Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Useless knowledge, but i HAD TO blog about it! Update: more useless knowledge

I think if the cities across the country wanted to ban saggin' pants they should use this information as a public service announcement, then maybe their plight will be passed into law. (Hey, it's more revenue lol)

I was informed yesterday, from a student studying criminal justice at a prominent college, that the saggin' pants phenomenon actually has some weight to it, no pun intended.

Back in the day, in the jail system, inmates were given size appropriate clothing. As the years passed and the inmate counts grew to cut costs the prison system went to a one size fits all clothing system. For those skinnier inmates that meant that the pants would sag down below their unsightly doopas for all of the world to see. Since you could not give the inmates ropes or belts to keep their pants up, they had to just suffer.

Well, we all know what that means right?? NEW FASHION STATEMENT FOR THE GHETTOLISCIOUS!

Yes, you heard me... The fad (that never seems to fade) of wearing your pants below your butt is a symbol of "coolness" because if you wore your pants like that it meant you did hard time and well.. we all know how glorified inmates are for some sick reason. We have tear drops, and droopy pants now plauging society, i don't know which one is worse lol.

More than likely today's youth that wear their pants in this manner don't even truly know where or why they do, they just think it's "cool" because everyone else is wearing their clothes that way. That includes suburban wanna-be's.. why would you wanna-be a mock inmate is beyond me, but i guess they have their reasoning.. Maybe they feel that they don't "fit in" with people in their neighborhoods... OR that they are being brats and defiant.

What's worse is that the uneducated parents that purchase these extra-larger-than-life clothes for their little angels to wear don't even know where the fad came from. It's bad enough that if you wear a certain color clothing, no matter HOW you wear it, you are a target for some gang.. So why on earth would you want to portray yourself as someone that did hard time if you have no means of violence in your blood or a way to protect yourself?? Better still, why would you put your kid in that category?

Stupidity i tell ya.

So listen up people that have the power to pass laws! Put out that public service announcement and make it illegal for non-inmates to wear their clothes that way.. Besides the fact that I'm tired of looking at skid marks and cracks.. and before you argue the half naked women issue, we all agree that some people should cover up and IMHO those people should be sited for public indecency as well. I don't play favorites.

UPDATE:
Last night i found out about another prison related fashion statement that i totally didn't even know existed.

The towel in the pocket.

Yep, for those of you that took notice of a saggy pants wearer, you might have noticed a towel hanging somewhere on said fashion victim. The towel represents, yet again, something from the prison system. Inmates that went to the prison yards were given hand towels to wipe their faces of the dirt from the yard.. well OK then. Don't you feel that much more educated now? lol

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

When Panic Attacks

What is it that causes this crazy event to literally paralyze people?

I suffered from MASSIVE panic attacks starting from just before I separated from my EH back in 2003 to about when i quit smoking/went off my meds back 9 months ago.. Or so i thought.

Yesterday, Kyle, myself and his family went to NYC for the annual day in the city romp. I did great on the ferry (which i usually have an issue with because of the motion when they dock), but that's about where it ended. Outside of Pier 79 they run free buses to various points in the city. The first bus we got on was packed. Kyle and i found an open seat in the back and the rest of the people stood in the isles. Thankfully we were informed we were on the wrong bus because an anxiety attack started and i literally pushed myself off of the bus. Once out i was fine.

The second bus (the correct bus) was empty minus a few people. Kyle and i sat in the 2nd row. We waited for about 15 minutes or so until the next ferry emptied out and well.. the rest of the people got on our bus too.. Standing room only. It was getting hot in the bus, someone kept whistling the same damn thing over and over, the lady behind me was yapping away on her cell phone and that was it for me! I begged Kyle if we can get off of the bus and just meet everyone at our destination and he was defiant and told me no. So I pushed myself out of my seat, through the people in the isle and begged the driver if i could stand on the staircase by the door. He obviously obliged me because had he not you would have heard about it on the news lol. I was fine after that.

