Semester #1

DONE!

I am still waiting on my grades. It looks like it may be Monday before I know them for sure but I know I passed everything. What a busy freaking semester it was too. I really had many weeks when I didn't know if I was coming or going.

Reflections on my 1st FULL semester @ UHCL-

1. This was a HUGE culture shock for me. MUCH different than going to COM and it clobbered me. I really have to step it up to keep my grades up there.

2. APA is very confusing. I know that the more I use it, the easier it gets but dang.

3. The BSW program is FULL of AWESOME people. It was a kick to see some of my classmates from my summer Ethics Class in my Intro to Social Work Class.

4. I am going to know these people very well by Spring 2015.

5. I LOVE volunteering. I am not able to do so over the holidays because of having the kiddos home but it is very cool. I did a food drive with Bay Area Turning Point and it was AWESOME soul food!

6. Parking SUCKS. Good for me getting exercise though. I just have to make sure I get there with enough time to hike to class. :-)

7. Whoever talked about the Freshman 15 (lbs) did NOT transfer from a community college to a university. There is food for sale almost daily. A lot of it is donation or super cheap. It is super yummy. Bake sales are always going on and hard to resist.

8. The Sugar Free Mocha from Java City in the Bayou Bldg is excellent and much cheaper than Starbucks. Just keep this is mind for your early morning or night classes. I will see them a lot as I have class from 4 pm- 10 pm one night a week next semester.

9. The campus is freaking nice. Of course, it backs up to the nature center so...DUH! The boys freaked out when the deer came about 30 feet from us and stopped.

10. There is ALWAYS something going on there. UHCL has numerous events that are low cost or free. They put on one hell of a Welcome Back Bash in the Fall. There are movies that you can see. I can bring the family for free with my ID. The people are great. I cannot wait to see what happens in the Spring.


Now, everyone PLEASE cross your fingers, toss salt, or even say a prayer that Spring is less hectic personally for me than fall was. I had emergency gall bladder removal surgery the Wednesday before classes started and then had to have another STAT procedure during midterms. Thankfully, I had AWESOME professors who understood that I needed to get these two things done. Also, the kids got sick more than usual with weird crap that they usually do not catch. Plan for the Spring semester is Lysol, vitamin c, and lots of TLC. :-)


I hope to keep up with this better but I give you no guarantee.

For now, I am going to put on some fuzzy, warm pjs and relax on the couch until I am tired because it is break time baby!

Poultry Divan

We do not have the big boys for Thanksgiving this year so we celebrated with them early. It is a good thing that we love turkey in this house because we will go to my Mom's for Thanksgiving and have leftovers from that too. So on to the best part.... the leftovers!

Tonight's recipe came to us as Chicken Divan, but we usually make it with leftover turkey meat. We made it with chicken once and it was dry. My suggestion is that you make it with dark meat since it is usually more moist. Also, you can healthify this recipe if you wish. (Yes, I am aware that healthify is not an actual word.)

So here it is in my oven:

Divan Recipe:

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

3 whole chicken breasts ( or equivalent in poultry meat of your choice)
2 pkgs frozen broccoli (I used 1 pkg 24 oz florets)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (you can substitute fat free)
1 cup mayo (can sub low fat or fat free but must be MAYONNAISE)
8 oz sour cream (again fat free could be used)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I use cheddar jack because the hubby doesn't like cheddar)
1 tsp lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste
Parmesan cheese

Simmer Chicken breasts in salted water. (Since I am usually using leftover meat, I can skip this step.) Cook broccoli to package directions. In bowl mix soup, sour cream, mayo, seasonings, cheddar cheese. In a 13x9 greased pan add broccoli, poultry meat, and parmesean cheese. Cover with sauce and top with cheese. I mix a little cheddar and parm on top.

Bake for 30-40 minutes.

YUMMY stuff!!

I have never tried to healthify this recipe so I cannot testify to the difference in taste. We probably only have it once a year so I don't worry about it much.

Our turkey meat is courtesy on Jerry the turkey. Yes, we name the turkey. it is an old tradition. If we are going to be reaching around in, cleaning out, and stuffing the turkey we should at least be on a first name basis.

Here is Jerry before I began basting and browning him.

