Through the Priszm

I'm Moving!

2008-05-09T22:02:00.002-04:00

I'm finally making the move to Wordpress. The blog title is staying the same, my new address is http://throughthepriszm.wordpress.com/.

There's pretty much only one major reason why I'm moving to Wordpress. Many years ago when Gmail was still invite only, I had set up an account but I hadn't started using it. When I decided to join the blogging world, that's the account information that I used, since that's what I already had. Shortly after that I got fed up with Yahoo Mail since the new update kept giving me problems. I got the bright idea to create a new email persona when I switched services. It was a little strange, I've been Priszm for so long. And I still am, anything that requires a username for posting, that's who I am. But I wanted a change for my email address.

So CraftyCritter was born. Only one problem. While Blogger will allow me to use ANY other email address I may have, it will not change the associated account from whichever form of Priszm I used to my brand new account with gmail. Not only will blogger not let me change the account association, it doesn't maintain a list of usernames and passwords. So I can't just click on the Username field and then select the username I want. So I'm moving!

Wordpress did all of the hard work for me, for the most part. They have a handy dandy import/export tool that let me move all existing posts over. It didn't let me move my blog roll though. So I am officially moved into Wordpress! Come visit me at my new home http://throughthepriszm.wordpress.com/ I'll see you there!

Hugs and kisses,
Priszm

Stem Cell Research

2008-05-08T07:01:00.002-04:00

Hey guys! I'm sharing this from the blog I'm an MS Activist. This something that can not only help those suffering from MS; it can help those suffering from many many other things.

"Press Release: First-Ever Stem Cell Hearing in the House
Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chair Diana DeGette (D-CO), the chief architect of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, today applauded the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee for scheduling the first-ever Congressional hearing in the House of Representatives on stem cell research. The hearing entitled, “Stem Cell Science: The Foundation for Future Cures,” will be held on Thursday, May 8th. Click here for more information.

Weyman Johnson, National Multiple Sclerosis Society chairman of the baord, who lives with multiple sclerosis will testify. At the same time, MS activists will be on Capitol Hill talking with their legislators about the need to advance medical research."

Clarification

2008-05-05T19:44:00.002-04:00

I need to clarify Mom's role in my decision to ride in the MS 150. When I wrote posts one and two it was pretty much right as I had gotten home Sunday after the ride. I was very tired and it's been brought to my attention that some things can be and were taken in a way I totally didn't intend and never occurred to me that it could be taken that way.

Mom is one of my best friends. She is someone that I can go to with any problem, any story or any time I need her. When I first told her I planned on doing the MS 150 she told me she was concerned about my ability to actually do the ride and finish. NOT that this was something I couldn't do. But something she was concerned about my ability to do and not have my body get wore out or give up on me.

Mom's concern was actually a good thing for me. It made me more determined to do what I could to complete the entire 150 miles. Her concern made me want to "prove Mom wrong" and, in a sense, prove me wrong. Although I can go to Mom anytime I have a problem or concern, this was something I didn't share with her. I didn't share with John, or anyone else. It's not even something I really admitted to myself. After all, I was the one who's legs felt like they were wrapped with saran wrap after getting off the stationary bike, the one who can no longer do a simple cardio class because my legs get too tired. The one who occasionally gives in and cries in the shower because my body won't let me do those things anymore.

I didn't want to admit to anyone that maybe this was going to be too much for me. So I clung to Mom's concern. I let it drive my determination. And no matter how concerned Mom was, she still was behind me every step of the way. She has supported me through everything in my life. And I'm very very thankful that she's not only my mom, but also my friend.

Oh the irony...

2008-05-05T18:08:00.003-04:00

Actually, I'm not sure if this can be considered ironic or not. But, since this is my blog and therefore my little world, we're gonna say it is :)

Everyone everywhere is getting hit with the high price of gas. Many people are cutting down on extra trips and expenses because they're having problems affording gas and other necessaties. I'm no different when it comes to the cost of gas. But I finally put my money where my mouth is so to speak and started doing what I've been saying I'm going to do. Last Thursday I rode my bike to work. For me, it makes a ton of sense. I live less than 5 miles from work and I belong to the gym at work so I have access to the on site showers. It takes me only slightly longer to bike than it does to drive.

Not only am I so close to work, but I'm also very very centrally located to everything else. Within probably no more than 2 miles I have at least one of: Super Walmart, Sam's Club (ok, that's actually only a block away!), Costco, Target, Mall, bookstore (3 within the same distance!), Public and various other stores and restaurants. With everything so close, it really doesn't make sense to drive every place all the time. Except for the summer heat and the storms. So I'm working on getting some panniers for my bike so I can do my shopping by bike. And I'm trying to ride to work more on days I'm not working my part time job.

That's how I started out today actually. I got up, packed my work clothes, put on my bike clothes and headed out. And made it less than two miles. This is my irony part. When we did the MS 150 we were kinda laughing at all the uber bikers with the super skinny tires. Those tires tend to blow out a lot quicker and easier than our fatter tires. So neither of us had to have a tire replaced at all during the ride. This morning however, my front tire went flatter than a pancake. And I couldn't get the cap off of my valve stem to try and fill it up with air to at least ride home. I guess when my chain was being repaired and the guy put some air in my tires, the sealent glued the valve cap in place. So there went my good intentions for today.

Gifts

2008-04-29T06:52:00.003-04:00

I can finally post pictures of some recent gifts. Everything has been shipped and opened. I didn't want to show anything before then since the recipient reads this :-)

Sarah was one of my college roommates and a wonderful woman. She's getting married this fall to someone who seems like a perfect match for her. So their wedding present is this (all pictures are clickable):

Not only does she have the excitement of a wedding to prepare for, she is also expecting her first child with her fiance very shortly (within a month). So of course I had to send a gift for Tot. There is a little matching bunny hanging out on the blanket.

Tot will be joining big sister Paige. Growing up my Great Aunt Eleanor would always make sure the non-birthday child had a little something to open, usually it was cheese puffs or something like that. With this in mind, and knowing that there's going to be a lot of attention on Tot when she arrives, Paige got her own presents.

bike MS 150 - Day 2

2008-04-27T18:57:00.003-04:00

Welcome to day 2 of the bike MS 150!

Day 2 started almost as early as day 1. The four of us (John, me, Mom and Dad) stayed at the host hotel, The Rosen Center, in Orlando rather than make the sometimes hour drive back to Lakeland. Breakfast started at 5:30, so today we got to sleep in to 5. Yes, again this is AM, while it's still dark out. I did get a lot of sleep last night. I think I was asleep by 8:30, but try telling that to my body, it doesn't like mornings. Especially when it's still dark out.

John and I tossed around the idea of just hopping SAGs all the way to Cypress Gardens. And since I forgot to mention it, SAG is Support and Gear, it's the people driving the route to pass out water/gatorade, minor first aid supplies and to pick up riders when needed. Some riders were just wore out, some were a little sore and needed a little rest, some blew out their tires and needed a ride to the next stop and the bike mechanics. I have a hybrid bike, so unlike all those very skinny bike tire peoples, I had no tire problems at all.

While we were at breakfast Mom and Dad started talking to one of the other volunteers. She said her name was Shannon and that she had ridden twice previously. Her husband and a friend were riding while she was a SAG driver. As we were talking, her husband mentioned being dropped last year when they had stopped at a gas station to get more water because the last SAG had gone buy and not looked in the parking lot of the store to see if any bikes were there. This clicked something for me (forgive the side trip here).

Last year after the ride I was on the Weight Watcher messenger boards and was a little bored. I headed to the 30 year old board, since I'm soon going to be in that category, to see what people were saying. I noticed one poster had listed in her signature line almost completing the 2007 MS 150 ride. I had gotten in contact with her to get an idea of what the ride was like, what to expect (guess I should have asked about the course!), and she had also told me about being dropped on the ride. So when Shannon's husband mentioned this, I asked her if she had been on the WW message boards. Imagine our very pleasant surprise!

Anyway, John and I decided to head out and go as far as we could. When I woke up this morning the muscles behind my left knee were very sore, and the joint area on my right knee hurt. My legs other wise felt pretty good. That helped us decide to keep going. I pulled on my bike shorts (uh, bike store people, those of us with wider loads need wider padding!) and we headed to our bikes, and headed out with everyone. No, my butt wasn't happy to be back on my bike again so soon after so many miles. Like yesterday we did pretty good. Our average to the first two rest stops was 14.4 miles. I even passed people today! On my bike without being in a SAG. Although I did start to develop a hatred for the "Uber Bikers" (Shannon's very apt phrase), the bikers who average 20-25 miles an hour and who finished the century (100 mile ride) on Saturday in about 4, 4 1/2 hours!

When we got to rest stop two, my left knee was doing better, but my right was still hurting a little when I bent my knee. That was livable and no big deal. But getting off my bike I noticed that the muscles in my thighs felt a little weak. I walked around a little bit to try and keep those muscles loose, then joined the line at the porta-pottys. We did get a good laugh while waiting. One lady in front of John mentioned the handicap one being open since the indicator was green. So John went and opened the door, on some poor lady using the toilet! No, the lady in front of John was not aware someone was in there.

Heading back out, I made sure to tell John about my thigh muscles so he would know how I was doing, and we agreed to continue on. He said we'll take it slow and get your muscles warmed up again. As we continued on I actually started to slow down and it was getting harder to push on. At stop three, I got off my bike (after climbing a small hill biking into the rest stop!) and headed to the snack table. My legs were weaker this time and I don't know if I could have crossed the street back to my bike without support. I truly felt like my thighs were going to give out on me. So back onto the SAG wagon for me. John headed off into the hills (literally) on bike and I got to rest and relax in AC.

We got back together at the lunch stop and we both hopped Shannon's SAG to rest stop seven (final rest stop). John's back was very sore heading into the lunch, so we decided to bypass the rest of the ride. John did ride the last leg into Cypress Gardens and I hopped another SAG (this is starting to sound like bus or metro transfers). The driver let me out into the parking lot. He would have taken me to John's truck, but I told him that I said I was going to cross the finish line on my bike. I did end the tour riding about 2 blocks, my thigh muscles were still feeling very weak while on my bike. But I said if I was dragging my feet or if John was pushing me, I was going to cross that finish line on my bike.

I don't know if it was being so tired (remember, we were up while it was still dark out both days), or just the fact I managed to do as much as I did. But crossing that finish line was, and still is, a very emotional moment for me. I collected my medal while on my bike and with tears coming out of my eyes. Yes, I proved Mom right and my legs were not able to do the entire ride, but dammit, I did half of it. I did about 80 miles in all and I hauled my body, wide load and poor tired legs and all, up all those damn hills. I DID IT!

Day 1 I did about 53 miles and today I did about 26-27 miles. John did around 116 miles total. And while I did develope a slight hatred (ok, resentment?) towards the Uber Bikers, I have the utmost respect for everyone involved, from the organizers, to the bikers and all the way to the volunteers. Trust me, those volunteers worked just as hard as we bikers did. Check this poor tired volunteer out. I know that I've said I can pretty much sleep anywhere, but this person takes the cake, sleeping the way s/he is in the DJ tent with the speakers right there.

