DMB!!

Last night was my 4th time seeing the Dave Matthews Band. It was great! There was a jackass sitting behind us that was screaming and acting a fool...to the point that halfway through I decided to give up my seat and stand somewhere else to watch the show. What a show though! They are fantastic musicians....always a pleasure to see perform. Here's a like to a video of Carter- the drummer. He's AWESOME!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=C4AzJVbBL8k

Life Comes At You Fast

Well, my sinuses are doing well. I got all sucked out the other day at the Dr.'s office...that hurt like hell, but helped open me up a lot.
Work has been very disappointing lately....I don't even want to go into it. I wish I had more control over what/when/how and why I work.
Kids are in school and doing well so far. JD has her first job- that seems to be going well also.
I've been worried about both of my parents lately- they are not in good health. Dad has COPD; still smokes tons, still drinks tons. Mom has Congestive Heart Failure- a pacemaker- high blood pressure...you name it.
And I need to lose 10 lbs!!! Arggggggggg..........
The good news is...I get to go see Dave Matthews Band on Tuesday! Yippe!

I've learned something

I've learned that just when I think I've had the "worst" of something....I'm wrong. I thought I've had headaches before.....even really bad ones. I have now had what I consider to be the WORST headache I've ever had for 3 days straight. My Dr. says it's because of the "gunk" still in my sinuses....and the pressure in the atmosphere. I have a sinus headache ....to the extreme. The most relief I feel is when I'm at home laying down with a cold rag over my eyes. I'll be there in a few hours. I'm going to work another half day today. Anyway, I'm still in recovery....

Sinus Surgery ....ug

I had my surgery yesterday. It's not bad really. I went in at 7am. They were fast getting me back there, doing my IV and such...then they went to get Jeff to tell me goodbye...said "give him a kiss, it's time to go". That's the last thing I remember. I think they sneaked me the medicine to put me to sleep, because I don't remember anything past them telling me to say goodbye to Jeff. I woke up fully packed in the nose....mild pain. The most pain was the burning in the back of my nose and throat. I felt a lot of pressure in my face. I had gause taped to the outside of my nose ....and pretty much all day yesterday it bled through just about every hour. I slept OK last night. I am feeling a lot better today...the blood draining is very minimal..I quit wearing the gause today...the tape was tearing up my face (I'm allergic to adhesive). NO BLACK EYES! I have very minimal swelling....I have 2 small cuts on the outside of my nose. I'm leaving in about 2 hours to have the packing removed...I'm a bit nervous about it. My Dr. told me that it's very painful..in fact, "you're not going to like me very much" were his exact words. Oh well, I've survived much worse! I'll be fine to go back to work Monday...and if things continue to go as well as they have so far, this will be my easiest surgery so far!

What a weekend!

Well, it's all over and done with. We had a great time. My little sister came into town from N. Carolina, that was a blast....I was so happy to have her here with us. My ex-mother in law came too from Vegas, and it was great having her see the way we live....and our family too. My daughters Sweet 16 party was very nice. I think it was a huge success. We had a lot of people, a ton of food and she absolutely made out like a bandit! She received about $1,000 in gifts, gift cards and cash. My younger daughter is a bit jealous, but I told her "don't worry.....you'll be Sweet 16 someday".

I got a nasty bug that lasted about 48 hrs. the last day of the weekend. That was terrible, but I got through it.....and gave it to my husband at the same time. I think he's better today though.

My poor kitty had to go see the vet again today. The injury he had to his tail (a cat bite) abscessed...and then exploded. I'm sure it was a huge releif to Tiger, but it was a mess to clean up. He has a hole in his tail now about the size of a dime. It's an open wound....and it has to heal from the inside out (something I can relate to). The worst part is I'm going to make him stay inside from now on. This is the 4th vet trip in 3 months. I cant afford for him to get beat up so often outside! So- I'm going to attempt to make him some sort of a cat condo or something.

Sweet 16

My beautiful, intelligent and wonderful daughter Jewel is 16 years old today. Time has flown by. I'm not ready for her to be 16! She has been a gift in my life for almost as long as I can remember. Most parents cannot say that they've been a mom MORE than half their life...but I can. I've been anxiously awaiting this birthday. We are having a Sweet 16 Luau at our home this Saturday. It'll be a small affair- about 25 people. I hope she is happy with her life and is hopeful for her future. I'm so proud to be her mother.

