TA-DA!!!

Ok....can't talk long....

I have a new job!! I am now a freelance writer for a new Central Valley magazine!! YAY, me!!

Anyhow, today is my first day to "write". I have to produce a biography so the Editor-in-Chief can pitch me and the mag to the advertising department....then, I need to pump out 1-4 articles, ASAP!!

Just wanted to keep you "in the know"!!

I'll try to hit up my blog really soon, and let you know how it's going.

I'm so excited!! I'm gonna be published!!

:D

Time flies...and friends pass....

I apologize, once again, for not being online recently. I have had many things going on this week...including losing a dear friend of our family, early this morning.

Irene Bopp, mother to our children's godfather, passed away this morning. She was 89 and full of spunk, up until the last moment. I will forever remember the last time I saw Irene. It was the Sunday before my surgery, January 13th. She was walking up to the church with her walker, and I asked her how she was doing. "Oh, you know", was her polite answer. I did know. I knew that she had been struggling with an undiagnosed pain in her chest for several months now...and I feared the worst, cancer.

I didn't get a chance to see her after my surgery. She was weak, and I missed a Sunday, due to recuperation. How I will miss her frail hugs and the smell of her perfume (I believe it was White Shoulders). Her pearl or beaded necklaces that she would wear every time I saw her. Sharing "pinching" time with her at beerock making. Her FABULOUS stories of her growing up. She had a few sisters, and an honry brother who used to shoot BB's from his gun at his sisters, in order to make them do his chores. Hearing her tell about "Germantown" in Fresno....LONG before my parents were ever born. Watching her strength as her lifelong friends disassociated themselves from her and her husband, Roy, when we started having division at our church. Such a strong, poised, graceful, wonderful woman. A definate cut above the rest. They truly don't make 'em like they used to.

Her funeral will be Saturday, and I can hardly wait to pay my respects to her.

I was having lunch with two of my girlfriends from high school yesterday, and had planned on visiting her. Unfortunately, time passed so quickly, and I was in dire need of a nap before visiting. By the time I woke up, it was already past 6pm, and I made plans, in my mind, to see her today. The phone call that I received a little after 7:30 this morning, changed my plans completely, and left me with a TERRIBLE sense of guilt.

I didn't so much need to see her for MY reasons...I wanted to see her so that she knew she was loved by me. Dearly. I hold tight to the faith that she was immediately welcomed into heaven, and knows full well how much I loved her, and how much she meant to our family. I will forever have fond memories of sharing time (and holidays) with her.


That being said, the days previous in this past week were nothing short of crazy. There were days where I had 4 different trades working at the house. Good news is, the tile in the media room is finished, along with all of the tile repair that needed to be done since we replaced all of our interior doors. Also, our pool and jacuzzi are in complete working order. We have the stain and lacquer chosen for all of the doors and baseboards. Baseboards should be installed this coming week, and the painter will begin working on the doors and frames this week. We have our woodworker who has come by a couple of times, trying to match up the hew and color of the wood that he will be redoing. Once everything has been installed, then we shall start conquering the repainting of the ENTIRE interior of the house. I don't think I shall ever watch "The Money Pit" again in my life. Terrible flashbacks. Through this whole ordeal, I kept telling myself that "one little match could take care of SO many problems!" Take my advice: Build new. DON'T remodel an entire house. And, REALLY don't try to live there during the whole fiasco!

I hear my next project is to replace the 4-tier fountain we have in the front yard. It's been defective since about 6 months after it was installed... I miss it. It will be nice to get it going like it SHOULD be working.


Saw a few movies this week. Saw two last night: The Brave One (with Jodie Foster) and The Kingdom (with Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper). BOTH were INCREDIBLE movies. The Brave One was my favorite, I must say. Riveting.....the whole way through. I cannot recommend this movie enough. Jodie Foster is such an amazing actress, anyways...but, the whole movie was incredible. The Kingdom was excellent, also...I just felt it lacked the speed at the beginning of the movie. (It might not have helped that Dean was having me play a game of cribbage at the start of the movie, either. I can't concentrate on too many things at once, anymore.) Regardless, I couldn't stop watching, once the action began. Jason Bateman was in it also, and did a great job. It's been a long time since I have seen him in anything. He did great.

Also saw Across the Universe. That was Alyssa's request. It was....interesting. It is a musical with a lot of Beatles music and some Janice Joplin thrown in for good measure. I found it vaguely familiar to "Sgt. Pepper's" from the late 70's...just more updated....with a HUGE anti-war theme. Bono was in it, if that gives you any idea on the anti-war content. Although I didn't agree with everything it proposed, I DID find it VERY interesting how they worked their way through the Beatles lyrics, and came up with some REALLY creative spins.