And I thank everyone for supporting me, both with financial support as a donation to the MS Society and emotional support. It means so much to me and Dad that so many believed I could do this. However, next year, John and I think we'll be one of the SAG vehicles instead. I think I'll stick to the MS walk, it's only 3 miles.

bike MS 150 - Day 1

2008-04-27T18:09:00.003-04:00

Honestly I don't know if I have enough to write about, but I'm going to split it into two posts anyway. After all, it is my blog :-) And just so you know, all images are clickable to larger sizes.

Anyone who has spent time with me knows I am not a morning person. Never have been and probably never will be. Mom is the same way. However, Mom and Dad had to be at Cypress Gardens by 5:45 AM at the latest to get the details of their volunteer assignment. So, John and I got our butts out of bed at the crack of dawn and headed with them. We were at Cypress Gardens by 5:30, and guess what?, it was still dark out.

After getting in, we roamed around until about 7am, that's when everyone loosely lined up to head out on the actual ride. There was a rumored 1600 people registered to ride! That's a lot of people! Keep that number in mind...

Send off was supposed to be at 7, but we didn't get going until about 7:10, by that time the natives were all getting restless. John and I did snap pictures of each other while waiting. We were both VIB's, that means we were able to raise the minimum $1000 needed for jerseys. Given all the hard work that went into getting the jerseys, we wore them proudly on Saturday.

After taking off I thought we were doing pretty well. We were averaging about 15 mph to start and things were going pretty well. However, I was surprised when I came up onto the first direction sign with the milage. The ride was split into the option of 50mph, 75 mph or on Saturday 100 mph. John and I had decided we'd do the 75 each day. Well, it really wasn't 50, 75 or 100 miles. It was 53, 83 or 103. They lied to us! But oh well, we're on the way, we're doing good. And if you're interested in the route, here ya go!

We got to the first rest stop pretty quickly, took a quick break and headed on to the next. Somewhere between the first and second or second and third rest stop (pretty sure second and third) I discovered someone else had lied. I'd really like to find the person (persons?) who said Florida is a flat state. I want to know where they went that it's flat and why we couldn't be there too! This is the first hill section that we encountered. The picture is from the top. The downhill that is seen in the distance, we went up the other side of that, down the hill and then I hauled my butt up the hill I'm standing at the top of. That was not fun, but it wasn't as bad as to come.

Rest stop three was the last stop before lunch. At this time it's around 11 or so, we'd gone roughly 30-something miles or so. So we head out to lunch and discover a ton more hills. Lots of hills. I felt like I was biking in Duluth! Except we did have some down portions, just not as much as I would have liked. Or maybe it just felt that way. I honestly don't know at this point. The trip from rest stop 3 to 4 was the longest one we had, it was roughly 14 1/2 miles, all of it hills. Leaving rest stop 3 I actually walked my bike up a hill because I needed to work a different set of muscles for a while.

On our way to lunch Mom and Dad called twice. The first time they said we didn't have too much farther to go (yeah, it goes quicker in a motor vehicle!) and that when we came around the bend a photographer would be there. We kept saying "oh, there's a bend, this must be it." The second time they called, Mom asked where we were. My very testy response was "On another damn hill!" And besides, we were in the middle of the flippin' state, how did I know where we were? We FINALLY got to lunch, about 12:30 I think. It meant a nice long trip down a hill (Oh thank god!). We were served pb&j's or Bubba Burgers. The burgers smelled really good, but by this time I didn't know if I was hungry or wanted to throw up (we've decided it was the gatorade doing that), so I stuck with the sandwiches.

Heading out of lunch I had a problem with my bike, my chain got jammed. A SAG driver had some lubricant, so we lubed up my chain and decided to SAG to the next rest stop looking for one of the bike mechanics. When we left in the truck I commented that "I finally get to pass people." Remember the 1600 people that were registered? Yeah, about 1/2 probably passed me. I passed no one except John. When we went into lunch maybe a dozen tops came in after us.

The mechanic looked at my chain (since it was "stuttering" when I switched gears) and found out my cable was loose. After getting that tightened, John headed to the next rest stop on bike and I caught a ride. We hung out at the next stop before trying to head to the final rest stop. We made it 8 miles I'm sorry to say before catching a ride to the end.

Dinner would have been much more enjoyable if the sound system was turned down. When the singer started to sing Mom and I actually had to shout to hear each other, and we were sitting right next to each other. So we didn't stay to listen to the speaker, which I was a bit disappointed at. But, it's probably a good thing, what do you guys think?

MS Ride

2008-04-25T10:25:00.003-04:00

This time tomorrow J and I will be well into our first day of the bike MS 150. It seems like just yesterday I was signing up for the ride and setting my goal of $1000. Now, about 6 months later, I've meet my goal and I'm trying to believe that the ride is actually tomorrow.

I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I'm nervous because I've never ridden this many miles at a time. I'm excited to join the thousands fighting to help get rid of MS. It's amazing how many people are willing to go to the lengths that they do to help me, Dad and thousands others like us. I know some people are out there just to ride, they enjoy the idea of doing a brisk 150 miles total. But they are there, and they did the necessary fundraising to be there. Scientists are making such huge strides these days and hopefully one day soon a cure will be found.

So that is what I'll be doing this weekend. To get ready for having to get up at the crack of dawn Saturday and Sunday, I took today and Monday off of work. I think it's going to be needed.

Mom and Dad (ok, right now it's pretty much just dad) have joined the blogging world! They are cruise travel agents for Cruises Inc and started The Cruisin' Fools to share their experiences at different vacation spots. It just got started so there isn't a lot on there yet. But if you're interested in reading a personalized account of some of the places the cruise ships go, check it out!

Survey Says...

2008-04-25T10:11:00.003-04:00

Thanks for thinking of me Court. She tagged me on the ABC's so here ya go guys.

Do you know your ABCs?

A: Attached or Single? Attached

B: Best Friend? John, Dru, Linda

C: Cake or Pie? Depends on what kind (flavor) is offered

D: Day of Choice? Saturday

E; Essential Item? Book or crochet items

F: Favorite Color? Purple

G: Gummy Bears or Worms? Gummy bears

H: Hometown? I was born in Redwood City, CA, but spent the most time to date in Fridley, MN

I: Indulgence? chocolate and peanut butter

J: January or July? Either, I'm in FL, depending on the year and Ma Nature, they can be pretty close to the same

K: Kids? Nah, the older I get, the less I want them

L: Life isn’t complete without? pets

M: Marriage date? Will let ya know if there is one

N: Number of brothers and sisters? 1 brother

O: Oranges or apples? both

P: Phobias and fears? Snakes!

Q: Quote? Don't have one

R: Reason to smile? Love, goofy pets

S: Season of choice? I really miss spring and fall

T: Tag three people? Dad and Mom, DuJane, Sarah

U: Unknown fact about me? I don't know

V: Vegetable? Corn or peas

W: Worst habit? I can be very anal about some things

X: X-ray or Ultrasound? X-ray I guess, I've never had an ultrasound

Y: Your favorite food? Cheese chicken! Or if we're going out, Giordano's, Oh so yummy!

Z: Zodiac sign? Scorpio

Ok Mom/Dad, DuJane and Sarah, you're up!

Co-Pay Issues for certain medications

2008-04-22T17:09:00.003-04:00

One of the blogs I read is I'm an MS Activist, for obvious reassons. I don't always read all of the posts, but there was one today that caught my attention. Today's post contained this article from The New York Times, an article that is important not just for those with MS, but anyone taking specialized medications for rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, hepatitis C and some cancers. Please please read the article.

I'm currently on Rebif, it's one of the most recent medications approved by the FDA to help slow the progression of MS. My medication costs my insurance company approximately $1900 a month. When I was first started on Rebif at my previous job my co-pay was $100 a month, or $250 for a 90 day supply. When I changed to my current company my co-pay dropped dramaticly. In 2007 I had a co-pay of $16.90, and insurance was paying $1700 something. This year due my co-pay is $30. I'm greatful that I'm not paying more, I know many many are. This is one of many reasons why this weekend I'm riding 150 miles to help fight MS.

What a way to live!

2008-04-20T18:33:00.002-04:00

My apartment complex is not the greatest. But, it's very affordable, I have my own washer and dryer and I don't have to pay water. It's also larger and cheaper than several of the other nicer complexs around, most of which don't provide a washer and dryer and the tenant pays water. So financially, I've got a pretty good deal going. Plus, move in was super easy! Mine is the only building with parking in the front and back, and since I'm on the ground floor, we literally backed the vehicles up to my patio door.

Another great thing about where I live, it's very centrally located. The mall is about 2 blocks away, I'm about 4-5 miles from work. I have 3 grocery stores within about 6 blocks, including Sam's club a block away. There's also several restuarants in the vicinity as well. I suppose technically I wouldn't need to worry about having a car to go places. Except for the rain and the unbelievable heat that we get in the summer.

Today wasn't one of those days. Today was absolutely beautiful! J asked if I wanted to go to dinner and we settled on Old Chicago, about 2 blocks away. We decided to enjoy the weather and walked to the restaurant. Within the last year or so Florida passed this wonderful bill that says the restaurant can decide if dogs will be allowed on their outside patios. Old Chicago happens to allow dogs. Since it's so nice out, a wonderful breeze to keep the heat away, we brough Ciera with and ate outside today. This was the first time I've done that and she was such a good girl.

One funny moment did happen. I had the loop of her leash under the table lag, J had gone inside and Ciera was sitting in the spot between our seats. Another couple decided to move from the high top (with no chairs) to the table by us. The guy looked at me and, while passing behind our seats to get to his, said "Don't worry, I have an affinity with dogs". Just as he said this, Ciera backed herself away from him by going under my chair. Guess he didn't have an affinity with C :)

A Few Pictures

2008-04-20T13:41:00.005-04:00

These are from my phone, which doesn't always take the best pictures. So please forgive me :)

Tasha and Boris are showing off their favorite positions

Tasha and Ciera showing that cats and dogs really do get along

Brian and Dad as smurfs :D This is one of those fun features on my phone camera

John and I were out riding one day and saw this guy under a dock.

I know this can't be seen all that well, but the blob on the right is a gator and all the 4 or so blogs to the left are turtles. I guess the gator really wasn't that hungry. This was taken while leaving work one day, and that is a pond our glassed in walkway passes.

In Memory

2008-04-18T16:45:00.004-04:00

Mom and Dad moved to Florida in 2000. They chose to live in a retirement community, someplace that would help keep Grandpa entertained. The location they decided on for their house was chock full of midwesterners. Their neighbors on one side were from Michigan; the couple across the street, Minnesota; the couple at the end of the street, Wisconsin; another couple at the end of the street, Minnesota (and I think she used to teach and taught one of my uncles); Grandpa's girlfriend, Michigan. There are many others from that area, including Pete and Yvonne on the other side of Mom and Dad. They were from Wisconsin.

With so many people from Minnesota and Wisconsin around, my parents quickly developed a new tradition. Every year when the Packers play the Vikings at home (Metrodome) they have a party, the border battle. Green and Gold usually outnumbers Purple and Gold, but there isn't a lack of good natured ribbing taking place. Pete and Yvonne have been at the Border Battle since it's inception. Sadly Pete won't be joining us this year.

