Dave's Life Living With HIV/AIDS

February 17, 2012 Friday Dinner Time

2012-02-17T16:05:00.002-06:00

Spent last night watching American Idol. Went to bed around 10 PM. Barkley finally, after an hour, slept the night in his cage. There is going to have to be a different solution. I am not dealing with a crying dog for an hour every night.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning doing things around the house. Honestly, I have no idea where the morning went. Got showered and met Tony and the guys for lunch. Had a great lunch. Came home and moved the cage for Barkley out of the closet next to the bed and simply put up a fenced area for him to sleep in next to the bed. Put his favorite pillow in the enclosed area and took a two hour needed nap. Barkley was fine sleeping on his pillow next to the bed and never cried. I think I found a solution we can all live with? Made some salads and will most likely make a frozen pizza for supper tonight since I am not hungry in the least right now. Will watch a few movies tonight before going to bed. Tony hinted at lunch he was looking forward to a little lovin tonight so I will have to break down and do the loving thing before we go to bed. Hoping to have Tony work on the bathroom all day tomorrow and reward him by going to a car show at State Fair Park Saturday night. Old classic cars. I always figure a Saturday night is the best time to go to the show since at least some of the guys shower for a date night. Not like a Sunday, when all the guys look like they just climbed out of bed, and probably did. Sunday we will go to my parents house to see them and my sister and kids, that came into town for the weekend. Feeling a little better today, little being the word. At least I don't feel worse today than yesterday. Hoping a good night's sleep tonight will get me back on the path or recovery. Maybe the antibiotic I started taking today will help.

February 16, 2012 Thursday Afternoon

2012-02-16T14:12:00.002-06:00

Just get the gun and shoot me!
Thought I might be getting better, then I woke up today. Got up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Left the house by 7:15 AM to get my blood drawn for this round of test results. Stopped off at McDonald's for 2 sausage burritos. Came home, ate the food, and in a half hour I threw it all up. Went back to bed shortly thereafter until around noon. I just am so tired. Tried to do some caulking in the bathroom and realized I am not a caulker. Tony will not like what I have done, the little I did, but hopefully it will put a spark under him to finish it himself. Otherwise the rest is going to look as bad as what I have done looks like. Hell, it won't leak, but doesn't look pretty. A caulker I am not. Took a shower and have just laid around all afternoon with no energy. I would go back to bed but then I will not be able to sleep tonight. I am sure my blood results will reflect how crappy I feel, should be interesting. Making a salad and spaghetti for supper tonight. Will spend the night much like last night watching American Idol and then the Mentalist. Barkley only took a half hour to stop crying last night and settle down in his cage. Had to lay there with a spray bottle in hand so he would not begin crying once he stopped. I swear this dog is going to be the death of me. I really want to feel better. It was in the 40s again and sunny in Milwaukee and I did not even feel like going out and enjoying it. The weekend is filling up with plans and I don't want to miss Friday lunch like we did last week. I just want to be better and not feel so crappy. There are a lot of people in the same boat and have this horrible cold going around. Back to the couch.

February 15, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

2012-02-15T15:15:00.002-06:00

Last night we went to Butch's Steak House here in Milwaukee for a great Valentine's steak dinner. Had a 12 oz Fillet steak. It was so good. Came home and exchanged cards. Tony then looked at me and said 'after spending all that money, don't I get some dessert'. I told him, maybe later. Watched a little TV and went to bed around 10 PM. Tony then reminded me it was now later, and we did the lovin thing.

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Went grocery shopping in the morning and then took a long nap with the dogs, trying to get rid of this head cold. Had a good nap with the dogs. Took a walk to the hardware store a few blocks away for a tool for caulking the tub. Felt good to get out and helped my head cold. It was 40 degrees today in Milwaukee and the sun was out most of the day. I love this winter in Milwaukee. Tonight I am making hamburger helper and a salad for dinner. Will spend the night watching TV. Tony says he now has the head cold also and is taking Advil Cold and Sinus every four hours. Sounds like a lot of my friends have this cold also, so I am not alone. Hoping to get up tomorrow and get my blood drawn and tested. Have to remember not to eat or drink any coffee tomorrow morning. I go to my doctor in a week and a half then to find out my latest blood test results. Sure would be nice to get above 400 this time with my TCells, but since I am in the middle of a cold, I don't think the numbers will be that high.

February 14, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

2012-02-14T15:41:00.002-06:00

Spent last night watching TV. Went to bed around 10 PM. Barkley was not happy sleeping in the cage and I think tonight he might be up on the bed again so WE can get some sleep.

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the newspapers and watching some TV. Still not feeling great today so I spent most of the day working on the bathroom a little and then laying back down in bed. Took a two hour nap with the dogs this afternoon. Made a reservation tonight at Butch's Steak House for Valentine's Day. It is one of the most expensive steak restaurants in Milwaukee, but also one of the best. Figure we will have a good dinner tonight and celebrate Valentine's Day. Tony called a little while ago to see if I made the reservation. Hopefully now that he knows he will get home from work in time and we will get to the restaurant on time. I am feeling very tired today. I feel much better than I did last week and over the weekend, but still just do not feel 100% yet. Feel like I could just sleep sleep sleep.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

February 13, 2012 Monday Afternoon

2012-02-13T08:19:00.003-06:00

Saturday morning I woke up feeling much the way I did the past two days, sick as a dog. Why do we use that phrase? Neither of us left the house all day. Spent the day laying around watching TV and just trying to survive the day. Saturday night I thought maybe a nice bath in the jacuzzi tub would be a good thing. Of course there is a story coming. As most know Tony has been working on his bathroom with the jacuzzi tub going on three years now. It goes two steps forward and one step back each time he starts working on the continuing remodel. Remember, I am not allowed to work on this project, it has been told to me many times: It is his bathroom and he will finish it. So, I filled the tub with nice warm water and bath bubbles. Tony came into the bathroom just as I was getting into the tub. I laid back and pushed the button to start the jets and .................... nothing. No jets. Jeez, the one time I really need a massage jet tub is now and of course it doesn't work. Tony then kept pushing on the button and of course looked at me and said 'what did you do to it'? Took a bath without the jets. Some more back ground info. Tony just, in the last few weeks, tiled the under part of the tub where you get to the controls to fix such a problem like we now are having. We have fought loud about this and I from day one wanted and bought the supplies I needed for a removable wall under the tub so we can get to the controls, reset button and heater. Do I need to say it again? I WAS RIGHT! Why do some men just not listen. Finished my bath, which really felt good. Would have been better with jets and a massage, but? Spent the rest of the night wrapped in a blanket on the couch with the dogs. Just before Saturday Night Live was to start the news broke in with the report of Whitney Houston's death. So sad. More on this later. Went to bed about half way through SNL.

Sunday morning we were both up by 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Felt so much better since I sweated all night as I slept. Wrapped myself up real good and it worked. I at least feel I hit a turning point now and I am in recovering mode. Made eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast. Around 10 AM I asked Tony what he thought was the problem with the tub. Like it had some how gone away during the night. It was on my radar, not his. After watching Tony for an hour do absolutely nothing but try to look under the tub, I took the matter into my own hands. Yes, it took some shouting. I ended up grabbing a hammer and tearing down and apart the wall he built under the tub and told him it was going to be redone MY WAY. Of course this did not go over well and he put his hands in the air and said 'fine, its all yours'. Finally! After I worked on the tub area for an hour I took a shower, got Tony into the shower and told him we were going to the hardware store and lottery tickets. Corner hardware store did not have the wood 2 x 2s I needed and we ended up going to Home Depot. I just needed 2 of the boards and a molding. I already had the panel I was going to use to cover the under tub. Got what we needed, stopped at the corner gas station and got the lottery tickets, and came home. Tony helped carry the wood into the house and when I asked him if he wanted to know my plan or help he said 'this is your project now'. OK, I can do this. Spent two hours working on the wall panel. Turned out great. Cut all the wood myself in the basement and even got a coat of paint on the moldings as Tony napped in the bedroom. By the time he got up I had the panel in place under the tub so he could see what it will look like. Of course I knew I was not going to get the response I wanted. He looked at it and said 'great'. I do still need to put a second coat of paint on the moldings to cover the small nails. Bottom line is I did it my way, the way I had planned all the time, from day one, and it is just how I imagined, DONE. I get so mad because with projects like this I have thought out the project, how I will do it, and how it will look. So if I voice my idea, it is a well thought out idea. And lets just face it, it will most likely in the end be done my way, and should have been from the beginning. LOL Ordered a pizza and garlic bread for supper. Spent the night watching the award shows. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Bo and Barkley had us up last night over and over again. Barkley crying in his cage, and Bo just not being able to lay down and go to bed. Got the dogs fed and Tony off to work. Feeling a little better today. My face and cheeks just hurt, no headache. So I think I am slowly getting better. Guess my body still has some fight in it. Read the morning newspapers, watched Live With Kelly and then popped on some Whitney Houston as I worked on the bathroom, putting the second coat of paint on the moldings. Had Tony come home to turn off the water and disconnect the water faucets so I could work on the base in this area. He was home in a flash and I soon was cutting the parts I needed with hole for the faucets. Turned out pretty much how I wanted. The rest will have to wait for another day since I am ready to hit the couch in exhaustion. There still is so much grout work and such to do, it is not near complete. In fact I can not believe all the work still needed to get this bathroom finished. Hey, it's only been three years. But thankfully, now in my hands, it will move forward.

Such a shame about Whitney Houston's passing. My first thought when I heard the news was 'not another'. I say that referring to Michael Jackson, Elvis, and so many that hit their peak at a young age and then could not live with the lows and the fact they will never reach 'that' peak again. Why can't people be happy with the success they had in the past and move forward with the memory and hope for more happiness in the future. I say this thinking of my life. I honestly think the best years of my life are behind me. I say that knowing I will have many happy events and times in my future, but my carefree days and fun times are mostly behind me. Does this make me sad? Yes, but it also is comforting to know I had those happy high times and I will have more. They just will be different. I am not going to do drugs and destroy my life because the best years might be behind me, I am going to try to create more happy times and remember the times I did already have. I always have said, as I get older, if I was to loose my memories of my family, dogs, and life and my mind goes, there will be no reason to go on. The memories of the happy times I had in life are what keep me going daily and give me hope more will come. Hell, three years ago I thought I was going to die and was ready to accept that. In the past three years I can think of many many things I would truly have missed. Here is a short list:
Getting closer and keeping close with my sisters kids, my nephews.
Meeting the cast of OLTL in Chicago on the last day of the show.
Getting Bo.
Helping Vito go through his diabetes and blindness.
Internet friends surprising me on my Birthday and flying into Milwaukee to see me.
Meeting all the new friends I have met since my diagnosis.
Getting closer to my mom and dad.
Having an even stronger relationship with Tony than I had before.
And so many other happy times, those are just off the top of my head. Wow, it would have been sad to miss all those things above.

February 10, 2012 Friday Afternoon

2012-02-10T15:14:00.002-06:00

Still sick here in Milwaukee. Spent all day going from the bed to the couch. Called the guys to tell them Tony and I would not be at lunch today. Didn't want to spread this horrible cold. Made a bowl of soup for lunch. Tony called this afternoon to see how I was doing and to tell me his nose is running and his chest hurts. Guess he is getting it also. Should be a fun weekend around here. Both being sick and all. Funny how when I am sick I still have to do all my jobs around the house. When Tony is sick the world can come to a stop, his world anyway. Got a couple inches of snow today. It is so windy outside the snow is drifting. Went out and shoveled this afternoon, now I feel like I need the bed again. Plus, my nose is running so much it is sore.
Have a good weekend everyone. I will be trying to get through each day.

February 9, 2012 Thursday Night

2012-02-09T18:32:00.002-06:00

Spent last night watching TV. I did attempt to clean out Barkley's anal glands, something I have always taken him to the vet for. I did get some nasty stuff out of him but was not sure what I was doing and didn't want to hurt him. Hoped I cleaned him out. He had been leaving marks where he lays and I had to put all the blankets and sheets in the laundry again. Another reason we have had him sleeping in a cage next to the bed the last few nights. Went to bed around 10 PM with a cough. Took some cold pills prior to going to bed and they did not help me sleep. Barkley slept
in his cage and was quite after about an hour and yelling at him to lay down about 10 times.

Woke up this morning at 6 AM feeling like crap. Sinus clogged and running, chest hurting and coughing up stuff. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Went back to bed putting Barkley on an old sheet so not to leave a stain. Around 9 AM I rolled over and noticed a stain and grabbed the cell phone and called the vet. Made a 11:30 AM appointment to take him in and have his anal glands cleaned. Rolled back over in bed until about 10:30 AM, feeling like I was dieing. Got out of bed around 10:45 AM, put all the beding in the laundry, washed my face, put on a baseball cap and eventually drove Barkley to the vet. Had the vet do the extracting as I watched and she told me what she was doing. I can not afford to keep taking him to the vet for this monthly like we have been. God this dog is a pain in my ass and I wish I had not adopted him three years ago at the age of 8. A lot came out of him and if anyone has done this, they know the smell is horrible. Got Barkley cleaned up and to the car. Since the vet is right next to McDonald's we stopped for a hamburger and medium french fries. If I don't buy the medium french fries I will have to give them all away to the dogs and there will be none for me. So a small is not good enough if I want some french fries. After lunch we all spent the afternoon in bed again with the TV on in the back ground. Got back out of bed around 3:30 PM and started to get things done around the house. Still feeling like crap. Made some salads for supper and a can of spaghetti O's for Tony. I will just eat some toast since I do not feel good or hungry in any way. Tony came home around 5:30 PM from work. Fed him and now I type this waiting for American Idol to start in about 10 minutes. Better spell check and get back to the couch. I sure hope I feel better tomorrow or I will have to miss lunch with the guys. I would hate for anyone else, besides Tony, LOL, get this cold.

February 8, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

2012-02-08T15:40:00.002-06:00

Spent last night watching The River on ABC. It was OK and we will continue to watch the series. Went to bed around 10 PM after a little lovin. Barkley actually walked into his cage on command, which was surprising. Only had to yell at him a couple of times to stop wining and crying before he settled down in his cage and slept for the night. Was so nice to have one less dog on the bed.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Went grocery shopping in the morning, stopping at McDonald's for a couple sausage burritos before the shopping. Got home before noon and spent the rest of the day on the Internet and took a short nap with the dogs. Yes, I let Barkley lay on a blanket on the bed for the short nap. Much easier than trying to get him to nap in his cage. Making a pre made meat loaf and rice for supper tonight with a salad. Will spend the night watching American Idol and then TV shows on the DVR. The sun was out all day today in Milwaukee but it is below freezing and never got out of the 20s today. Nice in the sun, but cold in the shade. Thanks for the comments on my poem in yesterday's post.

February 7, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

2012-02-07T14:53:00.003-06:00

Barkley was not happy sleeping in the cage last night. Tony came home from work around 6 PM. Ate dinner and after his shower we did the lovin thing, otherwise he falls asleep on the couch. Figured I better gets some while he was awake. Spent the rest of the night watching TV on the DVR before going to bed at 9 PM to watch Castle in bed. Barkley was up until about midnight crying in his cage. He then spent the night quietly when he realized crying was not going to get him out of the cage. Jeez, the cage is right next to the bed.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper before showering and getting on with the day. Tony came home around 9 AM to do something, saw him rummaging through his safe here at the house, probably for a title to a car. After he left I left the house also to go to Walgreen's to pick up a prescription and then to ARCW to pick up my other HIV prescriptions. Picked up my monthly food at the pantry while I was there and got a bunch of bread for the rabbit I feed daily outside. Got home a little after 11 AM and spent the rest of the day doing things around the house while I listened to the Madonna Collection. Guess her Super Bowl Concert got me in the mood to hear more. Making a canned ham, mashed potato, corn and a salad for dinner tonight. Will spend the night watching more TV on the DRV as the DVR records tonights shows. It is hovering just around freezing here in Milwaukee today and cloudy. Could be much worse this time of year in Milwaukee.

Sometimes when I lay in bed I make up words to songs or poems. The other night I got out of bed a bunch of times as this poem came to me. Not sure if it means anything, but it is what I wrote the other day:

Sometimes I Feel
Like A Grape On A Vine
Just Withering Away
Biding My Time

I Thought Just Per Chance
When You Gave Me A Glance
You'd Pick Me In Time
And We'd Make A Fine Wine

My Vine Now Is Bent
For The Days Came And Went
I Keep Getting Older
Soon It Will Be Colder

If I Don't Get Picked Soon
I'll Shrivel Up Like A Prune
A Raisin I'll Now Be
But I'll Still Just Be Me.

February 6, 2012 Monday Dinner Time

2012-02-06T16:06:00.002-06:00

Friday night we watched the movie 50/50. It was a very good movie and I recommend it. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Saturday morning we slept in until 7:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning doing things around the house. Around 11 AM we drove to Mequon to look at a massage chair for sale on Craigslist. We have one now and I use it daily. Unfortunately it is going on over 10 years old and not looking the best shape with 5 dogs around the house. Decided not to buy it although it was very nice. Just couldn't see spending the money when the old one still does the trick and cracks my back. Came home and soon left again to go to the Dog Show at State Fair Park. Got a lot of food samples and bought Stella a sweater. Only spent about an hour at the show because I could see Tony was not having fun. Came home and after feeding the dogs we went out for dinner at Pitches Ribs here on the Eastside. Had a great steak and rib combo dinner. Spent the night watching the movie The Mechanic. It was OK. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Sunday we were up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a small amount of the newspaper before showering so we could go to a Baptism at 9:30 AM at a church north of here. Was not far from the house. After the Baptism we went to their home for some food and family. Had a great time and got home around 2 PM. Spent the rest of the afternoon taking a nap with the dogs. Made a salad and left overs from the night before for supper. Spent the night watching the movie Shelter, which was also pretty good. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony took my car to work to fix a headlight. Spent the day cleaning and doing laundry. Moved the big dog cage into the bedroom closet so starting tonight Barkley can sleep in the cage and not on the bed. He licks his sores all night and then there are stains on the bed in the morning. Enough of doing the bedding laundry daily. He will not like having to sleep in a cage, but it is going to be that, or the pound. Will let you know how it goes. I am sure the first night he will cry and want to come on the bed with the other dogs. Hopefully in time he will just fall asleep and maybe even like his cage. Don't think so, but I am hopeful. Making chicken and pasta for dinner with a salad. Will spend the night watching TV on the DVR. Tomorrow I have to pick up prescriptions at ARCW and Walgreen's that I called in today. Hopefully I will have a car tomorrow.

February 3, 2012 Friday Afternoon

2012-02-03T15:30:00.002-06:00

Tony called me yesterday around 4:15 PM to tell me he went to the Department Of Motor Vehicles to renew his driver's license and could not pass the eye test. He said he tried three different reading glasses and still could not read what was on the screen. They sent him on his way and told him to return when he gets a stronger pair of glasses. LOL. He came home from work in a very lousy mood. Tony then told me he already made an appointment with an eye doctor for Friday and hopefully he will get a pair of glasses so he can pass the test at the DMV. I looked at him and told him 'it is bad enough I can not move the furniture around the house because of Vito, you mean to tell me by the time he is gone I still won't be able to move the furniture because you will be blind also'. I then continued 'you better be nice to me or the furniture will be moved around daily'. LOL. Spent last night watching some shows we DVR'd during the week. Went to bed around 10 PM. I did not sleep well and got up to pee 4 times during the night. I think I need to stop drinking anything earlier in the night.

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Fed the dogs an gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work a little after 7 AM. Spent the morning doing things on the Internet. Showered and met the guys for lunch. Tony did not make lunch today due to an eye doctor appointment. Had a great lunch. Stopped off at Big Lot to buy a token present for a Baptism we have to go to Sunday. Came home and spent some time listening to David Guetta and LMFAO. They are my favorite CD's these days. I like almost every song on both CDs. Making a salad for supper tonight. Will not be hungry for much more because of the lunch today. Tony will need more than a salad so I will make him some left overs or something else. Will most likely watch a movie tonight. This weekend we have plans on Sunday to go to a Baptism and hopefully tomorrow I can talk Tony into going to the Dog Show at State Fair Park. We go every year. I love seeing all the dogs and stopping at all the vendor booths. In the 40s again today in Milwaukee. Starting to sound like a broken record when it comes to the weather here in Milwaukee, mind you I am not complaining. Cloudy today which has made it hard to get my mind going or have much energy. Hopefully the sun will come out this weekend. Have a great weekend everyone.

February 2, 2012 Thursday Afternoon

2012-02-02T14:52:00.002-06:00

Got through yesteray afternoon, only having to hit the toilet three times. Will never buy a deli sandwich at Pick N Save again. Spent last night watching American Idol and then the movie Stolen. It was a good movie. Went to bed around 10 PM for some lovin before we went to sleep.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning giving Bo a haircut which is a slow process. Doing it little by little and letting him run around inbetween cuttings. Bo looks so cute with his hair cut. I can't wait until Tony gets home to see him. He looks like a little baby black lamb now. Then took a shower with Stella since she needed a cleaning. She was starting to smell like a dog. LOL. Laid on the couch for a couple hours listening to music. Now I sit here writing this post. Making hamburger helper and a salad for supper tonight. Will most likely watch American Idol and then another movie, much like last night, before going to bed. It is in the 40s today in Milwaukee. Still much warmer than it ever is this time of year. Actually last year on this day we got hit with one of the biggest snow storms in Milwaukee history. What a difference a year can make.

February 1, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

2012-02-01T15:36:00.002-06:00

Last night we watched the movie The Tree Of Life. WTF? Has anyone else seen this movie? Did you understand it? What the hell was it about? Who's kid died in the movie and what the heck was Sean Penn doing in the movie? It was a waste of 2 1/2 hours if you ask me. Someone please help me with this movie if you saw it. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper before showering and headed out the door to go grocery shopping. Stopped at McDonald's first for 2 sausage buritos. Bought another deli sandwich like the one I got the other day that was so good, I did buy it at a different Pick N Save. This will make sense in a bit. Did a little around the house before going to the bedroom to take a nap with the dogs. Took a good 2 hour nap. Woke up with a stomach ache and just as I was about to write this post I knew something was not feeling right. Ran to the bathroom an crapped water. Sorry, to be so graphic. I guess there must have been something wrong with the sandwich because I have a feeling I am going to be back on the toilet again soon. Having cold chills now also. Great! Not in the mood to make any supper tonight but will have to anyway to feed Tony. Making a salad, steak and green beans. Will spend the night watching another movie before going to bed. Hopefully it will be a better movie than last nights The Tree Of Life. What a god awful movie that was.

January 31, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

2012-01-31T15:37:00.003-06:00

Is this Winter or Spring?

Last night we spent the night watching last weeks TV shows on the DVR. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the early morning reading the newspaper and watching the news. Around 9 AM I went to Walgreen's to buy some sale items. Came home and decided around 11 AM to take a walk since it is so nice outside in Milwaukee today. The thermometer outside says 52 degrees in the shade. WOW, this is still January in Milwaukee. How can people say global warming doesn't exist? Walked to the grocery store and bank to make a deposit. Bought a sandwich at the deli for lunch. Stopped off at the neighbors house for a half hour to talk with her before coming back home to eat the sandwich I bought. Did a little around the house which included calling Sprint again for the third month in a row about them charging us roaming minutes. On the phone for over a half hour to get $2.50 off the bill which shouldn't be on it anyway. We have roaming minutes blocked so the fact this is the third month in a row really pisses me off. Took a little nap with the dogs and now I sit here typing this post. Making spaghetti and meatballs with a salad for supper tonight. It is so nice outside you only need a light jacket. Suppose to go down to the 40s the rest of the week, but still, this is unbelievable. It is also nice to see the days light getting longer each day. In December it got dark at 4:30 PM, now it is still light out after 5 PM. Can Summer be far off? Lets hope not.

