Happy Birthday, Mr. Dizzy!

Today my Dear, Devoted Mr. Dizzy turns 51 years old.

This is a picture of me and Mr. Dizzy, taken in 2003 at a cousin's wedding:


Ain't he just the cutest thing?

Happy Birthday, Hon!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I Love This

Is this YOUR husband? It is definitely MINE! Heh.


more music charts

HE'S GONE!

The Senate voted UNANIMOUSLY to remove Governor Blagojevich from office. They also voted that he may NEVER AGAIN hold public office in the State of Illinois.

YES!

It is a GOOD DAY in Illinois!

Thanks a Lot, Rod

First, the arrest on corruption and bribery charges.

Next, an almost totally unanimous impeachment vote in the Illinois House, followed by a SECOND almost totally unanimous impeachment vote once new members were seated this month.

Now today, the day the Senate begins the impeachment trial to try and get this total f'ing jerk out off office - - our esteemed Governor hits New York City and the airwaves . . . Good Morning America, Today Show, The View (wehre Barbara Walters literally chewed him up and spit him out), Geraldo, and tonight Larry King's show . . .

So now the WHOLE DAMN COUNTRY gets to see what an idiot our Governor is. And the people of Illinois get to be embarrassed all over again.

What a jerk.

My hope is that the Senate does their job and gets him OUT of office before he does any more damage.

Keep your fingers crossed.

A Rude Awakening

This morning our doorbell rang at 3:30 AM. Yes, you heard me right - - 3:30. In the freakin' AM!

I got up and looked outside - - no car in the drive or on the road. I looked out the side window next to the front door, and saw a guy standing there, with a light blanket over his head and shoulders, shivering. We turned out the lights and opened the door; the guy had a black eye, and a cut on his head. He said he had a wreck, and was freezing (it was only 11 degress outside!), and could we please help him? His lips and fingers had a blue tinge to them.

We got him inside and on the couch. I got some blankets while Mr. Dizzy called 911. The poor guy could not stop shivering. He said he had lost control of the car and went through the T-Road into the field, and rolled the car. He had been out in the cold for about 30 minutes, trying to find his way back to the road, and finally made it up the road to our house.

The deputies arrived quickly. One went to the crash site, and the other came inside to take the report. Fire and ambulance arrived next, and they checked him out. He refused the offer to go the hospital, so after checking on his vitals, they left.

We then were able to get him in contact with is wife, who headed out to get him. By the time she got there, and the deputy completed his accident report, it was 5:30 by the time they all left.

The car was about 250 feet into the field, and was on its top:



They finally were able to get the car righted, and got it moved through the field to a spot right in front of our house - - it's pretty crunched up:



The tow truck got there and finally took it away around 8 AM.

By the time it was all said and done, it was almost daybreak, so we just stayed up - - I had to get up in 30 minutes anyway, and get ready to meet my workout partner. But now, it's starting to really catch up with me! So even though it's only mid-afternoon, I think it's time to go and be one with the recliner . . .

I bet that guy is really hurting by now!

Good Luck, Mr. President, and May God Watch Over You

Update on Travis Erwin's House Fire

I posted about Travis's house fire here. Travis and his family are in the process of trying to recover what items they can from the total loss of their home. (You can read about it here on his blog)

Some of Travis's fellow bloggers have started a blog called "Habitat for Travis":

This site is a fundraiser for Travis and his family, to try and help them rebuild their home and their life. If you have a moment, check out the site. I'm not asking you to donate, but seeing how many people who have in just a few short days is extremely heartwarming.

As I said in my previous post, I do not know Travis personally - - just through reading his blog, and the few comments/Twitter posts we have given each other. But, from the posts I have read, and the comments I have seen on his blog, he is a good, decent man, and he needs a bit of help at the moment. I wish I could do more than just blog about his situation, but unfortunately at the moment I cannot.

I have posted the above badge in my sidebar, so if you don't have a few minutes to check it out right now, please come back and click on it later. And, please keep Travis and his family in your thoughts and prayers. I appreciate it, and I'm sure they do as well.

Impeachment!

I absolutely LOVE the headline in this Yahoo News post:

"Ill. House impeaches governor, who vows to fight"

Yeah yeah, Rod - - fight all you want. I just want your grubby hands OFF my Pension, and your ass OUT THE DOOR.

Maybe when Gov. SonOfABitch (hey,it's easier to spell than Blagojevich!) is booted out of office, my State pension will be in better shape . . . we'll see . . .

