I Just Won a Contest!

Thank you to Val at Computer Chit Chat! I just won a free domain name and a year of hosting at GoDaddy.com. I can start my new blog about learning of my husbands diabetes. Now this is the way to start off the New Year!

When I found out, no one was home to share the news with, except the dog. She's happy for me, I can tell. Boy #2 just came home and I told him, he said, "What's that?" There will be more information to follow, but right now I have to go call someone! Thank you again Val at Computer Chit Chat!!

The Glass is Half Full

I keep myself positive with one small line from a song by Jewel called Hands. I'm sure you've heard it before, it's a good song and it motivates me. Here is the line that I live by: and heartache came to visit me but i knew it wasn't ever after. We all have bumps in the road throughout our lives, it makes us stronger. So while I was driving to the bank to fix my latest problem, I asked God for help. The problem wasn't as bad as it could have been, it only cost me $35 and 5 years off my life. But I ran into someone I never thought I'd see there at the bank. Things happen for a reason, this is something I strongly believe in. God didn't send me an angel, this person is far from that, but He did send me a sign. I just got chills. Now it's up to me to do something and I like being in charge - heartache came to visit me but i knew it wasn't ever after. The glass is half full people!

EarthFrisk Democratic Search Engine

When did EarthFrisk.org throw their hat into the ring? We have a new Search Engine to look into folks. I was pleasantly surprised when I typed Farvel Cargo into the search box and two pages of my blog name showed up. There’s a tool bar. So if you are like me you have to ask yourself, “Do I want another toolbar?” But then I asked myself, “Do I want to keep the google tool bar? What good is it doing me?” I’m going to spend some time clicking around EarthFrisk.org. I don’t owe google anything, they had a hand in a Christmas I just as well like to forget.

Were You Naughty or Nice?

After Christmas dinner at mom and dads we were told to "come back tomorrow for leftovers." I'm the only one that showed up. Mom called me in the afternoon to see which of my crew would be there, the phone rings and she says, "Are you doing your blog thing? Am I interupting? Who's coming tonight?" Originally the husband and Boy #3 were signed up, but I couldn't get the husband off the couch, Boy #3 needed to return something and I wouldn't take him the day after Christmas to stand in a mile long line, I left without them.

So the three of us Mom, Dad and I (the favorite child) had a nice leftover Christmas dinner together. Everyone else stayed home because they were either too tired or crabby. Hmmmm, must have been on the naughty list this year.

Diabetes! What do we do now?

If I wasn't so busy with all the "holiday stuff" I'd be starting a new blog, today, right now. The husband was diagnosed with diabetes Friday. Let me tell you there is never a good time to be diagnosed with diabetes, but the Friday before Christmas is a really bad time. He was having headaches and his blood pressure was high. So he was sent for a blood test, then sent back again but told to fast this time. The doctor calls him Friday afternoon and tells him he has diabetes, stop by the office for a prescription.

Here's the part where we realize that the Friday before Christmas is a bad time to be diagnosed with diabetes. The husband stops to pick up his prescription, no doctor in the office. The receptionist hands him his prescription and a blood sugar level taking thingamajig. Yes, we are that clueless when it comes to diabetes. She tells him to keep a record of his sugar levels and call them in two weeks, cause the office will be closed due to the holidays. This is about when smoke started to come out of my nose and ears, my eyes started to bulge out and turn red and I could not for the life of me form an intelligible sentence.

We have numerous diabetics in the family, but you know how when people start to talk about their health problems you only less than half way listen? Yeah, so the husband and I are clueless. He drinks a lot of Pepsi, so he stopped drinking Pepsi and started drinking juice. His friend explained to us about natural sugars. Doh!

The reason for the new blog? Simple, this is a life changing disease. It will not only change the husbands life, but mine and the boys as well. We have a lot to learn as you can tell by reading this post. I will have the new blog up ASAP and hope you will join me and the husband on our diabetes journey.

The Christmas Bracelet

I’m not embarrassed to say that you really can’t get anything past me, I’m very intuitive. But the husband got me last Christmas. I don’t know why he decided to be the perfect husband, I don’t know what I did to deserve his thoughtfulness, but more importantly I don’t know how he pulled it off.
Right before we were ready to leave for Christmas Eve Chinese dinner, the husband handed me a card. Huh? Immediately I was thrown off. He made the card himself.
Inside it said, “Some angels are created and some you are lucky enough to marry or call mom! So we wanted to Thank You for being the family’s Guardian Angel.”
I well-up now, a year later, when I read it. I was given instructions inside the card to look under the tree for a small box. “What? There’s no box under the………. Oh!”
There was a note inside the box to go to the hall closet. I was all over the house reading notes when finally I found another box. Inside this box was the tennis bracelet I had been hinting about for years. The husband, the boys and the girlfriend all had grins on their faces during this entire scene. I looked at my husband with tears streaming down my face, he looked at me with his cocky, snake-in-the-grass look that I have grown to love over the last 22 years and asked, “Well do you like it?”