Until the ride home.. and i REALLY feel bad for Kyle and his family that they had to put up with me for this one.. and this is why i beg Kyle to take a separate car when we do things like this, but he never does so i and everyone else suffers.. 5 of us were crammed into a Caddy CTS. Beautiful car, but certainly not made to cart 5 people in winter coats with one anxiety ridden person (me). Kyle was singing a song on the radio (he was drunk lol so it was just at a tone that set my next attack off), it was getting warmer in the car, and we were at a road block not going anywhere. Yeah.. that was it for me.. i yelled at Kyle to STFU, and asked his father to turn the heat off and his brother was kind enough to roll the window down until we got moving again. Once we got on the highway i was fine, but standing idle made me freak out.

Why does this happen? I just don't understand it. Back when i was smoking i would have an attack after i smoked a cigarette. It was clearly evident that the nicotine would start those attacks so i quit.. The attacks, for the most part, decreased to almost nill. Until about 3 weeks after i quit i was driving to work from Kyle's house and i had an attack on the highway while driving.. I had to pull into the conveniently placed rest area for about 15 minutes to calm down.

Once i arrived at work and logged into the PC while i ate my breakfast before my start time, i ran across an article on one of the major e-mail hosting sites about Ambien CR and panic attacks.. I read the article and decided to give it a go on quitting that too. Why not, i was already off of the Xanax (yeah don't bother ever taking that stuff.. that's a major narcotic and should be taken off the market)

Quitting Ambien CR is a feat not to be taken lightly. The first night without it and you just don't sleep at all. The next day you are about wiped, but don't sleep because then you'll never be tired enough to sleep later on. The 2nd night all your dreams are VIVID, for anyone that has had a VIVID dream before you know how much they suck. By the 4th night you are about good to go, but for me it wasn't until almost a week after i quit the Ambien that i slept 5 hours straight, and the rest is history.

I haven't had an attack since i quit the Ambien, so it was much to my chagrin that i had a minimum of 3 yesterday and a few anxiety attacks that i managed to hide from everyone else.
Why? Why are these attacks happening and what is causing them? It's obvious from the locations of these attacks that it's crowded cramped places, but why? i was sitting there minding my own watching the people on the sidewalks while the bus was slowly making it's way to our destination when these attacks happened. Because of the progress i had made in not having ANY attacks since i quit the Ambien CR i thought all of that was behind me, but apparently it's not.

Today, I'm not feeling very well. I'm shaky and i feel as though i can have an attack at any time. My heart rate is definitely more elevated than normal, and it's heavier. Yesterday's romp in the city really didn't do me much good even though i did enjoy myself in between episodes.

So i think next year i will sit out our yearly romp in the city and just let his family enjoy it without my panicked drama. It's very embarrassing.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Where's Dave?

Kyle and i decided to go to dinner last night to this restaurant called Houston's. They have insanely awesome spinach dip and their steaks are pretty good too.
Their service lately?? SUCKS! Their bathrooms?? OMG! filthy and NO TP!! WTF! I guess they don't cherish their plumbing as i used PAPER TOWELS! they were nice and soft too! and thick and perfect to clog plumbing, and i really didn't care! Anyway..

First, there's usually a wait, this day it was 25 minutes (BS) so we opted to wait at the bar and start with some cocktails. The first REALLY TALL gentleman behind the bar (which later turned out to be the manager) took Kyle's order and walked away. hmmrpff.. never to return. The bartender eventually signaled to Kyle to pick up (i guess the tall guy gave the bartender the order).

People coming in after us are getting seated left and right and we are now on 50 minutes.. At almost the hour point we get summoned to our table. The waitress was very good and that was about all that was good (besides the food) with our experience at Houston's.

The table in front of us consisted of 3 people. A gentlemen that obviously can NOT read because clearly stated on the menu there is a note :"NO CELLPHONE USE IN THE DINING ROOM". You get where I'm going with that i hope. A female that for the most part seemed normal because she talked at a low tone as not to bother others with a loud, whiney, obnoxious voice like the third person (female) had.

Now you would think, you are out to dinner in a decently more upper scale place, and that you would have some sort of manners?? Well chick #2, the whiney one, had the mouth of a trucker.. she dropped more f bombs than the Japanese on Pearl Harbor. She also continued to go on and on and on about some guy named Dave and how awesome he was. We pretty much know everything about this Dave person.. right down to the size of his %^$@. Yeah, tell me about it.

After a while Kyle and i looked at each other and, almost as if we were telepathic, said "If Dave is so wonderful where is he?" hahhahahahah!!!

