Category: Melissa’s life (Page 6 of 20)

MAN DOWN!

February 18, 2011 / melissa / 0 Comments

1. First, my father broke his leg. He fell down at work about two weeks ago. (He works in construction and this was on site) He slipped on some mud. Well, I have heard the story so many times, I can recite it as he would tell it.

“Well I was going down basement and I could have went all the way around and took the steps but this way was closer. Then I was slipping and a sliding and my toe hit something and down I went. I knew that [name redacted] and [name redacted] were on the other side. SO I started shouting but it seemed the harder I shouted, the quieter I was. So I picked up my phone and called them. They came running to where I was and they started slipping and a sliding. But they got down there and tried to pick me up but they couldn’t. SO they got a board and the other one got a track hoe. They loaded me on that board and picked me up and put me on the track hoe. Then [someone else whose name is redacted] saw me and yelled, “Hey what are you doing with [Melissa’s dad]!?” and they got me out of there.”

Well that’s the short part of the story. Then he tried to call my mother on her cell and couldn’t get her because then he called me on my cell. He thought he was okay to drive and drove about 80 miles back to his house. He then went to the doctor and got an x-ray. They didn’t find a broken bone and sent him home with a muscle relaxer and two kinds of pain pills. They also scheduled an appointment to get an MRI to see the tendons and ligaments.

Well, those muscle relaxers and pain pills were the GOOD STUFF. He was convinced he heard people trying to steal his truck outside. He was having conversations with people who weren’t there. They would disappear when Mom would ask, “who are you talking to?” He was seeing bugs and at one point, he saw a dog walk through the house and tried to get up to protect the cat. Another time, he was sleep but he was moving his hands. He appeared to be fishing with one hand throwing out the line and the other hand reeling it in. It was quite amusing. Okay, I’ll fess up. It was more than amusing. Some of it was downright hilarious. Oh poor Daddy.

My Mom celebrated Valentine’s Day by taking my Dad back to the doctor to get him some drugs that didn’t make my Dad so freaking loopy.

Then he had an MRI and it turned out that he did break his leg. It was the top of his tibia near his knee cap. The kneecap obscured the view in the x ray. So now he has an appointment with an orthopedic specialist.

It’s been an interesting experience around here with my Dad on the recliner and Mom waiting after him. Occasionally, due to being self employed, I get called to take up the slack and make sure my Dad doesn’t slip and fall when he tries to get up and go to the bathroom.

It’s sweet to watch how my parents love each other. How my Mom buys my brother, my Dad, and myself these goofy stuffed animals. My Dad then takes the stuffed animal and uses it as a “neck warmer.” She gets his water. He winks at her.

checking in

February 11, 2011 / melissa / 0 Comments

It’s February. Wow. It’s been 3 weeks since I’ve written on here. I can’t believe that. Amazing, I tell you.

The weather has been positively schizophrenic around here. Usually, in Arkansas, the winter means that the temperature hovers around freezing with highs in the 40s during the days and closer to freezing (32) in the evening. Sometimes it dips below and you have to make sure to drip your faucet or the pipes will freeze. Also, once a winter, we will get some snow. The snow itself is usually about 1 or 2 inches and it lasts only one day (just long enough for the kids to make a snowman) and then it melts.

NOT THIS YEAR! We’ve had three different “winter storms” with snow. The snow itself has been snow and not the ice storm buillshit we usually get. Also, it has been lasting longer. The last storm was about 4 inches. This time it was maybe 2. The snow has pretty much melted from the roads but then the water refreezes at night. This means the kids have been out of school for a couple of days. And they were out of school a couple of days a couple of weeks ago.

SO yeah, we’re a little tired of the snow. This is too much family togetherness.

I joined Weight Watchers. I joined the online version. I have been on it a week and a couple of days. Sunday is weigh in day. So far I have lost 3.2 pounds. So far. So good. I am slightly disappointed because I weigh so much but then again my points are calculated according to my weight. But yeah, 3.2 seemed anticlimactic. I’m such an overachiever.

