I learned a few days ago that Lymphedema has it's own awareness ribbon & pin. I was pretty impressed because so many people haven't heard of the disease. I never heard about it until the doctor told me I had it.
So I ordered the pin in the picture on the left. I figured maybe talking about it would spread awareness. They need so much more research for this disease as it is incurable. That word scares the crap out of me. But luckily it is manageable.
Taken from National Lymphedema Network - "Gradually becoming a nationally recognized symbol for lymphedema awareness and the inspirational movement behind it, the transformational butterfly represents the journey of lymphedema over the past 15 years, from complete obscurity to the gradual light of awareness that is beginning to shine on this largely unrecognized and under-treated epidemic."
Speaking of manageable, I wanted to give you all an update on what this past week in therapy proved to me. I suck at wrapping myself. So much so that my therapist asked me to stop wrapping myself and for her to only do it when I go to therapy. See here is the deal. Michelle and Mabelle (Bud's French twins) and I still cannot connect for them to show me their art in flexibility. Gumby is too busy. So what this leaves me with is myself half-assing it. Well the times that I attempted it I caused more harm than good. I actually made fluid move into my foot because I gave myself bad compression. My therapist said to me that no compression is better than bad compression. So, ladies and gentlemen...I am getting fitted for that Farrow Wrap ™ on Thursday. It should only take a few days for them to custom fit them. So I get wrapped on Monday mornings, Wednesday mornings & Thursday evenings which last until Friday evening. So I will be wrapped 4 days a week until I get the Farrow Wrap ™ I will continue therapy and look like the Michelin Man ™ on those days and on my off-therapy days I will don the Farrow Wrap ™ My therapist says in about a month I can get fitted for the custom compression garments for daytime use and the Solaris ™ night garment for nighttime use. That is what I will wear when I'm done with therapy. I can also sustitute and use the Farrow Wrap ™ for either day or nighttime wear. Ahhh, decisions, decisions. What to do. I'm going to be such a fashion plate. Can't wait to feel how hot all this is going to be in the summer. Ugh!
The post below this...I got lazy and put both Saturday 9 AND Sunday Stealing together.
I will leave you with this Laugh of the day:
My hubby sent me this joke...thought I'd share it with you all.
Another new illness to watch out for - Anal Glaucoma
A woman calls her boss one morning and tells him that she is staying home because she is not feeling well.
"What's the matter?", he asks.
"I have a case of anal glaucoma," she says in a weak voice.
"What the hell is anal glaucoma?", he says hastily.
She replies - "I can't see my ass coming into work today."
3. What turns you on, creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?
Josh Holloway, oh I'm sorry I read the question wrong.
4. What turns you off?
Hate and racism
5. What is your favorite curse word?
This is for Bud - HOLY MOLY! LOL!
6. What sound or noise do you love?
Harley purring and the sound of my coffee maker brewing
7. What sound or noise do you hate?
Those little Honda Civic hatchbacks...you know the ones with the noisy mufflers that go by you in traffic. The drivers think they are hot stuff. They don't realize their car sounds like crap.
8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt?
Well it looks like I will have to really think about this in the near future it seems. I think I would like to change my career and work in the medical field. I would LOVE to work with people who have lymphedema or older people.
9. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Elvis wants to see the tattoo.
1. Are you single?
Only if you are Josh Holloway...other than that nope, I'm married :)
2. Are your parents still married?
N/A
3. Are you in love?
Yes
4. Do you believe in love at first sight?
My husband does..he said he fell in love with me immediately. It took longer for me though. But I suppose it could happen.
5. Who ended your last relationship?
I did
6. Have you ever been hurt by a break up?
Sure, even though I ended it, it hurt because we were together a number of years
7. Have you ever broken someone’s heart?
Yes, see #5
8. Have you ever had a secret admirer?
Yes once
9. Prefer love or lust?
Love
10. Prefer a few best friends or many regular friends?
A few best friends - it is all about quality, not quantity
11. Wild night out or romantic night in?
Romantic night in
12. Back in the day: Been caught sneaking out?
No
13. Ever wanted something/someone so badly it hurt?
No
14. Who are/is your best friend(s)?
I have a few...My husband, Colleen, my sister Jenny, Monica & Sue :)
15. Ever wanted to disappear?
Not completely, but go away for awhile and not tell anyone where I was.
