I don't know where to begin. So much has happened. Needless to say I have been busy. Some good and some not so good. I'm wondering at what point in my life do things really settle down and life can be enjoyed to a point that I don't have to constantly worry about someone or something. I suppose that isn't being very realistic though.

The last time I have posted, my youngest had moved out to live with my mother. Well she has since moved BACK home. I welcome her of course and totally understand why she left and why she came home. It seems my mother wasn't giving her the space she needed to do her schoolwork. I tried to warn my mother when the youngest moved in with her but apparently she either didn't really care or just has no concept of what giving space means. My daughter told her that she wasn't getting her projects done(truth) and she was homesick (not true). I eventually told my mother the real reason and gave her some examples how she pushed her out the door. For instance, one Saturday my daughter was going to sleep in - but my mother had other ideas as early that morning she was making the dog sing (loud) and then called out to the daughter and asked her if she was awake. As if not getting an answer was the answer she was seeking, as she was wheeling herself down the hall, she was calling out asking if she was awake, getting louder as she got closer to her bedroom door. Needless to say, the daughter was awake at this point. Was she expecting an answer IF the daughter was sleeping or what? Well, I'm glad to have my daughter home even if it does mean I have to deal with my mother more. I have to admit it was a nice rest from my mother.

And speaking of mother, at the beginning of March she had a cataract removed from her left eye. in six weeks time she was suppose to get the right eye done. The night before that surgery, she suddenly went blind in the left eye. The doctor was called and he said it could be something obscuring the lens. We went in the next morning (she still couldn't see) and found out she had experienced a central retinal artery occlusion (some call it a stroke to the eye). The loss of the vision is permanent. She refuses to get the right eye cataract surgery done. She was hysterical, saying she wanted to die, saying don't put her in a nursing home. This was all said without anyone saying a word to her. She is whacked without having this tragic news...now she is worse. We went to a retinal specialist, had tests done and the bottom line is that she will not regain sight in that eye. The cause of the occlusion is unknown, probably a piece of cholesterol broke off from the carotids and moved to that artery. She probably be thankful that it wasn't a brain stroke. As for me, I saw my therapist this past Thursday just because of all that was happening and dealing with it. I'm doing okay considering.

With my rest from my mother, I was getting very focused on work and even was coming up with some ideas on improvements and even emailed my supervisor concerning them. I was on a roll. Hopefully some of my ideas will be implemented. She has to get the ideas past the manager who happens to be a control freak so it's hard to say.

My oldest daughter will be graduating in a month. She has been to job fairs and have taken state civil tests for accounting jobs with the state. Keep your fingers crossed.

My wedding anniversary was April 3 and it was celebrated quietly with hubby and I going to lunch and shopping and intimate time in bed. We were much happier with that than what was to be planned for us for the 25th. I'm so glad that was stopped in its tracks.

We have a new addition to our family. A dwarf bunny, black and white. He doesn't have a name yet but he is so cute. Actually my youngest is the proud owner but I of course have plenty of cuddles to share. Bandit seems to like him and is of course curious.

Things were going good with Doc until I voiced an opinion about something that was bothering me - lack of attention on his part. Well it blew up last night and we ended up being nasty to each other and basically just mean. It would have been the end but it wasn't. We made up and all was well. Time will tell of course...

It has been a long time I know but life hasn't allowed me the chance, or rather I haven't been able to manage the time to blog...but I'm here now.

First off, this is what transpired today. But, first a little history. November last year was my husband's brother and my cousin's 25th wedding anniversary. It was the weekend that I was at the beach which was planned and paid for way before their anniversary party was planned. My 25th wedding anniversary is this April and I specifically told my daughters and hubby that I didn't want a party - especially a surprise party. Well, my daughters came home from school today and told me they had a secret that they thought I should know about. Well, apparently my husband's older sister called my mother and asked if there was going to be a party for our anniversary. Well this got my mother going and she was calling around and discussing this "surprise party" for my hubby and I. Now remember my girls knew how we felt about this. So, my oldest made the phone call to her aunt to let her know that we didn't want a party and my youngest broke the news to my mom. I'm sure I will hear about this from my mother who feels that because my brother and I didn't have a party for her and my father that we (my husband and I) should have one.

