It's just a bit past 4 on this Tuesday morning in the OC and on any other Tuesday, I'd be blogging random thoughts. But in a few hours, the Amazing Egyptian Dude (AED) will be home after what has been the longest time we've spent apart since we got married almost 30 years ago.

What should have been the usual 5 weeks trip to get a container of products on its way from Cairo to Alexandria and from Alexandria to Long Beach became a nightmare of red tape the likes of which we have never experienced in the eleven years that we have been importing goods from Egypt to the US. The end result was that the AED had to extend his ticket once, then twice in order to get paperwork taken care of in Egypt so that we wouldn't have a similar problem for the next shipment. While he was doing battle with the bureaucracy of the Egyptian government, I struggled to hold down the fort at home.

Since he has been gone, the elderly lady for whom I have been responsible died and the battle over her estate has begun; I inherited a new rescue kitten that was so tiny when I got him, he literally fit in the palm of my hand; my sister, who has been here with me from Texas to get some much needed dental work done by a dentist friend of ours (she's a diabetic and has no dental insurance), was served with divorce papers out of the blue a few days ago and has been an emotional wreck ever since. Needless to say, with all the stress and excitement going on here, seizures have been an almost daily occurrence for me.

So no random thoughts on this Tuesday -- heck no! I am so ready for the AED to be back home because I have surely missed my pillar of strength!

Today's random thoughts aren't completely random; they are things that have been stuck in my head for a few days and now need an escape. Lucky you!

Random Thought #1

After three years of flawless duty, I retired my iPhone 2G and bought a 32-gig iPhone 3GS last Friday. The decision to retire the 2G didn't come easy -- it works fine and does everything that I need it to do when I need it done. However, with the launch of iPhone 4, I learned that Apple would no longer support my trusty 2G, leaving it stuck with an outdated operating system. Considering all the nifty things that the iPhone OS4 is supposed to impress me with, it didn't make sense to hang onto what is now an outdated phone.

I know that patience is a virtue -- one that I need to work more seriously on improving in myself -- but waiting for an iPhone 4 was not on my agenda. Yes, it is the newest model and thus offers more time before becoming outdated like the 2G, but both Apple and AT&T have a backlog of orders for them. Besides, there's an issue with the antenna and reception and signal strength with the 4 that doesn't exist with the previous models. And seriously, what was Apple thinking in making both the front and the back of the phone out of the glass that is usually only on the front? I'd be terrified of cracking the darn thing because since it is so new, couture cases aren't readily available for it yet. And a lady has to have an awesome case for her iPhone!

So far, I'm thrilled with the new phone. Although I'm still in the process of adding wallpapers, music, and apps, what I have put on the phone so far works like a charm. But best of all, the newest Apple operating system, which I LOVE, is compatible with the 3GS! Now my gorgeous phone displays the wallpaper at all times, makes videos, and lets me organize apps into folders for a relatively clutter free screen. Oh, the joys of technology!

Random Thought #2

The rescue kittens are ready for new homes. Honestly, I have never given away kittens before and have no clue how to go about doing it. I posted on Facebook that they were ready for forever homes, but the only response I got was from dear friends who (1) live in different states and (2) already have enough pets. The AED says to put them on Craigslist, but I am concerned about the weirdos who thrive there. Any suggestions on how to get the word out that I've got three litter-trained, affectionate, purr machines in search of loving homes?

Random Thought #3

I think that a tribe of dirt-tracking ghosts lives in my house. Honestly, with only the AED and I at home these days, I am amazed to find that I can sweep and mop on Monday morning and find the ceramic tiled floors that the AED insisted we need looking like they haven't been touched for weeks by Tuesday afternoon! At least with the rugs (commonly called "Persian" carpets, but ours came from Egypt), I can attribute the need for daily vacuuming to the cats because they roll around and play on them and leave behind traces of their antics in the form of hair. But the ceramic tile? Where does all the dirt come from?! It's time for a seance to out the ghosts who seem to think that I need to go through life with a broom and mop attached to my hips!

Random Thought #4

I have the sweetest husband ever! For the past week, I have been in the throes of a cluster headache cycle with some of them being so intense that I now understand why this type is called the "suicide headache." With headaches coming several times throughout the day and lasting anywhere from 10-15 minutes to several hours, life hasn't been a lot of fun these past several days. Twice last week, I was completely down for the count and unable to go to the warehouse with the AED. Both times, he came home with a gift that he knew would make even a cluster headache seem inconsequential -- ice-cold Coca-Cola in a tall glass bottle. What a guy, and what a lucky woman I am to have him!

