Today I actually felt pretty good...all things considered. I still did some hacking and coughing but it was down to a minimum. I ate two meals (got up late so I had brunch and then dinner) without any nausea. The Beast ate some hot cereal (cream of wheat) and complained about feeling nauseous. I told him to go relax and not think about it, which he did and he kept it down.

I even got dressed and went to *Cheapmart* as Bratfink calls it. We needed some milk, some Nestle's Quik and the Beast was out of cigarettes. I decided it was much safer for me to go than him. He may be feeling a bit better but he looks like hell. I only had a couple bad minutes inside the store since I took my time and looked around at many of the sale items. Bought Chewlee a cute little outfit that looks like a skirt but has shorts underneath it to protect her modesty. I couldn't resist because it was only $2. for each piece. I can't wait to see her in it. I might even take her picture and share it with you all. Or should I say *ya'll*? I mean, I do live in Alabama now.

I don't know if we will make it to Mobile this month. With the trip to Centralia at the end of the month to see the Hot Air Balloon Festival, it just might not be possible. We may have to wait until September to go. I do want to go while it's still hot out. I was getting some info on the Hot Air Balloon Festival and it sounds like the Beast may even want to take some pictures of the balloons at night. It seems they have them all illuminated and it's spectacular. I sure hope so. He's going to make me crazy until he gets enough *SI's* (significant images) to play with on his computer. He's absolutely enthralled with his new program and he's not even done exploring it all. To think it's just a kind of add-on to his Photo Shop program. Sheesh.

The Beast told me he's paid in $50 or some such thing ahead of time for the new Windows 7 program that will be released (or at least that's when they will ship it to him) in December. I found a spot that lets you download the program...it's basically the Post-beta version...for free and it's good until March of next year or something. I will have to finish reading it all but I was thinking about downloading it and checking it out. I will have to back up my hard drive, however, in case I have problems or just don't like it. So far, the reviews on it from the Beta testers are good but the proof is in the pudding. My problem is Hughesnet. They limit the amount of downloads you can do in a 24 hour period. I should say a 22 hour period because, if you want to get up at 3am, you can have unlimited downloads during that two hour period. Yeah, right!

Of course, I am usually up close enough to that time to actually start the download. It's 2.3gb so it's no small one. If I decide to do it, I will report on it.

Got a phone call from Buttmunch this morning (or it may have been yesterday, forgive me for not reporting on it but when you feel like hell...well, you know...). It seems she woke up to Mother Nature rearing her ugly head and she was out of Tampax. Circle offered to go to Cheapmart to pick up some tampons for her and she was tempted but she said he never gets her the right thing. So, she got dressed (even put a bra on) and headed over there without even combing her hair. She was NOT in a good mood. I can almost envision her with her wild hair on her head, stomping down the aisle with a *don't F**K with me* look on her face. Of course, anyone who saw her holding a box of tampons would be sure to get the hell out of her way. She told me, *Thank God for self-checkout* so she didn't have to talk to anyone. I still laugh when I think about it.

It was brutally hot here today and we have more of it on it's way here. No relief in sight for at least a week. I should get my butt out in the sun because it would help this cold but it was about all I could do to steel myself for the trip to Cheapmart. I sure hope you don't have this heat. They are talking about us possibly breaking 100 and that's very hot for us. Heck, that's hot for anyone. At least we shouldn't have high humidity.

The Beast gave up the fight and went to bed early tonight. He still feels like hell (and looks it). I hope he feels better tomorrow. I think Baron has had all the inactivity he can stand. I just hope that he might be able to take him for a run along the lake. There's a nice park there and a ranger that owns a doberman so he lets the Beast run the dog without a leash. Baron, thankfully, although still a pup for a doberman, is still friendly and has gotten over his jumping up in excitement when he meets new people. At his size, that can be scary to a lot of people.

Time to get this posted. Love you all and hope you have the weather you want to enjoy (or the weather you need). Stay healthy and get a flu shot when they are ready. I know I am. I'm not going through THIS again, tyvm! I didn't get one last year. That'll learn me.... Most all the drug stores will have those available (look for dates and times) and for very reasonable prices. A lot more reasonable than what the doctors offices charge unless you don't mind paying him way more than the street price.

