Uh oh! I'm trying something new!

Hi!

It's me, Debra, aka Dubbage42.

Yes, it has been a long time.

Long time no blog?
Yeah, maybe that.

Anyway, I'm trying something new.
I've just started posting videos on YouTube.
Yeah, there are only 2 as of me typing this post - but that will change.
Go HERE (it will open in a new window) and click the subscribe button.
Also, the videos will probably make use of my favorite word - so if you just can't stand to hear the F bomb *appropriately* tossed around - this might not be for you. Or it might. ;)

Yup. That's me.
<3

The Loneliness

Cold and damp
Down through my bones
A chill that won't respond to
A blanket or
A fire

The only warmth comes
When the loneliness leaves
And slinks off
To the dark place
Under the bed

Waiting
For no one else
To notice
The hole it digs
The chill it causes
The tears it brings

Every time.




(xposted from my fet account)

So am I Borg or Bionic?

It's no secret that I have a nice variety of health problems.
Lately though, my health problems have given me more... stuff to deal with.

I have diabetes. Type 2. I've had it for *years*. I've been using insulin for several of those years.

Several months ago, I started using a new-ish medication that lowers your blood sugar by allowing your kidneys to "flush it out". I was a *perfect* candidate for it! I had GREAT kidney function and the doc was excited for me to try it.

Hell, I was excited too.
It made my numbers *awesome* for the first time in years.
It *worked*.

Then... problems.

My kidneys were slowing down. Very down. I went from filtration in the high 90s to the low 20s. 10 points lower and I was going to be on dialysis.

Dammit.

Luckily, once I stopped that medication (and got lots of IV fluids) my kidneys bounced right back and I'm none the worse for wear.

That little incident, however, prompted me to move forward with my diabetes treatment.
I've had doctors try to get me to consider an insulin pump for quite some time.
I resisted.
I resisted strongly.
I was a bucket of "hell no".

I decided to make a change.

I am now the proud wearer/owner/user of an insulin pump.

I don't know what the hell I was so scared of.
It works.
It works damned well.
It's a LOT less painful than taking 5 shots per day.

As we tweak settings my numbers are MUCH improved. I'm on track to have an HbA1c of 7 (or just under) for the first time in over 10 years. Fairly recently it had been as high as 11.
Yeah.

So back to my title question - with this device *always* attached to me (I move it once every 3 days when I change my infusion set) am I more Bionic or Borg?
(also add to this picture my  CPAP mask - that I wear for obstructive sleep apnea)

I won!

That's right.
I Won.

I enter zillions of contests online. Ok, maybe not zillions, but it sure seems that way sometimes. I follow many MANY awesome bloggers - and some of them host giveaways.

I have won a few neat things lately...

I won the Mixer vinyl from These Girls Create on Fearlessly Creative Mammas.

I won the Mighty Leaf World Flavors giveaway at Mom to Bed By 8.

I won the Mini Frisbee Golf set Giveaway at Two Savvy Sisters.

And - most recently - I won a Kindle Fire HDX from Giveaway Promote.

Yes, I know. I'm a sucky winner most of the time.
From now on, I will be taking pictures and posting them.

Oh, and if you think this is a lot of winnings - you have no idea just how many and how often I enter.

Do yourself a favor - follow (at the very least) the bloggers above. They always have great posts - and giveaways.

Solitaire

No morning tea to wake me.

No goodnight kiss to soothe me.

Just bare white walls.

And Solitaire.

Tunes, jams, MUSIC

I listen to a pretty good variety of music. Madonna to Metallica, Bach to the Beatles, the Stones to Supertramp.

Thing is, I like to really mix it up in the car.

Luckily, my hubby installed his old car radio in my car - and it has a USB slot. I have an 8GB thumb drive with hundreds of my songs (ripped from MY CDs thankyouverymuch) on it.

My favorite thing to do with my music list is to put it on Shuffle.
Heh.

I refer to it as the "Music Mix of DOOOM".

On my way to work the other morning, I heard Madonna followed by Seals and Croft and the Violent Femmes. Then Metallica followed by Lonestar and Tone Loc.

And yes, I sang along with each song. Like a boss. Ok, like a tone deaf boss - but whatever. At 6:30am no one else should care!

I've been told I actually sing fairly well - but I will only do it in the car. Think the Flintstones - when Barney had to sing for a commercial - they put him in a tub. The episode is called The Flintstone Canaries.

Ahh... good times.

What do you like to listen to?
Any "Car tunes" that you HAVE to have in order to move on down the highway?

Winning is fun!

All of my friends know I enter *zillions* of blog giveaways.
Ok, maybe not that many - but still.

