Razputin, Anyastasia & Fisher or the "Babies"

 Yes, RAZ putin, not Rasputin. Or as he is called "Raz". He is my buddy. He is a beagle that DJ & B adopted from a shelter and he is the best guy ever! He either sleeps as you see here, in my bed or on the floor, by my bed. Well, that is until his daddy gets home. 

That other furry friend up there in my bed is Anyastasia or "Anya". She is a dachshund/pit bull mix and she is a princess! She also loves lying in my bed until Daddy gets home. 

Then there is the little baby. Fisher, named after Carrie Fisher as we got him the day Carrie Fisher died. Maltese / Shiatzu mix. Veracious bark, but a chicken shit.  Scared of his own shadow. He refuses to get off the patio when it is dark outside unless someone is with him. He prefers to sleep downstairs in his playpen. He doesn't like coming upstairs in the dark.

These three babies keep me company. DJ works normally 5pm to 5am and B works 10pm to 7am, so these three are my companions and my co workers since I've been working from home. They work cheap, for treats! They also help keep me sane. Yes, I talk to them. We have some great conversations!!😘

Getting into the Season

 HAPPY HALLOW--- oh wait it is still September.

That doesn't matter, it is officially autumn, so why not put up Halloween decorations? B is all about it, just thank goodness he didn't want to decorate the yard in Halloween Gnomes! Will get to that in another post at some point I am sure.

It does look festive, and after placing 17 inflatables and various other decorations (pumpkins, mums and scarecrows) the "boys" (how I refer to DJ and B) were finished, for now now anyway.

All these decorations had me going back in time to Halloweens of past. Trick or Treat as a kid was not that much fun for me, and once I got married we didn't participate as my ex wife thought it was some kind of worship of Satan or something. Then once I came out it became a yearly extravaganza! I would either host or co-host a costume party every year.

This year DJ & B are hosting a costume party (as long as Covid slows down, which unfortunately, it seems to back in rampant force) The theme for the party is Disney. So now I need to decide what I will dress up as. I am thinking an Ape, from Tarzan. B already has the costume and I will be in a full faced mask all night! We will see.

As for my shingles, they are still active, but slowing down. Had to get another prescription of the famciclovir, so hopefully they will be gone soon! 

So, Happy Autumn and let's hope for a party!

Trimming the Hedges

 I mentioned in my first blog post back on my birthday and my first post in seven years that I was living with DJ and his husband, B now. In 2013 they bought their first home and about a year later they asked me to move in with them. It was odd at first, but I finally settled in and their home became my home. Fast forward to today. About a year ago, sometime in August 2019, DJ and B put their first home on the market. On December 17, 2019 they closed on the new home. A thirteen room colonial with an acre of land. We all love it, including the babies (the doggies).

I went out for a little bit today (as I have not been out of the house other than to go to the doctor) and when I returned, B had hedge clippers and was trying to manually cut the huge shrubs in the front of the house. He was not having the best of luck. I proceeded to get the electric hedge trimmers out of the garage and finished the job, and the photos above is the completed project.

I was quite proud of myself as the last time I had done this big of a project was way back in the mid 1990's when I worked with my former father-in-law. He taught me quite a bit about landscaping (as well as other things, I may add).

Hat's off to me, and thanks to my former father-in-law, RIP.

Oh Shit! It's Shingles!

Thought I had a spider bite that caused my eye to swell.  So I finally went to the doctor today and it is not a spider bite. It's SHINGLES!! They are in my eyebrow and my eyelid, behind my ear and even in my hairline! Very painful!! Doctor put my on famciclovir and gabapentin. Hopefully this too will pass...

It sucks to get old. 

I hate 2020!

Reality Check... How am I 60?

 Today I turned Sixty.

No this picture is not a current one, this was taken in February.

In the midst of a pandemic, I turned sixty. I had planned a big party with family and friends, but unfortunately I had to cancel due to the stay-at-home orders across our county. Pandemic or not, I still turned sixty. Party or not, I turned sixty.