Holiday Disaster

I read a blog by Travis Erwin, titled "One Word, One Rung, One Day". Travis is a writer, and a very good one, in my opinion. He also seems like a really nice guy.

Travis and his family had a disastrous end to their Holiday - - their house burned down to the ground over the weekend. He and his wife and sons are okay, thank goodness; no one was hurt. But, they are now homeless and have lost everything.

I'm keeping Travis and his family in my thoughts and prayers, and I encourage you to do the same.

Thanks.

All Good Things . . .

As with all good things, my (nearly) two-week Winter Break is coming to an end. I'm busily gathering things brought home from the office on Dec. 23rd to take back to work with me tomorrow.

It's going to be busy - - the boss and I will be hitting the ground running. The College will be starting the process of changing over to a different software program for online classes, and since I work in ONLINE LEARNING, well - - this means will be working my A$$ off for most of the coming year.

Here's hoping it all goes well - - I'll keep y'all posted.

"What Would Emma Do?"

Eileen Cook's new book should be released soon - - if it hasn't already (yeah, I'm STILL behind!) - - the press release for the book, as well as a link to purchase it, follows below:

What Would Emma Do?
Simon Pulse/ December 30, 2008
Thou shalt not kiss thy best friend’s boyfriend…again….

There is no greater sin than kissing you best friend’s boyfriend. So when Emma breaks that golden rule, she knows she’s messed up big-time. Especially since she lives in the smallest town ever, where everyone knows everything about everyone else….and especially because she maybe kinda wants to do it again. Now her best friend isn’t speaking to her, her best guy friend is making things totally weird, and Emma is running full speed toward certain social disaster. This is so not the way senior year was supposed to go.

Time to pray for a minor miracle. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s time for Emma to stop trying to please everyone around her, and figure out what she wants for herself.

What others are saying:

“Sassy and sly and sweet all at the same time, this book made me laugh out loud.” – Meg Cabot author of the Princess Diaries

“Not since Judy Blume’s Margaret introduced herself to God has there been such a funny, geuine, conflicted, wanna-be-sort-good-maybe-later girl as Emma. Eileen Cook’s tone as she takes on the big ones – life, love, faith and friendship is pitch perfect.” – Jacqueline Mitchard author of Deep End of the Ocean and Midnight Twins

“Smart and fun and full of heart.” – Sarah Mlynowski author of Bras and Broomsticks

About the Author:

Eileen Cook spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer. When she was unable to find any job postings for world famous author, she went to Michigan State University and became a counselor so she could at least afford her book buying habit. But real people have real problems, so she returned to writing because she liked having the ability to control the ending. Which is much harder with humans.

You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at www.eileencook.com. Eileen lives in Vancouver with her husband and two dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.

Buy the Book HERE or at your favorite book seller.

Eileen a wonderful author - - you won't be disappointed, I promise!

Goodbye, 2008

2008 is FINALLY over and done with! And, not a moment too soon for me and my loved ones - - it's been quite a tough year in many, many ways!

• January started out with Dad having his first of 8 surgical procedures. Between all of them, he spent almost 7 months out of the year living with us while recuperating. We love having him here with us, but the poor dear missed his own home and just wanted to be back there, where he belonged. Finally, he was well enough to go back home, and is doing very well! There are still some residual effects from his last procedure, though - - still some numbness in his right hand, and trouble using two fingers on that hand - - but we are hopeful for a full recovery in the coming year.
• June saw me getting my Jeep wrecked, with myself and my nephew inside. We were rear-ended while stopped at a red light by a van going at least 35 MPH. There was over $4500 in damages to my Jeep, but fortunately no one was seriously hurt. After a couple of weeks of sore muscles and body aches, I am fine; my nephew is fine; both of the other drivers involved were not injured. And, my Jeep is all fixed up bright and shiny and looking good!
• July found me losing one of the best bosses I have ever had the privilege to work with. Due to unfortunate circumstances, he had to leave the College and go elsewhere. It was a very bad situation, and thinking about it, even now, makes me VERY angry. So, I won't.
• August found me taking MY turn with the Doctors, instead of Dad. I had a soft tissue mass removed from my right hand. It was larger than they expected, so instead of being off work 2-3 days, I was off work 10-11 days! It was a nice break, but - - I couldn't use my hand to do anything, which was so frustrating! But, the Vicodin took the edge off that! :-)
• September finally brought some very welcome GOOD news - - after 20 months on the market, we finally sold the other house - - FINALLY! Due to the poor housing market, we took a bit of a beating, but at least we are no longer stuck maintaining two places!
• December brought me a new boss, and from the looks of it, she is going to be great to work with. I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes.