16. First attraction: Smile or eyes?
Both
17. Prefer intelligence or attraction?
A little bit of both
18. Last phone call you received?
Hubby telling me he got to work safe
19. Last thing you drank?
Boring bottled water
20. Before your current one, when was your last relationship?
A few months before I met my husband. That relationship lasted 4yrs.
21. Do you and your family get along?
Yes
22. Would you say you have a "screwed up life"?
Nope, just screwed up luck
23. Have you ever gotten kicked out somewhere? If yes, do tell.
I'm officially exhausted. Between going yesterday to therapy and getting "all wrapped up" and then later on going to not one but two doctors...I'm doing all I can to stay awake. I got up at 4am yesterday to make it in time for therapy. Today I got up at 3:45am so I could unwrap myself, then roll up all the wraps/foam/cotton etc. Then after that I had to shower then re-wrap myself. The whole process takes 2hrs!
Today is a better day than I had the weekend. I feel better about therapy too. My therapist said that my legs are looking healthier and I did not hurt myself by wrapping myself wrong. Thank God. We are opting to wait on that whole Farrow Wrap ™ thing I spoke about too. She gave me something called Tubigrip ™ for in between visits when I don't feel like wrapping. It is a stockinette that has compression on it. She cut it two times the length of my leg so I can put it on, fold it at the ankle and turn the rest inside out so it will then go back up to my knees so I can have double compression. Between that, the wrapping, and the elevating I should be ready to order my compression garments and night garments in a few weeks. How many is few? I still can't get a straight answer.
I'm sorry that my posts have been medical lately. I guess it is because that is what is consuming me lately. It is all I think about. That and my impending job loss come the end of May.
To change the subject....Have any of you seen the Food Network show Chopped? I was watching it the other day and one of the Chefs on there was SO funny. This man named Chef William was allergic to eggplant. So he couldn't taste his recipe and he had a hard time cutting it up because his fingers would swell if he touched "the meat" of the eggplant as he called it. Then it came time to do another course and this one the producers chose grapefruit to be involved in the recipe. Well guess what - Chef William was allergic to grapefruit. The way he said this was hysterical. You had to see the expression on his face to truly appreciate it - "I had swollen, itchy red hands. It was like they were trying to kill me". Again, you had to see it. Did any of you?
First I would like to thank ALL of you who left such beautiful and encouraging comments about what is going on with me & my lymphedema. I can't tell you what it means to me. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. ♥
I've been having a real rough time since my last post. My therapist got sick and canceled our Thursday appointment. I have been wrapping myself since then. And I suck at it. For instance...when I took off the wraps that my therapist did, I saw results. My legs looks like a normal size. I couldn't believe the progress. I actually couldn't believe they were my legs! When I took off the wraps I did, my legs looked just like they did before therapy. It is like I have to start from scratch again on Monday. Another week wasted. It felt like I got kicked in the gut.
It is very hard to wrap yourself. I can't even begin to tell you. I really got to talk to Bud's French Twins because I have to learn about flexibility. I have none. I actually pulled my right hamstring trying to wrap myself. My hubby can't do it either. I am seriously considering ordering the FarrowWrap ™ for both of my legs. It is much easier. I think it will do a world of difference for me. Hopefully my insurance will cover it. It is a series of attached compression garments that is applied with Velcro. I'm debating about this and will talk to my therapist on Monday...God willing she is there!
Other than that, I'm doing OK. I'm just trying to get through this as best I can. Hopefully something will give soon & I can have some peace of mind that this will get better. I'm just really trying to work at getting fitted for the compression garments and night garment so I can live a normal life.
Hopefully soon I can post a "brighter" post. I'm just blah right now. I hope you all understand.
*warning* - extremely long post Hello Everyone! I'm back! I'm sorry I've been out of sorts lately. I do have a reason why. I was debating whether to post this or not. Not because I'm ashamed of it or anything, more or less because I don't want to come across as being "woe is me". I will explain.
Remember when I got sick in January with cellulitis in my leg? Well, when I was in the ER, the specialist came in to look at my leg and determined that I had the cellulitis and said that they were going to admit me and give me the IV antibiotics, etc. Then what happened next still baffles me.
