B I N G O ! ! !

Last night the coworkers and I trudged out to the smoky Bingo Hall for our annual fun filled evening and supported our wonderful Knights of Columbus. Joe works these bingos sometimes and had told me all about this new pull-tab game called Bingo balls. Let's just say that he said "easy $150" and I way over spent and didn't even get a single ball pulled on my "balls" card. Cool thing with this game is that it's in addition to the regular game and you only have to get 3 matches and instead of yelling "Bingo" you yell "BALLS!!!" Yes, it's great and the men selling the "Bingo balls" I'm sure enjoyed the heckling, "hey sell me some of your balls." Yes we are crazy.

We're not really pro Bingo people and one lady was hooting "them group really be loud" in an annoyed kind of voice so we tried to tone it down but it's fun darn it.

The crowd is about 99% over 60 years old smoking crankpots and the other 1% weird men & us. ;) At one point for a $100 game I was one ball away forever from winning. Blasted G48! One weird man throughout the night would yell out loud whatever ball he wanted to be called and low and behold he finally yells BINGO on this $100 game that I was hoping to win. Turns out it was a bad Bingo, guess what ball he mistakingly had marked at some point? G48...hehe. Isn't that odd? Poor guy. Some other man during another game excitedly yells "BALLS!" in the middle of game where they weren't playing Bingo Balls. Then the poor Bingo caller a couple times forgot to put the balls on the tv screen and people were screaming. During the final jackpot game people play 60 cards instead of their regular 50 and then start hollering that they're calling too fast!!! Good lord I thought the place was going to riot! Gosh it was exciting!

It's amazing how serious people take this. The lucky charms, bingo paraphenalia, people playing dozens of cards and not even marking them, talking on their cell phones and knowing they've bingo'd. It's quite the site. Besides the terrible smoke it's really a great time and I could see how people could get hooked on it. And except for the Bingo Balls game, it's a fairly economical evening.

Lisa & Amy were the lucky winners this year both winning $25 each.


Here are a few terrible pics of us, the group pics were taken after the bingo was over. We had to make it look like we were marking madly with our bingo dobbers. Like my crazy hair and crooked glasses? And I don't know how Jill is the only one with demon eyes?? Nice. You should have seen that place clear out! I've never seen a crowd clearing like it! If you have not made it to a real bingo you have to go, it is quite the life experience.

Rash News

Well the doc thinks it's connected to the viral infection he had last week. If he gets worse like his skin starts peeling or his joints get stiff I need to get him back in. Poor Aus, he's always been my sickly one. The rash is definitely getting worse and he seems to be scratching at it a bit.

He did have a strep test and that came back normal so I'm thankful for that. The doc also said I don't need to have him quarantined or anything so that is good. Thank goodness, Grandma is having us over for dinner and swimming this afternoon. Yay! Home cooking!

So we continue, staying the course.

Rash Help

Okay, all you freaky skin disease people. Any clue what this is? It's not bothering him, he's not itching. I noticed it yesterday before swimming it was light on his belly. Now it's spread on his face and extremities. It doesn't even look bad though, I'm not sure you'll be able to tell in the pictures. Should I call the doc? They have sick appt. on Saturdays or maybe Med Express. Or should I just stay the course?

It's a bunch of little red raised bumps but they're very concentrated. Thanks for the help.

Chinese Food Fight

Kind of sounds like a before and after category on Wheel of Fortune.

Today I dumped off the kids at school summer camp because I had a ton of running to do. I had stopped in to school to just take care of a few oddities and it was Austin's idea to stay and Tommy was game so I was free from them for the afternoon.

I decided to have lunch at my favorite little Chinese restaurant that is a borderline dive. I love the egg drop soup there and the one little Korean waitress just loves the boys so we frequent it often. Well she wasn't there today. A young probably college aged student with blonde hair that was dyed pink underneath her top layer was my waitress. She was taking great care of me and I was savoring my egg roll and egg drop soup. Soon the owner and her start arguing and the waitress was being really really loud!!! All about the girls hours were cut because they hired their daughter-in-law and she's a terrible worker and on and on and on.

I couldn't believe that they would just argue like that in front of the customers. After about 5 minutes they finally sat down on the other side of the room but I could still hear the waitress clearly spouting off the same things over and over. How she's been there 2 1/2 years and her feelings are really hurt and woe is her. I couldn't believe she was talking to the owner like that. I was waiting to hear her get fired.

