Can't Catch A Break

The past two days have been hellish for me. But they have been far worse for my husband. He started getting sick on Thursday. The commode was fast becoming his best friend. Or not. Neither of us thought anything of it other than something he may have eaten. So we dismissed it as just another one of those bad days.

Until the following day. Oh boy. That's when everything went haywire. You know the old story: coming out of both ends. Not even remotely funny. So I did some research and his symptoms were like that of stomach flu, or gastroenteritis. How one picks that up is beyond me, but pick it up he did. I can only assume it happened the day before, either at the diner where we had breakfast or at the grocery store.

We both try to be so careful when it comes to germs, but they never cease to amaze me in that they always manage to track us down and invade our bodies. Damn little peckerheads. I am getting so tired of this because now it's my turn. Yeah, we have been taking turns when it comes to that type sickness. All the more reason that hibernation business looks rather lucrative these days.

My daughter called me last week to let me know she was sick. Now that I look back on it, she probably had the same thing my husband just got over. Last night I decided I needed to sleep in the recliner so I would be near him should anything go wrong during the night. He mentioned something about calling 911 should the need arise. I prayed it wouldn't arise. Going through that once was enough, I didn't want to experience it again. That time he passed out due to dehydration. We know better now that once the body starts getting rid of fluids to drink electrolytes to replenish what is lost and so I always keep a couple bottles on hand.

Sleeping on a recliner is not the best when one is riddled with joint pains off and on. And try doing that with a couple cats lying on you or alongside of you like they were attached. By 5:30 I had a strong urge to use the bathroom facilities but didn't have the heart to disturb either cat so I tried to change positions to ease my bladder. Easier said than done. Fifteen minutes later the cat that was lying on my stomach decided he wanted to go somewhere else and I was able to leave, taking my pillow with me and climbing into another bed, closing the door behind me. Ah, sweet bliss. I slept till 10 am.

By Saturday morning all was well once again in this house. Husband was almost back to normal and asked that I make oatmeal because he was hungry as heck. He hadn't eaten anything for almost two days.

What really irks me the most is these episodes usually hit us during the night or on a weekend when it is impossible to do anything about it as far as a doctor is concerned. I was relieved to read that gastroenteritis only lasts one to two days and it is treatable at home, and it's unnecessary to call a doctor or 911 unless severely dehydrated. At least that was one thing we didn't have to worry about.

Snow Up The Hoo-Hah

I really don't have much to write about other than the snow storms we keep getting...one on top of the other. But I felt I must write something just to let you know I am still here, still thinking of what to write about.

This storm was supposed to be in two or three parts. We were supposed to wake to rain this morning. That didn't happen. It was already snowing. We didn't get much accumulation from this morning. It stopped snowing early this afternoon. The worst of it is supposed to arrive overnight and continue into the early morning. I will believe that when I get up tomorrow and look outside.

I was going to take some pictures but since I haven't used either camera lately, the batteries needed to be charged. I use the batteries that can take a charge for months at a time. I noticed the last time I charged them was August 8th of last year. I wouldn't use any other kind of battery since discovering them.

Moving on to another subject: does anyone out there love and adore Ellen DeGeneres as much as I do? I just discovered her show a few months ago and try not to miss it. I wonder if there are any people out there that don't like her? She is such a personable human being. Forget the fact that she is gay; that really doesn't come across when she is entertaining the world. Hell, I'm not gay and even I would marry her. She celebrated her 53rd birthday on today's show and one of her surprise guests was Pink. I love Pink. She is a local girl and she is now very pregnant.

And need I remind you out there that the Budweiser Shootout is only two and a half weeks away? Hoo boy, I am getting so excited I can hardly contain myself.

OK, time to go back to sleep...

Oh Good Lord Not The Steelers Again

I'm okay with the Green Bay Packers going to the Super Bowl, but I am very upset that the Pittsburgh Steelers are going too. Big Ben doesn't deserve that. Big Ben needs to grow up and realize he is a hero to many children.

I was hoping it would be the Chicago Bears vs the New York Jets, but someone had other plans unlike mine. What a shame...that could have been a good game for a change.

