April 30, 2010 Friday Morning

Spent most of the day on Thursday continuing to copy my moms VHS tape to DVD. I have about 10 of my own which will have to wait because Mom and Dad came into Milwaukee last night to drop off more VHS tapes and take Tony and I out to dinner. They arrived about 4 PM and we went to dinner about 5 PM. Went to one of the more expensive restaurants here in Milwaukee called Butch's Steak House. Had a great dinner. Thankfully dad picked up the bill because it was over $130 for the four of us. Tony and I rarely go there on our own due to the price. Spent the rest of the night after they left watching TV.

This morning I woke up not having a good night's sleep. Thought I slept good but having a hard time getting going even though it is sunny and in the 70s today in Milwaukee. Copying another VHS tape to DVD and then making 5 copies for each of my family as I type this. Will leave soon for our lunch with the guys. Might just take a nap this afternoon since I am so tired. Wondering if it is because of the huge meal we ate last night at Butch's and the Atripla.

Haven't talked about another issue. Tony has been helping a convicted convict for the last 10 months by having him work at the shop. In the last 10 months the employee (Jerry) has had Tony pay for over $5000 worth of personal expenses and such. The deal was that it would all come off when Tony purchased a home supposedly he owned which would happen by April 15th. Since April 15th we have heard every excuse in the world about the house all pertaining to his mother not yet moving out. I finally on Tuesday drove by the house and saw the mother outside so I walked up to her and asked her if it is true she should have moved out by now and that Jerry owns the house and can sell it to us. We had heard she was all moved out into a new apartment but was staying in the house getting drunk each night. As I told his mother the story she looked amazed. She told me she has no apartment, has no intention on moving, and Jerry does not own the house. So the scam came to an end. So now Tony and I are trying to put Jerry back in jail and eventually get our money back which will never happen unless we go on Judge Judy or something. I have been telling Tony since January I thought this guy was a scammer and piece of shit. Tony finally in tears called me after I told him the house news that 'I was right, he was sorry'. I hate to beat Tony up too much over this but jeez, this is not the first time he trusted someone and we got burned. We called his PO officer and hopefully a warrant is going out for his arrest today. He was in jail for years due to scams and Tony thought he had turned his life around, hence having him work from the shop on day release the last year. Now he has not shown his face for over 5 weeks, just excuses. Guess the gig is up. Too bad it cost us $5000 to trust someone again and try to give his a new start on life. Just sucks. Will let you know how it all turns out. Tony is just too nice and trusting. I got ahold of Jerry yesterday via phone and told him what a piece of shit he was and that Tony was the only one who gave him a second chance, and this is how he repays us. I told him that Tony is a good person and didn't deserve this. I then ended the call saying 'shame on you'. When is Tony going to learn?

April 28, 2010 Wednesday Morning

After spending all day on Monday trying to make DVDs through this VCR/DVD Recorder I decided to do a little research and see any alternatives. I found a software that lets you record vhs or your vhs recorder onto your computer. So Tuesday morning I went to Best Buy and bought the software. It is called Dazzle DVD Recorder Plus. Spent the morning loading the software and then the rest of the afternoon learning what it can do and beginning to make some DVDs with the software. After a few tries I got it to work great. Been making DVDs since yesterday. Then copying the family ones for my sisters and brothers as well as my mom. Mom was so happy about having the family videos put on DVD from VHS she dug out all the old VHS tapes I don't have and is bringing them to the house here in Milwaukee on Thursday. Mom and Dad are going to drive into downtown and then take Tony and I out for dinner Thursday night. Should be fun. Plan on spending the day transferring my VHS tapes of Tiny and Shadow as well as Tony and my vacations today using the new software. On another happy note. Looked out the window this morning to not only see my rabbit, but a baby with her. I was so excited. Must be a nest under the Model T planted in our front yard. Been looking for the babies while I make DVDs. Not much else to report. Going to get back to transferring VHS tapes to DVD after I finish this post.

