Crappy Update

Well I spoke to my mom today. She has surgery tomorrow for her cancer situation and it should be an in and out procedure. She has good people going with her, so I feel good that she'll have good people with her while she is there.

Now the bad news... She has to have spinal fusion surgery on 3 herniated disks in her upper back on January 3rd. She will be out of work for 6 weeks in a huge brace and then a few more out with a different kind of brace. The biggest problem is the fact that she doesn't have enough sick time to take all those weeks off. She only has 20 some days... I don't know what she'll do. I wish i could help... I don't have the means to help her... I don't know what I can do. She can't be without a paycheck for 5 weeks... I don't think she can go without one for one week. I can't be without work for a few days and I'm already in trouble. We are not a rich family. We work hard for our money and our careers. Always have. Just once I wish we could catch a break. Especially mom. She has worked so hard and sacrificed so much for all of us, she deserves better then that. She deserves some happiness and some relaxation and not this crap. Don't you think cancer is enough to deal with?!?! Dammit... come on. give her a break, she finally deserves a break... come on.

Life... its a Mother F&$*#@r....

Well life has been a bit insane since I last wrote. In the span of a 2 days, I moved again, found out my mom had cancer and got a huge promotion at work.

On the Mother front, Her doctor found the cancer after a routine pap smear. Which is odd, because she had a hysterectomy last year and was told she didn't really need to go get a pap... Well, the lord works in mysterious ways. They caught it early. So the wait begun to get an appointment with the oncologist. So on the 11th, she went down to the cancer doctor in the Minneapolis. My Aunt Kathi went with her. The doctor sat down and explained that it wasn't even full blown cancer! It was stage 2 of pre-cancer!!!!!!!! YEA!!! If you can get good cancer news, this is it. She has to do one 45 minute laser procedure and then get checked every six months for the rest of her life, but this is good news!!! YEA!! The power of prayer and positive thinking works again!!!

She has also been having severe pain in her shoulder and no one can figure it out... acupuncture, chiropractor, physical therapy, almost anything you can think of. Well she was in the ER about a week ago. The pain was just too much to take. So they got her an emergency appointment at a good orthopedic doctor's. They did an MRI last week and found that she has 3 herniated disks in her upper back. So they have finally found what the cause is of the pain. She wasn't even able to sleep, write, pick up a pencil... it was bad... so they are going to try physical therapy to see if they can move the muscles enough to fix the disk... if not, they will have to do surgery... but at least they know what is wrong and what the next step is... plus, I'd rather have this result. If we wanted one to have a bed result, the one with the shoulder was the one to be. A herniated disk won't kill ya!!! YEA!! Just a little surgery.... Ok, so its not just a little surgery, we can handle that. So my family is doing well... yea....

Now to my promotion... I got an email saying that they wanted to talk to me about starting class... So i called in the morning and spoke to the guy i needed to. He said that one of the other guys had to leave class because of a medical condition. So with no preparation and no notice, I started class the next day. It was crazy intense... studying 10 to 12 or more hours per day. Trying to get my brain to take it all in. I had planned on going home for thanksgiving, but after the news and the no notice, I couldn't risk not being ready for my oral, which was the Monday after Thanksgiving. So I went in and took my oral exam that monday.... passed with flying colors. YEA!!

On Tuesday we left for Dallas to go to the Simulator. It was a really intense week, more studying, more practice, but the result was great! The FAA examiner came down and gave me my flight test in the Simulator. Then on Tuesday, back cold ass detroit we came... I finished up some stuff in the actual airplane with the examiner again and was officially a captain. It's almost unbeleiveable. I am a Captain!! Of a JET!!! After all this time!! OH! Finally all my hard work and dedication is finally showing!! Plus I got a pay raise, so bills will be easier to pay now. Life has been a madhouse lately... but I hope things are gonna start to settle down... Thanks for reading my little novel!! Have a great day

Pay It Forward

So I have decided to participate in the PAY IT FORWARD exchange. I got it from http://gimpykatk.blogspot.com/ blog.

The guidelines:

"I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF (Pay it Forward) exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise!

