Smooth Away

I recently purchased one of the "As Seen on TV" products called Smooth Away. I really dislike shaving my legs and this seemed like it would be a quick and painless replacement for shaving - at least that's what the commercial said. I bought it at Walgreens about a week ago, but hadn't tried it until today. Hubby pulled it out several days ago and actually removed hair from his chest, so I was really hopeful that this would work. I have tried lots of other options (Nair, Veet, waxing, etc) and none seem to work for me.

It said the hair should be about 1/4 inches long for best results. Done. Then it said your legs needed to be freshly cleaned and dried. Done. So I proceeded to rub the spot clockwise three times and then counter clockwise three times, pressing gently but not to hard. Hmm, nothing came off. I read the instructions again to make sure I understood and being very careful to following the instructions exactly, I tried it again. Still no hair came off. I decided the try a spot on my arm and see what happens. This time it spot came out nice and smooth. Okay, it is time to go back to the legs now that I have ruled out user. Still no hair is coming off. Okay, this time I tried a spot on the face - very smooth. A small tingling feeling like carpet burn, but it was really smooth. I gave it one more try on the legs and you guessed it, still no hair came off. Each time I went back to the same spot on my legs, but that darn hair refused to budge. Determined to leave the bathroom with smooth legs, I grabbed my trusty razor and made quick work of the small forest that had begun to grow. Ugh. Guess it is just going to have to be me and the razor - like it or not.

Ceiling Fan

Our ceiling fan had been making a weird rubbing/grinding sound off and on for several weeks. We couldn't figure out why. The fan was the same brand as another one we installed and it was working just fine. Finally after not being able to figure it out, I called Lowe's to see if we could still return it even though it was about 60-days old. I spoke to a manager who eventually agreed as long as I could find the receipt and I had to bring it in before the 90-day mark.

I was actually able to find the receipt and now all we needed to do was take it down. Taking it was going to be the hard part. Due to the location, it meant taking the bed partially apart in order to reach the fan. We thought about it for a couple of days and decided that this was such an ordeal that we weren't going to return the fan, we were just going to live with the noise.

The fan seemed fine for a couple of more days and then it started making the noise again. Hubby got up on the bed one more time to see if he could tell what was causing the noise. He was able to see something this time that looked like it might be causing the issue, so he used some tweezers to pull it out. When we turned the ceiling fan back on - problem solved.

What did he pull out? A plastic coated label that had fallen and was causing the noise. Ironically, the label happened to be the info on the number to call for service!

Memorial Day Thanks

I wanted to say thanks to all those who currently serve our military and especially to those who have served and lost their lives. They signed on to protect our country, and all of us, knowing all of the dangers it held. Although we all have an opinion about war and the military; the reality is, we would not be able to express those opinions if it weren't for those who fought to give us that right.

Many of my family members have served in the military and my sister-in-law is still active Navy. They signed on because they believe in what this country stands for and want to serve in whatever capacity they can.

Next time you are out and see someone in uniform, walk over an tell them Thank You. They deserve much more, but at least we can offer them thanks.

Maybe It's the Eyes

My neighbor recently got a yellow lab puppy, Max, and we have let our dogs meet a couple of times. The neighbor really likes Riley, but is scared of Abbie. She just says "there is something about that little one". Riley is 50 pounds now and still doesn't understand she is not a lap dog. Abbie is the drama queen; she can make tears roll down her face when she doesn't get her way. I couldn't understand how she could be scared of my sweet little Abbie, then I took these pictures....

Here is Riley smiling and posing for the camera.

Here is Abbie giving her best pose too.

Okay, well I guess those eyes could scare you a little.

American Idol

I was so certain that I knew who was going to win that I almost fast forwarded through the show just to see the results and move on to something else. Hubby convinced me to watch the show to see who else performed. I am so glad I did; that was one of their better finales. I only fast forwarded through the performances of one person - Adam Lambert. All of the others were really good. Although, I think Fergie really needs to go back to her red hair. That darker color was not flattering for her.

I was surprised and extremely happy to see that Kris Allen won. I don't think he will be as popular as Carrie Underwood, but I think he will do very well.

Now that Idol is over, we get to start So You Think You Can Dance. If only we could figure out how to keep that one judge from screaming all the time.

Happy Birthday & Happy Anniversary

Today is birthday number 43. I took the day off of work and have no special plans other than to work in my yard. I know most people would not consider that a fun way to spend their birthday; however, I am very grateful that I actually can.

You see, on my birthday last year I had a hole in the small of my back the diameter of a quarter and about 2 inches deep from an infection; was having wound care 7 days a week to remove the necrotic tissue ( sometimes by doctors and sometimes by hubby); was on yet another round of antibiotics that was not working; and was not able to walk more than a few steps without the assistance of a cane or walker and extreme pain. As it turned out, the infection continued to worsen and 5 days later I was admitted to the hospital to have it surgically removed.

