Will It Ever Be Normal Again?

Not that I know what normal is, none of my family has ever been normal, but I want the comfort of the "regular" once more, and I don't think that's going to happen any time soon.

I want to be able to go to sleep at a normal time without the feeling of exhaustion falling over me. I want to be able to stop at all the blogs I read. I want to stop feeling like I'm on the brink of crying. I know that might be a long way off, but I know grandma wouldn't want us to keep crying.

I also know that she probably kept what eventually took her from us to herself so as not to make my mother worried or any of us that loved her so. I'm cursing those privacy acts on our medical conditions.

If anyone wants to know about our finances it seems they can find out but if it's medical nothing. That makes me want to scream!

But I will return to normalcy soon, once everything starts to calm down and I get more and more in order. Forgive me if I don't stop by everyday for awhile. My mind is such a jumble. But I haven't forgotten any of you. I will try to stop by everyone on my friends/daily list to say hello to you tonight.

Much love to all of you wonderful cyberfriends.

Thank You

I just want to thank all of you that have stopped by here with well wishes for my family. It's much appreciated. It's good to know that you have friends in times like this, whether they be "real" friends or the cyber variety.

If I could I would hug you all because I'd like to return some of the love that I've felt from your comments back to you.

Thank you so much. Your words mean a lot to my family and me.

Remembering Grandma

In the last three days I've discovered hundreds of photos of my grandmother from her younger days. One day I'll share them, when I've had time to scan them and upload them to flickr.

My grandmother kept every card that was ever sent to her. There were and are boxes and boxes of birthday and Christmas and Valentine's day cards. I found pictures galore which filled me with great glee.

Grandma never shared these pictures with us and they left me with so many questions that I would love to have answers too. There are pictures of her on the beach in OH in the late 20's/early 30's.

And the photos revealed her spunky nature and the beautiful heart that she had. My grandmother had the most beautiful smile and a special twinkle to her eyes that I'll never forget.

To know her was to love her and if she loved you she would do anything for you. She was a wonderful woman who saw so much in her lifetime, more than most people can see; countless presidents, two world wars, many conflicts, the depression. She is the last one of her family to pass, there is only a sister-in-law left from her siblings and she was the oldest.

101 years is a long time, but not long enough. It's never long enough. I'm just glad that I told her I love you nearly every day and that she knew that.

This is a photo of a kind and gentle soul with a heart of 14 Karat Gold.



Grandma, I miss you. I love you. My heart is in two, knowing that I'll never laugh with you, wash clothes with you, do you shopping or take you to your meetings. I'll never hear you call yoo hoo again. I'll never hug or kiss you. I'll never lift you off the couch into a hug when I bring you your mail.

So little time spent, but so much love. I have no more words other than, I was in non way ready for goodbye.

Pray For My Family

My grandmother passed away this morning/early afternoon. As many of you know, she was 101 years old, and though that is very old, she was in good health, so this was very unexpected.

She woke up feeling a bit nauseated, but everyone had sinus problems so my mom told her to stay upstairs and sleep.

We took my mom to have her hair done because she was so desperately hoping to teach her last CCD class. Instead we'll be at the undertakers at 10 am. When she got home, she didn't want to call gram because she thought she might be sleeping, but my nephews were going to do her lawn. After 30 rings, she sent me down.

I won't go any further. I can't go any further. It's too much right now.

I probably won't be around for the next few days. I need to be with my family and sort out things.

Pray for us. For those of you that know me well and want to send flowers or something, please email me or if you know my cell number call and I'll let you know more. We're going to need a lot of help right now.

Grandma...I love you and I'll miss you terribly. My days won't be the same without you.

Too Hot: Head's Spinning

I know it's going to cool down in the next few days but today I'm just so fuzzy as a result of temperatures that are in the upper 70's.

I don't know if its pollen or whatnot that's making me lightheaded and out of sorts. I just want to stay in bed. I have managed to keep away from Belle Vernon today, which is a good thing. That has kept me out of trouble, but it's also helped put me out of sorts.

Why is it that Fishy being out and about with the station had to be the week of the Nick Lowe concert and it's somehow taken away from it?

See, I'd rather get a Fishy hug right now.

I'm weird. I know.

I should have let this go a long long time ago.

Remind me that seeing Nick Lowe is really awesome and seeing Fishy isn't and that I need to get my priorities straight. Right now they are slightly crocked.

I think I need to get out more with real people.

~sigh~

If only my head weren't so fuzzy right now.

Top 5 On Friday - Week 172

From Music Memoirs:


Top 5 Albums from 5 Consecutive Years (forward or backwards, starting with the year you were born, the year you graduated from high school, or whatever)

The hard part is picking a date. I'll go with my high school graduation which was 1992.

