I Love This Book !!

One of my favorite hobbies is reading and collecting cook books. I just got my copy of Skinny Italian by Teresa Giudice. I was so excited that I practically read the whole thing before I knew it. The book is a great read. I mean it reads like she talks. She tells you about her life, the kids, her mom and dad, the other housewives on the show Real Housewives of New Jersey.

It's chock full of great advice,  how to shop for Italian foods and staples for your kitchen and little spots where her hubby puts his 2 cents in. Teresa makes you want to cook many of the recipes in this book. I found my favorite that I love to cook for myself and I didn't even know it was Italian. It's called Tagliatelle. I mean DAYUM!!!! It's in there almost ingredient for ingredient except I don't use smoked ham. I use regular ham ,can't stand that smokey flavor in ham...yech!!!  And the recipes are easy and fast. Many of them I already know from my own Italian cooking. There is one that I heard of but she changed it and put Danielle's name to it. It's called Danielle's Puttanesca Sauce. I nearly died laughing when I saw this. She explains the history behind the sauce and why Danielle's name is attached to it. You'll have to read it to find out, sorry. She explains how to make REAL pizza from scratch...Yummy!!! Also how to can your own sauce and so, so much more. If you haven't read it yet, then check it out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Tammy Faye Lives On, I kid You Not

I've been trying to recuperate from my latest back injections. The heating pad is again my best friend as well as my drugs. David won't let me do a freaking thing around here...not even dust. So I've been living the life of a spoiled housewife in a dirty house, ugh! Reading out on the front porch all morning until it gets hot and then lying in bed watching trailer trash on Jerry Springer. Who makes up that bullshit on his show anyways. It's so infantile I can't stand it. So I'm stuck mostly watching whatever comes on at the moment. I do more surfing then Californians.
Anywho, I was flipping through channels like the speed of sound and all of a sudden something caught me. I haven't seen this crap in like in a couple of decades. It was on some channel called TBN...KHCE in San Antonio. There was a black guy, hunched over, eyes pinched shut with a pained look on his face like he hadn't taken a shit in a month. In his hand he had a red satin looking cloth. He was hawking "prayer cloths" of all things. Now don't get me wrong but I don't care much for people like that. Selling a piece of material that you can get at the local Wal-Mart for maybe 50 cents. Come on!!! I can't believe they were doing that still. And worst of all sheep were still falling for it.  Then of all things Tammy Faye Bakker's replacement came on and I couldn't turn away. I told you I was bored.  Jeezuz H. Christ !!! Damn near fell off the couch watching and laughing at all this crap. David came home for lunch and I was still laughing. I told him I saw Tammy Faye's double/ replacement today. The broad must have gone to the " Tammy Faye Bakker School of Make-up Application." She was a sight! Everything was fake on her. Even her lips. She had the worst lip job I have ever seen on a bitch. Just plain FUGLY as shit!! I ran to my computer to show David what she looked like. Her Name is Jan Crouch and it wasn't hard to find ugly. I mean DAYUM!!!! My eyes were starting to hurt. David's smile dropped to a grimace like EEEeeeewwww!! What the fuck is that??!!
Tammy Faye's alive!!!!

Freaken Friday

I went and counted my stupid chickens too soon. Last night I had a relapse. I should have stayed in bed and not do all that housework I did yesterday. SO, as of today I was told by hubby/plaything that I cannot putter around the house for 2 weeks. By the end of that time frame my house will have dust bunnies at least 5 inches tall and cobwebs all over the place. It's gonna be really hard not to do anything when it stares you right in the face. I hate a dirty unkept home. Thinking that I was stir crazy yesterday... wait for a few weeks. I'll be a raving nut case. Anybody got a couple of Valium I can barrow? I'm gonna need it bad... not for the pain...

Well I made it. I know I said I would be out for a couple of days but HA!!! I lied. I feel pretty good this morning. I had my coffee ...still in my jammys but hey, I'm up. That's what counts right now for me.