Sometimes I even win!
2 of the items below came in the mail today. What a nice treat to come home to!


A couple of weeks ago I won a "flash giveaway" from "What's Cooking Love" over on Facebook.
It was a $25 Visa Gift card!
Alyssa is a sweetheart - I got the thing in less than 2 days. :)


I also won "The Laughing Tree Organics" giveaway over at "Peace Love Organic Mom". I can't wait to use my Citrus shampoo and conditioner... and the lip balm is YUMMY!


I just opened up the "Eggland's Best Baking Kit" that I won from "Mostly Food and Crafts". An Apron, whisk, spatula, bowl scraper, re-usable shopping bag, and a nice *big* glass bowl - all branded with Eggland's Best.
Oh, and a certificate for a dozen eggs too.

Word of warning - looking around at Danielle's blog (Mostly Food and Crafts) is liable to make you HUNGRY.

Just sayin'.

The title of my post is "Winning is fun!" but it is more than that. I have found some great blogs while doing the blog-hop-boogie and entering everything I can get my keyboard & mouse on. There are so many bloggers putting up so many cool posts - and the recipes? WOW!

Thanks for stopping by -
Deb

TV Hillbillies (not the ones from Beverly)

This whole business with the duck dude really annoys me.
I refuse to use his name or the name of his show. Get over it.

I get it. He's a religious person.
I support his right to have whatever fracked up beliefs he wants.
I even support his right to not be jailed for expressing those beliefs. (1st Amendment and all)

However - I also have the right to call him out as an insensitive, ignorant, mouth-breathing bigot.

In his GQ interview - he all of the sudden starts talking about genitals and sin. No one asked!
Did you read the thing?

Please - go. Read. Here's the link. That GQ article about the duck guy. It's the whole thing. Not just the snippets.

Ok, you read it? All of it?

Including the parts where blacks were "Happy" during pre-civil rights times?

Yeah. That.

This guy is a moron. Moronosis Terminalis.

The network A&E had every right to "suspend" him because of what he said. He made the network look bad - and that's against his contract. Again - not the government - but a business. If I were to walk into my place of work and start saying the garbage he was saying, first, it would be construed as sexual harassment.
If I were to walk around and get some publicity AND identify myself as an employee of {company} that {company} would fire me!

All of the hand-wringing and bible-thumping about this hillbilly is just religious fanaticism. Yes, religious fanaticism on par with the flag-burning, Sharia supporting Muslims in the middle east.
What?
You don't see the connection?

It's there. These proselytizing hillbillies (and their supporters) would like nothing better than for their religion to be the law of the land.

Just like those fanatics across the pond. (link to Pat Condell Vid)
 
Plenty of links. Things to read. Things to watch.

I'm off to do some laundry.

Feeling old today.

There's nothing like hearing about the death of a former classmate to make you feel old.

Typical Sunday for me - I was just scrolling through Facebook and reading favorite blogs on Bloglovin, when I saw a post on a friend's FB page. He's a friend who doesn't spend a lot of time there, so it's usually a pleasant surprise when there's a post.

Not so pleasant this time.

It was a post by his wife, logged into his account (and tagging herself so we would know it was her) telling us he had died in his sleep last night.

This man was MY AGE. We were class of 1988 - so 43-44 years old.
And he died in his sleep.

This was, as far as I knew, a fairly healthy man. He played hockey. He still played drums.
And now his wife of over 13 years is a young widow.

It does make me think about my own mortality. I'm his age. I'm not in excellent health.
Yes, it crosses my mind that someday my husband might have to log into my Facebook account and do the same thing.

Back when we were in school, death and middle age seemed so far off. Now, it is reality. We've lost so many of our classmates, so many of our friends, so many of our relatives.
The difference now is that we find out about these things on social media. No, this isn't the first time I've found out about a death via Facebook. It isn't even the 2nd. And yes, I've found out about relatives deaths via Facebook.

Maybe someone should invent Deathbook... then us old folks could go read it daily like previous generations used to read the obituaries in the newspaper (remember those, newspapers?).

Bah. Ramble over.

Time for dinner.

Finally, an image or 3

I've never posted an image here. Why? Who knows.

This was my cat, Nike. She was a sweet old girl (to me anyway).
And she was Queen of the Planet.

I still miss my old girl. She passed at 19 years old about 5 years ago.

This was Nike as a small kitten. As you can see from the pics above, she did finally grow into those ears. ;)

Another cool set of giveaways!