1992 - Annie Lennox - Diva



1993 - Duran Duran - The Wedding Album



1994 - Erasure - I Say, I Say, I Say



1995 - Adam Ant - Wonderful



1996 - Elvis Costello & The Attractions - All This Useless Beauty



These are 5 of my favorite albums too, especially the Costello and Erasure!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things I need to do before the Nick Lowe concert on Sunday night.

1. Make sure I have enough gas to get to Pittsburgh. Oh and Bernie gets 21 mpg city. I filled up yesterday, so hopefully I won't hit half a take by Sunday. If I do, I'll cry, cos it was $40.01. Yikes!

2. Find something really cute to wear that won't make me look like a moo cow.

3. Convince my hair to look normal and not like a bird's nest.

4. Figure out where the parking garage is that's closer to the Byham Theater, rather than the Benedum so I don't have to walk 4 city blocks on Sunday evening.

5. Charge the camera batteries. (Just in case)

6. Buy a spare battery for the Easyshare.

7. Decide where to eat before the concert.

8. Find something that Nick can sign (Just in case)

9. Practice my concert singing. (You know...screaming)

10. Get enough sleep over the weekend to survive a really late night on Sunday.

11. Make sure there's money for a t-shirt and program or something similar.

12. Good walking shoes that are cute since I probably won't find that other parking garage.

13. Get hug from a cute old guy in the music industry.

Trying To Behave

My favorite Fishy is going to be in the area on Saturday. I'm going to do my best to make sure that I stay in the house all morning. He's doing a station thingie at Tractor Supply in Belle Vernon, which is right up the road from my gym.

ARGH!

And there's going to be a petting zoo!

Double argh!

I've told myself it's best not to go. After all, I don't need anything at Tractor Supply. (Well except maybe a Pickled Herring or two and I'm pretty sure there's only one...and that one has a wife that would pop me one if I tried to commandeer her husband) I don't think that trying to feed a Fish to a goat at the petting zoo counts as something I need at Tractor Supply, right?

~sigh~

Why is it that the only guy I've liked in the last 8 years has to be married? Damn and blast. It's the story of my life. Just about all the guys I've liked/crused on/whatever in the last few years have all been married.

So I'm going to convince myself that staying home on Saturday is the best thing to do, perhaps not for my fragile sanity, but in the long run for my well being. Though I have to say I have a huge hankering for a Fishy hug. They are the nicest things.

Happy Hump Day

Wednesday already? Damn! Where is the time going? Obviously speeding on by and leaving me in the dust because I chose to sit up and watch the PA election results.

Go Hillary, is about all I can say.

I'm glad that part of the election is over because I don't think I could take any more of the phone calls etc. It gets annoying. Plus my decision was made and my parents voted absentee because of health, so our families votes were cast over a week ago, except for mine, which I did promptly at 7 a.m. yesterday.

I feel like I'm going over the hump with Itchy too. Today she is seeming perkier and she's eaten a bit more too, which is good. Each day we have her is one we didn't expect to have so that's all I can ask for.

She ate some yesterday and this morning. So that's a plus. Fingers crossed that she'll hold out awhile longer.

Not much going on in my life right now, just waiting for Sunday's Nick Lowe concert, which will be the highlight of this rather dull month. My dad is having his echocardiogram on Friday which may lead to May being a horrid month, because the doctor is leaning towards a pacemaker for him as well. ARGH!

So I'll just concentrate on Sunday being good and hope for the best, right? Because, really, that's all I can do.

Tuesday Tunes - Week 30

From Music Memoirs

What's the worst song you've heard in the past week?
Madonna - Spanish Lesson from her new album Hard Candy! Good god it's awful. Most of the album is wretched, mostly do to Timbaland making her sound just like everything he's ever produced, which is CRAP!


Have you ever bought an album thinking you'd love it, only to hate it? What was it?
Yes, and I've bought an album knowing that I'd hate it but because I've loved the artist.

The first album that comes to mind: Elvis Costello - North



I have to say that I don't hate it as much as I used to. I still think the songs would have been better suited for his wife or at the time his soon to be wife, Diana Krall.


Are there any artists that you used to like but wish would just go away now?
Two come to mind; Duran Duran and Madonna. Both of them seem to have forgotten how to make a good record. Both used to be favorite pop tarts of mine. Duran Duran did do Astronaut, so at least there's that, but Red Carpet Massacre was just vile. As for Madonna her last good album was Music. That's 2 albums back. Both need to do some quality work soon or get out of the business.

I'm not saying that either of them produce deep thoughtful music, but they do fun pop music that makes the world go round. It's a shame they don't make good music anymore.

