Contemplating Lori

Justice!!

2006-03-25T20:28:00.000-05:00

They have been caught! The animals that robbed the elderly lady at Walmart that I witnessed were caught! Apparently it happened when I was away in vacation and my brother told me he read about it in the local paper. They were three herion addicted girls and they are up on a variety of charges. Teh ranged in age from 19 -26. This wasn't the first time they did this. This particular robbery will land them in jail (hopefully for a long time) and the woman only had $6 in her wallet. They broke her arm for $6. I'm estatic as they are caught and in jail! WooHoo!!!!!!

Hellhound

2006-03-16T11:37:00.000-05:00

My parents were due back from their vacation on Monday. They had someone (God Bless her) who dog sat while they were gone. In case anyone forgot, my parents have two dogs - Jack an older Yorkie/Beagle mix and Charlie a major mutt. I spent my Monday off up at their house walking, feeding and playing with the dogs. I got home close to 7pm.

At 8:15 the phone rings. Caller ID says "U.S. Customs." Shit! What did my parents do? It's a collect call from Mom and thank God they don't need to be bailed out! Apparently, the plane was an hour out of Puerto Rico and they had hydrolic problems and the plane had to turn around. I would have thought that they were closer to Florida, but it went back to PR. When they landed the runway was lined with emergency vehicles as they weren't sure if eh plane would have trouble landing/stopping. The landing even made it onto CNN! Mom was calling to tellme what happened and that they would not be coming home that night. Great, just great!

Now I have to go back to their house, drive in dense fog and get the two dogs. I had no desire to stay at my parents house, so I grabbed some food for them and put everyone into my Dad's jeep. Off we drove into the bowels of Hell!

Jack whines whenever he's in a car. We've never figured out why, but he's done this forever! Apparently, in the dog hierarcy in this family, Jack gets the front seat. Charlie stands on the console between the seats. How he balances there is beyond me, but I tried everything to try to keep him in the back and he wouldn't stay there! He leans against me, puts a paw on my arm and licks me non-stop! Sounds, cute? No way. Remember I'm driving in dense fog and he is distracting me and blocking my vision. I even threatned to leave him at PetCo when we drove by the store, but he blew that threat off. Cocky Mutt!

This was the first time I ever walked two dogs at once when I got to my place. Charlie is 100 times as strong as he looks. He was pulling me and Jack all over the place. Then he's in my condo not even 10 minutes and he's pooping on my rug! Their "visit" was a nightmare. Now, Jack has stayed with me before and he was fine, He settled in no problem. Charlie is not welcome back, unless he calms down. He's a maniac. I can't walk him here, because he goes bonkers when he sees people.

My parents have been taking him to 'doggy school' but I think he's failing.

Then I took him back to their house late afternoon and let them run wild to their hearts content! I was exhausted and my days off were practically gone. Mom and Dad made it back, thank God and the dogs are back with them.

They are going on a cruise in April and Jack is welcome to stay here, Charlie (the hound from hell) needs either a dog sitter or the kennel. He's too much to deal with and he also eats anything he can find...including my fuzzy leppard print slippers!

The sun...the sand...the beaches!

2006-03-10T00:47:00.000-05:00

The beaches were fantastic...as usual. The family favorite is Francis Bay and we go here the most. It's narrow and full of vegatation so when you find your spot, it's like being in an alcove.

Here's some photos from when we were driving around the island.

Here's me and Mom at Cinnamon Bay

And this is my brother John and his girlfriend Loren.

This is looking out to the water from Cinnamon. The land in the back is Tortola, which is one of the British Virgin islands.

I just loved this shot of the sky.

Here's a surprise visitor we had one day.

This area is called Peter's Bay. It is a gated community of absurdly expensive villas. One of these houses belongs to my current love - Kenny Chesney. The beach below is where he married Renee whats-her-name.

These are my best photos and hopefully they show how beautiful St. John is. I will always consider this island my second home. When I win Powerball...I will have a home there. Maybe even next door to Kenny!

She's Back!!!!

2006-03-08T10:31:00.000-05:00

I'm back. It was a great vacation. Did a whole lot of nothing and that was just perfect. I read books, sat out in the sun for hours every day and enjoyed the island. This was our 20th anniversary of going down to St. John. We've missed only 5 years in those 20, so when I call St John my second home - it really is.

This year my brotherJohn's girlfriend joined us. It was her first time in the Caribbean and it was fun seeing everything through her virgin eyes. I chronicled some of the trip with my camera.

It's a long trip to get there. We have to fly to Puerto Rico, transfer to a smaller plane to continue onto to St. Thomas. That usually takes 7 hours. Then it's a half hour taxi ride across St. Thomas to the ferry to St. John. Ferry leaves on the hour so you pray that you don't just miss it, cause then it's a long wait until the next one.

Here's the ferry leaving St. Thomas...

This is the ferry in the middle of the water.

This is us arriving at the St. John dock.

This was the house that we stayed at. In fact the parents are still there and I wish I was too!

This is the view through the living room out to the water. The body of water is Coral Bay.

That photo isn't the best, but it shows what we saw every day. The last photos for today will be of Coral bay off of our deck.

The area is full of tiny little lizards like gekos. They are all over the place and they always make their way into the house. I didn't have any problems with them, except when a larger one was in the bathroom and I asked my brothers to please get rid of it and instead they chased it into my robe! Then Jeff through the robe at me on purpose! I'm sure half the island heard me scream. We also had a small scorpian trot across the floor one evening. It was fine as long as I stayed on the sofa, but that was one thing that we had to kill. Those suckers are poisonous.

They only other thing of excitement I can think of right now is that there was an earthquake while we were down there. There were seven of us hanging out before dinner on the deck when my brothers and me felt a trembling. No one else said they felt anything. Two days later in the paper it said that there was a 5.3 quake centered in the ocean about 60 miles NE of Road Town, Tortola. Tortola is a short boat trip away. In fact it's easily viewable from most parts of St J. That was the second time down there that we had a earthquake.

We just take it all in stride. As they say there "No problems Mon."

Humanity at it's worst - Part 2

2006-02-20T21:59:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that that I'm have a part two. Never in my 45 years have I come across so much violence, so much of a blatant disregard for another person. The violence is out there in our world, but I have never personally have it affect me - until lately.

I have a kid who is one of my bellmen. Good kid, nineteen years old. He goes to college and works 3-4 days a week too. The kind of kid you want your daughters to date. While we were all working Friday night, his girlfriend went to a party. She didn't drink, even though there was alcohol there. All she had was a soda - a fucking soda laced with not one but three roofies.

FIVE hours later she woke up in a strange bed, naked, blood covered and confused. Someone took her to the hospital. She had been gang raped. This poor 18 year old child was gang raped by three teenage animals! They will rot in hell as they were stupid enough to video tape the whole thing and the police have it! The police also think that they didn't just do this to this poor young girl, but to at least one other.

Her life is messed up, because these scumbags got their thrills fucking an unconscious innocent. I only found out last night. My bellman got a call and told me he had to leave. It was 9:30 and he was the only one on. I asked him why, he hesitated and then told me. I told him to give me the work keys, his radio and get out of there and to her. Apparently the police had just shown her the video of what happened to her and no one was with her! Where the hell are her parents???

My heart goes out to her. But with the evidence they have collected in this short time (including a knife)these kids are going to jail and then they will have the joy of finding out what being raped is like. Except it won't be once for them..it will be every damn day!

On this note....I'm off to my vacation. Three long days of working ahead of me, but then 11 days of sun, sand and palm trees. I love being tan in the winter time! Relaxation...come and get me!!!!

Blizzard of 2006

2006-02-14T12:24:00.000-05:00

Good news - We hadn't had a real snow storm all year

Bad news - The snow saved itself up for this storm

Bad news - I had to work all weekend

Good news - My area was supposed to get slammed, but we actually got hit less with about 8 inches of snow. A lot of other places got 2 feet or more!

Bad news - I was up for 36 hours with one hour of sleep.

Sucks, right? Well I did have a room to sleep in, but just couldn't. My hotel was full of guests and we have to keep on working. The guests do not care if there are three feet of snow..they want the rooms cleaned, they want to be fed etc. Do they care that we are to stay off the roads, but have to risk ourselves to get in so they can be comfortable? No. In situations that are acts of nature or are completely out of our control (like an area wide blackout) have patience! If they think we are going to help an irrational asshole because they decided to come during a major storm and there's not enough staff to give him a massage....then he has another thing coming!

Anyway...here's a pic I took out the front door of the hotel.

I love work again

2006-02-05T00:52:00.000-05:00

My boy-toy Drew is back working for us part time! Hot Damn! He is just so much fun! Just wish I'd find a guy that attracted me that actually has hair! Kenny Chesney - bald. Drew -bald and only mid 20's. Oh yeah....I still have Sav! Thank God Phil isn't my fav! LOL

Off to dream about Drew!

A funny

2006-01-30T00:14:00.000-05:00

F***ING Local Newspaper

2006-01-26T21:16:00.000-05:00

Can things get any worse! Today when I got to work, they saved a copy of the article on the mugging/robbery for me. I looked at it and the picture was a lot bigger than the one online. It shows my car and my license plate as plain as day! I am furious! I’m going to call the newspaper tomorrow and raise hell. Those criminals saw my car! I was feet from them! They know I was the one honking and screaming for help! Of course they are going to look in the paper to see what is being said about them and if they think I know too much, what’s from them coming to find me?

I leave work very late at night, for 4 plus years it never bothered me, now I’m going to have security escort me to my car. I’m going to put chairs under my doors and always look around me like I’m paranoid, cause guess what……now I am!

That god damn newspaper put my life in jeopardy! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!

If there is a hell...

2006-01-25T22:58:00.000-05:00

I went back to the store today, to check up on the woman. I found out that she is 79 (automatic felony). Those scumbags broke her arm and she had a big gash on her forehead. While I was there two detectives arrived and we all viewed the video tape from the store. Too bad the outside cameras were off! Grrrr!

The cops said that these two had done this before too! There was a recent attack at the supermarket in the next plaza and that woman was hurt worse.

Why are people so intent in hurting someone? I don't understand violence or need for people to be violent. This is my first personal experience with it and it's awful.

I was indirectly involved with a violent act, when a very good friend of mine was attacked last year. She was targeted too by inhuman violent strangers and was lucky that she was able to get away. I thank God that her will to live was stronger than their desire to hurt her.

God you need to take care of the innocent. Please let this lady know, that I wish I could have done more for her. Amen.

Humanity at it's worst

2006-01-24T17:46:00.000-05:00

I've had an absolute horrifying day. I had an appointment for my hair at 2:30, so before, I stopped off at the Walmart here in town to pick up some mousse. $50 later (no it's not all mousse) I walk to my car, place the bags in the trunk and get in. I put the seat belt on and start the car. Then I look over my left shoulder and see a car in the aisle, like they want my spot, but they are too close. I wait a few seconds but they don't move.

I proceed to pull out hoping that they do move. They don't. I'm completely out of the spot, but the car is still straight. Hmmm..how am I going to do this?

I look at the driver. A young male. I look over at the passenger seat and it's empty but the door is open. Then I hear a scream. I look a bit further and see an elderly woman laying on the ground! A female jumps into the car! I look at the license plate and it's covered with a blue t-shirt! Holy Mother Of God! They just robbed her! I hit the horn and keep it blasting!

The guy looks at me and knows he can't get past my car, so he starts to back up. Now I open my door and start screaming for help! There's a car pulling in at the other end of the aisle (it's maybe a 12 car long aisle) and I screaming "STOP THAT CAR! BLOCK IT! THEY ROBBED A LADY!!!"

My cars a standard and my belt is on, so I'm trying to get it into neutral, yank on the brake and undo my belt! A worker from Walmart hear my horn and then heard the screaming and figured out what happened an radioed the store for help. He ran to her. I grabbed my cell and called 911.

I've spent the afternoon giving my statement to both detectives and officers. We've driven around the local lots looking for the car, but no luck.

I am horrified at what happen! These two kids (around 20) planned to attack and rob someone! They had both plates covered! I have no idea how the lady is. They took her away in an ambulance.

Everyone kept thanking me for helping, but I couldn't do anything less. Broad daylight these punk ass kids pull this!

It's really starting to hit me now. I have to fight back tears, but I was only a witness (the main one) the poor elderly woman wasn't so lucky.

This is the first time I've experience anything like this. It's really really awful!

Before God created mousse....

2006-01-23T00:49:00.000-05:00

and thank God for the person who invented it! I hated looking like a poodle!

Notice the island influences? This was St. Croix.

