Check, Please!

Hello, my name is Mother Nature, and I'll be your server today.

Today's special is Rack of Rain, with a light Rain sauce, served on a bed of shredded Rain. The sides are Sauteed Rain and Mixed Rain. The meal comes with Garden Rain Salad or Cup of Rain Soup. For Dessert we have Layer Rain Cake, Rain Pudding, or a variety of Rain Pies.

I'll be back in a few minutes for your order. Would you like something to drink while you decide? Maybe a nice glass of Rain - - we have many vintages. You can also order it by the bottle.

*SIGH*

I am SO TIRED of rain . . .

Light Show!

Mr. Dizzy and I had quite an interesting evening yesterday!

We were both back in our home office, working on our computers. Around 9:00 or so, Mr. D happened to glance out the window and saw a bright light down at the corner, but up quite high off the ground. He went and got his binoculars and saw what looked like a giant 4th of July sparkler on top of the power pole at the corner. A bit scary, but kind of pretty also (Hey. I've always been a sucker for fireworks. What can I say.)

Anyway - - Mr. Dizzy called the County as I went through the house shutting off TV's, computers, digging out flashlights, etc. The County Dispatch called out the Fire Dept. to come check it out. About 10 minutes later, there was a huge flash of light and a big "Boom!", and everything went dark. Mr. D called AmerenIP (the power company - - my BEST FRIENDS from the Ice Storm saga, if you recall)(bastards)(but I digress . . . )**

Anyway - - The Fire Dept. showed up and check for any down wires; there were none, thank goodness, so they finally left. Then here comes the Ameren truck. Mr. D rode with them down the road to show them which pole was affected. The guy went to work, in the rain, in the wind, in the ladder truck. (I wouldn't have his job for ANY amount of money!) - - about 15 minutes later, we had our power back! By that time it was close to 11 PM.

All told, it was quite an interesting evening!

It looks SO INNOCENT now . . .

**Just to clarify - - I do NOT hold anything against the hard-working linemen who work for AmerenIP. Not at all. They do an excellent job, despite the weather conditions. I save every damn bit of my contempt and sheer hatred for the Corporation. Just sayin' is all.

Hello, Spring!

Apple Tree in bloom . . .



This tough little guy - - the Cherry Tree that was almost totally destroyed by the Ice Storm a couple of years ago, back stronger than ever . . .



Little violets blooming in the front yard . . .



The first Lilac bloom of the season . . .


IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!

Happy Easter

He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: "The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again."

Luke 24:6-7

Dear Mother Nature . . .

It's APRIL.


It's SPRING.

SO - - Why is it, this morning . . .


I wake up to THIS???


And THIS???


Mother Nature - - you can BITE ME.

Oh, and? Bring back the warm sunny weather, while you're at it? Kthxbai.

Coming Up For Air (Finally)

Life - - especially the work part of my life - - has been freakin' chaotic at best. The College is changing over to a completely new and different software program to run our online courses. Everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING, must be redone. From the ground up. Yes, "chaotic" is a pretty good description of how things have been the past few months, with things really gearing up this past month.

I am an Online Support Specialist. I work with faculty to help them with the technical aspects of creating their courses, and I oversee the Student Help Desk, which supports our online students with their technical needs. It's busy on a "normal" day. But throw all this other stuff into the mix? Like I said - - "chaotic" describes it pretty well.

So, getting home from work and wanting to climb back on the computer and blog? Hasn't been happening (duh - obviously). Hopefully things will start slowing down a bit in the near future, and I can get back on here on a more regular basis.

Lots been happening, and lots I would LOVE to be able to blog about . . . if I just had the energy. Hopefully that will change. Soon.

I'll be back on here, really. Just give me a little bit more time to get through all this stuff going on at work. It's busy, it's hectic, it's chaotic, I'm exhausted . . . but it's also exciting as hell, and I'm loving it. Just wish I wasn't so damn tired . . . :-)

Back soon. Promise!

Hello? Is This Thing On?

I have been a very bad blogger lately. Work has been so hectic, and so has life around the Mr. & Mrs. Dizzy homestead.

But I will be getting back on track within the next day or so, and will play "catch-up".

Back soon!

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!