Ahhhhh!...Sleep
It's been a VERY GOOD week so far for sleep. Since Sunday, I've been in bed and asleep by 11pm(ish). I've been able to sleep all night and get up at 7. Because I've been busy all day, I've not had the opportunity to take a nap. Yes, I'm still yawning ALL DAY LONG. But, because of the busyness all day long, I'm tired by the night time, readying me to go to bed.
Plus, the weather has been VERY cool, helping me to be comfortable sleeping.
Keep the weather going! I know that probably won't happen, but I can wish.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
I'm FAMOUS!
Because of my GPA, which is currently 3.57, I made "The National Dean's List" for 2005-2006. I just got my book today. I'm so excited for the recognition. Great recognition to add to my resume.
Just need to keep my GPA up at this level for this year to get it again. Wish me luck!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Because of my GPA, which is currently 3.57, I made "The National Dean's List" for 2005-2006. I just got my book today. I'm so excited for the recognition. Great recognition to add to my resume.
Just need to keep my GPA up at this level for this year to get it again. Wish me luck!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Our first days of school...
Cassi and Mom!
Well, Monday was the first day of school for both of us. Cassi started a new school and is in first grade. In her school system, her local school does not have kindergarten classes.
This is why last year, she went on a bus to a school about 2 minutes away. There, she was in one of 16 kindergarten classes. Since we are in a city, but DEFINITELY smaller than, say, our neighbor Cleveland, we have fewer kids overall, but having 16 classes of 20-kids-per-class groups can be daunting when they are all 5 and 6 year olds.
But, this year, she has the opportunity to go to school about 3 blocks from home. When possible, we are walking back and forth to school. Because their parking lot is so small, the fact that EVERYONE drives their kids, and it's just a DAMNED Mess down there, our walk is quite good. I am trying to make it a point of walking her on the days that I'm not in school (Tuesday and Thursday). The other days will have to be afternoons only as I want to be at school as early as possible because of crappy parking and road construction.
So, if it means anything, I know she went to school, learned where she lines up to go in as there are 3 entrances for all 6 grades. Your entrance is based on your grade, with first and second at the same door. I know we forgot her glasses the first day (yep, mom was excited too), but got them there for day 2 and 3. Otherwise, with the special education requirements she has with the school system, I get updates daily from her special ed teacher. She doesn't want to tell me anything. "Today was good," was about all I will get. I know if I phrase the questions correctly, I know I'll get the correct answers. Note to self: gotta work on it.
Okay, realized after havine my second full day at school myself, that, no, I do not want to work weekdays if I can handle it. Working Saturdays and Sundays will be best for me. Cassi will go to Pa's. The reason is the Newspaper class I'm in. I think I'm REALLY going to enjoy it. It is Lab Newspaper I. We are running an actual newspaper. At this time, I'm a staff reporter. Part of my "job" is to take the stories assigned, make sure I get the story done in time, along with getting photos whenever possible. Even though it's a class, it's also like an unofficial job. This class will give me MANY writing samples to add to my online portfolio for future jobs.
So, Monday, my first day, I didn't have my hang tag yet to park in the lot. Luckily, Rob was off and was able to drive me to school. He dropped me off to get my books (the least amount since starting). He then picked me back up about 10 minutes after dropping me off (almost a miracle in timing) and dropped me off at campus police. He then had the day free to do what he wanted, which ended up being working on house projects. Instead of having him come all the way to downtown Cleveland to get me, I had him meet me at my mom's. Part of my tuition for Fall and Spring is a $25 fee to RTA, which is the bus and train system in the Cleveland area. Not bad when a typical monthly EXPRESS card can run over $50. This $25 is for all 16 weeks. So, I told him I would get my sticker and take the bus to their house. Very nice bus ride. I used to do it when I worked full-time and didn't have a car. But, that was from 1994-1996 (month after I broke up with my "love affair"). But, I also digress.
The other class I am taking is a Gender & Communciations class. Today, my second class, she had us go around the room to say why we were taking the class. I said: 1. because it is a gen ed requirment for my degree (which is English), 2. it's an upper level 300/400 class for my gen ed requirement, 3. I try to stick with COM and ENG classes for my degree because I have an AA in Communications, and 4. my daughter is in school and so am I AT THE SAME TIME! So, this class will deal with stereotypes, and how gender is handled in regards to communications. Today, we started talking about the word: FEMINISM. What does it mean to people? I'm really going to enjoy this class. If I didn't start spewing my opinions by now, I REALLY will here.
So, my classes run Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 11am until 1:30pm. But, I will probably end up at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays because of the newspaper thing.
So, Monday, I made an appointment with my career counselor. That appointment is Friday. I want to get started trying to get my summer internship, paid internship. There are some companies I want to try to get my "foot in the door" as far as technical writing is concerned. I would REALLY love the opportunity to work for the ABC Affiliate here in Cleveland or even The Plain Dealer, which is the BIG Cleveland newspaper. But, they are all unpaid internships. With the day care situation, there's NO WAY I can do an internship if it is unpaid.
So, I've got lots of reading, writing, phone calls, interviews, etc. I'll post my interviews once they have been published in our student newspaper. They will live on my Creative Writing Blog.
With that, I'll close for now. It's Wednesday night, and I've got 2 more Blog stories to write, get my kid to bed, wash a load of laundry, and start dishes, if I've got the gumption. Because it is now 9pm, time for my darling red-head to get to bed!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Our Saturday with Uncle Jerry and our weekend at the campground (last one)
Okay, if you've read, Cassi is the newst tennis star! We really enjoyed spending the day with Uncle Jerry and family.
On Friday, we decided to go camping. We agreed that this would probably be our last weekend of camping. Because of my getting that job, that I found out later in the week, we thought this would be our last time.
So, Friday night, we headed down to the campground after doing stuff around the house. It was a beautiful night sleeping. Because Canton is so far south from where we are located, we figured we could romp over there from Ashland, which is about an hour west of Canton. On the way, we started with a good and CHEAP breakfast near the campground. Then, went back real quick to pick up a few things before starting again.
The whole way over, all Cassi said was she couldn't wait to meet her cousin, who is a boy. And, she doesn't sleep with boys (good advice, as she's learned EARLY). The only issue is: Cassi's cousin, Adam, is 30 years old and is mentally Cassi's age. Something happened to him when he was born that made his this mentally handicapped. Don't ask, I don't remember. But, she really enjoyed meeting him and playing with him. He would spend everyday in front of his computer and game systems if they allowed him. So, before we left, we found both of them playing on the game systems. They've got two, one Cassi was on, one Adam was on.
We got there, and found out that they were getting ready for us to leave. They took us to a local park. The park was ABSOLUTELY beautiful! The park to start with was gated and fenced-in. A very nicely maintained area, with nice parking lot. We got out and found there was two areas for kids to play on two different playgrounds. Around the entire grounds, there was a walking track. I wish I had brought my sneakers as I would have taken a walk or two. The track appeared to be about a mile, but could have been two.
They had a covered pavillion, with areas to grill. They had a building for potty facilities. They had tennis courts, volleyball court, basketball courts, etc.
So, we grilled, played on EVERYTHING, etc. Rob's uncle, being my dad's age, played on the swings and slides with Cassi. After, he emailed us, saying his soreness reminded him of his age. But, I really think he had a good time. Just a big kid at heart.
After we left, we went back to his uncle's house, where Rob looked over his computer. Because Rob's background is a Systems Engineer (yep, I gravitate to techys romantically), so everyone used to go to Rob for all his computer help. When Rob and I met, and even today, I always explain the two of us as: 1. Rob is the hardware and technical help man, where 2. I am the software and training gal. We mesh together for all your technology needs. We even tried to run a computer business. But, with the big guys out there, like Dell, Gateway, HP, etc., the little guy (us), couldn't survive.
Okay, I digressed. But, the bottom line on the computer was, it was WAY too old. It was running XP on a computer that wasn't built for XP. We both agreed that he should just buy a new computer and suggested Dell. We new have a them in our house. I always agreed with Dell as a good computer maker as we used them with all of our consultants at E&Y. I used to work on them ALOT.
So, in the end, we had to come home, check the mail as my refund check came from college (ooh, I could buy my books and things needed for school). Then, we went back to the campground.
In the end, we ended up coming home at 6am on Sunday. It started raining in the night. Becuase it was a little hotter in the camper Saturday night, we all had a tougher night sleep. We came home, slept more, and had a good day running around, doing indoor things because of the rain.
Then, Monday was the first day of school!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Okay, if you've read, Cassi is the newst tennis star! We really enjoyed spending the day with Uncle Jerry and family.
On Friday, we decided to go camping. We agreed that this would probably be our last weekend of camping. Because of my getting that job, that I found out later in the week, we thought this would be our last time.
So, Friday night, we headed down to the campground after doing stuff around the house. It was a beautiful night sleeping. Because Canton is so far south from where we are located, we figured we could romp over there from Ashland, which is about an hour west of Canton. On the way, we started with a good and CHEAP breakfast near the campground. Then, went back real quick to pick up a few things before starting again.
The whole way over, all Cassi said was she couldn't wait to meet her cousin, who is a boy. And, she doesn't sleep with boys (good advice, as she's learned EARLY). The only issue is: Cassi's cousin, Adam, is 30 years old and is mentally Cassi's age. Something happened to him when he was born that made his this mentally handicapped. Don't ask, I don't remember. But, she really enjoyed meeting him and playing with him. He would spend everyday in front of his computer and game systems if they allowed him. So, before we left, we found both of them playing on the game systems. They've got two, one Cassi was on, one Adam was on.
We got there, and found out that they were getting ready for us to leave. They took us to a local park. The park was ABSOLUTELY beautiful! The park to start with was gated and fenced-in. A very nicely maintained area, with nice parking lot. We got out and found there was two areas for kids to play on two different playgrounds. Around the entire grounds, there was a walking track. I wish I had brought my sneakers as I would have taken a walk or two. The track appeared to be about a mile, but could have been two.
They had a covered pavillion, with areas to grill. They had a building for potty facilities. They had tennis courts, volleyball court, basketball courts, etc.
So, we grilled, played on EVERYTHING, etc. Rob's uncle, being my dad's age, played on the swings and slides with Cassi. After, he emailed us, saying his soreness reminded him of his age. But, I really think he had a good time. Just a big kid at heart.
After we left, we went back to his uncle's house, where Rob looked over his computer. Because Rob's background is a Systems Engineer (yep, I gravitate to techys romantically), so everyone used to go to Rob for all his computer help. When Rob and I met, and even today, I always explain the two of us as: 1. Rob is the hardware and technical help man, where 2. I am the software and training gal. We mesh together for all your technology needs. We even tried to run a computer business. But, with the big guys out there, like Dell, Gateway, HP, etc., the little guy (us), couldn't survive.
Okay, I digressed. But, the bottom line on the computer was, it was WAY too old. It was running XP on a computer that wasn't built for XP. We both agreed that he should just buy a new computer and suggested Dell. We new have a them in our house. I always agreed with Dell as a good computer maker as we used them with all of our consultants at E&Y. I used to work on them ALOT.
So, in the end, we had to come home, check the mail as my refund check came from college (ooh, I could buy my books and things needed for school). Then, we went back to the campground.
In the end, we ended up coming home at 6am on Sunday. It started raining in the night. Becuase it was a little hotter in the camper Saturday night, we all had a tougher night sleep. We came home, slept more, and had a good day running around, doing indoor things because of the rain.
Then, Monday was the first day of school!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Cassi, the Tennis Star!
