May 31, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

Yesterday we were up by 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. As we read the morning newspaper Tony told me he has to go to his other shop and get it ready for the new tenant. He said it should only take a couple hours. I spent the morning listening to music and doing a little cleaning while he was gone. It started out in the 50s and by the middle of the afternoon it was almost 90 degrees. Almost hot enough to turn on the air conditioning. Went for a drive along the Milwaukee lakefront in the Cadillac all the way to the southside and back. Stopped at Dairy Queen for an ice cream half way through the drive. Came home and spent the rest of the afternoon watching the animals on my wildlife cameras and putting the netting over the pond so the babies don't fly into it when they leave the nest. I set up now 4 cameras. One is in the Mourning Dove nest, one is in another bird nest in the roof peak, another is under the fake house in the rock garden to view the rabbit when it is in there, and one on the back yard. The Mourning Doves are about to leave the nest. The past two days the parents have left the two babies alone in the nest most of the day and night. Four days ago when the babies stretched their wings it was all bones. It has been so fun to now see them stretch their wings and they are full of feathers. In less then two weeks they look like mini Mourning Doves. Made hamburgers on the grill with baked beans and a salad for dinner. Spent the night watching some movies on Logo.com. Watched the movies Were The World Mine and Mulligans. Mulligans was a very good movie. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up by 5:30 AM. The windows were open and the birds making so much noise outside got me out of bed. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Before Tony left for work he called me into the living room to look at the wildlife cameras. You could see a baby rabbit in the house in the rock garden. So cute. Spent the morning catching two baby Wrens that flew their nest into the side yard. Thankfully I saw them before the dogs did or they would have been dog food. I scooped the two birds up with a net since they could not fly yet, and carefully put then on the other side of the 6 foot high wood fence so the dogs can't get them. Still waiting for the Mourning Doves to leave the nest. It will not be long. It is still hot in Milwaukee and has now become very windy. I have a feeling tomorrow will be the day they leave the nest. The parents have been such great parents to these two little birds. Took a nap this afternoon and soon I will start making dinner. Making hamburger helper and a salad for dinner. Have to call my mom after this post to talk about our weekends. Tonight we will watch America's Got Talent. I do like this show and it begins tonight. Tomorrow I have to go grocery shopping. Summer has finally arrived in Milwaukee.

May 29, 2011 Sunday Dinner Time

Friday we had a great lunch with the guys as always. Spent the afternoon doing things around the house and listening to music. Spent the night watching TV shows on the DVR. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Saturday morning we were up by 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Made waffles for breakfast. Tony went to his auto body shop for the morning while I cleaned and listened to music. After he came home from work and showered we went to lunch at a nice little diner on the Eastside of Milwaukee. Had a great lunch. Came home and we took a nap with the dogs since it was raining outside. Spent the night watching more TV shows on the DVR. I looked out the back window at some point during the early evening and saw 2 baby bunnies playing in my back yard. Made me smile. Two baby bunnies now. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning we were up by 6 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Made eggs, bacon and toast for breakfast. It was cloudy all morning. Around noon we went to Best Buy to buy two monitors for the 2 new camera systems we bought. Tony will use one at work and I am using the other here at home as an outdoor wildlife camera. We drove the lakefront home and it started raining on the way home. Rained all afternoon. Even in the rain I was able to set up the new camera on the Mourning Doves with the new monitor. Can see them great now. The babies are getting so big. The parents are for the first time today leaving them alone in the nest for a while. It is the first time since the eggs got laid that the parents have left the nest unattended. I am sure they are close by. It is still drizzling outside. What a crappy weekend so far here in Milwaukee. Tony napped most of the afternoon away as I set up the new camera system and monitor. Not sure what we will do for dinner, but we did not have lunch so I am sure Tony is hungry. Since it is still raining we will most likely order some food for delivery rather than go out in the rain. Will watch a movie or two tonight after dinner before going to bed. Tomorrow it is suppose to get to almost 90 degrees. Hard to believe since it is in the low 50s today and raining, but this is Wisconsin. If it is nice outside tomorrow, as they forecast, I am sure we will go for a drive in the Cadillac convertible. Happy Memorial Day.

May 27, 2011 Friday Morning

The Memorial weekend is upon us. A three day weekend with Tony.

Did not do a lot yesterday due to still not feeling well. Spend the morning mixing and posting my latest music mix. It is posted at the top of this page and on my music page. Spent the afternoon watching movies on Logo TV. Made a meat loaf for dinner last night with mashed potato and a salad. We spent the night watching TV shows on the DVR. Went to bed around 10:30 PM after giving Tony a little lovin.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and Tony left for work around 7 AM. The sun is finally out today but it still isn't going to get out of the 50s today. The weekend looks good with Monday even in the high 80s. Should be a nice Memorial Day weekend. Today is lunch with the guys which I look forward to all week. No plans for the weekend but I am sure there is a car show or two we will go to. Looking forward to just spending time around the house with Tony and the dogs. Have a great weekend everyone.

May 25, 2011 Wednesday Afternoon

Was up this morning at 5 AM throwing up and had the runs. At one point 'it' was coming out of both ends at the same time. Not sure if it was something I eat last night or the HIV meds. Either way it didn't end until about 10 AM. I did feed the dogs and gave Vito his shot, Tony left around 7:30 AM for work. Spent the morning in bed. It is raining and cold today in Milwaukee so it is a good day to spend in bed. Took a shower around 11 AM and went to my 1 PM doctor appointment with my HIV doctor to find out my latest round of blood work and talk about some of the problems I am having with my stomach and rash / marks on my face. The doctor is happy again with my numbers. My TCell count is at 370 and my percentage is 22%. A bit of an increase from last time but still below the 412 I had a year ago. The doctor gave me a dermatologist to call to make an appointment with which I did the minute I got home. I have an appointment for June 6th to see a dermatologist. He also told me to start taking an antacid like Pepsid or like it, sold over the counter at a pharmacy, for my stomach morning problems. My doctor also told me I could start taking my HIV meds at dinner time with food rather than before bed, it might help taking the meds with food rather than on an empty stomach at bedtime. Will start this tonight. Also was told one of the meds I take (Viramune) is now in a one pill form rather than having to take two pills daily. Will get the one pill form with my next refill. So I guess I might be around for a while since my numbers are good and it doesn't look like I am going to die any time soon. Going back to bed after this post. Tony is going to be on his own when it comes to dinner tonight since I don't think I will be eating and most likely will spend the rest of the day laying round in bed or on the couch. Will watch the final for American Idol tonight, DVR'ing the ABC comedy line up to watch at a later time. Was not thrilled about last nights Dancing With The Stars results. I wanted Chelsey to win. Was mad to see her end up in third place.

Almost forgot, yesterday afternoon around 4 PM my big rabbit was under the front bushes eating the bird seed that falls to the ground. Around 7 PM I looked in the back yard and couldn't believe my eyes. There was a baby rabbit in the back yard eating greens. It hung out for about an hour in the back yard. I even threw some bread over the fence to him and watched him eat some of it. So now I have two rabbits, an adult and a baby in the yard. I know most will wonder why this excites me so much. The fact is in the city we have no rabbits because the stray cats kill them. In 20 or more years of living here we have only had a rabbit in the past two years. They are so cute to watch and I wish we had more. Maybe in time.

May 24, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

Spent last night watching Dancing With The Stars and then shows on the DVR. Gave Tony a little lovin in between the Stars show and firing up the DVR. He was sleeping shortly after starting to watch the shows on the DVR. What is it about men and falling asleep after sex? I woke him up on the couch at 10 PM and we went to bed.

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot, and got Tony off to work. Spent the morning watching TV and doing a little around the house while I listened to some music I plan on using in the next dance mix. About 11:30 I called Wisconsin Foodshare to update my case for extending my benefits. I only get $16 a month, but that is nice after a couple months when it adds up and I then use it. I was on the phone, on hold, I swear, until 12:45 PM. After all that I was told I should have, or will receive a letter telling me I have a phone interview on June 21st. All that holding to be told something will be in the mail any day now. What a waste. I honestly thought my phone battery was going to die I was on hold so long. Took a short nap and spent the rest of the afternoon making the next dance mix. I think I turned out OK. Now I just have to listen to it tomorrow and do a little editing before I post it. It should be up by tomorrow night if all sounds good. Just making a frozen pizza and salad for dinner tonight. I plan on being glued to the TV all night, first watching American Idol and then the last 2 hours final for Dancing With The Stars. I predict Hines will come in first, Chelsy in second, and Kirstie in third. I actually want Chelsy to win but I think the people will call in for Hines and he will end up winning. Tomorrow afternoon I have my doctor appointment with my HIV doctor to find out my latest round of blood tests. It always causes anxiety waiting for these results and I have a few things to talk to the doctor about. I made a list: 1. The red and dark spots and patches on my face, that are getting worse. 2. The rash around my forehead. 3. The sick stomach in the morning. 4. Being so tired all the time and just wanting to sleep. 5. No more nightmares since switching off Atripla. I always make a list to make sure I don't walk out of the office with any questions not answered. I am sure I will need to see a dermatologist for the face rash and marks. Will post my new blood test results when I get home later tomorrow afternoon. Lets hope my TCell count went up, and not down, like the last time. This is my first test now since switching from Atripla in January so I am a little nervous.