The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

"Want to participate? Be one of the first 3 people to leave a comment on this post and make the same promise on your own blog. Just make sure that you leave a link to who you are so that i can link to you later and get a mailing address!!"

Not So Random Acts of Kindness. And 365 days to do it in!!! I like this idea a lot!

I've been TAGGED!!

I've been Tagged (my first)

38 things about me that you may or may not want to know.

1. Name one person who made you laugh last night? My cousin... We were making fun of you know who!!

2. What were you doing at 0800? Packing my stuff to move out

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Talking to my dad

4. What happened to you in 2006? Lived in the Caribbean, got engaged(not anymore!), moved to Massachusetts

5. What was the last thing you said out loud? What an idiot

6. How many beverages did you have today? diet Rootbeer, 3 bottles water, 1/2 bottle coke zero

7. What color is your hairbrush? Blue

8. What was the last thing you paid for? Fish tank so I can take my fishy with me

9. Where were you last night? Running around my apartment trying to get it packed up

10. What color is your front door? wood

11. Where do you keep your change? In a 3 gallon water jug

12. What’s the weather like today? froggy (foggy) and chilly

13. What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Sticky toffee pudding

14. What excites you? Getting a job in PHX

15. Do you want to cut your hair? Yep and get it colored!!! Treat to myself for dumping the dead weight
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16. Are you over the age of 25? Yep!

17. Do you talk a lot? if you have to ask, you haven't met me... yea i talk a lot!!!

18. Do you watch the O.C.? Yea *blushes* but it's not on anymore
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19. Do you know anyone named Steven? Yes

20. Do you make up your own words?Yes

21. Are you a jealous person? I can be if the situation deems it necessary

22. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "A"? Ang

23. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Kris

24. Who’s the first person on your received call list? Dad

25. What does the last text message you received say? Hang tough

26. Do you chew on your straw? No.

27. Do you have curly hair? It can go either way

28. Where’s the next place you’re going to? To bed

29. Who’s the rudest person in your life? Rob

30. What was the last thing you ate? Cookie dough and ice cream... yea not a good day

31. Will you get married in the future? Don't know if i ever want to
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32. What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? Clerks II

33. Is there anyone you like right now? All my wonderful friends

34. When was the last time you did the dishes? today

35. Are you currently depressed? Slightly
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36. Did you cry today? Yes, a lot!

37. Why did you answer and post this? It is my first Tag and I'll do it for Wendy!!

38. Tag 5 people who would do this survey: Kadezmom, Knottykitty, Ramblings and Musings by Alice, ellenn_3, purlygirly

Moving... ARGH!

I hate moving. I hate packing... argh!!! but it happens and the new apt is much nicer and in a better complex with better advantages. Plus more room. I will save on rent and the fact I won't need my storage facility. So that's good.

I have been faithfully reading my friends blog and playing in her daily contest to win a 'surprise' box of knitting goodies!

http://gimpykatk.blogspot.com/

I have also found a new blog contest, that is very inspirational and very nice to read. makes you thankful for things:

http://tabithasheart.blogspot.com

Not much else today. We are moving this weekend and that will suck... cuz moving does suck. Then on Monday I'm going to go meet a friend I know from one of my yahoo groups that lives in Michigan not far from me. It will get me out of Detroit and to a day of relaxing with her and her family and playing with her kids!! YEA!! I'm such a kid myself, we'll have lots of fun!!! :) Have a great weekend!

Torturous Day at Work

So Wednesday and Thursday were crazy for work! I flew from Detroit, MI to Muskegon, MI(picked up freight) to Shreveport, LA(to clear customs) then to Saltillo, Mexico. Flying into Saltillo is awesome. Lots of mountains and the approach is a 12 mile arc with step down every few miles... so fun!! Anyway, unloaded our 100 lbs of freight. yep I flew all night from MI to Mexico for 100 lbs of freight!! Brake pads... guess they were really important!! So we got to bed around 330am in Laredo, TX. Good old Mariott... my home away from Detroit! Right at the time we got legal, we got another trip.

