Joke, joke, another joke from Estela's jokebook

Hope you all get a laugh from this and don't hate me cuz I'm a republican

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The Republican Fisherman

    A woman in a hot air balloon realized she was lost.  She lowered her  altitude and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me,  can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

    The man consulted his portable GPS and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level.  You are at 31 degrees, 14.97 minutes north latitude and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes west longitude."

    She rolled her eyes and said, "You must be a Republican."

    "I am," replied the man.  "How did you know?"

    "Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to do with your information, and I'm still lost.  Frankly, you've not been much help to me."

    The man smiled and responded, "You must be a Democrat."

    "I am," replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

    "Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going.  You've risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made  a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. You're in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but,   somehow, now it's my fault."

Interesting Miss America Trivia

Miss Utah (I think she is the blond, doing push-ups) was a member of the National Guard unit (1-211 Aviation) that replaced Paul's unit at the end of Paul's tour in Afghanistan.

:)  We're sorry that she didn't win, but she did get "America's Choice."  HOOAH!
Tags: Miss America, Afghanistan

Getting There

It's been a busy few days. Cat is still not eating as much as she should, but she most definitely is behaving happier... still a bit yellow though, so I'm not sure how her visit with the Vet next week is going to go.

We made a trip to the Emergency Room with Kendra Wednesday night. Kidney infection with LOTS OF PAIN! But we have things under control at the moment.  Still some pain, but the antibiotics and rest are helping a lot.

Yesterday Paul was able to put my computer desk and computer back together.  So I'm feeling pretty content about all that. I can finally do my computer entries without having to beg time off someone else's computer (yes, mine was the last to be enabled). Having this corner all done is inspiring me to really get busy on some of these boxes.  We are still missing some of the cushions from the couch.. I know they are around, we just havent found the right box in this box jungle.

After much hope of being able to put my desk up in the kitchen, we discovered that the breakfast nook just isn't big enough for my desk. We've had to put it up in one corner of the dining "room". From this corner,  here is a view of the rest of the room.

View directly behind my back, looking towards the dining room area

view to the behind-right side of my desk

view towards the living room area.

I'm hoping by next weekend we'll have a clearer view. Some of the boxes need to go into storage (empty computer boxes for example.)  We still need to find a storage place that we like.

Tags: boxes, moving, computer

What the Vet said and What I think is true

First off, Smokey is home and doing very well.  She is a bit needy in the "pet me, love me" area, but otherwise back to her old self.  We brought her home at the close of business yesterday.  We also brought home KFC.  She insisted that she needed a bit of chicken..we succumbed.. though we try not to feed her chicken anymore..but she's been sick... so she got a bit of chicken.

At bedtime, she joined me in bed as usual.  What was unusual is her insistance that I pet her non-stop while she drifted off to sleep.  Never mind that I was also sleepy and wanted to drift off.  She clearly felt I owed her big for all her time away from us.  She's lucky that I am nice. She also finally went off exploring and I managed to get a little sleep before she came back at 4 am, insisting on more petting.

Okay... so the Vet really isn't sure what brought all this stuff on.  He says that older cats can be that way sometimes... be unhappy, quit eating, cause metabolism imbalance and WHAM.. sick cat. When we first took her back to the Vet (the clinic also has a kennel which is where she stayed while we were in transit), he mentioned something about abcessing from not eating, so he'd start her on antibiotics just in case.

I think that Smokey had Kennel Cough.  While I understand it's rare for it to transmit to cats, it does happen and her symptons match the ones I found on the internet (for cats). I suspect that this is what happened with Smokey.  While she is home now, we do need to continue the antibiotics for another week and return to the Vet next Monday for new blood tests.

I could be wrong, but... Smokey's been in kennels enough times that I know how she behaves... and this was really different.  She was really ill. But the attendant claimed that she was eating fine there, so how could her not eating at home just a few days cause such a quick and debilitating result?  I think it is the Kennel Cough...or someone was lying about how well she did in the kennel.

the "No Whining" entry

Today I am going to write a quick note about some of the good things that have been happening recently.  Mary (of Just Mary fame) has requested some non-whiney entries.  I'm trying to oblige her, I hope she appreciates it!