May 23, 2011 Monday Dinner Time

Friday night we watched the movie Strapped. It was a good movie. Watched a couple TV shows on the DVR before going to bed around 10 PM. Tony fell asleep around 9 PM on the couch.

Saturday was suppose to be a nice day for the first half and the second half (after 3 PM) rain. Well, the weatherman got it backwards because it rained all morning and cleared up a little after 3 PM in the afternoon. It did not rain all morning and we were able to go to a rummage sale in the morning at a church around the corner from our house. We also took our 1965 Cadillac to a car show about 45 minutes away. It drizzled a little on the way there and after about 10 minutes of getting there it started pouring. On the way home from the car show we stopped at a Menard's to buy a gas grill that was on sale so Tony can take ours at home to work for the employees to cook out on this summer. Bought a couple other items and headed home. Tony then spent the entire rest of the day, about 5 hours, putting the new gas grill together. There were so many pieces and I am glad he did it rather than me. Made dinner and we spent the night watching more TV shows on the DVR.

Sunday morning we got up around 7 AM, fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and started reading the morning newspaper. It was sunny outside and suppose to get into the 80s so we called Tony's mother to see if she wanted to go out for breakfast since a car show was not far from her house. We took Tony's mom out for breakfast, dropped her off at her home and went to the car show. Drove the lakefront all the way home from the car show with the top down. After we were home for a while I suggested we go to Home Depot to buy some more flowers and some bark chips for the front and side yard and a new 3 x 4 foot plastic panel for the canopy on the side yard that the wind destroyed last weekend. On the way home, right in front of our house I found a turtle running across the road. I yelled for Tony to stop the car and I jumped out of the car and grabbed it before another car ran it over. It was about 8 inches long. I ran it into our side yard and put it in our pond. We then emptied the car of bark chip bags. While Tony cut the front grass I spread out the 12 bags of bark chips. Sunday was out 18th anniversary of our Holly Union. Tony bought me flowers on Saturday and we exchanged cards over dinner. We made some big Tbone steaks on our new gas grill. They turned out great. Spent the night watching the Billboard Music Awards on TV before going to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM, fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot, and sent Tony to work for the day. I read a little of the newspaper before going outside to start repairing the canopy that the wind tore apart a week ago with the plastic panel I bought Sunday at Home Depot. As I was working on it I noticed the turtle trying like heck to get out of the pond. I knew this was not forever and got the fish net out, scooped him out and put him in a bucket. I then drove to the park a mile away and let it go in the pond at the park. I think it will be much happier there. Came home and spent the rest of the morning doing laundry and things around the house, also finishing the canopy repair. Around noon I went to Pick N Save to buy some fresh produce for the week. Bought an already cooked chicken for tonight's dinner. Tony will not be happy unless I debone first before serving it to him. Actually he will not be happy I am serving chicken but he will get over it. I do like chicken once in a while. Making some rice, corn and a salad with the chicken. Tonight we will watch the last Dancing With The Stars show and then switch to the CBS TV lineup. I think I got too much sun between yesterday and today, my face is really red and feels burnt.

May 20, 2011 Friday Dinner Time

Today was a very nice day in Milwaukee. Got up at 6:30 AM this morning and fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and sent Tony off to work. Laid back down for an hour since I just felt very tired still and was not ready to start the day. Got back up around 8:30 AM and showered. As I was reading some of the morning newspaper outside Tony pulled up in the alley to take get his Cadillac out of the back garage for the summer. There is a big Cadillac car show tomorrow and he wants to drive it there when we go to the show. After we got the car out of the back garage I went to the bank and also bought the new Magnum Ice Cream bars since they finally had them on the shelves. Bought the caramel ones. Tony called shortly before lunch to say he didn't think he would be joining us since he would be working on the Cadillac. I was OK with going to lunch without him since I love my lunch with the guys every Friday. It is my social out for the week. Tony showed up anyway just as I was ordering my usual French Dip with Swiss and extra crispy French Fries. Had a great lunch and came come. Took a two hour nap. Even with the sun out and in the 70s today I just have no energy. I can't wait to talk to my doctor about this next week when I see him for my 4 month appointment to get my blood test results. Just finished doing a little cleaning and vacuuming. Tony should be home in an hour. Will make a salad and a small side to go with it. Not sure what, but I am in no way hungry. Will watch a movie or two tonight or something on the DVR. I will DVR Flashpoint and NCIS tonight on CBS to watch at a later point commercial free. Suppose to be an OK weekend. Should be in the 70s but chances of rain and storms each late afternoon. Just have to get things done outside in the morning and early afternoon. We have the car show on Saturday and another on Sunday. This morning I did watch a second egg hatch in the Mourning Dove nest. I could see two babies in the nest moving around. How exciting hey? Have a good weekend everyone.

May 19, 2011 Thursday Dinner Time

Watched American Idol last night and then Law and Order SVU. I think one of the girls is going home tonight. I do not like country music at all, but I think the guy Scotty should win. He has the best voice and even though I don't like country music, when he sings you just want to melt. Went to bed a little after 10 PM.

This morning I was up by 6 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and soon Tony was out the door to go to work. Spent the morning transplanting a small pine tree to the back yard. I then could not believe my eyes. I was looking at the Mourning Dove nest on camera and I watched the baby crack out of the egg. I think there is just one egg in the nest. The baby moved a little and I watched the Father bird move the shell out of the way. A little later he flew away with the shell to clean the nest. The Father has been with the bird all day. When he does leave for a short time I can see the baby moving in the nest. I read the Father takes the day shift and the Mother the night shift, taking care of the eggs and babies once they hatch. I am a nature lover and having this camera set up to watch this is really cool to me. I can't wait till the baby gets bigger as the days go on and watching the parents feed the little baby bird. So cute. Now I just have to cover the pond in two weeks and keep the dogs out of the side yard when the Mother decides it is time to push the little darling from the nest. I watched a baby bird last summer make it's first flight right into the pond. I tried saving it with mouth to beak breaths but had no luck. It was so sad. It's first flight from the nest and it died in the pond. There are a lot of birds nests in the peaks of our house and roof. Each summer the dogs bring me a couple lifeless bird in their mouths. I am sure they are not dead when they are found it in the yard. So sad. Had a board meeting this afternoon for ARCW. It was OK. Got more bread at the pantry for the freezer. Making an Oncore frozen dinner for supper tonight. Will watch American Idol Results show and then the two hour Mentalist season final. I will DVR Grey's Anatomy, Big Bang Theory and Rules of Engagement. Tomorrow is Friday already. Jeez do the weeks just fly by. I can't believe we are already past the middle of May.

May 18, 2011 Wednesday Dinner Time

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and Tony left for work by 7:30 AM. Read a little of the newspaper before showering and heading out the door for my 9:30 dental appointment. I was pretty sure which two teeth had problems, they were the two that just got fixed a little over a month ago. I was hoping it would be an easy fix. Of course I had cracked both fillings and they both had to be removed and refilled. I had to have the shots and drilling too. Since I was not expecting shots, they worked great since I had no anxiety going into the appointment. Got my monthly food at the food pantry and came home. After putting the food away I drove to Pick N Save to buy an item I had coupons for since it is double coupon day. I not only had a Pick N Save coupon but a manufacture coupon for the new Magnum Ice Cream Bars. Of course they were still out of them. I would have gotten them for free with the 2 $1 coupons doubled. I spoke to the manager and told him I have been here three times to buy this item on sale and the shelf has been empty. He told me when they come in he will accept my coupons and double them. I asked if I could have that in writing and he said just to use his name Steven. Not hopeful that is going to work but time will tell. Came home with a couple other items and then drove to Tony's shop to drop off a couple things and pick him up to drive him home to get the truck. He drove the Lexus to work and now will leave it there since he is trying to sell it again. He will drive the our truck. Tried to take a nap but the throbbing in my mouth would not allow it. I just took a pain pill so hopefully the pain will be better soon. Making some hamburger helper and a salad for dinner tonight. Will watch American Idol and then Law and Order SVU before going to bed. It is cloudy and in the 50s here in Milwaukee. A little drizzle at times. This has to be the worst Spring ever.

