is there a doctor in the house???

if i get a headache i automatically assume that i surely must have a brain tumor...a sore throat is a clear indication of throat cancer...the least little hint of pain in my chest means that i am only seconds away from congestive heart failure...

no really...i think this way...

to say that i tend to over dramatize and over react is a GROSS understatement...

about an hour ago i was going to go to the emergency room...

let me start from the beginning...

today started out just like every other day...jonah started crying and i jumped out of bed to get him...that is where things got freaky...

as soon as i took the first step i stumbled to the left and crashed into the dresser...i regained my balance and the same thing happened again...ok so i thought i must have got up too fast...

i took jonah and made my way to the living room and sat down...and when i finally stood up again...i stumbled across the living room...it was at this point that i had decided that i was having or had already had a stroke...

i just sat around most of the day feeling weird...dizzy and light headed...

by the time phillip got home i was feeling ok but still not completely normal...but i just ignored it...at least i had stopped the stumbling thing...

i left for class and about an hour into the lecture my face started feeling really hot and tingly on the right side...then it felt like it was swelling...i turned around and asked my sister in law if my face was red and i could tell by her bulging eyes that my face was indeed red...she asked me if i was ok...and i said yeah i think so...

after i got home i told phillip that i thought he needed to say a prayer for me because something was bad wrong...like i think i thought i was going to die...(no really!)

i considered going to the ER but i didnt want an enormous hospital bill and i decided against it...

anyway.......to make a long story less long...i will get to my self diagnoses

a few days ago i announced that i was averaging about 6 diet cokes a day and that i was going to stop drinking it...and i fact i have stopped...i havent consumed a diet soda in 7 days...

seeing how this is the only thing that i have done differently lately...i decided to go online and see if there could be some kind of connection between the weird things i have been experiencing over the past few days and the diet soda...

i was shocked at what i found...all of the 'symptoms' that i have had are all listed as symptoms of aspartame (the artificial sweetner in diet soda) withdrawal...

i have consumed a lot of diet soda DAILY for the past 3 or 4 years and i really think that quitting them is what is causing all of this freaky stuff....

but phillip and i decided that i should probably go ahead and make an appointment with the doctor...you know...just to rule out the stroke-heart disease-cancer-(insert any fatal disease here)...that i have convinced myself that i have...

blogging when i should be sleeping!!!

have you ever stayed up later than you should until you are extremely tired...and for some reason you don't go to bed...and EVERYTHING seems so funny...i mean things that you might normally just roll your eyes at makes you laugh hyesterically...

i think this happened to me tonight...i got home from school and got online for a while and started talking to my sister vickie on msn messenger...

well we always do this dorky thing where we change our messenger pics just to make each other laugh...so tonight i was just sitting here chatting and all of a sudden i see this picture pop up and i start laughing....laughing hard...like the crying kind of laughing...i am still laughing at this picture...

so i am gonna post the picture here...just to see if it is just as funny in the morning...hehe...

maybe i do need to go to bed.... ;P


i should add one more thing...after posting the picture vickie typed this:

Vickie says:

I think the cat is saying " get this damn thing off my head you bastard"......ok sorry for the dirty words but they needed to be said to express the cats feelings

what do you think the cat is saying???

another virtual dissection....

last night in biology we dissected a cow's eyeball...it was extremely gross...and of course i took pictures!!!


as soon as i saw and smelled it...i knew that i was NOT going to touch it...thank God my lab partner had NO reservations about it at all...

the whole thing was just gross...


i am so glad that there are only 2 weeks left in this semester...the bad thing is that next semester we are going to dissect a fetal pig and the heart, lungs and esophagus of a sheep...(ugh)...don't worry i will be sure to document it all in pictures!! :P

Monday Meme

16. I have two sisters and one brother.

yep...have 2 older sisters and one younger brother...and as of this weekend...all of them are bloggers...

my two sisters...marti and vickie have been blogging for a few months...my brother on the other hand just started blogging a couple of days ago...i was glad that he decided to blog...but then again i have some supspicions about his motives...haha anyway...go check him out and tell him that lu sent ya!!

click here to visit josh...

Happy Thanksgiving!!

ugh...i am stuffed...and miserable...too miserably stuffed to blog...

but...

Seth is happy!

and...

Jonah is healthy....


so...

