Go Travel

I have a prayer I found online that I would like to give to everyone, especially to Michael who is leaving on Saturday for Europe, and Niki who is going back to Venezuela on July 12th:
Prayer Before Travel:Lord Jesus Christ my God, be my Companion, guide and protector during my journey. Keep me from all danger, misfortune and temptation. By Your divine power grant me a peaceful and successful journey and safe arrival. In You I place my hope and trust and You I praise, honor and glorify, together with Your Father and Holy Spirit now and forever and ever. Amen.
Lord Jesus, You traveled with the two disciples after the resurrection and set their hearts on fire with Your grace. Travel also with me and gladden my heart with Your presence. I know, Lord, that I am a pilgrim on this earth, seeking the citizenship which is in heaven. During my journey surround me with Your holy angels and keep me safe from seen and unseen dangers. Grant that I may carry out my plans and fulfill my expectations according to Your will. Help me to see the beauty of creation and to comprehend the wonder of Your truth in all things. For You are the way, the truth and the life, and to You I give thanks, praise and glory forever. Amen
I met Niki after work and we had a nice dinner at Amigo's. Then I went to Mass and got to spend some good time beforehand chatting with our friend, Marie. (Niki, if youre reading this, Marie says HELLO!!) After Mass I went to the religious goods gift shop and got Michael a present for his trip coming up THIS weekend! I got the priest to bless it, and I just know he will love it.
After Mass was the inaugural meeting for the Pro Life committee. We had about 11 people there, and it really seems like something that will be such a blessing to be a part of. We have people of all interests and experiences. One lady is interested in the political side. One lady is a Sonographer and wants to help start something at the Memorial for the Unborn here in Chattanooga, one lady is interested in Capital Punishment and Euthanasia.. an overlooked aspect of Pro-Life movements. We have all sorts, and I am proud to be involved. On a sad note, I heard last night that my Uncle is not doing very well and will soon pass away. This prayer is for him and his family:
Lord, Jesus Christ, Who suffered and died for our sins that we may live, if during our life we have sinned in word, deed or thought forgive us in Your goodness and love. All our hope we put in You; protect your servant from all evil. We submit to Your will and into Your hands we commend our souls and bodies. For a Christian end to our lives, peaceful, without shame and suffering, and for a good account before the awesome judgment seat of Christ, we pray to you O Lord. Bless us, be merciful to us and grant us life eternal. Amen.

Wednesday Madness

Work is sooo crazy today. Due to personal reasons and illness, it is just 3 of us today here at work. Not that it's busy, but that there is just a lot to try and make sure gets done right. I spent all morning on one thing instead of the 15 I could have gotten done on my own desk. It gets frustrating!! :-P
Yesterday I left work at 3 and went to the gym for an hour, I have to work on my endurance. Mom had made such a good dinner, so I went straight up there and ate and sat around getting caught up on everyone else's goings-on.. and laughing.
Matthew came and had dinner as well, then we left. Matthew had a DVD to watch, and I piddled with the laundry and went to bed.
Tonight I have Mass and then our first meeting with the Pro-Life group at church. YaY

Eureka!

Yay, I am so excited Eureka comes back on for a second season in a few weeks!
Yesterday Matthew had his follow-up with the Dr.
he is having his bone isoenzymes checked for a 3rd time now!!??!! It is really getting me worried, the levels are off each time, and the Dr. really doesn't have any ideas. Matthew is going to have to go see a specialist. :-(
While he was getting a physical, I was able to get the fertility debacle straightened out, and will be getting a new appointment with the new Dr. soon. I'm not even getting excited anymore, too much craziness has gone on. At least I was able to cancel with the Fertility Center and not be charged the deposit fee, that was nice.
We got some Wendy's sandwiches and salads and came home, watched some documentary on Paris and Scotland, then went to sleep.