May 17, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

Watched Dancing With The Stars and Castle last night. I think Ralph is going to go home tonight on the results show. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony off to work. Watched a little TV, read the morning news papers (we get two: The Milwaukee Journal and The USA Today), and had a bowl of cereal. Took a shower and then left the house a little after 10 AM to go to the pet store to buy Bo a new name tag since he had chewed his so bad you can't even read the information anymore. I then went to Kohl's Department Store again to redeem our $30 in bonus cash we got on Sunday. Bought a pair of shoes that fit good. I hate shoe shopping. I don't know why women like to shoe shop. It is so hard to find a pair that fit good with my wide foot. I also purchased some make-up / cover-up for my face. I have never bought make-up before but I am getting so many dark patches and other blemishes that I have to do something. I am not sure if it is the AIDS or just old age but on special occasions it is nice to tone down the blemishes. Bought a concealer and a powder. Never thought I would be buying make-up in my life time. Made a ham sandwich for lunch when I got home and then took a two hour nap from about 1 - 3 PM. Took Barkley to his 4:20 nail trim. He was a pain in the ass as usual but now has short trimmed nails. I got Barkley, our Beagle, almost 3 years ago when he was a little over 8 years old. He never had good manners and I think he never had other dogs to play with. Maybe it is just the Beagle in him but he is the clumsiest dog I have ever owned. He will just walk over other dogs like they are not there. When the other dogs try to play with him he just sits there and barks, not knowing what to do. He is on of our charity dog. Making some nice steaks for dinner with mashed potato and corn. Also a salad. The steaks are more of the ones Tony bought from a meat vendor a couple weeks back. So far they have been good. He swears he knows the butcher and meat vendor so the meat should be safe. I just don't like buying that way, from the back of a truck. Will watch the Dancing With The Stars Results show and then Body of Proof, DVR'ing Glee, Raising Hope, and the entire CBS lineup which includes The Good Wife. Tuesday's have so many good shows on all at the same time. I have a dental appointment tomorrow. I hate dental appointments. I think I broke the two teeth I had fixed a couple months ago. I will let you know.
Realized today I have been spelling Mourning Dove wrong in my past posts. I guess spell check didn't catch it since the word morning is a word. How would spell check know the darn dove is spelled Mourning. Guess you do learn something new every day.

May 16, 2011 Monday Dinner Time

Saturday was a very cold rainy day in Milwaukee. Tony saw a car in the morning newspaper that he wanted to look at in Dousman which is about 45 minutes west, through the construction. He pretty much had his mind set that he wanted to see the car so there was no changing his mind. I rode along with him to see the car in the rain. Looked at the car and thankfully he did not buy it on the spot. He needs another old car as much as a hole in the head. This car is a 1966 Cutlass. He already is working on a 1964 and 1965 Cutlass. Jeez. To me they are all the same. Came home and the nephew had called saying he was ready to move his stuff into his new rental. So in the drizzle we moved his stuff with the truck and my car in three loads. He is moving into a dump in the ghetto. I would not want to live anywhere close to where he is moving to much less in the dump of a place he will be calling home. There were even 4 cats living in the attic when we walked around the place. Spent the rest of the day watching Repo Games and Parking Wars. I can't believe there is a TV show where when they come to repossess your car, if you answer three out of five questions correctly, they will pay the fine and not tow your car. Of course these people on the show are the dumbest people you would ever see on TV. One girl thought Bill Clinton was the one who discovered electricity. Nice to watch shows where you feel more superior to them mentally. Much less the questions were so easy. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Sunday it was very very very windy and cold. Wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour all day. I had to go up and fix the Batman car the Morning Dove bird nest is under several times. Put some bricks around and in the car as I saw it almost blow away with one big wind burst that came. Watching the mother and father on camera trying to save the nest was heartbreaking. It is very rare to see both birds in the nest like they were yesterday. I still can not see how many eggs are in the nest. Thankfully it looks like they made it through the storm. The birds are still on the nest today. It must have been a horrible couple days for these two birds trying to hold down their nest. I even lost some of my fiber glass panels on the awning from the wind again. Went to Kohl's Department store in the afternoon to buy a pair of jeans and dress pants that fit me since I have gained so much weight. Ended up finding a pair of each after trying on about 15 pants. Thankfully in sizes I can feel OK about. Not only were they and everything else we bought on sale but Tony won another 20% off with a scratch off promotion. We also got another $30 to spend this week at the store so I will have to go back and get a couple shirts while the coupons are good. Spent the afternoon watching more Parking Wars and some shows on the DVR. Watched Desperate Housewives before going to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and sent Tony to work. After reading the morning newspaper and having a bowl of cereal I showered and headed out the door to go to the bank and buy a few grocery items. Was home before 11:30 AM. Did a little cleaning around the house before taking a two hour nap. Making a frozen beef roast and noodles for dinner with a salad. Tonight we will watch Dancing With The Stars and Castle before going to bed. Made an appointment for Barkley to have his nails trimmed at the vet tomorrow late afternoon. Also made a dental appointment for Wednesday since I think I damaged the two teeth I had fixed a month ago. Have to lay off the lemon drops and milk duds I guess.

May 13, 2011 Friday Afternoon

Yesterday was a very nice day in Milwaukee. It was in the 70s here near the lake front. In the morning I drove down the street to the local green house and bought a couple plants to put in the pots that hang in the side yard. Since the prices at this greenhouse are very expensive I only bought three plants. Will buy the rest of my flowers at Home Depot or Menard's some time down the road. Planted the flowers in the pots and spent the rest of the day laying outside in the shade on the deck with the dogs, listening to music. Made left over spaghetti for Tony for dinner. I had a salad and a bagel. Spent the night watching American Idol results, Grey's Anatomy and The Mentalist before going to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up by 6 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot, and left for the hospital to have my blood drawn. Seems like it took forever and she must have filled over 10 viles. I hate getting my blood drawn. I always wonder what the person drawing my blood is thinking looking at what the blood is being drawn for. Picked up a couple sausage burritos at McDonalds on the way home. Spent the morning doing a little cleaning and vacuuming before Tony picked me up to go have lunch with the guys. Had a nice lunch as always. Tony then dropped me off at home and was to return in about an hour so we could go to a funeral about an hour away, west of Milwaukee. After about an hour Tony called to say we would not be going to the funeral because he was to busy at work much less the construction on the highway all the way to Pewaukee is horrible. It was a friend Tony went to high school with. I did not know the person. Was happy to not have to drive all that way especially with all the construction and down to 2 lanes from 3 lanes the entire drive. They say in Wisconsin there are two seasons: Winter and Road Construction. The expressways around Milwaukee are a mess with construction this year. Thankfully I don't have to drive them much any more. Tonight we will spend the night watching stuff we DVR'd during the week. It was much cooler today and foggy at times. This weekend is suppose to be in the 40s and 50s and rainy all weekend. A good weekend to not leave the house if you don't have to. The only plans we have are to move the nephew to his new house and I would like to go to Kohl's to buy some pants that fit me. I think I might have to just throw in the towel for the time being and buy some larger pants that fit. Not an easy thing to do.

May 11, 2011 Wednesday Dinner Time

Got up this morning at 6 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony off to work. Read a little of the morning newspaper before working out for a half hour. Had a bowl of peanut butter captain crunch and took a shower. Took Stella to the vet for her 10:30 AM appointment to have her nails trimmed. Once again the price has increased. It is now $20 for a nail trim. She was a good girl at the vet. Actually funny to see such a big tough dog shake in fear waiting for the trim. Such a big baby I got. Brought Stella home and after a bit I headed to Pick N Save to do some grocery shopping. Did not have much on my shopping list but I managed to spend $90 on groceries anyway. Almost everything I bought was on sale. I am now finding myself shopping the isles looking for sale items and when I see an item we use on sale, I buy a couple or few of them. I figure the item will get used and might as well buy it on sale. Did a little around the house before taking a nap. I just can not make it through the day without a nap. I plan on addressing this with my doctor in two weeks when I see him. I have no energy and feel like I could just sleep all day. My sinus's are getting a bit better. It might just be the fact I have had this sinus pain for so long I have decided to just live with it. Making spaghetti for dinner tonight with some bread and a salad. Will watch American Idol and Law and Order SVU tonight on TV. Will DVR The Middle, Better With You and Modern Family to watch another day. It was close to 70 today but no sun. Storms are just west of Milwaukee right now and should be here in about a half hour. Going to take another sinus pill and head to the couch for a while.

May 10, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

My allergies are so bad I just want to cut my head off!

