Facie’s Ramblings

This is not going to be about health care; I just don't have the energy to talk about that. No, this post is about going to the doctor. Fun! Like an intelligent woman that I sometimes I am, I regularly go to a gynecologist. But the "regular" doctor? Not so much. I figure I get my heart rate and blood pressure checked at the gyne (along with my women parts), so what else would a regular doctor really do? I do try to get to one of those about every four or five years, and I get blood work, so I figure I am all set. Not quite, I guess. I was last at the "regular" doctor about 3 years and 10 months ago. I had been having leg pains, and I worried that it was something serious. So the doc checked me out and did some blood work. Nothing came of that, life went on, so I figured I was in the clear. Then a few months ago, I had to pick a PCP because of my new (via job) health insurance, and I went with that same practice I had gone to almost four years ago. The ...

I miss the days of blogging regularly. Unfortunately, life gets in the way, and the little time I have for myself in the evening is often wasted on TV or the stupid smart phone. And it is way too annoying to bang out a post on a phone. I want to blog about my and the kid seeing the big yellow duck at the Point. I want to blog about the Pirates winning season, amazing wildcard win, and decent showing in the playoffs. I want to blog about the good things at work. I want to blog about some interesting bus tales now that I am a regular bus rider. I want to blog about my future career as a badminton player (wink, wink). I want to blog about little things that have made me happy. But despite the many good things in my life, sometimes there are things that just get me down and frustrate me. Things in life that disappoint me. Things that make me sad. Things I analyze and question over and over. Things that really concern me. Things that I wish there were easy or at least obvious answers for....

It kind of seems wrong to utter that phrase, which has been one of many catchphrases/battle cries for the ever-faithful Steeler Nation, who fairly regularly has a feeling their ( our ) team is going to the Super Bowl. But I am not even sure the Steelers are going to pull together more than six wins this season; I am 99 percent certain the playoffs are not in their future. But the Buccos. Oh, the Buccos. The Pirates are in the playoffs, baby! Sure, the longest losing streak in major sports ended a few weeks ago. But the way the season was going, it was not going to be enough to just break even or end up a little over .500. No, the fans (both die-hard and fair-weather) wanted more. Last night, we officially got that. And what an ending it was. I don't remember the last time I was so nervous/excited for a baseball game/play. But to see that tag out at home plate (I have no idea if that would be considered a tag out, but that is what I am calling it). Here's hoping the Pir...

I wonder how many others obsess about money the way I do. And by do , I mean do, did, and do again. When hubby and I were both working for however-many years the last time around, I often worried that we did not have enough money, even though we were able to put a nice chunk of change in the banks every month. I cannot explain this somewhat irrational fear, though I am guessing it is mostly related to our making less than many others I knew. And then when I was first laid off, I worried even more, because all of a sudden our income was drastically reduced. So if I was worried before, it made sense that I would have a world of worry at that point. But eventually my worrying lessened, even though I went several years without a steady income. Being frugal and boring to begin with meant that we did not have to give up too much (oh, we definitely gave up stuff). And caring very little about material things helped tremendously. If we had been spenders who had debt on our credit cards and...

Every year around this time I write a 9/11 post. This year will be no different. Yet in some ways it is different. As the years pass, I think about it less and less. It used to weigh on my heart as the anniversary was a few weeks away. But this year, I don't think I thought about until it was about a week away.  Although I don't think time heals all wounds, time can certainly lessen the memories and the pain. But as I watched streaming video of the remembrance ceremony today, I saw just how raw and painful this day is for those who lost loved ones during that relatively short amount of time. My heart ached for the people whose voices cracked as they read the names of their loved ones. My eyes welled up with tears, particularly as I watched and heard young people say the names of their relatives and most definitely when someone had lost a parent or child. Every year I allow myself to be somber and reflective. I always watch a few 9/11 programs; my favorite is "102 Minutes T...

I am fairly certain at one point, I may have written a blog post with that very title. But I am not willing to take the time to find out. Because the main point of my post is that I don't have time to write blog posts anymore. And, as bad, I am missing out on reading so many of my blogging buddy's posts. I long for the days when I would have read posts from 10 blogs and then the next day I would be all, "Why can't these people write more often?!" The truth is that I could make time for this. But once I got the iPhone, the computer took a backseat. And it is fairly annoying trying to write a blog post from an iPhone. That was my last post, and it took me probably an hour. I could spend that time playing Scramble with Friends. ;-) Anyway, let me just throw out a handful or three of updates, in case any of you still happen by these parts. Work has been going pretty well. The busyness comes and goes. It should pick up soon. But overall I'm still happy there...

This week, thanks to the college kids moving to (or back to) school, parking at work has been tricky. My usual lot as well as my backup one had been closed, and I received conflicting info as to when they'd open. Monday I drove around for awhile and lucked out, as some city dweller was just leaving his large space. But because I can't parallel park worth a crap and spaces are far and few, I decided to look into taking a bus.  Public transportation is not for everyone. In fact the hubby told me the only way he would ever get on a bus was if someone put his casket in there (lovely, eh). But I am all kinds of optimism mixed with sensibility so I figured it could not be that bad. Probably the worst part about it is there have been so many stops eliminated, so it is not convenient for everyone. My original plan was to catch a bus a couple communities over, where the kid goes to day care, since I drop her off. But, alas, I discovered that would entail dropping her off about 20 minu...