My entree sat in the window forever while they argued. Finally another waitress got it for me and some poor soul sat on hold while they argued. They had hung up by the time the owner did pick up the phone.

I was just disappointed because I love that place, and the other waitress apologized that I had to witness that and just said they are all frustrated and that the owner can be really loud. I just saw a spoiled brat waitress who has no common sense. You just don't go off on your boss in public!

I did get an interesting fortune in my cookie though. It said I will help a dear friend in need. Wonder what that could be about? Let me know if any of you are in need of help or something.

So it was needless to say an interesting experience and I think I am afraid to go back soon. I was ready for the rice to go flying! And hours later I'm left wondering if they are still arguing as the waitress wasn't relenting at all by the time I left. SOY!

Happy Birthday to my blog!

That's right I've been blogging for exactly a year now. I looked back and said that I wouldn't be surprised if I was done in two weeks. But here I am going strong a whole year later. And I have to say I love it! I enjoy keeping in touch with people via blogger and have also enjoyed looking back throughout the year.

Thanks to all my regular readers and my occasional guests! I hope you've enjoyed the blog and I can continue to make it interesting, or at least try to make it interesting.

Who's the crappy blogger?

I swear July hit and I tuned out. Is it really July 18th already? This month is going by crazy fast. Insane since Joe will be in Maine for most of it. Only one more long stint and he will be done traveling for awhile.

This week he was home so it was the perfect time for me and the boys to give him his just desserts and deserted him for a Rambler weekend in Illinois. Debbie was so gracious to host our gathering. Angie and Heather and their children were there too. It was great to get together and the boys had a wonderful time. Debbie has a nice slide show on her blog. I worked on a collage last night and I finally gave up when it did NOT WORK after trying about 20 times! Thankfully we all get together again next month sans kiddos for Angie's wedding. If you are into music, head to her blog and help her decide on a wedding song for her and Tim. She's having a time.

Tuesday Debbie and I took the kids to the Heart of Illinois Fair and I finally got to meet Kelly and Kenzee my newest internet friend. We had a very nice time and Kelly is such a sweet gal. It's was great to spend the evening with her and Kenzee. We took the scenic route home thanks to Hermoine (our GPS) and jammed to Deb's lame-o tunes on her IPOD. It's amazing we have the same dorky taste in music! LOVED IT! So you want to know what's playing on my PC at this moment? Video Killed the Radio Star...Classic!

On the home front, Tommy finally finished his ball season with a tourney last weekend. They played well, taking 3rd. We're letting him have the rest of the month off and then it's tryouts for travel hockey. Before we know it, we'll be in the throes of school.

Austin has been sick the past two days with a fever. Ugh, fevers make me nervous! He's up and down with the Motrin/Tylenol. He has a viral throat infection and the doc was surprised he wasn't complaining more about pain. I guess it's supposed to be very uncomfortable. Please pray that no one else in the family gets it! He has been very tolerable, I think I would be a big baby. That's my Aus, the sickly one, my little trooper.

The Sod Farm has it's tourney this Sunday. Of course the family is double booked. We have missed so many games this year. 2 due to a hockey tourney, 1 due to baseball. Darn Tommy is putting a kink in things and Sunday is the same with his team hockey party. The Sodders finished 5-2 in the regular season. Apparently they don't miss Joe and I too bad! Maybe this will be the year we go all the way!!! We put the A$$ in Grass!

Well how was that for a catch up post? I'm now off to continue my jamming. We have 1436 tunes on the winamp. Currently Barry White - You Sexy Thing is playing. Maybe that could be Angie & Tim's wedding song. Hehe, or they could change the lyrics, "I believe in miracles, 10 long years, we're getting hitched." Oh Yeah!

Better go before I lose readers. Now playing, The Beatles ~ Come Together. Good stuff.

Time Capsule Unintentional

Summer vacation is my time to purge some of the collected crap that I finally decide I don't need. One place in severe need is the bottom of the upstairs closet. Darn it I need that space! We were talking with friends Friday night and I was saying, the boxes in that closet haven't been opened since we moved here almost 8 years ago I should just throw them away without looking. However I know what is in there. My wedding dress, unity candle, cake topper, ring bearer pillow, etc. Joe the pack rat quickly said NO, you'll want to light that unity candle on our 25th wedding anniversary. He's probably right so in the closet it stays.