This past weekend, we spent Saturday, with Rob's Uncle. They took us to a local park in Canton, where we could have a picnic. The park was just gorgeous. One major part of the park was a three court tennis court. Cassi decided she wanted to play tennis. Of course, this was her first time. She was PERFECT for a first timer. Below, are the pictures of her playing. I think she will be REALLY good with sports, if she finds the right sport to play. So, we'll try tennis.
When I was in high school (yes, in the dark ages), I was forced to play tennis during one quarter. After the initial grunting, I really enjoyed it. I've kept the knowledge with me to this day. Even at one point, Marie and I were going to play. But, I don't remember if we ever did.
Anyway, Marie, if you've got those rackets, can you bring them when you come visit? No, Cassi still doesn't know that you're coming. That will be a good "thing" for her to see if you've got them. If not, I'll look at getting a few.
Without further ado, here are the photos:
I think she'll be a good tennis player if she gets some practice!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
This past weekend, we spent Saturday, with Rob's Uncle. They took us to a local park in Canton, where we could have a picnic. The park was just gorgeous. One major part of the park was a three court tennis court. Cassi decided she wanted to play tennis. Of course, this was her first time. She was PERFECT for a first timer. Below, are the pictures of her playing. I think she will be REALLY good with sports, if she finds the right sport to play. So, we'll try tennis.
When I was in high school (yes, in the dark ages), I was forced to play tennis during one quarter. After the initial grunting, I really enjoyed it. I've kept the knowledge with me to this day. Even at one point, Marie and I were going to play. But, I don't remember if we ever did.
Anyway, Marie, if you've got those rackets, can you bring them when you come visit? No, Cassi still doesn't know that you're coming. That will be a good "thing" for her to see if you've got them. If not, I'll look at getting a few.
Without further ado, here are the photos:
I think she'll be a good tennis player if she gets some practice!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Working...GIRL!
Yep, that's right folks! I'm a working girl again. I just got hired as a cashier at Home Depot. Not the best, but it's a job. And, in case you're wondering, yes, I'm still going to school. My goal is 5 more semesters, including this one, until I'm finished.
So, if my drug test (the good 'ole pee-in-a-cup job) comes back clean, I will be starting my orientation on Saturday. When I can, I will be working Tuesdays and Thursdays on the opening shift. That means I have to roll my BUTT out of bed no later than 4:30am. I will only be able to do this on days when Rob's off the night before. I will also be working every Saturday and Sunday. Cassi will be going to Pa's and Nana's on weekends.
Soooooo, I will post as often as I can, especially since I've got a few to post from our OUTRAGEOUS weekend with Rob's uncle. Plus, both of us had our first days of school yesterday.
That's it for now. I'm working on some old pictures for my school Principal friend. I did a picture for her secretary last year. I hope she likes them.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Yep, that's right folks! I'm a working girl again. I just got hired as a cashier at Home Depot. Not the best, but it's a job. And, in case you're wondering, yes, I'm still going to school. My goal is 5 more semesters, including this one, until I'm finished.
So, if my drug test (the good 'ole pee-in-a-cup job) comes back clean, I will be starting my orientation on Saturday. When I can, I will be working Tuesdays and Thursdays on the opening shift. That means I have to roll my BUTT out of bed no later than 4:30am. I will only be able to do this on days when Rob's off the night before. I will also be working every Saturday and Sunday. Cassi will be going to Pa's and Nana's on weekends.
Soooooo, I will post as often as I can, especially since I've got a few to post from our OUTRAGEOUS weekend with Rob's uncle. Plus, both of us had our first days of school yesterday.
That's it for now. I'm working on some old pictures for my school Principal friend. I did a picture for her secretary last year. I hope she likes them.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
The PURRR-FECT Post...#100...
The Kittens!
Here are the pictures that I promised to everyone! They were taken this morning. You'll also find commentary under each. Remember, to see the picture larger, just click on the picture. Use your browser's Back button to come back here. I just wish I had video of them sometimes. They are so hilarious!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Ahhh! The afternoon nap. Time to spread out and take as much room as possible! 
Yep, I've got little sis in the bag. Not bad. Kinda comfy. I'll just lay here!
Oh, Boy! I'm FREEEEE! Those guys can't keep me in!
Mom, quit taking all these pictures of us. Am I upside down or are you? I can't tell!
Now how did this picture show up of our mom cat???
Now, let's fight! I always love a good brawl amongst family!
And the fight ensues! With our little sis in the bag, we'll fight out of it and on top of it!
6...DAYS!
I can't believe I've been so anti-blogging for 6, six, whole days!
What have I done in those 6 days? Um, I can't remember. Oh, yeah!
Like usual, I did laundry, dishes, more laundry, more dishes. I moved more CRAP into my office to hide it from company. SOMEDAY, my closet will get finished. I know Rob is VERY busy at work. But, hopefully, we'll be able to finish it this week, so I can put all my goodies away.
Then, we can finish the ceiling that YAHOO put a 10x10 inch hole in Cassi's ceiling. We want to put a ceiling fan in her ceiling, one with a light. So, we took down the light that was in her ceiling. Come to find out, (for adult eyes ONLY), JACKASS put a hole in the ceiling 10x10 inches square. So, Rob's been having to diligently take his time and build a new piece of ceiling that will handle the weight of the ceiling. AND, at the same time, make it look like there was never any hole in the ceiling to begin with.
We started this week, working on "to bed early, up early" for next week. In this area, school for Cassi starts next Monday. It also starts for me too! YIPPEE! Maybe that's why I've been so blah! I need to get back into the public eye before I go nuts!
This past week, Cassi went to Pa's house. At first she was sick on Thursday. Friday morning, she got better, quickly, and went. Maybe it was the idea that she wouldn't go if she was sick. She REALLY wanted to go. Saturday, I went my friend, Jacci's house. As usual, there were a couple dozen people in her house. It was SO hot there. Mac's sister came in from New Jersey (another from the home-land) because it was her birthday and also a friend of their's too. So, I was invited to chow and cake. As promised, Jacci made sure I packed up food to take to Rob at the Clinic. Mac makes some AWESOME fried Tilapia and Wings. So, I had a plate of each. I hung around her house until almost time to go to meet Rob at the Cleveland Clinic. Since Jacci lives in Euclid (about 10 minutes from Rob's work), it was easy to jump there and then home.
Everyone at Rob's work LOVED the fish. They couldn't believe how good the food was that we made. Rob tells them, "Are you crazy? I can't cook like that. Cathy can't either!" Agreed. I can't cook fish like Mac can. He's the GOD of fried fish!
Right now, I've got fluffy, calico laying on my back, between me and the chair. The past day or 2, she's gotten VERY close with me. She loves me now. At first, she always seemed to be very skittish of people. Now, all she wants is me. As a matter of fact, they all want me. I'll post new pictures tonight. I can't believe they are now 8 weeks old this Thursday. They are now ready for adoption. I'll see over the next week if the people who want kittens are still following through. If not, I'll probably have to see about putting a sign out in the yard.
Yesterday, I got an email from Cassi's old principal, Mrs. Rita Tomsic. Last year, her secretary, Judy, asked for my help in scanning a photo and printing it for her to give to someone. So, she reminded Rita of this. She has 2 pictures that she would like to have scanned and printed to give to her 3 brothers. NOT A PROBLEM! She is also willing to pay me. When I'm done, there's 3 8x10 pictures in BW and 3 5x7 pictures in BW. It will be fun to do it.
And, Patty, my ALL-TIME favorite girlfriend, and Tupperware GODDESS (I know she'll kill me when she's sees this post!), emails me, asking for help with a photo she got from her sister's honeymoon. You see, she's Italian and many of her European family live in little villages. When Tina went on her honeymoon, she found a family picture, that appears to be from the early 1900's shows her grandmother. But, when Tina took the picture, she didn't think to tip the camera so that the flash wouldn't show up on the picture. So, my task, should I choose to accept it? Fix the picture to remove the flash. Okay, working on it!
Oh, so I guess I did lots of stuff!
Gotta go for now. I've got to download some pictures to my laptop to upload them here. Of course, the kittens!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
I can't believe I've been so anti-blogging for 6, six, whole days!
What have I done in those 6 days? Um, I can't remember. Oh, yeah!
Like usual, I did laundry, dishes, more laundry, more dishes. I moved more CRAP into my office to hide it from company. SOMEDAY, my closet will get finished. I know Rob is VERY busy at work. But, hopefully, we'll be able to finish it this week, so I can put all my goodies away.
Then, we can finish the ceiling that YAHOO put a 10x10 inch hole in Cassi's ceiling. We want to put a ceiling fan in her ceiling, one with a light. So, we took down the light that was in her ceiling. Come to find out, (for adult eyes ONLY), JACKASS put a hole in the ceiling 10x10 inches square. So, Rob's been having to diligently take his time and build a new piece of ceiling that will handle the weight of the ceiling. AND, at the same time, make it look like there was never any hole in the ceiling to begin with.
We started this week, working on "to bed early, up early" for next week. In this area, school for Cassi starts next Monday. It also starts for me too! YIPPEE! Maybe that's why I've been so blah! I need to get back into the public eye before I go nuts!
This past week, Cassi went to Pa's house. At first she was sick on Thursday. Friday morning, she got better, quickly, and went. Maybe it was the idea that she wouldn't go if she was sick. She REALLY wanted to go. Saturday, I went my friend, Jacci's house. As usual, there were a couple dozen people in her house. It was SO hot there. Mac's sister came in from New Jersey (another from the home-land) because it was her birthday and also a friend of their's too. So, I was invited to chow and cake. As promised, Jacci made sure I packed up food to take to Rob at the Clinic. Mac makes some AWESOME fried Tilapia and Wings. So, I had a plate of each. I hung around her house until almost time to go to meet Rob at the Cleveland Clinic. Since Jacci lives in Euclid (about 10 minutes from Rob's work), it was easy to jump there and then home.
Everyone at Rob's work LOVED the fish. They couldn't believe how good the food was that we made. Rob tells them, "Are you crazy? I can't cook like that. Cathy can't either!" Agreed. I can't cook fish like Mac can. He's the GOD of fried fish!
Right now, I've got fluffy, calico laying on my back, between me and the chair. The past day or 2, she's gotten VERY close with me. She loves me now. At first, she always seemed to be very skittish of people. Now, all she wants is me. As a matter of fact, they all want me. I'll post new pictures tonight. I can't believe they are now 8 weeks old this Thursday. They are now ready for adoption. I'll see over the next week if the people who want kittens are still following through. If not, I'll probably have to see about putting a sign out in the yard.
Yesterday, I got an email from Cassi's old principal, Mrs. Rita Tomsic. Last year, her secretary, Judy, asked for my help in scanning a photo and printing it for her to give to someone. So, she reminded Rita of this. She has 2 pictures that she would like to have scanned and printed to give to her 3 brothers. NOT A PROBLEM! She is also willing to pay me. When I'm done, there's 3 8x10 pictures in BW and 3 5x7 pictures in BW. It will be fun to do it.
And, Patty, my ALL-TIME favorite girlfriend, and Tupperware GODDESS (I know she'll kill me when she's sees this post!), emails me, asking for help with a photo she got from her sister's honeymoon. You see, she's Italian and many of her European family live in little villages. When Tina went on her honeymoon, she found a family picture, that appears to be from the early 1900's shows her grandmother. But, when Tina took the picture, she didn't think to tip the camera so that the flash wouldn't show up on the picture. So, my task, should I choose to accept it? Fix the picture to remove the flash. Okay, working on it!
Oh, so I guess I did lots of stuff!
Gotta go for now. I've got to download some pictures to my laptop to upload them here. Of course, the kittens!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Today...Very, Yuck!
