Random Thoughts

--How come it took me so long to jump on the Dr. Oz bandwagon? I don't know what it is, but this man fascinates me. Maybe it is because to me, he is extremely intelligent. Or, is it the way that you could tell he truly cares about the people he is trying to help? For some reason, I can just tell that this man has a great bedside manner. He is gentle in the way that he speaks yet is so knowledgeable and presents himself very well. I love how he gives straight-forward answers and doesn't take even a second to think about his answers to questions that he is asked. Ok, he is a cutie-pie too. There is something sexy about him. I can't put my finger on it. Call me crazy but he could write me a prescription anytime. LOL! I am just thankful that Oprah introduced us to a good doctor. She's one for one now. (Grrr!! at Dr Phil !!)

--I still can't stand Bobby "Runaway" Flay. Just in case you were wondering.

--This is my new "thing". I am loving these Gardenburgers. I haven't had a real burger since April of 2009. Do I miss them? Sure. But these will have to do. They are really easy to make. Spray some fat-free vegetable cooking spray on each side. Put it in the pan. Cook 5 mins on each side and presto. Close your eyes and pretend its beef. Imagination not included in packaging.

--I think you all know how much I love my Keurig Coffee Maker. I'm excited because both Sue and Bookkitten got one as well. They can share in my happiness. The above K-Cup is my favorite. It is a medium blend. Yummy. I know you will all sleep better knowing which flavor I drink in the morning.

--This is just one of my books from school. My teacher said it is my new "bible". I thought that since it apparently is such an important piece of literature, that I should share it with you. This helps add to the 16 pounds in my backpack that I lug everyday.

--Speaking of school, this is what it looks like from the outside. Part of it is right on top of a little lake. It is very pretty up there. That lake has been frozen over for the past month.

--My last random thought does not have a picture. It is just a thought and a feeling of gratitude. Even though I got laid off in June, I am in a much better place than I was this time last year. In January 2009, I was in the hospital with cellulitis which led to my lymphedema diagnosis and subsequent 3+ months of physical therapy. Now, one year later, I am going to school via a grant that I was very lucky to get. I am 145 pounds lighter! I have my lymphedema under control because I wear compression stockings during the day and night garments at night. My lower legs are normal size because I am diligent and sometimes neurotic with my maintenance. This time last year I felt hopeless. Now I am hopeful. I am very blessed.

Thanks for "listening" guys!!! xoxo

Spring and Random Thoughts

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.

Random Thoughts

Quite a number of things have been puzzling me or just interest me. This is just in a random order as I think of them. Keep in mind that my thoughts are all over the place right now. So the order I come up with this will not make any sense whatsoever.

• Since when has Chris Brown been dating Rihanna? I didn't know they were dating until I heard about the domestic violence allegations. I'm really out of the loop, I though he was dating Jordan Sparks. Maybe because of the song "No Air" that they did together. Now I'm glad he wasn't dating her or anyone anymore for that matter. Apparently, he isn't/wasn't the nice guy he appears to be.
• Prince Harry...what is up with him lately? I think he really needs to keep quiet so he stays out of trouble. That brings me to....
• Miley Cyrus. She gets on my last nerve lately. Everything she does she is "so sorry" about later on. How about not do it at all? She is growing up way too fast. Billy Ray better be prepared or he'll be the next Jamie Spears.
• Taylor Swift? I don't even know who she is but apparently her & Miley are best buds who now sing together.
• Obama's stimulus package - just pass it already - for the love of God! Give him the amount he wants and lets be on with it. This is like the bailout talks all over again. The sooner they decide, the sooner we get our checks our country can come out from under hopefully.
• Dunkin Donuts - A waffle sandwich? Blech! Waffles and maple syrup or waffles and ice cream - both yummy. But waffles with bacon, egg and cheese in the middle? I think a certain company is trying to do with waffles what the McDonalds McGriddle did with pancakes.
• Is it me or does Demi Moore look younger each time they show her?

There you have it, random thoughts from this oh so random mind.

This part of my post is for LOST fans - LOST is on tonight...for those of you who are fans, are you enjoying this season? I am getting a headache after each episode. All this time travel & nosebleeds people are experiencing are going to start to cause me to get nosebleeds. It is very confusing. I am thrilled that Jin is alive, but can you imagine what he is thinking when he saw Danielle circa 1988. Remember, he doesn't know about the time travel.

