Seven.Caged.Tigers

You know me.  I don’t believe in any gods.  That said, the god of all things computin’ has taken away my laptop.  Hence the lack of new Zack photos for the past week and a half.  The computer is at Best Buy being fixed.  I could do it myself, but because I have the plan (you know, the one that has replaced my computer once and given it two new motherboards) that gets things fixed when need be.  Damn.  It takes a long time.

I’m filling my time now with selling shiznit on Half.com.  I have like 300 CDs, 20 music video/concert DVDs, and even one (gasp!) book listed.  So far I’ve made like $50 off of crap I got for free from various people (both friends and foes).  I’m even selling good stuff, it’s just I don’t need three of any one CD regardless of how good it is.  I think I even had four copies of some titles.  No joke.

I’ve told myself I wouldn’t become one of THOSE moms.  My site wasn’t going to become a tribute to Zack.  I stand by that promise but for now it is what my life has become.  My days and nights revolve around my son so excuse me while I share a few photos of my rather adorable kid.  Here are a few new ones:

Baby & Baboon Horror…The Monkey Has a Red Butt, Seriously… 

Zack’s last day in the hospital…please note the apparent anguish…

Zack and daddy in front of the TV…

Super baby…

Jeremy (the “man,” the “husband”) is more than a little ADD. He was never diagnosed, but not for a lack of trying. Rather it was a lack of decent tests. Basically they sat him down with a bubble test (scantron, whatever) and said to finish it. He got half way through and put his pencil down. When the person conducting the test asked if he was done, he said “yes, I’m done.” Because he couldn’t finish he couldn’t be diagnosed and he didn’t get the extra help he needed. Yes, I know he has his Master’s degree but that’s through MUCH work.

And then I heard about this study from the University of Michigan:
Really Applicable Study

Basically the jist of it is that big fat tonsils may be related to ADHD. I’m not sure about the “H” in that equation but I fascinated by the ADD parts. See, Jeremy still has his tonsils. Not just that, but they are big and fat according to doctors. Could it be true? Could researchers have figured out why he is so spastic, distracted, and generally difficult to get to (yes, even moreso than a “usual man”)? The world may never know.

But color ME amused!

I think I’m falling apart. I’m sure it has nothing to do with my brand new diabetes diet, but still…it is rather convenient timing. See, I chipped a tooth. I have spent my entire life being obsessed with my dental health. I suppose it all is rooted in my four years of braces and some 15 (or is it 19) teeth having been pulled (including four permanent and four wisdom). I used to dream about my teeth. It sounds weird, but I would wake up with a chill and see images of my jaw clamping down and all my teeth shattering out of my mouth.

Twisted, I know.

In any case, I haven’t had that issue in a while despite the fact I had to have a root canal two or so years ago (I now sport “bling” in my sister’s words). Something about pregnancy has completely changed my teeth. My jaw is uneven and hurts and when I bite down my molars no longer touch. It really is a strange and mysterious situation. So yesterday I was just sitting down and I got something “crunchy” in my mouth. I wasn’t eating–it didn’t makes sense. I swallowed and went on with life. Then I noticed my tooth was obviously chipped. Why do I have to have stupid problems? Of course now I could say I fit in better with my hubby–then again, I didn’t chip my big front tooth. It is more like my little front-ish bottom tooth.

Bah. That’s enough complaining. I should probably be sticking myself in the finger or something.

I picked up asparagus and barbeque sauce last night at Farmer Jack. While in the condiment aisle I noticed a mother and her son by the peanut butter. She first picked up some Jif and then grabbed for something off the top shelf. Her little boy cooed “chocolate” so I looked over to see what she’d grabbed. Nutella. I suppose it is chocolate-esque but it’s not exactly like the real stuff. That got me thinking about the way my parents hornswaggled me into thinking certain things were yummy when in truth, they weren’t vaguely so.