Just A Quiet Day...

I won't be making my usual rounds today. Not because it's election day, but because my Itchy has taken the turn for the worse. I know I've had 3 good months with her that I probably shouldn't have had, but for whatever reason a higher power granted us.

Her time is coming to a close and I want to give her as much love as I can while she's still with us.

I can only leave any cat lovers with this message. If you have a cat, a female cat. Get her fixed! It will be worth the $140. Having a female cat spayed within the first year of her life decreases the risk of several lift threatening diseases of which breast cancer is one.

Had I known that, Itchy would have been fixed when we got her, but she was a sickly kitty then and we didn't want to put her through it, since she's never left the house since she came into our lives.

~ sigh ~

Itchy, I love you little girl. I'm not ready for you to go yet.

Monday Morning I Sure Feel Fine

I don't even have to turn on Pickle on Monday Mornings anymore to get that song stuck in my head. It magically appears there every flipping Monday when my eyes open. I would seriously like to take Lindsey Buckingham and throttle him for that.

No.

I'd like to take that DJ from 99.3 WPKL and throttle him, because its his little Monday Morning joke to the world. The world should rebel against him for that. It's truly one of Lindsey's worst songs ever. Have I mentioned that before? I think I have. The song sucks! And yet it finds its way into my head as often as possible just to annoy me. Yummy Yummy Yummy didn't even do that.

Songs get stuck in my head enough without any help from idiots on the radio. I've seriously got to find an alternative to radio at work. It only serves to make me angry. Heck the media in general fills me with rage. If its not a commercial bastardizing some old song, it's a political ad, designed to make me not want to vote in the November election. Oh and if I get another call from the Obama campaign I think I'm going to scream. It's a shame they can't hear what I say whenever I pick up those calls.

GAH!

I think I lost track of what I was originally griping about. Now where is that Fleetwood Mac song? I think it's the lesser of the evils today. Monday morning I sure feel fine...Friday I've got traveling on my mind.

New Who

I'm in love with Series 4 of Doctor Who. I've watched the Christmas special and the first two episodes with the third sitting on my computer waiting to be watched today.

Catherine Tate has to be the best companion the show has seen since the late 70s early 80s. She doesn't take any shit from the Doctor and praise be, she isn't lusting after him. I love it when she calls him Martian Boy or Spaceman too!

Oh and The Voyage of The Damned with Kylie Minogue was fantastic as well. Had they not killed Kylie off she would have made a good companion. You just had to love her, plus she wasn't clinging and obnoxious like a certain other blonde that they cast on the show and who will be reappearing in this season. cough. cough. Rose. God I hate that character.

I look forward to watching Planet Of The Ood. Those weird creatures were one of my favorite aliens on the show, next to those warped Daleks! I love the Daleks! Exterminate! Exterminate! I have a few things they could exterminate!

Oh and have I mentioned lately that David Tennant is probably the hottest thing on the planet? Mmmm. Lovely. The show is really quite pretty to watch, which is a bonus for me, because I find so little prettiness on US telly.

Today I Want To Be Lazy

I had such plans for this weekend, but I can't see many of them coming to fruition. I have no motivation at all. None.

I was bit by the lazy bug HARD!

Reading looks like the most strenuous activity I might engage in.

~sigh~

At least next weekend is the Nick Lowe concert! I'm so excited about that! Though I'm really looking forward to a weekend where I can do something outside. But right now I don't have the gas money to do much of anything.

~shakes fist at the oil companies~

It's not fair that a trip thats about 50 miles is automatically budgeted at $70 just for gas.

I'm not middle class. I'm in the category known as the working poor. I have to be very careful of what I spend etc. I can't just up and go somewhere and not think about how much I'll spend on gas. Which means at $3.50 a gallon, I'm going to be a cranky girl sitting at home a lot.

Just convince me that I'm just being lazy and not because a trip anywhere will break the bank, m'kay?

Top 5 On Friday - Week 171

From Music Memoirs

Top 5 breakup songs

1. Herman's Hermits - I Can Take Or Leave Your Lovin
(Ouch Peter! Seriously this is a great song!)

2. Ann Margaret - I Ain't Gonna Be Your Fool No More
(Remember the Flintstone epi with this song? Yup! This is a great song too.)

3. Elvis Costello - Getting Mighty Crowded
(EC does the Motown sound really well for a white boy from the UK. This is one of my favorite songs)

4. Keri Noble - Watch Me Walk
(This song is great played loud while driving too!)

5. Gary Puckett & The Union Gap - By The Time I Get To Phoenix
(This song is almost to bittersweet to be a breakup song)

The Concert Gods

They've been smiling on me suddenly in a strange fashion for artists that I wouldn't expect to see. I've got decent seats for Gordon Lightfoot's show in June, Nick Lowe's show in a little over a week and it's possible I may see Peter Noone twice and even The Buckinghams again.

