how calm and matter of fact the kids were about it. It's as though flying through the air at 700 feet is something that happens all the time. I asked Bella if she was scared and she looked at me like I was crazy.
So, I guess parasailing will become an annual Hatteras event for us. I just hope they don't find out about bungie jumping.

It seems the scope was necessary

2008-08-01T12:52:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm one week post-op and feeling a little better today. Last night I slept with a Percoset after awakening to some good pain at 2:30. I did some heavy-duty dreaming but slept through the night (aside from Jerry and Tiger meowing here and there and Frank cursing as he got up to let them out). I'm still pretty swollen but I finally feel like I'm healing. My biggest pains are those caused by limping and not using my leg muscles properly. My calf is really cramped and my lower back feels out of whack. I guess I need to go get cracked soon to line everything back up.

I saw my surgeon today. Turns out I had a one inch tear in my articular cartilage. That is the piece of cartilage on the interior side where the femur (thigh bone) meets the patella (knee cap). No wonder it hurt. In one of my pre-op visits the doc did mention that this is a portion of the knee that is not clearly visible on the MRI. I guess that's why they didn't see anything and why I was in pain after all. The doc also said as an aside on my way out, "By the way, this wouldn't have healed on it's own". I guess he knew about my skepticism as to needing the surgery. Maybe he reads my blog?

So, I'm six weeks away from being properly healed and returning to normal activities. I'm still swollen as a result of them pumping it with fluid. This is also causing the pain in my calf and thigh muscles. I will be starting physical therapy in 2 weeks. Yippee! Bring on the stim! In the mean time, he told me to do whatever feels right. "If it hurts, don't do it," says the doc. So, I'll take it slowly. I'll take walks and bike to begin, swim a little too. I think I'll stay away from the breast stroke for a while though.

Listen to the Little Man

2008-07-31T19:08:00.002-04:00

I have a little man inside my head. He always has good advice. I don't always listen. I am trying to learn from this. For example: The other day I had our addition plans on the kitchen table. I was looking over them with Judith. When I saw them next they were under a pile of newspapers. The little man said I should move the plans otherwise they would be recycled with the papers. Really, as soon as I looked at them he said it: "you are going to recycle those by accident and you won't have them anymore so move them." So, I moved them, but not too far I guess. And I knew that too. I knew I should have put them somewhere not in the kitchen where the mail and the newspapers get recycled every day.They must have gotten mixed up in the papers the next morning because they are now gone.

The trash guys picked up paper recycling early this morning. I slept in. When I came downstairs I didn't think anything unusual was going on. Then the man started speaking to me again. And I immediately knew the plans were gone. "The addition plans got recycled today. I told you so," he taunted. We frantically searched every where possible. I called Judith to see if she recalled seeing them anywhere other than on the kitchen table. "No," she said. I called Clay Stanbaugh to see what the reality of recovering something mistakenly thrown in the recycling. The guy almost laughed at me. "No, sorry, that would be impossible, mumble the dump mumble, have a nice day," he said.

Frank and I couldn't remember the name of the architect although we're pretty sure we saw him walking on York Road in Towson soon after we realized the plans were missing. It's been five years since we saw the guy, so maybe it wasn't him. But we did both think it was him. I remembered then that there was some info in the file cabinet about the renovation plans and lo and behold, there is a preliminary plan and a phone number of the guy. Hopefully he still has copies. I tried calling the office but was hung up on each time. Not because of anything I said but the phone would ring and the answer would be the click of the callee hanging up.

The situation is not dire, it's only ink and paper after all. But damn it, what a hassle. So, the moral of the story is: Listen to the little man. He is there for a reason. He is there to keep your life running smooth. The only problem I find is that I never know if he's really right or not unless I d0n't listen to him. Then, things always go just like he said they would. And it's usually an unfavorable outcome. And whenever I don't listen, I can't help but to feel like George Costanza. And that's never a good feeling.

There's nothing on

2008-07-28T19:34:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I fantasize about having nothing to do. I dream of being able to watch television all day without interruption (or without having to watch Sponge Bob). I dream of being lost in a book for hours. And then, one day I get operated on. My kids go off in search of more fun than I can offer. Bella goes to the pool with the girls. Colson goes to the Jahries. Even Judith (my amazing mother-in-law who has come to take care of me) is busy with laundry and sheets (I know, your thinking how dare I even think about complaining).

