More family drama

So, my grandfather (who lives out west in a more mountain filled area with the rest of my extended family) was out cleaning/messing around with the pond/water feature in the backyard before the first serious winter cold front was due to hit yesterday.

Somehow- we're not sure on the whole non-pain medication induced story yet- he slipped/fell/? and managed to break both the bones in his right leg in a total of four places AND dislocated something that's not supposed to be yanked out of the socket in his ankle in one fell (ooooh, very, very, VERY bad pun) swoop.

Unfortunately, my grandmother is inside in another part of the house, and he can't get a hold of her.

God knows why, but he decides to snap his ankle back IN to posistion since his foot 'was going the wrong way'. :wince: (My grandfather is typically a sane, level-headed intellegent man. Let's assume the pain made him do it.)

Anyways, neighbor comes out to take out the trash (or something- most details in this story are a little vague yet), sees my grandfather sitting on the flagstone in an unnatural position and comes over to see if anything's wrong.

Nice neighbor lady goes in to get my grandmother/ankle boot her now-ex husband used after he had some kind of surgery a few years ago. Somehow, she and my grandmother manage to get this on his foot (hopefully not doing more damage), and using a shovel- that's right a shovel... somethings in this life are too weird to make up- get him up onto one of those desk chairs with wheels and wheel him around the yard to the driveway/into the car.

Side note- obviously, simply calling 911/etc would not have been a reasonable suggestion at this point. Esp since my grandparent's house is on a hill and the driveway is rather steep. Can you imagine if they had lost control of the chair??? :post-situation freaking:

Both ladies take my grandfather to the hospital, where they do Xrays, etc. Unfortunately, my grandfather is allergic to the normal family of pain medications, so he nearly goes into shock from the pain before the nice nurses and doctors shoot morphine into him. :grrrrrrrrr:

Orthopedic surgeon is already slicing/dicing someone else, so he doesn't go into surgery until the wee hours of the morning.

Latest call from my grandmother is that they're sending him HOME late this afternoon.

My mind boggles because, given the amount screws involved in putting his leg back together, this was definately NOT out patient surgery. (But I don't have a PhD, so what do I know?)

So, anyways, prayers for my grandfather/grandmother.

(Funny side story is when he was in recovery and essentially 'high' on pain medication my grandfather apparently told the nurses just about every joke he's ever heard... which is weird, because he's a nice, fairly funny guy, but the meds made him into one of those crazy uncle's who never stops telling corny jokes, lol!)

Post Thanksgiving and other things...

Well, Thanksgiving in and of itself wasn't bad... Usual good food (which lent itself to equally good leftovers), weirdly warm weather, no work, got to sleep in/dress up, etc.

And, because it was Thanksgiving, Maggie came home! :hugs:

However... One stupid part with un-needed soap opera-type drama. (To skip that- and my slightly stupid story- skip down to where my text turns black again.

My teenage brother stole my cell phone when I left it on the counter for about sixty seconds to take the cranberry sauce from the kitchen to the dining room table. Just swooped in and nailed it without anyone seeing him do it.

I don't notice right away (being wrapped up in the food thing and knowing everyone else who needs a cell phone for any reason in my house already OWNS one and does not need to use mine) and when I finally do, I assume I left it somewhere and simply completely forgot moving it.

N0 such luck.

I pin point it down to this brother (after in-depth investigative reporting of the other suspects), and he, of course, totally denies it.

I am brassed off, but as he has finally gotten both taller then me and gained the ability to throw me across the room, obviously physical confrontation is not the best idea.

So, I get my little sister (shameless, much?) to essentially frisk him while in the guise of giving him a hug.

No such luck, cell phone has already been relocated.

It's late, everyone goes to bed, and I figure since there are no hammer's readily available in the house, my cell phone will be fine until morning.

Anyways, Friday early AM my brother has swim practice. (Silly me for forgetting, huh?)