Have to ask the following: Why do some partners just not work good together when doing projects? I ask this because when I was at the friend house yesterday setting up the cameras it was so unbelievable how well we worked together. It was like we would anticipate each others next moves and needs, handing the hammer and such when needed. Was like a doctor in an operating room. When Tony and I work together on a project it is more a fight first, then like the city workers, one doing the work while the others watch. LOL. Tony being the one doing the watching. Mentioned to the friend as we were working how good we worked together, he agreed and said his wife and he are much more like Tony and I when they do projects. Guess opposites attract? I wouldn't mind more unison between us.

January 30, 2012 Monday Afternoon

2012-01-30T15:35:00.002-06:00

Tony and I did very little all weekend but watch movies I had downloaded.

Friday night Tony came home in a bad mood from work. He and I are so tired of people trying to screw us. I guess a customer stopped at the shop to ask how much it would cost to fix a car. The customer did not drive the car to the shop and said it was at his home. After the customer found out how much it would cost to fix the car he asked Tony how much he would give him for at as is. Well, the guy said the car had under 100,000 miles and was a certain year old car. Tony offers the guy $700 for the car and has it towed to his shop on our dime. Once the car got to the shop Tony finds out the car has over 180,000 miles on it and is two years older than what the customer said. Plus the title has a problem. Tony then tells the customer he doesn't want the car. The customer wants it towed back to their house on our dime. That would all be fine if it was not for the fact the customer totally lied about the car and if Tony new the truth ahead of time he would have never wanted to buy it, and would have not had it towed to the shop. Anyway, as Tony left work the lady was screaming in his office at him and threatened to call the police. He told her to go ahead and call them and told her to get out of his office and locked up the shop and went home. He left her car in the open lot so they could do what they want with it and hopefully tow it themselves back home. I hate people who lie or misrepresent themselves. This customer knew his car had twice as many miles, knew it was smashed on both ends and knew they lied about the date of the car. Made Tony a TV dinner and a salad for supper. Friday night we watched the movies In Time and The Woman. Both were very good movies and I enjoyed them. Went to bed around 10:30 PM after the second movie ended.

Saturday morning we were up at 6:30 AM. Had made a Saturday morning vet appointment for Vito to have has nails trimmed. It is just easier with Vito for us both to take him to the vet being blind and all. At least then I can hold him while Tony drives. Stopped off at McDonald's for some breakfast on the way home. Shortly after getting home and eating the food Tony left to go to work to check on a car the guys were working on and see if the car from the other night was still on the lot. While Tony was gone I watched the movie Nature Of Existence. Was a good movie and I think I watched it long time ago when I was not in a good frame of mind. Was able to take a lot more away from the movie this time. After Tony got home we spent the afternoon and evening watching more movies. Watched the movies Dirty Girl, Dream House, Drive and How Do You Know. All were good movies but Dirty Girl is a MUST SEE movie. It was such a good movie. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

Sunday we were up at 7 AM. After feeding the dogs and giving Vito his shot I made us some eggs, bacon and English muffins for breakfast. Around noon we went to get lottery tickets and got some lunch at a Mexican restaurant on the south side of town. They serve the food on paper plates. The food is so good and you sit at huge tables with other people you don't know. The food is real Mexican food and the best in Milwaukee. I had the pork ribs dinner. Came home and spend the rest of the day watching more movies. Watched the movies Abduction, The Double, Restless, Seconds Apart and The Thing. I though they were all very good but still have to say Dirty Girl was the best movie of the weekend. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the early morning reading the newspaper and getting things done around the house since I had promised a friend I would come over today and help him install his security cameras and DVR that he had purchased a long time ago. Went over to his house around 11 AM and didn't get home until after 3 PM. Got it all set up with 3 out of four cameras working and recording, all going to his computer monitor. He wasn't sure where he wanted the fourth camera. The friend is actually a friend of Tony's he went to high school with. Also the same friend that took care of the dogs for the day when we went to Chicago a couple weeks ago. Since it was in the 40s today in Milwaukee it was actually a nice day to be outside hanging the cameras. Came home exhausted from going up and down the ladders and stuff, and laid on the couch for an hour before I got up and figured I better type this blog and get going on dinner. Will spend tonight watching things on the DVR we recorded last week on TV. Tony will come home tired being a Monday. Should be interesting to see how long he can stay awake, which is the reason I tell him to get in the shower before he nods off on the couch. Suppose to be a very nice week in Milwaukee weather wise this week. Above freezing during the day each day. I still can not believe this winter and how nice it has been in Milwaukee.

Rent or download the movie Dirty Girl. It is that good.

January 27, 2012 Friday Morning

2012-01-27T10:31:00.003-06:00

Spent last night watching American Idol and then the a movie I downloaded called Kickoff. It was foreign movie and very had to understand the accents. It was very gay. Went to bed around 10 PM after a little lovin.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning on the Internet and reading the morning newspapers I get. All showered and soon I will meet the guys for our weekly lunch. Yesterday someone I have not talked with in a long time asked me how I am. I sat back for a while and thought about it. I responded that 'I am doing great and have nothing to complain about, even the weather has been so nice here in Milwaukee'. it got me thinking. Wow, I have nothing to complain about. The bills are paid, the dogs are doing well, the house is in good order, and Tony and I are healthy. In fact I have to admit I feel the healthiest I have felt in 3 years. That's petty cool in my book. I think the poem I received yesterday helped my think about this more, here it is:

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask How are you?
Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head?

You'd better slow down
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time to call and say, ‘HI

You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last..

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....thrown away.

Life is not a race.
Do take it slower
Hear the music
Before the song is over.

I think I should start living my life more like this. Enjoy the now, just slow down.
No plans this weekend. Looks like we will be above 30 for most of the weekend. Suppose to get an inch or so of snow tonight and tomorrow night. Hopefully it will melt away during the day. Have a great weekend everyone.

January 26, 2012 Thursday Afternoon

2012-01-26T09:35:00.013-06:00

Last night we watched the movie Moneyball. It was OK. I am not a sports person so at times it was boring to me. Tony slept through most of the movie. Went to bed a little after 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Got an email today from someone who found my blog. He has a blog of his own and can be found at the following link: http://www.pozrob.blogspot.com/view/classic
I put a direct link at the bottom of this page in the Other Must See Links called Surviving AIDS, PML and Me. I have to admit I spent most of my morning reading all the way to the beginning of his blog. WOW. When you read about how other people have lived with AIDS and overcome all the problems associated with it, it can really be unbelievable. I guess I am so fortunate I got this disease now and not 20 or more years ago. I am amazed at times how strong the need to survive is no matter how many obstacles come along during life. I am so awestruck by how strong some people are and what they have gone through. I can pretty much say that I believe most people like myself who have blogs like this did not start the blog for sympathy. Every blog I have found was made to help others living with this disease. Giving others a chance to see what life is like living with HIV and AIDS and how we survive daily through the infections, stress, and lack of understanding of this disease. I admire everyone who came before me and those who continue to put their lives out there for others to see and learn from. I guess that's what I do when I read someones blog. I think I learn more coping skills in some way. I become stronger knowing someone else might have had it the same or worse, yet chose to fight and continue life. I try to channel their strength and add it to mine. I guess I am very fortunate to be as healthy as I am, living with AIDS. I also learn things and take away something from their blogs. I today learned I should be more forthcoming with my thoughts and feelings and not just what I do all day. Trust me when I say, every time I hear the word AIDS or HIV on TV or in a movie, my heart skip a beat and I am reminded. Every time I take my pills, I am reminded. We are constantly reminded all day we have AIDS or HIV. It can really bring you down if you are not careful to filter it. When someone lets you into their life, their thoughts, their fears, it can be very moving. I hope in writing my blog and sharing it, I give someone hope and strength.

It is cloudy today in Milwaukee and in the low 30s. Vito is having some problems seeing and getting around. Tony mentioned he noticed also before he went to work. I sometimes can not believe how much Vito depends on me to get through the days. It is comforting to know he is still happy because of all the help I give him during the day. I talk to him all day letting him know where I am and when he sits next to me I put my hand on him. His tail always gives me a wag telling me 'thanks, I feel more secure knowing my daddy is next to me'. I guess there is a purpose for me to be here if not only to take care of Vito and make sure he stays happy being diabetic and blind for whatever years he has left. Barkley needs me to clean his ears daily and bath him weekly so that he is happy. Bo needs me to play with him and toss the tennis ball all day. Stella just needs a tummy rub a couple times a day. And Kali is always just happy to be in the same room with me and get a tummy rub, to burp, after eating. I sometimes wonder what life would be like if I changed something along the way in my past. Every time I go down that path of thinking I always come to the same conclusion that I would not change a thing. Thinking if I changed 'something' all I have would not be here today, is not a happy thought. I am glad I have my dogs, Tony, my family and friends, and if the thought of not having what I have now, is scary. So I guess that means I am happy? Most days.

Around noon I went to the UPS store to return the old ATT cable box. All went smoothly and I walked across the parking lot to that Pick N Save and bought some sale items the other two were out of. Came home and spent more time on the Internet before taking a nice long nap with the dogs. Making baked chicken breasts and Mac N Cheese for dinner with a salad. Will spend the night watching TV with the dogs.

January 25, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

2012-01-25T15:09:00.002-06:00

Spent last night watching the last of the shows on the DVR in preparation of getting a new DVR box through ATT. Cleared and watched everything we wanted to watch, four episodes of Hot In Cleveland were to the last to be viewed. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. After reading the morning newspaper I showered and soon the new cable box arrived via UPS. Of course when I plugged it all in all I got was error messages. Had to call ATT for help. Got disconnected and had to call back again after 20 minutes on the phone with the guy. All said I was on the phone for 45 minutes getting the new box to work. Time will tell if this solves the problem. I did ask the person where they were, he said Asia. Wow, no wonder the unemployment is so high in the USA when our companies have their help phone centers in other countries. Not that I have anything against Asia, I just wish the jobs for US companies stayed in the USA. Around 11 AM I drove to the post office to weigh my tax envelopes to find out how much postage I need for them. I am not mailing them until February to make sure nothing last minute arrives and I have to redo them. Then I went to the Pick N Save in Shorewood to pick up sale items I had coupons for. Couple of the items they were out of. Everything I bought was sale items. I can not believe the cost of food these days and when something is on sale I try to match a coupon with it and go on Wednesday's for double coupon day. I get a kick out of seeing how much I saved. And I never buy things we don't need just because it is on sale. Don't think I will go to that Pick N Save on a Wednesday again since I found out today it is senior citizen day and they were bused in. The store was full of very old people. Had to ask three different ladies to move their carts as I tried to get past them. I don't think they can hear you behind them so good at that age. I am sure I will be much the same when I get that old. Stopped off at McDonald's for a burger and fries before coming home. Did a little around the house and paid a couple bills from today's mail. Laid on the couch for an hour before a phone call got me up. Honestly, people have no idea what it is sometimes like to just get up and get the phone. Usually I have a blanket wrapped on me and at least 3 or more dogs all on or around me. So to answer the phone I have to move them all just to get up off the couch. Making a frozen Lasagna for dinner with bread and a salad. Will watch a movie tonight since the new DVR is empty and it needs to start filling from our shows we have programed daily. Will most likely watch Moneyball tonight staring Brad Pitt. Was pretty happy yesterday I got two responses on Facebook from posts I made on David Gregory's wall. I am still so amazed he remembers me from over a week ago. Happily amazed he takes the time to talk to me. I think I am one of his biggest stalkers. LOL. Tomorrow I will have to find a UPS store to mail back the old cable box. I think there is one downtown somewhere.

January 24, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

2012-01-24T13:36:00.003-06:00

Spent last night watching TV on the DVR, finishing the night watching Castle in bed. Went to sleep around 10 PM. Tony was sleeping by 9 PM, the minute his head hit the pillow. Didn't sleep well all night, tossed and turned and got up many times during the night.

This morning I was up at 6:30 PM. Before I could feed the dogs Tony was telling my the cable was not working again and channel 12 was not coming in. This happens almost every day and I then have to reboot the system to get channel 12, which is ABC and Good Morning America. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Then rebooted the cable system to get channel 12 working. Tony left for work around 7:15 AM. Around 8 AM I called ATT to have them tell me a new cable box would be sent to the house and I will just have to send them back the old one. I think it is not the box but since the guy told me they have newer boxes with more memory I thought best to just have him send it to me so I could get the better box and see if it works first. It might be a wire coming loose at the pole outside since we have switched out our boxes for this problem in the past. The new box should be here tomorrow so I will have to make sure we watch everything on the DVR before I hook up the new one. Since there is not much on TV tonight we might be able to watch most or all tonight. We did a good job over the weekend on catching up with the DVR TV shows. Had a bowl of cereal for breakfast and took a shower. Headed out the door around 10 AM to return the bulb from the other day that doesn't work. Then went to the copy store to make a couple copies of my taxes before I send them in. Did a little around the house before putting on some music and laid back on the couch with the dogs. Figure I will make some pasta and salad tonight for supper.

I'm not sure if it is like this with other diseases like Cancer but there sure are days that the 'little voice' in your head shouts a little louder telling you, or reminding you, that you have AIDS. When I found out three years ago and the thought would cross my mind, my heart would sink and I was out of breath in panic. Today that 'little voice' is a little less loud, but I still get that sinking feeling in my heart every time it crosses my mind. Do people with other diseases get this also? As time goes on in the years since finding out about my HIV status I have come a long way in getting past the 'little voice'. But it is still there daily. Maybe it just gets easier to push the 'little voice' away as time goes on. Every day I wish I did not have this disease. You have no idea how many nights I look up at that first star in the sky and make the wish: I wish I didn't have AIDS. Some days it just feels like you have a ticking time bomb waiting to kill you.

January 23, 2012 Monday Afternoon

2012-01-23T15:16:00.005-06:00

After I posted yesterday we went to Baker's Square for breakfast. Just didn't feel like making a mess in the kitchen and cooking. Stopped off at the hardware store after breakfast to get a florescent light bulb for the lighted guitar in the screened in porch. Then went to Pick N Save to buy some groceries. Taking Tony grocery shopping with me is not fun. I spend the entire time taking things out of the cart he puts in and hiding them in a different aisle. Everything just looks good to him. I figure since I am the one who will have to cook or prepare it, it is going to be a food I like and not hard to prepare. Much less just because he sees something that looks good now doesn't mean it will ever get eaten. Came home and worked on the guitar light. Of course it still didn't work so Tony then went back to the hardware store, three blocks from home, and got a starter for the light. Maybe that is the problem. He bought two. The first one broke in the light and after that it seemed hopeless. I then decided to drive to the hardware store for a third time and just buy a new light for the guitar. Tony then spent and hour putting it together and getting it to work. For a while we thought it was broken until we tried the second bulb, in the pack of two, to find the first bulb was not working. Maybe that was the problem to begin with? Unbelievable. Now I have to return the bulb that doesn't work and it was in a two pack. Spent the rest of the day watching TV on the DVR. Made some salads and steaks on the grill with corn for supper. Went to bed around 9 PM and had a little lovin before sleep.

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Fed Kali her special rice and hamburger for breakfast. She seems better now that she is eating this special food. Thankfully we dodge a bullet this time with her. I didn't need the vet bill or the sorrow if things went a different way. Called my mom and dished with her for a while. After I read a little of the morning newspaper I went back to bed with the dogs since it is cloudy and drizzling in Milwaukee. Woke up a little before 1 PM and got out of bed to start the day again. Showered and ate a banana for lunch. Spent the afternoon doing my Federal and State taxes. Thankfully it is easy enough for me to do myself since I didn't make any money last year except for the rent upstairs and my social security. I will get some money back from state for Homestead credit. The temperature is dropping, was over the freezing mark all night and day which has melted most of the snow. Now the snow just looks dirty. Looks like we will get above freezing most of the week during the day. Making a frozen beef roast, mashed potato and salad for supper tonight. Will spend the night watching TV since Tony always comes home tired on a Monday. Got a letter over the weekend saying my health insurance is in effect and paid. So all the new insurance headaches are over and it should be smooth sailing. Tony's is another story and the insurance company is still asking for this paperwork and that. My ex is helping him so it should all be good in the end. Bottom line, I am covered by health insurance which is important in my condition.

A friend of mine did something funny on Facebook I have to share (and might do myself for laughs). He posted the following:

Ok, I want all my Facebook friends to comment on this status, sharing how you met me. But, I want you to LIE. That's right, just make it up. After you comment, copy and paste to your wall so I can do the same. I bet HALF won't read the instructions right....now GO!!

The responses have been so funny. Here are some of the best:

I use to own a bed and breakfast and you stayed there for a weekend. You wanted a room with a big soaker tub and candles to relax for the weekend. You had a little problem with the candles and your hair. Now you are the newer owner and a good friend!

As I was walking down the Red Carpet my publicist noticed a man standing by bleachers snapping pictures without a press pass. The guy was also waving something in the air. After award ceremony as I was leaving clutching my newly won Oscar, guy from earlier was stlll there. I walked cautiously by him & he yelled 'I have something for you' so I walked over and he handed me a beautiful angel sitting on a cloud of spun gold. I asked his name after thanking him and it was Jack, just Jack. We bonded over angels/spun gold and continue the friendship all these years later ;)

I was a waitress at a well-known rib joint in Knoxville. You came in, sporting the latest Lady Vol t-shirt and we hit it off immediately--kindred spirits that we were. I'll never forget what you ordered as I had never had an order like that before, or since: two full racks of ribs; a brisket sandwich; a pulled pork sandwich; a quart of slaw; a quart of beans and five orders of corn bread! I didn't think anyone could eat all that, but you did! Then you told me you'd meet me after my shift---I toured you around town and in the wee hours of the AM we went for a big breakfast--and I was shocked to see you still capable of eating--you polished off a four egg omelet with country fried steak on the side!

We were stand ins for Donny and Marie on their show, whenever they'd fight we'd go out and wow the crowd with more talent than they realized the duo had... when they were getting along we'd hang in the dressing room we shared and eat pizza and drink light beer, then throw it up! (Yes, the last part of that last line was borrowed from "Miss Congeniality")!!!!!!

It was like 2:00 am and we were both in the same holding cell at the jail. We didn't speak much that night but a week later we met up again picking up trash in the park for our community service. We've been fast friends ever since but I still don't know what you were in for? lol

I wrote: I met Jack while we were both Pole Dancers at the strip club in Maine. Jack taught me all my moves. We soon started tricks on the side for more money and tips. I finally stopped doing it and moved to Milwaukee because Jack kept taking all my customers. We have kept in touch since then. I hear he is the best pole dancer in Maine.

It was a dark and stormy night. I was sitting in the chair at a tattoo parlor in Old Orchard Beach. The door opens and this guy all in black leather and with a silver cross dangling from his right ear comes in on little cat feet (disguised by motorcycle boots of course) and demands a tattoo of Betty White on his right arm. Naturally I had to find out who the hell that madman was! The rest, as they say, is history.

I was working in a tie factory and Jack was my boss. I could tell he really liked me because he invited me out for cheesecake and fries. One day after work we were walking down Broadway and ran into "Rhoda" and Mary Tyler Moore. From that day on he became a star magnet and moved on to The Meadowmere. To this day I cannot look at a tie without tearing up!

We met while I was visiting another inmate at the Maine Correctional Center. You were in for theft of produce, and swore to me that if you ever got out you would never eat another vegetable. A promise you have kept all these years. Way to go Jack!

I was visiting a marina in Santa Barbara from Ohio. I saw they had three hour cruises available, so I said "Why not!" You were the skippers right hand man... and clearly the brains of the operation. We set sail on a beautiful sunny morning, but soon the weather started getting rough. Our tiny ship was tossed! If not for the courage of the fearless crew we all would have been lost...

Jack was a bouncer at the bar I was working at and as usual he was leaning up against a wall flirting and getting a phone number to the trashiest chick in the place, when all of a sudden he heard someone yelling across the bar...."Hey Sweetie..get me a frozen mudslide right now, as she snapped her fingers" well thats all it took, Jack dove over the bar and tackled that woman and threw her out. Ever since then, we get together and try to out do eachother with amazing weird people stories! hahaha

January 22, 2012 Sunday Morning

2012-01-22T07:49:00.002-06:00

Friday afternoon we got to our usual restaurant for lunch to find out they had no hot water. Had to go down the road to a sports bar. Had a nice cod fish fry with french fries for lunch. Came home and spent the afternoon listening to music as I cruised the Internet. Around 4 PM Tony called to tell me he was fine, but just had a car accident with his plow truck. Guess a guy in the snow storm ran a red light and slammed into Tony plow on the truck from the side. Messed up the plow totally and it does not work. Of course this has to happen as we are having snow that needs plowing. Guess the other driver admitted he was at fault until they got the police department and then changed his story making it seem like Tony went through the red light. Tony was very upset by this and let the guy know to his face he is a lying and hope he can sleep tonight. Sucks because the damage is going to be the deductible and the driver of the other car has the same Insurance company we have. So both will most likely have to pay their own being a his word against mine thing. Just pisses me off. Fed the dogs around 5 PM. Around 5:30 PM Kali threw up her supper, twice. From that point on all night you could tell she was not feeling good at all. She was panting with her tongue out and shaking like she was cold. I did the best I could to comfort her all night. Even put her on a the top of the bed by my pillow wrapped in a blanket as I held her with one hand. It was not a good night's sleep since I was up most of the night talking to her to get her through the night. I several times thought she would be going to the Emergency 24 hour Vet on the other side of town. Made it through the night.

Saturday morning we were up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Kali seemed to be doing better. Spent the morning watching TV and doing things around the house as Tony sat on the couch doing nothing. Around noon we went to George Web's restaurant for a cheap lunch. Came home and spent the rest of the day watching TV shows on the DVR. Made a couple steaks on the grill which Tony over cooked and they were like shoe leather. Went to bed around 10:30 PM with Kali by my pillow.

This morning at 4 AM I woke to hearing Kali trying to throw up. Clasped my hands together and caught the little bit as I yelled to wake Tony up for some help. Got her outside and back into the house. As I went to put her back on the bed I noticed she had thrown up on the bed. Had to strip the bed down to the mattress and start a load of laundry. What a nice way to start the day. Went back to bed for a while and got up at 6 AM so I could make some rice and hamburger meat mixture for her breakfast. Of course all the dogs now got up and I had to do it fast. Fed the dogs, giving Kali just rice and hamburger meat. She always has had stomach problems since she eats too fast and it just doesn't seem to digest well. There are days I actually put her on my shoulder a half hour after to eats just to burp her like you would a baby. She is always fine then. This seems a little more serious and I will have to feed her some special food for a while and maybe even take her to the vet this week if she doesn't get better. Kali is going on 13 years old so I do worry. So now it is Sunday morning, almost at 9 AM, and I have read most of the Sunday newspaper. Tony and I are not speaking much, which is best with all the tension in the house this morning. Will most likely shower and go out for breakfast since we are up and awake. Suppose to rain this afternoon turning to snow so it will be a good afternoon to take a nap. Will have to get our weekly lottery tickets sometime today, most likely on our way back from breakfast. Will keep you posted on Kali. Jeez, between Kali and the car accident you would not believe the tension in the house. We never do handle stress in this house well. But then again, 23 years tells you we do something right?

January 20, 2012 My David Gregory fan video posted on YouTube

2012-01-20T10:10:00.006-06:00

Not sure why the sound doesn't match the lips moving. David's reply was: I'm so touched and humbled by this. Thanks, David (and Tony) for all your support! it means the world... Hello, Milwaukee!

January 20, 2012 Friday Morning

2012-01-20T08:51:00.005-06:00

Brrrrr it's cold outside.