I have signed up for the Little Rock half marathon again. I am crazy slow this year. I will be walking it. I might even need to get up early. dang. And all this snow/ice mess on the road is messing with my training!!! (yes let’s make this all about me)

Speaking of things not about me. I am fascinated with the situation i Egypt. I hope it doesn’t end in a violent bloody mess.

Okay going to sleep.

Random thoughts at 2 a.m.

January 19, 2011 / melissa / 0 Comments

okay so it is technically 1:47 right now. I should be asleep. I’m not even sure why I am not asleep. I don’t feel particularly stressed but I sure was tossing and turning. I even managed to annoy the cat. So here is a list.

My cat is still nipping at his tail. In fact, he acts like his tail is not attached to his body. He acts like his tail is this fur covered snake that is sneaking up on him and trying to attack him. Sometimes, he runs in the opposite direction of his tail as fast as he can. Sometimes he bites at it. I have no idea what to do. I know a second vet business is in order. I know people use the term “crazy cat” but I’m thinking my cat may actually have some sort of psychological issue on this one.
Been using runkeeper to track my runs. I am getting back into the swing of things but dang I’m slow. Also, my new shoes are great but they are obviously doing a slight difference with my gait because there are muscles near my ankles that feel complete different now.
Union Pacific had a contest online to determine a rail route with a steam engine. The Little Rock to Kansas City Missouri route won. I will say one thing about Arkansas. If you get us in a position where we can vote on something nationally that is apolitically and doesn’t make us look like rednecks, we will come out in spades. We know how to autodial and vote every day for weeks. Choo choo!
I am at my innate basic level pretty darn tactless. It has taken years and years of hair pulling and butt whooping by my mama along with the alienation of people whom I really liked to get me to where I am today, mildly annoying. But sometimes, even now, I will say something or given an opinion that just beats the shit out of someone. This week was one of those times.

Martin Luther King, Robert E. Lee, and me

January 18, 2011 / melissa / 1 Comment

An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law. — Martin Luther King Jr. — from Letters from a Birmingham Jail

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Yes you can kill the dreamer. Absolutely you can kill the dreamer but you cannot, i must tell you, you cannot kill the dream. The dream is still alive– Reverend Billy Kyles”

The last time I went to Memphis, I went to the National Civil Rights Museum. It is a wonderful museum that gives the entire history of the civil rights museum from the day of slaves to the present. You can see Klan robes, notes from SNCC, pictures of the Freedom riders, pamphlets from the Black Panther party, and a whole host of other things. There is also a movie called “The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306” It is the story of Dr. King’s last day as told by the Reverend Samuel “Billy” Kyles. Dr. King’s “Mountain Top” speech. He was standing by Dr.King on the balcony when he was shot. He was the guy who tried to call the ambulance.

The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306 from Marc Altshuler – Human Music on Vimeo.

Today I was reminded that Arkansas celebrates Robert E. Lee day and Martin Luther King Jr. day on the same day. For some reason, I was shocked. You would think I wouldn’t be. And there were people who were disgusted and there were people who thought it was perfectly fine and thought Robert E. Lee was a great man.

People thought he was great because he didn’t believe in slavery. He was offered a leadership position with the Union army but instead fought for the Confederacy out of a loyalty to the state of Virginia when it seceded from the Union. Some people think that loyalty is honorable. I think he sold out black people and his own views for that loyalty. I don’t think that is honorable. I think it’s a little bit cowardly. Mr. Lee did promote his antislavery views afterwards. Also, Arlington National Cemetery is located on property owned by his wife. General Lee went on to be President of Washington and Lee.

I think Martin Luther King’s view on Mr. Lee’s predicament would have been that he should have resigned and fought for neither side if he couldn’t fight for the Union Army if he was against slavery. (see the Letter from Birmingham jail). With that conclusion, I find it very odd that a day celebrates both of their lives since their views on certain subjects are diametrically opposed.

okay that is the short version. Heck. MLK day is over.

Shoes shoes shoes

January 14, 2011 / melissa / 0 Comments

I said I would give workout updates and so here I am. I ran on the 4th and it was the first time I had done any running in 2011. I didn’t do much running in December due to some illness so it was hard. Then I went to get some new running shoes.

