Friday, December 30, 2005

A Jason update

Tuesday night Jason had a blood clot removed from his brain. The blood clot was causing a great deal of brain swelling so this was a good move. Once the clot was removed, Jason's brain began to go back to normal. Yay!!!!

Thursday evening Jason ripped his breathing tube from his mouth/lungs and began to curse up a storm! But he was breathing on his own, more coherent...a wonderful thing!

Today (Friday) Jason had surgery on his left arm. They took a large piece of his thigh and buttock for a skin graph. (I won't go into detail BUT his left arm is in such bad shape that he will have several, if not many, surgeries to repair it.) He's a little slow with his speech but he remembers everyone. This is soooo wonderful!!! Also, his hip and pelvis will not require surgery as first thought. Yay Jason!!

Tomorrow we will go and see him again..I can't wait!! Everyday is more good news and more blessings!! Please hold Jason and everyone on that unit in your prayers. There are more heart-wrenching stories on that Trauma ICU than a heart can bear. A 18 year old boy in a coma from being hit by a drunk driver; a 26 year old father of 5 paralyzed from the neck down from a car accident; a 32 year old man with a brain injury..it just goes on and on. These families have all become close, checking in on the progress of everyone in that unit day by day. Rejoicing when it's good news, comforting each other when it's bad news. It breaks your heart...

Anyway..I hope that everyone has a safe, happy and healthy New Year..

Peace.

Monday, December 26, 2005

An update on "J"

Jason remains in critical condition in the Trauma ICU of a NY hospital. His brain is still swollen, his left arm is very bad and his pelvis & hip are fractured. He's also bleeding internally, but less than before. They cannot make any repairs to his internal organs, arm or pelvis until the brain has returned to normal. This poor child faces months, if not years, of recovery and healing.

Herman's sister had Christmas dinner despite this. She knew that there would be alot of family who would want to visit J. She figured that we couldn't spend the entire time at the hospital and that somehwere along the line, we'd ahve to eat. A diversion..he was still fresh on our mindsbut it WAS Christmas..so we celebrated amidst the tears. It's been a rough year....

Anyway, thank you for your prayers. I tell them all the time that I have peope across the country praying for his recovery. And if you don't pray, well, hold a good thought for them. (All "positive vibes"gladly accepted! :)

Peace...

Friday, December 23, 2005

A request for prayers

Please keep our 17 year old nephew Jason in your prayers. On Wednesday afternoon he flipped his car and was ejected from it. He is in critical condition and is quite ill. Among his injuries: fractured skull, broken pelvis and a severely damaged arm. He will likely be in intensive care for a couple of weeks and then will face a very long recovery. This is the older brother of our nephew Michael, who was in a bad car accident back in September. The family could really use your prayers. To say that they are going thru a difficult time would be an understatement. I won't go into much detail (for their privacy) but my brother in law (their dad) is also pretty sick himself and is not well enough to visit Jason. Herman and I have been doing our best to support his sister but they live over an hour away and we both had to return to work today. We'll head up there tomorrow and be back home in time for Christmas Eve at my sister's. Then we'll go back up to his sister's for Christmas dinner. We'll take turns going to the hospital.

I'll keep you posted as best I can. Thank you in advance for your prayers. They mean so very much to us.

Peace.

Monday, December 19, 2005

The Sears saga continues..

Well, Sears called this morning to reschedule my appointment. When I told them that I was already rescheduled for Friday afternoon, they told me that I wasn't. EXCUSE ME??!! Then they had the sheer audacity to tell me that I wasn't home when the tech arrived on Saturday. They somehow turned this on me!! No, you're right...I WASN'T home when the tech arrived on Saturday...AT 820PM....Oh, I SOOO cannot wait for the manager to call me. (At this point I'm beginning to think that this will never be resolved.) Anyway...they put me in touch with scheduling or dispatch, who was able to get me back on Friday's schedule. Until, of course, some called me a half hour later to rescedule me!!! I said, again, no, I'm already scheduled for Friday...and she tells me that I'm NOT!! (Can you tell that a vessel is about to burst in my head?!) So, she says that someone will call me back...which they haven't yet. And it isn't even so much that the TV isn't working...it's the runaround I'm getting that is TOTALLY frustrating!! I'll keep ya' posted..

Christmas. Sigh. Not feeling Christmas this year. To the point that I burst into tears every time I hear a Christmas song. Really. May be that I'm sad that Jackie won't be home for Christmas. (Early "empty nest syndrome"?) May be that I'm so sick of the commercialism that is Christmas. Don't know. Haven't gotten a damn thing done yet. No tree, no gifts. (Note: Herman already took care of the girls and I took care of John in one single purchase at Sam Ash music store the other day. It's the rest of my family that hasn't been taken care of...) Can I run this by you?  Every year Herman and I say that we're NOT buying for each other. But yet, he buys me something and I have NOTHING for him. Which makes me feel awful. So...my question is: Even tho I told him that he is FORBIDDEN to buy me anything, should I buy him something just in case??!! He always catches me off-guard!! Answers anyone??!

In closing...anyone noticed that I've posted 2 days in a row?? (Don't they hand out awards for that? LOL!!)

I'm tired..and worn out from dealing with Sears...so...

Peace!

Sunday, December 18, 2005

Pissing and moaning

Ok, let me first say that I'm pissed at AOL for switching to XM radio...because some of my favorite stations are missing!! All YES, All  Dave Matthews and the New Age station are ALL GONE! Damn it. First DirecTv goes to XM , now AOL. (I wasn't happy about losing my music stations on DirecTv, either!)

Secondly, I waited for 11 hours on Saturday waiting for a Sears techinician to come out and repair our HD tv. I was originally scheduled from 8am until noon. Fine. No problem. When he hadn't arrived by 1150am, I called Sears to ask if he was running late. That's when I was told that I was rescheduled for 1pm til 5pm!! No call, nothing. She sent a message to the tech and asked him to call me with an E.T.A. Now mind you, I was home by myself most of the day, so I couldn't get in the shower for fear of missing the technician! Well, he never called. I called several more times, only to be told (at 3pm!) that we were call #8 for him..the last service call...and that he had only just arrived at call #4!! I asked them (politely..I don't do the yelling thing) to please reschedule me for 1st thing Monday or Wednesday morning. Of course, I was told that it simply could NOT be done. They have NOTHING available on Monday in my area EVER and the next Wednesday would be Dec 27!! (I must note that out of the 6 customer service agents I spoke to, only 2 were not pleasant or helpful. One of them transferred me to a dept that was closed on the weekend. BITCH!) Finally, at 6pm I told them to forget about it, to schedule me for Friday afternoon (the 23rd) in hopes that the kids were out of school on an early dismissal. (Watch..they'll reschedule me for 8-12 and not call me! LOL!!) I told them that I couldn't wait because Mark & Heather's Annual Christmas Party was that night!! SO, at 820pm, I received a phone call from the tech who was at my house wanting to know if I could let him in!!! Anyway, I have a complaint in and SUPPOSEDLY a district manager will call me by tomorrow. We'll see.

Ok, the Christmas party! Oh what fun!! LOL! Can't say too much because I'll implicate too many people...but let's just say that everyone had a grand ol' time! They killed several bottles of vodka and lots of beer. Me? Well, I had a glass of Sangria, half glass of wine, 1 shot and many glasses of water w/cranberry juice. Which leads me to my next comment...

Did you know that you aresupposed to drink 1/2 your weight in ounces of water? I know I'm not explaining this right but bear with me... If you weigh 160 pounds, you need to drink 80 ounces of water per day, more if you're very athletic or active. I find this amazing! I know that you can count anything that has water in it (i.e. soda, juice, soup, etc.) but caffeinated beverages and alcohol dehydrate your body so you really should either eliminate them or not count them as water. So this is my new kick: DRINK LOTS OF WATER!! I've taken to adding just a bit of cranberry juice or pomegranate juice into the water just to take the edge of the water taste. Just a bit, tho. The only disadvantage to my new found love for water is that I was up peeing the entire night! ROFLMAO!! (Note to self: Cut the water intake at 7pm for optimal sleep.)

Finally, my last bitch and moan, is that my oven no longer works and I'll have to call in a repairman. I know that it's the flame ignitor so I don't wanna mess with it. Playing with natural gas is a "no-no" in my book.

I guess I'll have to start my Christmas shopping tomorrow. Ugh. Really not into Christmas this year.

Oh, one final thought. This whole "Happy Holidays" versus "Merry Christmas" is SO blown out of proportion. I look at it this way: When I say Happy Holidays, I say it to encompass all the holidays at this year so as not to exclude anyone. Not even because I'm trying not to offend anyone...I just want to wish every person of every religion a happy time during their religious holiday AND for the happy new year! If I know that you are a Christian , I WILL wish you a Merry Christmas regardless of who is around. If you are Jewish, I WILL wish you a Happy Hannukah. If I know that you celebrate Kwaanza, Ramadan or any other religious holiday, again..I will wish you a happy whatever it is you celebrate.If I don't know what you celebrate, well.....HAPPY HOLIDAYS! (There are so many types of celebrations at this time of the year that I feel this expression covers 'em all.) 

Ok...PEACE!!!!

Friday, December 9, 2005

Home, sweet (snowy!) home..

Well, Jackie was WONDERFUL!! What a huge change in her! She is much more mature and very devoted to her recovery. It was so amazing to see her like this! I just can't say enough good things about how she was!

Day 1: We arrived at Phoenix airport at about 1245pm. Drove to where Jackie works. Jackie came running out and we all hugged and kissed her. Went inside to grab a bite to eat (we were starved...airline food sucks!) and met all Jackie's co-workers. Everyone eas very nice and sweet. Went to our hotel to check in, leaving Jackie at work. Drove to Jackie's home at 630pm, met housemates and friends. Drove to her meeting where she received a "90 day" chip...days clean! Yay Jackie!! Went back towards hotel and grabbed some dinner. Crashed in bed. (Long day!)

Day 2: Picked Jakcie up at 10am. Drove to the Apache Trail in Apache Junction, AZ...about a 45 minute drive from Mesa. Drove on the scary ass road to Canyon Lake where we decided to take a steamboat ride around Canyon Lake. Just beautiful and peaceful! After the ride, we decided to take Apache Trail to Tortilla Flats for lunch. Very cool place! Had lunch at the local restaurant. There were dollar bills stapled on every ceiling/wall/window..everywhere!! They had some killer chili, too! Then we took a walk around outside. Back in the car, and drove back to Mesa. (Note: This road, Apache Trail, takes you alongside a deep canyon with NO GUARDRAILS! How do you say "panic attack"?! I broke out in a cold sweat and had a death grip on my seat!) We took Jackie food shopping and then it was time for her to return to the property. Herman and I went to Red Lobster for dinner. Mom passed.

