On my mind...

ON MY MIND NOW...Ehh...not much to say lately. Feeling anxious, off kilter, restless and stressed.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

I Have Lost Count...


Britney ran over another paparazzo's foot last night. Note: This is not a real picture of the paparazzo's foot. Just a picture I found online.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

American Ugh...

Let me be perfectly clear! I HATE AMERICAN IDOL! I watched most of the first season and was glad to see Kelly Clarkson win. But, that should have been it for that show, as far as I am concerned.

We are somewhere around 2 months from the new season of this stupid freaking show and, I already can't go one single day without hearing something about it. Really, I think I hear something about American Idol every single freaking day, 365 days a year since it first premiered. I am over it and, each and every time I hear that the viewership has gone down, I get cautiously elated, hoping that it will mean the end of the show.

It would be one thing if each and every time I turn on the radio or the TV during each season of the show, I didn't have to hear at least 10 mentions of the stupid show per hour. I DON'T CARE! And, I know that I am not the only person who doesn't! Perhaps, if each media outlet would limit themselves to only one or two mentions of the show per day just before, during and after the season, it would be more tolerable.

As much as I have to hear about it, it is like being out to lunch with one of those obsessed parents who can't stop talking about their baby's poop for an hour. Or some muscle head who can't stop talking about his workout for an hour. Get it? Enough!

The Master of Suspense...

I finally finished Fear Nothing by Dean Koontz. What can I say? Mr. Koontz never fails me! He is a great story teller. Fear Nothing is masterful and it left me wanting more. I said before that there are 2 key factors for me in a great read. If the book literally makes me laugh out loud as I am reading it, or if it makes me shed actual tears, it is a great read. On page nine of Fear Nothing, Koontz made me giggle out loud. And, from then on, I knew that this book had me until the end. A sci-fi masterpiece!

So, go get a copy, read it and enjoy!

Couch Pretzel Central...

UPDATE: Michael Ausiello updated the TV schedule due to the strike today on his Ausiello Report on tvguide.com, so, check it out below.

Michael Ausiello of tvguide.com has been working to put together a nice chart for viewers that tells us just how many more of our favorite shows we can expect to see before they go dark due to the strike. So, it is my duty as a Couch Pretzel to pass it on to you!

These may change and I will do my best to keep up with it.

30 Rock: Ten episodes will be produced. Five episodes have aired, so there are five left.

Aliens in America: Seventeen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are 10 left.

Back to You: Nine episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are three left.

Bionic Woman: Roughly nine episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are three left.

Bones: Twelve episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are five left.

Boston Legal: Fifteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are eight left.

Brothers & Sisters: Twelve episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are five left.

Carpoolers: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are seven left.

Cavemen: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are seven left.

Chuck: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are five left.

CSI: NY: Fourteen episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are six left.

Desperate Housewives: Ten episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are three left.

Dirty Sexy Money: Eleven episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are five left.

Friday Night Lights: Fifteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are eight left.

Gossip Girl: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are six left.

Greek: Eight new episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are eight left.

Grey's Anatomy: Eleven episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are four left.

Heroes: Eleven episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are three left.

House: Twelve episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are five left.

Jericho: Seven episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are seven episodes left.

Las Vegas: Nineteen episodes will be produced. Eight have aired, so there are 11 left.

Law & Order: SVU: Fourteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are seven left.

Life is Wild: Twelve episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are six left.

Lost: Eight episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are eight episodes left.

Medium: Nine episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are nine episodes left.

Men in Trees: Nineteen episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are 13 left.

My Name is Earl: Thirteen episodes will be produced (that includes two one-hour eps, which count double). Nine episodes have aired, so there are four left.

The New Adventures of Old Christine: Eight episodes have been produced. No episodes have aired, so there are eight left.

Numbers: Twelve episodes will be produced. Eight have aired, so there are four left.

One Tree Hill: Twelve episodes will be produced. None have aired yet, so there are twelve episodes left.

