barbara_s

Well, y'all have been getting all the updates from the daddy, redhead1der, so I figured it's time you heard from me.

Been feeling fine. Can hardly believe this is happening!! And so fast!!! We've pretty much settled on Joshua Paul as the name. Josh for short.

I guess I owe an explanation as to why I haven't said anything before now. My general practioner had referred me to an endocrinologist because my TSH levels (for thyroid) had been low. When your thyroid levels are out of whack it messes up your cycle. So when I started not having my monthly visit (1st missed visit was in late July) from "Ma Nature" I just chalked it up to the thyroid stuff. When I saw my OB/GYN for my yearly visit in mid-August, I told her about everything and she gave me a different birth control pill to try to see if that would get my cycle back on track. At the end of the first month on new pill, still no sign of Ma Nature. Middle of 2nd month I started having some discomfort (and I'll just leave it at that) which I thought was due to the different pill (discomfort was listed as a side effect). So I went off the pill in October, with each and every intention of calling my OB/GYN and asking her if I could try something else. But this was right before the holiday season started, and I never called. I just quit taking it.

Well, all was well and good, still feeling fine. Not the first moment of morning sickness or anything like that (which my cousin is highly jealous of -- Between puking and migraine headaches, she had a rough pregnancy when she was carrying her daughter). Then, after the new year, I started getting suspicious. I started noticing my abdominal muscles felt really tight, and my abdomen started growing (which I figured was just extra weight I had put on during the holidays with all the yummy food). I had already planned to get back into a steady routine of walking on the treadmill (there is a fitness room in the office complex where I work).

Then the bathroom trips started getting more and more frequent. That's when I said, "Ok, I'm just going to buy an at-home pregnancy test and satisfy my curiosity." And boy, did it get satisfied--more like shocked. 2 at-home tests came back positive, so I called my OB/GYN and did a blood test. My doctor's nurse said "It's a humdinger. We need to get you in here as soon as possible for an ultrasound. You are really, really pregnant." So last Tuesday, I had the ultrasound where we got the REAL shock - 33 weeks along. Due March 25. I thought I was going to fall off the ultrasound table. As redhead1der mentioned - 4 pounds, 9 ounces, fetal heartbeat of 124, which is within normal range. My doctor referred me for a 2nd opinion from a doctor that deals with high-risk pregnancy (since I was already 33 weeks along), and he pretty much confirmed the same time frame and measurements. I did a glucose tolerance test, and it came out fine. Gotta increase my thyroid medication again.

Oh, and I didn't start feeling any fetal movement till after New Years. It was just little flutters at first - I thought it was either gas or some kind of muscle spasms.

Registered at Target yesterday. Wal-Mart registry had to be started online, and we hope to finish up this evening at the store on Austin Peay in Bartlett/Raleigh area. Seems there are some sticky fingers in Cordova when it comes to customers and registry scanning guns at Wal-Mart.

Well, I better go. We're having a Gospel Meeting at church this week, so I need to touch up my makeup and run a brush through my hair, and try to look presentable.

More info later. Take care.

Okay,I know it's, like, almost the end of January, but better late than never. Redhead1der and I had a good Christmas with family. Nice and relaxing, taking full advantage of sleeping past 6:30 am.

We spent most of Christmas day with Patrick's family at his niece's house in Olive Branch. We left there about 3 or 3:30 and drove down to Ackerman and spent a few nice leisurely days with my folks. Saw the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie - that was cute. Jason Lee definitely looks different without the mustache. Went back up to Grenada, MS on Friday. Spent the night at Pat's parents house and came back home on Saturday. Did a little bit of shopping at the outlet stores in Batesville on the way back.

Pat had to be back at work on New Years Eve but I didn't have to go back till the day after New Years. Boy, was I paying for it at work when I got back. Still doing the auditing thing with a little bit of help but was still basically about 2 weeks behind up until this past Friday. There are now 2 other quality auditors (FINALLY!!!) besides me. I spent a few days training them so they would know how to do it properly, and thanks to them, we finally got caught up last week. This week, the other 2 are auditing the Memphis and Salt Lake agents and I'm auditing the agents in the India office. Pretty soon, there will be someone in the India office doing the audits, and then I'll be auditing the auditor.

I'm just glad we finally got caught up. I hated being that far behind, but if I hadn't taken the vacation time that I did between Christmas and New Years, I would have lost it (both the vacation time and my mind---hahaha!!)

Over the holidays, my parents gave us some deer meat they had gotten from one of the boys at the church there who does a lot of hunting. I'm 33 years old and had never had deer meet in my entire life. They gave us 3 small trays of deer steaks and 4 2-pound rolls of ground deer meat. We gave 1 of the rolls to Pat's parents and 1 to his brother and sister-in-law who live in Blytheville. My mom had told me how to soak the steaks in milk the night before to get rid of some of the "gamey" taste. Pat cooked one batch in the crock pot and the other 2 batches we just cooked in a skillet. I used the 2 remaining rolls of ground meat this past weekend. I put some of it in some chili for a soup & chili luncheon we had at church yesterday, and the other roll got used to make a meat loaf on Saturday evening. I've decided I definitely like the ground deer meat a LOT better than the steaks. With the ground meat, you can't tell it's deer. It tastes just like regular ground beef.

We've been having our share of cold weather around here. Until this past weekend there hadn't been any frozen precipitation. We had a bit of freezing rain on Friday, and some of it lingered till Saturday. I went to Jackson, TN on Saturday for a birthday party for 2 of my nephews, and I got there and back just fine. I got so tickled at my youngest nephew Corey (he's 2 - turning 3 in April). I took a picture of him while he was playing in the den, and of course he wanted to see the picture (I just love my digital camera!!). I showed him his picture and I swear, he said "Aww. That's cute." Gee, wonder where he's heard that before??? Mommy, Grandma, and Granny, no doubt. Later, when Will and Ryan were blowing out their candles and letting Mommy help them cut the first piece of their cakes (Susan had made 2 small cakes - one decorated for Will and one for Ryan), Corey was sitting in his chair with this long look on his face, as if to say "I wish I had a cake." He looked so sad.

Well, I better go before this turns into a novel. Hope all of you are doing well. Take care and God bless!!

