cock-a-doodle-do

I seem to be on this sucky schedule of falling asleep right after dinner and waking up between 4 and 5 in the morning!! I think it’s just because of the time of year… I used to LOVE the whole extra darkness thing but the older I get the harder it is for me to adjust

thinking back on it I remember convincing myself the last couple years around this time that I must have mono or something the way I keep nodding off so early – but I guess it’s more like some kind of hibernation mode I go into or something… eventually I adjust and get back to my normally screwy sleeping schedule - but for now I guess I just have to make the most of being awake BEFORE the butt crack of dawn!!

like I said in the comments below - you find all sorts of crazy things when you’re up before the sun - today I was floating around myspace and found something that will give me hours of enjoyment... so I thought I’d share it with you

(use arrow keys to move)



and since I KNOW I won’t tire of this any time soon I put a little one over there to the right so we can all play any time we want - ENJOY!!

T.G.I.F.

maaan it’s been a LONG week... don’t know WHY but it has!! hehehe I hope next week is smoother!! guess we'll find out when the time comes huh?

oh... and speaking of time... don't forget to turn your clocks back tomorrow night!! haaaa I've been falling asleep so early lately as it is... come Sunday I'll probably have to be woken up to eat my dinner!!

anyway... I hope you all have a super GREAT weekend

now… for your viewing pleasure - here’s another TOTALLY AWESOME VIDEO!! ~ enjoy!!

top five...

GUILTY PLEASURES

Beastie Boys
Stray Cats
Elton John (OLD Elton John though not that Disney crap he puts out now!!)
Tammy movies
basically any movie from the 80’s with Molly Ringwald

TV SHOWS

Twilight Zone
Freaks & Geeks
CSI
LOST
Batman

COMEDY MOVIES

Airplane!
Young Frankenstein
Dazed and Confused
American pie
it’s a tie between Cry Baby and Pink Flamingos

HORROR MOVIES

the Shining
Halloween
Psycho
House of 1000 corpses
Night of the Living Dead

MOVIE CHARACTERS

Verbal Kint – The Usual Suspects
Riff Raff - the Rocky Horror Picture Show
Willy Wonka – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - I thoughtthey were both awesome!!
E. Edward Grey – Secretary
Dr. John Harvey Kellogg – the Road to Wellville

MAGAZINES

MAD
FANGORIA
Weekly World News (hey it’s sort of a magazine)
Cracked
taste of home

FOODS

BBQ ribs
sesame chicken
cheeseburgers
french onion soup
thanksgiving dinner – does that count? hehehe

CEREALS

cocoa pebbles
count chocula
cocoa puffs
frosted flakes
cap’n crunch

JUNK FOODS

movie theater popcorn drenched in butter flavor topping!!
chunky monkey ice cream
potato chips & onion dip
french fries
shrimp toast

CANDY

Brach’s bridge mix
valomilk
Reese’ peanut butter cups
M&M’s
Cadbury dairy milk bar

BEVERAGES

water
lemonade
Pepsi
Royal Crown
Orange Crush

VIDEO GAMES

Legend of Zelda
Zelda II - Adventure of Link
Frogger
Ladybug
Castlevania

COMIC/CARTOON CHARACTERS

Jughead
Groo
Garfield
Creepy Susie
Onion Breath (from the Richie Rich comics) hush now that guy was cool… he could melt locks with his sulfuric halitosis!!

BANDS

Led Zeppelin
Jethro Tull
Queen
The Beatles
Alice in Chains

ALBUMS (essentials)

Van Morrison – Moondance
White Stripes - Elephant
Prince – Purple Rain
Meatloaf – Bat Out Of Hell
Morphine – Yes

ALBUMS (most listened to)

Queens - greatest hits vol. 1
Oasis – what’s the story morning glory
Mother Love Bone – mother love bone
Alice in Chains – unplugged
Beatles – white album

SOUNDTRACKS

the doors
the big chill
dazed and confused
grease
twin peaks – fire walk with me

BOOKS

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
the Catcher in the Rye
V.C. Andrew’s Dollanganger series
complete Grimm’s fairy tales
any and all Garfield books