This is from Germany when we went to visit the relatives.

18 and Life

2006-01-07T01:25:00.000-05:00

Both of these shots where taken when I was 18. The first one was from the front walk to my house. We had just gotten the kitten (Pepper)to replace another cat that 'vanished' that summer. Pepper ended up being my Dad's special cat. Never would have thought that would have happened. She would follow him like a dog.

This last one I was a bridesmaid in my friends wedding. That's Dad I'm dancing with.

When I was 17, I stopped fighting the curls I had born with and just let them do their thing. Little Orphan Annie hair!

Teenage Years

2006-01-03T12:07:00.000-05:00

The 70's were my teenage years. I still can't believe we actually dressed that way!

This first photo is from a tour through the Lake George region of Upstate New York.

This next photo is my Eighth Grade Graduation. That dashing man is my Dad. :)

This last one is from 1975. Do I not look like a hip chick? This was when the family went to Walt Disney World in Florida. Don't you dig that hat?

2005...let's not do it again

2005-12-31T17:13:00.000-05:00

2005 certainly was not the best year I had. Scarily it was almost my last, but thanks to God above, I made it through.

The year started awesome, with finally being able to purchase a home. In January, with the help if my parents we set off on a condo hunt. Much to my baby brother's dismay, I ended up practically on his doorstep. I bought my condo in the same building he is in. Sorry Jeff, but I do call him to see if he wants meals every so often.

Then once, we saw, we bid and was accepted, the bottom fell out. I started feeling tired, out of breath and just downright awful. A visit to my physician and the subsequent blood tests had him calling me at work. I was pretty sick and he sent me directly to a hematologist and I ended up in the hospital getting a transfusion of five units of blood. And the worst part was, this had happened before but that was in 1997. Why now? Why again?

The winter months were spent having more blood tests than any human being should ever be subjected to. The bone marrow biopsy (that I prayed desperately would come back negative) , was the absolute most painful test I had ever had. Imagine no anesthesia and feeling whatever object they use penetrate the hip bone and extract marrow? Never again and if ever again..lots and lots or drugs.

February, March, April, and May I spent having blood transfusions every few weeks. March's highlight was I closed on the condo. I am a homeowner. I still completely love my condo!

May, I finally saw a doctor down at Yale/New Haven Hospital. The best medical facility in the state. I was diagnosed with Heredity Spherocytosis. Weird since no one in my family can remember anyone else having a blood disorder or anemia. Leave it to me to get. I only get weird diseases. Like the complications I from my Graves Disease (thyroid), only like 4-5% develop it and that was me. Thanks to a cutting edge surgeon in Boston, I look the way I do today. While I'm no super model, the disease disfigured my face and now no one can tell. However, I transgress.

I did have a great time in June, when Michelle, Steph and I got together for three Def Leppard concerts. We picked Jason up along the way and had a blast! Got to meet Janna and Kelly at the CT show too! I survived the four day trip by having a blood transfusion the week before and one the week after.

July I saw a specialized surgeon and together we decided that the spleen had to go. With HS, that's the only way to get the anemia to stop. Since a person can live fine without a spleen (fine, but you have to live carefully), we decided I had no other option. By now I had enough transfusion to completely replenish my blood supply - twice.

August was my surgery and it went so well that I spent practically the whole month of August hospitalized. September was recovery month and I was lucky to have Debs come out to help me for close to 2 weeks. Even though I couldn't do anything to entertain her and she never complained, she must have been so bored! Next time I promise it will be different!

The rest of the year has been good though. My health is back. My blood counts are better than they have been in years. Because of the blood clots I developed, I am still taking blood thinners and I will have to do that until March of 2006.

Michelle flew back up here for a whirlwind 24 hours to see another Def Leppard concert. Wham bamn thank you Ma'am. All that for Joe Elliott. LOL

I had my first full Christmas with the family in five years. We really enjoy each others company. John has a great girlfriend that we hope he ends up marrying.

It was certainly a year that I would not want to do over, but life teaches us lessons along the way. I've seen how much I can count on my family. I never knew that Jeff took off two days when I was in ICU. I had to force my Mom to take days away from the hospital or she was going to pass out from exhaustion. My friends called, wrote, sent me flowers and came hundreds of miles to see me. Sometimes the bad times, makes you see how blessed you really are.

Have a great year everyone. Peace, forgiveness and tolerance I wish for the New Year.

She's getting older

2005-12-29T23:57:00.000-05:00

Here are three more photos of me and my brothers. This first one, we are in upstate New York at my grandparents farm. We were there almost every other weekend. Since I'm on a Kenny Chesney obsession...I wonder if he thinks my tractor is sexy? LOL

Now who is that adorable majorette? See what Mother's make you wear because they were one in high school? My Mom can still twirl a baton as good now as she could back then. I drop the damn thing every time.

Now we are down the Jersey shore (went there every summer). Guess who's being a brat? And notice the STRAIGHT hair! It went straight for a few years, and then I was back to the curls.

Life with Lori

2005-12-28T21:31:00.000-05:00

With my new scanner (old one broke last year) I'm making a present for my Mom's birthday in March. With Shutterfly, I'm making a memory book. Upload pics and add copy and they will print it up for you. I'm really looking forward to working on this.

A few years ago my Mom gave me a photo album that she made for me with pictures from my great grandparents forward. I'm scanning them all, scanning the ones she put in an album for one of my brothers and using some photos that John has scanned.

I'd thought I'd post a few here so you all can see how adorable I was back then.

We'll start with my first day home from the hospital -

I'm such a happy little thing!

I must be twoish here. I think Santa knocked back a few that day.

Christmas with the Nelsons

2005-12-27T12:58:00.000-05:00

It was great being able to spend the holiday with my family. I hope everyone got to spend their holidays with loved ones.

Merry Christmas

2005-12-14T21:29:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-25T13:00:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I know that I am a day late, but I was working. There should be two holidays a year that it's mandatory for everything to be closed...Thanksgiving and Christmas. At least closed for those who celebrate those holidays or I gotta get a new job.

Any Guiding Light fans out there? Now I am a soap girl. However, I watch everything on ABC, but I am familiar with the other soaps. Yesterday at work a man asks me to take a picture of him, his wife and daughter and I'm thinking this guy looks real familiar to me. So I take their pictures and go back to the desk and because I am so good at what I do *evil grin* I easily figure out what room they are in. Sure enough it was Ron Raines a.k.a Alan Spaulding. Now we gotta get my ABC people up here!

No turkey for me yesterday, I opted for the prime rib off of the buffet the hotel had. That's the only good thing about working Mother's Day, Easter and Thanksgiving...the staff gets to eat of the buffet once the 500 paying guests leave. Yummmmmmmm! However, Mom sent my brother home with a complete meal for me and it was waiting here when I got home. Convenient having Jeff just seconds away.

Another work day for me...

Funny!

2005-11-21T13:43:00.000-05:00

I have the funniest thing happen to me last night. It's late and I'm on my way home from work, but I'm hungry. So I stop off at a local McDonald's that tends to be quiet just before they close at midnight. I do my ordering and proceed to the second window as instructed.

The car's been making a weird tinny noise occasionally and it had started up again so I turned off the engine as I waited. I knew they make the fries to order at that time of night. Well the window into the store is open and I can hear the two guys inside talking. When I heard what they were saying I just started to laugh!

One says "Yeah, I lost my virginity to my Mom's best friend. I really appreciate older women and what they know. These girls just don't cut it for me." The other guy agrees and they continue on. I'm rolling in the car!

When the manager guy (late 20's and looks like an ugly Mr. Clean) comes to the window I can't resist, so I say "Interesting conversation in there tonight." I have a huge smile on my face. The poor guy turns beet red and goes "You really didn't hear us did you?"

"Yeah, I did."

Then he starts apologizing up and down for it. He fumbles giving me my change and it falls all over the place. I told him, don't worry I got a kick out of it and as an older woman I can laugh with you guys.

He calls the other guy on radio and lets him know I heard them. This guy is like 19-20 and we just start chatting about women, McDonalds, the other guy is divorced etc. Fianlly the meal is ready and they tell me they gave me some apple pies to make up for it. Again I told them no worries guys, it made my night!

I left there laughing. It was just so funny, espcially since I go for younger guys all the time! They are my fav and always have been.

It made the rest of the drive home fun!

Still busy

2005-11-20T01:30:00.000-05:00

Not enough hours in the day for me lately. Work has been busy. Next week we should slow down with the holiday. When you all take a big mouthful of turkey and dressing, think of me. I'll be working. It sucks but I'm used to i t. I however did strongly request/tell them that I would not be working Christmas Eve or Day. The other supervisor has never worked Christmas and I have the last 4 years. She wants off this year too and I told my boss that I wasn't going to work and it wasn't fair that she never does. He agreed. Now I just have to see if she actually works it.

It's been celebrity weekend for us. I talked to Barbara Walters tonight. And finally got to see Hilary Swank. Too many people demand my time and I usually miss the good stuff.

I've been both working on the birthday page for Sav, calendars for next year and working again on my writing. I had to read all 50 pages I wrote to get back in the swing of writing and remember were I was.

Here's a preview of how hot the guys looked at the Spike Tv award thingy. They look really sharp and rockerish!

No I haven't fallen off the blog wagon...

2005-11-15T00:16:00.000-05:00

I've just been pretty busy, but uneventful. I worked over 54 hours this past week. Gonna make the paycheck very nice on Friday.

Been updating my website as often as I can. Plus working on the birthday page for Sav. I swear I wonder my I torture myself each year, trying to come up with a design. I need to be more technically advanced.

I've also been working on the 2006 calendars. A feature that is exclusive to my website. However, a person put a thought in my head about actually selling them. I'm contemplating it. Lori's contemplating...hehehe. I have to make sure I get permission from all owners of the photographs I want to use. I will offer them credit and a free calendar. But, I have to make sure that it's financially feasible. If it costs too much to copy and bind, I can't do it. Design is already done. I'm still looking into my options and no we do not have a Kinkos here.

Last night and today I got to go hang out at the Mohegan Sun casino with some Lepp friends. The scene of many leppard hunts...both successful and unsuccessful. The internet and my website has brought me into contact with so many great fans/friends that I otherwise would not have ever met. It was fun hearing their adventures and seeing the photos etc. Plus two of the girls live right here in CT and that lets me have some more local DL friends.

I hope Lisa and Debbie had a great time in Vegas. I really wished I was there, but we talked Lep last night and knew that the guys were onstage. Man, I wish Sav would get OUT of thet white outfit!!!!!!

Laters Sisters!!

Busy, Busy, Busy...

2005-10-22T11:51:00.000-04:00

I just have been so busy that I don't even have time to blog lately. I'm back to work full time and that's going well. I feel great again. My drain was taken out on Wednesday and I feel normal again! YIPPPEEEEE

Saw Def leppard at the Mohegan Sun. Here are my photos and a quick story ...
Def Lep at The Sun. I had a great time with Michelle and meeting other fans from the Official Forum. Too bad Michelle was here less than 24 hours.

I'm working lots on my website. Added 6 pages (with more to come) of photos from shows by fans. I'm rearranging my DL band pix section. And I have a special exclusive surprise coming up too in maybe another month or so.

Stay tuned

Great Day

2005-10-07T01:05:00.000-04:00

I had a wonderful day today. It was the first full day back at work. So many people came by to say they were glad I was back. The managers all gave me hugs. It was so nice to feel appreciated and loved.

Then, they did someone really incredible. Since I have been out of work for two months and disability doesn't cover my expenses (even when I'm not spending) my bills were piling up. When employees are in a real state of need, they can get nominated for a fund raiser. Usually its a basket raffle, with each department donating a basket or a raffle item. They held a raffle for me today.

The departments were generous, the employees were generous and now I can pay my bills. It was a very emotional day, knowing that I work with such great people.

Thank you.

Update

2005-10-03T19:29:00.000-04:00

They didn't remove the drain today. I'm disappointed, but I agreed with them. The stupid cyst ahs to drain out less than 10cc of crap, for it to be the right time. It was doing that but I guess working yesterday and being in an upright position (at home I'm vegging on the sofa or the recliner) for longer than I have been made the cyst drain 15cc's and this morning I had 10cc's in less than 12 hours. So we're back to waiting, changing the dressing and having this big plastic thingy jab me in the stomach. Not to mention that the area where the tube goes into me gets very sore and achy. Good thing I have a renewal on my pain meds.