I am thankful!

in touch with my feminine side???

ok so if you are a regular reader of my blog you know that i have mentioned more than twice that i am a tomboy...

that i RARELY (make that never) wear makeup...won't wear dress/skirt ('cept for occasionally to church)...God forbid that i would ever carry a purse!!! I hate shopping...i don't get my nails 'done' (i just cut them off...way off...i play the guitar...nails get in the way)...i think having a pedicure is a colossal waste of time...and i wear a baseball hat oh about 85 - 90% of my waking hours (it won't stay on in the bed haha!)...

i know i know you are saying...WHAT IS THE POINT LU???

well here is the point...the other day...phillip and i were going out...no where special...just out...

i decided that i would try to do something different...suprise phillip and put on makeup...dress really 'cute' (i would never say dress 'cute' in real life)...and the whole shebang...so i did...

i got ready...took one last look in the mirror...vowed that i would start wearing makeup more often...and my yankees hat less often...that i would try to be more 'girly' and 'cutesy' and all of those other dorky names....just for phillip...

so i closed the bedroom door behind me and prepared for my grand entrance into the living room where phillip was waiting...

i walked into the living room and walked over to him...he looked up...i was looking at him...i smiled...and he said....(drumroll please)...

are you ready to go...i'm starving!!

WHAT??? EXCUSE ME??? I JUST MADE MY GRAND ENTRANCE...AND DID THE WHOLE EXTREME MAKEOVER REVEAL...AND YOU DON'T EVEN NOTICE...WAAAAAAHHH!!!!

needless to say...i was crushed...and more than just a little aggravated...ok so i was MAD! and i vowed to never wear makeup again...and to have my yankees hat surgerically attached to my head!!!

but i sucked it in and we left...and that was that and the night ended with no mention of my 'new' look...

--fast forward to yesterday--

i mentioned the other day on my blog...that seth got a new puppy...well seems as if i have become the caretaker of said puppy...

so i was going outside yesterday to feed the puppy...and i got the dog food all mixed up and noticed that it was rainy and muddy outside...and i didnt want to get my shoes all cruddy...so i took them off and slipped my feet into phillips huge work boots...(ok so they are only 10 1/2 but they are huge on me)...and i proceeded to clop my way through the house and to the front door...

my hands were full and i asked phillip to open the door for me...he turned and looked at me...he looked down at my feet...back up to my face...and down at my feet again....

then he just looked up with the biggest grin spread across his face and said....

WOW!!! you sure look sexy in my work boots!!!

i told him to shutup and open the door...and he said...NO...REALLY YOU LOOK SEXY!!!

i rolled my eyes...tried not laugh as he opened the door with that look on his face (yeah you know the one) that told me that he indeed was not joking....

sigh.....i give up!!!

Monday meme...

67. I drink mass quantities of diet coke.

really i do...and interestingly enough...i have decided to quit drinking diet coke...i have been telling phillip for about a month that i am going to stop drinking it...but i just keep buying more...

i am going to try my dead level best to stop...i drink mass...MASS...quantities of the stuff....i really do crave it...if i get up in the morning and there is no diet coke...i will get dressed...get the kids dressed and go to the store just to buy some...oh yes i am addicted...

i easily drink 6 diet cokes a day...sometimes more...and i have decided to stop...cold turkey...

of course i am sitting here typing this...having just finished off a bottle of diet coke...but i know that it is bad for me...and large quantities is really bad for me...so wish me luck...and i will be sure to keep you posted...

the big day...

well...jonah is fine (yeah i know i was worried for nothing you say...)

he is still not feeling 100% but he is doing great...

we were at the hospital ALL day...and i am really tired...but i cant sleep...i think i have had way too much coffee and diet coke today...

jonah's surgeries were scheduled for 11 but it was actually about 12:30 before they took him...we had to try to entertain him most of the morning just waiting around...luckily there are lots of toys and places to play at the children's hospital...i took some pictures...

this is a picture of jonah and a little girl who was also waiting for surgery...she played with jonah and seth while we were waiting...until her and seth got into this huge argument...she told seth that jonah was HER brother...seth went into full blown drama queen mode...


here is phillip and jones...getting settled in to his room (jones was not thrilled)


riding around in the car....this he loved!!!

they gave him some medicine which the nurse called 'happy juice' before they took him to the O.R. -- he was not really so happy....just really drunk...it was kinda funny...


seth fell in love with the nurse...he is a freak like that...haha

here he is recovering...poor little guy...it was a long day...

i want to say thanks to all of my blogging buddies for all of the well wishes and prayers...you guys rock!! ;P

hey little bo peep...i found part of your sheep!!!