Day 3: Picked Jackie up at 11am and headed for Old Town Scottsdale. Ate lunch at an Italian restaurant, which is exactly what Jackie wanted! Decided that we should head to the local mall to do some clothes shopping for Jackie. Spent the better part of the afternoon in the mall. Then headed back to Scottsdale for a very nice dinner at Houston's, a steakhouse. Jackie's sponsor met us there. We had a nice dinner! Jackie had to be back on property by 7pm so it was an early dinner. Then we (me, Herman and mom) headed to Tempe to see Mill Rd. We stopped at a haunted restaurant for a drink. We were disappointed in Mill Rd., as it turned out to be a college hang out. We even had someone ask us for money! About a block and a half into our walk my mom and I felt too uncomfortable to continue. So, we headed back to the room. Herman was disappointed.

Day 4: No Jackie. Me, Herman and mom headed 133 miles to Sedona, AZ. What a ride. Sedona was just awesomely beautiful! Red rocks, beautiful scenery! We decided to take a Pink Jeep tour on the Broken Arrow trail. It was so much fun! I just can't say enough about how much fun it was! My mom loved it, too! If you ever get the chance to do this, go for it! You won't be sorry! We headed back to Mesa at sunset. Had some dinner and then headed back to the room to pack.

Day 5: Stopped at Jackie's job to say our goodbye's. Caught a 1205pm flight home. Uneventful flight.

It was a great trip! The best part was getting to see how well Jackie is doing!

Peace!

Friday, December 2, 2005

Leaving, on a jet plane...

We're (me, Herman and my mom) are headed to AZ tomorrow morning to see Jackie!! I'm so excited that I'm numb! I'll post when I get home...

Peace!

P.S. I hope that ScreaminRemo guy doesn't pull us over! LOL!!

Sunday, November 20, 2005

I'm not going

I will not be moving my blog..for several reasons.

A) I'm too busy to move right now.

B) I don't like change. (Who does?!)

C) I might lose some of my j-land buddies..I mean, really LOSE them like not be able to find each other!!

and finally

D) If I scroll down just a bit, the ad moves up and out of view! Now how easy is that?!

I'm not criticizing anyone who has left..I don't blame them one bit. Thing is, I battle TOO many things in a day (kids, job, boss, house, etc.)...I don't need another!! ( We all battle things everyday..I'm just not in the "fight mode" at this stage of my life.)

I will genuinely miss my friends who have left j-land for ad-free blogs. And I will (as soon as I can!) update the "my favorite journals" with links to their new digs.

I do have to say, tho, without the alerts, it may take me awhile to find my way over. But I'll be there. And, if need be, I will create a blogspot name just so that I can comment. Maybe I'll email. But I'll make my presence known...somehow.

I wish all my friends much happiness in their new "homes"..and for those of you who have decided to stay, well..the neighborhood has just gotten a bit smaller.

Love and peace to all my friends!

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

WTF??

Well, AOL has really done it. Pissed off a whole contingency of their subscribers, namely the jlanders.

Thanks to Mary Louise at "Watching My Sister Disappear" for posting an email address to send your complaints to.

JOURNALCHANGES@aol.com

Start writing!

Peace!

P.S. It just occurred to me that you may not know what I'm talking about. Just take a look at the top of my journal..or any other journal for that matter. See the unsolicited ad banner?  It just magically appeared one day. Pissed off a BUNCH of people in jland.

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

The investigation was posted!

The investigation that we (TSPR) did with NJPR was posted today! You can go HERE to see the results. It was one of the coolest investigations that I've been on in awhile. TSPR is doing an investigation this Friday night but I'm not able to make it. :(  Herman is doing his side job on Friday night and we can't leave these kids home alone all night. I'd be gone from 5pm until about 3-4am and Herman is gone from 9pm til 4am. I'll use my time wisely that night and get the 10BILLION loads of laundry done!! LOL!

In other news: The children are ALL doing well! Yippee! I spoke to Jckie the other night and she continues to do very well in her recovery. The rest of 'em are all doing well in school. I can't believe that the first marking period is almost over!

Sad to hear that Michele over at "Letting it All Sink In" is closing up shop for awhile. There are alot of us who will miss her. Good luck and be well, Michele!!

Gotta go...dishes to wash, clothes to fold!

Peace!!

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Catch up time..AGAIN!

Things have been fairly quiet here..always a good thing. Rachel's car is totalled so she's been begging ride..and begging to use our car/truck. I let her drive my car one night but told her not to get used to it. Herman's let her take the Maxima a few time..he's better at sharing than I am!

Have done a couple of investigations recently. We were invited by a fellow research team, NJPR , to do an investigation of a great old Victorian home in north Jersey. I got several evps (electronic voice phenomena) and "sensed" something near me in one of the rooms. We also went back to the Viginia Tavern in Jersey City. It was pretty quiet that night. But it was great to be back investigating! I'll let you know when the results are posted for both these investigations. We have another big investigation coming up on Nov. 4 in central NY. Can't wait for that one! It's a haunted restaurant! We've invited NJPR to join us as our ranks have dwindled recently...

Speaking of dwindling ranks, we lost our co-ordinator and his soon to be ex-wife. All very bad news. It was a shame that they left but it was also understandable. They were going thru too much and couldn't really give their attention to the group. That and other reasons..but mostly that they couldn't devote any time to TSPR.  I know that I will miss the both of them.

This week I made a decision about my Church situation. I resigned from the Board of Elders (Unicameral Board, in Presbyterian-speak) on Tuesday. Have I heard from the pastor? NO! What's really a shame is that the following day I had to be at the Church to assist with the photo taking for the new directory and, of course, it was the pastor's day to have his picture taken!! I was very polite and cordial and I checked out his 3 week old baby. You know, he didn't even know my name or that I was the one who resigned??!! Well, this just totally pissed me off! I sat on the board for over a year, with a name tag in front of me!! And he doesn't know my name? This just further justified my resignation. Right now I'm just not quite ready to make a decision regarding leaving the Church completely. I know that the Church is the people and not the minister but in this case, he has caused many hurt feelings and many controversies. I know of several people who are looking into having him removed. I'm also aware that several people have gone to the interim associate minister and complained at length about him. Oh, anyway...I hate this so much. I just want to go to a Church where the minister knows my name and has a firm handshake. I want to feel as tho I matter.

Herman, my mother and I are leaving for AZ to see Jackie on Dec. 3rd!! I can't wait! Jackie is counting the days and making plans on what she wants to do and see. We just can't wait to see her and love her up! We'll be there for 4 nights so I may get to see Sedona after all! I convinced Herman to stay that extra day so that we can do some sightseeing of our own. All he wants to see is a canyon! LOL!! We'd go to the Grand Canyon but it's a 6 hour drive from Phoenix. I'm sure that there are other canyons around, tho.

Well...I think that's about it for right now! Peace!!

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

hter than a bad case of whiplash.Rachel, Rachel, Rachel...

Well...Rachel totaled her (my) car last night..

She's ok, except for a bad case of whiplash..

She was going to her friend's (Anthony) house last night. She was making a left hand turn and a woman who was travelling on the same road smashed into her. Ray was going west on our street and the woman was goin east on the same road. Ray wanted to make left turn on to a side street when BAM! This woman plowed into her! It was dark and rainly out and this woman did not have her headlights on!!! She was driving a dark car so Rachel (and Anthony) never saw her!! Ray pulled right in front of the oncoming car! The accident occurred in fromt of Anthony's house..Anthony's grandfather heard the accident eight away and ran outside, only to see that the other car didn't have their headlights on.

Anyway..this really sticks because there is no way I can replace Ray's car. And we don't have collision on the car, due to the age of the car. (11 years old...my Gram gave me the car when she was dying. It has alot of sentimental value for me...)  The car (a 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera) has extensive front end damage..not worth repairing.

Sometimes life is so unfair..

 

Monday, October 10, 2005

Check out my son's band!!

Check out my son's band, The Oddessy. My son is the skinny kid who plays the guitar.....Johnny. (I call him John...where'd he get Johnny from??! LOL!!)

Listen to "Fireworks for  Four"...it's a great song!

What a talented bunch of kids!

(When do I get my house in Rumson??!! C'mon Johnny...buy Mommy a nice house! LOL!!!)

A quickie...

I've been doing some serious soul searching over a situation at my church. We hired a new pastor a year ago. After the first few weeks of his arriving, I wasn't much impressed by him. But, I decided that I would give him a year. A year (and a few months) has passed and I find that I actually dislike this man. He recently did forced out a church staff member who was much beloved by MOST of the church. I'm having a very hard tome with how this was done. This poor person was blindsided. Right before he confronted this person (who did nothing wrong, the pastor just wanted to add more duties to their already heavy workload!) he said to this person, "After this conversation our relationship will never be the same." To me this says that he fully intended to upset this person. I have other reasons for not caring for this person. He doesn't come out before service and greet the parishioners, his sermons are lousy and have nothing to teach, he doesn't attend many church functions nor does he attend coffee hour immediately after service..and on and on. This man doesn't even know my name and I'm an officer of the church AND I have the same name of his sister!!! However, he knows the name of the big contributers!! I also have personal knowledge of him being very nasty to a good friend of mine. Ok...so you may say "find a new church"..Not that easy. I've been a member for about 6 years and I love the congregation. Leaving them would be very difficult for me. This is a vibrant, giving church who is in serious need of good leadership. This is a very community oriented church that does community service and outreach. My plan so far is this: I'm going to resign from my position. I'm not going to pledge any amount to this church. I'm going to investigate other churches in my area...and I know that they will fall short of what I've come to love at my current church. I have cried over this situation. Does anyone have any suggestions? (I might also add that there have been several resignations after his latest stunt and I'm sure that there are more coming. Also, there are many people who feel the same way about him that I do.)

In other news: Herman and I are planning our trip to AZ to see Jackie! My mom will be coming along, too! I'm looking forward to this trip! Jackie will be able to visit with us for 2- 8 hour days!

Oh, one more thing: My friend's son Anthony is having his surgery today. They're removing 1/2 of his femur and all of his knee and replacing it with a prosthetic. This is the 15 year old boy I told you about in a previous post. He has osteosarcoma, a cancer of the bones. PLEASE...any prayers you can offer are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Peace! :)

Friday, September 23, 2005

I've been tagged!!

"The paranormal researchers want to come back and set up a webcam in our basement." Boy, did that start a whole new hobby for me!! LOL!