Did I tell you I turned sixty today? 60!

This blog has been empty of new posts since 2013. I had just recently started my job with my current employer. Posted about it then nothing. A hell of a lot has transpired in seven years, and now I am 60!

I have been with that employer now 7+ years. We were sold to the largest Pharmaceutical company in North America about 4 years ago. With that change, I received a large raise and promotion and had my own office. But now, instead of going to my office every day we are working remotely. For me, that means in my bedroom. Not a bad set up, and I am actually more productive here than I was at the office. If you would have told me seven years ago when I got this job that I would be working from my bedroom and living with DJ and B, I would have said you were crazy. But I am.

Yes I live with my Ex and his husband (they were married in 2015) and 99.9% we get along fine. Even during a pandemic and me living in this house 24 / 7. However, they are essential workers (the pandemic has created new words and phrases) and both work outside of the home. I rarely get out. I have an auto-immune disease (MS and diabetes) so I want to avoid the Coronavirus / COVID-19 at all costs.

Like I said, so much has transpired in the last seven years, and I don't want to go into all of it in this post, but I will be posting more in the upcoming weeks and bring you up to date, if there is anyone still reading this. If not, that is okay too as this blog was always for me anyway.

So welcome to the "NEW' Reality Check.

Reality Check @ 60

Starting Over

Wow, it is hard to believe it was almost two years since my last post! Well it is time for me to start over, wouldn't you say? Not forgettting the past, as I don't want to forget the past, it has made me who I am.  I also don't want to start all the way back at the beginning, you can read my past posts for that! But this is a new start. On January 15, 2013, I moved into my own place. All alone! At fifty-two I am living alone for the first time in my life. 

It is an adjustment, to say the least, as it is a BIG change for me and it is something I never even thought about, but it has been exciting. Oh yes I have had a few meltdowns already and it has been emotional, but overall I am looking at this with a positive attitude and a renewal of sorts.

The search for a new place didn't take me long, and I love the new place (pictures to follow) and decorating and buying all new things was the best part of the transistion. However, now that all the new furniture and decor is in place, reality is setting in, and it's becoming real to me. I am living alone, (well except for my cat, Cordelia).  So what a perfect time to get back into the my blog, right? So share with me my new adventure as I look forward to the next chapter of my reality!

The Weekend

Everyone's watching, to see what you will do
Everyone's looking at you, oh
Everyone's wondering, will you come out tonight
Everyone's trying to get it right, get it right


The next line of the song is...Everybody's working for the weekend, and isn't that so true?  As I read the status updates today on Facebook of all my friends, they are all about the weekend.  What they did, where they went, who they did it with and it seems as though everyone is having one hell of a good time on the weekends.  Who cares if we are having a heat wave!

My weekends over the past month and a half, have also been great.  One weekend after another I am venturing out into worlds unknown, places I dared not not go before, and meeting people that I wish I would have met sooner.

Friday night my bestie and I went out on the town.  First we hit one of the "hot spots" of the city and saw a drag show.  Now I am normally not one for drag shows.  Never been my forte', however this one was quite well done.  For Cincinnati, that is a good thing as there are not that many good drag shows in town, nor that many good drag queens, but then again, I really haven't been out much in the past few years, but I must say the show I saw Friday night was well worth the time I spent.

We then ventured across the river to one of our regular hangouts and played some darts...yes, I played darts.  It's about as athletic as I can get, but it too was quite fun, not to metion the shot of ' Jager I consumed prior to leaving.  So the night was about over and then we made one last stop...

I am not going to go into specifics, but let me suffice to say that I found out that 'Jager can change the way you see things...and see people!

Saturday came, and again the weekend continued to get even better (without 'Jager this time)
Anyway, I loved the weekend, so it will soon be Monday again.  Let the work week begin and lets work for next weekend!  Hope to see you there!!!

Cleaning House

It is almost 70 degrees outside today and it has me in the mood for cleaning! Spring cleaning! I hear you now..."You are kidding right?"