We had to endure the most obnoxiously loud drunk female in NJ for nearly an hour. The guy with the group even baled out early and left the two women to gossip amongst themselves.

If anything, we had a good laugh at this person's expense. So much for a quiet dinner out like it normally is there.

Tonight we are going to Ichiban Japanese Hibachi. We will most likely share a table with two other couples so this should be interesting! If not, you won't hear about it!

Friday, December 26, 2008

Quitting Smoking

2008 is almost over, and tonight at 10:48PM I will be smoke free for 9 months.

I can't believe it has only been 9 months. It feels like forever.. in a great way. I barely remember what it was like to be a smoker except that I can actually breathe now.. I can work out without feeling as though I was going to die from lack of oxygen.. and i can taste food - which is something I wish I wasn't able to do as I want to eat everything yummy now.. and that is pretty much everything fattening. Lattes, burgers, bloomin onions you name it I want it.. but that's besides the point.

The point is.. I can't imagine why anyone would want to still partake in that smelly, expensive, unhealthy habit.. I don't want to hear that they "enjoy" it because that's BS.. Remember, I was a smoker and I said those same things.. but that was the addict in me talking.. Sick sticks are that evil devil on your shoulder convincing you that you don't want to be without them. We call it the Nicodemon in the quit world.. and that demon can be intense in the beginning.. but just like anything.. a screaming puppy, a screaming child, traffic.. it stops eventually. My nicodemon took about oh 90 days to shut up, and he was LOUD most of the time.. but I didn't give in.. (I'll be a good mommy won't i? lol) ya know how i shut him up most of the time? Apples.. that's right apples!

Whenever my demon had a fit i went outside to my designated smoking area and ate an apple instead of smoking.. took about the same time and it shut him up AND it was healthy.. and when you quit smoking you need to eat as healthy as possible. Why? because quitting takes everything your body has and depletes it.. it's a major form of stress and most people (myself included) catch the dreaded quit flu.

You get the aches, the fever, what seems like a real flu.. and once that storm is over is when the healing truly begins because the nicotine is pretty much gone from the system.. It's all a mental battle from this point on.

Although you can take Nyquil and the like to get you through the flu.. it takes an even stronger person to overcome the mental addiction. The one rule is this "Smoking is not an option". A Nic-fit lasts mere seconds, in the beginning the fits roll in quickly one after another. Then the next thing you know it's just a few times an hour. In this stage of the game it's water, water and oh more water. Sugar then calls, so you can opt for gums, jolly ranchers, tic-tacs or in my case, Apples oh and Pepsi became my friend too.. not so my back side's but my taste buds were happy lol.

By the end of the first 30 days i was exhausted, but i wasn't going to let it win. I had too much to lose. Oh and i made Kyle rub in my face the day i almost couldn't catch my breath.. If i slipped he was to remind me of that day.. Well he didn't need to because i never slipped. NOT ONCE.
I will not deny that the thought didn't cross my mind, but I quickly remembered what not breathing was like. It was horrible.

Also, knowing how proud my support-group was made me continue when I wanted to give up the battle.. I couldn't let my fans down. Kyle in particular.. everyday, when I told him I didn't smoke, he told me how proud he was of me and that made it stick harder. My co-worker Sandy to this day tells me how proud she is of me when a new monthly anniversary comes up. Sandy smokes unfortunately, but one day she'll find it in her to quit. It has to be when they are ready though. My Mom also smokes, and one-day hopefully she'll quit too.

Anyway, back to the story..

I had quite a few resources at my disposal. I went to NJ Quit Net for starters and sought advice and gave advice to newbies. I befriended a few people and unfortunately I had to watch some people pass away from the addiction because they just didn't quit soon enough. When you get a post from their family members it really just sucks. That also was a reinforcer in my quit.

The funny parts of quitting: Because it's SO much easier when you have a good sense of humor lol.

Into my first few weeks i was used to having one at a certain time. One night when i left my chiropractor's office i reached in my purse for my pack.. lol yeah.. ok.. dippie.. you quit remember!? lol i laugh about that to this day.. It amazes me what creatures of habit we truly are, addiction or not! because that wasn't a nic-fit.. that was a habit-move lol.