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and sent Tony off to work. Had a hard time getting Vito to eat which he must do in order to get his Insulin shot. Finally got him to eat and gave him the shot. He is not liking these shots lately. We were doing so good. The other day he even bit me when I tried to give him the shot. He took it much better this morning. I think his neck area is getting sore from the twice a day shots. Will have to ask the vet about this tomorrow when I take Stella to the vet to get her toe nails cut. Worked out for a half hour again today. Ate some breakfast and went back and laid down on the bed for an hour. I then noticed the sun was out and thought I was not going to waste another day because of this sinus pain. Showered and went to Walgreen's to get more sinus medicine. Bought Advil Congestion Relief and a couple other items. Came home and took the Advil. It did help but was not a cure all by any means. Cleaned the back hallway and put the rabbit outside for the afternoon to soak up the sun and feel a little less caged being able to see the birds and other animals around him. I think he likes being outside. Made a salad and making a Boboli pizza from scratch for dinner. Will spend the night holding my head watching the Dance Results shows and DVR'ing the CBS lineup, Glee and Raising Hope. It was almost 70 today and the sun was out all day. Tomorrow is suppose to be even warmer but later in the afternoon big storms and a cold front. The rest of the week looks cold and rainy. Have to take Stella to the vet tomorrow to have her nails trimmed and will also do a little grocery shopping later in the day to get some fresh grocery items. My head feels like a bowling ball and I just want to cut it off.

May 9, 2011 Monday Afternoon

Friday night Tony woke up around 1 AM with his typical migraine headache. He was up most of the night throwing up because of it. I do feel sorry for him when he gets these. It must be horrible. Because of Tony being up all night we did very little on Saturday. Tony spent most of the day on the couch or in bed. I did things around the house. I have to admit my head has been hurting for days now because of allergies. I swear each year they get worse. I have yet to find a pill in my cabinet that will work to get rid of this head congestion and headache. I still have it today. Saturday night we watched the movie The Last Song. It was OK. Went to bed around 10 PM.

Sunday morning we were both up by 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the Sunday newspaper. Took four out of five dogs for walks around the block before taking Kali with us to my parents house for Mother's Day. Had a nice afternoon with the parents. Got home around 5 PM and spent the night watching the Amazing Race final and Brothers And Sisters. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up by 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony out the door to go to work. Worked out for about a half hour. I have to not only loose some weight but get into better shape. So today starts the daily work out. I need to loose 20 lbs. Having a hard time finding any clothing that I look good wearing and that is not a good thing with Summer right around the corner. Did a little around the house after the work out and then I was exhausted. Laid down for a couple house before getting up around 1 PM. Took a shower and spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning and getting dinner ready. Making a steak, potato's and green beans for dinner, with a salad. Will watch Dancing With The Stars tonight. Today started out pretty good weather wise but now it has gotten cloudy and rain is on it's way. I think it is suppose to get warmer this week, but also a lot of rain. I hope the rain cleans the air of all the allergy crap that is messing up my head. Friday I go in for my next round of blood tests.

May 6, 2011 Friday Dinner Time

Was a very nice day weather wise in Milwaukee today.

Got up this morning around 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony off to work. Spent the morning reading the newspaper, watching TV and vacuuming and cleaning the house. Tony picked me up a little before noon to go have lunch with the guys. Was a fun lunch as always. Always a couple good laughs. Spent the afternoon laying outside with the dogs listening to music, enjoying the weather. It is suppose to rain most of tomorrow so this one day of nice weather is all we get for a while. This has been a horrible spring here in Milwaukee. At least 10 degrees below normal temperatures. Tonight we will watch Flashforward, CSI and some show on the DVR. If it is nice tomorrow we plan on going to a dog walk, but like I said, the forecast for tomorrow does not look good for that event. Sunday we will most likely go to my parents house for a little while to say Happy Mother's Day to my mom. Taking Tony's mom out for dinner Saturday night. The trees are getting buds on them so it won't be long before it will start to look like summer. Have not been able to get the camera system up in the Morning Dove's nest yet since she still has yet to leave the nest. I don't want to scare her while she is laying her eggs. I assume that is what is happening since she has not left the nest for going on two days. She is still alive because she looks at me when I walk around the side yard. Waiting for her to leave the nest for some food and I will put the camera near the nest.

May 5, 2011 Thursday Dinner Time

Wednesday morning I went to Pick N Save to make a bank deposit and pick up a couple items at the grocery store. Made myself a ham sandwich for lunch. Took a nap in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day doing little things around the house. Spent the night watching American Idol and Body of Proof before giving Tony a little lovin and going to bed around 10:30 PM.

This morning I was up by 6 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony off to work. Spent the early morning catching up on some emails, watching TV and cleaning the house. Around noon I went to Home Depot to order a new set of blinds for in the living room. Since I switched out the front window blinds a month ago I now need to do the same with the side window. The current blinds just don't match the room anymore. Was a nightmare. After getting the order done the lady tried to put the charge through my credit card at the blinds department desk. After a few tries she told me I would have to pay for it at the service desk. The service desk tried a few times, each time it was declined. I kept telling the clerk there is no way my credit card is bad. Ended up having to call the credit card company only to find out the first time the charge did go through and the next six times was declined. Home Depot had no record of it going through on their end so I had to have the clerk talk to the credit card company person. Got it all straightened out, at least I hope so. Will have to check my next bill very carefully. Came home and took a short nap before getting up and spending some time with the rabbit we are taking care of for Tony's nephew. Making Chili Cheese Hamburger Helper for dinner with a salad. A pair of Morning Doves have made a nest under the toy Bat Mobile I have high in the air in the side yard. I set up the old camera system and am waiting for the mother to leave the nest so I can put a camera under the car and be able to see her and the babies once they hatch. Not sure if there are even eggs in the nest yet. Will spend the night watching American Idol results, Grey's Anatomy and The Mentalist before going to bed. Tomorrow is lunch with the guys and then the weekend is here. Wow, the days go so fast.

May 3, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

Got up this morning at 6:30 AM and fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot, and sent Tony off to work. After reading the morning newspaper and watching a little TV I went outside to weed and feed the front lawn. We only have grass between the road and sidewalk but it get so many dandelions each year. I hate dandelions. So I fed the side hose to the front of the yard, connected another hose and sprayed the front grass with weed and feed. Got the hoses all back where they belonged and spent the rest of the morning watching TV with the dogs. Spent the afternoon watching TV and listening to music. I am getting an ear infection. My left ear hurts something bad. Been taking Advil Cold and Sinus the past few days for it. Today I started taking an antibiotic of Cipro I have here at the house. Hopefully that and some ear drops will stop it in it's tracks. I sure hope so. It does hurt a lot, more and more as the day has progressed. The dogs are tearing up the house playing as I type this. I have to keep yelling out 'not so rough' every once in a while to keep Stella from hurting the little dogs as they all play. Stella has never yet hurt any of the dogs when she plays with them and I want to keep it that way. Will watch Glee, Dance Results and Body of Proof, DVR'ing the CBS TV lineup and Fox's Raising Hope to watch this weekend. Making spaghetti for dinner tonight with bread and salad. Hope to go grocery shopping tomorrow for a couple items like fruit and salad. Thankfully we don't need much but fresh fruit and vegetables. Going back to the couch since my ear is throbbing.

May 2, 2011 Monday Dinner Time

I can not believe it is May already.

Saturday morning we got up around 6:30 AM and fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Spent the morning watching TV and reading the morning news paper. Around 10:30 AM we were about to walk out the door to go to the southside Walmart when Tony's nephew called and asked if Tony could bring his truck to his apartment. When Tony asked him why he replied 'because I have an hour to get my things out and to storage'. Tony's nephew is 35 but has an 8th grade mentality level. We went to his apartment with some bags and boxes and told him we would be back at 3 PM to move his stuff to Tony's shop for storage. We then went to Walmart and spent way too much money. Had lunch at Taco bell and came home. Went back to the nephews house and made two trips to Tony's shop with his crap. And I mean crap. The nephew had no idea where he would be sleeping but we will not let him in our home so he is on his own. He will most likely sleep in a shelter. He can not be trusted so staying here at our home is not an option. I did take his pet rabbit to take care of until he is settled somewhere. The nephew was given 3 months notice, of course he let us know the day he needed to be moved. Sometimes I just want to take a 2x4 board to his head to wake him up. Spent the night watching TV and went to bed around 10 PM.

Sunday we got up by 6:30 AM and got the dogs fed and Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the Sunday newspaper. Around 10:30 AM I drove to the Eastside Walmart (the one I hate) to buy some bedding for the rabbit since the nephew gave us none and the cage needed a cleaning. The nephew has no money and has no business even having a rabbit, but that is a whole different topic. Around 3 PM we went to a pre estate sale. The real sale is today but we got to go a day earlier and pick out what we wanted. Jeez, bought over $340 in stuff that did include a new clothes drier, a new stove and some old chairs for Tony's shop. Spent the night watching Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up by 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony off to work. After doing a little around the house I decided to paint the hallway wall that has marks on it from Tony throwing the dogs tennis ball and it making marks when it hits the wall. Painted the wall. Took a nap in the afternoon since the painting took more out of me than I thought it would. Making a frozen beef roast, mashed potato and corn with a salad for dinner tonight. Will spend the night watching Dancing With The Stars and Castle before going to bed. Tomorrow I have to drag the water hose to the front yard and weed and feed the little grass we have. I hate dandelions and want them killed before they start to bloom. It was in the 50s today and most of the weekend. A little warmer would be nice.