1. I love my new bed. Paul picked it up in Colorado and brought it back here for me.  When I do sleep, I feel like I'm sleeping on a cloud. And the new smaller size (Queen from a King) was a smart move since our new bedroom is smaller than the old one.

2. My sister knew we were getting a smaller bed, so she gave me sheets to fit the new bed at Xmas... better still these things are 400 count.. OMG.. they are so soft.. I may never be able to go to a lower thread count again.

3. Smokey continues to improve, she should be home by tomorrow.

 

This AM the news was good.

The vet called us this morning with some good news.  Smokey is eating again and her blood test results were improved over yesterdays. The vet wanted to keep her a bit longer and see if they could get the numbers down even more.  He is going to call us later this afternoon and let us know how she's doing. 

We might even be able to bring her home this afternoon.  By the latest, he felt she'd be ready to come home tomorrow morning.

This is very good news for us, and I hope she keeps getting better through the day so she can come home soon.

Thank you everyone for your kind wishes.  :)

I just helped her cry

Smokey is not doing well. Her kidney and liver function is impaired.  She also has a very high blood sugar right now, which is disconcerting when one realizes she hasn't had food in 4 days.

She is currently at the Vet's overnight, receiving IV fluids and antibiotics. If she can start eating on her own, she may be out of the woods and live awhile longer.  But if she doesn't start eating on her own, it may be time to think about her "quality of life" and determine whether the heroic efforts the vet suggested are worth doing. 

For me, this isn't about prolonging her life.  She's a cat, and she's been a good one, but it just doesn't make sense to me to extend her life cycle for my benefit, or for my daughter's.

When Kendra got home from school today, I had to break the news to her. We talked about all the options the veterinarian offered up... the best case, the worst case and which route Kendra would be more comfortable with.

It's not easy losing a pet you've had most of your life. Kendra wants her to be comfortable and she is trying hard to think of what is best for Smokey.  But I know it's hard. We spent part of this afternoon crying, and sharing memories of this cat.  I wish I could do something more, but for now... crying with her seems to be the best option. We'll know more in the morning.

colds and cat

I've moved up to a desk top, although not my desktop.  I'm using the kid's desktop which was put together early on in this adventure. 

So... I am at the tail end of a cold. Kim had a cold while we were all in Phoenix and she shared it with Kendra.  Kendra was sick during our drive to Alabama.  On Jan 1, I shared a drink with Kendra, thinking I probably wouldn't pick up her cold (I usually don't).  Apparently, now I do.   So I started feeling bad a couple of days later. 

My experience with colds has always been the same.  First I am stuffed up and sneezing, then my throat is sore and it's hard to swallow for a couple of days, finally I cough.  The last two or three days I spend coughing to the point that my chest starts to hurt.  No fever, so at least there's that.  I'm in the coughing stage now, hopefully by the weekend I'll be done.

Having this cold has made me very difficult to live with.  I don't sleep well at night.. I'm not sure why that is, but I spend the nights wandering around the house and then sleep most of the day.  I wish I could say that at least I'm productive at night, but I really haven't been.

Smokey came home on Monday. She's been staying at various kennels during our move, poor thing.  We brought her home on Monday.  I thought she'd be a bit pissed for a day or so, but after that she'd be back to her usual self.

She's an older cat (14 yrs) and I think this may have been just too many moves for her.  At least that is what I am hoping.  She has not eaten since she's come home.  She did a very small amount of exploring when we first let her loose, but now she's confined herself to Kim's room, the litter box, and the kitchen.

She is still drinking and urinating.  We tried offering her "treats" to see if she was just being a pain, but nothing has enticed her to eat.  She seems completely disinterested. And she hates my new bed, so she hasn't spent one night with me since she's been home.

Anyway, we're taking her to the vet this morning. I  want confirmation that there isn't really anything specific wrong with her.  I'll keep you posted.

One step closer!

We are in our house and we now have internet, but I'm still on Paul's laptop because most of our household goods are still in boxes (including my computer). I am hoping to be on my own computer by the weekend so that I can start telling some of the tales that are just too involved to try and do from a laptop.

