oh nooooo, tumblies

Yep, they're baaaaack, and in the same corner they began in. Oh well. I decided not to do the passing out candy this year, although that actually took care of itself by the time the "second shift" kicked in. I woke up in the morning and was up for a while, and Michele called me and we had a great talk, but I got really sleepy and had to go so I could sleep, and by the time I woke up it was almost 8 pm. Luckily I had already turned off the porch lights in anticipation. 

I did take Ozzy to Walgreens to pick up some prescriptions, which he always enjoys, and to pick up a couple of things for my costume tomorrow night at Alex's grandma's Halloween party. Alex texted me tonight to see if I was still going and I told her I wasn't feeling well but was still planning on it. We're leaving around 9:30 am tomorrow morning, but I've been getting up in the mornings and by the time we get there I should be able to get a hotel room and get some rest before the party. 

My costume, if it works out, is going to be easy, I hope. I'm going to turn myself into a grocery bag, and Ozzy is going to wear his baseball jacket, and a t-shirt. So, when I'm carrying Ozzy around I'm going to be a doggy bag, and if he's somewhere else, I'll be a bag lady. It should be a fun party, and I'll get to meet Alex's sister's new boyfriend, Drew, and get to see Oshkie, Annette's (Alex's grandma) puppy, again. I hope he and Ozzy will want to play. He's a pretty little guy, about the size of Ozzy, but I think he's going to end up bigger than Ozzy. He's a Maltie-Poo and has the softest fur and really interesting coloring. I'll try to get some pictures.

vanishing tumblies and GHWT

I can't believe I didn't post this a few days ago, but I keep forgetting. I talked to Dad on his birthday, which was Saturday and we were talking about the tumblies and he was trying to give me some ideas on how to get rid of them. He must not have seen the pictures cause he was talking about pulling them out of the ground and such. I told him my idea about stomping on them and he said that was a bad idea cause it would release the seeds. Well, that makes sense, and when we were talking, well, he was talking, I realized it would be really easy to take the trash bin and lay it on its side and just rake them in. Good idea. 

So, I was out doing something during the day on Sunday and happened to look around my front door to the fence, kind of checking things out for when I got started, and there was nothing there. They were ALL gone. I wondered to myself if my new neighbor had decided to get rid of all of them, so I went over to the other side of the house and they were all gone there, too. Okay. I went back into the house to go to the backyard and there were only a little left on the east facing side of the fence. The wind had changed again and blown them all away. Oklahoma wind is great... and weird.

The other news is that my weird schedule, which is now split in two, has allowed me to beat Guitar Hero World Tour on medium, which actually took me a little bit longer than I thought cause I've been a little down lately. This sleep thing is really strange. I got up at 6 this morning and couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up and just started playing and played until I really couldn't control my fingers anymore, and beat the game, and it ended up being 11:30. That was with a trip to MacDonald's before 10 am for breakfast. I laid down and watched some TV then took a nap and didn't wake up until 7:30 and now it's 1 am. This is just weird. 

I took Ozzy out to Hastings looking for the new Pink album but they didn't have it, and I wanted to get a Catherine Deneuve movie I saw today, but they didn't have that either, but I did get three 2009 calendars. I know that sounds odd, because I search a long time to get the right calendars, sometimes way into the year, and this time there were a wealth of good choices right there. I got an ancient map calendar that will be perfect for the office, which has a map motif, and an Oklahoma landscape one that I will put in the kitchen so I can see some of the spots in OK, and a Boris Vallejo one for my bedroom. I love his paintings, and the only illustrator that comes close to his caliber is his wife, and if I had seen hers instead of his, I would have gladly bought hers. The Japanese style of illustration, and the current graphic novel style is just not my cup of tea. I love the way he captures the human body so realistically without it being hyper-realistically or cartoonish. I can't wait for the first time Josh goes through my bedroom to get to the backyard next year and sees it. Wonder what his comment will be? It's not like they're naked - they're just fantasy figures.