Doctor: "Besides your cellulitis, I have a question for you. How are you treating your lymphedema?"
Jodi: "I don't even know what that is?"
Doctor: "Didn't you realize that you are retaining fluid in your calves?"
Jodi: "Well yeah, but I just thought it was fluid retention"
Doctor: "It is not water retention, you have lymphatic fluid in your legs which you will need therapy for"
And so began my life with Bilateral LE (lower extremity) Lymphedema. Apparently I have had it for years and I just didn't know it. I will spare you the details of how I now look back and go..."ahhh, so that is why that happened" moments. What I have is called primary lymphedema. People normally either get it in their legs or their arms. Primary patients develop lymphedema on their own or it can be genetic. There is such a thing called secondary lymphedema. Most people develop that as a result of something, such as say if a woman had breast cancer and had either a breast or lymph nodes removed. That can cause lymphedema...but for a secondary reason.
A real explanation rather than a Jodi explanation of lymphedema ~ Taken from http://www.vascularweb.org/ "Lymphedema occurs when a clear fluid known as lymphatic fluid builds up in the soft tissues of your body, usually in an arm or leg. The lymphatic system consists of lymph vessels and lymph nodes that run through your body. Lymph vessels collect a fluid that is made up of protein, water, fats, and wastes from the cells of the body. Lymph vessels carry this fluid to your lymph nodes. Lymph nodes filter waste materials and foreign products, and then return the fluid to your blood. If your vessels or nodes become damaged or are missing, the lymph fluid cannot move freely through the system. The fluids can then build up and cause swelling, known as lymphedema, in the affected arms or legs."
Basically what happened in the hospital is that the cellulitis aggravated my lymphedema and made it worse. I've been in *alot* of pain for the past two months. So that is why I have been slipping off my blog wagon a little more than usual. Until I started therapy I had to keep my legs elevated as much as possible as not to have the fluid settle in my calves. My problem really was in my shin and ankle area. They hurt the most. If you remember with the cellulitis, my shin was where it started so as you can imagine it did a number on the lymphedema.
I have been on a waiting list for the therapy I need to move this fluid out of my legs. There are not many physical/occupational therapists who specialize in lymphedema. There is a handful in NJ. That is why I had to wait so long. I just started the therapy this past Monday. I go three times a week - Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. What it involves is this. I get what is called a MLD massage therapy first. MLD is short for manual lymph drainage. It is a very light massage. I would say it is the equivalent as if you were to put lotion on your body, some light pressure. It is from toe to head, in that direction to allow the channels to open up. Then comes the fun part. I am then wrapped up like the Michelin ™ Tire Man - from the foot to the knee on both legs. I have first a stockinette which is like a stretchy ace bandage that goes on first to protect my skin. Then, I have a cotton layer put on. After that is 1/4 inch foam padding which makes this SO incredibly bulky. After that, on each leg I have 4 short stretch bandages. They look like ace bandages but do not have nearly any of the stretch that an ace bandage has. This is what supplies the compression I need to push the fluid up and out of my leg. After that layer is another stockinette to protect all the layers to keep them in place and also to allow them not to get dirty. Where does all the fluid go you ask...to other channels and mostly it is peed out. However, all of this makes one look like the Michelin ™ tire man from the knee down.
Here is what I look like all wrapped up - please note the stockinette is covering everything. Here is a closer view when I pull down the stockinette. This shows the first stockinette, the foam and then the compression bandange. Sexy isn't it????
Why did I not share all of this before? I don't know. I guess I was just in my own world when I found out. See the thing is, lymphedema has no cure. I will have this the rest of my life. This will require constant maintenance. I will always have to wear something on my calves - day and night. Forever. So yes, I have been depressed about it and putting it "on paper" makes it real. The pain has been really bad for these past two months and I guess it was more or less if I didn't "talk" about it, it wasn't there. I am sorry that I didn't share this with you all sooner. I hope that you all can forgive me.
What happens from here ~ I will be in therapy for about 6 to 9 weeks. I will go three times a week. I will get wrapped there and on my off days I will have to wrap myself. This should prove to be interesting because I will have to take lessons from Bud's French twins on flexibility. I have not wrapped myself yet. I will do so on Saturday. Ugh!