At this point I think- without proof or confession- he sneaks the phone out of the house, because my mom and other siblings help me search his room in an extensively thorough manner that leaves everything back in its proper place.

Again, Baby Sis hugs Brother One when he comes back in house. No phone on him. (Or he's just got deeper pockets then we thought.)

Before Brother One leaves for alumni meet that afternoon, he is dumb enough to leave his cell phone on the kitchen table.

I snag it. (Would you have done anything different?)

Brother One then proceeds to use MY cell phone to call his- but I have silenced his phone, so this doesn't work.

:smacks forehead:

I mean, COME ON. Can we say DUMB move?

He then leaves for swim meet. Brother One's room is re-searched. Nadda.

So, ok. Phone is either in his swim locker or his car.

Hoping cell phone is stashed in his Camero- which has only so may hiding spaces- I patiently wait for him to go to bed/have time to drop off before I take the keys he left hanging on the front railing and sneak out to the car.

Car is searched.

I find a mostly used box of things I'd could have lived quite happily not knowing my brother had purchased/let alone USED (because I KNOW he was raised more responsible then THAT) in the glove compartment, but my phone is definitely NOT in the car.

Curses.

I go up, go to bed (since it's laaaaaaaaaaaaate by then). Crawl under covers, and- thanks be to God- my phone is mysteriously chilling between the sheets with me.

Needless to say, I gave his phone back to my mom- who knew I had it- and life went back to "normal".

So, yeah.

Thanksgiving, good.

Thanksgiving at my house this year... Not so much.

On the otherhand, no psycho relatives I'm not directly blood related to to deal with. :)

...Got enough of THAT at my aunt's Thanksgiving wedding last year, lol. ;) ;)

Hope everyone else had a less strange Turkey day!

:runs by:

Maggie, I'll try and call you tomorrow, but I'm just betting off work... And the way your wrok schedule goes with my work schedule... I'm open Thursday/Friday. Wanna do something then?

Miss you much!

XOXOXO

-S

To Maggie- since I can't get through to you on your cell/house:

Copy of email I sent you:

"Yay! Hot chocolate! (Or whatever weakness I am totally likely to give in to!)

If you never got my voice mails (?) I was at work until 12:30 am and then had to be back in at 7. :death: So, be prepared for me to talk too much, lol. Your brother said you weren't home when I called, so I'll just head to Caribou now and wait for you there. (If I fall asleep waiting- since that could happen if I sit still for 2 minutes at a go- please just poke me in the shoulder!)

Much love Maggles! Can't wait! :)"

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone else! (Because, yay, it's my fav holiday tomorrow!!) Hope everyone has a blessed- and thankful!- day! :)

Ok, I almost never post forwards on here, but this was interesting...

From a strictly Mathematical Viewpoint:

What Equals 100%?

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been in situations where someone wants you to give over 100%, but what equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical

formula that might help you answer these Questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 9 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

AND, look how far the love of God will take you

L- O- V- E-O-F-G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:
While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

And the entire point of having younger siblings is...

...An excuse to go see movies like this on the midnight showing when they come out. ;)

(Covers up the fact that I simply have a 'thing' for penguins.)

Well, this is vaguely reassuring...

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Math?

You Are An Invisible Ex

You're so over your ex, you hardly even remember you have an ex You prefer leave all of the baggage behind you - far, far behind As they say, indifference is the opposite of love!

What Type of Ex Are You?

70 questions...

I never do these, so I decided what the heck.

1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be?
Adam (best friend since I was like six/seven), Maggie (of course), my aunt/uncle in CA who are two of the coolest people ever to walk the earth...

2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart?
Of course. I was trained at a very young age not to be one of the lazy people who make everyone else's lives hell. I have even been known to grab carts that weren't mine and put them back.

3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener?
In many situations, I talk too much. In others, like if I don't know anyone, I'm fairly quiet until the waters have been tested.