I was tagged by Michelle over at Letting it All Sink In. Here are the rules:

1.  Go into your archive.  

2.  Find your 23rd post.

3.  Find the 5th sentence of that post.

4.  Post text of that sentence with these instructions.

5.  Tag 5 other poeple to do the same.

Hmmm..who to tag?? Amy, Deb, Adrian, Jason and Brian!!

LOL!!

Saturday, September 17, 2005

All is well..

Just got back from my 4th trip up to NY to see my nephew and family. Michael was released from the hospital on Wednesday evening!! I spent Wednesday with him so that my sister in law could get some stuff done. He slept most of the time. I went with him to get his eyes examined. When I got in my truck to come home, it started to POUR!! Torrential downpours!! I pulled over on to the side of the road because I couldn't see. And the words that came out of my mouth!! Whew! Was I ever happy to make it home safe and sound...doing 25 mph with my flashers on for half the ride!!

Tonight we went up to have dinner with Herman's family and some of their friends. It was so great to see Mike back in his own environment, playing X-box and basically ignoring everyone! LOL! Actually, all the kids (7 of them) went to the movies to see "The Transporter 2"...which most of them didn't care for.

Well..I'd like to try and get to church tomorrow so I'm outta here..Peace!

P.S. Thanks to everyone for keeping Mike in your prayers! I truly believe it is because of those prayers that he is doing so well today...Again, thank you!

Thursday, September 15, 2005

My new favorite quote!!

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, 'WOW! What A Ride!' " LOVE IT!!

Monday, September 12, 2005

Update on Michael

First, thank you all for your prayers. They are greatly appreciated by everyone in our family.

Micheal is doing much better than expected!!

He woke up late Saturday night. They took him off the respirator when they determined that he was breathing on his own. He started talking and he knew what day it was!! He doesn't remember the night of the accident or what happened to bring him to the hospital...and that's ok.

Late Sunday afternoon they moved him form the ICU into a regular room! This was most encouraging! He is running a fever (to be expected) and he was in pain, but they were keeping him comfortable. He was much more swollen yesterday, most likely from the surgery he had on his head and sinuses.

The family is in a much better place than they were the past several days. They will have to deal with the details of the accident (which is a criminal matter) and that will be very stressful for them. Michael's only crime was that he made a bad decision. Other people involved willingly commited a crime. (Sorry I'm cryptic but I can't really get into details.)

Anyway..thanks for your support and your prayers! You all mean so much to me! Sharon

Saturday, September 10, 2005

A request for prayers

I know that I make prayer requests often..but if you would keep my 14 year old nephew Michael in your prayers, I would be eternally grateful.

Michael was the passenger in a horrific car crash on Friday night. He took the brunt of the crash. He has a head injury ( his skull is fractures in 2 places) and his sinuses under his eyes were severely ijured. He had surgery this morning from 930am til 130-200pm to place metal plates in his skull and to repair and clean out his sinuses.

Michael woke up this evening around 800pm..talking and squeezing everyone's hand!! He has a long road ahead of him but we are so grateful that he woke up so quickly and with a vengeance.

While you are praying for Michael, please include his mom, dad, sister, brother and grandparents.

It has been a very long day, full of so many emotions..full of watching many people deal with this in so many ways...We know that there will be setbacks..We just hope and pray for Michael's full recovery.

Thanks, friends..I thank you in advance for your prayers..

Peace........

Thursday, September 8, 2005

More stuff

This past Sunday we took a drive to see our good friends Tom & Ro. They live in Yonkers, NY...where Herman grew up. Herman and Tom have been friends for more than 30 years!! Ro met Tom (and has been with him ever since!) about 28-29 years. They have 3 cute kids: Matt, Addison and Jack. They married 2 years after Herman and I did..it was the absolute MOST gorgeous wedding I've EVER been to! It was in Westhampton, NY on the beach. Not ON the beach but the hotel that they had the wedding was at was on the beach. Herman was best man and I was matron (God I HATE that term!!) of honor. The ceremony was on a patio facing the ocean. the reception was in a room with high vaulted ceilings and blue & white canvas' draping down from the ceiling. BREATHTAKING! Anyway, we had a great time with them. Always do! We ate, drank and we were merry! LOL! OK..two of us were merrier than the rest...Herman and Tom partook of Tom's famous Long Island Iced Teas. Trust me...one sip of that awful concoction and you'd be blind!! Well, the boys were toasted!! I saw this coming so I allowed myself a beer early on and soda after that. I drove home..ugh. I never really drive Herman's car (2005 Maxima) so it was a rought ride home. (I drive a Ford F150 SuperCrew cab truck. Bigger IS better!!) I know my way home like the back of my hand but driving on the ever-so-windy Henry Hudson parkway in a car that has stiff handling..YIKES. And John yelling in the back of me, "Go FASTER Mom!! God, you're driving too slow!!" (one of the reasons that he'll never be allowed to get his license!!) didn't help. Ahh, we made it home safe and sound. My nerves were frayed but I survived.

I've heard from Jackie several times and I am SOOOOO happy to report that she wasn't crying during any of those phone calls!! Usually she's moaning, pleading, begging, borrow, stealing...wanting to come home. She's come to terms with being 3000 miles away from home. She told me tonight that it's actually kind of good that she's far away (DUH!) She has no one to rely on except herself. She loves her job. She's working lunches at a "mom & pop" restaurant. I'm so happy that this "recovery" program seems to be a prayer answered. For her family, anyway. I like that it's a "recovery" program rather than a rehab. She has never sone well in a rehab because she was bored. In a rehab program you just hang out and wait for the next meeting/therapy session/meal/cigarette break. It's boring. Here, she must work, she has house chores, she has to pay rent, she has to take public transportation...she has to be responsible for Jackie...something new for her! Please keep her in your prayers!! Thanks!

Kids went back to school on Tuesday. Rachel is a senior! Today we received the proofs for her senior pictures. It seems like just yesterday that I was shipping her off to kindergarten! How'd that happen?! John seems to like high school...more freedom, more older women!! LOL..That boy is workin' it! Becky likes school, too. She loves German! Thinks that she may one day want to be a German teacher! Go Becky!

Well, time for me to move on to other things...like the couch..

Peace!

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Back from vacation!

Didja miss me? LOL!

We had a blast!! We spent 4 nights in San Diego and 4 nights at the Disneyland Hotel. While in San Diego we went to Sea Worold, La Jolla cove, Belmont Park (amusement park) and Sunset Cliffs. We at dinner at The Bali Hai and watched the seals play in the harbor. One morning I decided that I was going to see the Hotel Del Coronado come hell or high water. So, we (me, Rachel, Richie and Rich) piled into my car and took a drive. I made a few wrong turns but we got there! And was it worth it! The Hotel Del is just spectacular! Dark wood paneling, great beach, all kinds of high-end shops..just beautiful! We spent about 45 minutes just walking around the property. (I have wanted to see the Hotel Del ever since seeing it on "Great Hotels" with Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel. I want her job!)

After 4 nights in San Diego, we headed to the Disneyland Hotel for 4 nights. It was great! I spent some time alone, which is always nice. I went on Tower of Terror no less than 10 times! I think that I walked at least 6-7 miles a day while in Disneyland. But it was worth every blister I now have!I'm like a kid in a candy shop when it comes to Disneyland or any other amusement park for that matter. My kids couldn't keep up with me. The girls spent a lot of time at the pool. They don't tolerate heat very well. It was 95 degrees in Anaheim the last two days that we were there. John spent a lot of time with Richie ( my nephew) and Rich (my brother in law).

When we got home, Jackie had to pack up her things. She left for Mesa AZ on Monday. She is going to a "recovery" program there...for 7 months. She was not at all happy about this but it was necessary for her to go. She needs to pull her life together. The women (it's a women only program) must work, attend meetings and have a sponsor. It's going to be rough on her for the first few weeks but she needs to do this. Please keep her in your prayers and send her positive vibes. She needs all the help she can get!! Even though she's far away, I feel a bit more relaxed because at least I know where she is and that she's safe. Not like before. We'll go out to see her in early December.

That's all for right now..Peace!

 

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Vacation!!!

Took a moment off from the constant packing, shopping, cleaning, screaming, yelling, etc. that is "getting ready for vacation"! Yes, tomorrow we (me, my 4 children, my sister, her husband and son, and my dad..no Herman :(  )get on a plane bound for 4 nights in San Diego and 4 nights in Disneyland! It has been hellish trying to get myself and these 4 children ready for this big trip. All I have left to do is to pack my own suitcase...and probably 10 million other things I'm totally forgetting to do.

I am going to have a GREAT time..but truth is, I will miss Herman terribly. Our dog simply cannot be kenneled. He's a 140 pound Alaskan Malamute who has bitten twice. We can't take any chances with him. (He's food aggresive.)

Anyway..I'll try and get back to journaling once I return.

Oh, one more thing. Please hold Anthony (my friend's 16 y/o son) in your prayers. He was complaining of pain in his knee. When they xrayed it, they discovered that he has bone cancer. He's undergoing chemo now. I saw his dad (my friend) the other day and he looks so sad. Please, if you believe in the power of prayer (or even if you don't!) please pray this young man. Thanks.

Well..back to packing, yelling, screaming, etc......Peace!

Thursday, August 11, 2005

My horoscope for today

"Your deepest feelings are in the process of transformation. Don't try to presuppose that you know where this journey is leading. Your willingness to jump into the watery world of emotions will be rewarded as your life is enriched and you become more connected with your true self."

I couldn't agree more!!

Saturday, August 6, 2005

Briefly..

I've not been myself lately, thus no posting in my journal.

Adrian tells me that I need to "LET GO"...

I think that I'll try his advice, as difficult as it may seem..

Need to let go of some of the vile poison that's been coursing thru my veins for a long time..

It ain't gonna be pretty.

I'll be back when I'm my ol' self.

Peace.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

On a mini-vacation!

First, thank you for leaving me comments about Jackie..I truly appreciate. I believe the only way she's going to get well is by prayer and the grace of God. So, thank you for continuing to keep her in your prayers.