Jientje from Heaven Is in Belgium, the creator of this meme, writes: "As long as people have been around, they have tried to communicate with each other. As a means of getting the message across as clearly as possible, idioms and sayings have found their way into our language. Now, because "a picture paints a thousand words", I thought it would be nice to make this a new photo challenge. The idea is to choose an idiom, or a saying, ( even slang is allowed) and illustrate it with a picture.

My theme for this week is apples.

Here we go!

When someone is the apple of your eye, he or she is your favorite person, the one you desire the most. This "apple" is The Amazing Egyptian Dude showing off the refrigerator he chose for us a few months ago.

Since it's getting late, today's randomness will be a quick update and some info on a fantastic charity that the Amazing Egyptian Dude and I are thrilled to be a part of.

First, the update. Ok, so the swelling at the incision site went from the diameter of a thin drinking straw to that of a dill pickle from Friday to Sunday. At one end, a sort of bubble began to appear and that bubble was strategically placed so that it bumped up against the place on my throat where, if I were a man, my adam's apple would be. Needless to say, just the right movement meant that the bubble made it difficult to swallow or breathe properly. By early Sunday evening I just didn't feel well, so I called the advice nurse for, well, some advice. She wanted me to go to the ER to get checked, but I really didn't think the situation warranted an emergency room visit; I mean, I wasn't near death or anything. I just didn't feel well.

As the night progressed, the right side of my throat and ear began to throb. I figured that I probably got some kind of infection while I was in the hospital because that kind of thing happens all the time. First thing Monday morning, I made an appointment to see our primary care physician that afternoon. After a thorough check over, he determined that the swelling was actually a collection of the bloody gunk that had been going into the drain that had been removed on Friday. Ibuprofen every four hours to reduce the swelling should help with that part. As for the throat and ear, I was right -- they are infected. A prescription of Keflex for that, along with advice to get plenty of rest, keep myself hydrated, and to haul my fanny to the ER if my temp reaches 100 degrees. That was yesterday.

This morning, the bubble is nearly gone. The incision is still quite swollen and beginning to harden. The throat and ear are still throbbing, although not nearly as badly today as they were on Sunday night or yesterday. I'm tired and feeling crappy, but I've been worse -- I know I have, but I'm having a hard time remembering when that was, LOL. So I will say it again: for such a small and minor surgery, this one sure is giving me one big a$$ old hard time!

Now, on to something far more interesting!

You may have noticed, under causes, an ad that I placed there a couple of months ago for KIVA. I heard about it on a podcast -- remember my list of educational podcasts? -- and decided to check it out. What is KIVA? It's a micro-loan organization that collects donations / loans from people and then pools them with other loans for poor entrepreneurs in developing countries. The Amazing Egyptian Dude and I made four loans of $25 each a couple of months ago and today, I was thrilled to receive the following in my email inbox:

Hi Ali & Carleen Ibrahim,
We'd like to give you a repayment update on the loans you've made
through Kiva.

A total of $35.41 has been repaid today! As of 2009-08-29, you now have
$35.41 in Kiva Credit in your account.

Click here to re-lend, withdraw or donate these funds! Or you can show
your friends some Kiva Love with a Kiva gift certificate.
https://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=account&_te=ru

Below is the repayment update on your Kiva Portfolio:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fadwa Group in Lebanon (Activity: Agriculture)
You Loaned: $25.00
Newly Repaid: $12.50
Total Repaid So Far: $12.50 (50.00% of your loan)
Repayment Status: Paying back on time
View loan profile at:
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=105064&_te=ru
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sawssan in Lebanon (Activity: Grocery Store)
You Loaned: $25.00
Newly Repaid: $6.25
Total Repaid So Far: $6.25 (25.00% of your loan)
Repayment Status: Paying back on time
View loan profile at:
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=105265&_te=ru
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Asma Group in Lebanon (Activity: Cattle)
You Loaned: $25.00
Newly Repaid: $12.50
Total Repaid So Far: $12.50 (50.00% of your loan)
Repayment Status: Paying back on time
View loan profile at:
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=107492&_te=ru
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abdumalik Soriev in Tajikistan (Activity: Agriculture)
You Loaned: $25.00
Newly Repaid: $4.16
Total Repaid So Far: $4.16 (16.64% of your loan)
Repayment Status: Paying back on time
View loan profile at:
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=115555&_te=ru

I haven't said anything about KIVA because I didn't have any personal experience with them other than making the loans; however, now I can toot their horn with full confidence! We are so excited to be able to help others help themselves that we're going to re-loan what has been repaid so far. The original $100 that we loaned (or donated) can be used over and over again to keep helping people, and we really like this idea.

