Waiting for God

Not much good news at the vet's yesterday. He said she didn't look well, she was dehydrated, not responsive, weak. Could be liver failure, kidney failure or who knows what. It possibly could be something treatable but I think he was trying to make me feel better. I'm waiting on the results from a geriatric profile bloodwork. May be back today or Wednesday. She drinks water, not sure why dehydrated. Her skin has no elasticity, due to being dehydrated. I think it is loose skin cause she has lost weight. She weighed 2.47 lbs, she is so very tiny. I have been giving her Nutracal, a thick gooey paste with lots of vitamins, nutrients and minerals by mouth with a syringe. I gave her some molasses, for the iron, last night and she did eat a little bit of hamburger. She did drink from the bowl but have been giving her extra water with a dropper. He told me to offer her anything that she might eat. I told him that is what I have been doing. She sleeps with me, right in the crook of my arm and either rests her head on my hand or the pillow close to my face. She is the sweetest little girl I have ever known. Right now I'm just waiting. I really think I am waiting for God to help her slip away quietly while she's sleeping in my loving arms. Thank you for all the warm thoughts.

Will update later, when I know more.

It's Raining in Lakeland!

The forecast was rain today for most of the day. Yahoo!!! It is actually wetting the ground and the plants and everything else!!! You can almost hear the plants yelling out for more! It is a good day to catch up on sleeping or reading, I'm behind on both. It's dark and thunder booms once in awhile. I can take the thunder but not lightning. Two of my dogs go berserk ove the crackling of lightning. Blitz, my big boy boxer, has turned his crate upside down several times before and manages to get out. Loud booming noises freak him out. I finally got him meds to calm his fears, now he sleeps thru it.

Today would be a good soup day, I should have bought ingredients when I was at Publix last night. Instead I bought dog food, chicken livers, beef liver and pizza. The liver is for my tiny chihuahua. I'm trying to coax her to eat something, anything. Extremely picky eater! She weighs about 2+3/4 lbs on a good day but has lost weight recently which she can't afford to lose weight. She is having some type of seizure more frequently. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow to see what he has to say. If he thinks she is suffering and no room for improvement, I will put her down most likely. She will be 9 in June. She is a teacup and they usually don't make it past 3, so I'm very blessed to have had her this long. I hope he can help her with medication. She ate a tiny bit of cooked liver last night but not interested this morning. Will try again a little later.

I passed the civil service test with an 84, I took it on March 10th. I took another test this past Thursday the 26th. Will be a week or so before I get the results. These are required for jobs at the City of Lakeland.

The podiatrist's nurse discharged me this past Tuesday. The toe is good to go as far as she is concerned. Will be about 6 weeks to look halfway normal. Then I can polish the skin. I'm thinking about a Lee Press On nail for it. Do you think that would hurt?? It's not like I would be using Super Glue!! I'm going to sleep on it for now. Happy Siesta!!

Besides that, there is an infomercial on the TV about internal cleansing and I don't want to hear that at lunchtime!! TATA for now!!!

Friday's Funny

To Be 6 Again...

A man was sitting on the edge of the bed, observing his wife, looking at herself in the mirror. Since her birthday was not far off he asked what she'd like to have for her Birthday. 'I'd like to be six again', she replied, still looking in the mirror.

On the morning of her Birthday, he arose early, made her a nice big bowl of Lucky Charms, and then took her to Six Flags theme park. What a day! He put her on every ride in the park; the Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, the Screaming Monster Roller Coaster, everything there was. Five hours later they staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach felt upside down.

He then took her to a McDonald's where he ordered her a Happy Meal with extra fries and a chocolate shake. Then it was off to a movie, popcorn, a soda pop, and her favorite candy, M&M's. What a fabulous adventure!

Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed exhausted. He leaned over his wife with a bigsmile and lovingly asked, 'Well Dear, what was it like being six again?' Her eyes slowly opened and her expression suddenly changed. 'I meant my dress size, you retard!!!

The moral of the story: Even when a man is listening, he is gonna get it wrong!

Have a restful weekend! At first I thought he got it really wrong, but now after much consideration, that does sound like a real fun time to me! But they do get it wrong sometimes!

A.A.A.D.D.

I received this in an e-mail and it pretty much describes some of the days I'm starting to have. Just add my daughter and the 6 dogs and 5 cats and I can get really confused. How about ya'll?

AAADD

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS.....PLEASE READ!