Yesterday the temperature in Milwaukee dropped like a rock. During the day it was in the single digits most of the day. Spent the day feeding my Facebook adiction. In the afternoon yesterday I had a board meeting for ARCW. Had a good meeting. Took a lot for me to venture out into the cold. Spent the last couple nights watching American Idol. I must say I was a little bored with the past two nights shows. Same old stuff, nothing new. I have been more excited in the past for this show to begin each year. Went to bed last night around 10 PM after a little lovin.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony off to work. Checked my emails and saw I got a response from David Gregory on Facebook. I posted a fan video for him on his Facebook page that I made yesterday morning. I posted it on Youtube and when you watch the video the sound does not match my mouth movements as I talk. They are a little off. Oh well, he obviously got the message and liked it. He commented back saying: I'm so touched and humbled by this. Thanks, David (and Tony) for all your support! it means the world... Hello, Milwaukee! How cool, hey?
Last night it was below zero in Milwaukee with a wind chill of 13 below zero. Very cold and the furnace is running nonstop to keep the house warm. The next gas bill will be huge. Today I just have lunch with the guys. Going to have Tony pick me up so I can get into a warm car and have him drive me to lunch. Bring the pictures from last Friday in Chicago on my Laptop to show the guys. Will spend the rest of the day in the house trying to stay warm. More snow coming this afternoon also. We are suppose to get another 4 - 6 inches this afternoon and should start around lunch time. Will not be fun shoveling the show in this cold. No plans for the weekend, will most likely catch up on the shows we have on the DVR and play with the dogs. When the temperature gets this low I have to get the dogs out and back inside the house fast or their feet freeze and I have to go out and carry them back into the house. I wouldn't want to be a dog in this cold weather.

January 18, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

2012-01-18T14:22:00.002-06:00

Went grocery shopping this morning. After being home for a while I got the crazy idea to drive to Stein's Garden on the other side of town to see if they had algae remover for the pond. Yah, it's frozen over, but I want it on hand because of the warm winter we had the weeds in the pond have grown to much. I put the last I had in the pond prior to it freezing over. Of course they did not have it yet in stock from this Summer or have it for next yet. Oh well. Bought a floating flower on clearance for $6. Making spaghetti for dinner with a salad and bread. Tony could eat spaghetti 7 days a week if I made it. Will spend the night watching TV staying warm. It is going to get the coldest of the season tonight and tomorrow. Only calling for a high of 13 degrees tomorrow. Days like this I wonder why I live in Wisconsin.

I have to admit. Since last Friday I have become addicted to Facebook. Totally addicted. I have added every one of the soap stars from OLTL as well as searched for a few old friends to add to my 'friends' list. I now spend my days and nights cruising my Facebook page as well as my 'friends' on Facebook. Guess I replaced my soap with Facebook. Could be a worse addiction I guess?

January 17, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

2012-01-17T14:27:00.002-06:00

Last night we spent the night watching the Betty White specials on NBC. She is so funny and the show was very good. Her half hour show afterwards was not so good. Went to bed around 9 PM to watch Castle and after a little lovin we went to bed. Bo was nice enough to not bother us this time.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. It started snowing around 7 AM this morning and didn't end until around noon. Spent the morning watching the snow fall while I order another book from Blogs2Print of my blog for the year 2011. It is easy enough to order and the hard copy of the years blog is worth the $80. After the snow ended I shoveled the front, side and back yard and drive. Called Tony to let him know the alley is ready to be plowed. As I was in the shower I could hear him plowing the back alley. Spent the rest of the afternoon listening to some music and cruising the Internet. It is around 30 degrees right now but the temperature is suppose to drop tonight and tomorrow to be very cold in the the teens. I will have to bundle up tomorrow to go grocery shopping. Tonight we will stay home and watch TV. I am making hamburgers and baked beans with a salad for supper. Wish I would have taken a nap this afternoon but too late now. If I nap this late in the afternoon I have a hard time sleeping that night.

January 16, 2012 Monday Dinner Time

2012-01-16T16:16:00.002-06:00

Saturday we were up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony went to work in the morning to see if the guys did all they were told to do while we were in Chicago. I guess all must have been OK since he came home in a good mood. Saturday I spent the day posting a lot of the pictures from Friday on my Facebook page. Also was busy cruising the Internet for any information. Watched a lot of TV as I was busy posting. It takes a long time to post pictures and update things, longer than most realize. Saturday night we went to our favorite Italian restaurant for a nice dinner. Came home and spent the night snuggling on the couch with the dogs watching the DVR.

Sunday we were both up at 6 AM. Would be nice to sleep in on the weekends but when I realize Tony is up, I figure I might as well get out of bed also. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the newspaper and asked Tony if he wanted to go have breakfast with his mom since we were up. Showered and went to pick her up and then had breakfast. Man, is his mom a nut case. I will leave it at that. It does make for interesting conversation on the way home going over all she imagines in her life. Watched a little TV before deciding to take a short nap and a little lovin. At the critical point Bo decided to start throwing up all over the couch next to the bed. Jeez, he couldn't have just waited 1 more minute? Stopped what we were doing to attend to Bo and clean up the mess. Thankfully I have the couch covered and can just throw it in the laundry. By the time I was finished cleaning up the mess I noticed Tony back in the room waiting for 'the happy ending'. Was not easy to get back into the mood but I managed being the good husband and all. Made a salad and frozen food for dinner and spent the night watching TV with the dogs. Bo is fine.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work by 7 AM. Spent the morning doing some cleaning, reading the newspaper and watching TV in between backing up all my files on the hard drive from Tony's shop. I once a year, this time of year, back up a hard drive of all my files and then have Tony take the hard drive to the shop so it will be safe if the house burns down some day. Would hate to loose a lifetime of pictures and music. Still very sad my show is no longer airing. I am not sure what we will do in the four hours or so each week we watched. Went to Walgreen's in the morning to buy some sale items. After I got home I laid on the couch with the dogs for an hour. Went across the alley to talk with the neighbor for an hour. Set up Skype on her computer and told her all about last Friday, showing her all the pictures. Was in the 40s today in Milwaukee which melted half the snow. Still very warm for Wisconsin this time of year.

January 14, 2012 Chicago Video Feed

2012-01-14T10:01:00.002-06:00

If you look you can see Tony and I in the bar.

January 14, 2012 Saturday

2012-01-14T07:42:00.019-06:00

I hardly know where to begin the story of yesterday. Sit back and enjoy the tail, this might take a while.

We got up Friday morning at 5 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Got the dogs food ready for tonights feeding just in case we are not back from Chicago. Since it snowed all night, Tony went out to shovel the back sidewalk and drive and I shoveled the front sidewalks. We showered and left the house on schedule at 8:30 AM. Our friend came at 8 AM to be with the dogs. He felt more comfortable being here when we left rather than arriving after we left. Stopped off at McDonald's for some breakfast to eat on the drive down. The drive down was not so bad considering the weather. I did have to keep telling Tony to slow the hell down the entire drive down to Chicago since I think going over 80 miles an hour is too damn fast. Traffic was OK and we finally arrived and parked at 10:45 AM. It was hard to find the bar and parking because all the street name signs were covered in snow and you could not tell what street name you were on or looking for. As we walked up to the bar Tonja Walker pulled up in her limo and we saw her walk in the bar. Stood in line in the cold for a minute before they called for all the VIP people. Thats us! They took all 20 of us in through a side door, through the bar, and after coat check, to a special room. In this side room with an open bar were all the stars from One Life To Live there to talk to and meet. At first we just stood there in awe and then I grabbed Tony and said 'come on, lets meet them'. Of course the first person was my David Gregory who played Robert Ford. He was so handsome and I let him know it. I later in the day asked him if he wanted to go back to Milwaukee with us after the event. He smiled politely and said he couldn't. Of course I had to ask. Got some pictures with him and got him to sign a photo of him and my OLTL 30th Anniversary Book. Tony and I gushed as we talked with him for quite some time. Here are the pictures of Tony and I with David Gregory.

We then went around the room talking with each and every one of the soap stars that were at the event and had our picture taken with them and had them sign photos and my OLTL book. Here are more pictures of me with the soap stars.

After we made sure we got everyone's autograph we then took some random pictures as we continued to work the room. Here are two of my favorite pictures. One is of David Gregory signing my book, the other is David Gregory with his TV brother Lenny Platt.

From about 11:45 to 12:00 we sat next to the main stars giving a TV interview. Tony and I were 5 feet next to them and I am sure we got on the Channel 7 Chicago news. I recorded most of it in between taking pictures. Here is a picture of the four stars giving the interview.

Around 12:15 PM we were asked to go into the bar where reserved seats were waiting for us in front of a row of the stars on stage. For the next 45 minutes we drank and listened to stories as the stars spoke one by one about their characters and what it was like to be on the show. It was soon 1 PM and the final show began. We all watched it together on the numerous big screen TV's throughout the bar. Of course we got to watch the show less then 10 feet from the stars, the rest of the general admission people had to stay behind the ropes and bar.

During the commercials other stars from the show called in on cell phones to the stars and they were put on speaker as they talked. It was really cool. We teared up many times. The show soon ended at 2 PM.

After the show ended there was a raffle and auction of some items. Tony did go up to $100 on the Asa Buchanan hat, but it went for $350.00. It was then question and answer time with the stars again until a little after 3 PM. At about 3 PM the general admission people were asked to line up so they could now meet the stars and get autographs. We sat around for a bit and then decided to say our goodbyes and start the drive back to Milwaukee. We figured the stars were now too busy for us VIP people with the over 100 other people who now wanted to meet them. We drove home which was not fun in Chicago rush hour traffic. We got home around 5:15 PM with Wendy's food in hand. Spent the night downloading the photos and going to web sights about the event.

The dogs were very happy to see us. I called the friend on his cell on the way home. He had stayed at our house until about 3 PM and then went home, to return at 5 PM. I told him he did not need to return, thanked him and told him I would call him tomorrow after he gave me a brief low down on the day with the dogs. If I knew we were going to be home this early I would have just had him come around noon to just let them outside for a bit. Went to bed around 10 PM. I could not sleep last night since I was still so excited from the day. I took over 60 pictures and about 10 videos of the event so I will be looking back for a long time. I am so glad Tony talked me into the VIP tickets, it would not have been the same otherwise. Of course on the way home Tony did bring this up. I am so happy we went and would do it all over again. So sad now my show is all over, 35 years of watching OLTL.

January 12, 2012 Thursday Afternoon

2012-01-12T13:29:00.002-06:00

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work around 7 AM. Around 7:30 AM Tony calls me from work asking me what I think he should do with the two dogs he has in his car. I guess on the way to work he saw two Australian Shepherds running in the street and he turned his car around to try to get them. Pulled up next to them as he watched them in traffic and yelled for them to come to him. When they got to his car he asked the two dogs if they wanted to go for a ride and they jumped in his car. I told Tony I would be at the shop soon with the cage enclosure, leashes and food. Got to the shop and Tony had already pulled his car into the shop and the dogs were in his office happy as can be. Very pretty, very well trained dogs. I made a call to the local vet and then to Animal Control. Animal Control said they would be over soon, I told them not to hurry they were fine and being well attended to. Tony was at this point cutting burs out of their fur. If I did not have five dogs already I would have brought them home. Tony called around 10 AM to tell me Animal Control picked up the dogs. Soon after I got this idea to have Tony print out some pictures of the stars we will see tomorrow so I can have them autograph the pictures. Downloaded and sent him pictures to the shop so he can print them out on his color printer. Tony just called to say we should have checked Craigslist. Guess the owner of the dogs called Tony after Tony found his ad on Craigslist about his missing dogs. Tony replied to the ad and they got in contact with each other. The owner Thanked tony up and down for finding his dogs safe and said he would be going to Animal Control to get them. Wish we would have waited a bit and found the ad before Animal Control had to get them. It will cost the owner some money to get them back. But maybe that will teach him a lesson. The dogs had no collars or tags. It is snowing today in Milwaukee, of course it is, we go on a road trip tomorrow. Been snowing since about 10 AM. Suppose to snow until late tonight and total about 5 - 7 inches. I honestly can not believe the one time I schedule a trip and plan an event a snow storm has to hit Milwaukee and Chicago. Hopefully by tomorrow morning the roads will be clear and it will not be as bad as I am imagining. Going to sit back and listen to some music as I watch the snow fall. All packed and ready for tomorrow as long as Tony prints out the pictures and doesn't forget to bring them home from work. Will spend the night with the dogs, most likely be out shoveling late so we have little clean up tomorrow morning before we leave. Our friend is going to be here at 8 AM so he is here when we leave. He is recovering from surgery so he is looking forward to just watching TV with the dogs all day. Tomorrow we will be up before 6 AM in order to be on the road by 8:30 AM at the latest. I am so excited about tomorrow, yet very sad. There will most likely not be a post tomorrow unless we get home early. Will post pictures as soon as I can.

January 11, 2012 Wednesday Dinner Time

2012-01-11T16:33:00.002-06:00

The first major snow storm is a day away, don't it just figure?

Last night we spent the night watching TV on the DVR from the week. Also watched today's episode of OLTL and had tears watching Robert Ford die. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper before I showered and started the day. Since a major snow storm is coming tomorrow I thought I better fill the car up with gas today for Friday's trip to Chicago. Got gas and then stopped at Little Caesar's for two $5 pizzas. Took them to the shop for Tony and the guys. Had a couple pieces myself. Came home and spent the afternoon with the dogs watching TV. I can not believe the one time we plan a trip out of the state and spend a lot of money a major snow storm is about to hit the day before and day of the trip. Suppose to get 5 - 7 inches of snow. What is more unbelievable is the fact it was close to 50 degrees today in Milwaukee. Only in Milwaukee can you go from 50 degrees to 7 inches of snow in 24 hours. Come hell or high snow we will be traveling to Chicago on Friday to see my soap stars. My fear is they are not able to fly in for the event because of the snow in Chicago. We will just have to see. I am sure it will be a nail bitter all the way down to Chicago in the snow. Will most likely spend tonight watching TV from the DVR again. Seems so much easier to just DVR everything and then watch it fast forwarding through the commercials. Tomorrow I will stay home all day and shovel the snow around the house as it falls trying to get as much done as possible before we leave for the day on Friday. I am sure Friday morning we will have to shovel one last time before we leave. I can't expect the dog sitter to do all the shoveling of snow when we are gone. At least Tony will be able to try out his new snow plow finally. Will post again tomorrow and let you know how the snow storm is doing before we leave for the day on Friday.

January 10, 2012 Tuesday Afternoon

2012-01-10T14:06:00.003-06:00

Spent last night catching up on all the episodes of OLTL. Looks like the heaven episodes are coming to an end and hopefully most of the people in Llanview will survive. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Got showered after reading a little of the morning newspaper and then headed out the door to go to McDonald's for some breakfast and then to the grocery store. Got home from shopping and took a longer walk than normal today due to the warm weather. We are about to break a record in Milwaukee today it is so warm. Suppose to get to 52 today in Milwaukee which is unheard of in January. Spent some time listening to music before I started watching today's episode live on TV of OLTL. I just couldn't wait until tonight but will watch it again with Tony. I am SO upset. I can not believe it. They let all the people live but one. My favorite character Robert Ford played by David Gregory died today on the show. Yes, the guy we are most excited to see this Friday in Chicago died today on One Life To Live. I honestly was in tears. I can not believe the show could not just let Ford and Jessica finish the show happy together. I am so upset I can hardly type. I posted on his Facebook page along with all the other people very unhappy about today's show. This is just wrong! I had to call Tony at work and tell him.

Will spend tonight watching today's episode of OLTL and other shows we have on the DVR tonight. Not sure if I am making dinner tonight. The friend taking care of the dogs Friday might come over and have us leave to go out to dinner so he can be with the dogs alone and see how they act. I have a back up plan for dinner just in case he doesn't come over tonight. Not much else to write at this time since I am so upset about my soap and the way it is ending. ABC and OLTL should be ashamed of themselves.

January 9, 2012 Monday Afternoon

2012-01-09T13:33:00.003-06:00

Tony and I had a great time with the nephew all weekend. Friday night we ordered a pizza and spent the night watching the movies Zookeeper and Predators before going to bed around 10 PM.

Saturday morning Tony and I got up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. The nephew got up around 8 AM. We spent the morning playing his Wii and watching the Disney Channel. Around noon we left the house to go to lunch at Hamburger Mary's. I little gay hamburger restaurant on the south side. After lunch we headed back to the Eastside and went bowling, two games each. Had a drink while bowling and had a great time. The nephew got mostly gutter balls since we could not get a lane with a gutter guard, but he had fun anyway. Came home and spent the night watching the movies Paul and Toothfairy. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Sunday morning was much the same as Saturday. The kid finally got up when Bo had had enough of him sleeping and started bringing him his dog toys to play with him. Around 10 AM we went out for breakfast at Baker's Square. After breakfast we bought lottery tickets and headed home to wait for his brother to be dropped off at our house around noon. After the other nephew got here we left for Grandma's house so she could say Hi to the boys and started the drive down to Illinois to meet Tony's sister. Met the sister at 2 PM and delivered the kids safe and sound. Drove back home and spent the rest of the day resting from the long weekend watching TV. Tony was sleeping on the couch by 7 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. After Tony went to work I spent some time on the computer typing out some instructions for when we are gone on Friday for the day and the friend is taking care of the dogs. Went back to bed around 11 AM for an hour and then got up and showered figuring I had to get some things done around the house. As I type this my soap One Life To Live is playing in the back ground. It is in the final week before it is being cancelled. Last week all the characters from the past that were ever sent to prison or mental centers escaped in a blackout and were terrorizing the people of Llandview. Was nice to see all this characters come back. Looks like this week most of the cast is in heaven and they are meeting all the people that have died throughout the years on the show. I know it sounds weird, but it is a soap. I am almost in tears watching it and will most likely not remove the last episodes from the DVR for a long time. I have to take Stella to the vet at 3:30 PM to get her nails cut. They are so long and thick I can not cut them. Will make spaghetti and salad for supper tonight. Tony will come home tired and we will watch a little TV before going to bed. Tomorrow I will have to go grocery shopping in the morning for produce and milk. Counting down the days until Friday, although it will be bitter sweet and very sad in the end.

January 6, 2012 Friday Morning

2012-01-06T10:32:00.002-06:00

Tony and I decided it would be fun to have the nephew for the weekend so we agreed to have him dropped off at the house today and we would drive to the Illinois border on Sunday to return him. It will add some excitement to the weekend. We spent the night watching TV and went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM, fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Went back to bed for an hour after Tony left for work. Got up again around 9 AM and showered. Just got back from a long walk around the neighborhood since it is so nice outside here in Milwaukee. The heat wave continues. As I was walking I came across a stray dog. I tried to get him but he kept running away from me. So sad. Came home and thought I better post for the day before I get the kid later and have no time. He is bringing his Wii so it should be a fun weekend. I have only tried a Wii once and look forward to playing some games with Tony and the kid all weekend.

As I mentioned yesterday, this week is three years since I found out I was HIV+. A lot has changed and I must say for the better. The three months or so after finding out were horrible. I remember just wanting to cry and sleep. I even considered killing myself many times so I would not have to live with this disease. Three years later I have to say I am so glad I did not go through with it because I have so much to live for and would have missed so much in the last three years. Thanks to Tony, friends, this blog, and family, I have found a way to continue living with this disease and live every day to it's fullest. Bottom line is, it does get better. I have been so lucky to have all the support I have had the last three years. Thank you everyone. Have a great weekend.

January 5, 2012 Thursday Dinner Time

2012-01-05T16:07:00.002-06:00

Last night we saw The Blue Man Group at the PAC. I was not sure what to expect but had seen clips and heard stories about the show. It was very entertaining. We have great season tickets first row balcony and you could see everything perfectly. The best part of the show was towards the end when the big lighted balls bounced around the audience below us. I would not pay the money to see them again, but I would recommend the show if it comes your way. Seeing it once was enough for the price they charged for tickets. Got home around 10 PM and after the news we went to bed. I could not believe when we walked in the door from the show, my brand new slippers I just got for Christmas were chewed up and had to be thrown away. Bo got a spanking and a yelling at. Guess the slippers don't go on the floor anymore unless they are on our feet. The have a house full of dog toys, guess my slippers were more fun to chew on?

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Looked in Stella's ear and could not believe how bad her ear infection had gotten. Cleaned out her ears as she cried. Was not pretty all the brown that came out of them. Put some ear drops in them when I was done cleaning and will do it again tomorrow. She had scratched her ears also so they really looked bad. In a little while she was happy again and now I will just have to keep Bo away from her so he does not lick the ear drop out of her ears. Read a little of the morning newspaper before I started some major dusting and cleaning. Tony has a toy car collection on the open gas fireplace top, about 50 cars. The dust had been building up which made it look more like a junk yard than a display area. Took all the cars down, cleaned and washed them in the sink and rearranged them all back looking great. Also cleaned the cabinet under the TV with all my dog figurines. Lots of dust, lots. I would be embarrassed for someone to see how much there was. Made a microwave pizza slice for lunch and took a nap on the couch with the dogs listening to music. I never really nap while listening to music which is why I feel so tired now. Took down the Christmas tree and the last of the decorations and took them into the basement. Put a beef roast on the stove with potatoes and carrots earlier today. The house smells so good from it boiling all day. Will spend the night watching the weeks TV that we DVR'd. Got an email from Tony's sister saying she was dropping off one kid at his fathers house. She lives in Illinois and drives the couple hours to Milwaukee for him to see his biological father. She wants to know if we want one of her other kids, our nephew, for the weekend. The catch is we would then have to meet her half way at the Illinois boarder on Sunday. Wouldn't be such a big deal if we weren't making that drive next week Friday to watch the last episode with the cast of One Life To Live. Not sure what we will do, will talk to Tony when he gets home and call the sister later with our decision. Tomorrow is lunch with the guys.

This week is the third year anniversary of finding out I am HIV+. Always makes me reflect on the year at this point. I will write more on this tomorrow.

January 4, 2012 Wednesday Afternoon

2012-01-04T14:58:00.002-06:00

Tony got home from work around 5:30 PM after I had fed the dogs. After we ate dinner we watched a little TV before he went and took a shower. On his way to the shower he mentioned to me that he could use a little lovin after the shower if I was needing. After his shower we watched a movie and did the lovin thing. The movie, or should I say porn, does make it more exciting and last longer since Tony has to hold out until the guys in the movie are ready. Gave him a kiss when we were done and returned to the living room for the night to watch real TV. LOL. I never really liked porn in the past, but after 23 years together it is nice here and there to spice things up a bit. Spent the night watching the Monday CBS TV lineup and went to bed around 10 PM. I let Vito sleep on a pillow at the top of the bed in between Tony and my pillow, just for tonight. Kali must have had a stomach ache or something because she snuggled next to me all night like she has not done before, maybe she was just cold.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. After Tony left for work I read a little of the morning newspaper, made myself a bowl of Captain Crunch cereal, and showered to start the day. Left the house around 10 AM to go to Walmart to get two more viles of Insulin for Vito to last him the next two months after this month. Got two boxes of needles also. I was going to do a little shopping but they are remodeling this Walmart and the place is in total disarray and nothing is in it's place. Just got the Insulin and needles and left. Drove past Tony's shop and noticed his front overhead doors are all banged up again. Called him on my cell phone to find out someone slammed into them again right before Christmas and he forgot to tell me. How can you forget to tell me something like this? Hell, there are nights we sit here and hardly say a word, I tell him my entire day, when I ask how his day was, he says 'fine, how was yours'. I never get any details about his day unless I hear it from someone else. After Walmart, as I talked to Tony on my cell phone, I drove to Walgreen's to have my pain pills refilled, stopped at the drive up window to give them my new insurance information and told them I would be back in a few minutes to pick up the prescription. Drove a mile to a coffee shop gay bookstore here on the Eastside because I was hoping them might have the new book by Patrick Swayze's wife. It sounds interesting. The clerk was actually a little rude and looked at me and said 'this is a GAY bookstore, why would we have that book'. I told him I was just hoping they would to keep the money in the family so to speak. Left the bookstore empty handed and back to Walgreen's to get the prescription. Came home and did a little cleaning before I loaded up the music on the computer and spent and hour or so just laying on the couch with the dogs listening to music. After I post this I have to start making supper. Just making a salad and left overs since we go to the show Blue Man Group tonight. I hope it is good. Was a little warmer today in Milwaukee and in the 20s, not so windy which helped make it seem warmer.