April 29, 2011 Friday Dinner Time

This morning I was up by 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony off to work. Spent the morning until about 10 AM watching the Royal Wedding on TV. Was a nice wedding but I will be happy to not hear about it again after today. I think the prettiest dress was on Kate's sister, the bridesmaid. Spent the morning cleaning the house and vacuuming for the weekend. Tony picked me up a little before noon and we went to have lunch with the guys. Had a great lunch filled with laughs. We stopped at the lumber store on the way home since Tony had his truck so I could buy four 2"x2"x8' treated boards to redo or fix the canopy above the kitchen deck. Came home and spent the afternoon slowly removing the lattice canopy wood one piece at a time and replacing it with a more sturdy boards. I used the 2 x 2s as braces. Had to ask the neighbor for help holding a ceiling board in place at one point this afternoon. I figured I might as well get it done this afternoon since it was close to 60 degrees and SUNNY. Yes, the sun has been out all day today. Also figured if I try to do it tomorrow and ask Tony for help he will ask me why I didn't get it done during the week. Last weekend he actually had the nerve to tell me to stop doing a project I was working on because 'the weekends are for taking care of him'. I had to laugh. When Tony comes home for the weekend if it doesn't involve drinking or being served, he wants to just sit in front of the TV at home. I guess I would rather have that then a man who wants to go out all the time and you can't trust. Making a pizza for dinner and a small salad to go with it. I am never hungry on Friday nights after lunch with the guys. No plans this weekend. I might beg Tony to take me to a Walmart outside the city. Maybe even a mega Walmart since I have a huge list building of necessity things we need sooner or later like Toilet paper, paper towels, plates, napkins and such. He hates Walmart. I find it much more enjoyable with him, by just a little.
I see on the frig Tony hung the summer car shows. There is one this Sunday so if the weather is good I am sure we will go to that car show. Something funny did happen today. I wrote the other day about the dog Titus that was missing and found dead that has been all over the news lately. The owner has been living in a tent for the past month hoping the dog would return to their old home. I wrote an email to the guy saying: I don't know you or Titus but your story broke my heart. I cried like a baby when I heard the news that Titus is no longer with us. Please know you did everything you could to find him........ In today's Milwaukee Journal there is a story about the man and his dog again and in the story he talks about all the emails he has gotten from around the world and then goes on to quote my email word for word. So I guess that makes me happy that I made a difference in someones life and my email ment something to him. You always wonder if people get those kind of emails. I was happy to see the one email he quoted was mine word for word. How cool hey? Here is a link to the story I am refering to: http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/120929434.html
Oh well. Have a great weekend everyone.

April 28, 2011 Thursday Dinner Time

Last night we met a friend at a local bar where they have $1 hamburgers and $1 french fries. Had a couple drinks with her and her new boyfriend. Met her at 6:30 PM and was so shocked when I saw a clock in the bar said almost 9 PM. I could not believe how fast time went with her. We had a good time. Came home and watched a little TV before going to bed.

Kali had us up at 2 AM throwing up. Jeez, these dogs are going to be the death of me yet. Cleaned up the mess and got everyone back to bed. Got up at 6 AM and fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Tony left for work around 7:30 AM. I went back to bed until 9 AM. Watched Regis and Kelly before taking a shower and got ready for my noon meeting at ARCW. Had an uneventful meeting. Kinda starting to feel like a waste of time. Picked up some bread at the food pantry and came home. Spent the afternoon doing a little cleaning, laundry and watching TV while I finished the morning newspaper. Watched Rob Lowe on Oprah. Wow is that man handsome and sounds like a very grounded family man. Making some hamburger helper, tator tots and a salad for dinner tonight. Tomorrow is lunch with the guys. Two already called and said they would not make it due to the fact they are sick. Will miss them but don't need their illness. It was cold and cloudy today in Milwaukee. Even drizzled a little at times. It was in the high 40s most of the day. Tomorrow is suppose to be in the 60s which is welcome weather. I am so sick of cold, rain, cloudy days. I guess we are lucky we are not down south where all the tornadoes are hitting hard.

April 27, 2011 Wednesday Night

Did the usual routine this morning and got Tony off to work. Watched a little TV and read the morning newspaper before showering and heading out the door to do some grocery shopping. I knew this was going to be expensive because we needed meat and dinner items. The price of food is going through the roof like the gas prices. Total came to $140.00. Got home and made myself a ham sandwich for lunch before taking a nap with the dogs. Stella is not feeling well and has the runs. She snuggled under the bed blankets this afternoon and got a good nap also. Cruised the Internet a bit and found a news story that broke my heart. A guy in Milwaukee lost his dog a month or so ago after the family moved from their home. The owner had been sleeping in a tent for the past month at his previous home hoping the dog would return to the area. It was seen in the area. The dog was just found dead. His name was Titus.
http://www.wisn.com/news/27690064/detail.html
So sad. I would need major therapy if I lost one of my dogs and it ended like this.
Meeting a past tenant for dinner at the $1 hamburger bar for a drink and to get to know her new boy friend. Will be nice to catch up on her life since we haven't seen each other in a while.
I have a board meeting tomorrow afternoon.
The weather was again horrible today in Milwaukee. Drizzled all day and in the 50s.

April 26, 2011 Tuesday Afternoon

I wish I had a more exciting life and had more to say about what I have done the past two days. Pretty much just did a lot of napping, watching TV and cleaning the house here and there as well as the usual daily activities that must get accomplished. Bo is back to peeing in the house again. Found one on Sunday, one yesterday and caught him in the act today in the kitchen. I do not think he will forget today's spanking anytime soon. I did not hurt the dog but let him know this was not acceptable. He is over a year old now so I think he is just testing us and marking his spot. He seems to do it when Stella moves from a spot laying down. I think he then marks this as his territory. As far as I am concerned, it is all MINE, not his. So this does need to come to an end very fast. Yesterday was a nasty rainy cold day here in Milwaukee. Today started off much the same but late this afternoon the wind shifted to the southwest and the sun came out between the clouds warming us to the 70s. I even have the windows open which is the first time this season. Haven't even yet taken a shower today. I downloaded a bunch of music and spent most of the day listening to it as I did little things around the house. Soon I will have enough good new music for another DJ Dave Mix. Most of the music I download I listen to and then delete it because if I don't like it, why keep it or put it in a mix. Called my ex today and asked him to pick Tony and I up a Papa John's pizza for dinner tonight. He stops there every Tuesday and always said if I had a taste for their pizza on a Tuesday to call him, so I did. Will make a salad to go with the pizza so I don't look totally useless to Tony when he comes home with dinner after working all day. It feels so good sitting here with the window open and the cool, but warm enough air and breeze, coming into the living room. Watched Dancing With The Stars last night and then gave Tony a little lovin before we went to bed. Tonight we will watch the results show and DVR Glee and Raising Hope. I love the TV show Raising Hope. If you haven't seen it give it a try, Cloris Leachman is hilarious as the grandmother in the show. Tomorrow I will have to be a little more ambitious and get some things done away from the house. Have to do a major grocery shopping for dinner items. I even checked my food card balance today, $48. I only get $16 a month. Like to save it up a few months to make the embarrassment worth while at the grocery store. The cost of food lately has not made grocery shopping fun in any way. Our cable / phone / Internet bill came today and increased again. I called the company and after being on the phone with them for almost a half hour and threatening that my next call would be to a different cable provider, got the total monthly amount lowered by $20 a month for the next year. We have basic TV, basic Internet, and basic phone service. They first get you with those introductory prices and slowly keep raising them over the year or years. We are almost at $150 a month for those three items in a bundle now. I soon will cancel the phone land line and tTV cable if it keeps increasing. We don't even have HBO or Showtime or any of those pay channels. Just the basic TV is good enough for me. If I can't find something, anything, to watch on those 200 or more channels there is more wrong with me than the channel selection. Well, the sun is behind the clouds and it is getting cool fast. Going to spell check and close the windows before getting to making that salad for dinner.

April 24, 2011 Sunday Morning

I am now 50 years old!

Friday we had lunch with the guys. Was an enjoyable lunch as always. After lunch I dropped Tony off at his shop and I drove to get my birthday cake I had ordered the day before. When they brought out the cake I could not believe my eyes. The person took the order wrong and the cake was HUGE. It was too big. I told them it was beautiful and all but there is only my partner and I who will be eating it. Ended up buying a smaller cake in a different flavor. Came home and took a short nap. Tony got home a little before 6 PM and we spent the night watching TV.