And so I sit on the couch to watch a little TV. I flip from channel to channel watching bits and pieces of DIY shows, nanny shows, etc. I pick up a magazine and flip through. I pick up a book and read a few pages. Nothing really seems to hold my interest though.

What I'd really like to be doing is packing for the beach or cooking an awesome veggie burger. Or maybe even sitting pool side with the kids. Or going for a hike. Or walking without limping. But instead, I'm sitting with my leg up. I spend a few listless moments on the computer. I read a few pages. I stare blankly at the TV.

I guess forced relaxation really isn't relaxing at all. I just keep thinking of other things I could be doing. I've never really been good at relaxing anyway. Ask anyone who has ever been on vacation with me. I usually cook something then clean up then pack up something then move onto the next thing. I don't often just sit. Unless it's in a nice warm tub (which I can't do until the stitches come out) and then I can sit and read all night. I don't think it's an ADD thing. I can usually give a project my full attention. But when it comes to doing nothing - forget it. I'm like a 5 year old who just ate a Fun Dip. Now I know why my sister Sue was painting her basement after shoulder surgery. Because she needed to. I can't imagine where I'd be going all day if only I could drive. Well, that's not entirely true. I would have gone to Atwater's for lunch. I would go to Home Depot Expo and start picking out bathroom accessories. I would be looking at glass tile at a tile store.

I guess I just not the kind of person who is meant to relax. I've been doing nothing for the last few days and it's getting a little depressing. Anyone want take me to Lowes?

Why does it still hurt?

2008-07-27T08:55:00.003-04:00

I guess I have pretty high expectations when it comes to healing. Either that or no patience at all. I am only 48 hours post-op and already I feel as though I should be up and walking around without pain. My knee hurts and I'm still taking pain meds. Getting around the house still requires both crutches. Why am I surprised. The last time I was operated on I was healing for at least a week on the crutches. I guess the doc had me thinking that since the operation was quicker and less invasive that my recovery was going to be so much easier. And really, it's not so bad. I just am not a very good patient. I don't like not being able to do for myself. I also don't like being quite so foggy all the time. The percs help relax me, but my sleep is not sound. I wake up very itchy too.

I guess I should just enjoy the ride. I am very fortunate to have my mother-in-law here taking wonderful care of me. I don't know what I would have done without her. In fact, she's making us a lovely breakfast right now. I would also like to take a minute to thank my friends and family who have entertained my children the last few days: Jahries', Collins' and Gorman's thanks for the sleep-overs and taking the kids here and there on what sounds like awesome adventures.

I am currently distracted by pain so I guess it's time for another pill. Oh, I really don't know what they found during surgery as I can't recall the conversation with the doctor. But, I gather that they cleaned up some cartilage. I'll know more after I see the doc this week to get the stitches taken out. Thanks for all the good wishes and offers of help.

Glad to pay those taxes

2008-07-22T12:44:00.003-04:00

I was driving home last night from Virginia on Interstate 95. I was listening to a little country music and thinking about what to eat for dinner. I wasn't really paying too much attention the the condition of the road. I got onto 495 with no delays (imagine that!) and continued traveling homeward. Somewhere in my brain it must have registered that the roads were not in the best of shape; that the placement and number of signs was less than adequate; that the route was not as comfy as it could be. When I crossed over into Maryland I noticed a smoothness in the road. The lanes seemed wider and better lit. I felt more comfortable. Kind of like that episode of Seinfeld when Kramer paints the lane lines making the 4 lane highway a 3 laner.
The rest of the way on 495, through 95 and into 695 I noticed the roads were in great shape. How fortunate we are to have such a pleasant driving surface. Notice I didn't say pleasant driving experience because the traffic here sucks and no amount of smooth pavement makes that any more bearable. But I think I take for granted this asset and don't really give credit to our State Highway Administration. But hey, here goes, nice job SHA! (By the way, I used to think the SHA Garage signs on the side of the road had something to do with Iran - maybe where the Shah parked his car and I could never figure out why he would park here or need so many garages - but that was a long time ago).
I've always known that our roads were superior to those in PA but I'm wondering now if our roads are superior to all state's. Are we merely sandwiched between to poorly paved states. No, I don't think so. As I ponder this, I think of my trips north to New York and traveling in New Jersey. Those roads are horrible. I'm trying to remember what it's like down south and I do think we've got a leg up on North Carolina too.
So the next time you want to complain about the taxes we pay here in Maryland, take a drive in Virgina or PA and let me know how you feel.