Yea, I know. It's been a long time, but here I am, and wondering what my dear sweet hubby redhead1der is putting in his coffee to make him come up with all the haikus lately. I think he seriously needs a vacation. Or something.

Anyway, I'm doing pretty good. Hadn't had any more heart scares, so the generic version of the heart medication seems to be doing just as good as the name brand. $6 a month is definitely better than between $90 and $100.

Work stuff is going good. Still doing the quality control thing. I've been doing the audits since April, and since mid-October, my boss has had me focusing primarily on the employees in the India office and the Salt Lake City office. Oh well, it keeps me busy and out of trouble. I got kind of bummed about a month or so ago. They did a bit of downsizing and 2 of the people they let go (with severance package) were the 2 ladies I had been eating lunch with. I've been keeping up with one of them by phone and e-mail, so at least they haven't become total strangers to me.

Had a nice birthday and Thanksgiving. My birthday was November 21. I had been asking for a digital camera for about 2 years (and being very patient about it due to other financial obligations). But as they say, patience is a virtue. I got a Kodak Easy Share with 7 megapixels, and it even came in a nice bronze color. Ooooo. Ahhhhh. Pretty. I got to test it out at my grandparents house on Thanksgiving since my nephews and my cousins daughter were there. I couldn't believe how much Mikayla (my cousin's daughter) had grown. I knew I hadn't seen her since last Christmas, but Wow!! She turned 1 year old on October 2. She's walking and she was pointing at every picture on the walls and saying "Baby." No matter who or what was in the picture, to her it was "Baby." She is so cute!!! For my birthday, Steak and Ale and sent a discount card for $10 off 2 adult entrees, so that's where Pat took me for dinner. And I got to choose a dessert on the house, so I went with a piece of Chocolate Silk Pie. Yummmm. And some of my compadres at work had pitched in and got me a $25 gift card to Chili's. The funny thing about that is, I haven't been to Chili's in a looooooong time. I had to get on their website and look at the menu to see what they're serving nowadays. Let's see.....chicken quesadillas...OH yea!! I'm there!!! I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE chicken quesadillas.

Now the Christmas holiday is coming up, which means Christmas shopping. I've got to get Mr. Redhead1der to give me his "wish list". Since his birthday is in early February, I take his list and divide it up into Christmas and birthday, depending on what's on the list, what is necessity and what is luxury. He has mentioned a few things that he needs, so at least I've got a starting point.

Oh, and here's the big thing. Unless something unforeseen happens between then, my younger brother Eric is getting married on April 12. He just got hired on at the Baptist Hospital in Columbus, MS. (He's an EMT). Nicki is a radiology technician at the hospital in Lewisville. They've already signed papers to buy a small house in Louisville, MS. Eric will be starting Paramedic school next August, and Nicki is going to be taking some classes in the near future to further her career as well. Eric has also been offered a position as deputy coroner in Louisville. Basically, he'll get $150 a pop to pronounce somebody dead. Oh, and once Nicki finishes her classes and moves up to the next level in her career, she could be making potentially $40/hour. I'm starting to think I'm in the wrong profession. haha.

Anyway, the SEC football championship is going on between Tennessee and LSU, so I'm going to go watch some, let's see...how did that haiku go?....Oh yea....drama with helmets. GO VOLS!!!

Y'all take care and have a safe and happy holiday season.

Wow...it's been 4 months since I've posted. Well, when you sit in front of a computer for 8 hours Monday thru Friday, guess what you DON'T want to do when you get home?? If you guessed, Sit in front of a computer, you are correct!! *DING* Thank you for playing.

Work-wise, things are going okay. Rather than verifying new claims, I've been doing claim audits. What that means is, I pull up a spreadsheet list of claims that were verified on a certain day. I call and, hopefully, speak to the person who previously verified the claim, and basically verify the same information that has already been verified. And, why, you might ask, am I re-verifying claims that have already been verified? The answer is simple--two words--Quality Control. The assignment was given to me by my supervisor and the manager of the Verifications Department. They had seen my work and knew that I was doing my work correctly. So, bless their dear, sweet hearts, they had the confidence in me to entrust me with this "Special Project." It's had its moments, but truth be told, I'd rather be doing audits than verifying new claims.

Things are going well since we moved our church membership back in April. I'm helping with the 4-year-old class on Sunday mornings. There are 4 little boys in the class. Pat is helping out as far as song-leading, helping with a "Pew Packers" class for kids after Sunday evening service, and helping pick new tracts to put in the tract racks. And I haven't had any more tachycardias since March. Hallelujah!!

Speaking of health issues, my PCP referred me to an endocrinologist because my thyroid levels had consistently been running low. Turns out, it's because of the Rythmol I've been on for heart rhythms. The Rythmol is putting way more iodine in my system than what I need which is "choking out the thyroid" (direct words from the endocrinologist), making it not work correctly. So I've moved up to a higher dosage of Synthroid, but I'm still on the Rythmol. I saw my cardiologist last week, and she said my heart sounds good and the EKG looked good. I told her about the Rythmol/iodine/thyroid thing and she said she will look into it. She also wrote me a prescription for the generic version of Rhythmol when I told her how much brand name version is. When I got a new refill in late June, it was $91 for a month's supply, and that's after the insurance paid $254. So here's hoping the generic version will work as well as the brand name.

I've also been on a walking regimen. Part of it was in participation of a "Healthy You" fitness challenge they were doing at work, which ended late June. But I'm still trying to keep up the walking. During the "Healthy You" thing, everybody got a pedometer, and the goal was to walk at least 10,000 steps per day. I did pretty good in the beginning but I kind of slacked off a little in the end. But I've gotten back into the swing of things. I do a mile on the treadmill during my lunch break and a half-mile during my afternoon break. And a few days a week, I'll do 2 miles after work. Yesterday, I actually did 2.5 miles after work. I put the big-screen TV on the Food Network and watch Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals.