This time I went to Go! Running in Little Rock. The nice salesperson had me take off my shoes, roll up my socks, and walk back and forth in the store. If you go to a store for the first time to buy running shoes and you are not asked to do this, turn right around and leave the store. This is very important. They do this to check on pronation. When you walk or run, your foot hits the outer edge of the first and rolls in a little bit towards the arch. This is how you are able to walk with an arch. It is supposed to be slight but if you roll in a lot, you “overpronate.” Overpronation is common for people with flat arches. If your foot rolls outward, then you underpronate. Running shoes are designed to deal with these various types of ankle movements.

I overpronate quite a bit. For the past couple of years, I have been running in Brooks Ariel. It is has been a pretty good shoe for me. This time, the people at Go! Running gave me a pair of Ariels and then gave me a pair of Asics Gel Foundation 9 (see picture below). I tried both and jogged a little bit. The Asics were a little bouncier and tighter in the heel area. I always had to tie the ARiels pretty tight so that my ankle wouldn’t feel like they were slipping.

I have since went out with my new shoes twice. I also wore them with a new pair of running socks. The bounce definitely made a difference. I didn’t feel the slipping anymore. I did, however, get a blister on the ball of my foot the first time I went out in them. The second time I didn’t.

Both the times I ran on the side of the road and I seemed to notice the slope more than I have but I am not sure if that is the shoes or the fact that it had been over a month since I ran.

Given the big adjustment, I am going to keep my shoes.

Yipee

Here’s a little video of Dr. Oz talking about weight loss.

Au Revoir Holidailies

January 7, 2011 / melissa / 0 Comments

I thought today was the last day of Holidailies but it might have been yesterday. I am confused.

Of course, I didn’t write every day for the 30something days that I promised and that’s okay. The reddit format was confusing after years of a much easier system. Also, there wasn’t an easy way to see every person’s entry. It seemed more spread out. I did get to read some new blogs that I have never read before and I always like the challenge of fitting in a bunch of blog entries near the end of the year. IT’s like Spring Cleaning for my mind.

This year was hard for me and I managed to perk up with all this blogging and sending out Christmas cards. I realized that the world is full of people who would be happy to hear from me even if I am not the best blogger or person in general. Really, who is the best of anything and how do you judge that criteria. And yes my friend is gone and I will miss her greatly but I’m still alive. At some point, you just got to keep on living.

It was fun guys.

2010 Resolution round up.

December 31, 2010 / melissa / 0 Comments

Why yes Kids, I did set up resolutions for 2010 here

Actually, I forgot I had set up a separate resolutions list in addfition to the 101 in 1001 list so I didn’t pay attention to it. So yeah.

Let’s see how I did.

~~I will not kill any small children or animals in 2010~~ SCORE!
I will finish the Little Rock half marathon with a faster time than last year’s Little Rock Half Marathon. (This shouldn’t be too hard, I more or less cramped out about 2/3 of the way through. The time was 3 hours 26 minutes 20 seconds) The weather was crazy. I undertrained and went into the half marathon thinking that my goal was to finish. Well I did. Almost an hour slower
I will make Duck L’Orange from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1 NO
I will eat all the ice cream I want. (*wink* to LR tweetup)
Less whining and more productivity. This is the “If you’re not going to do something about it, then don’t bitch” which means if something makes me unhappy enough to bitch about it then I will find out what I can do to change it. This may end up being that I just need to lighten the hell up.
I will try to be healthier by keeping a food journal all year. I will attempt to use Weight Watchers point system and see if I can’t lose weight, too
I will start the 100 push up challenge
I will start the 200 sit up challenge
I will blog here at least once a week
I will see Fellini’s 8 1/2 Unless I see it within the next five hours. then no
~~I will attend my college reunion~~ I did this! I did this!!!

D’oh.

What about your friends?