ARTISTS

Robert Crumb
Edward Gorey
Ivan Albright
Rudy Gruenke
Ansel Adams

GAMES

farkel
Monopoly
Scrabble
Rummy
Scattergories

THINGS TO WEAR

my acorn slippers
converse all stars
fleece ‘hoody’
oversized t-shirts
black velvety lounge pants

YUMMY GUYS

Matthew McConaughey
Dave Grohl
Jack White
Matt Dillon
Johnny Depp

WEB SITES

Post secret
Bud Light real men of genius commercials
zooass
fat pie
where’s george

still breathing...

hang on to your seats folks – this might just be my most exciting post ever!!

haaaa I feel like I’ve been kind of neglecting this place… for some reason I don’t seem to have much to say lately

I’m still having breathing problems although not as bad or as constant – I’m not really sure what that means… of course I haven’t really been diagnosed with anything but I’m leaning toward asthma

I was taking prednisone all last week… and I’m not sure if that helped but I can say that I felt GREAT on Friday and Saturday… and most of Sunday – it was like I was back to normal – I still had little twinges of tightness in my chest and coughing and slight difficulty breathing here and there but it was NOTHING like it had been

since it wasn’t so constant I was able to kind of evaluate it and I realized that I’ve been having these issues for a long long time – especially the tightness in my chest where I couldn’t get deep breaths – I always referred to it as feeling ‘pressurey’ – I thought it was more of a blood pressure thing than a breathing thing but now I realize that wasn’t the case

I’ve also had many days in the past where I would say ‘I can’t breathe for nothin’ today’ or that I was breathing like crap – I would ask my best friend who’s had bad asthma for years how she was breathing – I figured if she was having trouble then maybe there was something in the air (pollen or smoke or something) that would explain why I was having such a hard time

maybe all this time I just had asthma too?

I know that there have been times in the past where I was prescribed inhalers or took it upon myself to take over the counter breathing medications like primatene – mostly when I was a teenager and used to get a lot of bronchitis (probably from smoking) but I guess it’s possible I’ve always had some kind of asthma and it just wasn’t that bad

I know that the last time I had a cold I spent a month sleeping in my recliner because every time I tried to sleep horizontally it felt like I was suffocating

and I know there have been times where I've complained it felt like my lungs were closing up when I was outside in cold wintery weather - those are signs that point to asthma

anyway after having an almost totally normal weekend – I was breathing like crap again yesterday!!

so far today though I’m much better ~knock on wood~ (see Jocelyn now I have a whole new reason to worry about jinxing myself) hehehe

I don’t know what ALL the possibilities are as far as illnesses that could cause difficulty breathing but I’m pretty sure at this point asthma is the best case scenario (alternatives being things like heart disease or failure, emphysema, lung cancer, blood clots etc.) and you KNOW I’ve done my best to convince myself I’m going to die!! for people like me, the internet can be an evil nasty diagnostic tool!!

back in the day it used to be the medical book my mother had… in the past, just by looking in that book I’ve convinced myself I’ve had everything from sickle cell disease and black hairy tongue to prostate cancer and epilepsy

even though I’m not black, my tongue is pink, I don’t have a prostate and I’ve never had a seizure

if I could get all that from one little book – imagine what an entire world of misinformation (or misinterpreted information) can make me think I’ve been stricken with? hehehe

anyway… I know I’ve rattled on about all this in previous post and in comments but I’m just going over it again now as a sort of reference for the future – so that weeks from now when I can’t remember how things have been progressing I can look back and say ‘hey I was doing pretty well on October 24th!’

which I am… still not 100% but a heck of a lot better than I was!!

so at this point I guess you could say (or I could anyway) that the worst of this breathing thing seems to come and go – some days I’m practically normal and some days… far from it – and from what I’ve been able to ascertain, that sounds a lot like asthma

the doctor had asked me to call her at the end of last week with an update on my condition – I waited until yesterday (just wanted to get through the weekend without talking to those people) for fuck sake!! I’m so sick of the doctor’s office!! hehehe

they asked if I wanted her to call me back… I told them she could call if she thought it was necessary – she didn’t call so I guess I’ll take that to mean she doesn’t think my life is in danger

if this continues or gets worse I guess I’ll go back and see what more can be done – but for now I’ll just have to learn to live with it – I’d like an opportunity to at least TRY to catch up on the bills I’ve racked up there without incurring any more!! – that’s not so much to ask, is it?

anyway… enough of all this crap…. I’m tired of sounding like my fucking grandmother

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas....