And now for other stuff. For those of us living in Memphis/Shelby County, we turn on the news and we get to hear about either the latest homocide, or, over the past week, the petition to try to persuade Shelby County Mayor A.C. Wharton to run for mayor of Memphis. Which he has already said in the past that he wouldn't do because Willie Herenton (current city mayor) is his friend and he doesn't want to run against him. The deal is, people believe Wharton's done such a good job running the county (while Herenton's done such a lousy job running the city), so they're apparently hoping that Wharton will be the "miracle cure" that they feel the city of Memphis needs. Plus they're probably afraid of how much their taxes might go up if Herenton gets his way and they tear down the Liberty Bowl to build a bigger football stadium. Shall we now direct our eyes downtown to the shiny pointed wonder that is The Pyramid, which now sits empty thanks to the great dome-topped popcorn popper known as the FedEx Forum. (My parents had one of those popcorn poppers when I was a kid.)

I have to laugh at the popcorn popper analogy because my mom has told me about this commercial for Puffed Wheat that used to be on TV when she was a kid. The music in the commercial was the "1812 Overture", and at just the right time in the music, puffed wheat would shoot out of a cannon. Wouldn't it be funny if, during the 4th of July fireworks display on the river, as the Sunset Symphony plays the "1812 Overture" the roof of the FedEx Forum would open up and shoot out popcorn?? It would be kind of like the end of the movie REAL GENIUS (starring a much-younger Val Kilmer) where they put this set-up that is basically a mack-daddy-sized popcorn popper in this guy's newly renovated house as an act of revenge. Let's just say, this guy mentions to Val Kilmer's character early in the movie that he doesn't like popcorn, and Val's character says something like, "Great. Now I know what to get you for your birthday." Or something like that.

I was at Oak Court mall today, enjoying a slice of meat pizza from Sbarro (ham, bacon, pepperoni...I'm getting hungry again just thinking about it.) There's this guy from Subway who, apparently drew the short straw and had the privilege of walking around the food court in this costume (from the waist up) of what was supposed to resemble a Subway sandwich. He had a box of Subway cookies and was offering a free cookie to everyone who was eating lunch in the food court. At first I thought it was just for people eating Subway food because when I first saw the guy, he was offering cookies to people who had chosen Subway as their lunchtime dining. But, as I finished eating my pizza, I saw that he was offering a cookie to everyone. I thought, "Hmm. A Subway cookie would be a nice dessert." Apparently he ran out before I got to my table and went back to get some more. So I decided to wait. And then I realized how pathetic I probably looked, gazing over at Subway, waiting for a guy in a ridiculous-looking costume to bring me a free cookie. So I went and did a bit of window-shopping, and then went back and purchased some cookies from Subway. They had a Buy-3-Get-1-Free deal going on. So, tax included, you got 4 cookies for $1.52. Can't beat that. I ate 2 and took the other 2 home for my redhead1der.

As part of my "window shopping" I went into the Hallmark store. The poor souls who work there must not have a calendar to know what month it is because they already have their display of Hallmark Keepsake Christmas Tree Ornaments up. Yes, you read that right. Hallmark Christmas tree ornaments. IT'S JULY, PEOPLE!!!! It's still about a month and a half till Labor Day!!! Why the rush???

But they also had this display of coffee mugs, refrigerator magnets, and other assorted items that had some cute sayings on them. Being the sweet person that I am, I bought a magnet for a friend of mine who sells Creative Memories scrapbooking supplies. It says, "If it's not in the scrapbook, it didn't happen." I thought she would appreciate that. I wrote down some of the other sayings to share with all of you wonderful people. Until next time, peace, and God bless.

"Live bodly. Take risks. Make someone say 'What the hell was THAT all about'?"
"A good friend knows how you take your coffee. A great friend adds booze."
"What doesn't kill me makes me bonkers."
"If beauty is a state of mind, then I'm a freakin' genius."
"In this house, carrot cake counts as a vegetable."
"If you have no regrets, you need to get out more."
"Just take it one gigantic, earth-shattering crisis at a time."
"Coffee buzz or panic attack...your call."
"Aunt. Like mom, only cooler."
"I'm not late. Everyone else is just way too on time."

The Memphis Tigers basketball drought that is. We had made it to the Elite Eight round on Thursday with a win over Texas A & M. But we lost today to Ohio State, who was the #1 seed in the South bracket (Memphis was #2). Our guys got off to a slow start, but when they finally got their first basket of the game (which it took about 4 1/2 minutes to accomplish) it was pretty much a close game until about the last 8 minutes or so. And so, we have to wait till November when it all starts up again.

I go back for a checkup with my cardiologist on this coming Thursday to let her know how things are going with the Rythmol. Ever since this past Sunday's tachycardia, I have been taking the Synthroid and the Rythmol at the same time, so hopefully I won't have any more "episodes."

My mom called me today and told me that my brother's ex-fiance' Dee Carpenter is going to court on Tuesday. I told to be sure and keep me posted on how things go. I hope she gets locked up for a good long time for everything she's done.

Speaking of my brother, Eric has a new girl in his life who he is happy with. They've been going out as friends for a few months. According to what my mom told me today, it sounds like they're about to move things up to the "dating" level. Stephanie seems to be an honest-to-goodness decent girl. I just want to see Eric happy. He deserves some happiness in his life.

Well, that's all for now. Until next time, Peace to all and God bless.

My general practicioner increased my Synthroid dosage this past week - not alot, though. I was taking 125 mg and she increased it to 137 mg. So, I started the new dose on Tuesday, and on Sunday I had ANOTHER tachycardia. It started right before it was time to take my Rythmol (for heart rhythms). Patrick and I were visiting at another church and this happened right before Bible class was about to start. I stepped out into the foyer to take the Rythmol (about half a minute too late) and I had put my hand to my chest to see how fast my heart was going. A good friend of ours saw me and went to get one of the men who is a cardiac nurse out of the adult class. He took my blood pressure and pulse and I told him about what all I had been through medically over the past few months. He sat with me the whole time (and Pat came out to be with me too) until my heart "converted" (medical jargon for getting back to normal pulse rate). Yesterday I called my cardiologist to let her know what happened. She said to stay on the same Synthroid dosage & keep the appointment I already had scheduled for next Thursday. I tell you, this heart stuff is getting old VERY quickly. I firmly believe that a good bit of it is stress-induced from everything that's been going on with church.