4. Do you take compliments well?
:falls out of chair laughing: Not at all, ever. Especially if they're about how I look, because I tend not to believe people. Low self confidence much?

5. Are you an active person?
Only if I'm chasing my brothers to take something of mine back... And when I have to actively run around at work all day. ALWAYS a good time, there.

6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, would you survive?
Define 'wilderness'. Answer is most likely no, but people can do things they normally would never think of doing (like not washing their hair for days/not wearing make-up) if forced.

7. Do you like to ride horses?
When I ride a horse for the first time, I will be better able to answer this question. ;)

8. Did you ever go to camp as a kid?
Day camp, not overnight. And not since... Second grade?

9. What was your favourite game as a kid?
Uno and Life. I am (still) grand master level awesome at both of these!

10. If a sexy person was pursuing you, but you knew he/she was married, would you get involved with him/her?
Did Hell freeze over and I didn't notice? How strange.

11. Are you judgmental?
Only of people who still have Gore/Lieberman bumperstickers on their cars. ;) ;) :P

12. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you?
I can't even sucessfully date someone of a different political party, so let's say no.

13. Do you like to pursue or be pursued?
Mutual is better.

14. Can you speak another language?
I once knew some Latin/German but I think I was sucessfully able to forget it all by now.

15. If you had to choose, would you rather be deaf or blind?
Deaf, no question. If I couldn't read/see color/what's going on around me, I'd go completely bonkers.

16. What's your favourite food?
Pasta!

17. Do you know how to shoot a gun?
No, but I would like to. :hugs 2nd Amendment:

18. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you grabbed?
My siblings. Non-living possession, the big box of family photos from when we were little upstairs.

19. How often do you read books?
About as often as I breath. Again with the rather-be-deaf thing.

20. Do you think more about the past, present or future?
Present.

21. What is your favourite children's book?
When I was little, it was all about the Narnia books, Little House on the Prarie series, Babysitter's Club, The Secret Garden, and A Little Princess.

22. What colour are your eyes?
No one has ever sucessfully answered me the question when I ask. Some days blue-ish, some gray, but mostly they just are just sitting there. Kinda depends on what I'm wearing.

23. How tall are you?
Five foot 11, but my fav. shoes always have heels so I can look taller.

24. Where is your dream house located?
Mountains of Colorado- provided someone else did the shoveling. ;)

25. Last person you talked to on the phone?
My brother's voice mail. He'd just changed it, and I thought it was just him goofing around and pretending to be the vm until the prerecorded Verizon voice kicked in, lol.

26. Have you ever taken pictures in a photo booth?
I want to say yes, but I can't remember when/who with.

27. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden?
One (two?) years ago when a small groups of us went to visit a friend on her campus. Flashback, because the time before that was in like 1995 for my brother's birthday back in the way back when we still lived in Austin.

28. What are your keys on your key chain for?
Work or regular? Far more keys on work one; office key, front door key, back door key, safe key... Etc.

29. What's your favourite colour?
BLUE!!!!

30. Where was the furthest place you travelled today?
Work pretty much was my whole day.

31. Where is your current pain at?
My knuckle/knee when Dan opened a swinging door into me as I was about to go threw it earlier. Hit me in exactly the wrong spot, esp. since the door had a metal edge.

32. Do you like mustard?
In moderation, and only with Lite Miracle Whip (which is the yummiest sandwich topping in the history of the earth).

33. Do you prefer to sleep or eat?
Sleeping is a veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery good thing. :)

34. Do you look like your mom or dad?
People tell me my mom looks like my older sister; none of us (me/sibs) really look anything like my dad/his side of the family at all. Funny thing is I don't look like her pictures taken at my age, just the current age her, which is a tad strange.

35. How long does it take you in the shower?
Depends on the amount of hot water/how late I'm running.

36. Can you do splits?
Only with bananas. (For other people, of course. Love artificial banana flavoring, but real bananas turn my stomache.)