There were other instances just like that one, but that one sticks clearly in my mind because it was my first habit-move lol.

The harder parts:

Socializing wasn't something i really got to involved in during the first 90 days. In fact, i even locked myself in my room and didn't talk to anyone at the house when i was here because that would spark a nic-fit.

Drinking was off the list too until I could socialize successfully.. Now, I can't imagine having a sick stick when I enjoy the full taste of my beer.

Hand cravings.. yeah you heard right.. i had to do stuff with my hands.. now I floss a lot lol.. the dentist is happy. Well, I don't have those anymore anyway but I still floss doc! lol

Unexpected surprises:

My car almost has it's new car smell back. I'm happy about that.

My skin cleared up a lot (I’m not grey anymore)

I don't stink anymore.. yeah now i don't know HOW any NON smoker can date a smoker.. I can smell them across the room .. blech..

My clothes don't stink (well the ones that aren't in my mom's house, all those wreak like a stale ashtray.. it's f'n gross so even though I don't smoke anymore I still smell like ass sometimes)

All-in-all i'm happy that i made the leap to the non-smoker realm. Maybe one day the gov't will ban it at ALL public places.. Including the beach, and outside of restaurants.. cause ya know what smokers? It's not a good thing to be blowing in someone's face, just becuse you like it doesn't mean others do too, have some respect.. There are 400,000 carsinogens in a cigarette.. so you tell me what's more important? killing another person slowly or caving in to the crave..
Trust me, if i can do it anyone can do it.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Merry Christmas! with UPDATE

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Though the day is almost over, i hope that everyone had a wonderful day with friends and family, and that Santa brought you everything your little heart desired.
I made out pretty well this year. The only thing i TRULY wanted that i put on my list i got plus something i ALWAYS wanted and never thought i would own because it's so damn expensive.. Kyle got me the Kitchen Aid stand mixer.

Now i KNOW what you are saying .. are you crazy?! A KITCHEN APPLIANCE!? No, I'm not crazy.. and YES, a Kitchen appliance.. That shows my man pays attention! lol. Although i LOVE LOVE LOVE my mixer, (I'm actually pissed that all the grocery stores are closed because i want to make something!), the REAL gift in this is the fact that he pays attention when i talk. I never outright ASKED him for the mixer.. i just made a comment in passing that i always wanted one but never could afford it.. well less than a month later it was under my Christmas tree! I love him so much!

He also got me one thing that i did want and that i did ask for and that was a sewing machine. I need it for the house to make pillows and curtains and such and they are a bit pricey too. Now all i need is a circular saw and I'll be good to go! lol.

My parents hooked me up with cash, Hess truck, and a remote helicopter.. yes, you heard right.. i wanted it because it's cool as hell lol. i also got a DVD/CD/Video game cataloging system that's cool since i have so many and i hate the room it takes up! i also got a few little gifts that are very much appreciated and i will put to good use!

Today was a long day and I'm still exhausted. i got only a few hours sleep last night because by the time i got home from his mom's, unpacked my car and situated myself it was like 3am and he came home at 5am and of course we had to open gifts i couldn't WAIT until TOMORROW (being the 26th cause he's working tonight). So i traveled down to my Dad's house and i pretty much slept the entire time.. I hated that i was so tired, and felt bad that i slept, but i just had too.. there was no way i was going to be able to drive all the way back up here as tired as i was.

Now I'm going to make a cup of my favorite coffee, finish setting up his iTunes account, put my jammies on and veg out.. I'm tired. My gift to myself for the remainder of the day is rest. But wait.. i just remembered i have corn muffin mix and i can make that and bring it to him at work! OK i think i got my second wind lol
Merry Christmas Everyone!


UPDATE:
I LOVE my mixer! LOVE IT! It took me 2 minutes to prepare the mix for the cornbread! 20 minutes to bake it. I brought nice warm corn bread to Kyle and his Trainee (Kyle is now an FTO!) some of my favorite coffee, and some apples. That should put some home cookin' in their bellies for a little while anyway on this not too cold of a Christmas night! Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
~T

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Almost too embarrassed:UPDATE

To post this in my Tara's Tastes blog..