Thank goodness there's a name for this disorder.Somehow I feel better even though I have it!! Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. -Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:
I decide to water my garden.
As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.
I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.
I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.
I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.
So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.
But then I think, since I'm going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.
I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.
My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of Pepsi I'd been drinking.
I'm going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Pepsi aside so that I don't accidentally knock it over.
The Pepsi is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.
As I head toward the kitchen with the Pepsi, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye--they need water.
I put the Pepsi on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I've been searching for all morning.
I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I'm going to water the flowers.
I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote.
Someone left it on the kitchen table.
I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I'll be looking for the remote, but I won't remember that it's on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I'll water the flowers.
I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.
So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.
Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: the car isn't washed, the bills aren't paid, there is a warm can of Pepsi sitting on the counter, the flowers don't have enough water, there is still only 1 check in my check book, I can't find the remote, I can't find my glasses, and I don't remember what I did with the car keys.
Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I'm really baffled because I know I was busy all day,and I'm really tired.
I realize this is a serious problem, and I'll try to get some help for it, but first I'll check my e-mail....Do me a favor.
Forward this message to everyone you know, because I don't remember who I've sent it to.

Don't laugh -- if this isn't you, YOUR DAY IS COMING!!

Friday's Funny

Today is a day to celebrate. Spring arrived this morning, Friday, March 20, 2009 at 744am. I will be missing the much cooler weather as I live in Florida. I am not looking forward to the very humid, sticky, sweaty, extremely sunny, no rain for days, dry days of summer and you have to wear sunglasses 14 or more hours a day or you will burn out your corneas! Basically have them on the nightstand and put them on before your feet hit the floor in the morning and let them be the last thing you take off at night!!

AND let's not forget the gianormous electric bills as we have some of the highest in the state thanks to Lakeland Electric, and probably the nation! I'd like to shoot Benjamin Franklin for inventing Daylight Savings Time. The AC just has to run longer, course he most likely didn't have AC way back when! I even go to the grocery at night when the sun has gone down!

The birds will be singing, the flowers will be blooming and all the pollen from the oak trees has gone somewhere. I am so glad I don't have allergies!! And the snowbirds will be headed back north! Being from the deep south, ya know I had to say that or I wouldn't be living up to my moniker of Florida cracker but I prefer Southern Belle with genuine southern drawl!! Just kidding about the snowbirds, they don't bother me as I am half yankee, unless they are on my side of the one way street going the opposite direction!!

Today's Friday Funny ****When I'm broke, I'm broke!!!

A little old lady answered a knock on the door one day, only to be confronted by a well-dressed young man carrying a vacuum cleaner.
'Good morning,' said the young man. 'If I could take a couple of minutes of your time, I would like to demonstrate the very latest in high-powered vacuum cleaners.'
'Go away!' said the old lady. 'I'm broke and haven't got any money!' and she proceeded to close the door.
Quick as a flash, the young man wedged his foot in the door and pushed it wide open.
'Don't be too hasty!' he said. 'Not until you have at least seen my demonstration.'
And with that, he emptied a bucket of horse manure onto her hallway carpet.
'If this vacuum cleaner does not remove all traces of this horse manure from your carpet, Madam, I will personally eat the remainder.'
The old lady stepped back and said, 'Well, let me get you a fork, 'cause they cut off my electricity this morning!!!!

Have a terrific week-end everybody out there in blogland!! Love you girls!!!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I just wanted to share with you an e-mail I received today. Hope you find it very useful as we all need a little calmness in our lives from one time to another !

By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr Phil proclaimed, 'The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished. So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of White Zinfandel, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos, and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!!!!

Katie, I feel your PAIN!

Let me tell you about my Monday now that it is almost over. Last night one of the dogs stepped on my poor sore big toe and scratched just outside the wounded area. This morning, Cozmo the dog, nailed it again as he was going out the door. Ouch!!

845am....I'm off to see the nurse just for a 2 week followup on said poor toe. The nurse said that doesn't look good, better have the doctor look at it. I told her about the dogs stepping on the toe. He comes and looks at poor toe and says it looks infected. I thought this last week as it was inflamed at the bottom but just kept mouth shut. Today he gave me an Rx for an antibiotic and will go back next week. I came home and laid down til my next appointment today at 230pm.

215pm....Now I'm headed to my yearly diagnostic mammogram. No, I didn't wear any powder or deodorant to smudge the mammo! The tech asked me if I have any scars so she can put the special tape over them, the nipples and my mole. I was so busy showing her scars on the right side I forgot I had a C shaped scar on the left too. Oh, well it didn't get covered, hope it didn't matter! I got mashed flatter than a pancake, the right side is much more painful due to the surgeries the poor thing has endured over the years. Scar tissue I suppose doesn't like being stretched to the point of no return. the tech is thru and tells me to wait in the small waiting room while the radiologist checks the films.