Yesterday morning, David drove my painful ass to the Christus Santa Rosa -Physicians Ambulatory Center for that Radiofrequency Ablation procedure, other wise known as Lumbar Facet Injection. Boy they come up with fascinating names for little things. Anywho, they wasted no time with me. I checked in at 8 am Wednesday morning for the procedure at 9 am.  I think I spent all of 3 minutes just settling into one of the nice comfy chairs there and they called me back, piled me into a gown and soxs and a hair net. Then went over the procedure with me as they gave me a great drug cocktail. I didn't have time to blink before they wheeled me into the freezing OR and flipped me onto my stomach and hooked me up to this and that and what not. Then the doctor came in stuck my butt cheeks with a needle that felt like it had a hook on the end and numbed my back. It felt like 5 minutes but it was done in 15. I won't say it didn't hurt a bit cause I would be lying my ass off on that one. I felt like my legs were being sawed off. It hurt like shit cause he was killing the nerves in my back on both sides. I nearly fainted from the pain. The nurse told David I had a violent reaction to the procedure and next time they will give me an IV instead of the pill to make me feel better. It was really bad. She said I had a reaction similar to going into shock. I was wheeled out almost as fast as I was wheeled in and in recovery for only 15 minutes or so. When we left it was 9am.  WOW!!! HUH!!! I spent the day in pain lying in bed with ice packs sitting on my ass ... David said I'm gonna have some cold shit ahahahahhaaa. But today I feel pretty great. Just a bit tired still from yesterday, and my back just aches a little like I lifted a bunch of heavy sacks all morning. I already finished the laundry and vacuumed this morning...David will kill me when he finds out ...but WTF ... I needed to do something. I was going stir crazy. Right now I feel like dancing... maybe later.

 Thank you Inannasstar, for the warm sweet comment on Tuesday ...Love you kiddo... I'm feeling great now thanks. :)

I won't be on for the next 2 days or so.  Sorry my friends, but my back pain is really getting out of control. I have snapped at David much too much this past week and I wouldn't blame him for leaving me if he wanted. I go tomorrow morning for the injection and I'm hoping for a miracle I guess. All I want is relief !!! Until then ...

Good news !!

OK... I went to see Dr. Miller at the Pain Clinic this afternoon. Last time I saw him it was in 2005 for my right knee. But anywho, we talked and talked about the procedure and the whole nine yards so to speak. Turns out I won't have to have 3 injections like I feared. He said he just performs the "Block" which is a basic numbing of the spinal nerves. then that would be it. I told him I wanted him to burn the nerves, which if you read the past blog for Monday the 14th  on this it will explain it from the Mayfield Clinic site. Well I am scheduled for the procedure on Wednesday the 23rd ...that's next week at 9 am. I will be the first on the list for him to do. Wooooooot!!!! Damn ! I can't wait. I feel like it's gonna be Christmas morning for me. I guess nobody would understand unless they go through this. It's the greatest thing in my book since fried Twinkies. If I could, I would be dancing around right now. Jeeeeze!!! 

David told me not to count my chickens yet cause it might not take. I think it will. I really think this is going to be it and I should be back at work in at least 2 months. But judging from the conversation and the look on his face on the way home today, I wonder if David isn't happy with me returning to work at all. When we got married we had an agreement that if I wanted to work, which I did, he would honor that commitment and let me share in paying the bills. Well it worked damned good for us because with the extra $48 thousand a year coming in we were able to travel and renovate the house and live more then comfortable lives. But I'm beginning to wonder if he doesn't mind me staying home like I have for the past year.

I was getting my info ready for this afternoon. I'll need to get to Dr. Miller's office early so I can fill out paper work. I hate that shit. I wish we could just carry a little device under the skin so when we go to a hospital or doctors office they could just scan us to see who we are, what meds we are taking, etc... Just the basic information they would need. And it could be updated when we are finished with them before we leave. It would save paper and guessing when we had surgeries, meds ...all that shit. I am tired of carrying around a little book with it all in there. Makes me want to scream.