Today i received an "out-of-the-blue" recipe from Kyle's Grandmother out of state for a rum cake. We were chatting via e-mail for about a week or so now, and she told me she was baking a cake for Christmas dinner and jotted down the recipe. Well, thankfully she did because my company is having a dessert contest tomorrow afternoon and i was stumped on what to make!



So i made the cake.. it's smells awesome and.. well.. it kind of looks funny! lol It's a bundt cake, and i never saw a bundt cake do this! I just HAVE to post this because I'm besides myself!

Anyone have any clues? I've made a gazillion bundt cakes (only cakes i like to make) and this has never happened!

It almost looks like two cakes on top of each other! lol
(there's nuts on the top if you were wondering what that was)
UPDATE:
The contest was very well judged. My Rum Cake (that i topped with powdery confectioners sugar) got an honorable mention, although he said he couldn't taste the rum. Which is fine because the tequila in the tequila lime tart someone else made couldn't be tasted either lol.
He picked a German cake for the winner (of course! he's German!) and the winner has to judge the contest next year.. she is of Hispanic decent so i will be hitting up those recipes to perfect for next year! HA HA! I'm on to this one! Two can play at this game! BRING IT!

Monday, December 22, 2008

The Countdown begins!

OK.. so all my Christmas shopping is 99% complete.
The delivery services did their jobs and i received all packages ON-TIME and in one piece, the latter being most important. I just have to get a couple of gift cards and I'm completely DONE!

I went to the store tonight to get the Christmas cards, and gift bags and such.. Now i KNOW I'm getting old.. i get home and the one gift for my co-worker that i was carrying around with me the entire time, being the burden, was the one gift i forgot a gift bag for!! hahahhah! I'm shot.. I think i should tattoo my address on my body somewhere in case i get lost, or wander away from home lol.. this is getting crazy! but i digress while laughing at myself of course! lol

I received a beautifully home-made card from my friend Robin. THANKS GIRL! That card is awesome! YOU ROCK! It was definitely a pleasant surprise!

I didn't plan on doing much traveling this year.. I was going to take advantage of Kyle working and stay local until i HAD to travel up North Christmas night, but his wonderful Mom invited me over for dinner.. Unfortunately, i won't be able to actually HAVE dinner with them, being as i am having dinner with my Mom, but I'll be there for desert! I hope anyway.. She lives VERY far from me and we are supposed to have rain, and it's a high traffic day as well, but hey! if Good Ole' Santa can do it by golly so can I! lol

So tomorrow is it.. i have nothing left but gift cards and a couple of gift bags.. We are having a holiday dessert contest at work on Wednesday. My AWESOME co-worker has volunteered her culinary experiences to our department for the contest and I'm thinking we will most likely win! cause she rocks!

If you don't hear from me have a wonderful, Happy, Safe, Memorable, Fun, Merry Christmas.

Love
~T

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Update on Just in Time for the Holidays

(full story here)

Sean has requested a change of venue because Officer Raji's brother-in-law is the supreme court judge hearing the case.

Though i agree he is due a fair trial, what makes him think the phones stopped working? I mean seriously? As CORRUPT as this state is? One call will send him away no matter WHERE his venue is. He recklessly drank, drove and killed an officer.. Oh i'm sorry, he's innocent until proven guilty.. So a ghost did it i guess.. OR MAYBE his car is out of some Stephen King novel. Give me a break, there shouldn't even BE a trial.

Random Ramblings

This weekend is both productive and annoying at the same time.
The annoyance comes from the weather.. Now I'm all for a nice white velvety blanket of snow on the grass and such for Christmas, but this is nuts.. We got about 8 inches from yesterday's storm. I did A LOT of shoveling.. my back is shot now, but that's my fault. Kyle told me not to, but i didn't want to do it AFTER it all fell and iced up.. just makes it heavier. so i did about 60% of the driveway while he was getting ready for work and for an hour after he left. He kindly finished when he got home from work this morning. Anywho, I just read the weather report on weathertap and now they are calling for ANOTHER 2-5 inches in the area I'm in starting tonight into tomorrow, finishing as sleet or rain and the temps are going to drop to 15 degrees.. OK, since the wonderful DPWs of every town in the God Forsaken state can't properly remove snow from secondary and tertiary streets we will now have MILES and MILES of winding ice skating rinks until Wednesday when the temps get to the 40's.. How my commute to work is going to go Monday morning has yet to be seen, but i promise you this.. I will take yet another day off (or at least a 1/2 day) if i can't safely get to work. Nothing is worth it.. well maybe if i was President of the US but that's about it.

