Note to self....

When you are preheating the oven for dinner, make sure you check inside it first....because there may just be something inside you DON'T want to cook.

The other night I had to go to work a little early. I had just bought a bag of Doritos and decided to hide it because I knew that the kids were scarf them down as soon as I walked out the door...so, I just popped them into the oven, KNOWING that I wasn't planning on using it for a couple of days AND that the kids would NEVER look in the oven. Hmmmm....so tonight, I preheated the oven for dinner and was on the computer in the next room waiting for it to hit the right temperature. I began to hear something crackling in the kitchen, but just figured it was the wind blowing the papers on the fridge as the back door was open. I finally began to smell something (rather good actually) and suddenly my brain kicked in, put the smell and crackling sound together and BOOM! Cooked Doritos! OMG! I flung open the oven door to discover this:

Of course, when I went to grab the bag with my hand (stoooooopid), the bag disintegrated and the Doritos spilled ALL OVER the oven. Now, how would YOU clean up hot doritos out of a hot oven, because you HAVE to cook dinner NOW as you are leaving for work in an hour....so, I got two spatulas and attempted to shovel the burnt chips into a Tupperware bowl. Now, the funny thing is listening to Peaches try to explain to Lulabell why she doesn't have chips to go with her dinner:

Peaches: The chips are gone...
Lulabell: No they aren't...I just had some last night!
Peaches: They're just gone....mom cooked them.
Lulabell: WHATTTT!
Peaches: Mom cooked them in the oven....
Lulabell: You're lying!!!! WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT??? SHUT UP!!!!
Peaches: (Laughing) I don't know why, but she cooked them...
Lulabell: (Stomping up the stairs) MOMMMMMM!!!!!! (Outrage) WHY DID YOU COOK THE DORITOS!
Mom: Well, it's kind of a funny story actually.....
Lulabell: (Tasting the burned Doritos) Mmmmm, they taste pretty good actually (munch, munch). They're fine!

So, that's the story of my burned Doritos....gotta get a move on now....more soon!

Guess what? More surgery...

Yep, that's right boys and girls....the surgery fairy has struck our family once again and this time aimed her wand at......Lulabell. We took a trip to the Cleveland Clinic yesterday to check her optic nerve swelling and the doctor, after 2 years of poo-poohing my suggestion for surgery, took 1 look at her nerves and said, "it's time for surgery". Just like that..... So, sometime in the next month or so, Lulabell will have surgery to create "windows" in her left optic nerve sheath, to allow the excess fluid she mysteriously has in her head to flow out the windows, thereby taking the pressure of the optic nerve. The pressure causes her optic nerve to not work well, which causes blind spots in her vision. She is not aware of these blind spots per se, but visual field testing did reveal these to be present - mostly in the left eye, although her right optic nerve is similarly swollen. Fortunately, in about half the cases, surgery on one eye reduces the swelling in the other eye as well, so both eyes are not usually operated on. There is the possibility however, that surgery on the right eye will need to be done at some point in the future though. She has had this condition (usually called pseudotumor cerebri or idiopathic intracranial hypertension) for at least 3 years now. It is in no way related to her retinal issues, which are presently quiescent (not active). She was on medication for this for about a year and underwent several spinal taps for it in the past. The usual symptom for this condition is headaches, but fortunately, Lulabell has not suffered from these - her only symptom is visual, which is dangerous as the visual loss could be permanent if not treated. So, her surgery is called optic nerve fenestration ("window") and is performed as an outpatient under a general anesthetic. I have included a link for more information if you would like to follow it.

http://www.nanosweb.org/patient_info/brochures/PseudotumorCerebri.asp

I though this information was helpful and easy to understand. I will, of course, put up more information when I get it from the doctors - Sigh.......never a dull moment, eh?

Vacay Pics!

Hey - the first pic is a picture of Stu industriously cleaning out the pop cooler not 5 minutes after our arrival to the trailer....then the sunset our first night....then Lulabell enjoying the sunset, then Lulabell at the beach our second day and Peaches at the second beach...beautiful huh?

Our wonderful mini-vacation.....back to the rat race....