April 25, 2010 Sunday Morning

Had a pretty good birthday on Friday. Nothing special. Took Bo to the vet at 9 AM to get some more puppy shots and then had lunch with the guys at noon. Kind of a general rule that the birthday boy has to buy lunch so I did. Six of us showed up for lunch. One couple even bought and brought a cake to lunch. Stopped off at one of the guys houses to pick up a VCR to DVD recorder. Got the great idea to put some of my old family VHS videos on DVD so they last and can be played since we never use the VCR anymore. Spent the afternoon trying and trying to get the DVR recorder to work. Since I spent most of Thursday trying to get the VHS to tape on my computer and then burn a DVD with no luck, it was kind of frustrating to spend another afternoon with no luck. Ruined two blank DVDs trying. So I ended up putting the project aside for a while. Tony came home from work on and we ordered a pizza and spent the night watching old family videos on the VHS machine since I had it all hooked up to the TV.

Saturday it rained all day so we spent most of the day watching TV or more family videos. Went out for dinner at a local burger place called Five Guys. It was OK. We had not had their burgers prior to last night. Watched the movie Full Moon and went to bed around 10:30 PM. I am not sure what the fondness is the the vampire in Full Moon, his white deadly color is not attractive to me in any way.

This morning I made breakfast after reading half of the Sunday newspaper and now I am trying once again to put the VHS to DVD using another machine. Will let you know how it turns out. This afternoon we are having an early dinner at Tony's moms house. She is making Spaghetti. Cold, windy and rainy here in Milwaukee today. A good day to watch TV until we have to go to Tony's moms house. Much the same tonight.

April 22, 2010 Thursday Morning

I am so tired I might just go back to bed after this post. Dogs got me up and out of bed by 6:30 AM this morning. Tony is already gone to work. I slept like crap last night. Three things kept me up. One: My pinched nerve in my neck made it impossible to turn my head without pain while I tried to sleep. Two: Stella was not feeling good yesterday so I had her sleep on the bed next to her daddy rather than on the couch in the bedroom next to the bed. Well, she gave me about a foot of room to sleep on since she slept side ways. This is a king size bed. Three: With that foot of sleeping room left to me or I would fall off the bed, Bo then needed to snuggle next to me under the covers, sharing that foot of bed space. So that left me about 8 inches to sleep without falling off the bed. I should mention the covers only went half way around me so the cold air didn't help either. Jeez, what I do for these dogs. Good news. For those who keep up on the blog they know how thrilled I am to see the rabbit eating under the front bushes. We never had rabbits in the yard before last year. This morning I look out the window to check on my rabbit and there are TWO rabbits. TWO RABBITS! Sad how these little things make my day but they honestly do. I had been teasing Tony that I was going to buy or trap another rabbit and let it go in the front yard so MY rabbit had someone to partner with. They are so cute together eating the bird seed that falls to the ground. After I go back to bed for a while I have to shower and go to the grocery store to buy myself a Birthday cake for my birthday tomorrow. Yup, another year older tomorrow. Got an email from one of the two flowers I sent on Monday. I sent flowers to Jack and to Suzanne and Erin in the UK thanking them for coming to Milwaukee last year on this date. As some know, I was not feeling good about living at that time and their visit made life worth living again. I honestly owe them my life since the thought friends would care that much about someone they have talked with on the Internet for years, but never met, would do such a thoughtful thing at my time of need. Might just send them flowers every year to remind them of what they did. If you look back on last years postings you can see the video of Jack arriving on my door step. Wow, just thinking about it makes me smile. Going to put some music on and lay back down for a bit so I can start the day over, feeling less tired.

