The Truth About Hiccups

So I found this article on MSN today and thought it was very educational...
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Hi Bill,
Why do we get hiccups? And can we cure them? (Can't--hiccup--stop--hiccup--hiccupping--hiccup!) --Diaphragm Hammer

Dear (heek!) Diaphragm Hammer,

Notice how often you swallow. Try making tally marks on a piece of paper while you're watching a TV show, for example. Most of us swallow every few seconds. Even when we're nowhere near food or something to drink, we're gulping away. Your mouth is continuously producing saliva, and it has to end up somewhere. So, down it goes. Meanwhile, as you may realize, you have to keep breathing. If you don't, well, you'll probably miss the rest of this column.

We humans breathe through our nose or mouth. For a short way, the air moves down or up the same passage that we use for swallowing--our throat*. We have a muscular trapdoor in our throat that keeps the stuff intended for our stomach from going down our trachea, the windpipe connected to our lungs. This vital valve is our good ol' epiglottis*. To keep inhaled air from going down your esophagus (your stomach tube), and to keep food and saliva from going down your trachea, your epiglottis is working all the time. It's a swinging door that's always moving and always closing pretty hard one way or the other.

Because all of this action is connected to breathing, your diaphragm* (the big breathing muscle below your lungs) gets into the act, as well. You can't be inhaling or exhaling and swallowing at the same time, even if you breathe through your nose. The diaphragm can't be pulling air down or pushing air up while saliva or food is coming down your throat. All of the actions of all these muscles have to be coordinated by your brain.

Also in your throat, you'll find your voice box, or larynx*. On top of the larynx is a somewhat different expandable and contractible gizmo called the glottis. It's a long, narrow, muscular opening that lets only air pass over your vocal chords. (Both epiglottis and glottis come from the Latin word for "tongue.")

Once in a while, often when you find yourself eating a bit too quickly, your brain sends conflicting signals to your diaphragm and epiglottis: "Close the esophagus and open the trachea--no, wait. I mean, pull the diaphragm and open the--hold it--I mean the food tube--no, the windpipe. Wait. Now, swallow and breathe. Yikes!" Once in a while your diaphragm contracts and forces air through your glottis, and you feel a bump and often hear that "heek" sound. That's when you have the hiccups.

Your nerve fibers have produced too many charged calcium ions near the muscles of your glottis and your diaphragm. They spasm; your brain triggers your nervous system to send a correcting signal, but it's too late or not quite of the right strength, and you hiccup again. Often there's an imbalance that is like a resonance. The signals build up and let go at regular intervals, like a sign flapping in a breeze.The way to stop the hiccups seems to be to provide a new clear signal to your body--either a signal for swallowing or breathing. That's why for some people, it helps to hold a breath. For others, swallowing several sips of water in succession does the trick. You have to clear or overwhelm the confusing diaphragm-glottal-epiglottal noise. You can do it. Just swallow; I mean, hold your breath. Hiccup--I mean...
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Hiccups can be quite a nusense sometimes. I once almost got kicked out if a Bible Class in college (by Lindsy's neighbor) because I had the hiccups. He told me to make them stop or leave (uh, don't you think I would if I could?). It is pretty funny when you think of all the ways people use to get rid of hiccups. Here are just a few I've tried:

1) Eat a spoon full of sugar. This is what my mom always told us to do. Actually, I think this was Mary Poppins' idea, and it was to make the medicine go down, but I wasn't telling my mom that.

2) Drink a glass of water upside down. Yes, it can be done. I'm actually quite good at it, but it takes talent and practice.

3) Have them scared out of you. I got paid in ice cream once to scare our intern, Kody, when he had the hiccups (not by him, by another secretary). He jumped and screamed like a girl!

4) Lay on the floor and put several heavy books on your stomach and raise them using your diaphram until your hiccups go away.

5) Distract yourself. Focusing on something else is the best way to get them to go away.

Whatcha got?

Give Me A Break!

Post Office Man
Over my lunch hour, I ran to the post office to mail a package. Big mistake, since everyone was trying to mail in their taxes. I’m standing in line waiting to use the do-it-yourself machine (which was a long wait). I finally get up there, and start going through the process. Now, let me say that I have done this SEVERAL times before, so I knew what I was doing.

All of sudden I had this feeling of someone looking over my shoulder. I was reading through the “does your package…” list when I hear this man say, “it’s none of these”. How the heck does he know what is in my package in the first place. But more important, can we say “PERSONAL SPACE?” There was absolutely no reason for that man to be standing so close and he was seriously invading not only my personal space, but my comfort zone as well! I felt like I was in Poland all over again. Matter of fact, he was so close that when I went to pick up my package, I hit him with my elbow and dropped my box. To this man I would like to again say “DUDE! BACK UP!”