We watched something else, but I can't think of what it was right now. If it comes to me, and is worth sharing, I will bring it up again later.


Tonight, Dayna has two girlfriends over, as tomorrow is a holiday from school. Hopefully, they can keep it down. I have had a couple of good night's rest...and I need a couple more. We'll see how it goes. I have to figure out what we are doing for dinner tonight. I'd go for Chinese food...but, we had that at the beginning of the week. I think the girls are vying for pizza. Yuck.


Looks like we (all 5 of us) will be traveling down to Irvine soon. Bri has picked out a college, and we need to take a look at it and figure out her housing situation. They are charging an astronomical amount for dorm-style living...for an apartment for 4 girls. Will see how that all turns out. Hopefully I can squeeze in a couple of days at Disneyland. I am hoping that JoAnn, Joe and Kohl might join us...my treat. :)

Mom and I have been talking, and it looks like we will try a road trip with the girls at some point this summer. She would like to see her old house in Venice...along with her old schools. She also brought up the fact that she has never been to her grandma Morris' burial site. I am trying to find out where she was buried at. JoAnn, if you or your mom happen to know, I would REALLY appreciate the info! If I could get the name of the cemetary, I am sure I can take it from there to find her plot. After visiting those spots, I thought I would take them all to The Original Pantry in Los Angeles...and another day, maybe The Filling Station in Orange. I like great little restaurants...let me know if you are from the area and have some recommendations! I KNOW we will be making at least ONE stop at Chris N Pitts in Fountain Valley!! ;)


Well, I am going to end this session for today. Hopefully, I will be MUCH more deligent in writing every day. Thanks for hanging in there with me....

If I only had a brain...

Warm prune juice, hot tap water, dried apricots, a fersh orange, Metemucil, Miralax....the list goes on and on. I am SURE you know what all of these are used for. I know we have touched on this subject before...but, I would just like to share something with my readers.


I have often wondered, "WHY?", when being diagnosed/stricken with certain ailments. I have often been told, "Everything happens for a reason...even if we don't know why". Well...I have figured out why I have two of my health issues, and how to use them for my good.


IF you happen to have surgery...and IF you have happened to have the same "issues" as I have been having....and IF you happen to have lactose intolerance or IBS....USE IT NOW TO YOUR ADVANTAGE!!!


I have to thank my dear friend, Debbie, and her gift of ice cream last night that made me sick!! I think, perchance, that it was the BEST vanilla ice cream I've ever eaten!! My stomach was SO unhappy!!



Speaking of friends bringing food...I am so blessed. I have had a full dinner meal brought to my home EVERY NIGHT since the 19th...and have someone scheduled to bring me food until this Thursday evening. I have AWESOME girlfriends from church! Milli has schedule this WHOLE thing, and various loving friends have been so great at bringing dinner every night for a household of (currently) seven.

I'm on the receiving end, once again. I have a LOT of GIVING to do, once I am fully recuperated. I have thoroughly been looking forward to volunteering bedside again at the hospice. This will DEFINATELY warrant me returning back to what I love doing there. I can hardly wait to be a vigil volunteer again!! I have so greatly missed being there for others as they cross over.


Speaking of being active again, a couple of things popped up today.


After YEARS of trying to get Dean to train with me (and me missing so much this past year didn't help), he has decided to start a routine with me and my personal trainer...once I am given the green light by my doctor...and once he finishes his 12-week cardio rehab., we will start a regimine. THAT should be fun! My trainer's been DYING to get her hands on him!!

Also...I had some sad news today. A genteman that I had JUST started working with at the travel agency before I left, was found dead in his home this week. He was absent from work on Tuesday, which was odd. On Wednesday a friend had the police break in, and they found him slumped over his kitchen sink, while his dinner was waiting for him on the table. Died immediately from a massive heart attack at the age of 65. Richard, you were a good man, and you will be missed.

His absence has left a HUGE hole in the travel office. He was half of the department that handled all bus tours and excursions. Sounds like they are bringing my name up as a possible person to fill the position left empty by the loss of Richard. It would be great, as they are offering me a chance to become a travel agent, also. I had quite a bit of dealings with airlines, cruises and hotels (not to mention personal experience) while I worked there. I am actually half-way excited about the opportunity. We'll see how it all pans out. I'll keep you posted. It would be some big shoes for me to fill...


Anyways...I fear that I have nothing else really exciting to share with you this evening. Since I spent a VERY long day at church (FIVE hours...we had an annual meeting today), I have been rather uncomfortable. So, I will be online...but, taking it easy. I am currently watching DEEP IMPACT. I am sure we will watch something else after it is over.


