Okay, that's a really cool title. Look at me tooting my own horn. TOOT TOOT "Yeah, good one Kristi, that was a really good title and it just sounds cool like it would make a good title for a book or even a band name." Yay me and my creative mind. :) Oh! Ow, I think I just strained my shoulder twisting in an awkward way to pat myself on the back.......
The other night we were driving home and looked up at the moon. It was just a little sliver but it wasn't the sideways sliver like ( it was laying down, like a smile. It was really cool because it was really bright and you could faintly make out the rest of the moon. It reminded me of the Cheshire Cat, in Alice in Wonderland, when it would fade out but have this really bright smile.
I'm not sure if congratulations are in order or not - Oregon has moved down the ladder for unemployment. As of December it's now in 6th place for the highest unemployment rate. Michigan took a huge leap to top off the list at #1. The automotive industry has obviously come to a crashing halt! (hee, hee - like the play on words there...) Anyway, even though Oregon's unemployment rate went up to 9% in December, congratulations for working your way down a few spots.
It's been really cold here again (like most everywhere else in the US) but we have had sunshine and it has been warming a little in the afternoons. By warm I mean 40 degrees. Well, we are in the south and I still find it strangely fascinating to see a bird this time of year. Well, a bird thought it was strangely fascinating to have a car parked near a tree. I was greeted by frozen bird poop on my windshield! It was dry and very cold the next couple days so running my windshield wipers and using the spray would have only smeared it and then I would have a frozen smear of bird poo across my windshield. I had frozen bird doo on my windshield for two days! It warmed up a little and then rained so it came off. Stupid birds, it's cold here, go farther south. Go poo on cars in Alabama!
I will leave you with one last thought. Why do they call it "chicken fried chicken" or even "chicken fried steak"? The steak isn't fried in chicken, neither is the chicken for that matter. So with the logic of chicken fried chicken can we order steak fried steak or fish fried fish? I think I'm gonna try it next time I'm at a restaurant that serves "chicken fried chicken."
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Everyone is doing fine
We went to see Aunt Garnet today. Three weeks ago she had a heart attack and then double bypass surgery. She is home and resting comfortably. She is making steady progress in her recovery. She gets tired easily but is now accepting a few visitors. She doesn't eat much and is thinner than before the surgery but Karen is constantly feeding her trying to get a little weight back on. She is in good spirits and is doing well with her physical therapy. She said she's not in any pain although the scar on her chest is beginning to get a little itchy as it heals. We took her a bag of apples and told her that an apple a day is supposed to keep the doctor away and we don't want another scare like that so stay away from the emergency room doctors!
Karen is well but very tired. She is wearing herself out caring for her mom. She was very annoyed that the insurance company wouldn't cover the rehabilitation facility but feels more comfortable having her mom at home. It's amazing how invasive bypass surgery is and for someone 91 years old to survive and be recovering as well as someone in their 40's is incredible. The doctors and physical therapist are very pleased with her progress. Those around Garnet frequently have noticed a very slight lapse in her cognitive skills. She seems to repeat things and to repeat questions. Anyone not around her much would not recognize this but chalk it up to her age. I think her body is finally starting to act its age and it really bothers Karen. So far the last two January's they have had to deal with heart attacks. Greg had one in 2008 and Garnet this year. It took them until August to finally resolve what was causing Greg's heart issues. I want to make sure that during December and then January of next year, Karen takes it easy and they break that cycle of January heart attacks.
I just saw a clip of football on the news and there was that guy that has the really long fuzzy hair. I wonder how much hair he looses by it getting pulled out during each game? As mean as it sounds, I would totally grab a handful of that if I got the chance. It's almost like he wants it to get pulled by leaving it all poofy and loose for anyone to grab a hold of in the middle of a tackle. Plus, it would be annoying if it got in someones face during a big pile of guys. I think their should be some sort of rule about it along with the rules about their uniforms. Why someone would want that much hair sticking out seems a little off to me anyway. Obviously its for attention because it can't be more comfortable than having it all tucked nicely into some sort of skull cap and out of peoples reach. It must have so much mud and turf in it by the end of the game. And what a tangled mess. I guess the attention thing works though, I'm talking about it. :)
Interesting thought for the day provided by Jordan: An employee of the Alabama Department of Transportation installed spyware on his boss's computer and proved that the boss spent 10% of his time working (20% of time checking stocks and 70% of the time playing solitaire). The employee was fired, the boss kept his job.
Karen is well but very tired. She is wearing herself out caring for her mom. She was very annoyed that the insurance company wouldn't cover the rehabilitation facility but feels more comfortable having her mom at home. It's amazing how invasive bypass surgery is and for someone 91 years old to survive and be recovering as well as someone in their 40's is incredible. The doctors and physical therapist are very pleased with her progress. Those around Garnet frequently have noticed a very slight lapse in her cognitive skills. She seems to repeat things and to repeat questions. Anyone not around her much would not recognize this but chalk it up to her age. I think her body is finally starting to act its age and it really bothers Karen. So far the last two January's they have had to deal with heart attacks. Greg had one in 2008 and Garnet this year. It took them until August to finally resolve what was causing Greg's heart issues. I want to make sure that during December and then January of next year, Karen takes it easy and they break that cycle of January heart attacks.