My favorite example of this was the fact that we never had sweets or chips or anything like that in our house. We always had dessert but these dishes had less to do with chocolate and cookies and sweets than fruit and pudding. Oh yes–while my hubby was busy getting “husky” on homebaked goods my sis and I remained skinny and svelte. We had applesauce, peaches, pears, fruit mixes, and butterscotch sugar free pudding for dinner. I know we were weird that way. We did, however, get malts and ice cream on Sunday nights (just before we and my parents had to go back to school). Yum.

I don’t recall ever saying ‘yum chocolate’ to the fruit though. Go figure.

Christmas is officially over. JT and I spent a day at his parents and then drove to G-Town to visit with mine. We spent a total of three nights there. In the process we opened gifts, went shopping, and saw my best friend Karyn and her hubby Jim. All was well. We were given lots of wonderful things and lots of various goodies.

It was a great time. However despite our early snow storms, the weather now sucks. It’s like 40 degrees and everything is melting. It really is awful. Suddenly mother nature has gone all Michigan on our asses. Can’t it just hold out for the holiday season? Instead, we’re just given mush and blech.

In any case…yeah…I think I gained a few pounds

I’m old today–29. That means that next year this time I will be 30. God. That’s terrifying. That also means that Jeremy and I have been together a long ass time. We’re talking over 8 years now. So if you ever go out with us, that is why we act like an old married couple.

Thanks to everybody who has already wished me birthday greetings and for those of you family members who have sent cards and presents. I like presents. They are nice. So…happy birthday to me!

So this morning I used my remote start, chipped off what ice was still left and headed off for work. As I reached the stop sign at the end of my street I turned on my wipers. Apparently I didn’t get a bit of the ice that had the blades glued to my car. Something horrible happened.

The next thing I knew, my wiper blades were tangled together. I got out, untangled them, and tried one more time to get them to work. Alas, they did not. My driver-side blade flopped over the side of my car while the passenger one flailed around uselessly. Ironically, the passenger one has not worked properly for a while (it never went all the way down) and now with both of them broken it actually sits like it should. Go figure–that’s just my luck.

I called and told JT that the wipers were broken and if breaking your car can be funny, this was the time. I had to drive the truck to work. I was fortunate enough to find an end space (we ONLY have parallel parking). I don’t think I could have parked had I not found something I could pull into or back out of. The Impala is going in tonight for work. Looks like I’ll be driving the truck tomorrow too. Hmph.

Tonight might mark the end of our long journey with the Honda. A kid desperate for a new car after whacking a deer is stopping by for a test drive. His pop apparently already gave him the go-ahead with our pricetag attached–$2100. He told us he was going to the bank and that he wanted to meet this afternoon so he could get to AAA before they close. It seems as if he is DEFINITELY expecting to buy it.

My driveway will seem empty without ye olde Honda Accord. She’s lived a good life with us–7+ of her 13 years. It’s time for the pink bomber to go live with somebody else. She has been replaced by a 2000 Z71 Silverado. Hubby seems to think that this vehicle is much more manly and “cool” than the pink 1992 Accord. I can’t imagine why (and he’ll never admit it’s pink).

In any case, cross your fingers for us. I hope to have about $2k in my sweaty palms tonight. I like fondling money.

I am perversely attracted to the idea of my alma mater Lake Superior State University playing basketball against my other alma mater Michigan State University. If you know anything about either school you will get the joke. The horror will be realized on November 7 in East Lansing. I won’t be there–I can possibly make myself enjoy a game that is so incredibly one-sided. It is exhibition, but still…what possessed either team to partake in that kind of massacre?

LSSU is a small University with a division 2 basketball team (hockey is their only division 1 sport) and a roster consisting entirely of athletes from Michigan and Ontario (all local, of course). LSSU doesn’t recruit basketball players–they only have the funds to recruit for hockey. These are basically guys who showed up on campus, tried out for the team, and are playing. Even more hilarious is the fact that of the fifteen names listed on the roster, eleven are freshman. They hail from illustrious towns such as Trout Creek, Bark River, Rudyard, Negaunee, and Traverse City in Michigan. The school’s entire student body is less than 2800. I graduated there with a BS in 1999 (Political Science).

