Caroline’s Kitty Corner

Okay, I’ve decided to hold a pole.  I know I’m thinking way ahead of myself here, but in my opinion you can never start something like this too early.  I keep informing Jim that my 30th birthday is coming up, and I’ve made it abundantly clear that I, unlike many people in my position, do not care in the least about this particular birthday; in that I have no problem with it coming up.  I have however, also made it perfectly clear that I would like to have a major party.

So, to get things started, given that, not counting today, he has exactly one year, one month, and twenty-six days to plan said party, I have decided to start by making his life a little easier.  I want everyone who reads my ramblings to submit their suggestion for a party idea.  This will give him several ideas from which to choose, and may even give me something to push for myself.  SMILE!!!!!!!!!  So, suggest away, and let’s see what you all can come up with.  And, thanks in advance for the suggestions!

Well, here we are, just a couple of hours away from November!  I can’t believe how fast the year has gone.  I remember the first time I really thought about the years moving faster, and really started being aware of this kind of stuff.  I was probably about six or seven, and I was riding from my home in River Falls, Wisconsin to visit with some of my parents friends in Minnesota.  It wasn’t a very long ride, but of course to a kid the time always seemed to drag.  It was cold out, and if I remember right the roads were a bit slippery.  I don’t remember if this was Thanksgiving, or if this was another year; (that was just such a long time ago it’s hard for me to remember).  Haahaa.  Anyway, to pass the time my mom would bring books along and she’d read to me.  I read a lot of books that way, and that’s probably one reason I’m such a reader today.

Anyway though, we were driving along and I made the comment that the year had gone by really fast.  I said that the year before went by really slowly, and the current year was really fast.  My parents told me then that it would only get shorter the older I got.  I really didn’t believe it then, but now I sure do.  It seems like just yesterday that I was hired for my job, although I’m coming up on my one-year anniversary date in the middle of November.  It seems like I was just in Las Vegas although that was about four months ago all ready.  It just amazes me how fast time seems to be moving now!

Okay, I’m trying to stay up for at least another hour to try to get my brain used to the time change, so I’m trying to come up with things to occupy my time.  Aside from playing mindless computer games for most of the time, I thought I’d finally post the Pumpkin Pie recipes that I talked about a few weeks back.  I haven’t tried any of these yet, so don’t know if they’re any good, but I request that if anyone does try them first I absolutely insist on a piece, even if you have to send it express mail.  SMILE!!!  Here you go!

Creamy Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cold milk
1 package (6-serving size) vanilla flavor instant pudding and pie filling
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 can canned pumpkin
2 1/2 cups frozen non-dairy whipped topping thawed
1 prepared graham pie crust

Directions:
1.  In a large bowl beat milk, pudding mix and spice with wire whisk for 1 minute.  (Mixture will be very thick.)  Whisk in pumpkin.  Stir in whipped topping.  Spread in crust.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours or until set.
2. Garnish as desired.  Store in refrigerator.
NOTE:  You may substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves in place of pumpkin pie spice.

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

4 oz. (1/2 of 8oz pkg) of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 Tablespoon milk
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 tub 8 oz. Cool Whip, thawed, divided.
1 graham pie crust, 6 oz.
1 cup milk
1 can (15 oz pumpkin)
2 packages (4-serving each) vanilla flavor instant pudding and pie filling
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

MIX: cream cheese, 1 tablespoon milk and the sugar in a large bowl with a wire whisk until well blended.  Gently stir in half of the whipped topping.  Spread onto bottom of the crust.

POUR: 1 cup milk into large bowl.  Add pumpkin, dry pudding mixes and spices.  Beat with wire-whisk 2 minutes or until well blended (Mixture will be thick)  Spread over cream cheese layer.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until set.  Top with remaining whipped topping just before serving.  Store leftover pie in refrigerator.

Tonight was totally awesome.  Jim and I were kind of trying to decide if we wanted to go over to the Badger for a Casino night.  We had pretty much decided that we weren’t going to go, but then we found out that a couple of our friends were going so we decided to go, at least for the pizza and bread sticks.

Once we got there and had our food, they started selling poker chips.  I was ready to leave at that point and come back home for a nice lazy night of TV, but at the last minute I decided to drop some cash on a packet of chips.  Chips were 25 for $5.00, so I got one pack.  They only had Blackjack tables, so I figured that’d be all right.  About an hour later, I ended up with 40 chips which I cashed in for raffle tickets; 1 ticket for every 5 chips.  Out of the 8 tickets I got, 3 of my numbers were called as winning tickets, and there were a total of eleven prizes!  So, not too bad for a night that almost didn’t happen.  It ended up being a lot of fun.