I just saw a clip of football on the news and there was that guy that has the really long fuzzy hair. I wonder how much hair he looses by it getting pulled out during each game? As mean as it sounds, I would totally grab a handful of that if I got the chance. It's almost like he wants it to get pulled by leaving it all poofy and loose for anyone to grab a hold of in the middle of a tackle. Plus, it would be annoying if it got in someones face during a big pile of guys. I think their should be some sort of rule about it along with the rules about their uniforms. Why someone would want that much hair sticking out seems a little off to me anyway. Obviously its for attention because it can't be more comfortable than having it all tucked nicely into some sort of skull cap and out of peoples reach. It must have so much mud and turf in it by the end of the game. And what a tangled mess. I guess the attention thing works though, I'm talking about it. :)
Interesting thought for the day provided by Jordan: An employee of the Alabama Department of Transportation installed spyware on his boss's computer and proved that the boss spent 10% of his time working (20% of time checking stocks and 70% of the time playing solitaire). The employee was fired, the boss kept his job.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
You Gotta Love the South
They close school when it gets cold! Friday school was closed because it was cold. It was not icy or excessively rainy or windy, just cold. When I got to work on Friday it was 8 degrees and the warmest it got was 18 degrees. It was dry and sunny but very cold. Now I know that the south is totally not equipped for the snow and if there is anything more than a light dusting, they will cancel school and have "Storm Watch" on all the channels. The cold one baffled me though. I think the news mentioned that they were concerned about children having to wait outside for the bus and that many children had to walk to school. Devan was loving it! That means he gets a 4 day weekend! All I can do is laugh at the ridiculousness of closing school because it's cold.
I had two nice surprises this week. I had a package delivered and Devan opened it. He called me and told me that my friends are so sweet! He didn't tell me what I got so I was anxious to get home and see what sort of gift would make Devan say that. I got personalized M&M's!!!!! They were awesome! They were orange and teal colored and one said "Just Because" and the other said "I miss you Kristi." I took pictures but with a disposable camera since my batteries are dead for my digital and I keep forgetting to get more. Okay, it is seriously cool to see your name on candy!!!! I always wondered why the big Nestle or Hershey on the chocolate bars but now I know, having your name on candy is way fun!! And yes, my son was right, my friends are the best! Knowing that I love the extra gesture as much as I love the unique gift is what sets them apart. :)
Oh, and I got another fabulous surprise - one of my friends is getting married! I am so happy for her. She has finally found Mr. Right and I know this will be her forever marriage. Even writing about it now makes me smile for her. So while I'm a little jealous that she found Mr. Right, I have to cling to the thought that he has a younger brother...there better be more than one Mr. Right. Maybe we should say she found Mr. Right for her that way I will still be able to find Mr. Right for me! I am SO logical at 10 pm on a Sunday night.
To all of you in Oregon - hang in there. I just saw unemployment rates and you my dear West Coasters are like the 3rd highest. Yikes!
Okay, side note - the sirens are going crazy here! Ambulances and Fire Trucks. I'm not sure what's going on but the roads must be a mess or something because there has been a lot of noise activity for the last hour!
The other day at work we heard this really loud siren go off at the Fire Station down the road. A couple people said they thought it was probably a test of the tornado warning siren. I totally had to laugh because it sounded EXACTLY like the fire siren in Gladstone! For those of you not in Gladstone it will seem a little odd but there are only a couple full time fire fighters and the rest are volunteers. When there is a fire and they need all the crew in to help, they sound the siren. You can hear it all through town. When I was a kid there were two guys on our street who were fire fighters so whenever we heard the siren, we knew to get out of the road (if we were playing in it) because very soon two cars would go speeding off toward the fire department. After hearing the tornado siren I'm not sure I will register it as a tornado warning but rather a fire and will be on the lookout for cars speeding past to get to the fire station!
I had two nice surprises this week. I had a package delivered and Devan opened it. He called me and told me that my friends are so sweet! He didn't tell me what I got so I was anxious to get home and see what sort of gift would make Devan say that. I got personalized M&M's!!!!! They were awesome! They were orange and teal colored and one said "Just Because" and the other said "I miss you Kristi." I took pictures but with a disposable camera since my batteries are dead for my digital and I keep forgetting to get more. Okay, it is seriously cool to see your name on candy!!!! I always wondered why the big Nestle or Hershey on the chocolate bars but now I know, having your name on candy is way fun!! And yes, my son was right, my friends are the best! Knowing that I love the extra gesture as much as I love the unique gift is what sets them apart. :)
Oh, and I got another fabulous surprise - one of my friends is getting married! I am so happy for her. She has finally found Mr. Right and I know this will be her forever marriage. Even writing about it now makes me smile for her. So while I'm a little jealous that she found Mr. Right, I have to cling to the thought that he has a younger brother...there better be more than one Mr. Right. Maybe we should say she found Mr. Right for her that way I will still be able to find Mr. Right for me! I am SO logical at 10 pm on a Sunday night.