I’m not much of a shopper… in fact for the most part I HATE shopping – for some reason I have a difficult time spending money… even when I was a kid and money wasn’t really something we worried about – we’d be hanging out at the mall and my sister and friends would be buying all sorts of things – I almost always went home with all but what it cost me to buy a slice of pizza and a soda (ok make that two slices!!)

there were a couple exceptions… rings and t-shirts – my hands were covered in silver, onyx and opals and I had one of the best collections of different led zeppelin, metallica and megadeth t-shirts – I still have half of them – fortunately I always got them super huge because now Sam wears them… which is cool… I feel like I got my money’s worth if they’re still being worn after all these years hehehe

I guess I grew out of my jewelry and t-shirt days but I still have one weakness… NOVELTIES

toys, candy, cards, games that sort of thing – anything goofy, kitschy, or strange – wax lips, candy cigarettes, rubber chickens, whoopee cushions – whenever I see these things I feel compelled to buy them… sometimes I’m successful at avoiding this urge, and sometimes… not so much

we hit the mother load one day a few years ago when we found a store selling bunches of meanie beanies for something like $1 a piece – I got the entire series 1 set – and a few from series 2 – I also got most of the series 1 infamous meanies (the only one I’m missing is buddy the dog) and 2 of the three shocking stuffer meanies (missing slushy the snowman)

I was so jazzed about hitting that jackpot I think I told everyone I knew about it for weeks!! haaaa – much like last year when I found Mr. Tillard (pictured above) of course pretty much everyone thinks I’m out of my mind... a grown person getting all excited about stuffed animals and puppets - I think they should get the sticks out of their butts!! hehehe

HALLOWEEN is the best time of year to find such nifty things as wax fangs and bone shaped candy in a plastic casket

the other day I found these super cool body parts!!



there was an eyeball but my niece was using it as a bouncy ball and it got lost somewhere behind the couch

ya know how goofy old people will grab a kids nose and say 'got yer nose!'?
oh man you shuold have seen my niece when I did that to her and then actually produced a nose in my hand!! and then I did the same thing with her ear... at first she seemed a little freaked out but after a few minutes she just thought it was about the coolest thing ever!! hehehe

last week I visited the local Dollar Tree looking for halloween junk (another thing 'they' look at me funny about) - as I wandered around getting more and more disappointed with their pitiful selection, a shiny object appeared… out of the corner of my eye, it was as if a light shined down from the heavens... illuminating the hidden end cap display – revealing something that I just could NOT resist!!

CLASSIC MOVIE MONSTER FIGURINES!!



look... they come with tiny little movie posters and everything!!

but the coolest thing I've seen lately (that unfortunately I couldn't afford) was the obsessive compulsive action figure

I MUST have this thing!!

they also had a CRAZY CAT LADY action figure!! that was totally awesome too!! in fact everything that place sells is awesome!!

bandages that look like breakfast!!



ceramic smoking babies, swedish ear syringes, latex vultures, sideshow action figures (such as the bearded lady and the lobster boy!!) I have a thing for sideshows so of course I MUST have them too!!

my christmas list is growing and growing - seriously... if I could.... my entire house would be lined with these things!!!

I don't know why everyone thinks I'm nuts!! we all need a hobby... what's wrong with collecting weird toys? I mean c'mon - you can't be grumpy when you're playing with a bearded lady action figure!!

and if you disagree.... Mr. Tillard will attack you in your sleep!!!

peep show...

this weekend could have sucked… but it turned out pretty nice
I don’t have it in me to talk about the many reasons it could have sucked so instead I’ll show you all the reasons it’s GREAT to be alive and living in kittyville

yesterday I became one of those leaf peeping idiots I always complain about!! we decided to have a little picnic at a local tourist attraction (it’s days like yesterday that I miss Sam having a week day off – over the weekend those types of places are loaded with… well…. tourists)

anyway.... it was such a pretty day… it’s very near the peak of leaf season in kittyville and Sam was nice enough to stop and let me take a couple pictures along the way to our destination (even though he knew when I got there I would be taking pictures the entire time!!)