To which I replied, “You had me at the card.”

The Restroom Door Said Gentleman

Here is one of my favorite silly Christmas songs and it's sung by my favorite people, those that have chosen to protect us. Our soldiers! Thank you guys!

The Codeine is Kicking in!

Hey I had two root canals today! Does that sound like fun or what? Two temporary crowns. Do I know how to enjoy a Tuesday morning? All that drilling, good times. Thank God for drugs. Boy #2 bailed on me. Left me with a sick kid and a hyper dog.

The dog was in her cage from 8 am until I got home from my wild morning at the dentist, around 12 pm. Boy #3 was still in bed, wiped out from his cold. I let the dog out, fed her and she layed back down for a nap with me. I let this happen with the understanding that I would have Boy #2 take her for a long walk later.

So I cursed Boy #2 while I watched the dog out my front window destroying my big red ribbon on my light post. I still might make him take her for a walk at 10 tonight, it depends on how well the codeine and I are getting along.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

The dog is in her winter wonderland. She loves to play in the snow. Northeast Ohio had it's first blizzard of the '07-'08 winter season. Isn't it pretty!

Here's the thing, last winter I had a job outside the house. I had to get up, shower, dress, make up, do my hair, go out start the car, back in, grab all my stuff, back out, clean off the car, drive to work. Now all I do is put on a thicker pair of socks.

Must Keep my Readers

The very last thing that I want to happen after getting home from the husbands Christmas party is for the dog to get diarrhea. If I had a crystal ball earlier in the evening I would have taken it easy on the vodka. But I was unable to dodge the inevitable drama that unfolded later that evening. The details of last night will remain a mystery to my readers as I having been working hard to gain readers not loose them.

I also have a sick kid at home. Boy #3 has the dreaded bad cold that the husband brought home. I'm waiting for him to wake up so I can make him soup. The mothering instinct is seeded deep within me and I must feel his forehead soon or I will loose my purpose in life. So if I have to wake him to make sure he's okay and to ask him how he's feeling, then so be it.

I Have to Get Out More

I shopped, I did lunch and now I must get ready for the Christmas party. I wish I could do this everyday. No really, Dillard's has about 67 pairs of shoes and/or boots that I want. I want to spend $18.00 on two ounces of tea at Teavana and please don't get me started on Pottery Barn. Son of a bitch here I sit without a rich uncle! Lord have mercy I have to get out more.

The Clever Skateboarder

You know how kids leave catalogs lying around where you can find them and they are open to a page that just so happens to be something they want for Christmas? Boy #3 likes to leave web pages up on my monitor of things he wants. He is so clever. He left this site for me to find, SurfExpo.com. The only sport he participates in is skateboarding so I’m assuming he wants a new skateboard. And since he didn’t tell me about, it’s probably expensive and he’s easing me into a conversation about it. Do we know are kids or what? This site is brought into our homes not only by our children but also, by the longest-running surf trade show in the world, Surf Expo. The site has surfing videos on it. I watched some, they are pretty awesome, nothing I want Boy #3 attempting, but cool. I can see why Boy #3 spent so much time on this site, besides the videos there are news items about surfing, skateboarding and wakeboarding. I spent more time on it than I thought I would, the kid is good. I guess I should get prepared for the skateboard conversation. One positive is, I’m sure that room of his will get cleaned very soon!

Take a Picture of Your Desk

Grab your camera and take a picture of your desk. That's what I was told at the Confessions of a Housewife blog. I rarely do as I'm told but this seems like fun! I didn't straighted up just snapped the picture. Thankfully the dust didn't show up. So go ahead and click on the link to check out other bloggers desks. Great idea Eve!

I Have to Finish my Shopping

Well how is everyone’s holiday shopping going so far? Don’t leave me a comment if you are completely done, I don’t want to hear about it. After the blessed holiday season is over are you going to have to look into debt consolidation? I walked out of one store with a fist full of gift certificates and didn’t even make a dent in my shopping. I’ll probably have to go get a personal loan to finish. I haven’t even made my Christmas list yet. Except maybe a new car, I’m really not sure I will find that under my tree this year. I think I’m on my own when it comes to a new car, I’ll have to get a loan for that too.