Exciting Things are Happening

2008-07-20T13:23:00.003-04:00

I have a feeling this week will bring lots of exciting things for me to share with you. I will be leaving home shortly to drive down to Virginia. I am working on America's Most Wanted at the FBI Training Facility at Quantico. Should be very cool.
Also, Friday I have my surgery to see what could possibly be causing all the pain in my knee. My hope is that it's an easy fix with a quick healing process. So stay tuned people.

What water?

2008-07-18T13:52:00.002-04:00

Okay, so if you read my comments from my last post you will know that the leaky water jugs on the shelf were the cause of the garage leak. DUH!?! (Ben is not the only idiot in this family). Dave came over to investigate the interior basement wetness. He checked up in the ceiling, along the wall and thought perhaps there could be a tiny leak in the pipe to the shower. Maybe I could see how wet it is in a few days call him back if need be. Sure, then he looked at the dehumidifier. I told him the dehumidifier was in the spot where it was wet but I wasn't sure it was the culprit or not as the carpet was not wet. Also, Frank empties it a lot and would have noticed wet carpet and if it wasn't filling up he would have noticed. But, the problem did not occur in the tank of collected water. I took out the tank and still didn't see any holes or drip or wetness on the outside of any kind. The fullness monitor was working just fine. There was however a penny size spot of water under the unit. He felt under the dehumidifier and concluded that the problem was coming from the coolers. The unit was heating up way too much and the coolers were condensing rapidly causing the drip. So, two problems solved at a fraction of what I thought it would be. I'll buy a new dehumidifier this weekend and find a new place to store "survival" water.
Of course I still have very wet carpet padding to deal with. I would really like to take up all the carpet and put down tile with an area rug on top. That way, the 6th time we have water in our basement, cleanup will be easier and less expensive.

Wet and Not So Wonderful

2008-07-18T12:21:00.002-04:00

Water - we can't survive without it. We're made of it. We love to play in it. But damn if it just pisses me off sometimes. For example, today I finally decided to tackle the mess that is the basement. I was going along at a pretty good clip - throwing away little crappy toys and organizing the keepers. I got a little brain storm about how to make Bella's room less cluttered by bringing her play kitchen down to the basement. I went over to the space I thought appropriate to size it up. As I knelt down on the carpet to hide the Fios cable my knee and my hands felt moisture. Shit! Not again. We have replaced our basement carpeting two times already because of water. Recently an overflowing toilet upstairs sent torrents of water onto the carpet resulting in hours of wet vacuuming and steam cleaning. And now this.
So, I thought I'd try to find the source of the wetness. At first I thought perhaps the cats had reverted to their pre-litter trained days. But there was no tell-tale odor, just a musty smell. I pulled back the carpet here and there and found the wetness to be contained to a small area butting up against the laundry room and bathroom walls. Of course, it must be coming from one of those places. But the laundry room floor was dry. So was the bathroom. Even the shower which had previously been the cause of one of the floods was bone dry. Hmmm.
Well, I thought I'd better get the rest of the toys organized if I was going to have to call in an expert so I went back to straightening. I took Bella's roller skates out to the garage. My brand new iron for work was on the floor and I noticed the box was soaked. Strange! So I looked at the surrounding garage floor to see water running down toward the driveway. SHIT! This water seems to be coming from the joining of the wall and floor behind some shelving.
Because of my knee, I'm afraid to move anything heavy (especially since I hurt it this morning just bending over to pick a weed out of the garden) so I can't even move the shelves to see where it's coming from. Since this wall is the exterior of the furnace room I thought maybe there was a leak in the hot water heater. But that floor is dry too. I'm at a loss!
I'm still hoping the water inside the basement is coming from the dehumidifier. I'm conducting a little experiment with that now. But the garage one has me completely stumped.
I called my neighbor Dave for some expert advice but he's not home yet. He'll know what to do. He's fixed a few of my plumbing problems in the past and I hope he can help me with this one too.
So, if anyone has any ideas or knows a good plumber let me know. Oh, gotta go, Dave's calling. I'll let you know what happens.