3 1/2 weeks til we leave for San Diego and Disneyland! I've been so excited that I can barely contain it!! In the meantime, Herman is off from work this week so I took today (Tuesday) off so that we can spend some time together. We spent Saturday up at his cousin Jeff's house. It was his wife's (Estelle) 50th birthday party. It was great to get together with everyone. And we all had a big surprise when Jeanette, Tante Toni and Chrissy all showed up from FL! (Tante Toni is Jeff, Jeanette and Max's mom...Herman's aunt on his dad's side.) We saw Jeanette and Tante Toni for Jillian's (Jeff's daughter) graduation party a month ago so we certainly didn;t expect to see them for a few more years. What a great surprise! The other nice surprise was seeing Max's daughter's Victoria and Mackenzie! We haven't seen the girls in many years due to family conflict. (Doesn't every family have one?! LOL!) Victoria is Becky's age and Mackenzie is 10 years old. They have both gotten to be so grown up and beautiful!! I was so happy to see them! The only Bousche missing was Louie..again, another family conflict keeps them at bay. Louie is Max's twin brother. Herman's sister remains close to Louie and his family but my father-in-law refuses to have anything to do with him or be in his presence. It's really a shame as life is way too short. Anyway, we (Herman, John and I) had a great time catching up with everyone!

Becky flew home from FL on Friday evening. She looked so beautiful! All nice and tan...dressed in black pants and black, flowy shirt. She looked so grown up! She had a great time with Dar and the boys. I just wish that she was a bit more excited about our trip to CA than she is.

Sunday we just hung out. My brother is up from FL so he came over to visit. Actually, he hurt his back working so he came over to use my hot tub. He wound up going to the ER because of the pain he was in. He was supposed to leave yesterday. I hope that he is feeling better. (He works for a moving company. He got hurt moving some over-sized boxes.)

Yesterday we went to Dorney Park!!! We got on the rides as soon as we hit the park. I'm such a kid when it comes to rides! I love roller coasters and Dorney has great coasters! They have a new one this year: Hydra- The Revenge. It is a floor-less coaster..you ride on the top of the track with nothing above or below you. You get a lot of "air" on this ride. No great big drops but lots of flips and dives. Great fun! Towards evening we got right on and sat in the front seat...twice! What a blast! I also love Talon, Steel Force and Dominator. Go to the website and check out the rides. It's quite a bargain if you get a coupon from Subway or Burger King. $27 per person gets you into the water park and amusement park! It's clean, well planned out and has a friendly staff. We love Dorney Park!

Today we'll stick to mainly indoor activities as it is hotter than hell outside. It was hot yesterday but it's worse today. The humidity is creeping up so it's swampy outside...ugh. I had hoped to go down the shore on one of my days off but it's not looking too good right now. We're less than an hour from Point Pleasant but it's hot down there, too. We'll probably get some goodies to snack on and a few movies and the makings for pina coladas..nice way to spend an evening!

Well..I should really get something done here today. Perhaps laundry if I can manage to coax the kids to bring their stuff down. That, and the kitchen floor could stand a wash. Actually, when I think about it....almost everything in the house needs to be doen. Screw it...bring on the pina coladas!!

Peace!

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Yeah, I know..I'm bad..

Yes, I'm quite aware that it's been awhile since I've posted. Shall we play "catch-up"??

Becky left for Dar's on Wednesday the 13th at 8am. I took her to Newark by myself, as Herman had to work. Besides, only 1 parent is allowed to escort her to her gate. She arrived in one piece and they were all happy to see her! They spent this past weekend in Cocoa Beach and at Universal Studios. They had a blast!!

John decided that he wanted to spend a few days at his cousin's house in NY. So, I took a nap after taking Becky to the airport and then drove the hour and twenty minute drive up to my sister in law's house..and turned around (after a cup of tea!!) and drove right back home. Then took Rachel for an MRI of her brain at 9pm that same day!! I was exhausted!

It was nice and quiet around here for a few days, with Becky and John away. Rachel is fairly quiet and spends alot of time away from the house, either with friends or at work. You would think that the house would have been cleaner, but ALAS! It wasn't....

I went on an investigation to a battleship a week or so ago. It was very cool! Once the investigation is posted, I'll put a link here for it. (SJPR invited TSPR to join them for this one so it will be on SJPR's web page.) The cool thing about this investigation was that it was right across the water from a music venue! We got to listen to a live concert of Staind and Three Doors Down...for free!!! LOL....

On a heavier note, please keep my daughter Jackie in your prayers. I won't go into details but she is not doing well, mentally or physically..so please, if you can spare a prayer..my family and I would be very grateful. This child needs more prayers and good thoughts than any of you can imagine. Anyway, thanks in advance for your good thoughts.

I really should go and do some relaxation exercises..keep my head screwed on tightly for the next day or so.

Peace..

Friday, July 8, 2005

4th of July party and other stuff..

4th of July was supposed to be a quiet barbeque at my house. We had invited my mom, sister & her family and 4 of our friends. That makes 5 of my family (me, Herman, Jaclyn, Rachel and John), 4 of my sister and mom, and 4 guests. That makes 13 people for a barbeque. My sister backed out..my mom stopped by for a half hour or so. Sooooo...how then, did the invited 4 friends turn into 10 friends??!! Easy..."Oh, I heard you're having a party...mind if I/we stop by?" How do you say "no"?! You don't. We had tons of food so we of course said, "Sure! C'mon over!"

Needless to say we had a great time. Burgers, hot dogs, steaks, wings, shrimp & rice and some pasta salad. And beer....lots of beer. Everyone brought over at least a case each...We'll have beer til Labor Day!! And fun...lots of fun! This is a fun crowd. No one gets obnoxiously drunk..they're all pretty mellow. We ate from 3pm til just after 9pm.

Poor Herman, though. He was awakened at 6am by a phone call from his boss. Apparently the girl who covers the Philadelphia office wasn't answering her pages nor her cell phone nor her house phone. So Herman had to trek to the Phila. office (which isn't in Phila. propoer..it's in a northern suburb) at 830am..It's a 1 1/2 hours away from our house. He wasn't  happy. He made it back in time to run around for ice and propane.

Saturday I had to take John to the doctor's office...where he was diagnosed with shingles!! She put him on an anti-viral medication and he's feeling better. Poor guy! Thankfully he has a very high threshold for pain so he wasn't in excrutiating pain.

Becky is headed  for Dar's on Sunday. Unfortunately, so is Hurricane Dennis!! LOL! Becky is supposed to fly into Tampa at 1130am or so on Sunday morning but I expect that that won't happen. I'm sure that she and Herman will be sitting at the airport all day, trying to get her there later in the day or on Monday morning. We'll see.

Have I mentioned how happy I am that it is Friday? Wellll..it is and I am!

Ok...John and his friend Matt want to head to the mall now so I'm out!

Peace!

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Becky's Sweet 16 and more

Sorry..here are some photos from Becky's 16th birthday party/ John's graduation party.

We had a nice time altho the weather was awful: hot and humid. I stayed indoors for most of the time. Heat kills me! (I have Addison's disease so I have to be very careful of the heat.)

I'm frustrated because Jackie was here last night and today. She is overwhelmed and doesn't know where to begin to put her life back together. This is something that she needs to do...no one else can do this for her. She is struggling big time. SO instead of dealing with things, (i.e. getting a job, going to the doctor's for her infected eyes and for psychiatric medication for her increasing depression, inspecting her car..and on and on and on...) she sleeps on the couch all day. I just want to SCREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe I SHOULD scream...release some of the poisonous frustration that's coursing thru my veins. I'm just so afraid that once I DO scream, that will be the end. I'll probably totally lose it and wind up in some nice padded room in some mental facility.

Let me tell you..dealing with her drug addiction and all of my girls depression is really taking a toll on me and my emotional health. You get to feel so totally helpless because you cannot help your children. It's even more frustrating when they refuse to help themselves.

I'm sorry to be in such a bad mood.

The only happy news today is that Becky is booked for trip to Dar's!! She leaves on Sunday the 10th of July and returns on Wednesday the 20th of July! She'll have such a great time! I wish that I could go but all this trip taking is getting expensive! (My trips with TSPR and both Rachel and Becky going to FL this summer..not to mention our trip to CA in August!

Ok..I'm done ranting for now..Peace!

UPDATE: 10:11pm...Yes, I screamed..long and loud. No one was home so I was afforded this rare opportunity. Do I feel better? No, not really. I cried...hysterically..for about 10 minutes. And I'll probably cry some more before the evening is over. Herman is home from the gym now. Oh the tears he'll see shed this evening..the comforting he must provide..Poor, poor man. You have no idea what you're in for this evening.....

Saturday, June 25, 2005

John graduates 8th grade!

John graduated 8th grade on Thursday. I couldn't be happier!

Now I'll have 3 children at the high school: Rachel will be a senior, Becky will be a junior and John will be a freshman!

LET THE SUMMER BEGIN!

Friday, June 17, 2005

More of this and that..

Had to go to the doctor's yesterday. Seems that I have a virus that's attacking my upper respiratory system. Feels like I have asthma but I don't..THANK GOD!! My sister and my dad have asthma and it freaks me out. My sister gets very bad asthma attacks where she can't breathe...just awful. Anyway, I'm on all kinds of sprays and cough medication. Unfortunately the one spray makes me jump out of my skin so I won't take alot of it.

TSPR (the paranormal research team that I belong to) is going to the ParaCon in Stratford CCT today! I'm going even  tho I'm not feeling great. Actually, I'm doing the driving for this. I prefer to drive...a "control issue" of mine..LOL!! We're leaving around 2pm today. We'll have dinner with the guest speakers this evening and we'll stay over. The conference is all day tomorrow. Then another meet and greet thing..I expect that we won't get back home til very late on Saturday night. It should be very interesting and alot of fun!!

Well..I have lots to get done before I leave so...PEACE!

Thursday, June 9, 2005

An update about Alyssa, the little girl found drowning

An email from Ali:

"I have the best news! Alyssa woke up during the night. They started weaning her off the drugs that induced the coma yesterday and took out one chest tube. Today everything else was taken out. She can't talk much because her throat is so raw, but she seems fine and talked a little. She actually watched some of The Wiggles today!! She has a ways to go yet, but it couldn't be looking better!

Thank you all for praying for her. I'll continue to keep you posted. Thank you so much. ali "     I thank you...this is a testament to the power of prayer!

Wednesday, June 8, 2005

Catch up time

I have a few free moments so let's play "catch-up" shall we?

Memorial Day weekend: Rachel and Becky headed to Wildwood Crest with some friends for the weekend. (Yes, I am "that" mother who allows her children a certain amount of freedom and trust..) One of their roommates for that weekend got into a fight with some kids from another town and ran into the room to get away from the fight...followed by the local police department. Everyone in the room was interogated by the police and they took Rachel and Becky in under "protective custody" to be sure that if another fight broke out, they weren't hurt because they were minors. They would only release them to us so this meant a 2.5 hour trip down the Garden State Parkway. Oh, also..the kid that was beating up their friend accidently punched Rachel in the face. She was ok..just shaken up. So this ruined not only their weekend, but we were out alot of money.