Anyway, that's my big day - make note of it - the first day I beat GHWT, on medium. But I kinda don't consider it as really beating it, cause it was too easy for me and I know it. I need to play on hard. I just wanted to open the songs up and get some cash and see what the songs were like so when I just wanted to play I would have some stuff I knew. Now the hard stuff starts.

did the sun come out today?

I guess the title says it all. It was another one of those days. I was up for a little bit, but didn't really feel all that well, without a real "thing" to put my finger on, so when I went back to let Ozzy out, I laid back down on my bed and that was pretty much it. I left my living room TV on pause all day. The good thing is the DirectTV has a screen saver (I really like a lot of the features of their DVRs). I was just laying down cause it was more comfortable than sitting up, which should have been a clue, but the next thing I know I hear the doorbell ring, and it's 7pm. The guy at the door was a street number painter, which I did. I passed when I first moved in, but the ones in the neighborhood look really nice, so I got one with a flag. The most used in the neighborhood are OU, OSU and upside down Texas (they really don't like Texas here). I'm happy with mine and it was only $20. I'm paranoid, so I didn't like giving these guys who operate out of the back of their rat trap of a car one of my checks, but he was here last year, and I got the license plate of his car. And besides, how many rat trap cars have I had? He probably has a big new truck that he drives during the day that he DOESN'T carry a zillion cans of spray paint in.

So, I turned on the TV for a while, and decided to post a photo, then I did Ozzy's post, and as long as I did those two, I did this one, even tho, as you can tell, I don't have anything to say cause I did nothing all day. I so need to get to a dentist. My jaw feels better, by a lot, but I wonder if I was/am fighting an infection? At least it's not hurting like it was. I hate to think that all the energy I have is to do the little bit I did with Alex yesterday, but that is my pattern - one day up, one day down.

up and at 'em today

Alex called me today and got me out of bed. I was half asleep but not motivated enough to get out of bed, so I was glad she called. She had Josh's windows tinted for their anniversary and we did the car swap thing. Eventually she came over and we played Guitar Hero for a little bit. She played the Guitar for a while, then she tried the mic from Rock Band, which worked just fine, so we did four or five songs. Alex is good at the singing part. I've never tried it. I liked the way it looked on GHWT (Guitar Hero World Tour) so I might try that sometime when I'm alone. I played this afternoon, too, and made some progress on the game, but I'm kinda stumbling around. There's not a lot of instructions written down. I suppose I could do the tutorial, but what's the fun of that?

I got an invitation in the mail from Alex's grandma to a Halloween party in Paris, TX on Saturday, a costume party. Alex is asking a couple of questions for me, regarding Ozzy, mostly. I'm expecting to stay in a hotel with him, since it sounds like they're going to have a house full of relatives that night. There is going to be a costume contest. Sigh. And they are trying to figure out driving combinations. Poor Mark. He lost his dad last week, and Alex just told me that one of his best friends from high school just came back to Altus, was moving back from California, and died a few days ago, so Mark won't be there. He must be reeling. So that may or may not be what I'm doing this weekend. It sounds like fun, but I do think I need a place where I can retreat to to rest when I need it, cause I've been having that kind of week.

Oh, how could I forget this. I talked to my dad yesterday for his birthday and we were discussing the tumblies and how to get rid of them, and I finally decided the best way to go about it was to take the big trash can to them, lay it on its side and rake them into it, keeping them as intact as possible, so they wouldn't release seeds. So this morning I get up and when I let Ozzy out in the front yard I take a look around the side to see how they are looking (the last time they had shifted again to about 5.5 to 6 feet high on my side of the fence and lower on my neighbors, cause of another wind shift.) Well, imagine my surprise when I see NO tumblies. I look on the other side of the house, none there either, and none in the backyard except for a very few that are caught up in the garden and are up against the gate on the east side. Wiped clean. It's been a very weird experience, but I guess it's done now.

toothache...no, jawache

For the past couple of days, I've had some real pain in my right jaw. Yes, I know I need to go to the dentist, cause even the 15mg of oxy doesn't take the pain totally away. Whoopie, on The View, had to have emergency dental surgery, and was telling everyone the importance of taking care of your teeth. I have a kind of dental coverage - its a discount card, but I haven't found a dentist to go with it. I got a bunch of flyers in the mail that had a Find a Dentist flyer with it. If I can get it together tomorrow, maybe I'll do that. I'm still so hinky about going to the dentist, but at this point it's more dangerous for me not to go than to go. I talked about cutting the oxy in two before but I took a whole one this morning and didn't get out of bed until 7pm. 

