Christmas is almost here...yikes

My son is home from college. :-)
On his first day home Weds, he put up the Christmas Tree.
Normally the tree would have been up at least a week ago, but my hubby decided to shampoo the carpet in the living room.
The carpet was too wet last weekend to put up the tree.
I'm happy that he did the carpet, but I would have preferred that he clean them at a different time other than 2 weeks before Christmas.
Messed up my time table of things I need to do before Christmas.
But the carpet does look a heck of a lot better.
So I should just be happy.

Thursday, I took off my last 4 hours of personal time from work.
I had one day left so I divided it into 2 half days so Sparky my co-worker wouldn't get too stressed out. The other half day was the Friday before last.
My son & I went out for lunch to Ruby Tuesdays.
I asked him if it felt weird being home again.
He replied that the atmosphere and energy at college is very different than at home. Home, he said, seemed to have too much negative energy.
Ok, hubby and I do tend to get depressed.
Hubby especially around the holidays...Christmas has become to commercialized for him...he's right......but lets not be a glum bum and drag everyone down.
Sometimes I wish I could move away from here too.
We finished lunch and did some Christmas shopping.
He tried on a fedora and it looked real cool.
There weren't any mirrors in the men's department so he could see what he looked like so we had to go over to the ladies dept as there are always mirrors over there. May explain why some men wear clothes that do nothing for them because they can't hold the garment up to them to see how it looks before buying.
Son liked the hat so I bought it for him as one of his Christmas gifts.
He said that he will definitely wear it around campus.

Remember when all the men used to wear hats.
The pews in churches even had clips so that men could hang up their hats during service.
I think it was JFK that made it fashionable for men to not wear hats....which put a lot of hat makers out of business....Milliners, made women's hats, but did they also make men's? or where they called something different?
Glad to see hats slowly making a come back. There are a lot of bald heads out there that need covering.

Yesterday's morning commute was fine. They predicted that the winter storm coming from the mid states would arrive at 8 am.
10 minutes to eight it started snowing...and snowing ...and didn't stop till 4 pm.
The ride home took twice as long. But the disability was pretty good. The president of the place where I work called around 4 and said the roads were getting icy and if anyone wanted to leave early they could.
You didn't have to ask me twice.
I clocked out at 4:15...After going to the bathroom (why pee on your own time when you can get paid for it) and getting my boots on and long winter down hooded jacket ( I looked like an LLBean ad)
It took me 20 minutes to get the car cleaned off and drive able.
The front had a foot of snow on the hood and I was glad that I remembered to put the little snow shovel in my car before i left in the morning. I just scooped it all off. The rear didn't get very much snow...must have been the way the wind was blowing.
But it was coated on both sides with ice.
I let it thaw out with the defrosters going full blast for a while as I went and scooped snow off the front of Elly's and Spark's cars.
(Sparky decided to stay and let her best bud Bambi the receptionist leave early as she had a longer commute and Sparky didn't want to get home before her husband as she would have to snow blow the driveway then)
Elly came over had helped me chip off some of the ice.
Everyone helped each other.

When I got home the drive way was shoveled. Daughter and son worked together and my father did the end of the driveway with his snow blower.
(Did I ever mention that my folks live across the street)

My daughter had the day off yesterday so she finished decorating the tree and the living room. (snow day for all the area schools and she is a long term substitute teacher)

I was happy to see all that my children had done. I would have been highly disappointed if they hadn't done the drive way and left it for hubby to do . Hubby has a 44 mile commute (one way) and after driving in the snow I knew that he would be exhausted. I was tired and I only had to drive 12 miles in it, so I can imagine how he must feel after that drive.
He was thinking of taking the day off, but then his co-worker, an older woman whose husband died this year asked him for a ride. So he, being the nice guy that he is, picked her up at a convenience store about half way into his commute. She is a nervous nelly about driving in the snow, so at least hubby had company on the trek ....and extra weight in the car!

Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday...whether it be Christmas, Hanuka, or Kwanzaa.
Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with you.

a different view

‘Twas the Night before Christmas                            
                           (a different view)                               
                                                                            
                “Twas the night before Christmas                            
                and all through the town                                    
                not a sign of Baby Jesus                                    
                was anywhere to be found.                                   
                                                                            
                The people were all busy                                    
                with Christmas time chores                                  
                Like decorating, and baking,                                
                and shopping in stores.                                     
                                                                            
                No one sang "Away in a manger,                            
 
                no crib for a bed".                                       
 
                Instead, they sang of Santa                                 
                dressed-up in bright red.                                   
                                                                            
                Mama watched Martha Stewart,                                
                Papa drank beer from a tap.                                 
                As hour upon hour                                           
                the presents they'd wrap.                                  

                                                                            
                When what from the T.V.                                     
                did they suddenly hear?                                     
                'Cept an ad.. which told                                   

                of a big sale at Sears.                                     
                                                                            
                So away to the mall                                         
                they all flew like a flash...                               
                Buying things on credit...                                  
                and others with cash!                                       
                                                                            
                And, as they made their way home                            
                From their trip to the mall,                                
                Did they think about Jesus?                                 
                Oh, no... not at all.                                       
                                                                            
                Their lives were so busy                                    
                with their Christmas time things                            
                No time to remember                                         
                Christ Jesus, the King.                                     
                                                                            
                There were presents to wrap                                 
                and cookies to bake.                                        
                How could they stop and remember                            
                who died for their sake?                                    
                                                                            
                To pray to the Savior...                                    
                they had no time to stop.                                   
                Because they needed more time                               
                to "Shop til they dropped!"                          
      