I must have done more yesterday than I thought. Today, I didn't get up until 9:30, but all day, I had the need to go back to sleep. Even walking around at Lowe's, I needed to sit down or lay down. So much so, it made me sick.
By the afternoon, I ate my leftover alfredo from last night. Rob got called to work for overtime. They really needed him bad. So, instead of having one more day off work tomorrow night, he's working tonight and tomorrow. In the grand scheme of things, it will only be 4 hours of OT, because he works only 36 hours a week, but anything helps. He'll get the 4 extra hours and 4 OT hours.
So, he went down to sleep around 4, and I did too. Cassi napped and watched TV. I didn't get up until 7.
Now, Rob should be at work. Cassi and I are getting ready for bed, while Cassi watches Buffy. Yep, her favorite "horror" show, which doesn't give her nightmares.
Okay. Off to bed for me. I want to read, using my NEW reading glasses. Boy, do they make the reading larger. I can't imagine what I would have done with bifocals. Probably the same as my mom, who fell when she first started wearing them.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
I must have done more yesterday than I thought. Today, I didn't get up until 9:30, but all day, I had the need to go back to sleep. Even walking around at Lowe's, I needed to sit down or lay down. So much so, it made me sick.
By the afternoon, I ate my leftover alfredo from last night. Rob got called to work for overtime. They really needed him bad. So, instead of having one more day off work tomorrow night, he's working tonight and tomorrow. In the grand scheme of things, it will only be 4 hours of OT, because he works only 36 hours a week, but anything helps. He'll get the 4 extra hours and 4 OT hours.
So, he went down to sleep around 4, and I did too. Cassi napped and watched TV. I didn't get up until 7.
Now, Rob should be at work. Cassi and I are getting ready for bed, while Cassi watches Buffy. Yep, her favorite "horror" show, which doesn't give her nightmares.
Okay. Off to bed for me. I want to read, using my NEW reading glasses. Boy, do they make the reading larger. I can't imagine what I would have done with bifocals. Probably the same as my mom, who fell when she first started wearing them.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Receipe Share!
Have you ever wanted to make Fettuccine Alfredo at home, but were afraid to do it? Well, since I've become such a "suburban" woman, like my sister says, I have done MUCH cooking. One of my business endeavors gave me experience with Tupperware. Tupperware comes out with cook books to coincide with their products. In one cookbook, I found an AWESOMELY easy recipe for Alfredo Sauce. Now, I'm an expert at Chicken Alfredo.
Note: for the chicken, I take about a pound of chicken, slice it as thinly as possible and saute it on the stove top. It tends to be juicy-er and has a better taste than if I cook the chicken in the oven. Plus, always use boneless, skinless chicken breast. Better for your health too.
Okay, for those of you who want it, the recipe for the sauce:
Alfredo Sauce
3 cups 2% milk
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter (1 stick, melted)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste (plus I add any italian seasoning I can pull out of my cabinets, especially my garlic flakes)
1. Place milk in any 2 1/2 quart sauce pan. Heat until warm over Low heat.
2. Whisk together flour and melted butter. Add to heated milk and stir constantly over Medium-Low heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to Low; simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, (and any other seasonings you wish to add). Recommend serving immediately over favorite pasta, vegetable or poultry.
Oh, yeah. I've also added broccoli florets. I typically get them in a bag from the freezer section that I heat up in the micro to get ready to add at the end, with the chicken. While all of this is going on, I cook up the fettuccine noodles. Then, just put together and enjoy!
It's very easy. The toughest part is the standing there, stirring the mixture. Otherwise, VERY EASY!
Good luck! If anyone tries this, let me know how you do!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Have you ever wanted to make Fettuccine Alfredo at home, but were afraid to do it? Well, since I've become such a "suburban" woman, like my sister says, I have done MUCH cooking. One of my business endeavors gave me experience with Tupperware. Tupperware comes out with cook books to coincide with their products. In one cookbook, I found an AWESOMELY easy recipe for Alfredo Sauce. Now, I'm an expert at Chicken Alfredo.
Note: for the chicken, I take about a pound of chicken, slice it as thinly as possible and saute it on the stove top. It tends to be juicy-er and has a better taste than if I cook the chicken in the oven. Plus, always use boneless, skinless chicken breast. Better for your health too.
Okay, for those of you who want it, the recipe for the sauce:
Alfredo Sauce
3 cups 2% milk
2 TBSP all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter (1 stick, melted)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste (plus I add any italian seasoning I can pull out of my cabinets, especially my garlic flakes)
1. Place milk in any 2 1/2 quart sauce pan. Heat until warm over Low heat.
2. Whisk together flour and melted butter. Add to heated milk and stir constantly over Medium-Low heat until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to Low; simmer 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, (and any other seasonings you wish to add). Recommend serving immediately over favorite pasta, vegetable or poultry.
Oh, yeah. I've also added broccoli florets. I typically get them in a bag from the freezer section that I heat up in the micro to get ready to add at the end, with the chicken. While all of this is going on, I cook up the fettuccine noodles. Then, just put together and enjoy!
It's very easy. The toughest part is the standing there, stirring the mixture. Otherwise, VERY EASY!
Good luck! If anyone tries this, let me know how you do!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Post #96, for 1996!
This was the last time I had heard or saw my ex. This all changed on Sunday.
Sunday, Rob and I travelled to Grove City, PA to meet up with my ex and his wife, along with his new son.
A little background. Back in June, on the last day of my summer classes, AND on the day momma had her kittens, he PM'd me in a message board site about home theaters. He had said that his wife suggested that we connect back up. Because she had a good relationship with her ex, she thought the same of us.
So, he and I have been communicating since through email, and now his comments to my posts and my comments on his blog. The whole time, he had said that they would be in the area, in western PA in August, but not when. To my surprise, he emailed me on Thursday that they would be in PA this week. He gave me both of their cell phones, which I only used his. No reason to use both.
I called him to let him know I had the number, etc. He still wasn't sure about which day to get together because he wanted to do it in conjunction to a group outing they were doing with friends who would be at their camping, something called Pennsic. From what I gather, Pennsic is a Medieval War. This appears to be a reinactment of that.
So, he called me on Saturday, letting me know that Sunday was the day they were going to have their outing. I had been thinking, since Cassi was at Pa's, Sunday would be a good day if they were available. He lets me know of a restaurant called, Hoss's that we would meet at. Hoss's is like a Ponderosa Steak House.
Sunday, Rob and I drive out to PA. We were going to Grove City. Dinner was at 5, but we got there at 3. I figured it would give us time to walk through the Outlet Park, which is LARGER than our outlet park in Lodi, OH (same company owns both properties). While there, we find a twinkie maker, popsicle makers, and freeze-able drinking glasses. Once we were done, we head over to the restaurant, which happens to be right across the street from the outlet mall.
It was quarter to 5 and we were the first ones there. Now mind you, since having Cassi, I have been late for ALMOST everything. When I don't have her, I seem to get back on my ALWAYS early track.
So, I call. They are on their way and will be there shortly. After coming home and looking up the campground they are staying at, it looks like they are about 15 minutes south of the outlet mall.
They meet us in the restaurant. He walks in first to which I give him a HUGE hug. She walks in after. I give her a hug and introduce both of them to Rob, my husband. He's been SO good through all of this. We had already checked out the menu for our dinner choices. Once ordering, I am lucky enough to realize that on one end of the table, there's enough room to sit across from them. YEAH!
They tried to introduce us to the rest of their group. As I told them, not that I'm being rude, but I probably wouldn't remember any of them after the dinner. Guess what? I don't remember anyone's names. They didn't really socialize with us anyway. Not a huge loss for me. I'll remember faces, but not names.
So, we ate dinner and had a chance to talk. Rob was having a queezy stomach and decided to go out for a smoke and a phone call. Rob is a smoker, but has barely EVER smoked at the table in a restaurant, which I love! So, Rob is outside for quite a while. He asks me what happened to Rob. Was he okay? I told him that Rob was just out having a cigarette. I turn around and find that Rob has come back into the restaurant. I walk over and hug him, ask him if he's okay. He says he had a smoke and called his girl.
I say to him, "Oh, you called Cassi."
"Nope, I called Roz." You see, Roz is the lady who works with Rob and the Cleveland Clinic. She is the RN on his nursing team for their group of patients. After he gets back, he asks me if Rob is okay. Last year, Roz had a kidney transplant. She had to be admitted to the hospital last week because her body was rejecting the kidney. Rob called her to make sure everything was going.
"Oh, he just called his girlfriend." I say to him. If I was looking correctly, I think he was shocked at what I said. Yes, you all. I am VERY much a smart-ass! I've talked with Roz a few times. I thinks she's a cool lady. I haven't had the opportunity to meet her, but I will soon. Then, I explain to him Rob's situation at work. Basically, he has had the luck of finding the good people to work with, female or otherwise. She takes care of him at work and he takes care of her. Doesn't bother me at all.
All this time, it seems that she is at the other end of the table, with her other friends, who she will see all week, instead of sitting and chatting with us. Opinion on this: as you've read in the other posts, she may be afraid of me. I am a VERY outgoing person. I've felt SO much better since going back to school. Plus, I'm able to be ME in my classes, actively participating.
All of a sudden, she comes over, saying everyone is getting ready to leave. I have had a chance to have some small talk with him, but not enough I thought for the whole trip. I thought we might be able to spend some time together. So, they scoop up son and get him ready to leave. Upon leaving, she suggests that when we are in their neck of the woods, we are welcome there. That was very nice of her.
I really want to get to know her better.
He walks away, forgetting to say good-bye to me. She looks at me, looking at him. I motion to her to poke him. He looks at me and I get him to come say good-bye. He leans over and I hug him, LONG! Then, a second hug and tell him I still love 'em. I still do. I never wished him bad, just the timing was bad with our love affair. Rob was already in the car, waiting for me. I get to the car, only to realize I needed to potty. (didn't go the entire time in the restaurant)
So, I go back in and come back out. We get ready to leave. Come to realize they had parked directly in front of us in the parking lot.
On the way home, Rob has me call Roz to see how she's doing. I tell her what happened during the day. I told her a little about him. She says to me, "Well, besides your husband, maybe you've just reconnected with your best friend who will be there for the rest of your life."
I would definitely LOVE that opportunity.
My impression of the day:
This was the last time I had heard or saw my ex. This all changed on Sunday.
Sunday, Rob and I travelled to Grove City, PA to meet up with my ex and his wife, along with his new son.
A little background. Back in June, on the last day of my summer classes, AND on the day momma had her kittens, he PM'd me in a message board site about home theaters. He had said that his wife suggested that we connect back up. Because she had a good relationship with her ex, she thought the same of us.
So, he and I have been communicating since through email, and now his comments to my posts and my comments on his blog. The whole time, he had said that they would be in the area, in western PA in August, but not when. To my surprise, he emailed me on Thursday that they would be in PA this week. He gave me both of their cell phones, which I only used his. No reason to use both.
I called him to let him know I had the number, etc. He still wasn't sure about which day to get together because he wanted to do it in conjunction to a group outing they were doing with friends who would be at their camping, something called Pennsic. From what I gather, Pennsic is a Medieval War. This appears to be a reinactment of that.
So, he called me on Saturday, letting me know that Sunday was the day they were going to have their outing. I had been thinking, since Cassi was at Pa's, Sunday would be a good day if they were available. He lets me know of a restaurant called, Hoss's that we would meet at. Hoss's is like a Ponderosa Steak House.
Sunday, Rob and I drive out to PA. We were going to Grove City. Dinner was at 5, but we got there at 3. I figured it would give us time to walk through the Outlet Park, which is LARGER than our outlet park in Lodi, OH (same company owns both properties). While there, we find a twinkie maker, popsicle makers, and freeze-able drinking glasses. Once we were done, we head over to the restaurant, which happens to be right across the street from the outlet mall.
