2014 Is Going Out With A Bang

As I type this post, the 'Rents and I have the wicked influenza virus going around.  Mom has gotten a bit better.  She had more energy today and said that taking a long hot shower pepped her up a bit.   I'm still tired and congested but not coughing as bad as I was yesterday, and unfortunately Dad has it the worst. I gave him a dose of Nyquil and he's all snuggled in his bed sleeping, which is the best thing for him.   And before you even suggest it, you should know by now how stubborn all of us are, so we haven't gone to the doctor.  

As for New Years Eve festivities at The Compound, looks like there won't be any.  I know we'll need to eat something to keep up our strength, but right now, nothing sounds or tastes good.  We might get crazy and have some ginger ale but that will be the extent of our partying.  We will be doing good to stay up till 10:00 probably.  I just pray that we all three get better soon, especially the 'Rents.  They're more stubborn than I am.  

Help Me Make It Through The Night

Let me preface by saying that Mucinex Maximum Strength Fast Max is deadly.  The only positive thing from my 16 hour period of taking it was that it did help to break up some of the congestion.  

I started getting this crud Sunday afternoon and by yesterday morning, it was full-blown. So I stopped at WalMart on the way to work and got a bottle of Mucinex Maximum Strength Fax Max.  Big mistake.

The first major side effect was running to the bathroom to pee.  As the day went on yesterday, I had to go pee more and more frequently.  I had only been drinking a normal amount of water – nothing excessive like I really should have been drinking, like dr’s recommend for a cold.  I ate maybe 3 spoon fulls of navy beans and one hot dog for supper, but the iced tea tasted best of all.  I laid down to watch TV but never was able to take a nap during the evening even though I was tired because of the damned stuff.  Yet I didn’t feel all that bad in the evening – just tired.  I went to bed at 10 and read for a bit and turned out the light at 10:30 and then it started.  I was up every 15 minutes to go pee which scared the hell out of me.  Then at about 2:00 I had a full blown anxiety attack. I just prayed for the Lord to help me.  I was sweating like a whore in church, and my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest.  At one point, I turned on the light and looked around my bedroom for a paper bag to breathe into as I was hyperventilating.  After the anxiety attack subsided and I had my wits back about me, I grabbed the iPad and looked up the side effects of this type of Mucinex and there it was – frequent urination, anxiety, restlessness.  At one point, I couldn’t lay down, and when I would sit up in bed, I would get restless again, so I just walked through the house for a bit.  I came back and laid back down but no dice.  So by this time it was 4:00 and I got my pillows and propped myself up and dozed off for about an hour sitting up in bed. I had taken my last dose of the hallucigenic stuff at 10 when I went to bed, so it was slowly starting to wear off because by this time, I was only going to the bathroom every hour. 

During the anxiety attack, I honestly started to call Diva Stacy and tell her if I exploded from this stuff, for her and the kids to move in to our house and take care of The 'Rents. 

When I got up at 6, the first thing I did was find a box of Coricidan and took a dose of that.  It won't make me start to trip out like the Mucinex. 

So the moral of this story is to never take this type of Mucinex.  NEVER.  

And on a related note, Mom still has this crud, and now Dad has got it.  Pray for us, America.

Christmas Wrap Up (No Pun Intended)

After five glorious days off, it was back to work today.  But I work two days, get off two days, work one day, and get off two days.  The week of 1/5 will be a lonnnng week.  But I digress. 

It was a great Christmas holiday - the 'Rents and I had fun watching movies and eating and drinking and just enjoying being together.  Yep, it was a great holiday until yesterday when Mom and I came down with the cold/respiratory crap that is going around.  Neither of us had a fever, thank goodness; just an annoying cough.  Mom's crap started out as a stomach bug - she was sick at her stomach yesterday morning, but perked up in the afternoon, just in time to start coughing. My cough started Saturday night and progressed throughout the day yesterday.  I stopped on the way to work today and got some Mucinex (the fast acting version) and started taking that as soon as I got back to the car.   Neither of us are achy, thank goodness. Well, I am a bit, but that's a whole other TWIT entry for another day. 

Half of the people I talked with at work today either caught it over the holiday or still have it.  So I'm sure it will keep making the rounds in the office.  We sprayed lots of Lysol today in my office and out in the cubicle, so we're hoping that will help keep germs at bay.  

I'm posting this and going to lay down for a bit.  As always, I'll keep you posted. 