I think maybe I will talk tomorrow about how pissed off I am about the writer's strike.

That is...unless something more interesting comes up.

I DO have a doctor's appointment tomorrow...maybe he will have some new news for me....

The Little Purse That Thought It Could Swim

Alright.....some of you already know this story. But, I think it bares repeating for those who haven't heard it yet.


Many of you know I have lived a rather interesting life, with many fascinating aspects....ups and downs.....highs and lows. Many of you have said I should write a book. Well....no book (yet)....but, I will continue to blog some points of interest.



Before I start in on this story, lemme update you from yesterday. Got my staples out today. All 12 of them. Doc says everything looks "right on track". It's really a good thing that I love my doctor so....or, I would have smacked him upside the head and asked him, "WHICH TRACK IS THAT?!?!?"

All kidding aside, he said everything looked great (funny thing to say while you are looking down at someone's hooha...), and that my "issue" was normal and to be expected for the next few days, that I can start driving, gave me an Rx for a hormone (I keep wanting to spell that HOR-MOAN...lol) patch, and he'd see me in a week. So, there ya go. My little "Update".


(No...I'm not telling you if I have POOPED or not!!!)



Back to the story at hand....

Most of you know that we took a 10-day "vacation" (there IS a reason for those parenthesis) to San Juan and the Caribbean the day after Christmas. It started out with a flight from FAT (yes...that IS our sorry-ass airport code here), heading to San Juan...with two stops. Before we could even get checked in, I had TWO ladies who's suitcases fell over on me, causing damage to the back of one of my knees....and a bruise on the other thigh. I should have known from the get-go, this was going to be a wild and crazy trip!

Well, good 'ole US Airways (note to all: AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!) had us standing out on the tarmac, waiting for my wheelchair.....and, you guessed it.....we missed our connecting flight. So, a little over two hours later, we ended up with a COMPLETELY new flight schedule.....for the next day. Oh! They were gracious enough to put us up at the Hampton Inn for 1.5 hours. Side note: Hampton Inn in Las Vegas was surprisingly WONDERFUL!! Anyways....flights here, flights there...we are finally about 2 hours away from landing in San Juan, 12 hours later than scheduled. About that time, I see Briana (our eldest), asking the steward....sorry..... ATTENDANT....for some salt, while she is peeking out of the restroom. After she is out, she comes to me crying, saying she is not feeling well. She sits on my lap, and I touch her skin. She's BURNING up. MASSIVE fever.

We land in San Juan, and get to our hotel at 2:30am. I immediately inquire about a doctor on call, and they give me the info for the hotel operator. Once in our room, I call for a doctor. This operator was not thrilled about calling the doctor at this time of the night, but I insisted.

10:30am.....no doctor. She DIDN'T call the doctor. So, I make another urgent plea to the new operator on duty, who promptly gets a doctor to the room and diagnosis Bri with strep throat. Now, comes the fun part: learning about getting Rx's in Puerto Rico from Walgreen's. You would think a Walgreen's is a Walgreen's....right? NOPE! You drop off your prescription, and are told it will be about 45 minutes. So, we carry on with some sightseeing and come back later in a taxi. I walk in to pick up the prescription...5 people ahead of me....little did I know I would be spending almost an HOUR waiting in line! WITH, of course, a taxi running with our kids in it. Ok...so, now, drugs in hand, we get Briana doped up and feeling better almost instantly. Let's head to the Caribbean on a 7 day cruise!!!

Here we are, out at sea, and getting ready to dock in Antigua, where we have a fun-filled day ahead of us!! We're going ATV'ing!! We have 3 quads set up for the 6 of us, and we are ALL looking forward to going. One problem: Lee (Briana's boyfriend...who we took with us) has spiked a high fever. So....he insists we go on without him, but we all walk down and make sure he gets in to see the doctor on board. When we came back from our excursion, we find that Lee has 105' temp., due to a viral infection. No antibiotics....just heavy duty Tylenol. (Dear God....PLEASE don't let us all get sick RIGHT before my surgery!!)

We struggled with insect bites and low grade temps. and not feeling up-to-par for the remainder of the cruise. This is where the vacation gets REALLY exciting.

Disembarkation: January 5th, 09:52:17 (according to records).



That's when I slid my cruise card through for the last time, and was wheeled off the ship in my wheelchair. My lovely middle daughter, Alyssa, was my driver. I must say, through the whole trip, the cruise staff was nearly ANAL about not allowing anyone to push my wheelchair on the gangway. Until disembarkation. Poor Alyssa wheels me off of the ship, only to get a wheel stuck in the gangway. She pushes, and pushes....while the cruise employees stand and watch. Please keep in mind, we are holding up a huge line of passengers wanting to get off the ship...and no one is assisting us. So, Lys gives me one more shove.....and something unforgettable happens. My little purse, that I had JUST purchased at our last port, JUMPS up in the air....lands on the gangway (6 stories above the water), and rolls off the side (note: no nets....no guards).....plunging into the ocean. I remember screaming at this point....and wanting to vomit. I look around me. I see panicked faces across the dock screaming "NO!" in unison. I think Alyssa almost jumped overboard. My purse......was gone.

