The Phlebotomist From Hell

Today I had to have some blood drawn at the request of my Gastroenterologist, who I have an appointment with tomorrow. Anyway - I'm a big needle phobic. I absolutely dread getting stuck with any kind of needles - whether it's a shot, bloodwork or whatever - I just dread it - so much so, that I often will cancel appointments with the Doctor's office or the Dentist office if I know I'm due for a shot, etc. Unfortunately I couldn't put this blood draw off, as I'm already overdue for the visit with my Gastro Doctor.

So I decided that I would take part of my lunch hour to visit the lab for my blood draw. I had several different locations for labs that take my insurance and chose to go to the location that I always go to as I know how to get there, they are usually very friendly and I'm usually in & out of there within 5 or 10 minutes.

When I arrived, there weren't any patients there, other than some weirdo that was there for some type of drug screening (go figure), so I knew I wouldn't be there very long. The 3 employees that I saw up front were busy laughing & carrying on with each other, and after a few minutes of me making impatient type noises, one of them finally decided to see what I was there for. (Uhhh - it's a lab - I'm either there to get my blood drawn, or to pee in a cup) After typing in my information - she sent me to the back of the room, where a phlebotomist or whatever the hell he was, was waiting for me.

Remember - I'm needle phobic & at this point I was extremely nervous to the point where I was almost shaking. Nervously, I pleaded, "Please make sure this doesn't hurt" and with the shittiest tone I've heard in a while, he replied "well it involves a needle, so IT IS going to hurt!". Oh great - not only do I hate needles, but I also hate jackasses! He proceeded to wipe off my arm, asked me to make a fist & then jabbed the needle into my vein real hard - dammit! It hurt like shit! WHAT THE HELL? Did he have to be so rough?? He very hastily put a gauze pad over my "wound" and strapped a piece of bandage real tightly over my arm, and then just looked at me and said "have a nice day" with his same shitty tone!

WHAT AN ASSHOLE! You can bet one thing - if it were my kids or my mother (or anyone else in my family) there getting their blood drawn from this jerk and he had been that rough with them, I probably would have had to smack the crap out of him. JERK FACE!

Ok - so then I thought to myself, so maybe this guy's job really sucks. Maybe his boss is a complete idiot - or maybe his wife is a real bitch. Maybe he had a bad morning or a bad night last night or a bad week. Maybe someone in his family is sick and/or dying. And I felt kind of bad for him, like I half wanted to go back there and say "ok you're an asshole, but I'm not mad at you anymore because obviously something in your life made you extra grouchy today". And maybe after he said "have a nice day" to me (in his shitty tone), I should have turned around & smiled real nice and said "Thanks, you too...". I mean really, maybe I deserved to be jabbed real hard with the needle, maybe I was being a bitch when I was impatiently tapping my foot and jiggling my keychains waiting for someone there to help me. Maybe he treated me, the way he thought that I treated him and the rest of the employees there when I first walked in.

So I decided that the next time someone is shitty with me, I'm going to try my hardest not to be shitty back. I'm just going to smile and be nice to them, no matter what the circumstance is. Life is too short to waste time being pissed off at people. Maybe I should have listened some more to my mother when she used to tell me when I was a child "turn the other cheek..."

Happy Birthday Sister!

So what do you do when you can't make it to your sister's 40th birthday party? You send a singing telegram! Well - at least that was my remedy! I had been trying to figure out for several weeks what exactly I could do for her for her birthday, other than sending her a few small gifts & a gift certificate, when I stumbled across the website to a company in New England that delivers singing telegrams - www.amazingballonagrams.com. My only problem once I found the website and I decided that that's what I wanted to do, was deciding on which character to send - they had many to choose from - so I enlisted the help of my brothers and decided on the "crazy clown". I really wish I could have been there - but there was just to much to do this weekend in preparation for the start of the school year today.

Here are a few more pictures:

As you can tell, Lizzie and the clown became fast friends!