Here is hoping 2009 is good for us, and also all of you as well!

Merry Christmas!

Enjoy!

BRRRR!!!!!

Today it is a whopping 4 degrees outside. FOUR WHOLE DEGREES.

The winds are gusting up to 36 MPH.

The wind chill is MINUS EIGHTEEN FREAKIN' DEGREES.

Now that's cold.

But, I'm learning a new skill that may come in handy for these cold winter months . . .

Forthe first time since I was a kid - - around 4th grade, I believe - - I am trying my darndest to learn how to knit. Why? Oh, I don't know, it just seemed like the thing to do at the time. Back then, I took knitting classes from a classmate's mom, and being an active child with the attention span of a gnat, never finished anything.

I don't know how it's going to go this time - - I still have this SERIOUS ADHD thing goin' on - - I can't seem to sit still long enough to get a lot done at one time. I hear people say they sat down one evening and knocked out a scarf in a couple of hours; well, I'll be lucky to finish one in a couple of months! After a few rows, I have to get up and DO something to keep from going a little crazy.

But, I am persistent if nothing else, so here is how I'm doing so far:



This is a scarf pattern I saw on Crazy Aunt Purl's blog, and it sounded pretty simple, so I decided to try it. My friend J (Knitter Extraordinaire) went to JoAnn's Fabrics with me, and she helped me pick out the yarn and the proper needles. This yarn is JoAnn's "Licorice" in black. It's a multi-textured yarn with a mix of black/white/gray, and the different textures give it a real funky, chunky feel.

And, it's oh-so-soft, and will feel yummy on blustery Illinois Winter days (like TODAY). It uses a straight knit stitch, which J showed me how to do, and is extra-wide, using 25 stitches across.

It's been slow going, but I'm getting there!

Finally! They Got Him!

They FINALLY got him:



At approximately 6 AM CST, FBI called Governor Rod Blagojevich's house and asked him to come to the door. He asked if they were joking; they were not.

What happened next? THIS:



He and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, have been arrested on Federal corruption charges.

Maybe the day has finally come when Gov. SON-OF-A-BITCH will get his . . .

Yup, it's been a GOOD day!

It's Holiday Bazaar Time! **UPDATE**

The Bazaar went great! In spite of the nasty weather, we had lots of business. I have more to tell, but right now we are busy clearing out the garage so we can actually PARK in it, and I won't have to scrape the windshield in the morning anymore . . . which will be a very, very good thing.

More later (and pictures, too).



My "Second Annual Holiday Bazaar" is tomorrow, and it's bigger and better than last year. We have 4 people involved in it this year, and have Holiday items galore - - baked goods, Avon, Stained Glass Ornaments, crafts . . . you name it, we probably got it!

Should be fun - - pictures will follow . . .

Wish us luck!

I. HATE. SNOW.

Very much so.

Yesterday we woke up, and the ground was covered with the first snowfall of the season. It wasn't too bad, though, because a lot of the grass was still showing through, and the driveway and roads were still clear. Hmmm - - not TOO bad, I guess. I can handle this.

BUT - -

This morning I got up, and everything was covered. COVERED. And, the wind had kick up, with gusts up to 30 MPH. Blowing and drifting everywhere. Slip-sliding into work this morning. Drifts all across the roads at lunchtime (thank goodness for 4-wheel drive!).

I am NOT ready for this! But then, I never am.

Mother Nature, you can bring Spring back any time now!

Please?

I Can't Make This Stuff Up...

Today Mr. Dizzy and I went to Rural King for their Thanksgiving Day sale. There were a couple of things he saw in the sales flyer he wanted to check out, so we got up early and got there shortly after they opened at 7 AM.

One item of interest was a Black & Decker Table Saw, with stand, on sale for about half of what they normally cost. It seemed like a good one to him, so he loaded the (very BIG) box across the top of our cart, and headed to the checkout.

Once the cashier got him all checked out, we headed to the exit with the very awkward load balanced across the top of the cart. As Mr. Dizzy headed out the door, the security alarm was set off. As you know, those things get quite a bit of attention from people - - every customer in checkout, and all the cashiers, turned to look. As he started to back the cart out of the doorway, our cashier yelled (from quite a distance, so EVERYONE heard this): "Go ahead, it's just your BIG TOOL."

Yes, she said that. I thought I was gonna die laughing.

That is, until about halfway through the parking lot, and then it hit me . . . "How does SHE know you have a big tool????"

He just smirked and didn't say a word....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Heh.