Gotta Have One of These...

Keurig 2.0 K500 Coffee Maker Brewing System 

I hope Santa gives me one of these for Christmas.

Creamy, Milky, Sugary Coffee!

Finally Some Serious Shuteye…

Grand Waffle House Breakfast.

I managed to sleep to 6am this morning.  We're making progress! Yay!  I was kind of disoriented in the dark when I awoke and I didn’t know what time it was until I stumbled towards and walked over to wiggle my mouse. I had to wake my sleeping computer in the bedroom.  Maggie was like, 'don’t go and get up just yet'.  I headed straight to the thermostat as it was mighty chilly in my house this morning. I set it on 78° and am just now basking in the warmth.   It feels really good in here. It is a creature comfort kind of thing, ya know?

Now, it is time for the hard question.  What do I fix for breakfast this morning?  Shall I slave over a hot stove for Maggie and myself?  I am leaning towards milky coffee, buttery grits and gooey cheese toast. It is amazing that I don't weigh 300 pounds. I do weigh 205 pounds, though. I would love to drive down to the Waffle House and eat a grand breakfast that looks like the image attached to this post. There is a whole lot of good stuff going on in that photo and I would like to be a part of it.

Image Credit:  http://heavy.com/social/2013/05/waffle-house-customer-obituary-antonia-larroux/

And the Sun Went Down Like Countless Millennium Before…

The Magnificence of Nature...

Sundown means Papa’s imminent arrival. It gets dark so early now, though.  It can make me feel melancholy.

My father was a little early tonight despite working all day. It was a nice surprise. Dad’s co-pharmacist, Angie, sent me a tin of cookies and a pharmacy calendar for Christmas.  I told dad to tell her that I really appreciated it.  I’ve never met a cookie that I didn’t like and these were delicious Danish butter cookies.

Dad and I were sitting on my couch as the medication ritual commenced.

“I tell ya,” my father said. “It just feels damn good to sit down.  Standing up for 10 hours filling prescriptions is tough. I didn't even get a chance to eat lunch we were so busy today.”

I called dad a glorified dope man and he laughed.

I Pop the Question...

“Are you thirsty?” I then asked my father in anticipation. “Let’s go get a drink down at the Circle K.”

Dad handed me the key to the X5 and told me I was driving.  He sat in the passenger’s seat just talking away. Driving that car is a dream come true and a real treat.

"Now, when you buy a new BMW, I want to have this one as a hand-me-down," I told my father.

"We'll see," my father said with a grin, a short nervous laugh, and a smirk."This car would probably be too expensive for you to maintain it, though."

Image Credit: https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2013/10/15/sundown-in-america/

Getting Some Milk Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Style…

This is how The Secretary can get things complicated very quickly.  Mom calls me and simply asks me if I need anything at the grocery store.

“I would love a gallon of sweet milk,” I innocently told her.

I have already drank two gallons of milk this week.

“Will you go with me?” mom asked. “That milk is going to be heavy to carry.”

I am undressed and have not had my shower. I am unfit for public appearances. 

“Don’t worry about it,” I told my mother.  “I am fine.  I have plenty of condensed milk for my coffee.”

“I will leave you four dollars outside the back door so you can go get it yourself,” The Secretary then replies.

“Don’t worry about it,” I then said adamantly once again. “I could just debit it if I get out and about today.”

“But your daddy doesn’t like it when you debit extra groceries,” she replied.

Sigh!

“Well, I can’t stand the thought of you going without milk with your Pop-tarts,” she said. “You do have Pop-tarts left?”

“Don’t worry about it.  I can eat my Pop-tarts fine without milk.” 

The Secretary called an additional two times about this incident. 

About an hour later, my mother shows up at my house in her car and blows the horn.

I walked out to the road after hurriedly dressing and putting some shoes on.

“I got you two gallons of sweet milk,” mom told me grinning. “I got one of the Kroger boys to carry it out for me. I tipped him two dollars for doing it.”

Bless my mother’s heart.  It is amazing mom and dad have been married 47 years as this kind of thing has gone on for decades. 

image credit:  http://www.heifer.org/join-the-conversation/magazine/2015/holiday/road-farm-market.html

The Diagnosis is Not Looking Good, But We’ve Got Our Fingers Crossed…

Yes, I am up at 4am this morning.  One of these days I am going to get back on a normal sleeping schedule.  Until then, let us night owls unite!  I have a friend on Facebook and she is always up and posting this time of  the morning even though nobody is reading.  It gives me some solace in that I am not alone.

A Gremlin Resides Inside my Gaming Computer…

Well, my main computer started crashing yesterday afternoon and it is terribly troublesome and worrisome to me.  I narrowed it down to my Radeon video card.  Sadly, I can’t afford to buy another video card at the  moment.  The cheapest I would entertain is a $199.99 R9 280X AMD video card.  Luckily, my processor has a graphics processing unit (integrated graphics) on the chip die so I can still use the computer, but I can’t run it at the resolutions I like or play video games.