My rant for the day:

Yesterday, when I stopped in at my favorite craft store, I saw that they ran out of my favorite yarn, they have no idea when they're getting it back in & they looked at me like I was an alien when I asked if they could call another store location to see if they had it. Finally I said "Never mind, I'll just go myself and see if they have it". I seriously thought I was going to have punch the store manager in the face.... (and I'm sure my PMS had something to do with my intense anger was I feeling)

I mean Fuck! How hard is it for them to simply pick up the phone & call another store and see if they have it? Isn't that part of their damn job? Assholes! What in the hell ever happened to good customer service?

Watermelon + Crohn's = NOT GOOD!

Watermeon + Crohn's Disease = not such a good feeling...
Enough said!

Thursday's "Thirteen Things I'm Over" List

I woke up this morning with a huge headache, not sure what's going on but I decided within 5 minutes of waking up that I was totally over it and to keep my mind distracted while the headache was going away (hopefully) - I came up with a list of "13 Things That I'm Over":

1. This morning's headache - it kind of feels like someone stomped on the top of my head with the heel of their foot & kept digging in until their foot became impaled halfway through my head & remained there.
2. The fact that I can't find any pants for work that I like - either everything's too low waisted (and I really hate when my stomach spills out over the top of my pants) or too long for me.
3. The lady that sits 2 cube rows over from me - that sneezes 8 times in a row, continuously throughout the day. I'm so close to smacking her in the head with a box of Claritin. This sneezing thing of hers is getting real old
4. My husband's cat, Pinky, ignoring me the majority of the time, unless my husband is out of town. When he's out of town - she's all over me. What the hell is up with that? Doesn't she want my husband to know that she likes me too?? Damn cat...
5. My moody coworker. Somedays she's very talkative but most of the time she sulks around like someone pissed in her yogurt or something. Maybe it's menopause - but whatever the hell it is, it's annoying!
6. Nicole Richie. I don't give a damn if she's anorexic and 84 lbs. I wish People & Star magazine would stop pasting pictures of her stick thin bikini cladden body all over their covers.
7. The mosquitos in my front yard & backyard. I know I've posted about this before - but damn, these attacking mosquitos are getting really friggin' old. When the hell will they stop!!!
8. Everytime I buy a new piece of clothing, I end up spilling some type of food or drink on it. It's really starting to tick me off!
9. The fact that everytime I go to Michael's or Joann's (both craft stores) - they carry 876,453 different kinds of cheap flimsy yarn, but only a handful of different kinds of decent quality yarn. I need more choices people! Yes, I can buy yarn online - but I don't like to - I like to feel the texture of yarn before I buy it!
10. The snack machine "filler-upper" guy at my place of my employment. Why the hell does our floor get all the shitty "snacks"? Does he hate us or something? I mean come on really - why can't our floor get Butterscotch Krimpets, or Chocolate M&M's, or Twizzlers? No instead, we get some stupid ass pastries & nasty candybars that no one really wants. Yes I know, I can walk to another floor or refrain from eating snacks all together - but I'd at least like to have a decent option.
11. How Wal-Mart has a nice cheery person to greet you at the door with a yellow smiley sticker, when you first walk in, but on the way out, there's either no one there to help you with the 14 bags you need to cart out to your car, or you have some over-zealous wanna-be cop who virtually performs a strip search to make sure you don't walk out of the store without paying for a 1.29 pack of Trident. I HATE WALMART!
12. How hot my Dell Laptop gets. Although the laptop is very fast, and I'm pleased with it for the most part (other than the fact that I've had to send it in 3 times for repair in the past 2+ years), I'm completely over the fact that the internal fan is of such shitty ass quality that it doesn't have enough strength to do what it's supposed to do. And forget using the cooling pads - my experience has shown that they don't last very long & they're quite cumbersome. Next time I buy a laptop you can bet that I'm going to do a lot of research to make sure I don't buy another one with this same problem.
13. All the damn little plastic grocery bags that my husband thinks he needs to hoard for "pooper scooper bags"! We have a big huge cat litter bucket full of those damn bags and it's so full in fact, that it's spilling out into the pantry. My guess is that we have about 250 bags - even if my dog were to crap 2-3 times a day - it would take 80-120 days to use up all the bags that we currently have, not to mention that we accumulate more every time I shop.