I am so hoping that I can get the Facet Injections started by Monday morning. I want this all to be over so I can go back to work. I know... there is the chance it may not work. But I think it will. My mind is screaming in the back ground, "This better work bitch, or your ass is going under the knife!" Well wish me luck cause I'm fucked no matter what happens.

I'm up and at em this morning. Those 2 days down seemed to energize me to no end. I already started and finished 2 loads of laundry and swept, dusted and vacuumed. I weeded the front gardens of all the little pecan sprouts. Them suckers are trying to take over my garden ! It's only 11:06 and I'm already bored.

David had tilled up the right side of the yard inside the fenced in area by the pecan tree over the weekend. He planted grass in there. Third time trying. I keep asking to let me turn it all into a flower/veggy garden so he would have less area to mow. I would love to make it my secret garden. I already have the 6 foot Robin Hood Rose hedge growing along the fence. Putting in a veggy garden by the composter. Then having Hastas and Marigolds under the Pecan tree. Oh the flowers I would have. I could even put my Patchouli plants and my huge Rosemary out there. Damn!!

But he is determined to get grass to grow or die trying.

*sigh* Whatever... I was going to water but it  looks as though rainclouds are building up. When I first moved out here to this part of Texas, it always looked like rain. Boy was I fooled. It's just the haze from fog that will burn off by noon. Dismal at best. I still think it's gonna rain...maybe just sprinkle a bit. But it will be another hot one today. Nothing, mind you, like the 3 digit temps my family is having back home. But just enough to make you thank whoever invented the air conditioner. I also never knew I could breath underwater. Shit!!! When the humidity gets anywhere above 80% that"s what it feels like. Almost reminds me of Maryland when I was a kid. At least back in El Paso it was a dry heat. I could go out in the noon day sun and not drop dead right away. Humidity out here will cut you to your knees faster then a MF. I often wish I could hang laundry out to dry in the mornings but it would still be wet by dinner time. I miss fresh sheets and towels that have been hanging outside. That clean smell, mmmmm. Oh well.

BOXERS AND BOSTONS AND PUGS, OH MY !!!

Still in bed so I thought I'd let the dogs out courtesy of Cheezburger.com .

ALL DRUGGED UP AND NO WHERE TO GO

I'm really feeling the shit today. I decided to take 2 Darvocet this afternoon, boy does that make me feel wicked. Back pain is kicking my ass and then some so I will only say that I'll hopefully be posting tomorrow morning IF and only if I feel better. So now if you'll excuse me I'll go lie down on the heating pad because that is the only thing lately that makes me feel good.
Ciao   >^.,.^<

MISCELLANEOUS MONDAY

Hey Everybody. I hope you had a great weekend. I certainly did.  First off, I want to share these 2 videos I found on You Tube.com over the weekend. I nearly died laughing my ass off at these two brothers Phil and Lee Edmonds. They also have their own site on You Tube. They are hilarious. First one is the Turkey Hunt and the other is Turkey Rap . These guys are really good. David almost fell out of his chair watching these videos on Sunday. Just check em out.

I just got a call from the Central Texas Pain Center. They are scheduling me for my first appointment with Dr Miller at 2 PM  on this Friday. WOOOOOOOOT !!!!  For all you that don't know or understand whats going on  ... let me splain it to you LUCY.