April 21, 2010 Wednesday Afternoon

Woke up today with a pinched nerve in my neck. I am sure it is due to the stress of going to the doctor today to learn my blood results. I spent the morning laying around the house listening to music up until my doctor appointment. Went to my doctor appointment to find out good news. My TCell count is up to 354 from 332 last count and 106 over a year ago. I am still undetectable. My percentage is 21% which also keeps increasing, this is good also. I think it was at 18% last blood test. I guess the percentage has to do with good TCells vs bad TCells. If I am wrong someone let me know. So everything is still headed in the direction my doctor wanted to see. Because of this he thought it was time to start getting some shots since my immune system is getting stronger. So I got a tetanus shot and a hepatitis A and B vaccine shot. While I type this it feels like someone just punched me in both shoulders over and over again. Hurts to even lift my coffee cup. Drinking coffee to wake me up since I took an hour nap after I got home from the doctor. My vitamin D levels are within normal once again also, which is good. Still told to keep taking the vitamin D supplements daily to keep them up where they should be. My next round of blood tests are in August. I do have to go back in a month to get another hepatitis shot, I guess there are 3 in the series. So I guess I am still on the right track. Now I just need to quit smoking. Tony will be home soon, have to feed the dogs, and have no idea what I am going to make for dinner, might just order delivery food.

April 20, 2010 Tuesday Night

Monday I had a very hard time making through the day getting anything done. Pushed myself through the day. Was very tired all day Monday. Made a beef roast with mashed potato and corn for dinner and we were in bed by 10 PM.

Today after Tony left for work I showered so I could go to Sears and return one of the two garage door openers we bought on Sunday. Stopped off at VICI and used a gift card I had for some time on some pet products. I still have not heard anything from the owner. I did get a call last week from the HR head to return my keys and credit card if I was not returning. I gave them to my tenant to return, so I guess my working for the owner of VICI is over. Still mind blowing that she never took the time to call me after a year of working for her. Got home and made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. Took a couple hour nap before getting up to do a little work around the house. Tomorrow I go to my doctor to find out my latest blood test results. I will post them when I get home.

April 18, 2010 Sunday Night

Saturday Tony went to work in the morning while I did stuff around the house. Took an afternoon nap so I would be well rested for the fund raiser for ARCW. Arrived about 6:30 and looked at the silent auction items. We did not bid on anything. Dinner was great and then there was the live auction. The highest bidding item was 4 tickets to Lady Gaga. They went for $3500. Too much for us, much of the items where out of our price range. Got home a little before 11 PM and went to bed shortly there after.

Today I made breakfast after reading the morning paper. We then decided to get a few things done around the house since we were still not able to view the house Tony might buy for either an investment or for us to move into. We went to the hardware store and bought the supplies needed to fix the leaking outside water faucet. Came home after buying lottery tickets and fixed the faucet. A little while later we went to Bayshore Mall Sears to buy a new remote combo for the garage. Only one remote of two worked so we had to buy a replacement. Came home and shortly there after I added the new remote hardware to the garage door opener. We now have 2 garage door openers for the garage. Made polish sausage and baked beans along with a fruit salad for dinner. Tonight we are just going to lay low and go to bed around 10 PM after Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. Wednesday I go to my doctor and find out my latest round of blood test results. Makes for a tense week until I get the results.

I added another dance music mix that I worked on during the day on Friday (above). Enjoy! It is also added to my Music Page.

April 16, 2010 Friday Morning

Went to my monthly afternoon board meeting yesterday afternoon. Not many showed up for the meeting since it was in the 80s in Milwaukee. Got home and did a little cleaning before Tony got home from work. Made a little dinner and spent the night sitting outside until the prime time TV line up came on. Went to bed about 10 PM and had a very restless night. Between the house being so warm even with the windows open and having to get up about 4 times to go to the bathroom, today I am tired.

Got up this morning and after Tony went to work I got showered and went to Pick N Save to do some grocery shopping. Bought a bunch of fruit and made a huge fruit salad for the weekend. I could eat fruit salad all day every day. Will leave soon to pick Tony up from work and go to Baker's Square to have lunch with the guys. Our usual Friday afternoon lunch. After lunch Tony and I might go look at the house he plans on buying as an investment. After that I plan on taking a nap this afternoon since I am so tired from lack of sleep last night. Saturday night we got tickets to go to the ARCW Make A Wish Fundraiser. Should be a great event. Silent auction, sit down dinner, presentation, and dancing the rest of the night. Got free tickets or we would not be going since tickets are over $100 a piece. A little too pricey for us, even if it is a fundraiser. Got the tickets from two of the guys we have lunch with today. Will be a nice excuse to get dressed up in a suit and tie.