Okay a little history inserted in here. My parent's marriage was a joke to us as we grew up. My mother was constantly putting my father down and my father with his own bad habits could no right in her eyes. There were more tears between the two of them then love expressed and this was what my brother and I were exposed to. Why would we have a party to celebrate a marriage like that? Am I wrong or what in thinking that when you celebrate a marriage with a party it should at least be a happy one. Don't get me wrong at this point - that is NOT the reason I don't want a party of my own for the 25th.

Also part of this history is my hubby's oldest sister. I have always thought of her as a little strange. When my cousin and I started dating her brothers, she had stated that God talked to her and told her that G (hubby's brother, cousin's hubby) was to marry her then roommate Becky. I personally didn't know that God spoke to people about things that pertained to others. This sister told me over Christmas that she would like to have lunch with me and get to know me better - now remember that I have been in this family for over 25 years. Then she sent me a card telling me that she would like to get to know me better and talk about how Jesus played a role in my life. HUH?????? wait.....HUH HUH HUH HUH???? Where did this come from and what business is it of this woman?

Now in case you haven't guessed it - I'm a fairly private person. Of course I have opened up fairly well here and to a select few friends but for the majority of people who know me I am a private person. My spirituality is not something I shout from the rooftop - try to live it more than talk about it.

As for the reason of not wanting a 25th wedding party - hubby and I would rather celebrate it ourselves with our daughters. We really haven't done stuff for our anniversary for years. As for me personally, it feels strange with me being in love with two men to celebrate a marriage. Even though I love my husband and the fact that we made it to 25 years still happy with each and getting along as well as we do says something about our marriage but then again - there is another man. My problem! No simple solution!

Soooooo what else is new? My aunt's funeral was yesterday. She was my father's sister and she was 75 years old. She was also the mother of the cousin who married my husband's brother. She was like a second mother to me growing up. I spent many nights at her house - my dad would ask her to "watch over me" while my mother was in the hospital having a "nervous breakdown." She was a good person - lived a very wholesome life and was one of the most generous woman I have ever known - gave love freely without asking anything back. She will be missed but the memories live on.

My youngest has moved out. Yes, moved out. Something I thought would never happen. It was kind of sudden to - I believe my jaw broke when it hit the floor when she told me. She has moved in with my mother. Her decision totally. I would have talked her out of it but she is old enough to make her own decisions. Her reasoning? Well, she sees the burden my mother puts on my oldest and felt that if she (the youngest) was there that it would alleviate some of that on the oldest. She also felt that there would be less distractions there (no internet, no cable - although my mother has the dish) and she could concentrate more on her studies. Then there is the larger room. She moved into my old room at my mother's which is double the size of her room here. She has it fixed up VERY nice. She is striking out on her own - my little baby. I just hope my mother doesn't change her. But she is a strong young lady and won't take crap.

And that pretty much sums up some of what has been happening - well along with work and such. My honey came back from his golf trip but not before burying his father. He left earlier than planned to attend the funeral of his father and then drove to Myrtle Beach with his brother. He was gone for 1-1/2 weeks and I missed him. I loved watching the kitties and they fit in at my house perfectly but it was nice to have him home and the kitties back with him. Next post if I don't forget remind me to tell ya about the visit to the adult store that my friend and I visited and how that visit has revived the ole sex life with Doc. woohooo!!!

Ahhh yes, another weekend down and another Monday here again. This Monday will be different than the other Mondays this month - Hubby goes back to work - yeah - Actually a relief after the three week strike. They voted and settled on a pretty good contract. His pension is intact, health coverage is there and they even got a pretty nice bonus check to boot. Sometimes I think this was just in the companies master plan. They had bikes warehoused, there was talk of laying off......of course some of it was hearsay and we may never know the whole truth but I'm just thankful they are going back to work. But I send one back and two remain at home this coming week. Both daughters have spring break at college and have the week off. We had a snow/ice storm today so I'm glad they won't be driving.

I was actually bored today. Oh I had plenty of things I could have done, I just didn't feel like doing them. I did a lot of cooking and watching movies though. I watched The Prestige for the second time Saturday night. I thought it was a good movie- it kept my mind thinking. Today I saw Inside Man and that was pretty good. Some others that I watch for the most part were Copland, Contact, Health Inspector (Larry the Cable Guy). I've had my fill. That was probably the most television I've seen in a very long time!

