A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words

Or in this case digital wordart. Thanks to Elegant Word Art by Bethany.




So far Yellow Dye #5 seems to be the common denominator. But I'm not ruling out Green 8 or Red 40. go figure.....
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Recent Pics

This from Monday's trip to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo. We bought season passes for $5 more than the regular price. This forces us to go more often. Formerly Marine World/Africa USA. So there's animals, SeaWorld type shows and ride. We just wandered and ate on this trip. We did see the SeaLion show and were very disappointed at the Whale Show. Keiko was being uncooperative so they cut it short. Just splashed the kids to make them happy. We decided we had plenty of opportunities for rides and more shows next time(s).






This is from March's Beer and Jelly Bean Road Trip. Not the most flattering shot, but a souvy just the same.

Allergies, Allergies and More Allergies

I've got a new one, but don't know what it it. I'm getting so tired of this. I hit 50 and my body is revolting (in more ways than one).

I bought Skittles Sours at Discovery Kingdom on Monday when we went. I've nibbled on them for 3 days. On the fourth day all hell broke loose. They were the only thing I had eaten that day so it was pretty obvious what set me off. My throat swelled and I got a lump in it. Went home, took a benedryl and crashed. Next day, still swollen. The benedryl always works. Called the allergist who said it is either the dyes in the candy or one of the artificial flavors. But since Skittles is full of so many, there's no way to tell. She gave me a shot of dekatrin in the butt and script for Prednazone and told to make sure I always have it on hand with my EpiPen.

She told me she had a patient who was allergic to Red Dye 40. They didn't know it until he started listing the items he'd eaten and had reactions to...Big Red gum, Laffy Taffy and some else that was red. Unfortunately, I threw away the remaining skittles and the bag, so I can't check and haven't found the sours anywhere yet. I looked at a regular skittles package and sure enough - red dye 40. So now I have a notebook to keep track of what sets me off. particularly watch for red stuff. I'm sitting here eating toast with Pomegranite jelly on it. Very red, but also homemade and I'm pretty sure the red is the pom seeds. Carol would have no need to color it.

Kathy, Vicki and I went to see Menopause, the Musical last Tuesday. What a Hoot! We are trying to decide if we want to spend the $$$ to Wicked! in SF before it goes away again. We keep missing it and this may be our last chance.

Scooby is demanding to be picked up (he's not really spoiled) and I can't type and scratch at the same time. Bravo Yankee Echo (too much NCIS).
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Yes, I'm still alive

but barely. May has been a hell of a month. We started the month at work thinking that we were going to cut $6.9 million from our budget and layoff 24 people. We ended up cutting $4.5 million and only laying off 5 staff. Most people would think this was a good thing. However, some of the County powers that be think that the Assistant Director at BHRS is incompetent. The last two weeks have been hell, with me at work or in meetings until 10:00pm. Luckily the Board of Supervisors thinks it's a good thing, so I may still have a job next week. We'll see.

Then....................all of Arnold's "Take it to the People" budget saving propositions failed. The other shoe is about to drop. California has a $24 billion deficit. We know at least one drug and alcohol program is being cut, which severely impacts our residential substance abuse program. All the fun is about to start over.

Other News:

I took a mini vacation with a 4 day weekend. It won't change anything at work, but let me sleep for awhile.

Lark is enjoying retirement. He's become quite good at "Breakfast ala Lark" (cinnamon rolls and bacon), the laundry and running errands.......and still getting golf in. He's taking guitar lessons every Monday. Today had an ephiphany that he can play the right chords, but is a white guy and has no soul.

Kathy leaves next week for 7 days with her dad & stepmummy in Tennessee, along with her brother, his wife and 2 kids. Peggy will freak. I'd love to have a hidden camera.

Vicki is going to be a grandma again. Oldest son Jake and his wife Carina. They'll know next month what they are going to have. Due in October.

Us girls have tickets for Menopause the Musical on Tuesday. I managed to get the balcony's cushy seats. I'm really looking forward to that. One of Kathy's clients gave her tickets to see Hairspray earlier in the month. That was fun - except for the parking ticket.

Vicki decided we needed pedicures to get me out of my funk, so the 3 of us took over a nail spa and have very pretty toes.

We, the girls, also bought an annual pass for Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo and plan to try it out tomorrow.

Only four months to Myrtle Beach. Lark is still trying to find cheap flights. He's now thinking of going into Charleston and driving to Myrtle Beach. According to Mapquest it's 8 hours from Maitland.

I smell ribs, so Lark must have put them on. Later...............

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Posting Assignment 1 for Scrapping Boot Camp