I CAN'T BELIEVE IT"S BEEN A YEAR! (Part 1)

So...on September 19, 2007, I got an e-mail from my friend Rose. I was staying with her 3 girls while she & her husband were in Ukraine for the last month, working on adopting a little 8-year old boy named Alex. (Their girls are teenagers & they had always wanted a boy.) Of course, while she was away, we kept in touch by e-mail & a few phone calls...talking about how their trip was going, how the girls were, on & on...This e-mail was different. She told me about the 16-hour train ride from Kiev to Stakhonov which is about 40 miles from the Russian border in southern Ukraine, seeing Alex again, then last sentence: "Just curious...do u have a current passport?" That was it. No reason for the question, just that. Hmmm...Being the curious type, of course I wondered why??? Funny thing, because of the new passport laws (even to cross from Arizona to Mexico) getting ready to start in January, I had just picked up application papers the day before to renew mine. So, of course I told her I was getting ready to send in renewal paperwork, "Why?" Within 10 minutes, I get her reply...blah, blah, blah (more trip stuff), then, "I was asking if u had a passport cuz was wondering if u were interested in an all expense paid trip 2 Ukraine." Ummm...wait a minute, gotta pick myself up off the floor, start breating again, re-screw in the screw in the bottom of my chair that came out when I fell on the floor, then continue reading. WOW!!! They had been over there for about a month & foreign adoption processes being what they are, things were going at the rapid pace of...
S L O W. Apparently, even though things were almost finalized, there's a 10-day waiting period before they can even begin the passport & visa application for Alex. Well, Rose's husband REALLY couldn't stay in Ukraine any longer...you know, bills to pay, job waiting, boring stuff like that. She didn't want to stay there alone--I wonder why?? So, they were going to come home & then she needed to go back to finish up & of course, bring Alex home, & didn't want to go alone, so would I go with her? My reply to her took a really long time (2.5 seconds to be exact). YES!!!!!! At times like this, it's wonderful to be single & kids out of the house (sorry Jodi & Tyler--you're on your own--Momma's got a life--sometimes). Again, she replies in about 5 minutes, "Ukraine a dive are u sure?" So, I took my time before replying so that I could really give this trip the thought it deserved--I didn't reply for at least 10 seconds, "YES I AM SURE!!! Don't care if it's a dive...what a GREAT experience!!!" (Can you tell I use lots of ...'s & !!!'s ?) By the way, these are direct quotes because I saved all the e-mails, of course. She shoots back another e-mail quickly (this is all taking place in the space of about 15 minutes), telling me that I need to check into getting an expedited passport & to find out the cost--she will pay all costs over & above the regular passport charges. More e-mails back & forth for the next 4 days while I check prices, airline travel dates for her, sending in the application, etc. Ok, gotta tell you, the passport cost to me: $125, additonal costs to her: $272.88 ($200 for the expedite through a VERY wonderful, helpful company http://www.urgentpassport.com/ which I would highly recommend, & another $72.88 for FedEx to ship overnight to them to handwalk through--24 hour turnaround to get the passport).

OH! Gotta change subjects for a sec...(there I go again with the ...) The life of a bi-polar, OCD, ADHD, etc. person is odd to say the least. I was watching my TiVo in the living room, got a phone call, paused TiVo, came in here to get on the computer to check something during the call, got another call while in the computer room, then started doing this post. 1 1/2 hours later, I stopped for a sec to go feed the cats & LOL!! the TiVo's STILL paused. ADHD strikes again.

Anyway, back to the story. (Trying not to use the ...'s) Meanwhile, their "facilitator" is trying to bribe people, which is very common over there, to waive the 10-day waiting period so they can bring Alex with them. Bribery didn't work, I release the breath I was holding because I was secretly wishing the bribery wouldn't work. Ok, I'm awful, but I WANTED to go & was excited now. So now, after all that, passport in hand, air travel scheduled (which you have to finalize & show proof of before you can apply for an expedited passport), packing started, and then we wait for October 8 to come.

To be continued...

FADS, OBSESSIONS, TIME-CONSUMING, WHATEVER...

As I've told you many, many times, I have OCD, so new fads or if you want to call them by their correct names, obsessions, are right up my alley. PLEASE DON'T tell me about new obsessions. (My family also begs you not to tell me.) I'll think they're dumb, then before you know it, I start getting involved with them to the point that I'm hooked!