It's no secret that I follow a LOT of neat blogs. Mostly crafty/foody blogs.
Well, another one of my favorite follows has a SET of giveaways! All Rafflecoptor giveaways, so they're easy as pie.
Ok, pie can be difficult if you're baking impaired like me - how about easy as EATING pie!

A Night Owl Blog has 5 giveaways in one!

Just go there. And follow - because in addition to the giveaways, there is always fun and information.

I got pulled over...

I got pulled over last night on the way home from work - but it turned out ok.

Normally, I tend to have a "heavy foot" when driving. I live out in the country, and traffic is not anything like it is in the cities. We have open expanses of roads with the occasional tractor and chicken truck.

Anyway, I have been VERY careful lately with my speed. I don't need {cough}another{cough} ticket. Since it is holiday time, the state troopers have been out in force.
I was right on the speed limit. People were passing me - and I noticed someone following closely. Upon mirror examination, I figured it was a state trooper.
Following. Closely.

I followed every traffic law to the letter - turn signals, proper lane changes, proper speed - you know, being a "good driver".
I pulled to a stop at a traffic light - then the trooper pulled in right behind me (even though there was an open lane next to me).
Uh-Oh.
When the light turned green, I moved along - aaaand on came the blues.

Sigh.

I pulled over, turned off my radio, got out my license, and put my hands up on my steering wheel. Yes, I do know the drill thankyouverymuch.

When the officer walked up, I opened my window - he asked for my license and said, "Mrs Womack, you still live at this Martin Address?"
"Yessir."
"You're probably wondering why I pulled you over."
"Yessir."
"Your brake lights aren't working."

I was confused. I asked him if he was sure - because I mostly just let my engine slow me down (remove my foot from the gas).

He said that my turn signals worked and the tail lights worked - but that the brake lights didn't come on.

"I'm going to check out your information, and if everything comes back OK, then I'll let you continue on your way with a verbal warning."

"Thank you, Sir. While you are doing that, I'm calling my husband to tell him about the brake lights."

While he was at his cruiser, I called Jamie and told him what was going on - and I repeatedly tapped the brakes to see if the lights came on.
They didn't. :(

The officer came back and told me to be careful going home. I let him know that I had called my husband, and he would check it out as soon as I got there.

I thanked him, and wished him a happy Thanksgiving.

When I got home, the hubby managed to fix the problem. It was a faulty switch for the brake lights.
So, YAY, it is fixed - and we had a spare, so no cost.
And no ticket.

I wish I had gotten the trooper's name. He was completely polite and professional - and *pleasant*. He was working outside on a freezing night before a holiday - and he was great. I would love to be able to pass that along to whomever keeps track of such things.

I was just so thrilled to NOT be getting a ticket I forgot to get his name.
I was also happy that someone else on the planet was, in fact, looking out for the safety of folks on the road.

If you're traveling - check out your car. Be careful. Be mindful.

I follow some awesome bloggers

I follow some awesome bloggers - and many of them do great giveaways!

Illi Style has a $100 Target gift card giveaway!

It's one of those "Rafflecopter" giveaways, so it's easy.

Go check it out. And read the other posts too. Just sayin.

Whatever happened to...

I sometimes wonder whatever happened to some folks I went to school with. Mind you, I'm in my 40s now - so it has been quite a while - but I still wonder.

Most of my wondering though, is about if I even ever registered on their radar as a person who was ever there or ever important.

I was NOT one of the popular kids. I was poor. I dressed funny. I was very tall and "chunky". I didn't have in-style hair or clothes. I wasn't in on any of the popular activities.

I was pushed aside, ridiculed and bullied by the popular kids.

So was I remembered by any of these people?
Because I do remember them.

I have, on occasion, tried to "friend" some of these people on FB. Rarely will I even get a response. I wonder if it is because I'm still not one of the pretty and popular people, if they have even the slightest inkling of guilt about how they treated another person, or if I was just utterly forgettable.

I just sometimes wonder.

Silhoutte Cameo Giveaway at Ginger Snap Crafts!

Yes, I really want a Silhouette Cameo.
No, it isn't in the budget.

BUT...

A zillion bloggers are each giving one away - see the giveaway (and the links to all of the other folks giving one away at Ginger Snap Crafts.

Go.
Now.

Nothing more to see here. :P

OOh! I found a new giveaway!

Ok, you know I like free stuff. And fun stuff.

This has both!

http://www.threeloudkids.com/2013/11/18/design-your-own-gift-with-fashion-playtes-review-giveaway/

Threeloudkids.com is giving away a $50 gift certificate to Fashion Playtes.
Neat stuff. Go check it out.

Alas, none of the clothes will fit me but the accessories sure will!

A short weekend.

