MOVIE NIGHT HAS ARRIVED

Tonight was movie night. We had a great time. There were only three of us because Brenda was tired and S's friend got ill. We watched The Godfather II. This was a continuing saga from an earlier movie watching night with S where we watched The Godfather. See post Sleepin' with the Fishes to read the story of why we had to watch The Godfather.  I can't believe that was more than a year ago.

So S, K and I met at 7pm at my house. We spent the next hour catching up. Then at 8 pm we decided we better start this movie! We took one snack/pee break and the movie ended at 11:30 pm. Those Godfather movies are LONG.

I will admit I started to doze a few times.  It was so long and it was hard to keep the characters straight.

I also will say other than me using my iPad to look up the characters, there were no electronics used during movie night.  We did have plenty of snacks. Chocolate macaroons, vegan chocolate cookies and veggies and dip.

We decided to do it again next month up something lighter and more upbeat!  We will save Godfather III for six months from now.   So, movie night was a success!

Tomorrow I will tell you all about our fabulous dog day.  I will provide photos of the day!

Until tomorrow..

REMEMBERING

We all know I have a lousy memory.  I can't remember when I was a kid never mind what I ate yesterday for lunch.  So remembering dates is really hard for me.

I have tried many things to remember dates.  I have tried the post-it method, you know putting post-its up to remember things.  I have tried apps on my phone.  I tried the little notepad method.  Carrying around a little notepad to write notes on it.  I have used a calendar, a computer calendar, a write on/wipe off calendar all to no avail.  No method seems to work.

Why do I write about this you ask?  I realized last night that my niece's first birthday is this Sunday.  Did you catch that?  Last night, Thursday night, I noticed that my niece's birthday is in a few days.  I didn't even remember.  I saw it on a calendar.  I didn't even have it on my electronic calendar.  I didn't even put it in my electronic calendar!

Now it is too late to send a card or present and have it get there on time.  If she were older, I could send her an electronic present, like an Itunes card but 1 year old babies don't really need Itunes.  So I will be late with my present.  Ergh...

I wish my brain was connected to my body.  So tomorrow I will have to go shopping and get that little tyke something.  I have an idea but since my sister-in-law reads my blog, I will keep my idea to myself.

If anyone has any great ideas on how to remember birthdays, I would love to hear them.

Don't worry Reese!  I have not forgotten you.  I am just horribly late as usual.  Happy 1st Birthday! 

Until tomorrow...

Jaws

I have been grinding my teeth since I was born.  Probably ground my teeth in the womb.  I am one of those people who grind my teeth so loud I wake people up.  It is an obnoxious sound.  I have been known to wake myself up.  Before you ask, yes, I wear a night guard.  A very expensive, custom made night guard.

If I forget to wear my night guard, I wake up with a sore jaw.  I know I should wear it all the time when I sleep but sometimes I forget to put it in when I go to bed.  A few hours later my grinding wakes me up and I put it in.  I can even grind if I take a nap.  A few times I forgot to wear my night guard for a full night and I end up with a REALLY sore jaw for many days.  It gets hard to chew food.

Teeth grinding is called bruxism.  Bruxism is teeth grinding and clenching. 

When I was a kid I would sometimes sleep in my mom's bed.  She would wake me up every few minutes telling me that I was grinding my teeth.  As if I had any control over it.  Like I have any control over my dreams.  How can you tell someone to stop something that they do in their sleep?  They don't know they are doing it.  Especially something they have been doing since they were born!  Waking me up didn't stop the grinding it just made us both sleepy and grumpy (I was sleepy and she was grumpy!)

I have been grinding for so long I have ground down and cracked almost all my back teeth.  I have crowns on all my back teeth.  I have to get gold crowns because I grind so hard that I would crack the porcelain ones.  I tell Brenda that I have a fortune in teeth!

Sometimes I find myself clenching my teeth.  I try to be conscience of doing this during the day.  I clench and then I get a headache. 

I try very hard to remember and wear my night guard these days.  I know that not wearing it means wearing down my jaw bones and could mean bad stuff for the future.  It is really hard to replace jaw bones. 

Until tomorrow...

Creaking

I had that cold/flu/bronchial thing last week and went on antibiotics. I am feeling better. But that also means I had to stop taking Enbrel.

I stop the Enbrel and my joints get creaky. I start walking like I am an old woman. One flight of stairs suddenly seems like climbing the Empire State Building. The hardest is going downstairs! Each step feels like I have a ton of bricks on my back. Every morning my hands are swollen and stiff. My feet feel like I have steel bars in them; like Wolverine.

This weekend I will take Enbrel again. I like to wait until I have been off the antibiotics a few days before I go back on the Enbrel.

What happens when you stop taking your meds?

Until tomorrow...

SEEMS LIKE WE HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT

Gosh I was settled in for a long night of watching election results and by 8:35 pm the answer is in: Barak Obama is President. It happened so fast. It makes me wonder how in the world these news stations figure this out so fast.

Another interesting piece of news is that you will soon be able to legally buy cannabis in the state of Colorado. I guess the term "Rocky Mountain High" will have a new meaning. I think this great for those who need it for medical reasons. Medical marijuana is super but really it is costly and a bit of a hassle. The medical marijuana card costs $125 per year just to have the card. Plus you have to see a doctor to get the card and you have to buy the marijuana. It ain't cheap!