Lady in Car Who Needed A Chill Pill
On my way back to work, there was this lady in the car behind me. She was tailing me really close, so I was trying to be cautious and not to stop too fast. There wasn’t much I could do because there was a trash truck in front of me. Knowing that I was getting close to my turn and strongly sensing that she was already in such a hurry, I turned on my turn signal a little sooner than I needed to and started slowing down. When I finally stopped to turn, she throws her hands up in the air as in to say “what are you doing idiot!” Hey, lady, don’t throw your hand in the air at me, I gave you plenty of warning I was about to turn, why didn’t you just change lanes when you had the chance and go around me?

Phone Book Advertising Sales Guy
There is this man that has been coming by our office A LOT lately trying to get us to run advertising in his phone book. He’s bugged me in the past when he just worked for Fiest, but now Fiest has bought out another phone book and he’s doing double duty and being double annoying. He stopped by two weeks ago when I was out sick for the day. He stopped by again the next day. I told him I would have to run it by my boss and I told him he would be out the rest of the week. But in addition, I really didn’t think it was something we would do. He then came by again on Friday (uh, I told you I wouldn’t have an answer for you yet). Then I was out sick the first two days of last week, and he came by then too. And today, I was in a meeting and he came by yet AGAIN. GO AWAY!!!

Someone needs to warn this man that when you bug me too much and don’t take no for an answer, I get irritated and I’m bound to tell you exactly what I think. Despite rumors, I’m really not a mean person, but I do have personal space issues.

The Great Paint Caper

Well, this weekend didn’t exactly go as planned. I was thinking about going to Missouri to FINALLY get to see baby Zaine, but because I’ve been sick and craziness with their schedule, we decided to postpone the trip for a couple of weeks. Since I now had a free weekend and a gift card to Lowes, I decided to finally finish painting my kitchen (you know, that project I started back in February!)

If you recall from previous posts, there was an issue with the color I originally chose. I liked the color, but it was not quite the right shade of blue. So Friday night, I went to Lowe’s in search of a different shade of blue. I found a paint sample that looked like it was what I wanted – at least under their light (you know where I’m going with this, don’t you.) So I get the paint and head home. By time I got home, the paint dab on the top of the can had dried and it was not looking like the right color AT ALL. I tried not to panic. I just rolled a small amount on the wall and decided to let it dry over night and see what it looked like in the morning.

Saturday morning, I got up and went into the kitchen. DEFINITELY the wrong color! I called Lowe’s and they said to bring it back in and maybe they could adjust the color. After several attempts, it became obvious it was not going to be the right color. I took my new “custom designed” paint home and started trying to work on Plan B.

I really didn’t have the money to be spending on paint, but at the same time, I REALLY wanted to get the kitchen done. It was getting on my nerves. So I decided to ignore my rule about not using the credit card and went looking for new paint. I honestly went to every paint store in Edmond. One of the places I went, the guy offered to take the bowl I was using to try to match the paint and see what he could come up with. By this point I was about ready to take him up on the offer. I decided to go back to Home Depot in hopes of maybe miraculously finding the right color. My hopes weren’t high since I had already looked through ever paint sample they had when I was originally started this process, but I really wanted to finish my painting and didn’t want to put it off another week.

I walked into Home Depot and start looking at different colors. My best bet was looking like a color from the Disney collecting, when I found it. Granted it’s hard to tell under their lights, but to the best of my knowledge, it looked like I had maybe found the perfect color. Not exact, but so much closer than what I had used originally and I was happy with that. I don’t know if they were out of that sample the last time or if it was a new one…frankly I didn’t care, because I had it now the there was light at the end of the tunnel.

When I got home and started putting it on the walls, it was definitely the right color. I was so happy! I spent the rest of my Saturday painting my kitchen and was actually done at a pretty decent hour.

Sunday evening, I went to start taking the tape off. I had to use a knife to cut through the edges since the paint stuck to the tape. When I started taking it off, to my horror, the paint and seeped through the edges and now there was blue pain on my ceiling and cabinets. This was the ONE thing I was trying to avoid which is why I taped everything so well. I’m now going to have to go back over the edges of my white cabinets and white ceiling with Kilz to cover up the blue and then repaint the trim. I’m starting to wonder if I’m ever going to be done.

So, what did I do with the gallon of paint I now can’t use? Well, when I was rinsing out the roller, I noticed that it was actually a pretty color when it was lightened, so my mom might mix it with a can of white and paint her bedroom. She wants to redo it anyway.

I still have a door to the pantry and baseboards to paint, but I’m hoping to have that all done really soon and when I do, I will post an after picture.