so first things first – around the corner from our house we spotted a gruesome scene… turkey vultures disemboweling a dead deer!!



it was a MAJOR victory for me to actually be able to open my window and stick my head out long enough to take that picture because seriously just seeing a turkey vulture in the distance makes me hyperventilate!! so YAY me!!

after that is when I turned into an idiot (probably the shock of being that close to those creepy birds!!) there’s this farm right around the corner from where the yucky vultures were that has all these cute ‘oreo’ cows (I don’t know what they’re REALLY called, everyone just calls them oreo cows) I wanted to take their picture so Sam pulled off on the side of the road and I stood there like an idiot taking pictures – I just KNOW the people driving by were rolling their eyes at me just like I always do at the tourists standing there gawking at the scenery – I tell ya I’m turning into an old person!! hehehe



after that we stopped at this other farm… a horse farm this time (although from the looks of it in this picture it’s more of a goose farm)



eventually we reached our destination - although I probably saw about half a dozen other things along the way that I wanted to snap a shot of… if we stopped for every picture I see we’d never get anywhere!!

when we got there we stopped at this little overlook spot and ate our lunch – and I took these pictures… (the water in the distance is the hudson river and the mountains behind it are the catskills)





after lunch we decided to take a walk down to the river – you probably can’t tell from those pictures, but it’s actually a kinda long hilly walk… I was pretty concerned about the walk back UP - on a good day I don’t do well with hills... but I figured I HAVE to live!! if walking back up those hills kills me at least my last afternoon was a beautiful one hehehe

obviously I survived!! YAY!!

I knew I had to in order to bore you all to tears with this little slide show haaaa

so here are some pictures I took along the way…

....

....

....

....

I've lived here all my life and been to that place MANY times but I'd never been down to the river - it was nice to spend some time down there.... it was so peaceful and quiet and WINDY!! (I LOVE wind so that's a good thing) it was especially nice to be there with Sam... he used to go there all the time when he was a kid and it was nice to listen to him share those memories

so there ya have it... another BEAUTIFUL day in kittyville!!

Friday October 13th!! WOO HOO

there’s math involved so I’m not gonna go and try to figure out exactly how rare it is to have the 13th fall on a Friday IN OCTOBER but it can’t happen all that often or I would remember!!

and what better way to spend Friday October 13th, then warping your brain with images of a giant hulking man-child (and his mommy) getting revenge on hoards of reckless, inebriated, fornicating teenagers? why there’s no better way, I say!!

but can you believe (where I live at least) not one single station is playing a single solitary Friday the 13th movie?!! not even one… not even at 3am!! what the hell is wrong with these people?

the last time the 13th fell on a Friday, one station (I think it might have been sci fi) was saturated with the blood stains of Jason’s victims, pretty much all day - and it was far from October!!

but in OCTOBER when they should be running them anyway… not one station thinks that Friday the 13th would be a good day to have a Friday the 13th marathon!!?

it’s a good thing I have at least the first 3 or 4 on dvd!!

so I think I'll make myself a big ol' bowl of popcorn and take a trip to camp crystal lake (pop in a dvd – or 2 or 4 and spend the day in front of the tv folding laundry and doing all those other boring chores that work well while glued to the boob tube) hehehe

those of you who are stuck at your desk can visit CAMPCRYSTALLAKE.COM to get your fix of machetes and the blood curdling screams of dimwitted horny teenagers

and now your TOTALLY AWESOME VIDEO of the week (Jason on Arsenio promoting Friday the 13th part VIII - Jason Takes Manhattan)

HELP!! I'm drowning in MUST SEE tv!!

is it just me or is this falls tv schedule insane?! seriously - if I don’t get TiVO or DVR service soon I think my vcr might spontaneously combust!!

Monday - I watch the entire CBS Monday night lineup – I laugh more on Monday nights than the whole rest of the week!! did you see The Class this week? I almost fell out of my chair at the very end!! and Old Christine?!! oh man!! – I so hope both of those shows last!! – of course how I met your mother and two and a half men are a riot too!!

