One of my good friends at work (and her daughter) live with PKD. Do you know what that is? I didn't until I met her. Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) affects 600,000 Americans and 12.5 million children and adults, worldwide. There is no treatment or cure, but there is hope.
Last week she told the BFI's (as we jokingly refer to our group of girls at work) that there was a walk for PKD coming up on September 16th in Seattle and asked if we'd like to form a team and walk together. Of course we all said yes. She also said she didn't expect any of us to do any fund raising or anything, just knowing we would walk with her and her daughter was enough. There's just no way I can't at least put it out there. So, I officially joined the team last night and set my goal at $250.00.
If you're interested in sponsoring me you can visit my personal page at the PKD website, or email me and I'll send you some information. And if you can't afford to sponsor, or just don't want to, please think of us on the 16th as we walk around Lake Washington in Seattle.
Thursday, August 30
Tuesday, August 28
hello good-bye
The phone doesn't usually ring at 10:40pm at my house. Well, on occassion, but not on a Monday night. Anyway while Stace and I were vegging out watching Friday after our little arts-n-crafts time the phone rings. WTH? Guess who it was? My little man!
I knew they were flying in last night and scheduled to arrive at 9:18pm so I figured he was just calling to say they'd landed and would see me tomorrow (which is today). But no. A couple of minutes into the conversation he informs me his father is bringing him home. Right then. At almost 11:00pm which is of course 2:00am to his body. WTF??? Now don't get me wrong, I was thrilled after not seeing him for nearly two weeks, but seriously. No communication. What if I was already in bed and didn't hear the phone? What if I simply wasn't here?
He pulled up fifteen minutes to midnight and came running as fast as his feet could carry him into my arms. It was so good to hold my little man again. Then we went in and he was so surprised to see Stace he started screaming. The dog went completely ballistic and wouldn't get more than 12 inches away from him, and actually slept on the floor at the foot of WJ's bed all night. He never sleeps upstairs at night. Think he missed his boy?
So we all headed to bed a little after midnight and tried to get some quick sleep so we could get up in the morning to take Stace to the airport. With our altered plans now having to drop the kiddo at summer camp we were out the door by 7:15am, first to drop off WJ, then stop to pick-up Groove who was nice enough to drive with us so I could use the HOV lane on the way back, off to the airport, back to work, summer camp pick-up, quick stop at Safeway, and then finally home. Sheesh! Makes me tired just writing about it.
It's awfully quiet without my friend here tonight. We had so much fun!! Tons of laughter, good talks, silliness, a PS2 marathon, movies, some special arts-n-crafts (hope you guys like your stuff!), and just an all around great time. The time went by way too quickly, and it always sucks when you have to say good-bye and have no idea when you'll see each other again. I already miss you, my friend!!
As I was typing the previous paragraph Stace called (of course she did) to let me know she'd landed.
Anywho, life rolls on and the party's over for now. But I know there'll be another in the very near future.
Friday, August 24
it's a beautiful day in this neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Anyone of you wonderful people looking to move? I'm looking for some new neighbors and I'd like to hand pick the best of them. I sat and watched my property value decrease last night, which may or may not be a good thing, but that's a whole other story.
I know you remember my letter to Mrs. A. If not, click here and catch up. Well the animals were uncaged again last night. Actually, they've been uncaged for the past two or three nights, but last night evil spawn child was up to his old nastiness. Hitting. And hitting a girl nonetheless. Oh yeah. Screaming in his whiney tone and then hitting another neighbor girl not once, but three times. She hit him back (hehe). But the madness didn't stop there. The fight was over who was going to drive this. That's right, a Barbie jeep. And guess who this jeep belonged to? Yup, the neighbor girl who was getting hit.
And where was Mrs. A during this outburst. She was pulling weeds in her front yard. The one time she is actually out there to witness the insanity and she does nothing. Acted as if she couldn't hear or see any of what was going on. Even when the neighbor girl told her evil spawn was hitting she just told him to sit down. That lasted all of 30 seconds when he jumped up to follow the girls into the house. Did she call him back outside? Give him a timeout? Lecture him about hitting? Of course she didn't.
But wait, there's more.
Some thirty minutes or so later all the same kids, and the same jeep, are now down at the back end of the loop we live on. In the jeep. In the middle of the road. With a pickup truck coming around the loop one way, and a minivan coming the other. And what do they do? Just sit/stand there and make the cars figure out how to get around them. Can you guess who was driving?
At that point my good neighbor was out mowing his lawn. He sees the cars, hears the kids, stops the mower and just stares down the road. Then he looks across the street at me. We both shake our heads and then have this short little conversation.