Weekend Blahs

I had really intended to get up early Saturday morning and go to the gym. To break my "first-time" jitters and go early enough to miss any crowds there might be.
I slept in. Matthew and I finally made it to our emissions test around 11:30 a.m. After that we headed over to the gym where Matthew had a social anxiety / panic attack and did not want to go into the big, scary gym.
SO we sat in the parking lot and talked about it. It wasn't "too" crowded, it was my first time too, etc.etc. Finally he and I walked in and all was well. Nothing to worry about, not even a little bit scary. We stayed and sweated for over an hour.
We then went and got some food at Sam's Club and went home. Matthew made the most delicious chicken pasta with cream sauce. I took Mom up a plate. Michael came over from Cleveland and we all ate and watched the movie, Pan's Labyrinth.
I had heard such good things about this movie! Matthew couldn't get through 20 minutes and went off to computer-land. Michael and I just stared at the screen, laughing at times, wincing at times, and generally thinking what a freak-out movie!! I had nightmares about the monster in it, and it was just surreal. The subtitles didn't get in the way, and the story was kind of confusing, but it was a trip!
Sunday morning we again slept late. I watched the movie, Eulogy and it was really funny. Matthew made chicken again and we sat and finished up some Netflixes.
We went to Mass at 5:30 then ate at Arby's (a salad for me). Then we went to the gym again, and it was much better this time. Although there were more people there, we were more at ease and confident of things. We even tried some of the "other" machines, and I found out I have no upper body muscles.. not even one little arm muscle. heehee.

You have just GOT to be kidding me?!?!?!

A few days ago I outlined my struggles with the Brick Wall that is Aetna. Well, after having their word that they would get back to me by 6/19, I finally broke down and called them today (6/22).
They did not in fact, get me a waiver to see Dr. Bird at the Fertility Center like they said they would. After speaking with them for over 2 hours and two different departments both agreeing that there were NO in-network specialists in my area, I went ahead and gave the Fertility Center my info. and to hold my appointment had to give a credit card # so that if I broke the appointment they would charge me $100.00
I am so furious. I only went ahead because I had been given the green light by Aetna. Now I have to try and break my appointment, make sure I'm not charged the fee, and get a new frickin' referral to this other Dr.
I could just pull my hair out. I am on the brink of defeat.
As much as I hate the waste of humanity that is Michael Moore, I am almost tempted to go see his movie, Sicko, just to give him money for his efforts on shaming the US healthcare companies.

Late Night

First off, TGIF.
Yesterday was a very good day. I cancelled the perm appt., and have decided to re-think it. I made a dental appt. for my aching jaw, and took back something to Target I found cheaper elsewhere. After Matthew got off work we darted over to Hamilton Place, battling the infamous "Ridge Cut" where we inched for about 15 minutes.
We met James at El Meson and had an excellent time talking, catching up, and congratulating him on his new job in K-Town. I think we spent over two and a half hours just talking. I am sure the waiters were talking about getting rid of us! Diablos!
Well, after having such a good time we left and made it home just as the sun was setting on this first day of Summer.
We have not been out that late in ages, haha.

Plate Renewals

Matthew's truck and my car are both up for license plate renewals in June/July.
We have to get our emmissions testing done on Sat.
Last year they changed over to the new plates, and I was able to get our plates on the same day, so Matthew's number and mine were in sequence.. how cute!
This year I am going to opt for the Choose Life plate and while I should also get Matthew one, he would probably rather not drive around with a picture of a baby on his truck, haha. So, our sequential plates only lasted one year :-(

These Dreams....

I dream about some really mundane things. I woke up one night "clicking" the corner of a pillow like it was a mouse, while I had been dreaming of work.
I read an article on Wikipedia called the Tetris Effect. It really describes some of my dreams.
When I was really into doing jigsaw puzzles I dreamed of the pieces fitting together. I dream of job tasks, chess games, etc. Really odd. I am glad this is a documented thing, otherwise I might feel really crazy!