Saturday morning after feeding the dogs and giving Vito his shot we discussed today's birthday plans. Since Tony had come up with nothing so I decided we would spend the day pricing and planning for the sunroom I would like to have built off the side of the house and the pool I would evenually like in the room. So I had a list of pool stores and sunroom places we could visit to get some ideas and pricing. What a waste of a day. I figured $40,000 would make a good sunroom. The first place we went to was a pool place, they had only two pools. The second stop was a sunroom store that we spent 45 minutes finding out it would cost more like $70,000 for any sunroom due to the fact a foundation for the room would have to be 4 feet deep into the ground, making the cost so high. So that visit was a bust and killed my dream. The third stop was another sunroom store that no longer even builds sunrooms. So we decided to go to Olive Garden for their $4.99 soup, salad and breadsticks only to find out after we order a drink that that special is only during the week and it would be $10.99 for the same thing. I was not going to spend that kind of money on lunch for soup, salad and breadsticks and told the waitress we would only be having the drinks. Sometimes I just wish I wasn't so cheap but after drinks and a lunch at dinner prices it would have been $50 for lunch. A burger at McDonald's would have been fine for me. We drove home and spent the afternoon cutting more bushes and cleaning up the yard. It was in the 50s and partly sunny so it was OK outside. Around 5 PM we went to Palarmo Villa for dinner. An Italian restaurant that we enjoy. Had a nice steak sandwich, salad and pasta for dinner. Came home and spend the night watching two movies: Easy A and Let Me In. Both were good movies. Easy A being the better of the two. Gave Tony a little lovin inbetween the two movies. We took a 15 minute movie break, LOL. Eat some cake also between the two movies and after the lovin. The cake is dry and not as good as their cakes should be. Went to bed around 11 PM and the birthday was over.

This morning we were up by 6:30 AM to feed the dogs and give Vito his shot. Spent the morning reading the newspaper and drinking coffee. I have showered and Tony is taking one now so we can meet his mom and sister for an Easter brunch. After brunch we will most likely spend the rest of the afternoon watching TV. Tony will be napping soon after we get home I bet. Happy Easter to all my followers.

April 21, 2011 Thursday Afternoon

Yesterday was another horrible day weather wise here in Milwaukee. I don't even think it got into the 40s all day and it was cloudy and rained. Stayed close to home all day and took a long nap in the afternoon. Last night we went to see the play Les Miserables for my third time. As you all know this is my favorite play and I even bought tickets to see it again on Saturday, my Birthday. Well, the show was not as good as the last two times I had seen it. The first time I saw the play the stage turned like a wheel as the scenes changed. It was unbelievable and I fell in love with the show. The second time we saw it in Chicago and it was in the round. It was even more awesome than the first time I saw it. Last night the stage was 'set' and it was just not as good. The women were not strong singers and I thought put the play to shame. I cry every time I see the show and get tears just listening to the soundtrack. Last night I never shed a tear and never got chills like the last two times. I was very disappointed. So when we got home I put our Saturday tickets on Craigslist.com to try and sell them. I got a call a little while ago from a lady who is calling me back in a little while to confirm she is going to buy them. I figure at $65 a piece it just is not worth it to see it again. I actually enjoyed the 25th Anniversary Special on TV more than the performance last night. So disappointing since I was so looking forward to this show for so long. Went to bed around 11:30 PM after giving Tony a little lovin.

This morning I was up at 6 AM to feed the dogs, give Vito his shot and get him to the vet by 7:30 AM for another day of blood tests to see how his diabetes is doing. Picked up some breakfast at McDonald's and came home. Read the newspaper and watched a little TV before taking a shower and going to the grocery store to buy a couple items so we don't have to go again this weekend. Being my birthday weekend I don't plan on cooking all weekend. The sun is finally out today. I just got back from taking Stella for a walk. If I get more energy I might take a couple more dogs for walks around the block. It is suppose to get to 50 today and the sun should be out most of the day so I am much more happy about the weather than I have been the last couple weeks. It is actually suppose to stay above 50 degrees during the day for the next week or so. Lets hope we have had the last of snow and this cold weather. Making a beef roast for dinner tonight with baked potato and corn and a salad. Will watch the American Idol results and Greys Anatomy tonight on TV. Tomorrow is lunch with the guys and then I have to go to the north side and get the birthday cake I ordered for myself. I wasn't going to get an expensive birthday cake this year since we just got one for Tony's birthday a month ago. But I thought WTF my 50th birthday isn't going to come along again. Will have to figure out what to do on my birthday Saturday if I sell these tickets. Have to do something big now that we most likely will not being seeing Les Miserables again as planned.

April 19, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

Another miserable day in Milwaukee. What is with this crappy weather?
Got up this morning and fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony off to work. Shortly after he left I got some clothes on and drove to the nearest gas station and bought a pack of cigarettes. I had gone 2 days without a cigarette. I now am so mad at myself for doing this. I feel such a failure. When I wasn't smoking the last two days I felt like I was winning, like Charlie Sheen says. I still swear by the time I am 50 years old I will not be smoking and that is this Saturday. I just hate this frickin addiction. I feel better when I don't smoke. I can make it a couple days without one. Then my bad Dave takes over and goes and buys a pack and then the cigs are here in the house. Trust me. After Saturday if I am still smoking I do expect every one of my followers to get down on me. You have to do this for me. I could use a little encouragement leading up to this Saturday also. I have told myself for years and years that by 50 years old I would not be smoking and I can not fail at this. Gave Vito a hair cut again today. It is a process with him because he needs a muzzle on so he doesn't bite when cutting his hair. He turns into a mad dog when you cut his hair or toe nails. Honestly, a mad dog. It is scary. You can only cut so much off with each swipe holding him as he tries to bite. So it is not a cut I would get at a groomer, but no dog groomer would touch this dog. Spent most of the day watching TV and the ice pellets landing on the ground. It rained ice all day today and is still hailing right now. It is about 33 degrees here and it doesn't look like this crappy weather is going to end any time soon. So damn depressing. Gave Barkley a shower with my shower today since he did not get a bath on Sunday as usual. Finished the antibiotic I was giving him for his allergy sores on his skin and they are now gone. So I figured I must keep up with the baths or they will just return. There going to return anyway, but hopefully not for a while. Making a canned beef stew, tater tots and a salad for dinner tonight. Don't feel like cooking dinner at all. This weather is so depressing. Very depressing thoughts enter my head all day as I just sit here watching the clock and TV. A little sun would help. Makes me dwell on my HIV status and where life is going and where it has been. At one point today I was thinking what a waste it has been to spend 22 years with the same person and all I might have missed. Then I did start thinking more positive and the fact that I have been lucky to have someone by my side through the good and bad for the past 22 years. Tony is not the most passionate or romantic husband in the world but he has stayed by my side through all my HIV bullshit. Especially when you consider the fact I got HIV in those 22 years. I can't imagine not having him or someone to lean on during the hard times, the deaths of pets and family, health problems and just the daily shit that throws blocks in your life. So, I guess I still have a way to go from unhealthy depressed thoughts to happy thankful thoughts. Wish I could block the unhealthy depressing thoughts before they ruin my day and make me sad. I am sure doing nothing all day doesn't help. I need more of a purpose in life fast. I feel I am wasting my life doing nothing every day. Something has to change. Turning 50 this weekend has to make a difference. Quiting smoking will be the first step. I do need a life change. I need more to do in my life, more time doing things for myself and not just for Tony or the dogs, and start working out to lose this weight I have gained making me feel fat and ugly. No time like the present, hey?
Maybe this turning 50 can be a good thing? Just can't imagine where all the time has gone and how I can never get it back. That I think is the main thing .... I CAN NEVER GET IT BACK!
Will spend the night watching the Dance results and the ABC TV lineup tonight. Will DVR The Good Wife and NCIS shows along with Glee and Raising Hope. The Lilac tree in the side yard is starting to get buds on it, hopefully that is a good sign spring will some day come? Tomorrow night we go and see my all time favorite play Les Miserables. I can't wait. I cry during the performance and love every minute of it. For some reason this play makes me cry and feel sad, but I love it just the same.

April 18, 2011 Monday Afternoon

Did very little over the weekend, again. Tony went to work at his auto body shop on Saturday morning as I did a little cleaning around the house. When he got home it was still raining so we took a nap and then spent the rest of the day watching Parking Wars on A&E TV. Made a pizza for dinner and watched the movies Yogi Bear and Save Me Saturday night. Save me stared Judith Light who is one of my favorite actresses. It was a good movie. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

Sunday I made breakfast and then we spent the morning and most of the afternoon watching Operation Repo on A&E. Tony loves this show being in the automobile industry. We did go to the Public Market in the afternoon and bought some fresh food. It is better than a Pick N Save, and has much more in prepared foods. More expensive than the regular grocery store though. Bought a couple beef tenderloin's wrapped in bacon, some corn on the cob and salad for dinner along with a bunch of other items on my grocery list. Spent the rest of the afternoon watching Operation Repo until dinner time. Made dinner and watched our usual Sunday shows on TV which include Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters. Went to bed around 10 PM.

