Archives for March 2007

Yellow snow in Alabama

March 30, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Yellow snow?! Ewwww! Ok, so it’s not exactly snow, but, that is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of trying to describe what’s floating around in our air and blanketing our cars right now!
It’s pollen! Massive, massive amounts of pollen!Coughing It’s allergy central around here! It’s unbelievable!

I have never seen anything like this in my life! And since we are new to Alabama, I don’t know if this is typical, or some new weather issue. Things have been a little strange around the earth here lately!

And my brother back home in Texas said that the allergies are worse than ever this year, but, he said this long before the yellow snow arrived, so I don’t know if they are getting it, too – or not.

I am telling you, it is crazy!! Mark is washing the car every day! And even for his Type A, let’s-keep-everything-clean-all-the-time personality – that’s bad! He’s never washed a vehicle on a daily basis before!

I was driving around town the other day and I saw one car, that apparently hadn’t been driven in a couple of days, and it was completely COVERED in yellow!

My dog actually slipped on the porch, because the yellow powder was so thick!

This is weird, ya’ll! I want to know if ya’ll are experiencing any of the ‘yellow powder phenomenon’, and if you are, is it typical?

Sound off – please!!

Filed Under: Alabama, environmental, Health

Meet Mark, Mr. Prepared

March 29, 2007 by Leave a Comment

That is one very impressive thing about my husband – he is prepared for just about anything! I’ll never forget when my sweet and young and dumb self first saw his ‘never get locked out plan’ – I thought he was pure genius! He has the truck key in one of those key hider things – under the hood, no less! I’d never seen anyone put one there! And then inside that is the key to the truck – and inside the truck, hidden, of course – is the key to the house! I was 22, and a bit unworldly, ok, I still am that – but, I was just floored!

And he is that way about everything. Well, he is getting older, so that ‘losing things’ and ‘forgetting things’ is starting to set in a bit. (If that was there when I was young, what happens to me when I get older? Hmm…) He is, however, prepared for all kinds of things. We have an emergency kits for just about everything! Several for the house, one for each of our vehicles (when we still had two), and he is an avid outdoorsman and loves to camp, so, of course, there are several for that. You have your main one that you keep at camp with you. Then you need a mini one for dayhikes. He also has a watertight one for any canoing he might do.

I hate to admit it, (and ya’ll better not tell him, either!) but, I have learned a lot from him!

Filed Under: blabbering

A fun way to get cash and goodies

March 29, 2007 by Leave a Comment

…is by doing market research. The kids and I have really had fun with this over the last few years. I haven’t really done any in several months, I’ve been too busy blogging, but, I am still getting emails every day from various companies.

And I haven’t signed the kids back up to the kids one since we moved out here to Alabama, but, with summer coming up, it would be a good idea to get them signed back up. They were making more money than I was – getting $10 checks in the mail right and left!

We got all kinds of cool stuff when doing surveys, too! A few times they wanted us to try new cereal before it was released to the market, and so they sent us whole boxes of cereal. I’ve gotten free razors, toothbrushes, cosmetics, you name it! If you have a little time for it, it really is fun!

Filed Under: Internet, make money online

Rotten, evil children

March 29, 2007 by Leave a Comment

They’ve stolen all of my ink pens! All but one, that is! I found these really great pens one year, I think when we were school supply shopping. They are just so nice and smooth and I really like how it feels writing with them. So I asked Mark to get me some for Christmas. He looked at me a little sideways – “You want pens for Christmas?” And I told him, “Yes! I want pens for Christmas – I found these really great pens that feel great and write wonderfully, and I want some for my own, to be all my own, and to be owned by me!”

See? See how that works? I don’t want them in the kitchen drawer to be carted off by little scalliwags, I don’t want them to be among the vast array of pens in the big bucket on my desk to be absconded by little villains – I want them to be mine, and mine alone!