Halfway Point

Today is hump day! Yay!!! (whoever thought of the term "hump" day anyway?) Yesterday was quite interesting. Again, not too busy, not to slow - just right. I took an extended lunch because my manicure took longer than expected. I told my boss that I was going to "take it off" my lunch today. So turns out that it leaves me with a 15min lunch today. Oh well. It felt good to be out of the office for a longer period of time. It just stinks for me today. Oh well, it was worth it, Below is the color that I got on my nails. I had a month of a french manicure. I wanted to go with a "me" color and I love dark colors, even in the summer. Here it is - it is by Esse...the color is called "Wicked".

Last night was a quiet night. When I got home we had dinner and watched old episodes of "What's Happening Now?" The continuation of the series "What's Happening?" After dinner my hubby went on the computer while I watched an old episode of "Sex And The City". I went on the computer for a bit, read some blogs, posted 2 memes, and answered a few emails. I then went to bed. Now getting ready for work. Rinse. Repeat.

Well I better get my rear in gear. I am still suffering from distraction problems. I can't seem to get out of here in the morning. I keep finding stuff to do. I am a creature of habit I suppose. Well, Happy Wednesday friends. I wish you all a wonderful day....maybe I'll get another post in later. I think I am one away from my first milestone!!!

UPDATE 11:30am: I did wind up getting my butt in gear...I actually left a little earlier. I walked in right on time. I even had time to stop for my iced coffee.

Peace and Quiet

Boy oh boy it sure is quiet on a Sunday morning. I think I have to change my career, become a writer and write on Sundays. Wait a second. Didn't "Carrie Bradshaw" write on Sundays in Sex And The City? Why yes she did. That is why Mr. Big (a.k.a. John James Preston) never asked her to go to church with him & his Mom. She was a wise gal that Carrie. She had wonderful taste in men (i.e. Big, Aidan)....

(Earth to Jodi...come back)...Oh sorry, I was daydreaming. OK..back to the real world. Sundays are very quiet around here. Hubby left for work at 6am. His alarm woke me up at 5am. I fed Harley & went back and laid down and finally arose at 6:15am because I figure why lay there when I can do stuff.

So, I planned on catching up on emails, writing in my blog, checking my blogroll list, etc. I'm about to make myself some coffee. I figure I will take a nap in a little while, then get ready to go up and see my sister. Tomorrow is back to the grind for another week.
I figured I throw another meme out there to any
who want to participate. This is an easy one!

randomness...feed your mind and your blog
Let's do good ol' fashioned random word association this week :o)I say....you think...
1. flower......Rose
2. paper.......News
3. coffee.......Yes Please
4. tire...........Goodyear
5. sand.........Wich
6. work........Monday
7. reality tv......American Idol
8. itch...........Scratch
9. tooth........Paste
10. sour.......Sweet
till next time....

Distractions Among Me

It is funny. I should be getting ready for work but I'm sitting here writing a blog. LOL! My husband is right, I do love "cutting everything down to the wire". Are any of you guys like that? I know what time I have to leave, I know I'm always pressed for time, but I get distracted so easily. I'll be doing something like say going to clean out Harley's litter box (which I have to do before I leave for work) and...the computer was on when I walked by to get the bag & I plop down & say to myself 'hmm, let me check the blog'. I digress. So now once I sign out of here I will go clean his box if I don't stop & get distracted again. Then this is classic Jodi. I will then realize the time and rush around like a moron to "beat the clock" and still get out at the same time I normally leave. Why do I do this to myself? Especially when I know today is payday & I have to hit the ATM before I go. But see in my head, I know I could save time because God one day saw fit to have someone think of the most brilliant idea for people who rush everywhere just like me....the drive thru ATM. Thank you God!
Do you all have them/use them? To me, I think they are safer than regular ATMs. Only reason being is if someone tried to hold you up at one of them, you could floor it out of there. I think there is a better chance of survival. (maybe not for the criminal) In the bank lobbies you are like a sitting duck, stuck in there with them. One of the most uncomfortable feelings in the world is when you are actually at the ATM in a bank lobby and you hear someone swipe their card to get in the lobby with you. Well, you think to yourself...'well they swiped a card so they are a customer'. So you breathe easy. Then you think to yourself, 'Wait! They could have stolen someones purse or wallet and swiped it just to get into the lobby'. Maybe I just spend too much time thinking. Well for slackers like me the drive thru ATM is better anyway so I don't have the lobby worry lingering over my head. That just takes up more time that I don't have. LOL!

Speaking of time, I guess I should start the process. Happy Friday my bloggy friends. I'm going to go get ready now. Oh wait, I got to do Harley's box...then get ready. See, what I mean?