Missing Shoes

I’m so frustrated. I was getting ready to leave for church Sunday morning and went to get my only pair of white dress shoes, and much to my disappointment, they were GONE. I tried searching my closet because they had to be there and should be easy to find because I keep them in a shoe box, but they were no where to be found. Since I was running late for church by this point, I just put on a different skirt and found a different pair of shoes.

When I got home from church, I had a “hunt” of my own…not for eggs but for my shoes! They had to be there somewhere. I hadn’t worn them since last summer and when I moved, I packed all of my shoe boxes together. And they’re in a shoe box. They can’t be that hard to miss. Since I’ve already unpacked all of my boxes (not necessarily put everything away yet, but they’re all unpacked) I was at a loss. I checked my suitcases, I checked under my bed. I checked my closet AGAIN, and I checked the closet in the spare room. No where to be found.

There are only two places that I haven’t checked yet…the holiday decoration boxes and the garage sale box. If they are in either of those two places, someone else put them there. I can’t imagine that they fell out in the moving process because surely I would have found them in one of my many trips back to the house. And if by some mishap they ended up with Jeana’s stuff, she would have noticed by now because we have a little bit of a size difference when it comes to our shoes.

So if you find a pair of short heeled, white open-toed sandals running around without an owner, please bring them home. They’re too young to be out running around on their own (even in shoe life). Thank you!

Road Rage is the Least of My Problems

Today I am suffering from a serious case of Road Rage. I went to go run errands during my lunch hour. One of those errands, the most important I mind you, was finding some place to drop off my ONG bill. Normally I mail it, but I had to wait to pay this one till my roommate got paid this month and it is due Monday. So I get online to find an ONG drop location. Homeland was the closest, so I went there first. Can I just say I hate Homeland (but that's a whole other post). Anyway, there were way too many people in line and a sign that said something about it taking their bill pay service five days…blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I left to go find a drop box location.

I couldn’t remember most of the drop off locations from the website, but did notice that you could drop it off at various bank locations (now I thought the website said BankOne, but we’ll come back to that in a little bit). I knew where all the banks were on Bryant, so I decided to try to find a BankOne. No luck. So this begins my search for a BankOne location. I some how remembered the address for the one on Broadway, so I started heading that way. Here is where the road rage comes into play.

Traffic was already bad when I was heading to Homeland, but it was even worse up by UCO. HOLY COW, I think every human being who has today off was in their car today. It was ridicules, plus I was running out of time to get back to work. I found myself wanting to pound my hands on the horn and just yell at everyone to get out of my way. I don’t like crowds, they make me Closter phobic, so I think bumper to bumper traffic has the same effect on me. My frustrations were irrational because everyone was in bumper to bumper traffic, but I just wanted breathing room and driving space. I just wanted the cars to part like the Red Sea!

I was finally able to find my way out of the abyss of cars and head for 1515 S. Broadway. Since I wasn’t exactly sure where this was, I was still a little frustrated with the number of vehicles because it’s hard to look for an address – on a building mind you – with a SUV on your tail. After a parking lot turn around, I finally made it to 1515 S. Broadway…or at least what used to be 1515 S. Broadway. It had been torn down – recently. Bulldozers were still there clearing the debris. Ugh!!!! I’m now late to work and still haven’t found any place to drop off my ONG payment. I gave up, came back to work, begged for a stamp (did I mention I have not a dime in my wallet…I never made it to an ATM), and I am now praying that my payment isn’t late!

But here is where the story gets oh so much better…when I got back to the office, I started writing my blog post. I went to add a link to BankOne and noticed that it had changed to Chase. I saw plenty of Chase locations while I was out. I was also curious if maybe I had remembered the address correctly for the place that had been torn down, so I went back to the ONG website. The address was correct, the bank wasn’t. I was supposed to be looking for a Bank of Oklahoma, not a BankOne! So I drove all over town, looking for the wrong bank which happened to be a bank that doesn’t even exist anymore! I give up!!!

Random Pictures

There really hasn't been anything exciting going on in my life lately (never thought I would miss the raccoons). Everything else going on either isn't worth posting or shouldn't be posted, but since I felt the need to post something (plus I'm bored) I decided to post some pictures I found on my computer.

This would be my family group from camp about three years ago. I'd point everyone out, but I don't remember some of the kids names (oops). This was a pretty cool family though. I had great co-leaders. This would be the only time all year I ever get called "mom". Of course a couple of these kids I would have gladly given up for adoption! Can I just say that I am so glad that I"m no longer a teenager!

This is my friend, Rachel, dressed like an Oompa Loompa (how do you spell that) at a Halloween party Lindsy and I organized two years ago. She and Carol are counting candy. Lindsy and I had all these people and we didn't know what to do with them, so we sent them out trick-or-treating. The team with the most candy won a prize. This party was much more successsful than last years. I think after last year, we're taking a break from hosting Halloween Parties (right, Lindsy?) =o)

This is more pictures of baby Zaine. Isn't he the cutest!!! I'm still waiting to get to see him in person, so these are going to have to do till then.