I haven’t allowed myself to set eyes on the other two shows I’d probably get hooked on – heroes and studio 60 on the sunset strip – I figure I’ll check them out later on in the season when everything goes into reruns and I’m going through tv withdrawals

Tuesday – HOUSE… I HAVE to watch house!! – the unit – which must be on up against vanished (ok I just read that house will be on at 9 and vanished at 8 which puts HOUSE against the unit) – Sam had decided to sacrifice the unit in favor of taping vanished hopefully he’ll feel the same way about house!! I CAN’T miss HOUSE!! hehehe

Wednesday – Jericho on CBS I’m totally hooked on this show and I have no idea why but if you haven’t seen it you should… you might learn some potentially valuable information if the world keeps going the way it is!! haaaa

then I have to tape criminal minds and HOPE I can stay awake long enough to watch LOST - note to self: start drinking coffee on Wednesday nights - because LOST is one of those shows I can’t miss a minute of!! did you catch last season when it became apparent that the show is not taking place present day, but actually a couple years ago? you practically can’t blink while watching that show or you’ll miss something vital!!

Thursday – I HAVE to watch survivor of course!! then I have to tape CSI & Shark because I’ll just cry if I miss CSI – but that means I have to miss six degrees which I’ve been successful at not getting hooked on – even though I’d like to! hehehe

Friday – Ghost Whisperer – I LOVE this show and I don’t know why… it never fails to make me cry – every damn week and I HATE to cry about as much as I HATE to sweat!!

then I have to tape Men In Trees (have you seen that? it’s really cute!) while I watch Close to Home because I at least don’t mind falling asleep in the middle of that

but then there’s Monk and Psyche on USA which they must have switched around or something because I keep missing Monk for some reason =(
maybe it’s because I’m falling asleep at 8 like a fucking old lady!!

Saturday – we have to watch the 6 hours of shows we managed to tape – which by my calculations is about 4 hours shy of what I’d actually like to tape… and that’s not even mentioning the miscellaneous shows that I’d like to watch about different historical things or whatever on discovery, history, the food network, sci fi - and lifetime movies etc.

Sunday – I’m getting hooked on the amazing race for the first time – then there’s cold case and without a trace – which I would like to tape but by then I’m usually so sick of switching the settings on our tv back and forth from cable to vcr that I just don’t bother

Sam somehow lost track of Prison Break so we’re WAY behind on that - I’ve totally given up Gilmore Girls because I somehow kept missing it last season so I have NO idea what’s going on in Stars Hollow!!

I TOTALLY missed the entire last season of the OC!! – I’m wondering if I can pick it up this season and not be too far gone – I HOPE I HOPE – although what if I’m sleepy? – I can’t tape The OC AND CSI

DEEP BREATHS!!

what’s a girl to do? how am I supposed to be a good little TV junkie without the proper equipment!!

thank you...

for always loving me – even though sometimes I’m not very lovable!!

for being my partner, my hero, my best friend - and all that other naughty stuff – even though some of it must be like pulling teeth at times

for the way you help out around here when I’m bogged down - even if I do sometimes have to remind you repeatedly hehehe

and for the way you stop me for hugs – even when I’m in the middle of doing something… I need to remember to not push away so quickly sometimes – life is too short and feeling your arms around me is WAY more important than putting the milk away!!

for stopping what you’re doing to rub my feet… even if it is just so that next time I’ll stop what I’m doing to rub yours hehehe

for calling… when you know I’m having a bad day - just to see how I’m doing or when you’re going to be late… even though the other guys probably give you a hard time

for actually WANTING to spend your time with me even though it sure seems like nobody else wants to spend time with their wives

for trudging off to work when you wish you were still in bed even though you sometimes hate your job… and for all the other things you do to take care of me and of us

for putting up with my ticks and quirks and not making me feel self conscious – even though I must sometimes drive you insane!!

for always being there and for holding my hand and kissing my forehead and making me feel safe and warm and loved

and for all the other things that show you care...