About  3 years ago I started having debilitating back pain. I've had the cocktail shots in the ass where the sciatic pain was for over the past 10 years before that. I found out just recently last year that I have arthritis and pinched nerves due to Degenerative Disc Syndrome in L3, L4, L5 and S1.  That's like nearly in the crack of my ass. I have gone through the gamut of tests and possible cures for the pain. There is no cure for the syndrome itself as well as the arthritis in my back. I have endured all this shit including the pain for the last part of my lifetime. Goddess only knows how many times I just wanted to take all the pain pills all at once and leave this body. But I know I am stronger then that and can get through this. Just this past fall I went through the delightful series of 3 wonderful Lumbar Injections into my spinal area. The doctor even hit the fucking nerve that almost made me stand up and do the Irish Jig on the surgical table. YES, you are awake during the whole fucking thing. That episode alone was just enough to want me to slap the silly fucking shit out of anyone who would ever THINK of touching my spine for the next millennium! It did do one thing good for me, it got rid of the nasty spasms running down and up both legs. But now, lets just say the Davocet only takes the edge off. And I'm fucking pissed because I have no relief, and lack of sleep is taking it's toll on me. Sorry for the rant. Well now my Orthopedic doctor wants me to go through almost the same thing again at the same surgical clinic with a new series of 3 Facet Injections (this site has the best info on it)and also burn the nerves if possible.  A friend told me her brother-in-law went through this and he was good for about a year, which is the standard time frame according to the Mayfield site. I just hope it works because being out of work sucks the big one, but being out of pain would rock my world !!  This is the absolute last chance before surgery, and I sure as hell don't want to have titanium rods clinking around in my fat ass.

Summer Classes for Women at  THE ADULT LEARNING CENTER REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED by Friday, June 12, 2009 NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM. Class 1 Up in Winter, Down in Summer - How to Adjust a Thermostat Step by Step, with Slide Presentation. Meets 4 wks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hrs beginning at 7:00=2 0PM.   Class 2 Which Takes More Energy - Putting the Toilet Seat Down, or Bitching About It for 3 Hours? Round Table Discussion. Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.     Class 3 Is It Possible To Drive Past a Wal-Mart Without Stopping?--Group Debate. Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.  Class 4  Fundamental Differences Between a Purse and a Suitcase--Pictures and Explanatory Graphics. Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks. Class 5 Curling Irons--Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Bathroom Cabinet? Examples on Video. Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM   Class 6 How to Ask Questions During Commercials and Be Quiet During the Program Help Line Support and Support Groups. Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM Class 7 Can a Bath Be Taken Without 14 Different Kinds of Soaps and Shampoos? Open Forum. Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours. Class 8 Health Watch--They Make Medicine for PMS - USE IT! Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:0020PM for 2 hours.   Class 9 I Was Wrong and He Was Right!--Real Life Testimonials. Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined.  Class 10 How to Parallel Park In Less Than 20 Minutes Without an Insurance Claim. Driving Simulations. 4 weeks, Saturday's noon, 2 hours. Class 11 Learning to Live--How to Apply Brakes Without Throwing Passengers Through the Windshield. Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined Class 12 How to Shop by Yourself. Meets 4 wks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.   Class 13 How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy--Remembering To Take a List To The Store, Avoiding Separate Trips for Each Item Needed. Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered. Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours. Class 14 The Stove/Oven--What It Is and How It Is Used. Live Demonstration. Tuesdays at 6:00 PM, location to be determined.   Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued  to the survivors.

~Author Unknown~

WHERE TO GET THE HTML CODE FOR YOUR SCROLLING BUTTON BOXES

For the longest time ... about 2 weeks now, I've been asking other bloggers if they would help me by telling me where they got the HTML code for their scrolling button box. Nobody has returned any email about it with any info. Well I found the HTML code, go to this site:
http://marissa-apeekintomylife.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-to-make-your-blog-buttons-scroll.html
Follow her instructions and then come back and follow mine below in the bold text to add the buttons to it.

I hope you put a title on it...Say like - "My Button Collection" 

Now, you have to get rid of the text that says :

This is where you add the HTML codes for your favorite buttons! ( You can add as many as you like!) 