My latest obsession...WEBKINZ
(Yes, I know my age so don't faint & all that garbage...I know Webkinz is for kids, but I'm NOT the only adult playing with them, so admit it...ok?). I am NOT going to tell you how many I have, but let's just say that each one has their own room (unlike Jodi who is miserly & makes them share rooms), they have 3 outdoor areas, a rec room, & kitchen...all FULLY loaded to the max. In addition, after spending many, many Kinz $$$'s, I still have over $36,000 (Kinz cash--don't I wish it was real??) & don't know what to buy next. My "Kinz" pets are spoiled.

So, now I've been thinking about other fads, obsessions, time-consuming waste of time inventions (in the future to be known as FOTCWOT). You probably won't remember some of these unless someone told you, you read about them in history books, or saw an old movie. Just bear with me, I'm going down memory lane. Maybe I should play that old song "Memories" by Barbara Streisand?? Ok, maybe not.

I know what my Dad's going to say, "Fads just didn't start when you were a teenager, you know?" and then I'm going to get this whole bu*tload of "informational" e-mail from him all about the history of different fads (come on Dad...it's just a joke--don't threaten AGAIN to stop e-mailing or blogging--ya know I'm teasing).

These are just some of the FOTCWOT's that I remember from the last 40 years or so. WOW, saying that I remember things from 40 years ago seems like it could be a lie since I can't remember things from this morning. Anyway, since I totally suck at doing slide shows, I'm going to try again--LOL! But first, I just had to explain this one:

(I had this EXACT Classic Barbie--outfit & all!! I couldn't believe I found this picture! My weenie dog Poochie bit one of her feet off so I got a new one.)

I know I didn't get them all, but what FOTCWOT's do you remember?

HAPPY MUSIC

(Turn up the sound if you dare OR click pause on my playlist below if you're at work & your co-workers would fly out of their seats when the music starts--oh yeah, it's probably already started by now, huh? LOL! Gotcha!)

The other day, I was driving down the freeway, just happier than can be, listening to a song that really gets my blood pumping, & if I wasn't so self-conscious, I'd be bouncing all over the place, "driving along in my automobile" (get it--it's a song--I guess you've got to be older). So, I got wondering, what song, when you're driving down the road all by yourself, "gets you going?" (Yeah, Moms...I know driving by yourself is an impossibility, but work with me here...) Anyway, ya know, singing out loud, etc., etc., etc. The song I was listening to was "Candyman" by Christina Aguilera. Oh, oh...I got another one!! Remember Jodi's blog about when we went to the Scrapbook party & we listened to "Party Like a Rock Star?" (That one's on my playlist now too. Yippee!) My Dad will probably say something like Roger Whitaker (oh man, ya REALLY gotta listen to that guy--NOT!), Willie Nelson, or Barbara Streisand. Need I go on? (Seriously, I've seen his CD's!) Yep, I realize I just ticked Dad off & he won't write a nice comment, oh well...

By the way, as if you REALLY care but this is my blog...I FINALLY had to take all the Pink Floyd off my iPod & will just have to stick to the CD's. Have you ever noticed that their songs all flow into the next one? VERY annoying when your setting is "Random" or "Shuffle" & listening to a cool song & it stops...just stops!!! My son Tyler had his iPod on "Shuffle" & was listening to Nine Inch Nails & then the next thing to come on was this book, "Jesus the Christ." Ummm...I don't think those two go well together.

HEY, BETSY!

Betsy, I thought of you when I saw this--LOL!

I'VE BEEN TAGGED...AGAIN!

Well, thank you Leah for tagging me again! I keep thinking there's nothing more to tell about myself that anyone would care to know. LOL! I'll try to come up with some more VERY interesting tidbits of non-important informative stuff that is time-consuming for the reader & truly informational information.

Here are the rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let the person know you tagged them on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when you've posted.

Let's see...

1. When I was about 12, & we lived in California at the time in a city called LaHabra (pretty close to Disneyland), up in the very beautiful hills. I rode a bus to & from school. One day, I wore a cute little jumper that I REALLY liked. Instead of regular straps going over the shoulders, decorative chains held the jumper up. Well, I got up to get off the bus, the chains had bunched up & loosened their hold on the buttons on both sides. Anyway, I stood up & there goes this REALLY cute jumper down to the floor leaving my underwear exposed for the whole world to see--including the boy that I had a crush on who was, of course, sitting right behind me, because I had worked it out that way--ya know how scheming we females can be. I burst into tears & Lorraine, the bus driver, yelled for the laughing bus load of kids to be quiet, calmly came back to help me, & asked my best friend to help me off the bus & get me home. Probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life! I never wore my favorite jumper again! Sob, hiccup. I need a nap to "forget." I'll be back in a while...

Ok, I'm back & have collected myself for more torture.