This morning I was up at 6:30 AM to feed the dogs, give Vito his shot and send Tony off to work. Before I could even get the dogs fed I was throwing up. Always a wonderful way to start the day. Spent the day watching TV and doing a little cleaning such as dusting and vacuuming. It has been in the high 40s here in Milwaukee the last few days including today. We even got snow yesterday for a while. This morning there was a light covering of snow everywhere. Looks like the next week will suck. It is my Birthday week this week, Saturday being my Birthday. It is also my Les Miserables week where I go to see the show on Wednesday night and Saturday afternoon. I honestly am having a hard time with this Birthday. It will be my 50th and I am not happy. How the hell did I get this old? It only took a blink of an eye to get to this point, life will be over in another blink. I find that so sad and hard to grasp. I don't feel 50 but I know it is true. I think I am going to log off and cry. LOL

April 15, 2011 Friday Night

Spent last night on the Internet looking for web sights to save my soap One Life To Live. I am so upset. I even Facebooked a couple of the actors on the show and I am now their friend on Facebook. I am so happy there is so much outrage over the cancellation of this soap. Does ABC really think we need more health or food shows? This is just horrible. I have spent most of my life with the people on One Life To Live. It is just wrong.

Was up this morning at 6 AM and fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony off to work. Had a cup of coffee and read the morning newspaper before watching Pycho Mike Catherwood take Regis's spot on Regis and Kelly. I do like this guy and he is so easy on the eyes. My type to a 'T'. After the show I showered and started getting ready for lunch with the guys. Wore black to lunch in mourning of my soap being cancelled. Had a great lunch with the guys. Tony dropped me off at home after lunch and I took a two hour nap. Got up and started cleaning the house for the weekend. Dusted, vacuumed and picked up the dog droppins outside. It it suppose to start raining any time now. I looks like it. Not going to stop until Sunday making Saturday a stay in bed or in front of the TV kinda day. Suppose to be a miserable day tomorrow here in Milwaukee. Sunday it finally should clear up but still only get into the 50s. Have no plans this weekend and with the nasty weather we will most likely catch up on the DVR. I have over 40 TV shows on it that have been piling up. So we do have plenty to watch while it rains tomorrow.

Am I the only one outraged over the cancelation of One Life To Live? Did anyone else watch this or All My Children?

April 14, 2011 Thursday Dinner Time

One Life To Live canceled. Tell me this can't be true.

Did very little today around the house. It was cold and damp outside in Milwaukee, cloudy all day. Spent the day on the couch with the dogs watching TV. Making Oncore Lasagna for dinner with a salad and bread. Will watch the results of American Idol tonight and then TV shows on the DVR since our usual shows are all reruns.

I am so so so so unhappy. I just read on one of my web sights that ABC is canceling All My Children and One Life To Live. Both will be gone by January 2012. WTF? I've been watching One Life To Live since I was 16 years old. That is 34 years. I DVR the show daily and we watch it on the weekends. I have never missed a show in 34 years. How can ABC do this? I am so distraught I can hardly type. Going to make myself a drink and cry. LOL.

April 13, 2011 Wednesday Dinner Time

This morning I was up by 6:30 AM, fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot, and sent Tony off to work. Spent the morning doing a little cleaning before going to the bank at the Pick N Save I hate three blocks down the street. After the bank I went to ARCW to get my monthly food and some bread products. Came home and after doing a little around the house I took a two hour nap. My shoulder blade pinched nerve is feeling much better today. Tony gave me a little rub down last night and I think that helped a lot. The sun was out today and it got to 60 degrees. Tonight a cold front comes through and it will be in the 40s and 50s for the next few days with rain. I am not cooking tonight since we are meeting a friend at the $1 Wednesday burger bar for dinner. Haven't seen this friend in a while and looking forward to catching up on things. Tonight we will watch American Idol and then I will most likely have to give Tony a little lovin since he has been wanting for a couple days and I have not been in the mood because of the shoulder pain. This is of course if he can stay awake long enough for American Idol to end before gettin the lovin. Tomorrow is not suppose to be a nice day so I think I will spend the day cleaning and maybe moving the living room furniture around.

April 12, 2011 Tuesday Afternoon

Another day in pain.

Last night we watched Dancing With The Stars and went to bed at 9 PM. I was so tired and couldn't wait to go to bed.

Woke up this morning feeling better but still had bad pain in my left shoulder blade. This pinched nerve is really killing me. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Got Tony off to work. Spent the morning taking any kind of pain pill or Valium I could find to try to dull this pain. I can not sit or lay in any way without feeling pain. Did a little around the house once the pain pills kicked in. Spent the afternoon watching TV with the dogs. Posted the new Pet Shop Boys CD above. It is really good. The CD is not their typical music and is set up like a play and the music is like a musical if it were a real performance or show. I for some reason can not stop playing it. I do love The Pet Shop Boys and this CD is right up there with one of there best. Not many words throughout the CD, mostly very soothing music. Give it a listen. I think you might enjoy it. Yesterday my rabbit hung out all day under the front bushes. Took a pic of it and posted it at the end of this post. Have not seen hide nor hare (get it, hare) of it all day today. Making pork chops, rice, corn and a salad for dinner tonight. Wish I had some muscle relaxers for this pain. Tonight we will watch the entire ABC TV line up which includes the Dance Results show before going to bed. Tomorrow I will have to get more done since the last two days have been a total waste, being in so much pain. It better end soon or I will have to consider getting out the gun. LOL. Here is my rabbit that I have fed for the past two years.

April 11, 2011 Monday Dinner Time

Watched the two hours of Brothers and Sisters on TV last night before going to bed around 10 PM. The storms arrived around 10:30 PM and kept us up for about an hour as Vito barked at the lightning and thunder and Kali trembled in fear. This morning I was up at 6:30 AM and fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and sent Tony off to work. I felt like crap today all day. Had a pinched nerve in my left shoulder yesterday that is now along both shoulders today. Feel so tired today I went back to bed shortly after Tony left for work and didn't get up again until around noon. Spent the afternoon on the couch watching TV. I think I have this flu or cold that is going around Milwaukee. I thought I had made it through the flu season but the way I feel today, I was wrong. Making Tony a TV dinner for dinner. Will most likely make a bowl of soup for myself. If it were 10 PM right now I would go back to bed I am that tired. Having a hard time even keeping my eyes open. The body aches have increased as the day went on. Will watch Dancing With The Stars tonight before going to bed. Bed time can not come soon enough. Was cooler today and only in the low 50s and partly cloudy in Milwaukee. Going back to the couch................

April 10, 2011 Sunday Night

Waiting for the storms to arrive. Friday night we watched the movies Little Fockers and Hatchet 2. I was very disappointed in Little Fockers. Hatchet 2 was pretty much what I expected. Went to bed around 11 PM. Saturday it was kinda cold in Milwaukee only getting into the low 50s. Tony went to work for the morning and then early afternoon we drove to Steins Garden Center to buy some decorative stone for the side yard. Bought three different kinds of rock, three bags each. They were mostly for filler in the side yard. After we carried in all the bags and spread them around we took a short nap in the afternoon. Saturday night we went to a fund raiser for ARCW, we had complimentary tickets. Had a great time at the event. Bid on a few silent auction items but we were out bid in the end. Had a great dinner and came home by 10 PM. Watched a little of the news before going to bed. Today we suppose to be a day of heat and humidity with record breaking temperature in the 80s. We never get this warm in Milwaukee in April. The day started in the 50s and by this afternoon it was very hot and very humid. Tony spent the morning raking the front yard and cleaning out the gutter of the street in front of the house. I worked on small projects around the yard. We went to Culver's for lunch and then bought lottery tickets and gas before making a quick stop at the Shorewood Pick And Save. Spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying the side yard and dogs in atypical temperature. Since it got to 83 degrees today and tomorrow is suppose to be a the 50s it is logical big storms would come with the 30 degree temperature change about to happen. Milwaukee is along Lake Michigan so the lake has a big influence on our temperature and weather. Just looked at the radar and the storm line is a couple hours to the west. Should get interesting about 10 PM tonight when the temperature drops 30 degrees with the cold front. Have very little plans this week. Tomorrow it is suppose to rain most of the day so I will most likely do a lot of cleaning and most likely napping. Watching the two hour Brothers and Sisters tonight on TV.