Returning to normal

2005-10-02T21:04:00.000-04:00

That sounds so great, doesn't it? Last night I went with the rest of my family to a Thank You dinner. My brother Jeff's (he's very single ladies!) boss, U.S. Congressman Rob Simmons, threw a dinner for the people who have supported him during his terms in Congress. My family has supported Rob emotionally, financially and politcally. Jeff went from an unpaid volunteer to his Deputy District Director. He deals with Washington bigwigs all the time and he just loves it. He lives for politics. I'm very proud on where he has gotten and what he has achieved.

Anyway, we all went to this dinner/BBQ last night that was held at the Mystic Aquarium. I took Debs here a few years back and I just love it. Bob Ballard uses it as his home base for his undersea explorations. I'm sure you are all saying, "who's that?" Bob is the man who found the Titantic. He and his wife are friends of my parents too.

The Aquarium is fantastic. I love the ocean, I live next to the ocean, I vacation at the ocean...I love marine life! The bar (yes I had my first drink in two months) was located next to the Beluga whale tank. Here is was twilight, the bar is backed up to the glass of the tank. This is a tank that you don't have to look down into, but has high glass walls so you can see them swimming and playing. So while I'm getting a glass of wine a beautiful white beluga is swimming righ up to the glass and just hanging out. It still gives me shivers!

I didn't get to see the other outdoor creatures, but I did get to go to the Ray Touch Pool. The tank is filled with cownose rays and you can actually reach into the water and touch them. It so reminds me of St. John. Only a 144 days until I'm back there. Kenny I'm a-coming! (note- Kenny Chesney lives there and since he and Rene are kaput, he's all mine!)

Sorry, back to the Aquarium. I get side-tracked easily. The family pigged out on burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, corn and clam chowder. It's always great when all five of us can get together, well now it's six with John's girlfriend. Lauren is so great that if she and John ever breakup, I want Jeff to go for it!

After dinner we headed indoors into the main part of the Aquarium. Rob gave a short rousing speech and then we checked out the rest of the fishies. Huge eels, sharks, more rays, fish of every damn color, a giant octopus and tons more. However, I did refuse to touch the baby alligators that the staff where walking around with. Nope, no way!

It was a fun night and my first real outing after all these months. Hell, I even put on makeup!

Today, Sunday was my first day back at work. It felt weird going in, but after an hour I felt like I never left. The staff had most everything under control, so I was needed very little today. So I went to visit other departments to let them know I was back. Everyone was excited to see me, and it felt great.

Tomorrow, I go back to Yale to finally get the drain out. It's been in for two weeks and that's long enough! I'm hoping this is the very last thing I have to go through. I will have to have a CT scan in 3-4 weeks so they can see if the cyst has gone away and not refilled itself. If it does and I have to get another drain put in, I will demand a ton of drugs or they don't touch my body!

I'm back in the real world...thank God!

Sisters

2005-10-01T00:30:00.000-04:00

This was given to me by my wonderful friend Noelle. Since you will never find me forwarding a chain email, you can read it here and feel free to pass it along if you like. I found it very touching.

Sisters

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother looked at the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.

"Don't forget your sisters," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. "They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them. And remember 'sisters' also means your girlfriends, your daughters and other women relatives too. You'll need other women. Women always do."

"What a funny piece of advice!" the young married woman thought. "Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman for goodness sake! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!"

But she listened to her mother. She kept contact with her sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, sisters are the mainstay of her life. After almost 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:

Time passes
Life happens
Distance separates
Children grow up
Love waxes and wanes
Hearts break
Careers end
Jobs come and go
Parents die
Colleagues forget favors
Men don't call when they say they will
BUT sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A sister is never farther away than needing her can reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley, and you have to walk it for yourself, your sisters will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end. Sometimes they will even break the rules and walk beside you, Or come in and carry you out.

My mother, sisters, sister-in-law and "girlfriends" bless my life. The world would not be the same without them and neither would I.

When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day we need each other still.

If you want to pass this on to the women that make your life work. Thank you all for being my sisters.

Back to the real world

2005-09-30T10:50:00.000-04:00

Two more days off and I'm back to work. What a two month vacation it's been! Can we not do this again?

Monday I get the drain out! Thank God! No more hard plastic devices sticking me in my side. No more tubes coming out of me. Yippeee!!!

What you going to do? Splash Me?

2005-09-29T00:13:00.000-04:00

God they give Josh all the best lines! Sawyer is just a wise-cracking, smart-ass bad boy, whose heart shines through every now and then. God I love that man!

Debs called him shark-bait, but my guy pulled through. But can he take on those 'others?'

I hate waiting a whole week!

Losing myself in LOST

2005-09-24T15:42:00.000-04:00

How about a non-whining, non-medical topic? The comments on my chatterbox gave me the idea. LOST!! What a fantastic cliffhanging show! I've watched it from the very first episode. I won't answer the phone while it's on nor will you find me on the computer during the show.

They have a great esamble of actors. I mean we in the USA just have the first episode of season two and I was so enthralled through out it, that until the credits came on, I didn't realize that I never saw Sawyer...and I absolutely love Sawyer.

Liz, you are just getting into the show over there and I'm telling you, don't miss a show. If you have to, then tape it! You learn important things about the characters and the island each week. Did you all know that the actress that plays Kate, Evangeline Lilly, this is her first EVER acting job? She's awesome!

I hope that the next episode will have the raft guys on it so we can find out what happened. I'll just keep staring at this pic in the meantime....sigh.

Yeah, that's a black cloud

2005-09-22T18:05:00.000-04:00

Yeah the procedure sucked. Well, maybe that's too mild of a description. It hurt like fucking hell is more like it. And it wasn't what I expected. I assumed that they would take the fluid out like they would a lung. Insert a long needle and aspirate it. Nope.

Next time I have learned to ask.

Yes, they gave me a local at the site they were going to cut open. That was fine. They also were giving me something to make me relax, but not go out. This is didn't feel at all. The more they gave me, the more I didn't feel this drug. When the resident (don't forget this is a teaching hospital) first inserted the something into the opening and he tried to locate the cyst. He hit my rib instead. I literally screamed. This was when they kept giving me more Versad, with no luck. When they penetrated the membrane of the cyst, I screamed again. The pain was awful. From the first rib hit on, I was crying the whole time.

The nurse i n recovery had me realize that with all of the drugs I have been on, I have developed a tolerance to them, so I need more than the normal perspn. Great, I'm a druggie.

Now I ended up with them removing one liter of 'gunk' from this cyst. That's more fluid than a bottle of wine. However, the cyst needs to keep draining so they have placed a tube going from the cyst, coming pout the chest/upper abdomen wall and the approximate 3 foot tube ends in a drainage bag. Gross. I won't even look at it.

My Mom comes over to change my dressing and to flush out the tubing. Pain pills are my friends again. The drain site is very tender and my back muscles are hurting from all of the laying down and sitting I do. My best position is lying on my side.

When this comes out? No idea. The draining has to get to 10cc to below. I went back today for them to check the tubing. Luckily, everything is fine or they would have to change it. Only the long ride to and from the hospital was painful, thankfully there wasn't a procedure.

So me and my bag go everywhere together. It's a good thing I can strap it to my calf and it stays out of my way. Now if I would just stop bumping the drain, maybe the soreness will go away.

It could be worse right? I could have this and be down in Galvaston.

Laters.

Is that a black cloud over my head or am I dreaming?

2005-09-16T21:30:00.000-04:00

Ever have one of those days that nothing went right? I've been having one for 7 weeks now. In today's episode of "As My Health Turns" deals with the drug Lovenox. My new friend.

I need to off the coumadin for three days prior to the procedure on Monday. However, I can't go off a blood thinner because I still have the clots, so I have to be on Lovenox...and that's injectable. Scary Shit! However, the nurse is brilliant and she inserts this tiny IV looking thingy into my belly (that large thing finally is coming in handy). I only need to insert the drug into the catheter now. Thank God as I don't think I could have done it to myself. Plan A was to have my brother do it and he's on call all weekend. Damn! Plan B was to have his girlfriend (nurse) do it and she's in Texas. Double Damn! Little did I know that the nurse was way a head of me.

Now after all this I drive to my local large chain pharmacy to pick the Lovenox prescription for the rest of the days. I have enough to get me through Saturday, but I need doses through Wednesday. I get there and to be expected...they don't have any in stock...nor does the other three pharmacies in town. I had them call a sister store that was about 30 minutes away and by God they had it.

I get in my car and drive the 30 minutes to the pharmacy. I grab a bottle of water to buy as a painkiller is next on my agenda. Driving (my stick shift car) is painful, especially that far.

I get to the counter and a pharmacist comes over to talk to me. It seems that my insurance company is denying paying for this. Hello!!!! It's this or possibly die from the blot clot people!!! I ask how much it would be. $756.00!!!! I had to grab the counter in shock.

I whipped out my cell phone (God what did we ever do without them!) and called the doctors office. They said that they would call my insurance company right away. Twenty minutes later after sitting in a very uncomfortable chair, but having downed a vicodin, I call them back. They can't get through to anyone to approve it and are waiting for a call back. I asked them what should I do.

I definitely had to have a dose for Sunday, so she had me buy one and they would work on the approval and hopefully I could get refunded. So they charge $75 to my debit card and me and my one syringe head home.

After I had been home about an hour, the blue sky peaked through my black cloud. The pharmacy actually called me to say that they got the approval for the Lovenox and it was ready for me WITH the refund from the one dose I had already bought. Hallejuh!!

How tomorrow DL tix go onsale for the CT show...I hope the sun shines!!

I am JINXED!

2005-09-15T18:28:00.000-04:00

I swear nothing is gonna go right for me! First Mom and I drive 45 minutes to New Haven for the CT Scan to see why I still have so much pain inside where the spleen was. Sometimes I wondered if it was just me. First they come out to give me this GINORMOUS container of contrast that I have to drink. Excuse me, but no one told me about this!

So there I still struggling to get the extremely nasty tasting stuff down my throat. I was really having a hard time as it was making me gag, but I got about 90% of it down and said that's it. I refused to drink anymore and threw it out.

They finally call me back and I lay on the table which looks like a half moon. The one tech puts in the IV (God I have learned to hate them) for them to run the contrast through. They leave the room, the machine pulls me into its bowels and within 20 seconds, it pulls me all the way out. That I knew wasn't normal.

The tech tells me they are having a slight technical difficulty and it would take only 2 minutes to reset the machine. Then it was 8 more minutes and finally they acknowledged that the stupid ass high price piece of shit equipment was broken!

There we drove 45 minutes, plus I drank al that nasty stuff and I had an IV in my arm and I broke the machine? Lucky for them, they were thinking and got me set up to go immediately over the the hospital (Yale) for the scan. Now Mom and I have to find the hospital which we weren't near and hopefully nothing else would go wrong. Thank God nothing did.

I hadn't even walked in the door 5 minutes when the phone rang. It was my doctor's nurse assistant. She's is the best! However, when she asked me to sit down, I knew it wasn't good. It seems in the now empty area where the spleen was I had an large accumulation of fluid...and that needs to come out.

Monday will find me back at the doctors as I have an appointment with a BIG needle. But it gets worse. Since I am on a blood thinner, I have to go off that for 3 days. In place of it I have to take another drug...by injection. This they think I'm going to do...WRONG! I already have a call into the doctor brother that he's going to have to do this! I just hope he isn't on all this weekend as that screws his schedule up.

So once again, shit is going wrong. But I knew something had to have been causing this pain I've had since the beginning. Now it will go away, but getting there is gonna be a bitch!

Friendship

2005-09-13T11:58:00.000-04:00

This is what it's all about.

LIAR

2005-09-12T13:46:00.000-04:00

I don't normally do this and I am going to go against my own advice of ignoring people, but I am going to outright call Jeanne a LIAR! I can't even make a post about my friend leaving me after she took care of me and traveling home, when that lying bitch has to try to ruin it. Deny it all you want Jeanne, but you are a LIAR! Always has been and always will be!

This post from that trashy SP group says it all.

From: Jeanne
Date: Sun Sep 11, 2005 3:13 pm
Subject: Train bomb and Katrina laundry lepplady
Offline
Send Email

A friend in NY called last night and told me there was a bomb threat for one of the trains leaving Penn station in NY yesterday.
MY GOD where will it all end?
It turned out to be a hoax, but My God. Even a hoax about a bomb in this day and age is no laughing matter. Too many people have already died in too many acts of violence. The stupidity has got to stop!

THERE WAS NO BOMB THREAT AT PENN STATION SATURDAY! Are you so stupid to think that isn't traceable? I am local to NYC! Your implications show what a nasty sick woman you are. Anyone who even considers you to be a friend should have their head examined! But then again your friends are only people you deal with online, you don't meet them in person. Therefore you don't have real friends, like the rest of us.