April 15, 2010 Thursday Morning

I have no clue what I did all day Tuesday. Were did that day go?

Yesterday I got up early and headed to Home Depot to buy some flowers and strawberry plants for a hanging basket and pots in the yard. Spent the morning planting. It was in the 70s hear in Milwaukee. Took a little nap in the afternoon and then went to Walgreen's to pick up milk and a prescription. Last night Tony and I saw the play Legally Blonde - The Musical. It was very entertaining. Got home around 10:30 PM and watched American Idol to see who got kicked off the show this week. I have no problems so far with who has gotten the boot to this point.

This morning it is even nicer than yesterday and have done a little clean up outside. All the windows are open. So nice to get air in the house. This afternoon I have board meeting with ARCW. So nice out I think I will lay outside until I got to that meeting today.

I keep forgetting to say how good Bo has been the past week or so. No mistakes in the house. In fact it is so funny. He use to pee by squatting almost like a girl dog until recently. He has been watching Vito pee and decided last week to give it a try lifting his leg. The first couple time he had a hard time balancing. It was too funny. In the past week he has mastered the act of peeing like a big dog and lifting his leg. So cute to watch him grow and learn from the other dogs.

April 12, 2010 Monday Night

Saturday afternoon we went to my parents home and brought Bo with us. My sister and her two kids are in town and always nice to see her and her kids. They are getting so big. I think the older I get the more and more I enjoy spending time with my family. Makes you wish you would not have wasted the prior years with fights and family crap. Bo was a perfect angel. He never wanted to leave our sides. I think he was afraid we would leave him. LOL He sat in his car carrier the entire drive there and back and walked on his leash and harness for the first time like a pro. Saturday night we went out for dinner with Tony's family for his brothers birthday. Had a great dinner and conversation.

Sunday we were both up early because of the damn dogs. Jeez, its the weekend for Pete's Sake. Fed the dogs and read the paper. Tony drove to McDonald's to get us some breakfast. I usually cook breakfast on a Sunday morning but just did not feel like making the mess. Soon it was 10 AM and now what do we do with the day. We decided to drive to Seven Mile Fair in Racine which is really a huge discount rummage sale of crap. Ended up buying a little of this and that and headed to a friends house we have lunch on Friday's with. They were suppose to be home but were not. Was not really out of our way and we then took the long way home from Racine along the lakefront. Had a nice drive, very relaxing. We do this often in the convertible during the summer when we are bored. Got home and spent the afternoon doing little things around the house. Tony settled in for a nap on the couch around 4 PM. Spent the night watching the TV show Brothers and Sisters and then off to bed.

Today I was up by 6:30 AM and had the dogs fed and Tony off to work by 7:30. Did a little work on the screened in porch with molding and such before it started to get chilly and cloudy outside and called it a morning. I still have to paint the new wood I have replaced and would like to get that done by the end of this week. Showered and made my monthly trip to Walmart for household necessities. Got home around 2 PM and took an hour nap till about 3:30 PM. Vacuumed again and watched Judge Judy as I did a little cleaning. I was going to make a roast for dinner tonight but I did not take it out of the freezer early enough so I think we are going to have a frozen pizza instead. It will not make Tony happy after a long day of work but I don't have the energy to cook, much less I forgot to mention I went through the drive through at McDonald's for Chicken Selects prior to Walmart. Yah, I am addicted to McDonalds food. I swear they put crack or something in their food which makes me crave it daily. Thank god I don't eat a lot or buy anything huge. Tonight we will watch Dancing With The Stars and CSI Miami before heading to bed. I don't have anything on my schedule until Wednesday night when we go to the PAC to see the musical Legally Blonde. Hopefully I can do some painting tomorrow if it doesn't rain.