UPDATE at 10:45am: I was on time for work - yay - pulled right in at 8:30am!! OK so I didn't make it to the ATM. But I did make it to McDonalds for an iced coffee. We all have our priorites. I will hit the ATM on my way home. The beautiful thing about it is that it is always open (pending it doesn't run out of money)..LOL! I do have a sister update. I spoke to her on the way to work and she said she has been doing great since the catheter is out. She is going often, but that is to be expected because of the stent she still has in. You can't imagine how much happier she sounds. Thank God.

And So We Melt

I cannot believe how hot it has been for these past couple of days. I don't think I have ever sweated so much. It was 102 degrees with high humidity today. It really did a number on my asthma. It sucks not being able to breath sometimes. But luckily, my allotted time outside was only when I need to get to my car, go into and out of places, then go home for the evening. I could not stand to be out there for anything else. If I did, I would probably be hooked up to an oxygen mask at the nearest hospital. Normally I have my asthma under control but jeez, this is ridiculous, you breath in and it is like - nothing! I cannot wait until the fall. Fall & Spring are my favorite seasons. I love 70 degree weather. My perfect temperature. Now, if I can find a place like that all year round?? Hmmm? Does such a place exist besides my dreams?

Well today consisted of my getting up around 9am. I got up did some stuff around the apartment or made it look like I was constructive. I showered, got ready quick and headed to my local Hallmark store to pick up some cards and flowers for my sister. I got her a bouquet of daises which are her favorite flower. I stink at transporting flowers though. By the time I got to her house it looked like someone played "he loves me, he loves me not" on a few of them. Oh well, it was the thought that counts I suppose. LOL! My sister is an animal lover like me so I got her a Get Well card from us that had a dog on it. She has 2 labs...one yellow & one chocolate. Harley (my cat) also bought her a card "out of his allowance" LOL! It was cute because I found a card that had a cat on it that looked just like Harley. So he got his "aunt" a get well card too. She gets a kick out of that kind of thing. The dogs get me a birthday card every year. I know, we are retarded, but it makes us happy! LOL!

So, I went up to spend the day with her. She looked SO much better. I did an internal sigh of relief inside. I told her in her card that she has filled her quota for this year. She can not make me nervous anymore. LOL! She really does mean the world to me & seeing her be so sick for so long has killed me inside. But hopefully this is the first step of her getting her life back. On Friday, she will get the catheter out. After that the stent will come out 5 weeks later from this Friday. Fingers crossed, the nightmare will be over.

I stayed a couple of hours with her then came home, met up with hubby, then we went out for dinner at our favorite Irish Restaurant & Pub. I had my "medium" buffalo strips. Love them. Then I came home & watched a couple of episodes of Sex And The City while hubby used the computer first. He got me the whole series for my birthday. I loved that show. I loved the movie. It was the perfect gift. I've seen them all before, but I can watch them over and over. I'm a "Mr Big" fan. I'm on Season 2 at the moment. Anyone a fan of the show? Anyone seen the movie?

Well I best be ending my post because it is 10:30pm and 5am comes around really fast. Back to the grind tomorrow. Hopefully this heat wave will end and I will stop melting. Sweat does not become me. All I have to say is THANK GOD for Secret Platinum. (powder fresh gel is my favorite)

Light At The End Of The Tunnel

Well my sister is home safe and sound. Thank the good Lord! She went home on Wednesday evening. She went home with the catheter which she is really not happy about. She is getting it removed next Friday the 25th. She is counting the days. She is in alot of pain where the incisions were. What she had done was a laporoscopic pyleoplasty. I got the technical term of it. I actually watched one performed on You Tube. Let me just say I am glad I saw this after she had it. Blech! Now we just need to get her through this week with the catheter and then 6 weeks with the stent in and hopefully this nightmare will be over. Again, thank you all for your concern. It means so much to me!

My plans for the weekend are to go up and see her and try to catch up on stuff. I have so many "flagged" emails to reply to, blogs to catch up on, TV shows to watch and phone calls to make. But it will all get done eventually.

I can go for a big glass of iced tea right now. Speaking of iced tea. I thought you all should know that I have given up my addiction to McDonalds Sweet Tea. It was honestly getting too sweet for me. I'm sticking with my iced coffees from Dunkin Donuts and my once a week treat of a Java Chip Frappuchino from Starbucks. They are just too expensive and I'm not Rockefeller. LOL! Just a note to those "watching their figure"....you can get ANY frappuchino in light form, not just the coffee light and mocha light. Awesome.

