Awkward....

When I was pregnant with Big Boy, I really wanted to book an appointment for a pregnancy photo session. I loved the idea of hanging pictures of my big pregnant belly on the wall and having them as a memory of some of the happiest times in my life.

I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion. What one person may see as beautiful, another may see as down right freaking creepy! I stumbled across this instant entertainment today and wow. Just wow.

Awkward Pregnancy Photos - BLOG - Pregnant Chicken

Some of these pictures are too much. I keep going back and looking to try and figure out what the photographer was trying to "capture" and I've got nothing.

No, I'll Be Home After 3

Dear Verizon,

I understand the my measly $30 a month DSL internet connection means nothing to you but I've become rather fond of the internet and since you have never been once asked to come here on a service call, I don't need the attitude.  I have no idea why it isn't working but I can take an educated guess and say it may have something to do with the wild storms which came through here earlier.  With that being said, fix it.

I don't think I'm asking much or am I?  I shouldn't have to take a day off of work nor cancel BB's pediatrician appointment for this either.  Here is a little something for the old suggestion box by the way, 8am-7pm is not an estimated service time.  You know what it is though?  IT"S AN ENTIRE DAY OF MY LIFE!  I can't sit around and put my life on hold because you people don't know how to schedule a day of service calls efficiently.

I will be here tomorrow during the small time frame we agreed on and hopefully we can all get on with our lives.

Love,
Tracy

p.s.  So help you God if I'm missing any good Amazon Lightning Deals!

I'm Great

Yup, you read that correctly.  A few minutes ago, I became a great aunt!  My beautiful niece Victoria  gave birth to her son Kenneth who she named after her father.   I wish my brother were alive to hold his grandchild for the first time.  I know he looking down from heaven guiding Tori the entire way.

Congratulations Tori and Welcome to the world baby Kenny!  Always know that your grandpa loves you very much and will always be looking down from heaven, sending you love.

Important Health Information

* Do you have feelings of inadequacy?

* Do you suffer from shyness?

* Do you sometimes wish you were more assertive?

* Do you suffer exhaustion from the day to day grind?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, ask your doctor or pharmacist about Margaritas.

Margaritas are the safe, natural way to feel better and more confident about yourself and your actions. Margaritas can help ease you out of your shyness and let you tell the world that you're ready and willing to do just about anything. You will notice the benefits of Margaritas almost immediately and with a regiment of regular doses you can overcome any obstacles that prevent you from living the life you want to live.

Shyness and awkwardness will be a thing of the past and you will discover many talents you never knew you had. Stop hiding and start living, with Margaritas.

Margaritas may not be right for everyone. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not use Margaritas. However, women who wouldn't mind nursing or becoming pregnant are encouraged to try it.

Side effects may include:

- Dizziness

- Nausea

- Vomiting

- Incarceration

- Erotic lustfulness

- Loss of motor control

- Loss of clothing

- Loss of money

- Loss of virginity

- Table dancing

- Headache

- Dehydration

- Dry mouth

- And a desire to sing Karaoke

WARNINGS:

* The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you are whispering when you are not.

* The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to tell your friends over and over again that you love them.

* The consumption of Margaritas may cause you to think you can sing.

* The consumption of Margaritas may make you think you can logically converse with members of the opposite sex without spitting.

Please share this with other women who may need Margaritas.


~The Beach Life would like to give credit to the AWESOME Kendrasaurus for sharing this brilliant tidbit of humor.

Two More Sleeps.....

Is what Big Boy keeps keeps saying, 2 more sleeps before I go back to school and see all of my friends!  Thanks Heavens!  I don't think I have it in me to handle this child much longer.  Big Boy is a creature of habit  and we thrive on a schedule around here.  It's time to get back to normalcy.

Due to extreme budget cuts in NJ, our school system had to do some fancy maneuvering and the end result was new bus schedules and starting times for all the schools.  This actual benefits my parents who will have him less time in the afternoon but puts me in quite the time crunch in regards to getting BB dropped off in the morning and getting myself to work on time.  Ah, it'll all come together.


Another issue for BB is going to be his friends.  Two of his closest friends have gone on to kindy and another has switched schools.  We've been talking about this a little bit each day but I just don't think he "gets it."  He is however jumping out of his skin thinking about seeing his favorite teachers especially one he has a huge crush on and has missed so much all summer:)

We have a very busy day today of back to school clothes shopping and haircuts!  Let's all say a prayers for a great school year!

Best Cartoon Ever!

I have no idea who The Angry Pharmacist is but  he may just be my own personal hero:)

$2500

I don't know about you, but I think $2500 is a whole heck of a lot of money, especially to a senior citizen on a fixed income.  As much as I bellyache over how stressful my job, it's still my job and if I see an opportunity to help someone, I will.  