Compare that to Michigan State University (I graduated with a BA in 2001 in Telecommunications) which is a massive, self-contained University. Lake Superior is the smallest in Michigan while MSU is the largest. MSU’s student population is somewhere over 43,000 on any given year. It’s huge–and it seems even more massive because it’s all basically contained on one huge chunk of land. It’s not like University of Michigan that is spread throughout an entire city. MSU is of course a decent (usually) division 1 basketball Big 10 school (vs. GLIAC for LSSU). The fourteen-member squad is taller, definitely more talented, and rather well respected. Sure there are lots of guys from Michigan (including Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Detroit, and three from Flint) but somehow I think the whole recruiting thing attracts better talent.

I hate to be critical of my cherished little LSSU (I have no real love for MSU–they cost me mucho buckos), but what in the freakin’ hell are they thinking? The world may never know…

Driving through parts of Ann Arbor yesterday I noticed something incredible–gas for less than $2.60 a gallon. A year or two ago, I’d have thought that price to be outrageous but things have changed. One thing that’s really been left unchanged is the ridiculous price of gas in Brighton and Hartland (my home area). Right on M-59 (where I am usually forced to get gas for lack of any other option) it currently rests at $2.94 at Speedway of all joints. They are usually cheaper. I’m feeling VERY ripped off by it all.

There is some hope on the horizon. I saw a new story yesterday about something dubbed E85 which is an ethanol-based fuel that is biodegradable, 105 octane, and pollutant free. There are apparently a few stations in the Detroit area that already supply the alternative fuel–one in Dearborn Heights and one in Southfield. There are also stations in Dimondale (tiny town outside of Lansing) and Greenville that have E85. You can find out more about the alternative fuel and if your car is compliant here.

Neither the truck nor the Impala can take the new juice. That said there are tons of vehicles from as long ago as 1998 that can use the gas. It is cheaper (by 20 to 40 cents a gallon) and cleaner and some say more efficient. That site above also has a list of cars that car take E85. People are going to have to consider other fuel sources in the not too distant future. Oil is becoming too expensive and in places like Michigan where there is zero public transportation we have no other option than to drive (unless you live close enough to civilization to bike or walk).

Stress is the bane of my existence. I’m definitely a nervous personality and I’m great at tying my own belly up in knots. That said, I’m in a particularly stressful part of my life that I’m not willing to discuss for my own sanity. Suffice it to say I want this week and next week…and heck THIS YEAR to be over!

Oh well. As always, I make much more out of the difficult times than I should.

JT and I are busy trying to sell our deluxe 1992 Honda Accord LX in pink…errr…champagne. It’s hot, so if you want a really cool car that will make your neighbors jealous you can have it for the low low price of $2100. We spent yesterday afternoon cleaning it and waxing it and making it generally pretty. Wanna see? I know you do…just in case you are in the market for a efficient older car.

I also wanted to share a picture mostly for my sister’s benefit. I know she misses her American puppies now and again. Two weekends ago Annabelle was perfect little model.

I’m on a med right now that makes me HOT. Not like as in looking good but as in body temperature. I’ve had some challenges sleeping because of it. Between that, the emotional pulling, the surgeries (sometimes emergency), the procedures, and the tests this whole infertility thing is really pretty awful. I’m not going to go into it any more, but it continues to be a long and winding road with no certainty on the horizon.

There are but a few things that take my mind off of all the stress. Books have always eased whatever pain I’ve felt. I’m currently on a post-apocalyptic and horror kick. My PA collection is up to about 100 titles and I’ve got another 65 on a list waiting for purchase/discovery in a used bookstore. As far as horror goes, I’ve just finished The Rising by Brian Keene which is a PA zombie book. I’m currently embarking on its sequel City of the Dead. I’m a sucker for blood n’ guts n’ gore (if you can believe that).

One other outlet I have is shopping, but since I don’t have unlimited cash resources I steer clear of malls and outlets and Kohls because otherwise I’d be making purchases. Instead I just order the bare minimum of what I need/want from J. Crew or Gap online instead. That way I can’t be wooed by the sale racks and new items.