Didn't play any Guitar Hero tonight. I watched Dancing With the Stars, called my dad and wished him happy birthday and talked with him for quite a while. The movie I sent him got to him on his birthday (very cool) and they watched it this afternoon. The reason it was very cool is because its the same movie that my brother bought him. hehe. Nice to be one top of things once in a while. It sounded like they were having a good time. Then, it turned out, mom started telling Rob about my blog. She and dad have been reading them. Mom has been reading all three of them, but dad has only been reading two of them. Rob took the address down, so if he starts checking it out too I guess that'll make my readership start getting close to the double digit range. Wooo hooo.

Talking to dad gave me a good idea for how to get rid of the tumblies, I just have to get a day when I feel like trying it. I'm going to take my trash bin to the fence and lay it on it's side and try to rake the tumblies into it. Dad suggested that if I trampled them down I might end up with even more weeds than I had this summer (fence high, if you had forgotten). I think it might work out pretty well.

When Jan was here, she was walking in the back yard, she made mention that, well, however she said it, it was painfully dangerous to walk barefoot in my backyard. The weeds I didn't pull out, that just got cut down, have turned into dangerous little daggers that are hiding amidst the grass. No, it doesn't sound too inviting, doesn't it. They are too deep to pull out, and you can't get a grip if you could. 

That's about it. Ach, it's Monday so I should give myself a shot tonight while I'm thinking about it and get it out of the way. Man, this month is flying by. I got an invitation from Alex's grandma to a Halloween party in Paris, TX, on Saturday. Alex is going to find out about whether I can bring Ozzy, and it is a costume party, and there will be a contest. Alex's grandma is such so cool. I really love her- she's funny and quick and warm and inviting. She has a little puppy named Oshkie that I think Ozzy might like and another dog named Misty, I think, but I won't take Ozzy unless it's ok with her. It sounds like it's going to be a pretty big party so I might be staying in a hotel. No problem. I'm sure there's a La Quinta in Paris, I hope. Hmmmmm, costume, costume, costume. I must ponder. 

new guitar

I actually wasn't sure I was going to be able to hold out until midnight, believe it or not, last night, cause I was tired. I kind of listened to TV with my eyes closed, trying to stay awake. Finally, I decided to drive over to Game Stop at about quarter til midnight and there was a line of about ten people... no, ten 15 year old boys, standing outside the door. Sigh. I decided to stay in the car with Ozzy. When it got to be a minute or two before midnight and I saw people coming out of the store one at a time, I decided I should just buck up and stand in line.

So, there I stood, me, in the midst of mostly preadolescent boys and one or two fathers and two men, post college age, alcohol on their breath, right behind me. Man, did I feel out of place. But there I stood, waiting for my new guitar and game. I watched the little boys coming out of the store one at a time, most of them carrying the complete game boxes, which were bigger than they were. When I was the last one at the door outside, I talked a little bit to the store guy, who was really talking to the men behind me, but as soon as the door opened I shot inside, put down my receipt, got my box and a Guitar Hero pick and instructions for a cheat that will open 84 songs for Quickplay and I headed home. Well, I headed for MacDonalds. 

There was a long line at MacDonalds, and even after, not only being the only female, but the oldest one at Game Stop, being at MacDonald's  was the first time since I've been here that I've been uncomfortable, bordering on afraid, and feeling old. The kids behind me were loud and obnoxious, and I think they knew the kids behind them. They kept honking their horn and yelling. I usually keep the window down so Ozzy can hang out and smell the air and look around, but they were so loud and the way they were yelling, and the tone of their voices, plus it being Saturday night, I rolled up the window and locked the door. Not only that but I put the Guitar Hero down into the foot area so it couldn't be seen and got my phone handy. I just didn't know what to expect. I have never felt so vulnerable here. I didn't like it. The service window took too long making my coffee and they started honking again. I got out of there and watched behind me all the way home. Paranoid, I know, but it spooked me.