Sunday of that weekend we went to my cousin's shore house in Tuckerton. We had a great time! Very casual, relaxed time. I went for my very first ride on a jet ski! John went down with us since he is good friends with my cousin's daughter. We brought his friend Matt with us, also. Monday we had a barbeque at my sister's. Nice, quiet time. Just hung out and ate like pigs! LOL

Gettysburg: I had such a great time exploring this place. I didn't think that it would affect me the way that it did. I hope to return one day. It was a beautiful town and park. The "ghosthunting" on this trip was ruined by the crowds of people and the noise they made. We tried but I don't think that anyone got much of anything.

I had a blast at the campsite, tho! The first night we were there we had a campfire and we rolled our asses off! I laughed so hard that I was snorting! We laughed so hard that some of us were in tears and I couldn't catch my breath! I just love hanging out with this group...they're all great people! We had a bit of rain but it couldn't dampen our spirits. And let me tell you...we ate like royalty thanks to Bruce. We had omelets for breakfast, chili for lunch and mahi mahi in a garlic cream sauce over fettucine for dinner!! And my latest junk food craving is for Costco trail mix. Damn that stuff is good!

Well...I believe that catchs me up for now. I'm off to pick up John's music equipment from his friend's house..yippee.

Quick update: The little girl that I asked you to pray for is doing alot better. She's still on a respirator but the doctors are pleased with her progress so far. Please continue to keep her and her family in your prayers. She has a long recovery ahead of her. Also, the boy in the car accident (Rachel's friend) is home from the hospital and from rehab but he is also still in nned of your prayers. He has a very long road ahead of him.

G'night...and Peace!

Rachel and Becky's Prom Pictures

Just wanted to share some pictures with you.

Rachel woke up feeling much better this morning. Last night was pretty bad for her. Her headache persisted all evening and then she broke out in a rash from the medication. Yuck. She made it to school late this morning so she's on the road to recovery.

That's it for right now..Peace!

Tuesday, June 7, 2005

Rachel..my poor Rachel..

Poor Rachel.

I received a phone call today at work at around 945am. Rachel was in the nurse's office (once again!) complaining that she felt like she was "going to die". I begrudgingly told the nurse that I was coming to get her..because Rachel said that she was too sick to drive the car home. (All the time I was thinking "Why does this always happen on the day that I have to work and Keith is in a bad mood to begin with?!) When I got to the high school, Rachel came out holding her head..in tears. I drove her home in silence, thinking that she was just being super sensitive to a headache.

We got home and I called the pediatrician. (Of course, Tuesday is her day off so I called her office expecting to be told to bring Ray to the on-call doctor..who, of course, was booked with their own patients and couldn't POSSIBLY see Ray today.) Fortunately our pediatrician was on-call today so I left a message for her. In the meantime Rachel told me that she was getting a sharp pain from temple to temple and it was blurring her vision. Of course, bad thoughts go thru my mind...aneurysm? tumor?...so I decide (after waiting 20 minutes for a return call from the pediatrician) to take her to the emergency room. Rachel was in excrutiating pain the whole time...and nauseous to boot.

To make a very long (4 1/2 hours to be precise) story short...They gave her IV pain medication, did a CT scan of her head and decided that it's a migraine. We weren't home 20 minutes before the pain came back. I ran to the pharmacy to fill the prescription for pain...she's taken it twice already. She's not getting much relief from the pain.

Before I forget..Please hold Alisa in your prayers. She is a 3 year old who was found drowning in her pool on Sunday. She is the daughter of a friend's friend. She is making remarkable progress but is still in need of prayers. Also, if you could say a little prayer for Rachel, I would be very grateful. Things haven't been going her way lately. I'm planning on taking her to the pediatrican tomorrow so that I can get a referral to a neurologist.

Sorry to be sharing such "yucky" news lately...it's one of the reasons that I haven't posted lately..you know, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything".  ::sigh::   I just feel so badly for Ray..Something's gotta give SOON,right?!

I still need to fill you in about Gettysburg..and prom..and the trip to Wildwood that wasn't for Ray and Becky. They made it exactly 4 hours before we had to make the 2.5 hour trip down to pick them up...from the police station!! (They weren't in trouble..just in "protective custody".)

I wish our lives weren't like a soap opera...Please...Give us some.......

Peace!

Monday, May 30, 2005

I swear that I'll update soon..

Nobody knows the trrouble I've seen..

Ok, maybe it's not THAT bad..but let's just say that the holiday weekend did not start off as planned..

It did, however, get better as the weekend progressed..

More later..sorry to be so vague.

Peace...

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

I'll update soon...

I'll update soon..really busy since I got back. But we had a great time!!

Peace!

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Away for the weekend!

TSPR leaves tomorrow morning for their 2nd annual trip to Gettysburg, PA!!

I'm so excited about this trip, even tho Herman will not be joining me. I have a great time with everyone on the TSPR team..and the ghost-hunting should be interesting!

I'll be back on Sunday afternoon..Please keep us in your prayers for safe travels.

Peace!

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Maybe next week??

We thought that this week was going to be better for Rachel but apparently not. While on her way home from school today (she left early because of her sinus infection) she witnessed 4 seniors from her high school get into a horrible crash. The 2 girls in the back seat were injured seriously. They had to use the "jaws of life" to pry the roof off in order to extricate the girls.

What an awful week for our high school.

I'd like to point out that in both car accidents this past week, no one was wearing a seat belt. Parents..please insist that your children wear there seat belts. Make it a habit. Wear YOUR seat belt. Set the example.

God..I never thought that I would be getting up on a soapbox, but...this week has been a nightmare of serious car accidents.

Please pray for these 4 gilrs that were injured today and continue to keep "A" in your prayers, also. ("A" is the boy who was in the serious accident in my last post.)

Peace..

Monday, May 16, 2005

Here's to a better week..

Last week was pretty much awful. Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

Monday: Uneventful. Oh, no...wait. Monday I had to had a "urodynamic study" on my bladder. It was uncomfortable, but not awful.

Tuesday: Rachel had a car accident. A fender bender but boy, was she lucky! She was pulling from the middle lane into the right lane and OOOPS! Someone was already in the right lane!! No major damage to either car. No tickets issued.

Wednesday and Thursday: Pretty quiet.

Friday: Rachel went to work and told the manager that she had cramps and wanted to go home. 2 hours later she was called into the manager's office. He told her that she was leaving too much and that he wasn't going to be able to put her on the schedule. She came home pissed off and in tears, thinking that she had been fired. She called and called to see if they wanted her to work on Saturday but the manager didn't call back. Then later on that night, her boyfriend of a few weeks broke up with her because he thinks that it's too weird to be dating his old friend's ex-girlfriend. Rachel was very upset because she really liked this guy. They were friends for awhile before they started to date. She is going to miss his friendship a great deal.

Saturday: Rachel finally got a call back from work and was told that she wasn't fired, to come in for her Saturday shift. She no sooner gets to work when a close friend of hers calls to tell her that Rachel's prom date, "A", was in a horrendous accident on Friday night and that he was in the ICU of a local trauma center. (I'm not giving names..some of these kids are innocent and some are minors.) This boy "A" is also the best friend of Becky's boyfriend. Apparently "A" had been drinking and when he wanted to pick up one of his friend's, he asked to borrow the new car of another friend since it was blocking his car. The owner of the new car (not really new..but new to him) asked if "A" had been drinking and when "A" said "no", the kid handed him the keys. "A" was going literally around the block and up the street a few blocks to pick up the other friend. "A" also had a passenger in the car, a kid named "B". "B" is Becky's old "boyfriend". Well, "A" did between 45-90mph , all the while with "B" screaming at him to stop driving so fast. "A" crashed into a parked car and flipped the car he was driving. "A"'s brother is an EMT in town...and was on call that night. "A"'s brother arrives at the scene, not aware that it is his brother he is saving, because it's not his brother's car. From what I understand, it took 1/2 hour to remove "A" from the wreckage. "B" walked out of the car, not a scratch on him. Thank God for that!! "A" has 2 skull fractures, 2 pelvic fractures, broken fingers, very deep cuts on his head and throat. From what Rachel understands, there is a risk of blood clots in his brain. He has such a severe concussion that he was bleeding from his ears.

Needless to say, Rachel was a mess over this. She had been with him on Friday night til about 10pm. The accident was around midnight. So she explained what happened to her manager and he let her go once a replacement came in. She went straight to the hopital to see "A". This made her feel a great deal better. But we don't think that "A" is going to the prom, for obvious reasons. Also, he will be arrested once he's released from the hospital. Did I mention the the kid who owned the "new" car had no collision on the car? Bad news all the way around..

When Becky woke up on Saturday, she found out from Jack (her boyfriend) about "A". Once Jack got home from work they went to see "A". They spent most of the late afternoon and evening with "A" and his family. "A" doesn't realize how badly he is injured, thanks to copius amounts of morphine. He told Rachel that he'd be out of the hospital in a day or so. Probably more like a few weeks. It's so sad. The ironic part is that Becky just made a video about teen drinking and driving and it was presented on Monday night at the same hospital where "A" is being treated.

Now Rachel is in a deep depression. We're worried about her. I told her that she needs to look at the good sides of all this: "A" is alive, "B" is alive..she's only 17 and there will be plenty of other boyfriend's and if she loses her job, she'll find another!!

Please keep "A" and his family in your prayers. They are going to go thru alot in the next few months.

Now...on to a better week...Peace!

Monday, May 9, 2005

BO-RING!!

Just re-read my last post and I have decided that I should have someone shoot me for being sooooooo boring!! LOL!!

Becky recently made a 30 second public service announcement for drinking and driving. Tonight they had a presentation at Robert Wood Johnson/UMDNJ hospital for all the participants. I took Becky, John and Matt (a friend of the family's) to the presentation. It was very well attended and we had a good time. I was VERY proud of Becky for doing this!! She and her friend Brianne did a GREAT job on the PSA!! Anyway, we were hoping for the video to place in this competition but ALAS!! This was not to be the case tonight.  I know, I'm biased, but their PSA was really great!! Oh well.. There's always next year!!

Have a bad cold..It was only a matter of time before I got it. The kids have all been sick. Can't breathe and I'm "off my game"...whatever the hell that means!! LOL!!

Mother's Day was nice. All 4 kids went o dinner with us. I wanted to go to Tokyo Japanese Restaurant and do the hibachi grill thing. It was good! I had scallops and steak. Of course I didn't finish it so I had some for lunch today. Leftovers work for me! LOL!

Ok...gonna go for now... really tired...Peace my friends!

Saturday, May 7, 2005

Making progress..

I'm so proud of myself that I just had to post here!