December 31, 2010 / melissa / 0 Comments

December 16 – Friendship How has a friend changed you or your perspective on the world this year? Was this change gradual, or a sudden burst? (Author: Martha Mihalick)

This year I learned so many things about friendship. The biggest lesson I have learned is that there are no guarantees. Tomorrow is a new day and things can happen. Circumstances can change. People can move or die. Sometimes a person can just slowly become someone you don’t like or respect anymore and you have to make a decision whether or you want to continue that relationship. The lesson is that you have to appreciate the person while they are around and tell them how much you love them while they are around to hear and appreciate it.

The 2010 highlights and lowlights

December 31, 2010 / melissa / 0 Comments

Yeah this is my round up of the best and worst of the year 2010. This is not an objective list. This is entirely my opinion and consists of the things I personally experienced which means there are movies that I have not seen and books that I have not read that probably would affect this list if I had seen or read them. Also, this means that some of these things were created in other years.

Favorite song of 2010

Fuck You by CEE LO GREEN

Come on. You know me. YOU KNOW ME. Left to my own devices, I’m a potty mouth and a half. It’s only respect for my elders and the desire to be professional that keeps me from cursing like a sailor all the damn time. So of course, this catchy doo woppy old school sounding song with the F-bomb in the title was DESTINED to be my favorite song. Add on top of that it’s dedicated to an ex who did the singer wrong and I’m on that song like white on rice.

Favorite book

I found the Swedish “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” trilogy all kinds of riveting. I read the first two in the span of three days. For favorite of the year, I am going to have to go with True Grit by Charles Portis. It’s written by an Arkansan and takes place in Arkansas. Besides that, it is written in a voice that is both smart and sassy. Mattie Ross is a 14 year old girl who goes to Fort Smith to avenge the murder of her father. She solicits the aide of the mean, drunk Rooster Cogburn. Hilarity ensues. There’s a certain witty repartee combined with religion that is so quintessentially Arkansas I had to chuckle in recognition.

People who don’t like Arkansas can go to the devil! — Mattie Ross

Indeed.

Favorite cultural trend

Using the internet for good. Earlier this year, there was a rash of suicides by gay teens who were bullied. This, of course, was very bad. Then some people got together and created the “It Gets Better” project. People from all walks of life made videos telling people to hold on and that no matter how shitty things seem right now, it does get better. Many of these videos had the person telling of a time where they felt down and depressed. Some relayed stories of the time they were so down they tried to kill themselves. It was touching.

My favorite though is the snarky calling out of Clint McCance, the Arkansan who wrote that he hoped gay kids kill themselves on his facebook page, by George Takei: “You are a douchebag”

A close second was the seven year old Katie, the girl who with the Star Wars water bottle, and the solidarity of girl geeks everywhere to tell her not to let those pesky boys bully her into putting down her bottle and that Star Wars does indeed rule.

Worst personal moment

This would be my friend Angela going into a coma and dying out of the blue last May. I didn’t even know she was that sick. She had MS but was more or less fine. Then BAM. The aftermath involving the crazy child custody brouhaha and whatnot was completely horrible and still hasn’t ended. Being a lawyer, I got put in the very uncomfortable position of explaining to folks that “no I can’t do anything about it. I’m a witness. The rules of professional responsibility means i can’t do lawyering on this case. I’m a witness.” Lord have mercy.

Of course, watching a trainwreck from a distance and knowing there is nothing you can do is always a lesson.

I still miss my friend. Sometimes I will see something on television or read about some local brouhaha in the newspaper and want to call her to discuss it.

Best Moment

The Conan O’Brien tour. Oh yes. This came about two weeks after my friend died so it was even more awesome.

Favorite movie

I didn’t see as many movies as I would have liked this year. Partially because most of the movies I want to see never make it to the local theater. I saw some pretty gosh darn good films. I’m going to pick The Social Network.

The Aaron Sorkin/David Fincher chatfest about the creation of Facebook managed to make computer programming and lawsuits interesting. Go figure. True Grit is a close second and I have not seen Black Swan yet.

Best Comeback

BETTY WHITE!

Christmas roundup with the family traditions explained

December 31, 2010 / melissa / 0 Comments

Hello America. Why yes I am behind on my Holidailies posts. I was spending time with my 80 year old grandma at my 80 year old grandma’s house. She’s not tech savvy enough to have internet access and even if she did, it would be that god awful dial up that would take ten thousand years to upload any pictures anyway. And well, 80 year old grandmas are a higher priority than some random internet meme. So there you go.