                                                                            
                On Wal-Mart! On K-mart!                                     
                On Target! On Penney's!                                    

                On Hallmark! On Zales!                                      
                A quick lunch at Denny's                                   

                                                                            
                From the big stores downtown                                
                to the stores at the mall                                   
                They would dash away, dash away,                            
                and visit them all!                                         
                                                                            
                And up on the roof,                                         
                there arose such a clatter                                  
                As grandpa hung icicle lights                               
                up on his brand new step ladder.                            
                                                                            
                He hung lights that would flash.                            
                He hung lights that would twirl.                            
                Yet, he never once prayed to Jesus...                       
                Light of the World.                                         
                                                                            
                Christ's eyes... how they twinkle!                         

                Christ's Spirit... how merry!                              

                Christ's love... how enormous!                             

                All our burdens... He'll carry!                            

                                                                            
                So instead of being busy,                                   
                overworked, and uptight                                     
                Let's put Christ back in                                   

                Christmas and enjoy                                         
                some good nights!                                           
                                                                            
                Merry Christmas to all!      

Twenty-five

I've been officially married for 25 years...
That's more than half my life.
I think I deserve a medal or something....
oh wait...you don't know my husband, but if you did you would probably agree that I deserve something other than a card and six red roses....
Ok, he did want to go out for dinner but we both were sickly on the actual anniversary day...he had to be close to the rest room and I couldn't smell anything and my nose & eyes wouldn't stop running...doesn't make for a pleasant evening out.
We will go out soon...someplace with real cloth napkins (serviettes for you Canadians) and good food.

But...I am a bit disappointed in the whole 25th anniversary thing as I took the Monday off before Veteran's Day...told him a month & a half before that I had the day off...He said that that would be a good time to go away for the weekend..Sun - Tues, not far, maybe 2 hours from our house to a nice hotel with a jacuzzi possibly...
BUT...he procrastinated and waited till the Thursday before the weekend to ask for the Monday off and too many others had already asked for the day off!!!
Now you wouldn't think that I would have had to remind him.
I would have thought that if it was important to him he would have remembered to ask for the day off earlier.
So the Monday before Veteran's day he comes home from work and says that other people weren't at work because they called in sick....ARGH!!!

Flash back to our 10th wedding anniversary.
We went to Toronto.
We saw the musical "Show Boat"
We went out for dinner.
I made the hotel reservations and paid for the hotel.
I ordered the tickets and paid for the tickets.
The day before we were to leave for our trip to Toronto, he jumps down the last 2 steps to the basement and screws up his back, so he was on pain medication for the trip...
SO he wasn't much fun.
Kind of puts a damper on things when someone's back hurts.

We went out to a restaurant for Thanksgiving.
My parents treated us.
I was glad not to have to cook as I was sickly with this sinus/eye virus/cold or what ever it is.
But it is kinda weird not having leftovers.
My son was home from college and I felt a little bad as I wasn't up to making him a homemade dinner.
So today I made him a big lunch before he left. Homemade stuffed shells and turkey meatballs and sauce and garlic bread. For dessert, homemade chocolate chip Toll house cookies...most of which he took back to college with him.
I just hope he doesn't get this virus/cold as he will be taking his finals in a week or so.

I bought a Wii for the family for Christmas...shhh it's a surprise.
Amazingly when I was shopping last Monday, the store I was in actually had some in stock...the bundles that come with 4 games and stuff. So I smoked my charge card and got it.
Now I need to find Wii fit...or maybe the starwars game that you duel with light sabers....
I am looking into getting a laptop for myself.
My husband is addicted to playing Diablo II Lord of Destruction on the computer so I rarely get a chance to blog...only when he's not home.
Dell has some nice ones on sale.
My daughter says to get an Apple one, but I am used to using Dell computers at work and home...

Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving.....

I "borrowed" this from Jon at "Kick in the pants" blog

1. Do you like blue cheese salad dressing? Only with Chicken Wings
2. Favorite late night snack? Ice cream, Cookies (Hubby's ear)
3. Do you own a gun? No
4. What’s your favorite drink at Starbucks or other specialty coffee shop? Hot Chocolate
5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yes.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? I don't think...only grilled
7. Favorite Christmas song? "O Holy Night"
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Iced Tea or Juice
9. Can you do push-ups? Bras???
10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry? Not into Jewelry
11. Favorite hobby? Drawing, Painting, Reading
12. Do you have A.D.D.? No.
13. What’s one trait that you hate about yourself? Procrastination.
14. The last disease you contracted? Sinus & Ear infections
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment. I don't want to work anymore, How much Judge Judy can one man watch in one night, Will anyone actually read this
16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Ice Tea, Water, Lemonade
17. Current worry right now? Finances in my future.
18. Current hate right now? My Supervisor aka "the Bull Dawg"
19. Favorite place to be? Home
20. How did you ring in the New Year? Home alone with hubby snoring
21. Like to travel? Yes, but don't do it often enough.
22. What is your favorite candy? Chocolate...Good Chocolate
23. Do you own slippers? Yes, LLBean Wicked good Moose hide slippers
24. What color shirt are you wearing? Navy blue cable sweater
25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No, too slippery.
26. Can you whistle? standard lips pursed.
27. Favorite singer/band? I have many favorites
28. Could you ever make it 39 days on the show Survivor? No, I doubt it, too many health issues
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? Don't sing in the shower
30. Favorite girl’s names? Don't have one
31. Favorite boy’s name? Thomas
32. What’s in your pocket right now? 3 dollars
33. Last thing that made you laugh? Coffepot's Blog Jokes
34. Like your job? I like parts of my job, but not my supervisor.
36. Do you love where you live? Most of the time.
37. How many TVs do you have in your house? That work? 2
38. Who is your loudest friend? Amanda
39. Do you drive the speed limit or speed? Rarely speed, only 5 MPH over the speed limit
40. Does someone have a crush on you? I Doubt it
41. What is your favorite book? Don't have one
42. Favorite Sports Team? I'm a girl who doesn't watch sports...USA Olympic teams...does that count?
43. What were you doing 12 AM last night? I'm taking the 5th on that one ;)
44. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up today? Got to go to get an ultrsound and it snowed so I have to leave earlier than planned..Shit!