April 7, 2011 Thursday Dinner Time

Got up this morning at 6:15 AM and fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony off to work. When I went to give Vito his shot I had to open a new box of needles. The new box of needles are the wrong size, they are 1/4 inch and not 1/2 inch like the ones I had been using. Gave him his shot with the shorter needle and put it on my list to buy the right ones today at the grocery store and pharmacy. Read a little of the morning newspaper and took a shower. Headed out the door at 9:30 AM and went to McDonalds again for some breakfast and then to the Pick And Save here on the Eastside. What a mistake again. The reason I went back grocery shopping today was because on Sunday when we went the store was out of all the sale items or coupon items. Today the store was still out of the items or I had to ask for the clerk to bring more out to the shelves. I will never shop there again. Such a waste of time. Looks like from this point forward I will be going to the Pick And Save in Shorewood to do my grocery shopping. Took longer than usual and came home almost 2 hours later. It is overcast and foggy today in Milwaukee. This kind of weather does not give me much ambition. Took a two hour nap this afternoon. It still is not even in the 50s today and very damp outside. Making an already cooked meatloaf for dinner tonight with corn, mashed potato and a salad. Will spend the night watching American Idol results, Greys Anatomy and the Mentalist before going to bed. Tomorrow is Friday and lunch with the guys. Saturday night Tony and I will be getting all dressed up to go to an expensive fund raiser for ARCW. I asked if there were any complimentary tickets and was told two would be waiting for me at the door Saturday night. My grandmother always said to me 'the squeeky wheel gets the grease'. I believe this to be true. If you don't ask for something, you won't get it. Sure miss my grandmother who died a couple years ago. She was the smartest person I ever met in so many ways. I think of her often.

April 6, 2011 Wednesday Dinner Time

Got up at 6 AM and fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and got Tony off to work. Cleaned up a little before going to McDonald's for some breakfast and then to Home Depot for some bricks. Bought the 5 bricks I needed and headed home. Since it was drizzling most of the morning I had to wait for the rain to stop to again start working on the pond. Spent the entire rest of the day working on the pond. It looks great and all the pumps are now up and running. The fish are happy. Took a shower, vacuumed the house and making spaghetti for dinner tonight with a salad and bread. No time for a nap today. Will spend the night watching American Idol and Law and Order SVU before going to bed. Looks like all the people Tony and I voted for yesterday won their election. Not sure if this is a good thing for Milwaukee, time will tell. At least the people that all won are Democrat and gay friendly. Could this be a comeback for the Democrats in Wisconsin? Lets hope so. Here are pictures of the pond in daylight and one this evening at dark. You can see the frog and the beaver spitting water. Just have a little more work to do on it and it is set for the summer.

April 5, 2011 Tuesday Dinner Time

Spent last night watching Dancing With The Stars and then Harry's Law. Couldn't believe when Maks fell during his dance with Kristy Alley. You could see the pain on his face as he continued the dance. What a pro. Went to bed around 10 PM. This morning I was up by 6 AM, fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot and sent Tony out the door to go to work. Read the morning newspaper and had a bowl of cereal for breakfast. Since the sun was out and it was to get to 50 degrees today I thought it best to take a shower and get some work done outside today. Had a cup of coffee first with the neighbor for about an hour as the day warmed up. Spent the rest of the morning raking the piles of leaves in the back driveway and then started to tackle the pond. Took the top part of the pond apart since it did little to enhance the pond and was a pain to keep clean. Had to have Tony come home with an employee to help move the mini pool table I was using as the higher part of the pond. It is very heavy. Spent the afternoon cleaning up the mess in that area of the side of the pond. Did not get as much done as I wanted to since I had to take an hour rest in the middle of the afternoon. Have to go to Home Depot tomorrow and buy some brick for the pathway I am making on that side of the pond. Should be able to then finish cleaning that area after I lay the brick I buy. Tonight I am not making dinner so Tony and I can go vote and then have $1 taco's at the Mexican restaurant down the street. I usually just have one taco since the nachos and dip and the strawberry margarita are enough for me. Not happy with the election this time around. The people who are gay friendly are not who I would normally vote for but I just can not vote for a Republican that would be happy to ship gay people out of the state if they had their way. All the Republicans are threatening to cancel the Domestic Partnership's registry Milwaukee has. It is only on paper but since that is as close to a marriage as we can get, we have signed the registry. Would hate to see the Republicans make our relationship NOTHING to the state. The people we are voting for are the 'best of the worst'. Not a good feeling when voting for the next elected officials. Will watch the Dance results show tonight and DVR Glee and the entire CBS TV line up. Will most likely be ready for bed early tonight since I worked so hard outside today and really did not take a good nap. It was so nice to work outside in the yard with the temperature in the 50s today. Suppose to just keep getting warmer from this point and now they are saying maybe 70 degrees on Sunday. WOW. Of course this is Wisconsin and on Monday the temperature drops down to the low 50s again.

March 4, 2011 Monday Dinner Time

Got up this morning at 6 AM and fed the dogs, gave Vito his shot, and got Tony off to work. It was in the 40s today in Milwaukee and cloudy. Not good weather to get my mind going and feeling any ambition. Spent the morning doing a little cleaning from the weekend and watching TV. Made a ham sandwich for lunch and took a two hour nap with the dogs. Got up because I noticed the sun was finally out. It didn't make it any warmer outside. Making baby back ribs for dinner with rice and a salad. I do love ribs. Looks like this is the last day in the 40s and it will be in the 50s the rest of the week, 60s by the weekend. Spring is coming. Hopefully tomorrow I can get outside and start cleaning up the back yard or start working on the pond. If the sun is out and it is in the 50s tomorrow like they say, it shouldn't be a problem. It's these cool cloudy days that make me just want to sleep all day and have no ambition to do anything. My rabbit hung out all morning in the front bushes just outside the front window. I think she is looking for a spot to start a nest. That is of course if she is a she and not a he rabbit. Would love to see more rabbits in the yard, baby rabbits would be so cute to watch. I just wish all the cats that run the neighborhood would go away so the rabbits wouldn't have to watch their backs all day and night. Got my federal tax refund today in the mail. Was a little less than what I thought but I wasn't expecting much anyway. At least I know the federal and the state got my taxes, since I got my state refund a couple weeks ago. Was happy to get any money back since I really don't pay that much being on social security. Thankfully for the homestead credit on the state income tax and the earned income credit on the federal income tax I got something. Tonight we will watch Dancing With The Stars and Harry's Law before going to bed. Not much else to blog about since it was pretty much a worthless day today. I sometimes feel like I waste my days when I feel like this.

April 3, 2011 Sunday Night

Friday afternoon we had a great lunch with the guys. After lunch Tony and I went to Walmart here on the Eastside to buy a cheap computer monitor for the new security system I purchased about a month ago on the Internet. It arrived on Thursday and I set up three of four cameras Friday afternoon. The new security system has a DVR and can record for 325 hours, all four cameras around the yard and house. I love it. For only $199 for the security system and $100 for the monitor it was a great buy. You can't buy a security system with a DVR for less then $500 even on the Internet. Was happy I jumped on this one day sale. The cameras are even better than the old cameras we had. Took all afternoon to rerun all the new camera wires and hang the cameras outside. Of course the wires and connectors were different so it all was like setting it up from scratch. Now I can see and DVR anyone who comes to the house from any angle of the yard. Spent the night watching the movie Rabbit Hole. It was a very good movie. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

Saturday morning we were up by 6:30 AM. Fed the dogs and gave Vito his shot. Drank a cup of coffee and read the morning newspaper for a bit and then made some breakfast. Took a shower and then we went to look at a house for sale down the street. It is the house of a friend that died a month ago that the family is selling. They wanted us to have first look at it. It is nice, but needs a lot of work and not something we would buy right now. Tony dropped me off at home and he left to go to work for a while. I went outside and continued to work on securing the wires for the security cameras. When Tony got home we got out the big ladder and hung the last camera and wiring. Took a short nap before going out to eat at a restaurant here on the Eastside called Sala Da Pranzo. Heard they had great pizza so we thought we would give them a try. The pizza was excellent. Came home and fed the dogs. Spent the night watching more movies and TV. Watched the movie I Spit On Your Grave. Was a very violent rape movie and then she gets back at her attackers. Was very violent but good. The rape victim did a great job of getting each of the five guys back for what they did to her. Went to bed around 10:30 PM.

This morning we were up by 6:30 AM feeding the dogs and giving Vito his shot. About a half hour after feeding the dogs I threw up again. I am going to have to check into this. Spent the early morning drinking coffee and reading the Sunday newspaper. Made a big breakfast and around 10:30 AM we went to go grocery shopping before the big storm arrived. The storm hit as we were in the grocery store. When we got into the grocery store it was not raining and there was no more snow on the ground here in Milwaukee. About half way through the shopping you could hear the rain and hail hitting the roof. When we left the grocery store 45 minutes after arriving there was now a 1 inch covering of hail EVERYWHERE. It looked like someone sprinkled an inch of that ice cream they sell that is in small ice pebbles. Really looked awesome but I was not happy to see the grass covered again with snow or ice. Came home and unpacked the groceries. Took a couple hour nap and now I type this blog. Suppose to be in the 60s by the end of the week which makes me very happy. Looks like Spring might finally arrive by the end of the week. I have nothing on my schedule this week so it would be nice if the weather got warmer so I can start working on the pond and getting it how I want it for the Summer. Watching The Good Wife that we DVR'd last week right now on TV. Tonight we will watch Desperate Housewives before going to bed. Wish I would have taken a picture of the snow today. It really was different looking.