Ooooh, I'm so tired, but I'm soooo happy! Just got back from our mini-vacay....had a terrific time, even though it was only for 2 days....Mom let us stay at her trailer and it was perfect for us....nobody is really there on the weekdays so we pretty much had the entire place to ourselves, especially the pool! Monday we got there about 2PM or so and mom's neighbors D&G were there, welcoming us. We hung out with them a bit and made plans to hit the beach later for the sunset. We hiked on over to Wal-Mart and got a few supplies we needed, then headed back to the trailer for dinner. I just started reading the Twilight series and needed the second book DESPERATELY! Dinner was hamburgers and corn on the cob, which was delish (I know corn isn't strictly a veggie, but it is in MY book!) We decided to head to the beach for the sunset and boy, am I ever glad that we did....I was indescribably beautiful...D brought her dog, and we had a great time lobbing huge sticks into the water for her. It was well past sundown when we finally left, reluctantly. We watched the Olympics and settled in our very comfortable surroundings. Tuesday morning we were up VERY early, I'm not sure why. The weather was a bit of a letdown from the day before, overcast, rainy and a little chilly. We hung out with D and played Uno, which is almost a requirement when you stay up there. It was fun and finally the sun was peaking out a bit. Stu, Lulabell and I went for a walk around the entire marina, stopping to chat with various people along the way. By about 3 or so it was obvious that the sun had won its battle with the clouds as brilliant sunshine arrived to stay. We had gone to the mall to get me the third book in the series (I had read the second book in about 8 hours or s0). We headed home and the kids talked us into a swim in the marina pool and we really had a good time as we had the entire pool to ourselves! Even Stu, who is not much of a swimmer, fooled around in the deep end and managed to keep himself from drowning. Dinner was spaghetti and garlic bread which we completely devoured. It was about 7:30 by that time and we decided to head back to the beach for another sunset. This time we headed to a different beach, which was a little more private. Again, we had a great time playing in the sand and surf and Stu and Peaches walked along the breakwater on the big rocks. The sunset didn't disappoint and we just wished the day wouldn't end. Ice cream was the order of the day at that point and we headed over to the DQ where the kids (to their surprise and delight!) were allowed to get blizzards...which are perfectly scrumptious if you have never had one..... We headed home in the dark and settled in for another night of Olympics. I swear, I don't what I am going to do with Stu after the Olympics are over as he is absolutely GLUED to the TV every evening from 8-2AM! He's gonna go through Olympics-withdrawal, I'm sure of it. Wednesday morning began with bright sunshine and a bit of a breeze. We cooked breakfast and then settled in for another game of Uno. We began to reluctantly clean up and pack in preparation for heading home (NOOOOO!) Lulabell really wanted to swim at the beach, although nobody else really wanted to. She made such a pest of herself about it that we decided to go and have a picnic there prior to heading home. It actually turned out to be rather beautiful and Lulabell got her fill of swimming in the lake while the rest of us sunned and walked the beach looking for "beach glass". Finally, we headed to the picnic area and made our lunch and ate it in the company of a million seagulls (Mine! Mine! Mine! - if you have seen the wonderful movie Finding Nemo, you'll get my reference). Finally, by about 2 we decided to head home, with Stu thankfully driving so I could read some more....home again. The cats had spent the last 2 days in the basement with plenty of food and water, but there were definitely glad to see us (where the HELL have you guys been?). Back to reality - work, school, grossness.....Stu is heading to CA next week (I hate him) and the kids start school on Wednesday. I think they are a bit excited but won't admit it. I'm definitely NOT excited as you know that I HATE HOMEWORK!!!!! Well, that's our story....what a great couple of days...BIG thanks to my mom who graciously allowed us to stay in her wonderful trailer....

NEWSFLASH - Splitstone is burning.....

Here is a picture taken less than 30 minutes ago on East State Street in Hermitage (thanks to Stu!). The building is leased by Splitstone Video (formally Stigliano's Book Shop and coffee house). It has been burning for about an hour or so and there are lots of people watching apparently....more later.

Just another week - bone and skitters

This is a picture of a piece of tooth/bone that migrated out of my gum this morning. I had been feeling something sharp in my gum for a few days and thought it was just a sliver of bone coming out (I've had this before, but really, it was just a sliver). Then this morning, this monstrosity fell out of my mouth and the place where it had been felt SO much better! Yikes! I hope you appreciate it's size next to the dime...Okay - I know it's kinda gross, but come on!

