Some Things Friday for April 15, 2011

Some Things I Love:

1. Last weekend and most of this week, I've had a rough time with back spasms. They were horrible the entire weekend, subsided some during the beginning of the week, but came back yesterday full blown. It's emotionally and physically draining to deal with pain 24/7, but I hate....really HATE....taking drugs. Mostly I think I developed my aversion to drugs because I was required to take them routinely for years, from early adolescence until I was about 19 years old, when I was finally properly diagnosed and had surgery for a urinary tract defect. Anyway, like I said, yesterday was bad. I woke up with another spasm, began crying in frustration and sat on my massage chair most of the morning to keep the pain somewhat at bay. When Tom came home he handed me a little white bag that contained two bottles of white pills ~ a muscle relaxer and a pain killer.

ME: Where'd you get these? [I know. It was a completely stupid question, but my brain was clouded with pain.]

TOM: I got peeps, he said with a slight smirk.

He had called our Doc, she called in prescriptions and I am sitting here this morning a little high, but pain free! I LOVE my husband! I LOVE my Doc! And today...and today only...well, and maybe tomorrow, depending on how quickly I heal...I LOVE drugs!

2. Spring is finally here, my friends and my backyard is producing the evidence...

3. The farmers market in Little Rock opens this weekend! Yum!

4. When I went to buy birthday cards for my daughter-in-law and grandson this week, I found the coolest hand painted martini glasses. My dishware hoarding gene nearly exploded. I picked each one up off the shelf, examined its beauty and uniqueness, then placed it back in its original position. Sadly, I left them on the shelf .... this time. I know where to find them.

5. Fresh herbs from my garden. Yes, indeed, it is that time.

Some Things I Hate:

1. I cried when I read this article about a 7-year old little girl who had plastic surgery to prevent the kids at school from tormenting her on the playground. Since when do we make the victim undergo unnecessary surgery to change who they are and be more "presentable" instead of the adults - parents, teachers, principals and anyone else in any sort of authority - stepping in to protect her from the bullies??

2. These horrible spring storms. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night to howling winds, thunder, lightening and blowing rain, waiting for the tornado siren to go off. It didn't go off here, but it did in other locations in central Arkansas, where tornadoes killed five people.

3. I hate it when Republicans call America a Christian nation. It's not. We are a free nation, with freedom of and from religion. That means that we are supposed to be free to practice ANY religion or no religion at all, if that's what we choose.

4. People who say they hate something before they even try it....except for oysters. I hate oysters. Even though I've never tried them, I absolutely, unequivocally KNOW I would hate them, so I have no problem with anyone else hating them, but not trying them either. But anything else...Jeezus...at least taste it.

5. Yoga sandals. Are you serious??

They look like some kind of bondage gear from a fetish boutique....although, you understand, I've never been in one of those places...I'm just surmising.

Some Things I Just Don't Get:

1. Why people buy cookbooks because they are written by celebrities. Why would anyone buy them? Do people think celebrities look like that because of the food they eat? Hell no. It's because they DON'T eat. Besides, why waste your money when just about every recipe ever created can be found somewhere on the internet....for free.

2. A public school in Chicago has banned students from bringing their lunches from home. Excuse me? We all know what schools are feeding our kids: greasy pizza, fried chicken fingers, burgers, fries, hot dogs...everything processed and/or canned....except for the milk. They do serve milk, like that actually rounds out that nutritionally unbalanced meal. But they think home-packed lunches aren't nutritious enough? That's a bit like Larry the Cable Guy calling me a redneck. And, besides, isn't it the parents' responsibility to decide what's best for their children?

3. I am always amazed when I read about a woman whose gone missing and the authorities ultimately determine that she "ran away from home" and left her children behind, like the woman in Georgia who recently disappeared and left her five children at home alone. I think you have to be more than kinda desperate or mentally ill to do something like that.

4. Scream 4. Why would I pay to have some gruesome slasher scare the crap out of me even once, let alone do it four times. ~dry heave~

5. I don't get people who can't read signs....like the one over the express lane at the grocery store that says "15 items or less. Obviously, the woman in front of me at Kroger the other day was mathematically challenged because she apparently was unable to accurately count the 47 items she had in her basket!