Me: "Well, I'm glad to see your daughter isn't down the street with the stoopids!"
Him: "No way!"
Me: "Yeah, cuz it's always smart for a plastic toy car to take on a pickup and minivan in the middle of the road."
Him: "When you don't have any parental guidance, what do you expect!?"
Oh, by the way, Mrs. A was still in her front yard weeding while we were yelling across the street having this conversation. She didn't even look up. I swear I think the doctor must have prescribed meds for the evil spawn, and instead of giving them to him, she's taking them herself.
But wait, there's still more.
For the past few weeks, the neighbors behind my nextdoor neighbors have decided it's okay to sit out on their patio between the hours of midnight at 2am smoking, talking, laughing, squealing and basically making too much noise. That combined with the little pug they have being chained up in the backyard barking and crying to come in at 3am has made for some not so good sleeping nights as of late.
Last night I was wiped. I actually went to bed before 10pm for the first time in weeks and was sound asleep when what do my sleepy ears hear? The noisemakers. At 1am. Normally I just shut my windows and turn on the ceiling fan to drown out the noise, but last night was so muggy there was no way I was closing myself in. So, I sat up and hollered "Shut up!"
At first they quieted down, immediately. But, of course, now I was wide awake, so I decided to get up and pee. No sooner had I gotten back into bed they're at it again, only this time louder. The exchange went something like this.
Me: "Shut up!" (more loudly this time than the first)
Them: "No! You shut up."
Me: "Some of us have to get up at 5am and don't appreciate being woken in the middle of the night."
Them: "Then shut your window."
Me: "Hell no! STFU or go inside."
Them: "Fuck you."
Me: "Whatever. Consider this your warning that I'm calling the cops."
Them: "Go ahead bitch."
With that I was more than wide awake. But they were quiet. And I assume they must have thought about it more and decided they probably didn't want the cops coming over cuz they got up, quickly put their butts out, and scrambled inside. Me? I lay down, tossed and turned for half an hour, then went downstairs to smoke a butt of my own. I think I finally fell back to sleep a little after 2am.
Won't you please?
Won't you please?
Please won't you be my neighbor?
TUN (Totally Unrelated Note): Guess what today is? It's PARTY time!!! That's right, in less than 12 hours the party's starting when I pick up Stace at the airport. Woo hoo!!! I am so looking forward to having her here. Don't know what's on tap for the weekend yet, but maybe we'll make a little noise. Hehe!
TGIF!!!
Could you be mine?
Anyone of you wonderful people looking to move? I'm looking for some new neighbors and I'd like to hand pick the best of them. I sat and watched my property value decrease last night, which may or may not be a good thing, but that's a whole other story.
I know you remember my letter to Mrs. A. If not, click here and catch up. Well the animals were uncaged again last night. Actually, they've been uncaged for the past two or three nights, but last night evil spawn child was up to his old nastiness. Hitting. And hitting a girl nonetheless. Oh yeah. Screaming in his whiney tone and then hitting another neighbor girl not once, but three times. She hit him back (hehe). But the madness didn't stop there. The fight was over who was going to drive this. That's right, a Barbie jeep. And guess who this jeep belonged to? Yup, the neighbor girl who was getting hit.
And where was Mrs. A during this outburst. She was pulling weeds in her front yard. The one time she is actually out there to witness the insanity and she does nothing. Acted as if she couldn't hear or see any of what was going on. Even when the neighbor girl told her evil spawn was hitting she just told him to sit down. That lasted all of 30 seconds when he jumped up to follow the girls into the house. Did she call him back outside? Give him a timeout? Lecture him about hitting? Of course she didn't.
But wait, there's more.
Some thirty minutes or so later all the same kids, and the same jeep, are now down at the back end of the loop we live on. In the jeep. In the middle of the road. With a pickup truck coming around the loop one way, and a minivan coming the other. And what do they do? Just sit/stand there and make the cars figure out how to get around them. Can you guess who was driving?
At that point my good neighbor was out mowing his lawn. He sees the cars, hears the kids, stops the mower and just stares down the road. Then he looks across the street at me. We both shake our heads and then have this short little conversation.
Me: "Well, I'm glad to see your daughter isn't down the street with the stoopids!"
Him: "No way!"
Me: "Yeah, cuz it's always smart for a plastic toy car to take on a pickup and minivan in the middle of the road."
Him: "When you don't have any parental guidance, what do you expect!?"
Oh, by the way, Mrs. A was still in her front yard weeding while we were yelling across the street having this conversation. She didn't even look up. I swear I think the doctor must have prescribed meds for the evil spawn, and instead of giving them to him, she's taking them herself.