Things with my mother are going okay. I've had to switch around some appointments of mine to accommodate hers. She is getting her cataracts removed starting next week with the right. It's a lot of running but I will make sure she doesn't overtax us with requests as she usually does. She is one of those people who takes a foot when given an inch.

Things with Doc are okay. He leaves for a week-long vacation this coming Saturday. The best thing about that is that I watch his two kitties - Lucy and Tina.


Such cutie pies...

We do need a break from each other. As well as we get along we have been, oh okay it's been me, have been clashing as well. I'm just feeling a strain. The strain is coming from not getting from the relationship some satisfaction that I want. I'm not referring to sexual satisfaction, I'm just talking personal satisfaction. I've mentioned this before about expectations and acknowledgement and yes, appreciation. It has to do with those things. I've been trying to deal with it and perhaps this is where the frustration is coming from. A break is what we need.

Well, I still have to work later so I'm off to bed. Hopefully this week will go by smoothly and painless....

Oh what fun winter is? I'm being sarcastic of course because I particularly do not like winter weather, especially in the middle of February after all that beautiful fall-like weather we had earlier in the year. But it's not important what I like and don't like when storms come this way. It's gonna happen regardless and it did. It started innocently enough but then got nasty. Snow is always beautiful coming down....for the first ten minutes. It turned to sleet, rain and then snow again.


I don't know what happened to snow plows. The road in front of our house is a state road but no plows went all day Wednesday. Finally after the sleet and rain and the refreezing of the slush on the road, a plow came by. By this time, the damage was done and ruts were frozen to the road. The roads were dangerous. We had no where to go Wednesday so that was a good thing. I work at home, the girls' college was closed and of course hubby was still on strike.



Thank goodness he doesn't picket till Saturday. He pickets one time a week for three hours and luckily it's 9 a.m. to noon. The last time they were on strike over 12 years ago his time to picket was 3 a.m. in the morning for two hours. He came to bed an ice cube and he had to do that twice a week. Majority of the population around here are supporting the workers. Then there are those who don't know all the facts and spout off their idiotic statements making them look like true morons. Luckily most of the workers just ignore them or some try to educate with the facts. It's easy to form an opinion but I have always been very cautious where and when I say mine. I can't expect everyone else to do that.

So, today most schools were closed except the college my girls go to. They had a two hour delay. Since my oldest's car was sitting in a parking lot where she hit a curb and bent the rim when the snow first started on Tuesday, my hubby drove them to school. He stayed in and hung out with college crowd. I, of course, stayed home and worked. They made it home safely. Classes were canceled for the afternoon, the evening and Friday. Go figure (should have canceled them ALL today).

The temperatures aren't suppose to get warm enough to soften the ice boulders so driving and digging out will remain a bit hair-raising till it does.

I hope everyone else weathered things well.

I PASSED!!!!!!

I cannot begin to tell everyone how much of a relief it is to have finished the credentialing exam and actually passing it. UNBELIEVABLE!!!

It was broken down into two parts and I wasn't feeling too confident about how well I did on the first part but I thought I had enough right answers to pass. (They don't tell you if you did or not at this point). Then comes the second half of the exam. This is the half that a lot of the girls who took it failed. I was nervous and I saw on the clock that I had a little over 3 hours to finish it. There were only 63 questions/snippets but let me tell you - I took all that time to finish it. It was hard. There were things on it I had never heard of before and didn't know how to spell but I did the best I could and answered them all. Rechecked them a couple of times and clicked the end button with five minutes to spare. It asks you if you are sure you want to end. Hell yeah I'm sure. After clicking the end button one more time....I waited what seemed like an eternity for the screen to change and in very small letters at the top of several paragraphs was the word "Pass."  I guess I was expecting colorful balloons and streamer showing up on the monitor screen and the word PASS to be in large letters....kind of disappointing but heck I passed what do I have to be disappointed about.

I dropped my head to the table and I swear the weight on my shoulders got lighter, my eyes welled with tears and I couldn't believe it. I'm so relieved it's over and that I passed.  I will never take a test like that again - ever.

So now that I'm certified medical transcriptionist it will make no difference where I work. No extra benefits, no higher pay, nada.....  But I'll work on that.

Thank you everyone for the support and love shown to me during the weeks before the test. I appreciated it all and hope that I can show the same support for you when needed.