She calls me back for more films, he saw something in the left breast and wants to see more of it. At this point I start to feel tears well up. I asked where it was located and she said on the outer edge of the breast, possibly calcifications she says. I know you aren't suppose to ask the techs questions but I had to know what she was looking for. She gets him the shots he wanted and he wants more, only this time magnified. She told me just to sit right there in the exam room and she would take him the next set of films. The tears start to trickle and I pray silently for a moment to my sweet precious Lord. She comes back in and told me it was a lymph node and all was okay. I asked was she sure and she said that the doctor said I was good for another year. Thank you God!!! I told her thank you and left.

4pm.... I took Meagan to eat an early dinner at Fred's Southern Kitchen. Her boyfriend, John, met us there. I was hoping to get there for the 4pm prices but we didn't make it. It is buffet style cooking with all things YUMMY FOR THE TUMMY!! Just ask Libby. They had fried catfish, real mashed taters, pole beans, squash, fried okra, fried chicken, pot roast, beef tips w/gravy, baked fish, blackeyed peas, cabbage, rutabagas(really good), all kinds of salads, fluffy yeast rolls, biscuits and pecan pie and strawberry shortcake. I'm sure I left out something. And would you believe I know have a terrible toothache because of a piece of bubblegum I picked up on the way out. It hit a bad tooth or where I used to have a tooth and is killing me at the moment, it has been over 3 hours, I even took 2 extra strength Tylenol. It is what remains of a root canal I never had fixed properly. I need to have that fixed but it will have to be when I get dental insurance. So Katie, I am suffering right along with you!! I feel your pain!! Now I am going to look for a real painkiller, no, not a bottle of whiskey, just a Tylenol #3 with codeine, at least I will sleep for awhile!

Spring Obsession

Today was another gorgeous spring day in Florida, a little too hot for me though. I invited my aunt to meet us at Munn Park for Spring Obsession this morning. We saw beautiful and unusual plants, all kinds of neat stuff to put out in the yard, really pretty copper water sprinklers in various shapes that sprayed neat patterns, wind chimes, birdhouses, rain barrels to catch rain in (if we ever get any), small boulders and stones, all kinds of orchids and cactus, and so much more. I missed the hibiscus people, guess they didn't come this time. Then we ate lunch at The Silver Ring. We ate 1/2 cuban sandwich and small cup of Spanish Bean Soup. The original shop is in Ybor City in Tampa, the real deal when it comes to all things Cuban. My aunt had bought a very neat hanging heart shaped ornament for her daughter so she could hang it in a tree. We left the restaurant and then realized she had set the bag down on the counter when she paid for our food. Meagan went back over to get it and they said they didn't have it. I think someone stole it, and that made me really mad. My aunt just said nevermind and we went to our cars in the parking garage. Meagan and I decided to walk back across the street and see what the curb market had to offer. I wanted some nice tomatoes and small cucumbers. They were all gone, but I bought us some handmade soap. I got Orange Clove, Meagan got Lime Margarita. I got soap for the dogs too, I also got a body scrub of Orange Clove that smells good enough to eat. A man was selling pepper jelly so I got a jar of cranberry pepper to put on turkey sandwiches or crackers and cream cheese. So very yummy!!

Next we went to Lowe's to look at more plants. I am looking for something to go in these 2 HUGE urns that I had my uncle move for me yesterday. Not sure what I will get because it gets full sun where they are. I bought a small asparagus fern and some marigolds to go in little planters off my back patio. I put the stuff in the car and put my purse on the trunk of the car and went to return the buggy, being the good person I am. I came back to the car and off we went. Someone was honking the horn and I thought what the heck. Guess who left her purse on the trunk off the car. I am glad someone was paying attention!!!

Then we went back to Munn Park and I bought Meagan a very nice pink stone anklet. I bought for myself 2 big rocks to go near the huge oak tree in the front. They are resting by the birds of paradise. Those small boulders were HEAVY, one about 50+ lbs and the other probably 75 lbs. The man loaded them in the trunk but we had to get them out. We put a beach towel on the ground and carried them that way. We won't be moving them anytime soon!! AND we were very careful not to drop anything on my toe!!

Then we went to a used bike store to look at used bikes but all he had seemed to have was brand new prices, so we left. On to the Salvation store we went to see what they had as far as bikes go. Nothing we wanted but did find Meagan a really nice artist's easel for $39. Put it in the backseat of her little car and off we went. We are now home for the moment but will go get my LOTTO ticket a little later!! WE really did have a lovely day after all!!!!! Wish you could of been here with us!!

