Dear Diary Friday...

Dylan is doing better today. He went to the chiropractor yesterday and got another adjustment, I borrowed the tens-unit from my Daddy and he wore that for over an hour, and then we went and got some Muslce-On (same stuff my Daddy uses) to rub on his neck, and he took two Doan's PM before he went to bed. He got up this morning and was actually standing without slouching and didn't look to be in hardly any pain.....thank Gawd that is over with! The poor babe was soooooo miserable yesterday that I was worried we were going to be going to the ER to get a muscle relaxant shot.

Beyond waking up with my wonderful hubby, I have had to already deal with some really irritating things today. First of all, we all came in to our recycle bins on our desks upside down....I won't go into details of why this is happening but needless to say, it is irritating AND there are a number of really pissed off people. Then I have two co-workers that are VERY needy in the morning and require (or at least think they require) lots of attention. If you know me, you know I am NOT a morning person, therefore, I am not the person you should irritate OR try to get attention from. And last but not least, I actually heard a co-worker say to me today...."Police are stupid"...which I had to bite my tongue AND grab the desk so I wouldn't start swinging. Yeah, I think it will be a fun day!

Dear Diary Thursday...

Dylan and I spent Wednesday night on a date....we went to the Chiropractor for an adjustment AND then we went to Red Lobster. I got a very good lecture on eating healthy (and my current diet, according to my doctor, is about as unhealthy as they come) and keeping myself migraine free. I got my neck cranked in both directions and my back popped so many times it sounded like the Fourth of July! And then a nice dinner with Dylan and home we went to bed. And then this morning happened.....

I got up and was getting ready to go to work when Dylan came out of the bedroom...bright red and unable to speak, barely walking, looking like he was probably in the worst pain imaginable, and he WAS. I got him seated and found out that his neck was hurting so bad that he could hardly breath and the pain was not coming and going, just an endless pain...probably a pinched nerve or something. I got the heating pad on his neck and back, grabbed four Ibuprofens and proceeded to try and massage it out of him. He then managed to make it back to bed where I got our huge massager out and massaged the spot that was causing the pain (Duffy didn't like that I only massaged Dylan and not him, he LOVES the massager) and he began to be able to breathe a bit easier. By the time I left, he had a better color to his face and could walk without EXCRUTIATING pain, but still in a lot of pain. He now has a 9:30 appointment with the chiro doctor to fix whatever the problem is....hopefully not a problem caused by our visit last night!

And I am not starting a new regiment of vitamins....USANA vitamins that my doctor sells. I started them this morning and am already feeling a real difference. And I am going back to eating my fruits and veggies (which the other diet did not allow) and eating my "good carbs" and taking my Usana supplements. HOPEFULLY this will help clear out some of the problems that I have caused myself AND make me feel a whole bunch better!

Dear Diary Wednesday...

Sleep and I didn't meet up until early this morning. I took my vitamins really last yesterday afternoon (when I finally remembered!) and so I was wired...but I was okay with that because I actually got quite a bit of reading done!

So, my brother has turned back into a self-absorbed, insane, lazy piece of shit. He either quit his job or got fired....I am not sure of which one because I can't get a straight answer out of him for anything on this planet. He is now spending his day in his room watching tv, movies, and sleeping....literally the whole day and night. Coming out to use the bathroom and eat. He has done a couple of helpful things around the house....he tilled up my Daddy's garden for him and has run my Mom to the store a couple of times....but that is it and it is getting worse. He has even commented to my folks that he is on "vacation" right now before he goes to work. What work? And vacation is something you do WHEN YOU HAVE A JOB! Yeah, I am pretty sure he is back on the drugs, but I can't smell anything coming from his room right now. I can also feel a "Coming to Jesus" talk starting up inside of me that will explode upon him. But in the meantime, I am making myself as available to my folks as I can, visiting with them every night after work, calling them before I go to bed, making plans with them for the weekend, and taking my Mom out to do some clothes shopping for her to get her out of the house.

REALLY looking forward to hanging out with Chet and Shane on Saturday at their Party!! I have been needing a big hug from my boys for awhile now so it will be nice to re-connect with them on Saturday.

Dear Diary Tuesday...part deux....

This hit a nerve with me today....

