The Ultimate Vampire Resource and Directory

As Gina told me afterwards....I got in touch with my "feminine side.



I made a Cornucopia for our dining room table!







I'm so proud of my little project!

I sort of randomly and on the spur of the moment made a huge decision today.



I have always been disappointed that I did not complete my college education. Last weekend celebrating "Senior recognition" for my daughter kind of brought it to the forefront of my mind.



It's been WELL over 20 years since I was last in a classroom. Today I decided that I must get my ass in gear and return to school to earn a degree. I decided (mostly for economic reasons) to start back at our local Community College. I went to their web site and submitted an application for the upcoming Spring term. I already heard back and I have to go take some placement tests and meet with a guidance couselor.



I have decided to pursue a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in International Business. This should permit me to grow in my current company, as we are the US subsidiary of an Italian Multi-National company.



It is totally unlike me to "just do" something like this. It's a bit daunting, but exciting at the same time.



Wish me luck!

Sunday afternoon, between church and stump pulling, we went to one of the local farms and picked out our pumpkins, decorative gourds, wheat stalks, Indian corn and corn stalks. We had Ice cream and went through the little animal viewing area also.



Some pictures.



David, Chrissy and I with our future Jack O'Lantern!







DAG and I with our wagon full of pumpkins.







DAG and I with "Merry" the Great Pumpkin!

Gina had to head into church on Sunday before David and I, so we were taking seperate cars.



A little background. We had a stump at the end of our driveway that was about 3 feet tall.







About a minute after walking out the back door the phone rings. It's Gina on the phone...She say "come outside and help me". I say "Help you?" and she said..."Just get out here!"



So I go outside and what do I see on the ground in fromt of the car?







YES! The whole freaking front of the car!



Now the car looks like this:









*&%$#ing STUMP!



Sunday afternoon I took a pick-axe and dug up that damned stump!

What an awesome morning!

This past Saturday DAG, our son David and our Daughter Chrissy headed out to Shippensburg University for our oldest Daughter Allie's Senior Recognition Day for Marching Band. Allie plays piccolo in the band and has been doing Marching band since she was in 8th grade. So this is the last year she will be in a marching band, which has been a HUGE part of her life for the past 9 years.



We had a nice "taligate" lunch before the footall game and then went in the stadium for the game. At halftime the parents of the graduating seniors came onto the sideline and we went and met our children on the field as their name were called over the PA. Allie and DAG shed a few tears!



After the game we met at Allie's apartment on campus and then went out to dinner. After dinner we headed home as she went to a "Celebrity Date Party" where couples had to dress as celebrity couples. As neither she, or her roommate have boyfriends at school, they went as Paris and Nichole Hilton. Don't ask....



Here are a couple pictures.



DAG, Allie and I:





Allie and her sister Chrissy.....Our 2 "College Girls" lol

Sitting here, checking VR, watching the news and eating my breakfast....Peanut butter on toast this morning.



My eye itched so I rubbed it. I didn't wipe my hand first. Now I have peanut butter in my eye! It doesn't hurt, but I can't see so well!



Feh

My son went out after dinner to skateboard around the neighborhood. Just as it was getting dark and we were expecting him to come in, he sticks his head in the front door and says "Mom, Dad, there's a Police Officer here that wants to talk to you". And, sure enough in front of our house is a police car with the lights flashing and a Police Officer standing on our front porch.



It turns out our son was sitting on his skateboard at the edge of our front lawn. A passing car asked if he was OK and he said "Yeah". I guess the person in the car didn't believe him and called 911. The officer just came to make sure that he was OK. He kept telling us "He didn't do anything wrong...really, we just want to be sure he was OK...He didn't do anything wrong".



Well, I'm glad there are people out there who are looking out for the well being of kids, and the Police take it seriously enough to respond quickly.



But still, The flashing lights and a Cop at the door with your kid sure does get the adrenaline going!

WOOT!



Finally it's Friday!



We are driving out to our daughter Allie's "Senior Recognition Day" for her University Marching Band tomorrow.



We have to escort her out onto the field during the recognition ceremony at the football game on Saturday. We are planning on a little tailgating befor ethe game and then going out to dinner afterwards. Finally a late night drive home.