Back in the day I was a huge fan of the San Francisco 49ers, but in recent years they have all but fallen off the map. That is why I pulled my New York Giants out of the closet and openly started cheering for them instead. It's good to have a backup team, no?

But seriously. The Steelers? That's almost as bad as if it were the Eagles...or the Patriots. I'd better quit before I make too many enemies.

Waiting

#1 ~ I'm waiting for yet another snowfall. This will be out fifth of the year I think. Maybe the sixth. All nuisance snows as they have been calling them. All small amounts of accumulation. All a pain in the you-know-what.

#2 ~ I'm waiting for the weekend football games in anticipation of the Super Bowl next month. I could name what teams I'd like to see battle it out, but I don't want to jinx either one. Maybe I should list the other two and jinx them. That would be nice if it worked.

#3 ~ And last but not least the hardest thing for me to wait for is the Bud Shootout February 12th, with the Daytona 500 being run on the 20th. And then I am in hog heaven till the end of November when NASCAR season ends and the long wait begins again.

Some Musings For Your Pleasure

Here we are in the dead of winter and after all my whining about hibernating I still haven't done so. And yet I have gained weight over the holidays. A year ago I started my diet before Thanksgiving and kept it up till well after they were over, and I was able to not only take off weight but not even gain an ounce during the entire time. This time I threw caution to the wind and now I am in a situation I do not like. It's called weight gain. And I don't like it one teeny tiny bit. And if I could reach my a$$ I would kick me into next week. But you know, a person can be on one diet after another all their life and it gets to be a tad sickening after awhile. I am so weary of it. My epitaph should read: She had her ups and downs

On another note, the storm door we went shopping for last Saturday is hanging in its proper place. However, Murphy's Law followed us on that one, too. Nothing we do ever goes right. Everything is always such a challenge. We either have a part or two missing or something doesn't go right and in this case, we ended up with a tiny gap at the lower half of the door by the frame. Back to the drawing board husband must go. He knows what he has to do plus the factory is sending some strikers to replace the ones that are incorrect. This storm door is a security door in that it has a locking handle plus two latches (upper and lower) and it comes with a $1000 break-in warranty just for that reason. Now all we have to do is get it straight. It's always something around here. Never a dull moment when we have a project going.

The weather outside is very frightful. It has been a heck of a dull and dreary day. First we are getting snow (3-6" I think), then the rain comes bringing with it ice like in the frozen Tundra, and when the temperature rises, the rain is supposed to wash everything away. I think. I can't remember for certain how it will be wreaking havoc on us, but wreak havoc it will. Ho-hum, I am ready for it.

I just did a quick spell check and it told me no misspellings were found. Wow, that's a first. I took typing in school but I sat in the back row so I never learned the proper way to type. And yet I can keep up with the best of them. My forte was shorthand. I won all kinds of awards for being fast. The funny thing is, you can take shorthand as fast as lightning...it's the transcribing that wrinkled many a brow. I mean, you can jot those little symbols down lickety-split but if you can't read them then what you wrote doesn't mean anything. I still use that form of writing to this day, especially when I'm in a hurry.

And those are my thoughts for the day. Only because I was due to write something and I had no idea what to write about.

Like Day And Night

My husband and I went shopping yesterday for a storm door. The one we have for our front door isn't performing satisfactorily anymore. A lot of cold air comes in, hits the steel door, and transfers that cold air into the living room and the dining room. There it directly hits the person sitting on the one side of the dining room table. Which is not me. I sit opposite of that chair...closest to the kitchen.

That brings me to another subject. Why is it that the majority of women sit in the chair closest to the kitchen when food is being eaten? Is it so we can easily get to the kitchen should the need arise during dinner? That is one of the reasons I chose that side of the table. Another reason is I forget to put things on the table that are sorely needed while we are eating. Like condiments, salt, pepper...utensils.

Sorry, I went off course there. Back to the storm door shopping: we decided to shop both major home improvement centers. L*wes was first as it is closest to our house. It is also my favorite of the two. We went to HDepot afterward. Both salesmen we spoke to were about the same age, in their late 30's or early 40's. But each one was very different in the way they helped us.

