We've Lost Chessie!
Mood:  sad


For those that may or may not remember.

I've been taking care of my sister's two dogs Chessie and Max (one of
Chessie's offspring), for almost two years since her eviction. Well,
yesterday while I was flying (between Cleveland and Madison
Wisconsin)/working I made the usual call home to see how things were going.
I found out that Chessie, who was 11 (I think), was bleeding all over the
place. Joe called my sister to come over and have a look at her and see
what was going on. By the time she got her to the vet she had been bleeding
profusly and her abdomen was distended extenxively and having a hard time
breathing.

The vet had no questions in letting her know that she was hemorhaging
(cancer/tumor), and there was only one option. To put her down. Well, sis
went in to the room with her. As Chessie laid her head on Sis' arm she went
quickly in crossing the rainbow bridge. I can only be thankful that she
didn't suffer too long.

I came home tonight in preperation for Krista's graduation party and Max is
still looking for his mommy and the cats are being quite dossile and looking
for her as well. I'm still trying to come to terms and realize that she's
not here but know that when I'm working and I look at the clouds that she's
there with every other animal I've known playing and chasing rainbows.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this!

Mary

Back To Work!
Mood:  a-ok


Hi Everone,

Well, I've had a few glorious days home for my daughter's graduation this past Thursday. Yep, she's done with high school and will starting college next September. To top it off, she turned 18 this past Wednesday. Yep, both of my kids are adults now. Talk about feeling old? I can't begin to tell you!

Work has been very interesting. Because I'm on reserve I'm either Airport ready or they call and say I have 2 hours to report for duty. Sounds military? Well, in a way it is! Can't say any more than that.

I've already had a few two and three day trips with absolultely wonderful crews to work with! We've hade a blast on every leg of the trips! Already dealt with "passengers" who have thier own thing to say about the flights and dealt with it all with regard to my job. That's what I'm there for after all.

The oddest thing to happen so far is when the captian comes over the com and tells me to take my seat in preperation for landing and I'm already in my jumpseat: "Mary, please be seated or landing!".......and "EVERYONE" leans out towrds the aisle and stares at you as if......."Well, is she seated?" Um, yeah!

Anywho, gotta get ready to go here soon!

Anyone have anything to say or comment? Let me know.

Chat with you all soon!

Cheers,

Mary

I'm Working!


Hi gang!

Yep! I'm working as a Flight Attendant now. Currently in Richmond, Virginia waiting to get ready for my next set of flights.

My class graduated last Friday and then we were sent immediately to our base in Newark. Those of us had two days there to find a place to live before we started base orientation on Monday.

Lucky for us we found a crash pad (a place where you stay while on call and then commute home on days off) pretty much at the last minute.

Monday came fast and we found ourselves at orientation. Half way in to orientation we were summened to duty and three of us had to deadhead to the other hub to cover shortages.

When we got there two of us were sent on flights right away while I waited in the crew room for a possible assignment.

Lucky for me I wasn't assigned a flight right away, I don't think I was that ready yet, and was released for rest until the next day.

I decided once I got to my room to call scheduling to see if there were any assignments for the next day so I had time to prepare myself. Well, lo and behold I was given a three day line of flights.

I'm in the middle of my line right now in Richmond and will be flying out in a few hours for two more flights before calling it a day.

Early tomorrow I have one more flight before I'm (hopefully), released from duty for two days off then I'm on again.

Well, have to go for now.

More later!

Mary

I'm Working!


Hi gang!

Yep! I'm working as a Flight Attendant now. Currently in Richmond, Virginia waiting to get ready for my next set of flights.

My class graduated last Friday and then we were sent immediately to our base in Newark. Those of us had two days there to find a place to live before we started base orientation on Monday.

Lucky for us we found a crash pad (a place where you stay while on call and then commute home on days off) pretty much at the last minute.

Monday came fast and we found ourselves at orientation. Half way in to orientation we were summened to duty and three of us had to deadhead to the other hub to cover shortages.

When we got there two of us were sent on flights right away while I waited in the crew room for a possible assignment.