Wow!

I don't think I've had that kind of concert going year in quite awhile. And there's still a chance I might see Over The Rhine. Their show at Diesel in Pittsburgh was rescheduled and I think there are still tickets available. It's $20! I might be able to wing that without a problem! I'm playing it by ear for that one, since it's only about a week and a half before the Lightfoot show.

What might surprise or shock or amuse most people is that I don't really enjoy concerts. I hate all the bullshit that goes along with them. The pat downs before entering a venue, the wanker fans that are almost always drunk or are just wankers, the astronomical cost of anything at the venue from parking to a glass of diet soda.

I've had so many miserable experiences at shows that the great ones are often eclipsed. That's mainly because Pittsburgh has the 7 Layers Of Concert Hell for venues and security at all of them are wankers to the highest degree. It's no wonder most of my good experiences occurred in other states.

~sigh~

But at least the concert gods are being kind and smiling on me this year. Kinda!

Ever Have One Of Those Days?

Yesterday was one for me. Between my boss showing up at 3 o'clock with a butt load of stuff to annoy me with, having to get the cat to the vet for shots and dealing with a weird letter for my grandma about her home owner's insurance policy, yesterday was vile.

Oddly the getting the cat to the vet was the easiest part of my day. Oogie took his shot in the bum just fine and came home and slept the night away. Good kitty! Its the next cat that I fear taking. My Bootsie is not a social kitty and she's a huge kitty. Thank goodness I have a few months to prepare for her going. It will be a challenge.

The letter was what really sent me into fits of panic. You just don't want to read that a 101 year old lady's home owner's policy is canceled. Again I send up a silent prayer of thanks that it wasn't, but that's one letter that you don't ignore. I had to call and check. Which prompted them to have to call my grandmother to check and make sure they could talk to me, because I'm just a granddaughter etc.

I could really see my 101 year old grandmother trying to deal with an automated system on a rotary phone.

~head desk~

At least all was well. However, I think after the last bit, I've lost a few years off my life.

Tuesday Tunes - Week 29

Bad thing not to play the meme that you spent a half hour creating, right?

If you want to play along, go to Music Memoirs.

Word Association Week! Remember name the first band/artist/song/album/instrument etc that comes to mind when you see these words.

Drum: Japan - Tin Drum (One of my favorite albums by this new romantic band)

River: The Moody Blues - The River Of Endless Love
Sea: Erasure - Looking Glass Sea (This one is from Dick Tracy)
Sand: George Harrison - Fish On The Sand (The best song on Cloud 9, IMO)
Travel: The Moody Blues - The Best Way To Travel
Time: Sarah Brightman - Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partido)
Journey: Elvis Costello w/Anuna - Long Journey Home
Number: Three Dog Night - One (Hey it's the loneliest number!)
Theme: Murray Gold - The Doctor Who Theme

Magic: Erasure - Magic Moments (From the film Lord Of Illusions)

Luxury Hotel?

I was randomly looking at the site for the Wheeling Island Racetrack and Casino, because I found out that Peter Noone was playing there in August, and it's pretty darn close to me.

Yes, I'll be seeing Peter 2 days in a row if I go there. But that remains to be seen, what makes me laugh is that they tote the Hotel as luxury. Uh. no. I truly believe you have to have something other than a fitness center to be called that. There's not even a pool at Wheeling Island, unless one has shown up since I was there last.

The only thing they seem to have are luxury prices on the weekends. I object highly to paying $200 + for a hotel that doesn't have a pool. Yes, they have a casino attached with a scrummy buffet, but no pool? PAH! That doesn't equal value for me. I've paid much more when I've stayed in normal upscale hotels in Cincinnati or in the casinos in Atlantic City. Oh and those casinos in Jersey have pools. I'm not sure how they get them on the 7th floor though, that's always baffled me, but they have spas and pools and all sorts of other lovely stuff. Wheeling Island has none of that. Not that I'm knocking them, because I love the casino and all the restaurants, but the hotel makes me laugh. If you want to stay in luxury while you're in Wheeling, go to Oglebay.

Random 10 - Week 151

From Music Memoirs

10 songs that sum up your weekend...or were on your weekend playlist...and one picture that relates back. (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did)


1. Keri Noble - Look At Me
2. Lindsey Buckingham - Slow Dancing
3. Elvis Costello - Heart Shaped Bruise
4. Herman's Hermits - Meet Me At The Corner Down At Joe's Cafe
5. Justin Hayward - The Way Of The World
6. Bernie Barlow - Astral Plane
7. Keri Noble - Butterfly
8. Elvis Costello - The Scarlet Tide (Admit you lied and bring the boys back home, dammit)
9. Nick Lowe - Little Hilter
10. The Ohio Express - Yummy Yummy Yummy

These songs took me from Friday morning to yesterday evening. Don't ask about that last one, its a long and horrible story. Thankfully number 10 isn't stuck in my head anymore. Yay!