So if you've got some change to spare, I do hope that you'll take a look at the KIVA ad in the sidebar and check out some of the profiles of the people who are seeking loans through them. Your loan, no matter how small, when pooled with the loans of others, will go a long way toward helping someone to help him or her self.

Here we go . . .

what are your most common nicknames?

I don't really have a nickname, unless you consider that my favorite uncle has always called me by my middle name and that Thom calls me Zip.

what is today's weather?

Currently, at 4:14 AM in my part of Orange County, California, it is 75 degrees F with an expected daytime high temperature of 90 as the day progresses.

where did go on vacation this year?

I didn't take a vacation this year; I retired instead.

what did you do there?

I played Farm Town on Facebook a lot and had surgery.

where did you stay?

Either at home or in the office at our business. The accommodations at home are more comfortable when the weather is hot, so I've stayed in the luxury of central air for a few weeks.

what job do you do?

It would be easier to tell you what job I don't do. I don't do windows.

describe where you live.

I live in a city that is swallowed up by two others that are much more famous: Anaheim (home of Disneyland) and Santa Ana (once voted the "Great American City"). Garden Grove is best known for its annual Strawberry Festival and for being conveniently located near everything else that is important.

what do you usually do on weekends?

The same things I do on week days -- work.

what food hits your 'bliss spot'?

Spinach cooked just about any way you can imagine.

what drink really does it for you?

Coffee with hazelnut cream

describe the first friend that comes to your head.

The Amazing Egyptian Dude (aka my husband)

what was the last restaurant you went to?

I think it was Red Robin, but I don't remember for sure.

where would you like to live if you had unlimited moneys and nothing stopping your dreams?

Somewhere in the mountains between Pagosa Springs and Silverton, Colorado.

what is the likeliness of you achieving this dream home?

Not likely at all -- the Amazing Egyptian Dude balks at the idea of touching snow let alone living in a place where it is a daily part of life for several months of the year.

what do you like to do in your spare time?

Read, crochet, play with the cats, crossword puzzles, and watch documentaries

what's your favorite genre for TV programs?

My favorite TV programming is on PBS because it's mostly documentaries; on network television, though, it would have to be the talent competitions like American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

what's your favorite genre for music?

Country

what's your favorite song that's sad?

I've got a whole list of them here: Songs to Cry By.

what's your favorite soppy film?

A Walk to Remember

how about your favorite chick flick?

Right now it's Music and Lyrics; however, it changes every few days.

what are you looking forward to at the moment?

A reduction in the swelling at the incision site of the surgery I had on Friday morning.

what are you dreading at the moment?

The swelling not going down and having to make a trip to Urgent Care to get it checked.

how would you describe your personality?

Sheesh, these questions are quite random, aren't they?! Anyway, I'd describe my personality as friendly and easy to get along with.

if you had a personality eraser, what part of yours might you erase?

The stubborn parts.

you are given $5000 to spend in 1 day, what do you do with it? remember, no limitations!

Providing, of course, that it has been invented, I'd buy a robot that does the laundry. If one isn't available, then I'd use the money to buy some gold as an investment.

what is your biggest fear?

That my husband will die before I do.

Post about 5 favorite things from the past week. It can be anything that tickled your fancy: favorite quotes, posts, happenings, scriptures, recipes, pictures, great internet finds, etc., etc. Be as detailed as you like, the more detail the more fun for those of us visiting. Susanne, the hostess, just asks that it be kept family friendly. Click here to play along with us.


1. This week, I'm grateful for my baby sister and America's Got Talent. I've had a week full of seizures, most of them worse than normal, so I haven't been feeling as optimistic as I usually do. In fact, I slept away much of the week as always happens when The Brain takes charge. My sister called me yesterday to check in and knowing how much I enjoyed Britain's Got Talent, she asked what I thought of this season of America's Got Talent. Well, D-U-H, I didn't even know that it was on! After we finished chatting, I visited the NBC website and got caught up with the show. I have two favorites so far: Barbara Padilla, whose YouTube videos have the embed feature disabled, and




2. When the Amazing Egyptian Dude was acid washing, cleaning, then refilling our swimming pool on Sunday, he sent me to Home Depot for some additional supplies. Since the pool supplies are in the garden center, it provided me with the perfect opportunity to look at house plants. I was thrilled to find a new orchid plant for just $6.98!