Highlight all that on the HTML code and then hit the backspace key to erase it, if you don't do that it will show up in your scrolling box. When you finish doing all that, the two > < will meet and that part will say center">  </marquee with nothing in between but your cursor, with center" > on the left of your cursor and </marquee on the right. There should be no spacing YET. Now hit your ENTER key once. Your cursor should now be on the next line with:

</marquee . Where that cursor ended up is where you will put the HTML code for the button you want in there. Then at the end of THAT button HTML code you will hit the ENTER key and then add the next button code and so on and on. Each time you hit the ENTER  key is how much space you will have between buttons on the scroll.
Okay now you have the box ready with the buttons all added. The next thing is very critical...that's why I told you to save the code in your notebook on your computer. If you make mistakes or erase something you can click Remove and start over.

Click SAVE and then REVIEW to see what it looks like on your blog.

Now go back and play with the width and height numbers.


Where it says width and height the numbers 200 and 400 can be adjusted to fit the space on your sidebars. Go ahead and play with it when you get the buttons added. I have mine set at  WIDTH 210 and HEIGHT 300. Check mine out on the left side.

The number 5 adjusts for the speed... I left that alone. It's set at a perfect speed for me, but you might want it at 4 for a little slower.

Click SAVE and then PREVIEW  to see what it looks like. If you don't like it then keep playing with it until it's just the way you want it. 


Don't forget to click the SAVE button every time you want to view it or it might all disappear. You never know. If you have questions then put it in comments or email me. Comment anyways and don't forget to add my button to your new scroll.


Have fun playing with this and have a great weekend.
Brightest Blessings!

IT GOT BETTER

By the Goddess !!!  I had a load of crap to do yesterday. and a few important things too. To start my day off,  I had a freaking mind numbing migraine that wouldn't go away. I spent most of my morning lying down in my dark closet trying to get rid of it. Nope, didn't work this time. Other then that, my day got just freaking better and better.

First I had an appointment with my Orthopedic doctor for my back pain. I told him the Darvocet barely takes the edge off I needed something stronger. He said he can't give me anything stronger for pain relief for my back unless I want to be hooked up to a Morphine IV...ummm no thank you. That would only make my migraines worse.  I already went through the Lumbar Injections last year, now he wants me to go see Dr. Payne ironic, I know for Facet Injections. Since I went through the Lumbar crap now it's Facet? What next? This is gonna leave a mark I just know it. But he said it will be the very last thing I go through before the fusion surgery. If the facet crap works, we  can nix the surgery. Oh goody. Well, now I have to wait a week or two before they call me for an appointment with Doc Payne. Just lovely, my migraine got worse as my day got better.

David  was my chauffeur for my appointment with the doctor. So when I finished my visit I asked David if he wanted to go out for an early dinner to his favorite place Olive Garden. Of coarse he won't turn that down. We had a delightful time together, talking and eating and then we went home to the puppies. Why is it, whenever either one of us opens the door to the house after being gone for a while, the puppies always rush to jump all over me and not David? It never fails to amaze me...that they leave him alone and molest me every single time.  As the day went on, it got a little better.

The sun went down and I was getting ready for the evening ritual. I found my Hecate New Moon  ritual, the one I just added to my  BOS. I decided it would be perfect to do this one with the Water Healing Chant for tonight. More power involved. It was perfect. The whole ceremony was probably the best I've ever done. I was finished by midnight. I could still feel the energy shooting through me when I returned it to the Mother Earth. I am still a bit energized from it right now. That might be one of the big reasons why I can't sleep tonight. I just hope that we all gathered enough energy to help with the healing. The past 24 hours did get better... My migraine finally went away.

LIVING WITH FUZZY CHILDREN

Ahhhh yes, another sleepless night in Texas. It's raining nice and steady right now. Started at about 11:30 or so I suppose. Those are the kinds of nights I love. With a light rain and a little thunder thrown in for good measure... I could wake David up and... umm never mind.  The thunder is starting to get louder. That storm is getting the babies a bit spooked. Comforting  my favorite  little Boston, Lucy Belle is good enough for me. She has moved to the pillow in back of me on my Executive chair. I have to sit with that thing the pillow, not Lucy, for comfort. But she loves to be constantly near momma, at least when momma is available.