Sunday, after an amazing 59 years married with Yvonne, Pete passed away. Within the last couple of years he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He had also recently fallen and broken his hip, requiring a stay in a nursing rehab facility. Sadly for us his time has come to an end. My family and I were blessed and very privilaged to be allowed to attend his funeral. At his request this was a private, family only event. While it was a very sad occasion, it was also probably one of the most lighthearted funerals I have ever attended. The priest was excellant and keeping just the right tone and reminding us of all the laughs Pete brought into our lives. So today's post is in memory of Pete.

It's Done!

2008-04-15T17:21:00.002-04:00

The auction was held Saturday April 5th, 2008. And while we didn't raise as much as I was hoping, we still did a very good job. The grand total raised was $808.00! Half of this will actually be matched by my part time job. So I guess that means the eventual total raised will be about $1200. Not too bad.

I think we had two major issues that contributed to not raising as much as we would have liked. One was location. Yes, it's true what they say in real estate. Location is very important. Plant City's bike fest is set up like a T, and we were the last space at the end of the left hand arm of the top of the T. Right next to us was a group from Gibsonton, the winter and retirement home of many many circus folks. So we had a gentleman swallowing a sword, amongst other little tricks. Most people would wander down, watch the show and then wander back.

The other issue we had was another fundraiser event, this one an auction and raffle to benefit breast cancer and cancer awareness. Now, I know cancer is another important disease to fight, it's something that has affected my family and the family of a very close friend of mine. But did they have to fight cancer on the same night I wanted to fight MS?

The ladies fighting cancer had put together around 30 baskets of different items and they raffled those off. They also had a live auction of various items. So even though we had some really cool items to offer, it seemed like an uphill battle.

But we did have a very good time and I'm very thankful for everyone who bid on an item or donated a little bit to us. And I thank everyone else for their support!

It's been awhile

2008-04-05T11:05:00.003-04:00

So I thought I'd do a quick post and run today. First off, my bike MS goal. I set my goal at $1000 for two reasons. One I thought it'd be fairly easy to get to that goal and two, that's the amount needed for a jersey. And I want a jersey. As of yesterday, my goal has been met!! One of my parents neighbors very generously donated a whopping $500!!!!! Yay!

Tonight is the silent auction. I'm hoping, wishing, praying and whatever else there is to whatever powers that be there are that it doesn't rain. Or at least only rains very very early on. Granted that doesn't usually stop the bikers, they're pretty dedicated. But no rain equals more people. And since I have some seriously awesome stuff, more people will equal more money raised. Most everything can be seen at my auction preview site. A couple things not added include: 2 adult tickets for the dinner train out of Ft. Myers, they usually do a mystery dinner; 2 tickets for lunch or brunch aboard the StarShip Yacht, they do meal cruises around Tampa Bay; 2 gift certificates for Partylite. I really think I'll be able to raise a very decent amount of money tonight, money that will go to the MS Society to help fight this stupid disease.

So that's my Saturday night. We need to be at Plant City by 3 to set up, so before heading there I need to run to Walmart and pick up some snacks for us and some thank you notes. That way all the notes can be writting for the winners in advance! Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Afghans

2008-03-22T12:06:00.003-04:00

These two afghans I made for myself. The cream colored one is currently my primary bedspread since I don't really need anything heavier at the moment. And if I do need added warmth, I just throw on a couple other blankets, including the whte and multi colored one.

"I see stupid people"

2008-03-21T20:04:00.001-04:00

Sadly my part time job is a mecca for prank calls. I’m never sure which I dread more, the men who decide to call us as a free replacement for the 900 numbers or the kids. Either way, we’re not allowed to hang up on the caller and, in the case of the kids, we have to treat the caller as if we’re speaking to an adult. When it comes to the kids, we can usually get them off the phone pretty quickly.

Our ordering system has a form of caller id and the phone number being called from always shows up. When we get a prank call usually reading the number will get the caller to hang up. With the kids it’s kinda funny even. “I show your number as 555-1212” and there’s an “oh crude” type of silence. But that doesn’t always work, so then we resort to asking for a credit card number and that will either get them to hang up right away, or at least pretty quickly.

There’s been several times when I would love to bust the prank calls, but I bite my tongue, and never more so than tonight. I had a boy call and ask for the item being shown, a shirt. I asked him what size he wanted and had to repeat several times the size range it was available in. Reading the phone number didn’t work, he gave me his “number” and asking for the credit card number didn’t work either. Kid just kept asking why it was needed and stating I must want the number pretty badly.

We went around regarding the credit card number a few times and then Kid asks if we ship to Canada. I told him we are not able to ship items to Canada. His next question was “Do you ship to Toronto?” I then informed him Toronto is in Canada so he asked if we ship to the United Kingdom. Upon hearing that we only ship within the United States, Kid says “that doesn’t make sense since the United Kingdom and United States are the same.” Now, I was thinking before this kid needs to pay more attention in school, but when he seemed surprised that Puerto Rico is part of the United States, that confirmed it.

Oy what a week!

2008-03-14T20:49:00.008-04:00

Thankfully not the whole week, just part of it. I live in a one bedroom apartment on the 1st floor. The apartment above me is also a one bedroom with 2 adults, 2 children and one on the way. Yeah, so not legal and yes, the owner of the complex has been made aware of this.

Wednesday I was getting ready for work when I hear drip....drip....drip. I go into the bathroom and my ceiling is leaking, along the repair line from last years leak. I put a travel mug under it and call maintenance. Then a leak starts coming down from the fan and I put my garbage can under that. Not five minutes later I have a steady stream from the vent. I put the empty litter container under that one. Within 20 minutes, it looked like this:

Within 45 minutes it was 3/4 full. The apartment above me had water coming up from their toilet and a full tub. It took the plumbers all day to find the clog and fix it. I ended up with, in addition to wet carpet in my bedroom closet:

Lovely isn't it? This morning included a call to animal control. An apartment in the building next to mine has this little dog (cocker spaniel size) that it leaves out on the balconey pretty much all day. In recent months the dog was out all night long and barking, it sounded like "hey let me in" barking. This dog was on the balconey yesterday afternoon when I took Ciera outside. I walked over and looked up at it and if it had stood still long enough I could have counted each rib. The poor dog also had spots of fur missing from it's tail and, if I remember right, it's hindquarters. Hopefully animal control was out today to investigate.

Sorry for depressing anyone. On the bright side, I got my doily from my partner at the Crochetville doily swap. It is very pretty and for some reason I didn't see the apples until this morning. I'm still trying to figure out how I missed them :-)

I have my partners complete, but I won't post pictures until she has received it, just in case :) Everyone have a good weekend, here's hoping for lots of wonderful weather all over!

P.S. I'm apparently having problems with photobucket this evening, the pictures either show up huge, or just show up as the code. So here ya go, direct from my computer!

It's Baseball Season Baby!

2008-03-09T11:09:00.002-04:00

I'm a Twins fan, always have been and always will be. I still remember my first game ever. Dad had won tickets to the Renaissance Festival from WCCO and that's where we were going on that bright day. We get into the car and head into Downtown Minneapolis. Now, I'm between 7 and 9 years old, so I thought that was where the Fest was held at. We park and start walking, passing the HHH Metrodome as we go. Mom says why don't we go see if they'll let us look around since you're such a big fan.

So up to the enterance we go and Mom asks the ticket taker if we could go in just to look around. Being equal measures shy and embarassed I hid my face in Mom's belly. The ticket guy says no, sorry he can't allow that. Mom then asks "Not even for these?" I look up and she is holding a beautiful pair of tickets for the game. We went in and had seats on the lower level underneath the old scoreboard. I had cotton candy and watched Kirby and Herby (Kent Hrbek) work their magic. We didn't stay for that entire game and just after we left a ball was hit to our seats. But it was a wonderful first game, the first of many.

Living in Florida I have 1 chance a year to see my boys play in the regular season. Thankfully Tampa has an American League team here so I can have that opportunity. This year is going to be a little strange. Three major players are no longer with the team. Torii Hunter had free agency and I don't think the Twins persued keeping him. He's a wonderful player, bringing to mind the way Kirby used to attack center field, but Torii has had a lot of injuries in recent years. So I can understand why the Twins were happy to let him go on his merry way. The Twins organization is huge on promoting through their farm system so I'm sure there were a few outfielders they've had their eye closely on in the last year or so.

The other two players to leave were pitchers, Carlos Silva and Johann Santana, both through trades. Personally I don't think the loss of Silva is that big of a deal. His pitching hasn't really been steller and has been more, to borrow and twist Randy Jackson's phrase, pitchy. Like some of the Idol singers Silva seemed to have more hit or miss days then days and seemed to lack consistency.

Santana on the other hand is a different story. It seems that by trading him the Twins have weakend their awesome (a few players not withstanding) bullpen. Santana was up for free agency in a year or two, so I have problems understanding why the Twins would get rid of someone who has been consistantly fabulous, amazing, wonderful and all of those adjectives. He was top or near top of the league. He hasn't had any major injuries, if he's been injured in recent times it's been very minor stuff. Yet he's gone.

There are now several open spots with the Twins. The other day while in the gym ESPN was showing the Twins/Yankees Spring Training Game. I got to watch the first inning and when the announcers were going over the Twins batting order, I was surprised to see I only recognized 2 names. Now I know this is a time for young players to try and convince the managers they deserve a spot in the big show, but it was still a little jolting. What was even more so was the interview the announcers had with Derek Jeter of the Yankees regarding their new pitcher. A guy who isn't even 19 years old! I remember how strange it was when I first realized I was older than the new players, but then it was only by a few years. Now it's 10 years! I had an I feel old moment. So here's to America's favorite pastime and GO TWINS!

Happy Saturday Morning

2008-03-08T11:32:00.002-05:00

I'm sitting here multitasking as usual. I'm working on the doily for my partner at the Crochetville doily swap. Since I don't have the pattern I'm currently using printed out, I have to sit here at my computer. I'm also scanning through a new blog, CraftyCarolinaGirl, mostly looking at the pictures of some pretty cool stuff. She does several differenty types of crafts and it's pretty cool seeing the different projects she has posted.

J and I watched a new tv show this week, New Amsterdam. I remember seeing the previews for this show (Tuesday was it's series premier) last summer with all the other previews. But I never saw it on the tv schedules for fall. I couldn't remember the name or channel it was supposed to be on, and since I don't have cable I knew it had to be on ABC, NBC, FOX or CW. During the superbowl I saw a commercial for the show and was excited to see it would start on March 4th.

If you haven't seen the show, Amsterdam is the main character, he is about 400 years old and cannot die until he finds his soulmate. I keep thinking of Highlander while watching, but there are differences. For one, the Highlander never had to find his true love. And there were several immortials, as far as I can tell there's only one with New Amsterdam. Amsterdam has apparently done several things during his long life, but is currently a NYPD detective. So each show has him solving a mystery while trying to find his true love, in New York ('cause there's just so few women for him to encounter there alone).

The first episode had him having a heart attack on a subway platform. He's convined his true love was on the platform and was even the doctor who tried to save him. J agrees with him. Me, I think it could have been any of the women he ran past while chasing down a guy to question. It could even be his new partner. After all, there has only been two episodes and previews for next week shows Amsterdam finding and meeting up with the beautiful doctor. That would be too easy for a show this new.