The picture?

A tulip to remind me that spring really is here.

Dear God Make Him Go Away

I have a political rant.

Please make the Obamalamdingdong go away. I'm a democrat. But there's something about this man that makes me breathe fire. Seriously. I turn into a fire breathing dragon when I see him. I hear him and I'm an angry cat.

I tried for months to like him, since he's seemingly convinced 65% of the democrats that he should be the nominee. Sadly I can't like him. Nope. Don't like him one bit. Don't like his arrogance. I don't like his pretty talk about "Change." because it's all a bunch of crap that's being fed to us, because we want to hear it.

Oh and I'm from a small town in SW PA, so I'm bitter and turning to my religion and guns and all that good stuff. Hmmm. Scriptwriter desert you sir? And you lash out on the other candidate for calling you on it? Yet the media never goes after you for your stupidity, because you are a golden boy.

Ahem.

I apparently am the only one that sees him as a democratic version of our current president. I'm not saying that the other candidate is better. I don't know that. I don't know that any of the three candidates in the running will have any affect on the muck and mire that our country has fallen into, but I know that I can't ever vote for that man! I'll be tempted to stay home in November if he gets the nod because I can't vote for McCain either.

Mmmm Breakfast

Have any of you tried the breakfast at Wendy's yet? It's yummy! It's a heart attack waiting to happen, but when your ticker gives out you'll have a smile on your face.

Yesterday was the first time I had an opportunity to try it because I went to the gym early. Go ahead, laugh. I went to the gym and then Wendy's for breakfast! I don't really care. I like my junk food. I always have. I always will.

The breakfast menu at Wendy's combines a little of what you can get at McDonald's but with better quality food and less icky grease.

They make a Frescuit breakfast sandwich with scrambled egg, cheese and either bacon or sausage. Nice lovely folded scrambled eggs. And the frescuit isn't you're ordinary biscuit either. If you do go for that kind of biscuit though, you'll find them on the 99 cent menu along with hash browns and lovely muffins.

There are two breakfast burritos and the bonus for me are sandwiches on a nice bun rather than a pathetic muffin or greasy pancake. I highly recommend the steak and egg. I shared that with my dad yesterday. Oh and you'll be pleased to know it's not steakumm type meat either.

I was in fast food breakfast heaven. Usually Burger King wins the crown for that, because I adore the crissandwiches, but this topped them all.

Look What I Bought!

Sexy shoes!

Woot!

I bought these, among other things at Peebles today. So the store gets the Mistress Of The Dark seal of approval. Great clothes. Great prices. Great shoes!

These shoes seduced me too. I usually buy my shoes at Payless, because I'm a cheap ass. Ok, not that reason, mostly because I'm too broke to pay too much for shoes that I wear out in mere months.

These shoes cost $25 and I had two discounts on top of that, so I got a good deal.

Oh and did I mention that they were shiny? I love shiny things!



I think it's time for a pedicure! You know, cos with sexy new sandals comes sexy feet!

We've Got A New Department Store!

The shopaholic in me is very excited about the opening of Peebles in Rostraver!

I've never heard of them before, but apparently they are popping up all over the place. I'm anxious to take my 15% off coupon and have a look. I can always use some new clothes. What woman doesn't?

It looks like its on the level of Kohl's and JC Penney. That's a good thing, because this store is practically in my backyard whereas the other two are both 30 minutes away. So needless to say, if they have nice clothes and good deals, they will have my business.

Can you see the money leaving my wallet already? I can, and I haven't even been there yet!

I'm so weak when it comes to clothes shopping! Weak as water!

Top 5 On Friday - Week 170

From Music Memoirs

Top 5 artists you wish would record a new album. (Tell us a bit about why you want them to go back into the studio too)

1. The Moody Blues: I can't believe these guys would let their last studio album be a Christmas/Holiday CD. It just doesn't seem right. They are much too good to let a 40 + year career end that way. I mean they aren't that lazy are they? Well Justin isn't, but we haven't seen a solo album from him since 1997, I think.

2. Duran Duran: I'm giving them one last chance. After Red Carpet Massacre, I have lost nearly all my love for this band. They have released about 80% crap in the last 15 years. I want another good album. I thought all was good when they released Astronaut, but apparently I was wrong.