We had a wonderful dinner with all of our kids and celebrated being a family. For me, cooking for the boys is a way to show them what they mean to me. I put my all into cooking tasty and nutritious meals for my family. It was a lot of work but very worth it to see their smiles. I hope you all can slow down and enjoy your family this month as much as possible.

School is extremely busy and I am volunteering once a week with a local organization that does awesome work in the community, so I haven't been around much. I will try and remedy that. Take Care!

Still here

Just busy.

I have a lot to do and time is short right now. I will try to post something this weekend if I have time. :-)

A miracle was born 13 years ago today

Today I want to say Happy Birthday to my 13 *gasp* year old step son B! He is such a wonderful kid and I feel lucky to get to share him with his biological parents. I still have the hospital picture that his Daddy emailed me on the day he was born.

B is a euphonium player in the Honor Band at his school. He loves to read, help out around the house, play on the computer, and even hang out watching crazy TV with me on the couch. He gave me a diamond ring 9 years ago and asked me to marry his Daddy. He is a fantastic son, step son, and big brother.

His Daddy and I are SO proud of the young man that he has grown into, as I am sure the entire family is also.

Stupid Chicken Pasta

I'm a bad blogger today as I forgot to take a picture of the recipe that I am going to post. It was stupid because it is friggin' easy!

3-4 chicken breasts cubed (Depending on the cooking time you could use cooked all the way to frozen)
2 14.5 oz cans Italian style diced tomatoes
1 packet Lipton Savory Herb & Garlic soup mix (Supposedly found near the powdered Lipton onion soup mix. I couldn't find it at either store I went to today.)
Farfalle (Bowtie Pasta)
Parmesan Cheese to top it

Mix tomatoes and soup together in crock pot. Add chicken and stir. Cook 6-8 hours on low. Serve over pasta and top with cheese.

Now it wouldn't be me if I didn't modify it in some way or another.

First off, if your crock pot is on crack like mine is (even on low) then I would adjust cooking times. You could shorten to 5-6 hours or use frozen chicken breast. My chicken came out a bit dry at the 7-8 hour mark.

Second, I went to Kroger and HEB and couldn't find that damn soup. I used Onion Mushroom instead. You could use Beefy Onion or just plain Onion as well.

Third, the recipe called for Parmesan cheese. Kroger had a deal and I got Kraft 5 cheese Italian for a deal and it was perfect. Parmesan, Provolone, asiago, mozzerella, and romano. YUMMY

Since I couldn't find the savory herb and garlic soup I added herbs and garlic to the mix along with some seasoned salt. I tried it before adding any salt though.

I added the pasta to the crock pot after boiling and mixed it right in.

Family complaints:

1- Not enough sauce

Note- double sauce next time using 2 cans Italian style diced tomatoes and 2 diced with garlic.

2- Not thick enough sauce.
Note- try adding tomato paste to thicken the sauce

3- Chicken a bit dry
Note- Adjust cooking time

Family Suggestions-

Try spiral pasta for better sauce holding.

Add garlic bread.

Other than that it was yummy. Even N, who is my picky eater liked it a lot. I will add this to the successful recipes. I hope you enjoy it. I adapted this recipe from one posted on The Crockin' Girls website. Stop by and check them out!!

http://crockingirls.com/recipes/stupid-easy-chicken-pasta/

My links never seem to work so copy and paste this into your search bar. I LOVE their site and go there regularly!

Tomorrow night is Sausage and Lentils from their website. YUMMY!!

Endeavor- Per ardua ad astra

In about six hours the space shuttle Endeavor will leave Houston and make the trek to California. It is completely unfair that Mission Control/JSC/Houston got screwed out of a shuttle. However, I am so glad that my sons were able to gaze upon the shuttle from 100 feet away. I don't think that they understood the historical value of seeing the shuttle but then I doubt I did when I last gazed upon her when I was 6 or 7. I have high hopes that the kids will one day remember our evening hike across Ellington Field to see Endeavor one last time.