Happily our other daughter, Chrissy was able to come home for college for the weekend to join us. So the whole family will be together for at least a few hours.



I'm looking forward to this weekend, I just hope the weather is OK. It's raining like hell right now!

Do you ever get a song stuck in your head?



This is from the massed choir concert I am going to perform in come November. It is the 3rd movement from Daniel Pinkham's "Christmas Cantata". This has been running through my head since we had a practice session on Sunday night. I thought writting it out might help to get it out of my head for a while!



Gloria in excelsis Deo



et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.



Jubilate Deo, omnis terra;



servite Dominum in laetitia.



Gloria in excelsis Deo



et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis



Introite in conspectus ejus in exultatione, exultatione.



Gloria in excelsis Deo



et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis.



Scitote quoniam Dominus ipse est Deus;



ipse fecit nos, et non ipsi nos.



Gloria in excelsis Deo



et interra pax hominubus bonae voluntatis.



Ahleluia, Ahleluia



Ahleluia, Ahleluia!

So after a week of taking antibiotics, pain killers and "stupid pills" (Vicodine), I went in for my root canal today. First thing he looks in my mouth and says "Holy crap..that's some absess you got going on there!". So he gives me novicane and then takes one of those pokey hook dentist probes and starts poking holes in the side of my gums. He then has the technician hold the suction in the side of my mouth while he puts his fingers in there squeezing. He says "Wow, it's just like popping a big pimple". Nice!



He did the root canal and it actually was one of my least oppressive dental procedures ever. It went fairly quick and I watched "Caddy Shack" while he was working.



The bad news is that the infection is still there and I have to go back after 2 weeks of taking a stronger antibiotic and have my back tooth pulled as it appears that a poorly done root canal in that tooth around 10 years ago is the primary cause of the infection.



Let me just take a moment to thank my employer for the great insurance they provide. It cost me $186.00 out of pocket for the root canal. I was talking with the office manager while making follow up appointments. He showed me the billing statement. The total cost of the root canal procedure was $780.00! OMG who could afford that? When I got the prescription it cost me $30.00 co-pay. The total cost of the medicine? $237.00! I feel so horrible that because I work for a good company I get to pay much less than someone who works just as hard for a company that chooses profit over providing for their employees.



Anyway. For those who might be following my dental hi-jinx, I'm feeling MUCH better now.

Who needs enemies?



One of the prodution supervisors here at work is REALLY into halloween. He builds animatronic ghouls and spiders etc to decorate his house, plays greepy sounds to accompany his displays.



Today he brought in one of his sound effects CDs to "entertain" me and he's had it playing on his computer in the next office all day. It's called "Merciless Pain" and it's most featured sound is a high pitched dentist's drill.



Nice guy!

I KNOW it's my own damned fault for not keeping up with my 'oral health', but I am going to keep whinning until my tooth stops hurting!



I finnaly got into the dentist this afternoon. I got escorted to a chair, the technician took an X-Ray and then I sat there for an hour and a half.



I did get to watch the movie "Zoro" with Antonio Bandaras while I sat sweating, feeling nauseous and hyperventilating in a state of dental-phobic fear.



Finally the dentist comes in, looks in my mouth, looks at the X-Ray and says "Boy, you've got quite a mess here". Joy.



Turns out the tooth is infected, as is the tooth next to it (which I had a root canal done YEARS ago). So he couldn't do anything due to the infection.



He gave me a prescription for antibiotics, which I need to take for a week before I go in for a root canal and another for vicodine for the pain.



I took them as soon as I get home from the pharmacy at 5:30. The vicodine is doing NOTHING for the pain!



I suck!

I was going to make pancakes for breakfast, but I didn't have any butter :-P

My tooth is KILLING ME!



I haven't been to the dentist in longer than I can remember, so I guess I am just getting what I deserve.



I lost a filling a while back, and as it didn't hurt I figured, I'll make an appointment when I get the chance...Well I consider the dentist more of a medievil torture chamber than a purveyour of modern medicine, so I put it off, and put it off some more. Now my tooth is throbbing and the whole left side of my face hurts. I couldn't get to sleep last night either.



I called for an appointment this morning and the soonest they can get me in is 3:00PM tomorrow!



So if I seem a little "off" you will know why.