Soap Operas? Who needs 'em?!?

My reality is radical enough, thank you.

NOTE: Get a cup of something and a cookie or ten (this is longer than I planned)

You know, I've come closer to whining in the past few weeks than I have in a very long time. Considering the fact that I deliberately live my life in a Whine-Free Zone (something I point out to the kids at school at least twelve times a day ;o) I have come perilously close to having to duct tape my own mouth shut as a precautionary measure. Even my emergency anti-stress kit didn't do the trick this time. I shall catch you up on the latest and *ahem* greatest challenges, and then I do believe I will switch to something else lest I annoy myself (and you right along with me - ha). Feel free to print out my stress relief worksheet if you need it. For best results, I totally recommend mounting it on a brick wall *grin*. 

The insurance company declared DD's truck a total loss, and we now know for sure that the other driver did not have any insurance. *snarl* This means that even though we have full coverage, it does not [apparently] include uninsured motorist. Do yourself a big favor and double check the laws in your state. Alabama does not mandate uninsured motorist coverage, so it was not included in our "full" coverage. You have to specifically request it (and I didn't know anything about it until guess when). What this means is the claim was filed through our collision policy so we had to pay the $500 deductible, and are subject to all of the tax, tag and title fees again. This is provided we find another similar vehicle that we can afford (that part's not going too well right now). Oh by the way, that woman may not actually be me but the sentiment? Dead on :o)
Like my new trick? I finally grew a brain cell and thought to have DD snap a photo of my hands, which I took along with me to my Rheumatology appointment. This is what happens when I wash them in [cold] winter water. Of course it also happens all by itself, when under stress (ha, ha), and in the freezer/fridge section of the grocery store. It's called Raynaud's Phenomenon, and I was diagnosed with it last week. If it didn't hurt so darn much, it would make a supercool party trick (the kids flip out when I wash my hands in the classroom :o) It also happens with my feet and the tip of my nose (and take it from me, there is no way to thaw out the schnozola without looking like a serious idiot). I am, of course, now back in testing to look for the cause (there may - or may not be - more on that later...my tests have historically been frustratingly normal). Yes, I said it: normal is frustrating. After the whole cancer deal, my muscle disease (triggered by said cancer) took an entire year to figure out; this was with me making umpteen trips to the doctor throughout the year with all kinds of health hiccups. By the time we finally "got there" [diagnosis] I could no longer walk and the intensity of treatment required by that stage was positively wretched. So you can understand my reticence with the whole wait and see thing (of course this particular hiccup has been ongoing for two years *blows raspberry*. Aren't I soup YET??)

On the bright side, my mother has FINALLY gotten her head around why I am not happy with my nice normal test results (that funky fingers photo made for some nice powerful proof, as in: "Look Ma...you see??? I'm NOT making this stuff up!"). I love my mother dearly, but honestly she was making me crazed. She would ask me what was wrong, but then if I told her she would turn around and tell me to stop looking for trouble. She has been quite annoyed with me, actually, until I *cough* handed her that photo (ooooo that was bad ;o) But when you know something is wrong it's far less alarming to find out what it is and what you can do about it than waiting around for something major to go kaput (um, that's a medical term). I'm pretty sure mom was privately starting to refer to me as her daughter, Mary Munchhausen. *giggle* Of course now she keeps apologizing for not taking me seriously before. In the meantime I have a zillion pairs of gloves stashed all over everywhere (I'm wearing the can't-lose-'em hot pink pair I keep by my PC right now). For some reason my hand resting on the mouse seems to set it off. Argh! A hearty thank you goes out to Phil, for not seeing his shadow this year...Now come on Springtime - Woo!!
Okay, that's enough of the soapy stuff. Moving on...

I finally managed to capture an updated shot of the ever elusive Moe (Larry, Moe and Curly are the cleaning crew of fishes in the Moo Crew's water tank; details here). He is the coolest looking of the threesome, and completely camera shy; it has taken me months to capture that little booger (he makes a beeline for the bottom every time, and all I can get is a hazy tri-colored blur). We lost Faith, Hope and Charity awhile back, and I have only recently figured out the cause of their demise. Because the "Three Stooges" were thriving (they're a pudgy 4-5" long), and they were using the very same water source as the fish in the Girls' tank, I was initially baffled. We keep a sulfur block (anti-bug stuff) and a trace block (mineral stuff) on either side of both water troughs for the horses. The sulfur block is in a holder on the ground, and the trace block is in a holder mounted on a post. It wasn't until the most recent rash of rains that I noticed the rain was cascading off the Girls' mineral block directly into the water, turning it a deep rusty red. Ahhh *wince*. DH was kind enough to move the post several inches to right, so when the weather warms up a bit we'll make another trip to the pet store for a new cleaning crew *sigh*. Mystery solved; lesson learned (oops).

I think I'll finish this post up with some [could have been great] pictures from the other morning. Take some slightly soggy equines, add a dash of winter weather (28-ish), a heaping helping of brisk north wind and what do you get? Equidomania, and me with nothing but some furry blurrys to show for it. Right about the time I got Sarabear in frame, someone came thundering down the hill and rudely shoved me into a handy stall (it was for my own good). Can you guess who it was? Of course it totally wrecked my shot of Sarabear's impressive rear, but Bella gave me such a hilarious look of [parent to small child] exasperation I had to laugh. Not only would she not let me out of the stall but she got in there with me, pushed me further toward the back, and then personally blocked the doorway to keep me from getting into any more trouble *grin*. If anyone got too close, Bella went roaring out the door to run them off...

She'd then throw in a combination of warning shots at the offending party (in the photo below it was Sara, stage left) and a happy buck or two before coming back to man her post. *sigh* I managed to ruin the next shot all by myself (it's really hard to hold a camera steady when you're laughing like a loon :o)

Who needs to lug those pesky baby monitors around to keep an ear on that wayward child? Bella comes with her very own factory installed specials...and do I need to say specifically who it is she's monitoring from the doorway? I didn't think so ;o)

Finally! Bella got everyone "out of range" (back up the hill). She surveyed the scene, puffed up her chest and emitted a self-satisfied snort for a job well done. Horses sure do make for some awesome entertainment; is it any wonder I love to share their antics?

Here's hoping your week is an entertaining one as well!