Since it’s been so long since I’ve written, I figure I should update everyone on other things.  Believe it or not, it’s been 8 weeks since I started the Boston sleep study, and I took my monitor off a couple of days ago.  I still feel like I’m forgetting something now that it’s gone, but in a way I’m sleeping better because I’m not constantly thinking about what time I went to bed, what time I started to sleep, and how long it took me to fall asleep.  I’d do it again in a heartbeat though.  I’ll have some actual results sometime at the beginning of next year.  I always fall asleep to some sort of book, and I use my PlexTalk for most of my reading now.  I usually set my sleep timer for 30 minutes, set a bookmark and let it go.  I think it’s a great way to fall asleep, and I’m not having as difficult a time finding where I left off in books now.  That timer was nice though because I was able to estimate my times better.

On another note, I heard back from my doctor, and they will be scheduling me for another overnight stay in the Hospital Hilton.  This time they’ll be putting me on the CPAP machine and determining what number I’ll be needing.  Insurance will actually cover it!!!  I’m hoping to hear from the sleep clinic fairly soon so that I can get things done before things get really crazy during the holidays.

Speaking of the holidays, there’s a great gift that I really want for my Christmas/birthday present this year.  Given that my birthday is December 26, I’ve consented to having only one, combined gift.  My present, as it stands right now, is described here.  You may be wondering, why do I need or want this if I all ready have a PlexTalk?  Well, it’s like this.  I’ve been wanting a nice type of CD player for my office, and considering that there are several nights that I actually end up sleeping in here for one reason or another, it means I won’t have to be moving my PlexTalk around all the time.  I’ll also have the radio and tape player, so I’ll pretty much have a total solution for all my audio needs, and something that will play pretty much any audio format I want.  Okay, I’m truly not trying to sound like an advertisement, I’m not!  I’m just a total techno geek!!!!!  SMILE!  

Hey.  Snowflake just signed into MSN Messenger.  Maybe once I’m done here I’ll go say hi, but I’m sort of falling behind in my blog reading, so I really want to catch up on the world around me.  SMILE!  Hey, I really don’t read the newspaper, so I’ve got to get my information from somewhere, right?  GRIN!!!  If anyone doesn’t all ready have me on their MSN list and wants to add me, the email address I’m using is carolinecongdon@hotmail.com.  Just don’t send me email there because I most likely won’t get it.  I don’t really use that email address accept for junk.

Well, I suppose I’ve rambled on long enough so I’ll get going.  I’ve got to start going around and resetting clocks tonight since it’s that time of year again.  Man, I absolutely hate waking up when it’s still dark outside; but then again, I hate waking up to lights too.  I guess I’m just never satisfied!  GRIN!!!  Anyway, catch everyone later!

So, here I am again.  I just wanted to write a short entry to let people know about the latest things going on with me.  I just got a call from my doctor in regards to my sleep apnea test that I had almost a month back.  She said that I do have some apnea going on and they gave me two choices for treatment.  One is what they call “sleep hygiene” which sort of makes me think of bathing and stuff although I know that’s not it at all, or the CPAP machine.  She told me that it is my decision which way I go, but she also said that if I chose the sleep hygiene method it may not solve the problems.  So duh, which one do you think I’m going to go with?  And, since Medi-Don’t-Care is kind of a joke, I’m going with the option that is most likely going to be covered.  So the next step is to get things set up for the machine.  Tomorrow morning I’m actually going to be visiting with someone who all ready has a machine, and his sleep specialist is going to be fitting him with a new mask.  This will give me the opportunity to see what’s out there and to ask questions.  It should be an interesting morning.

As another update, I am almost through with my 8 weeks for the Harvard study; and in fact only have one week left.  It really seems to have gone quickly, but it’s interesting to watch the Excel sheet that I’m using get larger.  I’ve got four separate worksheets set up in the workbook; one is my nightly record of time to bed, time to get up, times awake during the night, etc.  Another one is a record of the monitor itself; times I took it off and times I put it back on.  This would be for showering and things like that since the monitor is not water proof.  The third sheet is a record of my naps.  This is, unfortunately, probably the smallest sheet out of the 4 since lately I haven’t had all that much time for naps.  I had time, once.  SMILE!  Seriously though, I do love what I’m doing.  Anyway, the final sheet has all my sample information.  This was the easiest way for me to keep track of everything, and it’s not required that everyone use Excel.  I just happen to be one of those really weird people that enjoy working with Excel.  

Well, I suppose I should probably get going for the night.  I’ve got an early morning, I am going to have another sales session, and then I’ve got a client in the evening.  So, I need to get as much sleep as possible.