January 3, 2012 Tuesday Dinner Time

2012-01-03T16:09:00.002-06:00

Tony came home a little early from work last night as I had thought. We fed the dogs and ate dinner, spent the night watching TV on the DVR. The DVR is almost empty which is good since the new TV season and no reruns have begun and the DVR will start filling again. Went to bed around 9 PM and watched the final hour of TV in bed before going to sleep.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper and figured since I felt pretty good I would shower and try to get some things done today. Made a vet appointment to have Barley's nails cut for 11:30 AM. Spent and hour or more transferring my blog to a word document so I have all the posts if the blog should ever fail. I only had to transfer October to December since I had done the prior months already. Left the house around 10 AM to go to the bank and do a little grocery shopping. Did not buy much except for produce and milk. Came home and in a little bit loaded Barkley in the car and took him to the vet. After his nails were cut I stopped off at McDonald's, which is right next door to the vet, and bought a hamburger and french fries and drove home with Barkley. Came home and after eating the food with the dogs I called to see if my meds were ready to pick up at the pharmacy with my new insurance and ADAP. Was told they were ready so I got back in the car and drove to ARCW to get my prescriptions. Only had to pay for 2 out of 5 prescriptions because ADAP picked up the cost on the other three. Figured I might as well pick up my monthly food at the pantry and drove home food in trunk. Unpacked all the food and went across the alley to talk with the neighbor and how her New Year's was. Spent an hour at her house and came back home around 2 PM. Took the dogs to the bed and took a nap. Making salads and hamburger helper for supper tonight. Tony loves hamburger helper and he could eat it daily. He must have had it as a kid a lot. Will most likely spend the night watching TV with the dogs, snuggling because of the cold. It is cold again today in Milwaukee. The pond is frozen over except for the heater hole in the middle of the pond. Thankfully the heater seems to be working again this year. It was in the teens again today with a wind chill of 2 degrees, pretty cold considering the Winter we have had lately. Since I got so much done today I hope to spend tomorrow catching up on emails and such. Will hopefully spend the day indoors and not have to go out for anything.

January 2, 2012 Monday Morning

2012-01-02T10:03:00.002-06:00

Saturday night, New Years Eve, we went to a play at the PAC that was a comedy. It was very funny and we both had a great time. Had a drink at the play. The show ended around 10 PM so we stopped off on the way home for a drink. Had a double at a local bar and watched the people arrive for the big New Year's Eve celebration. We finished our drink and went home. Got home a little after 11 PM and watched the ball fall in New York. Went to bed around 12:30 PM after a little lovin.

Sunday morning, New Year's Day, we were both up by 7 AM. Before I could even feed the dogs I was throwing up. Just a lot of bile and spit, hell, there was nothing in my stomach but two drinks from last night. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper before I showered so we could go take Tony's mom out for breakfast. Tony took a shower and just as we were about to walk out the door he ran to the bathroom and he threw up also. Are we light weights when it comes to drinking or what? Two drinks! We used to drink the night away in the 'old days'. Had a nice breakfast with his mother and bought lottery tickets and gas on the way home. Spent the day at home. Took a nap in the afternoon and spent the night watching the final two episodes of American Horror Story. I never saw a show where they kill off everyone by the end of the first season, but this is a horror story. Watched two movies also. Watched the movie Eban and Charley and the movie No Strings Attached. Both were good movies. We went to bed around 10 PM after another round of loving.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Stella must be leaking again from the wet spot on the bed so all the bedding was taken off and today will be a laundry day. Will need to put her back on her meds for the leaking. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Been spending the morning cleaning and doing laundry, I'm on my third load of laundry and will most likely do two more today. Vacuumed and did a little dusting around the house. Tony is back at work today and I had him take some paperwork to fax to HIRSP and ADAP. Called ARCW to get my meds filled for the month with my new insurance. Will most likely pick them up tomorrow if they are ready. One needed my doctor to refill which could take a day or two. Will be interesting to see if it all goes through ok with the new insurance and what my new copays will be. The sun is out today but it is Winter in Milwaukee. In the teens today, windy, light snow on the ground and very cold outside. Good news it is suppose to be back into the 40s this weekend, unheard of in January in Milwaukee. Will most likely continue with the laundry and take a short nap with the dogs this afternoon. Tonight we will watch a movie or two. Tony will most likely come home tired being back at work and being a Monday, so we will go to bed early.

December 31, 2011 Saturday Morning

2011-12-31T10:31:00.002-06:00

Spent the rest of Thursday nursing the sore knee from the fall. We went to bed Thursday night around 10 PM after we watched the movies Eating Out: Drama Camp and The Tunnel. Both were OK movies. Eating Out was a little over the top and after it was over Tony looked at me and said 'Cam would hate that movie'. LOL.

Friday morning I was up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning doing things around the house before lunch with the guys. Tony went to work again to get some things done and said he might not be at lunch. I took a shower around 10 AM and could not believe when I went to wash my foot how my big toe and behind it was black and blue. I knew I hurt my foot also, but the knee was where the most pain was. Guess I did quite a job on the foot also in the fall. Showered, got dressed, and met the guys for lunch. Had a great lunch as usual. Stopped off at Big Lot to see if I could find some telephone covers for the phones I bought Tony for Christmas for the shop. I know the guys will drop them and break them in the first week so I thought some sort of cover would help then not shatter when they hit the concrete. No luck and came home. By the time I got home Tony was home also. He took the employees out for lunch and ate with them. He is too good to them. Spent the afternoon watching TV. Made some soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with a salad for dinner. We then spent the night watching the movies Shark Night and Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark. They both were OK and I would give them a C. They were entertaining enough and better than watching a rerun on TV. Went to bed around 10 PM after a little lovin.

This morning I got up at 7:30 AM. Tony was up and reading the morning newspaper. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper before I made a quick breakfast for the two of us. My knee is feeling a little better but I still am walking with a little limp from the pain, but it is getting better. Got Tony working on his bathroom project that is going on 3 years now after a little arguing about the fact he has done nothing around the house this week considering he was suppose to be on vacation. I then went outside and took down the rest of the Christmas decorations and changed out the colored path lights I had put in for Christmas. Figure since it is so nice outside I might as well do it. Can this unseasonable warm weather last forever? Will most likely stay home all day today and take a nap this afternoon. We have theater tickets tonight to see a play for New Years. The show is a comedy and should be very good. We know the actor and have seen many of his plays in the past. Will make some steaks for dinner and a salad and might find ourselves out for a drink after the play. We are old you know and being home by midnight would not be such a bad thing.

Happy New Year to all my followers. Thank you for all your support throughout the year. I honestly depend on you guys some days when I am feeling down. I am glad I started this blog three years ago and look forward to continuing to let you know my daily life living with HIV.

December 29, 2011 Thursday Morning

2011-12-29T10:22:00.002-06:00

Tony got home yesterday from work around 12:30 PM. After he took a shower we left the house and went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant on the south side. Had a great lunch and a margarita with lunch. Came home and spent the afternoon doing things around the house with the dogs as we watched TV. Made soup and and English muffin for supper since we were not that hungry from lunch. Spent last night watching the movie The Help. It was a good movie. Went to bed around 10 PM, or at least I tried. For some reason my dog Shadow was on my mind last night as I lied in bed. After some tears and getting up to walk around the living room I went back to bed. Finally fell asleep around 1 AM. I have to say if I had one thing, one day, to do over again in my life it would be the day I euthanized my dog Shadow. I still hate myself for all that happened around that time. It was a tense time in our lives and I wish I would have been nicer to her in her last days. Plus the minute our normal vet was not there that day we should have waited and not just let the old doctor put her down without more thought. I would change that day, not to say the next day wouldn't have been her last, but not that day and I would have spent the night with her giving her a last night of love. It still haunts me all these years later and I still can not forgive myself for all that.

This morning I was up at 7:30 AM. Tony was already up and reading the morning newspaper since he had to have a car safety inspected at 9 AM. I fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. I then went outside to pick up the dog poop before Barkley could get to it. Last night we had a light drizzle that turned to ice. I got five feet from the landing and slipped, falling hard on my knees. Crawled into the house with my knees bleeding. Called for Tony and as he got to me I yelled out 'don't touch me I'm bleeding'. My knees were bleeding from the gravel and the fall. Tony got me a cold cloth and and ice pack. It was painful and still is. It is something us HIV+ people always have to consider, blood, when we get hurt. It is sad that after a fall and such you have to say 'don't touch me'. After an hour of ice I took a shower to clean up the blood and stuff. Took a pain pill and and anti inflammatory before my shower. After I got dressed I figured I still better go light grocery shopping before the pain comes back. I then drove to Pick N Save and bought less than $50 in fresh produce and milk, as I limped down the food aisles. Tony called to see how I am and told me he did not pass the inspection because he needs an air bag receipt. After he finds the receipt from last February he will have to go back to the safety inspection sight. I figure he will be home around 1 PM, but you never know. Since I plan on resting and being on the couch all day from the fall it is not so important as to when he gets home. He was suppose to be on vacation this week but has worked a half day almost every day this week. Will most likely spend the day resting watching TV, taking pain pills for the pain. I am sure my back will soon start hurting also from the fall. I have at least one fall each Winter to I guess wake me up and make me be safer and more careful for the rest of the Winter. Will watch more movies tonight since not much is on TV. I am getting sad about my soap soon coming to an end. Each day when we watch an episode I just am sad and want to cry. I know that sounds stupid but I have watched OLTL for 35 years. Only two weeks left of the show until it is over from cancellation. Tomorrow is lunch with the guys. The sun is now out which should melt the ice since it is above 32 degrees outside. The heat wave continues in Milwaukee.

December 28, 2011 Wednesday Morning

2011-12-28T11:07:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Tony went to work in the morning to make sure the guys were actually working and getting something done for their pay. I spent the morning putting some of the Christmas decorations away, cleaning up the house. I did leave half of the decorations up and will until after the new year. The friend that is going to take care of the dogs while we are in Chicago for the day in January came over and spent and hour with us and the dogs. He was able to walk in and there were no problems. I even went through the feeding routine and shot for Vito with him just in case we stay late and he has to feed them dinner. Doesn't appear to be a problem and I was happy. He will come over a couple more times before the big day. Made the last of the Christmas left overs for dinner. Spent the night watching Glee The Concert Movie and Dolphin Tale. Both were good movies. Glee was a guilty pleasure. Dolphin Tale was really good and I would recommend it. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning we got up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. I made us a skillet breakfast and soon Tony left again to take care of some business at work. I cut and colored my hair while he was gone. I had been growing my hair out but it just is not looking good anymore. Time to go back to the short hair. I even cut off my goatee and mustache so I have a different look. I think it is much easier to take care of this look and the long hair was just looking greasy by the end of the day, much less I was not pretty to look at in the morning. Got my first bill for Aetna part D of my Medicare yesterday. Called ADAP to find out if they cover it and got a call back this morning telling me to fax them the bill. Also was told I can fill my prescriptions for all my medications at ARCW rather than mail order because I have the Aetna insurance policy that ADAP pays. This is a big relief and I am feeling better about all the insurance changes that take place as of the first of the year. Tony should hopefully be home soon and we will most likely, hopefully, go to lunch, or just get out of the house. It has been nice having Tony work a couple hours a day and being home the rest of the time. He doesn't help much around the house, but it is nice to have him home. The weather in Milwaukee has still been warmer than usual. It got to 40 yesterday which is unheard of this time of year in Milwaukee. Guess global warming is really a fact since this has already been the one of the top ten warmest December's in Wisconsin. I am not complaining. In ten years from now Wisconsin will be a great place to live in the Winter.

December 26, 2011 Monday Afternoon

2011-12-26T11:35:00.003-06:00

Tony and I had a very nice Christmas. Christmas Eve we went to his brother's house. Stayed for a couple hours and played a charade type word game. It really was one of the better Christmas's at his families house. Got home around 10:30 PM and watched a little TV as we opened some presents here at the house. Watched Final Destination 2 and went to bed around 1:30 AM, which is very late for us.

Christmas Day we got up around 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the newspaper and opening the last of our gifts to each other, that I bought. Around noon we left with Bo to go to my parents house. Had a nice afternoon with the folks and brother and sister. Bo was a perfect angel the entire time at my parents house. My Dad even commented on what a good dog he is. For only his second time out of the house, other to the vet, he really was so good. He did cry almost the entire 45 minute trip to their home. It was cute. We need to take him out of the house more. Got home around 5 PM and fed the dogs and gave Vito his second shot for the day. Spent last night watching Final Destination 1 and 3. I really do like this movie series. Went to bed around 11 PM.

This morning we were up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the newspaper. Around 10 AM Tony went to work to see how the guys were doing and if they were actually even working for their pay. Tony is not happy with 2 of 3 employees and they might not have jobs after the 1st of the year. One being his brother which is really taking a toll on Tony. He knows his brother has no other skills and will be lost without working for Tony, but he is just costing Tony too much money having to redo jobs over and over again that he does. I went for a long walk around the neighborhood since I have not for about a week. It felt good to get out and get some exercise. Tony should be home around 1 PM, so he said. We will most likely take a nap or settle in for the day watching more movies and such with the dogs. I will not go out and shop the day after Christmas like the other fools. LOL. We also have enough left overs from both house to eat all day today and most likely through the week.

Regarding Cam. I started this blog for myself and for others living with HIV. I write as a daily blog or diary. If I would not say things like 'I fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot' each day rather than say 'I did my morning routine', new people to the blog would not know what my 'morning routine' is. I could say I do cut 3 of the 5 dogs toe nails myself, rather than pay a vet to do it because they are small dogs, and I can not cut Stella or Barkley's because their nails are too thick and they hurt and cry when I try, but is just not worth it. As for all the other crap, it just is not worth it. I honestly thought about stopping the blog and stop putting my life out there anymore after all the Cam crap, but that would not be right. This really did take a toll on me over Christmas. It would not be fair for me or my followers, or anyone in the future I might be able to help. My goal was to show life does go on after an HIV diagnosis, and it has. I wish Cam the best in life and hope he starts his own blog, his own words, and his own way. My blog is what it is. It is my daily life living with HIV / AIDS.

December 24, 2011 Saturday Morning

2011-12-24T11:00:00.002-06:00

I came on line to post and first looked to see if I had any comments. I soon read the comment by Cam on December 21st post. WOW! What a way to ruin someones day. More on this later.

Last night we watched two good movies. We watched Contagion and Final Destination 5. Both were great movies, or I should say, we thought they were very enjoyable and entertaining. Went to bed a little after 11 PM.

This morning we slept in until about 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the newspaper and made some bagels for breakfast. Tony left around 10 AM to go buy some hard rolls to take to Christmas Eve at his brother's house tonight. We were told to bring good hard rolls so Tony went to the local bakery to buy some. After Tony got back he said he was leaving again to take my car to the shop to wash it and fill it with gas. I did a little around the house and started on today's post reading comments from past posts first.

I honestly can not believe the post by Cam on December 21st and want to address it. First off I would like you to know how your comment has ruined my day. You are so negative and mean. Lets go through this point by point. First off I do know that not every gay man likes dance music. Everyone has there own taste in music. Mine happens to be dance music. Even though I do occasionally listen to older rock music like Pink Floyd and Queen, I do prefer dance music. I have to say I must not be the only one since when I go to my account where my music is I can see how many times each mix has been listened to. Some have been played over 600 times. So I am not the only one that likes the mixes I make. Why would I make lets say a Country mix when I do not like Country music? How do you make a rock dance mix when you don't like hard rock? I listen to my music in my car and during the day when I am cleaning. I might not mention every move in my day and one of them might be listening to an hour of music during the day. But if I watched more TV than listened to music I will most likely post about the TV rather than the hour of music I listened to. We did go to night clubs and I love dancing to music. Of course a 50 year old looks out of place on the dance floor at the clubs so making the mixes and listening to them in my own home or car is my way to still enjoy the music. Hell, I might even dance a little as I listen to the mix in my living room as I am cleaning or working out. I read two newspapers a day, the Milwaukee Journal and USA today, so how do I not read. I get Entertainment Weekly and 3 gay magazines monthly. Now lets move on to the flowers bullshit. Why is getting flowers considered a bad or gay thing? Just because you do not like getting them and obviously giving them, does not make them something someone else might want to get. I guess it is kinda like some people like Country music, some like Opera. Some people like flowers some do not. When did any of that turn into a housewife thing or gay thing. I just would love to receive flowers once in a while. To say one man giving another flowers is 'beyond a sick embarrassing joke' is just unbelievable. I can tell you are not a very giving person. What do you consider a 'man' gift? Tools? We have all the tools and such to repair the house already. Hell, are you even in a relationship? Do you realize not all relationships are the same and people have different needs and wants? Honestly Cam, I don't need you reading my blog and making me feel I am less then someone in your eyes due to what music I like to listen to or how we express our love to each other. I did not create this blog to get criticized about what I do, it was to help others living with HIV and AIDS in any way I can and show them on a daily basis what my life is like living with this disease. I have never read such a mean spirited comment on my blog in the three years of doing this, and I hope to never again. I will continue with my blog because of all the people I have helped and contacted me with questions and needing support. I will not let a person like yourself make someone like me feel less because of what music I listen to and like and what gifts I like to receive. This is MY BLOG. MY LIFE. I AM A MAN. If you don't like it, don't read about it.

With that said, Have a Merry Christmas!

December 23, 2011 Friday Dinner Time

2011-12-23T15:46:00.003-06:00

Last night we watched a horrible movie called Christmas Evil. It was the worst B horror movie I ever saw and such a waste of the night. We finally went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning doing things around the house before I showered and got dressed up to go to Christmas Friday lunch with the guys. Had a great lunch like always. Exchanged some gifts and had a long lunch. Came home and after doing a little around the house I laid down with the dogs. I could not sleep because I was waiting for a return call from the ARCW pharmacy regarding a letter I received today telling me my ADAP was approved but I would need to get my meds through Diplomat Specialty Pharmacy rather than ARCW like I had planned. Called the ARCW pharmacy to talk with them and find out if they can fill my meds rather than through a mail order. I have called them a few time and got the message machine and they have yet to return my call. This makes me a little uneasy because what if I was having a reaction to my meds and needed to talk to the pharmacy and for an entire afternoon I can not get through to them or get them to return my call. I will have to address this concern when they finally call me back. Making a frozen pizza for dinner tonight. Will most likely watch a movie or two before going to bed. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and then Christmas Day. Christmas Eve we will go to Tony's family and Christmas Day we will go see my family. Should be a good Christmas all around. If I do not post before Monday, have a great Christmas everyone.

December 21, 2011 Thursday Afternoon

2011-12-22T13:11:00.002-06:00

I am very excited about an up coming event, I have to share. As you all know I am a fan of the TV soap One Life To Live and have been watching it for 35 years. As most know the show is going off the air on January 13th, 2012. I know, very sad. This week I found a web sight telling of a special event in Chicago to celebrate the final show called Celebrate Llanview, A Tribute Party Honoring The Network Broadcast Finale of ABC's One Life To Live Benefiting SoC. Sounds interesting. I then looked into it to find the event is being held at a bar called Sidetrack Video Bar in Chicago. As I looked for more information and went to the Sidetrack Video Bar web sight I found that this is a gay bar in Chicago. What? As I looked into the event further I found that almost every one of the male heart throbs will be at the event not to mention most of the cast. This is just to good to be true. All my favorite soap hunks in a gay bar. Tickets are $35 for general admission and $125 for VIP tickets which include many extras as well as meet and greet all the stars. When I told Tony Monday night about this event he said to get him a VIP ticket. Well this is very expensive for us plus who the heck is going to take care of the dogs if we go to Chicago for the day. Also the web sight said only 20 VIP tickets are available. Driving from Milwaukee to Chicago sucks any day or season, but in January could be a nightmare if a snow storm came. Plus the tickets are nonrefundable. We talked about this every night and last night after Tony got home from work he says to me his good buddy Brian can watch the dogs for the day. Could this really happen? I called Brian and he assured me he could stay here at the house with the dogs. The dogs do know him. Stella knows him best from when Tony used to take her to his shop daily. He has even been to the house and no problems. So now I have no excuses? I got on line and put two VIP tickets on my credit card. I guess we are going to the event come hell or high water, or should I say snow are sleet. I will hate leaving the dogs for the day, but could the stars have been any more aligned? My favorite studs in a gay bar and I can meet them all! As you can tell I am excited about this since we really have boring lives and go nowhere. It will be an expensive day but I have already invested 35 years in this show. Anyone interested can check it out at the following web sight: http://www.seasonofconcern.org/CDA5240F87574D8387EBDE8FEC733210/news/news.asp?item=116013

After I bought the tickets and printed out all the information I spent the night in a panic over the whole thing. What a nut case hey? We then watched the movie Straw Dogs that I downloaded. It was a very good movie. I recommend it highly. Went to bed around 10 PM. I had a hard time falling asleep. Finally took a pill and fell asleep by midnight.

This morning I was up at 7 AM, a little later than usual from the sleeping pill. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Watched a little TV and read the morning newspaper before showering and headed out the door. Went to Walgreen's to drop off a clerk a copy of my music mix. She loves my music mixes. Then stopped off at a candy store to spend a $20 gift certificate Tony got from a customer. Then went to Big Lot and bought a couple last minute Christmas gifts. Then went to McDonald's for a burger and fries, which I took to Tony's shop on the way home to eat with him. Gave the employees some happy wishes and Merry Christmas, and came home. I am done Christmas shopping. DONE! Wrapped some of the gifts and now I type this post. Making sloppy joe's for dinner with mac and cheese and a salad. Nothing special, just the basics. Will most likely watch another movie tonight. If you can rent or watch on Demand the movie Straw Dogs it is a good movie.

December 21, 2011 Wednesday Afternoon

2011-12-21T14:59:00.002-06:00

Last night after we ate dinner and watched a little TV I turned the sound on the TV down and sat at the dining room table and asked Tony to join me to fill out his HIRSP Health Insurance paperwork. Of course he was not happy. I had most of it filled out but I did need a lot of copies of various thing which he did bring home from work. Had him sign all the copies and we went through the checklist. It honestly took us almost an hour and a half to make sure we had everything they wanted and needed for the application. Tony only need to go to work this morning and print out a termination of Health Insurance letter and give it all to our insurance agent for him to fill out his part, there is a section. Tony then got in the shower, we watched a little more TV and soon went to bed and had a little loving.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper and then took a shower so I could go grocery shopping. Had very little to buy and I actually got out of the store spending less than $21.00. Only got milk, salad, cucumbers, grapes, butter and a bottle of Sprite. Came home and did a little on the Internet before I played my newest music mix a couple of times laying on the couch with the dogs. I have to say it did turn out very good. You never know because once you have the songs picked and ready and start mixing them in real time, you get what you get. Sometimes the beats don't match as good and the mix is not to my standards. If you haven't listened to my new music mix, it is at the top of my blog page. If you don't like dance music ..... Oh well, you might not like it. Some feedback on the mix would be nice. Even just let me know someone listened to it. Do I sound like I am begging? Making left over spaghetti tonight for dinner. I will fry it on the stove with butter for Tony. He likes the left over spaghetti fried to a burnt crisp like a pancake. Then smothers it with Parmesan cheese. I will end up just having a TV dinner since I don't usually eat leftovers. I actually hate frying the spaghetti because afterwards the entire house smells of ... well.... burnt spaghetti. It's as bad as when you broil a steak in the oven. The house fills with all the smoke and smell. Since we didn't watch Dolphin Tale last night we will most likely watch it tonight. Nothing else on but reruns on TV. I did DVR and watch last night the latest Fear Factor that has returned to TV. How gross can they get. Where is the outrage from PETA over them mixing bugs and worms and such in a blender. They are living creatures after all just being killed for enjoyment. It really was hard to watch them drink the stuff and I almost pucked in my mouth once. Tomorrow I will go to Walgreen's and Big Lot one last time for a last minute gift or two for Tony. I could say I am done, but it is Christmas and what else do I have to do. I know for a fact Tony has yet to buy me even ONE present yet, I know because I asked and he gave me 'that look' and a big 'no'. Like I have said before, I don't need anything, but for him to just make the effort and buy flowers or my favorite candy bar would show he is at least thinking of me at that moment, or ever during his work day. My music mix is still playing, it really is good. Then again, my favorite songs makes it favorable to me.

