More about 'Pal' than the 'Wow'

The town I grew up in (Palmyra) has had a little festival thingie at the local park for the past 4 or 5 years.  They call it the 'Pal Wow'.  (Yea, I know....) Anyone from Palmyra or that lives in Palmyra calls it simply "Pal".  The park is called 'Buffalo Trace park' - so I don't know if it's a play on words like 'pow wow' from Indian days or like 'lets get together for a pow wow' or what?!  (Sadly they didn't consult me about the name...)  Think Harvest Homecoming on a much, much, MUCH tinier scale.  Food booths, crafts, singers & a few people.   Alicia & her parents were going to be camping for the weekend & asked me to come hang out.  I live about 10 minutes away & B-rad was working at the barn all day so it was a no brainer.  

  First thing Alicia forced had me do was put on the drunk goggles.   Sam stayed in front of me & coached me where to walk!  At the end you have to try & shoot a basketball into the net.  Needless to say - I missed...

We walked around the actual festival part for what felt like forever.  Alicia & I are both on the injured list...me & my damn leg & her & her damn toe.  The teacher in her came out when she saw a food board with a word misspelled.  YES, she asked them for a marker to change it....

(And if you read her blog, you might recognize this pic...we took FULL advantage of the new "Air drop" feature in iOS 7.  I'm a good gal to know for all those tricks - just ask Alicia - she'll tell ya!)

After the misspelled word debacle, I found a couple of things that made me chuckle.  I want a flower WITH A CLIP but I want the $.50 option...  

Below is the silent auction sign up sheet.  Most used only their last names when they bid, people...just last names... 

 It was going to be a LONG walk back to camp for the cripples  so we hitched a ride on one of the utility vehicles they were driving around.  Marcia had no time for our picture nonsense, she was getting a call...

 When we got back to camp, it was time to break out the wine...

Alicia's parents crack me up!  When they found I out was coming to camp, they had a list of questions they needed to ask me about their electronics!  (C'mon people, they don't call me Jaime Mac for nothin'...) Joe had upgraded is iPhone to iOS7 & had some questions about it.  Marcia said, "Jaime's gonna be there this weekend."  He said, "Yea, I need to ask her some questions!"  

I LOVE it!

Marcia needed some help with her tablet.  I was afraid I wouldn't be able to figure it out since I don't really know about "Droid" software, but I got it. Marcia knows just how to make my head big(ger) when she exclaimed, "Jaime Mac knows Droid too!"  

 We hung out by the fire for a while & it started to smoke Alicia out.

 Sam & I like to torment each other are buddies.  He likes to 'command' me to do things & I tell him, "Nu uh - you're not the boss of me!"   When Sam found out it might cause me some irritation or discomfort to have smoke all up in my face - he made it his personal mission to get the smoke to blow directly at me.  (Have I mentioned we love to torment each other?!)

 
At camp there are practically no rules.  And these kiddos were a hot, HOT mess w/ sticky cotton candy fingers, orange cheetoh fingers & Sam's feet were BLACK!  He did NOT want me taking his picture.  Can you see the pain on his face?!  (Like I said - TORMENT!)

And this is about the time the fun got cut short for me...the PLAN had been for me to go home & get B-rad that evening when he was done working at the barn (7:30-8:00ish I hoped), came back & watch fireworks, hang out around the fire, talk & spend the night.  (This is also a perfect example that even though I don't have kids - my life is not always whatever I want it to be.  That damn farm is a real downer on my social calendar...) LONG story short - I waited for 2 1/2 hours for B-rad to come home.  At 9:00 when I hadn't heard from him & thought maybe he was dead - I got in my car & went to the barn.  They were working on the combine & had gotten involved in 'more than they had anticipated' & he had been under it/in it/whatever for hours & hadn't texted or called me back.  By the time he would've gotten home, eaten & gotten ready it would've been 10:00.  I was really a little angry by then & decided I wouldn't be any fun if I went back so I decided to keep my cranky ass at home.  Sigh.  I was super disappointed because I have such fun with those Gettelfingers.  I love their sense of humor & that they know mine.  I got a text from Alicia when I said I wouldn't be coming back that said: "mom & dad say you're a tired old ass!"  I just love 'em!

Thanks so much to the (other) McAfee's &  Gettelfinger's for always being so welcoming & the free birth control!!  They truly are like a second family to me.  (Plus they know I love telling people what to do giving advice & helping on their electronics!  What more could a gal want?!)

It started 'all about cookie butter' but ended 'all about iOS7'

Alicia & I got to hang out for a while last night.  And by 'hang out' I mean we grocery shopped.  We are WILD party maniacs people!   It ALL started when blog stalker Jessica said on Twitter she was eating cookie 'butter'... & I thought she meant cookie 'BATTER'...  Turns out there's a store called 'Trader Joes' & they have stuff called cookie butter.  Who knew?!  We all got into a discussion about it & thought we should meet over there one evening.  

Jessica 's hubby sucks & works weird hours couldn't make it but Alicia still needed to go so her & I decided to make an evening of it.  Up first was dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen.  