This is from the Rattle Snake festival in Mangum last year. I think it's coming up here soon, and NO, I will not be attending again. That was a once in a lifetime experience. It wasn't only the snakes that scared me. ;o)

This is my last Christmas tree. I didn't get to put one up last year because I was still unpacking from my move. I'm looking forward to decorating this year!!!!

This is from our float trip a few years ago (2002 I think). I I added the caption after we got this picture back. I love float trips. =o)

And finally, one of my favorites. I feel like saying this quite often.

Insight On The Weekend

This will definately be a bitter-sweet weekend. First of all, it's April Fool's Day tomorrow, which is one of my favorite days of the year. I used to pull some great ones on my family and friends. The best was the year I called my dad and told him that my car (which I had just gotten at Christmas) had been stolen out of the mall parking lot. I was laughing so hard that my dad thought I was crying and really fell for it. He was always so easy to get (which is funny since he was the one who introduced me to April Fool's Day when he told me at age 3 or 4 to go tell my mom that I threw up on the floor and then say April Fool's. It was all down hill from there).

Anyway, I found an article on MSN today about pranks pulled on co-workers. Here is an exerpt:

If you want to commit an act of April Foolery at work and need some inspiration, here are the top 10 work gags from CareerBuilder.com's survey:

1. Changed the caller ID on a co-worker's phone to read "Mr. Kitten" every time he called someone.

2. Placed random objects from people's desks in the vending machine.

3. Placed a live goldfish in an IV bag in a clinic.

4. Snuck onto someone else's computer and sent out an "I love you" e-mail to the entire office.

5. Wall papered someone's entire cube with headshots of his co-workers.

6. Pulled the shelves out of the break room refrigerator, hid inside and jumped out at co-workers as they opened the door. (wouldn't that get cold?)

7. Sat on the copier and placed the copies back in the paper bin. Anytime co-workers made copies, they had the image of the prankster's backside in the background.

8. Turned all the clocks in the office one hour back to make the work day seem longer. (This might not be a bad idea for one of my co-workers who shows up 30 minutes to an hour late all the time anyway.)

9. Locked all the doors, shut off the lights and put a "Closed" sign in the window when the boss went out for lunch.

10. Placed fake rubber chocolates in the break room and watched as co-workers tried to chew them.

The part that makes it bitter-sweet is Time Change this weekend. I like the one in Spring because the days are longer, but I hate trying to adjust to getting up an hour earlier. I'm already exhausted, so this one is going to be even worse. I might have to go to bed at 8 p.m. Saturday night to make up for it. On the plus side, I will now be in sync with the bird who finds it necessary to start singing outside my window at 5:30 a.m.

What In The WORLD!!!

I found this article today on MSN. Pllleeeaaassseee.

Jessica Simpson May Want to Adopt Kids
Jessica Simpson has babies on the brain. The 25-year-old singer filed for divorce from Nick Lachey last December but her publicist says Simpson is looking at adoption.

"Nothing has been finalized yet" as to when and how Simpson will adopt, her publicist, Rob Shuter, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. But he added, "It is true that she's exploring options."

Shuter said Simpson and her family have anonymously contributed funds to a smattering of Mexican orphanages for several years now. The singer started visiting the orphanages with a church group at age 11.

"I want to adopt, and I plan to adopt before I have my own kids," the pop star recently told TV's "Extra."

In the interview, Simpson cited a certain high profile mother as an influence.

"I think Angelina Jolie has done amazing, amazing things, and the international adoption rate just since her has skyrocketed," she said. "It's unbelievable."

Simpson is best known for starring in the MTV reality show "Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica" with Lachey, who gained fame as a member of the boy band 98 Degrees.

Now for my commentary...
I know I have friend that will be quite upset with my opinion due to her love of Jessica Simpson, but Jess has a lot of growing up to do before she should be shaping the life of a child. I'm sorry, but my gut says this is just a novelty to her. She is a spoiled child who really isn't an adult yet, she's just playing dress up! Of course, she won't raise this child. Her parents will or if the child is lucky, a nanny will. Oh please let the adoption official look at the potential parent and not the amount of money the potential parent has. Just my opinion.

Another Day in the Life Of

Well, we got rid of the raccoon yesterday. The pest control guy came out and removed him from the attic and took him elsewhere. Our upstairs now smells like raccoon again and we’re desperately trying to get rid of the scent.

I have learned some things about raccoons through out all of this (actually becoming quite the expert). For example, unlike most animals who mark their territory to repel other animals from entering their domain (i.e. dogs), raccoons mark their territory as in to say “hey guys, the party is here!” Seems raccoons are attracted to the scent of other raccoons. Lovely! I was advised to try purchasing some coyote urine and spraying it in my attic to attempt to repel them. Melissa’s comment was the best when she said “well, just add that to shopping list…eggs, milk, bread, coyote urine.”