S and I walked away arm in arm reflecting on the emotions that we felt. Both of us grew up in the area and though I was an USAF brat I was a NASA groupie. He was the NASA brat as his parents both retired from NASA a few years ago. Neither of us wanted to leave her there on that runway, and I swear we left a small piece of our hearts with Endeavor. It might seem sappy to you that we feel that way but you didn't walk in our shoes. Challenger was lost as my 3rd grade class watched the launch on TV. Columbia was lost when S and I were just dating. Apollo 1 took the lives of 3 wonderful men including Gus Grissom, who was one of my favorites. The first thing that I ever wanted to you was be was an astronaut. So I mourn the loss of our shuttle and the program that brought it alive. I am glad that it lasted long enough for my kids to know the wonder that was our space program. I hope to god that there is a future program for them to marvel at and learn from.

Goodbye Endeavor! You saw our Shuttle Program to the very end and we will never forget your service. Thank you to all the wonderful people who made the program a success! Your hard work and dedication will never be forgotten.

School, School, School, Sleep, Kids, School

So this is what I feel like this semester:

I dropped my Philosophy class because I have to do 40 hours of Volunteer work for one of my important classes. That is a load off my shoulders.

I was sick a lot of last week. Apparently I am rather anemic and it is bad enough to keep me down during certain times of the month, TMI, I know but it s something I need to get taken care of. I cannot be that fatigued and dizzy 4 days a month, I simply do not have the time to do that. I ordered some chewable Iron. I need to go pick up some B-12 to go with it.

We went to UHCL to see the movie 'Brave' on Saturday night. I wasn't feeling well some of Saturday but I promised the kids so I got my crap together and we went. It was a cute movie. I really liked it. N thought it was boring. S thought it wasn't up to par for Pixar. C thought it was OK and Nana really liked it. It was a free movie with a UHCL ID so I will not bitch.

The boys and I are excited that The Avengers comes out on September 25th! We really enjoyed that movie. S doesn't care. He isn't into super heroes. N hasn't seen it though and he is excited. I saw it in the theater twice. Once in 3D with friends and C and then with Nana, Mimi, and Ella for Nana's birthday. I wanted to go again too. After that the 4 boys and I spent the summer watching the movies that came before it. Iron Man 1 & 2, The Hulk, Captain America, and Thor. We are working on obtaining all of those for our collection. I am so glad that the boys liked them though because we got to spend quality time this summer hanging out together and watching movies. I LOVED my movie nights with my sons.

OK, so update on the kiddos!

Everyone is well.

B got into Honor Band at school. He plays the euphonium.

J got moved out of Band and into Theater Arts. I seriously think he is going to blossom in this class. It fits him well!

C is joining Green Team at school to help with the garden again this year and he got an invite to join the Robotics team at school. They only take a few people so he hopes that he gets picked. He is still rocking the Gifted and Talented program too. I hope this keeps up as the year gets harder.

N is doing really good in school. He is reading on a second grade level and has been since Kindergarten. He wrote a poem one day out of the blue. Right now he is reading a book about the human body.

I am SO PROUD of my boys! I love them all very much! Anyway, I think since the rain finally started that I might be able to get some sleep so I guess I should go and do that! :-)

Chicken Paprikash

Slow-Cooker Chicken Paprikash
Nutrition Info

Calories: 298.7
Fat: 8.7g
Carbohydrates: 15.5g
Protein: 39.5g

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=71448#

Ingredients
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup shredded carrot
2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
4 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
1 1/4 cups reduced-fat sour cream
Directions
Combine flour and chicken in a large ziploc bag; toss well, making sure chicken is coated. Add chicken mixture and remaining ingredients (except sour cream) to an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Stir in sour cream just before serving.

Makes 6 1-cup servings.

This was yummy. It was only missing some warm, crusty bread. We served it with Red Cabbage. Only J didn't seem to like the cabbage. It is a bit different.

9/6/2003

9 years ago today S and I got married. J was not quite 3 and B was not quite 4. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Houston and the ceremony was lovely and small. We had a great time. Now B is almost 13, J is almost 12, C is almost 9, and N is 6. And yes, I was 6 months pregnant in this picture. Two of my best friends in the world stood up with us in our small wedding party and my Brother-in-Law Michael gave me away. My sister was on pass from Kuwait and she would be back just in time to see meet her newest nephew (C).

Happy Anniversary to us! We have a beautiful family and a good life.

Welcome Back Bash!