The thought for today is: The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; after all, you can't go on successfully in life until you let go of your past mistakes, failures and heartaches.

I am up, I have eaten, albeit gingerly. Had some soup, crackers and a little later some toast. I made it out to the garage and stocked up the water in the fridge. Drank some V8 even before the soup because I figured I could use the vitamins and minerals in it. I tried to get the Beast to drink some but he didn't even get down half of the can. It's not the small ones either.

I have been nicer to him than he is to me when I am as sick as I was yesterday. If I hadn't managed to get up to go to the bathroom, I probably would have died of dehydration. If I had any idea that the head cold was going to turn into THIS, I swear I would have stocked stuff up by my bedside. I don't think that the Beast really considered a *cold* that serious until HE started on the hacking and coughing today. It's always different when it's THEM, isn't it?

The Beast keeps saying he's got the *flu* but I never thought it included coughing and hacking. It just sounds more serious, doesn't it? Shit, I thought I had pneumonia yesterday with all that I was hacking up. I remember my mother saying that it was GOOD to cough up the phlegm and get it out of your body so it was that much less for your body to fight. Maybe that is why I feel better today. Of course, I also believe in rest and rest I did. At least the headache is gone but I think that was really from my blood pressure. I'm sure it was high for me. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears after a coughing bout.

I'm still drinking water like crazy but I'm sure I'm still dehydrated. I have no idea how long I will have to go through this but I do know the signs to look for that will tell me I am hydrated again. That's one of the problems with being diabetic.

The Beast was so sick today that he actually neglected his best friend. I know! Poor Baron came into my computer room and was so hungry, he licked my spoon that I used for eating my yogurt and then went for the inside of the yogurt container. Now, I know he loves yogurt but....I figured that he was just trying to tell me that he was hungry. Sure enough, even his dish was empty of the dry dog food. I yelled at the Beast for not thinking about Baron, especially since Baron has stayed by his side, calmly and quietly, sensing the Beast doesn't feel well.

So, I prepared his food..the canned dog food (and it had BETTER be good because it was pricey as hell), plus I added veggies and some chicken. He ate it like he was starving and then wanted some dry food. He probably would have eaten another can plus veggies but there is no way in hell that I am going to use up that dog food more than once a day. One can cost almost $3. Come on folks...dog food????

The Princess called me today to make sure that I was still alive and hadn't left for Mobile without telling her. She couldn't believe I would do that because I know that she would worry. She was sweet enough to ask me if I wanted her to bring me some lunch but, at the time, I figured soup would pretty much be it for me. Besides, she was working. I just thought it was sweet of her.

I did manage to get dressed because someone had to bring in the garbage can from the end of the driveway. I cleaned out my garbage can in here (it's a 13 gal. size). I have been trying to clean up and straighten up this room in preparation for it being painted but....I don't think that's on the agenda any time soon. If we are lucky, we will get to the hot air balloon festival in Centralia at the end of the month. I know that *I* am not going unless I feel better. However, if I do go, I may meet up with an online friend that I have been playing games with on Pogo for almost a year now. We will try to meet up at the festival grounds. That may or may not be possible depending on how popular it is locally.

Well, I need to get my butt to bed now so you all have a great day. I'm just going to try to get better as quickly as I can. I hate this feeling of not being able to do my normal routine things. I love you all and wish you good health (for obvious reasons).

My thought for the day is this: Guard your health. It's one of the most precious things you can have. See your doctor regularly and tell him/her of any problems you are experiencing, if any. And, if you are older, make sure that you have someone that checks on you regularly. You just never know if you might need a hand getting to the hospital or even something as simple as some water closeby you while you suffer through a dumb cold.

It started out just being a slight head cold. I know where it came from...Chewlee gave it to me. I just wish I had her immune system to deal with it. When I woke up, I knew I was in trouble. It had traveled to my chest. My nose was so full, I have used up almost a whole box of kleenex. All I wanted to do was stay in bed, curled into a little ball because the coughing and hacking was really straining my muscles in my chest and abdomen. All I did was cough, hack, blow and drink water. I spent almost the whole day in bed.

