Here are the pics of my Mom's side of the family ... the Dysfunctional ones.

I was setting the camera up and doing test shots and I liked this one for some strange reason

My Mom and my Nephew

The Child, The Nephew, The Niece lol

My Brother and his Thingy (if you ask nicely, I just might tell you that story lmao)

I absolutely love this next pic! If you look at the top of thier heads and the bottom of her elbow, they are in the shape of a heart.

The Thingy (Debbie lol), The Niece and soon to be Step-Niece

The whole gang. Ignore Hubby looking like the pic was the last place he wanted to be

---

And there you go. I took tons more but these are my favorites. I am so damn tired I can barely see straight. I'll come back and write all about the *fun* I had today with these people. Till next time ...

Christmas pics

Here is my version of Professional Christmas Pics. Yes, I know they are not the greatest but it was free so I'm not gonna complain. Not to mention I got experience out of it. So it was a win win for me. And I used Photoshop to help with some of them. Ignore the cotton in her right ear ... she may be coming down with an ear infection ... *sigh*

Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll. Hope it was a good day for you. Mine was good. Hubby had to work 12+ hours so The Child and I went to my Dad's for a few hours. I'll share pics in a few ...

Anyway, this has been a whirlwind week. I went in on Tuesday for my follow up appointment for whatever it was that the Dr. didn't know what it was. Yeah, it's shingles. Just like I had thought. But seeing as how I can't seem to be able to do things half-ass and instead go full on balls-to-the-wall on everything, I had a little Staph mixed in with it. And I just realized that I never mentioned *where* the shingles are located ... on my right butt cheek. Can I pick a place to develop shingles or what? So the antibiotics was a good thing to start me on but it was not good for me to wait a week to treat the shingles. But, better late than never I say. And my PCM did give a script for my stomach. So far so good.

Tuesday was also our 13th wedding anniversary. We didn't do anything special. He bought me my favortie Starbucks drink and took me to my favortie Greek restuarant for lunch. I wanted Indian but the place is closed on Tuesdays. I even mananged a 20 min. power nap before picking The Child up from school. So all-in-all it was a good anniversary.

I had decided at the beginning of the month that I would skip my sugar pills for the Birth Control Pills because my body cannot handle another week like I went through last month while on my period with no horomones. So then in my wierd brain I decided that well since I wasn't going to be having a period, I didn't need to take the Prozac because I'm supposed to take that 10 before the start of my period. Yeah, that didn't work out too well for me. I still had the emotional issues and PMS symptoms. So I started taking the Prozac last Friday night and I have to say that they do make a difference. I wasn't sure last month if they did or not because I had started taking them at the same time my Step-Dad died. But this month, I do notice a difference. I'm sleeping better. I'm less dis-associated during the day. I can get a lot more accomplished. And I'm enjoying the fact that they supress my appetite. Now will I go off of them after day 10? I'm not sure. I'm going to discuss it with my Endocrinologist on Monday and go from there.

I had my sleep study Wed. a week ago. I never made it into R.E.M. state which I figured would happen because I had a good case of insomnia going on at the time. And apparently I had a few apnea episodes with the CPAP machine. The Tech monitoring me that night said that the last hour of the study he upped my level to 7 and he said I seemed to settle down. Of course we had an argument when we started because he started me out on 4. I fussed at him asking why in the hell would he do that when it was in my record that I was a 6. Why not start me out on 6? But he said that the study had protocols and I had to follow them. So the next morning when he told me about waiting till the last hour I made a bitchy comment to him along the lines of, "So, if you had started me out on 6 like I requested, then you would have moved me up to a 7 sooner and then I might have gone into R.E.M. state and therefore I just might have had a decent night's sleep." Anyway, I go on Wed. next week to get the official results of that. Hopefully I'll get a new CPAP machine. Mine will be 6 years old in Feb. and I'm sure they aren't built to last forever and I really don't want to have to deal with it breaking down on me.