Deer photo

I finally figured out how to download photos from my camera. It helps to have the correct cable....which I found in my daughter's room after she told me she didn't have it and that it was still in the box....ARGH!!!
SO here is a photo of 4 of the 6 deer that were in my back yard as mentioned in one of my previous posts. Not too bad considering that the picture was shot through a sliding glass door on an angle.
If I ever get a photo of myself I will have to add it to my profile...
I looked through all the photos in my daughter's photo albums on the computer and there are not any photos of me.... weird considering that I am her mother...she has many photos of herself...LOL

Funerals and crap

Last Saturday I went with my father to a funeral for his cousin.
The Cousin was 76 and died in bed.
His son, who lived with him, found him in the morning. His feet were on the floor and it looked like he sat up and fell back down on the bed.
His wife had passed away 3 months earlier from cancer and he had some health issues also.
I felt horrible for the 2 "children" left behind and their families.
Imagining what it would be like to lose both parents in such a short time I started crying at the funeral.
Even though I didn't really know the man that well, I was crying at his funeral because I could imagine what his children, who are my age, must be going through.
People who were at the funeral, who knew him all there lives were probably wondering who I was.
I saw my fathers other cousins who I haven't seen since my parents 50th wedding anniversary party and some others I haven't seen in over 20 years.
My mother didn't attend the wake or the funeral because she had a touch of the intestinal flu..and my father just told people she wasn't feeling well so they were all concerned.
One of the cousins said he was having a bad day the day before and said that he felt like climbing in next to the deceased cousin to join him...right in front of the deceased cousin's brother.
So they all started wondering, aloud, who would be the next to go, eying each other up and down, hoping that it would not be them next time in the coffin.
The funeral luncheon was in the downstairs of a banquet place.
It was cold and damp and the beamed ceiling seemed low which made the room dark and cave like.
My cousin Gee, who is my age and mildly mentally retarded, was all excited that there was a buffet and announced that she was going to go up as many times as she wanted to get more food. The luncheon was her major reason for being there as the food was probably better than what she usually gets at the group home.
She tends to get rather loud and obnoxious and tries to dominate the conversation so my father & I tried to sit at a different table than her and my uncle. But as luck would have it all the other tables filled up so we ended up sitting at the same table as them.
Gee wasn't too bad during the luncheon as she was busy stuffing her face with food...and she did go up for another plate full. My uncle also went up for seconds and he had the equivalent of another full dinner when he came back. Some of the cousins made comments to him about the amount of food he had on his plates, but he didn't seem to care. I figured that he just ate my mother's lunch for her.
We had the usual buffet fair, antipasto salad, fruit salad, baby red potatoes, corn, rolls, roast beef and turkey. The turkey was so tender and moist.
Before we left I went to use the Ladies room as it would be about an hours ride home. Gee asked me where I was going and decided that sounded like a good idea and that she would go there too.
Luckily we were the only ones in there so we both were able to find an empty stall. I went about my business and suddenly became aware of loud grunting and groaning noises coming from Gee's stall.
OMG.... I stifled the laughter which was rising in me and quickly finished what I was doing, washed up and got the heck out of there. I didn't know if I should have asked her if everything was alright or told her to keep down the noise or what.
Ignoring it was probably the best thing to do.
A few days later I was out shopping with my daughter and had to use the ladies room. As I went in a teenage girl was washing up and quickly hurried out of there and I knew why...the smell was horrendous ...
I had to go and didn't think it would be wise to wait as I didn't want to wet myself so I went into the first empty stall and put my turtle neck up over my nose, put half a roll of toilet paper over the seat and set about my business....then I heard it!
From the next stall came grunts and groans and heavy breathing...WTF!! can't people take a dump lately without making noise. I then wondered if there was someone else in the stall with the grunter...but it only sounded like one grunter so it wasn't a case of hanky panky but poopy goopy.
SO it wasn't the teenage girl but whoever it was in the last stall that stunk up the place... I got the heck out of there as fast as I could.
My daughter decided that she had to use the restroom..I told her good luck.
Ok, so is it normal for people to grunt and groan when they are taking a crap...or am I, and my family abnormal for not making noise?

Funerals always make me think about my life and how little time we actually have on this earth. The people we take for granted that will always be there and that we depend upon could be taken from us in a matter of moments. Life is fragile.
My daughter and my father are like oil and water, they argue about everything. I try to tell her that she should be nicer to her grandfather because someday she may regret how she talks to him....
totally without respect...
she can be nasty.
My father's health isn't that great and he is 75, so you never know...he could live to be 100 or die tomorrow.
I know it bothers him that she is so disrespectful. They are actually quite alike, both temperamental artists who both think they are right.

She will have to learn the hard way that sometimes it is better to be kind than to be right.

What Tarot Card are You?

You are The Hermit

Prudence, Caution, Deliberation.

The Hermit points to all things hidden, such as knowledge and inspiration,hidden enemies. The illumination is from within, and retirement from participation in current events.