But no I am not kidding, I NEED to clean house. Even though we have only lived here about 4 months (Oh, yeah we moved again, didn't I tell you? Sorry. A bigger place, two bedrooms, same complex) I really need to clean. Even though neither DJ or myself seem to be spending as much time at home, it is a MESS! So most of the morning I have spent cleaning.

I have also been cleaning the blog up a little. I was reading my blog list (that list of blogs to your right) and I am finding out that some of my favorite bloggers have disappeared from the blogoshere. Lost them to facebook or Twitter I guess. So I cleaned house over there, deleting some blogs that have disappeared and added some new ones and brought back some ones that I used to read. I also added (or should I say updated) my picture links. I am focusing the picture links to my grand kids.

Well as I am sure DJ is happy I cleaned house, i hope you are also happy I cleaned up my Blog-House.

I See Dead People...

In my dreams. Not like right now, here in front of me, but in my dreams. The last week or so I have been dreaming about people I once knew that are now dead. In my dreams they are not dead and it is not a dream where it happened before they died, but in the current time. I am the age I am now, regardless of how old I was when they actually died.

Normally dreams are not a big deal to me, but many times I have had dreams of loved ones that have died, and then I hear that they actually have died, like a premonition. But these are different types of dreams, these are of people that are already dead, some of them for a very long time. So I decided I needed to have these dreams interpreted, so off to the world wide web!

Each link I found regarding dreaming of dead people, told me a different reason as to why I was seeing dead people in my dreams. Some said that it was my mind telling me I no longer needed these people or the relationship I once had. No shit?! They are dead, I certainly do not have a relationship with these people any longer.

Another said that I was dreaming of these dead people to warn me not to make the same mistakes they did. Okay...one lady was killed by her husband, another lived to be 92, what mistakes did they make that I need to avoid? Living to be 92 or being with a psychotic?

Overall after reading these many interpretations of why we dream of dead people I come to the conclusion that no one really knows why. So I am going to take my grandmother's interpretation (yes, she is now dead, and yes she was one of the people I dreamed about) She always told me that "When you dream of someone who has died, they are just paying you a visit."

I know that sound kind of eery, but I like it.

4 Years and Counting

Sunday is my unofficial 4 year Blogiversary! I say unofficial as I started the blog about a year earlier on another blog service and the deleted my content. So this is my 4th year blogging on blogger!

Let's see what was happening on my blog four years ago...

Well I was having the HUMP DAY BLUES here...

Looks like I was Enjoying a Weekend on this particular blog post...

Also four years ago a certain presidential election was coming to an end and we were at the Home Stretch...

And it looks as though I was Getting Over a bad cold...

But actually a lot more than those things have happened in the last four years. DJ and I have moved five times, I have had a son get married, three grandchildren, lost and started a new job...twice, added three cats to our family, diagnosed with diabetes, lost several family members, met new friends, lost old ones and put up with GWB for the last four years!

So now for the next four years...

Tuesday the New Monday

Tuesday, September 30, 2008. The last day of September until next year. And a Tuesday. My least favorite day of the week. I vote we just take Tuesdays off the calendar. September has been a rough month and today was no exception. DJ is gone 3,000 miles away from me, the economy is faltering, Wall St. is crashing, and I really don't know who I want to vote for as President yet, my check was for much less that I was counting on, things at work just seemed to explode and I get to come home to an empty house. Well not completely empty, the cats are here.

Another month of 2008 has come and gone, and so much has happened. Where do I begin? Or where will it end? Who knows, but I know one thing. Tuesday will come back again next week. I just hoe they get better as the year winds down.

King for a Day

I have to start taking my camera everywhere I go. It's a must. Because people never believe me when I tell them the things I see on the way to and from work. Seriously, it's everyday that I see something bizarre or entertaining in my car as I travel the highways and byways of Cincinnati.