It was quarter to 5 and we were the first ones there. Now mind you, since having Cassi, I have been late for ALMOST everything. When I don't have her, I seem to get back on my ALWAYS early track.
So, I call. They are on their way and will be there shortly. After coming home and looking up the campground they are staying at, it looks like they are about 15 minutes south of the outlet mall.
They meet us in the restaurant. He walks in first to which I give him a HUGE hug. She walks in after. I give her a hug and introduce both of them to Rob, my husband. He's been SO good through all of this. We had already checked out the menu for our dinner choices. Once ordering, I am lucky enough to realize that on one end of the table, there's enough room to sit across from them. YEAH!
They tried to introduce us to the rest of their group. As I told them, not that I'm being rude, but I probably wouldn't remember any of them after the dinner. Guess what? I don't remember anyone's names. They didn't really socialize with us anyway. Not a huge loss for me. I'll remember faces, but not names.
So, we ate dinner and had a chance to talk. Rob was having a queezy stomach and decided to go out for a smoke and a phone call. Rob is a smoker, but has barely EVER smoked at the table in a restaurant, which I love! So, Rob is outside for quite a while. He asks me what happened to Rob. Was he okay? I told him that Rob was just out having a cigarette. I turn around and find that Rob has come back into the restaurant. I walk over and hug him, ask him if he's okay. He says he had a smoke and called his girl.
I say to him, "Oh, you called Cassi."
"Nope, I called Roz." You see, Roz is the lady who works with Rob and the Cleveland Clinic. She is the RN on his nursing team for their group of patients. After he gets back, he asks me if Rob is okay. Last year, Roz had a kidney transplant. She had to be admitted to the hospital last week because her body was rejecting the kidney. Rob called her to make sure everything was going.
"Oh, he just called his girlfriend." I say to him. If I was looking correctly, I think he was shocked at what I said. Yes, you all. I am VERY much a smart-ass! I've talked with Roz a few times. I thinks she's a cool lady. I haven't had the opportunity to meet her, but I will soon. Then, I explain to him Rob's situation at work. Basically, he has had the luck of finding the good people to work with, female or otherwise. She takes care of him at work and he takes care of her. Doesn't bother me at all.
All this time, it seems that she is at the other end of the table, with her other friends, who she will see all week, instead of sitting and chatting with us. Opinion on this: as you've read in the other posts, she may be afraid of me. I am a VERY outgoing person. I've felt SO much better since going back to school. Plus, I'm able to be ME in my classes, actively participating.
All of a sudden, she comes over, saying everyone is getting ready to leave. I have had a chance to have some small talk with him, but not enough I thought for the whole trip. I thought we might be able to spend some time together. So, they scoop up son and get him ready to leave. Upon leaving, she suggests that when we are in their neck of the woods, we are welcome there. That was very nice of her.
I really want to get to know her better.
He walks away, forgetting to say good-bye to me. She looks at me, looking at him. I motion to her to poke him. He looks at me and I get him to come say good-bye. He leans over and I hug him, LONG! Then, a second hug and tell him I still love 'em. I still do. I never wished him bad, just the timing was bad with our love affair. Rob was already in the car, waiting for me. I get to the car, only to realize I needed to potty. (didn't go the entire time in the restaurant)
So, I go back in and come back out. We get ready to leave. Come to realize they had parked directly in front of us in the parking lot.
On the way home, Rob has me call Roz to see how she's doing. I tell her what happened during the day. I told her a little about him. She says to me, "Well, besides your husband, maybe you've just reconnected with your best friend who will be there for the rest of your life."
I would definitely LOVE that opportunity.
My impression of the day:
- Maybe the get together connecting with their outing wasn't a good idea. I spent 2 hours driving to see them.
- We should have gotten together on a separate day when we could spend more time together.
- Don't ever feel intimidated by me. I'm me. That's it. I do tend to come on strong, and sometimes don't realize it.
- I would have loved some "private" time with him to talk.
- Rob just ROCKS! He came with me when he didn't have to. No wonder why I love him.
So, we went home and got here about 9pm. I did love spending some time with them, but wanted more. Guess that's how it was with our love affair. I wanted more than I could get. Now, I can't wait to talk with him, even through email, just to get his impression of the event.
Hmmm. Maybe that's just me. I always want more than I can get! Okay, so call me human.
That's it for now.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
P.S. 8/18/06 - Update: Forgot to mention. I had been talking for a few days how I needed to shave (yep, legs and armpits). That Sunday morning, I realized quickly that I had to "de-hair" because I was wearing shorts. As Rob said, "Oh, so you shave for him and not me, eh?" Yep, I sure did!
P.S. 8/22/06 - Update: Also forgot to mention this. Rob bought me this GEORGOUS diamond ring to take the place of my simple wedding band. I am so hyper about it that I hardly ever wear it. Because of the work I do on computers, the ring tends to make my hands even more sore than without it. So, every time we go somewhere, and I don't wear my ring, Rob says, (for adults only), that I'm being a slut! Okay. Works for me. But, I also say the same thing to him. It occurred to me once we got to PA that I wasn't wearing my ring. Oh, well. I was slut that day! But, so was he!
Dell Laptop Recall...
Thought I would do my civic duty to notify everyone reading of an important recall. If you purchased a Dell laptop from April, 2004 until now, go to:
www.dell.com
On the Web site, you'll find information on how to determine if your computer's battery is prone to catching on fire.
Luckily, mine isn't. Plus, as I found out today, if you go to the site and find that your battery isn't on the recall list through the automated function, call Dell. The woman who I spoke with today said a number of people called who 1. the automated computer system said their batter was okay, but 2. called and found out their battery wasn't okay.
Good luck!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Thought I would do my civic duty to notify everyone reading of an important recall. If you purchased a Dell laptop from April, 2004 until now, go to:
www.dell.com
On the Web site, you'll find information on how to determine if your computer's battery is prone to catching on fire.
Luckily, mine isn't. Plus, as I found out today, if you go to the site and find that your battery isn't on the recall list through the automated function, call Dell. The woman who I spoke with today said a number of people called who 1. the automated computer system said their batter was okay, but 2. called and found out their battery wasn't okay.
Good luck!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Monday, August 14, 2006
My Battle Cry:
Now, this REALLY sounds like me! I just LOVE to be the strong-willed person. Can't believe I let people get in my way of being who I should be.
Also, I may start saying things that I need to say. If I hurt someone's feelings, SORRY! Some of these feelings have been locked up for 10 years. They need to be said.
This "coming out of the box" feels really good. To Hell with needing a Psychologist. This blog has done WONDERS for me!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Got my First Pair of Glasses!
Yep, today, I went and picked up my first pair of glasses. Just waiting on those WONDERFUL second pair. Come Wednesday, it will be 2 weeks since my doctor's appt. Good thing I am not BLIND!
So, when we called today, we asked about the second pair. Must have been ESP because they were on the phone with the company that makes their glasses. For some reason, the second pair broke and they had to start all over to make them.
If they finished them today, AND got them in the mail, they will be to the eye doctor's office tomorrow. They are the ones I need for my computer work!
Once I get both pairs, I promise to have my pictures taken with both so you can see them. Didn't forget to add them, just hadn't gotten them until today.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Yep, today, I went and picked up my first pair of glasses. Just waiting on those WONDERFUL second pair. Come Wednesday, it will be 2 weeks since my doctor's appt. Good thing I am not BLIND!
So, when we called today, we asked about the second pair. Must have been ESP because they were on the phone with the company that makes their glasses. For some reason, the second pair broke and they had to start all over to make them.
If they finished them today, AND got them in the mail, they will be to the eye doctor's office tomorrow. They are the ones I need for my computer work!
Once I get both pairs, I promise to have my pictures taken with both so you can see them. Didn't forget to add them, just hadn't gotten them until today.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Intimidated:
1. persuade or dissuade by frightening: to persuade somebody to do something or dissuade somebody from doing something by frightening him or her, for example, by means of violence or blackmail
2. daunt: to create a feeling of fear, awe, or inadequacy in somebody
Have you ever been told that someone was intimidated by you?
This was the first time in my life that someone told me this. I think the second definition might fit why. Not naming names, but someone in my life’s told me their wife felt this way about me. I wonder if she thought it was because I’m such a strong-willed person. I am very outgoing. Also, as you have read on this blog, I’m saying it the way it should be said. Ever since my being laid off from E&Y, I’ve kind of become intraverted. I’ve been afraid to tell people what I think. I’ve decided not to be that way anymore.
Secretly, I’m wondering if there are feelings of inadequacy since my friend and I were very close for a long time. But, that was a long time ago. If you are secure in your relationship, you shouldn’t be concerned with someone who might be stronger than you. Plus, I have a theory, but this is one time I’ll keep my tongue. Some of you might know what that is since, as you can imagine from reading, my friend is a man.
Okay. Just thought I would throw this question out among friends. If you can respond to the question, I would love to read your comments.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
1. persuade or dissuade by frightening: to persuade somebody to do something or dissuade somebody from doing something by frightening him or her, for example, by means of violence or blackmail
2. daunt: to create a feeling of fear, awe, or inadequacy in somebody
Have you ever been told that someone was intimidated by you?
This was the first time in my life that someone told me this. I think the second definition might fit why. Not naming names, but someone in my life’s told me their wife felt this way about me. I wonder if she thought it was because I’m such a strong-willed person. I am very outgoing. Also, as you have read on this blog, I’m saying it the way it should be said. Ever since my being laid off from E&Y, I’ve kind of become intraverted. I’ve been afraid to tell people what I think. I’ve decided not to be that way anymore.
Secretly, I’m wondering if there are feelings of inadequacy since my friend and I were very close for a long time. But, that was a long time ago. If you are secure in your relationship, you shouldn’t be concerned with someone who might be stronger than you. Plus, I have a theory, but this is one time I’ll keep my tongue. Some of you might know what that is since, as you can imagine from reading, my friend is a man.
Okay. Just thought I would throw this question out among friends. If you can respond to the question, I would love to read your comments.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Friday Night...
Friday night, I was very sleepy, until the light went out. Cassi and Rob fell asleep quickly, but I woke up immediately. So, I ended up writing my thoughts out. Here's what I wrote:
"It is late, Friday night, and I can't sleep. Rob and Cassi are asleep, but I can't. I have too much on my mind. This is the first time we've been away from home for a full 2 days. All 4 kittens are using the same litter pan. I'm concerned they have forgotten where it is and have pottied on the floor. It will be easy enough to clean up.
Also, my mind is thinking about the phone call from Jason. Hopefully, he will call tomorrow. If he's available on Sunday, I'd like to go then. Cassi will be at Pa's. If Rob doesn't want to go, that's fine. I want to go by myself. Will I look different to him? I know I have TONS more grey hair now. What will he do when he sees me? I know I want to hug him. BUT, when will be the right time? So many, "What ifs" and not enough time.
Then, there's my whole insomnia thing bearing its ugly head. Sometimes it seems like I'm afraid to go to sleep. I was DEFINITELY tired when I laid down. As soon as I turned off my light, my brain turned on. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back to bed to go to sleep.
In the morning, we'll pack up and go home. OUr adventure was nice and enjoyable.
I even caught 2 fish!"