3. Erasure: Their last album was so great that I was left begging for more. However, Vince is touring with former partner Alison Moyet for a Yaz/Yazoo reunion in the UK so I'll have to be content with a possible solo album from Andy. The only problem there is that Andy's solo work sucks compared to Erasure. Go figure!

4. Gordon Lightfoot: Oh how I wish he do just one more album. Sadly his health issues are what seem to be keeping him from recording and it looks like Harmony from earlier in this decade will likely be his last album. That makes me sad indeed.

5. Diana Krall: I'm addicted. I love Diana. But I have a stipulation for this album. She needs to write the songs with her husband and perhaps maybe it could be a total collaboration? A true Krallstello album! Bliss! Come on Diana! You know you want to!

Honorable Mention. George Harrison: Ok, I know you are all saying, but he's been dead for awhile Andrea! He can't record! True enough, but there's enough unreleased/rare stuff that was recorded and only found on bootlegs etc that he should be included.

DumplinZ Cafe

I hate it when my mother tells me about restaurants and food when I'm powerless to get any of the goodness that is there.

The other day she told me about DumplinZ Cafe which is in Downtown Pittsburgh and makes dumplings from several ethnicities.

Grrr.

Already the chances of my getting there are slim to nil. I'm not taking my little Beretta on jaunts to the city unless it's necessary.

~big sigh~

I held out hopes that I'd be able to go when I was heading to the Nick Lowe concert at the end of the month, but nope, closed Sundays. I swear, everything in that damn city is closed on Sunday. So much for that.

I've now promised the nephews that I'll take them some Saturday next month. After all, even they must sample the wonderful dumplings that I'm told are served at this place.

The Happy Gas: I Had It

I went to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned last night. I never got gassed up just to have the tartar and plague and other yucky stuff taken off my teeth. However it seems that my dentist had a new toy to remove the stuff and well, I got the happy juice.

Woo hoo!

I haven't had any cavities or anything in 25 + years so I haven't been under the influence of the happy gas in a long time. I didn't remember what it felt like.

Dang!

The happy gas makes the world a much nicer place. However, it doesn't make doing normal stuff for at least an hour or so afterwards very easy. It took a lot of concentration to drive across the street to the gym, so much so, that I only did about 50 minutes of cardio because I didn't trust myself to do any exercise with weights. As it was I was bumping into machines that seemed to be jumping in front of me as I walked.

Oh yeah, the happy gas is fun. My teeth are clean. Boy, was I a Loopy Lou last night!

Tuesday Tunes - Week 28

From Music Memoirs

What music related tv shows do you or have you watched?
The Monkees - The best tv show I ever watched! Seriously. Lighthearded. Fun. Great music. Cute guys. It can't get much better than The Monkees.

The Beatles Cartoons - I was in love with cartoon Paul, what can I say.

Solid Gold - Remember the days before video? Remember those damn dancers? Yikes! I swear they never wore much in the way of clothing, except when they were men. Why is that? Women are nearly nekkid. Men are fully clothed. Weird.

Before Mtv there was a video show on HBO. I can't remember what it was called but it was that show that first introduced me to Olivia Newton-John. Ah...ya know almost every little girl in the 80s wanted to be her, and I was no different. Now where did I put those leg warmers?


Have you ever gone to see a movie just for the music?
Yes, many times. Twice recently for Across The Universe and Sweeney Todd. One I loved the other I was a bit eh about. Some others that I went to see for the music only, Music and Lyrics, Hairspray, Evita, The Nightmare Before Christmas.


What is you favorite music related movie?
The Beatles - Help! When the VHS first came out in the 80s I watched it many times. Sometimes twice daily. I had most of the dialog memorized.

No Sleep For Me

Oh hell, I drank a cup and a half of coffee yesterday around 6 o'clock. I'm used to the caffeine in soda, like Coke and not coffee. All the coffee in our house is decaf because my parents both are on heart meds and can't have much of it.

Remind me never ever ever to do that again, at least late in the day.

For some ungodly reason the caffeine decided that I should not sleep one wink last night, or at least that I should feel like I didn't sleep one wink last night.

Yay!

And that yay is said most sarcastically.

I was up until at least 1 o'clock reading a damn harlequin romance, that was so cheesy and awful that it should have put me to sleep. I tried my little mp3 player too. Last night was the first time in ages that I listened to the whole mix on the tiny flash player.

GAH!

I think I fell asleep around 2:30 or 3 which gives me about 3ish hours of sleep to live on today.

Today's going to be fun, I'm sure. I'll be in a half asleep haze. Woohoo!

A Most Productive Day

I got a lot of stuff done. I'm very proud of myself.