Cuteness=Badness

Cute little kitten face=pure badness

Shut The Heck Up Justin Timberlake!

Ok - so I read this story: Justin Timberlake/Taylor Hicks Article a few days ago that talked about Justin Timberlake's remark that American Idol's latest winner, Taylor Hicks, "couldn't carry a tune in a bucket". Give me a freakin' break Justin! Grow the hell up! Hello - were you always as talented as some think you are now, were you always able to "carry a tune"? I didn't think so! Leave Taylor alone - sure he is a bit rough around the edges, but isn't every entertainer that first pops onto the scene? And before you even think it - no, I'm not a Taylor Hicks fan. I personally feel Chris Daugherty (spelling?) should have won! Now that's what I call hot!

Anyway - just had to get that off of my chest, because it really pissed me off a few days ago.

I've also been extremely heebed out about that sicko, John Karr, who claims that he murdered Jonbenet Ramsey 10 years ago. Some news reports are claiming that there are holes in his story and that he's only claiming to have done it, to get the notoriety. Either way - he's a sick son of a bitch & he needs to be thrown into jail! I can't even stand to hear his name on the news or look at his picture splashed across the screen - he really is a creep!

___________________________________________________________________



On another note, just 4 more days until my little sister's 40th birthday! WOO HOO! Plans are underway...enough said...

A Flash From The Past

Ok, sometimes I'll come across things that remind me of my childhood - whether it's a toy, a doll, a song on the radio, whatever the case, frequently I'm reminded of days gone by.

But this picture, from an auction on Ebay, really scared the shit out of me - this istantly took me back to the mid to late 70's. Either my sister or I had these exact Paint By Numbers:

So what strikes me really odd about these paint by numbers is that it appears that not only were they completed, but they were framed. What the hell is that about? AND the really scary thing is that someone actually won this auction item on Ebay. Actually, that shouldn't scare me at all, as this would have made a great "do you remember this" gift for my sister's 40th birthday (not that I don't already have a good gift for that department), which is coming up in 6 short days...

I'm In Love Again!

I think I'm in love again! Really!

Last weekend, my trusty old Hoover Wind Tunnel vacuum literally fell apart. Despite Frank's best attempts, he could not getting working again - especially after he kicked it down the stairs and out into the garage, yelling obscenities along the way. I really liked that Hoover - it was lighweight, it seemed to do a good job & it was inexpensive (under $100).

Anyway, after a lot of research, and talking to some friends & coworkers - I decided on the Bissell Lift Off Revolution Turbo upright vacuum cleaner. The big dilemma was where exactly to buy the vacuum from. I went to several stores & either they were out or no one seemed to want to wait on me. In fact, I stood in the vacuum section at Sears waiting for 15 minutes for someone to offer to help me - they had the vacuum in stock, it's just that the box was too heavy for me to carry to my SUV by myself. So, after 15 mintues of waiting, some jack-ass male employee approached me and said in a real shitty tone - "do you need anything?". I almost said "No - I'm fucking standing here for my health dumbass", but being the nice, considerate (i.e. chickenshit) person that I am, I said "No actually I don't need anything, I've waited 15 minutes for someone to come over, and I'm on my way out"....I think it was more his tone of voice, than anything. Sorry that I was such an inconvenience, shithead!

I left Sears, and went straight to Kohl's. Luckily they have shopping carts there (otherwise I would have had to hurt someone), and I was able to load up the vacuum cleaner myself into the car and the cashier there, was actually nice to me!