Speaking of church, Patrick and I have officially left Stage Road. We have sent letters to those who we were closest to explaining why we were leaving. We had already told a few people verbally that we were leaving. We have recently found out some very disturbing information about some things that have transpired since we left. It falls under the "Just when you thought you'd heard it all....." category. I won't go into detail just now. I will leave it up to Pat on how much info he wants to divulge. In situations like this, I feel he is a bit more tactful on how to word things without giving out more information than what needs to be given.

On a bit happier note, I had my yearly performance evaluation at work last week. I had to fill out a self-evaluation form (I HATE evaluating myself) and then my supervisor had filled out an evaluation form. I met with my team leader and supervisor so we could go over it and compare notes. I got a 3.83 out of 5 so I get a 3.83% raise. Woohoo!! Hey, every little bit helps.

I tell you, in the work I do, I see all kinds of things sometimes and sometimes I talk to what seems like some of the dumbest people. It's like, I call an employer and tell them I need to speak to someone about a workers comp claim, and they act like you're speaking Greek. "A what? Workers comp, what's that? I don't understand." What's REALLY fun is when I call a company and no one seems to know who handles the workers comp stuff. I get transferred around to about half a dozen different people so that it feels like I've spoken to everyone except God and Santa Claus before I finally get to the right person. And I tell you, if I had a phone number for God or Santa Claus, I would call them first because they would probably know more than the people who are supposed to be handling this stuff.

Oh, and I think I'm going to move to Connecticut because apparently, in Connecticut, going in to work is optional!!! Half the time, the people I'm supposed to talk to are never there.

And then there are the people who get hurt (not just in Connecticut, but everywhere else), go to the doctor, get medications, and then don't bother telling their employer about it. So I call up "ABC Company" and say that I need to verify a work comp claim on John Smith and the work comp person says "John Smith got hurt?" Yes. John Smith got hurt but didn't tell anybody about it because, who knows why?! Maybe he thought he was going to get fired?? But yet he doesn't want to pay for the meds either, so he tells the pharmacy to submit them to their work comp billing company (which is who I work for). Time goes by, possibly even a week, and the employer still doesn't know John Smith got hurt. So you tell John Smith that he needs to notify his employer that he got hurt so they can submit a claim to their insurance company or else he (John Smith) will have to pay for the $100 worth of medications, and John Smith gets MAD!!! Gee, imagine that!!

Anyway, enough of my ranting and raving. I think I'm going to bed now. Patrick's already beat me to it. Take care and God bless. And please keep us in your prayers as we go through finding a new church home and in dealing with my medical stuff.

No, I didn't shave my head (Do you see the word STUPID stamped on my forehead??), but I just couldn't resist the Britney joke.

What I mean is, exactly one week ago at this very moment I was in the ER at Baptist Hospital because my heart tried to run away from me AGAIN (like the time back in October). I kept my promise to my doctor and my mother to go to the hospital this time. Last time, I had Patrick take me to Walgreens at 2:00 AM to get some aspirin, went home, took the aspirin & waited it out. This time I drove myself to the ER (Patrick was at work) despite feeling slightly light-headed. When they did the EKG my heart rate was about 260 (yea, you read that right--260). They gave me a dose of Denysene (not sure if that's spelled right) which brought my heart rate down into the 100 range and then they gave me Cardizem to bring it back down to normal rate. They took some blood and ran some tests and the ER doc said my thyroid levels were slightly elevated and told me to take my thyroid medicine every other day till I go see my regular doctor (memo to self: make appointment with primary care doc). He also put me on Metaprolol which is for blood pressure and heart rhythms - the Metaprolol is a 25 mg medication and he told me to only take half a pill at a time and told me to go see my cardiologist. So I saw my cardiologist this past Tuesday, and she said the half-pill of Metaprolol was a "baby dose", took me off the Metaprolol and put me on a anti-arrhythmic medication called Rythmol which I take 2 times a day. So far it seems to be doing okay. For now, I'm taking the samples that she gave me but I need to check with my insurance and see if they will cover once I go to prescription. My cardiologist said if my insurance won't cover the Brand name it is quite expensive. There is a generic for it which is a 3-times-a-day medication and is much less expensive. The only thing about the generic is, they would have to put me in the hospital to start me on it so they can watch me and see if it works.

Bless his heart, Patrick went and bought me a blood pressure monitor at Walgreens. That, plus the simple stethoscope I bought a few months ago, plus a blood sugar monitor, plus the 3 medications I take makes my house look like a small medical clinic. But if it helps me stick around a while longer, it's worth it. Not that I've exactly got a toe in the grave at this point, but when you start talking about wacky heart rhythms, you're talking about some serious stuff. My cardiologist also mentioned a procedure called ablation which pretty much renders the part of the heart that's causing all these problems inactive (but she said it's in a part of the heart that I don't need anyway). But I think she would rather wait and see how the meds work first before we look into that.

On the church front, we had our annual Forum (lectureship) last weekend. The sermons were great but the attendance was terrible. It made me feel sorry for the men who were preaching, to be preaching to an auditorium that was only half full (if that). Last Sunday evening we worshipped at another congregation - one of the congregations where some of the people who left Stage Road are at now. It was definitely good to see some of the people we haven't seen in a while, as well as some new friends that we've made there via Bible Bowl and other events. Now we're trying to see how much interest there is as far as people willing to teach VBS. We really don't have a whole lot of children left that are in elementary age & younger, and since we're doing a one-day VBS anyway due to budget constraints, we're wondering if it's even worth doing it at all. When I say "we" I mean Patrick and me. Pat and I both think that those who regularly teach on Sunday AM and Wednesday PM should not have to teach in VBS, but outside of those of us that teach on Sunday & Wednesday, what's left is a handful of teens and young adults and the rest are Goldenagers (50+). Pat put up a sign-up sheet Wednesday night for people to sign if they are willing to teach. I'll have to look at it tomorrow to see if anyone has signed up.

Okay, enough of that. On to other things. I was glad to hear they FINALLY buried Anna Nicole. It's about time. I mean, it's been, what? 2 weeks? I heard she was buried in a gown made by one of her favorite designers and was also wearing a tiara. Oh well, at least they finally decided where to bury her. I say they should have just flipped a coin and settled it with that. One thing I do wonder is who's going to take care of her baby? Is that going to be another long, drawn-out battle that we'll get to hear all about?? Gee, I can hardly wait. NOT!!!!