The Hermit is a card of introspection, analysis and, well, virginity. You do not desire to socialize; the card indicates, instead, a desire for peace and solitude. You prefer to take the time to think, organize, ruminate, take stock. There may be feelings of frustration and discontent but these feelings eventually lead to enlightenment, illumination, clarity.

The Hermit represents a wise, inspirational person, friend, teacher, therapist. This a person who can shine a light on things that were previously mysterious and confusing.

What Tarot Card are You?
http://www.flarn.com/~warlock/tarot/

yep a hermit.... My friend Elly would agree with this as she says I need to get out more!!
I should go back to college to become a teacher or therapist. My Hermititness is being wasted at my current job.

It's a sunny day

It's the 1st of November
We lucked out in this area and have no snow.
It snowed near here
but no snow here

The sun is out today
The house is quiet.
Hubby is off doing his Sat. paper delivery
Daughter is still sleeping after a late night at a Halloween party.
My parents live across the street and there is no sign of activity.
Their newspaper is still in the box.

You know when you are no longer a child when you think...less than 2 months before Christmas...must start shopping etc.
A child thinks....there are almost 2 whole months before Christmas...it's a LONG time away...we still have to go through Thanksgiving..
Stores seem to skip right from Halloween to Christmas and skip the Thanksgiving holiday all together.

My supervisor at work, (who Elly has nicknamed the Bull Dog, cause she is built like and looks like a bull dog), in her infinite wisdom decided that the last day of the month would be a swell day for Sparky & I to move all the contents of our cubicles to the 2nd floor cubicles.
The end of the month and first couple days of the month are VERY busy for us as we are trying to get all the month end stuff done and our accounts balanced and reporting done the first few days of the month.
There is no elevator in the building...
There was no way that I was going to be carrying heavy boxes up the stairs as my knees and back are bad. I told Sparky if I had to do that I would probably end up out of commission for a week....she graciously volunteered to help carry the boxes.
The maintenance man and the IT guy also helped and my friend Cee from the other dept.
Everything was moved up by noon.
Then I had to try to find a place for all the stuff.
The "new" cubicle is smaller and doesn't have 2 overhead locking cabinets like the one down stairs.
The Bull Dog came around and said to make sure everything was put away neat and tidy as the CEO likes it that way...Bull$hit..she likes it that way.
( I can't help it if I am cursed with being somewhat of a packrat and I have to keep a lot of paperwork just for CYA purposes)
I still have 4 boxes of stuff to try to find a place for.
And I had to get all my regular month end work done...
Now I have a special project that someone from the other dept needs ma to get done ASAP Monday ...along with my account balancing & reporting (govt) and unpacking...ARGH!!

I think the Bull Dog was trying to see if she could push me over the edge as I've told her numerous times that the last day and first 3 days of the month are the most hectic for me.

All the files I use on a daily basis are in the file room downstairs and the people I talk to the most about job related stuff are on the 1st floor. The dept I belong to is on the 2nd floor and the Bull dog said that to make it more efficient, as she is always looking to make things more efficient, that Sparky & I have to be moved to the 2nd floor as that is where her office is.
The only person for whom this move will be more efficient is HER!!!
It bothered her that she couldn't keep a constant watch over us.
I told her if I'm not at my desk I will probably be downstairs, and as I need to be down stairs a lot, I probably won't be at my desk a lot.

I need to get out of that place.
It is having an adverse effect on my health.
Good thing I took all my plants home as I have no room to put them. :-(
And I loved having a lot of plants around me.
My new cubicle is not next to the window, like the old one.
I cannot see the outdoors or feel the sun when it shines in through the windows.
All I see now is the dirty blue fabric that lines the cubicle walls.
And my little sign that reads:
"A Cubicle is just a padded cell without a door"
wonder how long it will be before the Bull dog makes me take it down.

On the bright side...on the other side of my cubicle is my friend Elly.
I told her I will be throwing my stress ball at her occasionally...when the Bull dog isn't patrolling the area!

Hope y'all had a wonderful Halloween.
We had about 10 trick or treaters.
My favorite was a 5 year old little girl who was dressed up as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz...complete with the ruby red shoes.

The three meme

I found this on my old blog...and have found most of my answers to still be the same.
So I thought I would re-post it with a few small changes

The three meme

1. Three things that scare me:
~The thought of something bad happening to one of my kids or my family
~Getting an incurable disease
~war

2. Three people that make me laugh
~my 2 kids & husband

3. Three things I hate the most
~people who think they are better or more important
than everyone else
~Driving in a snow storm
~Having Dental work done & colonoscopies

4. Three things I don't understand
~Hatred for someone who is racially different
~men
~any language other than English

5. Three things I'm doing right now
~Drinking water
~Wishing I wasn't feeling so depressed and tired
~trying to think of answers for this thing!

6. Three things I want to do before I die
~Go on a long vacation, somewhere nice & not have to worry about money or time
~Win the lottery so I can do the above
~Buy the car that I really want and not just the one I can afford.

7. Three things I can do
~Make a wonderful Turkey dinner all by myself (done so many a Thanksgiving!!)
~bake an apple pie from scratch (homemade crust, fresh apples)
~wouldn't you like to know ;-)

8. Three ways to describe my personality
~Introspective
~Passionate/sensitive
~Utterly loyal

9. Three things I can't do
~Jump out of bed as soon as I wake up
~Be unfaithful
~Lie convincingly

10. Three things you should listen to
~the little voice inside your head
~The sound of the waves and the seagulls at the beach
~your favorite songs on the way to work

11. Three things you should never listen to
~People who don't get you
~Liars
~Prejudice people/Bigots

12. Three things I'd like to learn
~not take everything so deeply personally
~ to feel okay, every day
~to like myself more

13. Three favourite foods
~Chocolate
~Ice cream
~Strawberries

14. Three beverages I drink regularly
~Tea
~Water
~Juice

15. Three shows I watched as a kid
~Happy Days
~MASH
~The Partidge Family

16...Three people I'm tagging (to do this)
~anyone is welcome to do this...