After my therapy is over I will be custom fitted for compression garments. I will have to wear these everyday during the day for the rest of my life. (my legs will look just like that too LOL!) For evening wear, I will have a choice of either wearing the wraps that I have now which take FOREVER to put on and forever to roll everything up when you take them off. OR...I can opt for the sexy night garment instead. Can you just picture how lovely this will all be in the summer? Choices, choices!!! I wonder what the lesser of two evils will be. Now the fun part is this. Hopefully my insurance will cover all of this. For custom fitted day garments, they will cost approx $1000-1200 each. I will need two for each leg since I will have to wash them in the evening and allow drying time. So you are talking up to $4800 for daytime wear. The night garments are about the same price but I will only need one each since I would put a lovely stockinette on first to protect the skin. So now we are close to $7000. Oh yes, and they have to be replaced yearly. Lastly, did I mention that my boss is closing the agency on May 31st? But that is a whole other post. Another thing that has added to my depression and stress. I won't get into that now though.
I wanted to post the pictures of my legs though so I didn't scare you guys. They look bigger and bulkier because of all the padding and foam underneath the wrapping and stockinette. Poor Sue looked up lymphedema (yes, she knew but she was waiting on me telling you all) and it scared her what they showed picture wise on the internet. They show people with severe lymphedema...people who don't get it taken care of. My legs *do not* look like that. Thank the good Lord. I feel SO bad for those people because I know how painful my legs are. I can't even imagine how they cope and go through each day. So just in case any of you look lymphedema up, don't worry - those pictures are not me.
I will leave you with a YouTube video of a woman who wraps herself with a multi-layer compression bandage on her one leg so you can see what it is like. She explains lymphedema in detail and shows you how we have to put on the stockinette, the foam, and then the compression short stretch bandages. Please note that in the beginning she wraps her toes. I do not have to wrap mine thank God. You can skip that part and forward to where she puts the foam on so you can see where I begin. But, what she talks about while she is wrapping the toes is very interesting..
If you all made it to the end of this post - YOU ARE AMAZING! Thank you all for your friendship and reading this extremely long post. I hope I explained everything well enough. .
OK, I didn't quite make it back on last night. When Larry left for work I was totally exhausted and just laid in bed with Harley cat & watched some TV and nodded off by 11pm. We are going out in a little while for the afternoon. He is working the graveyard shift again tonight. Ugh! I will try to catch up with my blog reading & commenting.
So here is my killing two birds with one stone post...Saturday 9 and Sunday Stealing made a duo performance.
1. Did you date someone from your school? No, I went to an all girls Catholic high school...there weren't any boys there. :)
2. Did you marry someone from your high school? No
3. Did you car pool to school? I took a bus the first two years. Junior year my Mom drove me. Senior year I drove my Mom's car to/from.
4. What kind of car did you have? A 1978 brown Toyota Corolla with no power steering, no power brakes, no air conditioning, and an AM only radio
5. What kind of car do you have now? A 2007 red Toyota Corolla. I didn't stray far from the original but this time I have power everything. LOL
6. Its Friday night...where are you now? At the mall or home
7. It is Friday night...where were you then? Home
8. What kind of job did you have in high school? Cashier at a retail store in the mall. I also worked in a dentist office.
9. What kind of job do you do now? Corporate travel agent
10. Were you a party animal? No
11. Were you considered a flirt? No
12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? No
13. Were you a nerd? No
14. Did you get suspended from school? No
15. Can you sing the fight song? We didn't have a fight song. We had a song as seniors that we used to make the underclassmen sing to us. Hey, we were an all girls school..we needed some excitement. It went like this - "We love you seniors. Oh yes we do! We love you seniors. Oh yes we do! When you are not near us, we're blue - Oh seniors we love you!" - Ok, so we were nerds.