After I got home, I was very eager to use the vacuum & in fact I vacuumed my entire house, Let me tell you - this vacuum rocks! It sucked up so much animal hair, dirt & dust, that it was unbelievable. It almost makes me think that maybe my Hoover wasn't as good as what I thought it was! The vacuum is very powerful suction & is very easy to use. It required very little assembly out of the box - all I did was attach the handle, attach the tools & I was ready to go. Althought it was a bit more expensive (around $160 on sale), it's well worth the extra $ spent, at least for now.

This is a picture of my newfound love:

I'm Having So Much Fun

With my sister's birthday just 9 short days away, I'm having lots of fun, plotting & planing some things.. I can't divulge what I'm planning on doing, as she reads this blog *cough* stalker *cough* - but I will be sure to post about it later. I will say this - there are a lot of companies that are willing to do very strange things with a little bit of $, maybe this is just common to Boston (my sister lives near there), or maybe it's just the way some companies run - anyway it's been fun searching for "things" I've definitely found some very random things, that's for sure.

One thing I ran across, which I'm definitely not getting, because it totally scares me:

This doll is a "Flatsy" doll from the late 60's. I don't remember my sister and I ever owning any of these (although we very well may have), but I do faintly remember them. I know that they came with different hair colors/lengths & differe color clothes. To me they look like flattened Barbies, and why anyone in their right mind, would buy one of these, is beyond me, other than for the sole purpose of scaring someone.

Luckily, for my sister, these things scare me, so it wont' be part of my "plan".

Speaking of which, I better get going, I need to plot some more...

Management - short rant

Ok - I'm going to make this a short rant, at least short for me.

Is it a prerequiste at some places of business that managerial candidates be complete idiots in order to be hired? Ok - maybe it's just my place of business...

How is it that a manager can be given a laptop, without them knowing how to use it properly? Shit - that's almost like being given a driver's license without taking driving lessons (although I've seen plenty of drivers who despite the best lessons, still shouldn't be driving)

I would think that if I were a managerial candidate that I would familiarize myself with the tools that I have been given in my position, just like I do now in my position as the lowest peon on the pole. Is it asking to much to be able to expect these managers to be able to do simple things like perform basic calculations in Microsoft Excel, or be able to set up a wireless connection, or hey how about getting your own ice for your diet coke (what a stretch!)?

What the hell? Maybe I'm just getting to the point where I'm tired of helping out people do simple things when I only get a fraction of their salary! I will say this - whenever I finally do get my degree in whatever the hell it is, I'm going to be one hell of a manager! I'll water my own plants, I'll get my own ice, and hell maybe I'll even set up my own wireless connection...

I feel better now...

What Does It Take To Figure Out You May Have Too Many Animals???

Another story came out in the news today about an animal hoarder - this one had 75 cats (58 of which were dead) in their house. I can understand having 4-5, but frankly, many more than that is just too much. I don't understand how anyone can so willingly accumulate so many animals. It's hard enough for me with 2 cats & a dog, and I can't imagine having much more than that. I mean really - how the hell can you possibly feed & clean up after 75 animals! And doesn't this animal hoarder have any family or friends that possily knew they had these many animals? This just makes me totally sick to my stomach.

Anyway - this is the article that I'm referring to:

"Howard County animal control officers discovered 75 cats in a Columbia home after responding to numerous citizen complaints about a suspicious odor. Of the 75, 58 cats were alive, but in critically ill condition and 17 were found dead. Animal control officers received several calls last week about a suspicious smell coming from a house located in the 7300 block of Swan Point Way. Officers began an investigation and obtained a search warrant for the home Thursday afternoon. The resident was not home at the time the warrant was
executed. Fifty-eight cats were taken to a local veterinarian, who determined that 50 were in such poor condition that they would have to be euthanized. Eight cats, five of which are kittens, are still alive and are currently being treated for malnutrition, viral infections and other various illnesses. Animal control officers are working with the state’s attorney’s office to discuss possible charges in this case. The resident will not be identified until a determination about charges is made."

Sorry but I think people that do things like this, not only need to serve time time in jail, but more importantly they need serious psychological counseling!

I'm Sick Of All The Celebrity News!