I normally don't let this shit get to me. I tell my FRIENDS not to let it get to them, but it sickens me the shit you try to start and blame on people. We all know that you'll be trying to defend yourself by saying I didn't blame anyone, I was just reporting what happened. NOTHING HAPPENED! You are so full of innuendos that you can't even post anything without them! You have become so transparent that every time me or my friends do anything or talk about anything, you have to make a snide comment about it. That's obessive, sick and damn twisted.

People who know me know I don't go off this way, but enough is enough. Get help Jeanne. You are one sick puppy. One again there was no THREAT at Penn Station. To lie about something like that on this DATE is completely demented!

Now back to my regularly scheduled couch sitting.

Bye Debs

2005-09-10T11:45:00.000-04:00

I just got back from dropping Debs off at the Train and she's on her way home. It's been a great visit and I had a wonderful time hanging with her. Sadly to say, that's about all we did was hang out...no sight seeing, no real shopping...just two friends hanging, chatting and watching a lot of TV.

I hadn't seen Debs in about two years, but since we talk every day it was like she just walked next door to visit. It's great to have friends like that.

This trip she got to meet my two awesome brothers and Mom did take us out to lunch one day. It was Mom's favorite restaurant that sits right out on a dock on the water, so we could watch all of the sailboats and fishing boats go by.

I'm doing pretty good. If I didn't have this bad pain inside me where the spleen used to be, I could be back to work. But any driving, walking or standing for longer than 5 minutes puts me in bad pain that my pain killers won't touch. I spend a lot of mu day either laying on the sofa or my bed. I have a CT scan scheduled for Thursday and I hope they can find out what's going on.

Have a safe trip back Debs! Don't let NYC scare ya!

Where did August go?

2005-09-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

Well I made it, but it sure wasn't easy. Even though its been a month since I had my spleen removed, it still hurts enough to take pain meds most of the day. The space where it was is what hurts. It's an empty area that just gets very achy and Debs will comfirm it just kicks my butt some days.

Most of you know (from Debs) what I went through, but this is the details.

The omem that all was not going to be right happened when I was at the hospital in the "get ready for the OR area." I am starting to change into the gown they need me in and I realize that my period has started...too early. That should have given me a hint that all was not going according to plan. Anyway, a nurse helps me deal with that annoyance and off I go on a stretcher.

Next thing I remember is waking up briefly in the recovery room and then being wheeled to the hospital room. The chief resident and her entourage of students, etc, talk to my parents and let them know what's going on. I'm just in a haze of anesthesia, morphine and fatigue. I actually stayed that way for the next two days. Awake but not really. My concentration wasn't even good enough for me to have the Tv on.

On day two they did change the morphine to Dilaudid and gave me a pump where I administer it when needed. Man, I was clicking that button! Good thing it's safe guarded so you don't over do.

Day three, they found that my H & H (Hemoglobin and hematocrit) where too low, so they gave me a transfusion of two units of blood. I've had so many of these that it's routine to me by now. This I was told could happen because of the blood loss during surgery. No Biggie.

Later that night and it had nothing to do with the transfusion, I woke up very short of breath. I hit the nurses call button and when they answered told them I was having trouble could they send a nurse. Which of course they said yes. Within seconds I realized I was really in trouble and started literally screaming for help. I was having such a hard time breathing, my panic and yelling was making it worse. Needless to say, I immediately had a room full of people to help. They put me on oxygen, called my red team (that's the chief resident who I belonged to and her team.)After tests and a portable chest xray they determined the part of my left lung had collasped. Excuse me? This was not part of the plan!

Now I had to have respiratory therapy treatments and they made me blow in a incentive spirometer several times every hour. I stayed on oxygen for several days. They also determined that I had a fluid acculmulation in the bottom lobe of my left lung (plural effusion)and that too would hinder my breathing.

However, at the end of six days they sent me home with a mild pain killer, a bruise the size of Montana from the surgery, an achy back and delicate incision sites.

Mom and I set us up in my condo and I was so happy to be home and to be able to sleep in my own bed again. Well that I soon found out was not going to be as easy as I thought. I have this intense inner pain that moves from the left front (not abdominal but higher) and around to the back. It's the space where the spleen was, but now it has a acculumation of blood in the that pooled after the surgery and while I was bedridden. Damn that sucker hurt. I was finding that no position I either sat in or laid down on helped. The pain pills Darvon did little to help. I spent my first night at home either crying in bed or moaning in my recliner. I was a mess.

The next day Mom called the doctor's office and told them I was having a problem with pain. The had me double the pill dosage and that still didn't help. After an equally awful next night, we called the doctor again and they had us return to Yale and go through the ER.

Mom drives us the hour it takes to get to Yale/New Haven Hospital and we have to go through THE busiest ER in the state. It's also the state's main trauma center. After 2 hours we finally got into the ER (I'm still in severe pain) and we tell our story to about three different doctors. And we tell them to please call Dr. Charlotte, who was my chief resident and she was going to meet us in the ER. I got an IV, blood tests, a CT scan they took me too but cancelled...but still no pain meds. Finally after five hours and the arrival of Dr. Charlotte, they gave me 2mgs of Dilaudid...straight through the IV and that hit me right away. Thank God! This was 2pm and it took until almost 5pm to get me into a regular hospital room, which coincidently was the exact room and bed I had last time.

The next four days was dealing and getting the pain under control and treating a urinary tract infection they found I had. My evening shift nurse was a male nurse, Mike. He used to be in the marines and he and I got along great. He took wonderful care of me and made sure that my problems where being taken care of. Plus he was hot! Thanks Mike!

Now I get discharged with a much stronger pain pill and antibiotics for the UTI. I'm still having a hard time sleeping at night as there is not a comfortable position for me. The hospital beds did have the advantage of raisng the head and the feet and I have come to miss that. I simply dreaded going to sleep at night.

Again I was home less that two days and I remember I was talking to Debs in the phone and it was around 9pm. I usually hold the phone with my left hand when I talk, but that hand was really stiff and painful and I told her so. She agreed that it was weird and then when I got off I mentioned it to my Mom. Then maybe an hour later we went to bed.

It was another restless and very uncomfortable night for me, but when I got up my right hand was stiff and painfull too. Now both hands hurt and Mom and I were unsure what to do. I got myself settled in the recliner and realized both wrists were also involved. I had Mom read through the pharmacy forms that came with each prescription we had to see if there was anything in them that matched my problems. The antibiotic - Ciprofloxin said it could cause joint and tendon pain, so we decided to hold off on that. We also called my brother who's a doctor and he said he hadn't heard of any allergic reactions like mine.

Then Mom called the pharmacist and asked him. He looked up information and told us that in 9% of the people cipro causes joint and tendon pain. Mom and I were on to something.

By the afternoon the stiffness and pain and gone into my elbows and I could barely use either arm. Seriously, my Mom was holding glasses for me to drink from and feeding me. Then I just broke down and started crying. My Mom called my brother again who told us to call the surgeon. We did and got a doctor on call who listened to what I told her. She also had never heard of a reaction like mine. She told us that we should either go to a local ER or go back to Yale.

It was 8pm at this point on a Sunday night and driving an hour to Yale at night didn't appeal to us, so we got dressed and went to our local hospital where my brother is on staff. Mom puts me in a wheelchair, I get triaged and it takes two hours before I actually make it into the ER and see a doctor. By this point my knees had started to hurt me and when I had to get out of the chair onto the stretcher, I couldn't. A male nurse had to help lift me up and get me sitting on the stretcher. I was so upset and in pain that all I could do was cry as my Mother held me. It was 11pm.

At 3am they told me that they would be admitting me. Besides the joint problems I had, my white blood cell count and platelet count were sky high. I told Mom (who was exhausted) to go back to my place and to call me in the morning. It was 5am before I got to a room...TG it was a private room.

The next day I saw hematologists, infectious disease doctors, house doctors and tons of lab people. I was having blood taken all the time for tests. They decided to start me on a steriod for my joint pain as I was completely bedridden at this point.

I woke up the next day with my shoulders now involved and I couldn't lift my arms up off the bed. Again I was crying in frustration, but it was that night where the steriods really started to work and I felt the pain go away in most of my joints except the shoulders. Since my knees felt so much better, I wanted to try using the bathroom instead of a bedpan which was really hard to use. At 10:30pm an aide took me to the bathroom and I was excited. I could see and feel the improvement.

At midnight a nurse came in to take my vitals and after that I had her walk me to the bathroom. I was still a bit unsteady. On the way back to the bed, she asked me if I always got that out of breath when I got up. I told her I as of late tended to get a bit out of breath, but as I sat on the side of the bed we realized that it was pretty bad.

The nurse still had her equipment in the room so she immediately put the thingy back on my finger that measures my oxygen saturation level. Normally I had been at 97%ish, what i didn't know was when she just took it (before the bathroom) it was only at 91% and now it was only 71%. She immediately went into full nurse mode. She called someone to assist her and got me on oxygen by nasal canula. That didn't help much, then they tried a mask. They were also caling my doctor to let him know what was going on. Then suddently respiratory therapy was there to give me a treatment to see if that would help and the house doctor came right in.

He told me that he was going to have a portable chest xray done and then I would go for a CT scan of the lungs. He was afraid I may have an embolism. Then I would go to ICU or CCU. I was in deep trouble and I was scared to death. I had the house doctor call my brother John to let him know what was going on. I could only picture my Mom coming in the next morning and seeing an empty bed. The docotor knew my brother well so he let John know what was happening.

I was whisked off to CT and my nurse Colleen came with me. I have oxygen on, a heart monitor and it was the middle of the night. It took 2 hours to get the Ct done. It has to have a contrast dye added so they can see the embolism, but we couldn't get the IV to work. They stuck me 4 times trying to get the right IV and finally it worked. I was lying in this tube, my painful arms above my head and I was crying the whole time. It was an awful experience and I was scared to death. The nurse was the only person who showed me comfort and she kept trying to make it easier for me. She was truely an angel.

Colleen then whisked me up to CCU and the nurses there took over. Kind and very efficient they were. The house doctor came backand told me that the tests confirmed I had several small pulmonary embolisms (clots) and that I also had one in my portal vein in my liver. He was a really nice doctor trying to keep me calmand telling me how the nurses here would be right on top of things and they would take good care of me. But I felt that my life was in jeopardy and I was more scared than I had ever been.

Needless to say I scared my family so bad that my other brother took off from work to be there for me. I felt tiny, weak and very emotional. I still am, as I cry at the drop of a hat. I spent the next two and a half days in CCU, before they moved me back to a regular room.

Once again I was lucky enough to get a private room. I think my brother's influence helped. That's where I spent the next week as the doctors worked on blood thinner levels and they kept looking at my left lung wondering if the fluid needed to come out. So far it hasn't.

No I'm home and have been for 10 days. I have only 60% of my lung function currently. I still have fairly consistant pain from where the spleen was that requires major pain meds. The surgeon said that was normal, but if it continues he will do another CT scan. Great, my favorite test. NOT!

I will be on blood thinners for at least the next 6 months. Clots just don't go away, they go away slowly. The hematogist is trying to find the right dosage for me as it is different with everyone, so I'm going for blood tests weekly.

August is over and I missed it. The summer is almost gone. This was the scariest thing I have ever been through and it has changed me. It showed me how easily life can change or be gone. In a flash. My family has been incredible through this. My Mother has been my rock. Without her I could never have gotten through this. My friends have been extremely supportive with phone calls, cards, flowers and emails. You guys are the best a girl could ask for. Debs talked to my Mom every day as she was so worried about me. Now I have her here to help and she's the best a friend could ask for. Love you Debs!

Most importantly...I made it. I was scared at times that I wouldn't, but I did. Thank you God, thanks to my family, thanks tomy friends and thanks to all of the medical staff that worked to pull me through. God bless you all!

Later

2005-08-01T21:52:00.000-04:00

Think of me.

Something non-medical!

2005-07-31T00:31:00.000-04:00

About time, right? LOL Well there I was at work tonight, busting my butt as I usually do on Saturday nights. We have a wedding going on in the Grand Ballroom which is right next to the front desk. I'm behind the desk and behind a half wall at the fax machine, sending an incident report to Risk Management. I have the first number of the fax number dialed and my ears perk up and I'm immediately on alert. A new song was starting by the DJ in the ballroom and even though it was like the first two notes I KNEW THAT SONG. It wasn't the normal shit I hear every weekend...no "Celebrate", no "New York, New York", no "Play that Fucky Music", no "YMCA"....the radar was up, alert and working. There was DEF LEPPARD coming from my ballroom! I come flying out of the back, my fist raise saying "DEF LEPPARD!" My staff got a big kick out of me. And then toward the end of the night...they played it again! I had a double def dose!