As you can tell, my thoughts went all over the board. This is usually how I am when I can't sleep.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Friday night, I was very sleepy, until the light went out. Cassi and Rob fell asleep quickly, but I woke up immediately. So, I ended up writing my thoughts out. Here's what I wrote:
"It is late, Friday night, and I can't sleep. Rob and Cassi are asleep, but I can't. I have too much on my mind. This is the first time we've been away from home for a full 2 days. All 4 kittens are using the same litter pan. I'm concerned they have forgotten where it is and have pottied on the floor. It will be easy enough to clean up.
Also, my mind is thinking about the phone call from Jason. Hopefully, he will call tomorrow. If he's available on Sunday, I'd like to go then. Cassi will be at Pa's. If Rob doesn't want to go, that's fine. I want to go by myself. Will I look different to him? I know I have TONS more grey hair now. What will he do when he sees me? I know I want to hug him. BUT, when will be the right time? So many, "What ifs" and not enough time.
Then, there's my whole insomnia thing bearing its ugly head. Sometimes it seems like I'm afraid to go to sleep. I was DEFINITELY tired when I laid down. As soon as I turned off my light, my brain turned on. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back to bed to go to sleep.
In the morning, we'll pack up and go home. OUr adventure was nice and enjoyable.
I even caught 2 fish!"
As you can tell, my thoughts went all over the board. This is usually how I am when I can't sleep.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Sunday, August 13, 2006
The Meeting! My first time seeing Jason after 10 years!
On Thursday, he emailed me. It was all of a sudden that he let me know when he would be in PA. Thursday evening, while I was writing in my journal to put here in my blog. This is what I wrote:
"Called him today. He emailed me his cell phone number. Luckily, I checked my email before we left for camping today. Can't believe how it's been 10 years, but he still sounded the same. I called him this afternoon, after we got settled in at the campground. I asked him where he was going to be in PA. On Saturday, I'll look up where they will be and the cheapest way to get there.
I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I'm worried that I'll go to one extreme or the other. I can't wait. He said he would call so we can figure out what day will be good. I'm going to drive to where they are.
Feelings about meeting his wife? I can't wait! I definitely will be brining a gift for her. Her name is Cat, short for Catherine. My name is Cathy, short for Cathryn. Haven't figured out the reason for the similarities."
Okay, that's it for now. I'll write about the experience from our get together on another post.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
On Thursday, he emailed me. It was all of a sudden that he let me know when he would be in PA. Thursday evening, while I was writing in my journal to put here in my blog. This is what I wrote:
"Called him today. He emailed me his cell phone number. Luckily, I checked my email before we left for camping today. Can't believe how it's been 10 years, but he still sounded the same. I called him this afternoon, after we got settled in at the campground. I asked him where he was going to be in PA. On Saturday, I'll look up where they will be and the cheapest way to get there.
I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I'm worried that I'll go to one extreme or the other. I can't wait. He said he would call so we can figure out what day will be good. I'm going to drive to where they are.
Feelings about meeting his wife? I can't wait! I definitely will be brining a gift for her. Her name is Cat, short for Catherine. My name is Cathy, short for Cathryn. Haven't figured out the reason for the similarities."
Okay, that's it for now. I'll write about the experience from our get together on another post.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Let's be Weekday Hillbillies!
Sorry to all my blog friends and fellow readers. We enjoyed being hillbillies during the week last week. We went camping Thursday and Friday last week. It was VERY enjoyable. Since the majority of people were home working, we had our run of the campground. Plus, the weather was beautiful. Because it wasn't very humid, it didn't stink and the bugs were manageable.
At first, the reason we were going was because Rob's nurse co-worker, Roz, was going to come with us, along with her 2 kids. She ended up calling us on Thursday morning, letting us know she was being admitted to the hospital. A year ago, she had a kidney transplant. The doctors did some tests and a biopsy to see that her body is rejecting the kidney. So, they were unable to come. All the kids were so disappointed.
We had gone down Wednesday to setup tents for the kids to sleep in. Plus, because we had so much stuff to take down, half of the stuff went on Wednesday.
Here is a picture of the tents:
Sorry to all my blog friends and fellow readers. We enjoyed being hillbillies during the week last week. We went camping Thursday and Friday last week. It was VERY enjoyable. Since the majority of people were home working, we had our run of the campground. Plus, the weather was beautiful. Because it wasn't very humid, it didn't stink and the bugs were manageable.
At first, the reason we were going was because Rob's nurse co-worker, Roz, was going to come with us, along with her 2 kids. She ended up calling us on Thursday morning, letting us know she was being admitted to the hospital. A year ago, she had a kidney transplant. The doctors did some tests and a biopsy to see that her body is rejecting the kidney. So, they were unable to come. All the kids were so disappointed.
We had gone down Wednesday to setup tents for the kids to sleep in. Plus, because we had so much stuff to take down, half of the stuff went on Wednesday.
Here is a picture of the tents:
I jokingly have started calling them the "condos" that we had available for rent.
On our first night, we spent about an hour fishing. Cassi was hilarious. This was her first "reel" time fishing. She has a Barbie fishing pole.
To start, we had to buy some worms, AKA night crawlers. They got stored in a container with dirt. Now, these worms are on the LARGE size. Daddy broke the woms into pieces to conserve them.
"Ew, gross!" Cassi shouts.
"That's what fishing is, DIRTY!" we both tell her in return. Cassi is such a neat freak! She probably learned it from both of us.
So, in an hour, Cassi caught 2 fish and daddy caught 2.
They had lots of fun!
Then, we had a campfire. This was fun. It actually started quickly. Cassi and I enjoyed smores without the chocolate. Every time I roast a marshmallow, I love to have it charred. Plus, every time the mallow burns, it reminds me of the first Ghostbusters movie. "It's the Sta-Puft Marshmallow Man."
Then, we went to the shower house by the office. For some reason, the water at our bath house has a bad smell to it. VERY CLEAN and comfy for a comfy night sleep! The night was very comfortable, not hot at all.
----------
Now that Friday morning came, it was about 10:19am when I took Cassi to the play area. Our friends, Bob and Betty, have their grandson, Chase, staying with them at the their camper. We stopped by and asked him if he wanted to go play with us so "Maw Maw" can clean. Rob went with Bob to pick up Bob's pay check from work. Rob left me with Cassi. This should give me some leverage for Rob to come with me when I want to go somewhere, with or without him.
You see, this morning, I woke at 8am. I needed to potty. Went, came back and went back to sleep. Rob woke me at 9:30am because he wanted to go with Bob. But, I needed to be awake because Cassi was staying at the campground. He doesn't realize that it's very tough for me to just "relax." So, every time we go to the campground, all I want to do is sleep.
So, I promised I would take a walk with Cassi. I just needed to wake up first, get dressed, and eat. That took about a half hour. Then,w e walked to Betty's to get Chase and walk to the play area.
The lake was VERY crystal clear this morning. On the way up, I stopped briefly because I could see the fish. You can see LOTS of pond grasses at the bottom. Near the sides, the water is very clear. There were so many different-sized fish. Many of them were smaller. They will DEFINITELY get bigger. When you fish, you have to throw them back. We don't get charged to fish at the campground.
I pushed the kids on the swings and let them play while writing my notes for this blog. After about 20 minutes, they got bored and wanted to go back to the camp sites.
On Friday, we did a number of different things. We had lunch with Bob, Betty, & Chase. I had hamburgers and hot dogs ready for Rob's friend. Then, in the afternoon, after Rob took a nap, while I read and Cassi watched TV, we drove to Massillon. There, we found a Super Wal-Mart. I just couldn't believe the selection they had versus the Wal-Marts in my area. In the evening, we fished again. Rob caught 2, Cassi caught 8, and I caught 2.
Saturday morning, we came home and checked on the cats and kittens. I cleaned all the litter pans. From here, we went to mom's. Rob helped my dad move around mattresses and box springs. They made it very easy for the delivery men to bring in mom's new mattress and box spring. We had dinner there of tacos and came home. Cassi stayed until today.
We are thinking about going back to the campground tomorrow. Not sure yet.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Today!
Today ended up being a very good day, a very LONG day, but a very good day.
To start with, I had to clean up my basement. With the fact that there are 2 adult cats in the house, and their litter pan lives in the basement, it had started to smell a little funky. So, I started by cleaning the basement floor, mopping, etc. Plus, I was washing laundry while I was down there, which ended up being a good thing.
Next thing I knew, Rob came down to help me clean up the basement even more. He helped me by removing the wall that the YAHOO of a former owner put up in the basement. Our basement is primarily divided into 2 long strips. The major side is 13 feet wide by 41 long. For some reason, and I think it's because he had 5 (yep, FIVE) kids and only in a 3 bedroom house, some of the kids lived in the basement. He was walling off the basement into rooms for the extra kids.
Anyway, we've always wanted to open up the front half of the basement to become a family room of some sort. I can't wait to get our storage stuff moved out of there to start the process of making it a livable space. It adds over 500 square feet of living space.
So, I can't even remember how many times I walked up and down the stairs. My legs hurt so bad right now. You would understand if you saw along the side of my garage. I'll just have to take a picture before Sunday and garbage night. Ooh, the garbage men are going to just LOVE us when we put all this CRAP out. Most of it is still from the previous owner. In one corner of the basement, he had converted an old bar counter into a work bench. At first we wanted it, but with the discover that YAHOO decided to drill DIRECTLY into the foundation walls without sealing them, the bar had gathered mold from the foundation leaking. As it stands now, we've fixed the holes in the foundation for leaking and have been able to get basement sealing paint on it.
Rob started taking down the NASTY walls that had been put up, along with helping get the CRAP out of the basement. Cassi was sooooo good today. She stayed in the house for most of the day, watching TV, playing on my computer, etc. Because of us being in the basement, I didn't want her outside much.
To reward her for her patience with us today, we took her out to eat this evening and to a movie. We took her to see, "Barnyard." When you're a parent, you tend to see MANY cartoon movies. Plus, because I've always been a Disney fanatic, I always love a good cartoon movie. This movie is made by Nikelodeon Movies. If you want a 2-hour movie that will laugh for the ENTIRE time, this is it. It's not just a kids' movie. This is DEFINITELY an adult-themed movie too. It's all about when the kid loses dad and has to become a MAN. I would have to watch it again to give a good review. I always like to watch movies once just to watch, then again if I was doing a review.
So, since school is coming up, I'm getting my stuff ready. I've already got one of my books for the Newspaper class I'm taking. Because I enjoyed the Media Writing class in Spring, I'm taking the Lab Newspaper I class in Fall. I'll be able to learn about putting a newspaper together, along with writing stories that will be printed in the news. This will also help me get good writing samples for my ePortfolio site.
Back to today. Because I was going through my papers, I found the tickets that I tought I had lost. So, we had 2 adult tickets for the movies. We just had to buy Cassi's ticket. But, because the movie just came out Friday, we were SUPPOSED TO pay $1.50 each because it was a new movie. The guy wasn't too bright, because he asks me, "So, you just need to buy 1 ticket? Am I correct?" I'm not going to tell him NO. If he didn't know about the "this is a new movie" spiel, I'm not telling him. So, the movie for the 3 of us cost $5.75. We didn't buy any food or drink because we had just finished dinner (a bad experience not worth mentioning).
After dinner and the movie, we came home. Rob pulled out our tent. His "girlfriend" and co-worker from the Clinic is coming camping with us (and of course her 2 kids). She is SUCH a riot! I can't wait to meet her. She is the RN part of Rob's team, which consists of RN, LPN, and Aide. We put the tent together in the basement to make sure we knew what we were doing and to make sure it was still in good shape. We haven't used the tents since 1998, before I had gotten pregnant.
With that, I'm going to close for the night. Lot to talk about. I'm feeling much better as you can tell. Sleeping better and overall frame of mind better. I hate when I'm a "witch."