One of our elderly patients had their caretaker call today regarding a new prescription for Plavix.   A one month supply of this particular medication (if paying out of pocket with no insurance) is over $200.  Yup.   Imagine how bad I felt when I knew this lady was not going to get her medication.  She has Medicare but is in the dreaded "donut whole."  The "donut whole" is what happens when you have to satisfy your portion of the Medicare deductible.  Truthfully, I have no idea how much people have to pay but like everything in life, some people have better plans than other but it's usually at least $1500.    After your portion is satisfied, Medicare will again begin absorbing your RX copay and eventually, you'll go for a bit with $0 copay and then the cycle will start all over again.  It really is a stressful cycle especially when you have fixed income seniors coming in thinking they aren't going to have a copay and you have to be the one to tell them they've hit their maximum (the donut hole) and now they have a $400 copay (which they can't afford) .  It sucks.

Anyway, I realized today that patent X was in the donut hole and after offering to go online and try to find manufacturer coupons or to check for programs for her, I thought to ask if she recently had a stent put in.  No she did not.  Plavix is used to avoid blood clots (among other things) and the doctor wrote for this drug first without even considering simple aspirin therapy.  Honestly, most doctors just don't think or even realize how expensive these medications can be and are too quick to write a script.  Since, patient x has never taken this medication and it was being used for stroke prevention, I told her caretaker to call the doctor and explain she could not afford the med and ask her if she could try aspirin therapy.  A few minutes later the doctor calls the pharmacy and she and the pharmacist agree this seems to be the best course of treatment for patent x both medically and financially.

If patient x has to buy two economy size bottles of aspirin this year totaling $10, that means I helped her save almost $2500 by having her therapy changed to a simple aspirin.  I have to say, it feels really good knowing I've spared someone a huge financial burden while allowing them to improve their quality of life.

Whether I Like It Or Not...

Monday is going to happen.  Every Sunday night I stay up way to late (like right now) and get all depressed thinking about the upcoming work week.  Of course all this ends up doing is making me extremely cranky and over tired tomorrow which is pretty much a lose-lose situation for EVERYBODY.

Yup.  I wonder how many times I 'll get to hear, "I'm on vacation and forgot my___________."  Feel free to fill in whatever medication you would like.  Ironically though, it's usually something rather trivial like, I don't know, INSULIN!!!  I tend to leave my house all the time without a pulse, but it's not like I need one to live or anything.  Damn.  People are so freaking unbelievable.  I don't know how ninety percent of the people I deal with everyday even make it out their front door.

Anyway, besides work, this is going to be a real stressful week and I'm hoping for some kind of miracle.

It's a mess....

Tonight I decided I was going to get back on the blogging train.  I have always enjoyed but for some reason, I got off track and figured it was a dead issue.  Anyway, I sat down, logged on and found a whole new site....

Blogger has added a ton of features I have been dying for.  However, within all of about five minutes of checking out the new design feature, I've completely screwed up the layout of my blog and have no idea how to fix it.   Wish me luck because I think this may take some time.

Hellooooooooo...

My poor blog has really taken a back seat lately. Between Big Boy, work and various medical ailments, I don't have much time for anything but I need to recommit myself to at least one post a week.

A dear friend of mine started a blog recently called "Trying to live with Tinnitus." If you have the chance, I strongly recommend checking it out.

Sigh. The thought of going to work tomorrow leaves me feeling physically ill. I haven't posted the new level of pharmacy hell I'm in so I'll have to get on that...soon.

A Little Reminder!

This coming Friday, April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day! The month of April is also Autism Awareness month. There is so much educational literature out there on Autism and it would truly be a miracle if people would take the time to simply read.

Yup

More snow. I definitely know I'm getting old because there was a time I would have been jumping out of my skin in excitement over all the snow we have gotten this winter. Now...not so much. The superintendent of Big Boy's school has gotten a bit closing happy and the kids are already going to school until the end of June and I'm just waiting to see what tomorrow is going to bring.

On a happier note, my in-laws are paying for 3 round trip tickets to Florida and we are leaving in two weeks...WOOT!!! It still hasn't quite sunk in yet that we're going on vacation. We need one so badly so the timing is just perfect. I can't wait to put on a pair of shorts and hippie shirt and just bum around for a week and forget about the cold doldrums of Jersey for a few days.

I was concerned about pulling Steven from school for the week but we didn't want to go when the entire country was on Easter break and neither hubby nor myself could get that week off of work so we didn't have much of a choice. EIther way, who cares? We are going on vacation and it's going to cost us next to nothing.

Off to watch the weather and pray this storm takes a different path because rain would be so much better than snow...

Yikes!

Thank heavens for global warming huh? It started snowing about two hours ago and if this keeps up for the next twenty-four hours like the weather people are predicting...we have big problems.