I cleaned my room!! Yay!!

Yep..dusted all that furniture, put away all my clothes, cleaned out Herman's drawers and put his stuff away neatly. Just have to vacuum it. And I've done at least 5 loads of laundry! Whooopppeee!

God..so this is what my life has come to?! Bragging about cleaning my damn room?!

Note to self: Get a life! LOL!!

 

Gotta remember to post here more often!

Not a whole hell of alot going on here. Rachel got her stitches removed on Monday. The scar is healing beautifully and will hardly be noticeable. Great news there! John and BEcky have been sick with a virus this whole past week. Cough, headache, fatigue..you name it, they had it. They are recuperating, tho. Herman is judging a powerlifting meet today. I'm going to try and get alot done here today so that when he gets home we can enjoy each others company. I'm in the midst of 10 billion loads of laundry as we speak. I have to get the basement cleaned up because the inspectors are coming on Wednesday to look at the new furnace and air conditioner we had installed in October. My basement is a mess since Herman moved our computer into Jackie's old room and the sewer line backup. Everything kind of got thrown around the basement.

I haven't decided what I want to do for Mother's Day. Perhaps I'll make it to Church. That would be nice. Then I think we'll have my family over for Chinese food. Or something like that. NO COOKING OR CLEANING!! I'm gonna try and get that done today..That said..I've really got to get moving!

Peace!

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Things..

Tuesday Rachel walked into a door at the school. Here's the conversation I had with the nurse when she called me at work to tell me about this:

Nurse: Hi Sharon. It's Maureen from the high school. How are you?

Me: Good, Maureen! And how are you? (OK..who has cramps now?)

Nurse. Good! Listen..I have Rachel here in the office. Well, she kind of walked into the front door and well...she cut her eyelid pretty badly. She'll probably need a few stitches. She's ok...but she's got a pretty good sized gash on her eyelid. You should take her to the ER.

Me: What??!! Is she ok?

Nurse: Oh, she's fine now..

Well..you get the gist of the conversation. She didn't want to upset me so she kind of down-played it. When I got there Rachel was sitting quietly and she looked ok. I thought that she was cut on the part of her eyelid that covers her eye, the soft part. It turned out that it was right underneath her eyebrow. Lucky for her that she was wearing her glasses. They probably saved her eyesight in that eye. The final outcome was a 4 hour jaunt to the ER that resulted in 8 stitches (plastic surgeon did them) to her eyelid and a possible slight concussion. She hit the door hard. She's been home from school the past few days. Not feeling well. Bad headache and her eye is killing her. But I'm happy to report that she WILL live. And probably won't have a bad scar.

Did I mention that Saturday night we were "kidnapped" by good friends of ours? They showed up at our house unannounced on Saturday night and took us out for an impromtu dinner at a Mexican place in the Atlantic Highlands. I had a cucumber margarita that I cannot stop talking about!! And talk about great salsa!! They had the best salsa I have ever had. The only thing missing was the guacamole! I love Mexican food so it was great to go out and have some. (Herman, on the other hand, HATES Mexican food and forced it down. But I have to say, he did enjoy his ribs and chicken in a pasillla salsa. Very tasty!)

TSPR is going to a paranormal convention in June. Ali and I are sharing a room. I just love Ali. We talk a mile a minute when we're together. We spent this past Monday together. We just drove around and did a little exploring. Then we went to dinner, where one of the waitresses I know was able to get us access to the supposedly haunted attic of this very old restaurant. I got a picture of an orb. It was way cool! We had a great time together, even tho our plans for the day fell thru. (We were supposed to meet up with Kerri {from our group} and head down to Batsto State Park to do an investigation with another paranormal research group from south Jersey.)

Ok..it's getting time for some good ol' laundry..so...Peace!

Saturday, April 23, 2005

New computer, new day

This is gonna be a quickie of sorts. Our old (really not old, it's only a year old) just completely tanked last week for no apparent reason. Herman thinks that it may be the power supply so he's going to try and repair it. I hope so because all my files and paranormal pictures are in it!

It's raining here in NJ so it's a good, no...GREAT day to just hang out! I fell back to sleep for awhile listening to "Soundscapes" on DirecTV. Soundscapes is my favorite music channel when I want to get some peaceful sleep. They play new age stuff..Enya, Yanni...really mellow mood music. I have the best "dreams" while listening to Soundscapes. Even my kids love to come and lay down in my bed with me when I'm trying to tune out the world. They calm down and zone out. The only problem today is that while I was in a blissful sleep, Becky woke me up and now I'm a bit fried. I wasn't ready to leave my peaceful place.

I was sick Tuesday from my Addison's Disease, which totally sucked because I had to work, go to the therapist and to a Church meeting. Oh, and it was the 20th anniversary of mine and Herman's first date!! (We've been together ever since so this anniversary meant alot to us.) Anyway, Addison's makes my blood pressure drop very low so I was feeling pretty awful on Tuesday. I'm much better now, tho.

Wednesday I had lunch with a friend (and former fellow Deacon) to discuss our new pastor. We don't much care for him and there are many people who feel the same way. Some have left our Church and joined our former interim associate pastor's new Church, which is a few miles from our town. Not far, but the congregation is totally different in his new Church. Trust me when I tell you, if you had told me 10 years ago that I would be so upset about my Pastor, I'd have told you that you were crazy and probably called you a few select names!! LOL! In any case, I really love the people in my Church but I'm so not feeling the new pastor. Not at all. As my mom says, he's got a job...not a ministry. And I'm not about to leave my Church just because of him. Oh well...hopefully enough people will complain and he'll be gone.

The girls left the lovely and thoughtful gift of about 10 loads of laundry in the basement. My hope is that I can get it done this dreary weekend because I really need to get this mess of a basement cleaned up. Our main sewer line was backflowing into our basement toilet on Sunday and Monday nights. What a mess!! The plumber is praying with us that the main line will stay clear of obstruction because it's gonna be a huge (not to mention EXPENSIVE) job to remove the old line and install a new sewerage line. We live on a narrow one-way street which means we'd have to hire a cop for the day to divert and direct traffic. (It's a main street in our town.) Pray with us, won't you?! LOL!

Ok...let the day begin...at 2:12pm!! Peace!

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Computer crapped out!

I promise that I'll update once I have my own damn computer back!! Herman bought a new computer today because for some odd reason our 1 year old Dell crapped out one us! I had pictures that I wanted to share with you all...but they are "locked up" in the "old" computer til Herman can "free" them! LOL! Anyway...we had a great time last week and I wanted to share it with the pictures we took.

Right now I'm on the kid's computer that has a sticky keyboard and a tiny screen! I need my huge screen back! Waaaaaa! And a keyboard that can stand my typing!

G'night...and peace! Sharon

Thursday, April 7, 2005

Things..

Did I mention that my boss and his wife had a son on Monday night? Well..they did. 8lbs, 2oz. I haven't seen hide nor hair of my boss lately. I've been carrying the pager for him but it's been fairly quiet at work due to the mild temperatures. Pretty soon it will get crazy around here, once people go to turn on their air conditioners and find out that it crapped out on them over the winter. Yep..busy season is almost upon us.

An old friend emailed me last night to say that a very good friend of theirs had an aneurysm at their home. She's the daughter of her best friend. They had picked up the little girl from the bus stop and brought her to their house to sit for her until her mom got back from work. The little girl started complaining of a bad headache and nausea. The little girl passed out as they were calling 911. Thankfully they did call 911 because that's what probably saved this girl's life. Anyway, would you hold her in your prayers? She needs to undergo an operation soon to reduce the swelling in her brain. Thanks in advance for your much needed prayers for this little girl.

Stayed in last night and watched "Around the Bend" again! Rachel and Becky watched it with me and they both LOVED it. They especially love the little boy in this movie. I'm telling ya, great acting by everyone in this movie!

Can it possibly be true that I'm going to be 44 years old next Friday?! YIKES!! My sister's birthday is the day before mine so she wants us to all go out to The Chart House in Dobbs Ferry. Which is all well and good but it's about 1 hour and 15 minutes away!! And, it's a hard ride. NJ Turnpike, over the GWB and up the Henry Hudson/Saw Mill Pkwy. However, my mom said she would watch all the kids if we wanted to spend the night somewhere. I may just take her up on it!

Well...time to go...Peace!

Monday, April 4, 2005

'm I bad?!

Sorry.

Not much going on. Well..things are going on but I can't get into details.

TSPR was supposed to have an investigation last night. We drove 2 hours to get there and when we were 2 blocks from their house, they called and canceled.No explanation..nothing. So we all headed to Friday's for dinner and a meeting. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we had a really good time! We all get along and share alot of laughs. So the night wasn't a waste at all.

Easter was very nice. We had dinner at my mom's. We brought the ham and some snow crab legs. For dessert we brought cream puffs...Yummmm! We usually go to the Holiday Inn for their buffet but it got to be too expensive. I can't see paying $26.00 + tip per person when all Rachel will eat is turkey and mashed potatoes, John will only eat meat-nothing else (which would explain why, at 5'8" he only weighs 110 pounds!!!) and the rest of us (except for Herman) only have 1 or 1 1/2 servings of food. And you can't wrap leftovers. Anyway..not worth it anymore.

At Deb's recommendation, I rented "Around The Bend" and watched it today. LOVED IT! Great story! Michale Caine, Christopher Walken. It was funny, sad, touching...all the things you want a good movie to be! Never boring, never dragged. Moved along quite nicely. Tonight I'm going to try and watch "Shall We Dance" with Richard Gere (always a favorite of mine!), Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Lopez.

Trying to catch up on my laundry and housework. I've been in quite a slump lately. Just cannot get motivated to clean. ANd form the look of this house, I NEED to get moving here! LOL!

My boss and his wife are in the labor and delivery suite as we speak. She's being induced today so hopefull by late tonight or tomorrow morning, Baby Door will be born! Yes..you read that right.."Door". They cannot decide on a name so they refer to the baby as "Door"! Isn't that cute?! Naming this baby has been a challenge for them so wish the kid some luck in the name department, won't you?!

Herman and I will be celebrating 20  years together (not married- that'll be 18 years in August) on April 19th. We would like to go away for the night but with teenagers, we can't really leave them alone, can we?! Maybe we can "farm" them out. We really need a night away..just us. <insert dirty laugh here>

My son and my cousin's daughter, Jaimie, have become close friends recently. We went to Jaimie's confirmation party on Palm Sunday and since then, they've been spending time together. We hadn't seen her in a few years so John barely remembers her. Jaimie  went out with my cousin and John and bought herself a guitar. John's "teaching" her how to play. They are 1 month apart in age. I haven't seen this much of my cousin EVER! LOL!