I LOVE YOU!!

update on the situation below

first of all what’s wrong with you people? it’s obvious the most important parts of that last post are hasselhoffs bestiality photo shoot and the totally awesome video of the week!!

but since you seem more concerned with ME and I said I’d keep you updated… here ya go hehehe

first things first… if you weren’t here or don’t remember you can catch the beginning of this saga (which started in May) HERE ~ where I talk about my situation a little more indepth

ok back to yesterday - I went to the doctor… now just so you know, the person I usually see isn’t a doctor – she’s a nurse practitioner (from here on out I’ll be referring to her as the NP) usually I’m fine with seeing the NP - she can do all the same stuff as a DOCTOR and if she can’t she sends you to someone who can - for normal things like a sinus infection or something like that, I have no problem not seeing an actual doctor – I can usually diagnose myself… I just need someone to confirm my diagnosis and write a prescription - and for the longest time that kind of thing was pretty much all I ever dealt with (for the most part) which is good because I’m not big on going to the doctor (OR the NP heheh) - I’m not an idiot though, if I have something REALLY wrong I’m not gonna sit on it until it kills me

case in point, this breathing situation

this all started back with the situation I talked about in that link above - a panic attack!!

I had been dealing with borderline high blood pressure for about 4 or 5 years… nothing they really thought I needed medication for but that day the ‘NP’ suggested I try a low dose of something called toprol (which is a beta blocker) that would help lower my blood pressure AND my heart rate which has a tendency to be a little high at times

I thought I was dying so this seemed like a decent idea (even though I HATE the idea of taking such things) I’d rather work that sort of thing out on my own – through diet, exercise (I could stand to lose quite a bit of weight) so those things WOULD help my BP – and through some kind of stress management… the problem was though that in the 5 years since I started having this BP issue… my anxiety had gotten worse and I gained even more weight so I obviously wasn’t doing what I needed to take care of things myself so I said fuck it and started the toprol

funny thing… IMMEDIATELY my migraines all but stopped completely!! I felt GREAT!!! I had more of a spring in my step… maybe just because I wasn’t exhausted from having bad headaches every week… who knows

they slowly started coming back though – not nearly as often

gradually about 2 or 3 months in the breathing thing started so I went back to the NP – on a day where I had a pretty bad headache… my BP was up (probably because I was in pain but it’s hard to say which came first, the chicken or the egg, ya know?)

this is when she told me the breathing thing MIGHT be caused by the toprol, yet she increased my dose (from 25mg to 50mg… apparently still a very low dose)
she also gave me the albuterol – and we all know how THAT went

I was reluctant to double the dose of the medication she thought MIGHT be causing me to not be able to breathe but she assured me I wouldn’t die (that’s always my main concern of course!! hehehe)

I doubled the dose… again the headaches all but disappeared… but the breathing thing continued and may have even gotten worse

which is what brought me back to the clinic yesterday… on Fridays the NP isn’t in… they have the DOCTOR who oversees the whole operation in the office – I had never met him before but I was kind of happy to be seeing an actual MD – especially for something as important as my ability to take in oxygen!!

he asked how I was doing… I said SUCKY! he looked shocked – he said people aren’t usually so blunt… I said I hear that a lot!! – we laughed… a good time was had by all

basically he agreed I shouldn’t take any more albuterol… he also took me off the toprol because (which I already knew from reading up on it after the NP mentioned it) one of the major side effects of it is that it can cause severe breathing difficulties

he said my BP isn’t high enough to HAVE to take medication – he also gave me an antibiotic in case I MIGHT have a small case of bronchitis (because I’ve had a cough off and on) but I’m waiting to start the antibiotic – I want to see if stopping the toprol does the trick… one: because I want to know if the toprol is the culprit and two: because I don’t want to take antibiotics unnecessarily

oh and M… you’re right about the stress thing.… while I’ve had shortness of breath caused by anxiety, the DOCTOR said that sort of shortness of breath is more or less in your head… (in other words you FEEL like you can’t breathe but if you do a peak flow test you’ll still blow normal numbers)

so I don’t know WHY the NP suggested it may be my anxiety (she MAY have said that before I took the peak flow test and I just assumed it was still a possibility)

anyway the doctor said since I was taking such a low dose that I could just stop the toprol cold turkey… but everything I read says NO

I wonder if he noticed that the NP had upped my dose…. of course I didn’t think of this until after they were closed - so now I’m concerned about THAT… as if I need MORE to obsess over!! so because I’m such a paranoid nut job I didn’t just cut it out cold turkey… last night I cut the pill in half… now the only question is.. how long do I have to keep THAT up for? hehehe

anyway wish me luck!! because if neither of these things works to make me breathe better I’m going to need tests that there’s no way we can afford!!