monday night i went to biology lab and made my way to my lab station to be greeted by this:

yep...that is a sheep's brain...all slimy and gross...i was none to thrilled to find out that we were going to have to dissect this...

it's not so much that i am grossed out by it...i just have this thing about germs...really i have this THING ABOUT GERMS...(i have issues....hehe)

now there are 4 people at each lab station and i knew that there was no way that i was going to do the cutting on this brain...so i immediately told the other girls that they could do it and i would watch...yeah they gave us gloves...but still...germs...and we all know that the germs can penetrate the latex gloves through diffusion...(i learned that back in the osmosis and diffusion chapter...) :P

anyway...i whipped out my camera and just decided to take pictures (of course i was just taking pictures to help me study...i would never take pictures just to have something to blog about! haha) ;P

i tried to look for all of the parts that we are going to be tested on...i think i saw the pineal gland...and the thalamus...and the medulla oblongata..but mostly i just saw a bunch of mush...and way too many opportunties to take pictures instead of actually learning anything...

i am not looking forward to this lab test...bascially because i just goofed off during lab...geez...if i only had a brain!!!!

just an update

this whole week is going to be busy for us...i am not sure how much 'quality' time i will get to spend blogging...

yesterday we took jonah for his pre-operative visit at the children's hospital...friday is the big day for his dental surgery and circumcision...the pre-operative visit was pretty much a waste of time...i drove 2 hours to nashville so a nurse practitioner could try to explain to jonah 'in terms he can understand' what they will be doing to him...sigh

the kid is only 22 months old...i was certain that unless barney the dinosaur came in singing to him he wouldnt even be remotely interested in what she had to say...let alone understand! geez louise!

anyway after she figured out that he was not playing along with her silly plan...she focused her attention on me...and she asked me if i had any questions or concerns...(HA! CONCERNS!! I AM THE WORLD CHAMPION WORRIER!!!)

i told her that my biggest concern was him being put to sleep...and she said...why are you concerned about that?

what i wanted to say back to her was....."um...hello...he has a heart defect...the two major risks with anesthesia are respiratory and cardiac 'events'...."

but what i ended up saying was...'um...well i am afraid they will put him to sleep and he will you know...um...well...you know" (i am such a tard)

she then did her best to try to calm my fears and reassure me...telling me that he had been put to sleep several times in the past and that his cardiologist thinks he will do just fine...

i am still worried but deep down i believe everything will be just fine...ugh

anyway on top of all of this...of course i have a test in biology this week and a power point presentation to whip up...there are only 4 weeks left in this semester....thank God!!

Monday MEME

if you want to play along with this fantabulous meme game....just go here.

50. I have never carried a purse.

it is true i have never carried a purse...and at this point in my life i am pretty sure that i never will...

i can carry a backpack or a diaper bag...but not a purse...i am not sure why i am like this...i just blame it on being a tomboy...

if i go out with my sisters or other girlfriends and they ask me to hold their purse...it totally freaks me out...i hate it...i just stand there with their purse and believe that everyone is staring at me and thinking...HAHAHA LOOK AT THAT TARD WITH THE PURSE!!!...it is one of the most uncomfortable feelings for me...sheesh!

i went to live with my aunt for a while when i was 18 and she bought me a purse...a denim one...and insisted that i carry it...i tried...i hated it...i trashed it...

i did however carry a pocket knife when i was growing up...and that felt completely normal! ;P

i am not sure van gogh started this way...

for some unknown reason comcast (my isp) stopped working yesterday...i hate it when that happens...

but on the other hand...it makes me realize how much time i waste spend on the computer...

so anyway...i decided to get out the paper and crayons and watch the kids draw...well seth drew...jonah ate crayons...

seth told me not to look at his picture until he was finished...so i didnt...a few minutes later he said "OK! -- don't look yet...but i have drawn a picture of me and you and jonah...you are mad at me and i am mad at you and jonah is crying because i just slapped him and that is why you are mad at me... and i am mad at you cuz you are mad at me....but don't get mad mom because it is just a drawing" (geez..i am raising a freak! hehe)

so i opened my eyes to this:

i love that little freak...

another meme for you-you...

1. Do you try to look hot when you go to the grocery store just in case someone recognizes you from your blog?
um...no...hahaha what a stupid question!