The Cat Came Back

2008-07-16T08:47:00.002-04:00

I'd be so happy if cats could talk. How amazing to be able to understand what they are thinking. And wouldn't it be nice to know where they've been? Our female cat Tiger likes to roam. Her first vacation was a week and a half. One day she left the house after breakfast and she didn't return. I didn't become concerned until after a few days. Our first cat Jerry used to disappear for days at a time. So I knew it was just in some cat's nature to go off alone.
But after a week I became very worried. I would start and end each day whistling for her from the porch and back deck. I made posters with her photo and description on them and hung them on light poles in the area. I called the shelters and was going to stop in to check and see if she was there. I had pretty much given up on her when I got a text from Frank early one morning that Tiger was back!
I was so happy I even teared up a little. I could stop having visions of her lying dead in the road or trapped in a hot garage. She seemed fine although she did have a thorn in her nose and was a little thin. The kids were overjoyed of course. So we lavished attention on her for a few days and then went back to our normal life with two cats.
Last week we noticed she wasn't showing up in the morning for breakfast. Then we went away for the weekend and there was still no sign of her when we returned. This time I didn't go into lost cast mode though. No posters, no calls to shelters. I just figured we would wait and she'd show up.
And she did. She didn't seem skinny or hurt this time. Perhaps she has found another family who takes her in. Maybe she has a male kitty stashed somewhere and they hang out in the woods together for a few days. I don't know. And that is what really drives me crazy. I ask her all the time where she's been, who she's been with and all I ever get is a little "meow".
And throughout all of this Jerry (he looks just like the first one so we just named him Jerry too) has been the loyal, trusty cat. He comes home to check-in a few times a day. He sleeps inside the house, hangs out in the yard killing things and generally seems to like it here.
Sometimes I see the two cats rub noses and I wonder what they are whispering to each other. Is she telling her brother where she's been. Or maybe she's telling him she going to head off again for a few days.
Until I become Dr. Doolittle I guess I'll just have to wonder.

Yes...I am a Redneck!

2008-07-13T21:24:00.002-04:00

So, have you ever driven an ATV? I did this weekend and I had a blast. We hiked up to Smithsburg for Frank's 25th (yes, he is that old) high school reunion. Scott "Big Money" Phillips invited us to his sister's farm where they keep their cattle and donkeys. We thought it would be fun for the kids to see the cows again and to see the new animals too. The farm is located over winding roads with dips and hills that make the stomach flip. Good times.
We arrived as Julie's (Scott's sister ) husband Dale was bring the ATV's out of the barn. I'll admit it - I was a little hesitant at first. Did they really think I was going to drive one of these? He asked who didn't know how to drive stick and of course mine was the only hand to go up (can you say "loser'?). So it was decision time - was I going to wuss out or go figure out how to drive one of these things. I stepped up and said I'll take the automatic (I think it's good to know your limitations).
Dale gave me a brief (less than 30 seconds) lesson in TV operation and said,"Go on, git." Alright, he didn't really say those exact words, but something like it. Bella hopped on behind me and held on for dear life - which was a good thing. I started off down the gravel lane pretty slowly. But, I began to build confidence and before I knew it I was driving pretty fast. We went carefully down hills and over the pasture sure to avoid the cow patties.
Soon we found ourselves at an impasse. There was a tree down in front of us and no where to go but back. The path was narrow, but a 5- point-turn later and we were back on our way through the mud. We did get a little stuck, so I threw it in High gear and floored it. Bella was a little grossed out when the mud and poo started flinging up on us, but she didn't mind too much.
We drove up the hill and parked for a while near the cows and donkeys. Dale knows many of the cows by name. Scott and Karen Phillips and their kids own four of them and they were trying to figure out who was who. Dale came along and named each one. They treat them a little like pets (until the slaughter that is). I think I may be buying my beef from them from now on though.
Bella was loving farm life as she trekked along the pasture. Until she put her filp-flopped foot in a huge cow pie. Her foot came out but her shoe didn't. Thankfully there was a hose near-by and we got the poo out from between her toes and off her shoe.
We hopped back on the ATV's and headed back to the barn and chilled for a little while as the youngsters (Colson included ) took turns driving the Gator (a golf cart on steroids). He had the biggest smile on his face. Frank and I then raced around the farm without the kids. I had a ball going as fast as I could. I charged the big hill and whipped around curves. The downhills slowed me a little but I got more confident the more I did it.
Needless to say I had an awesome time. I'm ready to buy a farm, some livestock and some ATV"s so I can survey my land. Of course that's easy to say from my cozy office in my suburban house with a grocery store and Starbucks less than 5 minutes away. But it is something to think about.

