Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Eye Yi Yi Yi!!!

So...let's see...where did I leave off? Hmmm. I think it was yesterday morning. I had called and asked (insisted...demanded...whatever!) a prescription for something for conjunctivitis. The receptionist said she would have someone call me. No one did. I waited all day. SOOO...yesterday afternoon when I finished my last bus run, at 4, I went over to the dr.'s office. I didn't want to be seen, just get a prescription. The girl tells me they won't prescribe without seeing me. I told her I HAD been seen, on Friday. AND that I was told a opthamologist's office was going to call me to make an appt.

Didn't make a dent. The dr. who saw me on Fri. was NOT the dr. who would see me now...except the dr. who would see me now, would NOT see me now, as they were already running two hours behind schedule, so could I come back in the morning? At which point I began to cry, and pretty much throw a tantrum. Which didn't really help, and which ended up in me storming out. Crying. Which only irritated my eye even more. Nope, not proud of my behaviour, but I am going to blame it on the extreme pain I have been in for days, and that's that!

Which takes us to this morning, Tuesday. I humbly call back the dr.'s office, apologize for my behaviour, and get an appt for 4:20 this afternoon. So I head over there after work, wait for a little bit, and a new dr. sees me...not a new dr. to the practice, just new to me. Dr. W. is VERY thorough, spends lots of time with me, and is very concerned. She spends some time on the phone trying to find an opthamologist who takes my insurance (state ins.)...finally sends me to Middlesex Hospital, a 45 min. drive away. Tells me to ask for a Dr. L. Gives me the impression he will meet me there?

So I drive up to the hospital, meanwhile calling my sisters to come up and drive me and my car back because according to Dr. W Dr. L. will probably dilate my eyes. Dr. W. is worried about increased pressure, worsened vision, and glaucoma (I have diabetes). These things are all happening, and it IS worrisome. Which explains why I have been TRYING to get some help here!!!!

At the hospital I tell them I am to ask for Dr. L. They look surprised. They register me, the nurse triages me, I am put in a room. A PA comes in and checks my eyes, etc. He calls Dr. L....who does NOT come in. He is home, although on call, but he does not come in. HOWEVER, he will see me in his office tomorrow, which is a start. Of course, he will see me at a time I cannot come (I was not consulted on this!) SO...I will have to call first thing in the AM and see if I can come a bit later. AND the PA DID prescribe some medication to put in my eye. Let's see if it does anything. So far it is still killing me...but I have two meds, and have only put one in so far, trying to let it take effect before putting in the second!

So...I am typing this with my bad eye shut, which is interesting. I suspect I will be doing MANY things one-eyed, until this is resolved. The good news is that the PA said my eye pressure reading did NOT indicate glaucoma (ie, pending blindness!), and nothing presented that he or Dr. L, on speaking, felt was sight-threatening. So THAT'S a relief, especially after the first dr. last Friday scared me to death!

That's all for now in blurry land. I am thankful that MAYBE this will be resolved one of these days! I'll keep you in the loop...or loopy, as the case may be!

Blessings...Nancy

Monday, March 30, 2009

The Eyes have it...oh, yes, they do!

The eye saga continues. Never heard back from the opthamologist. Not yet, anyways. BUT...yesterday my OTHER eye started to hurt a little. Oh, boy. And this morning, sure enough, it was all goopy when I woke up. Now the right eye has never been goopy. Or itchy. None of the things that say "conjunctivitis." Just pain, sometimes wicked pain, at times. And extreme redness. So now I have matching red eyes. How sweet.

So I called my reg. dr. this morning as soon as I got back from my morning run. I pretty much demanded a prescription for conjunctivitis, and made sure the poor girl knew I was not happy...although I assured her I was not unhappy with HER! Here I've been in pain for days, and no treatment. AND was told it was definitely not an infection, so did not worry about infecting my "good, now gone bad" eye. AND was told by the covering dr. on Fri. that I could go BLIND if I did not rush over to the ER pronto! So, all in all, I am not a happy camper. But I'll get over it...once my eyes no longer hurt! :)

Blessings....Nancy

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Big Sibs are the BEST!