Tuesday Commute Thoughts & Rants

I have a long commute to my job. It is 45 miles but takes anywhere from 1hr 15 mins to 1hr 45 mins each way depending on traffic. If any of you have seen the Sopranos "opening" song with Tony driving on the main highway, that is pretty much all I see. So that leaves me with alot of time to "think". Normally, I listen to my Elvis Cd's or to morning radio shows but today, I just "thought". I thought about alot of stuff that irks me. I would like to share it with you all. If you have any of the same quirks or would like to share yours with me, please feel free to comment. I don't mean any disrespect by this list. I just need to post down stuff that has been bothering me as of late.

What bothers me about New Jersey

1. Governor John Corzine and his "Save Our State" plan
2. Toll costs
3. Gas prices
4. Road conditions - holes and construction everywhere!

What bothers me about commuting

1. See above #2 and #3 and #4
2. How no matter how fast you drive, it is not fast enough. If I am doing 60 miles an hour in the slow lane and the speed limit is 55 I get some moron behind me "flashing their headlights" at me. There are 3 lanes to my left, why don't they use them?
3. Inconsiderate drivers
4. Lane changers. Yes, they will get there 1 minute faster!
5. People who don't turn off their turn signal (when it doesn't go off automatically)
6. People who have road rage
7. People who in traffic drive on the shoulder and get away with it
8. In traffic when you move up a foot & the person behind you follows suit and almost rear-ends you each time.
9. The biggest thing that irks me is TRAFFIC!!!!
10. New Jersey congestion on the roadways. Too many cars!!

Now onto Television:

What bothers me about American Idol

1. Randy saying everyone is "pitchy".
2. It actually doesn't bother me because normally it is funny but just had to mention that Paula sometimes just doesn't make sense and everyone is a "bright shining star". Too funny!
3. This does bother me though - how Simon can never let Paula get out what she wants to say & I think that is Paula's problem. He keeps interrupting her & she loses her train of thought.
4. Simon's eye rolls
5. How Ryan always brings us to a commercial when he is eliminating people.

What bothers me about LOST

1. How Charlie is forgotten already. In LOST time, he has only been dead what - a couple of days? The only mention in the last episode was Claire saying Charlie said it wasn't Penny's boat. I'm also perturbed that they didn't show her finding the Drive Shaft ring in Aaron's bassinet and also Desmond hadn't given her the list Charlie put in his pocket when he knocked him out.
2. Jack - just in general (forgive me Jack fans...I can't help it!)
3. Kate ALWAYS having to go on a mission. She can never stay put.
4. The new people that came to "rescue" them.
5. Those whispers

My goodness, what got into me this afternoon. Well, I just needed to "get that out". It is just stuff that bothers me. I want to see if any of you have similar idiosyncrasies like I have or if you have others you would like to share.

I promise my next post will be more positive. LOL! Thanks for "listening" to me vent.

Random thoughts on a rainy Saturday evening

You ever have one of those days where you do absolutely nothing? I was a lazy bones today. I woke up at 10:50am. I'm now yawning at 10pm. I haven't been up 12hrs yet...what do I have to be tired about? LOL! Well I did get some stuff accomplished. I did some work on the computer, caught up on some emails, and updated my MySpace page. I missed Mass tonight because it was raining SO badly out since we are experiencing a NorEaster. I stood put in the house. My hubby & I had dinner and watched the movie "Are We Done Yet?". I actually liked it, I liked it better than the first one "Are We There Yet?". Gotta love Blockbuster Online.

I guess I was trying anything to get my mind off my sister's hurting. I'll explain...My sister had surgery on Wednesday of this week. She had to get a stent put in from her kidney to her bladder & now she is experiencing post-surgery pain along with a complication called bladder spasms which are very VERY painful. So she has been in agony since Wednesday. Now she is also getting fevers. SO, as you can see I'm very concerned over this. I feel helpless and have this overwhelming guilt feeling (remember I'm both Italian AND Catholic...so that is a double whammy when it comes to guilty feelings) that I'm OK and she is hurting. Does that make sense? Strangely enough it does to me. Hopefully I will wake to good news that my sister is feeling better. Here is hoping.

Tomorrow I have a feeling I'm going to have a similar day...going through the motions. In the evening, my hubby & I are going to dinner with my best friend C. That should be fun. Plus we are going to Chili's. I can hear that margarita calling my name from here. LOL

Until next time....