16. Who was/were your favorite teacher? Sister Marilyn - we are still friends till this day.
17. Where did you sit during lunch? The cafeteria
18. What was your school's full name? For the sake of privacy, I'd rather not post it... :)
19. Where did you party the most? I didn't
20. What was your school mascot? They recently changed it because it wasn't politically correct.
21. Would you do it again? Absolutely
22. Did you have fun at Prom? I didn't go because I couldn't afford it, neither did the guy I was dating at the time.
23. Do you still talk to the person you went to Prom with? N/A
24. Are you planning on going to your next reunion? They never have one
25. Do you still talk to people from school? Yes
26. What are/were your school's colors? Baby Blue and white
I am running out of the house to meet my sisters. I just wanted to say a quick hello to you all and to let you know I'll be catching up on my blog reading and commenting tonight after my hubby leaves for work at 10pm. I feel like I'm so behind! I'm SO sorry. I don't want you all to think I forgot you. I will also post Saturday 9 later.
Leaving you with a picture of my Harley cat from a few moments ago. He was sitting on that box looking up out the window because there were birds chirping outside. You would think after 15yrs he would know he doesn't stand a chance. You can't teach a mature cat new tricks.
Today is a happy day for me. I haven't been this happy since O.J. Simpson went to jail. FINALLY that Howard Stern and Anna's "doctors" were arrested for helping Anna get the drugs that she was addicted to.
Taken from CNN.Com
Stern and Dr. Sandeep Kapoor were arrested and later released from a Los Angeles County jail Thursday night after each posted a $20,000 bond,a police spokesman said.
Dr. Khristine Eroshevich also faces charges and is expected to turn herself in Monday, authorities said. The doctors and Stern devised a plan to use fake names so that Smith could be prescribed "thousands of pills," California Attorney General Jerry Brown said. "She was obviously addicted," Brown said. "These doctors had a medical obligation to prescribe medicine in a professional way. Evidence will show this did not happen."
I hope to God that they will not be slapped on the wrists for this. I hope that the "doctors" lose their licenses and that Howard rots in jail for what he did. I still say Daniel's death was fishy. Seemed a little too coincidental if you ask me.
1. You are walking down the road and you look down. There is a bug. Do you step on it? Nah, I'd try to avoid it. I don't fancy bug guts on the bottom of my shoe. 2. What is one fantasy that you want to come true more than any other? For Elvis to really be alive. No, I'm not one of those fans that believe he is and is hiding. I know he is dead. I would just have loved the opportunity to have been able to meet him. Plus I think he'd like my tattoo of him. LOL!
3. Someone knocks on your door. Do you look out the window to see who it is before you open it? Do you open it regardless of who it is? Ok, what stinks here is that I live in an apartment that doesn't have a window near the door nor does it have a peep hole. I only open the door when I know someone is coming over. If I'm not expecting anybody, I will not open it.
4. Have you ever eaten Play Doh? I never had the urge to eat that. The thought of it makes me gag.
5. What was your favorite Saturday morning cartoon as a child and why? I loved the Smurfs. I had a particular fondness for Papa Smurf. 6. Are you a "people watcher"? If I'm sitting alone somewhere then yes. 7. I have a bowl of fruit. There are apples, oranges & pears. You help yourself to one - which one do you choose? Orange
8. What is your biggest pet peeve in the blogging world? Hmm? I have to get back to you on that one.
9. What is one religion that you could just never see yourself joining? The Jewish faith because I believe Jesus was the Son of God. Don't get me wrong, I have alot of Jewish friends and clients, I adore all of them, I just wouldn't practice that faith.
10. What word do you use far too often? Umm (not that it is a word, more like an expression)
11. How long do you spend in the shower? 10 minutes
12. If you were to write a personal ad about yourself, what would it say? At this point in my life I wouldn't write a personal ad about myself. LOL!
13. Your favorite flavor of soup is....? 1st choice - Lobster Bisque / 2nd choice - Pasta Fagioli (pronounced with an Italian accent as "fa-zool)
14. You are sitting on a bench in the park and a bug walks in front of your feet.... do you squash him? Why do you want to kill all the bugs in this meme?
Today was an example of how people can get sick due to the constant weather changes. This past weekend we had weather, albeit damp, in the 60s. Today it was in the late 30s with rain. Tomorrow it is supposed to be in the 50s. Very strange.
I'm sorry I've been quiet these past few days. I wasn't feeling too well plus I didn't feel like I had anything "blog-worthy" to say. I feel like I'm in a rut right now so I feel whatever I have to say is too boring to post. I figure I bore myself enough these days I don't want to inflict that pain on you guys too.