So yesterday we spent the day on the Yale University campus. The Asian student society there puts on two events every year called "CASPY." CASPY stands for Chinese Adopted Sibling Program at Yale. Basically, they match Yale students up with children adopted from China, and have a day filled with fun workshops and events to celebrate their Chinese/Asian roots with the kids. Workshops like Cookie Calligraphy, Wushu (it's sort of like judo?) , Chinese Yo-Yo's; Night Market, and all the other fun things like face painting, etc. The kids have a ball, but the best part is the Big Sibs they connect with.

For the past 4 years, Shao had a Big Brother, Steven Le. We LOVED him. He came to Shao's ballet recitals, and we emailed him and talked to him on the phone frequently, as well as seeing him for the two annual events. That was more than we ever had, with former Big Sibs. Let's face it, these are Yale college students, and they are BUSY! So we were thankful for any time we got to spend with Stephen. Last May he graduated, and Shao & I attended his graduation, and spent the day with his wild and wonderful family, who came from all over the country to honor him. It was a a blast! We miss him dearly, as he is living back home in California now.

So last fall we attended CASPY, wondering who Shao would be matched with. And her assigned Big Sib never showed up! So they pulled a kid out of the ranks, and we got Hans. Yep, Hans...long story short, his name in Chinese sounded like Han, so when they emigrated here, his mom looked in a baby book, and saw the name Hans, which was pretty close...usually Chinese will choose an "American" name for themselves and their children, when they emigrate here. So poor Hans got stuck with a German name! Funny.

Anyhow...while Hans was perfectly nice, he was a bit manic, and over the top, and even though we are are KNOWN for being fun people, and a bit crazy, it was a bit more than we could handle. PLUS Shao REALLY wanted a girl this time...much as she loved Steven, she is getting to that age. So we were DELIGHTED to get Bonnie Yn as our new big Sib. We LOVED Bonnie, and are hoping for a great 4 years with her...yep, she is a freshman! Bonnie even went so far as to call us a few days before the event, which I was amazed at! She and Shao talked for a long time, and Shao came out grinning when she was done, and was SOOOO excited! Shao had managed to ask what kind of cookies Bonnie like, and the answer was choc. chip, but since oatmeal is "good" for you, she usually had that, because it made her feel like she was eating well! LOL! So Shao made her a batch of oatmeal choc. chip cookies! :) Bonnie was so touched, she called her mom in California to tell her! :)

While Shao was wandering around Yale having a blast, I attended two parent workshops that were wonderful. One was led by a prof. at Yale, Dr. William Zhou, who talked about how Chinese parents raise their children, and the principles they find most important, and we also did a little language lesson! Then we went to the next one, and learned how to make noodles with a black bean paste sauce. Sounds kinda yucky, but it was GOOOD!!! I'm going to try it one of these days!!!! We ended the day, as usual, with a talent show. ShaoXi danced ballet to the song "It's the Climb." She did a beautiful job, as usual!
























On the way home I dropped Shao off at a friend's for a sleepover, where they were supposed to work on a homework project, but mostly turned off the lights in recognition of Earth Day, and watched a movie. We had church this morning, and Shao had choir practice afterward. Next Sunday will be our last Sunday attending the church. There are some major doctrinal differences that have arisen recently, and they are big enough that I feel we must find a church that truly believes in the Word of God, and the gift of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. We will begin attending the church I first attended when I got saved as a young adult several decades ago! I am looking forward to it. But first we need to fulfill a few obligations at North Guilford Congregational Church, then we can slip away.

Not much else news here. It's not too cold out, but it is rainy. However the week ahead has temps in the 40's and 50's, with some 60's, so winter is definitely fading away! YIPPEE!!!

Blessings...Nancy

Friday, March 27, 2009

I'm going in circles!