We were supposed to go from Laredo, TX to El Paso, TX to San Diego, CA to Amarillo, TX to Telladega, AL to Shreveport. So, still tired from the night before and having only got about 5 hours sleep(had to get up for free breakfast!!) we head for the airport. We fly to El Paso then onto San Diego. Well, we get to San Diego about 330p local time. Freight is late... SHOCKING!! So I play on Ravelry for awhile, talk on the phone, waste more time. Pretty soon it's 7 pm and they freight is at least 2 hours away yet!! ARGH!!! So now I need to sleep, cuz this is shaping up to be a 14 hour day!! Not cool! So my Captain and I crash in the tv room and try to sleep. Not working real well... kinda sucks. Company keeps calling us and asking us questions. Will we be able to get there? Are we tired? OF COURSE WE"RE TIRED!!! DUH!?!? dumb questions.

So at 950pm local time, the truck gets there... well that's great. Lets get this party over with and get to bed... not so much. We can't take off after 10pm in San Diego because of noise restrictions.... so we sat at the airport... all night... for nothing. Thank god in a lot of ways though... Got to go to bed. I did get some great pictures though...

Approach to San Diego over the cityAmerican Airlines on Approach with San Diego Skyline in the back
Southwest Airlines on AppoachJust the sky line of San DiegoThe nighttime skyline in San Diego

I hope everyone is having a good day... This afternoon they flew us from San Diego to El Paso, TX. Well here we sit in El Paso, waiting for some flying... argh... so here I post to try and burn some time! This isn't my plane today, but it's from one of the other times I flew into El Paso. 90 degree's and sunny!! :) Gotta love it!

My swap exchange!

I completely forgot to post my wonderful gifts I got from my partners. Here's the first one:



What an awesome gift!! A dishcloth, point protectors for my needles, a small magnetic picture frame and matching post it notes!!









Here is the other one... 2 dishcloths, a book thong(like a bookmarker, but cooler) and some beautiful stitch markers.



Thank you to my partners, Joye and Debbie!!

Ah a trip home...

Just got back from 6 days back home to Mn to visit family and friends... how nice. Got to see lots of family and friends, relax, shoot some darts with my sister, brothers and dad... had a great lunch with my mom(I took her lunch at work), had breakfast with Grandparents, and spent an evening with my Aunt and Uncle. That amongst a lot of other running around and stuff. I also saw a homeopathic doctor which was interesting and I hope she can help me be more healthy. My overall health is good, just need a couple of boosts for vitamins, minerals and take care of a couple little things!! YEA! Now if I could just lose a few more pounds, I would reach my goal!!! It's taking forever with a few set backs. Oh well.. didn't go on overnight... it won't come off overnight!

Now I'm back in boring Detroit. But today is lots of Nascar Truck racing and Football to watch, thank goodness. Tomorrow will be more of the same. I've been bored so knitting has been keeping me busy until I fall asleep, because I get so bored. I'm the next one up for a trip at work and I'll get to fly with one of my good friends(Susan) so that should be fun, if I can get a trip someday!! I have some pics of stuff to share, but it will have to wait, cuz I left the camera in the car. Got some nice stuff from an exchange, which I'll share when i post pictures. I also just finished my first Grannie Square. I'm not a crocheter, so I'm very excited about that!! YEA!! It will go in the trash, cuz it's not good enough to use for anything, but it took me about an hour to do... had to frog it a couple of times. I'm pretty excited though... just another thing to burn time doing... it's all about filling my boredom around here... Maybe I can strike it rich!! ha ha... have a great afternoon. It's super hot in Michigan today... almost 86!!! Can't complain when its the beginning of October!!! :)

Oh another day in Michigan

So I was super busy with work for like 3 weeks. I had some boredom on the road at the hotel but at least I was moving. Then work died down. There were lots of guys in training and I kept getting pushed down the list and wasn't flying... I haven't flown for about 2 weeks... THAT SUCKS!! I still have to be close to the airport in case some calls in sick or something weird, so I've been super bored. I've been knitting, exercising, watching crap t.v., etc. But my eating has been on pretty good track. That is one thing that is easier when you are at home all the time. I just wish I wasn't broke. Tonight is payday though, so that will help things a ton. I have made a prayer shawl for my cousin who has been diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. She is doing extremely well, but a prayer shawl is always nice. She is in her early 20's with a brand new baby... so prayers are always a good thing.
I'm going home to MN this weekend for doctor's appointments and other activites... I'm sure I'll be busy as usual... but I've been so bored, I'm just dying for something to do. I'm gonna spend some time with my sister who I love to death. She's just the coolest.