Tomorrow is Wednesday already! Yay!!! I hope you all are having a better week than I am having so far. Hopefully once the weather settles my spirit will lift. I've been also having problems with the leg that I had the cellulitis in. But that is a whole other post.
There is something very good to be happy about. Since tomorrow is LOST night. Here is something for those of us Josh fans. Oy!
(this is the equivalent of Bud's French twins for me)
First, I just wanted you all to know that I'm having trouble leaving some comments for some of my regular blogs that I read. Staci (Life in the Thumb)..yours is one of them. That comment box doesn't come up for me anymore. I tried from Internet Explorer and AOL Explorer. Also, I had to copy this meme off of Sue's page. I clicked on Judd's page and all I got was a blank page with but the top and the sidebar were there. Very weird.
1. How old do you look? People think I'm in my mid-twenties. I'll take that! 2. Where do you live? New Jersey 3. Are you waiting for something? For this winter to be finally over 4. What’s one pet peeve of yours that is not common? I'll get back to you on that one. 5. Do you want/have kids? We don't have any children, not sure at this point if we will have any. 6. Have you ever thought about converting your religion? No 7. Last shocking news you heard? Nothing comes to mind 8. What was the last thing you drank? Boring water. I haven't had my coffee yet and it is already 2pm. Unheard of. 9. Who do you most look like in your family? No one actually 10. If you could have something right now, anything, what would it be? For this beautiful weather to stay 11. Where does most of your family live? New Jersey 12. Where did you grow up? New Jersey 13. Where do you want to go on vacation? Graceland first. Europe 2nd. 14. Have you ever had a panic attack? No 15. What can’t you wait for? Spring 16. When’s the last time you told someone you loved him or her and meant it? I just got done telling my Harley cat that I love him and I sure do mean it. :) 17. Have your parents ever smoked pot? No 18. Want someone back in your life? I wish my Mom was still alive 19. What do you order at the bar? Malibu Bay Breeze 20. When was the last time you cried really, really hard? Not sure 21. Ever licked someone’s cheek? No 22. What is your favorite thing to eat with peanut butter? Peanut butter and grape jelly on bread OR Reeses Peanut Butter cups. 23. Where were you on July 4th, 2008? Home 24. What are your nicknames? Jod or Honey 25. If you could go back in time, how far back would you go? To when my Mom was alive.
I've pulled myself away from the TV long enough to make a post. I was watching a marathon of "Ace of Cakes". Has anyone ever seen that show?
It all started with my husbands weird working hours lately. On the weekends I've been staying up late because he goes in at 11pm. So he leaves for work at 10pm. I put the TV on The Food Network and saw an episode of Chopped and I've been hooked ever since. This is coming from the person that only watches Lost. I guess it's ok. It passes the time. I do have several favorite shows which include but not necessarily in this order:
Chopped
Throwdown With Bobby Flay
Unwrapped
Food Network Challenge
Ace of Cakes
OK. Enough about the Food Network.
I hope everybody has been getting beautiful weather like we had today. It was 60 degrees and it is supposed to be 65 tomorrow. Nice. It was damp and overcast but that didn't bother me at all. I've had such a horrible winter and am looking SO forward to the spring. I despise the winter.
I decided not to do the Saturday 9 this week. I really wasn't "into" the questions. Talking about the worst day of my life and past relationships isn't my cup of tea. Don't mean to be a party pooper but I guess I'm having one of those days. Maybe I'm overtired. Who knows?
What I do know is this....I want to wish everyone a beautiful day tomorrow!
PS. You may have noticed the different background. Funny thing is, I'm not Irish, but I just thought this background was so pretty.
On my drive in to work today, the temperature read 45 degrees. It is supposed to be in the mid 50s today. By Sunday it will be in the mid 60s. Has spring really sprung or is Mother Nature toying with my emotions? Whatever the case may be, I'm so happy the weather is changing. It snowed around 8 inches on Monday here and this Sunday it will be in the 60s.
Here are some random thoughts that have 'sprung' into my mind...
