Dull-O-Rama

Yesterday M-Boy finally went back to school. It was pretty hard on him even though he was happy. He came home and took a nap which is very much unlike him. He is up and ready without my urging this morning so I know he is better, just not 100% himself. I have absolutely nothing of interest to write about this morning other than it is parent/teacher conference time for Little Man. Keep your fingers crossed for him because I think he has to do summer school. Poor kid.

My Secret Happiness

I secretly like when Mr. Daphnewood talks in his "medical language". Last night he came home in the middle of the night even though he was on call. He decided to take a chance and try to sleep a little. Of course the pager went off around 3am and he in his groggy state called the hospital. Immediately when he was connected to the nurse that was paging him, he lost all tiredness and fell into this rhythmic dialogue of issuing orders. He handled the situation so professionally and in a world I do not understand. When I first met Mr. Daphnewood he was a diamond in the rough. He was a crude Texan and I had more education than him with only a single year of college under my belt at the time of our meeting. Most of my family had objections to our pending marriage. Only my mother and one aunt (my beloved roo) stood by me, trusting my judgment. Mr. Daphnewood and I are still married (15 years now) and very happy. And seeing him speak in this language in the middle of the night brings me such secret happiness because it shows how far he has come. He has made his dreams happen. He is living them now with me by his side. Can it really get any better than this?

Surprises On The Library Shelf

Lately I have been reading a lot of books. I read some good ones and some bad ones but all of them have been for pleasure. It seems odd reading books that are not textbooks, just purely fiction. This past weekend I read a book called Shooting The Heart that was very odd. It was written in the mind of a schizophrenic so you can imagine how disjointed it was organized and how time was not linear. Normally I would have read some textbook of schizophrenic cases but it was neat to read about it from the other side of the coin even if the account was purely fictional. Now I am reading a Stephen King book called The Gunslinger which I have never read. I do like his stuff but for some reason I have never picked up this book. I was tickled to find out that it is a series of novels so I should be busy for quite a long while. Has anyone ever just grabbed abook off of the library shelf and ever been pleasantly surprised? Please tell me any book you read by pure chance and enjoyed.

Oh, I cannot end this post without commenting on The DaVinci Code. It was such a disappointment to me! I mean it was good but everyone was building it up. I felt it was trying to clutter to many things in. And seriously, what is the big deal if Jesus had a wife and kid? Does that make his message any less potent? I just don't understand why that would be such a scandal. Whatever. So anyway please tell any surprise readings you have encountered. Or even some that were terrible. I like to know about books that aren't on the bestseller list too. Sometimes those truly are the best books of all.

I Feel Like Bloggin'!!!!

Hey all! M-Boy came down with a horrid illness so I have been wearing the 'supermom' costume for the past few days. Actually, on friday the nurse from his school had my mom go get him (I was out spending all that money on Mr. Daphnewood's glasses). Then he just never got any better this weekend. Always running a fever. I took M-Boy to our AWESOME med/peds doctor and she sent us home tonight with a Rx for 'gorilla-cillin' to help M-Boy's white bloods cells out. Poor kid hates to miss school too.

More updates. Let's see....I finally got back on my diet. I got real tired of my fat lady clothes feeling tight. I will never be thin. I don't really care about that but I don't want to be obese if you know what I mean.

I am not so mad about my insurance now. I had a hospital bill come in for when Little Man broke his arm. It was $1500! Then I realized they didn't bill the insurance. Wheew!!! yes, I am loving that health insurance now.

Little Man started ritalin for his ADD and even if it doesn't do a darn thing for him chemically, the confidence it has given him is worth it. Like that story of the little duck with his sky hook. He told me that he "feels smarter". But I think it is working for him chemically. His teacher said he finished two days of work in one morning. Little Man usually has to stay in at recess to finish his work. Smart kid but very easily distracted.

That is enough updates for now. I am going to read your blogs! Oh and Vicki, can you email me, please?

Ranting About Health Insurance

Why does anyone pay for insurance? We pay several hundred dollars a month for health coverage. We still have a $20 co-pay for each doctor visit, $30 for specialty doctors and we get good prices on generic medicines only. I was going to put Little Man on stratera for his ADD but my insurance that I pay several hundred dollars a month for will not cover it (only a portion) so I must pay $67 a month. Uh no way when ritalin is $4.96 a month.