Yes, she eats for those of you that wonder.  And she eats FAST.  I had a complex by the end of the evening because she would  be finished & I was still working away at my food.  Daniel assures me this is because she has kids & I don't.  I thought he meant it was like 'survival of the fittest' & she had to eat quickly so the kids didn't eat her food.... but apparently he meant she has to eat quickly so she can take care of her tiny humans kiddos that 'need this'  or 'need that' & don't give her a moments peace.   Reason #52, people...

The new iPhone operating system (iOS7) came out yesterday & she had trouble getting her phone to update.  She tried & tried while we ate dinner & it never would work.  I snatched her phone from her thinking maybe I had the magic touch... & I'm not one to brag, but it totally started working.... 

 Unless you're a maniac about your phone like myself & some of my close friends, you won't get this AT ALL...but when your phone is updating it is rendered useless.  When I updated mine yesterday I had to leave it at a co-workers house for like an hour & a half for the update to run.  OH THE HUMANITY.  (The wi-fi at work sucks & you KNOW I can't do it at home in the sticks...)  Alicia was having some serious small anxiety issues while waiting for her phone.  It came in handy for me that since I was still eating & she was already finished... she couldn't leave until her phone was done.  

 The pure JOY of getting fun new phone stuff.  JOY, people...

 And that is also when I lost her company for the evening...  I can't blame her though...it's fun new phone stuff!  Pssssh!

 We finally made it to Trader Joe's.  I had no idea what to expect, but it's like a tiny grocery store - like with healthy & organic food.

 WE FOUND THE COOKIE BUTTER.  

 My favorite part was the flowers on the back of their shirts.  This is the flower I have on the back of my car!

 After grocery shopping, we stopped for ice cream.  Yep, she ate ice cream too...

 This is what we had to show for the evening.  The red arrow is pointing to the one measly bag I got.  I bought 3 items:  #1-cookie butter (yes, it's SUPER yummy!) #2-cowboy caviar that Alicia said B-rad would LOVE & #3-chips for aforementioned cowboy caviar.  
It was a fun night of making fun of each other (I got punched once), teaching each other new phone & twitter tricks & catching up!   

  

Sometimes 12 years ago feels like yesterday

A couple of years ago myself & some of the loyal stalkers did 'blog offs'. We picked a subject & all wrote about it. 2 years ago our topic was about 'September 11th'. 

Since I'm pmsing feeling sentimental I went back & read my post. It's amazing to me how sometimes I can't remember last week, but I remember nearly every detail of that day 12 years ago....

If you did a post about September 11th, please feel free to repost. I would love to read them again.  (And if you didn't blog back then or didn't participate & you are also feeling pms'y sentimental - I encourage you to write about your day.) It's strange to me that for those few weeks/months Americans came together like nothing I had seen before. We were all about protecting each other & our country. No fighting or bickering or being babies over really stupid stuff. Just Americans loving their country... 

You can read my memory here.

The road to recovery

I was off work 3 days last week because of my old lady 'fall'.  I did just what the doctor said & rested!  I think Sonny was happy I was home to sleep with him all day.  He is laying on me in every picture...

 I spent my days with my foot propped up in bed...

 Mid-afternoon I would need a change of scenery so I went to the living room...   

I went back to work yesterday & my leg was sore & I was REALLY tired!  It's almost like trying to learn to walk all over again.  I consciously have to think about bending my bad leg a bit when I walk so I don't limp so much & put the strain on my 'good' leg.  Lordy...  

AND since ya'll asked me relentlessly so nicely about my granny cane - here it is:  

No one (that I know of?!) took pics of me using it so this is all ya get!

(I don't feel like I need to use it anymore so I'm walking on my own.  That thing is a serious fashion faux pas.)

Apparently falling (at my age) can be dangerous

First - I love it when ya'll revolt.  My last post about what I refer to my hubby as on the blog got an overwhelming, "Nu uh, we don't like it" vote from you.  SO-you speak, I listen & I will continue to call Brad B-rad.  BUT I also reserve the right to refer to him as Brad or Mac.  At least now you'll know I didn't lose my mind & marry another guy who the heck I'm talking about.  Deal?!

Labor Day weekend always marks the 'un-official' end of summer.  It makes B-RAD sad because it also means getting ready for harvest & working long hours again.  It seems like just yesterday he got done planting & side dressing.  Sigh.  So for our last weekend at the lake, I really went out in style... when I fell down these stairs in my mil's office in the boat on Friday night (the START of the weekend.)...

Shauna, me & the kids went down Friday evening after work while B-RAD waited for Brian to get off working 2nd shift.  They got there around 2 am & had brought the air mattress for Brian & Shauna to sleep on.  I was going down in that room to help Shauna put sheets on the bed.  I thought I put my foot on the step, but my left leg slid down the edge of the steps while my right leg stayed on top.  (Imagine me doing the splits.) It eventually gave way & twisted up underneath itself.  I don't have any official fun medical jargon for you, just that it hurt like hell.  At first I thought maybe I had broken something because my foot shook after I pulled it out from underneath my leg.   I would LOVE to tell you drinking was involved, but sadly it was not.  It was about 2:30am so I am blaming it mainly on old age being tired. 