I DID make an attempt to move around. I got up and turned on my computer and then ended up in my recliner and stayed there. If you tried to IM me and I didn't respond, it was because I couldn't. The Beast helped me into bed later and turned off the computer. And that was my day.

Today I am a bit better. Not good yet, but better. This will be short because of that fact. I just wanted you to know that I am alive, although not well.

Say a prayer for me.

For those of you who don't understand the word *unbusy*, it means I didn't do a damn thing all day long. I kid you not. I didn't get dressed, I didn't cook, I didn't clean, I didn't do anything. Isn't that great? I don't have many days that I spend like that but today was overcast and rainy for the fourth day in a row and I find that totally unacceptable. It is now after 5 pm and the sun has finally shown itself and the sky looks like it is clearing. If it lasts and tomorrow is a better day, I might actually DO something.

Today Bratfink brought up Polterghosts in her blog. I think I covered the cigarette case thing because the return of the missing case was totally freaky. I left my room and when I came back in, it was sitting on my desk. The Beast had nothing to do with it since he was playing Hearts on Pogo at his computer in our bedroom at the time. With the new wood flooring in the house, there is no way he could have run into my room, throw it down and get back by his computer in the time it took me to fill my coffee cup. Hell, he can't RUN period!

It's not like the first time a Polterghost has come into my life. I've had several experiences with them in my lifetime including one time when I was about 12 and was staying overnight at a family friends house. If you have never been asleep in a house and then suddenly heard and seen dishes, pot and pans, pictures, etc. flying all over a room, you just haven't lived. Woke everyone up (of course) and it wasn't long before we were all gone out of there and my dad came to get me. I, personally, was fascinated.

My son called me and was really pissed off at me because I intimated that he had taken credit for finding the Kidlet when he shouldn't have. I will tell you the truth. I may be seriously mistaken on that because I believe pretty much everyone was searching for her online at the time. I didn't have MySpace at the time (although I do since we found her) I truly thought it was the Princess since she showed me the website and we tried to figure out if it was her in the picture posted (it was not a great picture obviously). However, my son insists that he found her, emailed her and called ME to tell me about it. Whoever it was that found her, I am just glad she is found. I certainly never meant to steal his thunder, trust me. And to our relatives that read my blog, please forgive me for misleading you on Markus's character. He doesn't take credit when it's not due.

Well, that phone call sure put an otherwise dull day into a different dimension. I am still very rattled over how angry my son was over it. He was also pissed that I gave credit to the Princess who (these are HIS words) *is PERFECT*. I had no idea that he felt that way...I mean he said it in a not nice way. He seems to forget that I went two years without talking to her and it was NOT because she was PERFECT. In fact, if anything, it proved just how NOT PERFECT she was. I just hope all this crap is over now with my correction and that my son knows I did NOT mean to impugn his reputation by implying he took credit with his sister for something he didn't do (in my old, decrepit and obviously Alzheimer's-tainted brain).

A friend of mine said we are actually suffering from Half-heimer's since we don't have the problem *all* the time. I thought that was kind of a cute way of looking at those brain farts of ours that we suffer from at times. I find that I DO confuse some things because they aren't all that important to me these days when I initially hear them or even experience them. I remember the results more than the individual steps. I can't help it. It's just the way I am. I stopped analyzing a lot of things like I did when I was younger. I'm usually a lot happier than I was back then. It's really too easy to misread just why people react the way they do to things or what they are *trying* to say or how they *really* feel. If you can't actually read people's minds, don't analyze. Nine out of ten times, you will be totally wrong and then it's embarrassing or you've made a bad decision based on faulty reasoning. But that's just my way of thinking from long experience.

I think it's time to bring this blog to an end for the day. I'm going to pour myself a drink and try to get my nerves under control. Love you all. I wish you nothing but peaceful, sunny days and lots of love and laughter in your life. Sending hugs your way.