Cassi is still up and ready for bed. I'll be going soon too. I want to read before I hit the hay!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
P.S. Marie, got your call. As you can tell, I was out at the movies and didn't have my cell. Try me tomorrow. Promise, I'll have my cell. Or Rob, same as mine, but 1037 as the end.
Today ended up being a very good day, a very LONG day, but a very good day.
To start with, I had to clean up my basement. With the fact that there are 2 adult cats in the house, and their litter pan lives in the basement, it had started to smell a little funky. So, I started by cleaning the basement floor, mopping, etc. Plus, I was washing laundry while I was down there, which ended up being a good thing.
Next thing I knew, Rob came down to help me clean up the basement even more. He helped me by removing the wall that the YAHOO of a former owner put up in the basement. Our basement is primarily divided into 2 long strips. The major side is 13 feet wide by 41 long. For some reason, and I think it's because he had 5 (yep, FIVE) kids and only in a 3 bedroom house, some of the kids lived in the basement. He was walling off the basement into rooms for the extra kids.
Anyway, we've always wanted to open up the front half of the basement to become a family room of some sort. I can't wait to get our storage stuff moved out of there to start the process of making it a livable space. It adds over 500 square feet of living space.
So, I can't even remember how many times I walked up and down the stairs. My legs hurt so bad right now. You would understand if you saw along the side of my garage. I'll just have to take a picture before Sunday and garbage night. Ooh, the garbage men are going to just LOVE us when we put all this CRAP out. Most of it is still from the previous owner. In one corner of the basement, he had converted an old bar counter into a work bench. At first we wanted it, but with the discover that YAHOO decided to drill DIRECTLY into the foundation walls without sealing them, the bar had gathered mold from the foundation leaking. As it stands now, we've fixed the holes in the foundation for leaking and have been able to get basement sealing paint on it.
Rob started taking down the NASTY walls that had been put up, along with helping get the CRAP out of the basement. Cassi was sooooo good today. She stayed in the house for most of the day, watching TV, playing on my computer, etc. Because of us being in the basement, I didn't want her outside much.
To reward her for her patience with us today, we took her out to eat this evening and to a movie. We took her to see, "Barnyard." When you're a parent, you tend to see MANY cartoon movies. Plus, because I've always been a Disney fanatic, I always love a good cartoon movie. This movie is made by Nikelodeon Movies. If you want a 2-hour movie that will laugh for the ENTIRE time, this is it. It's not just a kids' movie. This is DEFINITELY an adult-themed movie too. It's all about when the kid loses dad and has to become a MAN. I would have to watch it again to give a good review. I always like to watch movies once just to watch, then again if I was doing a review.
So, since school is coming up, I'm getting my stuff ready. I've already got one of my books for the Newspaper class I'm taking. Because I enjoyed the Media Writing class in Spring, I'm taking the Lab Newspaper I class in Fall. I'll be able to learn about putting a newspaper together, along with writing stories that will be printed in the news. This will also help me get good writing samples for my ePortfolio site.
Back to today. Because I was going through my papers, I found the tickets that I tought I had lost. So, we had 2 adult tickets for the movies. We just had to buy Cassi's ticket. But, because the movie just came out Friday, we were SUPPOSED TO pay $1.50 each because it was a new movie. The guy wasn't too bright, because he asks me, "So, you just need to buy 1 ticket? Am I correct?" I'm not going to tell him NO. If he didn't know about the "this is a new movie" spiel, I'm not telling him. So, the movie for the 3 of us cost $5.75. We didn't buy any food or drink because we had just finished dinner (a bad experience not worth mentioning).
After dinner and the movie, we came home. Rob pulled out our tent. His "girlfriend" and co-worker from the Clinic is coming camping with us (and of course her 2 kids). She is SUCH a riot! I can't wait to meet her. She is the RN part of Rob's team, which consists of RN, LPN, and Aide. We put the tent together in the basement to make sure we knew what we were doing and to make sure it was still in good shape. We haven't used the tents since 1998, before I had gotten pregnant.
With that, I'm going to close for the night. Lot to talk about. I'm feeling much better as you can tell. Sleeping better and overall frame of mind better. I hate when I'm a "witch."
Cassi is still up and ready for bed. I'll be going soon too. I want to read before I hit the hay!
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
P.S. Marie, got your call. As you can tell, I was out at the movies and didn't have my cell. Try me tomorrow. Promise, I'll have my cell. Or Rob, same as mine, but 1037 as the end.
Monday, August 07, 2006
OKAY...The Results!
I think I've figured out the whole, "this was a bad weekend" thing. Friday started it by going to the dentist. I had my teeth cleaned. It has been a while, and, well, they weren't kind on my teeth. From that, my ears started to hurt, which turned into a 2 day migraine. From that, I got upset, then sad, etc. You see where it went. Plus, I was REALLY tired.
Last night, I was in bed, with Cassi, at 7:30. Luckily, I've got a TV in my room because she laid there for a while, watching TV while I slept. It ended up only being a nap. I woke up at 9:30 and realized that Rob was calling. I had just gotten up because I was hungry.
We ended up going into the living room and watching Brother Bear movie and playing with the cats. They are SOOOOOOO Hilarious! The runt, the little grey one, hops around like a rabbit. And, I swear she can jump from the floor directly up on the blue couch, which is about 2 feet up.
So, we ended up back in bed at 11:45. At about 3, I hear the 2 adult cats fighting. I go out to see what they are fighting about and shut them up. Cassi was sleeping with me. Then, all of a sudden, I had to use the potty. I see momma run down the hall after something. What? I couldn't tell. I got out into the living room and see what is in her mouth.
A small field mouse! It couldn't have been more than an inch long. Ah Hah! It was so cute. I tried ever so diligently to pry it from her mouth because it was still alive. She just wouldn't let go. In the end, I had to let her kill it. After a while, I went into the dining room to discover the dead mouse. I congratulated mom on her "kill" since cats are historically "mousers." Then, I went over the mouse with a paper towel, picked it up and put it in the garbage.
I went back to bed.
After a while, I hear this crash. In my house, we've got 2 doors leading out of our bedroom. One goes to the front hallway. The other goes to the back entrance and the back entrance to the kitchen. Come to find out momma had knocked over the garbage can, still wanting the mouse. I smacked her butt and picked up the garbage can.
My guess is that I saw her looking for said mouse during the day, but didn't really understand what she was doing. She had been keeping her nose to the bottom of the entertainment center. Plus, the kittens were trying to get behind the unit. I have stuff at the ends of the unit to keep the babies out.
Okay. Gotta go. This is garbage day. I've got to make sure the litter is cleaned up for ALL 6 cats to get out this morning. AND, Rob has a doctor's appointment this morning. I need to take him.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
I think I've figured out the whole, "this was a bad weekend" thing. Friday started it by going to the dentist. I had my teeth cleaned. It has been a while, and, well, they weren't kind on my teeth. From that, my ears started to hurt, which turned into a 2 day migraine. From that, I got upset, then sad, etc. You see where it went. Plus, I was REALLY tired.
Last night, I was in bed, with Cassi, at 7:30. Luckily, I've got a TV in my room because she laid there for a while, watching TV while I slept. It ended up only being a nap. I woke up at 9:30 and realized that Rob was calling. I had just gotten up because I was hungry.
We ended up going into the living room and watching Brother Bear movie and playing with the cats. They are SOOOOOOO Hilarious! The runt, the little grey one, hops around like a rabbit. And, I swear she can jump from the floor directly up on the blue couch, which is about 2 feet up.
So, we ended up back in bed at 11:45. At about 3, I hear the 2 adult cats fighting. I go out to see what they are fighting about and shut them up. Cassi was sleeping with me. Then, all of a sudden, I had to use the potty. I see momma run down the hall after something. What? I couldn't tell. I got out into the living room and see what is in her mouth.
A small field mouse! It couldn't have been more than an inch long. Ah Hah! It was so cute. I tried ever so diligently to pry it from her mouth because it was still alive. She just wouldn't let go. In the end, I had to let her kill it. After a while, I went into the dining room to discover the dead mouse. I congratulated mom on her "kill" since cats are historically "mousers." Then, I went over the mouse with a paper towel, picked it up and put it in the garbage.
I went back to bed.
After a while, I hear this crash. In my house, we've got 2 doors leading out of our bedroom. One goes to the front hallway. The other goes to the back entrance and the back entrance to the kitchen. Come to find out momma had knocked over the garbage can, still wanting the mouse. I smacked her butt and picked up the garbage can.
My guess is that I saw her looking for said mouse during the day, but didn't really understand what she was doing. She had been keeping her nose to the bottom of the entertainment center. Plus, the kittens were trying to get behind the unit. I have stuff at the ends of the unit to keep the babies out.
Okay. Gotta go. This is garbage day. I've got to make sure the litter is cleaned up for ALL 6 cats to get out this morning. AND, Rob has a doctor's appointment this morning. I need to take him.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Saturday...Tired Day...
I can't believe how tired I was yesterday. I was feeling a little down, mostly because it was the end of my "you know what." Cassi was/is gone, but I just had no umph to get up and do. I did get a chance to watch a movie that came from Netflix. We're trying it out to see how it does. After our first round of movies, so far so good. We got for Cassi "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" (yep, we're Disney people here), I got "Memoirs of a Geisha", and Rob got "Sahara." We haven't watched Sahara yet.
I had to fight all day to stay awake. I didn't want to go anywhere, but ended up spending the day on the computer, besides when I watched my movie. Oh, and I washed the shower curtain, but no dry. And, I also folded some laundry and put a load of dishes in the dishwasher.
The kittens are a joy as always. They're jumping around like rabbits now. They've moved their sleeping station to under the blue couch (the one you see in the photos in my last post). But, I really laughed at them.
I fought to stay awake because I needed to make sure Rob was up at 5. I made dinner and hurried him off to work. This is also his weekend to work. But, he is only working 4 out of the 6 days because he has vacation now for 11 days (including his usual days off).
After he left, I really dropped. By 8:30, I was in bed. Couldn't stay awake anymore. By 9 I was asleep, but woke up at 10:30, just before Rob called. He chatted with me for a few minutes. Then, I was up until about midnight. Then, I went back to sleep until 9 this morning. I must have REALLY needed it. Before my second time going back to sleep, I had been thinking about a poem. I should have gotten up to write it, but knew if I did, I wouldn't get back to sleep. Sadly enough, the poem is gone. Maybe I'll get it back again tonight.
Okay. It's 10 and I'm STILL tired. Maybe having Cassi away makes my body say, "Time to catch up on sleep."
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
I can't believe how tired I was yesterday. I was feeling a little down, mostly because it was the end of my "you know what." Cassi was/is gone, but I just had no umph to get up and do. I did get a chance to watch a movie that came from Netflix. We're trying it out to see how it does. After our first round of movies, so far so good. We got for Cassi "Pooh's Heffalump Movie" (yep, we're Disney people here), I got "Memoirs of a Geisha", and Rob got "Sahara." We haven't watched Sahara yet.
I had to fight all day to stay awake. I didn't want to go anywhere, but ended up spending the day on the computer, besides when I watched my movie. Oh, and I washed the shower curtain, but no dry. And, I also folded some laundry and put a load of dishes in the dishwasher.
The kittens are a joy as always. They're jumping around like rabbits now. They've moved their sleeping station to under the blue couch (the one you see in the photos in my last post). But, I really laughed at them.
I fought to stay awake because I needed to make sure Rob was up at 5. I made dinner and hurried him off to work. This is also his weekend to work. But, he is only working 4 out of the 6 days because he has vacation now for 11 days (including his usual days off).