I have also learned that raccoons are quite the acrobats, so to Mr. Roberts who asked, “well, how did they get up there” that’s your answers! And, it seems that raccoons have a serious sweet tooth. Marshmallows are their favorite, but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches work well too (no joke!)

Based off of a website some one sent to me, this information is the most disturbing to me: “In attics and wall voids, the build-up of raccoon feces and urine can constitute health hazards to the homeowner.” All I have to say is YUCK! I’m serious…these little boogers are quickly depleting my savings. So much for a fence and new floors any time soon!

On the plus side, when I went home at lunch, it looked like the hole in the attic vent has been fixed. I don’t know about the roof since that can’t be seen from the ground. I guess we’ll see how the next few weeks go. As for the snake, I’m having mixed feelings. I don’t like that he’s up there, BUT it does keep rodents out. I never go up there anyway. Then again, with my luck, he’d die up there…on my end no doubt!

I would like to say this chapter has been brought to a close, but I seriously doubt it. I attract bad luck if you haven’t noticed. Then again thing could be worse. I could have a bear in my back yard or a hippo in my bathtub…it could happen!

Updates

We trapped a raccoon on Sunday night. I'll take pictures when the pest control company comes out today. Melissa said if it's possible, it's bigger than the last one. I hated to tell her our raccoons at camp are twice the size of the last one - so yep, it's possible. May have caught the snake too. There was a lot of comotion on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Oh, and the landlord for the other units acted like this was the first time I had told him we had raccoons and then asked me how they were getting on the roof. I assume they're climbing. =o)

I don't think I ever posted anything about this, but I've been doing brackets with both the ministers that I work with and with some camp friends. I'm tied for first in the office and tied for 3rd with the camp buds (which is okay, because I still did better than JT). I doubt I'll hold my lead though because both of the teams I had going to the championship game are out. I just think it's funny that I'm doing as well as I am because I don't really like basketball. I don't follow it at all and have no clue what I'm doing. That's probably why I do so well. I'm not trying to predict the upsets.

Cookie Recipe from Sunday

I here is the recipe for the cookies I made on Sunday. Don't ask me how they got this name. It's a long running family recipe that I changed up a bit.

Buffalo Chip Cookies

1 cup Crisco
1 cup Margarine or Butter Flavored Crisco
1 lg. & 1 sm. box Instant Vanilla Pudding
2 ½ cups packed Brown Sugar
4 Eggs
1 tbsp Vanilla
4 cups Flour
¾ tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 bag Chocolate Chips*
1 bag Toffee Chips*
4 cups Oatmeal

*Optional ingredients that can be replaced with butterscotch chips, M&M's, peanuts, peanut butter chips, etc.

Start with a LARGE bowl.Cream together shortening, margarine, pudding and brown sugar. Add eggs and vanilla.In separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture.Stir in remaining ingredients.Place ice cream sized scoops (for monster cookies) or a medium sized scoops (for regular sized cookies) onto ungreased cookie sheet.Bake at:
Monster Cookies: 350º for 10-14 minutes (Crispy) or 325º for 17 minutes (Chewy) – makes 30
Regular Cookies: 350º for 10-14 minutes – makes a bunch!

New Crush

I have a confession to make. Like many people, if their honest, I have had several “celebrity” crushes in my lifetime. In kindergarten, it was Donny Osmond. After that it was “Luke Duke” (aka Tom Wopat). In college, it was Jon Brennan, the cowboy on Real World Season 2 (I'm almost embarrassed to admit this). Right out college, it Bryan White (this one was serious -- I used to tell my boyfriend at the time that I was only dating him till Bryan White came to his senses). Then there was my whole Norm MacDonald stage (had to do with his guest appearance on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire). But I have recently developed a new crush on my favorite Oklahoma City Meteorologist, Grant Johnston.

Here is my theory: if I’m going to develop a crush on someone that I have no chance with, it might as well be someone I don’t know instead of some I do know. It’s much safer this way. And the great thing about Grant is that tornado season is quickly approaching, so I’ll be seeing a lot of him, unlike the others.

Random Rambling

I got up this morning with every intention of doing a Random Rambling entry today and then saw Lindsy did one earlier this week. At first I almost refrained because I didn’t want to look like I stole her idea, but then, we do that all the time, so why not again today. It’s not really stealing if you accidentally had the same idea, just a few days later.