Tonight we went to UHCL's Welcome Back Bash on campus. My husband did not want to go so he and the older kids stayed home. THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN.

There was so much fun things to do there for the kids and families that we were doing things until the least second before we left. I am SO sorry the older kids were not with us. J, who is my monkey, would have LOVED the climbing wall!

Here are C and N climbing up it. I have a terrible fear of falling so when they got to the top I think my heart was in my throat but they LOVED IT!

We got there and hung out with the Social Worker Booth making sand bracelets. N got his face painted. They had free snow cones, Freebird's brought in food, NASA brought cool stuff out, Monster brought yummy energy drinks, the Army came and the Coast Guard brought a boat. The CG guys were incredibly cool. Shout out to them in the Port of Houston and best of luck to the gentleman training to be a rescue swimmer!

NASA brought out gloves to try on, Astronaut food, and even a helmet from the Apollo program that was used for training. They were fantastic and very knowledgeable and we enjoyed talking to them.

It was HOT but they had free drinks and lots of water. There was an awesome band to play for us but it wasn't overly loud and annoying. Seriously, I am pissed that B & J missed out. From now on, I will just take the van and take them myself because they would have loved it.

There were pictures done by some great photographers. Remember that it was HOT so I look horrid, but the kids are adorable.

I want to thank the University for putting on one hell of a party and doing fun stuff for our families to come out and enjoy the campus. University of Houston- Clear Lake is an awesome University and I LOVE attending there. The Student Veteran's Association for the great shirt and inviting me to the meetings. I will definitely do my best to get there. The Social Work Department because y'all are awesome and my soul mates. And everyone who came out and were so nice to my crazy kids. Oh and a HUGE thanks to my Mom for hanging out with us and helping me with the kiddos!

If you are looking for a great University in the Houston area, check them out!

http://www.uhcl.edu

Coming Up in Food at Casa de Shack

Here is what is up and coming as I get back to my normal routine of cooking dinner. There has been a lot of soup and sandwiches in our house lately. :-)

Bratwurst

Halupki (Stuffed Cabbage)

Smoked Sausage

Macaroni and Beef

Steak

Slow Cooker Chicken Paprikash and Spaetzle with Red Cabbage!

Crescent Burgers

Homemade Pizza

These are NOT my pictures. I will post my own after I cook this stuff myself.

Surgery Follow Up

Today was my follow up after surgery.

Apparently, I was NOT released to return to school yet and I heard about it today. I was told that I was to take the rest of the weekend to rest. Of course, tomorrow night is the Welcome Back Bash on campus and I promised to take the littles. Luckily, I convinced my Mom to come and to drive so that I could rest some.

When the pathology came back from the lab it was revealed that my gall bladder was actually infected. I would have gotten sicker if I had let it go. I would have likely missed a hell of a lot of school if I had waited until Christmas break like i had planned to do. I feel better about pushing to get it done ASAP.

The big boys are coming to stay this weekend. It is DnD for them and Sunday is my sister's 45th Birthday. Also Monday is a holiday so it will be a fun weekend for the most part. I do have Humanities homework to do before Tuesday. I made it to 2 of 4 classes this week. I missed Philosophy (Ethics) due to my surgery follow up and I missed Social Work Human Development because the Doc said I had to. Next week I have to get busy. I am not released to normal duty for 2 more weeks but I can do more than I have been able to do. I feel SO much better though. I will follow the Doctor's orders though so that I don't miss any more school than necessary.

All in all it has been a good experience though.

First day of school

Well now I officially have 2 middle school and 2 elementary kiddos.
B is in 7th grade, J is in 6th grade, C is in 3rd grade, and N is in 1st grade. Everyone but J had a good day. I hope they get J's schedule fixed soon so he can get some enjoyment out of school. I am SO proud of the boys! They have all grown up so much and into pretty great kids.

This weekend we went and hung out with Blade, V, and the kids. C & N hung with G-man all day and had a blast. I was kind of worried because C and G can both be difficult sometimes but they had no problems whatsoever. The boys wanted to stay and keep hanging out.

Here is the older boys on their first day.

And here are the littles.