Update:   I just gave the card one more chance and reinstalled it by carefully seating it in its socket hoping that was the problem.  I also reinstalled the drivers as well hoping that will help.  So far, we’ve been running an hour without a crash.  I hope the computer gods are smiling down upon me this early morning.

Christmas Windfall Changes…

The gravy train passed us by this year.  My father told me yesterday he is only giving myself and my two siblings $250 to spend for Christmas this year instead of our usual $500.  That means no $399.99 surround sound system for my computer.  I told dad to get me a cappuccino machine or something similar like a really, really nice coffee maker.   

Let’s Get Breakfast Started! 

What is your favorite breakfast food?  My father loves sweets like warm Danishes, cinnamon buns, and such, and so does my mother. My grandmother loved biscuits and bacon with homemade jelly or preserves.  She also loved different kinds of melons for breakfast. Occasionally, Helen will prepare a pancake or waffle breakfast for my parents.  I personally love savory things like fried eggs, bacon and sausage.  This morning Maggie and I are having poached eggs on buttered toast with some cheddar sprinkled on top.  It is a childhood favorite of mine.  I will also cook some bacon and get a pot of strong coffee going.  

Image Credit:  http://esi-a.com/hardware.html

Have You Been Naughty or Nice?

I’ve been pretty nice except for last week when I knocked on my own door just to see Maggie come clamoring for visitors.  I shouldn’t cry wolf like that, but it made me smile. Yes, it was sadistic and no, I don’t do that all the time. 

Christmas is coming and it is my favorite time of the year.  Yards and homes are lit in festive lights and decorations.  Elaborate wreaths are hanging from doors, and then there is the 100 pound behemoth that is my parent’s artificial Christmas tree.  Yes, we got the tree up this afternoon and it looks beautiful.  Dad and I both struggled, the old men we are, to get it out of storage in the basement and up all the stairs to the front living room. 

The Secretary’s job was to hang the ornaments. Dad kept calling her Santa’s little helper which tickled my funny bone.

“At that rate, Martha, it will be tomorrow before you get all the ornaments on,” my father said jokingly. 

“Oh, shut up, Johnny,” my mother replied with a guffaw.  

As I was leaving, dad asked me if I was okay.  I seemed out of sorts.

“My mind is racing at 100mph,” I told my father rather frantically. “I got excited about the tree.  I just want to go home and lay down.”

“It was that Strattera,” he said. “I knew we shouldn’t have given it to you.”

We went ahead and took my medications for the day.  Hopefully 4mg of Klonopin will slow me down as it should.

We will get my Christmas tree this weekend at Ponder’s Plant Nursery as I prefer a live tree and the accompanying cedar scent that permeates the house. I’ve already put lights around all the windows in the front of the house, though. I like to go stand out in the front yard and admire them at dark fall.  

photo credit:  http://www.oldmillcommunity.com/announcements/christmas-tree-pick-ups-the-first-two-weeks-in-january/

Cup Of Joe…

What? Coffee with lots of cream and sugar. When? Right now. Where?  At Andrew’s Casa.

This Beautiful View…

It is early morning and no one is awake except I am stirring – burning the midnight oil as the old saying goes.  My sleeping habits are still not 100% having woken up at 3am wide awake.  Facebook is like a ghost town at this ungodly hour. In regards to Facebook, I have trouble deciding what’s appropriate to share and not to share.  I am always worried I am stepping on somebody’s toes. This kind of inappropriate behavior gives people with mental illnesses a bad name.

Bacon and cheese biscuits were breakfast du jour.  These White Lily frozen biscuits are pretty passable, but dad’s mom is still rolling in her grave.  She could have a pan of homemade biscuits in the oven in 15 minutes tops. Also, don’t you just love the way frying bacon makes the house smell? It tends to linger for hours…

It’s a dark night and a few hours ago I spread an old quilt out in the backyard to lay down on my back and gaze at the stars with my binoculars.  It was a beautiful view.  I always wonder if some being or extraterrestrial is looking back.  Maggie thought this was the grandest thing to do except we both got cold and headed back inside after about 30 minutes of gazing.

We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ TV!

Dad asked me to tune the television to The Weather Channel last night during the medication ritual. He said it was supposed to be warm on Christmas day here. So much for our snow I said.

“The television is not hooked up,” I told my father as I almost winced.

“What do you mean your television isn’t hooked up?” dad asked mystified. 

“I don’t watch television and I needed a spare HDMI cable,” I replied. “I told you months ago to cancel my cable and use that money to get me the fastest internet.”

My father is a television addict.  He can’t fathom me living without it.

photo credit:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/forestwander-nature-pictures/4806771747

Who Dat Be?

As Helen would say in her brogue Southern African American vernacular.  A car pulled up in front of my house and blew the horn several times. “Who  in the hell is that?” I asked Maggie as I looked out the window. Maggie seemed nonchalant about the whole endeavor.  It was Mrs. Sandra bringing my Mexican meal.  I finally got with the program and walked to the road to get my fajitas.   Mom was sitting in the passenger’s side of Sandra’s van and told me she couldn’t get my father’s Honda to crank.  