Auto Tinting
Yesterday I was having lunch with my friend Jenn & her daughter, Kayla, at Mazzio’s. Across the street is business called “Don Evans Legal Auto Tinting.” Is he implying that everyone else does illegal auto tinting? And what makes auto tinting legal or illegal? Just seems like a random name for a business. Maybe there is a plain ‘ol “Don Evans Auto Tinting” out there and he’s trying to distinguish himself by throwing “legal” in there. Hmmm…

Star Wars
I have been told that I have made it one step closer to coolness because this weekend I finally rented Star Wars Episode III. For those who don’t know, I have never watched the original Star Wars movies. Deprived childhood? Maybe. Some guys I used to know in High School almost couldn’t stand it that I had NEVER seen them. My cousins has the action figures, so I was semi-familiar. Anyway, when they started coming out with Episodes I-III, I decided to just wait and watch them in that order. So, last spring I watched Episodes I & II before III hit the theaters. But when I realized that I had to watch it with subtitles to understand what was going on, I waited to watch III till it came out on video. I’m told I am now due for a Star Wars Trilogy marathon sometime soon. I was also informed Tuesday night that I need to re-watch Space Balls because there is no way I could have truly appreciated it.

Sleep Deprived
Ever since I was informed I have a snake in my attic, I have not been sleeping well. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or if it’s just mental, but I have weird dreams that all take place in my bedroom, so wake up several times during the night, freaked out until I realize that it was just a dream. This is not good because there are four stages of Stacey Sleep Deprivation: Stage 1 is when I’m just tired and dragging. Stage 2 is when I get cranky with a capital “C”. Stage 3 is when I get loopy…really really loopy. This can be a fun stage for some because I’m likely to do or say anything. Stage 4 is when I just can’t function any longer. I’ve been known to forget my own name at this stage. Right now, I’m somewhere between stages 1 & 2. Hopefully I will get to sleep in on Saturday to avoid a full fledged stage 2 explosion.

Trace Adkins
I have to make a little confession. My alter-ego is a serious Trace Adkins fan. Actually I think my alter-ego is a little bit of a redneck. But no joke, some of my favorite songs are “Chrome”, “Hot Momma”, and “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk”. I caught the tail end of a CMT Hottest Men in Country Music episode last night and I don’t know if he made the list, but I’d be very disappointed if he didn’t. I was disappointed that Kenny Chesney made the top five. I guess he’s supposed to be the most eligible bachelor in Nashville, but honestly I think he is anything BUT sexy. Especially when he wears a hat because the lower half of his face reminds me of my uncle Garry in his younger days and that just creeps me out. Kenny Chesney just makes my skin crawl. BTW, Keith Urban was number one. Good choice!

Give Me My 70’s
Lindsy made reference to the weird weather we’re having. I’m HATING how cold it is right now. You can’t give a girl 70’s & 80’s all winter long and then expect her to be happy about 30’s & 40’s the end of March. Oklahoma had it’s chance for winter and it missed it. Sorry Charlie, you can’t have it both ways. Give me my spring weather back – especially now that it’s spring!

Todd Agnew
There is a song that KLOVE plays a lot by Todd Agnew called “My Jesus” and to be honest with you, I hate that song. I feel some what bad saying that about a Christian song, but it is poorly written in my opinion. The meaning to the song is great, but the arrangement is awful. It sounds like it was written by an amateur. If I’m in my car, I’ll change the station. But the people at KLOVE seem to really like it because I hear it A LOT! He needs to come out with something new so they’ll stop playing that one.

Locks of Love
A co-worker and I were talking about our hair today and she mentioned she was growing her hair out for Locks of Love. That was my intention when I started growing it out this last time, but I got frustrated with it recently and had almost 4 inches cut off. But now knowing I have a support system (someone to keep me from cutting off too much), I might have to give it another shot. I’m probably going to have to find someone cheaper to cut my hair though since I’ll just be getting it trimmed. We’ll see.

Relay for Life
Can't post today without making another plug for Relay for Life. This is a fundraising event for the American Cancer Society. The money goes to a great cause. If everyone would donate $1 for every person they have ever known that has been affected by cancer, what a difference that would make. No donation is too small!!! And if you live in the Edmond/OKC area, think about starting or joining a team. I have room for 254 campsites. How awesome would it be to actually have that many teams?!? YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

Okay, I’m done. Time to go home and go to the grocery store!

Welcome Baby Zaine

"Baby Austin" is now officially Zaine (no middle name as of 7 p.m. last night) Powers. Mom and baby are doing great and "Aunt Stacey" is very anxious to see him.

Here is the funny story. Tonna went into labor at 9:30 yesterday morning, but didn't know she was in labor till it got painful, so they finally arrived at the hospital at 1 p.m. yesterday. Forty minutes later, Zaine made his way into this world. Only one day past his due date and a very quick labor. That little boy wasn't going to waste any time getting here.

Can't wait to post pictures!!!


UPDATE:

Introducing...