The Office: Twelve half-hour episodes will be produced. Eleven half-hour episodes have aired, so there is one half-hour episode left.

Prison Break: Thirteen episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are five left. (On hiatus 'til Jan. 14)

Private Practice: Ten or 11 episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are four or five left.

Pushing Daisies: Nine episodes will be produced. Five episodes have aired, so there are four left.

Reaper: Ten to 12 episodes will be produced. Eight episodes have aired, so there are two to four left.

Samantha Who?: Twelve episodes will be produced. Five episodes have aired, so there are seven left.

Scrubs: Eleven episodes will be produced. Three episodes have aired, so there are eight left.

Shark: Eleven episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are four left.

The Shield: All 13 season-seven episodes will be completed. None have aired (the final season gets underway in '08), so there are 13 left.

Smallville: Fifteen episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are eight left.

Supernatural: Ten to 12 episodes will be produced. Six episodes have aired, so there are four to six left.

Ugly Betty: Twelve or 13 episodes will be produced. Seven episodes have aired, so there are five or six left.
You can find Michael Ausiello's Report at: http://community.tvguide.com/blog/TVGuide-Editors-Blog/Ausiello-Report/700000049

He is a great source for all things entertainment!

A Non-Update Update on the Litter Kwitter

Progress on the Litter Kwitter is still at a standstill. The girls are intrigued by it as I have caught my oldest and youngest on top of it, exploring. And, every day, there are foot prints in the litter and some of the litter ends up on the toilet seat and on the floor around the toilet. So, someone is paying attention to it. They just aren't using it. In their defense, since I got sick, I haven't been working with them on it. I just really lost motivation. And, with a severe lack of energy, I just haven't really cared. So, hopefully, when I am feeling better, I will get my motivation back and get the ladies back on track.

I think I might have to mix some of the new litter (which is flushable) with their old litter that is in the litter box to get them used to using the new litter. Cats can be fickle about changes in litter. And, if I can ever remember to, I think I might take a little bit of something from the litter box and put it in the Litter Kwitter to remind them of what it is for. Perhaps if I can trick one of them into believing that someone else used it, she will use it too. Then it will be a Litter Kwitter free for all! One can only hope!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

It Was Something in Her Coffee...

Excuses are like Assholes, everybody has got em'. Britney Spears is no exception.

She failed a court ordered drug test. First, people in her camp said that it was a false positive. Then they said it was because of Provigil which she takes for Narcolepsy. But, Provigil is usually given to patients to get them off Cocaine. It would not show up as an amphetamine which is what her failed drug test detects. And, now the same sources are saying it may have been from Albuterol for her asthma. But, again, it isn't an amphetamine so, it wouldn't have shown up on that particular drug test.

Kevin Federline's lawyer will be visiting this issue in court tomorrow! I can not wait. This in conjunction with her running a red light with her kids in the car, last week. And leaving her kids in the car on one of her scheduled visitation days to go chandelier shopping. Granted, she didn't leave them unsupervised. She left them in the car with the court appointed monitor. But, the point is, she couldn't be bothered to postpone looking for lighting fixtures for one of the many more hours she doesn't have with her kids, instead of one of the few hours with her kids that she has been granted each week.

Time to just give up! Take the kids away from her permanently. She is obviously not interested in them and their safety.

Care to guess what her next excuses will be? Perhaps there was something in her coffee. Or, maybe it was in the chemicals used in her manicure or pedicure? Maybe one of her hair dyes had some kind of amphetamine that caused the positive drug test.

The Flu Shot

After getting sick despite having gotten my flu shot this year, I was ready to go on a nice vicious rant about the flu shot. But, I finally went to the doctor this week because 8 days with a hacking cough is long enough.

So, it isn't the flu. Which, I should have known. I manage to wrangle this illness into my lungs every single year so, it should never confuse me. I have acute Bronchitis and acute Sinusitis with fatigue and I may be developing a bacterial infection. So, I was given a steroid shot to clear up my lungs, an anti-biotic and some cough medicine to suppress my cough at night so that I can get some sleep.