All right, back to doing laundry (since it's so perfectly windy I can let my clothes dry outside today!) and crocheting. I really need to finish the two I'm working on so I can start the next couple, all deadline projects. Oh, and a co-worker (V) is found out Thursday what her first baby is going to be, so another co-worker and I will be coordinating on baby gifts to make once V shares the news with us this coming week. Happy weekend everyone!

Life's Little Pleasures

2008-03-06T20:08:00.002-05:00

Sadly I am back to my part time job, I started back last night after roughly a week and a half off. So this evening I am working (no, not one of life's little pleasures), feeling the slight breeze coming in and listening to the rain. The forecast last night called for a cold front to move through and bring rain. This morning was cool, but pleasently so. It stayed pretty consistent through the afternoon and there was a very noticable drop in temperature when I left work this afternoon. And now the rain is here.

Listening to the rain makes me want to get some candles going, put on some soft music, curl up under a blanket in my fabulous chair that's by the door and read. I'm in a chair right now, just not the one I want to be in. And I can read, but I'm busy working a doily for my doily swap partner. Priorities here people, the doily has to be mailed out by the end of the month, and I have other deadlines as well. So finances being what they are and because I'm being responsible, I guess I'll just continue to dream about my book and chair. Unless the power goes out like it's threatening to do right now.

What is your life's little pleasure right now?

I officially do not miss winters!

2008-03-02T15:52:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone! J and I got home yesterday from visiting friends in Virginia. I can I definitely do not miss the winter season. Yesterday was nice and I was able to not have my jacket on between the restaurant and the car. Friday was better than Thursday, which was in the 30's and very very windy. J was laughing at me because I was cold, but he had to put a hat on!

We had a very good time. My friends live about 30 miles from downtown DC, so they dropped us off at the metro station Thursday and Friday so we could go play tourist. Thursday we went to the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Musuem. The Air and Space also had some of the items from the American History Musuem since that building is under renovation. J also got to see the outside of the Library of Congress, plus the lobby area. We got there 15 minutes after they closed, but I can tell you the lobby area is beautiful!

Friday we walked from the metro station to the Washinton Monument, around the Reflecting pool to the Lincoln Memorial and then back up to the Holocast Museum. We did A LOT of walking those two days! The Holocaust Musuem was the one I wanted to do since it wasn't there when I did the class trip in 8th grade. J calls it depressing, which in a way it is. But it's also very poignant and heartbreaking. The biggest issue I had was there was too much reading, a problem when there are a bunch of people moving through an area. The pictures all had small plaques describing what they were and the only way those could be read was up close. Other than that, the museum was amazingly well done. It's one of the quietest I've ever been in. People didn't feel right speaking in normal tones, so there were a lot of whispers and hushed tones. Most people had rubber soled shoes on and it was very jarring when a couple went through and they were not in rubber soles shoes.

The museum has a lot of actual articles from the victims of the camps, several uniforms and personal objects. There were even actual pieces from some of the ghettos and camps, cobblestones from Warsaw and bunks from Auschwitz just to name a couple. But what really got me was seeing the shoes. People entering the camps had to give up their shoes and one of the displays was just shoe upon shoe upon shoe. It was also heartbreaking to read and hear about how the different countries first responded to the rising problem.

Ok, I'm going to stop depressing everyone. We did have a very good time and are very thankful to our friends for letting us crash on their guest bed. We got an amazing cost for air up to DC, $129 round trip, so going back again won't break the bank! Hopefully we'll have a much better landing the next time we head up there. For once the approach was so bumpy that my stomach felt rocky. And when we landed, we were tilted to the right, the left side tires were not on the ground at the same time as the right. But we made it safely and had a very good short vacation! And pictures can be seen at Photobucket.

MS Training Ride

2008-02-23T20:01:00.003-05:00

Our local MS Society chapter held the first training ride for the Tampa area today. So J and I joined in since we really do need to start doing longer rides. The ride took place at the Suncoast Parkway trail and the email I received said we had the choice of 40, 45 or 55 miles. When we got there (at 10 to 8 this morning!) it turned out the 40 mile one was changed to 32. Which was ok, we had previously only done 28 miles.

The coordinators said heading out should be pretty good, we were to have a tailwind. But coming back they were anticipating rain. So J and I join the slow riders for the 32 miles and head out. We went 10 (from State Road 54 to State Road 52), took a short break, then headed back 6 miles to Jay Starkey Wilderness Park. Our next rest was at the restrooms in the park, at mile 22 (we did a very short rest just before entering the park). Heading back out of the park it started to rain. It was coming down steady, not really heavy thankfully. However I decided I don't like riding in the rain. I couldn't see, I had to wear sunglasses because of my contacts. And the rain on my bare arms and legs started feeling a little too pricky.

By the time we completed the ride we were soaked through. I took my shoes off in the parking lot because it truly felt like I had a small pond in each toe. Although my shoes gained water weight (they were retaining water, is there a water pill for that?) not all that much water came out. I think it's going to take a few days for them to dry. J carries an older blanket in his truck and we sat on it for the drive home. The blanket was just to keep the dirt that had kicked up onto us off of the seats. When he left my place about 5 hours after getting back, his seats were still very wet.

We enjoyed the ride overall. It was nice riding with a group of people and surprisingly the headwinds were a little easier for me because of the group. I'm very proud to say that the "slow riders" was the only group of the 3 to actually complete their intended milage. The other two groups wimped out because of the gray clouds. We did our 32.something miles in about 2 hours 40 minutes and I honestly felt like I could continue riding for awhile at the end. So bring on the 150 miles!

Oh, and I have to mention the two animals we saw! The first one had the tail of a squirrel, but the face/body of I don't know what! Some of the group members were thinking it looked like a lemur. The second was a white tailed doe as it bounded across the trail just feet in front of the group leaders. I didn't bring my camera, and I'm glad I left it home because of the rain, so I sadly have no pictures. There was no way I could have taken pictures of the deer anyway, it was in too much of a hurry to get away from us :-)

Things to make you go Hmmm!

2008-02-17T22:11:00.008-05:00

Well, only one is. But that's coming up. First is two videos that I took a few weeks ago and I am just now getting around to getting them off of my camera card. Again, there is no sound (my birthday is in November if anyone wants to get me a digital camcorder, or at least a camera with sound as part of the camcorder option), but for this it really isn't needed. As can be seen it was laundry day. I was standing in my ki (that would be kitchen if there was more to it), turned around and this is what I saw.

Tampa has an event each year called Gasparilla. The events I'm aware of are the Invasion of Tampa Bay (I'm only aware that it takes place, no idea what it is), the Kids Parade, an all ages parade on a Saturday afternoon, the Knight Parade - the parades resemble Mardi Gras but with pirates - and the running events. The running events involve a 5k and 15k on one day and a half and full marathon the next day. J signed up for the 5k and I was very proud of him when he finished. Especially since my lazy butt was sitting on the bleachers.

Now, the thing that made me go Hmmm. I was heading to my parents today and saw a bumber sticker that caused a random thought. No offense is meant to anyone by this. The bumper sticker said "We Vote for Pro Life." Now, nobody can escape that this is an election year and the war is a very very hot topic. Also, I don't hide the fact I am pro-choice because I don't believe the government should be telling women what to do with their bodies. I also have huge concerns about what would happen to the young girls and women of our country should abortion be made illegal and what steps those women and girls would then decide to take.

That being said, when I saw the bumper sticker it occurred to me that in general those of the leaders who are pro-life are also the very same leaders advocating for a continued stay in the war that has supposedly ended. Which means more men and women going overseas to possibly come home in a wooden box. And if they don't come home in a wooden box, for their safety they may be sending someone else's loved one home in a wooden box. Given the amount of death that has occurred as a result of this war, my random thought was that this doesn't seem very pro-life.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

2008-02-16T10:15:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a good Valentine's Day. I was stuck working that night, so J and I saw each other very briefly. It didn't bother me that I was working since I've never really been all that big on Valentine's Day, J isn't either which is nice. We kept things very low key, got each other a card. He got me a Peanut Butter Twix (since I had been craving one lately) and I got him a smallish Reese's heart and a little picture frame. Nothing major, nothing break the bank expensive. Our anniversary is coming up at the end of this month and that to me is more of a celebration.

It's sometimes hard to believe we've been together two years already. On one hand the time seems to have flown by at the speed of light. On the other hand, because we are so comfortable with each other (in a good way, I promise!) it feels like it's been longer. I still thank my lucky stars everyday for him. And I'm very thankful to L for thinking he'd be a great match for me. So L, thank you so very much from the bottom of my heart :)

I haven't been up to a whole lot of anything exciting. I've been busy crocheting as usual. I three current projects going, one of which is a very pretty doily. I signed up for the doily swap at Crochetville and I might give this to my swap partner. It depends on what s/he requests for colors and shapes. And as usual I will post pictures once I am able to.

I've also been busy sending out letters and making contacts for the auction. I stopped at my local Best Buy yesterday and spoke with the manager on duty. I am very excited to say that from the words he used and the impression I got, I should be able to get something from them to auction off. He asked what I wanted and I told him "I'll be honest, I would love to have a tv or digital camera. It doesn't have to be a high end expensive item either. But, I'll take what I can get." I don't want to be greedy after all ;) I received confirmation regarding another item the other day too. Mom works for the travel company for Great Escapes Vacation Club and they donated a certificate regarding one of their condos in the area. This is good for a week and has a value of up to $1500! I am really thrilled that they were so generous in doing this. I'll get the paperwork tomorrow so I'll be able to see what they are defining as area. As J pointed out since this event is taking place at a bike (motorcycle) fest, if GEVC counts Daytona as an area then this certificate will be a huge hit!

I'm still hustling my butt off to get donations. I've been very excited about the responses I've received and the generosity shown. If any of you knows anyone who would be willing to donate a service or product please let me know or send them to my Silent Auction website. Hugs and Kisses to all! I need to get ready for the day so that J and I can go find me some nice padded bike shorts. I tried on a pair recently to see what size I would need and they felt a little like wearing a diaper. However, if it'll keep my butt nice and cushioned for those 150 miles, I'll take it! Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Sea Snail!

2008-02-05T19:14:00.000-05:00

I found Crochetville a few months ago and I love this site! The creativity of everyone is mind blowing! I recently got to test a pattern by one of the designers, KirstieMN and I want to show everyone. Please forgive the lips, they look a little funky. The facial features were left up to the crocheter, and I'm still working on how to make these look good. So here's Lucy the Sea Snail.

Found!

2008-02-01T06:59:00.000-05:00

Would whoever lost this junk that sits in the chest please come claim it? I seemed to have found your cold and while I appreciate the sentiment of sharing, I really don't need it. I woke up last Saturday to occasional coughing, the kind that you just know means something is sitting in the chest. It was very occasional, to point I thought it had gone. At least until early afternoon yesterday. The previous coughing was just a teaser. Within the last 8 - 12 hours it has developed and my chest and throat are sore from coughing. So, again, would whoever lost their cold please please come retrieve it! Thanks!

It's your special day!