Then I found out about our vision insurance too. There is a once a year exam allowance and we have to pay $50 co-pay with that. Then we have a $25 co-pay for materials. Some of us wear glasses and others like contacts. So I was figuring about $75 for each family member but knowing some "extras" might add a little cost. Mr. Daphnewood insisted he get his first. So I took him and he ended up costing $217 dollars. That is with insurance! He wanted these ultra thin lenses for his glasses and because he is an OLD GEEZER (That calls my cat "Fuggles" instead of "Freckles")he needed progressive lenses too. I am just so frustrated and angry.

oh, and sorry I have been away. Mr. Daphnewood has been home this week and taking up a lot of my time. I'll try to catch up on blogging this weekend. Happy friday everyone.

My Fortune Cookie

this made me smile

Your Fortune Is

It is better to lose a lover than love a loser.

The Wacky Fortune Cookie Generator

The MMR Is Spicy?

Yesterday I had to take Mouse and Little Man to get some immunizations. I am somewhat anti-immunizations because I believe M-Boy's autism was triggered by a seizure that happened after getting his DTP at age 18 months. I don't know. Call it mother's intuition or whatever, I just know the change in my son was instantaneous.

Anyway so off to the doctor's office I took Mouse and Little Man. Their doctor is wonderful. She told them "well, the DTaP and OPV do not hurt but I have to tell you that the MMR kind of hurts. It burns a little." Little Man is so brave and was trying to be an example for his overly nervous older sister. He said "That's okay, I like spicy food!"

And for the record, Little Man did not cry and Mouse did not faint. It was a good day.

Good Morning, Kansas City!

It was so beautiful yesterday. I hope today is more of the same. I see that snow is forecasted for the weekend but thankfully, the weather service is rarely correct. Mr. Daphnewood is really being obnoxious this morning! He called my cat "fugly". He is being so obnoxious that my daughter asked "Mom, why did you marry him?" Well it is never boring. I can tell you that much. My side hurts from laughing so much this early in the morning. Have a great day everyone!



do you think my cat is fugly?

My Addictive Personality

Lately Mr. Daphnewood has been the sweetest, most loving husband on the planet. He is thoughtful and considerate of my feelings/comfort and he has been somewhat romantic (as much as any crude Texan can be). He does get this way every now and then but this time I am overdosing on romance. I have watched Pride & Prejudice like 3 times in the past two weeks. I ordered romantic movies online and even hung up a watercolor of flowers my daughter painted. What is my problem? It is getting sticky from all the sweetness going on around here. I am sure I will turn diabetic in no time. But, I am happy and content. It's the only way to go.

Happy Birthday Drifting About

Well my blog is now 1 year old. I cannot believe that I have been blogging this long but it still feels right for me. Someday I may become bored but for now, I'll keep rambling on. Have a great weekend everyone.

Skittles, Hawk and Memories

I had a bag of Skittles last night. This candy has become my candy of choice in recent weeks. I think the lemon are my favorite or the strawberry. Anyway, after 'tasting the rainbow' I watched another episode of Buck Rogers. Okay, I still think Gil Gerard was way HOT and I like men with a little hair on their chest but the show had its faults that I was never aware of before. In the first season, Buck kisses a girl in EVERY single episode. Then in the second season he is more 'fatherly' to the people he helps. The second season had a better Buck but a sucky storyline. Plus, I was introduced to Hawk, the man with feathers for hair. How could I forget about Hawk? I LOVED Hawk as a kid.

I know you are wondering why I am babbling about this but it made me wonder how many memories do I have stored in my brain that are vivid and alive, but just not accessed? I remembered very clearly the episode where Hawk's wife died (she also had feather hair). When people develop brain disorders they often lose short term memory and only have their "old" memories to wade through. Most are quite happy to live in the past too. Have you ever been reminded of something (pleasant or not) that suddenly jumps to mind and it is as alive as it was the day you experienced it? I would be curious to hear any other stories from you all. Of course many of you are youngsters and probably have no clue to what I mean about OLD buried memories. But please, share away if it has happened. I am quite interested.