During the GM strike here in Detroit area, we would go drive around and honk at the picketers... I didn't necessarily support or not support the strike, but it sure did burn some time!! Anyway, enough babbling for now... have a great weekend.

Boring Sunday....

So thank god that football started today!! I'm am sitting in Brownsville, Texas... very bored at the Hawthorn Inn. No work yet today... but I have numerous football games to watch, fantasy football scores to keep up with and players to yell at!! What an afternoon!! I am knitting amongst all of this and doing a some exercise in between. Gotta stay active!! Push ups, sit ups, pilates, the plank, butt crunches... hee hee... whatever will help!! Anyway, back to some crazy exciting football.... thank goodness for football season... MY FAVORITE!!

Finish summing up...

So to finish summing up my week in MN:

I got to go up to my sisters on Tuesday and meet her roommates new little boy!! Jackson is 9 1/2 months old and is so cute!! His personality is really starting to show and wow is he just awesome!! He adores my sister and she adores him right back. It's so fun to watch them interact!!

On Wednesday, I went to my Aunt Kathi's house to see her, U. Randy, Kim, Grandpa and Grandma Mary. We grilled and chatted and sipped on some wine... It was nice and stressfree and just simply fun!

I went a visited with some friends of mine from college today and met the latest addition to the family. Mackenzie(i think that is spelled right) is very cute, at 5 weeks. She doesn't do much yet, but smile, but I'm sure she'll be just as much fun as her big sister, who is 2 1/2.

I went dancing with my mom and bunch of her friends on Friday night.... Oh, so much fun. They all know the band and mom always has a part in ride around sally(I think thats the name of the song!) It's awesome.

I went to a family reunion of sorts(kind of) yesterday on my dad's side of the family. I got to see all my family plus a few extra cousins here and there! Also found out that my Uncle and his wife are expecting baby number 2 in march... yea another project added to the calendar!!! Then I got to see a friend of mine from high school that I haven't seen in a few years. It was good to catchup and spend some time with her.

Then after 2 hours of sleep, I woke up, packed and headed for MSP. Now, I'm back in Detroit area, going to bed to get some sleep and enjoy my last day off.... ah.... what a great trip!! Can't wait to do it again... makes my stress go away and helps me be at peace.

Ah, what a week...

It's been a very non stressful week. I have 10 days off and I spent most of them in MN visiting my family and friends. I have been doing the tour of babies, as I've been calling this week. I have seen 3 of the 5 new babies that have been born over the last year, that I had not previously met. They are all so cute and are at so many different stages, from 5 weeks to just over a year.... I love them... but glad they are not mine!!

I got to go flying with my grandpa today. We went and flew down to get coffee at a private strip about 25 minutes from my grandparents house. I haven't been in a plane that small in a really long time. It was so fun!!!! Every pilot should have the opportunity to own/have access to a small airplane. Makes you remember why you got into flying in the first place! Oh it was wonderful. My grandma wasn't feeling good so she didn't get to go along, but she's excited to go next time.

On Wednesday night/Thursday morning, my brother, Pat, his girlfriend, Jamie and myself went to the casino where i used to work to hang out. Well, we had our ups and downs, but we ended the night/day 7 hours later, by having breakfast at the restaurant for free and almost $300 richer between Pat and myself. I love taking the casino's money!! YAHOO!! But as much fun as it is to be home... I'm tired!! i have lots of people who love me and who i love that I want to spend time with and it's always a challenge to fit everyone in and give them the time they deserve!! Off I go to get some more stuff done before the BBQ tomorrow.... I'm taking spinach dip!!! :) Have a good one...

Been a long time...

