Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! I have a few comments on that, but need to mention a few other things before I do.

First things first....we had school today, yippeeeee!!!! So Terre, from your lips to our superintendent's ears! It was a rather confusing day, with everyone thinking it was Monday, instead of Thursday, but we'll all get it worked out. It was just nice to be able to go back. There is, however, a rumor floating around that there's going to be snow again next week. That's fine with me, but just don't let it be so much that it will cancel school!

Secondly, Ted Jolie is no more. His first comment this morning was, "I'm afraid to look in the mirror. I may see Jimmy Durante!" (For those of you who don't know who Jimmy Durante is, you'll have to do a little research on your own!)

Fortunately everything on his face is normal sized right now. He's still coughing a lot and can't get a deep breath, but he's feeling a little bit better. If this keeps up, he may get to go to work next week. I think he missed Alex and me today, since we were both back at school, but that's okay. He was able to get along just fine without us.

Now, for Valentine's Day...I hope all of you have a great day filled with love, either from a loved one, a pet, or yourself!

We have friends who were actually married on Valentine's Day, so Happy 27th Anniversary Mario and Vickie! Mario is the contractor who built our house, and two years ago, for their 25th anniversary, he was spending a lot of time here. I was giving him suggestions for a nice gift for her...something along the jewelry line, but he just seemed to have a problem with the beautiful ring I had seen at a local jewelry shop. He liked the idea of the three diamonds (past, present, and future). He liked the idea of it being platinum. He liked the idea that it came from a local shop, and not "the mall." HOWEVER, he wasn't too crazy about the price... $32,000. I really can't say as I blame him! He did end up getting her a very nice necklace at the jewelry shop though, and she was very happy with it.

Ted and I have never made a big deal out of Valentine's Day. We say the requisite "Happy Valentine's Day" to each other and sometimes exchange cards and candy. But we express our love and affection other ways throughout the year. He's so good to me. He does anything and everything I ask him to do. In addition to taking care of all the outside stuff here, he also helps inside. He has never once in all our years of being married, asked me to make dinner. I do that because I want to, although it seems to be happening a little less often these days. I'm so fortunate to have married a man like him.

There's just one teensy, weensy little thing. It took about 20-some years before he asked what my favorite flower is. Now he knows!

I love pink roses!

Happy Valentine's Day!

"Cindi and Ted" will be continued....tomorrow!

Ted Jolie

Oh my....Ted started some different medication last night and he has had some kind of a reaction to it.

It's really not funny, but I'm finding it hysterical, and to be honest, so is he.

This morning he said, "Look at my lips. LOOK AT MY LIPS!"

I looked at them, then really looked at them. I started to smile and he said, "It looks like I've had freaking BOTOX!"

I told him that his lips looked like Angelina Jolie's. They're all puffy and swollen.

Once we stopped laughing about it, I called the doctor's office, and the poor receptionist was laughing so hard about the Angelina Jolie reference that she could barely talk to the nurse. Anyway, the nurse said that he was to discontinue the new antibiotic and check the pharmacy this afternoon for a different one.

This whole sickness has been so hard on Ted. I feel so bad for him. However, something good has come from this.

He and I both believe in "signs." We are approaching the four year anniversary of his dad's death. My father in law died of lung cancer, and had smoked rather heavily for 60 years. Ted is also a smoker. He tried to really cut back after his knee surgery last April, especially since his orthopaedic surgeon said that if he didn't quit, he'd be dead in 10 years.

Ted did well for a month or so, then gradually started smoking more and more until he was almost back at his pre-surgery frequency. Although I've never smoked, I can completely understand the addiction. Afterall, I'm addicted to food, and I readily admit it.

He's felt so lousy that he hasn't gone outside for a cigarette in over a week and a half. After a couple days, his comment was, "Don't get excited...I haven't quit."

But for the past 4 or 5 days, he's said, "That's it. I'm done with smoking." Thank goodness!!

I know this will be a difficult journey for him, but the boys and I will support him in every way possible. I'm SO proud of him for wanting to do this!

He and I both feel that this is a sign from his dad and he's really taking heed.

Changing the subject here, yes, it's the middle of the day, and I'm writing a post. You know what that means. Yep, another snow day. This is day number SIX, so it will be made up this Monday on Presidents Day. We were supposed to have it off, but will now be in school.