And since when does Britney's bald head become a case of major national concern??? The day she did that, I guess it must have been a slow news day because the local news stations acted like it was some sort of national crisis or something. I mean it was the first thing that was mentioned when the news started. It was like, "Oh yea, our troops are still in Iraq and people are still being killed over there BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, let's give our full undivided attention to Britney's bald head and how many times she's checked in and out of rehab." First, she's of legal age, and this is a free country, so she can check in and out of rehab 20 times a day if she wants to. I really don't care one way or another whether she's in or out. Second, IT'S JUST HAIR!! IT WILL GROW BACK!!! GET OVER IT ALREADY!!! If she wants to look like Sinead O'Connor or Demi Moore in GI JANE, that's her business. Don't make it mine.

One of the teamleaders in the Denials Department at work has a cute cartoon drawing at her desk. It's a stick figure woman that looks all frazzled and stressed out and the caption is "Please cancel my subscription. I don't want your issues." That's exactly how I feel about Britney's bald head and about where Anna Nicole got buried.

I guess the only news stuff I'm concerned about right now is: when are our troops FINALLY going to get to come home, how the Mary Winkler case is going to turn out, and how far the Memphis Tigers in the tournaments (they are undefeated in the conference at this point and the conference tournament is next weekend. GO TIGERS!!!)

Well, I guess that's all for now. I've got to go put some bills in the mail and try to figure out what kind of anniversary present to get for my sweetie-pie. We'll be married 9 years come next Wednesday (March 7).

Take care and God bless. May the road rise up to meet you (not literally, it's just part of an Irish blessing or something like that) and all that jazz.

...of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings. And why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings.'" (From THE WALRUS AND THE CARPENTER - don't remember the author's name at the moment--maybe one of one of you literary folk can refresh my memory)

So, here I am, to talk of many things.

First of all, I finally have closure on my heart-related issues. I turned in my heart monitor a few days after Christmas. Dr. Morrow (the cardiologist) said that while the ultrasound of my heart didn't show any blockages or leakages, I do have mitral valve prolapse (I wasn't surprised because my mom has it too). Basically, that means I have a floppy valve, but it doesn't leak (which is a good thing). So these "sensations" I was having, where it felt like my heart wanted to do the Daytona 500 was just me feeling the effects of the floppy valve. She gave me a card to keep in my wallet to show to my dentist so they will know that I will need to take an antiobiotic prior to certain dental procedures. I've being doing that in the past anyway due to the fact that I have a functional heart murmur. Oh, and I also did one of those treadmill stress tests - I made it the whole 9 minutes. 9 minutes doesn't sound like a lot, but when it's at a rate of incline that feels like you're climbing a mountain, even if it's only at 3.4 mph, it definitely feels a bit longer than 9 minutes.

I went to see my regular doctor on Thursday, and she had me do a round a bloodwork to check my thyroid levels and see how that's doing (hopefully it won't take 2 weeks to get the results like last time!!). And I went back to the gym this past week for the first time since late October, which was when all this stuff with my heart got started. Dr Morrow said it was okay to go back, just don't overdo it. So I kept the treadmill at around 2.6 mph instead of the usual 3.4 that I was doing before.

My younger brother Eric killed his first deer today. I don't know who got him interested in hunting (I think maybe some of his fellow ambulance drivers), nor do I know how long he's been into it, but he finally got one. During the week between Christmas and New Year's, my 6-year old nephew Will went with Eric one time. Eric had explained to Will the importance of being quiet, so as not to frighten the deer away. Mom said they had been at the stand about half an hour, and Eric texted her on the cell phone saying he had forgotten to explain to Will the importance of being still. Eric said the only thing he killed that day was a good hour.

On the church front, we're still hanging in there--still surviving. About 20 or so men attended last week's meeting to discuss the budget. They're having a meeting of all the men after tomorrow morning's service to discuss the finalized budget before presenting it to the entire congregation on the following Sunday. There are going to be quite a few cutbacks, including cutting out the van program. The ladies who have been riding the van will be picked up by other members of the congregation. This means those who have been driving won't have to spend 45 minutes to an hour both before and after services doing the pickups and dropoffs. This makes for a very late suppertime for us on Wednesday night since Patrick is the Wednesday night driver. This budget is on a six-month basis with pretty much only the bare necessities involved. As long as the congregation is still in existence, I guess Patrick and I will be there. Though, I do miss our friends who have gone to other congregations over the past 5 months or so. I wish I could go worship with them, like "old times" but I still feel a loyalty to the congregation we're at now.

We have recently learned that one of the retired couples in our congregtion will be moving, as in out of the state. The woman and I have been sharing teaching the 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders on Wednesday night. We don't know when they will be moving (I'm not sure if they know exactly when it will be or not), but when they do, that means I'll be back to teaching by myself on Wednesday, in addition to the fact that I'm teaching the 2nd & 3rd graders on Sunday morning.

Work is going good. When we had our Holiday Party/Awards Banquet last month, I got a small trophy and a certificate for Perfect Attendance for the Year. Also, my team leader and supervisor had given me a certificate last month for "Outstanding Work Ethic" and I was nominated for Employee of the Month for December. It sure it nice to be appreciated and acknowledged for your hard work.

Well, I better go. I got a message block a few seconds ago asking me if I wanted to stay online, so somebody must have been trying to call in. To all of you, Happy New Year, peace to all, goodwill toward men, and may God bless you.

No, I'm not talking about myself - I'm talking about my parents and my no-longer-engaged brother. Turns out the girl who was SUPPOSED to be my future sister-in-law was one huge lie just waiting to be found out. She stole a check from my parents, forged Eric's name on it and cashed it for about $300 bucks. She also took my parents' JC Penney credit card and charge about $300 or so worth of stuff on it. She also essentially stole $1300 that my grandparents gave Eric that he had put in what was supposed to be his and Dee's savings account. Thanks to FDIC and the nice folks at JC Penney, my folks will be able to get the money back into their bank account and get the charges off of their credit card. Don't know if my grandparents will get their money back or not. Oh, and she has also just about bankrupted her OWN parents. Oh, and there is a warrant out for her in a county in Mississippi (not sure which county) for shoplifting!!