After he left, I really dropped. By 8:30, I was in bed. Couldn't stay awake anymore. By 9 I was asleep, but woke up at 10:30, just before Rob called. He chatted with me for a few minutes. Then, I was up until about midnight. Then, I went back to sleep until 9 this morning. I must have REALLY needed it. Before my second time going back to sleep, I had been thinking about a poem. I should have gotten up to write it, but knew if I did, I wouldn't get back to sleep. Sadly enough, the poem is gone. Maybe I'll get it back again tonight.
Okay. It's 10 and I'm STILL tired. Maybe having Cassi away makes my body say, "Time to catch up on sleep."
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Saturday, August 05, 2006
My Eardrums
I was asked the other day how my eardrums burst. For those people who know that I am losing my hearing, here is the story of why:
Okay. I know to start with, when I was 2 years old, I was sick and my right ear drum burst. Mom told me this. I've known this for a long time, but mom hasn't divulged any of the other information. Mom is only now telling me MANY medical things that should have been said a long time ago.
The second time. This was the first time for my left ear, but second time for my right ear. In January of 2001, I went to Florida for LotusSphere. I missed in 2000 because Cassi was born on 12/30/1999. LotusSphere was only 3 weeks later. Plus, because I was sick from having Cassi, 2000 was out. But, since I missed 2000, even after I was approved, that approval still stood for 2001. Because of all the programming I had been doing in Lotus Notes at that point. Besides being pregnant with Cassi, Ralph wanted me in the office more often so my clients could find me. I was soooo busy. I was managing anywhere from 6-12 projects at a time, all with Lotus Notes.
The week before I was to leave, I got the flu. I was feeling better enough to get down to Florida and knew that the week would be just fine. On the flight down, my right ear hurt so bad, that I believe I burst the ear drum, but didn't lose my hearing. I couldn't believe how HOT it was for January. Plus, I was really out of shape for all the walking I did. I know now that I could handle the walking.
I was almost completely better by Wednesday of the week I was there. Then, I caught a chill in one of the conferences. The flu came back, but worse. Thursday of that week, I didn't even get to any of the last conferences because I was so sick. I just spent the day in bed. But, I had to leave Friday to come home. The flight home was the worst. On the way up, my ears hurt so bad. On the landing, my left ear hurt so bad that the ear drum burst. I know it happened because by the time I got home, my left ear was bleeding out, and I couldn't hear.
So, I was rushed off to my primary care doctor. He was the same doctor I had when we first moved here. He then rushed me off to the hospital right near his office to see an ENT. Yep, I had burst my ear drum and had lost my hearing. As a matter of fact, I lost my hearing for 4 days. I couldn't use the phone at all. Luckily I had my laptop and could email my clients at work.
The next Friday, after coming home, etc. I was scheduled for a follow-up appointment with the primary care doctor. A half hour before leaving for the appointment, I was called by my office, telling me that I had been laid off. It was a DAMN good thing I had my laptop at home. And, I almost went to work that day. But, I figured that I needed one more day at home and would go Monday because I had meetings. I was able to dump everything off my computer and erase it before taking it in on Monday. There were over 400 of us laid off that day. Most of my co-workers knew because their banks called, asking where these large deposits were coming from. Since it wasn't pay day, they were perplexed. We got our severence check and last pay check the same day.
Ever since then, my hearing has been steadily getting worse. Do you know how you can hear the bugs humming at night on a clear day? Well, I hear that every day in both my ears. Plus, when I have been under a lot of stress during the day, it almost drowns everything out in my ear in the evenings. I have been to 3 different ENTs, plus a Otolarynologist (specialized ENT). There is an assumption that I might have Meniere's Disease (mom's got it too), but haven't been able to get an ENT to confirm it. All I get is, "You're losing your hearing and there's nothing we can do about it. Sorry." No one appears to want to help. Plus, added to the hearing loss is also vertigo. I just had it Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday this week. It's not any fun. Luckily, I am understanding everything at school.
So, this is part of my problem with getting jobs. I can't really get administrative jobs because being on the phone too much is a problem for me. And, with admin jobs, they are all phone work. Plus, all the jobs think I'm too over qualified to be considered. So, I will get my Bachelor's Degree and see where it takes me. I am keeping my options open for news reporting, along with my English options, but I want my English Degree. I can always decide later to get a second Bachelor's after I've been working.
Okay. That's about it for now. I'm getting a headache again. Hopefully, my glasses come in soon. I'm getting 2 pairs. Luckily, they are going to cost about $120, one pair for reading and one pair for driving. I'll get pictures of me when I get them. Plus, my hair is short now again, too.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
I was asked the other day how my eardrums burst. For those people who know that I am losing my hearing, here is the story of why:
Okay. I know to start with, when I was 2 years old, I was sick and my right ear drum burst. Mom told me this. I've known this for a long time, but mom hasn't divulged any of the other information. Mom is only now telling me MANY medical things that should have been said a long time ago.
The second time. This was the first time for my left ear, but second time for my right ear. In January of 2001, I went to Florida for LotusSphere. I missed in 2000 because Cassi was born on 12/30/1999. LotusSphere was only 3 weeks later. Plus, because I was sick from having Cassi, 2000 was out. But, since I missed 2000, even after I was approved, that approval still stood for 2001. Because of all the programming I had been doing in Lotus Notes at that point. Besides being pregnant with Cassi, Ralph wanted me in the office more often so my clients could find me. I was soooo busy. I was managing anywhere from 6-12 projects at a time, all with Lotus Notes.
The week before I was to leave, I got the flu. I was feeling better enough to get down to Florida and knew that the week would be just fine. On the flight down, my right ear hurt so bad, that I believe I burst the ear drum, but didn't lose my hearing. I couldn't believe how HOT it was for January. Plus, I was really out of shape for all the walking I did. I know now that I could handle the walking.
I was almost completely better by Wednesday of the week I was there. Then, I caught a chill in one of the conferences. The flu came back, but worse. Thursday of that week, I didn't even get to any of the last conferences because I was so sick. I just spent the day in bed. But, I had to leave Friday to come home. The flight home was the worst. On the way up, my ears hurt so bad. On the landing, my left ear hurt so bad that the ear drum burst. I know it happened because by the time I got home, my left ear was bleeding out, and I couldn't hear.
So, I was rushed off to my primary care doctor. He was the same doctor I had when we first moved here. He then rushed me off to the hospital right near his office to see an ENT. Yep, I had burst my ear drum and had lost my hearing. As a matter of fact, I lost my hearing for 4 days. I couldn't use the phone at all. Luckily I had my laptop and could email my clients at work.
The next Friday, after coming home, etc. I was scheduled for a follow-up appointment with the primary care doctor. A half hour before leaving for the appointment, I was called by my office, telling me that I had been laid off. It was a DAMN good thing I had my laptop at home. And, I almost went to work that day. But, I figured that I needed one more day at home and would go Monday because I had meetings. I was able to dump everything off my computer and erase it before taking it in on Monday. There were over 400 of us laid off that day. Most of my co-workers knew because their banks called, asking where these large deposits were coming from. Since it wasn't pay day, they were perplexed. We got our severence check and last pay check the same day.
Ever since then, my hearing has been steadily getting worse. Do you know how you can hear the bugs humming at night on a clear day? Well, I hear that every day in both my ears. Plus, when I have been under a lot of stress during the day, it almost drowns everything out in my ear in the evenings. I have been to 3 different ENTs, plus a Otolarynologist (specialized ENT). There is an assumption that I might have Meniere's Disease (mom's got it too), but haven't been able to get an ENT to confirm it. All I get is, "You're losing your hearing and there's nothing we can do about it. Sorry." No one appears to want to help. Plus, added to the hearing loss is also vertigo. I just had it Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday this week. It's not any fun. Luckily, I am understanding everything at school.
So, this is part of my problem with getting jobs. I can't really get administrative jobs because being on the phone too much is a problem for me. And, with admin jobs, they are all phone work. Plus, all the jobs think I'm too over qualified to be considered. So, I will get my Bachelor's Degree and see where it takes me. I am keeping my options open for news reporting, along with my English options, but I want my English Degree. I can always decide later to get a second Bachelor's after I've been working.
Okay. That's about it for now. I'm getting a headache again. Hopefully, my glasses come in soon. I'm getting 2 pairs. Luckily, they are going to cost about $120, one pair for reading and one pair for driving. I'll get pictures of me when I get them. Plus, my hair is short now again, too.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Friday, August 04, 2006
My Eyes...My EYES!
Rob is revelling in the fact that I am DEFINITELY looking older than he is. Technically, he is older than me by a month and a half.
This past Wednesday, it was my turn to go to the eye doctor. Low and behold, the doctor says to me, "I really think you need to get bifocals. Do you read a lot?" Well, of course I do. I love to read and am working on my Bachelor's Degree in ENGLISH. Plus, I am CONSTANTLY working on the computer. "Well, it appears that you have 2 problems, one with distance and one with up close." Yep, folks, you can have both at the same time. My eyes tend to get tired very quickly, which is probably why I suffer from so many migraines.
"So, you've only been getting help for the distance problem. We need to fix the other problem too." Then, Rob says, "Well can someone get bifocals if they have vertigo?" Which I have that a lot too, which is related to my hearing loss. "No, what we will need to do is have to get 2 pairs of glasses, one for reading and computer work and one for distances, especially when you drive."
Can you believe how embarrassed I was? BIFOCALS? I'm only 35. So, going along with my GREY hair, is the fact that I should be in bifocals! But, luckily, because of Rob's AWESOME health insurance from the Cleveland Clinic, the 2 pairs are only costing about $120. Hopefully, they will be ready Monday. I really understand now why my eyes get tired all the time and so quickly.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Rob is revelling in the fact that I am DEFINITELY looking older than he is. Technically, he is older than me by a month and a half.
This past Wednesday, it was my turn to go to the eye doctor. Low and behold, the doctor says to me, "I really think you need to get bifocals. Do you read a lot?" Well, of course I do. I love to read and am working on my Bachelor's Degree in ENGLISH. Plus, I am CONSTANTLY working on the computer. "Well, it appears that you have 2 problems, one with distance and one with up close." Yep, folks, you can have both at the same time. My eyes tend to get tired very quickly, which is probably why I suffer from so many migraines.
"So, you've only been getting help for the distance problem. We need to fix the other problem too." Then, Rob says, "Well can someone get bifocals if they have vertigo?" Which I have that a lot too, which is related to my hearing loss. "No, what we will need to do is have to get 2 pairs of glasses, one for reading and computer work and one for distances, especially when you drive."
Can you believe how embarrassed I was? BIFOCALS? I'm only 35. So, going along with my GREY hair, is the fact that I should be in bifocals! But, luckily, because of Rob's AWESOME health insurance from the Cleveland Clinic, the 2 pairs are only costing about $120. Hopefully, they will be ready Monday. I really understand now why my eyes get tired all the time and so quickly.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Thursday, August 03, 2006
The Rug Rats are 5 Weeks Old!
Okay, the babies are getting big! I wanted to share the current pictures of them. The orange one, AKA, Popeye, and the black male are using the litter pan now, eating hard food, and drinking water. As for the girls, the calico and the grey, we are still working on them for the litter pan.
This morning, as I was walking back after cleaning out the litter, I see the calico copping a squat to potty on the one side of the entertainment center. I picked her up in mid pee and put her in the litter pan. She went in the litter pan. We know they are having small accidents, but I am working diligently to get them cleaned up. Both girls are working on the food and water right now.
But, when all 4 want MOM'S milk, they come running. With the fact they have claws, and know how to use them, they are climbing up my blue country couch. No wonder I haven't gotten new furniture for the living room! That and the fact we are broke!