While standing in line this evening at the grocery store looking at Magazine Covers (and yes I actually walked out of the store without buying a single one) - it hit me, I'm sick of celebrity news! Really - I don't give a shit if Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson are splitting up, and I really don't care to know when Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes will allow photographs to be taken of their daughter Suri. I could care less about Pamela Anderson & Kid Rock's wedding! I don't care whether Richie Sambora is screwing Heather Locklear's former best friend, Denise Richards, and I swear to god, if I hear one more thing about Angelie Jolie & Brad Pitt I'm going to barf!!!

I'm the first to admit, that I used to be addicted to reading celebrity news - I habitually bought Star Magazine & People, and US Weekly. It just seems lately that there's more and more crappy stories about this celebrity couple & that celebrity couple splitting, and this actor or that actor going into rehab, and I really just don't give a fuck anymore! (excuse my French)

What I'd like to see is more stories on how a celebrity has overocme adversity, and how this actor or that actor has contributed in a positive way to something in this world. So while I was standing in line - I turned the front copies of Star Magazine, National Enquirer, People Magazine & US Weekly around backwards. *big grin*

50 Random Things About Me

I've seen lots of other people doing this on various blog sites, such as Myspace, etc so I thought I would create a "50 Random Things About Me List"

1. I was named after my father's former girlfriend - and it was my mother's idea.
2. I don't like touching sandpaper - it gives me the heeby-jeebies
3. My favorite ice cream is Vanilla Chocolate Swirl
4. I can consumer more hard shell crabs than what you could imagine (although my niece beat me at a crab feed yesterday)
5. My favorite color is dark puple
6. I enjoy mowing my yard
7. I can sleep 10 hours at a time, and still want to take a nap later
8. I don't like mosquitos or any type of stinging or biting insects
9. If wild rabbits suddenly disappeared off the fact of the earth, I'd be perfectly happy
10. I met my husband in a bar
11. My daughter actually had a different name when she was first born, but my husband convinced me to change it
12. I don't like people standing or sitting behind me, especially if they're talking
13. I'd rather lie in bed all day nauseous than throw up once
14. I have a weakeness for chocolate
15. My 3 brothers all have the same first name
16. I frequently find myself counting my steps when I walk
17. I really don't like to swim - I'd much rather just float along in the water
18. I have a birthmark shaped like a heart on the inside of my upper left arm - AND my sister tried to claim it as hers
19. I miss my father terribly!
20. My favorite flower is a red rose (even though I don't have any planted in my garden yet)
21. I don't like looking at people's feet
22. I can play "chopsticks" on the piano fairly well
23. I usually don't like loud noises
24. I've had a crush on Jon Bon Jovi for as long as I can remember!
25. My favorite TV show is "House"
26. I have a nervous habit of ripping my fingernails off, once they get long
27. The first animal I ever owned was a black cat named Mitzi
28. I really would love to learn how to dance
29. My 2 favorite clothing stores are Christopher & Banks, and Hecht's
30. If I was only was allowed to drink one type of drink, it would have to be Cyrstal Light
31. I can't stand the taste of beer
32. I really wanted to play softball in High School, but was too shy to even think about trying out
33. I have problems saying words that start with the letters "ch"
34. Although I really don't like math, I have a weird ability to quickly multiply numbers
35. I'm not even sure what my natural hair color is
36. Although I love to talk, I have a real fear of public speaking
37. My eyelids flip inside out when I laugh real hard
38. I can read a book very quickly and enjoy it thoroughly - but ask me about it the next day, and I won't remember a thing
39. I get annoyed when people sneeze more than 3 times in a row
40. I used to skateboard when I was a pre-teen/teen
41. Sometimes I find myself walking around with a balled up tissue in my hand without realizing it was even there for most of the day
42. I have a hard time keeping a secret, especially if it's someone else's
43. My favorite holiday is Christmas
44. I don't like to touch door knobs or door handles in public bathrooms
45. My favorite sport is Soccer - but I've never played, and have no desire to play
46. Whenever I buy a newspaper or magazine it always has to be the second or third in the stack as I don't want one that someone else already looked through
47. My favorite author is Faye Kellerman
48. Sometimes I will finish a sentence out loud that I had been thinking about to myself
49. I don't like to be alone, but I also don't like to be in a room with alot of people I don't know
50. I'm afraid of rollercoasters

On another note...