I don't mind the snow, but trying to re-arrange my schedule because Big Boy doesn't have school is starting to become troublesome. Hubby is staying home with him tomorrow so no problem there but A. I am not driving to Point in a blizzard. It just isn't worth it for me to risk my life driving to a thankless job. 2. WTH am I going to do on Thursday when school is canceled again, and I'm screwed?

I knew this was going to be an extremely stressful week. I had this feeling all last weekend and it has been nothing but one thing after another and I'm ready to just throw in the towel and go to bed. Ugh. I hate to bellyache about it but....ugh. Now I'll go lay in bed and stress over it.

Happy Day!

Happy Anniversary Hubby! Whew, that was a quick six years!

Please...No More

I don't think I can take another sinus infection. This has been going on since a week before Christmas and just won't stop. To add insult to injury, both Hubby and Big Boy are are dealing with this too. I don't know how to stop this viscous cycle and it's really starting to depress me.

Obviously getting sick is just a part of life, right? I would be shocked if we didn't pass something around during the winter but this year is just a mess. It started a week before Christmas and has never really gone away. Hubby had an awful case of strep which he then shared with all of us. Fine. We all survived and went about our business. Then came the sinus infections.... Not only do they seem to last for ages but the pain that comes with it is like nothing I have ever felt.

Three weeks ago, I actually wished I could drill a hole in my right temple just to relieve the sinus pressure. It felt like someone had my head in vice-grips and was pushing the palm of their hand into my cheek bone as hard as they could. Nice, huh? Finally, after a week or so the pain let up and I was finally feeling better. In the past twenty-four hours, all three of us have gone completely down hill.

I've come to the conclusion that I can drink orange juice and Airborne all day and it's not going to help one bit once this gets you. Looks like another trip to the doctor Monday. Super.

I'm So Ashamed

To admit that I'm curled up in my big favorite cozy chair, laughing my butt off watching Jersey Shore.  I'll admit that at first I was completely outraged over this train wreck but seriously, how can anyone think this hot mess express is real?

Sadly, I know it paints the shore in a negative light but anyone who knows the area knows damn well this IS NOT what the Jersey shore is all about.  You'll never see these morons down on Island Beach or having a few beers at BRT because they don't know what being a true shore local is all about which is why they are pure comic relief. 

So there you have it, this is one of the best worst shows on television right now.  *snickers*

No Really, I Love Being Sick

I love it.  I can't get enough of being sick with this plaque which has been vacationing in my house for over a month now.  What I'm even more excited about, is which one of us is going to get it back now.    I'm thinking Big Boy is finally starting to feel better so my money is on him.   Hell, sleep is overrated anyway, right?

All kidding aside, I can't take much more of this.  Hubby got sick just after thanks giving and ended up with raging strep throat and bronchitis.  He was down for the count for over a week but once he was on the mend, all seemed well and it looked like BB and myself would dodge a bullet. 

WRONG.

About a week later, BB begins to show signs of being sick but nothing to panic over.  I come down with an awful case of strep throat and am just a mess.  I had no voice what so ever and had honestly, never felt throat so bad in all my life.  While this is going on, BB's pediatrician is being jerky about his meds but we finally get him on an antibiotic and go about our business.   Unfortuantly, neither one of us ever completely mend from whatever this was and poor Hubby has a relapse right on Christmas and ends up sicker than before.   He bounces back and we spend NYE all lying on the sofa trying to get BB's 104.5 fever down so we don't have to spend the New Year in the ER....

Jealous yet?  I thought you might be.  So here we are just one week into the new year and guess who's having an awful relapse of the plague that wouldn't go away?  Anyone?     That's right...ME!  I hate to bellyache but enough already.   My throat is a mess and combine that with a dry cough and this feeling like someone is sitting on my chest and well, I'm not very happy.   Anyway, all I can do is rest (fat chance) and hope this passes.

What Happened?

Seriously, where the hell did Christmas go?  I feel like we were just leaving the house to head out and pick up a tree and now it's already out in the front yard waiting to become wood chips.  As quick as it comes, it's gone.  I find it bizarre the radio is stuffing Christmas down out throats starting on November 1st, yet at 12:01am on December 26th, every piece of holiday music in the building is locked up tight. 

It's rather sad when you think about it.  All of the money, time and energy we put into to Christmas and it's over in a blink of an eye.  When I was younger, I remember the entire week between Christmas and the New Year being such a great week.  There were still Christmas shows on and you could still hear holiday music on the radio.  What happened?   Sadly, this depresses me.   I cringe when it's time to take down the tree and tuck everything away for another year but to have television and radio completely flip the "holiday off" switch just makes it even worse.

I think everyone would enjoy the holidays a whole heck of a lot more if they took the time to celebrate and enjoy them instead of rushing to get them over with.  Shame, actually.