December 20, 2011 Tuesday Afternoon

2011-12-20T13:30:00.002-06:00

Last night we watched a movie called Shelter from 2008. It was a very very good movie and I recommend it highly. It was a coming out love story. Very true to life and sweet and nice. Went to bed around 10 PM after a little loving.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper before showering and getting ready for my 9 AM dental cleaning appointment. Got my teeth cleaned and picked up my monthly food at the pantry at ARCW. Came home and put all the food away, packing up some items we won't eat for my brother. I then started working on a new music mix. At this point, as I type my blog, I am listening to the final cut. If it sounds good I will try to get it posted here on my blog today. Also working on filling out Tony's paperwork for HIRSP health care. It is just easier for me to fill it out and have him sign it all when it is done. That, or it will never get done. Jeez, the questions and paperwork they need is unbelievable. Tony is going to hit the roof when I tell him what he all needs copies of and a check for the first quarter premium needs to be sent with the paperwork. Making spaghetti and salad for dinner tonight. Will most likely watch another movie tonight. Hopefully Dolphin Tale will be the movie since I downloaded it the other day and hear it is a good movie. Tomorrow I have to do some light grocery shopping of produce and fruit items only. It was in the 30s today in Milwaukee. So far we have not been hit by the big snow storm hitting the lower Midwest. It looks like it might go below us here in Milwaukee and we will be spared.

December 19, 2011 Monday Dinner Time

2011-12-19T15:55:00.002-06:00

Saturday I got Tony and I out of the house and we went to Menard's around noon. I had a $48 credit to use at the store. Of course we doubled the amount we wanted to spend and ended up spending another $50 on top of the credit. Got a few Christmas items and stuff for around the house. Came home and spent the afternoon watching TV. Fed the dogs dinner and went to an open bar party at The ArtBar around 6 PM. My partner before Tony owns the bar. Had a nice buffet dinner and drinks and we were home by 8:30 PM. Spent the night watching TV before going to bed around 10:30 PM.

Sunday we slept in until about 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Around noon we went to Best Buy to use the $20 in Best Buy Cash I had to use by the end of the year. Bought an adaptor to use my old key board rather than the one that came with the computer. I have never liked my new key board and my old key board does not come with an USB connector. Of course the little adaptor was $25 so I had to put in more money than just the Best Buy cash. Stopped off at a shoe store on the way home to look for boots for myself. I still am not happy with the fit of the boots I bought at Kohl's last week. Came home and spent the rest of the day watching movies. Over the weekend we watched the movies Fright Night, A River made To Drown In, Beethoven's Big Break and Beverly Hills Chihuahua Part 2. All were OK. We watched the last two last night which made it kinda of a dog themed movie night. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. After Tony left for work I showered so I could start my day of shopping at Southridge Mall. I go to the mall one time before Christmas by myself to do shopping. Just one day of the mall is all I can take. My main goal was to either find a new or bigger boot than the one I currently bought last week. Parked near Sears and found nothing of interest at that store. Next was Kohl's and they had the boots I bought last week in a 9 1/2 rather than the 9 I currently have. I thought they fit much better so I had the clerk put them behind the counter and I ran to my car to grab the other boots and exchange them. Exchanged the boots with no problem. Still I am not sure if these ARE the boots for me. Walked around Southridge Mall. Bought some slippers and then found a pair of half cowboy boots at a little shoe store in the mall. Of course these boots were $100, twice as much as the ones I just got or had. It had to be the kids hardest sale of the day. Thankfully I was the only customer in the store because it took me about a half hour of walking around and debating if I should get them or not and return the Kohl's boots. I finally told myself to stop being cheap and buy the boots you want. Bought the $100 boots and returned the old pair at Kohl's. By this point I had enough shopping and got some food at the food court before buying one last present for Tony and went to the car. Stopped off at Office Depot to buy Tony a magnifier so he can read the newspaper. I actually am looking for a magnifier he can put on his computer screen at work. He is so blind lately and no pair of glasses is good enough for him to read with any more. They did not have a computer screen magnifier but had one you hold in your hand, the size of a peice of paper. It was less than $10 so I got it for Tony. Drove home the long way so I wouldn't have to go through the airport detour and construction. Unpacked all the gifts and wrapped the ones for Tony. I then took a short nap with the dogs since I was exhausted from all the walking, talking and decisions. LOL. Making a salad to go with the Sweet and Sour Chicken I am making for dinner tonight. I know I make Sweet and Sour Chicken weekly but I bought about 5 bags of the stuff on sale weeks ago. Will most likely spend the night watching a movie or something on the DVR before going to bed. Tomorrow I have a dental cleaning at ARCW scheduled. Usually they call to remind me of the appointment and so far no call, that is not a good sign and hope I don't run into problems tomorrow. I will take my appointment card with me since the appointment was scheduled about 6 months ago. It was a nice weekend weather wise in Milwaukee. In the 40s over the weekend and today, but the now it is getting a little colder with the sun setting. We got a little snow over the weekend and some is still covering the ground. I can't believe this is Christmas week. Time goes so fast doesn't it?

December 16, 2011 Friday Dinner Time

2011-12-16T16:25:00.002-06:00

Last night Tony was to show up at the house at 5:30 PM with pizza in hand to then go to his mother's house for dinner, for her Birthday. I watched Tony get out of the car, no pizza's, walk half way to the house and then turn around. I knew he forget to get the pizza's. I ran outside and told him lets just go together and get them and then drive to your moms house, since the dogs were all fed and locked up. Drove to get the pizza and then to his mother's house. A couple other family members were there and we ate the pizza and spent some time with Tony's mom. Came home and watched The Mentalist before going to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. After Tony left for work I went back to bed for an hour. Got up and had a bowl of cereal with raspberries on it. Showered, vacuumed the house and soon it was time to meet the guys for lunch. Had a great lunch with the guys. One of the guys gave me his $10 Kohl's cash at lunch that expires this Sunday. After lunch I stopped at Big Lot and bought some slippers for Christmas for Tony and I and some other items. Came home and after I let the dogs out I left again to go to Kohl's. Since I had a $10 Kohl's cash coupon I figured I might as well go spend the $20 before they both expire on Sunday. Ended up buying a pair of jeans on clearance and after all was said and done, cost me $2.10. Not bad hey? Came home and wrapped the slippers and started making dinner. Making soup and salad for supper tonight. Will most likely spend the night watching TV before going to bed. Most likely a movie I downloaded. I download Fright Night today, so we will probably watch it tonight. We have a party to go to Saturday night and some Christmas shopping to do at Menard's this weekend. Other than that it will be a weekend with the TV and dogs. Have a great weekend everyone.

December 15, 2011 Thursday Afternoon

2011-12-15T15:01:00.002-06:00

Spent last night watching TV. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work around 7:30 AM. Spent the morning reading the newspaper. Went quickly to Walgreen's to exchange the nasal strips I bought yesterday since I bought the wrong size. Came home and did a little around the house before taking the dogs to the bed for a nap. I am so tired today. It has to be because it is cloudy again in Milwaukee. I can tell the effects cloudy days have on me. They also effect Vito. Yesterday and today he is having a harder time than usual finding his way around the house and in from outside. He must be totally blind on cloudy days. Thankfully he still is a happy dog and between me and the other dogs, we take good care of him. He really has become very needy on days like this. He needs to be by my side or know where I am every minute of the day. Not making dinner tonight since we are bringing a pizza to Tony's mom's house for her birthday today. We wanted to take her out for lunch or dinner but she just wanted a pizza from her favorite east side restaurant brought to her instead. Of well, saves us some money but we wanted to do more. It is getting colder in Milwaukee. It was in the 40s yesterday and today, but the temperature is falling fast. I am surprised my pond is still not frozen over. It won't be for long. Usually by now it would be frozen over. Tomorrow is Friday which means lunch with the guys. We do have a couple things planned this weekend, a couple parties we were invited to. I am sure we will go to at least two of them.

December 14, 2011 Wednesday Afternoon

2011-12-14T15:47:00.002-06:00

Spent last night watching Part 1 and 2 of Stephen King's Bag Of Bones that was on A&E last Sunday and Monday night. It was OK, but could have been better. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper before I showered and started the day. Left the house around 9 AM and first went to McDonald's for a bacon egg and cheese bagel. Then went to Walgreen's to buy some sale items and then to Pick N Save to do the weekly grocery shopping. Came home and unpacked everything. Watched a little TV before taking a long nap with the dogs. It is raining and in the 40s today in Milwaukee. If it were not for the rain it would be a exceptionally nice day in Milwaukee for December. Woke up from my nap around 3 PM in a great erotic dream. I was in the middle of a dream where I was at an army base. I don't make this stuff up, well, I do, but when I am sleeping. The army base was in the middle of a drill of some kind and I was told to stay still on the ground. As I did this an army man came down by me and started moving around me kind of sexually. He then started getting closer and closer like he wanted to kiss me. He then asked me if I was uncomfortable and I told him 'no', 'but your making me hard'. He then grabbed me and said 'It's OK, there is no more don't ask don't tell'. That is when I woke up. I never even got to see his face in the dream. I had to lay there in bed for a while just process the whole dream. It was very exciting and erotic. Kinda made me want to fall back asleep and continue the dream. LOL. Wish I had more dreams like this. I then started making supper. Making some chicken breasts and baked potatoes along with a big salad. Will spend the night watching TV. Most likely will watch the Barbara Walter's special on TV later tonight.

December 13, 2011 Tuesday Afternoon

2011-12-13T14:09:00.002-06:00

Spent last night watching a bunch of CSI episodes on the DVR. Woke Tony from the couch around 9:30 PM and had my way with him before going to bed.

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning doing more cleaning of the hallway closet and the basement. Took a walk around the neighborhood around noon. Spent the afternoon cruising the Internet. Making spaghetti and salad for dinner tonight. Not much else going on. The weather is warmer than usual in Milwaukee but it is still Winter. Will spend the night watching Glee, and the rest of the FOX lineup before going to bed. Tomorrow I will have to do some light grocery shopping. Waiting until next week to go to Southridge Mall and spend the day shopping by myself. I almost wish we would get a little snow just to put me in the Christmas spirit.

December 12, 2011 Monday Afternoon

2011-12-12T13:21:00.003-06:00

Nothing. We did nothing all weekend. With that said, nothing, means I cooked and cleaned all weekend while Tony napped or watched TV resting from his long work week. We did watch a bunch of movies during the weekend. We watched 3 Day Weekend, 24 Nights, Easier With Practice, Edge of Seventeen and Just Say Love. Of the movies Edge of Seventeen and Just Say Love were the best and actually very good. I recommend them both. One thing that happened over the weekend was worth telling. Sunday afternoon Tony and I were in the living room watching TV when Bo started barking non stop in the kitchen. I yelled to him to stop the barking which of course he did not. When I finally got up to find out what the heck he was calling me about I saw him sitting in front of Barkley, looking at Barkley, barking. I asked him what he wanted and he just kept barking. Barkley just was laying on the floor in front of him. When I then went to see if a toy was under Barkley's cone I noticed that Barkley had his dew claw caught in an air hole of his cone and could not move or walk. Bo was calling me to come help his brother. Is that sweet or what? Guess Bo was just looking out for his brother and alerting me of the fact Barkley needed help. After I got Barkley's nail uncaught in the cone he jumped up and thanked me and Bo. What a family. It really was one of those moments you take note of. I did get Tony out of the house in the middle of Sunday afternoon to go to Pick N Save with me to buy lottery tickets and some hot ham and rolls. That was about it all weekend.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work around 7:30 AM. Spend the day cleaning out closets and drawers. Listening to some old Kool And The Gang as I cleaned them out and straightened thing out in them. Made a ham sandwich for lunch from the hot ham and rolls we bought yesterday at Pick N Save. Went for a walk around the neighborhood to get some exercise. Making some pork chops and baked potato's with a salad for dinner tonight. Will spend the night watching TV snuggling with the dogs.

December 10, 2011 Dave and Dogs Singing

2011-12-10T11:08:00.001-06:00

Since I promised a video, here you go. This is me and the dogs singing this morning.

December 9, 2011 Friday Dinner Time

2011-12-09T16:07:00.002-06:00

Sorry, no video blog today. The afternoon got away from me.

Spent last night watching the Monday night CBS TV line up on the DVR. Finished off the night with The Mentalist and went to bed a little after the headline news.

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning doing things around the house and soon it was time for lunch with the guys. Had Tony pick me up so the car would be warm and I would not have to get into a cold car. It is very cold in Milwaukee, in the 20s again today. Had a great lunch with the guys. Lunch was paid for by the Birthday boy. I love a free lunch. I brought some cupcakes to celebrate the event. We even sang Happy Birthday to the Birthday boy. Tony dropped me off at home after lunch and I spent the afternoon on the couch with the TV on, under a blanket. I soon woke up and it was after 4 PM. Since I still have to vacuum the house and get dinner ready I thought it faster to just post this way today. Will most likely spend the night watching movies. No plans this weekend. Might talk Tony into going to Target or KMart to do some Christmas shopping. To cold outside to do anything else. Have a great weekend everyone and sorry no video blog. I will try to do one next week.

December 8, 2011 Thursday Afternoon

2011-12-08T14:23:00.003-06:00

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work around 7:30 AM. Read a little of the morning newspaper and made myself a bowl of peanut butter captain crunch cereal. Took a shower and left the house around 10:30 AM on my way to Bayshore Mall to have Tony's necklace fixed. There was a different kid working the jewelry repair desk and he looked at me and told me to come back on Saturday. I explained to him that this was my second time here and pleaded with him to just fix it while I shopped. Got him to do the job for $32 which I thought was very high for just a small soddering job, but I was not going to come back again. Went to Boston Store and a couple other stores before picking up the finished necklace. Had some bread sticks at Rocky's Pizza. Did not find anything at the mall but that is because it is all women's stores at Bayshore Mall. Not much for a guy but Sears and Boston Store. The outside stores have more to offer, but they are not IN the mall. Stopped off at Kohl's Department Store and as I was trying on a pair of dress boots I tore the crotch of my pants. Figured it was then a good time to buy a new pair of jeans on sale. Tried on at least 10 pairs of jeans. I could not believe the size 32s fit me in all the brands. I figured I had that size already at home on the 'doesn't fit' pile. So I then was not sure if I should wait on buy a pair. Ended up buying a cheap pair of jeans just in case I get home and the ones do not in fact still fit me. Bought the boots and jeans on sale and also got another 20% off by getting a charge card. I hate shoe shopping but have wanted a pair of short boots for a long time. Shoes are hard to find that fit so when I find a pair I buy them. Found this swade leather pair of short boots that not only fit good, but I liked and were on sale. Got the boots and jeans for $72 after all the sale and discounts. I figured I will give them to myself from Tony as a Christmas gift. Since Tony does not shop for Christmas, if I don't buy myself some presents, I get nothing and have a disappointing Christmas. I am actually wearing them now to break them in and make sure they will be what I want. They feel a little tight so I hope they stretch out a little. Came home and after doing a little around the house and time with the dogs I pulled out the pile of 'don't fit' pants. Of course only one pair did fit so I was glad I bought a pair at Kohl's. Why did they all fit in the size 32 at the store, but the exact same Levis I have here at home size 32, don't fit me? I should have just bought more pairs just to make myself feel skinny and better. LOL. Making Sweet And Sour Chicken and rice tonight for dinner with a salad. Will spend the night watching TV or the DVR. Tomorrow is lunch with the guys and I will try to post another video blog with the dogs.

December 7, 2011 Wednesday Dinner Time

2011-12-07T16:33:00.002-06:00

Spent the night watching TV. Went to bed a little before 9 PM and watched Body Of Proof in bed with the dogs. Went to sleep a little after the headline news at 10:15 PM.

This morning I got up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. After Tony left for work I read a little of the newspaper before taking a shower and getting on with the day. Left the house a little before 10 AM and went to McDonald's for two $1 sausage burritos on my way to Pick N Save. Did the weekly grocery shopping avoiding anything freezer related. I am so overwhelmed with freezer items and I knew a package from my brother is arriving today filled with Omaha steaks. The steaks did arrive today. Had to really do some shuffling around of the freezer. Omaha steaks does do a good job with gift packages. Got the free knife set and cutting board also. So much meat I hardly know what to do with it all. We could eat steak or meat for a month every day we have so much right now. My brother does this every year as his Christmas gift since he lives down south and will not be here for Christmas with his partner. So can you guess what I am making for dinner tonight? If you said 'steaks', your right. Made some salads and will make some frozen twice bake potatoes that came in the package to round out the dinner. Spent the afternoon laying on the couch watching TV with the dogs. The sun was not out and that does not help my energy level. Will spend the night watching TV with the dogs. There is a lot on TV tonight and at one point three shows are taping as we watch a fourth all at 8 PM. Tomorrow I should go to the mall near us and try to have Tony's necklace fixed. I have nothing scheduled for tomorrow so it would be a good thing to get done. The mall I speak of is very small and I will not really be shopping at it, just there for the necklace fixing. Made it to 32 degrees today in Milwaukee. Getting pretty cold outside. I hate waiting for the car to warm up. I don't go far so by the time I get anywhere it is finally just starting to heat up. I do hate the cold of winter.

December 6, 2011 Tuesday Afternoon

2011-12-06T15:18:00.002-06:00

Had Chili and salad last night for supper. The neighbor made some great Chili. Spent last night watching a few shows on the DVR before Castle on TV. Tony came home from work very tired. I think he started falling asleep on the couch a little after his shower, around 8 PM. By 8:30 PM I woke him and we went into the bedroom to watch TV. Went to bed around 10 PM last night.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work around 7:30 AM. Read a little of the morning newspaper before taking a shower and getting on with the day. Stopped off at McDonald's before I went to Walgreen's in the morning to get a prescription and some other sale items. Bought the prescription out right and not with insurance. Had to pay full price for it, but it is still a better deal then paying a full months health insurance. Came home and spent the rest of the morning wrapping some Christmas presents and paying some bills online. Made myself a sandwich for lunch and laid down on the couch listening to music for an hour. Not much else got accomplished around the house again today besides a load of laundry. The house does need a good dusting, but I just can't get into the mood today. Did a little internet search on Jonah Mowry from yesterday's video I posted. I guess he has been getting some good and bad from the video. Some are even saying it is a fake. I don't think a kid can fake that kind of pain you can see in his face. Making the left over Chili and some noodles to go with it tonight for supper, along with a salad. Will watch Glee and the other Fox network shows on TV along with Body of Proof tonight, before going to bed. Tomorrow I have to go grocery shopping. Hopefully I won't have to get much since we need very little but fresh produce and such.

December 5, 2011 Must See Video

2011-12-05T17:35:00.003-06:00

The video below is must see and will break your heart. I sure hope this kid got some help. This video should be shown in every school around the globe. Cut and paste the web page below or watch the embedded video below the web page.

http://youtu.be/TdkNn3Ei-Lg

December 5, 2011 Monday Afternoon

2011-12-05T15:04:00.002-06:00

Read the comments from last Friday's video blog. I think I will make it a 'Friday video blog' weekly, if possible. I will also try to write something for those video impaired. Friday night we spent the night watching a couple movies. Watched the movies The Green and Make The Yuletide Gay. Both movies were great. The second was so funny. I recommend both movies. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

Saturday we were up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony went to the shop for a couple hours in the morning while I did a little cleaning. After he got home we went to Sam's club to do some Christmas Shopping. About half way through the store I had to look at Tony and say 'that is enough'. He just kept putting things in the cart. He got a lot of Christmas presents this time shopping. Total came to $518 which was a big surprise to both of us. Put it on the credit card. There were some big ticket items he will get for the shop, not now, they are Christmas presents. Came home and spent the rest of the day watching TV or movies. Watched the movies All Over The Guy and Bear City. Both were good but not as good as the movies the prior night. Went to bed around 11 PM.

Sunday we again up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Half way through Vito's shot he started growling and startled me and I wasn't sure if I even got any Insulin in him. Gave him 2 more units just to be safe. Figured it was not too much if he got the regular dose, and enough if he didn't. Worked in my mind. Thankfully he was fine. I made breakfast. Spent the day just watching TV and laying around the house. Around 4PM we showered and a little after 5 PM, after feeding the dogs and giving Vito his shot, we left for a fund raiser event in our suits and ties. The fund raiser was a great time. About 25 restaurants of food to sample and then a play called Next To Normal. The play was great. We even stayed for the whole thing. Got home a little after 10 PM and went to bed shortly thereafter.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the day doing a little around the house in between sleeping and watching TV. It snowed all day today in Milwaukee. The snow did not stick to the ground but was pretty to watch falling to it. The neighbor across the alley called and asked me if she made Chili would I want some for Tony and I tonight for dinner. Of course I do, anything to get out of cooking. I have made a dinner salad to go with the Chili I get from her. Going over to her house after I post this blog. Will spend the night watching TV. I have an easy week this week. Not much on my plate, no appointments. I did wrap a couple of Tony's Christmas presents this morning and filed about 3 months of paperwork in the organizer, other than that, not much today. Thanks for the comments from last Friday's blog. I hated watching it to be honest. I look like I talk out of the side of my mouth and am not even looking at the camera. Will work on that for future video posts.

December 2, 2011 Friday Afternoon

2011-12-02T14:05:00.002-06:00

Thought I would try something different. Today's blog is in video format.
This is me! Hope you enjoy it.

December 1, 2011 Thursday Morning

2011-12-01T08:46:00.002-06:00

Today is World AIDS Day. I know the day is to bring awareness to AIDS, but I have mixed feelings about it. Actually it makes me very sad. I have seen things on the news this morning about World AIDS Day and I cry every time I watch them. Which comes to a dilemma. I noticed in today's newspaper there is a showing of the movie We Were Here at the Milwaukee Art Museum tonight at 6:15 PM. The movie is about AIDS in San Francisco back when the AIDS epidemic started. It sounds very sad, but something I feel compelled to go see. I know the movie will be heart breaking and I will cry during the entire movie thinking of all the friends that have not been as fortunate as myself to get this disease while there are drugs to keep us alive. There was a time when it was just a waiting game to see how fast AIDS would kill you. Funny, sometimes I still feel that way. So why would I want to go to a movie that is just going to make me sad and cry? I kind of feel it is my duty to see this movie and see what the people before me went through and sacrificed in order for things to be what they are today. I will have to call Tony at work and see if he can get out of work early and have the employees close the shop for the day. If the play is at 6:15 PM, we will have to leave the house by 5:30 PM at the latest. Of course that means feeding the dogs and Tony, and Tony taking a shower before we can walk out the door. Much less I am not sure how Tony will feel about seeing this movie. Will let the day progress and see how I feel as it unfolds as to how I feel about seeing the movie.

I am car less today. My ex before Tony is using my car today while Tony works on his car for an auto repair. So I am stuck at home all day today, not that I had any plans to go anywhere anyway. Yesterday morning I had my appointment with my advisor at ARCW to help me fill out all my paperwork for ADAP and HIRSP. HIRSP is a secondary insurance, ADAP is the agency that helps pay for my premiums and medicines. Got all the paperwork filled out and the advisor will mail it all in ASAP. Went grocery shopping after the appointment and was home by noon. Spent the rest of the day listening to music and doing things around the house. Spent the night watching TV and we were in bed by 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. I have no plans today because I have no car to go anywhere anyway as I mentioned above. Will just lay low all day and watch TV and clean as the day goes forward. Since today is December 1st, it is the first day of the month and only 30 more days to go until I can see a doctor or fill a prescription. I guess we are going to try to play the system and hope I don't need a doctor. I do have enough drugs to make it to January when my Medicare kicks in so to pay for the December premium would set us back $1296, which we could really use. So my hope is to not need anything medical and not have to pay for the month of December. Lets cross our fingers since my Prostate still does hurt and I am not sure I can make it to January. Much less the doctor still has not called me back. Guess they just forgot about me. Just talked to my mom on the phone. Also just called Tony and he agreed to come home early so we could see the movie tonight. I will bring a lot of Kleenex.