She stayed with my parents for about 6 weeks recently, and in about the last 3 weeks of that, just about drove my mom to a total nervous breakdown. In addition to all the money's she has stolen, as it turns out, Dee was NOT a student at Mississippi State, nor was she employed at the gas company she had said she was a secretary for. She told my mom all kinds of stuff about Eric that was all lies. AND she hocked her engagement ring. My dad was able to get it back and had it checked to make sure the original diamond was still in it, and thank goodness it was!!!

Dee is currently in a hospital in a town in Mississippi where the doctors are saying she's probably got bipolar disorder. Her dad (actually, stepdad) has already told her he's going to have her put in jail. My parents are going to have a lien put against her name so that she will NEVER be able to buy anything on credit.

My parents are trying to sue Dee through the federal grand jury in Mississippi, mainly for the forgery charge, but the grand jury doesn't meet until April. At that time, they will decide if there is enough evidence to go to trial. If not, my parents will appeal to a lesser court. My parents (along with Dee's parents) are definitely going to see to it that she gets taught a REALLY good lesson - hopefully in jail!!

Pat and I never met Dee (which is a good thing, I guess), so I guess we are the least emotionally attached to the situation. Not to say that we're NOT emotionally attached, because we're both upset about what she has done to my family. I really feel bad for Eric because he really had thought he had found "the one."

On a happier note, despite all the drama, I had a nice Thanksgiving weekend. I celebrated my 32nd birthday on the Tuesday before "Turkey Day" (Happy B-day to me!!) I went down to my grandparents house on Wednesday evening and met up with them at Wednesday night Bible Study. After worship, my cousin came over for a while with her new baby MiKayla. MiKayla is very pretty - just like her mama. My uncle (MiKayla's grandpa) is into motorcycles and said he's gonna get MiKayla a doo-rag and leather jacket and call her his "Biker Babe." hehehe. Something tells me Amy is not going to let MiKayla go anywhere near Uncle Dalton's motorcycle.

On Friday, MiKayla's daddy agreed to babysit, and Amy and I went to Corinth and did some shopping. It had been a LOOOOONG time since Amy and I got to spend time together like that. I don't have any biological sisters, but Amy has always been like a "little sister" to me. We had a great day together. Then on Saturday, I helped my grandparents with a bit of garden work (pulling up tomato baskets and stakes) before heading back home to see Patrick (who had spent Turkey Day with his family and had to be back at work on Friday).

As for my own stuff, I've had some health issues lately. A few weeks ago on an early Thursday morning ("early" as in 1:30 am) I woke up & realized my heart was beating REALLY fast - I swear I thought I was having a heart attack!! I had Pat take me to Walgreens and I bought some Bayer and took one and rested in the recliner for a while before going back to bed. From the time that I woke up and realized my heart was racing till the time it FINALLY settled down was about an hour (probably a little over an hour). Anyway, it scared the "you-know-what" outta me, so I went to see my doctor. She temporarily adjusted my thyroid medication (I have underactive thyroid function) and ordered some bloodwork to have my thyroid levels checked. I couldn't do the bloodwork at that time because the lab work for that day had already been picked up and the office is closed on Saturday (I saw the doc on Friday afternoon). The clinic that my doctor is part of has another branch in town which is open on Saturday, so I went there the next day for my bloodwork, and it took them 2 WEEKS to get the results back to my doctor. I was NOT a happy camper, especially since doc had told me NOT to take my thyroid meds till we got the results back because she thought the maybe the dosage I had been taking was too high and had possibly caused the rapid heart rate. So that was 2 weeks that I was not taking the medication that I have been on since I was 4 MONTHS OLD!!! So when my doc FINALLY got the labwork back, she did decrease my Synthroid dosage for the next month and referred me to a cardiologist. The cardiologist did some labwork for postassium and magnesium (I got those lab results THE NEXT DAY!!! Go figure!!) and everything was fine on that part. I also had an ultrasound done of my heart. Don't know if it's a boy or a girl (haha-couldn't resist) but at the very least, it didn't show any signs of blockages or leakages. She also put me on a portable heart monitor that I'm wearing for 30 days because I was still having instances where it felt like my heart wanted to beat fast again. So with this monitor, anytime I feel one of those instances coming on, I push a button and it records my heartrate for one minute (and it even goes back and records what my heart was doing 30 seconds prior to pushing the button - ah, the marvels of modern technology). The monitor will hold up to 10 recordings at a time, and when it gets full, I call a number, hit the "Send" button on the side of the monitor, and it transmits the readings to the doctor's office, and resets itself to hold the next 10 recordings. I'll have the wear the monitor up until right before Christmas, and I see the cardiologist again on December 28. I'll keep all of you posted on how things turn out.

Well, now that I've given you a novel about me and my family and our recent drama, I need to go. I'm going to a Pampered Chef party at a friends house. I LOVE Pampered Chef parties. There's always great food there!! Anyway, love and peace to all. Take care and God bless.

I don't get some of the people I talk to on the phone at work - that is IF I'm lucky enough to get them on the phone!! I probably shouldn't say too much - somebody who knows me AND knows who I work for could call up my employer, report the stuff I say, and then the next thing I know, I'm out of a job. I'll just say that some of the people I talk to have got to be some of the stupidest people on Earth, and they're driving me crazy!!!

On a bit happier note, I broke my time record on the treadmill at the gym yesterday. I did 2 miles in 35 minutes 30 seconds. That's my best time so far. I was quite proud of myself. What made it even better was that I didn't have to cook when I got home. My husband had put a roast in the crockpot, and it was delicious!! Patrick IS the "King of the Crockpot." I think I'll hang on to him for a while!!

