I have to share a funny from this morning: Seth called to talk about the plans for Thanksgiving, and he finished one of his sentences with "Babe". I said, "Did you just call me Babe? You can't call me that anymore!" We both had a good chuckle over that. Anyway, here's my Top 10 on Tuesday:

10 Things You Like Eating at Thanksgiving Dinner
1) Well, turkey, of course! (White meat only)
2) Olives (one for each finger)
3) Mashed potatoes and gravy (no giblet gravy, Mom, pleeeeaase!)
4) Pumkin pie w/ whip cream
5) My dad's banana pudding with Nilla wafers
6) Apple pie (preferably Dutch apple)
7) Fruit salad with mini marshmallows - no walnuts!
8) Ham
9) Deviled eggs
10) Hmmm...other miscellaneous pies?

I've been shirking my duties as a responsible journalist for a whole week, so I suppose it's time to bite the bullet & do the whole "this is what I've been doing" thing...

So, this is what I've been doing:
Monday: All I remember now is watching Prison Break (I just can't get enough!) Oh - I also went to the music store & picked up a guitar string for Tyson's electric guitar & learned how to string it. Got invited to an open mic on Thursday by a guy who works there.
Tuesday: Worked & probably did transcription like the mad woman I've become. Also went to Applebee's for kids' $.99 night; a tad disappointing. Traded in Ty's old Nintendo for a Gamecube game.
Wednesday: More work, more transcription...
Thursday: Tyson wanted to skip the open mic & stay home to play his video game. More work...after watching Reunion, of course!
Friday: After work, Ty & I went back to the music store & played with different instruments (including an electric upright bass, that I'd love to get him, instead of the big old thing he has to lug around). The guy from the store said he was waiting for me to show up Thurusday at the open mic, but I told him he lost out to video games, which he in turn called "The Devil's Box". Rented two movies & fell asleep before the first one even started.
Saturday: Had some friends of Tyson's over & went to see Sophie's play with Susan. She was incredible! I'll be able to say "I knew her when..." Rented Stealth & bought Dodgeball (My Vinnie-baby!!! XOXO)& watched both.
Sunday: Went to the 11:00 church service & the Thanksgiving potluck afterward, then went across the street to see Harry Potter "The Goblet of Fire". Awesome movie! (Very looooooooonng, though.)
Then I got up this morning to do it all again! Actually, this will be a very short week. I get off 1/2 day on Wednesday & am going to lunch with a new co-worker at Senor Sam's, then to pick up Tyson from school. I just got a message from Seth this afternoon (WHY can't he call when he is supposed to?!?) that the plans have changed again & that his mom will be working until 3pm, then leaving to go pick him up in Gold Beach (WHY can't he get his license?!?), where they will stay the night before traveling back here for Thanksgiving. This means that now, even though I took a 1/2 day off of work, I can't leave until after 3pm to drive the 5 hours to Eureka! Grrrr....On the up-side, I picked up two new karoake CD's last night for the trip. One with old country hits, including "The Gambler", "Elvira", "On the Road Again", "Crazy", & two Johnny Cash songs. The other has all kinds of music on it & should have something for everyone. I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone.

Well, I suppose I should free up the phone line on the highly unlikely chance that Seth is going to call back at the scheduled time...

At long last, here are the Halloween pics! I have to say I'm a little disappointed because you really can't see the detail that I added to my dress (by hand-sewing, nonetheless!) or make out my head-piece, but still, you get the point. I've also thrown in a picture of our spastic kitty, Domino, since I promised that in August, when we first got him!

Been super busy working (transcription) and haven't had much time for anything else. So, as much as the men have been pestering me with phone calls, flowers and such, I've been having to decline their many offers...We did manage to go to church Sunday, which makes two weeks in a row! Tyson just about flipped when one of the band members started totally wailing on the electric guitar & people were bouncing up & down like a mosh pit (without the moshing). Next week there will be a potluck afterward. I'm looking into becoming involved in the children's Christmas performance, but there's a 4 hour class I have to take first, and it's on the same day as my friend Susan's daughter, Sophie, is performing the lead in a play here in Ashland, so I think I'm going to see if they offer the class another time. I don't get to do a lot with Susan outside of work, and I adore Sophie! Anyway, that's the latest...still looking forward to Turkey Day in Eureka!

My docs have been absolutely killing me with transcription! I've gotten pretty good with these guys, because I do their stuff consistently and they use a lot of the same wordage for different patients, but one tape actually took me 2 1/2 hours last night, and since I just had to watch My Name is Earl, that meant I didn't get to bed until 12:15! (Considering that a letter on one patient usually takes me 5-10 minutes, that's a lot of dictating!) It sure will be nice to get paid, though...

I've been having a lot of fun flirting with the delivery guy at work (and the cutie pie at Dutch Bros., and one of our sales reps....) and one of the ladies at the front desk asked him if he found me attractive, and he supposedly said yes (woo-hoo! I think he's pretty normal, too!), but that he's waiting for a girl that he loves to come around. I told him that works out even better, since I'm holding out for my Mr. R., too, so maybe we could be friends who do things together to kill the time while we wait...hey, it might actually work better than dating, since that's not something I really look forward to trying...anyway, we'll see if he takes me up on it. I took a pic of him yesterday, since I'm trying to use up my roll of film with the Halloween pics so I can post them!