So I played until 3 or 3:30 and went to bed, thinking I would just sleep in, but Josh called me at about 11:30, asking if he could come over and take care of a couple of things we had planned, which, of course I said yes. He wanted to watch the Cardinal game, and today is his and Alex's anniversary but it's worked out kind of odd for them. The plans between the two of them are off a beat or two. Anyway, he changed out my router with his and now I'm wireless again, so my iPod can get back on the internet and the XBox can get back online, not to mention my computer, which needs some brain surgery. He also got a chance to play some Guitar Hero and he really likes it. The guitar is much better - heftier and more realistic looking; the setlist of songs is really good; I got to make my own player, which I like in any game, and the character looks really good; the movement of the characters in the game is really smooth - the singer in Beat It actually does Michael Jackson's dance and Josh says the guitar player in the song actually moves like Eddie Van Halen (wouldn't know). Anyway, I like this a LOT better than Rock Band 2, by a lot. Lot. Lotta lot. and I haven't even had it for a day yet.

So, I'm not sure how much you're going to hear from me in the next few days. I'm doing this right now cause I'm going back to bed. I'm tired. This is going to throw me off (like that's something new). Talk to you soon, but know my fingers will be painful claws by the time I come back. With a grin on my face.

counting down til midnight

Tonight at midnight I can go to Game Stop and pick up my copy of Guitar Hero. Of course, today I got up at 11:30 am. Today I would have liked to have slept til 8 pm. Well, no, that would have really bugged me. I was happy to get up that early. Ozzy and I went to Walgreens and got the pencils, so I can vote (#2 pencil required to vote by mail here) and some other things. We had to stop by the pharmacy so Ozzy could visit his favorite pharmacist, Miss Debbie. She was very happy to see him. When I was getting ready to go and continue shopping, he climbed out of the cart and sat on the counter, like, "Bye mom, I'm just staying here with Miss Debbie." She tried to give him some treats, but I don't know if she realized that he wasn't interested in the treats, he wanted her to pet him. 

Anyway, I put him back in the cart and we finished our shopping, then went to Sonic for lunch, then home. My tooth was bothering me, so after lunch I took one of the oxy tabs and settled down to watch Epic Movie, a bad parody movie, but slept through it. That was the problem with the tabs in the first place - they are so strong in the tab form that they make me sleep. They're the reason that my sleep is so far off, so either I don't take them or, and I'm kinda debating this in my mind, I might try cutting them in half, making them stronger than 5 mg but not as strong as the 15. But they're tiny little suckers.

That's about it for today. I've already done the other two blogs, so I'm caught up on that and Ozzy's had a ride for today. He'll be very happy when we go out again tonight for the guitar. I can hardly wait to see what the new guitar looks like. It's supposed to be heavier and a bit bigger, and the song list has at least one country song on it, although it is a Willy Nelson song. 

Well, you know what I'm going to be doing tomorrow, quite happily. Later.

the attack of the gossamer Christmas trees

So this is it, this is a tumblie. It looks, to me, like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I tried to upload a video of the way they move in the wind but I think, since I'm at the cheapest, and therefore the slowest, rate of DSL, that it just couldn't handle the video and I got an error message. Anyway, I am getting an idea or two of what to do with them. 

I got up at the crack of sunset today and was so disgusted and disturbed by it that I got dressed and grabbed Ozzy's new harness and we went outside to take a walk. Much to my surprise, I met my new neighbor, in the house with the tree. Her name is Chee (I don't know how you actually spell it but that's how it's pronounced). She's Chinese (She reminds me of Margaret Cho) and she's very friendly and really sweet. She and her brother were going to mow the yard and were on their way to get gas, so I gave them some of mine, so Sam mowed my yard for me, too. 