I no longer have to worry that my healthcare will disappear or I will be dropped. At least for four more years! Hopefully by 2016 people will be happy with the changes and nothing will change. Wouldn't that be nice? Not having to worry about healthcare? Just worrying about my health. That is the way it is the way it is supposed to be!

Anyway, the election is finally over and the ads have stopped (yay!)

Until tomorrow...

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE

One thing I won't miss after tomorrow will be the ads for the elections. I get so tired of hearing the same advertisements over and over. It is like seeing the same Viagra commercial again and again. I also get disgusted with the amount of money spent on all the commercials. The amount spent could feed small countries!

Then the debates. Asking the same questions over and over and hearing the same answers.

Tomorrow will not come soon enough for me. Here is another ad. Ergh...

Vote!

If you can please donate to your favorite cause to help those on the East Coast. The Red Cross is not the only place to donate. If you are a pet lover you can donate to the Humane Society to help rescue pets.

Until tomorrow...

HOT TUB: FIX OR BUY NEW

For those of you who read my blog all the time, you know my hot tub has problems. For the rest of you I will recap quickly.

When we moved into the house it had an outdoor hot tub. We used it frequently until we had construction done on the house and then we had to drain it and store it. It is in a far corner if the backyard. A few months ago the City tore up the streets and rats began eating every thing in their path. Fruit trees, gardens, and hot tubs. They ate the insulation and some of the wiring.

Today was the day to go look at hot tubs. We met this nice salesman who showed us everything. He also explained that the customer service folks would be able to fix the current hot tub. This made me happy especially when I found out the cost of a new hot tubs would be $7,800.

The new plan is to get the current hot tub fixed and buy some accessories. Now that I know it can be done, I am really impatient. I want it fixed now!

My achy muscles will be soothed shortly.

Until tomorrow...

SPACE THE FINAL FRONTIER

Personal space. I don't normally have a personally space issue. I don't care if people sit close to me or stand too close. Hopefully not within spitting distance.

I do think there is a natural distance one should sit or stand from another person but when people are friends I may sit closer. If I am ill I stand even farther away.

When I am sick I try not to cough in elevators or sneeze in groups. If others are ill I hope they will do the same.

Recently I have had this situation with someone who repeatedly puts her stuff in my area whether I am sitting there or not. I will be working and she will put her coffee mug on my workspace because she doesn't want to accidentally knock it over on her workspace. I will arrive to work and her papers will be strewn all over my designated workspace and her coat on the chair.

I try to give subtle hints like walking in and saying "look at all this stuff in my work area!" and I move it and move her coat. Today she wanted to put her big binder on my work space and I said no. But I know next time I show up it will be there.

What would you do with someone who moves in on a space that is designated as yours?

Until tomorrow...

STORM NEWS

We saw photos of my brother's neighborhood. It looks horrible. Under many feet of water. His house is not but the neighborhood is. I have not heard if they have electricity yet.

Brenda's sister still does not have electricity. Unfortunately she was not prepared. She called yesterday and I was appalled to hear that someone charged her $1 to charge her phone! Talk about price gauging. It probably cost pennies (if that) to charge a phone. Then I saw some adorable little girl in New York who has set up an Internet cafe at her house so people can charge their phones, computers and electronics or check their email. All for free! She just wanted people to be able to let their families know they were safe. She said she felt lucky that her house had electricity and she should share it.

Brenda's sister has also had a hard time finding gasoline. She waited on a long line earlier in the week but after taking her stepdaughter back to school, she needed more gas. None to be found. She also has been told her work is shut down indefinitely. That means no income.

Thank you for all your concern for my family. This has been quite a week.

Today we took Brenda to her two week check up. Everything is fine. She admitted she is happy she had the surgery done. Thank you for your thoughts and kind words.

I am feeling better. Coughing less. Yay!

Until tomorrow...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Today was fun.  Our neighborhood has been working really hard to bring the kids back.  The kids around us have been going to other neighborhoods to trick-or-treat.  Our neighborhood is so empty.  For the last few years we have been making a concerted effort to bring the kids back.  Some folks offer the kids candy and adults wine. Others made hors d'oeuvres to hand out.  There is music playing and lots of folks decorate.

This year a woman around the corner had a bunch of families bring their kids.  Thirty of them.  I bought three bags of candy and I only have about 20 pieces left.  That was 150 pieces of candy!  I was so glad I bought the third bag.  It was so fun seeing all those kids.  I wore my tiara and I had a wand with sparkly stuff on it.  Like a fairy godmother handing out candy.

I wanted to tell you that the antibiotics seem to be working.  I am coughing less and less.

I also went today for my yearly check up with the breast surgeon.  Her physician's assistant checked me out and she says I look good.  I have to go for my yearly mammogram and then an MRI.  That would be my 5th for the year!?

Today was also the San Francisco Giants victory parade.  Black and Orange everywhere!

Update on family: Brenda's mother lost her phone service.  Sister still no power.  My family I have not heard from today but I saw photos of their town on the internet and it doesn't look pretty.

Until tomorrow...