“What are you doing trying to drive dad’s CR-V?” I asked amused.

“I knocked the other mirror off of my car driving out of the garage and it is at the body shop getting fixed,” mom said matter-of-factly.  “Your daddy was about to kill me.”

I couldn't help but grin.  My mother is hell on wheels and sporting a Marge Simpson hairdo.  You can’t miss her coming.

The Doctor is In…

Dad has just left after the medication ritual.  He was remarking on how spritely Maggie seemed after two weeks of very strong antibiotics. 

“She takes her last amoxicillin  tomorrow,” I told my father as he handed me my handful of crazy meds.   “It has really brought out the puppy in her she feels so much better.”

Maggie’s eyes and ear infection are gone and she no longer smells of yeast from the nasty yeast infection she endured for far too long.

Festive Fajitas…

I haven’t been getting my usual Mexican meal on Tuesday nights going on months now.  I grew tired of the same thing over and over (#9 burrito meal), and the food at that restaurant, El Rio Grande, is bland and every dish tastes the same.  Mom just called me and said she was bringing me chicken fajitas.  Now, I can chow down on some fajitas, but my mother was complaining of the cost months ago.  I guess she finally gave in and changed her mind.  I told her a profuse thank you for the meal.  The steak fajitas are really expensive at $19.99 so the chicken fajitas at $14.99 are a fair compromise.

Photo Credit:  http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_fajitas/

Saying Goodbye to Strattera…

Dad promptly took me off the Strattera last night. My doctor was going to prescribe Adderall when this all began,  but my father protested.  He didn’t like Strattera from the beginning he said fearing it was a stimulant like Adderall which is basically prescription strength amphetamines – a controlled substance.  I didn’t sleep but 3 hours in a 24 hour period the past few days.  He said that Strattera was the culprit. 

“I thought you were going to put up more of a fuss when I took it away,” my father said befuddled when he didn’t give me last night’s dosage.

“I am tired and weary worn of fussing,” I replied. “Do what you will.”

I feel like we never even gave it a chance before it was taken away.  Dad said he was afraid I was going to start acting “wacky” and “aggressive”. He attributes our fuss the other day to the Strattera causing me not to think clearly. To his credit, I did sleep like a baby last night and I am now back on a more normal circadian rhythm.  I have always traditionally been an early riser and was out of the bed at 5am this morning, though.  I think I went to bed around 10pm last night.

Maggie? Chowtime!

I just finished fixing Maggie and I a slam-bang breakfast. Breakfast truly is my most important meal of the day.  I was in Wal-Mart at 6am this morning after a quick shower and shave.  I bought real salted butter, 4 cartons of jumbo eggs, regular grits, sweetened condensed milk, frozen biscuits, and my usual brand of bacon.  

Drinking coffee this morning during breakfast brought back extremely vivid memories of dad’s mom doing the same thing when I was just a youngster.  Just the mere smell of coffee conjures up very fond memories of my late grandmother. That alone merits brewing a pot every morning.

Maggie got two eggs scrambled plain and you’d think Christmas had come to town.  I also gave her a few bits of bacon out of the goodness of my heart ever cognizant of the health considerations.  I also ladled up a paper bowl of grits with just a little butter for the Magster and she greedily lapped it up once it had cooled some. 

Photo Credit: http://www.progressivehealth.com/strattera-adderall.htm

I’m Handing You the Reigns…

“I’m doing your grocery shopping tonight,” Dad told me with much fervor and bravado. “You’re just along for the ride.  I am going to show you how it’s done right.”

“By all means,” I said with a whimsical grin. “Lead the way.”

This was going to be very interesting and I wasn't disappointed.

Bravo father! Grand show!

I only picked a few items like pudding cups and dad picked the rest such as Hebrew National hotdogs, sandwich fixins, and breakfast danishes for the microwave.  Dad also got me 12 frozen meals enough to have two a day for 6 days – lunch and supper. I slipped in some eggnog and Promised Land chocolate milk as well. There was no room in the budget for my usual breakfast foods this week and they will be sorely missed. Can you say midnight run to Wally World? Buy now and worry about the imminent repercussions later is going to be my mantra tonight.

The total tally was $91.50. Dad very visibly gulped and let out a sigh as he swiped his debit card.

“Now you see how hard it is for me to stay within my budget,” I told my father gloating and smiling. “I have to shop so carefully. It is so easy to go over budget. You get carried away. Impulse purchases are your worst enemy.” 

Photo Credit:  http://www.walmart.com/tp/egg-nog

Desperate For That Thing Called Vagina…

Richard just shamelessly and publically wrote this on Facebook.  I am fascinated by this creature – so motivated by such base needs, basic desires, and instincts.  I am also equally fascinated in that he posts these publically on Facebook. I wonder if he ever gets any “hits” off of these posts.

“Does anybody want to have some rough foreplay and then some rough sex?”

I do believe somebody’s going to get a spanking!