Rainy

Let me tell you about my Tuesday!
Work has been really slow, so I took advantage of a chance to leave early.
I left at 2 p.m. and went to the hospital downtown to get a copy of my medical records from Dr. Brody's office. I only have a few more weeks until my appointment at the Fertility Center!
Then I had an appointment to get a tour of the RUSH gym in Hixson. I really liked it and signed both myself and Matthew up!
I really want to try and lose weight in preparation for getting pregnant!!! Plus, now that I am taking my second month of Byetta injections, I really want to put in the extra effort to shed this weight. I am really optimistic.
Then it was pouring down and I drove home getting tossed back and forth down the highway by cars who travel much too fast on slick, wet roads.
I then followed my Mom over to her friend's house. I took some pictures of some old ladie's hats that are depression era and were kept in thier boxes. They were remarkable. I can not imagine a time when ladies dressed up in a hat every day.. we are such slobs now!
So, I am going to see if there's a market right now for vintage, pre-WWII ladies hats on Ebay, hopefully getting her some cash for these relics of the past!
After I came home I had some leftover lasagna, read a few chapters, watched a little TV, and was snoozing by 9:00 p.m.

Ingenious

I found this Website, Stuffonmycat.com it is tremendous. I laughed my butt off.
I have a whole bucket of ideas now for different ways to put stuff on my cats!
Pictures coming soon!!!

Lights Out

Yesterday was pretty great. After work I came home and did a few thousand chores, went up to my parent's house, had dinner, and all before Matthew got home. :-)
I have a lot more energy in the afternoons, so we are going to try to forgo the carpooling so that I can come home and get more done, which should lessen our anguish on the weekends. Yippee
I got watching an old movie on one of those "so-and-so Classic Movies" channels and was so engrossed in it that when Matthew had finished his dinner I refused to leave until it was over. It was really a cute movie.. so we sat there and he got into it too.
After it was over we headed home and started watching TV when the power shut off. Then the power came back on again.. then off again. We lit candles and oil lamps and I read a few chapters in my new book The Dogs of Babel by lamplight. When it was time to go on to bed I decided to go up to my parent's house because I am a huge afraid-of-the-dark kind of girl, and Matthew was quite content to fall asleep without my nightlight.
Well, after spending about an hour at my parent's the lights turned back on and I headed home, really excited to be in my own bed and not having to worry about how I would get a shower in the morning ;-)

Hello Monday

I never thought I would be so happy to see Monday come. This weekend has been a whirlwind of craziness.
Saturday we cleaned the house for literally over 8 hrs. Everything is in it's right place, clean, sanitized, and tidy. Yay!
Matthew got called out to work for over 2 hrs in the middle of the day Sat., so I had a nice long break.
That evening he went ahead and prepared the meat sauce for the Father's Day lasagna dinner, and we were all set.
Sunday morning we got up early, did a few last minute chores, put all 8 cats up in the computer room (his Mom is allergic), sprayed the house, and left for Mass.
After Mass we were going to WalMart to get some last minute things for dinner when his parent's called... his Mom was not feeling well enough to come up to our house afterall.
So we ate lunch and went home and gathered the food together and set out for their house. We got all but 2 miles from our destination and remembered we had forgot the sauce!!!
We trudged on and Matthew made a new meat sauce and prepared the lasagna there.
He got called out to work, again. But this time it was only for about an hour total, so he made it back in time to eat with all of us.
We had gotten his dad a wallet and gift card, and we went ahead and gave his mom her B-Day present, a pair of crocs. They were very happy, and the food was absolutely wonderful!
When we left I sent up the already prepared meat sauce to mom's and we will have a ton of spaghetti tonight :-)
This weekend was chaotic, and crazy, but the house is nice and clean and orderly, and we actually made all of our plans work out. But, I am still glad to be back at work.

TV & more

BBC America has finally started airing the 5th and final season of Footballer's Wive$. I have turned into goo in front of the TiVo. I get majorly involved in these shows, invest a TON of time and energy... I love TV shows. Most of the Netflix I order are just TV show DVDs. Right now this is my list of shows I currently have season passes for (in no particular order):
Footballer's Wive$
Robin Hood
The Riches
The Starter Wife
The 4400
The Sopranos
Criminal Minds
Inferno 3
Scrubs
House
Celebrity Fit Club
Charm School

Matthew probably has more recorded TV shows, but he likes all those home improvement DIY shows that come on at all hours of the day.