November 29, 2011 Tuesday Afternoon

2011-11-29T15:18:00.002-06:00

Last night we watched the movie Fast Five. It was OK. Tony enjoyed the car racing. After the movie we watched a show on TV and soon went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the newspaper. Called USA Today to see if I could get a better rate. Signed up for 6 more months at 50 cents a day. I do like the USA Today as much as the Milwaukee Journal each day. I know two papers is a lot but I enjoy the difference the two newspaper have and read both daily. Did a little on the Internet. Got an email from a lady in London today that works for BBC Radio. I guess she is trying to get people together from around the world to talk about AIDS on a BBC Radio Show. I wrote her back with my phone number and my phone rang right away. We talked for a while on the phone. She has such a nice London accent. Told her I was interested. She will call me back if she can find a studio or a way for me to connect with them for this radio show on World AIDS Day. How cool is that? I honestly wish someone would tell me how they find this blog. Whether it pans out or not is another thing, but it would be fun and hopefully help someone else in this position with AIDS, or hopefully help someone not get it. Read some magazines and took a two hour nap with the dogs. It is cold and windy in Milwaukee today. In the high 30s today and very cold. Making some chicken breasts, baked potato and corn with a salad for dinner tonight. No plans after dinner. Will most likely watch another movie or some shows on the DVR before going to bed. Tomorrow I have an appointment with my advisor from ARCW to help me finish filling out all the paperwork for my new insurance that starts January 1st. Then I will have to go grocery shopping for the week. Tony did get December's health insurance bill and both of our insurance went from $869 for the month, to $1296 for the month. Holly cow! That is $2500 a month for health insurance. WTF? I am thinking maybe just go without for one month, December, until my Medicare kicks in? I do have enough meds to make it to January, but I am still worried about the pain I have and something happening in December with it. Would not want to be uncovered if something comes of it. Decisions decisions. Life is fun isn't it?

November 28, 2011 Monday Afternoon

2011-11-28T15:01:00.006-06:00

Spent Saturday night watching a couple movies. Watched the movies Trespass and Hop. Both were very good movies. I have wanted to watch Hop for a long time and was happy we finally did watch it. Trespass, was it even in the theaters? It was very good also. Went to bed around 11 PM.

Sunday morning we were up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the Sunday newspaper. Around noon we went to the pet store to buy a new cone for Barkley. The cone, or inter tube as I call it, was working to keep him from licking but was causing a rash on his neck. Gave him a bath prior to leaving the house to buy a cone that is better on the neck, but he will not enjoy. Went to the pet store and then to Bayshore Mall to have Tony's necklace fixed. Of course that was a waste of trip because the soddering gun was broken and I was told to bring it in next week. Came home to find Barkley had licked himself bloody around his crotch area. Unbelievable. Put the new cone on him. It took him a while to figure out how to walk with it. He did and does bang into things and has a hard time jumping up onto the couch, but this is the way it has to be. This or a final shot, if you know what I mean. He can not be left alone without a cone or something to keep him from licking. Tony's sister showed up some time afterwards with her husband to pick up their car Tony had worked on. Spent the rest of the afternoon watching Operation Repo on TV. Sunday night we made a couple of steaks for dinner and then watched a couple more movies. Watched Beginners and I Am Number 4. Both were very good movies. Beginners was the best of the two. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Left the house around 7:30 AM to drive Tony to work since he left his truck there and brought home the sisters car for the weekend. We stopped off at McDonald's first to use a coupon in last weeks paper for buy one get one free breakfast sandwiches. As we paid the lady said the coupon was old and not valid. I told her that can not be because it was just in last weeks paper. As I was about to just pay cash for both sandwiches I got out my glasses and looked at the coupon. It expires December 22nd. I told the girl at the window this and she had to then call her manager since she had already given me change for the two. The girl then, after I had paid cash for both sandwiches, had the nerve to look at us and say 'if you come back tomorrow you can use the coupon'. WHAT? I told her I am using the coupon now and refund my money for the one sandwich, we had not even left that drive through window. She finally called the manager again and refunded the money and we got it for buy one get one free. What a bunch of bull shit. I am so happy when Tony is with me when this shit happens. He has a hard time believing me sometimes that things like this happen to me as I go through my day. Came home and called Best Cuts to see if I could get a haircut. I have not cut my hair for over 6 months and it needs something. Was told no one else was there so I got back into the car and got my hair cut. Came home and called the vet about Kali scooting on the carpet and an anal cleaning is needed. Was told there was a 10:30 AM available and I got Kali ready and we headed out the door again. Came home after Kali's cleaning and gave her a bath in the sink. She needed a bath and this was a good time to do it. Put more color in my hair and took another shower to get the color out. Spent the rest of the morning doing things around the house before taking a nap with the dogs. It is in the 40s today in Milwaukee. Cloudy and damp feeling outside. Tonight we will most likely watch a couple more movies since there is nothing new on TV and the DVR is emptying fast. Want to save a few shows for when nothing is on TV and I run out of movies. Won't happen anytime soon since I have a ton of movies unwatched on my computer that I have downloaded. Nothing on my schedule tomorrow. I did also do four loads of laundry today. All the bedding and dog blankets got washed today. Tomorrow I will most likely spend the day dusting and cleaning. Here is a picture I took today of Barkley snuggling next to Vito with his cone on.

November 26, 2011 Saturday Dinner Time

2011-11-26T15:58:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving Day we went to Tony's sister's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Had a nice dinner and we were home by 6:30 PM. Fed the dogs and settled in for the night watching the Lady Gaga TV special. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

Friday was a waste of a day. I got up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Made eggs, bacon and bagel for breakfast. We then just laid around all morning watching TV. Just as we were going to go take a nap, the phone rang. The guys were wondering if we were coming to lunch. OMG! It's Friday lunch with the guys. It totally slipped my mind and Tony's. Was totally off my radar. It really surprised me that I would forget lunch. Is my mind slipping? We were in no ready condition to head out for lunch so we just told them we would not be coming and apologized. Spent the afternoon napping and watching TV. After we fed the dogs dinner and gave Vito his shot we went out for dinner at a cheap Mexican restaurant and then went to the casino. We were not winning anything after we both went through $15, so we decided to just go home. Figured the casino was just taking every one's money. Really a shame when you see the people throwing their money away and probably don't even have next month's rent. So sad people don't have their priorities. Came home and watched a couple movies. Watched the movies Bite Marks and Unhappy Birthday. Both were a little strange but OK. Went to bed around 11 PM.

This morning we were up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning watching home improvement shows. Around noon we went out to lunch to get out of the house for a while. Came home and spent the afternoon watching TV on the DVR. Not sure if I will make dinner tonight since we both had a big lunch at the restaurant. I did order some gift cards for my sister and her kids today online. I have not started any Christmas shopping yet. Just can not seem to get into the Christmas shopping spirit yet. Will have to wait until the lights and it gets closer to crunch time for presents. No plans yet for tomorrow. Will most likely finish off today watching more TV and movies. We did watch the movies Devils Playground and Captain America this morning and this afternoon. Both were OK but nothing I would have wanted to spend money seeing.

November 24, 2011 Thursday Afternoon

2011-11-24T14:32:00.001-06:00

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I am thankful I am still alive today and able to say, I am thankful having you all as my followers.

Thank you.

November 23, 2011 Wednesday Afternoon

2011-11-23T15:44:00.002-06:00

Spent last night watching the DWTS Results show. I can live with how it all turned out. It was a very entertaining 2 hours show. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent a little time reading the morning newspaper. Put another coat of Just For Men hair color in my hair so I look young over the weekend. Took a shower and headed to the grocery store. Stopped at McDonald's for a bacon egg cheese bagel before the shopping. Bought very little again today, just fresh fruit and produce. Even that came to almost $70.00. Came home and after I put everything away I went for my walk around the neighborhood. Came home and talked with the neighbor lady for a while. Brought up more of the Christmas decorations from the basement. Set up the 3 foot tree and my Christmas village outside in the enclosed glass porch. Thought it best since Vito would bang into the tree and village if I put it in the house. Plus I now don't have to give up part of the house for it. Looks nice and all the lights work. Took a nap with the dogs this afternoon. My pain in my bladder area is still there. About the same. No call from the doctor again today, what a bunch of crap. I am ready to go to a different one since this one has not called me back. Do I really want to go to a doctor that doesn't call back, knowing I am in pain? Making left over spaghetti for Tony tonight, I will most likely just have a TV dinner. Will spend the night watching some movies I downloaded so I save the programs on the DVR for the weekend. Not sure if Tony is closing the shop for Friday. We are going to Tony's sisters house for Thanksgiving. Should be interesting as I said yesterday. Happy Thanksgiving to all my followers. I will try to write over the four days, if not, I will talk to you on Monday. Have a great weekend.

November 22, 2011 Tuesday Afternoon

2011-11-22T16:08:00.002-06:00

Spent last night watching Dancing With The Stars and Castle before going to bed around 10 PM. I predict RJ will win, the Rob will come in second and Ricki in third place. If I had my way Ricki and Derik would be number one.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work around 7:30 AM. Spent the early morning reading the newspaper. Showered and went to Walgreen's around 10:30 AM to get a prescription. Refilled my antibiotic. Not sure if I will use the second months worth now or save it. Depends on how I feel next week when the first month's is gone. Since I can't get a doctor to return my calls it seems I will have to make the decision myself. Took my walk around the neighborhood, since I have not for a while. I feel so much better after I walk. I need to do it daily. Still have the pain in my bladder / prostate area. No call back from the doctor. Also tried to change my next week appointment with the person at ARCW since I do not know what next week will be like pain and appointment wise. Of course no reply email or phone call from her. Not happy when people don't return my calls. Very unprofessional. Making Orange Chicken and rice with a salad for dinner tonight. I am thinking it will be much like the Sweet N Sour Chicken I usually make. I only bought one bag and depending on how good it is will tell if I buy it in the future. It is the PF Chang frozen bag of Orange Chicken. I do like the PF Chang Sweet and Sour Chicken. Will spend the night watching the DWTS Final tonight before going to bed. Tomorrow I have to do some light grocery shopping for salad items and fruit mostly. Should not be an expensive grocery trip this week again. The freezer and cupboards are packed with food so I really need very little and have to start using the food here in the house before I buy more. I think I just like grocery shopping. I should be a professional grocery shopper. Today at Walgreen's I got a Schick Razor for free with a coupon and $4 back to use on other items. So I made $4 buying the razor. Not a bad deal. Now I see how people get a cart full of groceries for pennies. Will try to post again tomorrow before the Thanksgiving weekend.

November 21, 2011 Monday Afternoon

2011-11-21T14:52:00.002-06:00

I wish I had more to write about as to what we did all weekend. I can sum it up in a word: nothing! Tony spent Saturday afternoon working on the upstairs plumbing. He got it fixed with only one trip to the hardware store. That's good for him. He got it all fixed in a couple hours. I did check on him here and there but left when the swearing started. LOL. I figure he does very little around the house on a daily basis, so fixing things like this IS HIS job. Watched a lot of TV all weekend. Made a breakfast, lunch and supper each day. Saturday night we had a couple more steaks on the grill. It was cold outside, but there is less mess cooking them outside. Plus, don't steaks always taste better on the grill? Sunday afternoon I left the house and got lottery tickets. Picked up some grapes and milk also while I was there at the store. Saturday night we did watch the movie Judas Kiss. I downloaded it. It was an OK movie. Could have been better. Last night we watched the music awards before going to bed around 10 PM. Tony and I did try to do a little lovin on Saturday night, but half way through my Prostate area and Testicles started hurting more then the good feeling, if you know what I mean, so I did not finish, Tony did. This pain is starting to really get to me.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the newspaper and went back to bed because of the pain. Around 11:30 AM the neighbor across the alley called to ask what was going on with the tenants next door. Movers and sheriff were at the house. Found out they got evicted from the upstairs next door apartment. They are an older couple and we spoke with them very few times. I think she is nuts and her husband is dieing of something, the way he looks. The lady getting evicted asked if we wanted her gas clothes dryer and I called Tony to come pick it up. He came with his brother and asked if we plan on using it which we do not, since I have electric dryers. Gave it to Tony's brother. Tony has two living brothers, the other is the one still in jail. Yes, he is still in jail. Guess his next court date is November 30th and no one plans on getting him out any time before that. I think I finally got Tony feeling a little better about not doing anything at this time. Spent the afternoon cleaning the house and taking a long hot shower. Making spaghetti for dinner tonight with a salad. Not in the mood to do much more. I did finally break down and call the doctor I was recommended to go see, the Gastrologist. They had no record of my doctor emailing them, or so they said. I told them my story and said I needed to make an appointment. She told me they had nothing available until after the first of the new year. I told her I can not wait that long and need help now. She then told me she would look for the email, took down my phone number, and said she would check into the situation and get back to me. What a bunch of crap. This in the health care system in America? I see myself one day packing my laptop and IPod and checking my self into emergency one day in the future if this doesn't get better soon. When sex isn't even enjoyable any more you know there has to be a serious problem. Take away the sex and I will have nothing to live for, LOL. Will wait for the call until Wednesday and then if I don't hear from them call my main doctor and put a fire under her. It's either that or emergency over the Thanksgiving holiday? Pain pills do very little to dull the pain, and I have strong pain pills. Will spend tonight watching the Dancing With The Stars Final. Looking forward to going to bed again. At least when I am sleeping I don't feel any pain.

November 18, 2011 Friday Afternoon

2011-11-18T15:43:00.003-06:00

Spent last night watching the Regis Farwell Special on TV. Then watched a Desperate Housewives from Sunday night and then The Mentalist, before going to bed around 10 PM.

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Around 8 AM our upstairs tenant called from work to tell me the bathroom sink and tub faucets are leaking pretty bad. Told him I would check them and most likely have Tony fix them this weekend. This house was built in 1909 and I am sure the upstairs plumbing is original. We have to fix the washers on the faucets almost yearly. It is never fun and hard to find parts. Some day we will have to break down and spend some money replacing the entire shower faucets and plumbing. Watched the last Regis and Kelly show in tears. I have watched Regis probably as long as he has had a morning show. The show, he, will be missed. I do like Kelly so I will keep watching the show to see who they end up with as a co host. Did a little around the house before going to lunch with the guys. Had another talk with Tony after lunch since now his brother saw the judge this morning, pleaded not guilty, and has his court date set for November 30th. I guess his ex girlfriend came to the shop this morning to tell Tony the news AND, that his brother is expecting Tony to bail him out this afternoon. Tony told the ex girl friend to tell the brother and his lawyer that he WILL NOT be bailing him out of jail so he should look towards his daughter or someone else. I told Tony to stay strong on this and be ready for his brother to eventually show up at the shop very mad at him. Of course he will be mad at Tony, because for some reason it is his brothers job to bail him out of jail? Not like he think he did anything wrong even though he was driving with alcohol in him, he was driving without a license, and he was flat out wrong to do any of that. Guess some people just can not take responsibility for their own mistakes. Plus why is his mistake OUR problem. We might as well throw the money out the window if we give it towards him. He can not live on what he makes now and is always getting pay in advance, how would he pay back anything he would owe? Came home from lunch and took a little nap with the dogs. I now need to get supper ready. Making a dinner soup and salad for supper tonight. Will most likely watch a movie or the DVR tonight before going to bed. Tomorrow I informed Tony, we would be working on the upstairs plumbing since the leak is costing me money on the water bill. No other plans this weekend. In the high 30s today in Milwaukee. The pond did freeze over last night and the heater seems to be working since it did not freeze around the floating heater. Time will tell as it gets colder outside. The day's sun did melt most of the pond ice today but tonight it is suppose to get very cold and below freezing again. Have a great weekend everyone.

November 17, 2011 Thursday Afternoon

2011-11-17T15:31:00.002-06:00

Got up this morning around 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the early morning reading the newspaper. Took a shower and went to Walgreen's to get a mouse trap. Noticed the last two nights a mouse in the rabbit house in the back yard when we look at the camera I have in the house. Put a mouse trap only a mouse can get into. We do not want this little guy getting into our home. A little after 11 AM I left the house to go to my board meeting at ARCW. Had a nice board meeting. Picked up some items at the food pantry and headed home. Put the floating heater in the pond since it is starting to freeze over. By tomorrow I should know if the heater is working since the pond is freezing over fast. Poor little fish swimming under the ice. Making left over for dinner tonight. Will spend the night watching TV. Most likely will go to bed early since I did not get a nap today due to my afternoon meeting. Last nights play was entertaining. I am not an Elvis or Johnny Cash fan so Tony enjoyed the music more than I did. The show was OK. Tomorrow is lunch with the guys and the weekend is here again. It is in the 30s today in Milwaukee. Very cold and windy. I am going to hate Winter again this year. Every year I wonder why we live in such a cold state.

November 16, 2011 Wednesday Afternoon

2011-11-16T15:21:00.002-06:00

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent a little time reading the morning newspaper and then took a shower so I could go grocery shopping. Bought less items then usual which was nice on the wallet. Came home and called my Prostate doctor to tell the nurse I still have pain in that area. She scheduled an appointment to see me this afternoon at 2:30 PM. Laid on the bed for a while with the dogs prior to the doctor appointment. Was another waste of money and time. The doctor went over everything and then had my pee so she could then check and see if I was emptying. Did an ultra sound on me and she said I do not have a problem emptying my bladder. She then told me the only test left would be to put a scope up my penis but she does not think it is warranted because I am not having problem peeing or have blood in my urine. So she told me I now need to see a Gastrologist. The nurse sent an email for the Gastrologist to contact me. She then gave me their phone number and told me if I don't hear from them in a week to call them. Unbelievable! I am in pain for god sakes. Now I have to wait a week or so for them to call me? I will wait until Friday and then just call them. Not sure what I will make for dinner tonight or if I will make anything at all prior to going to the theater tonight. We usually grab a sandwich and a drink at the show so not sure if I will make anything prior. I am feeling cheap now since I just wasted another $50 at the doctor so I might break down and throw a couple TV dinners in the microwave. Tonight we see the play Million Dollar Quartet. Hope it is good but I have a feeling the older music will not be something I like. Tony will most likely enjoy it. Tomorrow I have a board meeting in the afternoon. Was glad to see Max and his partner get the boot last night on DWTS. I am happy with the final three on the show, they are the best and deserve the most to be in the finals.

November 15, 2011 Tuesday Afternoon

2011-11-15T15:30:00.002-06:00

Spent last night watching the movie Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. It was good. I do like James Franco and the plot was a great way to set up the next movie. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning doing things around the house. I put a green spot light on the front pine tree and put the two light up reindeer my mom gave me outside in the front yard. I think this is now the last of the outside Christmas decorations. I even changed out the front path lights yesterday from white to red. My Prostate is starting to bother me more than it should. It has turned into a burning sensation. I am considering calling my Prostate doctor since it does not seem to be getting better. I still have a week and a half of antibiotic so I guess I should wait until closer to when it is gone to call and say something else must be going on down there. The pain is now up to a 3 on a 1 to 10 scale. I am starting to think more test are going to have to be made if this does not go away soon. Making sweet and sour chicken and a salad for dinner tonight. Will watch last nights Dancing With The Stars show prior to the Result Show tonight. I already saw most of the highlights on TV during today so there are really no surprises anymore. I hope Max gets the boot tonight on the Results Show. Will top off the night with Glee and Body Of Proof before going to bed. Tomorrow I have to go grocery shopping and then we see a play Wednesday night called Million Dollar Quartet. We have season tickets and this is the next show in the season.

November 14, 2011 Monday Afternoon

2011-11-14T15:19:00.002-06:00

Saturday we slept in until about 7 AM. Got up and fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the day waiting on Tony. LOL. Made breakfast and did things around the house as Tony laid around watching TV enjoying his day off. We really did nothing all day. Fed the dogs dinner and then we went to a family Birthday party around 6 PM. Had a great time at the party and stayed for a couple hours. Came home by 10 PM and went to bed shortly thereafter.

Sunday morning we were both up by 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Made breakfast and spent the morning reading the Sunday newspaper. Around noon I got Tony to walk with me to Pick N Save to buy lottery tickets. Walked the bike path to the store and took the streets home. Bought some hot ham and rolls. Around 1 PM Tony's sister showed up at the house to drop off a car that needs fixing. Her husband met her here at the house and then drove them all back home to Illinois. They will drive up again later in the week when the car is fixed to get it. Nice to keep the business in the family. On another note, Tony's brother last week got his 5th drunk driving ticket and has been in jail ever since. This is the looser brother that works for Tony. His daughter called in the afternoon to ask if we could help with his bail. Tony told her he has some wages coming but we not sure how much more we could help. She called twice later to ask for the money sooner than Monday with no luck from us. I am sorry, but I have no sympathy for anyone who gets a 5th drunk driving ticket. Tony and I then got into a little argument about his helping bail out his brother from jail. Of course he used the 'it's my brother' story. I told him that is true, and if it was for anyone else for any other reason we would help. But this is not our mess. The brother has no money and never will. It will be bad enough in the future when he needs money for lawyers and then asks to work again on work release after he spend his time in jail. He will get jail time, again! Tony promised not to give the daughter more than his earned wages, but I have a feeling he will not keep that promise. Spent the night watching TV and went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper and went back to bed for a couple hours. Got up around 11 AM and showered and started my day over again. Went to Walgreen's to buy some sale items which included an electric razor that was on sale for $25 off the price. My electric razor is over two years old and starting to chew up my face so it was time to break down and buy a new one. Spent the afternoon doing things around the house. Making a couple of the steaks Tony bought from the meat vendor for supper tonight with some potatoes and a salad. Will most likely watch a movie tonight because our usual show, Dancing With The Stars, is preempted until 1 AM because of a football game. Damn sports! Will DVR it and watch it tomorrow morning before the results show tomorrow night. It was in the high 40s today in Milwaukee. The temperature is going down as the week unfolds according to the weather man.

November 11, 2011 Friday Dinner Time

2011-11-11T16:05:00.003-06:00

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. After reading the morning newspaper I spent the morning working on cutting the fire place replacement moldings. Put another coat of paint on before the moldings. Took a shower and met Tony and the guys for lunch. Had a great lunch as always. Took a long afternoon nap this afternoon. Tonight I am making a salad to go with the left overs from Wednesday nights dinner. Will spend the night watching a couple movies or something on the DVR. It is in the 40s today in Milwaukee. It is suppose to get into the 50s this weekend which will feel like a heat wave. We have a party to go to Saturday night, other than that, no plans this weekend. Have a great weekend everyone.

November 10, 2011 Thursday Dinner Time

2011-11-10T15:38:00.002-06:00

After posting yesterday I got a call from my mortgage company telling me my line of credit was reopened. It was such a surprise since in August when I sent in the last payment for the loan I took, they closed the account, and I have been fighting to have it reopened since then. I never wanted it closed, I just wanted a zero balance on it. They are also refunding me the closing fee they charged. I was hoping this would be the outcome but am still pleasantly surprised. It is nice to have that line of credit in case of an emergency. Spent the night watching TV and went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper and then went back to bed until 9:30 AM. Took a shower and left the house around 11 AM to meet with some other people from the board I am on and go to another facilities client advisory meeting. We were invited and wanted to see how their board works and any ideas to make ours better. Had a great meeting and even some pizza for lunch at the meeting. Picked up my monthly groceries, which included a 12 lb turkey, at ARCW when I got my car. Came home and did a little around the house. I am making a couple of the steaks Tony bought last week from the meat vendor, baked potato and a salad for dinner tonight. It is very cold in Milwaukee today. It is 35 degrees and at times snow flurries. Winter is at our door steps here in Milwaukee. We will most likely get a few days yet in the 50s but then it is over and Winter will be here. West and north of Milwaukee got a lot of snow yesterday. We lucked out being close to Lake Michigan. Will spend the night watching TV with Tony and the dogs. Didn't get a nap today so I am tired and looking forward to going to bed tonight. It is a very long day without a nap. I just don't have the stamina I used to have before I was HIV and on these meds. Tomorrow is Friday so that means lunch with the guys.