2. In 2001, I moved into a gated retirement community (this is Las Palmas Grand) after living in a really cute little house that I had bought just after getting divorced in 1997. The move was encouraged by my parents who were/are living in Southern Utah & wanted to move back to Arizona to be close to the kids & great grand kids. My parents were/are "getting on" in age (sorry Mom & Dad, but you have to face the facts--YOU ARE) & so we decided to purchase homes back to back so I could help them & they could help me. We put our homes up for sale, I sold mine & my parents, after trying for a while, couldn't get what they wanted out of theirs so they stopped trying. Too late for me! I was already committed, house was started, etc. If I backed out I would lose $5,000. (They did.) So, I moved into a 55 & older retirement community at age 44 (there's a Federal law that allows a percentage to be younger...). For quite a while, I was the youngest & got lots of dirty looks--too bad, so sad...I'm still younger than the required age. So there!

3. I took a disability retirement at the age of 45, after working for the "phone company" for about 24 years. I'm bi-polar (along with several other crappy things they've diagnosed), so I guess you could say that I'm certifiably "Goofy Grandma." I've been told by about 3 different Psychiatrists that I've been their toughest patient yet to treat. Normal bi-polar meds don't work on me--but, hey...I'm not normal so what did they expect? One day I'll tell you lots more. I have terrible bouts of spending, speeding, lots of different stuff in excess, & because I'm a "rapid cycler," can go into a depression (sometimes deep) pretty quick. Once I cycled twice in one day! Anyway, there you go--now you know how crazy I am.

4. As you already know, because I've probably told you many times before, I was run over by a tractor at the age of 5. I was very tiny so I didn't die. (I guess you figured that one out all by yourself, huh?) The dr. didn't charge my parents because when my Dad was in high school, he had saved the dr.'s son from drowning in a canal. I guess he figured he owed my Dad a favor. Too bad for Dad--LOL! I don't remember this, but my Mom told me I couldn't walk for 6 months. So, after being run over by the tractor, messing around with motorcycles, jeeps, snow skiing, & everything else that was on the dangerous side, I pretty much did a heck of a job to my neck & back. (I've had migraines most of my adult life, probably due to all of that.) I got put on steroids & pain meds off & on for years & gained lots of weight--oh NO, not telling you how much--not THAT dumb! (I also became addicted to those pain meds.) In 1995, I had what is known as an "Anterior Cervical Corpectomy," which really means that they took bone out of my hip, fused it into 3 of my cervical (neck) vertebrae, & connected a titanium plate with 6 screws into the whole setup. The surgeon who did it was one of the guys who developed the surgery--otherwise I would have had to wear one of those painful halos for 6 weeks. A year before my surgery, he did the same thing on the Queen of Saudi Arabia. At the time, the surgery was a big deal & about a 5 day hospital stay. Now, it's been refined enough to the point that it's outpatient.

Dang...2 more to go! What else???

5. Ok, back to being bi-polar/OCD/ADHD, etc...When I was still working, the big craze at the time was Beanie Babies. EVERYONE at work was buying them & saying what an "investment" they were because they would be able to sell them in a few years after that particular Beanie Baby was retired & make lots of bucks. Well, I thought it was stupid. Then, one day I walked into the store across the plaza where I worked & saw the cutest little bear! Just HAD to have it! You guessed it--Beanie Baby! Well, the overspending & excess kicked in BIG time! Remember, I thought it was a stupid thing to do AND I DIDN'T LIKE BEANIE BABIES!! I ended up buying well over $1,000 worth of the things! Of course, I never was able to sell them like all the "smart" people at work said we would do. I ended up donating all of them--way over 100--to Toys for Tots. At least I got the tax deduction for the donation. Big freaking whoopdie doo!

6. Part of my kitchen counter quickly & often becomes a "dumping" disaster. Jodi will attest to this. I walk in the house from, of course what else...spending...& DUMP the stuff on the counter where it stays for however long, until I decide I feel like putting it away or dumping it in the spare room or my very messy closet for later use. I AM NOT taking a picture of this one! You can just forget seeing that. Too bad for you, huh? Neener, neener, neener...use your imagination, but not very much, ok? Please?

Whew! I got 'er done! I'm supposed to tag & let those people know that they've been tagged. Well, here it goes: Shannon, because I'll bet you REALLY have some fun stuff to say; Kaci, because you're awesome & I want to learn more about you; KJ because I STILL want to know more & you're cool; Deb because I want to beat Jodi to you; Dad, because you STILL have lots to say; and last but not least...Mom, because Dad always blogs about stuff in his life, but we also want to know juicy details about you (Dad...come on...help her out here since she "doesn't do computer.)