3. Camry has fully recovered from her spay surgery and is back to her old tricks. Having had cats all my life, I know that they are fascinated by bags and boxes. Camry takes this fascination to the level of an obsessive-compulsive disorder, though! No box, no bag is safe when Camry is around.


Typically, we reuse the plastic shopping bags for the trash cans in the bathrooms and bedrooms. But after seeing Camry's latest misadventure, I'll have to remember to cut the handles so that if she grabs one, she doesn't become entangled in it.

4. My brother-in-law makes some mean felafel so when he made a huge batch on Wednesday and shared a freezer bag full of the raw mix with us, I was a quite the happy camper. Egyptians eat felafel any time, but it's especially popular as a breakfast food, like this:


Clockwise on the plate, starting at 9 o'clock is felafel, tomato, gargeer (I think this is watercress in English, but I'm not sure), parsley (beneath the gargeer), pickled turnip, and chili peppers. A dish of tahini sits at the center of the plate.

5. I am really looking forward to tomorrow! A local Shakespeare Company has a summer stock type show season at a park on the beach. Attendance is free, and the park has a picnic area. Ever since I had the brain surgery, we haven't gone. I decided that we will go this year and invited one of the Third Grade BFFs and spouse, along with some other friends and family to join us. I'll do my best to remember to take the camera along with me and get some shots of us as we picnic and enjoy Julius Caesar.

Y'all know that I'm married to the Amazing Egyptian Dude because I talk about him, in only the most positive ways (*grin*), a lot. For a long time, we've been importing products from Egypt and selling them here in the U.S. and since a great deal of our business is done online through our websites, I started a business blog quite a while back. Anyway, long story short, it was going along just fine until the template creator's photo host started to not recognize the images that make the blog look nice. Since I had to find another template anyway, I talked the AED into shifting gears with the blog and making it more about Egypt and Egyptian culture with a bit of the business stuff mixed in for good measure. The finished product is Egypt Everlasting.

On August 1, we'll be hosting Small World Saturday, a new meme, there that I'm really excited about. I hope that you'll check it out and participate or offer any suggestions that you might have on how we can make it better.

I'm trying out the JS-Kit Comments and Comment Luv there because I love how it makes it possible to carry on a conversation through the comments. If it works well, I just might use it here, too.

So, please check out Egypt Everlasting and let me know what you think!

The only boys in the house are the Amazing Egyptian Dude and Marlowe, the cat. Perhaps because they are so seriously outnumbered by the females in the house (6:2), the two of them share a special bond. Whenever the AED sits on his couch, Marlowe jumps up on the arm and begins to tap him on the chest.


The tapping will continue until the AED first rubs Marlowe's chin and cheeks, then holds him for more of the same. This has become such a routine that the AED remains engrossed in whatever he's watching on TV, while Marlowe revels in the glory and drools blissfully.

Post about 5 favorite things from the past week. It can be anything that tickled your fancy: favorite quotes, posts, happenings, scriptures, recipes, pictures, great internet finds, etc., etc. Be as detailed as you like, the more detail the more fun for those of us visiting. Susanne, the hostess, just asks that it be kept family friendly. Click here to play along with us.

1. Going back to school as a student instead of the instructor is a blast. Who'd have thought that I would actually look forward to doing homework again?

2. A friend sent the following to me in an email:


Boy: May I hold your hand?
Girl: No thanks it isn't heavy.

Girl: Say you love me! Say you love me!
Boy: You love me…

Girl: If we become engaged will you give me a ring??
Boy: Sure, what's your phone number??

Girl: I think the poorest people are the happiest.
Boy: Then marry me and we'll be the happiest couple.

Girl: Darling, I want to dance like this forever.
Boy: Don't you ever want to improve??

Boy: I love you and I could die for you!
Girl: How soon??

Boy: I would go to the end of the world for you!
Girl: Yes, but would you stay there??

MAN: You remind me of the sea.
WOMAN: Because I'm wild, roman tic and exiting??
MAN: No because you make me sick.

WIFE: You tell a man something, it goes in one ear and comes out of the other.
HUSBAND: You tell a woman something, it goes in both ears and come out of the mouth.

MARY: John says I'm pretty. And says I'm ugly. What do you think, Peter??
PETER: A bit of both. I think you're pretty ugly.

Girlfriend: "…And are you sure you love me and no one else?"
Boyfriend: "Dead sure! I checked the whole list again yesterday."