Whip Kicks are Out

2008-07-11T11:08:00.002-04:00

I met with Dr. Waldman to discuss my knee on Wednesday. Although I have regained the ability to bend it and my mobility has improved, he thinks scoping it would be beneficial. I still have a dull pain almost constantly and when I move in certain ways (Like throwing a fake punch) I get a shooting horrible pain which feels like someone is stabbing my knee with a screwdriver. Yet, I still wasn't sure that surgery was a sure thing. So I thought I'd do a little experiment. What if I were to go back to working out? I didn't think running would be good, but some sort of exercise to see what it would feel like. I have suspected all along that swimming the breaststroke was the culprit to my knee woes - what if I took a swim? Would it hurt and if so, there's my answer.
So I hopped in the pool yesterday and swam a quarter mile. I alternated between free-style and breast stroke. And don't you know it - that darned whip kick hurt, not bad enough to stop, but enough to let me know there is some sort of trouble in the joint. And today, I am constantly reminded of my experiment. I am even considering wearing my brace. I am also not looking forward to the drive to Smithsburg I will take tonight. Maybe I should leave these decisions to the experts. Who am I to question a world renowned surgeon? So, I'll take a little Advil and rest today.
I wonder if the scissors kick would be any better...?

The Trouble with Crayfish

2008-07-10T08:33:00.003-04:00

Two weeks ago I took the kids to Valley View Farms to get tadpoles and snails for our garden pond. Colson and Bella both thought it would be a great idea to also have tadpoles and snails as pets. I couldn't have agreed more. What's better than a science lesson right in the house?
So, we brought the tadpoles home and went about setting up a nice home for them. The sole survivor of our winter hermit crab experiment was living in a spacious 10-gallon tank. Needless to say he got evicted and sent to live in a 2 and 1/2 gallon pirate-themed tank (left over from Bella's fish Shelby - God rest her soul). His view is better but he's certainly more cramped. I'll probably wind up getting him a 5-gallon one. I get a little claustrophobic just looking at him in there.

Back to the tadpoles - We lined the bottom of the tank with pebbles and filled it with treated water and released them. Then we cleared the corner of the counter and placed the tank there so as to be able to keep an eye on them and to ensure we wouldn't forget to feed them.

A few days ago Frank took the kids to the creek to go crayfishing. This is something we do quite often. They returned with two very large crayfish. (Prior to that we had put one small crayfish in the tank who seemed to get along just fine with the tadpoles). Frank and the kids thought it might be a good idea to put the new crustaceans in the tadpoles' home. I did not agree, but I let it happen.

I hate to say," I told you so." but....I noticed one of the tadpoles had a small tear in his tail. He seemed to be swimming along fine though, so I did nothing. The next morning I came to the kitchen and checked on them first thing. Alas, the other tadpole was struggling along with no tail. The damn crayfish ate the poor baby frog's tail! I don't really know what this means for his development. We will have to wait and see.

The crayfish were in big trouble. I immediately put them in time-out in a bucket on the deck out back. There was no way I was going to allow the tadpoles to endure further torture at the hands (claws?) of these beasts. After making sure the tadpoles were going to be all right, I fed them some yummy frozen brine shrimp (their favorite snack) and turned my attention to disciplining the naughty crayfish. It was back to the creek for them. The kids and I walked over to the rain-swollen creek and unceremoniously dumped them into the murky water. They didn't not quickly scurry or rejoice at being back in the creek. They lay where they landed for a moment or two. Perhaps they were regretting their recent behavior. Maybe they were even ready to repent. I'm not sure, but I do know I will ever be able to trust a crayfish again. So, quickly we turned our backs on them and returned home before we had a change of heart.

