Daily Ponderings

It's hard to believe that a week ago, I was in Horseheads! I don't know where the week went, but it flew. Anyhow, here's one of the things I did while I was there! My grandma had bought tickets to see the play, 42nd Street . It had been a while since I've even been to a play, and I hadn't seen that one. I had heard about it, but wasn't exactly sure what the storyline was about. So I was excited to go because my grandma doesn't always have an opportunity to bring her grandkids to something like this (she has over 25 grandkids, and several great-grandkids!), and I was going to see a play I hadn't seen before! Saturday morning rolls around, and grandma announces she's got a sore throat that is not going away. So she is not sure about going to the play. However, she does decide to go to an outdoor festival thing going on in downtown Elmira (coincidentally across the street from where we'd be seeing the play). When we got back home, she definit...

I realized I haven't written since my birthday, and then I also realized that I went away last Friday, and came back yesterday. lol I know I was busy the week before my trip, too, so that's another reason I haven't written in a while. Anyway, I went to my grandma's house in a little town called Horseheads, NY. It's right near Elmira, and it's a quiet area for the most part. It's about a 3 hour drive from my house, and usually very beautiful the closer we get there. The trip was very nice. I saw family that I haven't seen in quite some time, and it was so great seeing them! The one thing I took home from the trip: my grandma's sore throat. Grrr! So now I'm sick, and slowly (ever so slowly) am I getting better. It's so annoying not to be able to take a decongestant, or else I'd have this dumb cold gone by now! Ugh!! Anyhow, I plan on writing more about my trip, but right now, I need to get some sleep. Hopefully I'll be able ...

Today is my 30th birthday! Some of you may think, "OMG, she's gone mad!! Celebrating being 30?? Oh my!" Well, I think of it as quite the opposite! I think of it as 30 years that I might not have had, considering my health conditions, and that my parents were told I might not live past the age of one. So, I thank the Good Lord for another year, and I pray that I might have 30 more!! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!! I'm having a party at my parents' house tonight with a bunch of family and friends. I'm looking forward to it, because they all mean so much to me. More than I can explain in words. I think they are a reason I'm still here after 30 years, because they show me such love and support when I'm going through tough times. I love them all, and I thank them also for giving me such happiness! Ok, before I get too mushy, I'm off to rest a bit before getting changed and going to my parents'. I hope you all have a great day! :) Written by melonlady...

Being part of a support group is wonderful. You slowly start to feel like the other members are family, for the most part. They are people who really can sympathize with you, because they know exactly how you feel and your emotions since they also deal with the same thing. For over 2 years now, almost 3, I have belonged to PHA , and I read the message boards at least twice, sometimes 3 times a day. I've also participated in weekend chats, and chats on Wednesday nights. I've gotten to know many people, and I care about them all. We all support each other when we're down, or even when we have good news. We welcome the newcomers with open arms. It's wonderful to feel like part of a group who truly cares about each other. And I'm not even sure if I"ll meet any of these people because we are all over the country, all over the world. With this all being said, we have lost a member of our "family." A wonderful woman who had PH so long, has died from it. ...

I am rather irritated. Because of my health, I haven't worked in about 5 years. Since I haven't worked in that long, I usually have no reason to get up very early in the morning anymore. Once in a blue moon, but not all that often. Today I awoke to the lovely sound of 2 shitzu's scream barking at the top of their little shitzu lungs. Mind you, their wonderful pal, the golden lab, decided to also join in the ruckus. It was still dark outside when this occurred!! It could have been the middle of the night for all I knew, but according to my watch after I activated Indiglo, it was 6am!!! 6am people!! I do NOT get up at this hour!! After contemplating two very tempting options (one being yelling a obscenities out the window, the other one involving hurling a heavy object out the window), I decided on the third option of turning over and trying to go back to sleep. Somehow, I managed to drift back off into Lala Land. Only to be awoken about an hour later by a very loud sou...

Today was the first day of school in my area. I heard the buses driving around this morning, a sound I need to get used to again. So all the kids are back in school! I felt bad only for the little ones starting their first year in preschool and/or kindergarten. Not only were some of them most likely afraid of leaving their parents, but we had a huge thunder and lightning storm this morning as well! I did NOT envy those poor teachers who might have had to deal with both issues!! lol Written by melonlady1724 . Link to this entry This entry has 1 comments: ( Add your own ) Wow! Our schools started here on August 15. The school where my sister teaches in Florida started on August 5. That is way too early. Lori Comment from helmswondermom - 9/10/05 8:04 PM

I haven't been writing too much lately. Mostly, I haven't had too much to say. Shocking!! The past couple of days, I have been feeling miserable. And I almost wish I had a real cold, but it's allergies. After almost 30 years of not having any allergies, the past couple of years I've started to slowly develop them. This summer, whenever it's been cooler, my allergies have been driving me nuts. I'm exhausted, and I can't breathe!! This is bad, considering I already have a lung problem!! The oxygen doesn't help any with that either. I was given a generic Claritin prescription that I can only take once a day. I was only taking it on days that I felt lowsy, but my doctor's nurse told me to try taking it once a day, so it's in my system. So, I'm going to try that for a week, and hopefully it'll make some sort of difference. If not, I'm about ready to try my sister's vacuum idea. LOL I haven't made jewelry in a while, but I thi...

