I just wanted to send you some hugs. I can't imagine working full time, having a family, and dealing with ms ****. It looks like you had a good time at the Buffet concert and the games.

Hi Everyone! I found you all!

Haven't been on for a few days, I think. Just having some MS days over the past few days.

Kelly - There are many days that by 7 I am ready for bed, especially if I haven't napped. The heat is kicking my butt lately and I am more tired than usual. And, . It will be a hard month for you. I will say some extra prayers for you.

Holly - I have times like that too. It's hard to post when I feel overwhelmed by things. Plus, I'd probably bore the heck out of you all posting all the things that overwhelm me.

Barb - I see you made it back from your trip. I am sure it was fun but, like you said, it's nice to get back home. And, I agree - cooling a house in high heat is really hard. Our house is slump block and it retains heat so much. The west walls (where 2 of the bedrooms are) get hot and you can feel the heat coming off of them in the evening/night. So to keep the temp consistent would be hard.

Hi everyone else! I hope you are doing well also.

Not up to much today or this weekend. I want a nice relaxing mellow weekend. Today, after I worked, I was googling craft type stuff and came across this blog of a lady who does cookie decorating. Her cookies look so awesome. In fact, some of them are so pretty, I wouldn't want to eat them. Yesterday, I came across one that the lady made red velvet cake in jars, frosted them, and put cute tags and a lid on them. They were so cool! When it gets cooler out, I'm going to have to try making some.

Have a great day everyone!

Can you hear us all nodding our heads at "MS days"? I wish we didn't all know what that means, even though it has a little different meaning for each of us.

Holly, I've been so overwhelmed for so long, it would seem like a vacation to be merely whelmed.

It's a beautiful, beautiful night as far as the weather goes, but it's a little gruesome inside my head right now for some reason. MS? Hormones? Overtired? Black moon? Who knows. Just one of those nights that I'm a little sad, a little freaked out, a little peevish, a little fatalistic. Even chocolate didn't help!

Well, Doyle Lawson is on the Ronnie Reno show, so maybe that will cheer me up!

Feel better soon, B2Y

Just got through brushing the cats....two love it, one doesn't. Guess which one doesn't like it? Here's a hint. She's a fat, grumpy old woman. And NO.....it's not me!

I haven't heard any firecrackers yet this weekend. Maybe we'll get lucky and people won't set them off. I've never understood all the hype with firecrackers. I mean, once you set one off you pretty much know that all the others are going to be exactly the same. Not very exciting....but that's just me.

Some years we hear a few random firecrackers or whatever, mostly in the field across the river. Not usually too late--before ten. And they don't last long. Just long enough to wake me up and scare the jeepers out of me! The people around the lake hear and see more fireworks because there are more, well, city people.

We currently have two cats. One will ONLY let me comb her on the rug on top of the kennel. The other one will ONLY let me comb her in on our bed. We'll be fostering our daughter's cat this fall because she can't have cats where she'll be living. It will be interesting to see how he fits into the mix. At least he's short-haired, so if he's not into being groomed right away, he won't be all tied up in knots!

my cats are brushed at least twice per week, and each week they get their nails trimmed. its a must to live here. it keeps them from shedding too much, and it keeps them from shredding my stuff.

fireworks? dont get me started! they had those stupid things from no less than 6 families around the lake last night. bunch of drunken red necks with no knowledge of how any of this works, nor its impact to Mother Earth and our water ways. The petrochemicals that get released from just a roman candle is enough to effect the PH balance of our lake for six months! That is if a SINGLE family does a one hour display. We had 6 families going at it for 3 hours or more. It was ONE AM and I kept hearing boom! boom! boom! My cats are terrified, my nerves are shot, I have a headache and being multichemical sentive the smell is enough to make my skin blister and itch. I love a pro display where folks are careful, take precautions, and are ready to put on a good display, but to simply buy a pick up bed full (literally!) and randomly light them off simply because you live on a lake is irritating. They dang near set the woods on fire, several landed on nearby rooftops, and the drunks who were at it, are simply not bright enough to know what they are doing after a case of whatever they are drinking. UGH! I pray for a blinding, torrential downpour each year. The fish in the lake are dying, it seeps into the ground water near by and my organic garden for two weeks gets watered with sulfur water unless we ship water in. Can you tell im mad? tired? fed up? I hate this street. inconsiderat bunch of morons.

I have lost 2.9 pounds this week! wahoo! thats a big chunk. I gained last week and was very worried that it would throw me far off track, but this week I lost what I gained AND still met this weeks goal! im thrilled.

Jack the cat now needs injections for the rest of the day because the stress from last night threw him into a bladder spasm fit. Im off to look at a new house in a new town. I think its better if I leave this town.

howdy howdy howdy ...

well, I attended a small town parade yesterday ... this one actually has a beer truck in it - and attenders can have a free glass!! (oh, YEAH!!)

and, I came home with a sunburn - not complaining ... but, I go from Frosty the Snowman white ... to redneck red ... apparently, in a day! and I was careful with an umbrella along - which really helped ..

there was a young lady in a wheelchair - and people would look away and sorta ignore her ... so, I walked up to her and said how pretty she was!! and her name: Casey .. 19, with MD ... and lives in Oshkosh ... if that's all I did yesterday was to make her day ... I feel good about that!

my aunt mentioned about seeing me talk to the girl in the wheelchair ... and I carried on more of a conversation with Casey than I did with anyone else I knew at the parade! ... it was sorta neat ... because I don't do well in crowds - but, if it's to make someone feel special when they are in a wheelchair (see, then we 'see' their disability) .. weird, huh?

so, my insight ... be a friend to those with limited mobility ... I need to come up with a postcard, with the Liberty address on ... and information that they can fill out and send it to me - like colors, or themes ...

okay - back to work ... swept the floor, watered my outside plants, dishes, paid bills ... it's all good!!

hugs all around!!