So – he bought me some pens for Christmas. And this was Christmas before last – and up until now, I’ve done a really good job guarding them. The guys at Fort Knox would be proud! Until now, that is…

See, there is a big bucket in my office, that used to be on my desk, which holds all sorts of writing utensils and various other office/school supplies, upon which anyone may lay their grubby, little hands. And then – on my desk, is my sweet George! George Strait! I have a big George Strait cup that holds all of the highlighters, pens, scissors, letter openers — that nobody is supposed to even take two steps away from my desk if they have any of these items on their person!

And it would seem that Fort Momma has been breeched. The security system that was…

So sad.

When that school bell rings, there will be inquistions!!

Mark my words!!

Filed Under: Parenting

Losing weight can sure be hard

March 29, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I know, I’ve been working at it for several years now. People who have never dealt with obesity often have simplistic ideas about what they see as a simple task. And maybe for some people it is simple – simple, but, not easy. Just like we say in AA. And sticking to something that is hard to do, but, simple – can be, well, hard. Especially when life throws its little curve balls at you. And then you don’t feel so great, and who the hell cares about eating carrots anymore – gimme a KitKat! You know?

There are, however, certain factors that can actually have a profound effect on the ‘simpleness’ of losing weight. Did you know, for instance, that women often go through a pre-menopause state called perimenopause for up to 10 years, before they ever actually hit that cursed change? We’re talking about like 20 years of hormone havoc! And then there can be basic age issues, there could be thyroid issues, or many other reasons that this losing weight thing just is not working for some of us.

A lot of people address the issue with their doctors, and enlist their help, as well. And, although it is not as common as it was twenty years ago, doctors do still prescribe diet pills for some people. One of those is Ionamin, whose common name is phentermine. Pills like that really scare me. There’s even a warning on the Medbroadcast website in bold lettering, to not stop taking the medicine without first consulting your doctor. I wonder what it could do to you if you stopped taking it suddenly. A very long time ago, when I was young and stupid (Now – ya’ll be nice!) I stopped taking a medication suddenly that I was supposed to taper off of under doctor supervision, and I broke out in a rash ALL over my body! I am not kidding you or exxagerating – it was even on the palms of my hands and INSIDE my ears!! It was crazy!

I am just going to keep working at rearranging my lifestyle choices, and hope that I don’t ever need to have a prescription from my doctor to help me lose weight!

Filed Under: Health, weight loss

Fruits, vegetables, and flowers…oh my!

March 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I have got to get my act together on my gardening plans! I always plan to start in March, but then, somehow, March turns into April, and well – you know how it goes.

And this year, with funding low, and with no car – it’s even harder! I have, however, found some great online deals that might just help me out!

There is this awesome online coupon from Spring Hill Nursery for $25 off a $50 order! That is totally amazing! That is such a great deal, I bet it won’t last very long!

And there is another good deal from Henry Fields Seed and Nursery Company for $10 off a $30 order! These deals are unbelievable – I always wonder how companies can run such big promotions.

Oh my gosh – Home Depot has some patio furniture 40-50% off!! That is a deal I would expect to find in August or something. And I have been wanting new patio furniture for a couple of years now! I would love to have a beautifully colorful garden blooming and sit with friends and family in the backyard, just enjoying a lazy summer day!

Ahh…one day…

Filed Under: gardening, shopping

How much of an environmentalist are you?

March 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Would you be willing to have a composting toilet? That’s right – I said … composting toilet.

The company I have been researching today is called Envirolet. I just happened to stumble across this today while I was reading blogs – it was a Google ad. And the more I read, the more interested that I become.

Initially, it sounds uber disgusting, but, once you read up on it, you will see that it really isn’t bad at all. And this is totally not a new thing – the earliest composting toilets actually date back to the 1800’s! There were ‘Earth Commode’s’ in the 1860’s and the ‘Earth Closet’ in the 1880’s. So this is not some freaky, new wave thing!

A few years ago, I began composting in the back yard for my garden. We’re talking old food and such, people! LOL! My husband hated it! My sweet, old lady, next door neighbor, who was a Queen Gardener – was teaching me! Since Mark didn’t like it, Mrs. Brown was letting me help and contribute and make use of her pile – which just happened to be right on the other side of our fence. It occasionally smelled, and it was almost always covered in a giant cloud of gnats.