So other than shoveling this weekend I've done 4 loads of laundry, grocery shopping (butt crack of dawn on Friday before the devastation-that's what the news calls it anyway) hit, cooked 2 dinners, cleaned out the fridge, and i started painting the basement. I put the bottom coats on the main wall. I have yet to blend for the water effect as my back is just about done. Kyle is at work, and i watched COPS already.. so i decided to bake a banana cake.. Smells awesome around here lol. OH! that reminds me! i have to marinate the roast for tomorrow! SHOOT! I meant to start that last night.. oh well.. I've been busy lol.

If this is any indication of what this winter is going to be like, I'm calling BS on the whole Global Warming thing. Also, it's just going to be a LONG 3-4 months.. ugh..

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Just in Time for the Holidays

An indictment for drunk driving. http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20081212/NEWS/81212012

Only this DUI case involves a now deceased officer.
Officer Thomas Raji was killed August 22, 2008 by the accused (Sean McGuirk) after he ran a red light and collided with Officer Raji's patrol vehicle.

Officer Raji graduated the academy with my SO, I never met the man, but it still hurt knowing he knew him and that this officer will no longer see his family, friends, and yet-to-be-born baby. My prayers STILL go out to that family and i hope this indictment brings them closer to some semblance of closure.
Original Story can be found here: http://www.lawofficer.com/news-and-articles/in-memoriam/Officer_Thomas_Raji.html;jsessionid=F1DBD8784222A710103DD51AB3DE22AC

I know the intersection very well. I go through it twice a week. To run those two stop lights is near impossible. You are either DRUNK or impatient as the first red light is about 50 feet from the 2nd and the 2nd is in between the north and south lanes of the highway.

Officer Raji's road side memorial now marks the spot where his patrol vehicle came to a stop. It's very very very sad. I thank the bank that allows the memorial to stay, to this day, on their property.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Happy Birthday to me

6 months later! lol
Kyle was FINALLY able to acquire the WiiFit i wanted for my birthday! He surprised me Friday night after work.. Needless to say I've been WiiFitting all weekend and tonight as well.

I'm ADDICTED!

(The running exercise is, by far, the most hysterical.) I love all the games but the tightrope walk so far.. I just don't understand it at all at this point.. I've gotten through it a couple of times, it's just the balance part.. I'm standing about as even as anyone could and it's making my Mii tilt like she is going to lose her balance.. I guess I'll have to keep at that one.. that's my CHALLENGE challenge lol.

I love the Yoga too.. It's helping me with my form and balance so when i go back to class in January (almost February) I'll have better balance and I'll be better at the forms too.. I'm so glad i have something to bide my time through the down time between semesters. lol!

Tonight i Wii'd for 1 hour and 6 minutes and i only technically "worked out" for 45 minutes. It felt great! I'm glad i have something like this to get me through the winter! Now i want Jillian's(trainer from the biggest loser) WiiFit game. The one the Fit comes with is pretty hard.. but once i unlock all the games I'll need a bigger challenge, and almost all my balancing games are unlocked.. well on the easy levels anyway. There are plenty of levels and challenges to keep one busy for a LONG TIME, but if ever i want to go all out i would like to have Jillian's challenge around to use.

The Ab workout was a hard one.. my abs certainly do feel it today.. but that's good. That's what i need.

If you don' t like to "work out" i highly recommend this little device. It's almost like you AREN'T working out because it's a lot of fun. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Gratitude

Tonight i went to my Grandmother's holiday party at the assisted living facility where she lives. My Aunt and Uncle from out of state also attended. I haven't seen my Aunt since last year i think, and I'm so happy i went. I miss them! My Uncle has a new black berry and it's pretty neat what that thing can do! I think i want one! lol. He showed me my cousin's blog (that i didn't know existed) and she blogs all her stuff via her black berry! She's quite the comedian! lol And has a quick witted little personality i never knew existed! I love this girl! ROFL

My Aunt (Also my Godmother) listened to me gripe about something personal in my life that I'm going through, and offered really good advice and support and i think that's what i really needed to get me out of this funk I've been in since Monday night. I just hope it's not too late.
And as i open my fortune cookie left over from last night the fortune reads:
One should not forget the language of Gratitude

Thanks AD! Oh, and thank UD for me for the pics, I got em!