Many times it may be a person, or a sign. Sometimes it is an animal or just something strange that sticks out and catches my eye. Today though it was something quite entertaining. As I was driving down a major road in the beautiful Queen City, I saw what had to have been the King of Cincy. He was standing there waiting apparently for the Metro (Cincinnati's Bus Line), minding his business and making sure that everyone knew he was...the man.

I would venture to say he was in his late 60's and decked out in one of the finest polyester suits I have ever seen. His shoes matched the color of the suit, which was almost a turquoise shade. His hair was cropped close, from what I could see, and his general appearance was clean, yet not OCD clean. On every finger and thumb he had at least one golden ring attached to it. Around his neck were several golden necklaces and chains. Over his shoulder was what looked like a golden Louis Vitton bag. And upon his head was the crowing achievement, so to speak.

It was a golden crown with stunning jewel inlaid around the circumference and pearls that lined the tops of each spire. It was a vision of splendor that would have made even the Queen of England green with envy. As I drove past I looked in my rear view mirror and caught my final glimpse of him heading into the bus carry his green garbage bag, ready for another day of whatever it is the King of the City does.

Yes, I need to start taking my camera with me everywhere! There is so much I could share.

A Birthday Week

Yes, last week I got another year older. On Thursday I turned 48 years old. There were no big parades or fanfare, although the team at work went all out with a major "food day" on Thursday, bringing in all kinds of goodies to eat. So all day I indulged in those food items that I should avoid. Cakes, brownies, salsa you name it they had it!

DJ and I celebrated at my favorite Mexican restaurant, Cancun. Over all it was a great birthday week and I didn't suffer too much from the overeating and the high starch, high carb diet. It was one day for goodness sakes.

My favorite girls, Lil Bit, Paris and Louisville Sweetie, all went together and got me a beautiful Fossil watch. I've owned several watches, and at one time I had over 16 but I've never had a Fossil watch. It was a very nice gift and a pleasant surprise.

I received calls from my parents, DJ's mother, all four of my kids and both brothers and my bff Silver wishing me birthday goodness, and I even received a few e-mails and one birthday wish on my blog.

Once it was all said and done, I realized getting older is not that bad. It's just a number, right?

Where Have You Been!?

Are you asking that? I know it's been way too long since I last posted, but to be honest I haven't had much to post about. I know just anything works, anything I say you will read and enjoy, right? I know better. So I try to post interesting happenings in my life. But when nothing interesting happens, well it's kind of boring. It's okay to think that my life is boring, I do all the time. So where have I been, you ask? (I know you really didn't, just go with me here, okay?)

Well, the end of the month of April, DJ and I travelled 2 hours north to Columbus and spent a couple nights with my daughter the princess and her little princesses. Quite an eye opening experience. I forgot how much it takes to take care of two little ones. Hats off to my daughter! How she does it is beyond me. Maybe it was all that training she had helping take care of her two little brothers. We had an enjoyable visit, and was able to bond a little with Alana. She is getting so big. Alyssa slept most of the time, but that is what two month olds normally do. We went to the Columbus Zoo while we were there. A very nice Zoo, I enjoyed the openness that it had. You felt you were right there with the animals.

Due to the soaring gas prices it will probably be a while before we make another trip to anywhere though! They hit $3.79 a gallon this week. Luckily I filled up the day before when it was still only $3.49 a gallon, which still cost me almost $50.00 to fill my tank! Incredible. I remember the 1970's during the gas wars, remember those??? We thought gas was high then. They are saying it will be over $4.00 a gallon by summer. I believe it!

Well that's all for now. I am not going to make any promises about blogging more, but I will try, but until then ...well just go back to what you were doing.

Tuesdays

I love my life. Really, I do. Sure I have regrets and some days I wish I could do over. Some days I wish I'd never gotten out of bed, but most of the time there is really no certain day of the week that I loathe as some do Mondays. Except...

Tuesdays!