Sunday Kitchen Drudgery

I'm taking a break from the kitchen to post a picture of the cookies I baked this afternoon. Batch #4 of the blessed holiday season can be seen in the photo - Pecan Pie Cookies. The recipe can be found at Jenn Cooks. They're really good. I have my applesauce cake in the oven, 2 more hours to go! The applesauce cake is an old family recipe and I'm not allowed to share it. I'm still looking for new cookie recipes. I have two more batches to make, one will be the Christmas cut-outs and I don't know what the other will be, haven't decided.

All right back to the Sunday kitchen drudgery. I'm making pizza and garlic bread for the Browns game this afternoon. Yeah the voices in my head said to spend the entire day in the kitchen. I hate when they do that.

Unwinding During the Holidays

I’m starting to feel the holiday stress. Darn, I really thought I had a handle on the blessed holiday season. But my neck and upper back are telling me different, or the voices in my head, not totally sure. I look forward to sitting down at the end of the day to try and unwind, it just takes longer during December for me. Unwinding in a Human Touch HT 7450 Zero Gravity Massage Chair would be awesome. One of those would look good in my living room. The husband and I would fight over it and I would always win, because I’m always right and he knows it.

My Name is Suzanne

Is that so hard to remember? I am assumed to be Susan, all the time. This is even when I say, my name is Suzanne. While making doctors or dentist appointments over the phone I'm asked my name, I tell them Suzanne and two beats later I hear,

"Okay Susan we'll see you next week."

My pharmacist has me on file as Suzanne, but calls me Susan. It can be written, on paper, right in front of someones face and still what comes out of their mouths - Susan. Telemarketers, ah they're suppose to get it wrong, never mind. How much correcting can I do without seeming bitchy? After years of this name abuse, I've gone numb. Call me Susan I don't care, whatever.

I did put up a good fight for my name until I relayed this information to my mother. She says to me,

"Yeah, I wish I would have named you Susan."

Talk about knocking the wind out of your sails.

Christmas Tree of Blogs

I learned something new today! Further proof that yes, you learn something new every day. Oh and my new discovery today is how to take a screen shot, thank you Heather!

Look, I'm so excited. This screen shot is from Jessica's blog - QforQuack.com. See the Christmas Tree on her blog, well all the ornaments on the tree are linked to other blogs. Mine is the red one on the top of the tree, right in the middle. Thank you Jessica. Some people are so clever. I have to go make another screen shot before I forget how to do it.

Holiday Light Show to Trans Siberian

I had to put this on my blog so I can find it quick and watch whenever I want to! I love Trans Sierian Orchestra. This song is called Wizards in Winter and it's awesome! My kids are the ones that turned me on to this song and video. So enjoy this wonderful Christmas video!

The Dog and the Christmas Tree are Getting Along

Buckeye doesn't like to pose for pictures. She doesn't have time for such things. But she's quite the dog biscuit whore, so she tolerated a quick picture in front of the Christmas tree. I previously posted about Buckeye and the Christmas tree, wondering how they would get along. I really expected a problem. When you have a tree with dangling, brightly colored ornaments hanging from it's branches, attached to a cord, plugged into the wall and a comfortable tree skirt wrapped around it, well you're asking a lot from an inquisitive dog to just sit back and admire it's beauty. I have been pleasantly surprised. The Christmas tree has not distracted her from her main focus in life - hiding our shoes and slippers.

Hello, Dialaflight?

I’m having a really hard time concentrating today. I have to make a dentist appointment and I have been putting it off. I’ve been putting it off for about 5 years now. I told myself I would make the appointment right after I got done blogging. You should see how long the last post on my other blog is. Go check, I’ll wait here for you. All right here I go. “Hello, Dailaflight? I’m calling about flights to New York. Can you get me the hell out of town?”

Bring It On Baby!

Here comes the snow and I say bring it on baby! I live in Northeast Ohio, it snows plenty here. Whether you complain, pray or cry, the snow is coming and it's staying until March. Last year we had more snow than we had in a long time. While Boy #2, Boy #3 and I were shoveling about two feet of the shh .... stuff last winter I asked them if they ever remember having this much snow before.

In unison, "No."

Then what came out of my mouth next was the sound of somebodies grandmother, "I remember back in '76 or no was it '77 ....... we had so much snow we had a whole week off of school."

Let it snow, I've seen it all and I'm ready. Besides, snow is cleaner than rain. Once that ground freezes I don't have to clean mud off the dogs paws.