I love the snow, but I'm hoping we can get back to school tomorrow!

(By the way, Ted told me I could write about his lips in today's post. He said that RON would get a kick out of it!)

Snow Day #5

(For those of you looking for the next chapter in the "Cindi and Ted" story, stay tuned...it's coming very soon!)

Well, this is it as far as freebies are concerned. If we have another snow day this week, then we will need to make it up on Monday, Presidents' Day.

We really did get a fair amount of snow. In fact, it's still snowing lightly right now, at 4:00 pm, and it began sometime during the night.

Alex didn't have school either, and even Joey's college classes were cancelled. Of course Ted is still home, still sick.

So sick, in fact, that we went back to the doctor again this morning. He's on a "big gun" antibiotic, as the doctor says, along with something different for the coughing. His coughing is absolutely horrendous, yet he still thinks that he may go to work tomorrow. Nope, not gonna happen. I seriously doubt if he'll go at all this week. He's feeling a lot of guilt about that, but there's no sense in going if he can't do the work. I understand that he "thinks" he's letting everyone there down, but come on...they'll really be upset with him if they catch what he has!

I did some cooking and cleaning yesterday, but today I haven't done much of anything except take Ted to the doctor in the snow. Oh well, that's the way it goes sometimes! I could really handle taking a short nap, but I doubt that will happen.

Pepina has become very attached to me lately for some reason or another. She was sleeping on my shoulder last night, but had to get down when I had to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. When I came out of the bathroom, there she was, waiting for me on the bed. She tried to settle back into her spot on my shoulder before I could even lie down. She's meandering around my ankles right now as I type. If I leave to go anywhere, she hears the garage door open and close and waits for me at the back door. Such feline dedication...I love it!

Well, it's off to either start dinner...or take a nap!

Snow Day #4

So technically it's really not a SNOW day, but it's a COLD day. There's no snow on the ground, but with the wind chill it was down to about -15 earlier this morning.

We started off last night with a 2 hour delay for this morning. That was reported close to 9:00 pm. By around 10:20 last night, it turned into NO SCHOOL. It was sooooooooo windy yesterday and into last night, and through early this morning. Right now it's up to 8 degrees (above zero) and with the wind chill it's -5.

Here in Ohio we are granted FIVE calamity days that do NOT need to be made up. Anything over and above that alotted FIVE, does need to be made up. We are at number four today. Of course NO ONE wants to finish a school year with any UNused calamity days...they're like a little bonus!

Now we're getting into that gray area though, where we'll still take them, but let's be careful how they're used, because we do NOT want to use more than 5. It's not fun when the beginning of June arrives and we're making up days.

One year we had a terrible ice storm on January 2 while we were still off for Christmas break. The ice then turned to snow and it stayed so cold that the snow wouldn't melt, and the ice was still underneath it. We ended up having an additional TWO WEEKS off because of that! We ended up with a Christmas break that lasted four weeks and it was awful! We also had a few other snow days thrown in throughout the winter and we only took Good Friday off for Easter to make some of them up.

Well today I'm going to try to use my day in a productive fashion. I might clean the bedroom...or I might not. I might do some cooking...or I might not. I might try to straighten up and organize the den...or I might not. I might do some more laundry...or I might not.

Or I might not do anything.

Tough choice.

NASCAR's Back!

Call us rednecks if it makes you feel better, but WE are NASCAR fans!

Last night was the Bud Shootout, which is the first race of the season. It is, however, NOT a points race. The only drivers who can participate are those who earned a pole position last year, in addition to the previous winners of the Bud Shootout and the old Busch Clash.

Last night was special for another reason too. It was the first NASCAR event since Dale Earnhardt Jr. left the company his late father founded, DEI (Dale Earnhardt Incorporated) and began driving for Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motor Sports.

This was a decision that Jr. made late last spring. I really think this was a good decision for both sides. Dale Jr lost his father when Dale Earnhardt Sr was killed in a last lap crash of the 2001 Daytona 500. Jr was in his mid 20s when this happened and he has been missing that "father" figure in his life since that terrible accident.

Rick Hendrick lost his son, Ricky, in late October of 2004 in a small plane crash. All eight passengers and both pilots were killed as they were on their way to a NASCAR race in Martinsville, Virginia. Ricky was 24 at the time.