Zaine Michael Powers
8lbs 2oz, 21 3/4in

I'm So Excited!!!!

I'm about to be an aunt (well, sort of - closest I'm ever going to come it appears). They just admitted Tonna into the hospital to have "Baby Austin" (too bad their last name is Powers, I'm becoming quite attached to the name Austin). Cell phone is now attached to my hip till he comes!

Wild Kingdom

The following account is true. No names have been changed to protect the innocent. No details have been exaggerated for dramatic effect.

If you have kept up with my blog at all, you know that a few months ago I bought a townhouse that has been an interesting experience to say the least. I really do like my place. It’s a work in progress, but I like the layout and I like the location. I even like the fact that it backs up to a greenbelt. I love the trees and I love being able to look out my back window and not see a busy street. Having this greenbelt has though been the source of some of the excitement around my house.

It all started with the raccoon (a.k.a. the non-rent paying resident). To recap, I trapped on in January, and then a few weeks ago, heard another one, so I set another trap. I have yet to catch the second one, but I also hadn’t heard him lately. I wasn’t sure how they were getting in and I’m too afraid to enter my attic (for good reason as you will soon learn), so my sweet, kind, loving, younger brother came down with my mom on Friday to investigate and resolve the situation.

I had to work for a little while on Friday morning, so when my mom and brother got here, I gave them a key to my house and planned to meet them there later. There was a lot of chaos in our office Friday morning, and at one point, I was on the phone, my cell phone was ringing, my direct line was ringing and someone was trying to transfer a call to me. Before I could check messages on both phones, my direct line rings again…it was my brother. Here is our conversation:

Brad: Hey, it’s your brother. I need to ask you a quick question.
Me: Can I call you right back. I’m in the middle of something.
Brad: Well, just really quick. I need to know who you want me to call – Edmond or Oklahoma City Animal Control, or do you want to call someone else?
Me: Why? What did you find?
Brad: You have a creature in our attic.
Me: A creature? What kind of a creature?
Brad: A snake. A very large snake. About 10 feet I think.

The rest of the conversation pretty much consisted of me saying “uh-uh” and “no way!”

It seems that when my brother went up into my attic to investigate, he looked over at my heater vent and there was a very large snake wrapped around it. Probably a bull snake. Brad then decided to see if it’s still alive and tosses something at it. That’s when it raised it’s head up…yep, he was alive. Story has it Brad quickly exited the attic. My brother and I may not have a lot in common, but we both HATE snakes. But he’s braver than me. After calling me, he went back up there to figure out where it got in at. He discovered a large hole in my attic right above my furnace closet (also right where the snake was originally). He was trying to figure out where this hole lead, so my mom was opening doors till they found it. When she closed the door to the furnace, the grate below rattled and squirrel that was hiding in a yet to be found hole, came running out at my brother. I’m so sad I wasn’t there with a video camera, but I guess he was out of the attic, down the stairs and out the front door in nothing flat.

Meanwhile, I called a pest control company to come out and resolve the issue. They didn’t find the snake, or the squirrel, but find out where they are getting in at. Seems the unit two doors down from me has a significant hole in the roof and the wire mesh is loose on one of the roof vents. I called their landlord and he told me he would stop by on Friday – which he never did. I really hope he gets it fixed soon, because until he does, I’m going to keep having to pay someone to come out and put down traps and at $50 a trip, that’s going to get expensive. Right now, I’m trying to take up a collection so I can pay them to come remove the snake when we catch it. My skin crawls just thinking about it. We need to peek up there to see if we’ve caught anything yet, but Melissa and I are both too freaked out knowing a snake is up there and not knowing where that snake might be when we open the hatch.

If you haven’t noticed, the squirrel and the raccoon are the least of my concerns now.

Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, I’m having another wild life issue. I also have a bird outside my window that likes to start singing around 5:30 or 6:00 every morning. I like birds, but couldn’t he at least wait till 6:30 when I need to get up? If you’ve seen the movie Failure to Launch, you know which character I can relate to right now.

So, if anyone if feeling adventurous, come on over! I’m sure this will not be my last post on wild life. My book definitely has a new chapter. I just need to get writing.