I am glad that this isn't the flu. I was really ticked when I thought that I spent $25 to get my flu shot only to get some strain of the flu only 3 weeks and 2 days later.

Hopefully my anti-biotics will have me better in a few days. I already feel better since yesterday and, I was feeling a little bit better yesterday before I visited my doctor. Not much better, but, a modicum better than the day before.

Take care of yourselves. Wash your hands like your life depended on it. If you touch a door handle or a railing somewhere, keep your hands away from your face until you can wash them and try not to touch anyone or anything else before you can wash your hands. Refrain from handshakes with co-workers. I know it might seem rude but, if they seem to take offense, just tell them that this is cold and flu season and you are trying to stay healthy and, just in case you already have something, you don't want to pass it on to them either. Hopefully you will be talking with a rational person who can understand the desire not to get sick or to make others sick. Or, you could always say you feel a touch of something coming on and don't want to spread it. People tend to have a protective reaction for their own well-being when they know someone else is sick around them. Lie if you have to! Just do whatever you can to keep yourself healthy.

Take care!

I Can See Clearly Now...

I had Lasik Eye Surgery just under 3 years ago. Oddly enough, the song that I heard as I was driving home from work the day after my surgery was "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash. And, that has been the case ever since.

Lasik was one of the best things that I have ever done for myself. I had 20/40 and 20/60 vision with the worst part of my vision issues being a fairly high level of astigmatism before my surgery. I am 20/20 now with the most mild left-over bit of astigmatism.

After a trip to Europe, where I met a woman who had the surgery, I finally decided to go through with it. Part of the reason that I decided to do it was, on that trip to Europe, my glasses got filthy after only 2 minutes out walking around London. I literally had to clean my glasses each and every time I returned to my hotel. The streets are very dusty over there. And, because of all the dust on my glasses, I spent the entire vacation with my eyes constantly dripping, watering and draining. So, to say I was miserable through the entire trip is a gross understatement.

Let me tell you why it was such a hard decision for me to actually go ahead with the surgery. I am a wimp. I am the only person who can touch my eyes because, even I can give myself the willies. The very thought of anyone touching my eyes is enough to throw me into a willie-tastic tail spin. Even now! I still get the willies when I go see my regular eye doctor each year when he has to touch my eyes. I just can't deal with it. So, the thought of the two devices that they use to keep your eyes open while performing the surgery was...words fail me. I can not even come up with a word to tell you how terrifying and cringe invoking that thought was for me. Again, it still is and I had it done! Given how freaked out I was, the doctor gave me a stuffed bear to hold onto while he performed the surgery and, I nearly popped the poor things noggin off from grasping it so tightly! Yes, I am that bad! But, the surgery itself was a lot scarier in my mind than in reality!

Anyway, my new friend from my tour group said what most Lasik patients say. "It was the best thing that I ever did for myself!"

So, I was given the great news that I was a great candidate for the surgery and went ahead with it.

I still suffer from mild residual first thing in the morning dry eye. But, I simply put a few drops of lubricant into my eyes before I get out of bed and then again in the evening while I am getting ready for bed and all is fine. It is a minor issue that I can deal with. A minuscule price to pay for perfect vision.

I actually remember tearing up just a little bit from how beautiful colors are in the outside world. I never really got such a crisp view of them...even with contacts and glasses. I remember driving along one day and actually being able to make out details in trees in the mountains in the distance. The sky was the brightest blue I had ever seen. Everything just sparkled. It actually took me a few weeks to get used to how very bright and colorful things really are outside. At times, they actually hurt my eyes at first. But, in the best way possible. It was a pain that I gladly welcomed and, as my eyes healed, the pain stopped.

I am as grateful today as I was nearly three years ago, for my doctor. And, I am glad that I put my fears and mind numbing willies aside and went ahead with the surgery.

Monday, November 12, 2007

What Do Dogs Daydream About?