Updates

Well the cheese was good.....a bit rich, but I think that's only because I have not had cheese in a long time.

So- I'm having sinus surgery on Thursday, August 9th. Two days off work, back to work on Monday. Hopefully it'll clear out my sinuses and I will be able to breathe out of my nose again!

I'm also trying to help organize a benefit concert to take place in Las Vegas on or around July 4th. It'll be the 10th anniversary of my friend Lins death. Here is a picture of Lin and I the last time I saw him. I'm working on gettin Fishbone to headline it. They want at least $5k to play....so we are figuring that out. We are also working on getting a venue. I'm not worried at all about getting other bands to play. That part will be easy.

Veggie Shreds

I bought a product today called "Veggie Shreds". It's a Lactose Free fake cheese. It's Parmesan, Mozzarella and Romano Flavor shredded fake cheese. I have not had cheese in 5 months! So- tonight we are going to make home made pizzas! I have gotten use to eating them w/o cheese...which is just fine, but I'm *hoping* that this product will taste good so I can start using it for other things too!

I'll post with the results of my taste testing tomorrow.

I'm on vacation! Actually, I've been on vacation since July 4th. It's nice to have some time off. I have not done much really; a lot of sleeping in and relaxing. That's what MY vacations are all about. I have the weekend left...then back to work on Monday. I needed a mental break.

Oh yeah, and I bought a new SUV. Not new, used...but new to me. Jeff and I decided since his car was paid off, it was time to get a bigger vehicle so that Sumo and the kids would have more space. I bought an 03 Ford Explorer. It's loaded, great miles and we got a fantastic deal. Since gas prices are up, SUV's are cheaper. I put 35,000 miles on my last car in 4 years...so I'm an ideal candidate for an SUV. I did a lot of research and I'm pretty happy with what we ended up with. We decided to sell Jeff's car, and he inherited mine. His car was in bad shape anyway. It's so interesting how easy it is to buy a car these days. No down pmt required, they rolled into my loan the taxes and they are even getting my tags for me! It really can't be any easier. CarMax is where we went.....it was a great car shopping experience. We also sold Jeff's car to CarMax...they gave us a lot more than we expected.

One more thing to update. My sinus issue is still going on. If you don't know what I'm talking about, read some old entries. I went to the Dr. on Monday and he told me that he thinks I have a fungal infection in my left sinus. It did not respond to 3 months of hardcore antibiotics (along w/ steriods)....so it's either more intensive therapy or surgery. I'm going to see an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat Dr.) on Tuesday afternoon and I'm prepared to tell him I do NOT want to have surgery. I'm hoping that I can do some sort of therapy that will clear this up. I can't breathe and I've been getting daily headaches lately. So- I'm trusting in modern medicine to fix me up.

All is well in my space of the world. Life is pretty fun you know?

Independence Day- 2 Things

In 1776 Thomas Jefferson offered in his Declaration of Independence certain fundamental, timeless principles regarding all men and their coexistence with one another:

Each individual's inalienable right to his own life, his own liberty, and the pursuit of his own happiness.

This historically unprecedented declaration inspired the establishment of a nation based on the recognition of these individual rights, which include, as their necessary corollary, property rights, wherein property (earned or inherited) is privately owned.

The Fourth of July is a holiday that most Americans celebrate for various reasons. The festivity may involve family, friends or public gatherings. Popular culture would have you believe that the gala is a birthday party for the country. Flags wave, bands march and bystanders cheer. The parades are pageants, visible spectacles for all to enjoy. After the confetti blows away, what is the meaning of the day? Commemoration of the Declaration of Independence should be the primary reason for the remembrance.

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Lin Newborn - May 7, 1974-July 4, 1998

July 4th has never been the same after that day in 1998. My friend Lin Newborn was killed along with his friend Daniel Shersty. They were both anti-racist activists, and were taken to the desert and murdered. Police state that Lin and Dan were lured into a trap by two women, and taken to a northwest part of the valley(in Las Vegas, NV) under the pretext of attending a party. They were then beaten and possibly tortured before being shot to death by white racial extremists. Police speculate that Newborn may have been trying to escape when he was killed.

Each July 4th I'm taken back by his death. It reminds me of my own mortality. I cant believe it's been 9 years.