Inside that purse:




5 passports (everyone in my family)
2 CA Driver's License's (mine and Bri's)
2 ATM cards
2 credit cards
2 gas cards
1 insurance card
$800 in cash (I won a jackpot in the casino the first night)
My cell phone with all of my numbers and datebook



and most importantly.....


My digital camera with all of my Christmas an vacation photos on it.








All gone. In the blink of an eye.






I have to pause here, and ask you: Have you EVER had a moment in time where you solidly wished and wondered to God WHY you couldn't rewind?





Never before had I felt this feeling. Always talked about "going back and changing things"....never felt something so sickening. It was all about the camera. With my Fibromyalgia, I have lost most of my short-term memory. My girlfriends at church had prayed over me before I left, that I would get LOTS of pictures so that I could remember my trip. And that's what I did.....took LOTS of pictures. I knew that I had JUST gotten through Dean's surgery with him and was getting ready the following week to go under, myself. What I WASN'T thinking about, was how drastically this was going to impact our travels home. Basically, Briana and I didn't exist. TSA is no pretty picture to go through nowadays.


Well, they eventually escorted us away (after allowing me to sit in my wheelchair...staring at the ocean where my purse was, for what seemed like an hour), straight into Homeland Security. There we sat, waiting for some sort of ID for Bri and myself. For over an hour we were there. I just wanted to close my eyes and make this all go away. I wanted to be home, in my bed, with the covers pulled up over my head.

After leaving Homeland Security, we were escorted out to our waiting driver (been waiting for us since 8am...only number he had was my cell phone). The police explained to him what had happened, and that we needed to be taken to the San Juan Police Headquarters to file a report. Here, they guaranteed us that a case number would get us through airport security. We did this...but, it did not help.

I vaguely remember explaining our peril to the first TSA official, telling him that we had the SJ Police case number and phone number, and having him say directly to me,"Lady, that doesn't mean a THING to us." My heart sank. Millions of problems came drifting into my head. All of these caused because I hadn't secured my purse.

Bri and I had to go through extra security, had all of our carry-on's rummaged through, had high dollar facial care thrown away, got airport "blowjobs" at each security stop. Our main goal was to get IN an airport, and keep flowing through without missing a connection. Forgetting, of course, who we were flying on.

Yup, we missed our connecting flight...again....in Las Vegas. We were sent down to the ticket counter for hotel vouchers......we were only 6 of the approx. 300 stranded travellers that night at 2am. Once again, we waited for over 2 hours to get hotel vouchers. We were shuffled off to a "local" establishment....20 minutes OFF of the strip......only to be greeted by a 2 hour wait to get a room. We got 4 hours of sleep and a buffet the next morning, and ran as fast as we could to get to the airport.....only to have to go through security all over again.


Well, we got home Sunday afternoon. Monday morning, I immediately started putting our lives together again....replacing cards, filling out passport info (the kids need theirs IMMEDIATELY to go on a mission trip to Mexico in less than 6 weeks), going to the DMV to get a temp. license, etc. (Another side note: Bri went in a day later than me to get her license....she's already received it in the mail. Guess who hasn't? Guess who has a sneaking suspicion that her identity has ONCE AGAIN been stolen? Another story for another time....) Started filling in all of the holes so that I would be ready for surgery come Monday.









End of the story?









C'mon. You should know my luck better than that.....









January 9th, 9pm, I get a call from Alyssa (daughter #2) who is at church with Bri (daughter #1). Briana decided to leave her purse in her car while they were at church, and someone was (what we believe) waiting in the parking lot, and did a smash-and-grab. Smashed out the smallest (yet, most expensive to replace) window in her 2006 Mustang. I get to go through the motions of getting that all replaced and repaired for her.....with 5 days and counting before my surgery. They stole her designer purse, sunglasses, 60G video iPod with designer case. Thank GOD she didn't have her wallet in her purse!! Well....I got it all squared away for her. She's at a loss for the purse, case and sunglasses....but, we can replace the iPod. Some lessons come with a price.








I didn't even MENTION the story about how someone did a hit-and-run to my Denali while on vacation during Thanksgiving, did I????








Wow......so much to tell.........so little time.................









Wonder what I will share with you tomorrow???