Firstly, the battle with ExxonMobil wasn't one at all. It seems they do this when a payment is due over the weekend. However if the payment doesn't show up tomorrow and the late fee doesn't disappear, there will be hell to pay.

I got my parents taxes done so that they qualify for the stimulus package! Yay! That means I've done taxes twice this year! Sweet Mary Mother of Pete, that's at least one time too many.

I paid the damn Sears bill. Woo hoo. Next month that card goes on the aggressive payoff plan that I've created, so that it will hopefully be gone by January of next year, as will Best Buy.

I celebrated my pay raise with a little shopping. I bought some yummy smelling goodness at Bath And Body Works and some cute tops at Target and Dots. I also got a cute pair of skinny pants at Dots and I'm almost skinny enough to look cute in them. Can I get a woot for that please?

Had a lovely stir fry dinner with my dad at Kings tonight. All in all, it was a good day. That's something I haven't said in quite a long while. So yipee! Here's hoping there will be more of those soon.

Feel My Anger!

I don't know what made me log into my ExxonMobil gas card account yesterday but I'm glad I did. I knew my balance as I've been trying to get this stupid card paid off for the last 5 months. Suddenly my balance was almost a tank of gas higher than it was earlier this week and I know I haven't used the damn card.

Not to worry though, no one took my card. The bastards charged me a m-fing late fee.

WTF! says I. I set the payment up for the due date online which was yesterday. My payment is shown as processing. (Meaning I couldn't change anything on the payment if I wanted to)

I have paid this card online for the last few years. It's never been late before, even when I've set the payment for a due date on the weekend.

I'm anxious to see if they take that 29 dollar late fee off my account. I'm also anxious to see if I can keep my cool when talking to someone, because if they won't remove that late fee, I'm transferring funds to from my car fund and paying that SOB off this month and cutting it to ribbons.

Things That Are Just Plain Wrong

1. All the good/good-looking men being married/engaged/gay.

2. The Fedex guy that flirts with me coming when I was on the phone, so I couldn't even get a bit of flirting in yesterday.

3. Not getting my song played yesterday.

4. This election year not being over yet.

5. Realizing that the chance of finding a guy my age or older that isn't carrying heavy baggage is slim to nil, then I remembered "1"

6. Starting to pay attention to stuff on Myspace. Yes, I have a profile there. Its here. Feel free to friend me if you have a page too. Plus I have been blogging there this week.

7. Finding out Eddie Izzard is coming to Pittsburgh in May after I had already bought Nick Lowe tickets.

8. My oldies acts all playing dates at venues I love but on dates that I can't attend.

9. Duran Duran touring but only coming to Philly and not even freaking OHIO!

10. Being 4 weeks behind the UK on Series 4 Doctor Who.

Weekends

I just can't get excited about them anymore. All weekends are, are two days where I don't have to go to work. Nothing happens. At least nothing exciting.

I may get to the mall or Target this weekend. I have to get to the mall, because I have a Sears bill to pay. How nice. The only way to drag Andrea's sorry butt out of the damn house is to make her pay a bill somewhere.

PAH!

That sucks in so many ways that its disgusting.

However I'm powerless to change that at this point. At least I've got half the downpayment on the Focus in the bank. Just a few more months and I might be able to wing it, depending on how things go this summer.

I wonder what it will feel like to have a brand new car. I've never had one of those before. Everything I've ever had were old jalopies. It will have taken 34 years, but I'm going to get one. I deserve it.

Now I'm going to see if I can get my mother to the beauty shop today. She hasn't made it out of the house in yonks, except to the doctor. Yep. It's just another weekend.

Top 5 On Friday - Week 169

From Music Memoirs


Top 5 songs you wish had never been used in a TV commercial.

The Beatles - Revolution
Thanks to Michael Jackson, this was probably the first Beatles song to make it into a commercial for Nike. GAH!

The Beatles - Hello, Goodbye
Even as I type it I want to type Hello Good Buy! Damn Target! That's wrong on so many levels and the pun is awful!!!

The Beatles - From Me To You
This was a Christmas Macy's atrocity. I repeat, do not use Beatles songs in commercials. It does not make me want to shop at your store. In fact it pisses me off.

The Monkees - Daydream Believer
I'm sure it was good for sales of Monkees albums etc, if not for EBay, but this drove me off my nut. Every time I heard the commercial I came running, thinking that the Monkees were going to be on TV. Hey, I can dream, right?

Natasha Beddingfield - Unwritten
It's the Pantene song. I love the song, but it just doesn't seem to be suited for hair care products.

Honorable Mention:
Devo - Whip It
Wasn't that a Swiffer commercial? God how annoying!

An Open Letter To The New Pickle DJ

Oh yes, 99.3 The Pickle is filling me with giggles again.

