JustLisa

It's been about three weeks since I had a night with over four hours of sleep. Tonight it is thanks to a car with no muffler. I think going muffler-less is a prerequisite for paper carriers who stop at nearly every house at 2AM.

Once something like that wakes me up, my brain kicks into overdrive. Tonight/this morning I am thinking about C's dad. His paternal grandfather passed away and although he's been failing for years, I can't imagine it's easy.

I first met his grandparents when C. was a little over a month old. We took a four generation picture of the Whirrett men which was also C's first picture on an old John Deere tractor. He's a John Deere man to this day and I've always joked it's from that early experience with his grandpas and the old tractor. When his dad told him the news, he felt bad that he didn't remember his great grandpa and I felt bad that I didn't know him well enough to fill in any information for him.

I better get back to bed since the morning starts in about 90 minutes. As always, it's not a holiday for us since Todd works every week day regardless of the designation.

Ever had a shiskabob skewer shoved up your nose? Pretty sure I have. I woke up this morning with a throat so sore that I couldn't stand it and my whole body ached. My normal clinic was full so I went to the other one. The other one is a shared service with the mental health provider so half the clinic is medical and half is educational. I say educational because every trip is an education into the less fortunate. This world has some crazy people in it for sure!

I had to sit in the exam room and wait for a very long time. I was fine with that since they were full also and were trying to work me in. What wasn't fine was the air conditioner blasting artic air on me. When I am sick and chilling already, I want warm. Lots and lots of warm. Anyway, after an hour of freezing, the doc came in and said my throat was significantly red so he was ordering some tests. Tests were for strep, mono and influenza. The tech explained one required swabbing my throat, one was a finger poke for a drop of blood and the other was a nose swab. My reaction to pain is always a wish to grant the same pain back to whatever or whoever caused it. She is very lucky she did not get punched as she "swabbed" my nose. Swab = being skewered and nose = sinuses. Damn, it hurt worse than child birth.

The tests all came back negative. I asked for a Lyme test but he said Lyme disease didnt cause sore thoat. I've since read that it is a symptom but the internet can be wrong I guess. I'm to get lots of rest, drink lots of fluid and treat the symptoms. I think Todd must have had a premonition because he bought me three boxes of Puffs with lotion just a couple of weeks ago. Thank God for the lotion.... or the person (surely a woman) who invented such a great thing as tissues with lotion.

I hate being sick but when my temperature goes up, I just get mad. I know it goes up for a reason but damnnnnn... that miserable achy feeling that comes along with it. The eyeballs burning sensation. I just hate it. GRRRRRR!

The thing about this is that I have been sooooo incredibly careful with school starting to wash my hands repeatedly. Like every time I go out of the house and come back in. I have enough Germ-X to float a boat in alcohol scented jel. It's in every room and every vehicle. Yet here I am... burning up with a fever. Nose is stuffed. Head and body feel oh so heavy. And who kicked me in the back???!!!!

I'm drinking lots of fluids, including hot tea. I cannot rest for the cough and the aches are too much to sleep through. This is just miserable. bleh.

Meds I've tried over the last 48 hours:

Nyquil
Dayquil
Sudafed
Robitusson (whoever flavored that should be forced to drink castor oil)
Delsym (flavored by the same joker who did the Robitusson)
ibuprofen
aspirin

and I have slathered Vicks Vaporub all over like my grandma used to do to me. I skipped the warm towel part though. She used to heat towels in the dryer, liberally apply vicks, then wrap me like a mummy in the hot towels and send me to bed with a kiss and a hug.

As I become more politically involved, things heat up on the homefront. Todd, God and Glock love him, is a one issue voter (guns) with a definite Republican leaning. Any political conversation in this house takes a bad turn within ten seconds so I found a new place for political debate. It's a bulletin board where you can easily find your issue(s) and read what others think and then get in there and debate without fear of marital strife. As with any forum of this type, you have to skip over the idiots who abuse civil discussion.

Yay for the Packers! I am so glad Brett Favre came back for another season. It wasn't the big shutout I'd have liked to have seen but a win is a win. My Bears and Chiefs just gave it away today. I still don't have much of a voice but I did a fair amount of trying to yell at the television.

When I'm sick, things start piling up and I go nuts wishing we had a bigger house that would swallow the clutter a little more efficiently. Before we can get a bigger house, we have to take the next decade and fix up this one.