12 more days until a certain someone's 40th birthday *cough* Lizzie *cough*

What A Great Weekend!

I doubt this weekend could have been any better.

Saturday night we had some friends & neighbors over - we had hamburgers, hot dogs, etc on the grill & sat outside on the patio under the canopy. It was absolutely beautiful out - if anything it got a bit chilly - but the great news is that we were outside for 3-4 hours and I didn't get bit once by mosquitos! Frank bought a "bug zapper" and a few tiki torches over the weekend and they seemed to do the trick. It was a great sound to hear the bug zapper zapping, although some zaps were rather loud & I was a bit worried that some small birds had been zapped (turned out not to be the case). It was wonderful not to have those darn mosquitos munching on my legs and arms!

Today was Frank's company picnic at Kent Island - it was awesome. I don't think they realized when they said "All You Can Eat Crabs" that I would actually consume as many crabs as I did. I think between my niece and I, we polished off close to a 1/2 bushel of crabs (close to 3 or 4 dozen) maybe even more. They were delicious!!! As far as I'm concened - crabs = a little piece of heaven...

London's Airline Terror Plot News

The news yesterday regarding the terrorist plot involving a plot to down commercial airliners coming into the U.S. from London, is very troubling to say the least. Although I do find it reassuring that around 20 suspects have been arrested, I'm still disturbed by the fact that there may indeed be more suspects out there.

What I find even more disturbing is that it's all over the news now that the terrorists planned to use liquid explosives that can be commonly found on store shelves. While I think this information is important, I think it's totally unnecessary to name the types of ingredients used in the explosives. Why does this information need to be released?

Don't you think that naming the ingredients & more or less explaining how the explosives are put together will only put ideas into the heads of twisted people?? And along those lines, why did the media have to release the fact that the screening done at airports only covers the density of objects that x-rayed not the chemical composition?

Oh great - why don't we just tell the world all of our security weak points making us all the more vulnerable to terroristic threats?

UGH....

Crabs, Crabs & More Crabs!

Anyone that knows me, even very remotely, knows that my favorite food in the world is Maryland Hard Shell Crabs. There's something about the taste of a Maryland Hard Shell Crab that completely fulfills any craving I've ever had. The combination of the aroma of the Old Bay Seasoning (what good is a Hard Shell Crab without Old Bay?) and the taste of fresh crab meat is enough to melt my taste buds.

Frank's company get together is this weekend at the Kentmore Marina at Kentmore Island near the Bay - and guess what they're having??? Maryland Hard Shell Crabs! YESSSSSSSSSSS! Needless to say I'm pretty excited about it - so in preparation I've thrown together a guide to how to properly "pick" a Maryland Hard Shell Crab:

1. Get your table ready - it's recommended to eat hard shell crabs outdoors - as they can be quite messy. Place a layer or two of newspapers over the surface of your table to protect the table from the hot crabs. I also recommend having several rolls of paper towels available to wipe your hands & face with. You will also need a small knife to open the crab with and a crab mallet.
2. Dump a pile of crabs in the middle of the table for people to eat from, or serve from a large platter or bowl.
3. Select your crab - I usually go for the heavier feeling crabs as they tend to have more crab meat - but really, any crab will do.
4. Pull the big pincher claws & save for later. Remove the back claws with a twisting motion - often times when you pull the back claws off, some crab meat will come out with it - enjoy!
5. Pull off any other legs - some people will crack the legs open and eat the meat, but their usually isn't alot of meat in there - so I either toss them or save them for later.
6. Turn the body of the crab over so the bottom of the crab is facing up. With a knife, pry open the pointy apron piece on the bottom of the crab pull it up and back. This detaches the top shell
7. Flip the crab over, take the top shell off & discard it.
8. You'll see the gills and the "mustard" on the sides of the top of the crab - clean these off with a knife & discard.
9. Put the remaining crab in your hand and snap it in two. Any crab meat that is revealed can be eaten. You can use your knife to dig the meat out from the crab shell or you can cut the crab in half again using your knife. Use your knife to pick the shell from the crab. Now you're ready to eat the claws.
10. Use your knife & mallet to crack the claws open. Pull the exposed meat out with your knife or your teeth.