And Oh My Gawd! I saw Twilight on Friday. It was freakin fantastic. I'm tempted to go again because one of the theater's showing it has $2.75 matinee prices. But I do know I will buy it on DVD when it comes out.

Oh and also on Tuesday, on our anniversary, Hubby went to Church with us for the annual Thanksgiving Dinner. Hubby doesn't go to Church so I knew he was only doing it for a) the free food and b) it was our anniversary. But I should mention that my Church doesn't do a traditional dinner in the sense of turkey and ham and all the trimmings. Nope. They do a barbeque with all the traditional trimmings fitting for a barbeque. The hog was slow cooked and seasoned just right. The hash was to die for. Everything was just wonderful. You can't get barbeque anywhere like you can in the South.

Tomorrow I am cooking my turkey and making my pies and my deviled eggs. My Mom and my brother and his family are coming here for Thanksgiving dinner on Sat. My brother is deep frying a turkey and my Mom doesn't care for it so I am baking one because I need the stock and gibblets for my gibblet gravy. I bought just a small 10 pounder. Gotta have enough for turkey sandwiches for the next few days! So I'll be doing that.

And I'm taking Christmas pics of The Child tomorrow. I've been warning her all week that I am planning on doing it. I told her yesterday that if she co-operates and doesn't give me any fits, I'll take her afterwards to Dunkin' Donuts and she can pick out any munchkins she wants as a thank you from me to her for doing the pics. And yes there will be outfit changes. After that I'm gonna send her across the street to play for a few hours so I can clean and get all my empty Christmas decorations boxes put back in the closet. All her Santa gifts are in there, not wrapped - but hidden, so I have to get in there when she isn't around.

So I will be busy for the next few days. That is okay. I have my Prozac. With Prozac, I can survive anything. LMAO

Oh, I almost forgot the pics. Here are a few taken today ...

My Daddy. And no he still hasn't gone back to taking his meds.

The Child and her Step-Great-Grandfather. Pappy is 94 years young and still going strong.

The Child and her partner in Crime Katlynn who is 7.5 weeks younger than The Child

And last but not least, the Redneck side of my family ... bottom row - The Grands - The Child, Mary Kate and CJ

Middle row - my step-brother Bobby, my Dad and my Step-Mom whom I call Ms. Betty

Top row - my crazy ass half-sister who is 100% pure trailer park white trash, Becky, me and my youngest half-brother who is 35 and still lives at home, Wayne.

On Saturday I'll take pics of the beyond dysfuctional side of my family ... the reason I want out of this base so badly. Till then ...

Out to Pasture

That's where I will be if you need me ... out to pasture.

Because normally you'd shoot a lame horse.

And I can't find anyone to shoot me so ...

Would you believe I have something else going on now?

Why not right?

I'll try to keep the TMI to a minimum for you weak at heart individuals.

To make a long story short last week I was pretty sure that I have shingles. I've never had shingles before. I've never seen shingles on other people before in my life so I'm not exactly sure if that is what I had. But after stating the symptoms to a couple of medical people I know, that was the first thing out of thier mouths ... shingles.

So to play it safe I make an appointment to get that area looked at.

So the Dr. comes in & we're talking & yadayadayada and in mid-sentence she pulls the sheet up and I quote word for word, still in mid-sentence, "I don't know what that is." Uhm, not very comforting Doc.

Seriously, I'm not comforted at all.

So she proceeded to biopsy the area. Only 1 of 3 tests have come back and we know it is not viral but bacterial. So I am on antibiotics. Because apparently I'm not on enough drugs as it is.

And then the stomach. *sighs* I'm still having the burning left over from the Chantix. And according to the Dr. who I had a follow up with for the Chantix 2 weeks ago, I should no longer be having the stomach burning. So I'm supposed to call him back so he can follow up on that. I don't know if the Chantix gave me an ulcer or if it aggraviated a pre-existing ulcer that was doing just fine until I decided to take the Chantix. But we all know that I don't have stress in my life so it couldn't be a pre-existing one.