It’s All Good -- Living Vicariously That Is…

“What are you getting at the grocery store tonight?” my mother asked.

“Well, I managed to eat a few of Maggie’s puddings and they were so delicious now I want plenty for myself,” I replied with a chuckle..

Mom laughed. I have been using pudding to administer Maggie’s antibiotic with little fuss. 

“I am going to get Maggie vanilla this time and I am getting chocolate for myself.”

“That sounds so good,” my mother told me. “I love pudding.”

Image Credit:  http://www.amazon.com/Snack-Pack-18-Chocolate-Chuckless-18-Vanilla/dp/B007SIGT02

Grocery Day Beckons…

Don’t the weeks just fly right by?  It is already grocery day again!  I am sticking with my original plans of cooking Janice’s vegetable beef soup in the crock pot overnight.  I’ve got the ingredients written down thanks to my father and I am all ready to go shopping.  I also want sloppy joes on onion buns with zesty dill pickles and crispy fried crinkle cut french fries. I haven’t eaten those in years. They are really called bobby burgers here in the South. Dad has a great bobby burger recipe, but I think I am going to stick with the tried and true Manwich sauce.  It is a lot less fuss.

Image Credit: http://www.manwich.com/family-dinner-recipes/

Dear Papa and Charlie…

Thank you for the effort you two put into bring our families meals every Sunday night.  I was blessed with a 3pc KFC original recipe meal tonight and it was very welcomed.  I lucked out and got two breast pieces and a drumstick.  I always think of my Auschwitz mantra when it comes to getting fast food.  A Jew in Auschwitz would think it was a gourmet and a most extravagantly lavish meal after eating mealy worm infested gruel and stale bread for months or years. 

Maggie? Thank you for your enthusiasm about such visits from your loved ones.  You make us all smile and feel good. Charlie?  Thank you for taking out all my trash, cleaning my kitchen, and feeding and watering Maggie. Papa? Thank you for the medications and the two giant Cokes that make me feel well and happy! We hope you get well soon.

The Dynamic Duo have now headed to deliver Horsefly’s 4pc chicken tender meal and then my mother will get her Whopper and onion rings. Dad jokingly said as he walked out my front door that he was going to give my mother some medications that keep her from asking so many worrisome questions.

Poor Richard is Horny…

What Richard just wrote on Facebook…

“Who wants to be my friend with benefits inbox me.”

Strattera Means Progress…

I’m no where near my maintenance dose, but I am already certainly concentrating better.  In Pacific Theater of Operations, I am able to stay focused on a very, very complicated game – a game of numerous variables.  I am excited in what I will feel like on the 80 mg dose.  I am taking 25mg daily at the moment and we will titrate up from there weekly. My next set of dosages will be 40mg, 60mg, and onwards to 80mg.

I am still flabbergasted that dad brought that fast food meal last night.  That is nothing like him. I kept thinking he was delirious since he was so sick. He will take care of the required responsibilities placed upon him, but he is not the nurturing, feel-good type of parent.  He is not running over here like my mother will do to make sure I have food and drink.  Well, I displayed much pomp and circumstance for my father so maybe he will do that more often.  I certainly let it be known that I was a happy camper. 

Let’s Do the Tardis Time Warp…

I reclined in my Lazy-E-Boy around midnight with Mozart’s Greatest Hits playing and didn’t wake up until 4am. Talk about a time warp!  I had to check my clocks several times making sure it really was 4am. Charlie will be here in about 4 or 5 hours with breakfast. I am going to chow down when he gets here.  I am already hungry again even after my double quarter pounder with cheese value meal at midnight.

Photo credit: http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows//blog/2013/04/10-great-tardis-moments-from-doctor-who

He Who Drinks Coffee Now…

I am nursing a very hot, steamy mug of Maxwell House coffee at the moment and enjoying every minute of it.  I tried to drink coffee black for diet reasons, but I just can’t develop a taste for it.  Lately, I’ve been pouring in a dollop of sweetened condensed milk into the brew.  I am growing to like it finally after all these years. Coffee really is more delicious than I gave it credit for.  I just never gave it a chance and it smells wonderfully heavenly. I am itching to try a different flavor or roast when I go grocery shopping tomorrow night.  I want to get some sort of mocha/chocolate kind of taste going on.

Hot Chocolate is My New Beau…

Before I left the house, I called my father.

“I’m getting out and about in a minute. Do you want me to come and get my medications? You might not want to get out in this very cold night air. It is already 39° degrees.”

“I’m headed your way now,” he said defiantly and determinedly.

Well, I was going to go get some hot chocolate, but had to wait on my father.  Thirty minutes passed and he still wasn’t here so I called him.

“I’m stuck in the drive-thru at McDonald’s,” he said. “I thought I would get you supper ala Charlie. I’ll be there soon.”

I gambled and hurried down to Circle K just down the street and brought two large Hot Chocolates home and dad pulled in my driveway right behind me. It was perfect timing on both our parts.  I handed my father’s Hot Chocolate to him and he thanked me profusely.