November 9, 2011 Thursday Late Afternoon

2011-11-09T15:28:00.003-06:00

Watched a little TV last night. Went to bed around 9 PM for some lovin. I then listened to music in bed on my IPod while Tony snored. Tony hurt his back at work during the day and took a bunch of pain pills, so he slept soundly all night.

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. It is truely a terrible day weather wise in Milwaukee today. It is raining and cold, in the 40s. This afternoon there were even snow flakes coming down for a while. Snow! Went grocery shopping this morning after stopping at McDonalds for a bacon egg cheese bagel. Came home and spent some time working on the moldings on the fireplace in the living room. I removed the old molding yesterday and put some plaster on to dry. Hopefully by tomorrow I can do some sanding and evenually put up new moldings. It is my current project since it is so horrible outside. Took a short nap this afternoon while I listened to some music. Making a Lasagna casserole for dinner tonight with a salad. Will most likely spend the night watching TV on the DVR since most of our usual programs are not on tonight and we gave up on X Factor last week. Not a problem since the DVR has a lot on it to watch. I am sure Tony will come home in pain tonight and be sleeping by 8 PM from taking pain pills for the pain. This afternoon I watched a kid try to fix his car in front of our house. He was really cute so I went outside to see if he needed any assistance or a phone to use. He said he had called a friend and thanked me for asking if he needed help. I gave him one of Tony's business cards just in case he needed auto repair. He was so cute I had to. LOL. Soon his friend came and tried to give him a jump. It did not work and they soon left to go buy a new car battery. A little while later they installed the new battery and he left. It was my eye candy for the day I guess. Tomorrow I might have a meeting to go to with ARCW. Still waiting on an email to see if the meeting is on or not. Not much else going on here. The dogs are all doing fine and I can only complain about the weather at this point. What a horrible day today weather wise in Milwaukee.

November 8, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

2011-11-08T16:43:00.002-06:00

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the newspaper and watching the rain fall. It is not a nice day today in Milwaukee. Rained all day in in the low 50s. Made myself a can of chicken noodle soup for lunch. Got out the hair color, Just For Men, and put a little brown back into my greying hair. Took a shower and watched a little TV before putting on the stereo and laid back on the couch with the dogs and a blanket. Listened to a long music mix. Got off the couch around 3 PM and after a cup of coffee I took a long walk. Took my pedometer with me to see just how many steps my usual walk is. It came to 2747 when I got home. I guess since they say you should take 3000 steps a day I am going to meet the target by the time I get done making dinner. LOL. Making BBQ Ribs, potato, corn and a salad for dinner. Was glad I went for a walk even though it was drizzling outside. Soon it will be too cold and I will want to use that as an excuse. Will spend the night watching Glee, Dance Results and then something on the DVR, before going to bed. Tomorrow it is suppose to be much like today. I will have to go grocery shopping at some point. Hopefully during a dry spell.

November 7, 2011 Monday Afternoon

2011-11-07T15:31:00.002-06:00

Saturday we were both up by 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. We did very little all day. Took a long afternoon nap with the dogs. After I got up from my nap, and Tony was still sleeping, I went for a long walk around the neighborhood. I do enjoy my walks. They clear my head and it is fun to go down different streets and look at the houses and yards. Made breakfast, lunch and dinner. Spent Saturday night watching the movies Crazy Stupid Love and Bridesmaides. Bridesmaides was the better of the two movies, but they both were good. I really like that lady from Mike and Molly, she is so funny. Changed the clock back an hour before we went to bed around 11:30 PM.

Sunday we were up at 6 AM, because of the time change the sun was up. I do like having some sunlight when you wake up, but it gets so dark so early at night now. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Read a little of the morning newspaper before we both showered and picked up Tony's mom and took her for breakfast. Had my usual, two pancakes, two scrambled eggs and ham. After breakfast we stopped off at Stein's Garden so I could get 12 path blocks for the side yard. We then dropped off Tony's mom at her home and went to Walmart. Bought two months worth of Insulin and needles for Vito along with two water misters for the living room and bedroom. At least now I shouldn't have to go back to Walmart until January for more Insulin. Came home and I spent the afternoon working outside in the yard with the new patio blocks I bought at Stein's. Made dinner and spent the night watching the CBS TV line up. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Soon I was in the shower and ready to go to my 9:30 doctor appointment. It was really as waste of $50 for the follow up appointment. I didn't even see the doctor, just his nurse, and told her how I was talking more drugs of one than I should have and now I am on an antibiotic because of my HIV doctor. She wrote it all down and sent me on my way with refills. Stopped off at Walgreen's to get the refills and came home. Spent the day cleaning. Did 4 loads of laundry. Mostly blankets and such the dogs lay on around the house that are on the furniture. I figure I have to do this weekly with 5 dogs and the windows closed. Took a short nap before I got up and went for a long walk around the neighborhood. Making some beef tips and noodles for supper tonight. Will watch Dancing With The Stars and Castle before going to bed. Tomorrow it is suppose to rain so I figure I will most likely not leave the house. I noticed now that I am back to Explorer 9 that I can not spell check on Blogger. So please forgive me for any spelling mistakes. Spelling was never one of my stronger skills.

November 4, 2011 Friday Dinner Time

2011-11-04T16:25:00.003-05:00

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Ate two saltine crackers, fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Was able to not throw up with the help of crackers today. Tony left for work around 7:15 AM. Spent the morning doing a little cleaning and vacuuming of the house. Showered and met the guys for lunch. Tony did not come since he was busy at the shop. Had a great lunch as always with the guys. Stopped off at the post office and bought two rolls of stamps and came home. Spent the afternoon putting the stamps on all the Christmas cards and sealing them. They are ready to be sent out on December 1st. Am I prepared or what? Laid back and listened to some music on the couch with the dogs for an hour or so. Making some beef flavored rice for Vito as I type this post. A batch usually lasts about a week in the refrigerator, giving him a little with each meal. Made some salads for dinner and will most likely throw a frozen pizza in the oven and call it dinner. No plans this weekend or tonight. Sunday we will probably take Tony's mom out for breakfast since we haven't in the last few weeks. Monday morning I do go back to see my Prostate doctor. Good news is the antibiotic seems to be working and there have been days I don't have any pain at all. It is suppose to be a nice weekend in Milwaukee in the high 50s all weekend and sunny. If only it would last. Have a good weekend everyone.

November 3, 2011 Thursday Afternoon

2011-11-03T14:15:00.002-05:00

Can you believe it is November already?

Yesterday I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning on the Internet ordering this years Christmas card online. Got it ordered and it will be ready to pick up later today. Showered and then went grocery shopping. Saw an email around noon telling me my Christmas card order was ready to pick up at Walgreen's so I then drove there to get them. I think they turned out great. I posted it on the side with the other pictures of all the years cards. It is similar to last years picture. The alternative was a picture of the five dogs sleeping on the couch. I thought it a shame to waste such a nice colorful picture like the one I still had on file, so I used this one from last year that is similar. Spent the afternoon addressing envelopes and stuffing the cards. Had to order 80 cards I have so many people on my sending list. Got all the cards stuffed and addressed and soon I was making dinner. Made sweet and sour chicken with a salad. Started spending the night watching X Factor and half way through I looked at Tony and said 'I don't even like any of these people, why are we watching this', and turned the channel. Watched a couple episodes of Operation Repo and then Law and Order SVU. Did a little loving before going to bed around 10:30 AM.

This morning I was up again at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. A little after Vito ate he threw it all up. Ten minutes after cleaning his mess I was at the kitchen sink throwing up myself. I hate starting my days like this. My doctor seems to think it is OK since it is only one a week or so. I understand because he is from the old school and saw the effects of AIDS drugs on people before they were safer. So I guess he is not surprised to hear of someone throwing up once a week when there was a time when people took 20 to 30 pills a day and threw them up daily. Went back to bed around 10 AM for an hour. Got up and took a shower. Since I bought a new address book yesterday at Walgreen's I got started on transfering all the addresses from the current to the new address book. Took me a couple hours. Just spending the afternoon watching TV since my stomach now hurts from throwing up this morning. Might take a pain pill in a bit to give me a better afternoon. Making left over spaghetti for dinner tonight with a salad. Will watch the the DVR tonight while I DRV the CBS TV line up and Grey's Anatomy. I will watch them later commercial free. Cloudy and in the 40s today in Milwaukee. Not a nice day outside. It is windy and since the wind is coming off Lake Michigan the wind is a cold. Tomorrow is lunch with the guys. Have to call my mom since we have not talked this week and I need a couple updated addresses. Will call her after I post. Can you believe it is November already?

November 1, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

2011-11-01T15:40:00.002-05:00

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Watched a little TV and read a little of the morning newspaper before going back to bed for an hour. The dogs made it impossible to try to sleep so I finally just got up out of bed. Showered and took a long walk around the neighborhood while I listened to my IPod. Went across the alley to talk with the neighbor for a while and spent the rest of the afternoon dragging some Christmas decorations out of the basement and hanging some of the lights and ornaments outside, since it is close to 60 degrees outside today in Milwaukee. Thought I might as well enjoy the last nice day. Did a little work outside in the yard also. Making spaghetti for dinner tonight with a salad and garlic bread. Will spend the night watching Glee, Dance Results, and Body of Proof before going to bed. Tomorrow is grocery shopping day in the morning. Picked out the dog Christmas card for this year. It is similar to last years but still a great picture of all five dogs. Will most likely order the cards online tonight or tomorrow. Been updating my address book also. Anyone want to be added and get a Christmas card, please email me with your address. I think my Prostate is starting to feel better now that I am on an antibiotic. Will address this with my Prostate doctor on Monday when I go back for a follow up appointment.

October 31, 2011 Monday Afternoon

2011-10-31T14:12:00.002-05:00

Happy Halloween!

We did very little over the weekend. Saturday afternoon we went out to a Halloween street festival. It was not a successful festival and not many were out in the afternoon due to the cold weather. Had lunch at one of the bars along the festival. Came home and spent the night getting caught up on episodes of American Horror Story and The Walking Dead, along with other shows on the DVR. We watched a lot of TV on Saturday. Sunday I never even left the house. I did send Tony to get lottery tickets in the middle of the afternoon. It rained all afternoon, felt so sorry for the trick or treaters in costumes begging for candy. We did not give out candy because the kids ruin the path lights and such each year if we do. Just easier to say no, and I wasn't about to sit in the rain handing the candy out at the end of the walkway. Took a long afternoon nap with Tony and the dogs. Spent the night watching the CBS TV lineup before going to bed. Like I said, we did very little all weekend. Of course it also means I cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner all weekend while Tony sat on the couch and watched TV.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning watching the Halloween specials on Regis and The View. Showered and took a walk to a hardware store a few blocks away and bought some tile adhesive for the bathroom tile that Tony still needs to finish using in his bathroom. Tony was going to work on the bathroom, so he claims, but he could not find any tile adhesive, so now he can not use that excuse any more. I needed the walk so it was a good reason to head into that direction for the walk. Came home and spend the afternoon on the couch watching TV and napping a bit. Making hamburger helper and a salad for dinner tonight. Will watch Dancing With The Stars and Castle, as I DVR the CBS TV line up. I have very little on my schedule this week and am happy to say I won't be leaving the house much. I look forward to just staying home and laying low all week. Tomorrow it is suppose to be in the 60s one last time so I hope to do some last minute yard work tomorrow outside.

October 28, 2011 Friday Dinner Time

2011-10-28T16:14:00.003-05:00

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning doing things around the house. Went to lunch with the guys at noon. Had a great lunch as always. Spent the afternoon listening to some old Donna Summer music. Making some beef flavored rice for Vito and some Soup for Tony and I tonight for dinner. Will spend tonight watching a few episodes on the DVR. No plans this Halloween weekend. Will most likely leave the house Sunday afternoon so we do not have to be bothered by the trick or treaters. Have a great weekend everyone.

October 27, 2011 Thursday Dinner Time

2011-10-27T16:03:00.002-05:00

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning on the computer transferring my blog posts to a word document for the year 2011. I do this so if the sight should crash I will still have all the posts I have made, in a diary type form. I also have a hard cover book printed each year of my blog through Blog2Print.com. Around 1 PM this afternoon I took a walk to Pick N Save to return a three pack of caramel apples. Cut into them last night to have one and all three were rotten. The use by date had today's date, but we just bought them Sunday. So I exchanged them for newer caramel apples and walked back home. Spent an hour laying back on the couch listening to the TV. Did a little cleaning and vacuumed the house. Making Sweet and Sour Chicken and a salad for dinner tonight. Will spend the night watching shows on the DVR and DVR the TV line up tonight to watch it commercial free at a later time, like we are going to do tonight. The DVR is getting so full and it is just better to watch the DVR and things recorded than live TV at this point. It is in the 40s today in Milwaukee. The sun did come out this afternoon but it is still cold and winter is coming. Tomorrow is lunch with the guys and then the weekend is here. Stopped feeding the pond fish today so they start to go into hibernation mood.

October 26, 2011 Wednesday Dinner Time

2011-10-26T15:53:00.003-05:00

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Went back to bed for an hour or so after Tony left for work. Got up around 9 AM and after my shower I went grocery shopping. Came home and put it all away. Laid down on the bed for a couple hours listening to music. It is cloudy and drizzling today and that give me no energy at all. Around 1:15 PM I left the house again to go to my HIV doctor appointment. Was a very interesting appointment. Got another hepititis shot and went over my pains and aches. The doctor was very surprised I am not on an antibiotic for my prostate pain. I told him I am, I am on Doxazosin 4 MG. He told me that is not an antibiotic and is just a stronger prostate flow pill then the one I am already taking. This startled me because no one told me to stop taking the other 2 MG pill. So I have been taking 6 MG of Doxazosin and no antibiotic, Doxcycline. He told me I should address this with my prostate doctor when I go back in a week and gave me a prescription for the antibiotic, Doxcycline. Got my blood work results which did not make me happy. My TCell count has dropped again. I am now down to 350. I was really hoping to get over 400. My percent though did raise to 26% from 22% which made the doctor happy. He told me not to be concerned about my 350 TCell count and that it is still a good number. All my other numbers looked great and within the limits. Drove home and stopped at Walgreen's to get the prescription of Doxcycline. Came home and started to get dinner ready. Making some ribs, noodles and a salad for dinner. Will spend the night watching the ABC TV line up since there is no X Factor tonight. I am not very thrilled with X Factor and might just stop watching it anyway. Tomorrow I have nothing on my schedule and plan on spending the day cleaning.

October 25, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

2011-10-25T15:46:00.002-05:00

Spent yesterday afternoon on the Internet. Switched back to Explorer 9 from Foxfire since I figured out how to post on Blogger from Explorer 9. It takes an extra step but the web pages load up faster and completely, they did not with Foxfire. Now on Blogger after I type out a post I have to click on Save Now rather than Publish Post. Then on the next screen you Publish the Draft. It is an extra step but well worth it I think to go back to Explorer 9. Found this out by doing some searches on the web and what people have written. Also did a little work on the Laptop computer updating some files and getting videos to work. For some reason I could not play videos on my Laptop in Winamp or Media Player. I was told to download the VLC Player and that seemed to play any video so I was happy. All that takes time and soon it was dinner time. Made a beef roast, mashed potato and salad for dinner. Spent the night watching Dancing With The Stars. At 9 PM we went to bed and spent an hour doing a little lovin. Yes, an hour. Watched a video during so we tried to time things with the video, if you know what I mean. If it were not for the video the lovin would have ended in 10 minutes and been done. LOL. We never watch videos so it was something different. I always feel like Tony is comparing me when we watch a video. Guess it is my own insecurity. Thought I would try something different and I think, I know, we both enjoyed it. Tony always liked watching porn before we met. I never felt that comfortable watching it with him although we have a few times in the 22 years together. Tony was then up most of the night and didn't sleep well because of a sinus infection. I forgot to mention that yesterday morning I woke up again and 30 minutes later was throwing up. Thought I had that licked. Guess not. I do go to my HIV doctor tomorrow so I will talk to him about it all, including the Prostate pain that won't seem to go away. Spent the morning watching TV and reading the newspaper. Left for my Client Advisory Board meeting around noon. The meeting was from 12:30 to 2 PM. It was our first Open Board Meeting, open to anyone in ARCW. It turned out to be a success because a few people did show up. Now I am home and it is drizzling outside. Suppose to get much colder in the next few days. Brought home a couple extra box lunches from today's meeting which I will set out for supper tonight so I don't have to cook. Will spend the night watching TV. Tomorrow I have my HIV doctor appointment. Always a little nerve racking. I will post my numbers after I get home. I am hoping to get above 400 in my TCell count this time. It has been a goal of mine. Feeling very tired today and if it was 10 PM I would go to bed. Going to have to drink a cup of coffee and get some energy for Tony when he comes home and wants dinner.

October 24, 2011 Monday Afternoon

2011-10-24T12:04:00.002-05:00

Saturday afternoon we went to a Bully Breed Club party in the park. Lot of people brought their Pitbulls with them, we did not bring Stella. Afterwards we went to Hobo to buy some items we needed. Came home and took a nap in the afternoon. Made Chili for dinner with a salad. Spent the night watching the movies Bad Teacher and Wrong Turn 4. Both were good movies. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Sunday we were up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Walked up the street around 10 AM to have a brunch at a local bar. Had a good breakfast, but a bit expensive. Came home and got an invite for dinner across the alley. Walked to Pick N Save and bought lottery tickets and a cake to take for desert to dinner in the afternoon. Had a nice walk along the trails to and from Pick N Save. Spent the rest of the afternoon laying around watching TV. Around 6 PM we went across the alley for Lasagna dinner. Had a good dinner and conversation before getting home around 9 PM. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the early morning reading the newspaper and doing laundry. Went to Walgreen's around noon to buy a item on sale and came home. Plan on spending the afternoon getting caught up on laundry, doing a little cleaning, and taking a nap. Will spend tonight watching Dancing With The Stars and Castle, DVR'ing the CBS TV line up. Tomorrow I have a meeting in the afternoon. Nice again outside today and in the mid 50s and sunny. Tomorrow is suppose to be much colder.

October 21, 2011 Friday Morning

2011-10-21T10:23:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Put drops in Vito and Barley's ears for their infections. Laid low all morning and early afternoon knowing we had a funeral and movie to go to later in the day. Around 3 PM Tony came home and showered and we put on our suit coats and went to the funeral in Oak Creek. We sent flowers and they looked very nice in comparison to the others that were sent. There was a big attendance even as early as we were there. Stayed until about 5 PM and drove home. Fed the dogs, ate a ham sandwich and soon we were out the door again to go to the movie called Weekend. It was an OK movie. I had higher expectations from all I read about it. The sound was so loud and at times I could not understand the words because of the accents. Got home close to 10 PM and watched a little TV before going to bed.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Cleaned and put drops in Vito, Barkley, Bo and Stella's ears since they all seem to have something with their ears. Tony then left for work. Read a little of the morning newspaper and then left the house around 9 AM to go make some copies of my taxes at the copy shop across from Walgreen's. Had to make copies of last year's taxes for the new insurance and paperwork. Went to Walgreen's and bought some items on sale. Stopped off at the Vet on the way home and picked up another bottle of ear drops. Then went to Pick N Save to buy some Activia that I forgot to buy on Wednesday with my weekly grocery shopping. Will leave to have lunch with the guys in about an hour. Hope to take a nap this afternoon. The sun is out but it is close to 50 degrees. Not bad when your in the sun, but a little chilly in the shade. Suppose to be in the 60s over the weekend but then drop to the 40s next week for highs. Barkley's hematoma is still all full. He doesn't seem to be bothered much with it with the collar around his neck so he can not scratch. As long as he stays like this I might be able to let it heal naturally. No plans this weekend. Will most likely watch some movies I downloaded and TV shows on the DVR. Next week Wednesday I get my latest numbers when I see my doctor. Always a stressful week waiting for the numbers. My Prostate is I think getting better. I have low pain mainly in the mornings but I think it either goes away or I forget about it being busy as the day goes on. Either way, it is not healed yet. I go back to that doctor in two weeks.

October 19, 2011 Wednesday Afternoon

2011-10-19T15:08:00.002-05:00

Last night around 7 PM I was petting Barkley when I noticed his left ear is all puffed up. I guess he has a Hematoma like Stella had a while back. It looks bad. I guess it is when a blood vessel breaks and leaks into the surrounding area. The entire ear looks and feels like a water balloon. Not much can be done but let time and the body take care of it. So now I have to make sure Barkley doesn't mess with it. Gave him a dog pain pill and he slept good last night. At least someone did. Tony and I could not sleep last night. Tony's new contact lenses were bothering him and he finally took them out. Then his eyes hurt all night long. I just couldn't sleep and finally pulled out the IPod and listened to music until about 3:30 AM.

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the early morning reading the newspaper before going grocery shopping at Pick N Save. Came home and put all the groceries away and left the house again at 12:30 PM to meet my case worker at ARCW regarding my Medicare and the supplemental health and prescription policy. Got all the paperwork filled out and picked a part D for Medicare online. Filled out the paperwork for HIRSP which we will file in November. Made an appointment to meet with her again the end of November. Picked up my prescriptions at the pharmacy and my monthly food at the pantry and came home. It is windy and raining in Milwaukee today. A terrible nasty day. Guess tonight and tomorrow we are under a Wind Advisory because it is going to get very windy and over 50 mph winds. Should be another horrible night's sleep with the wind and the dogs. Have to do some work on the Internet and then will make dinner. Making Sweet And Sour Chicken and rice again tonight with a salad. Tomorrow we have a funeral to go to and then a movie called Weekend with the LGBT Film Festival. Took down the front and side flags because of the wind. With it so nasty outside I don't plan on leaving the house until tomorrow afternoon for the funeral. The guy who died was a good friend of Tony's who owned a car repair shop here on the Eastside. He died of cancer. So sad.

October 18, 2011 Tuesday Afternoon

2011-10-18T15:03:00.002-05:00

Spent last night watching Dancing With The Stars and then Castle. Went to bed after a little lovin around 10:30 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Got the dogs fed and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work a little after 7 PM. Read a little of the morning newspaper. Spent the morning doing things around the house inside and out. Got the pond ready for winter. Only one pump running now and hopefully it will run all Winter with the heater around it. Cleaned out a couple rain gutters that I can reach with the 6 foot ladder. Did a little more leaf blowing. Made tomato soup for lunch and then took a short hour nap. Actually I did not even sleep because four of five dogs wrapped themselves around me and I could not move much less sleep. A phone call got me out of be by 2:30 PM. Making a canned ham, rice and salad for dinner tonight. Will watch Glee, DWTSR, and Body of Proof tonight. DVR'ing the rest of our favorites. Tomorrow I have to go grocery shopping and then meet with my case worker at ARCW to get me Medicare straightened out and hopefully get everything filled out properly. I have to sign up for a part D and a secondary insurance, most likely HIRSP (I think it is called). Don't know much about it and hopefully the case worker will help me all through it. I hate this changing health insurance stuff. My biggest fear is not being covered with health insurance and being HIV. In the 50s again today. Tomorrow the same but calling for rain.

October 17, 2011 Monday Afternoon

2011-10-17T14:55:00.002-05:00

Spent most of the weekend catching up on the DVR. Got caught up on the episodes building up of: American Horror Story, Revenge and Subergatory, to name a few. Revenge and AHS are very good and will continue to DVR and watch them. Saturday morning we went to Menard's because they had a big 3 day sale. Of course they did not have the snow blower on sale for $99 or the DVR Camera system on sale for $179. Ended up buying a lot of other items and ended up spending about $150.00. Went out to lunch at Chili's. Had a big, good lunch with a strawberry margarita. Came home and spend the rest of the day and evening watching the shows I stated above. Went to bed around 10:30 PM. Didn't even make dinner, just made some snacks to eat.