Chee and I got to talking about the tumblies. She asked me if I knew anything about them or how to get rid of them. She had tried picking them up and tossing them back over the fence into the field on the other side, but they just blow back, and she tried putting them in a bag, but they just float out, which is what I figured would happen. Since those two are out of the way, I have another idea. Anyway, about Chee. She came from a more Hispanic neighborhood where every night was a fiesta so the quiet neighborhood is both nice and kinda odd to her. She met her neighbor on the other side and she offered him money to mow her yard, since she had no lawn equipment, and he did, for no money, but he hasn't spoken to her since, so she doesn't know what to make of that. 

I'm just so happy to have a friendly neighbor on that side. She asked me if I ever take Ozzy to the dog park and I told her I didn't know there was one. Evidently there's one in Norman, and she suggested that we take both dogs (she has one I've never seen but that runs a path in her back yard. Alex thinks maybe a boxer mix) to the dog park some night next week. They do have a section for small dogs and she said there are far more small dogs there than big dogs.

I would have been content to keep talking, but she was taking Sam to dinner for doing the yard. I had loaned them a real broom to clean up (they were using a decorative one), so we agreed as to where they would leave it, and Ozzy and I went home. I didn't want to hang on so long that they thought I was weirder than I am, or make them feel obligated to invite me to go, too. I don't want to be the lonely odd neighbor that they avoid.

I've got to get up earlier tomorrow cause I've got things I've got to do. I've got a mail in ballot to do, and I have to have a number 2 pencil, and when that's done I have to get it notarized. I also have to get dad's package in the mail for his birthday. Come to think of it, I still have Annie's birthday card and her birthday was on the 10th. I'm in a really weird place about getting stuff done right now. 

I was notified by e-mail that my daily city photo blog was officially accepted, so I'm really happy about that. And, I got a nice message of hello. I really am enjoying it for the short time I've been doing it. Between this blog, the daily city blog, Ozzy's blog and FaceBook, I have a lot to keep me busy on the computer. And I like it.

Okie tumbleweeds

Okay, here are the pictures of the tumblies I've been talking about so much. This first picture is the first time I saw them, after the first big blow.

 
In the next big blow, which brought in in this cold front, all of the tumblies moved from the left side of the back yard to the right side.

After a few more hours of wind, wind and more wind, the yard tumblies have begun their unopposed takeover of my yard.

This is the side of my house, where the gate is hidden and if someone tried to get into my backyard, they would have to wade through the cotton candy first.

This is the other side of my house, where my neighbor, Dusty has his gate, and it's even worse. He didn't even realize until I pointed it out to him tonight.

 Ozzy and I took a slow ride around the neighborhood and Dusty and I are the only ones with the cotton candy fences.

It's a little hard to tell, but you can see it in the garden, too. There are some in the front garden, just not so many. And look at the posture on my little show dog. Doesn't he look born for the show ring?

I was telling Alex about Ozzy and I checking out the neighborhood to see if anyone else had them and she thinks I'm kind of fixated on them. mmmmm, could be. Dusty said that he guessed he would have to do something about the tumblies (well, he didn't use that word - it's my pet name... uh oh, I guess I am a little fixated). Can you imagine trying to get flying cotton candy into a bag - I guess I should try, although I imagine they'll be back tomorrow.

tired, and I didn't do anything

Boy, I don't know if I can keep up with the daily photo posts, and its only the second day. I was looking at my cousin's blogs and she's quite the photographer, and did the same for some of the other sites. That's what this is about, so I'm going to have to step up and do what I have wanted to do which is take some good shots, more than just shots in passing. If you have time to do some surfing, go to some of these daily photo sites and check them out. I have only highlighted the two, one of which is my cousins. The other one belongs to a retired architect who lives in South Africa. I think her web site is clean and very inviting. I think, actually, she reminds me of Annie, out there just doing interesting things and being a fascinating person. You should check it out.

overachiever

Well, it's official. I now have three blogs. Technically, I have two and Ozzy has one. I'm still working on the photo blog, but I think I have a good start on it. I finally got the registration through on the photo blog today, so I need to add some elements, but I've added the links to this blog so you can take a look if you want to see them. At least all the work I put in yesterday wasn't for nothing.