SO...what have I been up to for the past few days, you ask? Glad you did, happy to tell you! Let's see....
Wednesday morning I woke up and realized that my right eye kind of hurt. Nothing sharp, nothing very distint. More of just an ache, like a bruise, but kind of behind the eye. Bizarre, but I was also having a bit of a sinusy headache, and rain was making its way toward us, so knowing my barometer self, figured it was all part and parcel of that. Except that Shao did say that night, "Mama, your eye is all red!" Oh...hmm...maybe I should have looked in the mirror at least ONCE today? Yep, all red/bloodshot
Thursday morning...woke up with much more pain...much sharper, more knifelike. Still looked red, hurt to touch the outer eyelid, looked slightly swollen to me. EEEK!!! Oh, my goodness, it hurt! But I stiffened up my upper lip and soldiered on. Thursday was a manic day, work, meetings, Shao had a playdate planned. Tried to figure out just WHEN I could squeeze in a visit to the Dr....but by 9:30, when I got back from my AM run, my eye felt fine, looked fine, except still red a bit, and so I tabled the idea, to see what would happen. It had run like crazy, tears pouring down my face, during my whole AM bus run, so I thought hmm, maybe there was something in it, and now its washed out, and it will be okay. Not so much, come to find out!
Thursday night...about 9:30; Shao's in bed asleep. I am in AGONY. MAJOR shooting pains, so much that they took my breath away. I am frantically trying to decide if I should go to the ER, that's how bad it was. Who would I call to take me? Who would I call to come stay with Shao? Or would I have to wake her up? Too many logistics for a pain-shrouded mind. I practically crawled into bed, and gingerly laid down, hoping the pain would dissipate. It didn't, but somehow I DID manage to fall asleep.
Friday (today) morning...the alarm went off and I jumped...then screamed. The jolt was not good...pain right off the bat, really BAD pain. So bad that I could NOT make myself keep the eye open, it instantly hurt just too much. I showered, dressed, and brushed my teeth with both eyes closed...because closing only the bad one actually hurt too much. Both was better. Finally made myself open it and keep it open...I mean, I was leaving to drive a bus...better to do that with eyes open, eh? It hurt like...you know what...for a few minutes, then began to weep copiously for the next hour, as it did the morning before. And by the time my run was over, voila, it felt pretty good, like the morning before. But I am no fool. No WAY was I gonna trust that it was going to be fine. No way did I want to experience the pain I had that morning, and the night before. SO...
I drove over to my Dr.'s office. I had thoughts of going straight to the clinic/ER, but my Dr likes me to go to them/call them first, then he will direct me. SO...I went to his office (which is on the way to the clinic, anyways.) Mind you, I did not have an appt. But I was not letting that stop me!!! The recep. was nice, and managed to get me an appt in 45 min. So I sat in the waiting room and read magazines, in between resting my eyes.
Finally, I saw the Dr. (not mine, he was booked). Dr. Silva looked at my eye, listened to my story, and shrugged his shoulders. He said it wasn't an infection, but obviously something was going on, and I should go to the clinic/ER!!! URGH! By now, I have to hustle back to the bus yard to drive my Kindergarten run. I tell him this, he tries to frighten me to death, talking about going blind, vs. going to work for 1 hour. Upshot...I just agree with him, leave, pray that God will protect me if I am being foolish, and go drive my run. THEN I head to the clinic.
So I get to the clinic around 1PM. They are a bit busy...oh, goody. Because I have another run to do at 3PM. I finally get back into a room at 1:35. The PA finally comes in at 1:50. I tell him my whole story, he looks in my eyes. He puts something very painful in my eyes, then looks again. Puts dye in both eyes, and looks. Does a pressure test. Looks in my eyes with a hand held light. Makes me put my chin in this cup thing, my head against a bar, and looks in both eyes with another instrument of torture. He was VERY thorough, for which I was thankful. Gets all done...and shrugs his shoulders. No clue what is going on. Wants me to see an opthamologist. Yep, so do I! Calls around to see if he can find one that accepts my state insurance...yep, finds one. AN HOUR AND A HALF AWAY. Who can see me if I come NOW, or else I will have to call for an appt.
SO...I leave and drive like a maniac to get back to the bus yard to do my run. When I get home an hour later I call my Dr.'s office and tell them they need to find me an eye dr. somwhere a tad closer than that! And so now I wait! But just as a kicker, the substitute Dr. that I saw, Dr. Silva, is the one I am again talking to, and again he makes sure I know I could go blind if I don't get help soon. Yeah, thanks...I'm trying. Don't you love it?!? Nightmare, I tell ya, a nightmare!

Okay...so that was my day...and there were some good parts...like the warmish weather (no jacket needed, if you're the hardy New England type, like me! And my girl is in a better frame of mind, which is always a happy thing! :)

Tomorrow we have a big event at Yale University. More about that after the fact! Suffice it say for now it's about being Chinese, and having a Big Sister/Big Brother. I'll explain, I promise!

Blessings...Nancy

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

If wishes were horses...