Sunday we were up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his Insulin shot. Spent the early morning reading the newspaper and watching the home shows on HGN. Tony raked the front grass in the morning while I got a turkey ready to bake. I got the turkey last year and I figured I better make this 12 lb turkey before I get another one this year. Did the turkey in a bag baking of it. Spent the afternoon watching more shows on the DVR. The turkey turned out great and we had a big dinner with stuffing, mashed potato, corn, and some bread. Spent the night watching the CBS TV lineup. DVR'd Desperate Housewives. Went to bed around 10 PM after a little lovin.

This morning Tony woke me up at 7:11 AM saying he was leaving for work soon. I could not believe I had slept in this late. Jumped out of bed and fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot, and put ear drops in Vito's ears all before Tony left for work. I read a little of the morning newspaper before going back to bed. I am so tired today. Got up around 11:30 AM and started the day over again. Been doing a little laundry and cleaning around the house. Took a shower and figured I am making spaghetti and garlic bread with a salad for dinner. Will watch Dancing With The Stars and Castle tonight and DVR the CBS TV lineup. Not sure why I am so tired today. I honestly could go to bed again right now but will not because then I know I will not sleep well tonight. In the 50s today and windy just like it has been all weekend. The leaves are all off the back tree from the wind all weekend. If I had to have a job I would have had to call in sick today, I am that tired. Hope it is just a fluke and not something serious.

October 14, 2011 Friday Dinner Time

2011-10-14T15:23:00.002-05:00

The vet called yesterday around 3:20 PM to tell me Vito was ready to be picked up at the clinic. Was told Vito's glucose levels were OK, except the first one they took was high. We should continue with the 5 units of Insulin and come back in 3 - 6 months. I made an appointment for 5 months from now thinking that made me a better Daddy then going the whole 6 months. The doctor also said Vito has ear infections in both ears and we will need to clean them daily and put drops in them. We already have the cleaning solution and drops so I hoped that would keep the total bill low. Cleaning the little devils ears and putting drops in them is not going to be easy. He is a tiger when we try. Picked him up and paid the bill, $192.00. Jeez! He was so happy to hear my voice. Laid in my arms the entire ride home. When I brought him into the house and set him down on the kitchen floor, he was lost. I finally sat on the floor with him until he figured out the layout again. After dodging a few walls he made his way outside and peed on every rock in the side yard for at least 15 minutes. He kept coming back inside the house, then go back out to do more. It took him a while to remember the living room layout and he banged into the dining room chair on the way indoors at one point. Soon he seemed to remember it all and was doing fine. Spent the night watching X Factor and then The Mentalist before going to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Vito slept all night without any problems. Read a little of the morning newspaper before showering so I could go to Walgreen's to pick up a Birthday card for one of the lunch guys today and use my 'buy $25 get $5.00 off ' coupon. Got a bunch of other things that added up in my head, including a Sweetest Day card for Tony, of course it did not add up to $25 at the register so I had to go back and grab an 8 pack of Butterfinger candy bars that were $1.69 a piece or 3 for $3.00. If you read my blog you know this is going somewhere. Of course the one pack of candy came .30 short or $25.00 so I ran back, with one lady behind me saying it was OK, and got another pack. Paid for it all and got home. I then thought to myself that if I would have bought 3 packs of the candy it would have been $3.00 on sale. Since I bought two packs I paid $3.38 which is more than the sale price of three packs for $3.00. Put the receipt on the counter to deal with later. I know most would not care about this but that actually is a pack of candy and .40 back at me if I went back to the store with my receipt. Came home and listened to some music before going to lunch with the guys. Had a great lunch. Asked the guys if they would go back to a store, right down the street from my house, for 40 cents and an eight pack of candy bars. One of 5 said yes. Since we decided to go to a movie next Thursday night at the LGBT Film Festival and I would go buy tickets after lunch for the four of us, I stopped off at home to grab the Walgreen's receipt. Stopped off at Walgreen's on my way to the bookstore to buy the movie tickets. The manager was happy to give me 40 cents and the 8 pack of Butterfinger Candy Bars. Tony would never do this. I figure if I bought it on sale and did not get the sale price I shouldn't have bought it, so I have to fix it. Plus it bothers me so much in my mind, me being nuts and all, that it is just easier to face the music and fix it than let it rattle around in my mind for days. Yah, I am crazy. Came home after buying the tickets and did a little leaf blowing in the yard. The tree is almost empty of leaves. It is windy and in the 50s so most of the leaf blowing was futile. Making some salads and soup for dinner tonight. Had a big lunch and the Birthday boy bought lunch, so it was a free lunch for Tony and I. Even got a couple cupcakes for later that one of the guys baked for the occasion. Will spend the night trying to clear more off the DVR. Hoping to do a lot of TV watching since it did get much cooler in Milwaukee in the last 24 hours. The weather report is even calling for a deep freeze in a couple days. YUCK! Have a good weekend everyone.

October 13, 2011 Thursday Late Afternoon

2011-10-13T14:46:00.002-05:00

Last night Vito wanted to go outside about 2 AM, he was moving around in his cage. If I would have picked up on the signs I wouldn't have had to go through what I did at 5 AM when he woke me again. He had peed all in his cage in his sleep. The towel on the pillow was all wet with pee. Thankfully I am smart enough from the past with him to have the pillow wrapped in a garbage bag so it doesn't soak through. But, that meant he was covered in pee from laying in it so at 5 AM I had to give him a bath after he went out to potty. I then was up and started the day. Fed the dogs around 6 AM, giving Vito his shot. At 7:15 AM I was out the door with him to drop him off at the vet for his full day of tests. After I dropped him off I stopped at McDonald's and bought two breakfast burritos. Came home and a little while went back to bed since it was raining here in Milwaukee. Got up around 11:30 AM and started the day again. Called the vet around 1 PM to be told to call back at 3 PM because they needed to do a few more tests, sounds expensive if you ask me when I hear that. So I have been getting everything done around the house so when I get him home it will be 'Vito time'. Will give him all my attention. I can't imagine what it must be like to be in a cage at the vet and be blind, not knowing what all the noises around are. Poor guy. I told the vets several times before I left him to just make sure they realize he is blind and talk to him so he knows what they are doing and what is happening. Talked to my mom on the phone and caught up on some emails this afternoon after I got the cleaning and supper ready for tonight. I will call the vet in a couple minutes to see if I can pick him up. Will let you know whats up in tomorrows post. Making a meatloaf, noodles and beans with a salad for dinner tonight. It has rained all day in Milwaukee today, very depressing. Will watch X Factor Tonight and then The Mentalist, DVR'ing the CBS shows and Grey's Anatomy. Got to go and call the vet after I spell check. Spell checking always makes me laugh.

October 12, 2011 Wednesday Dinner Time

2011-10-12T15:57:00.002-05:00

Last night Vito woke us up at 2 AM throwing up. Got him out of his cage and on a towel on the bed while I cleaned his cage. He then threw up again off the bed a little while later. He then seemed fine and slept on the bed the rest of the night by my pillow with my hand on his back. I worry when this happens because I am afraid it might be a Diabetic thing.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Around 8 AM the vet called to remind me of Vito's 4 month, all day appointment tomorrow, and to have him to the office at 7:30 AM. I then asked if they had an appointment today for Stella to get her toe nails trimmed. Made a 11:30 AM appointment. Read a little of the morning newspaper and then took a shower. Was out the door a little after 9 AM to get the grocery shopping done. Of course most of the sale items at Pick N Save near me the shelves were empty. I even asked a manager to look for the PF Chang Sweet N Sour Chicken that was $3 off. After they said they looked I was told to get a rain check, which I did. Came home and unpacked everything and put it away. Even got a great deal on Kibbles N Bits for the dogs. They had the big bag marked wrong and I bought three bags at the $6.09 price rather than the $15.99 price. Thought I might as well grab all three bags they had on the shelf. Jeez, this bag of dog food was $11.99 just last week. I even had to take the manager to the sign on the shelf, which she agreed with me to get the low price. After being home for a while it was time to take Stella to the vet for her nail trim. She was very good as always. Stopped off at McDonald's and got a hamburger and french fries. Stella ate french fries on the way home. Did another leaf blowing around the entire yard after taking a short nap with the dogs. I then checked the mail and got my reimbursement for my health insurance through ADAP. Thought I might as well get it in the bank so I drove again to Pick N Save for my bank and made the deposit. For the heck of it I went to the freezer section and wouldn't you know it, the shelf was filled with the PF Chang Sweet N Sour Chicken the manager only a few hours ago said they didn't have. I bought four bags. Making rice and sweet and sour chicken with a salad for dinner tonight. Will spend the night watching X Factor and Law and Order SVU. I also called my mortgage company again today to find out where I stand on my line of credit they canceled and should not have when I paid off the money we borrowed from it. The person on the phone had no more information and said they are still working on it. It has been a month and a half that I have been calling on this mistake. It was another beautiful day in Milwaukee. In the high 60s and sunny. The weather man says this is the LAST day of the nice weather. Wish this would last forever. My Prostate is feeling a bit better. Seems the pain is more in the morning when I get up and then goes away and is not noticeable all day like it was last week. One of the pills makes me feel light headed. Don't like that feeling. Guess I won't use any heavy machinery like the label says. Hmm, is a leaf blower or car considered heavy machinery? Maybe I shouldn't even cook dinner? Don't think Tony will buy that excuse.

October 11, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

2011-10-11T16:56:00.004-05:00

Last night we watched Dancing With The Stars. Just a little after 9 PM the neighbor called in a panic and said to come outside right away. The other neighbor across the alley has 2 Pitbulls and no fence in their back yard. Since they moved in the middle of the Summer we had been telling them they need a fence and some day someone was going to come through the alley with a dog and their Pitbull was going to have a fight. Well, it happened last night. A girl with her cute medium size dog was walking through the alley and the neighbors Pitbull attacked it. It was not pretty. By the time I got outside the dogs were separated and in the house. The dog that got attacked was bleeding. I was not impressed with how the neighbor handled the situation. They hardly apologized much less took responsibly for the attack. I let the girl know, very quietly, that if she needed someone to be on her side, I was here. It was the neighbors fault and I saw it coming. I hope the girl's dog is OK. A little while later the bike police were at the neighbors house getting the story. We went to bed a little after 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. As Tony left for work I went into the garage because I know I have 4 eight foot meddle fence panels that I could make a temporary fence for the neighbor across their back yard. I started the project at 7:30 AM. Soon both neighbors came out of their house, the one with both Pitbulls on a leash. I pounded in 4 poles while the other neighbor used wire to tie the fence panels. Never once did the neighbor with the Pitbulls offer to help. I did this because I just do not want to see another dog get attacked. Since I was in a working mood I took the leaf blower and blew the front, side, back and upstairs deck of leaves. Talked with my mom on the phone prior to taking a shower. After my shower I went to Walgreen's and picked up a prescription and got my flu shot. Came home and I was exhausted. Took a long three hour nap. Still having a hard time trying to wake up and get the brain to work. I am making so many spelling mistakes as I type I can tell my brain needs a jump start. Making a pot roast, mashed potato and a salad for dinner tonight. Will spend the night watching the ABC TV line up and DVR a lot of other shows on TV. I guess the police are returning tonight to get more information from the neighbor and papers on the dogs. Should be interesting. I would hate to hear the dogs will need to be put down but this is the reason I am so careful with my Pitbull. Tomorrow I have to go grocery shopping. It is suppose to rain and be cold for the next couple days. Today was in the low 70s and a very nice day. Our last probably until next Spring.

October 10, 2011 Monday Dinner Time

2011-10-10T16:01:00.002-05:00

Saturday was an awesome weather day in Milwaukee, it got to 80 degrees which is not normal for Wisconsin this time of year. In the afternoon Tony brought home a customers Cadillac convertible and we went for a long drive along the lake front of Milwaukee and south. Stopped off at Dairy Queen for an ice cream. We went for a long walk through Grant Park enjoying the trees and the nice weather. Walked around on the beach and had a nice time. Came home and after we fed the dogs we went up the street to a little Italian restaurant and had a nice dinner. Came home and spent the night watching Horrible Bosses and other TV shows on the DVR. I had heard the movie Horrible Bosses was good, I though it was OK. There were funny parts but I had higher expectations. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Sunday we got up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. After reading a little of the Sunday newspaper we showered and drove to the south side of town and picked up Tony's mom and took her to breakfast. After breakfast we went shopping at Big Lot because they had a 20% off sale for the day. Ended up spending about $150 on stuff we didn't need. Drove the long way home. Spent some time with the dogs and then I wanted to go for a walk along the river which is right across the street from out house. Tony wanted to bring a dog or two which was not my idea of fun or what I wanted to do. We walked two of the dogs around the block and dropped them off at home. We then went for a long long walk along the river and in the woods. I love walking through the woods in the fall and enjoying the colors of the trees and the falling leaves. Had a great walk. Came home and soon we fed the dogs and gave Vito his night Insulin shot. Ordered a Lasagna dinner and two salads for supper which were delivered. Spent the night watching the CBS lineup and DVR'd Desperate Housewives. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. I went for a walk in the morning around the neighborhood. When I got home there was a message from Tony's sister saying she was coming to Milwaukee with the kids and wanted to know if we wanted one of them for the day. Of course I do, I love the kids and have so much fun with them. The sister showed up around 1 PM and I now had a kid for the day. We drove to Tony's auto body shop to say Hi to Tony and walk around the shop showing the kid all the cars Tony is working on. Tony then took the kid for a drive in one of the Monster Cars he is working on. The kid loved it since the car is 5 feet off the ground. We then came home and took a walk and then played war with cards. Tony will be home in about an hour and we will take the kid to Culver's for dinner. His mom will most likely pick him up around 7 PM. The kid is Tony's nephew, the middle kid, 7 1/2 years old and so well behaved. He is so good with all the dogs also. Will watch Dancing With The Stars and Castle tonight. I will DVR the CBS lineup less 2 Broke Girls, I gave up on that show since we can't keep up with everything I DVR as it is. Tomorrow it is suppose to be in the 70s, like today, then the cold and rain arrive on Wednesday. Summer and Fall will be over. Been keeping up with the leaves with the leave blower, can't wait till all all leaves are down. Seems I blow the leaves away and blink and more fall. The trees are about half empty. I will leave blow again tomorrow trying to get as much moved as possible before the rain comes on Wednesday.

October 7, 2011 Friday Dinner Time

2011-10-07T16:40:00.003-05:00

Spent last night watching X Factor and The Mentalist. I took a Valium early in the night so I would not think about my early morning doctor appointment. Slept like a baby most of the night.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Got the dogs fed and gave Vito his shot. Spent the next hour making sure I cleaned out my system and did not eat anything or drink anything but water so if I had to have a blood test at the doctor. Took a shower and left the house a little after 7:30 AM for my 8 AM doctor appointment. I got there early and there was no one at the front desk to check me in but the doctor's male nurse. He checked me in and then had me go back into the doctors office after I gave a urine sample . The doctor entered less than 5 minutes later. He listened to me me say where I had pain and had me drop my drawers. I could see him putting on gloves and I said to him 'you aren't even going to talk sweet to me and buy me a drink first?'. He said 'not today'. He then check my front balls and penis area, then went up the butt with the dreaded finger. He was very gentle and was not as bad as I have had in the past by doctors. He then told me that my urine sample showed no bacteria and I have Chronic Prostate Infection. He then gave me a prescription for Doxazosin 4 MG to take once daily at bed time. It is a stronger antibiotic then the one I have been taking for the past 30 days. The prescription is for 30 days and has 3 refills. He also gave me a prescription of Naproxen 500 MG to take twice daily with food. It is an anti inflammatory and pain pill. Hopefully this will be the cure. I was out the door a little after 8:30 AM. At Walgreen's by 9 AM, and home by 9:30 AM. Honestly, it was the fastest doctor appointment I have had in a long time. I even went down to the second floor after the appointment and had my next blood drawn for my HIV doctor that I was going to have drawn next week Friday morning. Figured a week early wouldn't matter. I get those results back October 26 when I see my HIV doctor. I am hoping to get above 400 again on my CD4 count. I had slipped below the 400 count on my last blood test. It has been my goal to be above 400 and I have only gotten there once, and barely. Of course I hope to still be undetectable with this next blood test. Came home and went for a long walk before I unstrung some of the Christmas lights my mom gave me. Met Tony and the guys for lunch at Bakers Square. Had a great lunch as always. I really love these guys. Came home and spent another hour hanging lights outside before taking an hour nap on the couch while I listened to some old disco music. Making a salad and sandwich for Tony and I for dinner tonight. It was again in the mid 70s today. We are really getting spoiled with good weather. I did get my quarterly water and sewer bill today. It went up from $250 to $325. How do people afford to keep paying these increases. There will come a day when no one can afford to drink, eat, or have heat or electric at the way the cost keeps increasing. That's now over $1200 a year for sewer and water, unbelievable! Will spend the night watching TV on the DVR from the week. No plans this weekend. It is suppose to be nice so I hope we go for a long walk in the woods and enjoy the fall tree colors. It is very pretty and getting near peak season with the colors here in Milwaukee. Thanks for all the good thoughts today. I figured I had some people thinking of me. Oh, one more thing, kinda funny. Tony said to me at lunch 'how come the doctor gets to put his fingers up your butt and I don't'. I said 'because he played with my balls and such prior'. LOL. Have a good weekend everyone.

October 6, 2011 Thursday Dinner Time

2011-10-06T16:30:00.002-05:00

Last night Tony got home from work around 5:30 PM. I had the dogs fed so we headed to the car show on the south side of town before it got dark. It gets dark outside so early. There was no car show. I even checked the Internet and it listed a car show like they have every Wednesday night. Guess car show season is over. We went to A&W for dinner. Came home and spent the night watching X Factor, Raising Hope, and Law And Order SVU. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work a little after 7 AM. Spent the morning on the computer since I could not get my medical history and medicines to print out. I spent about an hour looking for activation keys and such for Microsoft works. Finally downloaded a key and that made things worse. I then did a system restart to put the setting back. Went for a longer walk then yesterday. I am trying to go a block or two farther with each walk. Had a good walk. Took a nap this afternoon with the dogs. I have this pain now in my shoulders which I am sure is just nerves and stress about tomorrows doctor appointment. How many more areas of my body can I have pain? Sat outside with the dogs for a while drinking a cup of coffee after my nap. Another perfect weather day in Milwaukee. Went to go online to do a posting and I could not connect to the Internet. I am sure it had something to do with the system restore I did this morning. Had to download Firefox again and install it. As you can see, I am back online. I did burn a music CD this morning also and it worked great with the new discs. I burned the new Scotty McCreery CD for Tony since I do not like country music. Guess it must be the spool of Memorex discs that don't work since the new ones do. Will eventually keep trying them and throw away the ones that won't burn music. At least I know it is not my computer. Making a steak noodle skillet for dinner with a salad. I am trying to eat very little today in preparation of tomorrow mornings 8 AM Urology appointment. I am very nervous about the appointment since something is still very wrong with my body down in that area. A friend we have lunch with offered to go with me to the appointment, which I though was so sweet. Told him I have to just be a 'big boy' and do it on my own. Hell, there are many worse things the doctors could do than stick his fingers up my butt. God I am hoping that is the worst of it? Will spent tonight watching X Factor and then The Mentalist before going to bed. Will DVR the CBS TV line up and Greys Anatomy. Will let you know tomorrow how the doctor appointment went. Wish me luck.

October 5, 2011 Wednesday Dinner Time

2011-10-05T15:34:00.002-05:00

I made dinner last night since Tony did not get home from work until close to 6:30 PM. Spent the night watching TV. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work around 7 AM. I read a little of the morning newspaper and then started my day. Was at the grocery store before 10 AM. Got the shopping done and the groceries put away. I then went for a long walk around the neighborhood. It is nice taking a walk around the area and seeing all the nice houses I have never really looked at down the side streets. Talked with the neighbor for a little about last nights Dance Results show before I came back home and laid outside with the dogs for a couple hours. It is so nice here in Milwaukee. In the mid 70s again today. I then did a little more cleaning in the basement before I started this post. Tonight we are going to a car show and dinner at A&W. I do love their root beer. Will then spend the night watching X Factor and Law and Order SVU before going to bed. I have to admit that the walks are really doing me some good. The belly uncomfortableness is a little less and I am down to 185 lbs from 193 lbs two weeks ago, so it is working and the weight is coming off. I keep telling myself to 'keep moving'. I also have been making sure I take my pills with food when I take them rather than on an empty stomach, and laying off the junk food as much as possible. Tomorrow is suppose to be another fantastic day weather wise in Milwaukee. I hope to get some Christmas lights hung in the back and front yard while the weather is nice. It is never fun doing it in the cold of November. I promise not to turn them on. LOL.

October 4, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

2011-10-04T15:40:00.003-05:00

I'm back! In pain, but back online with my desktop computer.

Sunday we were up at 7 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the Sunday newspaper and waiting for my parents to arrive so we could all go to the dog walk on Brady Street. It is a yearly event with a dog blessing at the end of the dog parade. Also a Best Costume contest. It is always a fun event seeing all the dogs together, 100s of them. After the dog walk we all went out to lunch at a restaurant on the Eastside. Had a great lunch and talked with the folks. After lunch they dropped Tony and I off at home and we spent the rest of the day doing things around the house. Didn't even make dinner. Tony had some more left over spaghetti. Spent the night watching Amazing Race, The Good Wife and CSI Miami. I DVR'd Desperate Housewives. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Monday I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the day around the house. I did take a walk in the afternoon all the way to Pick N Save bank to make a deposit. Did you see I said 'I walked'. Jeez, I didn't realize it was up hill the whole way home. LOL. It felt good and I will continue with the exercise and walking to hopefully stop this belly pain. My prostate pain is there but seems to be getting better. Hoping if I eat less and get more exercise I can loose some weight and it will help. Thankfully it is in the 70s all week in Milwaukee so this might be a good time to start the walking daily. Got a call from the lady who processes my ADAP reimbursement about my going on Medicare the first of the year. She gave me some good advice and was very helpful. Made an appointment with ARCW in two weeks to get all the paperwork filled out. I just want this whole medical insurance thing to go smoothly without having problems getting my needed meds and doctor visits covered. I am very scared about this. Made the last of the spaghetti for Tony for dinner, I had a salad and some garlic bread. Watched Dancing With The Stars and Castle. Went to bed around 9 PM to watch TV. Just prior to going to bed Best Buy called to say my computer was ready to pick up and that they could not find anything wrong. Yah right.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the early morning cleaning the basement and setting up some shelving we purchased at Home Depot on Saturday. I have to get the basement organized and looking better. At 9:30 AM I left the house with CDs in hand to go to Best Buy to get my computer tower. The Geek Squad guy was very nice and let me come behind the counter and load up the CD burner and burn a CD with my CD's that don't seem to work. I have been able to get about every 5th blank disc to work. Of course the first CD we burned went great with no problems. I told the clerk we needed to burn another. I was never so happy when after 10 seconds of burning the disc it popped out and the error message came up. I even did a little dance because I was not 'nuts'. This is happening. We tried to burn another disc with my CD's and the error message came up again. We came to the conclusion that the bundle of CDs must be bad, except maybe every 5th one. I bought more blank CD and hopefully the next time I burn one it will work. Drove home and picked up a can of gas for the lawn mower at Tony's shop. Came home and after setting up the computer I went out to cut the grass hopefully for the last time this summer. I could not get it started. I called Tony and he came home. After many pulls he got it started and I cut the grass as he drove away. Trimmed around the tree and such and put all the lawn equipment away. Took a short walk around the block and stopped to talk to the neighbor across the alley for a half hour. I then took a short nap with the dogs. It is now a little after 4 PM. I am still not sure if I am making dinner or we will go to one last car show and have some food. It is the best weather in Milwaukee and looks like it will be for the next five days. Seventy's in the day and 50s at night. Only problem is it gets so dark out so early, the sun sets prior to 6:30 PM now. It will go from this to Winter in just a matter of time. Will spend the night watching Glee, Dancing Results and Body Of Proof. I still have my Friday 8 AM Urology appointment which I am not looking forward to. It has been causing me a lot of anxiety and I can't wait to get it over with. I hate going to doctors and this one will want to go up in areas that are not pleasant.