Here's the thought for the day: There's nothing wrong with anger, in appropriate situations and in limited amounts, experts say. But chronic anger not only affects our relationships with others, it can harm our bodies, leading to heart disease, diabetes, and other health problems. ...

Smile often. Eventually your mood may catch up with your face....LOL

Today the Beast and I are married 45 years. We have known each other since January, 1960. We got married August 1, 1964. How we have managed to stay married and not kill each other is a story all unto itself. Let us say this much. I am of the generation that was taught from early childhood that marriage was forever. Add the fact that I was raised Catholic and you have an explanation right there. I was indoctrinated early and those things you are taught early in life are tough to set aside.

I'm not saying I couldn't have. Lord knows my sisters didn't put up with that shit from their husbands. But I guess that is as much a part of my personality as anything. It probably explains a lot of things that puzzle my sisters and brothers about me. I forgive much for the sake of family and peace. It wasn't the smartest thing I ever did in my life since I really SHOULD have left the Beast long ago. It probably would have been the best thing I did for my kids. He was NOT a nice person to live with when he was young. Now he is mainly a headache but the strokes had a LOT to do with taking away that aspect of his personality. He had to work very hard to regain his ability to walk and drive and a lot of things people take for granted. But lately he shows his other side. Those are the times that I WILL bring it up to him that you don't HAVE to be a shithead all the time. That you can actually say things like, *I wish you wouldn't do this.....* or *Do you have to......?* or even a mild *I really wish you wouldn't do .......* That seems to escape him for some reason. It is a wonder he hasn't given himself another stroke. All I can do is hope. Oh, and he doesn't show that side to ME. It's mostly to the Princess. But she, at least, can shrug it off a lot easier than I could when *I* was younger. It was when I was still very much in love with the jerk.

Someone asked me, *Are you together because you are still in love or is it for the convenience of it? You know...money, property and such?* It kind of took me back a bit. I had to stop and think about it. AM I still in love with him? IS it for the convenience? I really hadn't thought about it in quite that way. But there IS still a part of me that loves him with all his faults. We have reached the hallway sex stage in our lives () but life is much easier and more comfortable for us both. I mean WITH each other. We know all our faults and how to deal with them. He's a much better companion now than he was when he was younger. He no longer tries to force me to feel the same way about everything that HE feels. He once actually thought he could. I know! I told him more than once that I was a person before I met him and I was still a person, with my OWN personality, after I met him. Sheesh...and they say that it's WOMEN that try that kind of stuff with men. *rolling my eyes here*

So we wished each other a Happy Anniversary this morning with a kiss and a hug and sat down outside to have our coffee and watch the hummingbirds. Another exciting day at Brat Farm.

The Princess dropped off Chewlee before work and told us the day care center was complaining to her about Chewlee. I guess she takes NO CRAP and threw a boy down to the floor and cracked his lip. They were afraid he might need stitches but they just butterflyed it. It's been many years since any doctor or emergency room has stitched a cut lip...sheesh. But the Princess told them, *You mean to tell me that you can't handle a two-year-old?* They said they MIGHT have to start calling her to come pick up Chewlee and the Princess told them, *Well, when you start doing that, I will start looking for another day care.* They KNOW she is a single mother with no one to watch Chewlee (that they know of) and she must work so what is their point? I've seen some really AWFUL kids at day cares and they seem to manage them. I KNOW that Chewlee loves to play with kids but she will NOT be picked on. She clenches her fists and lets them know it. Personally, I would rather see that than have some passive kid that cries all the time. They admit she isn't a bully so they really should be watching to see what the other kid or kids are doing that provoke that behavior from her. At least, to my way of thinking. I think the boy she threw to the ground was the same one that was biting her when she first started day care. And day care never seemed to notice THAT. It was the Princess who found the bites when she went to bathe the baby. They were NOT love bites either. I am surprised that they didn't actually take meat out of her. I kid you not.

We had a nice day here. We played patty cake, which she loves and could do it for hours if I could stand it but she IS learning the words finally and will say them with me. We sat and looked at catalogs. They fascinate her for some reason and she will sometimes ask what different things are. Some she recognizes and will tell me that *Mommy has*. She actually saw a piece of camera equipment and knew that *Papa has!* She makes me laugh when she does that.