2. Are the photos you post Photoshopped or otherwise altered?
sometimes yes...most times no...

3. Do you like it when creeps or dorks e-mail you?
NO!!! I DON'T...I HATE IT...SO STOP DOING IT!!!

4. Do you lie in your blog?
no...i just try to be creative... ;P

5. Are you passive-aggressive in your blog?
no...but i really want to be!!!

6. Do you ever threaten to quit writing so people will tell you not to stop?
no that is stupid...

7. Are you in therapy? If not, should you be? If so, is it helping?
no...i just accept my freakiness...

8. Do you delete mean comments? Do you fake nice ones?
no and no

9. Have you ever rubbed one out while reading a blog?
rubbed one out??? i don't normally rub anything while reading a blog!!

10. If your readers knew you in person, would they like you more or like you less?
they would more or less like me... ;P

11. Do you have a job?
a job?? HA!! i am a stay at home mom by day and a college student by night......a job would be like a vacation to me...

12. If someone offered you a decent salary to blog full-time without restrictions, would you do it?
depends...are you offering?

13. Which bloggers do you want to meet in real life?
this one is easy...mel and robin...

14. Which bloggers have you made out with?
none...i don't like to be touched...you need to read my archives....

15. Do you usually act like you have more money or less money than you really have?
what is the point???

16. Does your family read your blog?
my mom and sisters read it...

15. How old is your blog?
almost 7 months

18. Do you get more than 1000 page views per day? Do you care?
no i dont get more than 1000 views per day...i probably cared about that in the past...i dont care about it now...

19. Do you have another secret blog in which you write about being depressed, slutty, or a liar?
no...i have enough trouble keeping this one updated...

20. Have you ever given another blogger money for his/her writing?
nope...

21. Do you report the money you earn from your blog on your taxes?
what do you think i am a 'tard??? of course i don't...

22. Is blogging narcissistic?
totally...

23. Do you feel guilty when you don't post for a long time?
a little...

24. Do you like John Mayer?
i would like him more if he didnt make those retarded faces when he sings...

25. Do you have enemies?
i hope not...

26. Are you lonely?
most of the time...

27. Why bother?
exactly.

MEME Monday

96. I dont like housepets.

ok i should probably revise this one to say i don't like pets...because really i don't like them...seth on the other hand...LOVES animals...he has wanted a dog forever...

i was at my dad's house last week and he told me that one of their dogs had had puppies...of course seth went crazy begging me for one...so i told him i would think about it...

we took my dad to lunch that day (for his birthday) and when we got back there were 4 of the cutest little puppies running around on the porch...we got out and seth played with them and i decided that i would let him have one...so he picked one out and dad told me that he would get my brother to bring the puppy and a kennel over to my house...

the next day i hear my brother pull up and he sets up the kennel and i go out to talk to him...i see that he has brought over the wrong puppy...he brought over a GIRL puppy...we dont want a girl....no way no how...

then he tells me that he couldnt find the puppy that seth picked out because it had ran into the woods...so he brought over the girl puupy until he could find the other one....(huh??? you are giving us a loner puppy....geez louise)...

he leaves to go search for seths puppy and the loner puppy starts howling and barking and wont stop...so i call and ask my dad what i should do...

the next thing i know...josh (my brother) brings over ANOTHER puppy...another loner puppy to keep the first loner puppy company (keep up i am getting confused too!)

so now i have two loner puppies and seth is way too excited...and i am thinking phillip is going to kill me!

FINALLY....the next day josh shows up with seth's puppy...the only bad thing is....well i have STILL have 3 puppies here...although i have managed to give one away...so hopefully soon i will be down to 2...(by the way the black and white puppy in the second and third pictures is the one seth picked out)

god i hate pets...but the kennel...well i love it!! HAHA

seriously...CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!!! - -

i am trying to find my happy place...when i do...we will return to my regurlarly scheduled programming blogging...

do you believe in ghosts???

i am without a doubt the biggest scardy cat that i know...i am afraid of the dark and all that lurks within it...

there is an old church in the area that we live in that is said to be haunted...here is some information about it that i got from the 'Ghosts & Spirits in Tennessee' website:

Located on Old Union Road just outside of Livingston, TN, in the Hilham community, Old Union Meeting House is said to be home to a great deal of paranormal activity. The church has not been used in years, and the doors and windows are boarded up, perhaps to keep intruders out, but also perhaps to keep someone or something inside.