The annual Melissa family Christmas celebration goes like this.

We go to my Mom’s Mom’s house. Mom’s Dad died back in the late 70s. We spend Thanksgiving with Dad’s family. This was decided way back before I was even born. It makes sense really. Mom is one of two siblings. Dad is one of six.

Now we go to my Mom’s Mom’s house and on the 24th we have a baked ham. We make sandwiches with the baked ham. The sides include the lettuce and tomato and what you would consider toppings for a sandwich. Also, there is pimento and cheese. I don’t know if “pimento and cheese” is a Southern thing but there you go.

Besides the meal itself, there is a cornucopia of snack foods: cookies, Chex Mix, the summer sausage/cheese/spicy mustard combo, pecan brittle, etc.

Now the 24th, the family would open the presents and clean up the area around the tree so that when Santa came, he would have room to set up the toys on Christmas day. THis meant when the kids woke up, the toys were already assembled under the tree and ready to go. Yeah it was fun times.

Also, back in the day, every other family on the street (well it was all cousins) would open their presents on Christmas day. This would leave a whole bunch of people bored. They would come down to grandma’s house and have a helluva time. Back in the day, there was also a lot of liquor around. As the cousins got older and became grandparents on their own, that tradition sort of stopped.

But to this very day, we open our presents on Christmas eve. I guess this is preparing me for the god awful visitation arrangement with my future ex-husband and our future kids who will be floating between the families. Nobody ever said I wasn’t prepared.

On Christmas day, we have turkey, dressing, and the other traditional “Christmas foods.” Grandma’s dressing is a cornbread based dressing and it ends up really thick with a consistency similar to bread pudding. It also has quite a bit of sage in it. We eat around lunch time. There you go.

My family quit trying to buy me things for Christmas years ago. Usually they ask for a “Christmas list” where I list things I would like and they pick from that list. But lately, they’ve even dropped that pretext and I usually get a bunch of cash. Of course, cash is impersonal and so I usually get something small and “thoughtful” to go along with my money.

One year, I got a Tickle me Big Bird. I was twenty seven years old. One year, my Aunt got footie pajamas. I’m not even going to say how old she was because she will find this web post, hunt me down, and kill me.

So this year, I got a lovely dark purple faux reptile (or maybe real who knows) handbag, (seriously it’s something I will actually use), a Timex Ironman watch, a bunch of cash, a snuggie, and a shake weight.

That’s right kids. A SNUGGIE

and a SHAKE WEIGHT!

As you can see, not only did I get a snuggie. I got the most whacked out designed by a six year old girl on acid Snuggie in the world. Seriously, what the hell? I asked my mother and she replied, “I wanted to make sure you didn’t lose it”

No siree. Homeless people would slap me if I attempted to give them that monstrosity.

As far as the shake weight is concerned, I almost bought my Aunt a shake weight. It’s like the smart ass version of the Gift of the Magi at our house.

My Dad got a pistol and some CDs. My Mom got some cooking items. My grandma got an air compressor. My Aunt got a car vac. Everybody got watches from my grandma. Apparently, she went to an outlet mall watch store and stocked up.

My brother spent Christmas at one the family home of one of his roommates.

I spent a couple of days after the holiday hanging out with my grandma, watching goofy television. We went out to eat and hung out like girls. She has some random pain in her hip and doesn’t like to drive after dark so when someone comes to visit, she is all about having someone take her somewhere.

About a year and a half ago, she started experiencing pain. It turned out she had a slight curve in her spine that went untreated as a kid. As a result, the disc between one of the greatest curves has pretty much eroded away. It puts pressure on a nerve that makes it feel like her hip is hurting. Somehow it goes back to her back. This is the first time that she’s really felt like she can’t do anything. She’s feeling her age and she really hates it. It gets her down. Two years ago, her BFF Bud died. He used to come over every morning and drink coffee at her house. Now she doesn’t get nearly as many visitors. As a result, I try to spend as much time as I can with her.

I did. It was nice.

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