Wow, I had no idea that it had been so long since I posted. I have been super busy with work, which is always good and it leads to less boredom. I went to the Nascar race in Michigan last weekend. We also camped out there. Well, it rained starting Saturday night and didn't quit until they ran the race on Tuesday... so camping was a bit wet and miserable at times. But we met some really awesome neighbors at the campground who really made the weekend worth it. I did get to see my first race which was really fun. It was a bit of a boring race, with only a few cautions... but I did get to see Jeff Gordon spin right in front of me while I stood at the rail. Amazing the wind those cars put off while they do 200 mph down the front stretch. It was cool. Anyway, here I sit in Laredo, TX after a long day of flying. Detroit to Akron-Canton to Greensboro, NC to Shreveport, LA to Zacatecas, Mexico(no hurricane, thank goodness!) back to Laredo, TX. Not too bad... Laredo's Fairfield in is my home away from home.

I will be going visit my family in MN next week, which will be nice. Actually have a little time to visit everyone instead of running like crazy... well, I'll still probably do that, but at least I'll have more time. Anyway, here is another thing I made a few years ago. I have a bunch more projects, but no pics yet!!

Stitch 'n' B*tch

So last night I had the opportunity, FINALLY, to go over to Ann Arbor and meet up with some great women and do some knitting. We had a great time. It was nice to get away, not talk about only work and see what other people are working on. These women are amazing! Jackets, Hats, booties, socks, scarves, shawls, lace patterns, sweaters... it goes on and on!! I'm such a novice yet and have so much to learn! Yea! I might get together with one very nice woman, also named Kate, this weekend if I'm in town. That will be nice.

So here I sit, waiting for another trip. I'm number one, yet again. Come on... show me the money, and the flight time!! hee hee. I hope everyone has a great day!

All my projects as of lately...

So I'm still waiting for a trip. I'm stuck on the wrong side of the clock right now. Go to bed around 5 am, sleep until 2 or 3 or 4 in the afternoon! My job will do that to you!! Crazy madness!! But here is what I've been doing with my knitting time.


Little Baby Feet


Praying Hands


Star with USA underneath



Heart Baby Blanket

Dragonfly Dishcloth

Another crazy day!!

So there is nothing like sitting at home @ 12:50 am and the pager goes off... now your 14 hour day begins(ok so it won't be that bad today). Quickly get dressed, finish packing and head out the door. Show up at 1:30am, wait for the freight to show up.... and wait.... and wait... Ok, now it's 430am and the freight has arrived. Now its raining and its time to load. Almost 4,000 lbs of greasy, gooky(if that's a word) parts for GM Transmissions that need to go to a plant in Buffalo, NY so they don't have to shut down their plant! Easy flight to Buffalo, easy off load, and have to wait 25 minutes for a clearance back because the computers are messing up. Ok, now we can go. On our way, yea! Finally back to YIP(Detroit area). Ah now it's 730 am, the sun is up, its just a bit foggy. Time to go to bed, yea right, if only I could wind down. Ok, 930 am, time to sleep.... finally. Wake up around 5pm, what a weird life. But it's exciting and fun and I wouldn't trade it right now. Keeps me on my toes:) Thanks for reading the rant today. Sometimes you just need to type it out!

Another day...

So here I sit in Detroit... bored, just waiting for my next trip. I'm number one, (yes I know you all love me) on the board at work, meaning that the next trip out that my company gets, I get to fly! OH YEA! Love the flight time, hate the heat. Our planes have no air conditioning, so when it is 90 outside, it's about 150 degree's inside that plane... talk about swamp a$s! But not much else is going on. I'm on a '17 days in a row' type of work week, or weeks, as it turns out. Can't wait for that to be over. Only 2 weeks left! Oh yea!

On the knitting side of things, I'm working on a KAL that looks like a dolphin or fish of some kind. I am getting ready to send out a gift to a friend who just had a baby... which reminds me, I need to take a picture of that before it goes out! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Blogging...

So I'm new to the whole "blogging" phenomenan that is going on! But I'm going to try my best. I travel extensively and this is probably a great way to keep in touch with my family and friends and share my knitting adventures.

I love to knit, but am keeping it simple (in my eyes) for a bit. Here a few pics of stuff I've done. I am newly knitting dishcloths and will be sending some over seas to my uncle and people he is serving our country with. I knit blankets for new arrivals into our world and my friends and family are keeping me very busy!! ;)

I'm going to do my best to keep up with my blog... I guess we'll see! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!