Link Of The Week

2014 is growing to a close, and TWIT is going to give its two-cents worth on the "Best Of" for the year.  Please take a few minutes to visit this page at AOL and see some of the best photos taken in 2014.  They're pretty amazing, and they'll either make you put down you camera and never take another picture again or they will challenge you to keep on taking more pictures till you get that one shot.  Visit http://www.aol.com/article/2014/12/28/2014-the-year-in-photos/21121783/?icid=maing-grid7|aol20-os|dl6|sec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D589968 and check it out.

Security Tip Saturday

First of all, I apologize for not posting this before you, faithful readers, started doing online Christmas shopping, but it's better late than never.   Here's a couple of tips to help keep you safe while you shop online. And I will try to remember to post this again in about 10 or 11 months, to remind you before you start your Christmas shopping.  But these tips are things that will help keep all of us safer throughout the year.  If you're like me, it seems like I buy something online every week or so.  But I digress. 

First of all, if possible, do your online shopping on a desktop computer.  The internet connection is much more safe than using a wifi internet connection.  But if you don't have a desktop computer anymore, you can still be safer - use your smart phone for shopping online.  Just turn off the wifi and use your actual cell phone connection.   

Second, when you go to a website to shop online, look up at the search box at the top of the screen for the URL address of the website.  If it starts with "https", then it is a secure site.  The "s" designates it is secure.  If the web address of the online store just has "http://www..." for it's address, it is not a secure site, and you should avoid it.  

Stay safe. 

Flashback Friday

It's the day after Christmas, and when I was a kid, I would have spent all day playing with the new toys and things that Santa brought the day before.  And if I know me, by this time, I would have probably broken at least one thing I got for Christmas.   

As a 51 year-old, there's not much to play with today.  The majority of the things I got for Christmas are practical - the 'Rents and I each got two packs of new 'wears -- something that we all need.  Not much fanfare there.  When I was a kid, if I'd gotten a pack of underwear for Christmas, I would have probably had a meltdown.  Now, we love it when we get new 'wears.  And I got a new polo shirt.  Once again, nothing to play with.  Santa left some Sensodyne toothpaste and a pack of replacement brush head for my Spinbrush in my stocking.  Somehow, Santa always knows exactly what to put in your stocking.  And I did get a cool Bluetooth keyboard from the 'Rents to use with my Surface Pro and iPad, so that's at least one thing I can officially "play" with.  But right now in my life, I'm just happy that the 'Rents and I are healthy and able to enjoy being together for the holidays.  That's really all that matters.

Merry Christmas

TWIT would like to wish all of you, faithful readers, a very Merry Christmas.  I hope you have a peaceful, drama-free day with your family and friends.  And I hope you eat lots of good foods today!

Why Didn't I Think Of This?

A security firm has graciously donated the use of GPS tracking devices to churches for their nativity scenes.  It seems that thugs are always stealing the baby Jesus from the nativity scene.  Thanks to Brickhouse Security, churches can track the stolen nativity scene figures.  Way to go Brickhouse.  Keep up the good work.  You can read more about it here http://www.gospelherald.com/articles/53668/20141219/security-company-offers-free-gps-tracking-to-stop-baby-jesus-theft-from-church-nativity-scenes.htm

Happy Christmas Eve Eve

I am very happy to report that I did not stop at a single store of any type today -- be it on my way to work, during lunch break, or on my way home from work.  And when I got home tonight, the 'Rents didn't mention me needing to go to the store to pick up anything.  It's going to be an awesome Christmas Eve Eve with not having to do anything.

It's Time For A Break

I'm not sure about you, but Santa Puddin is tapped out.  Every trip I've made to the store in the past two weeks has cost me at least $30, and most of the time, twice that.  And on occasion, three times that.  With trips to the grocery store, drug store, big box stores, and other stores, I'm tapped out.  I'm glad that Christmas is just three sleeps away.

I am thankful that I have the money to spend on the 'Rents and a select few for Christmas; that's not the point.  The point is I'm tired of shopping and want a break.  I made what I hope to be one final stop on the way home today.  A week ago, I made a major list of all I wanted/needed to buy before Christmas - be it presents, food, beverages, etc.  I visited all of the appropriate stores and checked off each item.  Today when I left Walgreens, there was nothing left on my list.  It sure was a good feeling and a relief.

Tomorrow, the 'Rents will be going to the grocery for fresh fruit for our traditional Christmas Day fruit salad, but other than that, bring on the holidays. 

Welcome Back, Ole Cockadoodle

We interrupt the regularly scheduled Link/App of the Week to bring you breaking news from The Compound.  Yesterday afternoon, we found Ole Cockadoodle (pictured here).  He'd been missing since last Christmas.  Mom found him in a box of Christmas decorations where they evidently put him last year when they were decorating.  