Certainly made my night better. I gotta get a new job.

"Pour some sugar on meeeeeeee!"

It's time

2005-07-26T22:00:00.000-04:00

I got the call today. Next Tuesday the 2nd is the date I go under the knife. I'm glad the date is set. I wish I could give work more notice, but sorry guys.

I had the ultrasound today so they could see how big my spleen is. I told the technician to think 'small spleen' when she did the test. She laughed! LOL

But before I got the call I tried to kill myself today. Actually it was a wasp that tried to frighten me to death and in doing that I took a header into the kitchen cabinets. Damn I'm sore.

See I had watered all of my plants today (Indoor and outdoor) and when I was on my porch, I left the door open. Later this jumbo-jetliner size wasp comes into my line of vision while I'm at the computer. I go flying out of my chair and get armed with two shoes. Gonna beat that sucker!

Well he's slowly flyng around my room and not landing anywhere so I can smash him. I go grab a can of bug killer and take that in place of one of the shoes. He starts to head to the doorway so I run out to the living room and I see him fly into the kitchen. That monster still isn't landing. Next to me I see the glass doors to the porch, so as he starts to fly into the living room, I rip open the door hoping he'll go out. But! When I turn my head back, he's like 3 feet from my head. Instant and absolute panic!

I duck past him and lose my balance as I try to run at the same time. My momentum carried me forward and I couldn't stop. I lost it completely at the entrance to the kitchen and twisted my leg under me, tried to stop my fall, but my head hit the cabinet and my eyebrow area the floor. MAJOR OUCH! I lay on the floor saying OMG like 500 times. I twisted all the muscles in my left lower leg. Skinned my knee, my wrist and I have bump over my left eye.

The whole time I was falling I was thinking...oh God don't die. That actually went through my head as I had no idea actually how my head was going to hit, but I knew it was. Shows how silly uncontrolled panic is. Nearly killed myself over a damn wasp.

And now my AC is broken. God Help me!

Doctor Update

2005-07-17T01:50:00.000-04:00

I saw the surgeon at Yale on Thursday. He is scheduling me for surgery some time in the next 3 weeks. Good-bye spleen! First I have to have am ultrasound to make sure that I don't have any gall stones and to see what size my spleen is. Depending on its size, will determine whether its a laproscopic or regular incision surgery. The difference could be a much faster or slower recovery time. I will be hospitalized anywhere from 3-6 days post surgery and then it's a minimum of 4 weeks home recovering.

Looks like I'll be spending August recuperating. God I'm going to be so bored.

Hey

2005-07-13T13:25:00.000-04:00

After a real rough week, I'm back to feeling better again. I missed five days of work and literally spent it all either in bed, on my sofa or just checking emails. I've never felt so exhausted in my life. I'm glad that's over!

I spent the morning at Yale/New Haven Hospital. It's the best hospital in the state and it's associated with Yale Medical School and Yale Univercity. How could it not be good, right? They did the liver/spleen CT scan today. Tomorrow I go to see the surgeon that was recommended by my doctor at Yale and we talk 'splenectomy.' I can't get rid of that pain in the ass organ soon enough!

Yesterday I went and had my roots taken care of, so I'm freshly highlighted. Plus I had Amy take off about 4-5 inches off my hair. It was time. I was tired of the knots and it was just too hot. I wish I had done this before I went to the DL shows. I was so hot then! I do like it this length and it's much easier to care for. If I can get together with a brother and a camera, I'll have him take a pic.

This pic I just love! Joe looks happy and he's right in front of the ROA image. It may not be the best photo of Joe, but there's something about it that I just love!

Enough

2005-07-08T12:57:00.000-04:00

All I can say is that I feel like I got run over by a truck. I can't even work, maybe in a few days, we'll see. They have me scheduled for a liver/spleen scan on Wednesday and the surgeon on Thursday. I think my body has had enough.

Puppy Time!

2005-07-06T11:57:00.000-04:00

My brother, John finally sent me the photos of my parents new puppy, Charlie. He's cute and tiny and because of his weird tail, he's also fondly known as the Rat Dog. However, that does piss my Mom off .. so of course my brothers call Charlie that.

So here's Charlie....

Here's Charlie again and the tail that gave him his knickname!

Here's the two dogs...Jack and Charlie

And Jack getting pissed off at Charlie...so he sat on him! LOL

Fore anyone?

2005-07-05T13:13:00.000-04:00

got told the coolest story yesterday at work. One of my guys that works for me also works at the casino where DL played a week ago. He told me that on Saturday night while the band was in Manchester, Malvin called him to see if he could help them set up a tee time for three of them for the next day. Tee time? Sav wants to play golf! Very cool.

Except this guy couldn't find a course for them to get onto. He told Malvin he tried all over without any luck, but there was a person that probably could have helped them but she was at the concert! Malvin come to Lori! And I don't even work fo that casino! I know I could have gotten them on a course on Sunday! Could you imagine if they called me backstage to do that? This was just before Tesla went onstage. Why my guy didn't push it was beyond me! I would have missed Tesla to set that up!

Contact me next time Mal! I'll even volunteer to caddy!

Life's High and Lows

2005-07-02T11:02:00.000-04:00

I'm back from 5 amazing days of lep treking! Got tons of stories and tons of pics for everyone, but I just have to find the time and energy to get them up. Meet so many great people at the shows which helped make this a very memorable trip.

I don't have the stamina to post as long as a should. Once I got home and reality set in, my body started to crash. I'm going into the hospital tomorrow for another transfusion. I hate doing this on weekends cause I have to be admitted as a patient. So before I try to get myself caught up here at home and we try to find someone to cover for me at work, here's a little something special.

Sorta back

2005-06-23T01:10:00.000-04:00

Hey gang! I know I've been MIA for a long time. First I was being boring, then it turned to just quiet. I've been around, but not completely. I'm tired. Everyone asks me how I am and it's automatically "Just Fine." At work I started to say these last few days "getting by." That's the truth, I'm just getting by.

I thought I was on an upswing. Back into the land of the healthy, then this weekend everything fell apart. I started feeling bad again. I hate not being able to breathe. That's the scariest. I was tested again and yesterday I spent the day getting transfusions. It's the fourth time in 5 months. I just can't keep doing this.

It's messing with my quality of life, it's messing with my job...it's just messing with me.

My doctor brother saw my Hematologist at the hospital on Tuesday and they discussed that I need to have my spleen removed. John (the brother) told Dr. B that I was agreeing to that and we needed to talk after I get back from my trip.

It's major surgery, but it will stop the anemia. Then I just have to deal with the no spleen. We can live without one, if just however messes with your immunity and I would have to be very careful with any type of illness (colds included).

So when I get back from my Lep Trek next week, it's doctor time.

On to happier news....it's LEP TREK TIME! We have great seats, great friends and maybe a surprise or two. It will be awesome to see Def Leppard again.

My parents got a new puppy. They named him Charlie and saved him from a animal shelter. Someone left him in a paper bag ina park. Sick people! Now he's running circles around my parents...literally. I should have a pic of him shortly.

That's all I can think of right now.

Boring

2005-05-30T22:05:00.000-04:00

I'm boring, life is boring damn this blog got boring!

Update

2005-05-12T23:34:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that for the last week, I've been feeling really good. I can tell that my body is functioning much better. The aches and pains are gone, the fatigue is gone...I feel normal again. I can breathe. Now let's just hope it lasts. I'll be seeing the doctor again on Tuesday. I expect him to confirm the diagnosis then. Plus I'll ask him the best way to stay away from the virus that exacerbates this. Wish me luck!

My Traitorous Island

2005-05-10T00:42:00.000-04:00

My Island has failed me. For seventeen years I have given St John, my love, my vacations and my fantasies. I've slept there, I've played there and I've spent lots of money there. I'm heading back there in February of 2006. Vacation is set and planned. I will be in mourning during that time, as it has betrayed me.

Before you all think I've completely lost it, let me explain.

While I love rock music, I also listen to and enjoy country. It's a fun type of music and great for singing to in the car. My favorite and I mean FAVORITE artist is Kenny Chesney. His voice is smooth as silk and he is one fine looking man.

Kenny is also known as the Carribean cowboy. He loves the islands. So many of his songs take place there and his videos are shot there.

Kenny just married Rene Zellweger today (after only knowing each other 4 months) on my Island. The reception is being held (probably right now!) in the affluent villas of Peter Bay. I must have passed them by a hundred times. I even used them in one of my fiction short stories I wrote!

My island let my Kenny marry Rene. Vacations will never be the same. Time to find a new island. *Sigh*

Kenny marries Rene

An answer...maybe

2005-05-03T21:30:00.000-04:00

Hereditary Spherocytosis

Say that five times fast. That's what the doctor at Yale is pretty confident I have. One more test tomorrow will confirm it. It tends to happen with people from Northern European decent, which I am. It starts with a malformed red blood cell, give it a fragile membrane, have an intact spleen and throw in an environmental factor (a virus)and the cells break down. I read a great article on it and it fit me almost to a T. I happen to fall in the 5% that are in the severe category, meaning those that develope Hemolytic Anemia that requires blood transfusions. Once this episode is under control, I should be normal unless I get another virus that stimulates the cells to break down again. Not all or most viruses would do this, just some.

The treatment protocol is just deal with the symptoms... a transfusion. Meds really won't help, except to take Folic Acid, which I am.

It's odd, but not fatal, for which I an estatic. I get the weird medical problems in the family, but it is an autoimmune disease which goes along with my Graves Disease (hyperthyroidism, which is also autoimmune).

It was funny when in the car today my Mom looked at my Dad and said "It has to come from your side of the family. I've always been suspicious of them." I was rolling! In fact though she is right, most likely it comes from my paternal grandmother and all this time we thought she had been such a sweet German lady.

http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2147.htm

Crashing

2005-04-30T07:04:00.000-04:00

That's what I call it when my blood count starts to drop rapidly. I haven't been able to breathe well in almost two weeks. Imagine walking from you bed to your dresser and being out of breath. That's me. And I'm crashing.

I'm waiting for Mom to come and pick me up to go to the hospital. It's supposed to be for the day, but with the way I feel, two units of blood are not going to be enough. I'm Casper the ghost with yellow eyes. Sounds pretty, doesn't it? My liver is messing up, my spleen is enlarged and it's achy. My muscles hurt to use them, I'm light headed, I can't breath and I'm just a mess.

I'm tired of this. I'm also afraid. It feels like everything is getting worse and nothing is getting better. What is wrong with me? Why can't they figure this out?

I have a very supportive and loving family. I have great friends. But fear makes us feel so alone.

Mom should be here soon. I'm going to rest on the sofa until she gets here.

Love you all.

Lori

14

2005-04-26T22:30:00.000-04:00

I went to Yale today. My parents drove as they knew the way and deep down they still think I'm a kid. Next time I'll be able to find it on my own if they ever let me drive.

I saw Dr. D. What is it that the nerdy, brilliant doctors all have to wear bowties? He's my third doc that wears one! Only my internist doesn't.

Anyway, he asked me a million questions and we went over the surgeries I've been through, my thyroid disease and what tests I've had done. Then he sent me off for lab work and told me to come back next week so we can go over everything. He's testing my thyroid, my liver, a CBC and tons of other stuff. So many tests that are you ready for this...they needed not 4 vials, not 8 vials, not even 10. They took FOURTEEN vials of blood from me. Damn, I'm low on that to begin with!

Maybe next week we can get some answers. Maybe.

Yale Bound

2005-04-22T10:30:00.000-04:00

Well, it happened again. Last weekend I started not to feel well. My muscles ache, I'm out of breath, I'm tired, I'm pale and then the headache kicked in. I called the doctor on Monday and I went for a blood test on Tuesday. My hemoglobin dropped from 11.9 to 8.5 in two weeks. Even the tech who took the blood asked me if I was alright...that's how bad I looked. White as a ghost and my eyes were starting to turn yellow. The liver and spleen has to process the red blood cells so they are in overdrive. Dr. B called me back within a couple of hours and told me I need another blood transfusion. So I went back to the clinic who took the blood and they did a type and cross for the transfusion. When I walked in the door the tech was there and she was like...what are your numbers! I've been worried about you!

Tuesday night the worst part of the headache kicked in and no drug will touch it. I was at the hospital by 7:30am for the transfusion. I was there most of the day as I was getting two units. The gals in the Outpatient Infusion lab were great! They have fantastic patient care skills.