Things On My Mind That Bother Me

Today I have many worldly issues that are bothering me. I cannot really concentrate on my project for work. Perhaps writing the troublesome thoughts down on this blog will help me get over it and move on.

• Who will take of the child left behind now that Christopher Reeve and his wife have died? That is something I worry about for my children too if something should ever happen to my husband and me. Yes, I have loving family that would gladly take them in but it still would not be us raising them.

• Why did Sports Illustrated pick on Barry Bonds that way? I think to bring out his doping past is serving one purpose only: to discredit Barry Bonds. If Bonds wants to put his life at risk by using harmful substances, it is his concern. Until baseball has an official ban on performance enhancing drugs (physician prescribed drugs are allowed- think of Dr. Nick in the Simpsons) then Sports Illustrated needs to shut up and not bring up PAST grievances. This is nothing more than agenda setting media. You know, put out stories of how bad and rampant the problem is so policy will be made banning steroids. I think they should be banned but they are singling out this athlete.

• What are those IDIOT protesters thinking of going to soldiers' funerals? Haven't the families suffered enough? The sign that says "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" is the worst. How could anyone be so HATEFUL? These men and women died serving their country, protecting the right to free speech for assholes like this. It makes me wonder if it is worth it at all. Those poor family members. I am grateful for the Rolling Thunder aka Patriot Guard Riders who attend these services to drown out the hateful cries of such ignorant people. This story really bothers me a lot. Pray for me because I feel myself on a threshold of turning away from the church for good. I love Jesus and don't want to be separated from Him but I cannot surround myself with individuals like this.

Are You Blind?!

I finally put the video (the one that failed) up at youtube.com. I know I can add it to my blog but I figure why make anyone watch a video of my kid when they don't have to. Here is the link: Are You Blind?! Little Man and I were at the Smithsonian Natural History museum during this one. He really doesn't act so disrespectful usually. I think he was just incredulous that I would ask such a question of him.

ps. I needed to edit it but I forgot to cut the end part off.

Anniversary & Johari

Yesterday was my anniversary. We have been lagally married now for 15 years. Normally we don't do much but we actually made an effort to go out to dinner alone. It was pretty nice but Mr. Dapnewood and I are the type of people that do not wait until the anniversary to profess our love or to say how lucky we are to have one another. We try to make each other feel special year round and look at our anniversary day as just another milestone. I love him more with each passing day. I guess it is as simple as this: as long as we are alive I know we will be married to each other so why celebrate once a year? Still we managed to exchange little gifts and had a great steak while laughing our asses off. We laugh a lot in this house.

Will everyone do this Johari window for me? Thanks to Boozie for the idea.

Buck Rogers Then and Now: What was I Thinking?!

When I was very young I loved the TV show Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. I was a little apprehensive of the robot I called Twiggy (I recently learned its name was Twiki) but adored Dr. Theopolis (the robot face around Twiki's neck). My mom bought me the complete series on DVD. She spoils me rotten. Anyway, I started watching the opening movie last night while scanning some files and let's just say that the show is not what I remember.

Buck was strong and a hero in my 10 year old eyes. He was smart, funny, good looking and I couldn't wait to see his next adventure. He was honest and caring about planet Earth. He was a victim to an unfortunate accident that sent him through time away from his family and home. Those were my convictions when I was 10 years old.

In my 36 year old eyes, Buck Rogers is a smart ass. He is a womanizer and the women of the show are not real women. No woman would say "Oh Buck, I can be every bit of woman that the princess can and I plan on showing you from now on." What?! I expected the special effects to be cheesy. It was 1980 after all. I expected the costumes to look odd. I expected the story lines to be outdated but my gosh, the man was a PIG! I still will watch the show because I am fascinated at what my mind remembers and what I see now. I totally did not get the sexual innuendos in 1980 but I get them now. Yeah, Buck Rogers thinks he is a real ladies man. He is still good looking but a guy who acts like that would never get a date these days. Well, at least I hope no one would go out with a womanizer like that. You never know.