Hey good friends….a week has just flown by and I’m afraid I don’t have too much to say about it. It was just another week, getting us closer to Stu’s trip and closer to school. We are hoping to get away for a few days next week, just a mini-vacay, but desperately needed. I spent the weekend getting rather intimate with the toilet as I had some "intestinal problems" that Imodium just wasn’t touching. Had a lot of back pain too….not really sure what was up, but I finally got some Imodium Liquid gels and that seemed to "stem the flow" of things. Feeling much better today, thank God. Nobody else at home was sick, so it is a mystery. Peaches saw the eye doctor yesterday and everything is A-okay with him…we got him a haircut also and he is looking mighty fine…..we are considering contacts (contact?) for him because he looks so good without his glasses…Lulabell piped up about getting some too…we’ll see I guess. We’ve done some school shopping but certainly not enough to satisfy the kids…as if they could ever be satisfied. Weather has cooled down somewhat but it has been lovely…mid-70s. The pool needs a little attention but since the kids aren’t begging to use it I have not made it a priority. I’m hoping to get it back up to speed here in a few days. I wish I had more to tell, except that we have been enjoying the Olympics here, watching it most every night….the very exciting men’s swimming relay where America beat the French was awesome! Stu and I were laying in bed watching and we both WOO-HOO’d our heads off when they won….I’m sorry to have missed the men’s gymnastics (I SO enjoy seeing them in their little shorts), but the men’s diving more than made up for that! (teeny-tiny speedos!). Looking forward to women’s gymnastics and track and field personally. REALLY enjoyed the opening night ceremony – outstanding. Although I did hear today that the little girl who sang was only lip-synching for another little girl who apparently just wasn’t cute enough to satisfy the Chinese politicians – pretty sad. She certainly has a wonderful voice and may I say, after seeing a picture of the singer, that she is just cute as a bug in my opinion….what a superficial society we are living in. Well, that concludes my social commentary for the day…have a good one!

I affectionately call this simply, "Joe's tongue"

Here it is August again...

The first two pictures show the garden we made for Daisy in our back yard. It really turned out well...we sprinkled her ashes there and planted the flowers. Stu will take the rest of her ashes to California with him and sprinkle them where we used to live....

The third picture is Lulabell and Stu hiking at a nearby park. We just kind of discovered this place...that wall dates back to the French-Indian war! It runs along the Shenango River, just downstream from the Shenango Dam. It is a beautiful place and easy to hike. Sunday evening was probably the most beautiful evening I have seen in a long time and we took a picnic dinner and sat next to the river to eat it...very relaxing and peaceful. I had to work that evening and then had to stay up Monday morning so I could take Peaches to his doctor's appointment for his legs. We found out, after a very cool x-ray of his entire lower body while he was standing, that his right femur is about 3 cm longer than the left! This is about a 1 1/2 inch difference in leg lengths, which explains his unusual gait. The doctor said that unfortunately, because his growth plates in his legs are just about closed, there really isn't anything to be done. If he had been younger, with open growth plates, she would have performed surgery on the longer leg to stop it from growing and let the other leg "catch up" to it. Sigh...so, what's left is that Peaches needs to wear an orthotic in his shoe. Now, because an inch is too much to just place a lift inside his shoe under his heel, that we have to get him shoes that the orthotist will then cut into the sole and place the orthotic there. Don't know yet how much this is going to cost, but I am hoping insurance will cover it...I finally got to sleep at about 2 and slept until 6. Thank God I didn't have to work tonight or I would be a zombie....I asked my mom if we could use her trailer for a mini-vacation in two weeks, just for a few days, and she graciously said yes, so that will be nice. There's a lot to do up there, swim in the pool, fish, swim at the beach, etc. It will be nice to get away at least for a few days. Then at the end of the month, Stu heads west and school will start, which the kids are actually looking forward to. I'm not as I HATE HOMEWORK!!!!! Several of my friends have also said how much a pain in the ASS it is to help with homework. It's funny, I do not remember my parents having to help me with my homework - except once when my dad and I made a pretty cool volcano, which I think won a prize. I wonder what ever happened to that volcano.....mom?