A month of busy bees.

Okay now it's been nearly a month since my last post. Things have been a bit crazy in our house.

Krista has changed doctors and she is seeing a new Endocrinologist. Wow what a difference this change is making in our lives. While things are a bit more hectic with the logging to get her Blood Glucose under control and not suffer so many lows, things are also getting better. This week her levels have almost held steady with only 1 dip a day around 2pm which is a great improvement over all the dips all day long. I worry so much about how the lows are affecting her.

I have also been to Six Flags 2 times this month. Whoot! While things are a bit more complicated now due to the diabetes we are not going to let that slow us down. We wait in line, test Krista's blood never loosing our spot and ride all the crazy roller coasters. We went on Kingda Ka 6 times in one day. You have just got to ride it to believe it. 125 mph straight up and then straight down. Talk about a rush. Our family is full of crazy roller coaster nuts.

This month I have also started actually being a person on the ADA message boards. I post every day and respond to questions and answers. I want to help other people who are suffering through these problems. Maybe I can help others the way my daughter's doctors did not help us. Anything I learned was through the internet and asking strangers. The kindness of strangers is a wonderful thing.

I have also been very busy working on a book. Now while I have absolutely no delusions of ever becoming published I still like to write. The kids are all supportive and say "Mommy you write good, tell us a story." I always wonder if they are just trying to stay up later or if they really mean it. Maybe some day I'll submit something I've written and see what happens but its not a drive in me to be famous. Maybe one day I'll write Krista's story and help other children realize that the monster within them is nothing more than a little mouse.

This Friday we will be going to meet Jane Goodall. The kids are all very excited. We worked hard on a project board to bring with us and show to the good Doctor. It will be an exciting time for our family.

On a sad note, Sunday night we lost one of our little hamsters. He died from a bacteria which grows in Corn Cob bedding. It should never have been sold to hamster owners and the bedding labels need to be changed to show that dwarf hamsters should never use that type of bedding. Now I had to say goodbye to Dozer who was only 3 months old and Budha his father is very ill from the same bedding. Of course I called the company and they said the standard "I am sorry that your hamster died but our bedding is all natural and it goes through processing to make it safe. You must have left the bedding too long." Now I change my hamsters bedding 2 times a week. There is no way the bedding was left for too long considering the bag says "extends the time between changes now lasts for 15 days" funny how is it possible that 3 days is too long? So now we are grieving for our little baby Dozer and praying that Budha can recover from the same bacteria. It is almost always fatal but we are holding out hope that he will make a recovery.

Well I'll be back on another day and let you know what I have to say.

What the heck?

Okay I give...What the heck is with Sanjaya? He was a sweet kid until Vote for the Worst started their stuff and kept him on American Idol. Now last night he looked like an idiot, smart mouthed Simon and just basically needs a good spanking. I don't understand how America can keep him on. Sure I get the joke behind Vote for the Worst. Sure I can even see the humor in it. But at the expense of sounding like a completely anal person can't they see the damage they are causing? They say he is only 17 and is young and he will mature. Okay well there are other young singers on the show who can sing. Stephanie was young, what damage could have been caused psychologically because she knew Sanjaya can't sing and she was voted off. Now what damage has occured in Sanjaya...He has turned from that sweet smiling boy into a little cocky brat. Stephanie who should have been one of the top three is now sitting at home. Sanjaya who should never have been in the top 24 is now in the top 10 and gets to OMG go on tour. Trust me when I say I won't be going to that concert this year. Last years was great but this years is going to be a total bust.

Hamster

Okay so this weekend started like any other. We needed food for all the pets so Wayne and I decided to go to the pet store. Susie made an A++ on her Jane Goodall report so we decided we would take her out somewhere special and let her get something. So at the pet store there was this pretty black hamster with long fur. Of course we had to hold him and the next thing I knew he was being boxed up to take home with us. I'm a sucker for a cute face. He nuzzled his little nose into my neck and I was lost. So we have a new hamster and one which still has no name. He started out being called Simba then I started calling him Sminky not sure why but now we need a name. Help us get one for him if you can because it must be horrible not having one. He sleeps all the time, when he isn't sleeping he is extremely friendly and he even talks by making these cute little barking noises. So if you have any ideas please let me know.