The Beast took a couple pictures of her even though the lighting wasn't good outside. The storm that hit us was moving in but they really ARE cute. I will share one with you.

That's my girl!!

Okay...time to get this posted and ready for your perusal. Love you all and I hope your day is wonderful. If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours. Peace!

Buttmunch called me tonight and we talked about her daughter...the long lost one that we discovered a couple months before Christmas. I'm not going to go into all the details here but suffice it to say the daughter was left with the asshole father that had originally *kidnapped* her when he moved and didn't honor the temporary custody agreement. However, the Kidlet has a life where she is, friends and her school so it seems wiser not to totally disrupt her life.

The thing is the Kidlet was thrilled to find her mother. The sperm donor tried to say that the mother wasn't interested in seeing her, hadn't wanted her to begin with (and I know for certain that it was said because of a conversation I had with her once shortly after she *disappeared*). She has called her mother every night since finding her. We had her here for Christmas after some negotiating with the sperm donor and assurances that we would return her. It was a bit awkward at first because she was just overwhelmed by relatives. My sons, her mother, all her cousins plus a second cousin and HER family (Tara).

I laughed when Buttmunch told me that she was keeping notes about her daughter's friends and other things she talked about so she could keep track of everything and know who/what/where she was discussing when talking. My son ended up buying her a cell phone on his account so that the sperm donor couldn't interfere with her communicating with us all. Buttmunch even found a way to supply her daughter with some spending money that wouldn't benefit the *wiggler* I will call him from now on.

I tried to tell my daughter about Wiggler long ago. I KNEW his type. I grew up with his type of person. Losers all. But, of course, like all kids, they think they know better and refuse to step back and really LOOK at the person and their actions. *sigh* I even understood his appeal to her. The *bad boy* thing. He made things seem exciting. But, in the long run, they are just bad news and thus it was. When she finally left him, I applauded her for that. But she still had some lessons to learn along the way. I had hoped when she married Executive that he would be her stability but....who could have known that he would end up on high end drugs? She gave him a year to get off them but he thought she was kidding. When she finally left him, he was stunned. Did some really dumb things, too. He is STILL doing them and they are divorced now for two or three years. She never told us until she was getting ready to leave so I was stunned to find out about it. However, it really did kind of fit. I had wondered about a few things but put them out of my mind as pure fantasy. I always had an over-active imagination and figured I was misreading things. Goes to show you even Mom can be a bad judge of character.

Back to Kidlet. I know school starts soon for her and the students card that Buttmunch got for her will probably come in handy. Lord knows how much Wiggler cares about providing her with whatever supplies she needs AND clothes. Oh well. We shall see.

Buttmunch was telling me that her daughter once said something about *when she comes up to visit* and it took her aback because it hadn't crossed her mind that her daughter might actually be thinking that way. After all, she had no friends there. She said she felt bad because of the hesitation and that her daughter might think she didn't want her to visit. In reality, she never imagined it because Wiggler is a control freak and is certain that Buttmunch wouldn't send her back home. I had to laugh because I knew that Kidlet hasn't done much in the way of traveling. The idea of visiting her mother and a big city in another state would definitely appeal to her. There are things you can do...go to Six Flags, the zoo, a museum or two....her life has been so insulated, Buttmunch really SHOULD have anticipated Kidlet wanting to visit with her.

In reading Buttmunch's blog, I discovered that she thinks her brother found the Kidlet. In reality, the Princess did. *I* was the one that called him to tell him because I was so excited but still wasn't sure at the time so we agreed to contact her via her site on MySpace. I had no idea that he took credit for it. When I got her email back, she was crying because her grandmother had found her and contacted her and she thought this *crazy man* that had also contacted her was probably her uncle. I cried and cried with happiness and put her in contact with her mother then. It was a fantastic event for all of us, including my brothers and sisters.

Well, I am going to try to relax for a bit before heading for bed. Love you all. Have a wonderful day and remember to smile often. It's good for the facial muscles.