After B-RAD hauled me up back on my feet I was able to put weight on it so I figured it wasn't broken.  I sat with an ice pack on it for a while & hobbled went to bed.  

The pain was mainly in my calf muscle.  However I couldn't bend my knee or toes because they pulled on that muscle.  It was still hurting that next morning so my mil went to get me an ice pack & some wrap.  I didn't think I needed a doctor because A) we were in the sticks of Kentucky - they might cut my leg off & B) there's nothing really they can do for a stretched, twisted muscle right?  

This is how I spent MY Labor Day weekend...

I was dependent on the kindness of others for almost everything.  Normally I love to be the center of attention but this was a bit much for me.  People helping me with every meal, people helping me get drinks, people helping me up & down the stairs, people asking me if I needed anything.  I was VERY appreciate they were so sweet to help me.  This was also when my manners came in REAL handy!  "Can you get me a drink, PLEASE?  Thank you."  "Can you hold my cane until I hobble down the stairs, PLEASE?  Thank you." (B-RAD's aunt was there & had had hip surgery a while back which required her to use a cane.  She didn't need it anymore, but had it in the car...so I was all over that.  I felt like a 90 year old woman, why not look like one too?!)  I'm so used to doing things on my own that it's hard for me to adjust to needing help, plus I didn't want to bother anyone.  At breakfast Saturday morning I was sitting on the couch & while B-RAD started to eat his cinnamon rolls I just sat there.  And sat there... My father in law made me a plate & handed it to me. Someone made a smart ass comment to B-RAD & he said, "Oh, sorry... I'm so use to you being independent I didn't even think about it."  Sad, but true...

I spent my days moving from the couch, to the recliner, then maybe in bed for a nap.  I had to keep my leg propped up or it would swell.    I would go upstairs to the top of the boat twice a day.  Once for breakfast, then again before dinner.  I would stay up there for a few hours (because it was a helluva lot of trouble going up & down!)

It still hurt on Tuesday when it was time to go back to work, but I sucked it up & went in.  After walking around for 30 minutes & breaking out into a sweat, I decided I needed to see the doctor.  In his infinite wisdom, he decided that I had indeed suffered trauma to my muscle but was also concerned I could have a blood clot.  Uhm, what?  Normally he said when you suffer a trauma you don't feel it until a day or so later...I felt the pain immediately after so he was concerned I had a clot.   He called the hospital while I sat in the exam room to set up a ultrasound for my leg.  He told them he wanted the results 'stat' & to call his cell phone with them.  Then I started to get a bit nervous.  He didn't think I broke anything, but he wanted an x-ray too 'just to be sure'.  Greaaaat.  He told me to alternate 500mg of Tylenol & Aleve for the pain, that I had pretty, sparkly toenails & to take the rest of the week off work.  

I have never been admitted to a hospital & the only time I went to the ER was when I broke my ankle when I was like 13.  Mom did all the heavy lifting for that!  The whole 'registration' thing made me kinda anxious.  They gave me 2 papers with all these stickers.  One for the heart/vascular place for the ultrasound & one for radiology.  

Then shit got REAL when they put this bracelet on me.  Anxious kicked into overdrive...

First I went to the vascular place because of the clot possibility thing.  OBVIOUSLY I've never had an ultrasound but I'm sure you crazy people with kids parents are familiar with the process.  The tech lubed me up from hip to ankle & used that little wand thingie all the way down my leg to check it for clots.  Luckily, there weren't any.  She called the doctor & told him my test was 'negative' & he had her tell me to use 'moist heat' on my leg 4-5 times a day for 15 minutes.  

 Next I hobbled to radiology for my x-ray.  I ran into a blog stalker there (Hi, Robin!) & we chatted for a few minutes until they called me back.

The x-ray tech was a 'younger' guy who was very friendly.  When we got in the room he started drilling me with really personal questions:

Young guy:  "Are you pregnant or is there a possibility you're pregnant?"

Me:  Dear God I hope not.  "No."

Young guy:  "Any tubal or hysterectomy?"

Me: (I assumed he meant had I HAD a tubal pregnancy ever or had a hysterectomy?) "No."

Young guy:  "When was your last period?"

Me:  WHAT THE F***? "Uhm, I don't know."  I usually only review the answer to that question before I walk into the gyno for my annual! UHM, a couple of weeks ago or so?  

I survived the x-ray inquisition & made my way home to rest.  The doctor called me this evening & I did not break any bones.  He told me I had 'beaten up my leg pretty good' & to take it easy & keep resting.  

I am moving very slowly but walking better today & not using the cane.  You would be surprised how bad it hurts to get up & down from the toilet when you can't bend you leg.  Try it - I dare ya.   I have to be careful not to twist it side to side because that really hurts.  I'm mainly walking in straight lines.  The other bad news is that I haven't met my deductible yet for this year...who knows how much this getting older bullshit tumble is gonna cost me?