I may have to set up a collection box over in my sidebar!! hehehe

just call me tweak...

first things first… I have to know – what the hell is Hasselhoff doing to that poor puppy?!! is it just me or does the one on the floor look scared to death that it might be his turn next??!!



alright I was all set to sit down and dazzle you with my amazing wit and charm but instead I think I’ll do a little whining… why not? I’m entitled – I’m over due for my period and I’m cranky and irritable!! – so there!! hehehe

I’ve been having a hard time breathing for at least a month now… at first I was thinking maybe it’s allergies although I don’t seem to have any other typical allergy symptoms (sneezing, watery eyes, etc.) just the difficulty breathing

slight shortness of breath… but more of an inability to get a good deep breath – half the time I can’t even yawn fully – so you can imagine how irritating that might be

I tried to ride it out for a week or so but eventually went to the doctor – about 2 weeks ago… she had me do one of those tests were you breathe out as hard as you can into a tube and it’s supposed to gauge how well you’re breathing somehow – I blew about 10 points lower than I should have… but was told that’s not TERRIBLE – not great but not terrible….

she didn’t seem to have a clue as to what might be causing this… she said it could be allergies or stress or it could be being caused by the medication I started taking a few months ago (I think she was leaning toward the stress idea)

she gave me an albuterol inhaler and sent me on my way… I was reluctant to take the albuterol for a few reasons – but eventually they convinced me it was safe - so the next time I was having a particularly hard time breathing I grabbed the thing, stuck it in my mouth and sucked – NOTHING

usually when I stick something in my mouth and suck I get a HUGE reaction so I thought perhaps I did something wrong

like an idiot I accidentally did the second hit with the cap on – maybe that was the problem

so the next time I was having a harder than usual time breathing I gave it another whirl – nothing!! it didn’t seem to help at all!! however both times it DID make me very fidgety and even more anxious – it gave me the feeling of what I imagine it must be like to smoke crack or something like that
I keep sort of rocking and rubbing the palms of my hands up and down my thighs like a seething fool

AND even when I took it at 6 in the morning I had a HORRIBLE time trying to sleep later on that night… HORRIBLE!! I was up on and off all night feeling like my heart was going to beat out of my chest and that sort of thing

since this happened both times I assume it was caused by the albuterol

even though I was reluctant because of all this I wanted to give it one more shot (because apparently I’m a glutton for punishment) I figured I should give it at least 3 chances – I don’t know why hehehe

and this morning out of nowhere I was having a hard time again so once more I took a couple hits of albuterol – again it didn’t really seem to do anything

anything but make me twitch and fidget anyway…

I was supposed to go back to the doctor on the 19th but I rescheduled for this afternoon because I’m getting pretty sick of this!!

I imagine you’re all fascinated by this so I’ll be sure to keep you updated on the situation

meanwhile get well wishes and gifts are welcome!!

now it's Friday so on to the totally awesome video of the week…. I was torn between this and something else... maybe I'll do the other one next week.... or maybe I won't

another shocking secret revealed!!

over the years some wild and crazy things have come out involving our beloved friends on Sesame Street... but this one takes the cake!!

it’s a secret even bigger than a snuffleupagus!!

even more shocking than what Bert & Ernie do to eachother when the cameras are turned off!!

are you ready for this?

Grover is a cross dresser!!

that's right - he was recently spotted at a local club, partying the night away... IN DRAG!!



what will we find out next? that Mr. Hooper liked little boys? - that Bob was bangin' Barkley behind the fix-it shop?

it really makes one wonder... exactly who ARE the people in your neighborhood?

corporate brainwashing…

it’s no secret I’m not a big fan of chain stores – all you get is overpriced garbage dished out by underpaid drones with crappy attitudes – but they have most of us over a barrel because even though the product is a piece of crap and we’re going to have to replace it in 6 months… unfortunately most of the time we can’t afford to shell out what it would cost for a better quality item

for the most part I’m pretty good about avoiding places like Wal-Mart, K-Mart… and all the other stores with names that end in MART

but I have to admit – I occasionally fall victim to the flashy advertising of the giant corporate mega joints – it never fails though… I always kick myself in the ass afterward!!