American Idol this season. Just not that into it. I think since "my" David won last year, I'm passing the reigns to another fan this year. I can tell you in the few episodes that I have seen, I really like Alexis Grace (the girl with the blonde hair with pink tips). She has an amazing voice. Other than that, I also like the oil rig guy soley on how adorable he is. His name is Michael Sarver. Do I think he will go far in the competition..not sure but he will go pretty far because he is 1) adorable and 2) a nice guy. My official prediction as of right now to be in the Top 2 is Alexis Grace and Danny Gokey.
LOST - this past episode A-. I'm just happy I got to see my future 2nd husband Josh Holloway. Aaaahhh, Sawyer! (yes my hubby has a good sense of humor about it..LOL)
Rihanna - Why in the name of all that is holy, did she take that slime Chris Brown back? Statistics prove that once a person is an abuser, always an abuser. He is a modern day Ike Turner.
I'm starting to get obsessed with watching the Food Network. I'm totally in love with the shows "Chopped" and "Throwdown with Bobby Flay". Has anyone seen them? The funniest thing is, I really don't cook. I mean I can, I just choose not to. I like to watch people cook I suppose. Plus I don't have to clean up their big messes.
1. This cat- Link- scary or cute? OK, even my feline loving self has to admit that the cat is scary. I kinda got the chills scary. 2. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes reproducing again. Good idea or don't care? I could honestly care less. I'm so tired of seeing them in the news, etc. He just keeps getting more bizarre.
3. Do you smile at strangers when you make eye contact? Sure, "I like smiling, smiling is my favorite" ~ Buddy the Elf
4. What percentage of your sarcasm isn't really sarcasm at all? It depends on my mood and the time of the month. ;)
5. If you were to be a dog breed, which breed would you be? I would be a labrador because they are LOVE
6. Go grab the closest book. Open up to page 27. Whats the 4th sentence? "Like what?", he asked. ~ Randy Pausch's "The Last Lecture"
7. When's the last time someone put one over on you, told you a story that you totally fell for when it wasn't anywhere near true? Nothing really recent comes to mind.
8. Ever seen Michael Jackson in person? Nope
9. Do you have a gut? I hope so. Something's gotta be holding up my jeans. ;)
10. What is one thing in your kitchen you have too many/too much of? Clean utensils in the drainboard. I keep meaning to put them away.
11. Ever had a colon cleansing? No, but thanks for asking.
Today is my blog's birthday! Can you believe a whole year has passed? I plan on doing a creative post in honor of my blog birthday. I just have to sit down and think of something good.
I want to thank all of you who read and comment on my blog. You are all very special to me and the reason why I continue my writing.
Hello Everyone! Just dropping in to say hello & to let you know that I will be catching up on everyone's blogs tonight or tomorrow to read and comment on. I didn't want you to think I forgot you all.
Today when I was driving, I almost got hit. Luckily I didn't! I was getting off an exit and it was one of those really tight loop turns. When I started the turn, I saw up ahead on the exit a State Trooper's car with the lights on so I slowed down. I was driving really slow because it was EXTREMELY icy. I was going less than 5mph. Well this jerk behind me was riding my butt. Sure enough, my car slid sideways and almost hit the curb on the loop this guy behind me didn't want to wait and slid around me. He almost hit me from behind and almost side-swiped me because he couldn't wait. The State Trooper made him stop because he saw what he did and started hollering at him for doing it. What I finally saw was the reason besides the icing condition he was there....there was a passenger van in a ditch with the trees. He must have taken the turn too fast and jumped the curb and fell into the ditch. They were going to close the exit. I got in before they did.
I was freaking out because in my rearview mirror I saw two more cars coming up. Luckily they were going slow but the thing is, when you get up to the point I was at it was a solid sheet of ice. So, I did a bad thing and gave a tiny hit to my horn to signal to the Trooper that we had to keep going. He comes to the window and says "Calm down Ma'am". I told him I was scared someone was going to plow into me if we didn't move. He told me to just take it slow when I go. Duh! Thank God though, the man in the passenger van was OK. He had his window down and was looking at what was going on with me and the jerk that went around me. Poor guy needed to pass the time I guess waiting until somebody can pull the van out of the ditch.
To all my bloggy friends...please drive real safe. This was such a scary experience for me today. I don't want anything to happen to any of you. Luckily it worked out today for me, but it is true what they say...we can be as cautious as we can be, but all it takes is for someone else not to be so cautious to cause an accident.