To all of you in Oregon - hang in there. I just saw unemployment rates and you my dear West Coasters are like the 3rd highest. Yikes!
Okay, side note - the sirens are going crazy here! Ambulances and Fire Trucks. I'm not sure what's going on but the roads must be a mess or something because there has been a lot of noise activity for the last hour!
The other day at work we heard this really loud siren go off at the Fire Station down the road. A couple people said they thought it was probably a test of the tornado warning siren. I totally had to laugh because it sounded EXACTLY like the fire siren in Gladstone! For those of you not in Gladstone it will seem a little odd but there are only a couple full time fire fighters and the rest are volunteers. When there is a fire and they need all the crew in to help, they sound the siren. You can hear it all through town. When I was a kid there were two guys on our street who were fire fighters so whenever we heard the siren, we knew to get out of the road (if we were playing in it) because very soon two cars would go speeding off toward the fire department. After hearing the tornado siren I'm not sure I will register it as a tornado warning but rather a fire and will be on the lookout for cars speeding past to get to the fire station!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Happy New Year!!!
Okay, so I'm a little s...l...o...w. Lots of nothing has been going on.
Anyone broken their resolutions yet? Don't lie, you know you have. I'm not here to judge, who am I to scold you when it's taken me 12 days to wish you all Happy New Year!?
I got to have dinner with my cousin and his wife. I haven't seen him in like 6 years or something. He and his wife live in Texas. They have a farm. It's really funny to picture him as a farmer since he is a computer programming smarty pants. They have goats and bunnies and a donkey and his wife is in charge of the farmer's market. It's crazy. They laugh at where they've ended up too. They love it but who would have ever thought they would end up there? My cousin is even learning to make cheese and they are contemplating getting a cow. :) It's just so funny these two suburbanites turned farmers but still working in the programming business.
We also had a major scare with my mom's Aunt Garnet. She had a heart attack and had to have a double bypass. She is 91. The doctors thought they were going to do a triple but deemed the third bypass unnecessary. She is recovering nicely but doesn't want any visitors. Her son and daughter-in-law flew in from Ireland. One day while Garnet was still in the hospital, about a week after her surgery, her daughter reported a sort of "Patch Adams" incident that brought the nurse storming in. Aunt Garnet's heart rate increased by about 40-50 beats per minute and the nurse came to check on her. Garnet told the nurse she was ok but that she was just so excited because all of her family was there! It was cute.
Jordan has gone back to Oregon to finish up the school year. While I didn't like letting her go, I was a big girl and didn't cry this time. :) Okay, at least not at the airport.
My little son who isn't so little anymore got his report card. He got a 3.58! Woo-hoo! He made honor roll! He was so very proud. I think this is the first report card since like 6th grade that he's done this well on. Happy mommy. Although, now I expect this of him all the time so he just shot himself in the foot...kapow!!
Anyone broken their resolutions yet? Don't lie, you know you have. I'm not here to judge, who am I to scold you when it's taken me 12 days to wish you all Happy New Year!?
I got to have dinner with my cousin and his wife. I haven't seen him in like 6 years or something. He and his wife live in Texas. They have a farm. It's really funny to picture him as a farmer since he is a computer programming smarty pants. They have goats and bunnies and a donkey and his wife is in charge of the farmer's market. It's crazy. They laugh at where they've ended up too. They love it but who would have ever thought they would end up there? My cousin is even learning to make cheese and they are contemplating getting a cow. :) It's just so funny these two suburbanites turned farmers but still working in the programming business.
We also had a major scare with my mom's Aunt Garnet. She had a heart attack and had to have a double bypass. She is 91. The doctors thought they were going to do a triple but deemed the third bypass unnecessary. She is recovering nicely but doesn't want any visitors. Her son and daughter-in-law flew in from Ireland. One day while Garnet was still in the hospital, about a week after her surgery, her daughter reported a sort of "Patch Adams" incident that brought the nurse storming in. Aunt Garnet's heart rate increased by about 40-50 beats per minute and the nurse came to check on her. Garnet told the nurse she was ok but that she was just so excited because all of her family was there! It was cute.
Jordan has gone back to Oregon to finish up the school year. While I didn't like letting her go, I was a big girl and didn't cry this time. :) Okay, at least not at the airport.
My little son who isn't so little anymore got his report card. He got a 3.58! Woo-hoo! He made honor roll! He was so very proud. I think this is the first report card since like 6th grade that he's done this well on. Happy mommy. Although, now I expect this of him all the time so he just shot himself in the foot...kapow!!
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