Also on the homefront, Patrick got a new (well, newER) car last week. Took the '94 Plymouth Acclaim through inspection THREE TIMES, put in about 2 bottles of Smoke B Gone, spent money at Jiffy Lube getting the oil changed and the oil system cleaned, and the thing STILL couldn't pass inspection - kept blowing too much smoke when it shouldn't. So he brought it home, we cleaned it out, went to CarMax, and traded it in (trade-in value was only $50 if that tells you anything about the condition it was in!) for a 2003 Hyundai Elantra. I know he's glad to have something more dependable & something that doesn't sound like it's about to fall apart at any given second. But that also means we have 2 car notes (still got 3 years to go on paying off my Honda), plus the house note, plus all the other monthly bills. Needless to say, money's going to be tight for a while.

My cousin on my mom's side had her first baby yesterday. Makayla Hope Chapman was born around 5:00 pm weighing in at 7 pounds 11 ounces. Haven't heard yet how long she is, but my dad emailed me some pictures & she looks just like her momma. Can't wait to go down there (Ripley, MS) and see her.

My younger brother (who recently got engaged) took his EMT test 2 weeks ago. He should know his results in another 2 or 3 weeks. I hope he passed, so he can go ahead and start working toward his paramedic license. He definitely loves what he does, and he's good at it, too. Sometimes I wish I could be with him and just watch him for a day. Oh well - you go, Eric!! You my brotha'!! You da man!!

Well, I've got to finish getting ready for Wednesday night Bible Study. Talk to you lovely folks later.

....if it's not the computer, it's the washing machine.

Patrick and I bought a Dell computer during the Tennessee Tax-Free holiday last Saturday. It came in on Wednesday, we cleaned the old computer off the desk on Friday, and I got the new one put together today - left all the software downloading and internet connecting to Patrick - I told him I would hate for him to miss out on ALL the fun of getting the new computer set up. It will definitely be nice to not have to go the library anymore to check email and surf the web.

Well, there I was, feeling all smart and everything after getting the computer put together and playing a few rounds of Solitaire -- you know, just to make sure the thing worked!! I put some dark permanent press clothes in the washing machine and settled into the recliner to "veg out" with some DVD stuff of Frasier. When I hear the washer stop, I go to put the stuff in the dryer, and Lo and Behold, if the clothes aren't standing in water. Apparently, it did not drain and spin. So I try the drain & spin on the Cotton/Sturdy cycle - STILL nothing!! I tried calling Sears to set up a service appointment, and there's no answer at the phone # for Appliances. Well, I need to go out anyway and get some stuff from the grocery store, so I go up to Sears, tell the man in Appliances about what happened, and he gave me the phone # for Sears Service.

When Patrick got home, he wrung out the clothes that were in the machine and went with me to a laundromat just down the street ($3.00 just to run a load through the washer!!!). We ran the load through the wash and then brought them back home to dry. It was about 6:15 or so, and Patrick tried to call the service line, but they were apparently already closed. It will probably have to wait till Monday. As I'm writing this post, Patrick (bless his heart) is getting the water out of the machine (a quart at a time).

On top of everything else, my "baby brother" (who is 24 years old) calls today to tell me to keep my calendar clear for the last part of May or first part of June of 2007 because HE'S GETTING MARRIED!!! Now I officially feel OLD!! I haven't met the girl yet but from what Eric told me, she's got a good head on her shoulders and knows where she wants to go in life. She's in school at Mississippi State majoring in Elementary Education and will finish her classroom work in May 2007 and will do her student teaching that fall. Sounds like he's found a keeper!! Can't wait to meet her.

In one of my earlier posts, I was venting about work & having to do stuff for a different department where I felt like the stupidest person on the planet. Well, this week, I got to return to more familiar territory, THANK GOODNESS!!! Hopefully I'll get to stay there a while. I'll keep my fingers crossed (although it's very hard to type that way!)

Anyway, good night, and peace to all. Take care and God bless.

...or at least that's how it was supposed to start out. Shortly after 5:00 am, a car in our neighborhood (I assume it was on our street - it was certainly LOUD enough!!) got stuck or something and kept going off like an alarm clock for the whole neighborhood. After someone FINALLY got the stupid thing turned off, I wasn't able to back to sleep for about an hour. Pat had to be at work at 7:00. I don't know what time he actually left, but right after he left was when I finally got back to sleep & slept till about 9:00.

Pat and I are going to try to take advantage of this sales-tax-free "holiday" and see about maybe getting a new computer for the house. We'd like to get a Dell & get it customized with the stuff we want. It sure will be nice to not have to come to the library to check email or surf the web (they only allow you an hour a time).

Well, work has been interesting. Last week, they spent 3 hours on Monday afternoon, all day Tuesday, and 3 1/2 hours on Wednesday (and not even a full 3 1/2 hours at that because we had to go to a meeting) training me and another girl from the verifications department on how to help out in the denials department. The denials department is just that - we get a denial letter from a work comp insurance company giving any reason (or number of reasons) why a claim (or any part of a claim, such as a particular doctor or medication) is being denied and we have to find out how to "fix" it so we can get paid (in other words, we might end up billing either the employer or the patient, or another insurance company if the employer has changed insurance carriers and we didn't know it). Anyway, it can get pretty involved and quite confusing to the point where I'm sitting there thinking "I'm not smart enough to do this stuff - PLEEEEEASE put me back in Verifications!!!) I keep thinking maybe I'll screw something up enough where they WILL put me back in Verifications where I actually know how to do the work.

As far as church stuff goes, I've FINALLY got a reprieve from teaching Bible class for a while. After SEVERAL pleas made for teachers for a few various classes, one of the older ladies of the congregation (bless her heart) volunteered to teach the 1st thru 3rd grade Wednesday night class. I didn't get a chance to talk to her this past Wednesday night after service to ask her how it went. I'll have to be sure and ask her tomorrow.

I went to the gym on Thursday to do my workout. Pat had told me not to overdo the treadmill stuff and just go for a certain distance rather than speed, but did I listen? Apparently not. I did stay at a lower speed, but I also got brave enough to raise the incline a bit. I did 3 miles in just over an hour (usually I can do the same distance in just UNDER an hour). I don't know if the distance was a little much, or the raise in the incline, or if I stepped wrong at some point with my left foot, but my left ankle hurt afterward. Yesterday after work, I went to Oak Court mall for a bit of window shopping, and all the walking around made my ankle hurt again. So I went to Walgreens and bought an ankle stabilizer. I'm thinking about asking one of the trainers at the gym for their advice about shoes with shock absorption and ankle support. I've been looking at people's shoes while I'm doing my workout, and I've been seeing a lot of people wearing New Balance shoes, but I want to ask one or more of the trainers about it before I just go out a buy a pair of shoes that may not provide the support that I want.