Highlights from Tuesday

First and foremost (and I’m not ashamed to admit this), last night was the start of Season 4 of Nashville Star. Really the only reality show I have consistently followed. I was sooo excited!!! There really was only one contestant that I really wasn’t fond of (Jewels Hanson), but they got rid of her last night. She looked so stunned…almost “how dare you all give me the boot.” It was almost like no one had ever told her that she really isn’t as talented as she thought she was. She was the only one that all the judges basically said they weren’t impressed with her performance. Honestly, she looks like the type that if she got a recording contract, it would go to her head, she’d drink more that I assume she already does, and end up in rehab before she even had a chance to really make it big. Chick, they did you a favor – trust me! As for the others, they all sounded pretty decent, but nothing so far that really makes any of them stand out in a crowd. They need to work on that if they don’t want to be like the past two contestants who win this recording contract and you still hear nothing out of them on the radio. It’s like they get their 15 minutes of fame and then nothing. Buddy Jewel is about they only one you still hear any thing out of and his career probably isn’t as big as he hoped it would be. Four years later and he’s still the open act or doing state fairs. See, I told you I got into this! Oh, and one more side note - I love Phil Vasser & Anastasia Brown! Phil is just super nice (he can't say anything mean to ANY of the contestants, no matter what), plus he's fun to watch in concert. And Anastasia has the greatest hair ever!!!

Second, we got a new color copier at work yesterday. It’s much nicer than the one we had. It actually prints things the color they’re supposed to be. AND it duplexes, so when I need to print a brochure, I don’t have to run side one then flip it over and run side two. Woo Hoo!

I also made the day of what looked like a fourteen-year-old from some Baptist church. I was leaving Sonic and I looked up and some guy was waving at me out of the front passenger van window. At first I thought it was someone from church, so I waved back, till I realized that wasn’t one of our vans, and I didn’t know this kid. He got all excited and turned around to his buddies – only to say (I assume), “dude, she waved!” Yeah, I’ve always had a way with 13 & 14-year-old boys. Ones my age are another story. =o)

That’s all for Tuesday. We’ll see what happens today!

Laugh of the Day

I work for a church, right? Our Monday receptionist is sitting at the front desk reading a Danielle Steele book! Good thing it's a slow day!

Another Quiz

I just took this on Tams site. I'm not sure about the accurateness of this quiz, but I think it's very funny THIS is who I'm most like.

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

And here is my classic movie. Oh, BROTHER!!! I've never even seen this movie!

What Classic Movie Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

Another Weird Dream

It’s not unusual for me to have weird dreams, but I had one last night that might not fall into the category of my weirdest dream ever, but it definitely has me wondering what that was supposed to mean.

I don’t remember much about the beginning of the dream other than I was driving down a street that they were doing some work on. I was going to church. On my way back, when I came to the main road that I needed to turn on, it has been completely torn up and it was very muddy. I was wanted to turn, but in the middle of the side of the road I needed to be on was a HUGE mud hole that there was no way I could drive through. What really frustrated me was that the opposite lane had two lanes of cars and as much as I wanted to try to head in the direction I needed to go in one of those lanes, the cars wouldn’t move into one lane so that cars needing to go in the other direction could use the other lane.

I ended up crossing the road and trying to get where I needed to go by taking a little back road (more of a path than a road), but eventually I ended up at some little cottage because I couldn’t drive any farther. When I got out of the car, I thought I would try to walk the rest of the way, but if I tried stepping off the sidewalk onto the grass, my foot would seep back into the mud because the grass was so wet. There was some other stuff going on at the cottage involving other people, but I don’t remember specifics. I just remember really trying to get to where I needed to go and not being able to get there and feeling frustrated.

I looked some of it up on DreamMoods.com. According to them, to see mud in your dream, suggests that you are involved in a messy and sticky situation. It also suggests that some internal cleansing is needed. To dream that you are walking in mud, suggests that you are feeling weighed down by a situation, problem, or relationship. I could see that right now.

To see a road in your dream indicates your sense of direction and pursuit of your goals. To see a winding, curvy, or bumpy road in your dream, suggests that you will experience many obstacles and setbacks in achieving your goals. You may be met with unexpected difficulties. If the road is dark, then it reflects the darker or more frightening choices which you have made or are making. Didn’t need to hear that.

To see a street in your dream, symbolizes your life's path. The condition of the street reflects how much control you have over the direction of your life. Obviously no control!

To dream that you are driving a car denotes your ambition, your drive and your ability to navigate from one stage of your life to another. Consider how smooth or rough the car ride is. Whether you are driving the car or a passenger, is indicative of your active role or passive role in your life. Well, at least I was driving.

To see a cottage in your dream represents comfort, peace and serenity. You prefer a life of simplicity. The cottage may represent an altered sense of reality and thus may be a means of escaping the responsibilities and problems that may be associated with your home. You need to approach life's difficulties one at a time. Seems contradictory to the rest of the dream don’t you think?

Why can’t I dream about a canoe, candy, a canary or something more encouraging???

Here is another interesting fact about my dreams in general (this one included). If I dream about being in a town, the town always resembles Anthony, Kansas where I was born and spent my childhood. Also, my whole life, it is always dark in my dreams – even if it’s supposed to be daytime, the sky is always dark. I know this is supposed to have a negative connotation to it, but it never bothers me. It’s not like its dark and I can’t see where I’m going, it’s just that the sun isn’t shining.