The Hendricks and the Earnhardts were friends and respected each other's talent and commitment to the sport of racing. It was hard for both Dale Jr and Rick to go on after their individual losses, but push forward they did, and with guts and determination, they both have succeeded.

However, Dale Jr felt it was time to move on from DEI and was entertaining offers from several car owners. On that day in early June as I watched the press conference announcing that Jr would be driving for Hendrick, tears slowly slid down my cheeks. (Yes, I cry at almost everything and I felt this was an emotional scene.)

Here was Rick Hendrick, stepping into Dale Jr's professional life, knowing that that he would help Jr make even more of himself in the racing community AND provide the possible guidance that Jr had been missing since his father was killed.

And here was Dale Jr, stepping into Rick's professional life, knowing that he might be the young man that Rick needed to share his fatherly (and boss type) advice with.

They were soon to embark on a journey that would enrich both of their lives, helping each other continually deal with the losses that each had endured. Although neither of them could ever possibly replace the loved ones they lost, both of them would be fulfilling a need for one another. This change though, wouldn't actually take place until the beginning of the 2008 racing season, which essentially started right after the 2007 season ended!

Last night as the Bud Shootout was winding down and they were on the last lap, I couldn't help but think that it would be fabulous if Jr won, not only for himself and his new team owner, but for his late dad and his late friend. As Jr led going into that last lap, I knew it was a long way around that two and a half mile track and a lot could happen. I was just hoping that Jr could hold on and block to keep his position.

Jr won.

Although I've been watching NASCAR for years and I've seen guys excited over winning a race, I don't think I've ever seen anything like what I saw last night. Jr was absolutely thrilled, grinning from ear to ear, and you could hear it in his voice and see it in his face. He and Rick Hendrick must have hugged and shook hands a dozen times in the first few minutes after the race. You could almost hear them thanking Dale Sr and Ricky.

Yep, NASCAR's back.

Sick Hubby

Ted is sick.

He's been miserable for a WEEK now.

So sick, in fact, that he didn't go to work at all this past week...and will probably not go back until at least the middle of next week.

He even called the doctor's office first thing Monday morning, and they had him come over right away. He was there by 7:45 am.

He was diagnosed with sinusitis and prescribed an antibiotic.

He has not had a fever throughout this, but has had coughing bouts that last an eternity. He was coughing so hard that he threw up quite a few times. Then that gave him a headache. When he didn't throw up, the coughing made him dizzy. He has been having trouble catching a breath, and hasn't slept worth a crap in a week. It seems that the only way he can sleep is sitting up, and it has to be almost leaning forward. The recliner doesn't help him. He gets so worn out that he tries to lie down, but that only lasts for about 10 minutes. He coughs all night long, on and off. His ribs ache from the coughing too.

Thursday he called the doctor's office and told them that he wasn't any better and the coughing was worse. They called in a prescription cough medicine with codeine. Ahhhhhhhh...that should have helped. It did, just maybe a tad.

Yesterday afternoon he called me at work to tell me that he had another doctor's appointment for 4 pm. I told him that I would take him. His coughing was bad again and he felt like crap. When I got home from work, he was in the midst of a coughing bout that lasted for almost 2 hours. There was about a 15 second window of silence between each series of coughs. Poor guy.

The doctor said that this "crud" that he's dealing with has not gotten any better and has now moved down to his lungs. He's wheezing a little now. The doctor prescribed prednisone (which I dearly LOVE because it makes my knees feel better!) and an inhaler. Doc also said that these things might make him cough a little more for the first 24 hours, but then should help him feel better.

Well, we're 24 hours into it, and I think we may possibly have turned a corner. At the very least, he's no worse. I consider that an improvement.

He has told me repeatedly that he feels miserable. He has asked me if he’ll ever get better. He has even said that he thinks that he is going to die from this infection.

Most men I know don’t handle being sick very well. And that’s all I’ll say about that.

I know he doesn’t feel well. We can all tell. I gently reminded him that this is fairly similar to what I had last fall, except I had bronchitis. I also told him that he WILL get better. Eventually. Today I told him that when I was a week into my sickness last fall I had a routine appointment with my oncologist. (I’d already been to the regular doctor and was on all kinds of medication.) My oncologist told me that it would take another two weeks before I felt half way decent. He was right.