This week has shown that, as much as the US can help assist other countries when they have some sort of disaster strike, it can't help it's own people. The federal government has showed such a poor display of helping the citizens down in the Gulf coast. Regular citizens have responded overwhelmingly, though. They have reached out more help than the government has!! In my neck of the woods, there was a collection of supplies and donations this morning. The radio station sponsoring it only meant to fill 2 semi-trucks with goods. Instead, they filled TEN TRUCKS!!! Ten trucks of food and supplies for the people who have been devastated by the storm. They also raised over half a million dollars! These are ordinary citizens with huge hearts, willing to give their time and money to help people they don't even know. And where has the government been? Why did it take almost 4 days for Bush to finally tour the area and start talking to the people? I laughed at how they said he didn...

A while back, I had written about Vincent , the Fed Ex guy who used to deliver my medicine once a month for over a year. The last time he delivered to my house, he introduced himself officially, and told me that he thinks about me and prays for me often. I thought it was very touching! In the past few months, I have thought about Vincent, and often look to see if it's him driving when a Fed Ex truck passes by. Today, my doorbell rang. I had been expecting my medicine to come at some point today. When I got to the door and opened it, the driver had gone back into his truck, and I realized.....it was Vincent!!! Before he took off, he looked back at the house and saw me in the doorway. He waved at me so hard that I thought he was going to fall out of his seat!! It was so nice to see him, and I can't tell you how much it made my day! I almost wished he had come back out of the truck to chat for a minute, but he's the Fed Ex guy. Not much time for dilly-dallying!! I hop...

It's hard to believe that around here, the last official week of summer is this week. Schools will start up again next week after Labor Day, even though there are some schools around the country that have been in session for almost 2 or 3 weeks now. I find it amazing that, after not working in any sort of school for 5 years now, I'm still running on "school time." I think it'll always be that way for me. I always seem to think in school calendar year, rather than just a regular old year. Maybe it's because I have so many friends who are teachers. And I don't get to talk to many of them during the day because they are working. Whatever it is, all I know is that school is starting, and the summer is ending!! And I have to say, this summer was one of the best for me, temperature-wise! I loved the heat, even when it got to be a little oppressive at times. I suppose you can guess how I feel about fall and the upcoming winter season: NOT A HAPPY CAMPER!! Last...

Out of the many pictures I have taken since Hailey was born, this is one of my favoritest ones!! Mandy definitely has a daughter that looks just like her!! Written by melonlady1724 . Link to this entry This entry has 1 comments: ( Add your own ) Hailey is absolutely gorgeous!! I do think she looks a little like her auntie too. :) Thanks for sharing her picture. *HUGS* Comment from anglswinks - 8/29/05 1:10 AM

I made these cookie bar things the other night for girls' night. They were soooo good!! I was happy that my friend, Dee, could eat them. She is allergic to eggs, and there are no eggs required! So I just thought I'd share! Chocolate Chip Caramel Bars Prep: 10 min Bake: 25 min 1/2c plus 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, divided 1/4c packed brown sugar 1/8tsp baking soda 1/8tsp salt 1/4c cold butter 16 caramels 1 tbsp 2% milk 1/4c semisweet chocolate chips In a small bowl, combine 1/2c flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Reserve 1/2c for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture into an 8-in. x 4-in. x 2-in. loaf pan coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until set. In a saucepan or microwave-safe bowl, melt caramels with the milk. Stir in the remaining flour until smooth. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture and chocolate chips. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until topping is ...

Last night was girls' night, and we went to my friend, Renee's, house. It was quite fun! We joked, we laughed, we gossiped, and we even drank a little. I had a good time! I brought all my jewelry sets because Renee said she'd take some pictures for me on her digital camera. Since we are both sort of perfectionists, we wanted the pics to come out very well. And if that meant 5 pics of one item, well, then that's what it meant! So anyway, the above are some pictures of what I have made. This is not even close to everything I have. I am hoping to have a website of some sort go up soon, as soon as my sister, Mandy, helps me figure out how to put everything on! I have done a very basic website, but nothing complex! Mandy would be the expert to go to! Anyhow, if the pics are blurry, it's NOT how they really look on my computer. I learned something new today while trying to put some of the sets on Ebay . I tried the rainbow set first, and after filling everything...