But that's about all I've done is work on the computer, although I had a really nice chat with Michele last night. I love it when she calls cause we always have fun making fun of something or other. I hope we get a chance to go to the movie this week. 

I got up intending to play Rock Band for the past two days but I think the trauma of not having the internet for so many days has caused me to hang onto my computer like Linus and his security blanket. Josh worked really hard to try to get the wireless to work but just couldn't get it. I think the next time I'm out I'll stop by the AT&T store again and see if they have some kind of patch. That will probably be next Saturday when I pick up my new Guitar Hero.

Man! it's cooold in my house. You'd think I'd do something about that. Alex is always under a blanket when she comes here, My nose is actually cold. But if I change it a degree or two, then I get too hot. Sucks to be me.

I don't really have a lot to add today. I think I'm going to watch TV or play guitar, you know, something that adds to the betterment of all mankind. Later.

catching up

I've just spent a lovely couple of hours catching up on family and friends' blogs. I was planning on playing Rock Band 2 today, but got caught up in the blogs, while watching Ghost Hunters (just thought I'd throw that in). 

My cousin Sherry in Idaho, who is an avid blogger, has a new blog that has me pretty excited. It's a project, actually, that is worldwide, and leave it to Sherry to find it. She knows more people around the world than anyone I know, and is all over the web. But, this blog idea is exciting to me. 

The project is to take one picture a day in the area where you live that shows the character and feel and nature of the place where you live. It started in Paris but now there are bloggers all around the world in big cities and small. I didn't see Oklahoma City listed (I decided Moore was too small to go for very long according to the rules you're supposed to follow, but I could use the Oklahoma City metro area). That would satisfy my desire to explore OKC and get me out of the house. You're only allowed to post one picture a day, so on the days I didn't feel well, I could photos from a stockpile. I already have enough to start. I love this idea. There are places I want to go photograph that I wanted to see but didn't have a reason to push me over the edge. Nice to have something to look forward to. Thank you, Sherry.

well, wasn't that a fun day

Ozzy and I were very busy yesterday. I have to call in once a month to get my pain script in person because it's, well, it's a pain med. I was closer to being out than I usually let myself get, what with Jan being here and then the migraine and all, I just let things go by. But I didn't want to get into the weekend and be completely out. I would be completely out of the pills in the bottle by Friday morning, so I called Brooke, the very nice nurse at my rheumatologist's office and she called and let me know that day that it was ready. I told her I would pick it up the next day. I thought I had plenty of time.

I woke up the next day at 3:00-ish and Ozzy and I drove there and picked up the scripts, then went to PetSmart and got some cat food for Sheba - hairball formula for senior cats - as expensive as it sounds, but she's worth every penny. And she's been so good lately, even with Jan and Royal being here, and then Jan. She's been her usual sweet, sweet self. 

I also decided to pick Ozzy up a new collar, a bigger one, and a matching leash, and a harness, because he pulls so hard when he gets a chance to get out and go, like in PetSmart, he makes himself cough and choke. I still remember what that man told me about poodles tendencies to crushed tracheas and it worries me. Both the harness and his new collar are considerably larger than what he had before because now he doesn't look like such a little dog (now that I've lived with him for a while). I know he is, but he needs more than a cat collar and the harness being wider might keep his fur from matting so bad. So, it was a fun trip for him and both the kids got something. 

Then it was off to Walgreens to get the prescriptions filled, but I decided to stop at Game Stop and reserve my Guitar Hero World Tour. However, I found out, they stopped taking reservations for the complete system two weeks ago. But, I could get just the guitar and the game. Woo hoo. That works for me. (I called Josh that night and told him he could get me the drums for Christmas. I still want them but I don't want them that bad right now, but I'm itching for the new guitar).

