Thursday's Guilty Pleasures

I had a long and boring day at work today. Things were stressful enough before we received an email from (the commissioner???) announcing more budget cuts for the county. I took it as a sign that I will a) definitely not be hired by Gwinnett County any time in the next three years, b) will probably be laid off within a month to three months.

Therefore, I left the office feeling a bit let down and a bit anxious, and a bit hopeful. Hopeful? Yes, if they are going to lay me off, let 'em do it now so I can enjoy summer, fall and Christmas at home. ( :

Since I left the office this afternoon I have enjoyed several guilty pleasures:

* Dinner at Arby's. I had the toasted Italian Sub and a nice glass of ice water, and dinner was delicious as I read a magazine in the non-crowded dining area.

* Pedicure at NY nails including bright red nail polish, cute little flower on the big toe (I usually don't go that girl-y, but oh well!), and a very strange selection on the massage chair. I've never used this setting before...it felt like I was sitting on Santa's lap and Santa was getting excited, if you know what I mean. This was very strange feeling. I felt like everyone in the place knew I was getting a 'knee in the butt' sensation and were staring at me! LOL! Oh! and all of this was covered by a gift certificate given to me by Arthur and SIL for Mother's Day. I got two pedicures out that gift certificate!

* Came home, fed the cats and put them out on the porch (for peace and quiet - plus they love it). By-passed the kitchen and living room and came straight to the bedroom and turned on my SOAPS!

* Played on the computer waaaaayyy tooo long, considering I was thinking of taking a computer sabbatical. Rrrriiiiiiggggggggghhhhhhttttttttttt.

Now, gotta let the kitties back inside and get ready for bed!

The Deed Has Been Done

(The bandaged up mess!)

The ole' trigger thumb has been repaired. The surgery took only about 15 minutes from the antiseptic wash down to the final wrapping. (The wait for surgery was much longer...three hours). The worst part of the whole thing was the initial injection to numb the area. The needle went in someplace between my thumb and pointer finger. I screamed loud enough to shatter the window in the operating room door. My wonderful nurse, Nicki, held my hand and I squeezed her hand as hard as I squeezed the Hubster's when I was in labor with Courage. The next injection was not near as bad because the lidocaine from the first shot was beginning to kick in.

Oh, the 5mg Valium tablet I took before surgery... did absolutely nothing to calm my nerves or make sleepy or make me 'not care' as the doc promised. I tried to tell him that such things as Novocaine, laughing gas, and small doses of anesthesia do not work on me. I told him I have awakened during surgical procedures twice. He didn't listen and would not give me more Valium. However, after seeing I was not affected by the Valium, he did shoot wonderfully large amounts of numbing agent into my hand so that I would not feel the scalpel as it sliced into the crease where thumb meets fleshy palm pad. I only felt tingling, pulling and pushing after that.

So far I have only resorted to Tylenol one time. I didn't get the pain pill prescription filled...because as I am very fearful of needles, actual pain does not bother me that much. He said I wouldn't feel like working the day after, but I decided the worst of it was over and went to work today anyways. You really don't appreciate your thumb that much until you have limited use of it. But after much exercise today, the thumb is already loosening up and feeling more mobile and useful. I am really looking forward to this cumbersome bandage coming off soon.

(that's the pill bottle my Valium came in...not pain pills!)

Trigger Thumb...it's baaacckkk

Bad thumb.
Good thumb.
bad thumb.
good thumb.


My 'Trigger Thumb' is back. The condition is very painful and worrisome. So in six days I am having surgery. It is very minor surgery and should only take 10 minutes to complete. Supposedly it is quick to heal from. I hope so. I cannot afford to be out of work even one day without pay, but somehow, it will be okay.

This is my two thumbs...you can tell which one is affected. It is the one with the swollen joints and the inability to make a 'hitch-hiker' thumb.

This is my ouchy.

What's been going on this week

(Blacky looks out the back window)


As usual, I have had a busy week and have had a lot going on. Saturday I attended a retirement party for a friend, Sunday spent the day with the 'rents, Monday back to work and holding a secret, Tuesday could talk about the secret because it's no longer a secret (Arthur turned in her notice at work because she and her SIL are moving south to be closer to his job), Wednesday spent most of the day with my dad at the Cancer Center in Athens (see Ed's Journey Blog), and today worked (very slowly since not many people at work and it was very relaxed).

Stuff in between going on...frantic call from former mother-in-law about my ex-husband, Arthur's dad, making me think he was on his death bed. (Wrong). Helping Courage work out problems with summer college courses (actually just serving as a sounding board because she will make her own decisions no matter what input I have), observing, but not participating in a LOT of drama going on in my office, and trying to squeeze in some exercises here and there.

I did see a cute movie last Friday...'The Hangover'. Bradley Cooper nice to look at, thank God, because the other actors are not. Ha ha! But they are funny and it is indeed a cute little movie.

I am off work on Friday with no pay. So is the life of a temp, but not hired through a temp service. (sigh) So that is (almost) two whole days without pay this week. Thank the Good Lord Courage's HOPE scholarship check came in this week so I can pay off her tuition fees for summer classes.