Well, it is finally Friday!! Yippee!!! Yesterday I came home early from work and felt so sickly I went to bed for a little over 2 hours. But before I could do that I had to spend 2 whole hours on the phone with my insurance.
I received my information packet from Dr. Bird's office at the Chattanooga Fertility Center and began to fill out the packet. One page asked that I call the insurance and verify coverages, etc. So I call member services and talk to a really nice man named Tom who tried to help me out as best he could. The problem is that this whole fertility thingy is so complicated in terms of what has to be done in order to stay within Aetna's umbrella of "in-network" fees/schedules/procedures. I am baffled that anyone can get through this process without forgetting to do something.
Tom informed me that not only was the Dr. I had been referred to not in-network, but for fertility treatments I had to enroll in the "Infertility Program" through another one of Aetna's offices.
So, after an hour with Tom, I get bounced over to Kris, another very nice lady. She enrolls me in the program and lets me know that apparently there are no other women in the Chattanooga Metro trying for these benefits, because there is no Dr. in my area, not even one within 2 hrs drive. So, I plead for them to make an exception so I can see Dr. Bird, afterall. I had already made my $100.00 non-refundable appointment deposit!!
She spends about 30 minutes conversing with her supervisor, and it comes down to the fact that a "Tennessee" manager will have to waive the out of network coverage for Dr. Bird, and then another "Tennessee" manager will have to waive the out of network coverage for whichever labs they use in-house. Geez!!
I should hear back from them by Monday, or call back. Apparently with this program, I will have to call them for authorization for each and every step/office visit/treatment I get.
I feel like I am getting swallowed up in "Bureaucratic Procedures", all the while Matthew kind of gets a free pass on all the frustrating paperwork and phone calls.
Life is definitely not fair.

Early Birds

After work yesterday Michael met me and we went to Sportsman's Warehouse to look for my Father's Day present for my Dad. It was a simple task, buy a rod/reel. Putting myself and Michael in the fishing dept waving poles around and looking very much outta place was a very bad idea. We looked at them all, played around, could have put an eye out, and eventually found the perfect pole.. and on sale to boot! We drove over to another store and I was able to pick up Matthew's Mom's B-Day predent.. YaY.
I had left my Byetta in the fridge at work, so I called and luckily I was able to pop back in to get it. We headed to Outback and met Jennifer, her sister Kari (hope I spelled that right!), and her adorable little son. Matthew had to work over, so he arrived just in time to fill us in on his day. We ate relatively cheap, had a few drinks (the infamous Wallaby Darned) and had a really great time.
After dinner we left them and went to WalMart and I finished buying a small tackle box, a lure set, a disposable camera, etc. to finish up my Dad's present. We left Matthew's truck at his parents and I drove home as Matthew put all the stuff in the tackle box.
When we got home Matthew was pooped out, and went on in to sleep. I had decided to give my Dad his present early due to him having to work this weekend. He was absolutely thrilled and very appreciative. I was so glad Mom had told me what he had been wanting to get. :-)
My nephew had borrowed a Wii, and I watched him bowl and golf.. and even got to golf myself!! Those things are amazing!!!! I think I might know what I want for Christmas or Birthday :-)
Matthew's parents are coming up for Lunch/Dinner on Father's Day and I have a list a mile long of things I must get done, we've been going here and there on the weekends, and the house is in no shape for entertaining. Whew, I am going to come home Friday and go crazy.
The dermatologist called and Matthew's mole biopsies came back A-OK. he was very happy to not need to be cut on again.
His I-Pod should arrive today, finally. I am going to take the afternoon off from work because I have a thousand tiny errands to run.

Shop, darn you!

Last evening I went shopping while waiting on Matthew to get off from work. I walked around Hobby Lobby for over an hour and came out with 1 birthday card, and 2 small elephants for my mom. I still have to buy before this weekend...
1 ultra-great Father's Day present for my dad, who's birthday I was too broke to buy for back in Feb.
1 birthday present for Matthew's mother.
1 Father's day present for Matthew's dad.
YIKES!!!
So, I am just going to do a little shopping here and there this week to try and put something together before Sunday.