I guess the kids can learn a valuable lesson from this - leave nature in nature. No good can come from trying to tame a wild animal, or fish or crustacean. I'm happy to report the tadpoles seem to be recovering from their injuries. They were recently swimming vigorously as I feed them some blood worms. Hopefully they will still grow their back legs without defect. Only time will tell.

I Am Scared...

2008-07-05T23:36:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when you see a movie you say to yourself, "Boy, I'm glad I didn't see that in the theater." Usually when one makes such a statement it is because the movie is pretty bad. This was not the case tonight: Frank and I watched "I Am Legend" (at home in our cozy den in our happy house in our pleasant neighborhood). The reason I am glad I did not see this movie in the theater is because I would have been embarrassed by my behavior had anyone other than Frank seen me. I was breathing heavily, my heart raced. I got up and walked out of the room. I closed my eyes. I hid behind a pillow (what am I 10 -I haven't done that since I watched "Jaws"). I had an upset stomach and I even talked to Will Smith. "Get back in the car, forget the dog!" and "Close the door...close the door...close the damn door Will."
Don't get me wrong, I loved this movie. I'd like to watch it again. But shit, I was really scared. The suspense nearly killed me. My stomach still hurts a little. When it was over we had to watch a little Mad TV to take the edge off. Then I was afraid to be downstairs by myself. How could Frank want to go to bed at a time like this? But here I sit in the basement. Alone. My cat Tiger is staring at me which is a little unsettling. Otherwise I am calming down somewhat. Breathing is returning to normal.
I can remember a time when I could watch "A Nightmare on Elm Street" without flinching. The "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" movies were a breeze to watch. What the heck happened? How did I become a Nervous Nelly. Heck, I work in the damn business and I know what goes into shooting something like that. The dark seekers had to sit through hours of makeup. Some poor wardrobe assistant had to shred and sand countless pairs of pants and shirts to age the costumes. There were probably 50 people standing around on the other side of the camera eating donuts. Some PA was getting yelled at by a producer for screwing up Will Smith's Starbucks order. And yet, with that knowledge I was still very uncomfortable. Waiting....waiting...waiting for the dark seeker to come out and show his horrible self.
What happened to me? I had a life-size cut-out of Freddie Krueger in my dorm room and posters of him on my walls- right next to my bed! I slept like a champ (through classes even). I yearn for the days when I can watch a scary movie. I recently closed my eyes and plugged my ears while watching a commercial for "The Strangers". A commercial. Hello? Why? Is it because I am a mother? Is it because I am older? Does age have an affect on your scare tolerance? Or have I just watched too many Disney and other G-rated movies and I need to build up my tolerance.
Perhaps it's like alcohol: if you drink more it takes you longer to get drunk. So, if I watch more scary movies I will better tolerate the suspense, thus enjoying the film so much more.
I think I need to go back to my old ways. I lost touch with horror around the time of the "Scream" series. I could rent a few older, milder films made before the effects were more realistic, back when the hacking scenes were kind of funny. Maybe watch one a month. Slowly build up to "Saw" or "The Ring". Maybe I could even see "The Happening" in the theater. Maybe I'll go see it tomorrow. I've always been more of a cold turkey type than one to take baby steps.
Yes, I have some catching up to do. I've been on the wagon for to damn long. I think it's time for a little horror binge.

My test results are in....

2008-06-27T08:54:00.000-04:00

Gee, all that anxiety, all that waiting... for nothing. My MRI showed nothing wrong with my knee. This may seem like good news. Not to me. You see, I need a reason why my knee hurts to bend, why it is swollen, why when I move in certain ways I get a searing pain deep inside my knee.

It is feeling a little better today. In fact I was down to one crutch, which made carrying things so much easier. Anyway, my doctor seems to think that an MRI is just a picture. If he took a picture of me with my eyes closed, he wouldn't be able to tell what color they were. But I still have brown eyes. (Does this analogy make sense?)