I read a recent blog post about the reasons why you should never sleep with your pets. That kind of bothered me. I happen to not mind it when Lucy, Spunky and Pebbles want to sleep with me. David and I keep the puppies, yes I call them puppies because they are my fuzzy babies...well we keep them very clean and healthy. They take Comfortis for the flea problem and we give them their Heart worm meds every month as directed. We give them baths every weekend and keep them well groomed. David says he has never had such clean little house dogs in his life. We had them all spayed and neutered, and they see the vet, God they love the vet,  when they need their checkups. I say if your pets are kept healthy and clean, sure let them share your bed if you want them to, just not all the time and not every night. Make sure they understand that they have their own place to sleep just like you do.

Anywho, they like to come and sleep with me during the day when I'm not feeling good. Lucy and Pebbles actually fight over who is gonna sleep next to "momma". I think they yell dibs for whoever gets to me first. Seems like all three of them also call shotgun when I take them for rides to the park to let them run. They are constantly fighting over me just like little kids...and boy, do they hold a grudge !!  Sometimes, when I have to yell at them to stop arguing, I never spank them, They will ignore me as if I wasn't there. Spunky will  ignore me like he was a 16 year old boy. I swear it's true. He will turn his head away from me if I ask him if he needs to go outside. Like he's saying "yeah,  whatever mom."

Spunky(picture on left - he has OCD bad) is the only male Boston. We've had him for 7 years now. He is David's walking buddy. I swear those two go through withdrawal symptoms if they don't get to go walking at least twice a day. Spunky used to be the Alpha dog ... not anymore. Spunky has one bane in life and that's Lucy.

Lucy (see the picture on right with David) Belle is the youngest of the three puppies we have and the other Boston of the group. She is 3 years old and a daddy's girl. She has one passion and that is to tease anyone and anything that crosses her path. She has to tease poor Spunky every chance she gets. I think she dreams of new ways to do bad things to him while she sleeps. She is the instigator in all arguments between the puppies. She steals the toys from the toy box and hides them in her bed. David and I have found many a toy missing for days, stashed in her blankets like lost treasures. I have a saying... Most puppies have fleas, Spunky and Pebbles have Lucy.

That finally brings me to poor, poor, little Pebbles. She is the second oldest, 6 years old in the group. She is a Boston-Chihuahua mix that we rescued from a puppy farm. They were going to use her to breed with Bostons to make them smaller. She is all black and white with markings like a Boston Terrier. She was very skittish when we first got her...still is, the poor little baby. It took us 2 years to get her to come out of her shell, to even get the guts to come to me on her own. She must have been SO abused when those creeps had her. There are times that I feel like crying because she is still so scared of people.  Thank the Goddess for Lucy. If it wasn't for her, Pebbles would probably still be like she was the first day we brought her home. Instead of now, the feisty little devil and her accomplice in crime, Lucy,  are constantly thinking up new ways to make The Spunker's life miserable. Poor, poor Spunky.

THE HEALING OF THE COAST

I thought everyone might want to see this healing chant that a friend emailed to me this morning.  I plan to use it during the new moon to help in the healing of our coastal waters and shores.

The Healing for the Coast

Healing energy of all life,

We call unto you on this night.

Bring the wisdom that they can start,
To find the healing for your heart.
By earth and land and winds that blow,
Protect your waters and the creatures below.
By sea and wave that feed our shores,
Stop this bleeding of the oceans core.
We give our energy unto your power,
Hand and hand united in this hour.

By the tide of oceans and of seas,

Unto this healing, 

blessed be

*NOTE *  I found where my friend got the chant above. I supplied a link in the title.   Check out the site it's pretty cool.