Tonight's entertainment consisted of a woman that sang a few notes while we awaited for the main show to arrive (traffic.. by now you know NJ sucks with traffic). It was a singing group of girls from the College that sang holiday songs and a few others via alcapella (s/p?).. Very nice i thought.. they gave me the goosebumps lol. My g-ma wasn't too thrilled, she liked the Elvis impersonator from last year better, and she wasn't shy about letting people know about it either lol.
My neighbor was there with her children (wasn't expecting THAT lol.. yeah the barking dogs lady (not sure if i ever mentioned that one before) well her mother is in the same facility as my G-ma.. And her mom is a little loose lipped too!
What's with old people? is it that they are oblivious to their surroundings? or they just don't give a shit? lol i can't WAIT then I'll get a backbone! lol
oh well, such is life lol.

On another good note.. I got my shoes tonight for the EMS dinner in January.. I'm happy with my purchase.. can't beat free overnight shipping! THANK YOU! They seem comfy enough too.. For once i won't be wearing a black dress and shoes.. I'm wearing RED with silver strappy shoes.. i need to go tanning lol I'm pale.. man i hate Winter lol.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Yoga should be mandatory

Tonight was my last class for the semester (I'm desperately hoping to get into Jeanne's class again for the winter semester, but it fills up quick). It started off very grim. I arrived in the high school parking lot to emptiness (usually you can't get a spot close enough to the building), but i grabbed my yoga magazine and started to read hoping other's would show up. Thankfully they did!

About 10 minutes before class was to start i headed inside and was greeted by one of the adult school teachers (I think he said his name was Todd, but i could be mistaken), he proceeded to inform me that Jeanne was stuck in traffic on the parkway (REALLY BAD ACCIDENT) but hoped to arrive about 20 to 7 and that i was more than welcome to wait in the resource center (where class is held).

About 4 of us started our stretches, and laughed, and talked about the anxiety we all felt about getting into the winter class. More people arrived and before you knew we were getting ready for breathing.. One very nice gentlemen decided to do Jeanne a favor and started us on our breathing, shortly thereafter she arrived and praised us, her pupils, for being patient and understanding, and knowing that we were not pressuring her got her through the 3.5 hour traffic jam she endured just to teach us a class she could have cancelled. For our reward we were going to have a restorative Yoga class. Yeah, it's what i needed big time.

I didn't understand what it meant, but i was a very willing participant! Basically restorative Yoga is when you never get off the mat. You never stand up, you do all movements lying down. I hate to admit this but i had better stretches and felt more relaxed in this class then any Yoga class thus far.

After twisting like a pretzel, literally, we went into Savangsana, deeply into it actually. So deep that as cold as that room was i didn't feel it.. after a while i didn't even feel the floor underneath me. It was like i was floating.. i was in Yoga sleep.. aware of my surroundings, yet not awake, i heard everything Jeanne was saying and also my mind was quiet. No pictures, no sounds, no ideas, no anger, no stress, nothing.. just quiet Yoga sleep. Until the guy next to me snored lol, scared the crap outta me! but i quickly recovered and found my quiet again.

I was very angry today for a few reasons, some of which are personal, and it took her traffic experience, restorative Yoga, and the guy next to me snoring, oh and the Chinese food tonight to help me out of that anger. Sometimes, even though being angry is bad, God makes on feel that emotion just in time to cure it. Had i not been angry i may not have had the experience i had tonight. I felt it leave me every time i had to hold a pose, or breathe a little deeper, or stretch a little farther. I found my total peace in Savangsana, and now I'm so happy i wanna cry! lol

Jeanne was kind enough to give a poem as a hand out with a tea light candle. She said whenever we need focus between now and the next semester in 6 - weeks, to light the candle and meditate, she also offered this poem by Carolyn Hoppe

Light a candle for help for each
Heart that's in need

A candle for every
Compassionate deed,

Light a candle for smiles on
The children's faces

A candle for peace between
Countries and races

Light a candle that shines like
A star in the night

Light a candle of hope

For a future that's bright

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Christmas Overseas

For the past few weeks i've received a few e-mails regarding ways to send Christmas cards or notes to our troops overseas. Below is a link to Xerox's site. I already sent 2 Xerox cards out this morning. I hope you can find the time to send some cards as well. I may just go out and buy a pack of cars and mail them all to the WRAMC.. These guys/gals need a nice gesture for the holidays i'm sure.

