Borrowed this from my sister….

I ‘borrowed’ this from my sister, Rhonda. All the things I’ve done are in bold.   I didn’t alter the list any, so if you borrow this, you shouldn’t either.  For instance, I have been to Disney World, not Disney Land, but the list says “land”, so I left it as is.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling (attempted, anyway)
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Through tears and heartache….

I’ve been sitting here, at my computer, pondering how I’m going to pick up the pieces of my broken heart. Don’t think it’s possible. I don’t know if I have all the pieces….I have gone through a gamut of emotions tonight/today. (I’ve not been to bed….) I found out that my husband of fourteen years is in love with another woman. Ouch, that certainly hurts. Really, really  bad. His best friend’s wife. A friend of mine. She, too, is in love with him. I believe *I* could handle it…sort of…but to see my daughter crying her eyes out and saying she hates her Dad? Huh-uh. Might as well have beat me in the head with a sharp rock. It certainly wouldn’t have been as painful. I sit here, not having one clear thought or idea as to how to proceed. So, me being me, well, my closet is clean! I sat on the floor, arranging and rearranging shoes and crying. Then I folded some clothes and cried some more. Took a shower at 5am, bawled the entire time. At this point, I’m pretty much looking like the Cowardly Lion from “The Wizard of Oz”…what with the swollen eyes and all. Gotta pull myself together, though. Caitlyn takes her driving test at 9am. *I* still get to be the responsible parent while my “husband” is out all night, with another woman. It sucks on so many fucking levels. My stomach is a friggin’ disaster. I might win our version of “The Biggest Loser” after all. Wait, no that would be my “husband”…he is, by far, the biggest loser. And this quite possibly is the worst, suckiest year of my life.
Now, where did I put that dust rag?

I’m alive!

Althhough there were a few days when I wasn’t sure of the outcome, I made it. For a few days, I was convinced that if I had the choice, I would not do it again. Now, of course, I’m better and am recovering. I ended up staying in the hospital two days longer than normal. I lost more blood than anticipated. Couldn’t pee on my own. I had a Foley catheter….when that was removed, I couldn’t go. So they “straight cath’d” me. Still couldn’t go. Friggin’ Foley was put back in. All of this AFTER surgery down there…in the nether region. Painful doesn’t even begin to describe it. I was, however, extremely thankful for that beautiful best friend of mine, the morphine pump! I couldn’t wait until that little button turned green so I could push it. After a rough weekend home (last weekend) and rough start to the week, I’m much better. Had to make a trip to my doctor because I was severely allergic to the stupid adhesive in the the tape (steri-strips and tape from the catheter). And I was (am) anemic so I’ve had to deal with some yucky light-headedness (is that a word?) and dizzyness. I’m on an iron supplement at this point. Good news about that is my BP is within the ‘normal’ range and I haven’t had to take my BP meds for two weeks now. <thumbs up!>
So I went in to work twice now. Only for 2-3 hours. But it sure did wonders for me. I felt useful! =] I can’t wait to go back full-time but I have to admit, I sure do get tired easily. Probably from doing NOTHING for so long. I’ve gotten a lot of reading done. I’m now on the third installment in the “Twilight”  series. And can’t wait for Thanksgiving break because me and my sisters and daughters are going to see the movie!
Well, that’s it pretty much from here. Kids are all well. OH!!!!! Jackson lost his firts tooth! I’ll post a picture soon. Need to get off here and go read. Recovering is hard work…<wink-wink>

That list of things to get done before Tuesday?

Um, didn’t happen! I did manage to get a few loads of laundry done and my bathroom cleaned. What was I doing all day long, you wonder? Reading the entire “Twilight” book by Stephenie Meyer. I’m completely hooked. I read the entire 498 pages Sunday. Not entirely true…I read about 50 pages Saturday night/early Sunday morning. I have three more books to go in the series…and I’m an just itching to get my hands on the second one. But I’m saving it for my recuperating phase. *grin*
So tomorrow is the ‘big day’ in so many ways. I’m not even going to know who our president is until probably Wednesday! Drugs and all…..
I’ll update once I’m up and around again.

Deep breath in….let it out….

Okay, so I’m having major surgery on Tuesday, November 4th at 8am. Less than three full days. I have a ‘to-do list’ the size of the dust bunnies under my bed that I need to get rid of before the big day.
A quick run-down:

1. Shave legs.
2. Trim toenails.
3. Exfoliate feet.
4. Paint toenails.
5. Clean my bedroom. (Including put away totes of summer clothes that are sitting at the foot of my bed and have been sitting there for about two weeks now and I regularly stub one of my favorite toes on at least three times a week!!!! Also including in room cleaning: dusting and vacuuming.)
6. Clean hall bathroom. Top to bottom. I did a semi-deep cleaning a few weeks ago but it’s in dire need of some real elbow grease.
7. Playroom=disaster area at the moment. Halloween costumes and candy bags and candy are floating around in here.
8. Kitchen. Everything a kitchen needs. Including wiping down the cabinets and drawer fronts.
9. Laundry room. Linty, dusty and just ick.
10. Living room. Thankfully, this room doesn’t need much. It hasn’t been used much at all the past month since we’ve had no TV. But we got the part for the TV back today and put back together and I forgot how much I enjoyed watching the boob tube on the big screen. This room has had no action therefore, not much is needed there.
11. Clean my Excursion. Inside and out.
12. Grocery shopping.
13. Laundry.

And I finally bought the books my sister, Rhonda, recommended. I bought all four in the series because 1) Rhonda said I won’t be able to put them down and 2) three different employees at Barnes & Noble told me I would regret it if I didn’t buy all of them at once. One guy said he had a customer waiting outside the doors when they opened because she had to have the next book in the series right then…she’d been up all night, reading the book! Since I’m going to be laid up for the next few weeks, I thought I’d better get myself some good reading material. I just haven’t been able to get into a book lately.

I will update when I can after my surgery. But if you could send some speedy get well wishes my way (and some prayers if you can spare!), I would greatly appreciate it.