Welcome back, Ole Cockadoodle.  We sure missed you.  

Security Tip Saturday

I'm not sure if this person has ever seen one of my posts on Facebook or on Blogger, but it did my heart good today at WalMart to see a woman use the little straps to fasten around a small kid in the grocery cart.  She did just as I mentioned months ago - she took one of the straps and put it through the straps on her purse, so in the event that someone tried to grab her purse, they couldn't.  I only hope that more more women are doing this if they bring their purses into the stores.

As always, stay safe. 

Flashback Friday

There is a rare phenomenon happing today here in the 'Ville:  the sun is out! Yes, the sun is shining.  After weeks and weeks of cloudy days, we are able to see blue skies and sunshine.

We've had a lot of rain and drizzle in the past month, and if my memory is correct, I heard one of the weatherazzi say that it's been cloudy almost every day since before Thanksgiving.  I sure believe him.  As we were experiencing gray day after gray day, I couldn't help but think back to the summer and early fall when it was sunny.  I would have never thought I would wish for summer but here lately, I did.  

I'm meeting a dear old friend for lunch today, and then the 'Rents and I are going out to do some shopping, and we will all be enjoying the sun. 

Early New Year's Resolution

Today is my 25 year anniversary at work.  It's hard for me to believe that 25 years ago today, I walked up that long stairway to the 2nd floor of the old United Furniture building (which is now part of our office parking lot).  It some ways it seems like 125 years, and in other ways, it just seems like a few years ago.  But I digress.  

Since it's my anniversary, today is when I get my new allotment of vacation days.  There is a maximum amount of vacation days that you can carry over.  If you're hourly, you can get paid for any extra you don't carry over.  If you're salaried, well, shame on you for not not using them.  I decided yesterday that my New Year's Resolution is to start using more vacation days and personal days in the new year.  And what a better than to start using them right now! So I took off today and tomorrow, and again next Friday.  And I'm already planning my annual birthday vacation week in January.  

It sure felt awesome not to work today.  And I know it will feel just as awesome tomorrow. 

Quote Of The Week

Said by yours truly, and I quote:

"The older I get, the less patience I have."  

Lesson To Be Learned

I'm going through a difficult sitch right now.  I'm sorry to tease you but for confidentiality I can't give many details, other than I know for sure that this is going to be a lesson to be learned from God.  I've done my part, and now it's up the the other people to do their part.  It could turn out great, or it could turn out not so great.  Either way, I know there is a lesson that I am supposed to learn from it.  So instead of worrying about like I have been for the past few weeks, I'm letting go of it, and whatever happens was meant to happen.  

Thank Goodness It's Over

I'm home now, and 2014 Year End Inventory is over.  Stick a fork in it because it's done.  

It wasn't pretty or smooth, and the day was filled with problem after problem, but it's over until next year.  All we can do is learn from the mistakes from this year and move forward.  

I'd Wear This

Way To Go, Me

Yesterday at our company-wide Christmas party, I received my pin and certificate for 25 years of service to the company.  Yep, I've been at Zoeller for 25 years.  25 long years.  My actual anniversary is on the 18th, but they gave me my service award a week early.  

I'm not meaning to brag, but in this day and age when people job hop so much, it's very rare to find someone that's worked at one company this long.    At times it feels like 125 years, and at other times it feels like it was just a few years ago.  

I'm just thankful that I have an awesome bunch of coworkers who are great and loyal friends.  It makes the days bearable.  

Way To Go, Presentation Academy

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending Presentation Academy's annual Christmas Program.  At the start of the show, the principal said a few words, and said that 98% of the school's students were singing in the program tonight.  That statistic blew me away.  That meant that 2% of the students didn't want to sing in any of the choirs.  

I didn't know what to expect, with this being my first time seeing Presentation's Christmas program, but it was great.  One of the first songs they sang was one of my all time favorite Christmas songs, "Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming."  I could have left after that song and been totally content.  

Thanks to the choir director and the many others that helped make this program an awesome success.  And many thanks to all of the girls that want to sing.  You rock.  

Count This

We're deep in the midst of year-end inventory at work right now.  The past three weeks have been a blur.  We'll be working a full day on Saturday to count and make adjustments, and then Monday afternoon the auditors will be in for the Big Count.   As Prissy sang in "Gone With The Wind", "A few more days to tote the weary load."  I guess I should change that to "count the weary load."  

Back To Normal?

Things are back to quasi-normal this evening at The Compound.  This morning, our couch and two recliners were delivered.  Today's delivery completes the Family Room Renovation Project At The Compound.  