Nov 4th can't come quick enough!

Oh lord...I can't wait for this election crap to be over with.
I will get up early Tuesday and stop on my way to work to vote like a good little American.
I like to get it over with as it is crowded on the way home.

Now for something totally disgusting and a true story...you may never want to eat in a Chinese restaurant again.

Dead deer carved inside Hamburg NY restaurant

Story Published: Oct 25, 2008 at 7:39 PM EDT

Story Updated: Oct 25, 2008 at 7:39 PM EDT

By Jenny Rizzo (wkbw.com)

A shocking story tonight out of Hamburg NY involving the carcass of a dead deer ending up in the kitchen of a local restaurant. Investigators with the Erie County Health Department got a tip Friday morning that roadkill was spotted being dragged inside the China King restaurant. When investigators arrived for an unannounced inspection, they did indeed find a dead deer being carved inside the kitchen. As you can imagine, that is a serious public health violation.

Outside the restaurant, there is a trail of red blood droplets that lead to the China King's side door. Erie County Health Commissioner immediately issued an order closing the restaurant when he heard about the gruesome discovery. "My understanding is that it was the whole deer," said Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Anthony Billittier.

The Health Department will now launch an investigation into this case to find out where the deer came from and what the employees of the restaurant intended to use it for. "In New York State, we have laws like you can't butcher a wild deer and sell it because we want to make sure the meat is safe, obviously," said Billittier.

Only raw meat purchased from a licensed vendor is allowed to be brought inside a restaurant where it can be prepared and then served.

Some of China King's regular customers were shocked and disgusted when they heard about what happened. "I was shocked... People don't do that! Its disgusting, I mean, you don't know what kind of parasites were on that deer," said Kathy Sitek.

"I think they should be out of business. I think its wrong to feed that to people," said customer Sara MacAllister.

There will be a hearing next week at the Health Department, which is the China King owner's chance to present his side of the story. The ultimate decision on whether or not to shut down the restaurant permanently rests with Health Commissioner, Dr. Anthony Billittier.

yeah....road kill ...yum...can I have mine with garlic sauce!!
I heard people on a radio station talking about this and the people calling in to the station were telling that they heard that they shoot pigeons and seagulls also and someone else said that they lived near the restaurant and the people from the restaurant were in their yard picking mushrooms off their lawn...

The Erie County Health Department immediately shut down China King in Hamburg NY Friday after they got a tip call that an employee brought a deer that had been struck by car into the restaurant.

"I watched him drag it though the parking lot and he dragged it through the front door of the China King Restaurant. And I said this is just not right, so I reported it to the Hamburg Police and reported it."

News 4 requested Health Department records for China King on that day and for the last five years and found some interesting results.

On the day in question the inspector found the deer on the floor of the kitchen, with it legs cut off and placed in the sink. There were blood drag marks on the floor leading from the front door, through the front area into the kitchen.

The inspector also found a refrigerator was too warm. And all of this food, pounds of ribs, chicken, eggs- all had to be thrown out because it wasn't safe.

The restaurant has a history of cooling problems stemming back to 2003. In 2005, cited again, for cooked chicken cooling at room temperature. It was 113 degrees. It must be kept 140 degrees or above or 45 degrees or below.

It doesn't stop there. In 2007 the store sought help from a pest control company for a cockroach problem.

The health department found dozens of sanitary problems in the last five years.

The Erie County Health Commissioner will decide what comes next after a hearing Tuesday.

Story by Melissa Holmes, WIVB

China King must be a chain as there is one near where I live.... Don't think I will be eating Chinese from there EVER!!!

Fun and Games

It's been a crazy week.
The girl I work with, who replaced my friend Marly who retired this spring, has been threatening to quit almost since day one.
I wish she would already as it is very stressful working with someone who complains about the job she was hired for.
Granted there are parts of my job I dislike, but I do them anyway.
All the energy & time she commits to complaining to anyone who will listen, she could have the tasks completed.
She's hyperactive and in constant motion as her leg is constantly swinging and her had is never still on the mouse.
Try sitting next to a hyper person all day....
I have nicknamed her Sparky as she reminds me of a hyper little dog.

I took the Friday before and Tuesday after Columbus Day/CA Thanksgiving Day as my BIL was in town with a cousin from Canada, and as my BIL would be out of the country for the USA Thanksgiving, and my in-laws were Canadian, we decided to celebrate Thanksgiving the Sunday before Columbus Day.
So that day I made 4 homemade pies, 2 apple and 2 pumpkin...from scratch, homemade crust...not from a mix...real apples etc..
And we had the traditional Turkey dinner as I was lucky enough to find a fresh one at the local supermarket as my Hubby who said that he would get one for $.99 a pound at a place he knew, forgot.
So I ended up paying $1.69 /lb for a fresh Honeysuckle White Turkey, one of the 2 non-frozen turkeys they had in the whole store.
It was well worth it.
It turned out so tender and moist.
Everyone enjoyed the dinner.
My daughter invited her friend over and told her that it was an official Canadian Thanksgiving as we had an actual Canadian there for dinner.
My son was home for the weekend from college.
I took him back to college Tuesday as I had the day off and Hubby took his brother to the airport on his way to work.
My mother went with us as it is a 2 hour drive each way and she came to keep me company on the ride back. We went to Wendy's for lunch once we got to the college's town.
Although the weekend started off rough with the CT scan, it turned out nice.