Last night we ate dinner up at my mom's and it was really great.

Holy Mole-y

Matthew had to get several freckles and moles looked at yesterday by a dermatologist. The Dr. found two places he wanted to investigate and needed to take "samples" from.
The nurse was very nice and injected the numbing medicine into his shoulder and back. It made the area puff up about the size of a quarter, looking really gross. This caused Matthew the most pain, but he only whined a little :-) Men are just little kids after all. Hopefully we will find out that there is nothing wrong, and should have those results by the end of this week.
Nothing else really happened yesterday, which is good.

Libertarian? Constitution?

Political Quiz

So, I found this little quiz that just asks the basics on the role of government and your opinion. Geez, without ethical issues I am slightly Libertarian!

Constitution Party?

Many of my friends might cringe at this, but I also took several polls saying I might be better suited for the Constitution Party. Never heard of it? Me either. Maybe I've been living under this rock, but ethically I really like their platforms. Sorry ultra-lib friends. :-)

I never knew we had so many rogue third-parties. Got me thinking a lot today. Thats always good.

Little Angels

Yesterday was the Little Angels Golf Tournament. It was spectacular. I was worried it would rain or be foggy and riun the pictures, but the weather was excellent.
Matthew and I met Brenda and Carolyn in Ga. at the Waffle House and we all had a proper breakfast before heading down to Calhoun.
We arrived at the Elk's Club a little after 7 a.m. We got our info for the 8:30 round and secured our golf cart. Here is a picture of us as we were getting started (and I swear my bangs were actually fixed before riding around!)

We finished in about an hour and a half, headed down the interstate to Eckerd's and had them developed for the groups. They turned out real well. Hopefully tomorrow Iwill post a link to the entire day's photos.
After getting back with the first round's photos we had some time to eat some very good hot dogs and egg salad sandwiches and some sodas. I am amazed every year at the wonderful things the tournament gets due to corporate sponsors. Sodas, Beer, Food, and let's not even mention the goodie bags and door prizes! It is really a scene.
We headed out after the 1:30 groups and got all 26 afternoon teams photos in about 2 hours. It is really fun getting to chase them all around, and finally my third year I actually knew the layout of the course and we were able to get everyone in group order! The most time consuming thing about it is having to respect the "golfer's rule" or some other mystic idea of not driving past a golfer as he is making his swing. So we had to be real observant and ended up waiting a lot on the teams to finish where they were playing in order to drive past them down the cart path. So, we got to watch a lot of really good players, drive around, and inevitably I am sunburned down the right side of my body... LOL, a hazard from sitting in the passengerside of a golf cart all day. They also had a child there this year from the Birth Defect Center named Isabella and she was soooo cute. I got a few good pictures of her as well.
So, we finished up, went back down to Eckerd's, but this time the photo shop had ran out of ink, so I ended up waiting on our photos for almost a hour. It wasn't too bad, though, because the 1:30 group had not beat us back to the clubhouse. We dropped off our photos and headed down a few exits to the Calhoun Outlets. We didn't fid anything :-( BooHoo. We ate at Ruby Tuesday's and it was awful! When we went to Pigeon Forge last month we hated it there too... so, we are writing them off and vowing not to return. We drove up the road and went to the Dalton Outlets.. ad still didn't find anything we just HAD to have. Oh well, we were so tired last night when we came in we went straight to bed. It was exhausting, but I love to do it. I can't imagine not volunteering for this every year, it is such a good cause.

Good Grief!

Yesterday went haywire. I woke up at 4 a.m. with the most gut-wrenching pain I had ever felt. Needless to say, after it was all over with and I had finally left the bathroom, Matthew headed off to work and I layed in the bed recovering. When I woke up at 8:30 I decided I should go on to work, so I set out.
Before I could get to work, Matthew calls me. He's sick. He needs an appointment with the Dr. So I call, and get him in at 10:30, his sinuses have finally given up and turned against him... much like the rest of the world's did (and mine was a month earlier). So we get the prescriptions and head out. We met Michael at Ocharley's and had a nice, albeit *lite* lunch of soups, salads, etc.
We came home and Matthew went straight to bed. Michael and I watched The Messengers, because he hadn't seen it yet. After he left I watched some TV then went to bed.
It was a very weird day.