Now I am able to walk unassisted and mostly pain free. So, considering where I was a year ago, I am thrilled to be able to work in my yard on my birthday.

Most memorable birthday gift.... a new Dad for birthday number 7. What was your most memorable birthday gift?

Happy 36th Anniversary Mom & Dad.

6 Months Old

I can't believe my nephew is already 6 months old. Here he is eating his first piece of celery and this past weekend he cut his first tooth. They are supposed to be visiting during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday this year. I can't wait to see him in person for the first time.

Recruiting

I read an article in Time Magazine this morning about military recruiting that really made me angry. The article was talking about the high rate of suicide among military recruiters especially in one Texas location. It was discussing that many of the recruiters are decorated soldiers who are no longer out in the field for one reason or another. They are not at the end of the career, so they assign them to become recruiters. Unfortunately, the pressure put on them by their commanding officers to recruit new members is harsh and unrealistic. Some are encouraged to have the potential new recruits lie to be signed up. Then, if they are not able to meet their quota, they are humiliated in front of their peers. They are asked to work unbelievable hours to accomplish their goals and called in on scheduled days off. One person was expected to work from 7am to 10pm on a consistent basis - including weekends. It wasn't until after he and several others from one general recruiting location committed suicide that there was an investigation launched.

These are the people who willingly signed up to defend our country and then they are humiliated to the extent that they felt they had no option left but to commit suicide. Having members of my family in the military and hearing stories like this really angers me at great deal. The commanding officers of those posts involved should be relieved of duty and disciplined ot the greatest extent possible.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all mom's of both human and animal children. I am spending the day with my 4 legged children. We got them a plastic swimming pool so they can play outside and still stay cool from this crazy Texas heat. Riley has discovered how much fun it can be, but Abbie still isn't on board yet.

I hope your Mother's Day turns out exactly as you hope.

High School Reunion

I received a reminder a couple of days ago that our high school reunion is going to be held in September over Homecoming weekend. This will be number 25! Man that makes me feel old and the grey hair peeking at me in the mirror doesn't help.

In the invitation there was names and email addresses of several other classmates. I tried to see if I could figure out what they are doing now based on their email address. One of the had a road runner email account so she was here in Austin somewhere, another one is an attorney in Austin working for Travis County, one is some kind of consultant based here in Austin, and one works for an international law firm, but most of the email accounts were general email addresses like gmail or yahoo.

I have not attended any of my other reunions, but I am going to make an effort to go to this one. It will be nice to see who has gained extra pounds or see who has no hair left. Maybe seem some of the less popular group who became knockouts as they matured. I know several people stayed in or around Stephenville, but most of the group I hung out with moved on as quickly as possible. One is an Orchestra Director at a school in the Dallas area; one is a science teacher, and won Teacher of the Year, in Mississippi last year; and the other two married each other, moved around a couple of times and then landed back in the Stephenville area. Not sure if they are still together; rumor has it that they parted ways.

It will be interesting to see how many people attend and to see what everyone is up to these days.

Going Deaf

For those of you who have never been around anyone who is going deaf, that process can sometimes be very painful. I used to think that it was just not being able to hear things any longer, but it is not that simple. While it is difficult watching our loved ones and learning how to deal with the situation, it can be very painful for the person going deaf. Literally painful.

In the case of my loved one, he hears low bass tones better than any other tones. So certain noises like the thrum of a diesel vehicle passing or of an air conditioner running, we are able to filter out and don't even notice. He is not able to do that. On a good day he ends up with a headache from all of the normal day to day sounds around him that we are simply able to ignore. By early afternoon he puts in earplugs to help block out some of those sounds and make the headache pain manageable. Going out to the store or a restaurant is even more difficult. There are so many sounds that he is not able to focus on a conversation. Again, something most of us take for granted. If the sounds get too overwhelming, it makes him dizzy and nauseous. This is all just part of his normal day.

When his hearing is changing, it is even worse. He has severe headaches, dizziness, earaches, and nausea. If you have ever had a really bad ear infection, you know how dizzy and crummy that can make you feel. If you have never had a bad ear infection.....think about how wobbly and unbalanced you feel when you are really tipsy and then combine that with a hangover. However, in this case, that feeling doesn't end until the hearing changes have stopped - sometimes several weeks later. He only has two choices when this happens; he can take his medicine which knocks him out for about 6-8 hours and then makes him feel really out of it the next day or he can just deal with the pain. Neither choice is great.

If you see someone who is having going through a hearing loss or perhaps is already deaf, don't get upset that they can't hear you; show them a little compassion and know that getting to where they are now was probably not an easy road for them or their loved ones.