My girl is having a tough week. For whatever reason she is grumpy and moody. Some of it is over money...our lack of it. Some deeper than that, I think. Oh, I am not looking forward to the next 4 or 5 years! I think it may be rocky...I had better pack my parachute, so I can bail out! Just kidding...sort of! :)

She needs new tap shoes. I found her a pair in the bin at her dance school. According to her, they weren't the right kind, etc., etc. So I made her go and ask her tap teacher. Which freaked her out because the teacher can be a bit brusque, and Shao is anything but, so she perceives it as being mean, or mad, or both. But it went well, and the shoes are FINE!! SO...Shao is happy because THAT means, she doesn't have to do tap next year, since we don't have to spring for a new pair of shoes at the almost end of the dance year. Had we bought new tap shoes, I told her she WAS going to take tap next year, to wear the shoes!

She asked me the other night if she could "take some time off from dancing." IE, not dance next year. I told her that if she did not dance next year, she would not dance again. Not because I was "punishing" her, but because she is on scholarship. She is EXCEPTIONALLY gifted, prima ballerina material, according to her teachers. But they are NOT going to give her a scholarship to start back up again, after a year off. These are critical years, if ballet is what she wants to do with her life. I will NOT push her much longer. If by high school she wants to stop, then so be it. It will break my heart, but it is ultimately her decision. Anyhow, she cried, and I gently explained the facts of the matter, that without a scholarship, she would not be ABLE to dance, and so she cannot stop. But she is content with not doing tap next year, so perhaps that will be enough. I hope so. The child is magical when she dances!

It is in the 50's here today. Very sunny, but a little breezy. But better than ice or snow, so I'll TAKE it! :) Hoping we are in for a prolonged (read: until October!) warming trend! :)

The babies have doubled their weight since they left the hospital! They are pork chops! So sweet! I MUST get over to see them in the next few days. I love those little girls.

That's about it for here. I sent an email about a nanny job that is about 10 hours more a week than my present driving job. It is for a 3mo old....ohhhh! Right up my alley! I need more hours, and they are paying more per hour, as well, than I make now. We'll see. Waiting to hear back.

The picture is her pointing to Cinderella's Castle in DisneyWorld. Last summer a bloggy friend invited us help her & her 3 munchkins drive to FL, and go to DisneyWorld! Almost all our expenses were covered...it was an unbelievable gift! This is the very first day, headed to the Magic Kingdom, and our first glimpse of the Castle...neither of us had ever been to DW! May I say, I TOTALLY bought into the whole Mickey scene! Oh, how I LOVE DisneyWorld! Who knew?!?!?

Blessings...Nancy

Sunday, March 22, 2009

New Header!

Like my new look? My friend Lori is great! Thanks, Lor! I love it! :) Wow! Very cool!

Today is a quiet one. I am just wandering around, picking up things, and reorganizing. Little by little, things get done. Perseverance is the key, I think. Which is a quality I sometimes lack. I look at things, and immediately get overwhelmed, and just block it out. That old sin nature, I guess...which is the same as human nature, in my book!

Shao is getting ready to go out on the town tonight, lucky girl! (Oh, actually, I just heard the flute start up! She is so self-motivated, I never have to bug her to practice. And you can tell that she does, because she is getting SOOO much better!) Anyhow...one of her ballet friends, with whom we carpool, has an extra ticket to "Stomp", at the Schubert Theatre in New Haven. So she is going with Meredith's family. And they are going out to dinner, first. I am so thankful that she gets opportunities like this, because the reality is that I cannot provide them. It was SO nice of them to think of her!

So it will be quiet around here tonight, too. That's okay. Truthfully, between homework and flute practice, I seldom see the girl. She is usually in her room, working on things. Report cards come out this week. I don't think she is doing as well as she has in the past. But we shall see. She had been at least on the honor roll every trimester, and last year was high honors all year. Not sure she will make it this trimester, which will make her unhappy. But it will also motivate her, knowing her! And that's a GOOD thing.

That's about it from here. It is cloudy out at the moment, but was beautifully sunny earlier, and in the 50's. I'll take it! It is supposed to warm up all week. Ah, spring!

Blessings...Nancy

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Hmmm...this could be good!