Courage's BF is arriving (late) tonight from his Marine base in NC, and will be visiting friends & family in GA and TX for two weeks. Then he goes back to NC to prepare to ship off to the big AFF. Courage is so excited about him coming she can hardly contain herself and is difficult to live with. Our whole family looks forward to seeing him and spending time with him, especially for 4th of July festivities.

Including some pics of my cats, because they are cute and special.


(Don't play with your food!) (If I get too close to the edge I might fall off!)

I'm a kitty princess! I like Luaus too!

Father's Day 2009

I had a great Father's Day with my Dad (step dad Ed) and my former father-in-law, Hollis. B2 and his girlfriend provided lunch (Zaxby's) and I brought the dessert (Strawberry Pretzel Salad) and me, my Mom, B2 and his Girlfriend had a good time just sitting around and talking and laughing. B1 and his family didn't make it over...B1 was in Jasper, Georgia with our cousin (camping on the mountain) and my sister-in-law was probably getting caught up on some much needed sleep.

Ed is doing quite well after his second treatment of Avastin and other chemo drugs. So far he has had no bad side effects. I cannot help but wonder if those side effects are coming some time down the road. He goes for treatment 3 on July 1st and I will be going with him for that treatment. Ed said the Baby Bro did much better getting along with the Cancer Center staff this go-round (giggle). B2 also packed a lunch for them and they 'picnicked' in their private IV-drip room. Ed and I have already discussed it and when we go on July 1st I am going to make a 'food run' near lunch time...maybe to Checkers, maybe Mickey D's, maybe Arby's. We haven't decided yet. It is a day long affair, so I will be taking snacks, drinks, and reading material.

I also got to see Hollis (aka Papa) and Mary Kate (aka Nanny) today...my former in-laws who I still love dearly and am still friends with...or I would rather say, still family with. Nanny treated Papa and I with BBQ chicken strips, stewed squash, real mash potatoes, pinto beans, stewed cabbage and cornbread. There was also some cucumber/onion salad and fruit salad complements of her friend Hokey. (sp?) It was a delicious meal and a wonderful time of visiting. I don't get to see them enough and I really enjoyed just laughing, (crying) and cutting up with them.

The Hubster spent the afternoon at his Dad's also. His dad does not feel up to visitor's as of late, so just Hubster and his sister spent time with him. Hubster got a treat bag with articles of clothing he needed for Father's Day...because he is so hard to buy for!

Thanks to all the Dads out there for just being Good Dads. And to all the Dads who aren't good dads, I pray for you, because you don't know what you are missing. And to all you future Dads, just take notes from the Good Dads. I thank God for all my Dads...Ed (step dad) who has been my dad since I was seven, My Dad, (biological), who was a Good Dad until he married my 2nd stepmother and then he got sidetracked, but I love him anyways, God rest his Soul, Thanks to Poppa (former-father-in-law) for being there when I needed him during my marriage and divorced years from his son, and to my current father-in-law who has loved us in his silent but generous way.

If God Texted the 10 Commandments

Got a cool email I just had to share...




IF GOD TEXTED THE 10 COMMANDMENTS

1. no1 b4 me. srsly.

2. dnt wrshp pix/idols

3. no omg's

4. no wrk on w/end (sat 4 now; sun l8r)

5. pos ok - ur m&d r cool

6. dnt kill ppl

7. :-X only w/ m8

8. dnt steal

9. dnt lie re: bf

10. dnt ogle ur bf's m8. or ox. or dnkey. myob.

M, pls rite on tabs & giv 2 ppl.

ps. wwjd?

If you have no idea what this says, look up the "words" on Netlingo:
http://www.netlingo.com/

Blast from the Past: 1984 (and making ammends)

Christmas 1984. I was 23, Arthur was 3, and my dad was a Keystone Cop - ha! ha! I have long hair for another two years after this picture and after that it's rarely got past my shoulders. It did actually get down to my waist before I cut it. Notice the 'wings'...a continuation of the style made popular by Farrah Fawcett during my high school years. At that time, I had real eyebrows too. Now, after 25 years of plucking, they barely grow, except in places I don't want them to grow.

In the year following the time this photo was taken, me and my dad had a 'falling-out'. I am pretty certain that this occasion is the last time we were photographed together and the last time we were comfortable with each other. We had a disagreement over his wife's language in front of Arthur, and he refused to speak to her about it, so we stopped speaking and seeing each other.

Over the next twenty years we barely had any communication and only saw each other a couple of times. I had finally decided to try and make amends with my dad and was trying to muster my courage and decide how to go about doing so, but before I got around to actually taking action, I got the call that my dad had died from a heart attack. I never got to tell him that I still loved him despite all the years of silence and despite all the hurtful things that transpired between us. As a little girl, Daddy was the one who took care of me when I was sick and comforted me, and encouraged me to be more. I don't know what happened to us, except stubbornness and meanness on the part of other persons.

If you have someone in your life with whom you need to make amends, I urge you, do it before it is too late.