Today was also my first day back to school. Once I found my class everything went smoothly. I am a bit tired tonight but not sleepy. I have to miss my morning Thursday class to go to my surgery follow up appointment and hopefully get the bandages off of my incisions. I can shower at least but I am anxious to get back in the pool and I know the boys are ready to get back in as well. Hopefully we can swim on Saturday.

I have 4 bandages on and I am impressed the way they have stayed on through showers. Things have come a long way since my last surgery in 2009. I feel much better than I thought I would this soon after surgery. I'm really glad that I got the gall bladder out instead of suffering until December like I planned to do.

I should get my butt to bed as 6:30AM comes early. Night all!

Preparation Sunday....

Chicken Taco Stew with added tomatoes is in the crock pot. Little boy laundry is in the washer. Tomorrow we get back at it again. I would love to say I am ready but I am not. I will be though. At least the first week is usually just getting acquainted with each other and such. I went most of the day without my pain medicine yesterday but I was hurting last night pretty good. I will not be doing much at school hopefully so I shouldn't be taxed when I get home.

I have to make myself go to bed early tonight so I can take the boys to school in the morning. FUN STUFF.

I hope you are all well and wonderful!

Recovery, stress, changes, and more

What a few days it has been! Let's start with the surgery scheduling. I am a spoiled Veteran who is not used to insurance issues. Growing up my Mom was in the USAF and the health insurance was great most of the time. It works the same with the Veteran's Hospital too except that they say gall bladder surgery is elective surgery. It was not elective for me. I stopped eating because everything made me sick. I was living on fruit and protein bars for a week. When I scheduled the surgery I was told my deductible was $500 and the 20% was $41. So before we could schedule the surgery we had to come up with $541. Geez, talk about stress. I went in for the consult on Monday afternoon and had to pay the $541 before 1:30 PM Pre-Op on Tuesday afternoon. We got it together, thank the lord and I got admitted without a hitch. I did my prep Tuesday night. Easy...stuff. Just the usual light dinner, nothing to eat or drink after midnight, and only a sip of water Wednesday morning to take my medicine. I had to be at the hospital by 10:45 AM Wednesday morning. I get in on time and get set up in the room. My vein in my hand would not cooperate so we had to put the IV in the bend of my arm instead. They finally let S come back to the holding area with me after letting me know that the Dr would be delayed an hour. I was upset because B & J's school orientation was at 4PM and it was looking like S would not make it. We turned on the TV and I was happily surprised that Law & Order: Criminal Intent was on because it is a great way to pass an hour delay.

When the hour was almost up we were informed that the delay would be 3 hours. We were given the choice to wait it out or come back Thursday morning. I had the IV in my arm and S had the day off so we chose to stay. I felt lousy that he was missing the boys orientation but we thought it was better to get the surgery done. Turns out that T and the boys didn't stay long anyway. I watched more LOCI, House, and I was into NCIS when they came for me. Then they took my glasses leaving me blind, hungry, and headachey in surgery holding.

They took me back to surgery holding at 3:15PM where I waited for another 30 minutes. I talked to anesthesia doctors and nurses, I talked to my surgeon, and then the fun began. I said a prayer that it would be a laparoscopic procedure and that it would be his easy surgery of the day and we got busy. They put tylenol and toradol in my IV and I remember very little else until I woke up. I remember not being able to get the hair net over my hair. I was thrilled to be going in and giggly. I woke up sick to the stomach. I told the nurse and she asked me if I was sure. WTH? Am I sure? Uh, YEAH I think I know if I want to vomit. She finally called the Dr and he ordered another nausea medicine. I started to feel a bit human and she left me. I got her attention and told her I wanted to see S and go home. They took me to Pre-Op holding and got me a diet shasta (Sprite like) drink. Boy was I feeling sick. Then she got S and he gave me my glasses back. WOOHOO for not being blind anymore. She asked me if I would be OK getting dressed with the husband. UM YEAH he kinda was there when I gave birth to our 2 sons and helped me recover from Gastric bypass, I think it is OK if he helps me get dressed. By now it was after 7 PM and everyone wanted to go home. Stephanie, the nurse, loaded me up with some barf bags for the car and a pillow for helping me cough and away I went.

So, let me show you this pillow now and explain about it.

These pillows are made by volunteers from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church. You hold it when you cough and it helps you not split your incisions open. It has been such a nice comfort to have this simple little pillow with me. What a nice parting gift from angels on earth.

