What's today's date?

It's November 5th, no? Then why the hell was it 70 degrees out when I went on lunch this afternoon??? Not that I'm complaining! I love this weather! It's the perfect weather, if you ask me. I'm just really thrown by the fact that it is the beginning of November, and I can still wear capris! I should enjoy it while it lasts...I hate the bitter cold.

Skylar got the proofs for her school pictures today. They are adorable!!! I love them!! She's always been a photogenic kid. I'll post them when I get the actual ones back.

I actually found not one, but TWO corsets at Hot Topic this week that fit me! :) Woo Hoo!! I absolutely love corsets, but Torrid doesn't always have them, and Hot Topic doesn't always carry them in XXL. Well, the fact that I was able to find two this week has just tickled me pink! I borrowed a corset from my friend D. a month or two ago, and every time I've worn it, I've had several compliments on it. And, I absolutely love it, not only because it's a corset, but because it's purple and black - my two favorite colours. I almost hate to give it back to her!

Well, Skylar is sufficiently soaked and pruned at this point; she's been in the bathtub while I've been typing this (no, i didn't leave her alone in the tub, I brought my laptop into the bathroom and sat on the floor in front of the tub, so please don't go calling CPS on me! lol)

Happy Reading!

Election Day

Has everyone voted and done their patriotic duty? I hope so. I did so on my way to work this morning. Second time in my life I've voted. The first time was for the last presidential election (I voted for Kerry - we see how well that turned out). This year though, there are incentives to vote! There are several around the country, but two in particular that pertain to our area:

~ Starbucks is giving away a small coffee when you go in and say you've voted (sometimes you can get away with asking for an iced tea instead of a coffee if you don't like coffee - I've done that twice today :) )
~ Ben & Jerry's is giving away a free scoop of ice cream from 5 to 8pm for anyone who's voted (Have to imagine they will be a mob house at that point!)

It's sad, really, that people have to essentially be bribed to vote these days. Whatever happened to doing it as part of your "patriotic duty"? Because it was just the thing you did? What has our world come to?

In other news, I'm finding I'm not a fan of having hardly any free time. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy all the things that keep me busy. But between Skylar, church and Derby, there's no time left except every other weekend.

And one more, completely random point - I bought French Vanilla Mint flavored lip balm a few weeks ago at Old Navy. Some how, said lip balm (it's like a gloss more than a chapstick) got stuck at the bottom of my purse, only being found this past weekend while cleaning out my mess of a purse. Now, for me to purchase this lip balm in the first place is very odd, as I very rarely wear ANYTHING on my lips. On occasion i'll wear lipstick, but only if it's the kind that stays on my lips, as I hate having it come off when I want it to stay. I absolutely HATE lip gloss, and only once in a while i'll wear chapstick, if my lips are chapped. Anyways, I decided to try the lip balm anyways, and i LOVE it!!! I love vanilla anything to begin with, and it's a nice blend of Vanilla and Mint, and even though it's more of a gloss, it doesn't have that sticky feeling to it. And, it makes my lips tingle, which is nice. And, it tastes DELICIOUS! I have to actually stop myself from licking it off my lips, as it tastes so good! lol

Happy Reading!

Nothing questions one's mortality more than finding out a friend or loved one has died. A woman I have known for a while, KL, was the mother of a friend of mine from high school and church. She was our "choir mother" at church when we were in youth choir. She basically kept us all in line - and she did an awesome job at it. She had that way of just being able to give you a look if you were misbehaving to let you know to cut it out.

I had lost contact with KL after I graduated high school, and just recently reconnected with her as she worked at K-Mart in CP. It was just a few months ago I reconnected with her - she didn't even know I had a little girl! But once she met Skylar, she simply adored her.

Sometime in the last few days, KL's son (probably in his early 20's by now) found her collapsed in her house. She was rushed to the hospital and a blood clot was found in one of her lungs. All that was keeping her alive at this point was life support. Tests were run and nothing could be found, so the family decided to disconnect her from life support yesterday (she was already brain dead). She died almost immediately.