Cindy the tech in charge, asked me my history and I told her everything that had happened. That Dr. B was running all sorts of tests, but he can't find out why this is happening. I told her I was seeing a specialist at Yale, but we couldn't get an appointment until May 31st.

She asks me if I have Yale's phone number, which I do. She calls there, explains what's happening and gets me an appointment for next Tuesday. She deserves a raise. I didn't ask her to do that, the doctor didn't ask her to do that. Plus, now I have a copy of all of my lab work (which is a lot) since the beginning of the year.

I'm going back to work today. I feel better, but not good. Hopefully, I can hide in the office and not have to do much. I just don't have the energy to. Seeing Dr. D at Yale on Tuesday, won't give me any answers, but it will be a start.

We need to find out why this is happening. I can't keep going through this, but I'm scared to find out why. Scared to death.

Jack

2005-04-15T12:30:00.000-04:00

One of the things I found out when I moved here to my condo is that we can have small pets. No, I'm not looking to get a cat or dog, but it means that I'm back in the dogsitting business for my parents. The landlord I had for the last two years didn't allow pets...except theirs.

So here it is only a month in my new place and Mom and Dad have hit the road already. While they get to visit friends down in Hilton Head, I have a spoiled and stubborn dog with me.

Don't get me wrong, I love Jack. He's cute and personable, but my parents have spoiled him rotten. Plus he he wants to walk in a different direction than I do or he knows we are headed back home and he doesn't want to, he just lays down. So either I have to fake him out (mind games with a dog..oh lord) or pick him up.

I've had him for six days, with my brother Jeff taking him for a few evenings. Tonight Jeff gets him for the weekend and I get my vacation from the dog. No 2am late night walks so I don't have to take him out first thing in the morning. I can sleep late! I live to sleep late!

That's pretty much all I have been up to. I have another long weekend at work ahead of me.

Here's a pic of Jack that we took at Christmas. Yes, I am the evil one who makes him wear those antlers every year. Serve's the little mutt right!

Savage Attitude

2005-04-03T00:34:00.000-05:00

Most everyone know of my website Savage Attitude. It's my tribute to the best bass player around...Rick Savage. Lately it's been slow with news at the site, but it's slow with anything in Lepland at this point. Hopefully with the tour starting up soon and the release of Rock of Ages in May, I'll have pictures and stories and articles to share with everyone.

Right now I'm working on getting an mp3 of the Live version of DL's No Matter What. I have the song on a DVD, but I have to just convert it to mp3 format and we'll be good to go.

I found out tonight that the bass player for Pyromania, Dario Seixas, likes my website. Lisa directed it to him when he was trying to find another Sav look to use on stage. He plans on going back to check it out more thoroughly next time. Dario himself has a very imperssive website to showcase his music. He designed it himself and also maintains it, so his priase of mine is very meaningful to me. Thanks Dario!

I use a combination of HTML and pagebuilder on my site. I have read HTML books and articles. I do understand a decent amount, but not enough to have my site at the caliber it is now. I don't need to say that its 100% HTML, I'd rather have a really nice site done the best way I can, than a half-ass site done with HTML. The fans of the site don't care how it's made, they just want a decent, well-run and interesting site to go to.

It's been a little over 3 years that I have had SA. I keep a counter on my main page to count hits to that page only. That's the page were people are going to find out what's in my site and what's new. Right now that is totaling over 91,200 hits. I'm very proud of that. If I had a counter on every page according to yahoo it would total 527,779.

Those are the hits on my site counting every single page. This does not include any hits to the Savage Attittude group or the Savage Attitude forum. Why have a counter on there? Neither one of them have anything to do with my website. Hence I consider my most important hits as those to the main page of the website. I'm proud of my website and happy that it can help so many people either learn about Sav and Def Leppard or learn more about them.

Thank you to all the faithful fans of Savage Attitude. Thank you! Thank you!

Also I hope Pyromania has another great show in LA tonight! Rock on Lisa and Debbie!

Home Sweet Home...

2005-03-22T23:15:00.000-05:00

Here is my baby...

This is the bedroom.

This is the more of the bedroom.

Here is the kitchen.

This is the living room taken by the front door.

More views of the living room.

Here is the fireplace.

This is the dining room which is open to the living room. You can see the kitchen too.

This is a part of my little deck.

I'm never moving again!

2005-03-16T19:10:00.000-05:00

It's done! What an exhausting week this has been. First my advice to anyone moving, don't do it in the middle of the winter on a 16 degree day. I froze myself to the bone! It was a three hour process each way (yes, I have ALOT of stuff) and the door was open the whole time. My old place would have taken hours to heat up, but my new one, just minutes. TG!

Then it literally took me days to get everything unpacked. Mom didn't come over the day after moving as it snowed. Plus it was better with me going through everything. She would have put everything in the wrong place anyway. It still snowed the next morning (Saturday) but teh roads cleared by the afternoon and Mom came over to help. We did a lot of decorating stuff that day.

Now I am done and I LOVE it so much. We've moved a few of my pieces around and everything looks awesome. I still walk around going "I can't believe all this is mine!"

So far the neighbors have been really nice ontroducing themselves to me. My upstairs neighbor is very quiet and I barely hear her, which is the exact opposite from my apartment.

The complex has really great facilites for the owners. There is a pool, a tennis court, a club house, a jacuzzi and a workout center.

I can't believe how happy I am there. And since I'll prolly be there until 2035 (when the mortgage is paid) ... that's a very good thing!

I'll take pictures next week and put them up. I wanna share !!

I did it!

2005-03-07T20:00:00.000-05:00

It's done and signed and I am now a proud owner of a 844 sq. foot condominium! I am in debt for the next 30 years!

At the end at the lawyers office, when he went 'Congratulations Lori, it's all yours,' I started tearing up. I have a home. An honest to goodness home! I am so happy!!!

Thank you for all your well wishes. I love you all!

12 hours to go

2005-03-06T21:56:00.000-05:00

In twelve hours I will be sitting in my lawyer's office signing my name 500 million times. And I will be a homeowner. Finally! I'll post all about it tomorow night. I think when it's all done I'm gonna cry. I better add some kleenex to my purse. Isn't life grand!

OMG!

2005-03-05T16:49:00.000-05:00

I only have to wait until day after tommorrow and then I'm a homeowner! **Insert HUGE smiley face here**

You all don't know what a tremendous deal this is for me. I'm 44 and I never thought this would happen. My own walls, my own washer and dryer, my own sink and my own fireplace!

Jude!

2005-03-03T20:45:00.000-05:00

With only three days to go to my closing they are predicting snow on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Jude are you dancing the wrong way? I know you are doing a "No Snow" dance for me, but hey....somethings really wrong!! STOP THE SNOW!!

Countdown

2005-03-01T14:08:00.000-05:00

Only five more days to go!

Countdown...

2005-02-27T21:42:00.000-05:00

Only seven more days to go!!!

There's a Nor'easter due in tomorrow afternoon....just what I wanted more damn snow.

Single Digits!

2005-02-26T01:30:00.000-05:00

Less than 10 days to Condo! One week from Monday! WooHoo! I am so excited about doing this. It's like I'm obessed with it now. It's all I think about. What I'm gonna move. What the movers are gonna move. What goes where? Is the paint color I choose right? Which parking spot is mine? Where are the mailboxes? Someone save me!!!!

And can someone please tell Mother nature to STOP with the snow already! The big storm from several weeks ago finally melted and now we get two big storms in one week! It's all piled up on my deck again and in some places its up to my knees! That's how I want them to get the furniture out! I need some good melting!

Update

2005-02-15T18:25:00.000-05:00

Well I talked to my doctor today. My bone marrow biopsy came back negative, so no major life threatening disease is going on. Thank God! The CT Scan just showed the enlarged spleen. The blood tests are all coming back normal except one. My retic count is up...meaning that my body is making more red blood cells than normal....still. The blood cells are still breaking down faster than normal, but the bone marrow is keeping up. He can't find the reason why this is happening.

I'm going to have another specialized blood test next week and if that comes back negative, he's at a loss on WTF happened to me.

Dr. B has been in contact with my old doctor down at Yale/New Haven Hospital. That's the MAJOR place to go in CT and Dr. D treated me there in 1997 when this happened the first time. He's very interested in my case. So if Dr. B runs out of options, then he wants me to go back to see Dr. D. Great Yale is 45 minutes away and I hate driving there. And when I move it will be further away.

But I can't complain. We need to find out why this happens as once may be a fluke, but twice isn't. Leave it to me to have a fucked up medical mystery.

The packing is really coming along. I hope I can live 19 more days with practically nothing. C'mon March 7th!!

Beauty School Drop-out...

2005-02-11T21:21:00.000-05:00

How many of you saw the movie Grease with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John? Just like I thought...most of you. Do you remember the girl who played Frenchy? Didi Conn? I got to meet her tonight as she's staying here at the Spa. While she isn't an A-list celeb, she 's still famous and a really nice person.

While I'm thinking about it here's a list of celeb's that I have met while working here.

Gloria Estevan
Tony Bennett
John Secada
Aretha Franklin
Rene Taylor and Joe Bologna
Ritchie Blackmore
Phyllis Diller
Mary J. Blige
Mary-Elizabeth Mastronio (sp)
Assorted sports guys - from the Patriots and the Celtics

And three months before I started Aerosmith was here as there is a soundstage for videos in the area.

I'm so Lost

2005-02-10T11:48:00.000-05:00

I'm an avid TV watcher on the nights that I'm home from work. When this TV season started in September I actually watched quite a few first episodes. I love Desperate Housewives. It's just a funny show. This is one of the few nights that I tape. First I watch Ty in Extreme Makeover - Home Addition and cry through most of it as it's so wonderful what that show is doing do people in trouble. Then laughing at DH afterwards is just what I need.

Now Wednesday nights, I started watching LOST because it was an unusual show and there was nothing else on at 8pm on that night. I have been hooked since the beginning. I don't miss an episode as there are so many twists and turns and crazy things happen on this island. And the there is Sawyer, *SIGH* I mean Josh Holloway. The ultimate of bad boy, the man you could never ever bring home, but the man every woman wants in her bed. Well, woman who are attracted to bad boys, just like I am. Good nice guys are boring. Bad boys break your heart, but you have a blast in the meantime.

Josh Holloway.....*SIGH*

Countdown to Condo

2005-02-06T13:49:00.000-05:00

So I don't have to stress my brain much, I added a counter that is over to the right that is counting down days to my closing for the condo. Let's hope time flies!!

Update...

2005-02-02T21:16:00.000-05:00

Well I had the bone marrow biopsy today. It was no walk in the park. I didn't scream out or yell, but I did break down to tears. That sucker hurt. The suction of the marrow and whatever he did afterward. I hope I never have to go through that again. Now I just have a sore back hip area. Recovery is easy...thank God.

Thirty-three days until my closing. HOT DAMN! I've picked out the paint for the living room/dining room already and Mom is going to help with that. I want to paint immediately before I move in. It will be so much easier that way.

I filed my taxes today and am getting back a nice chunk of change. That will go towards my move and the rest into the savings account.

Is it March yet?????

Thank you to people who donate...

2005-01-31T23:10:00.000-05:00

Now I know why I was so tired over that big snow weekend and it wasn't cause I was working long hours. After those days I got more and more tired. I got headaches that I don't get and I was out of breath crossing a room. Once these problems kept getting worse, I knew I had to do something about it. So I called the doctor and made an appointment for the next day.

By the time I got there I was 24 hours into a major headache that nothing helped. I also looked like shit and felt the same way. I talked to Dr. N and he decided to run a few tests. I left his office headed off to work a real busy weekend. I made it to the hotel in less than 40 minutes and was panting by the time I got to the office. I had only dropped my bag on the floor when one of the girls told me my doctor was on the phone. Huh? His nurse was to call me at home, not here.

Well it was Dr. N himself. He told me I was very anemic...really, really anemic. I told him I knew it and I even told his nurse that. Back in 1997 this happened to me too, a sudden downwards spiral in 10 days that leaves me with like no blood. Yeah, right you all say...No blood. Well, I had only enough them to keep me upright and the doctor was telling me this time my numbers were worse.

He told me I was going to see a hemotology doctor right then. I had no choice. Believe me I wasn't arguing...I had been through this before and I knew how bad it could get.