So, the next step is a shot of cortisone. The doctor left the room to prepare the shot (or so I thought). The assistant (nurse? lackey?) brought in the needle, prep pad, Band-Aid etc. And so I waited for the doc to come back in to expertly administer the shot. And I waited. Patients were coming, being seen/treated, and released from the rooms all around me. And still I waited. Finally the gal came back and looked startled to see me still sitting there. She eyed the needle (which had been staring at me from across the room for about 15 minutes now) and bolted.

Soon another nice woman came in and explained that my doctor was suddenly called to surgery and his associate would be in shortly to give the injection. And as promised in walked a much taller doctor joking how he was my original doctor only that he had grown. Ha ha ha. He asked me the problem and as I answered he began to prep my knee, interrupting me as though he had never asked a question. Ah, bedside manner! The coolest part was that he took this awesome spray that shot out really cold fluid and numbed the heck out of my knee (and a portion of my shin as it trickled down). He then placed the needle in which didn't hurt at all and injected the liquid- now that felt a little uncomfortable as the cortisone spread through my knee, but then it stopped.

So, now I am to call the doctor (the shorter one) on Monday and let him know how my knee feels. If I feel better, great the cortisone worked (?). If not, he'll scope it and see what the heck is going on in there. If the shot worked, why and what was wrong? Will I hurt it again as soon as I start working out again? I don't want a bandage on a big problem, I want the problem fixed. It's not as though I have a cortisone deficiency in my knee joint. That's the problem with medicine today. It's not really about curing. It's about making you feel better until you need to come back and have something else done. Why do doctor's get paid so much for having no idea what the heck is going on? I mean, it's kind of like a meteorologist. He'll say, "Well, it might rain." Then, " Oops, maybe tomorrow." And the doc says, "Oh, that medicine didn't work? Here try this one ( by the way, the pharmaceutical company which supplies that product just sent me and my adorable family on a trip to the Bahamas.)." Ooh, sounding bitter or is that just the aftertaste of my pain medicine?

You may be wondering if the the cortisone is working. I think it is a little. I have more mobility in my knee, I can bend it further than earlier today. I walked up the steps normally a few times and went down a few steps normally (although quite gingerly). The swelling is still there. I'm still walking with a limp without the brace. The good news is I may be able to drive tomorrow. It still hurts and that's the bad part. I really want to jump and get down on the floor to play with the kids or to look for that shoe I tossed under the bed. Maybe even play a little Tiger Woods Golf on the wii. We'll see what happens and I'll keep you posted. (ha ha, get it... posted? It's a blog, and you post....)

A Visit to Dana

2008-06-26T15:03:00.000-04:00

Today we decided it was about time we pay a visit to Dana our neighbor who was injured when run over and pinned under a car on I83. She is currently at a Manor Care facility and is the youngest resident there. What a shitty place to recover. Her roommate is an 89 year old dialysis patient. She's directly across from Physical Therapy and next to the nurse's station. It's a wonder she can get any rest at all. The food stinks and it sometimes spoiled. She went through three milk containers today before she got one that didn't have any solids. But, with all that and the fact that she is missing her two front teeth she's in pretty good spirits. She should be coming home next week which she is really looking forward to. Her left ankle is healing well and she no longer has pain in it. Her right knee and hip are healing well too but that leaves her somewhat uncomfortable still. Her finger is fractured but she's not so worried about that. Her 2 broken ribs are completely healed. Something is wrong with one of her discs but she's not sure yet and she has to finish repairing everything else before she gets to that. She seems most upset about the scars from the hip operation (runs across her lower abdomen) and the one straight up and down her belly area. She's also got a lot of burns and scrape scars on her hands arms and legs. She think she looks like a monster. I don't. She actually looks kid of cute and childish with those front teeth missing.
She remembers the initial accident which caused her to get out of her car but she does not remember getting hit or anything else for the next 5 days. She's afraid of remembering actually. She had to go to shock trauma yesterday for a check up and had a hard time just traveling on 83. I'm sure it was nerve racking. She has had bad dreams about getting hit by a car in the neighbor's driveway. That must really suck.
As for pain, she says it's not so bad and they are slowly weaning her from the Oxycontin. She's quite a trooper. She's mostly bummed about her 21st birthday coming up in October and not knowing how well she will be. I'm sure that will give her plenty of reason to work harder to recover.
So, I guess this just makes me that much more grateful that my injury is so minor. We never know how lucky we are. Accidents like this really help to put life in perspective, don't they.