It all happened innocent enough. A couple of years ago I went to a book signing to meet Emeril Lagasse. I used to love to watch his show, "Emeril Live " where he displayed much more of a personality than his taped "Essence of Emeril" show.
Unfortunately I had to go by myself because he was appearing down near my job in Central Jersey and I went after work. What happened next will describe my Intimate Moment With Emeril.
I was next in line. I asked the lady behind me to take my pictures and I would take hers as she was by herself too. I walk up to Emeril. He was very, very quiet which is completely different from his personality on Emeril Live. I hand my book to him and ask him if he could do "Bam" for me. Well, he looks up and just says a tad louder than a regular speaking voice...."Bam!" I then asked him if that was all he had. He said that he "gave me a baby Bam!" . He then proceeds to ask me if I would like a picture with him. I was more than happy to take one.
Please keep in mind that he is sitting at a table. I go to stand behind him and lean in for the shot. I was balancing myself on one leg so I could get close as he was sitting down & I was standing up. When the lady said..."Are you ready?" when she was about to snap the picture, Emeril burst out "BAM!!!!!" really, really loud. I was not prepared and lost my footing and fell into him. My left boob hit him right in the side of his face. I was mortified. I was like..."Emeril, I am SO sorry". He said back to me...."No, no...really...that is quite alright" with a huge smile on his face. The line went hysterical as he apparently didn't mind one bit. He then signed my book, and put a smiley face in it. I was lucky he didn't sue me for whiplash.
So whenever I see Emeril on TV now I remember our intimate moment fondly.
1. What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? It would have been Bennigans but they went out of business. So I would say Chilis.
2. What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it? Pizza
3. Have you ever had anything removed from your body? My gallbladder
4. What is the last heavy item you lifted? The garbage bag the other day. I offered to take it down because I left the apartment before my husband & I knew the garbage guys were coming. We threw out a lot of old magazines which weighed it down.
5. Have you ever been knocked unconscious? Luckily no
6. If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? Umm no, I would like it to be a surprise.
7. If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Jodi Presley - 1st choice / Jodi Holloway - 2nd choice
8. What’s your goal for the year? Try and get some bills paid down.
9. Last person you hugged? My hubby when he left for work
10. First place you went this morning? To the bathroom
11. Do you always answer your phone? No, sometimes I let it go to voicemail if I can't get to it in time or if I'm at work.
12. It’s four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it? Nobody texts me that early. If it was after 6am then I would say it was Sue. We text each other early.
13. If you could change your eye color what would it be? I wouldn't change my eye color.
14. What’s on your wish list for your birthday? I honestly can't think of anything.
15. Does the future make you more nervous or excited? Nervous since my boss is closing the office and moving everything to the main office 75 miles away from my house.
16. Do you have any saved texts? Yes, I have with my hubby telling me he loves me and another one of a pic he took of Harley.
17. Ever been in a car wreck? Nothing bad. I've been a passenger when someone hit us from behind but it was just a tap, no damage.
18. Do you have an accent? People say I have a Jersey accent...whateva dat is.
19. What was the last song to make you cry? "This Life" off of Bruce Springsteen's new cd. My hubby says it reminds him of me.
20. What did you do last night? Read and slept
21. Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom? I'm not sure..I've had times where I felt lost and like nothing would ever get better. Not sure about the rock bottom thing.
22. Current hate right now? I really don't hate anything or anyone...I just hate certain situations.
23. Met someone who changed your life? My husband
24. How did you bring in the New Year? My hubby and I were watching Fox
25. What song represents you? The beginning of "Free Fallin" by Tom Petty - "She's a good girl, loves her Mama, she loves Jesus and America too. She's a good girl. Is crazy about Elvis"
Down the hall from us at work we have a lady who is a hair stylist. She is by herself there. Well she has only one son and let me tell you this kid comes up with the funniest one-liners. He just turned 4 years old.
The other day Karen was reminding him to do something and he says to her.... "Mom, you are www dot annoying me dot com"
I learned a few days ago that Lymphedema has it's own awareness ribbon & pin. I was pretty impressed because so many people haven't heard of the disease. I never heard about it until the doctor told me I had it.