I think the vast differences in compensation between victims of the September 11 casualty and those who die serving our country in Uniform are profound. No one is really talking about it either, because you just don't criticize anything having to do with September 11. Well, I can't let the numbers pass by because it says something really disturbing about the entitlement mentality of this country. If you lost a family member in the September 11 attack, you're going to get an average of $1,185,000. The range is a minimum guarantee of $250,000, all the way up to $4.7 million. If you are a surviving family member of an American soldier killed in action, the first check you get is a $6,000 direct death benefit, half of which is taxable. Next, you get $1,750 for burial costs. If you are the surviving spouse, you get $833 a month until you remarry. And there's a payment of $211 per month for each child under 18. When the child hits 18, those payments come to a screeching halt. Keep in mind that some of the people who are getting an average of $1.185 million up to $4.7 milli on are complaining that it's not enough Their deaths were tragic, but for most, they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Soldiers put themselves in harms way FOR ALL OF US, and they and their families know the dangers. We also learned over the weekend that some of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing have started an organization asking for the same deal that the September 11 families are getting. In addition to that, some of the families of those bombed in the embassies are now asking for compensation a s well. You see where this is going, don't you? Folks, this is part and parcel of over 50 years of entitlement politics in this country. It's just really sad. Every time a pay raise comes up for the military, they usually receive next to nothing of a raise. Now the green machine is in combat in the Middle East while their families have to survive on food stamps and live in low-rent housing Make sense? However, our own US Congress voted themselves a raise. Many of you don't know that they only have to be in Congress one time to receive a pension that is more than $15,000 per month. And most are now equal to being millionaires plus. They do not receive Social Security on retirement because they didn't have to pay into the system. If some of the military people stay in for 20 years and get out as an E-7, they may receive a pension of $1,000 per month, and the very people who placed them in harm's way receives a pension of $15,000 per month. I would like to see our elected officials pick up a weapon and join ranks before they start cutting out benefits and lowering pay for our sons and daughters who are now fighting.

Dear Diary Tuesday....

Was that rain just crazy-ass last night! And now my yard is totally dry....how does that work???

Dylan went into work early again last night....two hours. We barely had time to say "Hi Honey" from the time I got home until he left. I made him a quick dinner, packed his lunch, and he went off to work. I am gonna be so happy when tax time is over with and we can actually hang out after I get off work at night!! AARRGGHH! However, I will be taking advantage of him having to work his days off this weekend and spending all my time working in the yard....unless it decides to rain again like it did last weekend.

Dear Diary Monday...

When I got into work this morning....75 e-mails and all of them were some kind of problem that I needed to respond to and work on ASAP. Don't you love starting a Monday out like that? Plus, I started back on my High Protein/Low Carb Cambridge Diet with full gusto again and so I was HUNGRY most of the morning (I had a 20 g protein powerbar, beef jerky, a diet coke, and a WHOLE bunch of water) so I was not happy with that. I just HATE Mondays. And then top all of that off with my poor hubby calling me at 11:30, when he should have been asleep for almost 3 hours, to let me know he had not been to sleep yet because he had a horrible case of heartburn that kept him up AND one of our drains had blocked up and he had to fix it! Oh, I REALLY HATE Mondays!!! But now it is 1:20 pm, I have less than two hours to go before I can go home, so I think I will be okay. I plan on making a really good dinner and visiting with my folks for a little while. I am not sure what I am making, but since my poor hubby is also going into work EARLY, I am gonna try and make it really, really good....if not LARGE so he can take leftovers for his lunch.

Dear Diary Sunday...

Friday, I left work two hours early, came home and showered and got ready to go with Dylan to meet the Poors for dinner and a movie. It was WONDERFUL! We had dinner at CPK, which the Poors had never had before so it was a lot of fun to introduce them to the place, and then we all went to see "300" which was a great movie. How can a movie that has a flute playing goat be anything but great!! We then went home and just relaxed the rest of the evening.

Saturday, Dylan and I had major grocery shopping to do, so we hit Costco, Wal-Mart, and Petsmart, which was pretty much an all day endeavor. We did stop to have lunch at Jason's Deli which kept us full the entire day and evening! He then went to work.

Today I finished cleaning the house and was going to do yardwork until I noticed it was raining when I got up, so I am not sure what I will be doing the rest of the day....maybe relaxing, but we will see. It just turned out to be a really great weekend, even though I found out that Dylan is going to be putting in a lot of OT this week, including going in on his day off on Friday...POOH!!!!! Oh well, we have plans for that extra money, so it should be fine.