Okay, tonight was interesting.  I just got back from Saz’s Restaurant.  They are basically a Milwaukee institution, and they’re known for their barbecue.  I got a Southwestern burger.  It’s an 8-ounce burger, (cooked medium since that’s my preference ever since I stopped eating medium-rare), with bacon and pepper jack cheese and their special barbecue sauce.  I added mushrooms because I absolutely love mushrooms.  I had a choice between homemade potato chips or sour cream and chive French fries.  I definitely went for the fries.  They had a cup of ranch dressing for dipping the fries, which made them even better.  It was really good, but the problem was that the barbecue sauce has some kick to it.  It’s not a good way to treat your stomach if you struggle with Acid Reflux!  It was really good though.  And, at the end of the meal, the waitress brought us warm wash and dry cloths.  I’ve never seen that before, but it was pretty cool.

Now that I’m home, I have about an hour before Strong Medicine comes on.  It’s on Life Time pretty much every Sunday night.  It’s a show about a woman’s health clinic and it’s really good.  I’ve been watching it for about a year now, and I’ve been catching the reruns when I can during the week.  If you want to find something good on TV, you should check this one out.

Tomorrow will be a very slow day for me.  I’m going to be doing an hour of reception work at the Badger Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired, and that’s about it.  I’ve finally managed to catch up on The Young and the Restless, although I don’t know how long that will last.  All I can say is that whoever invented the VCR should get an award!  All I need is a good supply of tapes.

Well, I think I’m going to go for now.  I need to try to get a good place to sit before Taz and Cally beat me to it.  They run this house you see, not me.

What a week!!!!  I am SO glad the weekend is here because I have a chance to sit back and do very little for a couple of days!  It’s been a busy week, although it’s been interesting.  I think I may have mentioned that I am being given the opportunity to get training in sales.  As much as I hate to admit it, I’m really finding the training interesting.  I think the hardest part is trying to condense my life story into less than 5 minutes.  SMILE!  Anyway, it’s really taught me a lot, and I was actually able to use the skills I’ve learned a couple of times this week.

Tuesday I was at a Macular Degeneration conference demoing equipment.  Although I wasn’t doing any formal presentations, I felt really comfortable answering questions this time.  I love these conferences, but I’ve always felt a little uncomfortable at them until I really get going.  This particular conference was completely different.  I moved around our booth, talked with people, and overall had a really good time.  

Wednesday I was at the VA here in Milwaukee, doing the same type of thing.  We didn’t seem to have the same volume of people, but it was still good practice for me.  Thursday I pretty much crashed.  I was supposed to be going out again to work another conference, but the timing was absolutely crazy, and I would have needed to be picked up at a little after 5:00 AM to get there in time.  We all felt that it probably wasn’t worth it this time.  So, I got the day off.

Today I did actually give a formal demonstration of the Virtual Pencil, created by Henter Math, and the SARA; Scanning and Reading Appliance from Freedom Scientific.  I felt really good about this one.  I was coherent, focused, and concise.  That’s been one of my major problems in the past.  I know the products, but I have a really hard time taking what I know and turning it into something that makes sense to others.  With this training, and an outline that I created, I’ve been able to really work on getting my ideas together in my head before going to do these presentations.  I really felt good about this entire week.  I’m tired, yes.  But, despite that it’s been a great learning experience for me.

As part of my Roadrunner account I also get a free AOL account.  I didn’t choose to take it originally, but earlier this week I signed up.  I have to say, I’m really impressed with both the service and the level of access that is available now.  The set-up process went really well, and JAWS seems to have very good scripts for the program.  I never really liked AOL before, but the more I work with it the more I like it. I love the radio stuff that they offer, and a lot of the other features that are available as well.

Well, I’ve got to go watch the 9:00 news.  Jim has all ready been on two different TV channels this evening, and he’s supposed to be on again.  Check his blog for details; I’m sure he’ll write about it soon.

I got a great email this evening.  My dad sent me two different recipes for no-bake pumpkin pie.  I’ve always had a thing for pumpkin pie, and he had to go and torment me with it.  Keep in mind that this is the same person who, every year around Thanksgiving, calls me up from his home in Idaho to tell me to breathe deep because the pie is almost done baking.  

When I was a kid, he always made the pie for the holidays.  He used a recipe from the back of a Bisquick box.  This particular pie didn’t require any sort of crust because the Bisquick formed its own crust while it baked.  He always made it in a 9-13 pan, and it was more like a cake than a pie, especially since it was a thicker consistency than your traditional pumpkin pie.  After I moved out, I tried it one year.  It wasn’t bad, but it had some problems.  I love gas ovens because they heat faster and more evenly.  Unfortunately, it apparently also changes a lot of cooking times, and it is easier for the temperature gage to be off.  The gas ovens that I used all cooked too hot by at least 25 degrees or more, and things just didn’t turn out very well.  I ruined a good glass baking dish because of that one.  I’ve got this really great triple chocolate cake recipe also that never turned out quite right.  It turns out, that part of the reason was the gas, and part was the fact that a bunt pan really makes all the difference.  That cake is absolutely sinful.  Who knows.  Maybe sometime here I’ll have to start posting some of my favorite recipes.