ON BEING A MOMMY

Sometimes I do my best posts (the few I've done) while putting on my make-up in the morning, so by the time I get to the computer, it's totally evaporated from my brain.

Sometimes I think I became "Goofy Grandma" because of all the times I've kicked myself in the head over the many years of my life for all the lame, stupid things I've done as my kids were growing up. One being that I worked all their growing up years. I won't go into the reasons why I had to work, I just had to. I had to go back to work when Jodi was just 6 weeks old--oh, how I cried! Then, 5 years later, I was given the blessing of being home for the first year of Tyler's life, but then, back to work I went. Best year of being a Mommy! I was there for all the cool & not so cool things you do with a baby. I was there to send Jodi off to school & see her happily jump off the school bus coming home. But, then when I went to work, someone else got to be with them during the day. The pain I still feel in my heart because I wasn't there will never go away. (Oh, blubbering won't help me type this. Stop it!) One thing that I was so lucky to have was my Mom who took over caring for the kids some days. The kids still remember those times as being great & are very close to her.

What I'm trying to say is, a friend of Jodi's did an awesome post http://thecrittendenians.blogspot.com/2008/08/i-am-mother.html a little over a week ago (man I hope she doesn't kill me for giving that out!) that really got me thinking about all the things I read in your different blogs about your kids & the stresses & happiness of being a Mommy. For those of you who are blessed to stay home with your children, LOVE EVERY MOMENT you have. Good times & bad. Even when they are the biggest pains in your butt...You're not the "bad" Mommies you might think you are. After your kids have "flown the coop," your life will be VERY different. But then again, you might get to be a "Goofy Grandma," early retired, & able to hang out with them lots--maybe it makes up for some of the lost time.

Well, now that's out of the way, maybe I'll just delete this...or maybe I won't.

THE OFFENDING BB

This here's the famous offending BB mentioned in the aforementioned "Campin' Fun" post. As you can see, it looks like a green olive. No, I didn't sneak in a picture of a green olive to confuse you. I understand you're ever so much smarter than that. The BB is bright green with attached ear wax in all its glory!

Jodi didn't want to save this BB for posterity, but me, Goofy Grandma convinced her that I should save it for her so that when she does her scrapbook page about this trip, which she will do (probably already has done & won't tell me because she doesn't want the BB), it will be there for time & all eternity. (We disagree sometimes about what is VERY important for future reference.) I believe that Madison would LOVE to see this when she's looking through her multiple scrapbooks with her first boyfriend. However, Jodi finally saw the "light" & I agreed to keep it for safe-keeping until the page is completed.

So, this is what happened at the doctor's office the other day:

The appointment was for 11:30 a.m. When we walked in, there was a sign on the front desk saying the dr. was 50 min. behind!! OMG (gosh)! Jodi asked if we could keep our "place in line" & we'd take the girls to grab some lunch down the street. "Sure," the lady says. (By the way, doing a sit-down lunch with Olivia & Madison is a workout. I normally don't need to exercise for a week afterwards. (Oh, wait a minute...I don't exercise anyway.) We took our time. Came back...no dr. yet. Waiting...still no dr. Waiting some more...still no dr. We didn't see the dr. till about 1:00!! Apparently, the other doctors, knowing that it was going to be busy the day after a holiday, all took the day off except for this guy & 2 nurse practitioners! They're not dummies.

Ok...so the whole time we're waiting for the dr., Maddie's all freaked out, crying that she doesn't want to get the BB out. I'm explaining the finer points in life, like the irrefutable fact that the BB WILL cause that ear to become deformed (& I showed her what it would look like--I make-believed it would look like a wadded up kleenex). She agreed--at first--that the BB should come out, then changed her mind & decided the wadded up kleenex would be ok. The dr. comes in & she starts to freak out again, poor kid. Didn't help that we had to wait FOREVER! He talks to us, asks the required questions, talks to her, looks for the appropriate sized crochet hook (seriously) & proceeds to dig away amid weeping, wailing, & gnashing of teeth (oh, yeah, almost forgot...SCREAMING!!!!!!!!) POOR MADDIE!! We felt so bad for her. The dr. STILL couldn't get it out. He told us that he'd probably have to refer her to an ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat dr.) because he didn't want to hurt her anymore. BUT, he decided to try one more time...PRESTO! Out came the BB.

When Madison was little & got one of her immunizations, she thanked the nurse (again...seriously!). She didn't thank the dr. She got 2 stickers & Olivia got 1. To celebrate the removal & also to cheer Maddie up, we went to the only place that would be appropriate: (Don't they look like the BB?)