For the past month, we've been cleaning, painting, and re-doing the family room there at The Compound.  And for the past month, we've been without a couch and recliners, as we got rid of the old ones to prepare for the new.  It's been slightly uncomfortable, especially for Dad, but Mom and I have adapted pretty well.  But tonight, the 'Rents will be sitting in the utmost comfort in their new recliners, and I will be lounging like Cleopatra all sprawled out on the new couch.

It's dark now and the lighting would be terrible, so I will wait till tomorrow afternoon when I get home from work to take pics of the new furniture to show you.

Thanks to Winner Furniture for having such an awesome couch and recliners, and thanks to your delivery guys that brought them to us today.  They were awesome.  

Way To Go, Aaron Rodgers

TWIT would like to congratulate Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on his 100th start in last night's game.  He had 293 yards passing in the game against Atlanta, which means he has more passing yards than any player in NFL history over his first 100 starts.

While he's not my favorite NFL quarterback, he gets my vote as one of the most handsome quarterbacks.  

Keep up the good work, Aaron.  And please don't get into trouble with the law like so many of the NFLers that you play against.  

Thank You, Target

Thank you my local Target store for having such awesome popcorn in your concession stand/snack bar.  No trip to Target is complete without getting at least one bag of their awesome, freshly popped pop corn to take home.  We enjoyed our bag tonight while watching Monday Night Football.  Keep on popping, Target.  

Link Of The Week

The Old Man is in full force baking mode right now.  He's baked cookies for the past three weeks, and I don't see him stopping until after New Year's Day.  He's been baking our favorite oatmeal-raisin-chocolate chip-pecan cookies, but he's ready to try something new.  Have we got a website for him.  He can visit http://www.christmas-cookies.com and find almost 600 cookie recipes to try. 

Keep me posted and give me a review if you try any of these. 

Security Tip Saturday

This morning when I checked email, I opened an email from the "Amazon.com Team".  It looked very legit, and it said that I was selected at random by Amazon to get a coupon for 90% off any one item at Amazon.com.  Now, just from reading that, if a dozen red flags don't pop up immediately, then we need to talk.  The email looked official - had all of the Amazon logos on it, and at the bottom of the email, it even had 5 different authenticity logos, to give you more credence that it was in deed legit and very safe and secure.  I immediately sent it to AOL's Fraud department and deleted it.  I did a quick Google search and there were tons of hits about this being a big identity theft scam.  No telling how many people got all excited and thought that Amazon was giving them a great deal a few weeks before Christmas, only to find that their Amazon log-in info had been stolen by these identity thieves. 

We all know that when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is.  So be safe this holiday season with emails and scams. 

This Day In History

On this day in history, back in 1933, the 21^stAmendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, repealing the 18^th Amendment, bringing an end to the era of prohibition of alcohol in America.  Prohibition began in June of 1919.  Now that’s what I call quite a dry spell. 

To celebrate the continued end of prohibition, have a drink tonight, just because you still can!

Thanks Again, AARP

This is the second day in a row that I was reminded that I am eligible for AARP.  Today, it was from AARP themselves. 

Never mind that I've had my AARP card for awhile now, but AARP wanted to keep on reminding me.

Enough already.

Thanks, AOL

I would like to thank AOL for reminding me that I am eligible for AARP benefits.  I know I'm getting older.  And part of being older is forgetting.  So thanks for reminding me that I'm getting older.

Giving Tuesday

As most of you knew, yesterday was World AIDS Day – a day for people around the world to unite in the fight against HIV.  December 1 has been this designated day since 1987.  

 

As most you probably do not know, today is Giving Tuesday.  It’s a day dedicated to giving back – whether through donating money, food, clothing, or toys, to donating your time and talents.  

 

This year, the folks at Bank of America are getting in on Giving Tuesday.  They are partnering with Feeding America in the Give A Meal campaign to help the 50+ million Americans who go hungry every day.  If you visit any Bank of America and make a donation, Bank of America will match your donation two-for-one.  You donate twenty bucks, Bank of America will donate forty bucks.  

 

So for all of you disgruntled Bank of America customers like me who have been gouged over the years with their fees and charges, let’s stick it to them today and let them peel for a very worthy cause.  

 

Ohio Valley Weather Update

It was very cold last week, and then on Saturday it started warming up.  Yesterday, the high here in the 'Ville was 72 degrees.  The temps dropped during the night, and this morning when I was getting ready for work it was 42 degrees.  It rained pretty hard most of the day, and the temps dropped once again.  As the kids say, it's cray cray. 

Who knows what's in store for the rest of the week.  Stay tuned, because the forecast will change.