Lucky for me I wasn't assigned a flight right away, I don't think I was that ready yet, and was released for rest until the next day.

I decided once I got to my room to call scheduling to see if there were any assignments for the next day so I had time to prepare myself. Well, lo and behold I was given a three day line of flights.

I'm in the middle of my line right now in Richmond and will be flying out in a few hours for two more flights before calling it a day.

Early tomorrow I have one more flight before I'm (hopefully), released from duty for two days off then I'm on again.

Well, have to go for now.

More later!

Mary

Been Quite A While!


Hi Every,

Yes, it's been a while since I've had the chance to enter anything to the blog.

I've been, as usual, incredibly busy.

I've got a new job! I'm in the final stages of becoming a Flight Attendant.

I've had four gruelling weeks of intenswive training and have had a few precious days at home after final exams anhd in flight competency's. I'm currently in Detroit's airport waiting to catch my flight back to Houston for my graduation on Friday ande head back home Friday morning after graduation so I can gather my stuff together for my base assignment in New Jersey!

I'm excited about the whole idea while at the same time anxious about what the future holds,

Please light a white candle in prayer for safety as well as being able to adjust without too much anxiety.

Will update you with more later!

Cheers,

Mary

"Lights, Camera, Auction - Take 9!"
Mood:  happy


Yes my dear readers, it's already time to announce the next "Lights, Camera, Auction!"

See the below release!

March 22, 2006

MPICA? is pleased to announce that the dates for our next auction are September 15-17, 2006 and it will take place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Recipient charities will be announced shortly.

Auction registration will open in April, and we will announce the hotel location and reservation information at that time.

Please stay tuned for further announcements.

Regards,

MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY CHARITABLE ALLIANCE?
501c Non-Profit Organization 31-1588233
http://www.mpica.org
Lights, Camera, Auction, Take 9!
http://www.mpica.org/LCA9/main.htm

Okay.......


Yah, It's been a while since my last post! What can I say? It's been the usual, busy!

I've been applying for other jobs because the other job, although I love it, doesn't pay enough to live on. It'd been incredibly hard and dissapointing to say the least!

Considering where I live and the current job market it's been incredibly hard! There's nothing available for the kind of experience I have!

I'm just down! Depressing? Yes! With no doubt!

On to other things!

Great Aunt passed this past Sunday! It was quicker than I thought! I had to work that night, came home, changed clothes and made my way to the care centre where she was but missed her passing by five minutes! I felt sooooo bad! I can only hope she knew I was thinking of her the entire time I was working!

Met my parents at the main entrance and we made our way to her room before the undertaker came to take her.

Please, don't think of this as morbid but at an attempt to have a proper blessing of passing for her. We made our way to her room, I saw her laying there peacefully, eyes closed as if taking a nap, I bent down tearfully and kissed her on the forhead, stroked her hair and thanked her for the blessing she bestowed upon my life and wished her peace in the life she now knew!

I just wish I had the time to spend more with her before she went to eternity. I feel sooooo bad!

Anywho, I have alot going on right now and just don't have the time to jot it down right now.

Thanks to all who come here to read what's going on! Hopefully something more positive will emerge shortly!

Cheers,

Mary

No Title But Tired!


I've worked six days straight and am about ready to turn in to jelly. I'm pooped!

Between finding out about my niece, work, covering for shifts that were not covered and catching extra hours to get more for myself, I'm plum exhausted!

I can't wait for a break where it doesn't concern getting the bathroom finished and then fixing the ceiling's fixed so we can put the house up on market. I'm so in need for change it isn't even funny!

Tomorrow I take daughter to get her cast off and fitted for a splint. She's not going to like that! But, it's better than four more weeks in a cast!

In the mean time I'm just greatful to have a bath to clean up with!

Amazing how the simple things in life mean so much when so much seems to be topsy-turvey!

Okay, I have to go take care of a bad case of hiccups!

Cheers,

Mary

It's Official...I"m...
Mood:  hug me


.....going to be a "Great Aunt!"