I got to my Mom's house before 8 PM and finally got to see everyone. I was feeling pretty rough and out of it. I wouldn't let S take off my bracelets, I wanted to be sure I was going to be OK SO I kept them on the first night.

You can see my bracelets, barf bags, diet ginger ale, cough pillow, and pain meds in that picture. I was set up in the recliner. Then I decided that all I wanted tot do was go lay down in a bed so Mom gave me her bed. I slept fitfully on and off. I got up for a while and checked messages and sent some out to let people know I was fine. I went back to bed for a while. I took a picture of my least ugly incision and got ready to go get the teacher assignments for the little's school.

My incision looks like an H. We decided it was H for Happy to be done.

The cool shiny wrapping allows me to shower while keeping the incisions dry. And after having betadine (iodine solution) all over my boobs and belly, I needed that shower Thursday.

Friday morning was meet the teacher. Mom took me to meet the boys' teachers and then we brought home breakfast for everyone. I am sore as hell but I get around. I don't want to sit around too much because I don't need any blood clots to form. I moved a bit too much yesterday and I am sore and taking pain medicine on time today.

When S got off of work he picked up the littles and I and brought us home. I adore my Mom and sister and I appreciate them so very much but it is good to be home too. I am set up pretty well here too. I have the pain meds, the nausea meds, the laptop, water, and my heart pillow!

Now I can heal at home and I start school on Monday along with the boys. My class is at 4 PM though and I get an easy week to begin with. Saturday afternoon we are going to hang out with Blade and some other friends for a while. We will see how long I can make it before I have to come home and crash. I need to get some laundry done for the littles first day of school.

I am not glad I went through the crap I did with the ER and being so sick but I am glad that the gall bladder is gone. I feel much better already with it out. I know things will get better from here on out. I am very blessed to have an awesome group of family and friends who love and support me.

Surgery Fun

Well, pre-op is tomorrow afternoon and surgery is Wednesday morning. I am grateful that I will be getting this done before school starts next Monday. Even if I am still recovering some, I can make it through.

Tomorrow will be a busy day to get everything put in order for surgery and school. I need to get books, get class assignments for the kids, and find out when Meet the Teacher is going to be. Hopefully, it will be doable around my classes. I go to school on an odd schedule this semester.

I'm so blessed to have a wonderful and supportive group of family and friends who are awesome. We have had a lot of love and support during this time which makes it easier to get things done with minimal worry. To our family, our friends, and our co-workers: Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! :-)

Cabbage and Onion with Sausage

1 pound bulk pork sausage
1 large onion chopped
1 head of cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon sage
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown the sausage in a skillet over medium heat, stirring until crumbly; drain leaving 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the skillet with the sausage. Stir in the onion, cabbage, sage, parsley flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes or until onion and cabbage are limp.

Yields 6 servings.

We like this recipe. The sausage gives it a great flavor. If you are not a fan of sausage then you can substitute 1 pound of chopped bacon. We have never done this before so you are on your own.

I didn't take any pictures. It sounds fatty but it did not bother my gall bladder issue at all so I think it was OK. It was probably the best meal I have had all weekend!

I have a consult with surgeon tomorrow. Prayers/vibes/good thoughts are appreciated for a quick surgery date. The boys and I go back to school on the 27th and we need to get this fixed ASAP. Thanks!

Love, Friendship, relationships.... pt. 1

What is love to you?

To me it is many things. Least of all is hearts, flowers, diamonds, or other material things. Don't get me wrong, a little bit of that is necessary from time to time but it really is so much more than that. I wish my husband would do more of that stuff but it isn't going to break our marriage up or anything.

Love is not only romantic or sexual either. People get all weird about that stuff too. I am the kind of person who loves easily. I love a lot of people in a lot of different ways. People who are old old school don't understand that part of my personality. I have a lot of guy friends, more than women friends. For some reason people like to think that if a girl loves a guy she used to have sex with him, is having sex with him, or she wants to have sex with him. This is not always true. I am sure that in some instances it is true.

I had an instructor who was an incredibly close friend of mine. Someone reported to his boss that we were having a physical relationship because we were close. This guy was like a father to me, so getting called in to his boss' office to be grilled about whether we were knocking boots or not really pissed me off.