this time it was the sweet creamy call of the French Toast Festival down at IHOP – I see the ads for those delicious looking breakfasts and my mouth starts to water!!

we went to IHOP this weekend for the first time in at least a year (now I remember why it’s been so long!) – totally a coincidence too because even though fluffycat did have me craving french toast the other day… it was totally Sam’s idea to go to IHOP!! I just didn't do anything to talk him out of it hehehe

anyway… what a rip off!! I got the harvest grain and nut pancakes - I know that’s not french toast… I was trying to get something that at least SOUNDED healthy hehehe I’m sure they were nowhere near healthy…. the cost was certainly sickening!! $7 plus tax… for 3 pancakes!! I could fill my entire fucking house with pancakes (from SCRATCH!) for $7!!!

AND have REAL maple syrup to douse them in!!

I suppose it’s possible that the extra money was for the 4 or 5 previously frozen strawberries and the miniscule dollop of aerosol whipped cream they garnished them with

hold on while I calculate how much the same meal would have cost if I was smart enough to stay home and make it myself…

one batch of my homemade pancakes (about 10)

flour approximately - 10 cents
eggs approximately - 7 cents
milk approximately - 35 cents
oats approximately - 8 cents
walnuts approximately – 50 cents
oil – I dunno… 10 cents?

REAL maple syrup (enough for one batch of pancakes) - $2

$3.20 – for an ENTIRE batch of pancakes!!

plus

1 bag frozen strawberries - $2
sugar -to make berries juicy – too inexpensive to calculate
½ can of whipped cream (so we can actually have as much as we want) - $1.50

grand total $6.70

so for a little less than we paid for THREE, I could have had an entire batch of homemade grain and nut pancakes WITH REAL maple syrup AND strawberries and whipped cream!!! - which Sam could have shared!!

but that’s not the worst!! - ever notice how they conveniently leave the beverage prices off the menus at those places?

Sam got a glass of cranberry juice (certainly not the good stuff - probably some kind of sugar loaded cranberry juice cocktail from a can) and it cost $3!!!

I can buy an entire half gallon of apple & eve cranberry juice for that price!! or less (our A&P has it on sale this week for $1.69!!)

when we left there I spent the next hour wishing I could turn back the clock – because there’s NO WAY in hell breakfast for 2 people should cost over $20!!!

not a crappy chain meal like we had anyway

there’s a cute little diner-like place about 5 miles from here where we could have filled our bellies for ½ of what it cost us to eat at IHOP (and the food would have been way better!) – how can a small independent guy manage that but for a similar meal at a giant chain like IHOP you practically need to take out a loan!!

it all comes down to the fact that the food (and the service) at the big corporate places don’t speak for themselves – so they have to charge for all the advertising they do

in the independent food world it’s all about word of mouth – you have to offer something that the people are gonna talk about… GOOD food for a GREAT price!! people wanna get full and not go broke doing it!! but not on crap… all they want to know is that they’re getting their money’s worth!! and the little guys who are worth a damn KNOW that – and because they can rely on word of mouth they don’t have to pay bazillions of dollars for advertising

the big guys spend millions of dollars on research alone just to find out exactly what little details make us crave certain things – and it works!!

IHOP knows they’re selling you total CRAP wrapped up in a pretty package so they have to go out of their way to lure you in… basically dupe you into thinking you’re getting something good

what you’re REALLY getting is the cheapest ingredients possible, dished out in gigantic fat and salt laden, stomach stretching, sugar addicting, heart attack inducing portions that are formulated (no doubt in a lab somewhere) to get you hooked and make you come back for more – they give you such large portions (and can afford to because the ingredients are so cheap) to make you THINK you’re getting your money’s worth – but you’re so NOT!!

if they were offering something worth more than a dime it would speak for itself and they wouldn’t need to fuck with our minds in order to get us in the door!!

so anyway I think it’s safe to say we won’t be going back to IHOP any time soon - and I’m glad!! I’d MUCH rather support the small, local family run businesses anyway!!

so the next time you see one of those ads for the hot steaming stack of buttery pancakes or french toast and you’re feeling too lazy to make it yourself… pay a visit to the little guy down the road – I’d put money on the fact that you’ll have a more satisfying experience!!