Dear Doc Holliday,

Nice choice of name btw. Please don't say yip. It makes me think of the aliens on Sesame Street and that's not a good thing. It also gets me saying yip, just because it sounds funny. Anytime I start saying words because it sounds funny is not good, m'kay. Don't encourage me.

Also, please relax when you read the weather. You will be less likely to mess up or trip over your tongue.

I guess you can't not play crap "classic hits", so I won't ask that of you. It's the Keymarket Radio format of playing the same old same old every 24 hours.

~big sigh~

Oh and when giving out the stations phone number it would be better if you used the call letters instead of the numbers. It just sounds better.

Oh and while I'm going on..STOP SOUNDING LIKE FISHY!!! It makes me nutty,

Sincerely,

A nutty Pickle Fangirl

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things I've done this week.

1. Slept 13 hours to shake a nasty bug that got me. I think it might have worked.

2. Called Fishy (against my better judgment) to tell him about the raise, because I had run out of people to tell, and I'm certifiable.

3. Got to the gym 2 times and I plan 2 more trips there even though I probably shouldn't. But hey, its not the exercise that's making me blerghy, its the food.

4. Found out that you can live on crackers and peppermint candy, when your stomach has gone off all normal food.

5. Got a raise at work.

6. Learned that when happy you can forget you are sick until it's too late.

7. Dubbed the new DJ at the Pickle who goes by the name Doc Holliday "Fishy Jr" because he sounds very much like the Fishtard. (In a good way)

8. Decided that this week's pay increase goes directly into a present for me. Because I deserve it.

9. Shivered even when it was 60 degrees outside.

10. Decided Hem's song The Pills Stopped Working is one of my new favorite songs.

11. Sent Moody Mistress and online mom care packages of goodies (TV and Music)

12. Determined the only way I can lose weight is to get sick.

13. Went to the Nyquil Superhighway and got stuck in a traffic jam.

There's Good News & There's Good News

Today I got really good news! I just got a happy 75cent raise in my pay. Woot! I can buy a tank of gas a week!

Squee!

Actually that will put me closer to the Ford Focus that I've been coveting for the last 2 months a bit closer and for that alone I'm thrilled.

That means I'll be able to put $100 towards the car every month from now til the end of the year, or I maybe able to buy the car a few months earlier.

~Jumps up and down~

I can't wait to make this pretty blue car mine!!

I'm Feeling A Bit Better

I slept almost round the clock yesterday. I can't even remember half my workday yesterday that's how out of it I was. When I got home I slept from 4 til dinner time when I tried to eat something. Thankfully all stayed where it should be, and then I went back to bed.

I slept til about 9 o'clock last night, woke up took a bath and went back to bed and slept until about 5:30.

Today I feel a lot better.

I think I may even attempt breakfast this morning. Mind you, that breakfast will be cereal, as that seems the safest. I'm not sure about lunch. I'm just glad I feel alive today. Yesterday I felt half dead.

I hope today goes by quickly because I'm not ready to deal with much. I may attempt some strength training at the gym, but I'm not sure my body is ready for that. I'm just glad that most of the blerghy feelings are gone. I hate feeling blerghy...especially when it's nausea blerghy

Tuesday Tunes - Week 27

I'm really too sick to be doing this, but here goes...musical mutterings from Music Memoirs.

Word association week: Remember name the first song/album/artist/musical style that comes to mind when you see the following 10 words.

Camera: Ringo Starr - Photograph
Married: Paul McCartney - We Got Married
Lost: Boingo - Lost Like This
Grin: Elvis Costello - Smile
Rest: Matchbox Twenty - Rest Stop
Environment: Paul McCartney - Looking For Changes
Hippie: 5th Dimension - Age Of Aquarius
Betrayal: Elvis Costello - Tramp The Dirt Down
Emotion: Whitney Houston - So Emotional (From the days before she became too obnoxious)
Dream: The Monkees - Dream World (I love that song)

Oye!

I think all the nasty feelings I felt yesterday as a result of yesterday, have made me sick. I think I'm going to lay low and try to sort out my muddled head today. I wish I could do it from the comfort of my bed, but sadly that's not the case.

I have to go to work. I have to function like the rest of the world. There will be no mental health days for me, even though I desperately want one.

I don't think I'm going to make the gym today. I think I'm going to spend the afternoon fighting the nausea off and feeling sorry for myself.

But don't worry. I'll be ok. I hope. If I can make it through 8 hours of work, I'll be fine. I can come home and sleep off the rest of it.

I wish I could sleep it off now. I wish I knew what I could attempt to eat without wanting to ....yeah, that's how I feel.

I wish I could go back to bed.