Something Jen said...

2008-06-26T09:37:00.000-04:00

My friend Jen asked me yesterday, as I was walking to the court, how I was. I answered, "miserable, frustrated and annoyed." Being on crutches, unable to drive has left me searching for rides like a teenager. I think about every trip up and down the stairs trying to maximize my efforts on each floor. I sit to cook asking the kids to bring me this and that. It's a pain in the ass.
But, her response has gotten me thinking. She answered that she could imagine how I felt being that she would be the worst disabled person. She cited how pissed off she gets if something is in her contacts and she can't see or if water gets in her ears and her hearing is muffled. I totally agree. How annoying when any of our abilities are even slightly compromised.
And then, I continued walking to the court where my neighbor Rene was washing his truck and his wife's car. And I thought, how dare I complain. You see, Rene has limited use of his right hand and his left arm was amputated from the elbow down. But there he was, smiling as always, washing away the dirt and grime as efficiently as any two-armed person. His gloved hand expertly sprayed the water while his hook guided the hose. Both limbs, prosthetic and real, scrubbing with the brush.
And earlier in the day I was speaking to my neighbor Debbie. I was asking how her daughter Dana was. You see, Dana was in an accident in May. She got out of her car to investigate the damage and was struck by a car and pinned under it. She broke lots of bones, suffered internal injuries, lost her teeth and has been in a rehab hospital since leaving shock trauma. But, she's doing great, learning to use crutches so she can some home next week.
And here I am, complaining that I have to be on crutches and can't drive. I'll most likely have a quick and easy outpatient operation, do a little physical therapy for a few weeks and be right back to my normal existence. I won't have to spend weeks in a burn unit floating between life and death like Rene. I won't have to relive the trauma of an accident in my dreams. I won't have to relearn to walk. I won't have to learn to use a prosthetic limb.
So thank you Jen for making me take a look at how good I really have it in this world. I can't imagine what Rene and Dana have been through nor do I really want to - it's too hard, but I can appreciate how far they've come, how far they have to go. And maybe I'll be a little less miserable, frustrated and annoyed from now on.

Telephone Answering Systems

2008-06-24T20:46:00.000-04:00

I have lately injured my knee and am on crutches, in a brace and on a bad day in enough pain to warrant a Percocet (or two or three). Through this process I have had to call the orthopedist's office a few times. Of course, you expect an answering service to field the "How do I get to the office?" and "What are your hours?" questions. But, once you get past that and onto the line of the secretary for the doctor, you would like a person to answer. Instead, I have been thanked for my patience and told how someone will be with me soon or will get to my call in the order in which it was received. Now I know how busy a doctor's office can be and I want the person answering the phone to take their time with each patient. But if you call 4 times in one day and each time are instantly on hold after pressing 3 for Dr. X then automatically asked to leave a message after a few minutes, what is the point of the holding in the first place? The same thing happened to me when I called the insurance company to see if I needed approval for the MRI which of course I didn't and I knew that and if the secretary had listened to me on the day of my initial appointment I wouldn't have had to go through any of this aggravation!!! AGGHHH!
Sorry, calming down. Anyway, if they don't have time to answer the phone, just send me right to voice mail. Although, this isn't the best outcome either considering I left a few messages and no one called me back. So, I went for the press "0" or stay on the line option and got a very nice person who tried to pry the other call out of Dr. X's secretary's hands to help me, then just helped me herself. All I wanted to do was schedule an MRI. It's not like I wanted a prescription written without being seen (although I am running low on those Percocets) or a diagnosis over the phone. Alas, I was scheduled and I had my MRI, which was very pleasant by the way. In fact, I was so relaxed I fell asleep for about 20 of the 40 minutes it took to scan my knee.
So, my point today is, when I rule the world people will answer phones. There will be ample staff at doctor's offices, insurance companies and customer service centers. Even if the person answering the phone can't really help but can take a real message that will be given to a real person. And perhaps there will be an emplyee whose only job is to call back people who have left messages so customers and patients will think someone actually gives a hoot about them. Well, I guess I'll have to wait patiently on hold for a while until I am crowned queen of the world. Have a nice day.