Kelly - I look at the loss of my folks (mom in January, dad in Aug ... 1995) ... that it was a treasure when they were alive - and I don't think my dad would of liked living in the computer-truck age ... and my mom would have me figure out the digital clock on the stove so she could bake!! and I miss them - very much ... but, all is good!

it's good to grieve ... and give thanks for the time you had together and shared ... that's what makes us who we are ... you?? ornery?? NOT - especially when you feed the misfit kit-cats!!

I HATE HOME MADE FIREWORKS! There! I said it. Whew. We have a street full of folks with more money than common sense, and I swear to God I want to go turn the garden hose on them. From 7pm till 1am BOOM BOOM BOOM my cats were terrified. I was ready to crawl out of my skin, I cant take the stress of the constant noise, the stress of my animals scattering and scittering around my house, ducking and diving thinking at any moment the roof will come crumbling in. I for the 4th night in a row didnt sleep because we are all so jumpy. I had to put my cat back on injections because he is so stressed, he has thrown himself into an attack. it will take weeks for them to calm down, and poor lily is doing the belly crawl as she tries to get from one side of the room to the other. These yahoos are up for ONE MORE NIGHT! OMG! I called the cops, and was told that I was being overly sensitive that fireworks are legal in this state, and unless they were shooting them AT my house, to hang in there, they could only have a limited supply. This is a MILLIONAIRE family and thinks themselves to be providing free entertaintment for the whole lake. ^(&^(*&^ &^$#*(&*(&af sonofaF@#%$# I just want to go down and spray them with a water cannon. SHUT UP! how many days in a row do we need to hear this? Im ready to be committed!

Skipped my walk this morning. I am exhausted from chasing animals till 2am. This means I didnt get enough sleep, which puts my limited spoon supply into a deficiet before I even open my eyes. I am jumpy, grouchy, tired, and feel like I was in a car wreck from my muscles being so tight for so long. I am thinking about going into town and getting a motel room for the night, but that would leave my cats unattended and terrified. We have to survive one more night of the family that has more money than common sense. Lets not even mention how much petrochemcicals got dumped into the lake. sulfur, and paper products from the wrappers that is now washing up on shore, after fish try to eat it as it bobs on the surface on the water. Then all that sulfur will seep into the ground water and ....ok...rant over. you folks get the idea. im unhappy.

Windows outside are being cleaned today. Got the DH to realize that TOMORROW I have a girl scheduled to come clean them inside and out, and HE is the one paying for it. so either get the outside done, including the screens or pull out your wallet. I can do the inside ones one at a time, but the outside ones were a chore that isnt on my list. We had a huge attack of pollen around here after the last time I cleaned them so the screens are coated, and the outsides and the tracks are coated in this fine yellow dust. no wonder my eyes are itchy.

I feel bad today. I need more sleep. I need more quiet. I need to find time to nap today to survive one more night of rednecks with alcohol and fireworks. they are going to set the woods on fire! I hate living in fear. it wears ya out.

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July weekend. Ours was mostly quiet. Thankfully, no neighbors had massive amounts of fireworks this year! I think they used up what they bought on clearance at New Years. So most of the noise was finished by 10pm last night!

DH and I cleaned and organized the garage on Saturday. Rested on Sunday and hit the yard work this afternoon. The rest of the afternoon we crashed and watched a WWII movie.

Dejibo, bless your heart! I hate loud noises and the jumping/jerks I get from them. Have you tried earplugs? I also react strongly to smells... particularly burning smells like fireworks and car engine oil. The smell literally causes tingling and "chill-bumps" on my head and arms!

to all!

The neighbors started with the boom booms, and I called the cheif of police who came out and shut them down. Half hour later, they were back at it, and he came back and shut them down. Half hour later they were back at it, and this time, someone was in the back of the squad car when he left. no more boom booms. im as jumpy as a long tailed cat in a room full of rockers!

Spoke to my poor neice tonight, and found out many things that had been hidden from view. it was with great sadness, yet relief that I said goodbye to my mom. I have no desire to try to fix, recover, or rehash it. im done.

Spoke to my son about granny and he told me about some of the cruel things he said to him the last time they spoke. That he was only out to get her money, and how if he loved her he would have found a way to be with her....OMG! she was scolding a child for not running away from home to travel across the country to be with a relative he doesnt remember. She doesnt send b/d or Christmas cards, or gifts, and has been "punishing" him for his lack of love to her. Im floored by how much I learned tonight, and it was just enough to tip me over the edge. So, I let go. I let her fall. I didnt even close my eyes. I just let go. im so tired of holding her up. I know the way it sounds to those of you that have mommies that love you, care for you, and worry for you. Mine wasnt like that. Mine taught me how to shoplift. Mine taught me how to lie. Mine hasnt touched me since I was 5. Mine only says what she thinks you want to hear.

So, ontop of being one of the noisest places on the planet earth my house has been filled with emotional BS too. no wonder the fireworks upset me so. I am coming out of my own skin.

I called my adopted sister and we talked for a while. that helped. I never knew what a sister could be like till I met her. She really has shown me much.

I hope everyone has a great day. I am going to take some time away from the keys, and try to resort my head.