No I was not able to type out that last sentence without laughing my ass off hysterically.

So just call me a lame horse and be done with me. I'm putting myself out to pasture.

That or look for me on a future episode of House, M.D.

Till next time ...

Proffessional Photography

For those that don't know, I am a huge fan of photography. Not that *I* am any good. But I love it. I envy those that are phenomonal. I try to practice as much as I can. I have even been known to use myself as the subject just to try to get in the practice. My family is uncooperative ... even the Dog at times. LOL Rarely I can get The Child to allow me to take pics of her. And a few months ago I discovered if I let her run the show, where she chooses her own *poses* then I have a chance of getting a good picture. I just take pics while she is talking and/or doing her own thing. Occassionally I might say something like, "Ooo! I wonder how it would look if you did this ... ?" And she'll be all for trying the pose out or adding a prop into the pic with her. But only occassionally. If she suspects she has lost control, she'll get tired & refuse to do anymore. She's too damn smart for me!

Anyway, I don't have a typical Photographer's Camera. I've got an awesome Kodak camera don't get me wrong. It takes amazing pictures and all. But it takes pictures it wants to take, not what I want to take. I can't adjust the settings other than color. I've been eyeballing a few camera's the past year or so but Hubby won't let me spend $700 + for one that I want. My goal is to get in enough experience one day in the far off future that I can start to charge for the ones I do for family & friends and save up enough money to buy what I want. But we'll see. In the meantime I did tell Hubby I would like to take some photography courses to help me better myself.

So the real reason for this entry is that for some strange reason The Child decided she wanted to do a photoshoot this past Sunday. I learned a long time ago never to argue. She finally decided that she wanted to wear the hair piece I bought her when we were at Disney back in Aug. Better late than never. LOL. Anyway, It is very rare that I can get her to sit for a picture.

Please pardon my indulgence by posting these pictures and sharing them with you. And thank you for taking the time to look. Feel free to leave any comments that you think might help me to further better myself. I am open to constructive criticism and welcome any and all comments.

I have no idea what she was doing in this pic but she reminds me of a Vampire LMAO

I'm not too thrilled with the background with this next one

I'm still learning how to play with the spot lights lol

Cocoa wanted to be included in the pic also ...

One of my faves ...

This last one, I snuck in while she was talking

As you can see, I have a LONG way to go. I needs lots and lots of practice. But hopefully one day I can be proud of what I can accomplish enough to call myself a Proffessional Photographer.

Till next time ...

The 411

Okay, here's the 411 on me lately. I know I have been hit & miss on here the past few weeks & I take full responsibility for my actions.

As most of you all may or may not know, I have thyroid issues. Then my GYN put me on the Birth Control Pill to help regulate my horomones that the thyroid was screwing up. Lo and behold, they do help. Not perfectly but enough to help me function almost as normally as I did before the summer. I'm not sure though if the Prozac helped the 10 days I was on it since my first dose of it was the same day my Step-Dad died. I could never figure out how much was thyroid or BC pill or Prozac or grief. And then I was supposed to take it with the 10th day being the first day of my period ... yeah, I added that wrong. I figured I'd start on the 2nd day of the Sugar Pill ... nope I started the on the 4th day of the Sugar Pill. And even then I only barely spotted for 3 days. TMI I know. Sorry.

Anyway, the sugar pills ... they un-did everything the BC pill had done up to that point. I went downhill fast. It took a few days to realize why I was doing so poorly & then it dawned on me that with the sugar pills, I wasn't getting the horomones & that was screwing me up even worse than I already was. So here I am into week 2 of the BC pill and I am finally getting back on the road to normal with the help of the horomones in the BC Pill. I hate that it takes so long for the horomones in the BC Pill to get [back] into my system. I finally got my appointment with an Endochronologist on Dec. 1 & I have decided that this month I will skip the sugar pills & have no period until after I have had my appointment. There is no way I can go another week on those sugar pills without something to help me through it. And if the Endo Dr. can give me something for that one week, then she can give me something for the whole month instead and I can get back off the BC Pill since I never wanted to be on them in the first place. KWIM? Anyway, I'll know more come Dec. 1 & I can move forward accordingly then. But in the meantime, this is what is working for me. It is better than nothing.