April 10, 2010 Saturday Morning - Hachiko

Friday night Tony and I watched the best movie I have seen in a long long time. It is called Hachiko-A Dogs Story. It stars Richard Gere. I dare anyone to watch this movie and not be crying like a baby by the ending. It is based on a true story. Tony and I were a mess by the end of the movie. Don't let that stop you from watching the clip or renting the DVD. It is that good. I put a link to the trailer below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaS37E3gKOU

Friday we had lunch with the guys. I spent the afternoon cleaning and took a short nap.

Today we are going to my parents house to see them and my sister as well as her kids who are in town for a belated Easter. Tonight we have a Birthday dinner for Tony's brother at a local restaurant. Please check out the trailer above and rent the movie, you will be touched.

April 8, 2010 Thursday Night

Last night's Ugly Betty was so good. Am I the only one who loves this show and will be sad to see it end next week? Last night Justin came out to his family. The story line has been so good. Tony and I had tears in our eyes as we watched. I include a link to the video: http://www.queerty.com/how-justin-suarez-came-out-to-mom-20100408/

Spent today trying to get my prescriptions filled with generic rather than name brand drugs. Difference in price each is $60 vs $10.00. Was a cloudy day here in Milwaukee so I took a long nap with the dogs this afternoon. Made fried spaghetti for Tony for dinner from last nights dinner and now just watching the night away with TV. Check out the link to the video above, it is so cute.

April 7, 2010 Wednesday Morning

So I went to the Dermatologist yesterday to find out from him that the Atripla and the fact my immune system is over reacting is why I have the rash on my neck and forehead. So the Dermatologist gave me 4 prescriptions. Three of the prescriptions are creams or foams to put on the rash, the other is an allergy pill. Stopped off at Walgreens on the way home and dropped off the prescriptions to pick up the next day. Got myself a Cheese Steak sandwich at Subway and spent the afternoon napping because I was so tired from being up the prior night itching. Made a meatloaf for dinner which did not turn out and tasted so bad it ended up in the garbage. Went to bed around 10 PM and woke to hail coming down about 11:30 PM. There was so much hail the grass was covered and it sounded like the sky was falling for about 10 minutes.

This morning I got up and showered so I could get gas in the car, stop off and buy Barkley some more special food for his skin and coat at the vet, and then headed to Walgreen's to pick up my prescriptions I dropped off yesterday. The Pharmacist had three of the four prescriptions ready, the fourth would arrive some time this afternoon since it is not something they usually carry. After finding out three of the prescription would cost $60 each and the fourth when it comes in would be over $100 we decided on forgetting the allergy pill since I already am on an allergy pill. Jeez, why do I pay close to $800 a month for health insurance if 4 prescriptions would cost me about $280. Have to still go back to Walgreen's again later today to pick up two prescriptions we settled on once the pharmacist gets the ok for a generic form which should be cheaper. What a bunch of crap to get rid of this rash. This on top of the $50 copay I had to pay for the doctor visit. The meds for my rash that I settled on are: Neosalus Hydrating Topical Foam which is for treating or preventing dry, itchy skin or minor skin irritations caused by various skin conditions; Clobex lotion (a generic form) to treat the itching. And Derma Smoothe/FS which is a steroid to reduce the action of chemicals in the body that cause inflammation, redness and swelling. I decided against the Xyzal allergy pill because I am on an allergy pill. The pharmacist will call me when I can pick up the other two prescriptions this afternoon. Going to spend the day doing not a whole lot today. I have to vacuum and go back to Walgreen's, that all I plan on doing. It is cloudy and drizzling in Milwaukee today. When it is like this I have NO energy.

April 6, 2010 Tuesday Morning

Monday I had a very hard time getting going during the day. Had to push myself through the day. Spend the afternoon taking a nap and didn't get much done around the house. I did finally get a hold of my doctor about my rash that is getting worse. He recommended I go to a dermatologist and made an appointment for Tuesday. Made some dinner and Tony and I spent the night watching Dancing With The Stars. Went to bed by 10 PM listening to the falling rain.

