Yes... I know I shouldn't

Happy Halloween everyone - well, it's almost Halloween. The picture of Nikki was taken while we were walking in the pitch black darkness past the cemetery on our way to roll my sister's house. I know I shouldn't have - but, Nikki has never rolled a yard before and she couldn't wait to try it. We got away with it, too. But, after she got scared that someone had rolled her porch and car while she was sitting alone in the house - we confessed - and helped her clean it up. I'm sure we'll get our house rolled tonight as revenge...

What are you gonna be for Halloween?

Nikki is dressing up as "White Trash"! Cute idea, huh?

How's Much Is Your Blog Worth?

Not much, huh? It's worth something to me. It lets me vent - or rave about something. Or sometimes it's just here for me to show off some pictures. Of course, that doesn't mean I'd pay to have it or anything --- I like that it's a free weblog. So, how much is your blog worth?

My blog is worth $0.00.
How much is your blog worth?

Pumpkin Pix

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Pumpkin Patch Saturday. It is a farm where they have a field full of pumpkins the kids can pick out and they have all sorts of gourds and squashes and smaller pumpkins, plus hay and cornstalks and the most beautiful mums you'll ever see - all for fall decorating. They've got a really nice set-up there - they have a hay ride and they sell hot chocolate and popcorn and other treats. This year they have a little train they can ride plus they also have farm animals for petting. All the activities are free and the pumpkins and mums are really reasonable.

Cereal Killer

Check out Nikki's sweatshirt - isn't it cute? On the skull the crossbones are actually spoons....

Back In The Day....

I found this today while reading a random blog on the internet and I liked it so much I though I'd post it on my blog. I read this while nodding yes to just about every one of these - see how many you remember!




You know you were raised in the late 80's/early 90's when...
1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word "PSYCHE ".
2. You watched the Pound Puppies.
3. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of Belair " ....and can do the Carlton".
4. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy.
5. You yearned to be a member of the Baby-sitters club and tried to start a club of your own.
6. You owned those lil' Strawberry Shortcake pals scented dolls.
7. You know that "WOAH " comes from Joey on Blossom
8. Two words: Hammer Pants
9. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock ".
10. You had plastic streamers on your handle bars...and "spokey-dokes" or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect.
11. You can sing the entire theme song to "DuckTales " (Woo ooh!)
12. When it was actually worth getting up early on a Saturday to watch cartoons.
13. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
14. You saw the original "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles " on the big screen, and still know the turtles names.
15. You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school.
16. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
17. You played the game "MASH " (Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House)
18. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it.
19. L.A. Gear....need I say more
20. You wanted to change your name to "JEM " in Kindergarten. (She's truly outrageous.)
21. You remember reading "Tales of a fourth grade nothing" and all the Ramona books.
22. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF "
23. You wanted to be a Goonie.
24. You ever wore fluorescent clothing. (some of us... head-to-toe)
25. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.
26. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
27. You took lunch boxes to school... and traded Garbage Pal Kids in the schoolyard.
28. You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets.
29. You still get the urge to say "NOT " after every sentence.
30. You remember Hypercolor t-shirts.
31. Barbie and the Rockers was your favorite band.
32. You thought She-ra (Princess of Power!) and He-Man should hook up.
33. You thought your childhood friends would never leave you because you exchanged handmade friendship bracelets.
34. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes. (and like 24, probably in neon colors, too)
35. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"
36. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up "
37. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
38. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide.
39. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
40. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds.
41. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
42. You remember Popples.
43. "Don't worry, be happy "
44. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks.
45. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes> still do... getting yelled at by "younger hip" members of the family)
46. "Miss MARY MACK MACK MACK, all dressed in BLACK BLACK BLACK"
47. You remember boom boxes.. and walking around with one on your shoulder like you were all that.
48. You remember watching both "Gremlins " movies.
49. You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!"
50. You remember watching "Rainbow Bright" and "My Little Pony" Tales
51. You thought Doogie Howser/Samantha Micelli was hot.
52. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac.
53. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool... and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB".
54. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By the Bell ", the ORIGINAL class.
55. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
56. You just sang those words to yourself.
57. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
58. homemade Levi shorts.. (the shorter the better)
59. You remember when mullets were cool!
60. You had a mullet!
61. You still sing "We are the World "
62. You tight rolled your jeans.
63. You owned a banana clip
64. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
65. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' about Willis?"
66. You had big hair and you knew how to use it.
67. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!!!!