“It’ll warm you up on this cold night,” I told him. 

We both sat on my couch relishing our very hot steaming drinks as football played on my HDTV.  It really did hit the spot.  I was shocked that my father brought supper like that. Very shocked. He’s only done that a handful of times in several years. That impromptu meal is totally out of character for him and more of the kind of thing Charlie would do. Charlie always brings at least a couple of regular Cokes or a fast food meal and usually both.

After we finished our hot drinks, it was time for the medication ritual which was highly anticipated by me.  I just want to feel better and this new medication makes me feel so very good – sorta my soma compound of Huxley fame. I don't dare tell my father that  this new medication makes me feel euphoric.  He would quit giving it to me.

The Biscuit Man Cometh Once Again…

I’m all ready for Charlie to arrive in the morning.  It is going on 2½ years since Charlie first started our Sunday Morning biscuit ritual. Can you believe that? I can honestly say he has never missed a visit in all that time.  It might take him till almost lunchtime, but your breakfast biscuits are on their way.

Photo Credit: http://brokestudentguide.blogspot.com/2011/12/broke-student-finals-survival-strategy.html

As the Rhinovirus Pervades…

Dad’s sick! Very sick with a cold or rhinovirus as he called it! He was having the cold chills when I left their house a moment ago. That’s the downside to working in a pharmacy – you come into contact with so many sick people. He gets sick several times a year where I never get sick. I haven’t been sick like that in years. I hope I don’t get it, but I can already nervously feel the first effects of a cold coming on.  My eyes keeping running and so does my nose.  Hopefully, sharing my biome or biodiversity with Maggie will help me fight it off.

Photo Credit:  http://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-survive-a-common-cold-2014-1

NASA releases the highest resolution images ever taken of Pluto…

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/4/9851162/nasa-new-horizons-pluto-photo-new-high-resolution

Does the lack of meteorite impact craters mean active tectonics?

Maggie Like Soup…

Imagine my anticipation as I waited the two hours after taking my medications before I could eat.  Midnight rolled around – I was ravishingly hungry, and I was crumbling cornbread into the big Tupperware container of soup my father brought me.  I set the microwave for 2 minutes and ran into the den to check the temperature for a second – obsessed with the weather. We were hovering above freezing.

Soon, the microwave was finished and I added ample dollops of Louisiana hot sauce to the soup to “kick it up a notch”.  The soup was delicious and it was driving Maggie crazy watching me eating it.  I sat what was left on the floor and Maggie greedily downed it because the good lord giveth and the good lord may taketh away.

The Strattera effect was little more subdued last night, but still very pleasurable. The dosage will steadily increase over time as well as we go through the dose pack. I could feel it working as I moved my home theater into the den to connect it to my gaming computer.  That’s two nights in a row I could concentrate enough to do some heavy rearranging around the house.

And the Great Famine is Over…

“Let me give you a big hug,” dad said as he walked through my front door as Maggie barked loudly and jubilantly at his arrival. “I have a bad cold and took it out on you.  I just don’t feel good.”

“I can’t even remember what we got in a fight over anyway,” I replied with a laugh as I gave my father a hearty pat on the back.

Dad had three grocery bags of food that my mother had sent to me.  My eyes lit up with anticipation and my stomach was eager for new arrivals as well.

“Sometimes you just have to humor your mother and go along with her OCD whims,” my father told me with a forgiving smile. “You will eat well tonight.”

We completed the medication ritual and I looked in my hand to see how many pills I take.  It’s a lot of pills. Dad then gave me tonight’s dosage of Strattera.  I am so hoping we have a repeat of last night.  I shall be the grinning bloggist before the night is over.

Maggie was next.  We fed and watered her as my father scolded me for leaving the top of the bag open again. Maggie had gotten hungry earlier in the day and I had put some more food in her bowl.

“It’ll go stale and she will not eat it anymore and that is expensive dog food,” he told me.

Photo Credit:   http://ecards.myfuncards.com/myfuncards/ComposeCard.jhtml?cardID=20074734

Food, For We Must Eat…

Minutes ago, I was standing in the only open checkout lane at the Piggly Wiggly just a few miles from my home.  In my cart were a loaf of cheap whole grain wheat bread, a costly container of Carving Board roasted turkey, Kraft singles, and a gallon of milk.  I truly tried to keep the cost down. I swiped my debit card and thought of how lucky I was to be able to buy food so easily.

“Mom?” I said to my mother on the drive home. “I got a few groceries to get me by the weekend.”

Now, she will quit calling me and obsessing over her worries.

“Thank you for calling me, dear,” she said.  “Your daddy is bringing you tonight’s meal.  He will be there around 9:30pm unless he falls asleep in his lazy boy.”

“That would be just my luck,” I thought of my mother’s words of warning.

My stomach grumbled at the prospect of homemade vegetable soup, cornbread, toasted cheese sandwiches, and German potato salad.

That’s basically all that’s going on around here where many molehills are turned into mountains.