I may have to turn on the AC!!

P.S. I forgot we also went to Walmart in all this today. I bought a giant bubble wand complete with bubble mix. I was just out in the backyard with dogs. I made like a million bubbles and the dogs chased them all over, biting and popping them. Who had more fun??? Me or the dogs???

Women, Men and the Shower

HOW TO SHOWER LIKE A WOMAN:
Take off clothing and place it in sectioned laundry hamper according to lights and darks.
Walk to bathroom wearing long dressing gown.
If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.
Get in the shower.
Use face cloth, arm cloth, leg cloth, long loofah, wide loofah and pumice stone.
Wash your hair once with cucumber and sage shampoo with 43 added vitamins.
Wash your hair again to make sure it's clean.
Condition your hair with grapefruit mint conditioner.
Wash your face with crushed apricot facial scrub for 10 minutes until red.
Wash entire rest of body with ginger nut and jaffa cake body wash.
Rinse conditioner off hair.
Shave armpits and legs.
Turn off shower.
Squeegee off all wet surfaces in shower.
Spray mold spots with Tilex.
Get out of shower.
Dry with towel the size of a small country.
Wrap hair in super absorbent towel.
Return to bedroom wearing long dressing gown and towel on head.
If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.

HOW TO SHOWER LIKE A MAN:
Take off clothes while sitting on the edge of the bed and leave them in a pile.
Walk naked to the bathroom.
If you see wife along the way, shake wiener at her while making the woo-woo sound.
Look at your manly physique in the mirror. Admire the size of your wiener and scratch your ass.
Get in the shower.
Wash your face.
Wash your armpits.
Blow your nose in your hands and let the water rinse the snot off.
Fart and laugh at how loud it sounds in the shower.
Spend majority of time washing privates and surrounding area.
Wash your butt, leaving those coarse butt hairs stuck on the soap.
Wash your hair.
Make a shampoo Mohawk.
Pee.
Rinse off and get out of shower.
Partially dry off.
Fail to notice water on floor because curtain was hanging out of tub the whole time.
Admire wiener size in mirror again.
Leave shower curtain open, wet mat on floor, light and fan on.
Return to bedroom with towel around waist.
If you pass wife, pull off towel, shake wiener at her and make the woo-woo sound again.
Throw wet towel on her pillow.

If there is anyone among you who did not laugh at the truth behind this, I dont know why? Have a great day!

Mexican Fire Opals and more

The weather was absolutely gorgeous this past weekend. I even got some sun on my face where I don't look quite so pale. So you know where we went?? A road trip to our county seat, Bartow, it's all of about 15 minutes from Lakeland. We were headed to the Blooming Arts Festival which is held 2 times a year, in March and November.

We made it to the Blooming Arts Festival on Saturday. Our lunch was really good at our favorite Chinese restaurant, The Great Wall. We looked at beautiful art work, handmade jewelry, antiques and lots of junk! Have you ever seen a Mexican Fire Opal ? It's an opal and then more. It's fiery red, orange and yellow! Looks like fire captured in a jewel. I wanted to see the prices on the jewelry but didn't look at the tag! I love big rings and he had one that would have been perfect for me, but I left it there since I have bills to pay and no JOB!! I was really looking forward to the Quilt Show in the old courthouse, which is a beautiful old building in itself. Sorry to say there were no quilts this year. I was sad but maybe next year.

For you Floridian bloggers and artists, I don't know if you have ever heard of Thomas Brooks but he is an amazing artist. He paints Florida wildlife and the woods they roam in. He has a website, http://www.thomasbrooks.com/ where you can see some of his work. It is so much better in person though. I went to school with him and I always thought he was really cute. He married a friend from school. I didn't even know they were dating!! One day I hope to have one of his works hanging on a wall in my family room. On a sad note, he stored much of his inventory in a store here in Lakeland. So did Robert Butler, Stephen Koury and other artists in the area. The store caught fire and burned to the ground. All that beautiful art and all the hard work that went into it, went up in a giant blaze, complete with explosions. The store was the Army Navy surplus which had ammo there also! What a terrible loss, as some originals were in there and can't be replaced.

Went to see the nurse this morning about my toe. She said I was doing a good job taking care of it and to see her again next Monday. It will take at least 6-8 weeks to heal.

Wish me luck and pray for me, for tomorrow I am going to take a Civil Service test for the City of Lakeland. I have applied for 5 jobs there. Even if I pass the test, which you have to make a 70 or above, it doesn't guarantee I will get a job there. This job search is getting very old. I want to work. Don't get me wrong, I love to be home with my dogs and daughter, but the walls are closing in on me and I don't have cable TV!!