Kids are all registered for school and everyone goes back tomorrow. Lots of teens in our neighborhood this time, so the kids are pretty excited.

Ponderous Questions

I got this from Joann's journal:

Joann's Weight Loss Journey

QUESTIONS to Ponder..........

1. If you could have the vocabulary of any person you know, who would you pick?    My own...I may not be able to spell all the words, and I may not always be grammatically correct, but I do have a huge vocabulary and am not afraid to use it.

2. If you found yourself at the Pearly Gates and had one chance to make your case for entry, what would you say?     For by grace are we saved through faith; and that not of ourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. ...

3. If you could sit and have a beer with 3 sports figures from anytime, who would you pick?  1. Joe Namath 2. Danny White 3. Cal Ripkin

4. If you could own one article of clothing from any film ever made, what would you take?   If I had known that I would one day attempt to answer such a question, I'd have been taking better notes at all these movies I see... hmmm.. Maybe an updated version of the white and green frock that Scarlett wears in "Gone With the Wind"

5. If you could have your license plate say anything at all, what would it be? O2BNPHX

6. If you could have been Judge Lance Ito, what would you have done differently?  Banned TV coverage

7. If you discovered a Shakespeare manuscript that no one else had ever seen what would you do with it?  Call a good attorney!  (I like Joann's answer on this one)

8.If you had to relate the most embarrassing experience of your life, what would it be?  I was kicked out of a bar once for being too drunk. This was after I had accidently spilled an almost full pitcher of beer on the pool table and accidently blocked the bathroom with my body. Luckily, I was too drunk to remember the more embarrassing details.

9.If you were to name the worst consequences of organized religion, what would they be?  A loss of the message.

10. Can you name a person who has taught you much about life, who would it be?  My parents... I cannot give credit to just one or the other, but because of their shared vision of parenting, we (my siblings and I) left their home with a good grasp of what makes life good. And believe me...life is good. :)

Interesting Discoveries at the End of the Road

It's 7:38 am in Alabama... I've been up for almost an hour (WTF!). More disturbing, I didn't go to bed until 3 AM and I am wide awake.  What is up with that?

The girls are still sleeping...and I'm trying to be patient because it's not their fault I don't sleep a lot. I mentioned that Kendra drove yesterday.  She took over in Mobile, as we transitioned from the I-10 to the I-65. 92 miles on the Highway, then we had to move onto smaller roads.

Small roads in Alabama scare the heck out of me.  They are narrow, and wind all over the place.  You can't see more than 100 yards ahead of you sometimes because of the bends and turns.  And that's in the daylight.

Kendra is a competent driver.  She did fine. She did not make any mistakes.  I really want to be clear on that point.

My butt muscles are sore this morning.  Apparently, I kept them clenched for the last hour of the drive yesterday.  Who knew that driving the backroads of Alabama with a new driver could be considered a form of isometric exercise?  LOL

Tags: muscle tightness, winding roads, new drivers

Done Driving

Mood: Thrilled to be done driving

We arrived around 6:00pm this evening. After dark.  A lot has changed on Fort Rucker since the last time I was here.  Not the least of which, the location of the Guest house registration.  Finding buildings in the dark SUCKS! 

We finally found the registration office by accident.. LOL... and managed to get into our room about 7 pm.  We did not stray too far off this evening. Grabbed a meal at the bowling alley and snacks at the shoppette to avoid having to drive off post in the dark.

Kendra drove from Mobile to the post.  Lots of  back roads, but she did a great job. We finished Twilight today. I am absolutely convinced that the movie will focus more time and energy on the conflict (that takes up about 3 chapters in the 24 chapter book) and less time on the gradual building of the relationship. We'll see.. I have a bet with Kim on this.

Paul and Mac arrive tomorrow, our furniture arrives on Friday, and we should have internet in the house by tuesday. :)

All for this session.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone.  We had a long drive today.... almost the whole of Texas (the long side).  Traffic was light for the most part, since it was New Year.

We (the girls and I) are enjoying the audiobook (Twilight).  The girls tell me that it is due out as a movie soon.  I can already guess the focus of the movie... and I don't think it will do justice to the real story in the book.

One more day on the road... Night