Tuesdays, you say? Yes. Tuesdays. I mean seriously what is there to look forward to on Tuesdays? Let's take a look at the days of the work week first. Of course there is the dreaded Monday. Back to work, school,... whatever. But honestly, is it really all that bad? I mean you've had the weekend to frolic and do what it is you do. Family outings, crotchet, whatever... then it's back to the same ole same ole shit come Monday. But you've had the weekend. You should be ready, rested and set to go! Excited to start your mundane week. Then there is Tuesdays...we will come back to that.

Wednesday, it's hump day, you made it through Monday and Tuesday and now it's all downhill from here. You can celebrate with your friends with a chain e-mail that you've reached hump day! Two days left to work and you are looking forward to that overnight you have scheduled with all your girlfriends. (Or boyfriends, whatever the case may be) You have a goal and you see yourself getting closer to it on Wednesday.

Thursday..it's almost over, Friday is just in sight! One more laboriously long dull day and it will soon be FRIDAY!! Then there is Friday! The biggest day of the work week. This is it, you've made it and now it's time to head to the local pub after work and enjoy happy hour and talk about that knitting class you have in the morning!!

Then there is the fabulous WEEKEND!! WOO! It is YOUR time. Do what you want, when you want and who you want to do it with. None of this having to go to lunch where you don't want to because the co-workers can't eat McDonald's because they all think they are so health conscience that just thinking about McD's makes them want to revert back to their bulimic ways. Hell it's the weekend baby, you can have McDonald's for breakfast lunch and dinner...both days if you want. Chances are you'll see that same co-worker in there munching down on her Quarter Pounder with cheese and scarfing a large chocolate shake with her 5 kids.

Finally the weekend is over and its back to Monday.

Now look at Tuesday. What do you get? The weekend is over, you have exerted all of your left over energy from the weekend into getting through Monday, so you are tired, cranky and probably just got your period...or missed your period whichever the case may be. Your boss, who also is reminiscing about his glorious fun filled weekend at the Tractor Pull, is now constipated from all the tacos he ate and blames you. It's not hump day, it's three days before Friday and the start of the next weekend excursion to the Golden Corral... it's Tuesday! And to top it off, this Tuesday happens to be TAX day!! So there you have it. Why I hate Tuesdays...

There is one redeeming quality about Tuesdays. Kids eat free at Gold Star Chili, but what the hell good is that if you don't have kids??? God I hate Tuesdays!!

Office Saftey

How many people get hurt at work each year? I'd say the number is staggering. In 2006 the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded 4.1 million work-related non-fatal injuries! That's a lot. They even break it down by demographics, gender and job title. Professional and Business Services, which is the category I would fall into accounted for 21.2 % of that 4.1 million number.

How does one get hurt at work in an office? Well, let me tell you...

It's not pen related, nor is it over exposure to the copy machine or the coffee machine. It's not even related to cubicle depression. But if any one is going to get hurt at work in an office environment, it would be me of course. I'm not talking about carpal tunnel syndrome, which is the #1 related injury for office workers, I'm talking about full on open wound, ER treated accident.

Yesterday as I was removing a file from my Attorney's office, the file divider that it was placed in slipped and fell. As I tried to catch those files from falling onto the floor and scattering legal documents from one end of the office to the other, the metal file divider came in between my index and second finger, slicing a nice piece of flesh. I now have five stitches in my right hand between those two digits. Not too much pain yesterday, but today...well let's just say this post is taking me a while to type. But one of my avid readers insisted I update my blog...

So I am now included in that numbers for work related injuries for 2008. Hey at least I belong to something now!!

Call Me Daddy!

No, this is not a posting about the 20 year age difference between DJ and I and how I'm his big gay daddy. Actually we have never even thought of ourselves as that way...well except that one time we went camping and the people camping next to us thought I WAS his daddy...

This is even more entertaining than talking gay stereotypes. I came into work today and was immediately accosted by my beautiful "work wife", Paris. (Not her real name, but Paris is her hero)

"I need to talk to you..." She says with that I've been up to no good look in her eye, and that smile that could melt a thousand hearts. Did I really want to hear this? Before my first cup of coffee? Okay I took the plunge... "what?"