Rain: We've had a lot of rain lately. While traveling to the anticipated investigation last night, we saw many flooded rivers, stream and trinutaries. The Raritan River was way up, as was the Weston Canal and other canals nearby. In NY, we saw roiling waters ..whitewater!! It was kinda cool but the devastation that flooding brings is awful. Funny story: Last Wednesday I was on my way back from picking John up from my cousin's. It had been pouring the better part of the day so there was street flooding all over. I had hit a rather large "puddle" earlier in my drive and it frightened me because it pulled the wheel from me a bit...so I was taking it slow and easy. (This is difficult for me..I am a Jersey driver all the way!) We got near my Church, right in town, when I noticed another large puddle...so I slowed down and proceeded to drive thru it. John starts laughing and sreaming, "Oh my God!! Didn't you see that lady on the sidewalk? You got 'er..you got her soaked!!" Apparently, I was so concerned about not loosing the wheel in a puddle that I never saw the woman on the sidewalk..My truck pushed a huge wave of water at her while she tried, in vain, to shield herself with her umbrella!!! I felt bad but I took off.I know TOO many people in this town! LOL!!

OK..I've noticed that time has escaped me and I'm late getting dinner to the table.

I'm outta her...Peace!

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Wow! Has it really been that LONG since I last posted??

Well..I COULD say that I've been really, really busy or I could tell you the truth...I guess the truth would be best. Yeah, I was kinda busy but the real reason I haven't posted in a while is that I just flat out had nothing to write about!! And trust me..THAT'S news in and of itself!! LOL! I like quiet..love it!

All is well here. My dad was down from VT this past week so that we could make our reservations for CA!!! YAY!!! We leave on August 19 (Herman's birthday) for San Diego where we'll stay for 4 nights. Since we (my sister, dad and I ) used to live in San Diego for a short time in 1971, we have lots of things to see! I'm especially excited to see the old apartment we lived in for those 5 short months. (Long story for another day.) I'm also excited to see Sea World! But what I'm MOST excited about is going to The Whaley House, supposedly the most haunted house in the U.S.! I plan on doing a mini-investigation of my own. We depart San Diego on the 23rd. We'll head up to Disneyland, stopping to see San Juan Capistrano on the way up. If you've never been, it's a beautiful old mission. We'll spend 4 nights at the Disneyland Hotel, leaving for home on Saturday the 27th. I CAN'T WAIT!!! The only bad part of the whole trip is that Herman will not be joining us.

Several j-land friends have made a return to journaling, namely Jeffcomedy and CHOY. Take a stop by their journals and welcome them back, won't you? CHOY had a wonderful time over the holidays. He went back home to the Phillipines and visited his family. I love his journal because he shares so much of himself, his beliefs and his traditions. He's just a warm and friendly guy...someone you'd like to know. And Jeff?! Well..probably one of the best story tellers here in j-land! Many here (j-land) have missed him and I'm sure that when they received a journal alert from him the other day they were just THRILLED! I read Jeff's mom's movie review journal all the time. If you've never been, please check her out at Debzreviews. She and I like alot of the same movies. I actually rent movies just on her say-so!

Well..I'll try to be more diligent about posting from here on in. I tried posting a really long post a few weeks ago (actually tried that same post twice!!) but by accident I somehow deleted the post before it it posted!! (Did that make sense to you?)

We have a party to go to today. My cousin's daughter made her confirmation. Haven't seen them in a year or two..even tho they live 20 minutes away. It's a shame how you grow apart once you have a family of your own. My sister and I were laughing the other day because we hadn't seen each other since Christmas!! We speak on the phone several times a week but we hadn't seen each other for months!! ANd we live 10 minutes from each other!! Our sons have kind of grown apart but they spent this weekend together.

Ok...enough rambling for now...Peace!

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

blah

Feeling down in the dumps..no reason, just feeling very introverted and sad. Can someone make me laugh?  Hmmm..maybe I'll just go watch my Peter Gabriel "Secret World" dvd..that should cheer me up! That, my pajamas and my comfy bed. (My kids says it's "illegally" comfortable.) :::sigh::: I'll have to get back to ya later when I'm a bit more "up"....Peace...

Monday, February 14, 2005

Best advice I've heard in awhile

While reading my horoscope the other day (for amusement purposes only!) I read the following words and they struck me as being great words of wisdom:

Be careful about which way you are facing, for that is the direction your new journey will take you.

Peace!

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Whew! What a week!

Herman and I spent the weekend going back and forth to NY to see his mom and dad. Saturday night they said she'd be fine but they wanted to keep her for observation since her usually high blood pressure was too low. The next morning, his dad calls us and tells us that she had an irregular heartbeat. We go back up to check on her. Fortunately, we were there when the cardiologist arrived and he said that she did NOT have an irregular heartbeat. (My father in law is hard of hearing so if he hears something, he tends to embellish it a bit.) The cardio dr says that they are going to keep her til Monday or Tuesday just so that they can run some more tests on her but he feels that everything will be normal. Wants to err on the side of caution. Fine. Monday evening my father in law calls agaian and says that she has 50%-60% blockages in BOTH her carotid arteries!! This was true. So they scheduled an MRI for the next day to determine where exactly the blockages are and how to best treat them but her surgeon feels that he'll need to operate on at least one of the arteries. He feels that this is what made her pass out in the first place and has been causing her some memory problems, also. Well...we waited to find out the results on Tuesday evening and when my f-i-l calls, he tells us that she was released with NO EXPLANATION!! Now we're all upset, especially when we learn that she was released with a heparin lock (an emergency IV site) in place!! We insist that he go back to the hospital and have it removed because even tho it was sterile, she could accidently pull it out or get it infected or it could infiltrate. Fortunately, he listened to us and took her back. As of right now, we have no idea where things stand. Her own doctors are checking into this and they're saying that they may not operate because of her age. We're going up to see them either today or tomorrow.

Work was busy this week, with the added bonus of police action! To make a very long story short, (one in which a tech doesn't do his job and lies to me about it!!) Keith decided to fire a technician because he failed to show up for work on Friday. Apparently said tech was in a bar getting blasted. When Keith's wife called him and told him to bring the work van back to the shop, he got really weird and I got a bad feeling. He was saying odd things and was being snotty, condescending, rude, vague and just plain weird. So, Keith told us to call the cops and that's what we did. We wouldn't let him into the office. When the cops showed up they discovered that he was druck. Fortunately for him, his "daughter" drove our van back so he wasn't charged with drunk driving. It was scary. I don't like confrontation so it was upsetting to me. All ended well..I guess. He got his paycheck and we got our van and radio back. Now we just need to find some techs!! So much work, and only 1.5 techs!!

We went to dinner with our friends Wayne and Brenda last night. They brought their adorable little girl with them. She is too cute and I enjoeyed playing with her. Dinner was good. It was great to see them again. We haven't seen them since the holidays.

Well...that's it! Peace!

Sunday, February 6, 2005

Mom's OK!

OK..this is the deal: My father in-law THOUGHT that the doctor said she had an irregular heartbeat, when in fact she's had no irregular beats at all! Whew!!!! Thankfully we were there when the cardiologist showed up. My father in law is hard of hearing so sometimes he has no idea what he was told. When this happens, he embellishes on words he DID hear, but not to to the point that it's what was REALLY said. In any case, she's having a full cardiac work-up on Monday morning so perhaps they'll adjust the medications she's currently on for her high blood pressure. She looks tired, but HE looks ever MORE tired than she does! My sister in law and niece were also there. I discussed the fact that at this stage of their (Herman and his sister)  parent's lives, someone really needs to go to important doctor's appointments with them, because Dad cannot hear well at all and Mom just agrees with everything, whether or not she understand what's being told to her. It's hard to watch 2 people you love so much go thru such a decline. They have been quite fortunate in the fact that Mom has been pretty healthy all these years, and STILL is, except for this "incident". My feeling is that she will be fine and that this was a fluke. People pass out for no reason sometimes...it happens. I think this is what happened to Mom. I PRAY that this is all there is to it.

I wish you all....PEACE...(Thanks for kind and wise words, Adrian.)

Rough day yesterday

I received a phone call from Herman's brother in law yesterday at about 5:15pm yesterday. He told me that Herman's mother had passed out at home and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. Herman and John were at the movies at that same time so I had no other choice but to page him. So, he came home and we drove (full speed) up to NY where his parents lives. Seems that after eating a burger (from a fast food place) she felt a little ill and was walking towards the bathroom when she passed out. They likened this to the same thing that happens to people who faint at the sight of blood. They decided to keep her overnight because her blood pressure was still a bit low. Now we understand that overnight she had an irregular heartbeat so they're keeping her for a few days to run some cardiac tests. She's not happy about this at all. She's 76 years old and this is the first time she's been in a hospital. She's not afraid but she just wants to go home. So, Herman and I may take another ride up this evening to go see her and his dad, who is very upset about this whole ordeal.

Well..that's it for today..so many things to do. Peace!

Saturday, February 5, 2005

Sorry for the "false alerts"!

Sorry for the 2 alerts earlier today. I decided to delete the entry because ...well, just "because".

All is quiet here..not too much going on. Jackie and Rachel will celebrate their birthdays next week, on the same day! Jack will be 23, while Ray will be 17. I'm supposed to take Ray for her driving test on Monday. YIKES!

Herman took John to see "The Boogeyman". I passed, for quite an obvious reason: stupid movies just don't do it for me. So, instead, I've been plopped on the couch watching "The Doors" with Val Kilmer and Meg Ryan..and lots of other famous people. I've always liked The Doors. Here in NJ there is a "cover band" called "Crystal Ship" that does all The Doors stuff. Last time I saw them I was 19 years old. I do believe that they are still around, tho. (Yes, it's been a long time!)

Maybe I'll wangle a trip to Applebee's outta Herman when he comes back...I'm tastin' nachos! LOL! It's been at least 2 weeks since I've had them so it's about time.

I cleaned the hot tub filters today because it was fairly nice out. (In the 50's and sunny.) The hot tub needs to be drained and refilled but I just don't have the energy to do it. It takes several hours.

Ok..I'm done...Peace!

Monday, January 31, 2005

Not much to report..