Well that left Sparky to fend for herself for 2 whole days at work.
Rumor has it she was throwing files down on her desk and swearing a lot.
She actually took home all her personal stuff off her desk.
When I came back to work Weds, she was crabby and complaining about the job and threatening to quit. I just told her "You have to do what makes you happy".
I'm not about to try to talk her out of doing something that would make her happy.
As a person, I like her. She does have a good heart.
She just needs to get some medication for her hyperactivity.
And I think she feels guilty and stressed out about working as she has children in school.

When my 2 children were little I stayed home till my oldest was in school. Then I went back to work part-time nights/weekends 12-16 hours per week. I was there to put them on the bus and home to get them off the bus.
We only had one car, which was always a used car.
We didn't have cable TV, still don't, and didn't have the Internet.
The kids didn't know the difference.
I didn't start full time till 10 years ago when the oldest was old enough to watch themselves.
I wish that i would have stayed part-time sometimes.

So I decided that I too would take all my personal stuff home...on the day Sparky left early to go to the dentist...this past Thursday.
I had a lot of stuff and 5 plants...took 3 trips to the car.
They are reorganizing where everyone sits, so Sparky & I are on the list of people to be moved to a different cubicle.
Not knowing where I was going to be working and some of the cubicles are smaller than the one I am in now and have no natural lighting, I decided to take my plants home before it started to get freezing out and snowing.
At least that was what I told people so they didn't think I was fired.
(That's how we know someone got fired as they get called into HR at 5pm, then the next day all their stuff is gone from the cubicle and no one says anything)
Actually I thought I would freak Sparky out a little.
(Yeah, I have a bit of a nasty side....but she deserved it after all the shit I've put up with from her for the past 6 months)
I came in a little late Friday.
Took the far driveway into the parking lot as the one I usually take goes by our windows.
She wasn't at her desk.
She was in talking to our supervisor.
Not a word was said when she came back to her desk about all my stuff being gone.
I didn't mention it either.
But, man, she was overly happy to see me!!!

I went over my friend Elly's house last night.
Her husband was working the night shift.
After she got her 2 little ones to bed, we watched "Sex in the City"...no...make that "Sex and the City" .
We both agreed after the movie;
that we could have written a better movie as it was kinda depressing at times,
we both need to color more, and
we eat so we don't cheat..that's why we are a little over weight.
She is such a good friend to me and came into my life when I really needed one.

It's coming up on the 13th anniversary of my best friend's death. Every fall I think of her. She was only 34 when she died from congestive heart failure. As a nurse, she should have known to take better care of herself and not smoke and she should have recognized her symptoms as something serious, but she was in denial.
She was to go to the doctor the next day as her mother set up the appointment and told her she would pay for it as she was on disability and her health insurance lapsed.
Her brother found her on the floor dead.
I never realized how ill she actually was.
She called me 3 days before she died.
I wasn't home.
My husband never gave me the message till after she died.
It took me a while to forgive him for that.
I was friends with her since our diaper days.
Our families were friends.

About a month after she died, I remembered something that she told me a friend of hers had gotten her from Mexico as a joke.
It was a marble, life size, larger than average size penis.
I never saw it but she said it even had veins carved on it...
It was an OMG moment...as I knew I had better tell her mother that SHE didn't buy it for herself, that someone had gotten it for her as a joke.
When I told her mother, she said that she was wondering about that as she had found it and didn't know what to think.
What ever made me think of that.
She only mentioned it to me once.
It was almost like she sent me a message from the spirit world so her mother wouldn't think she was some kind of marble dildo loving freak.

Her death had a very huge impact on my life.
I was subconsciously afraid to get too close to anyone after that.
I can't tell you what the exact date it was that she died as I have blocked it from my memory. I remember her birthday.
My mother-in-law always remembered the dates of the deaths of her relatives.
She would say, oh so and so died today upteen years ago.
I asked her one day after she made such a remark what was their birthdate and she couldn't remember their birthday.
My husband said that his mother always loved a funeral.
Well..she was Irish...Catholic ...and Canadian.
After someone she knew passed away, she would cross their name off in her address book.

My daughter went to a Halloween party tonight.
Her costume is this:


She's the sexy candy Corn witch.
But she has on black glittery tights and a black shirt on underneath a the place where the party is isn't heated. Being the mother that I am, when i was with her at the store I suggested that she get something a little warmer.
I must admit that she did look cute in it and I'm glad that she had to wear the shirt underneath it.And she is wearing black converse sneakers instead of heels.
When I was 24 I was too shy to wear something like that in public.
And when I was 24 I was married and she was a baby.

To help me get in the Halloween spirit she painted my nails midnight blue.
I may go goth all next week to work.....have to find all my black clothes.
Have a happy Halloween!
Carve your own pumpkin
Check this out:
http://www.coasttocoastam.com/timages/page/pumpkin_sim.html

Body Maintainance

Anyone over 40 can relate to all the body maintenance, doctor appointments, tests and procedures that must be performed at an increasing frequency as we get older.
Women start with the yearly pap test, then in our 30s we start with the yearly mammogram, then if you are one of the chosen ones to have a family history of colon cancer you get the every 3 years colonoscopy.
And of course all the blood tests, stress tests, electrocardio thingys, ultrasounds, x-rays and if you really baffle your doctor, CT scans and MRIs.
This of course if you are lucky enough to have health insurance.