Today Ted is one week into this, so that means another two weeks of not feeling so great, but slowly improving. I wish we could fast forward to that point now.

I feel bad for him, but I’m also a little selfish:

I do NOT want to get this bug.
I can NOT get this bug.
I will NOT get this bug.

I’m sure the boys won’t get it…that never happens.

Get better soon Ted!

Cindi and Ted, Chapter Four

Ted called me the very next evening. Little did he know at the time that he was committing a HUGE blunder.

My dad does NOT like the phone ringing during dinner. Now come on…how in the world would people know exactly when we are eating dinner??? To him, though, that’s irrelevant. You just do NOT interrupt my dad during dinner.

Ted and I hadn’t mentioned that during our first date, so how would he know that he was calling while we were having DINNER?????

Whenever the phone would happen to ring while we were eating, we always sort of glanced at dad out of the corner of our eye, just to see how he would take it. His usual response was “I’m not here” and then he’d absolutely ignore the continual ringing. Nowadays, the answering machine kicks on after the fourth ring, but back then we didn’t have a machine and the phone would ring…and ring…and ring…and ring…continually.

So when the phone rang this particular time, my dad responded with “I’m not here” and my mom jumped up to answer it so it wouldn’t interrupt my dad any longer than necessary. Then she looked at me and nodded. I ran to my bedroom to pick up the phone so she could sit back down.

It was Ted. He told me that he had just gotten a new car that day and asked if I would go for a ride with him. I told him that I would love to go, but not to pick me up until around 7:00.

When I returned to the table, of course I was asked who had called and I told everyone that I would be going for a ride with Ted later on. I could hardly contain my excitement, but knew that this was NOT the time to start gushing.

After dinner, I cleared off the table and rinsed the dishes. I went to take a bath and get ready, knowing that my mom would be washing the dishes, but I would still need to dry them before I left. Yep, I had “chores” and the only way to get out of them was…well, there really wasn’t a way!

Ted picked me up in this shiny, red car and was such a gentleman. As we walked to the car, he opened the door for me (he had also done that the night before when we went to the concert) and off we went.

We spent at least four hours just driving around on that summer night, talking and getting to know one another. And yes, I did mention the “no phone call” time, hahaha!

Over the next several months I learned about his family, he learned about mine. I found out about his friends, he found out about mine. We shared our thoughts on current events and dreams for the future.

We had a wonderful time during those months, including the first time he took me to his parents’ house…

To be continued...

Cindi and Ted, Chapter Three

Being that this was my first concert AND the fact that I was pretty naive (I still am!), I was in awe of the whole atmosphere. The venue was huge and we walked around a little, then found our way to our seats.

There were some people milling around with bright yellow "STAFF" t-shirts on and I had no idea what they were doing or who they were. I asked Ted and he patiently told me that they were people who were showing some people to their seats and making sure that no one went where they weren't supposed to go....in other words, they were security.

As the time for the start of the concert drew near, I could faintly smell something in the air. I casually mentioned that it smelled like burnt pork chops. This was NOT Ted's first concert, so in my opinion he was the resident expert. He quietly mumbled something.

I said, "What?"

He once again mumbled something, but a little louder this time.

Again, I said, "What??"

Then I heard him clearly...."it's pot."

My eyes must have bugged out of my head because he chuckled just a little.

Okay, so for the first time I smelled pot. We still laugh about that.

The concert began and it was great. Although I didn't know many of the songs, I really enjoyed seeing the bands play LIVE. We had a great time.

All too soon it was time to head home. Not too long after we got on the interstate, Jim and his date were asleep in the backseat. Ted and I just talked for the next hour and 10 minutes until we dropped off Jim's date, then Jim.

I really had a good time...the concert was fun, and Ted was a very nice, polite, and kind person. I was sooooooooooo hoping that he would ask me out again.

When we got to my house around 1 am, he walked me to the door and asked if he could see me again...WOW! I was thrilled! But of course I couldn't lay all my cards out on the table, so I simply said, "Sure, that would be great."

And for the most part, that ended our first date.

After I went inside and got into bed, I couldn't fall asleep. I was going through the entire evening in my mind, minute by minute, step by step.

Yep, it was a nice night, and hopefully there would be more nice evenings to come.

Little did I know...