Then when I thought all Hamster's were snug in their beds along came yet another one. Krista bought one from the pet store for herself. She named him Bam Bam. Here is his picture. Isn't he just a cute little guy. He runs around constantly, a more active hamster I have never seen. He is sweet and loveable and Krista just adores him. He doens't seem to get along with any of the other hamsters so we built him his own cage so now we have 10 hamsters in 10 cages and most are custom built. We make them out of the large clear storage totes and add shoe boxes inside for the hamster to have a house. We cut holes in the side to mount a wheel and water bottle and add screens to the top and sides for ventilation. The hamsters all seem to love these houses more than any of the store bought ones. We still have tubes for the hamsters to crawl through and they have lots more space to run and play.

American Idol

Okay it has come to my attention that American Idol is being manipulated by all parties. First Simon, Paula and Randy put thru a couple of so-so singers so it would make the show more interesting to the public. Then a group called Vote for the Worst is actually manipulating the nightly voting by voting not for the best singer but for the worst. This year it is Sanjaya who they all stand behind. Now this has me furious. Not because I think that Sanjaya is a horrible singer, I admit he hasn't really shown us anything this season but he does have a nice singing voice but he has to learn to sing louder and make sure that everyone can here him over the music. That is something he may learn but who knows some never do.

But what makes me so mad is that someone like Stephanie who can sing, who has shown us she can sing, who has not made any horrible mistakes since day one gets sent home before Sanjaya who week after week is told he is going home. There is not a male on this season who is better than the worst of the girls this season. Maybe that is one of the problems with Idol after all we have to have this 12 guys 12 girls deal to start and then break it down from their to wind up with 6 guys and 6 girls and to tell you the truth the worst of the 12 girls is better than the best of the 12 guys. The guys are just not bringing it this year. Chris Sligh is a very good singer yet he is trying to manipulate songs and it just isn't working. Blake is a good beat bopper but is that really what America wants? I mean if it is great. I enjoy Blake but I think his range of vocals is limited. When he can't sing he bops. As for the rest of the guys...

I can understand people voting for the person they like to look at but this is a contest about SINGING! not looks. You the voter are supposed to be voting for the best singer of that night. You the voter are not supposed to vote along party lines, for the worst or for any reason other than that singer did it for you. You may have a different version of who did it for you each night, 1 night I voted for Melinda, once for Lakisha, last season I voted for people who I hated and wanted gone simply because they were good. So I vote honestly. Can each of you look in your mirror and say the same thing? That is what this show is all about voting for who was the best that night. So lets try to do that for a change.

For all those Vote for the Worst people out there all I can say is I hope you are happy, you won and the rest of America lost including Stephanie who is a terrific singer. I can only hope she stumbles across this blog and realizes that America didn't vote her off they voted to keep Sanjaya on simple because its funny to do so.

ARGH COMCAST!

Okay I pay a small fortune each month to Comcast for their "service", what I'd love to know is what service is it that I am paying for. Is it the people on the phone when you call with a problem? Or is it the idiots that they have working their who tell you to fax something to them only to give you a real phone number and not a fax line? Or is it the idiots who add charges to your bill because you "bounce a check" only you never bounced a check with them, you have the front and back of said check and they say it will take 7 to 10 business days to clear up. All I can say is that for the amount of money we pay to Comcast they owe us, good service, clear service, uninterupted service, and people who actually know something other than how to screw over every person they talk to. I mean this is enough already. When are we the American public going to stand up and say enough already. I am the customer and the customer is ALWAYS right! Personally I am about ready to quit with all comcast and verizon crap all together. If I didn't need a phone because I have children I wouldn't have one. This is starting to really get my goat. Okay so I can't live without internet because I love to read and where better to read than online, but TV I rarely watch and this season in particular has me fed up. All my favorite TV Shows are doing all kinds of weird things with their schedules that it is making it almost impossible to keep up with the storyline. Add to that the commercials and ARGH! Its enough to make anyone go insane. Now add to that Comcast telling me that I bounced a check when I can prove that I didn't and all I want to do is beat the heck out of the telephone and my cable provider all at the same time. Hope your day is going better than mine.