I actually just realized that most of my really good women friends are ladies that I have met online. I think it partly due to the fact that there is a lot of societal pressure for women. When you connect online over a common interest it cuts out the jealousy of who is skinnier or prettier and such. Personally, I don't have ugly friends. I understand why people meet online though and I know many people who have wonderfully successful relationships that began online. Of course, there are the people who lie and deceive so you must be careful who you meet in person. So far, I have only had one close call with a guy and it was YEARS ago (almost 20). I have friends I met on newsgroups from 1995 and people I have just met in the last few years on Facebook and twitter. We all share common interests but we are different races, sexes, and political parties; yet we get along great.

Actually I am shy and kind of socially awkward if I don't know you. There are only a handful of people that I have been automatically talkative with. My buddies is the Lake side of HPD, the other law enforcement that came in, the fire fighters, and Mr. S. I seem to bond with public servants, mostly emergency workers, because it is such a selfless career. Plus most of them are just a little bit nutty and get my sense of humor. You have to be a little nutty to deal with what they do and not burn out or go crazy.

Mr. S. was not a public servant, although I did find out later that he has his Associates in Criminal Justice. Ironic. He had a nice smile. His credit card had a picture of him on it and I commented on it one day. We got to talking here and there. He mentioned one day going to pick up running clothes so that he could start running for fitness. I asked him to run by the store because I didn't get enough good scenery there. That was a first for me. I had never openly flirted with anyone like that before. Truth be told, I never did it again either. Mr. S. and I lost touch for a while until recently. (Yay for FB) I'm glad to have my friend back.

I will come back and blog some about my best friends another night. I have to go try and sleep. I think getting some food in me helped. I have a consult with the surgeon on Monday with a civilian doctor. If it gets worse I will head to the VA this weekend instead. Tomorrow I hope to talk about my husband, his day off today, and the medication reaction I was dealing with this morning.

Good night to the few, the awesome, the readers of this blog!

AFK

I may be Away From Computer for a few days next week.

Most Gastric Bypass patients lose their gall bladder quickly or get it taken out when they have the RNY procedure. I managed to hold on to mine for 3 years. I knew about a year ago that I had stones but it wasn't bothering me until this week. After a horrible attack Wednesday night at dinner, we spent the night in the ER. Unfortunately and fortunately it is not infected so I got sent home to see an outpatient doctor to set up surgery.

It has to be ASAP in the next 11 days because school starts August 27th. I will know more tomorrow afternoon.

Gall stones SUCK! Tonight was the first real meal I have had in 4 days and it was grilled chicken breast, corn, and tomato slices. I need this to be over.

Take care fair readers!! Much love to you all.

Lasagna!

Tuesday fun and healing

I am incredibly happy that after 2 days on horse pills antibiotics my toe feels much better. I can walk on it for the most part as long as I am barefoot. I don't have anywhere to be until tomorrow afternoon but my house looks like a dump and needs some attention. Bless S for taking care of some of it tonight. He can be a huge shit but he puts up with the Queen Bitch me too.

So here is some perspective on my horse pills.

OK, I got a picture of my toe today and it looks MUCH better too. Yesterday after the evil travel lady made me walk the hospital 3 times the blister popped and it isn't as bad. It is kind of ugly but I swear I do not have ugly feet.

SEE!

Tonight N fell asleep on the couch. I woke him up to go to bed and he stopped to give me a hug and a kiss. He leaned against me and promptly fell asleep. We woke him up again to say good night to his Dad and he did NOT make it. This is where he landed.

He is such a sweetheart. We had a crazy day. The one time we had to go out my FIL was trying to get a hold of me and I missed both of the calls. We finally got it figured out.

Well, we haven't cooked anything great this week and since the kids are spending the night with their Nana tomorrow night I doubt we will cook at all. I will find something to post. Maybe I will post my essay for the Social Work Program. Or some of it and a picture of me from many years ago with my friend Mr. S.

If you could do me one small favor though and direct prayers/healing vibes/good thoughts to my friend Shelley and her family. They are going through a lot right now. A tragedy of losing a baby turned into saving her Mom's life. Some times we don't understand but I know there is a plan.