At Walgreens, I turned in the script and everything was going okay until the pharmacist noticed that the date was the 23rd, not the 18th. Oh crap. There's no way they can fill it. And today, of all days, I didn't bring my cell phone with me. I was going to go home and call Brooke and have her change it, but since home and the doctor's office are only a mile apart, I just went back to the doctor's office. 

I told the front office the problem and a nurse, not Brooke, came out and told me that the reason it said the 23rd was that was when the month was up and I was able to get a new script. That's the first time in four years that I've run out of pills before the month was up. I was really surprised. I told her that the doctor had given me a different prescription for 15 mg tabs before but I had stepped down from it, and could I have that script instead? She went back to discuss it with the doctor and came back out with the new script. Okay, back to Walgreens.

At Walgreens, I found out that they didn't have them, and didn't think they could get them any more. There had been a recall of the 5 mg tabs, and the pharmacist thought that perhaps those tabs could have been recalled, too. She suggested I call around to some other Walgreens. 

By this time, after driving around in the afternoon for so long, I was really tired. I pulled up in the driveway and pushed the garage door button and nothing happened. I pushed it again and still nothing happened. Oh great, I thought. Just what I need. I looked at my garden and noticed a lot of colorful flowers that I never planted and looked to the left and noticed that when I pushed the garage door button one more time, the garage door on the house to the left went up. Oh crap.

So, going to bed last night, I had no oxy for the first time in, well, you know. I had taken my last one when I got home in the afternoon. I took all my other pills and went to bed. I, as usual about half the time, slept off the initial effects of all the sleeping pills and then something or other (usually Ozzy) woke me up. I was still up at 4:30 am so he and I went to MacDonald's and got some breakfast then I tried to go back to sleep again.

Here's where it gets interesting. I was getting to sleep, and something happened to me that's never happened before. It was like all my nerves shot off at the same time and I had this massive body twitch, and then a couple of minutes later it happened again. It was really freaky. I felt like a rag doll being shaken. I knew there was no way I was going to sleep with that going on, so I got up and took a couple of the vicodin I had left and tried to sleep again. It was an interesting sensation feeling the twitches being calmed by the vicodin. They were still there for a little while, but barely, until they were gone. 

I got up this morning and started calling pharmacies, planning in my mind my survival strategies to get through until the 23rd. I still have some 5 mg capsules in the pill container on my key ring. Why didn't I take them last night? Five days is a long time to have to go on about 7 oxy if I'm going to go into withdrawal. Last night wouldn't have been the worst of it because I still had accumulated oxy in my system. 

Anyway, without much hope of it working, with what the pharmacist had said, I started calling the pharmacies in Moore. The first two I called were closed on Saturday. I needed a bigger chain, so I called the CVS right across the street from the Walgreens I go to. I talked to the pharmacist and she checked and sure enough, they had it. Happy day, glory hallelujah!

Ozzy and I hopped in the car (Another car day! Two in a row!!) and went to CVS and they took all my insurance information. It's been so long since I went anywhere other than Walgreens that I forgot they even needed it. They made a nice fuss over Ozzy, and when the prescription was ready, the pharmacist asked me if this was something I would be using every month, because if it was she would keep it stocked for me. She even suggested that I sign up for a CVS card, which I did, that gives rebates and coupons on pharmacy items and store items. I really liked them. 

When she was filling the prescription I was starting to feel pretty bad, not too much sleep and not eating and all, so as soon as I got the prescription and got in the car, I took one and we drove home, and I got on the computer. I actually felt better as soon as we walked in the door. There's no getting around the fact that I'm a chronic pain patient. When I told Josh about the whole thing he told me that maybe it was a good thing cause he thinks I take too many pills anyway. I briefly thought that maybe I could wean off of the pain pills and cut back on some of the others. But reality check here. I've tried that before. I have to be realistic, even if Josh can't accept, or doesn't realize. He didn't even know I was taking weekly methotrexate shots, so he's not really up on what's going on. Sure, I can cut back on some of the pills, but my quality of life would go straight downhill, and it wouldn't last. I tried it with the Lexapro and the pain level shot up. No, this is me, on maintenance.