And the CT Scan test results are........ (drum roll)
I knew they wouldn't be devastatingly horrible as I had to call the doctor's office to find out...
.....2 kidney stones (one in each kidney) and a huge cyst on my ovary...
whew!!! no mystery tumors ...
But I am back to where I was before.
I had 2 lipthotripsies, one on each side already
and already had surgery last year for an orange sized cyst ...same side, same place.
I should be depressed about this...
I'm not depressed about this...
what I AM depressed about is...

I went to the eye doctor today to get new contacts and new glasses...
My vision got a little worse...which I can deal with, BUT
when he told me that I have a cataract starting on my one eye...WTF I'm too young for that!!
I'm not even out of my 40s yet!!
I knew my vision in that eye was getting worse...but a CATARACT!!

ARGH!! It was bad enough when I was 38 and was in the waiting room of the Cancer Hospital's colon/rectal clinic with all the seniors...after my pencil eraser sized cancerous tumor was removed from my colon... the people in the waiting room looked at me like why the heck is she here...must be waiting for someone. And at the urologists office with all the older gentlemen in the waiting room...although there were a few other women my age.

So now I get to add my eye to the list of things that need to be checked every year.

My husband is fit as a fiddle.
No complaints
and he's 8 years older than me
He will most likely out live me
He is a blood donor
He has given approx 6 gallons of blood already
He has all the T-Shirts to prove it.

The fall leaves are absolutely beautiful this year.
People don't need to travel all the way to Vermont, just come to NY state.
We have apples, pretty leaves, and we also make maple sugar.
The Adirondack mountains are breathtakingly beautiful in the fall.
Not that Vermont isn't nice too...I've been there...it reminds me of home.

I am always startled by the wild life that wanders into my back yard.
Recently there were 4 does in the yard, one only about 10 feet away from the house, just munching away on the grass.
Then 2 more of their friends showed up...half a dozen deer..
I tried to take their photo, but having to look through a window on an angle to get the picture didn't quite turn out so clear...kept getting "Photo is blurry...Delete?"
I don't dare tell some of the neighbors as they will want to come and kill them. :-(
Usually it is the turkey I see.
they are funny birds.
They walk single file according to height.
The baby ones bringing up the rear.
Hysterically funny to see them fly.
One year one of the turkeys didn't quite get enough altitude and flew into my neighbors roof.
There are over 30 turkeys that wander the neighborhood together.
If I had the stomach to hunt, we could be livin' high off the land.
My father said that we should try trapping a turkey.
I told my father that if I caught a turkey, I wouldn't be able to clean it as I wouldn't know how.
He offered to do it if I trapped one.
Haven't taken him up on the offer.
With my luck, I would trap a skunk or rapid raccoon.

That's enough rambling for one day...
Hopefully I didn't put y'all to sleep.
The dryer has stopped...time to fold the laundry!

Medical Tests

I took a vacation day today...away from the funny farm I work for.
Thought a nice long weekend would be nice.
But what do I do?
I schedule a CT scan at 8:30 am..
Sometimes I am my own worst enemy.
I get there on time.
Checked in and they gave me a cup of this foul tasting stuff to drink.
Told me that I would have to wait an hour or so for the stuff to get through out my system....
But what they failed to mention, was that the stuff they gave me to drink could cause diarrhea, especially if you drink it all at once...which is what I did because it tastes so bad....
Luckily there was a constant turn around of people in the waiting room or they would have wondered why I kept disappearing & reappearing..... I had to sit away from people as the rumbling from the great disturbance in the lower GI region would have caused them to move away from me!!
After 4 trips to the ladies room, I finally got called for the test.
The CT scan took 10 minutes if even that and most of that time was spent changing clothes.
I was going to go to the mall after the test and do some shopping before I met my retired friend MArly for lunch...but I decided to go home and relax for awhile first...
yeah.......
Actually I wanted to be close to my own bathroom!!

50 Years ...is a long time

This past Saturday afternoon, we went to one of Hubby's cousin's 50th wedding anniversary parties.
His side of the family is huge, his dad was one of 13 and his mom one of 10 children.
He is actually one of the youngest of the cousins.
And I am closer in age to the cousin's children.
(Yes I married an older man...by 8 years...my daughter thinks the age difference is just disgusting...LOL)
His cousin "L" and her husband "R" are fun loving people with 6 children.
They all gave speeches of course and then "L" thanked all the children for throwing such a wonderful party.
"L" told us how she came to meet "R" at a friend's wedding reception.
"L" said that when she first saw "R" standing by the bar, she told her sister that that was the man she was going to marry. She hadn't even met him, but thought he was handsome and he happened to be carrying a keg of beer at the time.