Allegedly, late at night, mysterious lights can be seen glowing inside the church. While driving by late at night, motorists have claimed to have seen strange lights shining through the cracks in the boards that cover the windows. These lights could not be visitors inside the church, since the door is locked from the outside. Also late at night, beautiful organ music can also be heard resonating throughout the area, originating inside the church. For these reasons, many locals understandably avoid the church after dark. Who can blame them?

No one knows exactly what causes this phenomenon, nor do many really want to know. Instead, they'd prefer to keep the situation quiet so as to keep away unwanted investigators.

In the meantime, or so it is said, the strange lights and music will continue to scare anyone unfortunate enough to be passing by the church late at night.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

now to the reason i am blogging about this...

halloween night after we took the kids trick or treating my friend misty showed up...and wanted me to go with her, her daughter and her daughters friend to old union...for some reason she thought it would be FUN to go to a supposedly haunted church late at night on halloween...

i am not sure what part of this seemed like a good a idea to me...but something about must have...because i grabbed my hat and camera and left with them...

as soon as we turned on the road to the church the car started making some freaky noise...i just knew that we were going to break down...and misty kept saying...'my car is due to break down'...great!...really it was just like being in one of those really bad b-grade horror movies...i was waiting for a foreign object to come crashing through the window to decapitate or impale me...luckily that didnt happen...

we get to the church and i knew that there was no way that i was going to get out of that car...so me and the kids (i think they are 12....sorry misty...i dont know how old your child is :P)...stayed in the car...misty took the camera and went out...she left the headlights on...and made her way around to the cemetary beside the church and snapped some pictures...i really wanted to see something freaky..but i am glad to say that we didnt...i turned the headlights off and misty came barrelling back and of course she bumped into the car and we screamed...i guess since none of the rest of us were going to get out of the car misty became disgusted and decided to take the big babys back home (whew i was really glad....really i dont like scary stuff at all)....

most of the pictures didnt turn out...(i am pretty sure it was due to operator error!!!!)... ;P

with the help of paint shop i did get a couple shots light enough to show you:

ok i just had to add this one...just in case you thought i was joking about being too scared to get out of the car...yep that is me in the front...being the scardy cat that i am!!!

so how about it...do any of you live near any haunted or spooky places that i can come and visit from the safety of my car??? haha

calgon take me away!

geez louise i feel like i have just woke up from a weird dream...

i have been so busy lately...first it was the whole furnance thing...then two tests in biology and mixed in the middle of all of that was trick or treating with the kiddos...

i got up this morning...with no urgent need to study or no urgent need to call the landlord and tell him that we are freezing (I am so glad the furnance is fixed!)...so i just sat on the couch...and then i began to look around...

oh my god! did i miss the non-stop coverage on CNN that surely reported about the TORNADO that has slammed through my house...ugh

i have been so consumed with studying for those tests that i didnt even bother to put 'CLEAN THE HOUSE!' on my list of things to do...there are cookies crumbs in every place imaginable...toys...dirty clothes...shoes...dishes...scattered throughout the house...phillip used a tshirt for a towel after his shower because...well....there are no clean towels in the house...i opened the refrigerator this morning to fix the boys some eggs...and of course...there were no eggs...very little milk...and no cereal...nothing...nada...ok...off to the store...

i got back from the grocery store...fed the kidlets...and still...there is this big mess...screaming at me....'HEY LU...YA THINK YOU MIGHT WANT TO CLEAN ME UP A LITTLE!!!'....blech!

i feel worse about neglecting my blog than about neglecting my housework...i do have my priorities!! ;P

i suppose i will get busy and do a little cleaning...ok so i am going to at least wash some towels...because a tshirt just dont cut it with my big ole caboose

BOO! Ya'll

ok so i guess i should post something about halloween...

as i mentioned before i have some tests this week...the first of which was last night...so i went and took the test and then hurried home so that phil and i could take the little freaks trick or treating..


seth decided to be a soldier like his cousin brian who is due home from iraq in a few weeks...and jonah...well he is too little to even care about halloween so his costume was left up to me...MUHAHA!! no really i didnt know what to dress the kid up as...i thought maybe this...

BUT...

i was walmart earlier in the week and i saw some spongebob sweatsuit thingys...i dont think that it is technically a halloween costume...but it seemed like the perfect outfit for jones...so we went with spongebob...so we headed out with spongebob and our little soldier...

the night was pretty much uneventful...by uneventful i mean that none of the freaky and sometimes funny things that tend to happy to me....happened...

we went to several houses...i couldnt get either of the kids to say trick or treat...or thank you....(sigh)

in the end neither of our little spooks could hang...