KL was only 53 - 4 years older than my own mother. I just saw her at K-Mart last week! It's amazing how fast things can happen.

Please keep her family and friends in your thoughts and prayers as they go through this difficult time. This all happened so suddenly.

Zombie Prom - Part 2

So, my last post was all about how much I didn't enjoy Zombie Prom. Well, for this one, I figured I'd make a list of the things that caused me to smile that night...

1. Zombie Eyes - very creepy, but very funny!


2. Evil death stares by FRH

3. A very plastered, but very mellow, DL

4. Finding pot in the couch

5. Bullwhips - getting my first one and learning how to use it!

6. People jealous that I just won't use said bullwhip on them.

7. Breaking a sweat trying to hook my garterbelt to my thigh highs - wasn't funny at the time, but I find it slightly funny now! lol

8. Vegan Brain Cookies

and last, but not least....

9. BRAAAAAAAAAINS! :)

Zombie Prom

So, the Hellions had their Zombie Prom last night at Valentine's. Personally, I didn't have that great of a time. There's someone that is involved on the team that feels the need to be the center of attention all the time. Everything has to be about them. And it drives me nuts, because a lot of the others think this person is so wonderful. Just pisses me off.

I also didn't really have a great time because it was a very low turnout, which sucked. It didn't go as well as we had hoped. We had a few people, but a lot of them were either friends of the Hellions or of the bands. The night did improve as it went on though...

After the Prom was actually over, we were cleaning up and Scar, Needles and I were getting ready to leave. We were at the car talking with a friend of Neeldles and this guy from the party, a guy we nicknamed "Braaains", as he had paper brains taked to his shirt and he made vegan brain cookies for the party (which were delicious!). Well, he decided, while we were outside, to help me learn how to use the bullwhip I had as part of my costume...let's just say, I made a new friend :) hehehe

And, I learned how to use my bullwhip too ;) lol

Well alrighty then...

Okay, so I realize I haven't posted in a little while. Okay, a long while. I guess a few things have happened since my last post...let's see if I can remember it all...

Well, for starters, I'm back to work. I started back at work two weeks ago, and I have been soooooooo exhausted!!!! Even now, I'm still very tired by the end of the day, but it's getting a bit better. It is nice to be back at work with my coworkers and everything. I work with such a great group of people; I missed them quite a bit while I was gone. I sure didn't miss the students though!!! lol

My car has taken another turn for the worst - I rearended another car on my way to work last week. Luckily, Skylar wasn't in the car with me. Nobody got hurt, and the car I hit had no damage at all, thank goodness. My vehicle, on the other end, got a bit smashed. To the tune of over $3600. Insurance will cover all but my deductable, which is nice, but still not cool. It's the first accident I've ever been in where I've been the driver. Hopefully, it'll be the last!

I am no longer a skater with the Albany All Stars. I now proudly skate with the Hellions of Troy. We had our first bout a couple weekends ago - we were against the Ithaca Suffer Jets. We lost 115 to 96, but it was a really close bout, and I think we did fairly well for our very first bout, considering we had only been skating as a league for exactly a month! Yay!! Now we're looking for new practice space and a new bout location, as we were supposed to bout at the Washington Avenue Armory on December 6th, but we kinda had that space taken away from us (long story, don't ask). We have a few leads up in the Glens Falls area, so that's cool. I'm hoping they'll work out!!

We, the Hellions of Troy, have an event this wekeend though. We're having a Zombie Prom at Valentine's in Albany on Saturday. It should be tons of fun!!! I'm hoping we get a really good turnout! I'll be going as a dead pirate. :) I can't wait to dress up! It's been so long!!!!

Well, I'm thinking that's all I'll bore you with for now. I'm hoping to update this again much sooner than later! lol

Happy Reading!

Freedom!!!

I began driving again this weekend, and it is soooooo nice!!! I'm enjoying the fact that I don't have to be as dependent on people as much anymore. Though, now that I can drive, I have to remember that i'm still not a hundred percent yet.