Not a whole helluvalot going on here. Was sick with a virus for a few days last week. Ran a fever for a day and a half and slept alot. Dry cough, but not too bad. Made it to Church this week..have been very lax about getting there lately. Not real keen on new minister yet but will give him a full year before I make any decisions or judgements. Herman and I moved Jackie into my mom's on Saturday. She's been doing really well there and my mom likes the company (I think!) so it's a good move for all. We had to move her computer and Herman had to re-install it but it's all good. Spoke to Dar last night (at length)..All is going well for her. We shared alot of laughs..it was great to talk to her!! (Always is!) All my children are doing fairly well...Yay!! I'm off from work today and deciding what should really, really get done. Oh, we went to see "Hide and Seek" with Dakota Fanning and DeNiro..ok movie. Wasn't as good as I thought it would be. That Dakota Fanning is such a great actress, tho! (As is DeNiro!!) She was a very creepy little girl in this movie. Alright..I really need to get my day started! (Well...I've already been out because JOhn left his lunch home! LOL) Anyway, Peace!

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Winter Wonderland!

Just a few shots of the 18" snowfall we received from noon yesterday (Saturday) until about 10am this morning.

Peace!

Saturday, January 22, 2005

Let it snow, let it snow, LET IT SNOW!

Well, we here in NJ are getting SLAMMED with snow! We're expecting between 12"-18" of snow! (Yes..I may sound happy about it tonight but I'm sure that by Monday morning I'll change my tune!) Herman and John have already shoveled about 7" of it at around 7pm this evening. Currently NJ and NY have "states of emergency" declared-meaning that unless you're authorized, you MUST stay off the roads. (Of course, exceptions are made in an emergency.) We picked up Rachel and Boo from their friend's homes earlier this evening..FUN!! We took my 4WD truck and we cut thru the snow like butta'! LOL! Herman and I ran to Stop & Shop last night to stock up on the necessities-toilet paper, milk, bread, chips and dip, cookies and hot chocolate! What's not to love about a snowstorm?! I'll take pictures tomorrow morning and post 'em sometime on Sunday evening..

Peace!

Friday, January 21, 2005

Better day..

I'm on my hour lunch break (and it's a great thing that I live 6 blocks from work, now isn't it?!) so I decided to update. I had an inceredibly busy day yesterday...actually, come to think of it, the whole week has been crazy! I was near tears yesterday and called Herman so that he could calm me down. He later called me and told me that he didn't want me to have a bad day and that he loves me..all in a very calm, comforting way. God, I LOVE that man! Then he took me to Charlie Brown's for $2 pint night AND Asian Nachos!! What's not  to adore about him??!!

Ok..back to work I go...Peace!

Thursday, January 20, 2005

Arghhhhh!

ARGHHHHHHH! &%$!!**&%!!

Bad day in progress...

Don't worry, tho...I'll be fine! :)

And I'm so damn tired, to boot.

:::sigh:::

Monday, January 17, 2005

New Jersey...

If you've ever lived in Jersey...you'll appreciate this!!!

>   New Jersey is a peninsula.

>   Highlands, New Jersey has the highest elevation along the entire

    eastern seaboard, from Maine to Florida.

>   New Jersey is the only state where all of its counties are classified

    as metropolitan areas.

>   New Jersey has more race horses than Kentucky.

>   New Jersey has more Cubans in Union City (1 sq mi.) than Havana, Cuba.

>   New Jersey has the densest system of highways and railroads in the

   US.

New Jersey has the highest cost of living.

>   New Jersey has the highest cost of auto insurance.

>   New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the nation.

>   New Jersey has the most diners in the world and is sometimes referred to as the "Diner Capital of the World."

>   New Jersey is home to the original Mystery Pork Parts Club (no, not

    Spam): Taylor Ham or Pork Roll.

>   Home to the less mysterious but the best Italian hot dogs and Italian sausage w/peppers and onions.

>   North Jersey has the most shopping malls in one area in the world, with seven major ! shopping malls in a 25 square mile radius.

>   New Jersey is home to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

>   The Passaic River was the site of the first submarine ride by inventor John P. Holland.

>   New Jersey has 50+ resort cities & towns; some of the nation's most famous:  Asbury Park, Wildwood, Atlantic City, Seaside Heights, Long Branch, Cape May.

>   New Jersey has the most stringent testing along our coastline for water quality control than any other seaboard state in the entire country.

>   New Jersey is a leading technology & industrial state and is the  largest chemical producing state in the nation when you include pharmaceuticals.

>   Jersey tomatoes are known the world over as being the best you can buy.

>   New Jersey is the world leader in blueberry and cranberry production (and here you thought Massachusetts?)

>   Here's to New Jersey - the toast of the country!  In 1642, the first

    brewery in America, opened in Hoboken.

>   New Jersey rocks!  The famous Les Paul invented the first solid body electric guitar in Mahwah, in 1940.

>   New Jersey is a major seaport state with the largest seaport in the US, located in Elizabeth.  Nearly 80 percent of what our nation imports comes through Elizabeth Seaport first.

>   New Jersey is home to one of the nation's busiest airports (in Newark), Liberty International.

>   George Washington slept here.  Several important Revolutionary War battles were fought on New Jersey soil, led by General George Washington.

>   The light bulb, phonograph (record player), and motion picture

    projector, were invented by Thomas Edison in his Menlo Park, NJ, laboratory.

>   We also boast the first town ever lit by incandescent bulbs.

>   The first seaplane was built in Keyport, NJ.

>   The first airmail (to Chicago) was started from Keyport, NJ.

>   The first phonograph records were made in Camden, NJ.

>   New Jersey is home to the Miss America Pageant held in Atlantic City.

>   The game Monopoly, played all over the world, named the streets on its playing board after the actual streets in Atlantic City.

>   And, Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world,

>   Not to mention salt water taffy,

>   New Jersey has the largest petroleum containment area outside of the Middle East countries.

>   The first Indian reservation was in New Jersey, in the Watchung  Mountains.

>   New Jersey has the tallest water-tower in the world. (Union, NJ!!!)

>   New Jersey had the first medical center, in Jersey City.

>   The Pulaski SkyWay, from Jersey City to Newark, was the first skyway highway.

>   NJ built the first tunnel under a river, the Hudson (Holland Tunnel).

>   The first baseball game was played in Hoboken, NJ, which is also the birthplace of Frank Sinatra.

>   The first intercollegiate football game was played in New Brunswick in 1889 (Rutgers College played Princeton).

>   The first drive-in movie theater was opened in Camden, NJ, (but they're all gone now!).

>   New Jersey is home to both of "NEW YORK'S" pro football teams!

>   The first radio station and broadcast was in Paterson, NJ.

>   The first FM radio broadcast was made from Alpine, NJ, by Maj. Thomas Armstrong.

>   All New Jersey natives: Moe Septee, Al Attermann, Howard Attermann, Sal Martorano, Jack Nicholson, Robert Attermann,Bruce  Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jason Alexander, Steve Rosenbaum,Queen Latifah, Susan Sarandon, Connie Francis, Sam Rosenfarb, Shaq, Judy Blume, Aaron Burr, Ruth Septee, Joan Robertson, Ken Kross, Dionne Warwick, Sarah Vaughn, Lt. Aaron Attermann, Budd Abbott, Lou Costello, Alan Ginsberg, Norman Mailer, Marilynn McCoo, Flip Wilson, Alexander Hamilton, Whitney Houston, Eddie Money, Lauren Sasha Attermann,Linda McElroy, Eileen Donnelly, Grover Cleveland, Woodrow Wilson, Walt Whitman, Jerry Lewis, Tom Cruise, Joyce Kilmer, Bruce Willis, Caesar Romero, Lauryn Hill, Ice-T, Nick Adams, Nathan Lane, Sandra Dee, Danny DeVito, Richard Conti, Joe Pesci, Joe Piscopo, Robert Blake, John Forsythe, Meryl Streep, Loretta Swit, Norman Lloyd, Paul Simon, Jerry Herman, Gorden McCrae, Kevin Spacey, John Travolta, Phyllis Newman, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Eva Marie Saint, Elisabeth Shue, Zebulon Pike, Elisa Septee Lunzer, Neal Attermann, James Fennimore Cooper, Admiral Wm.Halsey,Jr., Dave Thomas (Wendy's), William Carlos Williams, Ray Liotta, Robert Wuhl, Bob Reyers, Paul Robeson, Ernie Kovacs, Joseph Macchia and, of course, Francis Albert Sinatra and "Uncle Floyd" Vivino, Kelly Ripa.

>   Bob Meade adds: The Great Falls in Paterson, on the Passaic River, is the second highest waterfall on the East Coast of the US.

>   You know you're from Jersey when . . .

>   You don't think of fruit when people mention "The Oranges."

>   You know that it's called Great Adventure, not Six Flags.

>   A good, quick breakfast is a hard roll with butter.

>   You've known the way to Seaside Heights since you were seven.

>   You've eaten at a diner, when you were stoned or drunk, at 3 A.M.

>   You know that the state isn't one big oil refinery.

>   At least three people in your family still love Bruce Springsteen, and

    you know the town Jon Bon Jovi is from.

>   You know what a "jug handle" is.

>   You know that WaWa is a convenience store.

>   You know that the state isn't all farmland.

>   You know that there are no "beaches" in New Jersey--there's the shore--and you don't go "to the shore," you go "down the shore." And when you are there, you're not "at the shore"; you are "down the shore."

>   You know how to properly negotiate a circle.

>   You knew that the last sentence had to do with driving.

>   You know that this is the only "New" state that doesn't require "New" to identify it (try . . . Mexico . . . York .! . . Hampshire-- doesn't work, does it?).

>   You know that a "White Castle" is the name of BOTH a fast food chain AND a fast food sandwich.

>   You consider putting mayo on a corned beef sandwich a sacrilege

>   You don't think "What exit?" is very funny.

>   You know that people from the 609 area code are "a little different."

>   Yes they are!

>   You know that no respectable New Jerseyan goes to Princeton--that's for out-of-staters.

>   The Jets-Giants game has started fights at your school or localbar

>   You live within 20 minutes of at least three different malls.

>   You refer to all highways and interstates by their numbers.

>   Every year you have at least one kid in your class named Tony.

>   You know the location of every clip shown in the Sopranos opening

    credits.

>   You've gotten on the wrong highway trying to get out of the mall.

>   You know that people from North Jersey go to Seaside Heights, and  people from Central Jersey go to Belmar, and people from South Jersey go to  Wildwood.  It can be no other way.

>   You weren't raised in New Jersey--you were raised in either North  Jersey, Central Jersey or South Jersey.

>   You don't consider Newark or Camden to actually be part of the state.

>   You remember the stores Korvette's, Two Guys, Rickel's, Channel,  Bamberger's and Orbach's.

>   You also remember Palisades Amusement Park.

>   You've had a boardwalk cheese steak and vinegar fries.

>   You start planning for Memorial Day weekend in February.

>   And finally . . .

>   You've NEVER, NEVER pumped your own gas.

>   AMEN!!!