37. What movie do you want to see right now?
The new Pirates movie, since I could never find anyone to see it with me when it was in the theaters.

38. Do you put lotion on your dog or cats?
Since I don't currently have a pet of any kind... Definately no. And I'm not sure if I would, reguardless. Wouldn't they just lick it off?

39. What did you do for New Year's?
Went to bed, this past year. I wasn't in the mood, lol.

40. Do you think The Grudge was scary?
All reviews point to no, but I didn't see it.

41. What was the cause of your last accident?
Does Dan opening a door into my hand count as an accident, or does a vehical have to be involved in this?

42. Do you own a camera phone?
As of... What? Last Thursday, yes. But I didn't by the phone to take pictures, I bought it to play music, lol.

43. What are you drinking?
Nothing strong enough. Last thing I drank was chai, cold. Would like a Mike's Hard Lemonade/vodka lemonade/Smirnoff Ice, though. (Maybe I am more flexible then I thought...)

44. Was your mom a cheerleader?
Very much so. And she never understood why I wasn't. Her uniform made a great Halloween costume for me, though, in middle/high school.

45. What's the last letter of your middle name?
First is h, second is a. And, yes, I do have two.

46. Who did you vote for on American Idol?
I have never been able to force myself to watch.

47. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
I aim for 7-8... But you know how it goes.

48. Do you like Care Bears?
:chokes: I had friends when I was little that did, but I never really got into it. Probably because my mother only let me watch educational, non-animated television, lol.

49. What do you buy at the movies?
I generally sneak in anything I actually eat at movies because the prices are so insane. That's what purses are for, right?

50. Do you know how to play poker?
My best friend/his family tried to teach me for years, but it never stuck. I'm more of an Uno/Slapjack/Egyptian Rat Screw kinda girl.

51. Do you wear your seatbelt?
Always.

52. What do you wear to sleep?
Old, comfortable gray pair of fleece sweat pants and an oversized Adias shirt I stole from my brother, or my Victoria Secret flannel set this time of year. Layers are gooooooooood.

53. Anything big ever happen in your hometown?
Big for our town, yes. Big for an actual, honest to God city, not so much... 800 students at the high school walked out last year and were pepper sprayed by the cops... Mail boxes lit on fire... Property damaged... Things stolen... A man beat/stabbed his wife to death a week two weeks ago... And, oh yeah. Head type guy in local bank embezzeled $29 million.

54. How many meals do you eat a day?
Depends on my work schedule, but generally two. One if I can make it until 2-4 pm.

55. Is your tongue pierced?
No. Oooooooooooooooooooooow. (And also extremely annoying if your ever around someone who has one and PLAYS WITH IT CONSTANTLY. The clicking is... Urgh.)

56. Do you always read MySpace bulletins?
I would have to have a MySpace.

57. Do you have pets?
Not anyone more, but I really, really, REALLY, REALLLLLLLLLLLY miss having a dog. :(

58. Do you like funny or serious people better?
I like funny people who can be serious at the right time

59. Ever been to LA?
Yes. My aunt's wedding was awesome, thank you very much. :)

60. Did you eat a cookie today?
No. I had will power today, lol.

61. Do you use cuss words in other languages?
I probably would if I knew any. Suggestions?

62. Do you steal or pay for your music downloads?
I don't download music.

63. Do you hate chocolate?
Are you INSANE???

64. What do you and your parents fight about the most?
Urgh. Let's not go there, and say we didn't.

65. Is your cell usually on vibrate or ring?
Ring. I’d prefer it to be on both, but apparently the my new phone can’t ring and vibrate at the same time.

66. Are you a gullible person?
I'd like to think not.

67. Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy?
As it's been nearly three years... I'm going to go with no. Wouldn't know what to do with a boyfriend at this point if I suddenly had one, lol!