This morning I got up to thunder storms. Had a good rain this morning with lots of thunder and lightening. I love thunder storms. It is just about over. All showered and ready to go to my doctor appointment. I sure hope the doctor has some relief because this itchy rash is driving me crazy. Very hard to sleep the last few nights I feel so itchy. Will let you know what I find out from the doctor. Other than that I plan on spending the afternoon napping because I could go right back to sleep I am so tired. Must be the lack of sun.

April 3, 2010 Saturday Night

Friday the weather was great here in Milwaukee. In the 80s by the afternoon. Went to lunch with the guys, stopped off at the bank on the way home. After being home for about an hour I went to Walgreens to pick up some stuff and prescriptions. Spent the afternoon re-arranging the living room furniture. Switched out the entire room from one side to the other. Friday night I made a light dinner and we went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning we were up by 6 AM. About 7:30 I looked at Tony and asked him what we were doing for the day. A minute later I noticed a jacket in the street and went out to check it out. It was covered in blood. Thought it might be a good idea to call the police about it and when I was on hold Tony got a call on his cell phone from an employee telling him he better get to his Auto Body shop fast because it looks like someone must have plowed into his shop with a car or an accident. We went to the shop and ended up filing a police report. Had to use a crow bar to get into the doors since the impact jammed the door and they would not open. The building was hit so hard the foundation is cracked all the way into the shop and through the office. The front hallway wall is tilting by about 6 inches. I put some pictures below of the damage.

After I got home for a while I headed to Best Buy and bought a 32 inch flat panel TV for in the kitchen so I could move that 26 inch flat panel TV into the bathroom and replace the 22 inch one that was in there. The 22 inch TV will go in the new bathroom if Tony ever finishes it. Spent the rest of the afternoon switching out the TVs and then watching TV. Ordered pizza from Pizza Hut for dinner. My rash on my forehead and back of my neck is getting much worse. At times I want to just scratch and scratch like poison ivy or something. Two more weeks until I see my doctor. Tomorrow we are going out for Easter with Tony's mom later in the day. Happy Easter to all if I do not post tomorrow.

April 1, 2010 Thursday Dinner Time

Happy April Fools Day!

This morning I was up by 6 AM. Got the dogs fed and Tony off to work. Left the house a little after 8 AM to go back to Kohl's to exchange the Levi jeans I bought the day before. They opened early due to a big sale today. I bought the other day a 31 waist but they still were too big on me. I do not like the baggie look, I like my jeans tight. Guess it is just the era I grew up in. I don't know how kids these days were those baggie pants. Exchanged my 505's for 501's in the 31 waist. They fit much better. Got home and spent about an hour with the dogs before going to Walgreen's to pick up a couple prescriptions and a couple other items. Got home by noon and snacked on some potato chips before taking an hour nap on the couch with the dogs while listening to some music. Don't think I got any sleep but was glad to hear some music I have not played in a while. Spent the afternoon doing things around the house with the windows open since it is in the 70s here in Milwaukee today. Moved some of the plants to the front porch to get them out of the main part of the house so Stella can not eat them. Also makes the house look less cluttered with them on the porch rather than the house. Watching the dogs play. Bo is doing great. Playing with Kali right now wrestling with a tennis ball. They are so cute. Can not imagine loosing Bo like I thought we almost did the night before. Going to make burgers on the grill tonight with some baked beans. Might as well take advantage of the nice weather. No email or calls from my boss, although I did get my final pay check yesterday that I submitted. So at least I got paid. Feeling better about the situation with each day that passes. Still feeling bitter about the way this was handled but it is summer and I can keep busy. After dinner we will just settle in and watch TV for the night. Tomorrow I only have lunch with the guys and a stop at the bank on my schedule.

Wow, I did a spell check and I think this was the first time no spelling errors. LOL