{UPDATE}

so much for our big storm. nothing more than a few sprinkles so far tonight so Kendall got to go trick or treating. for my troubles, I earned a 'fun size' butterfinger and a 'fun size' almond joy... pfffft. fun size??! puh-leeze! there's nothing 'fun' about having to open 16 dozen leeetle tiiiiny candy bars just so I can get my sugar grove on. gaaah, my laziness is probably the only thing saving me from slipping into a diabetic coma! lol dangit, I just realized I didn't bring the camera upstairs -I'll post a pic of K in her witch get-up, tomorry.

*update on my update*

okay, it's not exactly tomorry, but here's my dot, witched out for h'ween. after starting the eye make-up she decided she didn't want to be an "ugly witch" and put the kibosh on the creepy, full face make-up. *gaaah* impatient little party pooper! lol

hoppy hollow weiners

hmmmph -woke up this morning with a bad case of the uglies and the mood to match. good news is I don't have to come up with a costume because nothing, and I do mean NOTHING, would be any scarier than what was looking back at me from my mirror this morning -yikes. bad news? I have to live in my skin all day and try to keep from doing or saying anything that makes peeps want to slip me arsenic laced candy bars. ggrrrr

go figger... we've had gorgeous fall weather here the past couple of weeks and last night, a storm rolls in. not a good, snuggle up inside by the fire, kick ass rain storm -no. it's a freakin windy, drizzly pain in the ass. I already told Kendall, in the event that it's pouring outside, mama's not hauling her bewitched booty from door to door -even if it means no overflowing candy bucket for me to raid. I know, bah humbug and all that crap. however, to make it up to my grill, I've agreed to endure torture worse than any ghosts or goblins could dish out... we're going to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua. *sigh* glutton for punishment? yeah, that would be me. obviously, my love knows no bounds.

**also, just want to pass on a quick little PSA that a friend of mine shared recently:

Sherwood's Milk Chocolate Pirate's Gold Coins
The little foil-covered chocolate coins are not safe for kids to eat this Halloween. They are made in China and contain the Melamine that children's deaths were related to recently!!!!! With Halloween coming soon, pass this on to your family and friends. It is true, Read the full story at the following link from Snopes: http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/coins.asp

rockin and a'rollin

whoa nelly! we've been having earthquakes since really early this morning. Pop called me at about 9:00am to see if I'd felt the one at around 2:30am -I didn't feel anything and usually earthquakes in the middle of the night wake me up, so I figured it must have just been Heidi (Pop's Rottweiler) moving around in the trailer- she's a big girl.

I got on the USGS site and sure enough we had a shaker at 2:27am and it was a 4.9, centered about 41 miles SW of Eureka -I can't believe I didn't feel that! Poor Pop musta been kinda freaked because he just kept saying that it was the biggest one he's felt since he's been here, how it just kept shaking, it must have lasted over a minute and on and on... lol. I feel bad because he's living in a trailer and even though we've anchored it down tight, with big chains and all, he's worried it's going to pull loose and go careening down the hillside and land in our pond. I tell him not to worry, in the event he did go over the hillside (which isn't gonna happen) he'd have to turn a couple of pretty sharp turns in order to make it into either of the ponds... somehow that didn't have the comforting effect that I'd hoped -lol!

we just had another quake a few minutes ago. this one was a 3.5 but was centered 27 miles N of Eureka. looks like that's about the 5th one in our area since early this morning. it'll be interesting to see what happens throughout the day.

trading places

it's a bit ironic how roles change between parent and child as years roll by. Jack and I moved my Pop up here to live with us 2 & 1/2 years ago -and when I say live WITH us, I mean, we have him out in our front yard in a 38ft trailer. yes, it's true, I've turned my 73 year old father into trailer trash, and we couldn't be happier. :)

it's a win/win for all of us. the hubs and I don't have to worry about Pop not being able to get out and get his meds or groceries. Pop doesn't have to worry about being alone or having to take care of the upkeep on his big old house and yard -and probably the most important thing is that my kids get to hang out and really know their Papa.

I feel very fortunate that a) my hubs is cool with having my Pop around and that they get along. 2) we have the space and resources to make this happen, and c) that I'm able to share a friendship with my Pop that has enriched our father/daughter relationship.

Not having to worry about Pop being alone or being able to get out and about for his meds and/or groceries has been a big relief -a little background; Pop is diabetic and had a pacemaker put in a few years ago, he takes a multitude of meds for his blood pressure, cholesterol, blah blah blah and consequently due to the diabetes, he's got neuropathy which affects the nerves in his feet, in turn affecting his balance -he uses a cane to help keep him steady. like anyone with multiple medical issues, Pop has his good days, weeks, months as well as his more challenging times. before we moved him up here he was going through a rough spell which made it hard for him to do much of anything without easily exhausting himself. he had a hard time just going to the market for a half gallon of milk much less making the rounds for all of his groceries and there were spells when we weren't sure he was getting out to pick up his meds, and if he did get out we were worried about him driving. I do have a brother, that lived fairly close to Pop but he has his own set of issues and well, ...that's a whole 'nuther post. suffice to say, Pop was on his own and it was time that he needed help, he's a proud man so it took some finagling, but here he is.

my job as a 'stay at home' mom has now evolved to include 'caregiver' to Pop. honestly, I never in a million years would have seen this scenario playing out this way. my Pop has always been a big strong man who worked like an ox so, in my mind, I never thought he'd need looking after. it's funny how life has a way of throwing us curve balls.

since Pop's been here, I've learned so many things about myself and what I'm capable of doing. shortly after he got settled into his new digs, he had a situation come up that required debriding and cleansing his feet and changing bandages. it was awful -but not because it was gross (which it was) but because I was afraid I was hurting him, which just killed me... it was very much like taking care of my kids when they've hurt themselves, knowing that it just had to be done. I think that's when it hit me how much our roles have changed from me being a little kid, sitting on the bathroom counter while he cleaned out my ears, to me now, helping him trim his fingernails or put on his shoes. trading places hasn't been exactly easy but it's all good, and so worth it.

all is right with the world again

*sigh* I'm just so friggin happy right now, I'm almost afraid to jinx myself by sharing the news, but...

MY INTERNET IS *finally* GOOD AGAIN!!

{wOOt!}

my sooper-dooper hubs did a little research and found a new i-net company for us so we can finally dump HUGES (good for nothing) NETWORK -or as I've not so affectionately re-named them: HUGE NUT WART. admittedly, I know nothing about the intricacies that make the world wide web work but I do know that when I pay for something it had better freakin GO... HN had trouble with that concept and well, bottom line? -they had really shitty customer service, plain and simple.

Our new provider is called 101 NETLINK and it's broadband wireless internet -so it's way faster and uh did I mention CHEAPER ?! -yeah, by about $15 a month! These guys came out tonight, after normal business hours, and got us all hooked up and yeehaw!, I'm good to go again! oh yes... I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. *sigh*

still here

been having freaking internet problems. hopefully things should be fixed soon (fingers crossed) -that, or I may end up doing 25 to life in the big house... technical difficulties make me a leeetle cRaZy!!