So, I'm taking a new med. I had my reg. 3 mo. appt with my Dr., and he put me on a med called Lyrica. Not sure what took him so long to prescribe it. He has known from the get-go that I have fibromyalgia, and that is one of the premier meds for that ailment. Anyhow, we are starting me out slow, as I react adversely to some meds. So I am on only 25mg a day, and am working my way up to 75 mg twice a day! Gonna be awhile. But maybe just because I am aware that I am beginning this med., since I really don't think it could be having an effect this quickly, I am feeling a bit better. Less joint pain, more energy? Hmmm. Of course, it could be because it is actually gorgeously sunny out, with no rain in sight for a few days! It's not warm, mind you, but it is sunny! Tomorrow morning I add a pill in the morning, one at night for 3 days. Then one more pill at night, for three days....etc., etc. So it will take awhile to get me up to the full dosage. I am excited to see if this gives me any relief from the persistent, constant pain in my joints, and the horrific sleep disturbances...not to mention the touchy stomach problems. Oh, this could be a REALLY good thing!

On other fronts, my girl is quiet today. She had a sleepover at a friend's last night, so sleep deprivation is definitely in the picture. Sadly, she is NOT a day napper, so we just have to deal with some moodiness and irritability. Hopefully I can get her to bed at a decent hour tonight. We have church in the morning, and she is the alcolyte (she lights the candles on the communion table at the beginning of the service.)

I am feeling good about things, as I have been accomplishing some things here in the house. I got lots of my winter stuff put upstairs (yeah, it's still cold here, but I realized that my shelves in my closet were jam-packed with things I had not worn yet this year...so they went up in the attic, and when winter rolls around again, I will review and donate much of it!) I moved around some things in some closets, put the excess upstairs, and also have begun to organize my filing system and paperwork! Yes, I know...you are SO glad I shared this scintillating info with you! Told you...this is life UNEMBELLISHED! This is our life. It's the little things that can truly make you feel good about yourself! :) Now, if only I could clean the kitchen! HA!

Hope you are enjoying spring! We sure are!

Blessings!...Nancy

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

I THINK Spring is finally here...shh, don't say it too loud!



It is finally warming up here in the Northeast. Today it will be in the low 50's, and pretty much the same for the rest of the week. Yay, Spring (which doesn't OFFICIALLY arrive until 7:44 AM EDT on Friday, but who's counting?!?) Our tulip, crocus and daffodils are coming up. The snowdrops have been up for over a month. I have survived another winter! For now on, until December, the days have my permission to crawl, not speed by! Just saying.




Had a baby fix the other night. Isn't this the cutest baby ever? :) This is Cadence Rae, in all her crazy haired glory. Her sister Hayleigh has much darker, smoother hair. I am glad the girls aren't identical. Aside from making it easier to tell them apart, it makes me feel better about dressing them alike while they are little. They have much different personalities, and don't look any more alike than siblings would. They are starting to coo and smile alot. They are 7 weeks old today.
Here is a pic of Miss H.! I am beginning to figure this picture thing out. Yay for me! So that should give you an idea of why I am in love! :) Have a great day!
Blessings...Nancy

Thursday, March 12, 2009

WHERE is Spring?

Tomorrow my tiny nieces are going to Yale to have their hips examined. I panicked when Jen told me, but apparently they routinely look at all baby girls who were in a breech position, because many have hip dislocation problems. Who knew? Tonight Shao & I will stop over and visit for a little bit. We need a baby fix! And I need to unload some of the "loot" I have been collecting for the girlies. Seems like I can't stay away from ebay, where they're concerned! :o

My mom is home from Florida. I'm glad. I don't see her all that much, even though she lives downstairs from us. But when she is GONE, I am restless. What WILL I do when the awful time comes that she dies? Oh, dear. I have to face it one of these days. She will be 86 in June. Thankfully, she is in great health, goes to the gym 3+ times a week, "takes care of old folk", cleans houses one day a week, and is constantly on the move. I can't keep up with the woman!

Just a few weeks away from Easter. Shao & I met one of her many "adopted grammas" at a mall last weekend, and Gramma Bonnie insisted on buying Shao an outfit and shoes for Easter. Oh, my, she got the most BEAUTIFUL dress! Funny girl...I picked out a dress I thought was lovely (very sweet, classic, etc.) Shao picked out one she liked (very cute, trendy, hip). She tried them both on, they both looked great, and I left the choice up to her. She came out of the dressing room and shocked both Gramma & I...she choose the dress I picked out. I questioned her, as I wanted to be sure SHE was sure. Yep! She said she thought she would get more wear out of it, as it was a cotton sundress look, so she could wear it all summer. Wow! My girl is growing up. I miss my baby, but I sure do like the young lady who is taking her place!