For instance, take yesterday (my first day back on the road): I had the Secretary 1 exam for the state in the morning (which was scheduled before my surgery was even scheduled, so I had to go to it). After that, Walter and Skylar wanted me to meet them at our church's Country Fair, so I went to that for a little bit. Then, I went home to rest (much needed rest...the test itself wore me out, let alone the fair), followed by a little bit of time out with my friend Denise. We did dinner at Nothin' but Noodles (one of the best places EVER!!!), followed by some fun times at True Tattoo. :) Let me tell you, I slept really well last night!! First good night's sleep I've had since the surgery!

Today I'm going to lay low for most of the day, and then go out for a little bit this evening with an old friend. Should be fun!

Happy Reading!

Planes, trains and automobiles...

The weekend before I had my surgery, I took my vehicle in for an inspection (considering it expired in July, I was a little overdue...). I knew it would fail, as my check engine light was on. It's been on for months now, but I knew it wasn't anything major, considering my vehicle had been in and out of the shop for two and a half months for just that reason (and, that's not an exaggeration either...it literally was 2.5 months, and 3 rental cars later....).

So, I took it to Jiffy Lube, had them do the inspection and an oil change as well, and waited for them to just tell me that it failed because of the light and have them tell me why the light was on at least. Well, it failed alright. But they couldn't tell me why the light was on. Turns out, they couldn't get their computer to read my car's computer. They also told me that I needed new tires for it to pass inspection. Crap, I thought....I didn't want to sink too much more money into my van because I was (and still am) looking to get rid of it soon.

So, my father took it down to Clifton Park Dodge World for me. They're the ones that have been working on my car after Saratoga Chrysler Jeep screwed it up at the beginning of those couple of months. I wrote down what I needed Dodge World to check and everything, and there my vehicle sat while I was off having surgery. They finally called a couple days later and said it needed some sort of hose, and did the repair. They were only going to charge me for the part since they've seen my car so much.

Well, my parents picked up my van for me today and the grand total: $21. And a new inspection sticker. All they charged me for was the inspection. They passed it without me having to get new tires or anything!! Even though I had also paid for the inspection at Jiffy Lube, it's fine by me. It could have cost me a lot, LOT more! I'm thrilled!

So, anyone want to buy a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan?? :) I'll let you know, it'll probably need new tires. :P

Way too much free time....

So, as my 6 weeks in hell...i mean, at home...drag on, needless to say, I've had a little bit of free time on my hands...Okay, make that a lot of free time on my hands. So, with all of this free time, I've been delving into things that I normally don't have a lot of time to contribute to. For instance, I revamped my MySpace page, changing the backround and adding a bunch of fun graphics. While perusing the graphics, I was coming up with random ideas for tattoos, such as the following:



glitter-graphics.com

I already have a star on the inside of each wrist, so it would just be a matter of adding the crossbones underneath each star.

The idea of a chest piece has also been on my mind a lot as of late (even before I had the surgery). I've seen them on a few girls, and I think they are really neat. They just seem to be very expressive. Obviously, I'm not ready to run out and get one tomorrow, but I'm thinking that will be the location of my next tattoo (well, after the crossbones if i decide to get them :) ) I won't get something that'll cover my entire chest. Just part of it.

But, first on my agenda is saving two of my piercings that I haven't been able to get jewelry back into since the surgery. I've tried without success to get the jewelry back in, and wouldn't you know it, my piercer moved to Alabama shortly after I was discharged from the hospital. So, luckily, I have friends in high places and know someone who I used to skate with who is a retired piercer. She said she'd be willing to help me get the jewelry back in, which is good, because the location of these piercings is not really a place where you can just go into any shop say "hey, can you help me get jewelry back in my piercings in my whoha?" lol

Yeah, it's defintely time for bed!

Are ya kidding me?!

So, my mom bought me a box of mini-muffins for me to keep in my room if I get a little hungry and don't want to wander downstairs. Anyways, she bought the "100 Calorie" packs, which doesn't matter to me, it all tastes the same. So, I open up one pack. How many mini-muffins add up to 100 Calories? 4, maybe 5, you guess? Nope. 2. That's right, two. 2 mini-muffins add up to 100 Calories.