I had to work on Saturday, which only gave me one day off.
It takes me the next several days after the weekend to recover from that.

I just get so tired!

Since I leave the house by 6:15am to go to work every day, I'm generally up by 5. Even on days I don't work I usually just "sleep in" until about 6 or 7.

This morning I slept until after 10. I've felt like a zombie all day. All I've managed to accomplish is doing laundry and catching up on reading blogs I follow. And some facebook ranting.

It's just after 6pm now. I'll be back on the road to work in 12 hours.

Will someone I know please win a huge mega awesome lottery prize and toss me enough to pay off my house?
Please?

Something that irks me.

Something that irks me (probably more than it should) is the whole "pray for me!" "Praying!" that everyone says (especially on FB).

I don't.

Not just because I'm not superstitious and don't believe in the omnipotent sky daddy - but because it means *NOTHING*.

I do tell people I'm thinking of them. I give them (what I hope are) encouraging words - but "praying!" is not encouraging to me.
All that tells me is that you're talking to an imaginary friend who, if it were so all-knowing (and so all-loving), would have already known of whatever strife/illness/accident/problem you had and would have already dealt with it.

But we all know that isn't the case.

Ok, the rational among us know that isn't the case.

I've had to bite my tongue (and clasp my hands!) to keep from replying to all of the people who are "praying!" at my hubby's posts on FB about his latest medical drama.
I KNOW they mean well - but dayum. How about instead of the ridiculous "praying" they drop an actual personal note or comment?

I have a good friend who just had surgery. A shit tonne of "praying!!" comments.
Not from me.
I told her that she was going to do great - and to not make the staff laugh too much at inopportune moments (she is hilarious and makes us all crack up all the time - the Sarcasm Queen). And that she was in my thoughts.

I did NOT tell her that I was going to wish to the great pretend sky daddy that things go ok.

Sigh.

The bloglovin thing

Just trying something out here... I follow a lot of blogs on Bloglovin.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

What a crazy couple of days...

Yup - it has been a crazy couple of days.

Yesterday, the hubby had an incident.
A thing.

This thing caused him to lose his ability to recall short term memories.
And I say recall them (and not just form them), because later on he was able to remember being confused and not remembering.

I rushed home from work yesterday at the end of my lunch-hour. And when I say rush - I mean it. Normally, on a mostly speed-limit drive, it's about 45 minutes. I did it in around 30. Of course, in that 30 minutes I got my OMG FREAK OUT SPAZ CRISIS out of the way so I could keep it together at home.

When I got home, Jamie was in the bathroom, washing his face "getting ready to go". Then, he refused to go and just sat down on the floor.
Let's just say, it was an ordeal getting him out of the house. And into the car.
He could NOT focus. I repeatedly had to snap my fingers and go all "bitch mode" to get him moving. Or to get his attention at all.

I drove us to the hospital - Juliana ran in, got a wheelchair, and told the attendant that we had a man coming in who we think is having a stroke.
We rushed him in, they took him right back.

By this time, he was not speaking well. Very "slurry" if at all - and the what he was saying didn't make any sense.
Jamie is normally a very intelligent, articulate, well spoken, and verbose man.
He could barely speak his own name.

Yeah, I was freaking out (inside).

They drew blood, did a CT scan, did a chest x-ray, did an EKG and probably a few other things I can't remember right now.
Throughout most of this ordeal yesterday, he did not remember any of it.
Every time the automatic blood pressure cuff went off, he looked at it - shocked - and asked how that got there.
I stepped into the restroom to make a quick phone call. When I came back, he asked me (again!) if I was here on my lunch break. He didn't remember that I was at home and that I got him there.
He also didn't recognize Juliana and looked very confused when he looked at me.

Over and over it was "What time is it?" "Where are we?" "Did I have another one?" "I'm hungry." "Are they both (mom & dad) in the waiting room?" (his mom passed 2 years ago)

As the day went on, the repeated questions became fewer - and he became more aware of things.
By the time I left the hospital (yes, they admitted him) he remembered all of "yesterday" and most of "today". The only things that were still fuzzy were getting to and into the car and the short ride to the hospital.

He has since told us that no, he didn't recognize Juliana at one point - and couldn't figure out why my hair was so short. It has been short for about 2 years... before that it was VERY long.

Jamie is home now - and asleep. He had to have an MRI and he gets *very* claustrophobic in them... so they gave him Valium first. Other than that, he seems back to normal.

As it turns out, this thing that happened is *probably* a TIA . Another one. He had several before we met (we've been together for 15 years).

Sorry for the ramblyness... It's been a crazy couple of days.