Yes! As much as I would like to be in denial...it's true!

My sister's daughter who's 17 is indeed 8 weeks along with child.

Un-believeable!

I had a feeling all along that she would be the first one to produce the first great-grandchild for my parents. But not this soon.

Oh well! What can you say? It was bound to happen sooner than later.

Talked with Sis yesterday to confirm it. And then talked with mum. And she says that the plan so far is to adopt the child out. Only time will tell.

Mary

"...Just Because..."
Mood:  d'oh


....I can!

Okay, starting on getting more done on the bathroom before I have to work tomorrow through Monday. Taking a break already for eats and having a 'Canadian' to follow. Well, they're known for thier little quotes on thier bottles. Here's one I really like! 'STOP IGNORNING ME!'

Yep, sometimes I feel like I'm talking to walls! UGH!

Mary

The Usual Stuff!


Not much new this week. The bathroom project is on hold until the weekend. Between work and kid stuff it's been next to impossible to get much more accomplished except for getting the rest of the insulation installed and plastic over it. Well, I got the plastic is over it but ran out of staples for the staple gun. Then, I get a message on my cell phone while I was at work yesterday. Seems that the welding on the plumbing job sprung a leak. Oh well! Not that I'm surprised but that too will put the project behind a little more!

Oh, and another thing! My niece who went to live in Chicago a few months back returned home for good. There's more to this story than I can say right now but will update when I get confirmation on a few things.

Anywho, off I go to take care of some errands!

Mary

A Warning For Men!


Being a female I can understand this!

Attention to all men: BEWARE! LOL!


Subject: Married Couple

A married couple in their early 60s was out celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant. Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table and said, "For being such an exemplary married couple and for being faithful to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish."

"Oh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband" said the wife. The fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - two tickets for the Queen Mary II luxury liner appeared in her hands. Then it was the husband's turn. He thought for a moment and said: "Well, this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me. "

The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish...

So the fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - the husband became 92 years old.

The moral of the story: Men who are ungrateful bastards should remember fairies are female.

"The Money Pit revisited" - UPDATE!

We now have the new tub in, some insulation put up as well as bisquine plastic to protect the insulation from moisture. The rest of the insulating and plastic installation delayed due to some repairs that needed to be done.

As per usual, with any home renovation or project, we ran in to a few setbacks putting us further behind.

The installation of the tub took a little longer than planned due to the plumbing fixtures. With the new tub you can only use brass pipes and fittings. $$$$CA-CHING$$$$!!!!!!!!

After cutting and customizing the angle of the fittings, welding together and testing for leaks 'before' installing, they did indeed leak. After a full day of taking care of that and leaving the fitting attached to the washer water outlets for more pressure testing for leaks over night with no leaks, could finally be attached to the tub and water lines in the bathroom. Yes, a little delay in what could have turned out to be a disaster if not tested and welded correctly.

It was also discovered that the soil pipe directly above the bathroom in the attic had a leak and therefore needed repaired before we could go further.

Hopefully today, after some much needed catching-up of shopping and laundry son and I are planning on finishing the of the rest of the insulation today so we can get going with the final preps for green board and dry wall this coming Friday.

So, off I go for now!

Mary

'The Money Pit' revisited! - Bare Bones Bathroom!
Mood:  rushed


Yep! As it says! The only thing that now resembles a bathroom in my house is a toilet and the floor. Otherwise, the walls, ceiling and old tub are all down and headed to the dump.

Between work and the other 'normal' every day craziness around here I now have to start putting it all back together in the spare time that is rare anymore around here before my parents lock us out of the house for using their shower way too much. I'm hoping in the long run(as in investment for selling)it'll all be worth it.

Anywho, a little 'funny' (?) during the destruction and clean-up. Whilst taking the shop-vac to the left-over plaster and lath dust I managed to get so 'in' to getting all of the crap up, feverishly going around the entire room and framing to get it done as soon as possible I forgot that the extension cord coil was placed on a not so sturdy nail above the water lines leading to the old vanity. Well, I turned to pick something up and bumped my ass end in to the coil knocking it off.