The last real outlet I have is the Playstation 2. I’m a girl, I know that, but I do love games. Heck, I’ve ALWAYS loved games from my early childhood appreciation of pinball machines through the ColecoVision, Sega Genesis, and Playstation 1. My first love was for platform games followed by first-person shooters and puzzles. The last few years since I bought the hubby the PS2 I’ve become addicted to RPG titles. I’ve of course enjoyed Final Fantasy x and X-2. I’ve also enjoyed Suikoden III and Suikoden IV. Oh yes, and Kingdom hearts–that was a really good one. X-Men Legends also was very enjoyable Unfortunately, I got bored of Star Ocean and Wild Arms. Right now, though, I’m on the third title of the .hack series. I beat the first two and this one is just a continuation of those. There is one more which I will need to also finish ASAP so I can get started on X-Men Legends 2 when it arrives in my post office box.

Infertility is worse than even I could imagine. It’s a nightmare. I find that I must escape into fantasy lands to forget.

Stewie’s Quote of the Day: “Is there any tread left on the tires or is it like throwing a hotdog down a hallway?

This weekend went…uh…quickly. I wanted to say well, but it was mundane and usual. Friday night, JT and I headed over to BW3 for dinner. It’s where he takes me when he can tell I’m unhappy. Somehow the combo of liquor, wings, and noisy children soothes me. Don’t ask. I don’t understand either. When we got there, we realized that our favorite radio statio (WRIF) was there. It came as a shock because truth be told Howell isn’t exactly close to Detroit.

Saturday too went by quickly. I spent some time wandering around this ancient graveyard a block away from my house. There are graves from as long ago as 1818 up until recently. It’s fascinating to check everything out. Yes, I’m a freak and yes, I’m morbid. Aside from that, we really didn’t do much. We watched two movies (The Machinist and The Woodsman) and slept. I like sleep. Sleep is my friend. Oh yes, and my sister and brother in law from Colorado (Durango) stopped by. Their reaction to fat-ass-cat was “whoa, that’s a big cat.”

Sunday was boring also. I don’t want to go into exactly how boring (wouldn’t want to tire my dear readers).

I would like to share one picture from my excursion to the cemetary:

We bought a truck. Yes indeed–it’s a 2000 Chevy Z71 in green with a bit of silver around the bottom. Hank Graff Chevrolet comes through again with a better product AND price than we could fine in our own neck of the woods. It has a CLEAN warranty service record, perfect paint, 74,000 miles, perfect interior, and nearly all the bells and whistles. Surprisingly, the truck is intended to replace our 1992 Honda Accord LX. Quite a difference, I know, but we wanted the truck for its utility.

I’ll take a picture some day soon and post it. Maybe even brag a little more. I drove it in rush hour this morning and it was perfect. Guess it’s good I’m not used to driving an Escort, Civic, or another small car or else the new (old) Z71 would feel like a behemoth.

It seems that researchers at University of Michigan have discovered a way to deliver chemo drugs via nanotechnology. It’s supposed to lessen the side-effects of the drugs because it is very targeted rather than a system-wide treatment plan.

Testing has been done on animals, and it seems that it has great potential in people.

As a survivor of cancer (I was actually treated at U of M) who went through a chemo treatment called CHOP (a nasty cocktail of cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin, Oncovin and high doses of prednisone) I can completely see and understand and feel the difference that nanotechnology could make in cancer. My side-effects were nasty. I was nauseous but had the munchies, I lost all my hair, I lost my attention span and short term memory, I had infections in various parts of my body (phlebitis, oral thrush, etc…), and I couldn’t stay awake. It was really pretty horrible. If they could cut those things in HALF it would mean the world to patients.

By the way, if you were wondering, the only lasting side-effects from the chemo thus far are nerve damage (cold hands/feet) and memory/attention span problems. The docs also are carefully watching me for heart problems because at least two of the drugs are known to cause them.