It was a nice party.
My siblings & I threw a surprise 50th wedding anniversary party last year for my parents.
Time seems to fly by so fast.
I remember talking with "L" before our wedding and her telling me that they had just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary...and I remember thinking that that was a long time to be married...now next month I will hit the 25 year mark.
I'm too young to be married that long....I've been married the majority of my life.
Although lately I wonder if we will make it to 50 years....let alone 30

The Layers of Lindi lou

Layer One: On the Outside
Name: Lindi, Sept girl,
Birthday:September
Current Location: Livingroom
Eye Color: Green-ish... Hazel
Hair Color: Caramel blonde
Righty or Lefty: Righty,
Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Layer Two: Just Below the Surface
Your Weakness: I'm a wimp, I avoid confrontation,passive aggressive
Your Goal: Survive
Your Fears: Something happening to my family..accident or illness

Layer Three: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
Your thoughts first waking up: I don't want to go to work
Your bedtime: When I fall asleep watching TV
Your most missed memory: My grandparents, there are a lot of questions I would ask them if I could and the days at the beach as a child

Layer Four: Your Pick
Pepsi or Coke: used to be Pepsi, now water
McDonald's or Burger King: Subway
Single or Group dates: Both
Adidas or Nike: Whatever fits better
Lipton Tea or Nestea: Homemade iced tea
Chocolate or Vanilla: Both
Cappuccino or Coffee: not a coffee drinker

Layer Five: Do You?
Smoke: No
Have a crush: no
Think you've been in love: Yes twice at least
Want to get married: Am Married
Believe in yourself: Sometimes
Think you're a health freak: Not as much as I should be

Layer Six: In the Past Month
Drank alcohol: yes, maybe once
Gone to the mall: yes
Eaten Sushi: no, can't get up the nerve to try, but it was in the shopping cart last night for my daughter
Gone skating: not for a hell of a long time
Dyed your hair: yes

Layer Seven: Have You Ever?
Played a stripping game: No
Gotten beaten up: mentally yes...physically-no, but felt as if I were sometimes
Changed who you were to fit in: a little, some friends I can tell really dirty jokes to some I can't

Layer Eight: Getting Old
Age you’re hoping to be married: Was married the year I graduated from College
Plastic Surgery or Wrap: Can't afford it
Buried or Cremated: Cremated.

Layer Nine: Perfect Mate
Best Eye Color: Blue
Best Hair Color: brown
Short or Long Hair: Doesn't matter, just take care of it.

Layer Ten: What were you doing...
1 HOUR AGO: Reading blogs
1 WEEK AGO: Starting my on-line course
1 MONTH AGO: Extremely stressed out by work
1 YEAR AGO: Happier at work

Layer Eleven: Finish the Sentence
I LOVE: My my kids
I HATE: Bullies, Bigots, Pediphiles, and Cheaters
I HIDE: In my home and in the file room at work
I MISS: My husband
I NEED: Exercise more and eat more veggies & fruit

Beauty amoungst Chaos

I looked out into the back yard this morning and saw nature at it's best.
Four small deer
eating apples under the neighbor's apple tree.
they were probably adolescents,
past the cute baby stage
they were on their own
No large adult deer around
I would have loved to take their picture
But the angle I had to look out of the sliding french door made it difficult to get a good shot.
Opening the door would have scared them away.

I continued getting ready for work and heard the neighbors dogs barking
and pictured in my mind the deer darting away into the woods.

There must be something about white SUVs and vans.
Coming home from work yesterday, waiting at a stop sign at the end of the road
waiting to make a left on to the road
I started to pull out and had to slam on the brakes
as a white van was coming from the right
WTF...
It was dreary and rainy and all the other vehicles had their lights on
except the white van of course.
I was only about 6 feet past the stop sign
It was only 1/2 a mile from home, in the "sticks"
the driver probably thought it was just a Boston Fake

One of the last entries in my old blog (Warped Doodler)...I said that sometimes I felt like turning into traffic...but would never do it because I wouldn't want to ruin someone else's day...
I wonder if the few people that read the thing actually thought I did finally do it as I stopped writing in it...forgot the password....I am such a dork!!

Let’s Play Four

A) Four Places That I Go To Over And Over:
Work, Parent's house, Super Market, Subway restaurant

B) Four People Who E-mail Me Regularly:
At work, my boss sends me at least 10 e-mails a day (doesn't like human interaction apparently)
Marlene, Nancy & Nancy

C) Four Of My Food Favorites:
Chocolate, Lobster & Shrimp, Ice cream, Steak-Bloody steak :)

D) Four Things I’d Like To Do:
Win the Lottery, so I can quit my job
Travel to Australia
Take a cruise to Alaska
Quit my job and concentrate on my art

E) Four People I Think Will Respond: To What?

F) Four Things I Did Yesterday:
Dragged my sorry ass out of bed and went to work
Put up with annoying co-worker(s)
Went to the Family Dollar store and bought a Swiffer and cleaning products
Did a load of laundry before I went to work

G.Four Things I would buy if I had a million dollars:
A new Volkswagen..something
New living room furniture
An eight foot stockade fence between my house and the neighbors from deliverance
An art/weaving studio for me!!

I'm supposed to pick 4 people to do this... but it's up to you, gentle reader, if you decide to do it...

September's Last day my First Post

Here I go again... starting another blog.
My life is in a state of chaos..just like the current state of the economy.
Do I stay in a job I like but am surrounded by people I don't like
.. or do I seek out another job with a potentially longer commute.. I .like the 12 minute commute I have now.. I don't know what to do so I am paralyzed and do nothing.
How do I work for a manager who has admitted she doesn't like me.
I've been at the Co. 11 years longer than her, but she is well liked by upper management.....
I am in a bad spot.

I'd really love to just stop working and concentrate on my art work & weaving which I haven't have any time to do lately. Maybe sell some art stuff on the internet...

This job is not in the field that I have my college degree in.

Yesterday....I went to apply for a job 3 minutes from my house. I pulled into the parking lot and spotted a parking spot. Don't know if I was so focused on the parking spot,,,but I didn't see this huge white SUV that almost hit me as I turned towards the parking spot right in front of it....OMG...I mouthed the word "SORRY" ..the lady seemed ok, she didn't give me the finger or anything...I still can't figure out where the heck she came from.....oh, and the job had already been filled and it was at an Opticians!!

Wish I could have slept through September......