But wait, there's still more.
For the past few weeks, the neighbors behind my nextdoor neighbors have decided it's okay to sit out on their patio between the hours of midnight at 2am smoking, talking, laughing, squealing and basically making too much noise. That combined with the little pug they have being chained up in the backyard barking and crying to come in at 3am has made for some not so good sleeping nights as of late.
Last night I was wiped. I actually went to bed before 10pm for the first time in weeks and was sound asleep when what do my sleepy ears hear? The noisemakers. At 1am. Normally I just shut my windows and turn on the ceiling fan to drown out the noise, but last night was so muggy there was no way I was closing myself in. So, I sat up and hollered "Shut up!"
At first they quieted down, immediately. But, of course, now I was wide awake, so I decided to get up and pee. No sooner had I gotten back into bed they're at it again, only this time louder. The exchange went something like this.
Me: "Shut up!" (more loudly this time than the first)
Them: "No! You shut up."
Me: "Some of us have to get up at 5am and don't appreciate being woken in the middle of the night."
Them: "Then shut your window."
Me: "Hell no! STFU or go inside."
Them: "Fuck you."
Me: "Whatever. Consider this your warning that I'm calling the cops."
Them: "Go ahead bitch."
With that I was more than wide awake. But they were quiet. And I assume they must have thought about it more and decided they probably didn't want the cops coming over cuz they got up, quickly put their butts out, and scrambled inside. Me? I lay down, tossed and turned for half an hour, then went downstairs to smoke a butt of my own. I think I finally fell back to sleep a little after 2am.
Won't you please?
Won't you please?
Please won't you be my neighbor?
TUN (Totally Unrelated Note): Guess what today is? It's PARTY time!!! That's right, in less than 12 hours the party's starting when I pick up Stace at the airport. Woo hoo!!! I am so looking forward to having her here. Don't know what's on tap for the weekend yet, but maybe we'll make a little noise. Hehe!
TGIF!!!
Monday, August 20
a pseudo vacation of sorts
It's been a long time since I've had a vacation. A very long time by "real" vacation standards. We're talking a decade. And the last "vacation out of the state to see family/friends" was over 3 years ago. So this week I am taking a "pseudo" vacation. What's that? It's when you don't go anywhere and still you get some free time and personal space.
This is all possible because the little man has gone to the East coast with his father for 13 nights.
I've not been away from him for more than 3 nights in all his 7 years, so leading up to his departure I was having a really hard time of it. That, and dealing with all the other unexplained shit going on in my life right now, had me pretty down. But ya know what? He's been gone for 5 nights so far and things haven't been as horrible as I'd imagined. In fact, there's some really good things about this little break.
There's no packing involved for a "pseudo" vacation. All the comforts of home are right there, all the time, for you to enjoy. You can wash clothes, dishes, clean the house, or do none of the above at any hour you choose because there's no one around to wake. And you don't have to worry if your favorite jeans aren't clean, or your little travel sized bottles are empty.
You can stay up until way-FREAKIN-too-late on Saturday night because you don't have anyone that needs feeding, attention, or otherwise to take care of on Sunday morning.
You don't have to fight about what to watch on the teevee and can park your ass for 5 hours in front of Rock of Love with Bret Michaels and skip all the boring sports. Yum!
You can read, uninterrupted.
You can get up on a workday and only have to worry about getting yourself ready. No picking out someone's clothes, making breakfast, cleaning up dishes, making sure teeth are brushed, packing lunches, and playing taxi driver.
You can eat, or not eat, dinner at any time you choose. And eat whatever you want!
You can count the days until one of your best friends arrives and know that you will party like there's no tomorrow, and then party some more.
Oh, yes, I'm enjoying my "pseudo" vacation very much. I just wish I didn't miss the little man as much as I do.
This is all possible because the little man has gone to the East coast with his father for 13 nights.
I've not been away from him for more than 3 nights in all his 7 years, so leading up to his departure I was having a really hard time of it. That, and dealing with all the other unexplained shit going on in my life right now, had me pretty down. But ya know what? He's been gone for 5 nights so far and things haven't been as horrible as I'd imagined. In fact, there's some really good things about this little break.
There's no packing involved for a "pseudo" vacation. All the comforts of home are right there, all the time, for you to enjoy. You can wash clothes, dishes, clean the house, or do none of the above at any hour you choose because there's no one around to wake. And you don't have to worry if your favorite jeans aren't clean, or your little travel sized bottles are empty.
You can stay up until way-FREAKIN-too-late on Saturday night because you don't have anyone that needs feeding, attention, or otherwise to take care of on Sunday morning.