I called my boss and told him I had to leave. I'm pretty sure I wasn't making too much sense. Then I called my parents in tears and told them it was happening again. Last time I was hospitalized for two days, receiving tons of tests, meds and a blood transfusion and then ended up seeing a specialist at Yale. It got better with the transfusion, but we never really did know why it happened. They were saying it was a virus most likely...Viral Hemolytic Anemia.

I saw the hemotologist and he sent me for more blood tests after doing a complete H&P. My headache was still really bad. Saturday morning I woke up with an even worse headache and could barely function. The pain was incredible. As I lay in tears on the sofa Dr. B called and said that my hemoglobin numbers were down from the initial test on Friday...a test I had only two hours apart. He wanted me to go into the hospital for another blood transfusion and I could go home that night.

So I call Mom and she comes to pick me up and off we go to the hospital. It was 4pm by the time the first unit of blood was done...but the headache had certainly dulled, much to my relief. During the first bag, Dr. B came in to see me. He told me my hemoglobin had dropped from a 7.3 to a 6.7 and that was in less than 24 hours. 12 is more normal number. He told me then that I was going to get a third bag and we realized then that I wasn't going home that night. By the time the third bag was done it was 4am. Between my machine stopping everytime I barely moved my wrist with the IV in it, my senile roommate and vitals all the time... I hadn't slept. All in all I got 2 hours maybe of sleep that night.

I knew I was scheduled for a liver (abdominal) ultrasound in the morning. Dr. B had called me to say that my billirubin(liver) levels were elevated and even though that wasn't unusual in hemolytic anemia, he wanted to be sure everything was okay. So I had the test and they found the liver was okay, but my spleen was enlarged. Again that happens with HA, but he was ordering blood test upon blood test. Thorough he certainly is...thank God. Then the news came I didn't want to hear... I wasn't going home...yet. He wanted me to have more blood. My hemoglobin was up to 9 something, but that wasn't enough. So it was 8pm by the time I got to leave, but I was able to sleep in my very own bed that night.

I had more tests today and my hemoglobin is up to 11.6. Which is good, but he wants to know why this happened to me and why twice. Our next step unfortunately is a bone marrow biopsy to see if there is an under lying process doing this. I'm praying for another virus...a simple stupid virus and not anything scary. The test is scary and painful enough.

All in all, it was a long exhausting nerve wracking weekend. I'm still not back to work, but spending most of my time lying on the sofa. I had a total of 5 units of blood...so there were 5 people, 5 strangers that helped me through this illness. Meds don't help only blood does so I do consider them in having saved my life. Thank you. So to all of you that donate blood...you are godsends, life savers and I am forever in your debt. Thank you and please don't stop donating.

When you want to say...

2005-01-26T15:45:00.000-05:00

Michelle sent me this little pick-me-up for when I'm having one of those bad days. LOL

Snow Days

2005-01-21T12:57:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid I loved a snow day. Staying home from school, Mom making hot chocolate and arguing with my brothers over the TV or what game to play. That was the life!

Now I hate snow days. I have one of those stupid jobs where it's open 24/7 and we have to get in. So tomorrow we are expecting a HUGE snowstorm to start in the afternoon. I've already called into work to save me a room for two nights. If I ever managed to get home without killing myself Saturday night, the morning shift would never ever get in....So I will stay over. Then I will open at 6:30am and mostly likely work straight through until 11pm. That will totally suck.

Then Monday I'm due in at 9am and after working all those hours I decided to just stay over Sunday too, open again and then go home as quickly as possible once we get checkouts under control. The hotel business has its perks and then it can really suck bad. This is a sucking bad weekend.

At least I can check my emails from work. Man, I'm gonna be tired!

The Next Big Step

2005-01-15T00:15:00.000-05:00

We take several big steps during our lives. I am about to take one myself. I am moving myself from the rental world to the homeowning world. I bought myself a condominium. Nothing huge, just something comfortable. Now I can sit and enjoy a blazing fire, have a normal heating system and finally have my own washer and dryer. In fact they were purchased today. This will happen sometime in March, but the sooner the better! I've already started to pack and subsequently realized how much stuff I need to through out! I am very excited!!!

When you think you are having a bad day...

2005-01-10T21:07:00.000-05:00

Nothing compares to this man's day. A doctor from California was driving the 101 with his 12 year old daughter and one of her friends. They are not sure how, but his car went over a guard rail on a bridge (the flash floods may have contributed). The BMW became a boat...literally. The kids and Dad were able to climb out of the car and hang onto the roof. Citizens and the quick responding fire department were able to rescue the girls within minutes. The car was floating down the Coyote Creek who's swift waters could drown him any second. At the next bridge the FD hung ropes and life jackets and the man was able to grab onto a rope. The hauled him up, but the rope slipped through his fingers and he fell back into the rushing waters. Really bad went to really really bad.

Since both sides of the bridge had ropes, he was able to grab onto another one and this time he was successfully saved. Really really bad thank god didn't turn into disasterous. But it did turn into the worse day this man ever had. Not only was this rescue captured on video and has been on Fox News, CNN and other channels all day, but when they pulled the desperate man from the swift waters of Coyote Creek the waters had pulled off his pants. The rescue video had to be blurred in certain areas. Not only was the poor man almost drowned...but he was pulled out of the waters half naked and the whole country saw it.

So when you think you are having a bad day....think back. It really wasn't that bad...was it? At least you have your pants on....I hope.

DISCLAIMER: This is no way making fun of this unfortunate man, just a reminder that things could always be worse.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/01/10/flood.rescue/index.html

Noble??

2005-01-02T01:12:00.000-05:00

I've just been told that I think I am noble...umm, I have never said that before. Trying to understand what this person means I looked up the exact meaning of noble. This is per the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Main Entry: 1no·ble
Pronunciation: 'nO-b&l
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): no·bler /-b(&amp;amp;-)l&r/; no·blest /-b(&-)l&st/
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French, from Latin nobilis well-known, noble, from noscere to come to know -- more at KNOW
1 a : possessing outstanding qualities : ILLUSTRIOUS b : FAMOUS, NOTABLE
2 : of high birth or exalted rank : ARISTOCRATIC
3 a : possessing very high or excellent qualities or properties b : very good or excellent
4 : grand or impressive especially in appearance
5 : possessing, characterized by, or arising from superiority of mind or character or of ideals or morals : LOFTY
6 : chemically inert or inactive especially toward oxygen

None of this applies to me...I have never considered myself above anyone or better than anyone. Do I try to stay out of the shit that goes on ...yes I do. TRY is the keyword. Jez or QOT or Jeanne...have I posted on your blogs or anyones blog in months about you all? NO! Only yesterday....for the first time in months did I. Why? Because a person I know was being screwed. For one month she has waited for a refund from "the book" she returned. Her emails went unanswered, her posts deleted...and as her friend I felt bad that she was being ripped off. Wouldn't you voice your opinion for one of your friends? Other than that I have said squat! I don't mention you on my blog. I only and still do want all of this stupidness to go away. That doesn't make me noble...just sane.

Working on Christmas

2004-12-26T11:59:00.000-05:00

Yeah, I was one of the unlucky people who had to work Christmas. There really should be a law against it. But then you had to have police (working) to enforce that, so the purpose of not working is ... not working. Someday, I'll have a career where I don't have to worry about it. I already told the boss...Next year I don't work Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. My co-supervisor has managed to work neither for three years and I have worked one Eve and two days. Next year she better work both!

It wasn't that bad of a day after all. I got rid of my manager early...which is easy to do. Then I can run the Hotel's desk the way I want. He gave me a Christmas card which I opened and he gave me $100 for Christmas! Shocked me totally!

Then I had guests that I was wheeling and dealing about a room upgrade. They wanted the $900 suite and I offered it to them at $700. She countered with how about $600 and we make it worth your while. DONE! That was $50 more into my pocket!

Then a really really nice thing happened...something in the true spirit of Christmas. I work my evenings or share the evening shift with another employee - Chris. He's been with us for a year and we work together very well. It's like he knows what I need and vice versa.

I worked Thanksgiving (even though I was scheduled off for it) as my parents were away and then he could spend it with his wife. He worked Christmas Eve and I worked Christmas Day. So there I was at the desk when he came in on Christmas night. He lives locally and he and his wife Dona made me a plate from their Christmas dinner and brought it to me to enjoy. Isn't that the nicest thing? They took time out of their holiday to think of me and Cbris knowing the food we get, brought me something special. That my friends....is what Christmas is all about!

Merry Christmas

2004-12-23T18:10:00.000-05:00

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. Cherish your time with family, appreciate your friends and find Peace with everyone. God Bless you all!

Happy Birthday

2004-12-17T13:03:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Lisa! Have a great time in LA!

A Leppmas Story...

2004-12-13T23:49:00.000-05:00

This creative masterpiece was written by my good friend Elena. Debs reminded me of it and I wanted to share it with my fellow bloggers.

Twas The Night Before The Concert

Twas the night before the concert,

And Mal was in a rage,

Trying to get everything ready,

For the Leps to hit the stage.

The drums were set up,

The guitars were all tuned

All this madness went on,

While the Leps snuggled in their rooms.

Malvin worked very late,

With the road crew and techs,

Driving them mad with frustration,

With numerous sound checks.

While all this went on,

Each Lep slept like a child,

Making silent wishes to Santa,

That made each of them smile.

For Joe, the King Cat,

His wish didn't take long,

"Santa, give me strong pipes,

to belt out all those songs."

For Viv, it was simple,

For his wish had come true,

The day he first played with the Leps

Back in 1992.

Rick silently asked Santa,

With a sleepy little nod,

"please let the audience tomorrow, know why

I'm called `Thundergod'."

Sav dreamt of the stage,

On which tomorrow he'd be struggin'

And asked Santa for a new bass,

Or a pair of jeans he could button.

Phil sighed in his sleep,

As he thought with a smirk,

"Santa, I'll take just about anything,

just not another new shirt!"

But one thing all five Leps

Asked of good `ol St. Nick,

Was for the continual magic,

That still made the band tick.

"Santa, give us the strength,

to still write and record,

to keep our loyal fans happy,

so they never get bored."

"And through triumph and tragedy,

and with each little endeavor,

may our strong bond of friendship,

be one that lasts forever.

"Cuz,as the saying went long ago,

that still rings true today,

`its better to burn out,

than fade away'."

Thank you Elena!

One year older...

2004-12-12T21:18:00.000-05:00

Just want to say Happy Birthday to my friend Michelle! Hope you had a great day!

An Addict?

2004-12-11T01:39:00.000-05:00

I think this number is a little low...

I AM 36% INTERNET ADDICT!

I could go either way. Deep into the madness of nights filled with coding CGI-Scripts and online role playing games, or I could become a normal user. Good luck!

Take the INTERNET ADDICT test at Fuali.com

Ultimate of Lazy

2004-12-07T21:36:00.000-05:00

Here's something to make everyone laugh.

My youngest brother Jeff (the one in politics) has always had a problem keeping his apartment clean. It was worse when he had his dog, but now that he's in a new condo (with white carpet) he knew that he had to do something about that. He told my Mother that the problem with the vacuum was that he needed to be attached to it.

So he went out an bought a robotic vacuum. After I stopped laughing, my Mom told me that she was serious, he bought one. Seems the little motorized mail just need to be let loose in a room and she knows where to go and where not to go. When she done, she heads back to her homebase and replugs herself back in to recharge. If this thing really works...I may invest, or borrow her.

So my typically lazy brother has a robot for a vacuum. What will they think of next?

Slip Sliding Away....

2004-12-06T22:31:00.000-05:00

Today we had a little bit of snow and the only reason it stopped was that the temperature decided to rise a few degrees and the snow turned to freezing rain/sleet. When I got to my car after work (yeah, I work a normal person's shift for a change) it looked like it was dipped in ice. My car was a popsicle.

So twenty minutes later, I got it scrapped off and warmed up. Now I know how to drive in bad weather, it's one of the reasons I got a standard when I got my last car. Slow and easy on the brakes. Too bad the other idiots don't know any better.

Just as I am about to get onto the highway to head home, the ramp from the access road splits...one north and one south. Seems like someone tried to go west? I hope the nice police officers told them that the car works best with the wheels on the ground and not in the air.

And then not ten minutes later, the highway comes to a dead stop and as we creep along (and the pizza I ordered getting colder and colder) there is accident numero two. Tons of emergency vehicles and even a snow plow sitting back behind them all. And since they were all looking into the woods, I gather the car was in there. Another brilliant person who drives too fast on icy roads.

Slow down people!! Everything someone does something stupid like that, they put not only their life in jeopardy, but mine too.