The Unveiling and GoodNew/Bad News

Yesterday was the Big Reveal of the now Nailless Big Toe. My toe had more gauze on it than The Mummy! I removed the specially made baby sock and began unraveling the gauze after I had cut into it with scissors, couldn't find the beginning of the roll. When I got down to the pad on my toe, I had to soak it off in the shower. It was stuck on there pretty good. I managed to get the last tiny bit off without making it bleed. Had to pat it dry and then put on the wound gel. The instructions say some stinging will occur. Big understatement!! Then I rebandaged it all by myself. That is one very tender place and will be for some time!!!

Today I was able to slide it under the strap on my new flip flops. Not much protection but I don't think I can get my Crocs on. Will put socks on tomorrow and try the Crocs again. No way for a tennis shoe to go on at this point in time. Will be sandals for quite awhile, which is what I usually wear anyway. Just want to protect that tender toe!!!

Libby called me this A.M. to say she would be going back home Saturday morning, a week earlier than planned. I hate to see her go as we have had such great times together but she is so very homesick! She has been here almost 7 weeks and that is a very long time to be away. Besides her dogs miss her so much and her DH!! She has been pretty much stuck inside the last 3 weeks and that is not FUN! I have sure enjoyed her company while she was here. But alas, she will return in June for Stephanie's wedding and will not be wearing that dang brace!!

I am going to the Blooming Arts Festival in Bartow this weekend. there will be beautiful artwork, crafts, food and old cars and OLD men!! HA HA!! Our favorite Chinese restaurant, The Great Wall, will be open for lunch. They have a delicious buffet just waiting for everyone to dive into.
I wish everyone a wonderful weekend!! We all deserve it!

The Podiatrist and a Funny

Monday aftenoon I had my first ever appointment with a podiatrist. My big toe on my right foot had an ingrown nail that I couldn't make better. So I bit the bullet and made an appointment. I was scared about what he might do and I didn't want any pain. He more or less said it needed to come off! The numbing up of my toe was the worst part but did not know that it would be at the time. I had to hold the nurse's hand while the doctor numbed my toe. My hands were so sweaty and I squeezed her hand.

My daughter took me there and was waiting in the lobby. She came back to see how much longer I would be. She wanted to go to the car and take a nap but she decided to stay and hold my hand. I told her they hadn't even started yet, we were just waiting for my toe to get really numb. Meagan said my toe looked like a Frankenstein toe, it was red and had 2 holes in it with some blood. I glanced down there and felt nauseous, the nurse brought me wet paper towels for my forehead. The nurse pinched my toe and poked it with something sharp. I felt nothing. We were ready to proceed. I was laid all the way back in the chair. The doctor came in and in no time the nail was off. Meagan watched the whole thing and the she felt woozy, me too! He treated it with something to keep it from growing back so I will just paint the skin with polish. I go back in a week for the nurse to check it. You can't imagine how much gauze bandaging I have on my toe. A little sock over that and then a big footie with grips on the bottom over that. No way can I wear a shoe. In a couple days I remove the bandage, put on wound gel and cover with gauze and a big band-aid. This was not a fun procedure. He thinks I must have damaged my nail at some point in time, cause I always trimmed them straight across so this WOULDN'T happen!

By the way, Libby called me several times to make sure I didn't back out and cancel the appointment since I was seriously thinking about it. I have been through a lot of surgeries but it really bothered me about my toe. I didn't want to hear digging around down there. I didn't hear a thing, it all came out in one piece. Looked like a big artificial nail with a little blood underneath! The nurse asked me if I wanted to take it home. I said No thanks !! Meagan wanted to take it to her day care job and show the kids! We left it in the trashcan!!

IT'S HELL GETTING OLD!

An 85-year-old man was requested by his doctor for a sperm count aspart of his physical exam.The doctor gave the man a jar and said, 'Take this jar home and bring back a semen sample tomorrow.
The next day the 85-year-old man reappeared at the doctor's office andgave him the jar, which was as clean and empty as on the previous day.
The doctor asked what happened and the man explained, 'Well, doc, it'slike this--first I tried with my right hand, but nothing. Then I triedwith my left hand, but still nothing.
Then I asked my wife for help. She tried with her right hand, thenwith her left, still nothing. She tried with her mouth, first with theteeth in, then with her teeth out, still nothing.
We even called up Arleen, the lady next door and she tried too, firstwith both hands, then an armpit, and she even tried squeezin' itbetween her knees, but still nothing.
The doctor was shocked! 'You asked your neighbor?
The old man replied, 'Yep, none of us could get the jar open.'