Anyway, all this talk of pumpkin pie is really making me hungry.  Maybe I’ll have to break down and place an order with Peapod so that I can try one of these two recipes.

Man, I’m absolutely bummed.  I just happened to notice that I’m starting to lose my previous entries.  I went into my settings and discovered that archiving was disabled.  I still have all the entries on my computer, but they’re gone on the web site.  I can’t believe this!  Oh well, there are archives now, so I won’t lose anything more.

Hmm.  So I’m reading through my usual list of blogs just a few minutes ago.  I decided to go back to mine so that I could see when I last updated.  Instead of my nice blue background and all my random thoughts, I got a message telling me that I’m not authorized to view this page.  Not authorized to view my own blog?  Interesting!!!  SMILE!!!  

Anyway, it’s been a really crazy week and next week is going to be crazy too.  I’m really looking forward to January though.  When all you unlucky people are freezing in the middle of winter, I’m going to be spending two days in Orlando, Florida!  Eat your hearts out peoples!  GRIN!!!  Freedom Scientific is having their dealer meeting there, and despite the fact that it’s probably going to be all meetings, I can’t wait!  I’ll have to let you all know how nice it is there.  SMILE!

Anyway, I’ve really been enjoying my weekend so far.  I’ve done pretty much nothing except for watch TV and check email every once in a while.  Oh, and I converted a textbook into audio for someone who needed it.  Nothing interesting though; it was all about Criminal Justice.  Tomorrow I plan to do more of the same.  There’s supposed to be a really good movie on ABC Family tonight about a guy who develops a computer that he thinks women will fall in love with.  It actually aired last night, but of course I forgot about it.  So, I plan to watch that and just sort of veg.  Who knows, maybe I’ll even throw a couple of burgers on the grill tonight too and slice up some potatoes for homemade fries.  Actually, that really sounds kind of good.  I may seriously have to consider that one.

Well, I suppose I’ll get out of here and contemplate the idea of food since the movie comes on in an hour.  Later.

Here’s another one of those test things. This one really seems interesting though. Kind of makes you think.

Your Power Color Is Lime Green

At Your Highest: You are adventurous, witty, and a visionary. At Your Lowest: You feel misunderstood, like you don’t fit in. In Love: You have a tough exterior, but can be very dedicated. How You’re Attractive: Your self-awareness and confidence lights up a room. Your Eternal Question: “What else do I need in my life?”

Well, I got to try the Mac computer today.  Okay, so I got to turn it on and get a CD stuck in the drive.  It turned out that I’ve got a machine with a version of the software older than OS10.4, so it’ll be a little bit before I can actually try the speech.  I got to hear a little bit of it on this Main Menu segment, which is continued here.  I wasn’t overly impressed with the voice quality, but I suppose I could get used to it if the need presented itself.  At any rate, I love the look of the machine.  It’s all incorporated into the monitor, including speakers, CD-ROM drive, and several ports.  The keyboard and mouse are USB devices.  So, despite this set-back, I’m still excited about what’s going to come.  Nerd?  Most definitely, but ask me if I care!!!!  SMILE!!!!

Oh, and about that CD.  There is no button on the machine to eject the disk.  The only button on the front is the power button.  I made a phone call and was told that the CD release button is on the keyboard above the num pad.  How bizarre is that?  So anyway, I was able to get the disk out.  It’s an audio CD that was given to me by my employer that talks about how to sell.  I don’t intentionally do selling, but they’re trying to change that, and hey, I guess I’m up for anything as long as it doesn’t involve cold calling.

Anyway, now I’m starting to ramble, and last night was a really late night for me so I think I’m going to get out of here.  Stay tuned for more information on the Mac once I get it updated.

Okay, let’s try this one more time.  If you guys do this, watch the code, it’s not working right.  

Anyway, I’m almost embarrassed to post this IQ score, but since this is just for fun I guess I can do it.  Get a load of my math score though!  Pretty sad since I hate math, and usually need a calculator to figure out 1+1.  Okay, so it’s not quite that bad, but you get the idea.  Enjoy, and have fun!

***Your IQ Is 105***

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average

Your Verbal Intelligence is Exceptional

Your Mathematical Intelligence is Exceptional

Your General Knowledge is Above Average

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

Okay, I did it.  I accidentally ran across the way to set up audio blogging.  And, even better, it didn’t require me to verify that I was a human!  Well actually, that fact is sort of up for debate, but hey, at least for right now I’m still considered human.  Anyway, this is a really super lame post; it’s more a test message than anything else, but I’m going to leave it here for now; mostly because I can.  Who knows, maybe someday I’ll get Taz and Cally to speak on this thing now that I’ve got it going.  More tomorrow sometime.

Here’s my audio post.