So, things now are beginning to settle down and hopefully I'll be a little more consistent with the posting, if there's anyone still out there. Even if there isn't, I still need to get back in the groove of posting. I blog in my head and it gets all jumbled up there so I need to spew it onto the page and make room for more. So that's it for now - more anon.

trying to get on the roll again

It's been a long time since things have been "normal," including the time I was offline due to the wait for DSL. As it is I still don't have my wireless back cause I don't have the right cords. Josh thinks I have them plugged in backwards. Well, it could be but I've looked at them twice and I don't see how I could do them any differently, but that's never stopped me before. 

I got my first bill from AT&T, and as expected (I hate AT&T) it was more than they said it would be. I love Direct TV, but I consider AT&T on probation. They quoted me two prices, one for the phone and one for the internet, and the bill for both was ten dollars more for each. I'll give them a couple of months to work things out. Oh, and it just occurred to me that they were supposed to spread the payment over four months. Ack, and sigh.

For some reason, I woke up yesterday with a migraine and this time I was really nauseous, too. Even with relpax, twice, I had to (sorry about being graphic) throw up before I felt better. I was pretty much unconscious all day. It was a shame to waste a nice cool and rainy day. My faithful little Ozzy was with me the whole day.

Josh and Alex are working on their house, painting the living room and putting down a wood laminate floor, so their house is in somewhat of an uproar. Sadly, Alex's dad's father died this week so she and her family went down to Altus for the funeral the past few days. Now that she's back, she's facing several weeks of working straight through with pretty much no breaks. 

That's pretty much if for what's going on here. I did get Rock Band 2, and imported Rock Band, so I have everything together. I've been working in Medium first, cause I want to open all the songs and get all the stars and fans and money. I'm so shallow. But, I don't know like 98% of these songs. Oh, that reminds me - I need to go pre-order Guitar Hero 2 sometime soon cause I just found out that if you do then all the songs opened up when you buy it.

sorry, sorry, sorry

I finally got the DSL to work today, and just finished catching up on my Facebook page, so this is going to be short. There has been a lot happening, unfortunately, cause it means that there's a lot I'm leaving out. My friend Jan just left. She and her husband, Royal, my former neighbors in Tempe, drove Jan's sister's van to them in Michigan and stopped here to sleep overnight last Saturday night, or was it a week ago Saturday night? Anyway, she flew in on Wednesday and was going to fly out on Friday morning, but didn't end up being able to get home until tonight. It's a long story and I don't know if she want's the world to know it, but she has medical issues and they got in the way of her leaving twice. The good thing is that she got a lot of good rest while she was here. She really bonded with Sheba while she was here. In fact, when she called me this evening to tell me she was finally home, she mentioned the usual about missing me and Ozzy, she said that she was really missing Sheba this time.

So it's nice to be back online, but I'm so exhausted from the past few days that this has just got to be a short one. I'll tell you the story of just how much fun I had with AT&T the next time (haven't I always said how much I hate AT&T? I thought I had?) Sorry I've been out of touch, but everything is okay here. More soon, unless something else happens with the DSL.

uhhhh, sorry

Sorry about the descriptive and enigmatic lack of a blog yesterday. I'm getting Direct TV today (with any good fortune at all, but more about that in a bit), so Josh and I took the Cox equipment in and turned off, I thought, the phone and the internet. Last night, on my iPod, I found out I still had internet access. I tried posting a blog with my iPod but couldn't get a keyboard for the actual posting box, only the title. I didn't realize it had posted my frustration.

The Direct TV guy is finally here, along with Josh and Alex. We've been playing Rock Band 2 while waiting for the guy, and now I'm sitting here smelling the pizza we ordered, so forgive me for making this short. 

I'm not scheduled to get DSL until next Friday and I don't know how long my internet will last, but I will try to keep posting, since I'm so far behind, until then. More soon, I hope.

arrrgggggghhhhh