Multiple Sclerosis

I have forgotten to mention the fact that I have MS. I was getting ready to take my shot (I have to give myself a shot every night) of a medicine called Copaxone. It reduces the number of relapses you have with MS. I'm doing quite alright with everything. I have the ever present numbness of my hands and fingers. It sort of feels like wearing a thin latex glove constantly, sort of a loss of sensation. How did it all start? Well, a little over two years ago I started having numbness on the soles of my feet. It would not go away so I went to the doctor. He couldn't figure out what it was so he sent me the get a MRI of my lower back(my first of several). That didn't show anything, so he sent me to a neurologist. During my wait for an appointment to see the neurologist (a little over a month) my numbness travelled from my soles of my feet to my entire feet (mind you this was both feet at the same time), the to the bottom part of both my legs, then the top part of both my legs, then my butt, then my stomach, then my chest - from there it went to my shoulders and down both arms. Believe me - by the time I got to see the neurologist I was a nervous wreck - but had pretty much figured out what I had. I had researched everything on the internet and had come to the conclusion that I had Multiple Sclerosis. Anyway - by the time I saw the neurologist I could not feel my hands and fingers at all, and that's a big deal - because I work with computers all day long at the newspaper office and me not being able to type correctly was affecting my job. To make a long story short - I was finally diagnosed after several MRIs and a spinal tap (of which I'll NEVER do again - the spinal tap was horrific!). I'm an old pro at MRIs though, they really don't bother me. My numbness in my hands have now subsided into a kind of loss of sensation. Kind of strange feeling, but I'm used to it. I've been in the hospital twice for relapses and had to be on a drip of steroids for several days. But other than that I'm quite well. I keep a positive outlook and that also works wonders. Here's more info if you need it:
About MS

What is MS, and how does it affect the body?

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system (CNS) that damages the myelin sheath, or insulating material, that surrounds the nerve fibers in the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves.



The myelin is lost in multiple areas, leaving plaques or scars called scleroses (which is where the name “Multiple Sclerosis” comes from). This damage or loss of myelin can prevent nerve signals from being conducted, or can cause those signals to be conducted too slowly.

Multiple sclerosis is characterized by attacks – “flare-ups” or exacerbations – which may be associated with plaques that prevent conduction of nerve impulses in the CNS. A period of exacerbation is also known as a relapse.

By using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), your neurologist can track the effect drug therapy has on the development, or lack of, new lesions.

How MS affects people over time

No two cases of multiple sclerosis are alike.

While many people living with MS are affected with some level of disability, this is not true of everyone ... and among those who do have a level of disability, this level varies greatly.

Studies have shown that a majority of persons living with MS lead fairly normal lives. MS symptoms may fluctuate, and they may progress in severity. And many people have periods of no apparent symptoms that may last many years, but lesions can still be forming in the CNS undetected.

Because MS can vary so widely from one person to another, no predictions of the outcome for any individual can be made. Statistically, however, a person with MS today has good reason for optimism – especially with early treatment to minimize the number of attacks.

Who gets MS?

Multiple sclerosis is generally diagnosed in individuals between the ages of 20 and 40. Women develop MS at a rate of two to three times that of men. In the United States, the disease is more common among Caucasians, especially those of northern European ancestry. MS occurs most frequently in “temperate zones” of neither extreme heat nor cold.

In the United States, it is estimated that approximately 350,000 people are living with multiple sclerosis, and nearly 200 cases are diagnosed every week.

A Nice Relaxing Day

Hi! It looks like this will be a once-a-week blog, doesn't it? It seems I only post on weekends. It's about the only time I have to post anymore. Today we didn't do much at all. We went geocaching at David Crockett State Park. If you don't know what geocachings is, refer to one of my previous posts or go to geocaching.com. Like I've said before - it's a great hobby. We walked and walked, but did not find the one we were looking for. I have found one of them though once before and we revisited that cache to show my mom and dad. My husband, Don is at Talladega this weekend to watch the races. Hope he has fun - I know if I went I'd just make him miserable with my complaining about being there (I don't care about the races much). So, I'm just having a relaxing weekend and hope that I don't have to do very much because I imagine next week at work is gonna be busy. We're changing our newspaper's width and that means Jamie (my coworker) and I will have to go and change all of our ads to accomodate the new paper size. No one has told us to do it yet, so we aren't allowed to just do it on our own - we've got to wait for a higher authority to tell us instructions (isn't that funny???) Even though we know what we've got to do... we've got to wait for someone else to tell us to do it. I'm just about tired of it all. I'd give just about anything to not have to work at all - just stay at home and be a housewife and a stay at home mom - I would love it - I'm just that type of person, I guess. Maybe someday it'll happen for me - OH WELL - one more day of freedom before Monday...