Wednesday Already :-)

Well, the nose rose has settled down, thank goodness. I went to the Doctor yesterday. I have lost 9 lbs. on the injections. YaY!! I am getting my dosage up-ped, and I should lose a steady 10 a month!! I am so excited.
I also did another breathing test which revealed I had improved on the Advair. So, I am going off of it for now and we will see if I stay the same on it. I had to go and have a Chest X-ray to make sure all was peachy. :-)
Work was crazy! I came in after my appointment and we had trucks lined up! After work I went and did a little grocery shopping, Matthew and I ate a very good dinner, watched some TV, and went to bed early.
I am very excited about this weekend, I am taking pictures for the Little Angel's Golf Tournament in Calhoun, GA. This will be my third year being photographer! I really enjoy doing it and being able to help the birth defect center. Find out more HERE. Hopefully I will be able to put up some pictures Saturday night if I am still able... I am going to be pooped!!
I have gotten involved with a Pro-Life group at church... I am so happy! We have our first meeting on June 27th. The Deacon who is leading the group was also the RCIA class instructor for mine and Matthew's class. I think it is a small group right now, but we are going to meet after Wed. Mass, so hopefully more people will be joining soon!

Nos-y

Just a quick note to describe my huge honker. I took the medication Sunday night.. no relief. My whole sinus cavity has become so swollen I think my eyes are twitching to every heartbeat. This whole "springtime" pollen thing is overrated.

Sunday Muck

Sunday we had planned a day at the creek again. Michael came up, (Stefanie, Matthew, Michael, and I) loaded our gear and our selves into Matthew's pickup and set out! We had noodles, a raft, and an innertube.

So, we set out and decide to go to a boat ramp nearby and see how it looks. There were people set up fishing there, so we left and went around over beside the Sale Creek school, where there is another boat ramp that stays pretty much deserted... but not that day, so we set out again. We went back to where we swam on Memorial Day.

Matthew had to run home, so we unloaded the truck and hiked back through the woods. We were instantly attacked by thousands of mosquitos.

We rushed to get into the water and get rid of them, because they were biting at us and it was super-annoying. Ten minutes later the rain came. Then the thunder.

By the time Matthew made it back we were getting out and trying very un-successfully to get rid of the bugs. The rain was still falling, and it was looking pretty gloomy for 2:45!

We came home, got showered, and looked outside. It was beautiful again! No ominous clouds, no rain, just a beautiful day!. Ugh. Of course, if we had waited it out, or went somewhere that had less of a bug pupulation, we wouldn't have hurried home so fast and maybe we would've enjoyed it more.

Oh well, we went home, watched 2 movies, went out for pizza, and still had a pretty relaxing time of it.

That's exactly our luck.

My Saturday

Matthew and I went to lunch at Bimbo's in Dayton with Stefanie (who doesn't want to be pictured). The food was WONDERFUL! Yumm. Can you note the growing cold sore/fever blister on the tip of my nose? Rudolph, I know. I woke up with it, and I have never had cold sores on my nose like this. Normally if I get them it's from blowing my nose too much, and always happen on the skin inbetween the nostrils. It hurt like a !@#$%.

This is us at the Sweetwater flea market, also with Stefanie. We had a good time roaming all the junk, and only spent 2$. YaY.

This is Matthew looking at our purchase, the 1971 edition of Look Magazine that had an article on the opening day at Disney World!! How exciting!!

Matthew read while Stefanie and I drove around looking at the scenery, and campsites beside the Lake up at Watts Bar. It is so beautiful up there, too!

WildFire

My Photojournalism Life: FIRE FIRE FIRE
These pictures are quite awesome. Here in Chattanooga, we've only gotten a small haze of smoke from this.