The most logical place to start is a small room with the most opportunity for return on the money. For us, that'd be the bathroom. We had just a tub when we moved in but have since put in a cheap tub surround and a hand held shower. It's long been my wish to have one of those large shower heads that is like standing in the rain. Looking through tub and shower faucets, I see there are plenty to choose from. Of course I gravitate towards the most expensive but the site allows you to sort from low to high price so you can try and avoid looking at the high end. I know you can't though. Go ahead, take a peek at 1k faucet. You can also sort by configuration, finish, brand or style.

Friday night we babysat a friends' little girl who just turned two. Last night we watched the new baby. I wish I'd have been this clear when Christopher was a baby. It's just so nice to be around little ones and be coherent. Christopher's first year was pretty much a fog for me. I was so tired that I went on autopilot and missed those little things like the shape of a new elbow. He was so colicky that he would just scream and puke 99% of the time. I'm glad we took lots of pictures but I will always wish I could have had those quiet moments to just revel in being a mom.

Every year Tom Harkin hosts a fall fundraiser steak fry and I had intended to go this year. Of course Obama was there as well as Clinton, Biden, Dodd, Edwards and Richardson. There was to be a HUGE Obama rally beforehand and I was incredibly excited. Then came the problems. First, this cold or whatever that will not go away. My nose looked redder than Rudolph's and my energy level is non-existent. Second, Todd won't admit to being a Republican but he sure is anti-Democrat. He wouldn't go with me. I couldn't find anyone else to go so when I found out it was to be webcast, I decided to stay home and watch it online. Then more problems. The webcast had technical difficulties and was a no-go. I heard from a friend that the day went very well. Over 3,000 Obama supporters showed up and the campaign gave out free t-shirts and other goodies. Now I am just waiting for the speeches to hit YouTube.

Christopher's going to need new boots for hunting this year. His feet are growing so fast that he's already outgrown his school shoes bought just two months ago. I'm looking at camo Danner boots. These boots have a lace cover which is great feature for turkey hunting when they go clear out in the tules through cockleburs and sticktights. Waterproof and insulated with Gortex are big bonuses for hunting.

For Todd, Danner boots makes "cop" boots and even still make the pair he used to wear. Shipping is free on orders over $100. That's pretty much any product since they are quality boots and not cheapies. The prices are very competitive though and remember, you get what you pay for.

Yesterday we spent the day at "grandpas" farm, helping him get things back in order. Grandpa is 94 years old and still lives on his own. Until just a couple of years ago he farmed his land and is always so generous, never knowing a stranger. Lately he has started to feel bad that his farm has fallen into disrepair. Family started paying attention to this little things he'd wish he could get out and do and we made a list. Six of us started on that list yesterday.

We cut and hauled off at least fourteen big trailers of brush and tree sprouts from the fence rows and outbuildings. Ten hours later, fourteen hours for some, we had a quick supper and discussed what was left. Never have I felt more appreciated than when I said goodbye to grandpa. He said "I used to see old people and think I'll never be in that shape and now here I am.. in that shape." He kept saying "thank ya until you're better paid" and going on about how it sure was nice to not have so much to worry about. There is still a lot of work to do and I hope the help keeps coming until it's all done for winter.

If you have an extra bit of time, spend it on someone else and see how good you feel.

This month has not been a good one for me. I started the month with a respiratory thing that lasted three weeks. I was not ready for school start at all. Summer went by way too fast and that means trying to get back into jeans again. Every year I have to go up a size and usually end up spending the winter months layered in sweats. Depressing.

My cousins came back and didn't get to stay long enough. One of my best guy friends from the Air Force came back for the first time in nine years and didn't get to stay long enough. Eva is busy with college so only seeing her once a week, if that. Same with Lacey only I don't see her unless I go to her.

September was a terrible month productivity-wise at work and at home. I hope October brings sunshine to melt away the blahs and then November brings snow. Refresher course in the quirks of Lisa... I love snow!

Last night Todd and I stopped in Alco and they had Christmas stuff out already. Insane. Some day I'd like to have a few hours to gather my thoughts on this crazy, fast paced life Americans lead but right now I have a trumpet player who needs to get going to Pancake Day. I can only imagine how that must read to Faith.