This is a wonderfull service and only takes a few moments of your time:

http://www.letssaythanks.com/

The address below is one you can actually MAIL a card to. These are for the vets recovering in the hospital:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001


~T

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Union County Sherrif's Officer fighting for his life

I was unfortunate enough to see this news story while eating dinner tonight. The pictures of the unmarked car made me sick. How anyone survived this crash is beyond me.. He was completely t-boned by a vehicle traveling 100mph. The fleeing suspect hit the driver's side of Officer Coon's vehicle. He just got married, his wife also works for the agency. My prayers go out to her and their families in this dark time.
What the article fails to mention is the severe head injury Officer Coon has.
See Story Below with Link

Union County sheriff's officer critical after his car is hit by robbery suspect

ELIZABETH —A Union County sheriff's officer is in critical condition after a robbery suspect driving more than 100 miles per hour slammed his vehicle into the officer's unmarked patrol car Tuesday night in Elizabeth, a county official said.
Sheriff's Officer Christopher Coon, 28, suffered life-threatening injuries in the 10:45 p.m. crash on Routes 1 and 9, Union County spokesman Sebastian D'Elia said. The Rahway resident, a five-year veteran, was taken to University Hospital in Newark with injuries including a collapsed lung, facial lacerations and a broken fibula and tibia.
Another sheriff's officer, James Guerrant, 26, was treated and released from Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth Tuesday morning. The Garwood resident was also in the patrol car at the time of the crash.
Authorities arrested at least one man after the alleged armed robbery in Newark led to a police chase through Hillside and Elizabeth, D'Elia said. The suspects were allegedly driving between 100 and 125 mph, east on South Broad Street, when their Jeep slammed into the driver's side of the patrol car as it traveled north on Routes 1 and 9, authorities said.Waleed Dozier, 31, of East Orange was charged with eluding police and causing serious injury while eluding. He was being held in lieu of $500,000 bail.
Coon, who is the stepson of Union County Sheriff Ralph Froehlich, also underwent surgery for a damaged knee and has a shunt in his head, the county spokesman said. Both he and Guerrant have received several commendations from their department.

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20081203/NEWS/81203011/-1/DATA

Today's thought

Whatever you give a woman, she will make greater. If you give her sperm, she'll give you a baby. If you give her a house, she'll give you a home. If you give her groceries, she'll give you a meal. If you give her a smile, she'll give you her heart. She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her.
So, if you give her any crap, be ready to receive a ton of shit.

This was an e-mail originally sent to me today by a co-worker. It speaks the abslute truth lol.!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Comedy in Curiosity

Puppies are definitely an extremely reliable source of good quality entertainment. Take tonight for example. Mom and I just finished eating dinner when we noticed the new puppy, Miki, looking at her reflection in the water bowl. She bobbed her nose in a few times then went to paw at her image when we stopped her. It was at that point that i decided to put an ice cube in the water to see what she would do with it.

Now i clearly know she has not experienced the ice cube so my curiosity was surely peaked. Good ole' Miki didn't let me down! I guess ice cubes make this REALLY highly pitched squealing sound while they are melting in a bowl of water and Miki clearly was astounded by this new toy she thinks she might have found.

Not quite sure what to make of it she slowly creeps up to the bowl, pawing at it just slightly for whatever dog reason she thinks is necessary.


Clearly she is not sure what to make of this little white floating noise maker in the water dish. She is also oblivious to my Mom and I laughing hysterically while taking pictures of her lesson of the day. LMAO!
After many minutes of pawing at the bowl and staring at the ice cube in wonderment, Miki decides to go nose first to get out the water-bowl intruder.

She's a happy puppy! and we FINALLY got a dog to retrieve and dispose of the missed ice cubes from the ice maker. Good Girl Miki!


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