And as if I didn't have enough *issues* going on I decided to quit smoking on top of all that with the help of Chantix - a stop smoking aid. I am on day 7 now of no smoking. I took the drug for a week before quiting and continue to take it for the next 2 months for a total of 3 months. Or if needed an extra 3 months after that for a total of 6 months. Or so is the case for the normal person. But I have established many, many times, I'm not normal. I won't even delude myself into thinking that I might be. Anyway, I decided last night to come off the Chantix. The side effects are more than I can handle anymore. That does not mean I'm going back to smoking. It just means my struggle will be harder. But I can't handle being a zombie anymore. I can't remember talking to people on the phone. When Hubby asks me a question, it takes a few seconds to process what he said, then it takes another few seconds to think of a response and then another few seconds to actually get the response out of my head and out of my mouth. By then he's frustrated with me. It only lasts like 2 - 3 hours after first taking the dose but still, I'm even scared to drive. It even messes with my equilibrium. If I move too quickly, the world tilts on its axis & I hate that feeling. TMI part coming up ... My stomach - if it isn't on fire from the drug, it is trying to empty itself of everything I've eaten since birth. So I will be taking one day at a time. After 20 years, it is hard to change ones habits. Yes the Chatix helped tremendously. And I recommend it to anyone to use it - each person is going to respond differently to the drug. So someone else may not have the same side effects I've had. The cheapest I found for the starter pack (month 1) was at Sam's for $108.88 so it is expensive, but it is worth it. Maybe if I didn't have so much physically going on with me, I'd stick it out with the side effects so that my struggle won't be so difficult. But at this point, I can't continue on the drug. But hopefully I am over the worst of the quitting smoking and it won't be so hard from here on out. I do have to admit that today is not as bad as I thought it would be since I haven't taken the Chantix in 27 hours. Maybe it needs more time to get out of my system before I start really feeling the nicotine withdrawls?

I have to admit, I miss smoking. I really miss it. I don't miss the adverse health problems obviously but just the act of smoking, I miss it. It was my self induced *time out* when I needed a break from The Child or Hubby. I miss the 5 mins or so to myself while I stood outside to smoke. I know the Dog misses me smoking too! LMAO I forget to take her out at times and she finally comes to stare me down with her eyes swimming. Opps. Sorry Cocoa lol. But I am adjusting to my new lifestyle of not smoking.

At least I can brag with pride that not one person has been killed as of yet. It has been tempting ... especially with Hubby. But so far, so good. I had to remind him one day that I was the last person he wanted to pick on due to recent events in my life. LMAO See, he took some days off from work. He has been home since Thursday last week and he'll finally go back tomorrow. That is my own fault for trying to quit smoking while he was home. What can I say, I'm glutton for punishment I guess. But he's been bored. And he likes to pick when he's bored. And I am his favorite target. So I finally got fed up and told him, "Look. I am on drugs. Serious drugs. And I've quit smoking. I am the last person you want to f**k with because I will kill you without even blinking my eyes & there is no court in America that will make me serve one day behind bars once they have heard the story of my life these past few months. So if you value your life, leave me alone or else I will be shopping for a new Daddy for The Child after Christmas." I think he finally got the hint LMAO.

So anyway, that is what has been going on with me. Till the next time ...

Can someone please explain ...

Can someone please, for the love of all that is good and holy, please explain to me the importance of why we, the Americans, as a Nation united under God, need to know what kind of dog the Obama's will be getting when they move into the White House?

I mean seriously, is it really that important? Did I miss a memo somewhere that said that I will be unable to eat, sleep, drink or function as a true American unless I know the specific breed of dog they will be inviting into thier family?

Am I the only one who sees something wrong with that picture?

Do we really, really need to know?

Seriously. Do we?