You'd have to ask him...

She Rocks It...

This girl rocks this choreography. But, I have to question who came up with Britney's part of it. It seems like most of the beginning is meant for Brit to do more posing than dancing. More standing there with her hands on her hips or arms above her head than actual dancing. Did she make her own choreography? Or, did a choreographer decide that Brit is so bad that everything has to be bare bones simple or she can't do it! Well, if that was the case, the choreographer even over shot it with that little bit of choreography! But, the stand-in did it well!

Friday, November 9, 2007

Shocking? Or, Just Business As Usual?

I know that it shouldn't shock me when Britney Spears does something stupid. What with her daily agenda of headline making mistakes, nothing should ever surprise me with her. But, she managed to get yet another gasp out of me. I swear, she has managed to "shave off" (get it?) about 14 years of my life from all of the "Oh my God, gasp, no way! She can't really have done such a thing" moments that she has given me lately!

But, Oops...she did it again! After wondering whether she should even be allowed to drive with her kids in the car, during the 3 visits a week that she gets with them, she did not have that right revoked. But, she should have. She was caught, on tape, with her court appointed parenting monitor in her car with her...RUNNING A RED LIGHT! Oh...crap! I forgot the best part. She did it with her kids in the car too. The light had been red for a while and the intersection where she performed this latest traffic offense has a reputation for being dangerous. But, what does she care? It's Britney Bitches!

I am looking forward to the fall out from her latest asinine antics! But, as per the norm, she will probably find a way to get around the trouble and will still somehow come out with her limited visitation rights and her legal right to drive over several more peoples' feet, hit more peoples' parked cars, and be your basic run-of-the-mill menace to society...and traffic!

The Writers' Strike

In a TV obsessed world, how will all of you feel if the Writers' Strike continues past the new year? It seems that most shows will run out of new material between late December and even into February. So, if the strike continues that long, how will all of you fair? I am a self-professed couch "pretzel" so, one would imagine that the prospect of running out of shows to watch would be an extremely daunting thought for me. Not so! I actually welcome it. What better time than to catch up on reading, walking the dog, chit chatting with the hubby, cleaning out the closets and just getting stuff done? TV consumes a lot of time. It helps to have a Tivo but, even with a Tivo, you eventually have to watch the shows it records or that magnificent machine will run out of recording space and it will start deleting your older, as yet un-viewed shows for you.

So, bring it!

Oh, and I am hearing rumors...several times...that my favorite reality show ever may do a first ever Winter edition of their show! Big Brother may have to step up and give us something to watch if this strike continues longer than hoped! So, I sort of can't find one bad thing to say about this strike!

I know...I am shamelessly selfish! At least I can admit it!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Thwarted By My Kryptonite

For all my pea cocking about having the protective powers of the Flu shot and my Zycam Cold Remedy Gel Swabs, I managed to catch a cold! I don't know whom I caught it from. I stopped using my swabs for a couple days and, I think it got me then. So, to say the least, I am feeling really down in the dumps. I thought I was losing my voice last night but, woke up with it this AM. And, while it sounds pretty bad today, it sounds better than it did last night. So, hopefully I won't have laryngitis to deal with, on top of this annoying cough and stuffy nose.

Oh...and this cold brought a headache with it. Normally I don't have headaches with my colds. But, I guess the Season decided to add a little something extra in with my gift of misery for the year!

The Litter Kwitter

For anyone interested in the Litter Kwitter, here is the site: http://litterkwitter.com/en/index.php

Just a brief update, I have been keeping the litter box away from my girls from the time that I get home from work until I go to bed. I haven't seen any use but, it looks like someone might have been rooting around in it last night as the litter was moved around. There was some litter on the seat and inside the bowl. I didn't have enough time to actually investigate it this AM to see if there was any tinkle so, I will have to wait until lunch to check it out.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Just Fun Music

The most this song got used was in a Ford commercial but, it is actually a good song. Too bad it never really took off! Enjoy!