Looks like Dad's and my Hometown Buffet Thanksgiving fantasy has been thwarted...I do love the family get-togethers, though, and it's been a while since I was in Eureka. I think I'll bring my karoake machine so we can all jam. It just won't be the same without Kathy there, though (no offense, Laura, I'd just love it if we could all be there)! I'm sure I'll be posting more on that before too long.

Still planning to go to church Sunday & am looking forward to getting to know more people there, so I'll be more comfortable. Krista says they're always looking for musicians, and that would be really awesome. I just feel like it's so important to not only talk to Tyson about God & the Bible, but to expose him to worshipping with others before he gets too much older. He asked me on the way back from church last weekend if I was going to be all religious now, and I replied that I've always been a very religious person, but he just didn't see that side of me a lot, and that I'd still be my same fun self. My beautiful friend, Mahvelous Mahge, taught me that you can talk nasty & have a good time, but still have a close relationship with God. I figure He knows me better than anyone else, so if I tried to hide my true self, that would be pretty pointless.

Well, I'm gonna try to actually get to sleep at a decent time since I'm all done with my transcription for tonight, so signing off until next time...

Quick post - I can't believe it's almost midnight! I had three transcription tapes tonight, and I decided to leave one for tomorrow, after seeing how far into the tape the doc recorded...ugh! But, hey, it's all about the money, right?!? What doesn't kill me makes me more tired...

Anyway, I just had to brag on my boy for a sec - what else is new? I'm just so proud of him! He got 98% on his state report! (Missed one thing in the whole report, just because he forgot to fill in the population of the tops 5 cities.) He also got 100% on his spelling test, now that we're able to study the words, and he got an A- on his "What I Did This Summer" report. I know this year has been tough on him, because he's in the 4th/5th blended class, but he's really rising to the challenge & making his mama proud! And he's made friends with a lot of the 5th graders that he used to not get along with! I could just burst, really!

A Medford Cowboys' running back looks for a hole to run through as Ashland Bears, from left, Jared Cataldi, Jamie Flynn and Tyson Morris converge.(Tyson's #42.)
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Football season is over - we went to the season-end party last night & got trophies & that kind of thing. I'm totally leaving it up to Tyson if he wants to do it again next year - he felt a little overlooked this season, but he was a 9-year-old playing with 10,11 and 12 year-olds.

Went to church this morning out in White City with Krista & Dustin. It's the second time I've gone there, but Tyson's first. He really liked the music & was very responsive to the sermon. I'm planning to keep going every weekend now that we don't have football every Sunday.

I'm going to look into talking to the admissions office at SOU. It's something I've been putting off forever, and as crazy as my life is, I think I really need some intellectual stimulation - something to bring me outside of myself & to help me quit reflecting on how pitiful my love life is & something outside of Tyson, as much as I love doing things with & for him. So, we'll see where that goes, anyway. Nothing else to report, so I'm going to get some work done at Lithia Women's Care. Hopefully I'll be posting Halloween pics soon...

Alas, the time has come for the infamous posting of the "Mr. Wrong" list. Let it be known that I have taken the research for this blog post very seriously & spent basically the last 29 years of my life compliling this list...

Mr. Wrong...
...has no sense of humor
...doesn't believe in God
...believes the only way to show affection is gettin' freaky
...is insecure
...hates kids, animals & old people
...wants to control the way I look, eat, speak, dress, act & think
...doesn't like my friends & family, and they return the sentiment
...is not bright
...is a gorgeous, but vain, man-whore (yep, that one broke my heart the first time)
...hates road trips
...can't hold down a job
...gambles, is a pot-head, or is otherwise addicted
...doesn't like music
...is a liar and a smooth talker
...is city boy
...doesn't like to play sports
...isn't a gentelman and doesn't have manners
...doesn't keep his word
...expects my life to revolve around him & his plans (or lack thereof)
...is a pushover & doesn't speak his mind
...feels like the world owes him something

Ok, you asked for it! I just happened to post this on one of my pissy days. You see, people think I'm totally nuts for wanting to hold out for a guy that's unavailable & who probably doesn't reciprocate my feelings. And, although I'fve always prided myself on not listening to eveyone else, look where that got me last time! Maybe it's time I listen to the people who care about me, because they can see things more clearly than I can. But what are my options in the meantime? The freaky 60+ year old tamale guy? The 60+ year old tennis stalker? The ??+ Vietnam Vet with PTSD? Or better yet, the icky car salesman (again 50-60+)? I mean, it's not like I'm really getting asked out by any prospects I'd actually consider; why not at least convince myself it's ok, because I'm holding out for the best? But, I've been thinking about "fate" or "destiny" and "soul mates". And I think I'm probably the only person I know who actually believes these things exist. And maybe I'm the one who's wrong. It's just that I have settled too many times & for too long to accept anything less anymore. So I guess it's just me, my kid and my cat. I should probably get like 40 more cats so it'll be official. Anyway, I have to go finish watching Reunion so I can live vicariously through others, who hopefully have a Hollywood ending...