Yeah for nanotechnology!!!

I’ve always, always, ALWAYS gotten a kick out of what strange ways people get to 7CT. After over four years, I’ve used just about every word in the dictonary. Okay, not EVERY word, but lots of ‘em. Here are some of the weird searches for this month thus far. Let me know what you think. Have any favorites? I know I do.

slut clothes [um, check Rave or Forever 21]
janice dickinson crotch [you really wanna see that?]
shemale photo [again, you really wanna see that?]
how much does tyra banks weigh [too much to be telling girls they are fat]
detroit girls escort [check 8 mile]
neighbor sunbathing [not much of a voyeur are you?]
don t know if i need root canal [go to the dentist for christ’s sake]
rogue gambit pregnant [comic book characters just can’t, so there]
things to do for a 30th birthday in michigan [use your imagination]
nail biters fetish [I’m not letting ANYBODY watch, nor am I taking pics]
ass ram my wife [I’m sure she’d be pleased you’re looking this up]
buck teeth from thumb sucking [Yes, related, my four years of braces tell me this]
tyra banks looks like a horse forehead [Can you be more obvious?]
emachine won t turn on [Serves you right for buying a shitty computer]
naked shelly [errr…you’re barking up the wrong tree, buddy]
chain saw crotch pic [Hmph. Not sure I understand this request]
kitty bloating [Personal experience tells me that a bloated kitty is a fat kitty]
frog greazy pictures [Greasy frogs? Uh. Yeah]
how to loose 10lbs in 1 month [Two choices–exercise and diet or bulimia]
volunteer urologist [I so am NOT going to a volunteer urologist]
deer-like chihuahua [Until these stubby dogs grow a few feet, I just can’t see the resemblance]
i is the demented cow [good for you]
anti-social boring husband [too bad for you]
skimpy guy clothes [Errr…this isn’t a retailer of any kind]
how to be bulimic [finger meet throat]
why did the rock bank creed breakup [Don’tya know? They SUCKED!]
house chemicals to get rid of moles in the yard [Personal Experience talking — IMPOSSIBLE]
sault ste. marie porn [I lived there long enough to say “ew”]
how much will i get for a billboard in my front yard [How the HELL would I know?]

Ironic, isn’t it? I mean we had vaguely cool weather which was somewhat comfortable for a while. I wanted it to be warmer, but didn’t figure that 90 degrees was appropriate. For the last week we’ve been hitting highs of anywhere between 90 and 100 depending on what part of the area you are in. It’s obnoxious–especially for this girl who lives in a 100 year old house sans air conditioning and a hubby who refuses to put the window air conditioner in because “it’s just too early.”

Guffaw.

In any case, I can’t help but be happy that this week is over. It’s been too long since I’ve gotten to physically and emotionally relax.

The good news is that because of the heat assuming I can keep things watered, the plants are looking beautiful. The yard is horridly burned but the flowers are happy. Proof:

Have the whales swallowed it up? Are the deserts flooded? Are the oceans thirsty? I’m getting really angry right now at the rain gods as they haven’t dropped their sweet, wet treasure on my house in quite some time. The weather guys keep on telling us that there’s a 30% or 40% chance of rain. You’d think that eventually that would add up to receiving some. Law of averages would suggest that, no?

In any case, last night we got a “storm.” It was supposed to be “bad,” and save for some howling 70MPH winds it was pretty mild. The temps over the weekend jumped from 65 or 70 degrees to 95 so I think that had a little something to do with the storm. However, most unfortunate is the fact that it didn’t come with much rain. We haven’t had any rain really in at least a month and maybe more. I saw on the news we had 45% of our normal showers for the past month.

It’s pretty dire. But in good news, I bought six new daylilies, a coreopsis, a columbine, a light green hosta, and something else I can’t remember from my favorite perennial garden. If you didn’t know it already, perennials are the WAY to go for planting gardens. You can buy annuals, but don’t buy too many. If you’re spending more than $200 or so you need to beef up your perennial plants.