The one at HD was a sourpuss and seemed like we interrupted him from doing something fun and illegal. He couldn't answer my questions as fully as I'd anticipated. He actually was of no real help to be honest and he couldn't wait to go back to what he was doing at the computer. So be it...that's not my favorite store anyway but husband insisted we comparison shop before making any choices. Usually, if I find a product I like that I am in the market to purchase, I don't need to shop around. I will, however, if there is a huge price range but a lot of times I can figure that out on the Internet.

We did go to L*wes first. Now that salesman was very helpful, upbeat, funny, and just downright likable. We didn't make the purchase today but after our discussion, we decided L*wes it is and Saturday we will return for the door. And just to make it clear: there wasn't much of a discussion because I had already made my mind up before stepping foot into either store. But that's between you and me. *wink*

Yay...The Eagles Lost

And the fact that they did lose made my day.

My Giants (and I take great pride in saying they are mine) finished their season 10 and 6 and didn't get a wild card playoff spot. The Eagles finished 10 and 6 and did get a wildcard playoff spot.

Now that the Eagles' wings have been clipped I would say the playing field is once again even. Thank you Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. I owe you one.

Snow

Yes, that white stuff is making its way across the state and should arrive in the wee hours of the morning. And since there are no other outside things to bother the system, like warm air or whatever, we are only getting a smidgen of the stuff. One forecast was 1-3 inches, another 2-4 inches. Just enough to be a nuisance.

Meteorologists are saying that by afternoon rush hour most of it will be gone, since the sun will be out and will melt it. Boo hoo. I am so ready for a huge, huge storm. I have no place to go for at least a few weeks, there's plenty of food all over this house, and I have lots of cat food supplies for my three inside fur babies plus all those outside.

And, oh yeah, I have all those cookies.

So I say, bring it on!

About All Those Cookies...

When the next Christmas holiday rolls around, I will not be carrying on like a maniac baking almost 400 cookies (which equates to about 33-1/2 dozen) like I did this past Christmas holiday.

Two years ago my husband, an avid auction hound, brought home two large stainless steel cookie sheets which were part of a box lot that he bought. I'm sure at the time that there was something far more dearer to his heart in that box than those cookie sheets but I can't remember what it was. And so I inherited them.

At that point in my life I had long stopped baking cookies because they would burn, causing me to be one frustrated woman. I had finally thrown up my hands and simply quit. But after many years of not baking, I decided to give it a try again and use the new baking sheets. Really, I had nothing to lose (except my sanity maybe). I started with a huge bucket of already mixed dough (chocolate chip) that we purchased at Sam*s Club. I think the container stated it would make about 80 cookies. I felt that wasn't enough so I decided that the Betty Crocker pouches looked like a safe thing to try. They were on sale and I had coupons so I bought a wide variety.

It turned out that my baking endeavors were very successful, much to my surprise. I continued on and made more cookies that year than I ever wanted to...or dreamed about for that matter. I guess I was making up for lost time. My greatest dilemma wasn't all the cookies I had made, it was trying to figure out why I became such a cookie-baking freak all of a sudden. I finally did figure it out: I had been using T-fal, or dark coated, baking sheets when the cookies burned. Stainless steel sheets work so much better.

When this past holiday season rolled around, I thought I'd give it another go. I went on the hunt, to see what I could find. Again Sam*s provided my Eureka! discovery with peanut butter cookie mix complete with Hershey Kisses to put on top of each cookie. There were three packages of mix inside. I was like a baker possessed. I had also gotten more Betty Crocker pouches. I couldn't make enough, and the only thing that stopped me that day was fatigue or I'd probably still be making them.

I don't make New Years resolutions simply because I cannot keep them. Pure and simple. But I did make one for this year, and I can honestly say this one I will definitely keep:

Absolutely no cookie baking come Christmas time!


I think I should go hide those trays right now because I don't want to be a cookie monster again. My husband decided the cookies are too rich for him. That leaves me to decide what to do with all of them. Currently I have been eating my way through them until I finally decided the remainder will be frozen. God, I feel so free!