2008-01-21T11:05:00.000-05:00

Two posts in one day. But I had to share this picture that was posted on Dana's myspace blog

Random Musings (or things to make you go hmmm)

2008-01-21T10:41:00.000-05:00

After posting my last entry, I had an idea of something to write. Sadly I wasn't anywhere near my computer, so I completely forgot what it was. That happens somedays (ok, most days :) )

I was recently commenting to J about my ability to hold crochet hooks. The hooks that I regularly use for afghans are 5-5.55 mm and the one I use for thread is 1.8 mm. Those are pretty small. It somewhat amazes me that I have no problems holding my crochet hooks, yet I now have to use "fat" pens to write with. The conclusion: it's how I hold my crochet hooks. Which is a relief, I'm not ready to put them down yet, there's still too much for me to do :)

The Giants beat the Packers!!!! This is fabulous for me since I'm a Vikings fan. Now, they just need to beat the Pats at the Superbowl. That or something needs to happen to make Randy Moss ineligible to a) play and b) not receive a ring if his team does. I say this because of the comments he made when traded to Oakland, about how he is now playing for a team that can win the Superbowl.

That's it for random musings, but let me leave you with two new pictures.

I made this afghan to auction off on April 5th.

This afghan was made using leftover purple from the auction 'ghan, and the blue and black from J's. This is the one we've been calling The Bruise.

Quick Update

2008-01-17T20:37:00.000-05:00

Courtenay sent me a message complaining I haven't posted anything lately. So, let me give you a quick update on what's been going on in my life lately.

Working two jobs
Working two jobs still
Oh yeah, still working two jobs
Buying more yarn to support my addiction
Sarasota for a bike thing
Plant City's Bike Fest
Gibtown's yearly bike thing
Soliciting for and getting items for auction
Finishing the bruise afghan
Starting, taking apart and re-starting a doily
Starting an afghan
Starting another afghan
Sleeping!

I'm sure I've missed a few things here and there. But that's the main highlight of what's been happening lately :-) I do have to share a huge donation that has been offered for the auction.

I have been offered a set of 4 tickets to an upcoming Tampa Bay Bucs 2008 home game! The person who offered these is a season ticket holder and once the schedule is out, I get to choose which game to put in the auction. I'm really excited about these and I hope that they raise a lot of money for the National MS Society! Oh, and I would greatly appreciate if those reading this could do me a favor. Could you please share the silent auction preview site with those you know living in Florida? It's www.freewebs.com/ridetoerasems/ I thank you!

Rules for Being a Customer

2008-01-04T23:27:00.000-05:00

As most people know, I work a part time job in a call sales call center. I don't do outbound calls, I receive them and place the order the customer wants. In past years the standard has been "the customer is always right", something that most people know isn't completely true. So, to help people be better customers and better, more considerate people, here's some rules to consider. And please feel free to add any of your own.

1) When you want to order something, know EXACTLY what you want to order. Calling and saying "I want the kit that was on this afternoon that had the three bottles" but you don't know what time it was on, what the name of the product or brand is doesn't help you get the item you want. I'm sorry, my crystal ball is broken and "outlook does not look good" on repairs.

2) The telephone number to call is NOT going to change in the next 5 minutes. Your item will. Get the item information written down first, then get the number and call.

3) There are 50 states that we sell items to. Each state has their own sales tax laws. Not only do tax laws very from state to state, but sometimes counties and/or cities decide they need to get into the mix. Telling me what state you live does not mean I can tell you what your tax is going to be. Especially when states vary what can and cannot be taxed in regards to the items AND shipping costs. All the tax information is loaded into the order system and will calculations will be finalized at the summary screen.

4) Do not ask me what your total cost is/will be when you have just given me the item number or are just creating a customer account. That information has not yet been calculated. And when you are told "I will be happy to tell you that information just as soon as I have it", that means you will be told as soon as everything is calculated. I'm sorry, I did not create the ordering program. If I had, I would have tried to figure out a way to have a running total of all taxable items. Since I didn't and I don't, please do not continously ask me what the total is.

5) Don't forget about sales tax. Just because an item has free shipping, does not mean it will still be the same price that you see on the screen.

6) PAY ATTENTION TO ME! Hmm, maybe this should be number one. I know that the food in the restuarant commercial looks very tasty, or your attention is caught by the trailer for a new movie. I promise, if you pay attention to me and what I'm asking you, you can get back to your commercials or whatever else that much sooner. And turn down your tv. I understand you may need the volume up higher to hear your show, but that also means I have to talk louder so you can hear me. So please, turn it down for 2 minutes. And remember, you called me. You want to buy an item from me. Which leads to 7.

7) You called me. I am not the one wasting your time. I am trying to do what I am supposed to do in the process of ordering something for you. If you don't have time to be calling and answering the questions I am required to ask, then write down the item number and/or name and call back! Don't continually interrupt, give me more than I need and complain about how you're in a hurry.

8) Shut up! I don't need to know anything other than what I'm asking you. That means if you're ordering health items, I don't need to know why you think this item will help you and the problems you've been having. Especially when you keep telling me you're in a hurry. So if you answer the questions I'm asking you, you'll get to go back to whatever or take off for wherever that much sooner.

9) Let me ask my questions and proceed as I need to. I promise, I will tell you how much the total is, when you'll get it and what your payment amounts will be. That's all at the summary. If I ask you something and you don't answer, I still have to ask again and again until you answer what I asked.

10) Read Emily Post or Ms. Manners. And start remembering the lessons your parents taught on regarding interrupting. Not only is it rude, but it may mean I miss the answer to the question. That happens because as I'm asking, you decide to answer. And because I'm still talking and you start, I don't hear what you're telling me. That could be a bad thing, especially if I'm obtaining pertinent information. Plus, it's just rude.

There, I think that's all for now. I'm pretty sure I have a few others floating around, but they've decided to hide behind other neurons for now. So, please feel free to share any other rules or vents you may have. And have a good night everyone.

Correction Needed

2008-01-02T21:27:00.000-05:00

I need to make a correction to a recent post. I was talking about Christmas and the wonderful food mom makes. Dad is now a little upset because I praised Mom's cooking and didn't mention him at all. See, growing up Dad was always gone from the house for work before we ever got up, and therefore was home before mom. Mom always called when she left work, Dad would start or ramp up the cooking and shortly after Mom walked in the door, we were eating. Dad is also a good cook. Mom, however, through the years has been the primary creator of our holiday dinners with Dad mostly doing the meat.

As the years passed, the holiday dinner preperation has become a team effort between my parents. So, to correct my previous post, it was Mom and Dad's fabulous foods that we had. Love you Daddy! :)

"It's the End of the World as we Know It"

2007-12-31T06:51:00.000-05:00

Well folks, that's it. It's done. Football season is over. And my beloved Vikings are going to be sitting at home watching the post-season with everyone else. They came so close and as disappointing as it was to know they lost, they did a lot better than expected two months ago. So hopefully that means they'll be able to build on this and make it into the play offs next year. I do have to say, should they make it to the Super Bowl, we will be throwing one hell of a party!

It's too late to think of a title

2007-12-28T23:11:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I had the best kind, Mom's fabulous foods and the wonderful company of family. The non-blood related people, they're family too. J got me a beautiful pair of tanzanite earrings, which reminded me I still need to find a jeweler to reset my other pair. He also got me food storage set. I'm still trying to figure out where I'm going to fit everything in my Ki. I can't even call the space a kitchen, it's just not possible, one of these days I'll have to take a picture to add. Mom and Dad gave me a wonderful new bathrobe, among other things. The only problem with the robe, it's a very warm, soft, fuzzy fabric. And I live in FL. On the plus side, it's supposed to cool down next week, so maybe I'll get to use it then :)

On the crafting front I've still been busy. I finished the afghan for the silent auction. I didn't have any other projects planned, but I was trying to think of what to do with all the blue yarn I have left from J's afghan. If you remember, I bought 5 skeins the day after Thanksgiving as a precaution. Since I had run out of the blue and couldn't find the brand I was using, the Red Heart was a very very very close match, maybe a slight shade off. So as a pre-caution, I bought 5 of them, and didn't even use one to complete the afghan. I also have black left from it and the regular deep purple from the auction blanket. Those three colors are now in my current afghan project. They actually look very nice together, now, I just need to figure out what to do with it. I have an idea, but we'll see.

I'm adding to my addiction too. Oh wait, that was a yarn addiction. So maybe my new discoveries are enabling my yarn addiction. You be the judge. I've joined the forum at Crochetville and I love seeing all the fabulous completed projects. Today I got my invite to Ravelry and I really don't even know where to start. I've got lots to keep me busy and help the nights I work go by faster.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas

2007-12-24T11:59:00.000-05:00

Well, day before anyway. I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! However you spend Christmas, enjoy the day and those you are with.

J told me Saturday that since we have no plans tonight, we are going to a get together some friends of his are hosting. Since it's Christmas, I felt that a small hostess gift was needed. So I made the hotpads I got from Annie's Attic. Annie's Attic provides a free crochet pattern daily and these lightbulb hotpads were featured a few days ago. Of course, I may have been just looking for a reason to make them :-)

I really like how these turned out, except the green one is somehow bigger than the red. But oh well. It can be used for bigger items. It can kinda be seen, the green has silver thread mixed in and the red has gold.

Too funny not to share

2007-12-22T13:40:00.000-05:00

I got this forwarded to me today and I have to share it. I have sincere empathy for those taking the calls 'cause I know I've gotten some fun ones too. Just not quite this funny.

More Craftiness

2007-12-21T23:38:00.000-05:00

Picture this: I'm sitting at home working (I have a part time job taking inbound sales calls, thankfully the company offers this at home!) and as I am taking calls I'm working on the afghan I plan to auction in April. Suddenly, I get the bright idea that I want to give snowflakes to some of my co-workers. But hey, it's all good because I already have seven done. I only need about 20 total and I have about a week and a half to do them. And they don't take me long. As long as people aren't calling and throwing off my counting.

So, I got out my crochet thread, the little crochet hook (the one that always makes the one I normally work with feel huge after) and I started working. Oh yeah, and I also decided they needed to be sparkly and that would be done by adding beads. Have I mentioned that I've never done bead crochet before? It really wasn't that difficult.

Then, I got the bright idea that one co-worker wasn't going to get a snowflake. Instead, since this co-worker has had some stress recently, I thought I would make her something else. I found a pattern for a crochet reindeer at LionBrand. And I've spent a good portion of this week working on that. And, it's finally done! So I can go back to the 5 1/2 hour afghan that's already been longer than 5 1/2 hours. So, for your viewing pleasure, here is the reindeer and snowflakes.

I do have to say, I am very please with myself regarding the reindeer. It's the first crochet animal I've done and I think it turned out well. The biggest issue I had was attaching the pieces.

Sweeny Todd- a review with no spoilers

2007-12-12T17:05:00.000-05:00

Last night J, my parents and I went to see Sweeny Todd starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman and Timothy Spall. I recommend seeing this movie. Overall, I really liked this movie. That said, it was just dark enough that I wouldn't want to buy the movie. But it was good. The actors were all amazing and were perfectly cast. Tim Burton did a fabulous job directing this. The contrasts between the happy times and sad times were beautifully done. The singing was done similar to Chicago, used as part of the diaglogue. The only complaint I really had regarding the singing was the character Joanna. She was a soprano (at least, to my tone deaf ears she was) and Timothy Burton (or whoever) had her in the higher pitches for most of her song.