"I had a dream about you last night. And I'm not sure what this means, but... we had a baby together!"

THAT, I was not expecting. "Really, and what was it, I mean sex wise?"

"A girl, and we named her Matilda." The cubicle partner of Paris overhears the conversation and chimes in... "OMG If you two had a kid, it would have to be gay." What gay men can't have straight children? I hate to kill another gay stereotype, but I have four children, and they are all straight. Well not any of them have came out if they are gay, and with a gay dad, you'd think they'd be pretty open about that.

Me a Dad?? That is really scary. And even though Paris is an extraordinary and amazing woman in order for us to have a child we would have had to... well let's not think of that. She did say however that the dream was only about the birth process and not the conception.

So, Paris and I have a child, our darling little Matilda, that we will call Mattie. I ask you, as Paris asked me... Just what does this mean??

Late Night

Now that the Oscar's are over I will return to my regularly scheduled programing. Sorry but I am an Oscar addict. I know way too much useless information about the Academy Awards. But anyway...

I am still awake and it is almost 2:00 a.m. I can not sleep tonight. I tried but it just will not come. So I decided to play WoW (World of Warcraft). Now that DJ and I both have a computer I seem to playing more often. It is so much more fun playing with him. Sleep just will not seem to hit me tonight. I suppose I have a lot on my mind.

The weekend was not long enough. Went out Saturday night to celebrate DJ's Birthday (Which is Wednesday, which is now tomorrow) with some of his co-workers. Had a really good time, even though most of his friends are at least 15 years younger than I am. But when your partner is 20 years younger, that tends to happen. hey, it keeps me young! At least in my mind, now my body is a different story.

Tomorrow I will have news!! My new grand-daughter will arrive Wednesday at around 6:00 p.m. What happened to the good ole days when the sex of your child was a surprise as well as the date and time of their arrival? I will be sure to upload new pictures. As it stands right now she will be named Alyssa, but we will see if that remains once she arrives.

Well, the late night is coming to an end, I MUST get to bed, 6:15 will come awful early....

Presidential Weekend

No, this is not a posting on my political views. I do not do that often on my blog, and there is a reason. One I will not go into, however I did finally make my choice on who I will cast my vote for in the Ohio primary in March.

And again I will not give my reason as to why, but Hillary has my vote...

Now onto the real posting of my blog today. I had a three day weekend due to the observance of President's Day. The last three day weekend until Memorial Day! I did very little. Actually I did very little all weekend. My boys, J2 and AT were here and we sat around playing WOW most of the weekend.

We did go out for a birthday celebration for DJ's cousin, Brit who turned 18. I ate way too much, came home and passed out watching Fracture.

Sunday I went out and bought a new vacum cleaner. Exciting huh? I had to. The old ones were just wore out and were not picking up all the cat hair, and god forbid if I carry my cat's fur to work with me. It had to be done. It's Dirt Devil and I am quite happy with it, even though I only vaccumed one room so far.

Today I slept until 2:00 p.m. Yes, you heard right. But then again I didn't go to bed until 4:00 a.m. (Something else I will not give the reason for...) Then I went to visit "Midget". She had surgery on Tuesday and she is mending at her mother's. Her mother is just fantastic, had a great dinner prepared and we had a great visit. Midget is doing well and will be back at work in a few days barring any complications.

So, there you have it. My weekend. Not real exciting I agree, but it was President's Day, what does one really do on this holiday anyway?

Pleasure You Want, Protection You Trust

Is this not the greatest Ad you've seen?? This guy is really excited. He really wants you to buy these condoms, you can just tell from that smile upon his face! If you look closely in the background it looks like they are in big demand too, a few women are checking them out, and that older guy in the glasses pushing the cart looks like he is contemplating this purchase very methodically. "I wonder what ultra ribbed means?'...and lubricated too, hmmm"

I think the clerk has had his teeth whitened, what do you think??