One of the things I'm thankful for...

...are the commercial jingle writers who actually have talent enough to entertain me while inflicting their 'buy early, buy often' messages. Watch my all-time favorite earworm (a disgusting name for those little ditties that burrow into your brain and won't leave for hours and hours...) below.

Ordinarily I wouldn't share a commercial since it's like giving fruitcake for the holidays...everyone already has more than enough, thank you. But this one is local to Illinois and cuter'n a kitteh.

Think YOU have problems??

This is for those of you who dread the holidays because of the potential for mishaps and little emergencies....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzU9FgNTYrU

Even Optimists have bad days...

...and yesterday was definitely one.

I have venous stasis problems, and little boo-boos can become major ulcers on my lower legs. I have two of them now - the right leg not as bad as the left one. I've been going to the Carle Wound Center for several months now, and have made some headway with the right leg ulcer, but the left one (a big one, about 2x4 inches in size) is defying healing. Ordinarily they are just slightly tender, but yesterday they were raging, and several nights ago were so bad they kept me awake and popping oxycodone for 5 hours straight. The pain was so severe that it woke me up about 11pm, and I didn't get to sleep again until after 4am. I don't like taking oxycodone (I call Limbaugh an oxymoron and don't want to stop...) but neither do I want to go thru another night like that. Anyway, yesterday was particularly nasty, to the point that the MD couldn't debrid the left side at all, and after applying some dibriding medication and compression-wrapping it, all agony broke loose. It was fun driving 12 miles home like that. It was also the first time the term 'skin graft' was used. That was classic 'good news/bad news.' I hated to have gone that far downhill in my healing, but damn...whatever works, and 'working' would be a blessing.

Embarrassed...

If I had the time and energy, I'd appoint myself the queen of procrastination. It's been a VERY long time since I've posted here; I kept thinking, 'one of these days there's going to be something actually interesting to write about.' But nope, just day after day stuff.

Just went thru another of those lovely housing inspections last week. I hate those - there have been vacancies since they started the inspections, and I'd like to think that having people tromp thru one's home, checking out the stove, wandering around the basement... but of course no one will tell them that. We have become a nation of polite passive-agressives who would rather run first and complain later. Can't say I blame them, because who wants to deal with explaining how diminished ones sense of home can get when we can't even be in control of who we let in, and when? Just sayin'.....

Oh, BTW - I've been on a strict, self-imposed diet and have lost 35+ pounds! I'm not about to say how much more I have to lose, but at least I'm getting into clothes that I hadn't even considered possible earlier this year. No real secret - I use 'LiveStrong' website, calculating how much I can lose taking in a certain number of calories, then sticking to it. Sometimes I go way under, occasionally going over, but I think doing that fends off the metabolic stall a low-cal routine can generate.

Starting some crochet projects... going back to a skill like that is NOT like riding a bicycle. I still remember how to do it, but I seem to have forgotten how to do it WELL. Pity the poor baby who gets the first blanket I complete... it does help keep the hands busy, and busy hands are great for keeping the feet from wandering into the kitchen. That, and air-popped popcorn, plain - no butter, salt or other flavorings. Lotsa fiber and great if you just HAVE to have something to chew on. It also defines whether you are truly hungry or just bored...it tastes so much better if one is truly hungry. [grin]