America the Beautiful

Well my daughter in her new found joy over Jane Goodall has pulled me in. Not that it was very hard since I have always loved animals and chimpanzees in particular. One of the reasons she chose Jane to read about for school was because I suggested it. So now we have both joined Jane's "Roots and Shoots" organization. We are planning out ways to get others to join and start a real group with meetings and fund-raising and everything. I was making an animal quilt for my bed and instead of keeping it for myself, I plan to sell it on eBay and every penny of profit will go to the "Roots and Shoots" organization and their current projects.

Here is a link to Jane's Site read a bit about what is going on and you can't help but join.

http://www.janegoodall.org/

To start your own "Roots and Shoots" group you can check out this site.

http://www.rootsandshoots.org/

I think that after looking at all the things they do you can't help but help out too. This planet is only ours for a very short time. Its time we humans do the right thing and look to the future of this great planet.

OH MY GOSH!

OMG! I went to see 300 this weekend and all I can say is you have got to see it. The men are all hot! Their bodies are to die for. The violence is...I can't even explain just how violent this movie is. But there is something for everyone in this movie. The violence could be a turn off to some but it was a critical point in the movie. Also this movie was pure art. The scenery, the story line, everything was art in its finest form. I was planning on taking my older girls to see it but I was beaten to the punch on that one since they wound up going with their dad. But even my girls thought the movie was one of the best in a very long time. If you can get to the theater to see it I highly recommend going. Waiting until it comes out on video and you will miss something because I think this is one of those movies best seen in a movie theater. The sound, the thrill, the everything is at the movies. So go check it out.

Animals

Well my daughter just finished reading Jane Goodalls book "My years with the Chimpanzees" and she has decided that she wants to grow up to be just like Jane. She let me know that she is now a vegetarian, that animals are to be treated with respect and caring and that she will be becoming a vet or something similiar when she grows up. I have to laugh since my older daughter is already planning on becoming a marine biologist and my oldest daughter wants to become a scientist who deals with the environment. Boy I must have done something right to raise such eco-friendly kids.

I've always told them to treat animals and the environment with care and I guess they must have really been listening all this time. Who knew kids listen to their parents....

One of my favorite quotes is "We do not own the earth, we mearly borrow it from our children."

Torkel

Torkel
Originally uploaded by Snips of Scraps.

This is our hamster Torkel. When he was 10 days old he had one eye closed up tight. He had no hair on his body and he looked like he was going to die. So I decided that I would take care of him. I treated him with antibiotic eye drops and when some accidently got on his skin his hair started growing in. So I decided to try a little on his skin and next thing I knew we had the most beautiful little guy. He's a real tough guy though. He loves to bite anything, probably because of all the pain he had to endure as a baby. But once you get him out of his cage he is a real sweety. But he does do some weird things and maybe one day I'll get a picture of him and his sweetheart, my blanket. But as the caption says DO NOT TOUCH HIS STARS!

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Just a quick hello

Just wanted to say a howdy hi to everyone out there! I just started this blog today and I'll be posting more later. On this blog I intend to put my thoughts and dreams and also some writing authored by me. I'll be posting photos of interesting places, animals or other things that catch my eye. All items on this blog are copyright protected by me. All images will be owned by me and I have exclusive rights to all photos. If you wish to use one for your own purpose you may contact me.