68. If you could have any job (assuming you have the skills) what would it be?
I would like to be a cross between Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham, but I probably don't have the skills required for that. ...Layout editor/editor of some kind at a conservative publication, maybe?

69. Are you easy to get along with?
If we think along the same lines, yes. Otherwise, things can get ugly fast.

70. What is your favourite time of day?
Night... if that counts as a time of day? If I never went to bed/hell froze over and I got up early, sunrise can be nice.

I give up, lol

Apparently I no longer have anything to say that's worth commenting on. I'll have to try and throw something completely off the wall out there tomorrow to see if I can shock ya'll into commenting. ;)

Banning the Pledge...

(Any space filled with .... is really just me ranting in ways I probably shouldn't publish- or be thinking on a Sunday morning. But you get my drift.)

Ok, now I know better then to read political things on Sunday mornings, because I get so riled up, but this just..... Takes the cake in a very BAD way.

I'd like to give this Jason Bellhead character a large piece of my mind... and possibly more. Maybe in an 'trapt in a elevator' type situation....

Especially this coming out this weekend is just....

And, in conclusion-

I pledge allegiance

to the flag

of the United States of America,

and to the Republic

for which it stands.

One nation UNDER GOD,

Indivisible,

With Liberty and Justice

for all.

Song I can't get out of my head... And, for once, that's not really a BAD thing...

Artist/Band: Gretchen Wilson
Lyrics for Song: Politically Uncorrect
Lyrics for Album: All Jacked Up

I'm for the low man on the totem pole
And I'm for the underdog God bless his soul
And I'm for the guys still pulling third shift
And the single mom raisin' her kids
I'm for the preachers who stay on their knees
And I'm for the sinner who finally believes
And I'm for the farmer with dirt on his hands
And the soldiers who fight for this land

Chorus:
And I'm for the Bible
and I'm for the flag
And I'm for the working man, me and ol' Hag
I'm just one of many
Who can't get no respect
Politically uncorrect

Seriously, rent the CD from the library (or just watch it on Launch.)

Mild reflections....

Ok, I'm getting over ‘it’.

Originally, there was much aggravation and pacing- and I did need to read my Bible/pray hard for an hour before I was able to fall asleep Tuesday night... Er, Wednesday morning.

There are a LOT of stupid, short sighted people in my state. (I mean, what part of 'raising the minimum wage = less people getting hired/the ones that already have jobs get fired' is HARD to understand??? I had that one down before I was legally old enough to hold a job.)

And just thinking about Brown and future governor :gags: Strickly-sin still makes me sick to my stomach. Thank God that we still have a majority in the state supreme congress, right?

…And, to get back to the moving on…

I went into work Weds. morning not my usually smiley self, and one of my coworkers (known as C. for the rest of this story) asked me what was wrong.

I launched into a short (venom filled) response about idiotic… Words I shouldn’t have used at work… people electing pro baby-killing, pro-homosexual, pro-large government... people… to office.

(One of my other coworkers- who I didn’t think much of to start out with- jutted in that she was one of the idiots… And I decided let that lie and not agree with S. calling herself an idiot. …Aren’t you proud of me, Maggie?)

Anyways, C. spent time talking to me about how this was all part of God’s plan and he allowed this to happen for a reason. (Since he sees things in His time and not ours, etc, that I needed to be reminded of- since I was getting hung up on the whole babies getting forks stuck into their heads and their brains vacuumed out part.)

I had no idea she was religious at all going into this, and (although C. comes from a much different breed of Christian background and goes to an equally different kind church then I do) she was really the first person who made me feel ok about this election.

(Oh no! God and politics in one sentence! Someone freak out!)

It’s just... I was in elementary school the last time Republicans didn’t control congress. It feels weird, you know? I barely remember the before.

(Only before politically I remember was crying when that man was elected. And I was like freakin’ seven, eight years old at that point! …I was right, of course, but still…)

However, there will bigger and better things for Michael Steele, Kenneth Blackwell, and Rick Santorum. (Also, J.C. Watts- I admire the fact that he took time off the attend parent-teacher nights and little league games, but we need him back and swinging!)