Photo Credit:  http://www.ezrapoundcake.com/archives/17815

Misspoke Words Bring Out the Fiery Ire in my Feisty Father…

My father is pissed about something I said about my siblings in a phone call this afternoon.  I think I said they never call me.

“Well dammit, you could call them, you know?” is what he responded with I think.

I basically misspoke and said the wrong thing.  And you know what?  For once on my short life, I could care less that he is angry with me.  lol  I am serious.  I am so totally nonchalant about the whole affair.  We’ll have to see if he is still pissed and pouting with me when he comes over tonight. He will probably try and punish me in some way – take something dear away.

Photo Credit: http://scienceblogs.com/startswithabang/2010/12/10/what-everyone-needs-to-know-ab/

The Great Soup Rally…

“What are you going to do about food since Helen didn’t cook?” my mother asked me very worriedly over the phone this afternoon.

Helen’s husband is really ill and she couldn’t cook this week.  Helen’s cooking usually feeds me three meals on the weekends.

“I have some food left,” I told my mother trying to assuage her worries. “I might have to go buy some sandwich bread and bologna for sandwiches.  My main lament is being out of pudding for Maggie’s medications. I kind of ate a few of them for myself.”

I’ve been using tapioca pudding as a vessel for giving Maggie her antibiotics.  The stuff is just delectably delicious.  She just happily laps it right up none the wiser about the medication being mixed in.

Mom said she was going to send me vegetable beef soup, two toasted cheese sandwiches, and some potato salad tonight through my father when he arrives for the medication ritual.

“I’m going to send you some of those pill pockets for Maggie as well,” mom also told me.  “You know they are made out of peanut butter. She should just eat them right up.”

I thanked my mother profusely for her help in all of this.

Photo Credit: http://www.dogguide.net/blog/2011/04/product-review-greenies-pill-pockets/

Please Don’t Bring Forth the Ire of the Feel Good Police…

Namely Johnny Otis…

Dad gave me the starter dose of Strattera last night despite some misgivings. What he feared came to fruition later after he had left.  I then took my plethora of crazy medications and we stepped into the laundry room to perform Maggie’s ritual who happily began to nibble on her lamb chunks.

Dad left and within 45 minutes I got to feeling really good and focused.  It was a six pack of beer kind of buzz I was feeling. I haven’t felt that good in a very long time and I was very much enjoying myself.  It spurred me on to make a super computer out of all the parts of my two better and fastest computers.  I only used one of the computers anyway on a regular basis.  I sighed with relief as I pressed the power button and the computer sprang to life.  I then spent another hour installing and updating all the Windows 10 device drivers for my hardware. The good feelings only lasted a few hours, though, and then I had to come back down to earth again.

It is very cold here tonight. My wireless weather station reads 34°.  There is also a biting northerly wind out tonight which makes it all the more miserable.  I took a quick and cold drive a moment ago to get me one of my favorite SoBe citrus drinks and heavy steam was pouring out of all the roadside sewage grates. They looked as if they were on fire.

Photo Credit:  http://www.hcpconline.org/compliance-package-winner.html

Down the Hall and to the Left…

We had a long wait in the Psychiatrist’s office this morning.  I nervously squirmed and wiggled in my seat as I would occasionally glance at my watch.   I couldn't focus on my iPad.  Just as soon as I thought they would call me back, they would call someone else ahead of me to see the doctor.

I did finally see the doctor obviously.  I told him I have trouble concentrating and have for years. Dad had warned me about starting down this avenue as I would have to come back in a month instead of six months.

“I just want to watch TV or read a book like a normal person,” I told my doctor.

I haven’t been able to watch much TV or last through a movie for a long time.  I have trouble reading a book for that matter, and I have struggles staying focused on my coveted videogames as well.

“We can try Adderall,” my doctor said and my father waved him off.

“I don’t want him on any stimulants,” he told Dr. Edwards. 

“We can try Strattera,” my doctor replied.

The doctor handed my father a trial dosage pack. Dad’s having doubts about giving it to me tonight.

I had never heard of any of these drugs prescribed for attention deficit disorders.  I guess I’ve got some reading to do before heading to bed this afternoon.

Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Strattera_atomoxetin.jpg

Let’s Get ‘Er Done…

Well, I think I am ready for Risperdal Consta injections and the head shrink.  I smell very strongly of Irish Spring soap this morning and my face is freshly shaven and as smooth as a baby’s bottom scented of menthol.  I also have a clean white t-shirt with a thick brown pull over shirt and a suede black jacket ready to wear. Freshly laundered blue jeans and crisp, white socks round out my attire. My father will sigh with relief when he sees me walk into the pharmacy this morning.  His last words to me last night as he left my house were to ditch my usual thug hoodies and find something decent to wear tomorrow. “Take pride in yourself.”

I spent most of the night searching for new bands to listen to and playing Pacific Theater of Operations II for the Sega Saturn.  My advisory board would never declare war on the United States so I got aggravated and quit.  I had Pearl Harbor in my sights and my aircraft carriers in position. I am not very good at the diplomacy phase of the game just yet. You will learn young grasshopper!