On a side note, thanks to the Internet Movie Data Base, I currently am remembering Timothy Spall is the actor and I don't have to refer to him as the actor who played Peter Pettigrew in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. However, I think going forward I will never be able to stop picturing him as a rat.

I've Been a Very Busy Bee

2007-12-08T22:20:00.000-05:00

Ok, make that a busy crafty critter! I finally finished J's blanket. It's only been in the works for the last 9 months or more. But in between that, I had a baby blanket come up. And a hat. And I decided I wanted a covering for my toilet tank and I wanted to make it so it would semi-match the shower curtain. And I had to finish J's blanket as I was just itching to start my new project, a crochet afghan with a nice big hook. This one will be available to bid on and will hopefully be done very quickly. Since I've been so busy, I thought I'd share the fruits (ok, yarns) of my labor with everyone.

1st view of J's afghan.

This has a better view of the edging. J says it looks to him like confetti and was done with all three colors together.

The covering I made for my toilet tank. My shower curtain is a navy blue with an suns, moons and stars in an antique gold type color.

Someone I know was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She was told that the type she had was a rare type, but if one is going to get this nasty disease, the kind she had was the best type to get. As a precaution, she is going through chemo-therapy. She's not sure if her hair will fall out or not, so I thought I would make her a hat just in case. This is the first time I've ever made one, and it turned out pretty good.

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful

2007-12-06T17:39:00.000-05:00

But the Fire is so Delightful. Oh wait, that's not the weather, at least not here. And the only fire that could be a possibility for me is from my candles. The weather is actually very nice right now. It's cooled down, which means people don't laugh at me for being stubborn and having my AC off when it's 80 out. In my defense, the humidity has been lower, so it hasn't really been that bad having the AC off either. The nights have gotten cooler, the other morning I woke up to high 40's.

While I've been enjoying the weather, I've also been very very busy. Working two jobs and trying to fit sleep in does tend to do that to a person. But in between all of that, I've also managed to set up a website for my silent auction. This site is called Ride to Erase MS and will allow people to preview items that will be available for bidding on. Right now there's no items, I'm sad to say. But I'm working on it! I started a crochet blanket that I'm going to auction off and will hopefully have that finished soon since I'm using one of my awesome new, huge hooks.

I think the best news about that right now, though, comes from Tuesday's hockey game. My work often offers subsidized tickets to events and a few months ago we were offered tickets to 2 Tampa Bay Lightning games for less than the face value of 1 of those games. This past Tuesday was the second game and, since the tickets were from work, it's a good chance that each of the parties in our section contained at least one person from my company. Now, since my company has many many people on payroll for this campus alone, I think the chances that I actually know the person are less than .01 percent. Anyway, during one of the intermissions, J happened to look up and noticed a staff member on the catwalk trying to get someone's attention. Turned out the person he was trying to get to notice him was a lady sitting in the row in front of us. She said that was her son, and our conversation evolved. As part of my begging and pleading for auction items, I have a letter all printed out for the Lightning, I just haven't sent it yet. Even better, this woman's son works on the entertainment crew and she passed my letter onto him. He's going to see what he can do to hook me up. I just love connections!

Allright poppets, I'm going to stop rambling now while I can still make sense. I think J may have shared his cold with me. But I'm not sure since it doesn't feel like a cold and I have no idea what it does feel like except maybe a little bit of everything. I've already slept two hours this afternoon and I need to eat something and make a phone call so I can go back to sleep. Enjoy your weather wherever you are!

Location? Check!

2007-11-27T23:16:00.000-05:00

As part of my fundraising efforts for the MS150 Bike Ride, I decided to do a silent auction. J, having owned a motorcycle for 5 or so years and having several friends that are bikers, suggested having it at Plant City's Bike Fest. Plant City does this the first Saturday of every month. They usually have a bike contest, different vendors and a band. The people watching is amazing too!

So anyway, J had this brillant idea to have it at Plant City's Bike Fest. I got the okay from the chamber president today and I can officially start collection auction items. I've never planned a silent auction before, but I'm very excited to be doing this. I'm hoping this will help to raise lots of money for the MS Society!

I may or may not have an addiction...

2007-11-23T19:16:00.000-05:00

to yarn. Is it my fault I could get such a good deal on them today? After all, they come in such pretty colors and such soft textures. Who could resist? And it is all my fault since I wasn't paying enough attention to what I had availible and I ran out of the blue I was using right smack in the middle of a section on J's blanket. So of course, since I had coupons for Joanne, I had to go get more blue today. It bothered me that I didn't pay attention and I ran out.

So off to Joanne I went, around 11 this morning. Another problem that I had, I didn't keep the wrapping for the last batch I bought, so I couldn't remember what brand it was. Although I was fairly certain it was Caron since I remember it being in clear plastic (not all yarns are in plastic, most usually have paper around the middle with the name and other information), I knew it was the pound size and I frequently see those in Caron brand. If it was, Joann no longer carries that. But I was able to find a very very close match. If it's not an exact match, it's pretty dang close! But while I was at Joanne, I also picked up the yarn for my next project, 2 new crochet hooks and a garland of poinsettas for the wall candle holder. Here's my Joanne's foray:

This afternoon J and I went to see Enchanted (very cute, btw) and stopped at Michael's before the movie. Wednesday I stopped there after work to pick up an item and noticed a clearance bin of novelty yarns for $1 each. These are the yarns that look like fur or feathers and usually start at $5. I was kicking myself for not getting them, even though I have no idea what/how I would use them. But they were $1!!! So, as I said, J and I stopped so I could do some more shopping for yarn. I still have no idea what I'm going to do with them. But they were soooo pretty! And only $1!!!! So here's the batch I got from Michaels:

So let's recap, shall we.

Joanne's:

9 skeins of yarn

2 crochet hooks

1 poinsetta garland

Michaels:

30 skeins (rolls?) novelty yarn

Yep, I'd have to say I did pretty darn good. Now, I just have to figure out what to do with all those pretty fuzzy ones! Any ideas?

American Gangster - the movie

2007-11-15T17:15:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to do a review of this movie for the few people who read ;-) Fair warning, if you don't want any information on this movie other than it was good, then don't read further.

Last chance....

Are you still here? Okay. J and I met up with a friend of his and her fiancee to see this movie last Sunday. The movie is based on the true life story of Frank Lucas, a narcotics dealer located in New York in the late 60's and early to mid 70's. Frank was the driver and collector gangster Bumpy Something-or- other for 15 years leading up to Bumpy's death of a heart attack of all things. The movie opens with Frank making a collection which involves shooting something. It was a rather gory and surprising opening to a movie. In fact, the first several minutes (10, 15, 30?) was along this same vein. But it was also educational in a way. It was rather surprising to see Frank go to the heroine re-packager (I'm really not sure what to call her) and all the little female worker bees were either in their underwear or naked. Apparently that was so they wouldn't steal any of the merchandise.

Denzel Washington was fabulous in this role. It's a little strange to see him playing the part of the bad guy, as it's not something seen all that often with him. As I was watching, it struck me how introspective he made his character. You could see him watching and not missing a single detail of what went on around him and filing it away for later use.

I haven't really seen much with Russell Crowe, so I was pleasently surprised at his portrayal of the detective. It was very well executed and very believable. My favorite character portrayal, however, had to have been done by Cuba Gooding Jr. He played another drug dealer and played him in a flamboyent, pimp style. Sadly, there wasn't enough of him in the movie.

Over all I thought this movie was very well done. Yes there were several moments where I hid my eyes because of the violence, but given the subject of the movie, I can understand why it was needed. As I was watching, I kept thinking of the documentary Urban Cowboys which chronicles the rise of the drug business in Miami during the same time period. It's amazing the different ways people manage to get drugs into the country, something that is still happening today. I do recommend this movie, but keep in mind, it's not for the faint of heart or stomach.

I love long weekends!

2007-11-10T10:23:00.000-05:00

W0rking for a bank, I get Monday off in observance of my birthday. Okay, it's not for my birthday, I'm not that special. It's the observance of Veteran's Day. And because I still have lots of time off, I need to use it or lose it. So I took Friday off for a nice long four day weekend.

My plan was sleep in, get up and go for a bike ride which would eventually end up at work. I can hear you all now. Why work? Because that's where the gym I joined is at, right in the middle of work. And the gym found a new Yoga instructer, so Friday was to be the first day of the new Yoga class since the middle of September. I've missed Yoga. I love how it stretches all of my muscles and how some days I even have soreness in some surprising muscles, like the day we did a backwards arm raise and the muscles between my shoulder blades were very sore.

After waking up, I returned mom's phone call and found she needed a ride to her doctor appointment. I can't even remember all the times she has scrapped her plans or gone into work on little to no sleep because of medical situations, so without hesitation I headed to mom and dad's. One doctor appointment and 3-4 hours in the ER later, mom is sent home the official diagnosis of "I'm very very sure it's chest wall pain" which can encompass anything. On the plus side, all of the tests came back negative, so I guess we can live with a diagnosis of chest wall pain and a promise that it'll go away in a few weeks.

After putting mom into bed and waiting for dad to get her prescription's filled, I headed home as I needed to work my part time job at 7. Now, let me back up and provide some background information to my few readers before I continue. I bought my car in 2003, at the time it was technically a year old. Recently my car has decided it wants to very roughly idle while stopped and in gear. So roughly that I would physically be moved as well. J, after riding and contemplating, was thinking it's a vacuum leak and the biggest problem with that is actually locating where the leak is. Unfortunatly, that's not something he has had time to do just yet.

Last night I was heading home on the freeway a good hour plus before I had to log in for work. I didn't get very far when my Service Engine Soon light came on. Now, never having had this light come on before, I had a mild panic and called J. Which didn't do a whole lot of good since he was currently in a work truck heading to Riveria Beach with a bunch of co-workers and he was at least an hour away. But my hope was that if I could describe the clicking sound I was hearing (which I still can't and still have no idea where it was coming from) he could let me know if my car was safe to continue home or not. I pulled off the freeway and J called a friend of his who knows cars and used to work for his dad's auto shop. S came and plugged in a little computer, 5 minutes later he was telling me the problem is something called an EGR (Dad says it's part of the emissions system), could cost me around $130 and was totally safe to drive home. Not only that, but fixing the EGR will most likely take care of the rough idle. I was very relieved to know it wasn't something that would cost many many $$$'s.

It was how cold?

2007-11-08T17:48:00.000-05:00

I want to share a couple of weather related things that made me chuckle this past week. First off, friends and family tease me for getting cold so easily, especially since I lived roughly 22 years in Minnesota (or as I refer to it, the Arctic Circle). But I have always gotten cold easily and never liked the cold. That being said, here's what made me chuckle.

First, NBC's Today Show had three anchors spend time at the Ends of the Earth, one being at the North Pole (okay, Greenland), one at the equater and the third at the Antarctica. The anchor at the North Pole earlier this week was stating it's cold there, at the time about 10 degrees farenhiet. The Antarctic anchor yesterday or today was saying the weather there is about thirty below zero farenheit. And my reaction to both of them? Is that it? It's only that cold? Psshhawww, that ain't nuttin'!