You don't have to fight about what to watch on the teevee and can park your ass for 5 hours in front of Rock of Love with Bret Michaels and skip all the boring sports. Yum!
You can read, uninterrupted.
You can get up on a workday and only have to worry about getting yourself ready. No picking out someone's clothes, making breakfast, cleaning up dishes, making sure teeth are brushed, packing lunches, and playing taxi driver.
You can eat, or not eat, dinner at any time you choose. And eat whatever you want!
You can count the days until one of your best friends arrives and know that you will party like there's no tomorrow, and then party some more.
Oh, yes, I'm enjoying my "pseudo" vacation very much. I just wish I didn't miss the little man as much as I do.
Sunday, August 12
finding strength wherever I can
An ear to bend.
Words of advice.
A look.
Even a touch.
Regaining control of regular daily activities.
And letting loose when the knots are all too tight.
Strength comes in all shapes and forms and I'm soaking it in as fast as I can.
Please come now I think I'm falling. I'm holding to all I think is safe. It seems I found the road to nowhere And I'm trying to escape. I yelled back when I heard thunder But I'm down to one last breath And with it let me say Let me say Hold me nowI'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking That maybe six feet Ain't so far down. - One Last Breath, Creed
Words of advice.
A look.
Even a touch.
Regaining control of regular daily activities.
And letting loose when the knots are all too tight.
Strength comes in all shapes and forms and I'm soaking it in as fast as I can.
Please come now I think I'm falling. I'm holding to all I think is safe. It seems I found the road to nowhere And I'm trying to escape. I yelled back when I heard thunder But I'm down to one last breath And with it let me say Let me say Hold me nowI'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking That maybe six feet Ain't so far down. - One Last Breath, Creed
Saturday, August 11
kicking and screaming my way through the week
I'm still alive. Barely. Not that you could tell around here.
The past week has been bad. Really bad. And the worst part is it ain't over yet. But today I'm a little more energized, and the synapses are firing a little better. I hope to get around to catching up with what everyone's been up to for the past week or so, but first I've gotta get a lot of piled up shit taken care of around here.
So that's it. Just a quick "hello". Thank God it's Saturday!!
Be careful what you wish for, 'Cause you just might get it all. You just might get it all, And then some you don't want. Be careful what you wish for, 'Cause you just might get it all. You just might get it all, yeah. - Home, Daughtry
The past week has been bad. Really bad. And the worst part is it ain't over yet. But today I'm a little more energized, and the synapses are firing a little better. I hope to get around to catching up with what everyone's been up to for the past week or so, but first I've gotta get a lot of piled up shit taken care of around here.
So that's it. Just a quick "hello". Thank God it's Saturday!!
Be careful what you wish for, 'Cause you just might get it all. You just might get it all, And then some you don't want. Be careful what you wish for, 'Cause you just might get it all. You just might get it all, yeah. - Home, Daughtry
Wednesday, August 1
they're back! the carnie adventures continue
It's that time of the year again. County fair time, that is. This year, however, was pretty uneventful compared to some of the freaks we encountered last year. Oh, we still saw plenty of them, just didn't have to listen to / talk to any of them. Unless you count the carnies. 
Carnies are truly what makes a fair memorable for me. Apparently one felt the same way about me since each time we'd go to ride the ferris wheel he'd try to engage me in conversation by starting of with, "Ah, I see you're back again, fine lady." We had the wristbands, so we just kept making the circuit around and around and around the ride area.
Speaking of around and around, I have apparently become maladjusted to rides that move very quickly in a circular pattern. During one ride (can't remember the name of it) I nearly lost it until I realized if I closed my eyes (go figure!?) it made my spinning stop. The little man almost lost it on the Spider but held it together when I suggested he try the closing-the-eyes trick. Worked for him on there. So, we were relegated to the rides that either went in very slow circles (the merry-go-round and the ferris wheel) or those that took your breath away (the drop tower). Oh yeah! I made the kiddo go with me on that one. I thought he was gonna pee his pants. Best ride there by far.
We toured the animal pens, craft halls, and vendor exhibits, listened to a little bit of various musicans (but the rock 'n roll the carnies were blasting was by far the best music there), ate burgers and fries and ice cream (not all at the same time), and pretended to drive a city bulldozer and mower.
At the end of the long, hot day we got ourselves some tattoos. While WJ went for the football with flames, I opted for a little "peace" to be brought into my life. It was a hard call cuz "tranquility" was looking like a pretty good choice too.
A good time was had by all, and we bid the fair - along with its carnies, and freaks, and indigestion producing food, and make-you-want-to-lose-it rides - adieu for another year.
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