So I began researching and shopping around for compost bins. Mark was still not convinced – he just can’t stand the thought of it. LOL “Just go buy some fertilizer and peat moss at the store!”

He just doesn’t get the whole earth to earth point of it all. So I would love to see his reaction to these toilets! HA! No way, no how!

Well, at least my mother-in-law still has one horse – we get all the compost we need from that big boy! When we muck out the stall, we just dump all the refuse in one, long, snaking line on the far side of the pasture. She says that once planting time comes, neighbors come right and left for a pile of it! Priceless manure! Gotta love it!

Filed Under: environmental

Low bid auctions

March 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Low bid auctions? What are you talking about? Sounds odd, doesn’t it? Well, I’m talking about Bid4Prizes.com, a very cool new ‘auction’ site where you can win prizes! And you do so by having the lowest bid! You actually have to have the lowest unique bid, but, this is a fun new concept that looks like a lot of fun!

If you have the lowest unique bid, and win the item you’ve been eyeballing, you don’t actually even pay for it! You do have to pay to have it shipped to you, and any taxes that might occur, but, as far as actually paying for the item – you don’t!

And I found the coolest thing on there – a three-person air hockey table! I love it – that would be so perfect at our house! It was won by someone yesterday!

Also, for all of the actions that you do on the site, you are earning points. And with these points, you can shop for cool stuff in the Bid4Prizes store!

I can tell that I’m going to have a lot of fun on this site!

Filed Under: Internet, shopping

Didn’t I tell you that dogs ROCK?

March 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I just love my sweet Puppykins so much, and after reading about this sweet boy:

I had to go give Lucky some extra lovin’ and kissin’ and belly-rubbin’!! This boy’s name is Toby, and, according to Yahoo News, he is a hero!!

From the article:
“CALVERT, Md. – Toby, a 2-year-old golden retriever, saw his owner choking on a piece of fruit and began jumping up and down on the woman’s chest. The dog’s owner believes the dog was trying to perform the Heimlich maneuver and saved her life.”

What a sweet and beautiful and wonderful boy!! I love all animals, and I used to really be more of a cat person, to tell you the truth, but, over the last several years, I have become a hardcore dog person! I still love cats, but, I am telling you – DOGS ROCK!!!!

You’ve got to go read the whole story:
Owner Says Dog Saved Her with ‘Heimlich’

It never ceases to amaze me how in tune with humans dogs are – you know, like how they can detect cancer and stuff like that? Amazing! And Mythbusters had a great show last weekend on hound dogs hunting people down – it was awesome – I mean, TOTALLY AWESOME!!

Filed Under: animals

The slippery slope

March 28, 2007 by Leave a Comment

My rotten migraine is back – ugh. It is absolutely so ridiculous. I walked Patrick outside to wait for his bus this morning at 7am, and while I was standing on the front porch, I attempted to look up at the sky. Yes – attempted – only. That’s it. It was that simple.

Upon tilting my head up and sending my eyes upward, I instantly realized that that was a bad idea, and averted my eyes, and returned my head to its normal position.

And now I have a migraine. Poo. You see, in the morning, the first few hours that I am awake, is when I am most susceptible to my headache triggers. And it was bright in a glary kind of way this morning, and the clouds were probably moving. I’m not sure, I just know that I immediately felt discomfort and put my head back down. So between the glare, and the movement of the clouds, my day is blown.

And you see, what is really tricky about all of this, is that – like I’ve stated before, I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. And living with chronic pain and having to take medicine for it is a tricky operation. It’s a bit like walking into the lion’s den and not getting bitten. You know you’ve got to go in there, often daily – but, be careful! You don’t want those buggers biting you!

Prescription drug addiction, I think, can often be the trickiest to deal with, recover from, or to even admit, because, you see – “The doctor ordered these for me!” “I’m in chronic pain!”

Which is often, if not always, true. And which gives a recovering drug addict – basically – a hall pass!

It is definitely a slippery slope!

Filed Under: Health, migraine
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