Down with the RINO's (esp McCain) and onward from here!

~#~

Linked to George Will’s piece from Laura’s website. Interesting read. (And I learned that $2.6 billion is spent on chocolate every two months in American. …Which is slightly ridiculous, but there it is.)

Wish I had had time to listen to more talk radio during the day yesterday, but I found an excellent religious political personality the last two nights I really enjoyed listening to. Name slips my mind, though… (Maggie, 1220 around 9 to 11?)

~#~

Go read Maggie’s new column and send her comments!

~#~

Also… and completely unrelated… Good for Britney that she finally got her act together, huh? Now K-Fed can GO AWAY. ;)

Things crossing my mind...

First off, let me join everyone else in the opinion that John Kerry has, once again, made an ass of himself.

And even more so in his "Hey, look at me, I was in Vietnam and I can make a lame attempt at being a man and stand up for my opinion for once... And did I tell you that I was in Vietnam?" follow up.

I was nearly driven to sing that 2004 election song with the "and I got three purple hearts!" song along while I was finishing sewing my sister's Halloween costume yesterday. (Where was that online again? I REALLY want to watch it again for some reason, lol.)

Much enjoyed El Rushbo going all "Mention me! Mention me!" followed by Kerry's "and now Rush Limbaugh will take five minutes off of dissing Michael J. Fox to mock me" line, proving, once again, how predictable liberals are.

'Page out of the Republican playbook' my American ass John! :P

Let us all thank God that this man is not our president!!

(The Monarchist's comments are much better worded then mine.)

~*~

Got a call from my best friend (since we were like six), Adam, called me back (FINALLY- the guy is honestly so bad at responding to emails/phone calls) and we caught up on the last six months. Turns out his girlfriend, Christina, is deploying to Iraq in a month.

She's in North Carolina right now- I forget exactly where- doing last minutes pre-deployment things. (Yes, I am uninformed, but I'm working on it!) He's going to visit her in a few weeks before she leaves.

He seems ok (as in, I flat out asked him, and he said he was), but you know men... And I REALLY know this one... :eye roll:

I think I'm going to get him (aka him to give to her) a phone card or something. (What exactly does one get for someone you never met your best guy friend intends to becoming engaged to/marry who's about to leave to serve their country?)

Prayers for Christina, once way or another!

~*~

Also, a kind of strange thing that happened Sunday night. We closed at eight (like normal), and I actually got all the "kids" (associates) out the door by nine (not like normal). Bakers' don't show up until 10ish, so I'm alone in the store until then doing paper work and for some reason alarm bells are going off in the back of my head.

Like crazy.

And I'm not a paranoid type person (I live in a safe, smallish, middle America city), pretty much EVER, but I'm going around locking the office door behind me, jumping every time the dishwasher/ice machine/AC makes ANY noise, taking a 10 inch long can-run-siskabob (SP??)-someone knife around with me when I got to the fax machine, etc, for an hour. (Again, NOT normal.)

(I opted not to take the last trash out on the theory that no one would know I was dead until the next morning if I get knifed by the dumpsters.)

Bakers get to work- turns out the front door was unlocked. As in, any random psychopath who wanted to could have strolled in and knifed me unlocked.

I have no idea WHY the door wasn't locked, though. I watched Heather locked it, there were no customers in the store right before we closed, all the associates know to leave through the other door.

Weird, huh?

~*~

Another great night a Bible study. :) Maggie, you have to come to at least one class once you're back in town!

~*~

My little sister was Susan from Narnia (coronation scene dress) for Halloween- and I was heming the darn costume until she walked out the door to go trick-or-treating- but she looked pretty darn cute... Er, queenly, lol.

Took me like an hour to get the crown the way I wanted it, too... But well worth the effort, she was over the moon. :)