That's it! You've eaten a MD Hardshell Crab! Remember - practice makes perfect, after several attempts you will become pretty fast at "picking a crab".

Don't forget to roll up your crabs inside the newspaper that you used to line the table & throw it away outside in a trashcan. Make sure to clean your table off. I generally use a hose & some type of cleanser.

Happy Crab Eatin'!!!

Cleaning obsession

Three months ago, after moving into the house we bought, Frank and I decided we would never let it get dirty - well at least not real dirty. Neither one of us mind an occasional pair of shoes left around, or an empty cup sitting on a coffee table, but it's the dust on the tables & TV's & the fuzzies on the carpet & animal hair on the floor, etc that really gets to us.

When first moved in, it seemed like we were cleaning every night - maybe it was the fact that the house was alot bigger than our townhouse, or maybe it's just because we love the house so much and it was "new" to us that we just wanted it to always look "perfect". Anyway - so after a month of constant cleaning, we started to slack a bit. Summer arrived, and we got busy with outside work - like pulling weeds from the flowerbeds (if that's what you can call them), planting trees, flowers & grass. We also started to spend alot of time outside on the patio under the canopy - until the mosquitos decided they were going to take over our yard.

A few weeks ago we noticed that our house seemed a bit messier than usual - so now we're on a new "cleaning kick". Frank likes to do random cleaning tasks - he'll start by wiping a counter off on the kitchen and then suddenly he'll be in the basement emptying out a few of the boxes that we hadn't unpacked yet, and then a few minutes later I'll find him the bathroom scrubbing the floor & toilet. I guess I'm a bit of a "random cleaner" too, but I really get alot of satisfaction out of completely cleaning one room and then moving on to the next. Anyway - so now we have this new cleaning thing going on & I've decided that I kind of half enjoy cleaning especially when it comes to doing the folllowing:

1. Steam cleaning the carpets - this must be my all time favorite.
2. Vacuuming the carpets - boy do I ever love vacuum lines!
3. Cleaning the wood foyer floor - this ranks right up there too
4. Cleaning the windows & sliding doors in the lower level - for some reason I enjoy this more than cleaning the windows & doors on the upper level (maybe this is because there's a million windows upstairs)
5. Scrubbing the kitchen sink
6. Polishing furniture (I may have gotten this from my dad - as I remember him clearly smiling as he polished the kitchen chairs & table)
7. Cleaning the glass shower door in the master bathroom

Following are the cleaning tasks that I really do not like at all, in fact I'll avoid them if at all possible:

1. Cleaning the toilets (enough said)
2. Cleaning the bathroom floors
3. Cleaning the entryway floor from the garage
4. Cleaning the kitchen floors
5. Cleaning the cat litter boxes

I think part of the reason that I really enjoy cleaning is that it's something that I can do and see immediate results - there's something about vacuuming a dirty floor & uncovering a nice clean carpet that really makes me happy. I also find that cleaning gives me a chance to think about things, whether it's my job, my family, etc.

Ok, that's enough for now...I'm off to...what else? Clean of course!

Just glad it wasn't me...

While skimming through various online news websites, I came across a news piece on www.foxnews.com about a lady in Council Bluffs, IA who got stuck on a toilet seat in a bathroom in a shopping mall:

" Woman Gets Stuck on Toilet, Suffers Burns
Thursday, August 03, 2006

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa — A woman who became stuck to a toilet seat in a shopping mall restroom was treated at a local hospital after paramedics used fingernail polish remover to free her, officials said.

