Nuttin new

I've been updating Emma's blog and just playing around this week. I still have laundry to do, but think I'll let Stan finish that up. Mbwahaha! He's such a good man to take care of me like he does while I work all the hours in a day. He realizes this, and that's why!

The Dr. says he believes I have joint inflammation and will keep me on a steroid med that seems to be helping. I take it for a little while, quit taking it till I start aching again, and so on. It's not good to take any kind of medicine, really. Anyone who's taken Anatomy and Physiology will know pretty much what it does to your liver. The liver can only filter so much "poison" we put into our bodies. I hate to take anything at all, but can't live with that pain.

I quit smoking back on January 12. I now have a terrible tootsie pop habit. Mmmm, they're good. I suck on the tootsie pops mostly while I'm driving as that's the time I smoked the most. When we did smoke (yes, Stan quit, too), we did not smoke in our home. We smoked out on the screened-in porch. The site to visit if you're interested in how we quit is here.

I've been so terrible. I know I need to hook back up that foot pedal I used for medical transcription so I can start transcribing for Stan's Stew, and I've been doing everything but that. Everyone has felt pulled in so many directions at once...I'm no exception...besides, I'm lazy/busy by turns, which is my nature. Call me fickle, what can I say?

Got an invite to Yahoo 360 and thought it was pretty neat. Went and did a page there, too. I'll post the link over on the right, later. I think I'm spreading stuff all over the net, somewhat, but at least it's all linked together.

It's late, for me, and better get to bed and get all the sleep I can. I'll be "running" till next Tues/Wed. Till then, have a good week.

Decisions, decisions

Yep, this'll be my personal blog. After all, it is named LeAnne's Pad. If I want to blog about issues, I'll create it and link to it. So, now family, friends, and all interested in my week-to-week goings on, this is the place.

It's soon to be 4 a. m. and I'm keeping with my nightly schedule, since I work nights. Stan is keeping me company in spirit as he is asleep on the couch, but rousing now and then while I blog and watch some movie on what I call an "upper channel". He finds it so hard to sleep for long in either the bed or the couch since his back surgeries. I have faired better since my back surgeries and can sleep like a baby.

However, I am now dealing with arthritis. It's just one of those things that happen to many of us as we age. I "kick" myself a lot wishing I'd listened more to my "elders" and had more empathy toward them regarding these infirmities I now face. I'd have learned and appreciated a lot more about what they went through and gotten more insight sooner. I'll see the Dr. next week to find out what the best course will be.

I'm also going through menopause and was determined not to take hormone replacement therapy. The hot flashes got so bad that I couldn't sleep. Not sleeping is bad for the type of job I do. I must get adequate sleep and it was getting bad. I was also a bit forgetful, which is one of the symptoms. I was so moody I couldn't stand myself. Thank goodness for the most understanding, caring, and forgiving husband in the world. He didn't give in to my rantings and ravings, but let me have them and walked away to prevent bloodshed...little humor here.

I'm on a very low dose of hormone therapy. It took a little while to get into my system...oh, about a few weeks to a month...and started relieving those horrible hot flashes where I can now sleep like a baby. Still don't get enough sleep, but that's the life of a truck driver. I am the more easygoing, laid-back, happy person I was before the monster came out in me.

Well, enough of my ruminations and history for tonight. It's getting late and I'm going to finish up with a few changes on our dog's blog. Nite everyone!

It's all about ME!

As I think about what I might type about, it's looking like this is turning out to be the "all about me" blog. Well, for a time, perhaps. I do have thoughts/ideas/statements that come to me about wishing for world peace, kudos to our guys for getting al Zarqawi, menopause, arthritis, our darling pug, and strong opinions about quite a lot.

I bought hubby one of those digital voice recorders because he sure can talk a lot, but can't think about what he just talked about long enough to type it all out. He's a very slow typer. He's verbally abusing the recorder when he thinks of things he likes to stew about, hence Stan's Stew. When I get a round tuit, I'll get one of those recorders, too, because I'm getting to be the same way. I like to run my mouth about things and enjoy debating, as well, but I never mean to intentionally hurt someone's feelings by what I say...unless they absolutely, unequivocally deserve it. Stay tuned, friends and family. I'll be back and maybe have something meaningful to say, someday.

Hmmm, no video?!

It's looking like the video won't play for me. I'm wondering if it plays for some and not others? I'll just have to give you this link and this link so you can go see the other two videos I've uploaded. Night all, and see you next week on my days off.

Videos

Another play toy, online video. Here is a video I have from quite some time ago. You just have to click here to see this video as the actual video I had embedded did not work. The link will open a new window for you. This is my little girly-girl. I have several names for her. I call her my little booch booch girl, pootsa, bootsy girl, and just sweet little endearments that lets her know she's the little love in my life.

Regroup

Another busy week is over and I have two days downtime to regroup. As a truck driver, putting in 70 hours a week is the norm. It's one thing when running the road to put in that many hours and you have a sleeper behind you as opposed to running with no sleeper, and that's what's called a day cab. When OTR (over the road), you can climb into bed any time...once you pull into a rest area, truck stop, or the customer's place. When in a day cab, however, you still have to get back to the hub, or workplace, and go home from there before climbing into that nice comfy bed...unless you're on a long run and get to lay over at a motel, which I don't.

Unfortunately, some people live quite a distance from the hub and that's lost sleep. How I wish there were different DOT (department of transportation) Safety Regs for local drivers that would take the drive home into consideration, such as getting a couple extra hours before reporting back to duty. One might wonder, in passing, about the lack of sleep of truck drivers. Well, we drivers can sure tell ya what the reality of it all is.

However, the bright spot in all this is there is a paragraph that protects us should we wish to utilize it. In plain English, it simply gives us the power to tell the company we work for that we are unsafe to drive from lack of sleep, illness, or emotional upset and we may exercise that rule to not drive and endanger ours and other lives. By rights, the company cannot fire or suspend us for making that call. If only more drivers would use that rule. So many accidents would not have happened had they done so. Just my thought for the day. Have a good one everyone!