One band that I did find last night that is promising to my ears is Supreme beings of leisure.  I will have to listen many more times to decide if I really like them.  I’ve been listening to a lot of Blue States lately that I found searching for bands that sound like Zero 7.  That’s the way I found the Thievery Corporation as well.

Well, I Certainly Don’t Want to Start Lactating…

I heard about this several years ago.  Men taking Risperdal were developing breasts and beginning to lactate. I certainly don’t want to have to start wearing a bra. Let me ask you this.  Is there a double standard with regards to man boobs and women’s breasts being shown in public? Although the photo below is a man boob complete with areola, I do not feel offended at all or feel the need to cover this image as in showing too much.

 

Photo Credit:  http://thelawsuitcenter.com/risperdal-male-breast-growth/

The End Times Are Here! My Father? Altruistic?

Earlier, I quickly drove across the Chattahoochee and got me two barbecue sandwiches from Roger’s – the two best sandwiches I had eaten in a long time and I eat a lot of sandwiches.  I just love Roger’s tangy and vinegary barbecue sauce. They don’t serve sweet, honey infused barbecue around here. It is an abomination.

I’ll tell you another good sandwich is when mom will make me two just run-of-the-mill bologna and Kraft cheese singles sandwiches. They just taste better when mom makes them.  She will gladly fix me some when it is the end of the week and I am running low on food. I always marvel at how fresh and soft mom and dad’s bread tastes.  I never have such luck when buying bread.

Dad arrived very, very late tonight after buying groceries first before arriving at my house.  I was pacing the floor of my den in wanton anticipation and agitation.  I was very livid and angry until what unfolded next…

“I asked your mother what you like to eat and she said you really love frosted flakes and milk.  She said they are always too expensive for you to buy,” dad told me. “I brought you some as a treat.  I got the big box of Frosted Flakes and a gallon of sweet milk. It wasn’t cheap! She said you needed spaghetti noodles so I got some of those as well.”

It is not like my father to be altruistic in such a manner.  Not at all. I had to feel his forehead to see if he was running a fever and feeling delirious. He laughed as I carried on happily about all of this

We took my medications as Maggie sat on the couch between my father and I. Dad called Maggie the supervisor. Just one big happy now medicated family. I had the band Blue State playing on my computer and my father remarked on how much he liked it.

“Your injection is at 9am and then we will drive down to Opelika and see Dr. Edwards,” dad told me. “Then we will go get us two steak biscuits each at Hardee’s. I want my senior coffee as well.”

I told my father to be kind if I act a little wacky.  I would have been asleep for hours by that time. That’s one of the few drawbacks to sleeping in the day when I have appointments like that.

Next, we fed and watered Maggie. She has her rituals as well, you know? She looked on in anticipation as my father threw out last night’s kibble and added fresh kibble to the bowl.  Maggie immediately began to daintily eat the chunks of freeze dried lamb out of her food.  She will save the kibble for later.

Photo Credit:  http://www.soap.com/p/frosted-flakes-cereal-box-61-9-oz-211321

Sexist Pig…

Sorry about the Happy, Happy Hump Day photos.  I was emulating my ex-girlfriend’s brother who gets a big positive response out of such posts every Wednesday. I thought I would get on the bandwagon. I guess I have a different demographic reading than he does.  A much smarter and more sophisticated demographic I might add.

I awoke at 7pm tonight after a very, very fitful day of sleep.  I just called my mother for my nightly check-in and she said my father had gone to get barbecue plates at Roger’s Barbeque.

“And you didn’t get one for me?” I exclaimed feeling kind of dejected.  

I always miss out on these kinds of things. Really, the logistics of it all are why I don’t get a plate.  Getting them to me is such a hassle for my father.

Mom stammered on her words feeling terrible she said.

“MOM! I am just kidding you,” I replied.. ‘I have plenty to eat here at the house.”

Although, a Roger’s barbeque plate would have been wonderful.  They close at 9pm so I still have time to go buy one for myself.

Photo Credit: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/02/18/nz-pork-sexist-pigs/

A Certain Sherlock Holmes Adulation…

I’ve been addicted to all things Sherlock Holmes lately. I can remember reading The Hounds of the Baskervilles as a child and really enjoyed it.   I just ordered some books tonight and I hope I have the attention span to read them when they arrive in a few days.

The Video Game Side of Sherlock…

I did just find a stinker of a Sherlock Holmes game last hour.  It was called The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes.  You would have to look for clues in static rooms with a magnifying glass and solve puzzles.Yawn!  Next! lol

There are games I want. One game is called Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments I want to play and another called The Last Testament of Sherlock Holmes. They both came out for the Xbox 360 and PC. I’ve got to hunt down a copy of each.  There is also one DOS game I want to try as well.  I am still working on Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective Vols.1 and 2. The DOS version game I just mentioned  is Vol. 3.  The aforementioned other two are on the Sega CD which I am playing via an Sega Genesis/Sega CD emulator called K Fusion.