The 53-year-old Council Bluffs woman suffered burns to her skin in the incident, which happened Wednesday, officials with the Fire Department said.

Investigators said they believe someone placed a cement compound on the toilet seat in the restroom at the Mall of the Bluffs.

Investigators say they are treating the case as an assault and vandalism.

The woman, who wasn't identified, told KETV in Omaha, Neb., that the burns are painful and that the incident was one of the most embarrassing moments in her life."


A few years back, I probably would have thought this was hilarious, but the fact that I spend alot of time in the bathroom *cough* Crohn's Disease *cough*, this news piece is a bit frightening (although I do find it a bit humorous) to me. My thoughts on this story though are this:

1)Why in the world would anyone sit on a public toilet seat without putting down one of those disposable paper toilet seat protectors?
2) If you are going to sit down - why in the heck wouldn't you look first? I mean really - I always looking into the toilet & around the toilet to a) make sure it's as clean as a toilet can be & b) to make sure the toilet is working.

Maybe the cement compound that was placed on the toilet was hard to see - but surely it had to be somewhat visible and shouldn't there have been some type of smell to it? I always thought cement compound had a smell at least until it was somewhat dry. If the cement was somewhat dry, how could she get stuck?

I wonder if this toilet was one of those that doesn't flush until you stand up.....hmmmm...now that's a scary thought...

Happy Sister's Day!

Lizzie wishes the curtains were a better color

This is what happens when you ask Lizzie to "make a pretty face"



Lizzie upon learning that I ate the last of the yogurt









In honor of today's holiday "Sister's Day" I thought I would post some pictures of my dear, sweet, younger sister Lizzie. Good thing for her I don't have many pictures of her stored electronically & that my scanner isn't working properly - otherwise I would have some hilarious pictures of her...

So I am posting a few of the ones I have, and maybe, just maybe, in time for her 40th birthday in a few weeks *grins*, I will get some more scanned in :)

Some totally random facts about my sister:

1)She gets annoyed if someone else lifts their glass or cup & drinks at the same time she is drinking...
2) Her big toe on each foot is longer than my index fingers (and my fingers are pretty long)...
3) Her nickname is "Bipsy"...
4) Despite her constant denial, she really is obsessed with Ants...

Dog destroys teddy bears....

...and I thought my dog, Margo, could be a bit destructive...

Yesterday, I read an article on CNN about a guard Doberman Pinscher in London, who went on a huge rampage inside a children's museum. Apparently he had been left inside the room alone with hundreds of valuable teddy bears, valued at close to $1 million!

From the CNN website:

"A guard dog has ripped apart a collection of rare teddy bears, including one once owned by Elvis Presley, during a rampage at a children's museum. "He just went berserk," said Daniel Medley, general manager of the Wookey Hole Caves near Wells, England, where hundreds of bears were chewed up Tuesday night by the 6-year-old Doberman pinscher named Barney.

Barney ripped the head off a brown stuffed bear once owned by the young Presley during the attack, leaving fluffy stuffing and bits of bears' limbs and heads on the museum floor. The bear, named Mabel, was made in 1909 by the German manufacturer Steiff. The collection, valued at more than $900,000, included a red bear made by Farnell in 1910 and a Bobby Bruin made by Merrythought in 1936.

The bear with Elvis connections was owned by English aristocrat Benjamin Slade, who bought it at an Elvis memorabilia auction in Memphis, Tenn., and had loaned it to the museum. "I've spoken to the bear's owner and he is not very pleased at all," Medley said. A security guard at the museum, Greg West, said he spent several minutes chasing Barney before wrestling the dog to the ground."

So my thoughts are this - why in the heck would you leave a dog, regardless of how well behaved he/she ordinarily is, in a room full of valuable teddy bears?? HELLO! Is it just me or was that an absoultely stupid idea? Everyone knows that most dogs like to chew and when they are bored they will find something to get into!

*shakes her head*