Speaking of Easter, Shao & I will be heading south to Pennsylvania for Easter. We always spend it with my BFF Kim and her husband Henry. I am getting excited! I love them, and we always have such fun. I have friends, of sorts, around here, but my truly GOOD friends are spread all over the US, so I treasure any time I get to spend with any of them. I would say that most of my truly dear friends are from College days, with a smattering of adoption buddies and others thrown into the mix. I am blessed with the precious people in my life...I just wished they all lived nearby!

No other real news here. Still quite cold...when WILL Spring arrive?!?!? I know...March 20th...only 8 days away. But I am not convinced, notwithstanding the MANY robins I have spotted recently. AND the signs for pansies at every nursery! :) It can't come soon enough for me!

Blessings...Nancy

Saturday, March 7, 2009

The End of an Era

Today I attended a funeral. Forest R. Hill passed away a few days ago, and today Shao and I went to pay our respects. It was truly the end of an era. You would have had to know Forrie to fully understand. Forrie Hill was the husband of my mother's dearest friend. Mom and Jean are both almost 86 years old, and have been friends since grade school. Forrie and Jean were married 60 years. It is inconceivable to me that he is gone. There will never, ever be another person like him. I am sure there are some people who knew him who consider this a good thing. Not me. I loved Forrie, with all his idiosyncracies, foibles, and bigotry. The thing about Forrie was, you had no illusions about him. He was all upfront and honest. And you know, I find those to be qualities sadly lacking in many people today.

Forrie was a bigot. Oh, he would ALWAYS be polite to anyone. But he had his strong opinions, and no one was going to sway him from them. I never tried. I didn't agree with lots of things he believed, but at least I knew where he stood. He was one of the last of the true, old time Yankees. No, not the baseball team...Forrie lived in New England, and hearing him speak, there was never a doubt! He loved his country passionately, serving it in WWII, loved his family, and LOVED the outdoors. Forrie was a man's man. He hunted, he fished, he logged, you name it. And he passed that love on to not only the members of his immediate family, but to everyone with whom he came in contact. You couldn't know Forrie and not know his love for the woods, for nature, and for the land.

One of my favorite memories was as a little girl. I was spending the night at the Hill's. We watched old home movies, then all of us girls went to bed, in the same room. Forrie and Jean came in with a big tray of hot chocolates, and when we were done, they tucked us in and kissed each good night. I was safe there. Even though Forrie could be gruff and loud, I knew I was safe. I loved him.

Rest in peace, Forrie. You will be dearly missed this side of Heaven.

Blessings...Nancy

Monday, March 2, 2009

A Different Planet

Sometimes I think I live on a different planet. Which is entirely my own doing...most of the time. Imagine my surprise when I just happened to be flicking through channels last night on the TV, only to discover that the entire state, except myself, was bracing for a HUGE winter storm! Huh? When did that sneak up on us? HA!

Suffice it to say, I continued with making dinner, and as soon as we ate I ran out to the grocery store. Because you KNOW that we may be buried for weeks on end, and will need food to sustain us. Um, well, actually...I was out of milk and bread, and not much else. Although that did not stop me from bringing home more than two items, of course!

So, no work for me today, no school for ShaoXi. We lazed around, and watched Wall-E together...cute movie! She got it for Christmas, but this was the first time I watched it. Kind of sobering, really...because while I don't think we'll all be gullible enough to go live in space for 3500 years, while robots clean up our environmental waste, it still speaks to the waste we produce now, and how we each need to stick to the "3 R's": reuse, reduce, recycle! I for one will try to do a better job of it!

So another short pay check for next week. Last week our town had Monday off, so we had a four day week LAST week, as well. So the check will be short this week, then next week. And the week before that, we didn't work at all, so last Friday we didn't even get a check. Unless you count the unemployment check for a whopping $79 I got...which I don't, because it isn't even enough to pay ONE bill, never mind a stack of them. Not sure why I only get that piddlin' amount...must call Dept. of Labor and question this! I know when I got layed off several years ago, the check was for about 2/3 of my normal week's pay. Trust me, this doesn't come close...not that I make all that much, but still!!

No more news here. Very quiet, very snowy, VERY cold (single digits, without counting in the wind factor! BRRRRR!!!!)

Blessings...Nancy