i am breathing again

I'll be joining Jr and his friend on the trip after all.

And we're taking some little girl cousins who will be soooo excited to see their girl cousins.

ROAD TRIP!!!  I seriously love me some road trip.

i am awake

It is late, almost late enough to be early.  And I cannot sleep.  Thoughts large and small consume my mind and push sleep away.

It is nearing the time when I think often of a family I don't know who gave a gift that restored health and life.

Jr is headed to California in a few hours with a friend, but not with me, and I can hardly breathe, knowing I'm missing out on time spent with the Californians.

My black eye?  Nearly gone.  My not-a-stye red bump?  Still here.

And the news.  The constant blahblahblah that passes as reporting.  I've been thinking lately that anyone who comments on the news, rather than simply reporting events, should be banned.  First offense = one month out of the news office.  Second offense = three months out of the office.  Third offense = three strikes, you're out for life.  Go get a different job.

And this:

This is how I feel about politics right now.  

Now, perhaps, because I have cleverly emptied my mind on the internet, maybe now I will be able to sleep.

how long does it take?

For a black eye to go away?

These shots don't really do it justice.

But they do show how hard it is to take a picture of my eye...

it's my birthday

And now I know the true purpose of Facebook.

remember when you were a kid

Remember when a fever lasted three days at most and then you'd start feeling better?

Remember when a cold lasted 14 days or two weeks and then you'd be feeling better?

Remember when a few doses of that pink bubblegum flavored medicine made you feel better?


What is going on?  You get older and your ailments take a year or two to recover from, unless you agree to some tortuous treatment. 

Shoulder manipulation seemed cruel enough last year.  Recuperation took months.

And now, now that little stye?

Not a stye at all.  Blocked oil gland.  Did you know you have oil glands around your eyelids?  Their purpose is to keep small amounts of oil in your eyes in order to keep your tears from evaporating too quickly.

So those red, dry, itchy eyes?  Blocked oil glands, which, if you are really lucky will become chalazions.

And the treatment for chalazions?  A year of hot moist washcloths on your eyes three times a day for a year or more will cause them to shrink and eventually go away.

Or you can do the quicker and way more fun thing:  injections in your eyelid.  Today and then again in a month just to be sure.

Really nice doctor.  I asked him if the injections would hurt.  He said just a little poke, they give them to children.  Seriously?  Big ole' manipulator, that's what he was.

He didn't feel a thing.  I did.  And because I'm such a delicate flower, I also got a black eye.

Boo.  Hoo.  for me.  Right?

score

Sometimes, if you get really lucky, you will totally score at a yard sail. You might find a deal on something that somebody doesn't want anymore because her ex-husband had to have it and it just isn't her style.
Thirty bucks (that's $30) for a like-new custom made recliner from the Lazyboy factory in LA. 
So great, right?

have you ever seen a real sailor?

Walking through the airport when I got home the other night I passed three sailors.  Youngsters (okay they were probably all in their late teens/early twenties) but all three in their white sailor uniforms.

So handsome.  Totally stood out in the crowd. All bright white with those flared pants and those ties.  And the hats?  Ooh, the hats.

I've always like sailor dresses for little girls, but until I saw those three guys, I'd never fully understood the attraction to a man in a sailor uniform.  Not sure I do now either, but those uniforms?  Wow.