Anyway, without further ado, here are the pictures, in no random order:
Okay, the babies are getting big! I wanted to share the current pictures of them. The orange one, AKA, Popeye, and the black male are using the litter pan now, eating hard food, and drinking water. As for the girls, the calico and the grey, we are still working on them for the litter pan.
This morning, as I was walking back after cleaning out the litter, I see the calico copping a squat to potty on the one side of the entertainment center. I picked her up in mid pee and put her in the litter pan. She went in the litter pan. We know they are having small accidents, but I am working diligently to get them cleaned up. Both girls are working on the food and water right now.
But, when all 4 want MOM'S milk, they come running. With the fact they have claws, and know how to use them, they are climbing up my blue country couch. No wonder I haven't gotten new furniture for the living room! That and the fact we are broke!
Anyway, without further ado, here are the pictures, in no random order:
Let me CLIMB! (the calico)
The Bro's are fighting over grandpa's shoes!
Yep, I'm partial to Popeye!
The four ready for a nap on the couch!
Let me sleep alone on the top of the couch! I'm in CHARGE!
The two girls fighting over the back corner of the couch to sleep!
As you can tell, I love to take the pictures of these cute things! They are a handful, but hopefully, they will all find good homes to adopt them. They are 5 weeks old now and will be ready for adoption in 3 weeks.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Small World...
Okay, I've been reviewing some stuff on the ABC Affiliate's web site here in Cleveland, www.newsnet5.com. I see this link, "NewsChannel 5 Anchor Ties The Knot," and I just have to click. You see, my sister, Marie, used to work for Channel 5 when she lived here in Cleveland.
Come to find out that life is a VERY SMALL world. The news anchor that got married was Alicia Booth. She married a doctor, Dr. Robert Sprecher. Here's the small world part:
He is the doctor who performed the surgery on Cassi to clip her tongue for being tongue-tied.
Okay. Just wanted to share my small-worldness with everyone.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Okay, I've been reviewing some stuff on the ABC Affiliate's web site here in Cleveland, www.newsnet5.com. I see this link, "NewsChannel 5 Anchor Ties The Knot," and I just have to click. You see, my sister, Marie, used to work for Channel 5 when she lived here in Cleveland.
Come to find out that life is a VERY SMALL world. The news anchor that got married was Alicia Booth. She married a doctor, Dr. Robert Sprecher. Here's the small world part:
He is the doctor who performed the surgery on Cassi to clip her tongue for being tongue-tied.
Okay. Just wanted to share my small-worldness with everyone.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Am I a Toxic Parent?
Recently, I read on my ex's blog a news story he read about being a toxic parent. Here is his blog:
http://thelongshot.livejournal.com/tag/family+life
And here is the story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072601291.html
This article is VERY MUCH worth reading. I agree with the article. At least for now, my daughter is only 6, and not much worrying yet on the drinking scene. But, unlike other parents, I will not allow my daughter to drink before her time. When Rob or I decide to have a drink while she is around, she smells the drink and is immediately turned off.
That's good!
Growing up, we didn't really see alcoholic drinking. Once we got older and dad and his buddies were having poker games, there was drinking every once in a while. The bottom line was, I wasn't interested. Plus, I never really was invited to go out to parties, let alone parties that where drinking was involved. So, I didn't really care about the alcohol. My Junior year, when the Seniors went on their annual trip, the group I hung out with decided to go to the Atlantic Ocean, to someone's house for the weekend. It was a weekend drinking party. Those people, who I hung out with EVERYDAY, didn't even care that I wasn't invited. So, I spent the weekend, home and alone.
I went off to college for a year in Philadelphia. Yes, I had some drinks, but not like my first roommate, who always seemed to come back to the room too drunk to even make it to her bed. I think this also turned me off to drinking. For the whole time I was there, I went to 2 fraternity parties and 1 house party.
After I came home, yep, ran out of money for a $15K a year school, I worked for the post office, the same post office that had the Anthrax problem in Trenton, NJ. Anyway, when I worked there, on the second shift, I was often asked by the guys to stop at the bar on my way home from work. They usually went on Thursday nights for drinking. I always went. But, I never drank. I was under 21, but was never CARDED. Must have been because of the older guys I worked with. And, maybe because I looked older to the bartender than 20. But, I always ordered Cokes. I just enjoyed going because I was invited. We danced and had a good time. Then, I would go home, sober.
When I worked for E&Y, I traveled, working for them. While traveling, I drank, but only 1 drink a night. I only remember one time where I drank 2 alcoholic drinks. It was in Colorado Springs and was cut off after the second one.
I know it will be difficult. I know I will embarrass the HELL out of my child. But, who cares? I'm a MOM and it's my JOB! As my mom always told me, "This is a dictatorship. If you don't like it, tough. Once you're 18, get out and live by your own rules." Worked for me! Plus, Rob's already ready with the "shot gun" because my daughter is so cute.
Do I drink now? You bet. But, I think the last drink I had was while at the campground. We sit around, have a few, BS, and go to our campers to watch TV and go to bed. Not much going on. My favorite drink: margarita on the rocks, strawberry daquiri, or the coolers. Yep, girlie drinks.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
P.S. I suggest if you've got time, read the story in the Washington Post.
Recently, I read on my ex's blog a news story he read about being a toxic parent. Here is his blog:
http://thelongshot.livejournal.com/tag/family+life
And here is the story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/26/AR2006072601291.html
This article is VERY MUCH worth reading. I agree with the article. At least for now, my daughter is only 6, and not much worrying yet on the drinking scene. But, unlike other parents, I will not allow my daughter to drink before her time. When Rob or I decide to have a drink while she is around, she smells the drink and is immediately turned off.
That's good!
Growing up, we didn't really see alcoholic drinking. Once we got older and dad and his buddies were having poker games, there was drinking every once in a while. The bottom line was, I wasn't interested. Plus, I never really was invited to go out to parties, let alone parties that where drinking was involved. So, I didn't really care about the alcohol. My Junior year, when the Seniors went on their annual trip, the group I hung out with decided to go to the Atlantic Ocean, to someone's house for the weekend. It was a weekend drinking party. Those people, who I hung out with EVERYDAY, didn't even care that I wasn't invited. So, I spent the weekend, home and alone.
I went off to college for a year in Philadelphia. Yes, I had some drinks, but not like my first roommate, who always seemed to come back to the room too drunk to even make it to her bed. I think this also turned me off to drinking. For the whole time I was there, I went to 2 fraternity parties and 1 house party.
After I came home, yep, ran out of money for a $15K a year school, I worked for the post office, the same post office that had the Anthrax problem in Trenton, NJ. Anyway, when I worked there, on the second shift, I was often asked by the guys to stop at the bar on my way home from work. They usually went on Thursday nights for drinking. I always went. But, I never drank. I was under 21, but was never CARDED. Must have been because of the older guys I worked with. And, maybe because I looked older to the bartender than 20. But, I always ordered Cokes. I just enjoyed going because I was invited. We danced and had a good time. Then, I would go home, sober.
When I worked for E&Y, I traveled, working for them. While traveling, I drank, but only 1 drink a night. I only remember one time where I drank 2 alcoholic drinks. It was in Colorado Springs and was cut off after the second one.
I know it will be difficult. I know I will embarrass the HELL out of my child. But, who cares? I'm a MOM and it's my JOB! As my mom always told me, "This is a dictatorship. If you don't like it, tough. Once you're 18, get out and live by your own rules." Worked for me! Plus, Rob's already ready with the "shot gun" because my daughter is so cute.
Do I drink now? You bet. But, I think the last drink I had was while at the campground. We sit around, have a few, BS, and go to our campers to watch TV and go to bed. Not much going on. My favorite drink: margarita on the rocks, strawberry daquiri, or the coolers. Yep, girlie drinks.
Love to all,
Cathy
8^ )
P.S. I suggest if you've got time, read the story in the Washington Post.
Yeah!
Now I can get on with the rest of my week. My apology to everyone if I sound like a downer the next few days. Right now, I'm VERY tired. For all those women out there, you KNOW what I'm talking about.
Luckily, we had the opportunity to go swimming today. Since we're about a half hour south of Lake Erie, we went swimming at the lake. The water was very comfortable. The area is a man-made swimming spot. It is a park in Lorain. The sand was hot as HELL, but the water felt VERY good. We put our sun tan lotion on, etc before going into the water. You would think that, well, it's a lake that you wouldn't find shells. WRONG! There are DEFINITElY shells in the lake, especially since the lake is a salt water lake.
So, we went swimming for about an hour and a half. It was pretty much DEAD. We were sitting, relaxing in the water, close enough to the shore, but far enough out to sit and be under the water. Okay, there was NO ONE in our area of the lake. This mom comes with 2 kids. They decide they have to swim EXACTLY where we were. Plus, to top it off, the kids are running in and out of the water. We moved. They moved even closer to us.
Well, Rob just got brand new glasses this week and was wearing them since he wasn't doing any under water swimming. But, these kids decided they had no respect and do some splashing, but not just splashing, but a WAVE over Rob. The mom didn't even do anything to move them. We had been there over an hour, in the SAME spot. So, Rob was done. We got out of the water and left. Why should we have to move when we had been there first? Plus, they could have gone ANYWHERE on the beach, but right up out BUTTS!
Okay, had to vent. We would have been there a LOT longer if it wasn't for these rude kids AND MOM!
Gotta close for now. Cassi is bored, but wants me to do her nails. So, it's girly time.
Cathy
8^ 0
Now I can get on with the rest of my week. My apology to everyone if I sound like a downer the next few days. Right now, I'm VERY tired. For all those women out there, you KNOW what I'm talking about.
Luckily, we had the opportunity to go swimming today. Since we're about a half hour south of Lake Erie, we went swimming at the lake. The water was very comfortable. The area is a man-made swimming spot. It is a park in Lorain. The sand was hot as HELL, but the water felt VERY good. We put our sun tan lotion on, etc before going into the water. You would think that, well, it's a lake that you wouldn't find shells. WRONG! There are DEFINITElY shells in the lake, especially since the lake is a salt water lake.
So, we went swimming for about an hour and a half. It was pretty much DEAD. We were sitting, relaxing in the water, close enough to the shore, but far enough out to sit and be under the water. Okay, there was NO ONE in our area of the lake. This mom comes with 2 kids. They decide they have to swim EXACTLY where we were. Plus, to top it off, the kids are running in and out of the water. We moved. They moved even closer to us.
Well, Rob just got brand new glasses this week and was wearing them since he wasn't doing any under water swimming. But, these kids decided they had no respect and do some splashing, but not just splashing, but a WAVE over Rob. The mom didn't even do anything to move them. We had been there over an hour, in the SAME spot. So, Rob was done. We got out of the water and left. Why should we have to move when we had been there first? Plus, they could have gone ANYWHERE on the beach, but right up out BUTTS!
Okay, had to vent. We would have been there a LOT longer if it wasn't for these rude kids AND MOM!
Gotta close for now. Cassi is bored, but wants me to do her nails. So, it's girly time.
Cathy
8^ 0
For my Blog-friend Lynda...
Support Team Laurianne's Hope
Relay for Life 2006
Every dollar makes a difference.
Click here for Laurianne's Story
">Add Laurianne to your blog!
Love to you,
Cathy
8^ )
Update: 8/6/06 Had to fix because the tag lines under her picture were not coming out right when posted. So, I made it work!
Support Team Laurianne's Hope
Relay for Life 2006
Every dollar makes a difference.
Click here for Laurianne's Story
">Add Laurianne to your blog!
Love to you,
Cathy
8^ )
Update: 8/6/06 Had to fix because the tag lines under her picture were not coming out right when posted. So, I made it work!
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