My second observation was driving into work this morning. Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Depression whatever Noel was good for one thing around here, it lowered our humidity drastically. The weather has been so nice that the AC got turned off and windows are open! Taking Ciera out this morning, I was chilled and hugging my arms. But I decided not to grab a jacket to go to work as my car was right outside my apartment building and the walk into work from the parking garage isn't all that long, maybe a block if that. While on the drive in this morning, the dj's stated the weather was getting a little cooler rather than warming at that point and the temp was 47. My thought was hmmm, maybe I should have brought a jacket. Going into the building at work, I noticed the heat, yes you read that right, the HEAT was on. Not only that, but the registers are in the ceiling, so I wonder if they're aware heat rises. And I couldn't tell you how many people were bundled into sweaters and jackets and here was me, the original freeze baby, in a tee shirt. Go figure.

He makes my heart flutter

2007-11-05T18:59:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned lately how much I love and adore my wonderful boyfriend? If I haven't before, let me shout it from the rooftops, hire a skywriter, take out an ad. John is so fabulously wonderfully fantastic. Not only does he not listen to me when I'm whining that I can't pedal anymore and there's no way I'll make it up that hill (which, here is Florida is usually smaller than those of Minnesota), he often times will actually push me when needed. He always knows when I need that little extra oomph and is excellent at ignoring me when I say I'm not tired. He takes such fabulous care of me. John has even signed up to ride the MS 150 with me. He's going to be there as my support and will probably be riding beside me as we cross the finish line, with a hand on my back giving me that extra Oomph! So John, thank you for being in my life and loving me so much.

What a busy weekend!

2007-11-04T17:23:00.000-05:00

John and I both took Friday off from work and went to Epcot's Food and Wine Festival. We had a lot of fun eating our way through the different countries and trying new things. Friday was John's birthday, so he decided he wanted to see if guest relations does anything for birthdays. They gave him a birthday button and a hat.

John decided to inform them that my birthday is in a week, so I ended up with a button of my own.

The most entertaining part of the day however had to be the free Jon Secada concert. I don't know what it was about the show, but I was giggling throughout. It seemed to me he was trying to hard and instead came across as insincere. I told John he reminded me of Ricky Martin, and John said he's the original Ricky Martin. Video from the show is located in my photobucket account found here for those of you who really want to see what had me giggling. There is no sound as my camera isn't new enough to have that.

Regarding the food, we had some really yummy items from Morroco. We had a chicken item called Bastilla which was shredded chicken in phylo dough. It was a little sweet and tasted almost like it had cinnamon included in it. We also had a Kefta, which was a beef type meat (lamb? beef?) in a pita. And of course lots and lots of yummy wine!

Yesterday I bought a new bicycle. It's a comfort bike and I was almost in tears while test driving. With the MS, even though my hands seem the most affected, my thigh muscles also make sure I remember I have MS when I bike. I was riding on a 18 speed Magna mountain bike from Target. Mom and I used to go bike riding and I would never have a problem being in my higher gears, usually 8th and up. Since the onset of MS, I've been lucky if I could be in 4th gear without my legs getting very very tired. It's similar to lifting weights and getting to the end when you don't think your muscles will let you complete what you're doing because they're so tired. Except that would happen like five to fifteen minutes into my ride. It was definitely lowering to experience that. Now, with my fabulous new bike, I don't have that problem. John and I went out today and I was able to ride in 18th and 21st gear. I had a huge smile on my face for most of the day. Oh, I do adore my fabulous new bike!

So many things, so little time

2007-10-31T07:04:00.000-04:00

There hasn't been a whole lot going on around here lately. I've been busy working and getting back to working out after two weeks of many scheduled lunchtime events at work. What's wrong with them, don't they know that's my workout time? John and I are still working on getting ready for the MS150 in April. Not only are we trying to increase our biking, but we're also making plans for fundraising events.

This has actually made for some difficult to fall asleep nights. Not because of stress and worry, not yet anyway. We're just starting to hash out some ideas of what to do and what steps need to be taken. Which means my mind doesn't want to shut off at night and keeps thinking over what we've already discussed as well as coming up with more ideas and thoughts. I'm excited not only to raise more funds, but also to put together the events themselves. Of course, that may change further down the road :-)

We seem to have settled on three events to take place between now and April. John is in a bowling league at a local bowling alley and had the wonderful idea of a bowl-a-thon. I'm hoping to have that in December sometime, maybe January. We're also discussing a car wash. A local restuarant supported a couple in a car wash last month to help her raise funds for the 3 day breast walk. Not only did the restuarant allow them to use their corner of the parking lot, they also donated 10% of proceeds for all sales during that time. I'm hoping to do the same for our car wash. The final event we're planning is a silent auction. We've decided to speak with the Plant City chamber of commerce and see if they'll donate booth space so we can hold it at Plant City's monthly bike fest. That will probably take place in March or April to give us time to collect donations. So it looks as if I'm going to be plenty busy in the next few months!

"Make New Friends, But Keep the Old"

2007-10-17T20:56:00.000-04:00

I can understand the excitment my friend Courtenay has for her young married couples group through Church. Last night John and I went to a bowling event put on by the Mid-Florida Chapter of the National MS Society. This event was for 20 and 30 year olds diagnosed with MS and a guest. It was a lot of fun to just go, hang out nad meet other people my age in the same boat as me. Although, the topic of MS didn't really come up a whole lot and it was a very small part of any discussions.

We met a very nice couple, Peter and Ellen. Ellen just moved down here to FL in March from Wisconsin. The poor girl is even a Packers fan, says she has been her entire life. But we can forgive her that :) Ellen and Peter live in a city over from John and I and we have lots in common, including an enjoyment for motorcycles.

I am really looking forward to more gatherings with this group. It's funny, we've all come together because of this one common pain in the rear. But it's only a very very small part of who we are. None of us are letting this mess with our lives. And for us, that's the way it should be.

Sinbad!

2007-10-14T09:39:00.000-04:00

I work for Citi, formerly known as Citigroup, the company that is known more for their credit cards. Although they are also a bank, and provide tons of other financial services. This is a job I kinda fell into, thanks to a former co-worker. And while my job occasionally gets repetitive and a little borning, the benefits and perks are amazing! My MS drug is $1700 a month. Under my former employer insurance, my co-pay was $100/month or $250 for 3 months on mail order!! Now, my co-pay is a fabulous and wonderful $16.70 a month. Also, I was recently able to purchase tickets for 2 dates to the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey games for a very very low price. Granted, they're third level seats, but hey, that just means it's a lot easier to see the ice :-) . I also had the privilage of purchasing discount tickets to see Comedian and Actor Sinbad.

John and I went to the show last night and I am so glad I decided I wanted to go and see him. If you ever get a chance, get the tickets and go! He was so funny that John was wiping away tears of laughter. Sinbad never swore or used raunchy jokes. He did talk about sex, but that is a part of life and that is what he bases his comedy on. I think for me, the funniest was when he was telling a couple how they can get their 31 year old to move out (he's been living with them for 3 years after being in the military).

Sinbad told this couple their son would need therapy for awhile, but it would get him to move out and never want to move back home. He told them they just need to start walking around naked and having sex throughout the house. He even suggested that when they walk into the kitchen in the morning and son is eating breakfast, ask him if he's almost done as they'd like to use the table.

If you weren't able to tell from above, he was big on audience participation. He gave one couple a little bit of grief when they walked in late. There was a family with three 3 boys sitting in one of the front rows. Two of the boys were 14 (either twins or one was an invited friend) and the other boy was 12. Sinbad was giving them life and dating advice but making it funny. He was telling them to enjoy being kids and to take their time with dating. He even asked the female audience members to ask questions about the things men do. That was when the ONLY curse word of the show came up, and it wasn't said by him. It was said by one of the women asking questions. The audience kinda did a gasp of shock/shame on you type of sound. But Sinbad was able to joke about what she said and lighten it up.

Sinbad was on stage for over an hour and a half. I was really wanting an intermission as I not only had to use the restroom, but I wanted some water from all the laughing. And the last thing I wanted to do was miss a moment of his show. Not only was Sinbad terrific, but my dinner was amazing as well! John and went to this place in Clearwater called Johnny's Italian Restuarant. It apparently requires patience as we would have had a 20 minute wait. Instead we ate at the bar due to time constraints.

The bread wasn't really anything special, but their oil dip mixture was very yummy! So much so that I asked for some to bring home. John ordered tortellini alfredo with shrimp. The alfredo really could have used more cheese. I ordered the stuffed shells in bolognaise. I probably could have done without the bolognaise, but the shells were sooooo yummy! I highly highly recommend this place to all interested.

Before I go, I want to remind you that I am riding in the MS150 this coming April. If you haven't already done so, please visit my participant page and consider donating to this wonderful cause.

I'm "Dewing" It! Riding to Erase MS!

2007-10-12T23:54:00.000-04:00

As many know, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) December 2006. Dad received an official diagnosis of MS in 1987 after having been diagnosed with a form of MS in the 1970's. I decided to sign up for the National MS Society's Mid-Florida MS150. This is a 150 mile bike ride that takes place over two days. I would greatly appreciate any support and donations that could be provided. The National MS Society not only sponsors MS research, but also provides programs for those afflicted, they advocate for legislative changes and even help people to live their lives to the fullest. Sometimes that means a wheelchair, sometimes it means a service animal or even minor changes in the home. But they can't do it without us. So please help! Please donate by visiting my participant page here. Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have regarding this. And thank you so much for your time and donation.

Almost Famous!

2007-10-11T19:20:00.000-04:00

Ok, only within work. My company is big on making sure diversity is recognized and celebrated. And as October is National Disability Awareness month (who knew?!), the editor of our weekly paper requested people share their disability stories. Having recently been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and also growing up with it as Dad was diagnosed in the 70's, I had a story to share. Below is my story as it appeared in our weekly paper (keep in mind, it's a short paper):

When Val Dewing woke up one Friday morning last November, she knew something was different. Parts of her hands and feet were numb. By the end of the weekend, three-fourths of her body felt numb or tingled.
“It was as if my body was ‘asleep’,” the Global Anti-Money Laundering Unit investigator recalled. Val chose to share her story as part of National Disability Awareness Month.
Doctors ordered a battery of tests, many to rule out possible causes. Val underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a spinal tap, blood tests and a visual evoke response exam.
In the end, the diagnosis was Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic, unpredictable neurological disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS consists of the brain, spinal cord, and the optic nerves. Surrounding and protecting the nerve fibers of the CNS is a fatty tissue called myelin, which helps nerve fibers conduct electrical impulses.
“My white blood cells become overactive and attack the myelin,” said Val. “It leaves scar tissue behind and depending on the extent of the damage, the nerve messages stutter or don’t go anywhere. There is no cure yet.”
Val takes medication to reduce flare-ups and during the day usually experiences very minor tingling and sometimes hyper sensitivity. She said her work has not been affected.
“I like to crochet,” she said, “but sometimes after only one row the sensation makes my hands very sore. But I refuse to put it down. As long as I can do the things I enjoy, I’m going to do it.”
Val said her prognosis is wide open. “It may never get worse,” she said.
According the National MS Society, the majority of people with the disease do not become severely disabled. It is not contagious, is not directly inherited and most people with the disease have a normal or near-normal life expectancy.
Val’s father was diagnosed with a form of MS 30 years ago. “He experiences it mostly in his feet and legs. Once in a while he needs to use a cane.”
Val feels the MS in her legs sometimes, too. She exercises, often using the Wellness Center’s stationary bikes during the week and riding her own bicycle at home on weekends. “We often ride 8 to 14 miles a day,” she said. “But sometimes it feels as if someone wrapped saran wrap around my legs.”
Val is training for the MS 150, a two-day, 150-mile cycling fundraiser in central Florida.