Now Dammit! No More Surprises Please!

Dad told me last night that my psychiatrist appointment got cancelled and they rescheduled it to Thursday this week. This means I have to get my injection and attend a psychiatrist’s visit all in one day. Needless to say, that sent me into a nosedive and then into a tailspin. I was not and still am not a happy camper.

“We’ll get us some steak biscuits at Hardee’s afterwards,” my father said trying to soften the blow. “I’ve already told Angie I need this Thursday off.”

That was at least some consolation for me. Hardee’s steak biscuits are my favorite fast food breakfast biscuit bar none.  They always say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I do adore and love a Hardee's steak biscuit or two. With mustard of course!  I also want a big ass Coke in compensation as well.  At least, Dr. Edward’s lobby now has Wi-Fi internet.  I will take my iPad in case there is a long wait time before I am to be called back.

One of the things I am going to talk to Dr. Edwards about is my attention span.  I can’t concentrate long enough to read a book, watch TV or a Movie, and I have problems staying focused on my video games. I can write blog posts and view the internet fine.  Peculiar, isn't it?

Hell, Let’s Go Get Us a Drink! Let the Fountain Drinks Flow Forth!

Dad and I were both laughing tonight as we drove to the convenience store.  I won’t write what we were laughing about as it was kind of crude, and religiously irreverent, but we were having a good time.   Earlier, I had said I wanted a SoBe drink and dad said, “Hell, let’s both go get us a drink”. It was nice not having to drive and I could just listen to my father talk about some of his relatives of the past and their antics. My father comes from an interesting family.  Dad can tell some stories on my mother as well that will have you rolling in the floorboard.  Mom’s done some interesting things herself over the years.

Lopez and Crew Came a’Callin’…

I felt much better today. I can laugh tonight and that means a lot!  The only mar on my sleep was the lawn service coming and I had to quickly wake up and close the Magster’s dog door. I love my dearest Maggie, but she has limitations and is not the brightest bulb in the box.  She will get in the road and get run over. I cringe at the thought of it. Nightmares!

They got up all the numerous leaves in the backyard for which I was extremely pleased.  I fell soundly back asleep again with little fuss after shutting that door.  Charlie called me tonight and said they finally came to his house today as well. He was happy as a lark in a tree. He had been worried about it as we are all paying them a lot of money monthly for their services.  I’m on the economical plan as my yard isn’t very big.  Dad? Gosh, there is no telling what he spends. His yard is huge. Charlie will get the sand in his desert manicured. “Oh, don’t run over the cactus!”

Now, as the grass is dead from our killing frost last week, Lopez and crew will turn their attention to my shrubbery as it needs it the most.  They will edge my flowerbeds and trim all my shrubs.

Photo Credit:  http://jjtotalservices.com/index.php?id_product=8&controller=product&id_lang=1

Spaghetti? You Forgot the Spaghetti? Why! You’re No Cook…

After all I bought last night, I forgot to buy spaghetti noodles.  Duh!  When I get up and going this afternoon, I will head out and buy some and I will probably get one of my SoBe citrus drinks as well as a 76¢ treat. 

I was taking a snooze in my Lazy-E-Boy last hour until a noticeably louder song on my computer’s speakers woke me up.  It kind of gave me my second wind and I feel much better this morning than yesterday morning.  I had a terrible time with regards to my mental illness yesterday, but refrained from talking or writing about it. Yesterday morning was extremely tough and I wanted to call my father for my medications.  He told me last night that he would have given them to me, but I wouldn’t/couldn’t have an extra dose that night. I’m glad I held out and waited. I finally got so tired I collapsed in the bed and slept until late yesterday afternoon. I alluded to mom what happened on the phone, but I don’t want to worry her too much. Stiff upper lip and all, and I still managed to get my groceries last night despite feeling like the dregs of society. 

I just realized why I am struggling some and struggling so as well.  My Risperdal Consta injection is this Thursday and my medication levels are fluctuating or dropping by the hour. Hell hath no fury than like a Schizophrenic man without his Risperdal! lol

How do people work and keep such complicated lives together?  I marvel at the amount of stress people have to deal with on a daily basis.  Stress I couldn’t handle.  Getting kids dressed and to school, going to work, and still getting dinner on the table that night?  Add in a mental illness and things get really interesting.  Life is hard enough without all that thrown in for bad measure. I guess that’s why I have little responsibility other than Maggie and keeping myself somewhat presentable on a daily basis.Those are my main two responsibilities.  I really admire what my mother did all those being bi-polar/schizophrenic and raising a family and teaching school.  It is amazing she lasted as long as she did.  She finally got her teacher’s retirement.

Facebook, oh Facebook! Why hast thou forsaken me Facebook?  Do you go though meh! moments with Facebook?  I am bored with it currently and don’t have much to say lately.  I tried putting up some of my long form writing and it was met with a lackluster response.  I think people’s eyes glaze over when they see that “see more” button or that much words.

Photo Credit:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/350366045986999594/