My home phone rang today, so silly me decides to answer it instead of letting the machine pick up. The only people who have my number are my mom and my sister, Mandy. I had just gotten off the phone with Mandy when I got the call. I answer, "hello?" The guy says, "hello?" I say hello again, and he says it again. Thinking to myself that I don't have time for games, I say, "who is this?" He says, "Who is this?" I hang up. I go back to what I was doing, and the phone rings again. This time I let the machine get it. The guy had called back, and left a message. "Hey sexy, just wanted to say hi. Talk to you soon." *SIGH* I sure hope Darlene was sexy. I know the guy got the wrong number. Not saying I'm not sexy, but he has no idea. Whatever!! Written by melonlady1724 . Link to this entry This entry has 1 comments: ( Add your own ) Hmm...a wrong number, and a possible date...Comment from luvmort - 8/18/05 1:46 PM

I just got back from going down to Lewiston to Marlene's shop. I was getting my jewelry back that I hadn't sold at the art festival. I was also going to ask for my other sets in her shop, saying I had a friend with a digital camera who was letting me borrow it so I could take pics of my items. While this is true, it is not true. Yes, I was gonna lie. But, I didn't have to bother, because she just put everything in the bag that I had given her. Well, that's that then! I won't have to deal with her anymore, unless I decide to try making a few sets that are in her shop that she says sell really well. However, I don't think I'll bother! Glad this deal is over, I'll find some way to sell my own jewelry! Written by melonlady1724 . Link to this entry This entry has 2 comments: ( Add your own ) You don't need her anyway. Check out mall shows in your area, and sell your beautiful jewelry there. Who knows, you meet nice people, sell jewelry, and just maybe so...

Quite a while ago, I posted an entry about PH, and a big decision I had to make at some point. For a refresher, here is the post. I have finally made a decision, after months of business and trying to get more information. I have decided to become a support group leader!!! And it became official yesterday! It's going to be called Buffalo Niagara Falls PHA Support Group. I know, not that fancy, but it gets to the point!! I'd like my first meeting to be mid-October. So I need to call around to make arrangements of all sorts. Meeting place, refreshments, handouts, etc, etc. I'm grateful that the invitations are taken care of by the PHA and by Accredo Pharmaceuticals . That is at least one thing I don't have to worry about!! I do hope there will be a great turnout, if the word is spread soon enough. I'm just happy with the decision I finally made. I believe I need this, and so do a lot of other fellow PHers in my area. This could be a good thing!! Written by m...

Well, I found out today that I didn't sell anything at the art festival this past weekend. Not one thing. That's how Marlene put it when I called her. And she sounded a little snide about it. Which makes my decision of just taking ALL my jewelry out of her shop all the more easier. I've decided to do that, since she makes me feel belittled with the items I am making. I don't need that crap, and I'm not going to put up with it. Besides the fact that I didn't sell anything, the art festival was nice. I walked around with my mom on Saturday afternoon, which was a good thing, since Sunday was almost a washout for the day. We saw a lot of very nice things, all pricey, of course. There were a few art pieces I would have liked to have, but I never could afford them! I had a nice day with my mom, though! Today after bloodwork, I spent some time with Mandy and Hailey. It was such a nice afternoon! I really miss my sister, it's been hard adjusting to the fact tha...

I called Marlene today to ask about when I can drop off my jewelry that I'm supposed to try selling this weekend at the Lewiston Art Festival . She told me I could drop it off today, so I did just that. I told her I had the necklace sets in separate bags, a sign for the jewelry, and a list of items I made that were numbered and that match the tags on the sets so she could mark the number off if something was sold. She said, "Geesh, you're efficient!" I can't help it, that's how I am! It's part teacher, part Virgo characteristics. lol Anyway, I have to admit that I feel a bit nervous. I told my mom on the way home that I felt naked, since I had given Marlene ALL of my jewelry. I almost feel protective of it, and almost wish I could be there all day tomorrow and Sunday to make sure nothing happens to it (or to make sure it gets sold!). Seems like it's going to be a long weekend for me, waiting to see if anything good happens! I seriously doubt I...

I've been feeling a little blah lately, and it could be for a few reasons. Mind you, this isn't feeling sick blah. This is an emotional blahness. I go through it once in a while, but this time, I just decided to write about it. I hope my blahness doesn't spread. I could be blah because it's the umpteenth day of heat and humidity, and it is making everyone go crazy. Although, I have to admit I'm not really complaining too much. In the middle of winter, I'll be dreaming of days like this. I'm NOT a cold winter person. It's probably the reason why I enjoy a fan on me in this heat rather than the air conditioning. I just freeze! I could be blah because there is no one living upstairs from me right now. I miss my sister, and I miss my little niece. Yes, I've seen them plenty of times since they moved, but there's a quiet in the house that is there if I'm not playing my music or watching tv. There's no dog running amok, no sound of footsteps,...

I have started volunteering as an English tutor for a new website designed to help students with homework and studies. The site is FREE, and open to all students, from Kindergarten to even college. If you know anyone who needs homework help, or has a child who might need the extra help, please let them know about this site! It is great, and the people volunteering their time to work with students are a wonderful bunch! PATH: Pupils Ask, Teachers Help Written by melonlady1724 . Link to this entry This entry has 2 comments: ( Add your own ) Hey that's pretty cool! ~ Lori Comment from fitzzer - 8/9/05 1:31 PM I will send this to my mother, the teacher! Comment from luvmort - 8/9/05 12:22 PM