But there were two other boxes in there that I decided needed attacking. Should I just throw them out without a glance, or go through them? Well I should go through them of course.

Here are a few of my treasures I found!

Hundreds of pictures! And I don't care what my arch enemy said in high school, I did have friends. ;) The proof is in the pictures.

A note from my cousin Stacie. She always signed them B/F/C/F. Best friends cousins forever. hehe

MY WISDOM TEETH!!! Why would anyone keep those? They are humongous!

My final 8th grade report card. Oddly, my two worst grades were Social Studies and Math; B's. Funny how I majored in both subjects in college. My best grade was English...barf.

A ton of my senior pictures. Maybe I didn't have as many friends as I thought. Anyone want me to send them some? Good comic relief.

All the cards I received for my 20th and 21st birthdays.

My varsity letter & a few more patches.

My high school report cards.

My Prom programs.

A 2 entry diary April 1997 ~ I wrote about losing my best friend Carrie 3 months earlier. I also said in it that as long as I lived in Reese, went to SVSU, and drove down M-81 I'd never be able to forget her. 11 years later, I know I was not exaggerating.

Oh you'll love this one. A picture of my grade school crush signed To Dawn, The prettiest and coolest girlfriend I ever had. Only thing was it was in erasable ink and I had erased my best friends name and put Dawn in myself. At least I can laugh at that now.

A glamour shot of me. A few friends of mine did it for a fund raiser for Carrie's scholarship. Too bad I didn't have any money to support the cause, I just got the free 8X10. Beautiful blackmail pic.

Tons of homely pics of me. Two of my most intelligent decisions in my life were to get my senior pics done without glasses and get married without glasses. I always remember thinking how dorky people looked with glasses in old yearbooks. Too bad I can't do anything about the hideous make-up and scare hair in many of the pics. Eeks!

Many GREAT pics of Joe. Man he was a looker! And he's all mine.

So there you have it! Now I have to go discover what's in Box #2.

God Bless America!

A wonderful 4th of July weekend was had by the Papesh family. We did so many different family things and just had a great time the whole weekend with friends and family.

Today in church we had a mission priest who is working in Morocco. He was very interesting and though Morocco does not sound like a horrible place, it is not like the good old USA! I know we have our troubles; our economy is in rough shape, we are fighting in a lengthy war, and morals seem to be deteriorating at a terrifying pace. I could go on and on right? But no where in the world can you find a country with more opportunity, freedom, and diversity than America! I know for me personally, I am so blessed to live in this great country! The national holiday's, like Memorial Day and Veteran's Day bring a sense of pride and complete awe. So many sacrificed and continue to so that we can live in freedom. I've been brought to tears or had chills run through my body during such Memorial Celebrations. This year's sublime event for me was in fact at church. The closing hymn was God Bless America and we sang the verse that goes with it, the song just awakens some sort of good feeling inside of me. I don't know what it is. I do know that I was completely oblivious to the boys wrestling around at the time (another story). It was a rousing rendition and the place was so alive!

Here are a few pics of the wild weekend. We did so much.

EEG Results

Yesterday we went down to UofM to see Austin's neurologist. The results were good for the most part. There was only one spike that they saw that indicates future seizure activity could be possible. Fever could definitely be a trigger so she urged us to treat any fevers very aggressively and she wants us to give the diastat immediately if he does seize.

He will be having an MRI in August to look at that "spike" a little more in depth. She should be able to see just how likely it will be for him to have another seizure and whether he should be on daily anti-seizure meds. I'm not looking forward to MRI day, sedation just makes me nervous.

Overall, the doc is very pleased with his progress. His language skills have really improved and she was excited to hear he is going to Kindergarten. His right side neglect is still evident though as she put an Elmo to his left and he could see it, but the same distance from his right he couldn't see it. It's weird, his vision is ok but he just ignores things from the right. I just tested it and I walked up from behind to his left and he noticed me right away as soon as I was alongside him. Then from the right I had to be in front of him before he finally turned and said "what." Kind of in a what the heck are you doing kind of "what." That neglect is evident.

In other news, Joe is in Maine this week and will be gone for much of July as they get ready to open a new office. We talk on Skype, the boys think that is the coolest. I think we are going to hit New China today since he's gone. It's not his favorite place to eat but Tommy & I love it! There are small perks to him being gone. No alarm clock at 5:30 is another. ;) Love ya hubby!

Happy July everyone!