Seriously?!

All by myself...

(Originally posted on MySpace on Tuesday, August 26th)

So, last Thursday I went and had surgery. I had tumor removed that was trying to take over my uterus. Fun, huh? I knew going into it that it would be considered "major abdominal surgery" and that there was a chance they would have to take my uterus along with it. Well, fortunately, they didn't have to take the uterus also, so that was a plus.

I remember flipping out when I first got to the hospital because they were going to do an epidural and then just mildly sedate me, because it would be easier for me to come to after the surgery. I didn't want to be "mildly sedated", I wanted to be knocked the hell out!!! They assured me I wouldn't be "awake" for any of the surgery. So they set up the IV, wheeled me down to the OR, and had me sit at the edge of the operating table so that they could put the epidural in my back. The anestesiologist (yeah, i know that's not spelled correctly) then put a syringe full of something into my IV and told me it was the sedation stuff. Well, the last thing I remember was sitting at the edge of the table, and then waking up in the recovery room. I must have collapsed in the nurse's arms that was standing in front of me in the OR, because I don't even remember having the epideral put in!!! (Though, from what I can tell, they had to stick me twice, because I have two scabs back there. If you look carefully, you can see both scabs.)



I spent all day Thursday in the Recovery Room, hooked up to all sorts of machines. I still had the IV in my arm, the epidural in my back (though it wasn't hooked up to anything at that point), a cathedar (which, as unpleasant as everyone makes it out to be, it was really nice not having to get up to go to the bathroom all day, and, it really wasn't all that uncomfortable!), and oxygen tubing in my nose. I spent most of the day in and out of conscienous. Then, 6am Friday morning they woke me up to disconnect me from everything and move me into a regular room. Yes, I said 6am...that was oh so thrilling! I was in the hospital until Saturday morning, and then was discharged with three parting gifts: a bruise on my back from the epidural, a bruise on my arm from the IV, and a 6 to 8 inch incision just below my stomach, as illustrated below.





So, i've been cooped up in my bedroom since Saturday. And quite frankly, i'm going nuts. Sure, I enjoy laying in bed, resting, watching TV. But, when that's the ONLY thing you can do...it gets really old, really fast. I try to get downstairs at least once a day, but one trip down and back up the stairs makes me dead to the world for about 3 hours afterwards.

And, I've been very lonely. Sure, my parents are around, and Skylar was here today, but my parents have their things to do, and since I can't even pick up my little girl, my mom took care of Skylar for me today. Plus, Skylar doesn't like sitting still for more than 5 minutes, so sitting with Mommy on her bed isn't all that exciting!

I have had several visitors since my surgery. My family came to see me on Thursday and Friday, and I had several friends also come visit for a while on Friday. I've had one or two visitors since I've been home, but not many. A special, huge THANK YOU!!! to everyone who has visited or sent me well wishes. The thoughts and comments have meant a lot.

I do miss having someone by my side all the time though. Not necessarily someone at my beck and call, but someone who's there to take care of me because they want to, not because they have to. Even if it is just to cuddle with me (which, even though is slightly more difficult since being nearly cut in half, is still possible). With that, I send a very special Thank You to those that have to come to see me when they can. I don't want you to think that I am ungreatful for that, because I am by no means ungreatful for the time you have set aside for me. You didn't have to, but chose to, and it means the world to me. And this is not to make anyone feel bad for not coming to see me, or guilt anyone into coming to visit either, because that isn't my motive at all. I guess I'm jst having a pity party for myself, mostly missing having a significant other. But that's for an entirely different blog!

Happy Reading :)

New Spaces, new places...

So, I've decided to move my blog to this page. Mostly because I have a few friends who have expressed interest in my blogs who don't have MySpace, and that's where I've maintained my blog up until now. So here it is, my life for all who want to see. And over the next few weeks, you will probably get way more randomness and useless information then you had ever wished to know, but since I'm out of work for the next 6 weeks, what else is there for me to do???

I'll start off by reposting my last blog posted on MySpace, just posted a day or two ago. Then, we'll go from there.

Happy reading! :)