Oh wow that reminds me of something sad and angry. One of the women I work closely with has a son who's 20. His name is Jarrod. Two years ago Saturday he was driving a friend home going up the same highway I was just coming down. He's not drunk, he's not high and he's driving the speed limit. He didn't know that minutes earlier this guy was driving a head of him and was weaving in and out of traffic and caused a three car accident. One car made it to the shoulder and the other two it was the small shoulder next to the fast lane. They had time to get out of their cars and the guy who caused the accident for some unknown reason was standing in the middle of the fast lane. Jarrod comes around a turn in the highway, it's night and dark and he hits the guy. The guy didn't make it.

Jarrod is a great kid. I know him well. He's my favorite of all of Pauline's kids. He has been messed up since. He's not doing anything to get him in trouble, just emotionally having trouble. It wasn't his fault. The police cleared him completely. That kid never should have been standing in the middle of the highway who's speed limit is 65mph.

Yesterday I get a call from Pauline. In Saturday's mail she got a Christmas card from the mother of the kid that was killed. It was anything but nice. In it she wrote that she hoped Pauline was having a wonderful Christmas with her 'complete' family as she would never be able to enjoy Christmas with her son again and it continued along that line.

I'm sorry but that is wrong! Jarrod did nothing wrong or irresponsible. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was this woman's son who caused the accident by his carelessness and he stood in the road. I understand that she has intense grief at her loss, but she needs help. Jarrod is suffering everyday too. It wasn't his fault and its so unfair of her to continue to blame him. Luckily Pauline intercepted the card before Jarrod could see it.

It's a very sad situation. I just want to give Jarrod a hug every time I see him.

Gasoline

2004-11-29T01:10:00.000-05:00

So what is everyone paying for regular unleaded? I just filled up paying $1.98/gallon. Cheapest I've had two weeks. WooHoo!!!

The Fall of Civility

2004-11-20T21:03:00.000-05:00

Why do people find the need to be incredibly nasty? Why do they think it is right to put others down and be so damned condescending? What's wrong with being civil to someone? When did common courtesy go out the window? People can act like animals and think it's all in the name of fun...that anything goes. Wrong.

Sorry people, but that's not the way it is. I'm glad you aren't people I associate with as I would be embarrassed to call you a friend. Heck, I'd even be embarrassed if people knew I knew you, which thank God I don't. I know you attitudes and your words. The rude, crude holier-than-thou attitude it wrong. If that's how your parents raised you, they failed. I'm lucky that my parents raised me with manners and taught me to respect people. I thank them that I can raise my head high knowing that I treat people with the same courtesy that I expect from them.

No wonder this entire world is such a mess.

Bon Voyage

2004-11-17T20:00:00.000-05:00

See you next month Mom and Dad! They left tonight for the airport, where they have a hotel room tonight so they can catch an early morning flight out to Los Angeles and from there it's down to San Diego and then it's Cruise Time! On the luxury liner "The Mariner" through the Radisson Cruise Line.

They will hit Cabo, then Acapulco, then Costa Rica, then through the Panama Canal, then Columbia, then the Cayman Islands and finally they end up in Ft. Lauderdale. Plus a few stops in between and my Cruising parents will have another one under their belts. Someday I'm hoping they take their favorite child with them.

Anyone ever watch the show "Lost" on ABC? Damn, I love that show. See ya all in an hour!

SNOW????

2004-11-13T13:05:00.000-05:00

It's not even the middle of November yet and we got snow?? The northern parts of the state got snow during the day yesterday, but nothing was expected for us along the shoreline. Our temps stay a bit warmer and we get less snow, because the ocean temperature keeps things warmer here. That is unless we get a N'oreaster.

So last night driving home from work at midnight, it's raining. At 2 AM it was pouring. At 3:30am I was trying to fall asleep in bed when I heard a loud noise. It was getting louder and closer and even though I knew what it was, I couldn't believe it! I jumped up out of bed and ran to the window. Sure enough, it was a snow plow plowing snow! Everything was white! Now when did that happen?? And why didn't the weathermen warn us??

It's almost gone, but there's still a hint of it left outside. It's not supposed to snow this early! No way! Stay away snow! Stay away!!

Pissing off the groceries

2004-11-10T21:04:00.000-05:00

Today was the type of day that I love. I'm off from work, first off all. Almost all of my errands are done, so I can spend most of the day at home. A good portion of time was spent here on the computer, as I wrote an entire chapter for my latest fan fic. Five down, no idea how many more to go. But it's going real well, if I say so myself.

During General Hospital I ran out to the food store. Yes, of course I threw in a tape, I can't miss my GH! This food store has some of the self check out aisles. I love using them as I can usually get out faster. I had only about 20 items and I had them all scanned and while I was paying, a family stepped up behind me.

I finished paying and went to the end to bag my items. next thing I know they are scanning their items and dropping them onto the belt. I hadn't even filled one bag yet and their stuff is mixing up with mine!

I turned to the woman and asked if they could just wait. She said they only had one more item. I said, "Ma'am, you need to wait until I am done!" I then slammed the rest of my groceries into two plastic bags and sent evil vibes her way. I hope the machine double charged her.

How much common courtesy does it take to wait? This is not the first time this has happened to me. If you can't wait people, go to another checkout, because you will get an earful from me!

Famous Slow Bunnies...

2004-11-06T01:50:00.000-05:00

I have a couple of things I wanted to post about, and I hope I remember them all. Over 40 sure messes with the memory!

When I got to work yesterday I was a semi-celebrity. I had my 15 minutes of fame and didn't even know it! It seems that on Tuesday when I was Rob Simmons' Election headquarters, I made it on the news quite a few times that night on two separate news channels. I was in the background of the newscast and with my hair, everyone saw me really easily! Figures I forgot to set my VCR. Autographs, anyone??

Can someone please tell me why when I am driving on a highway, why the person in the passing lane (left lane) has to drive the speed limit and not move over..EVER? It's for PASSING or for me, but not for slow ass drivers. I sure called them a few names as I passed on the right side, as I had no choice. 65mph means I get to work late, 75 means I get there on time. Move it people!

One more thing, one more thing.... what the heck was it? Well when I think of it, I'll be back. Off to change the homepage on Savage Attitude. I lost a Bunny Wabbit, anyone seen it?

What a great day!

2004-11-03T18:07:00.000-05:00

The Republican's occupy the White House, rule the Senate and House...can life get any better? Hell yeah it can....Tom Dashcle Senate Minority Leader from South Dakota, was defeated! Bye Bye Tom!! What a great day in Republicanland!

And the local paper had an interview with my brother when he was working one of the polling areas. Big Sis is so proud!

Subliminal Messengers
Beth Dufresne
The Day Online

Jeff Nelson hoped he was giving a last-minute assist to Rob Simmons, but it was hard to tell. Outside the polling station on Flanders Road in Groton, Nelson stood behind a giant "Simmons for Congress" sign and wore another across his chest. "Good afternoon," he'd say with a smile as voters walked by. But unless someone approached him, he kept a respectful distance.

There's no real name for this job, but you could dub it subliminal messenger.

"I think there's a rather visceral reaction," said Nelson, when people spy something on their way to the voting booth. If someone is undecided or unsure, planting your candidate's name in his or her mind, as the last thing they see before voting, could tip the balance.

The Political Process

2004-11-03T01:30:00.000-05:00

I had such an educational and invigorating evening tonight. As I have mentioned before, my brother Jeff, is the Deputy Director for Rob Simmons, a congressman for Connecticut. Yes, I have contacts in high places.

Tonight Rob was up for re-election. My family is very active in supporting Rob and working to get him re-elected. Tonight my parents, my other brother John and myself spent the evening at Rob's election headquarters. We'd watch the converage on anyone of the 5 tv's or hang by the tally boards.

It was so exciting watching the numbers go up for each town. The air was filled with excitement, tension and anticipation. There was 5 news channels there, along with tons of photographers. My father was even interviewed by the Associated Press!

Even though my feet were killing me, it was so exciting watch Rob win at least 90% of the towns. Which was so great being that the polls projected a very close race. Stuff those Polls!!

Once Rob's opponent conceded, my Dad and I headed for the stage. Within 15 minutes Rob, his family and his staff (including Jeff) arrived. To be involved in all that enthusiam and pride for our state was an incredible feeling. I was so proud to be there, proud of my district that voted Rob for another term, proud of my country that allows freedoms such as voting and damn happy that my brother has a job for another 2 years.

Here's a recent photo of Rob (right) with Senator John McCain (left).

God Bless America.

Did You...

2004-11-02T16:09:00.000-05:00

Vote today?? That's for all my American readers. If you haven't, then what are you waiting for?

Vote

2004-11-01T22:29:00.000-05:00

In our nation of free speech, we have the privledge of being able to vote for the leader of our country. Let your voice be heard...vote Tuesday.

Embarrassing

2004-10-31T19:59:00.000-05:00

Have you ever been out to dinner or at work or someplace important and drop food on your shirt leaving a nice BIG stain? I did that tonight at work. We have black blazers we wear at part of our uniform and we have a white shirt underneath. Eating can be a problem with me, not that I am a messy eater, but with the way I am built, it catches everything. So tonight the pesto (green sauce) pasta salad landed with a nice big splat on my white shirt.

Can you say pissed off? That would look so awful and embarrassing while I work! I was on my dinner break by the way. Luckily for me I was wearing a tank top/shell and I reversed it. Yeah gang, I'm wearing my shirt backwards. How embarassing is that!!

Cheating and Politics

2004-10-27T18:35:00.000-04:00

I'm off from work today, but I had to go in for a meeting that lasted two minutes. Definitely a waste of my time, but I do get paid for two hours of OT, so it's not so bad.

So I'm driving home and take the exit to get to Walmart to do my weeks shopping. The ramp off the highway leads down to a traffic light at a very busy intersection. To my left a computer parking lot.

On the corner in the grass was a polical sign. It's that time of year when they are all over the place. Just the ones that get pushed into the grass for the elections. Once I got down to the light I could see that there was another sign about 90 degrees and down the cross road a bit. Why did I notice these?

Because they are for Rob Simmons the Congressman we are trying to get re-elected. The Congressman my brother works for. While I was waiting at this light, I noticed a man get out of his car (it was in the commuter lot), open his trunk and walk over to one of the signs and start pulling it out of the grass.

Excuse me? I literally push my electric and broken window down and start yelling at the guy. "Excuse me, what do you think you're doing? Hey stop that!" I kept yelling at him to stop and he finally shouted at me that he was moving it? Moving it? Moving it from a busy intersection? WRONG! Once again I told him to leave it alone and he threw it in his trunk and took off. Took off in a car that did NOT have Connecticut license plates.

He wasn't moving that sign, he was stealing. Why? To remove the competition from being seen. It's an old ploy and if that light hadn't stayed red for so damn long, I could have caught him nd gotten the numbers from his plate. Does anyone realize that stealing those signs are a FELONY?

Could he have been moving it? Nope. I called my brother on my cell and he instantly knew that it was not being moved. He agreed that it was someone removing it.

Damn people who have to cheat to win! Damn the cheaters and the liars and the hypocrits!

Nothing

2004-10-26T19:40:00.000-04:00

That's what's going on here is absolutely nothing. Working some overtime, including tomorow at least that makes the paycheck very nice.

I added a few more blogskins, so I have a total of 15 now. I will take a break from naking them for a bit. I can't believe all of the people who are using them. Thanks everyone!!

Just a quick Happy Birthday to the baby brother who turns 39 today. Too bad it's so close to election time cause he's working his but off for our Congressman, Rob Simmons. Jeff is his Assistant District Director. Another two years in office, gives Jeff a job for two more too!

Don't forget to vote everyone. Vote for whomever you prefer, but those that don't vote ... don't bother complaining about this country, cause you didn't do anything to help it.

Got an new idea ... out of the blue ... for a new story. Do I write it or continue with the one I'm currently working on, but an stuck with. Oh what to do with my busy life? LOL

Good Times and Leppy Skins

2004-10-20T21:59:00.000-04:00

Visited with Michelle yesterday and had a great time. We got caught up on everything, watched a few DL vids and interviews I have that she doesn't. Then we went out to Mystic and had a good dinner. We shared BBQ Cajun shrimp with polenta and then I had lobster ravioli. Yummmmmm!!!

I also finished my Def Leppard blog skin project enough to set it up on my website. I have 12 skins so far, but more will be coming. Michelle is using one on her blog already. Trying to keep my website always offering something new. Check out the multimedia section for the skins or this http://www.savageattitude.com/blogskins.html

Tagboard

2004-10-19T15:08:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Tracey's blog, I found a tagboard that was easy to install. Have fun!!