Disability Awareness
Asked what point about disabilities she would like people to be aware of, Val mentioned disabled parking. “Just because you don’t see something wrong, doesn’t mean there isn’t,” she said. “Many people with chronic, severe pain, for example, say ‘This is just a small part of who I am. I’m not going to let it control me.’ And you may not see the pain they are in.”
Val does not have a disabled parking sticker. “I’m not going to get one until I need it,” she said. “But please leave the disabled parking for those who do.”
If you would like to learn more about the MS 150 or have other questions, please contact Val Dewing via email or call 604-6343. n

It's Boris and Natasha!

2007-10-07T18:14:00.000-04:00

Okay, it's really Boris and Tasha. But she'd officially be Natasha if she had papers, other than those the SPCA provided anyway. Boris is a skin and bones kitten that was found hanging around outside my apartment complex yesterday. John saw him in the morning and Boris followed John to my door. My neighbor has seen him wandering around as well. I saw him when I was heading over to John's. I saw this little guy, walked up to him and picked him up. He's very friendly and started purring right away.
I went back to my car to get my purse and keys, and Ciera since I couldn't exactly leave her in the car for 5 minutes. He shrank back a little from Ciera since she was very curious as to what I had and she knew it wasn't her kitty. Ciera and I brought Boris in and I set him down by Tasha's food. Even though there was a happy, curious dog nearby, Boris still ate, further emphasizing how hungry the poor little guy was. I had to head to John's so I could get my car window fixed (an entirely different story). Boris was placed in the bathroom with food, water and kitty litter. Currently Tasha is not a fan of Boris. She suddenly has a new feline she has to share her home and dog with. But I'm convinced he'll win her over. After all, he's just a baby and a cute one at that!

Boris

Tasha and Ciera

Do it for the Heart!

2007-10-07T11:05:00.000-04:00

All pictures have been added to Photobucket. After having been home a week, I'm ready for another vacation. Of course, it might have to do with the fact it took me two and a half days to realize I have Columbus Day off or to figure out the pink streamers in the courtyard at work.

The gym at work had signs on the door saying they are closed Monday Oct 8th on observance of Columbus Day. I kept looking at it wondering why they got off and what made them so special. Yeah, on Thursday it hit me that I get it off too. Gotta love working for a bank!

As for the streamers, I was wondering if someone had a party while I was gone and didn't bother to clean up. It wasn't until I saw them at another location tied into a pink ribbon that it occurred to me, pink ribbons for breast cancer. Duh!

On another note, a friend and co-worker is participating in the Tampabay Heart Walk. If you know of anyone who has suffered from heart related issues, or if you would like to participate, please help by sponsoring Nancy Perry. If the link doesn't work, please Google Tampabay Heart Walk and on the left side of the page is is the location to search for a participant.

Vacation's Over :(

2007-10-01T17:09:00.000-04:00

I'm home now. Vacation is all over. Like the last ten years, the last week just flew by. It feels like there wasn't enough time to do all that I wanted and see all that I wanted. But I did, and had a wonderful time. It was so good to see old friends and meet new ones. And in true Minnesotan fashion, it was wonderful getting together over a good meal. There's nothing quite like getting a chance to enjoy that food at all the childhood haunts. I'm just greatful we got to eat at Totino's as they were supposed to be closed by the end of September and not yet opened in their new location.

The reunion provided a good time for all. I heard that Fridley lost the homecoming game. The class of '97 alumni had already deserted the game for the local watering hole, or formerly known as DiMaggio's. I'm glad we attended the game as there were a few people we got to see Friday that weren't able to make Saturday's official event. The reunion event itself was interesting. It was, to use the word again, interesting to see who had changed and who hadn't. There were several people that looked different and many were very thankful for the name tags that were provided. It was really nice to see some old friends from High School and meet the important people in their lives. Some significant others I almost felt like I already knew. Now, the only question that remains is, will the next ten years go as quickly and how can I slow them down?

Oh, and all pictures will shortly be added to my photobucket album shortly. Keep checking for updates if you're interested!

Time flies when having fun

2007-09-28T10:43:00.001-04:00

It's hard to believe it's already Friday. In just two more days vacation will be done and we'll be flying back to sunny Florida. This has definitely been a busy and enjoyable trip. Last Saturday our hotel in Grand Marais was on the shores of Lake Superior. Even though it seriously cooled down that night, we still slept with the windows open and it was wonderful to fall asleep to the sounds of the water lapping at the shore. Our return to the Twin Cities on Monday was the start of a very hectic and happy week.

I've gotten to enjoy all the foods I haven't had in almost four years. The good stuff that Florida doesn't have, Tasty Pizza, Bruegger's, LeAnn Chin, Totino's. Today is real chow mein. Yummm! I've also gotten to see several good friends and even new friends. I met Kirsty's fiancee and they are a very good fit together. I'm very happy for her and very happy she found such a wonderful person to compliment her life. I got to re-connect with an old friend and met her new significant other. It was almost like being at dinner with two John's as he and Dave have a very similar sense of humor. Dinner with the Foxes was a wonderful family affair. I even got to meet their baby (okay, she's almost 2!) granddaughter, Anna. She is a very cute, energetic little girl who has her adults all wrapped around her little finger. She's going to keep her daddy hopping when she gets older. But right now, she has her daddy bopping, to Veggie Tales that is :-)

Lots of shopping has been had. After all, there's no sales tax on clothes here, and I do love the clearance racks. Plus I got to get some cheese and Polish sausage. Yummy! Tonight is the start of the Fridley Reunion events, starting with tailgating for the homecoming game. It'll be nice to see some of my former teachers there. Tomorrow after the Apple Orchard we're going to the actual reunion at Grandma's in Dinky Town. It should be an interesting and good time. Okay, we're outta here for now. We need to get ready so that we can head out for lunch soon. Catch ya'll later!

Greetings from Minnesota

2007-09-24T22:24:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Greetings from Minnesota! John and I flew up here at the crack of dawn on Saturday and we're in the middle of a wonderful vacation. No, I truly mean that. Ok, it didn't start out all that great. Mostly because for some reason that we haven't yet figured out, neither one of us got much sleep the night before. And our flight left at 7am, which meant we had to be at the airport by 5:30 or 6. I think it's safe to say we both averaged around 2-3 hours of sleep.

We landed in Minneapolis around 11am CST and immediately headed to the Twins game. It felt like I had not spent the last 3 1/2 years attending a Twins game in a different State. It felt soooo good to be at the Dome surrounded by all the Twins fans. Granted, when I see them playing the Devil Rays, I'm still pretty much surrounded by Twins fans, but now all the music cheers and the wave (has that ever been done at a Devil Rays game?) is for the Twins as the home team. It was also my last chance to see the Twinks play at the Dome. I know, they probably won't be in their new stadium for a few years. But I don't see me making another game at the Dome anytime soon.

Right after the game John and I then headed north to Grand Marais. The drive went fairly quickly. We spend about an hour in Duluth playing around on Canal Park before continuing the drive. Traffic was pretty light which allowed us to make good time. I was disappointed that the leaves weren't as colorful as I thought they'd be. But the drive back to the Twin Cities definitely made up for it.

Sunday we drove up to Canada. John's never been to Minnesota or Canada and he wanted to go. The clerk at our hotel in Grand Marais suggested driving to a waterfall (for the life of me I can't remember the name, but it started with a K). So we planned on doing so. However, at the end of 130 in Canada (highway?), we had a T intersection and no further directions. We ended up in Thunder Bay, had lunch and then headed back to the border. A stretch stop at the Ontario visitor's center showed us that there were a set of falls right there. The visitor center is on Pigeon River. We had a nice short (about an hour round trip with rest break for pictures) hike to High Falls. We spent Sunday night in Two Harbors.

This morning after breakfast we headed up to Gooseberry Falls. After we did the tour of Glensheen Mansion in Duluth before heading back to the Twin Cities. The fall colors were amazing on the drive back. It partially makes me wonder why I ever decided to move to Florida. The trip North was relatively unchanged. It felt like I had never left. At times it also felt like I was back in high school. And although I've greatly enjoyed the trip north, I know in a very short time it's going to be beyond freezing and I will be nice and warm in sunny Florida.

I've uploaded pictures to my Photobucket account. I tried to get them semi in order. It didn't quite work out the way I planned. The titles all have a D#. The D stands for Day with D1 being Saturday Sept 22. Etc. The number after the decimal indicates the general order of the photos. For example, D2.o are the initial pictures of Sunday morning in Grand Marais. D2.1 would be the photos on the way to Canada, etc.

More pictures to follow as the week progresses. It's going to be a full, enjoyable week. I'll be visiting with old friends and the week will end with my ten year high school reunion. Wow! Where has the time gone!

"You had some of the best times You'll never remember with me..."

2007-09-20T20:23:00.000-04:00

"Alcohol" If you've ever heard Brad Paisley, you've probably heard this song. And now I have it running through your head. He he he. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so mean. And that's really not the purpose of my writing this tonight. I'm writing to share with you something enjoyable, if you like wine that is.

The first is a Riesling by Juliustrum. It's a Riesling Spatlese (insert two dots above the a) lieblich from Rheinhessen Germany. This was a very crisp tasting, semi-sweet wine. Very good. It was bottled and shipped by Winzergenossenschaft Westhofen. For those in Florida, John and I pretty sure we bought this at Sweet Bay since we didn't see it at Publix. Of course, it's been hanging around here for a few months, so I don't really remember.

The second I want to share is Florida Orange Groves and Winery. While in Key West last October we went into this store because Mom wanted some Key Lime pie. We didn't find the pie, but found some incredible wines based off fruits other than grapes. They have peach, pineapple, watermelon, a sangria among many many others. On our trip John and I bought the Peach and Hurricane Category 5 (the sangria). After trying the peach, I looked at the label hoping to find contact information so I could have some shipped in the future if I wanted. Imagine my surprise and delight when I found out the wine is made a few cities over from me! So I have made it my mission to share this wonderful wine since it truly is delightful. If you decide to try some, enjoy!

No longer a Blogging Virgin

2007-09-19T23:39:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Through the Priszm. I've never done the blogging thing before. I never really felt like I had much to share that people would be interested in, other than friends and family of course. I decided to start one to share the different things that John and I see.

Let me do a short, sweet introduction. My name is Val, although many also know me as Priszm. John is my very fabulous, wonderful boyfriend. We live in the land of perpetual summer. Well, okay, in reality it's about ten and a half months of summer and occasional "cold." Otherwise known as Florida. Don't be fooled though, Florida does get cold. It's a different feel than that of Minnesota, where I grew up. But I digress.

As there is a distinct lack of sub-zero temperatures and snow, John and I have been increasing our outdoor activities. This usually takes place in the form of bike riding and lately we've started the Couch to 5K training program. While outside we've had the pleasure to slow down and enjoy nature, enjoy and exclaim over the wonders that are found. I've decided I'm going to try and remember to bring my camera with to capture the sights that we see and share with you, so you will be looking Through the Priszm with me!