Well, that's about all for now. Until next time, take care, be safe, and God bless. Peace to all. Good day.

First of all, I just want to say that I hope everybody had a safe and happy July 4th. Patrick and I went to see my grandparents in Ripley, Mississippi, and had a very nice relaxing day with them.

VBS 2006 has come and gone and I'm actually still alive to tell about it. We had pretty good crowds - about 165 on Monday, about 125 on Tuesday, about 155 on Wednesday, and about 135 on Thursday. We put a couple of large signs out on the lawn in front of the building which helped draw a good number of visitors who wouldn't have known about it otherwise.

I taught the lesson on Hannah & Samuel, and I had one of the other ladies in the room with me to demonstrate the crafts. We put together some coloring/activity booklets for the kids. For the younger kids, we had them put together a craft that portrayed Samuel in his bed answering God when God called to him. For all 4 of the "rotating classes" we made ephods (pronounced ee'-fod). An ephod was something the high priest wore. It had 12 stones on the front to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. The kids actually seemed to enjoy making them and wearing them, which made me (as the teacher) feel like I did a good job stressing the importance of the ephod and what it represented.

I was able to take one of my floating holidays at work on Friday, so I was able to help Patrick do some classroom re-setting up at the building, and I also got started on re-decorating the bulletin board that had been used for sign-up sheets for people to volunteer to help with VBS. I finished that bulletin board today, and decided to re-do the board in one of the adult classrooms. I'm usually not one to brag, but the boards I did look pretty good if I do say so myself.

Now I feel like life can get back to normal, or something resembling it. A good part of the week prior to VBS was spent on craft and classroom preparation, and I wasn't able to do my gym workout. I'll be able to get back to that on Monday. I need to do some housework, too -- any volunteers to help??? PLEASE????!!!!!

I am definitely looking forward to Tuesday - having a holiday off from work and having a day with my sweet hubby. Not sure what we're going to do yet - whether we're going to get together with my family or his. My older brother had shoulder surgery yesterday and my mom is going to be staying with him and his family for about a week to help out with things (and to play with her grandchildren!)

I realized the other day that there was another part of my routine that I left out of my last entry where I told about what I do and stuff. I have been working out at the YMCA since January. There are quite a bit of health problems in my family history, so I've been keeping up an exercise regimen, trying to stay in shape (or something resembling it). I actually enjoy my workouts. I do pretty good on the treadmill. Yesterday, I did 2 miles in 36 minutes 20 seconds. My best record so far is 3 miles in 54 minutes 30 seconds. It really helps out if I've had a particularly stressful day at work because I put all my focus on my workout so that by the time I finish, I've forgotten how crazy the day was.

We've got Vacation Bible School coming up at church the second week of July. I'm teaching about Hannah and Samuel and one of the other ladies of the congregation is helping me as far as getting the crafts together. That can be a challenge itself - especially coming up with something for 3rd/4th grade and 5th/6th grade. I'm thinking of taking either a vacation day or one of my personal holidays at work on that Friday (VBS is Monday thru Thursday) so I can rest. Also, my younger brother is taking his EMT test in Memphis and I think that is the weekend that it's scheduled for. He'll be coming up on Friday for a study session that evening, and my parents might be coming, too.

I'm going to a baby shower this afternoon, so I better go and buy the gift, huh? The girl is registered at Target, but I think I'm going to go with an idea that I did for another friend's shower last year. I went to Dollar Tree, got a small round basket that looked like a laundry basket just big enough for baby clothes, and I filled it with baby stuff - baby bath, baby lotion, baby shampoo, a couple of toys, and stuff, and I lined the basket with a baby blanket. It looked really cute once I got it all put together. Plus, she can keep the basket for future use.

Hope everyone has a Happy 4th of July! I'll leave you with this thought - If you go with a fifth on the 4th, you might not go forth on the 5th. I saw that on a sign one time and thought it was interesting. Happy 4th!!!

As Sylvester the Cat might say (or maybe Daffy Duck), Gee, I feel tho thpecial!! I have my very own LiveJournal account. I set this up for a few reasons - to have a "virtual couch" on which to relax and/or vent/rant (hey, it's cheaper than a psychiatrist!!); to stay in touch with people without running up a phone bill; to dispel the notion held by a few (and you know who you are!) that Patrick wasn't really married and that I was just a figment of his imagination. So, here I am, in the flesh - Patrick's wife, Barbara (Yes, I really do exist!!)
Pleased ta mee-cha!! :)

So, you're probably wondering - what does this Barbara-person do? Who is she? Well, the basic info is in my bio/profile. As for what I do for a living, the company I work for is described as an outsourced billing service for pharmacies for workers comp prescriptions. Basically, when a pharmacy that we service dispenses medications to a patient for workers comp, we pay the pharmacy for the medications. Then we send a bill to either the patient's employer or the employer's workers comp insurance company and they basically reimburse us (or at least, we hope they do).
Clear as mud? Okay.

Other stuff I do - again, I refer to my profile - reading, scrapbooking, playing piano (and flute), and watching TV/DVD's. I also work out at the YMCA twice a week. I'm very active in our local congregation. I teach 1st-3rd graders on Wednesday night - I help in the planning of our annual Ladies Day - I teach every year in Vacation Bible School, and there are a few bulletin boards that I try to change every now and then so people don't feel they're looking at the same thing all the time. I also work with a group of mostly ladies (Pat helps, too) in sending cards to sick, shut-ins, people having birthdays/anniversaries, people who have lost loved ones, etc. I like doing that because I feel like I help brighten someone's day with the cards I send. I was raised in the church, and I was taught to be a worker in the church - it's like second nature.

I am also a member of International Association of Administrative Professionals (formerly, Professional Secretaries International) and we have a nice dinner meeting once a month.

Well, hopefully that sheds a little more light as to who I am & the type of person Patrick has to put up with - hehe. I bid you adieu for the evening. Until next time ... may God be with you.