Beyond the racket of the vac I hear this 'hissing' sound. In a split second I turn around and discover what that sound was. It was what was left of the cold water line that led up to the old vanity having been broken and spewing a stream of water all over the bathroom and remaining plaster dust. I stood there for another second with the shop-vac still running before it clicked in, 'broken water line, running shop-vac, electricty........SHIT!!!!!!! While un-plugging the vac I yell to my son '.......TURN THE WATER OFF IN THE BASEMENT!' Son, quick to his feet ran down the stairs and managed to turn off the correct main feed valve to the bathroom in less than 10 seconds!

Whew! That done it was time to act quick to soak up the water on the floor as well as the water that found it's way to the holes in the floor leading to the newer in the kitchen and lighting fixtures before anymore damage could be done!

What's to come in the following week? Well, you guessed it. Time allowing I'll update the best I can, but it's going to be a full week at that. I need to get the , dry-wall, tub framing and supports up, tub in. Mud the walls, ceiling sand and prime, paint Go over screw holes and all that with filler, sand and seal so I can put up the . Prime the and then paint.

Hopefully, after all of this is done I'll have a close to as possible 'period style' bathroom of that from the year it was built, 1918.

If I'm lucky I'll have some time to get some pictures of the progress so you can see everything I've been talking about.

In the mean time, it's back to work!

Cheers,

Mary

Ah, Yes! Kids Will Be Kids!


Daughter broke her left arm last week in two places. She was at a work skating party and two kids fell in front of her thus causing her to fall back and while falling braced herself with her arm that took the brunt of the mishap.

I found out when getting a call from the rink owner telling me about the mishap asking if I could come get her and recommended that I take her to get it looked at. Right away I knew it couldn't be good in the owner was calling me.

So, I get to the rink and she comes out of the office with a splint on. I ask to look at the arm, the splint comes off and I go "Ooookay! (while thinking to myself "Eeeeew, this isn't good!"). I don't think we're stopping at home. It's straight to the hospital with this one!"

Although I think shock and adrenaline played a big part of it I was amazed that she wasn't in tears. By the looks of the arm at the time she should have been.

We got to the hospital, registered and waited maybe 10 minutes in the waiting room before we were called. Surprised I was at that! Then, instead of going to triage they took us back to a room right away. Another surprise considering there was about 15 other people waiting to be seen.

There was no real time to get settled in before the doctor came in, looked at and evaluated the arm before she was taken to x-ray. She came back, they gave her a pain pill and within 5 minutes the pictures were back.

The doctor came back and asked for us to go to the viewing screen to look at the picture. Yep, she most defiantly had a fracture of her radius in two spots. The worry for the doctor was that is was rather unusual and he was working on seeing if there was an orthopedic specialist in the hospital to further evaluate treatment of the injury. They were worried about the position of one of the bones overlapping the other bone with the other fracture.

A half an hour goes by and they 't able to find a specialist in house so they went ahead and splinted the arm, so swelling could go down before putting the better cast on. Sent us home with a prescription of pain pills for her, to which thankfully she really didn't depend on, and gave us instructions to call the recommended specialist first thing in the morning.

The next day I get up and try to call the specialist recommended. They were out of the office until this past Tuesday. No sense in waiting that long just to get an appointment so I decided to call our doctor because I had a follow up for something else, told them what happened and asked if she could piggy-back my appointment so we could get another recommendation for an orthopedic specialist to get her in sooner. They didn't set her arm in the E.R. and thought it would be a good idea to get her seen as soon as possible before it started knitting itself together before setting.

That wasn't a problem at all! We got the referral and a rush-in appointment with a specialist in the office. The earliest date was January 5th. Exactly one week after the fall. I was a little anxious about the time of waiting, the type of break and the healing of the arm while waiting. But, all was well. We went for the appointment, they took more x-rays to compare and what a blessing, the bones started going back in to place themselves, therefore making in not necessary to re-break (if knitting together the wrong way), and set the bones in place.

Very LUCKY Girl!

Mary