Teacher: "Which is more important to us the sun or the moon?"
Pupil: "the moon."
Teacher: "why?"
Pupil: "The moon gives us light at night when we need it, but the sun gives us light only in the day time when we don’t need it."

Teacher: "What do you call a person who keeps on talking when people are no longer interested?"
Pupil: "A teacher"

Waiter: "Would you like your coffee black?"
Customer: "What other colors do you have?"

Tom: "How should I convey the news to my father that I've failed?"
David: "You just send a telegram: Result declared, past year's performance repeated."

Teacher: "Now, children, if I saw a man beating a donkey and stopped him, what virtue
would I be showing?"
Student: "Brotherly love."

Teacher: "Now, Sam, tell me frankly do you say prayers before eating?"
Sam: "No sir, I don’t have to, my mom is good cook."

Patient: "What are the chances of my recovering Doctor?"
Doctor: "One hundred percent. Medical records show that nine out of ten people die of the
disease you have. Yours is the tenth case I've treated. The others all died."

Teacher: "Can anybody give an example of coincidence?"
One Student: "Sir, my Mother and Father got married on the same day and at the same time."

Teacher: "Gorge Washington not only chopped down his father's Cherry tree, but also admitted doing it. Now do you know why his father didn't punish him?"
One Student: "Because George still had the axe in his hand."

3. Reeling from the surprising news of Michael Jackson's death yesterday. His life is a shining example of how true it is that money can't buy happiness.

4. The kids have come over for dinner three times this week, which has been a blast for us. It gives the Amazing Egyptian Dude a chance to show his son-in-law what a great cook he is, and it gives the son-in-law the opportunity to eat plenty of really good Egyptian food.

5. I am absolutely not looking forward to the weekend! It will be frantically busy, and I never do well under circumstances like that. Fingers are crossed that The Brain cooperates throughout.

And before I forget, thanks for the Peach Cobbler suggestions. My dad says that he's pretty sure my mom used the one on the Bisquick box, so I'll be using that one to start with. I'll just keep experimenting until I find just the right one. How horrible to have to eat so much peach cobbler, LOL!

Happy Friday, all!

I don't mind Mondays, usually, but I'm not looking forward to the start of this one. It's shortly after 3 a.m. here in delightfully cool Southern California, and I have been awake since just after midnight. I want to sleep -- I need to sleep, but I can't. It's probably because Saturday and Sunday were seizureful days, which means that I got plenty of sleep on both. Still, with everything that's going to start happening here in just a few hours, it would be a good idea for me to have a little sleep under my belt. So what's going to happen in my world today?

1. Camry's spay appointment begins the day and boy, am I glad for this one! I have to drop her off at the clinic before 8:30. She will stay overnight, and I'll get her tomorrow morning. That should also give me time to find the lizard that she dragged into the bathroom yesterday. My cats are all indoor; they never, ever go outside. Is it any wonder, then, that I freaked when I saw a rather large lizard, with only a stump of a tail remaining, trying to escape from Camry by hiding under the bathroom rug?! What I want to know is how in the hell did a lizard get inside my house?

2. Once Camry is dropped off, I'll come home and toss in a load of laundry. I had planned to do some over the weekend, but The Brain had other plans for us. I don't know why the Amazing Egyptian Dude thinks he needs socks, anyway. Dude, you come from the desert -- put on a pair of sandals like me!

3. If I don't have any seizures between now and 10:30, I'll head up the freeway to my dad's house for a brief visit and to take him out for lunch since I didn't get to do it yesterday. To avoid the traffic that heads my way starting around 3:00, I will be back on the freeway and returning home right after lunch. If the seizures continue, though, I will be staying at home, probably doing what I ought to be doing now, which is sleeping.

4. The Amazing Egyptian Dude's niece is, at this very moment, in transit from Cairo. She called about 45 minutes ago to say that she is currently in Amsterdam awaiting her connecting flight to Los Angeles. Her plane should land at LAX around 3:15, so the Amazing Egyptian Dude will take my car and go back up the same freeway that I took to my dad's house and pick her up. By the time she gets through customs and collects her luggage, they will get back on the freeway at prime traffic time. This will give me ample time to change the sheets on the bed in the guest room and get it ready for her. And when that is finished, I will cook something for dinner.

In keeping with the whole Egyptian concept of hospitality, the whole family will be going to airport to pick up the niece, everyone except me, that is. I seldom go to the airport unless I'm the one who'll be getting on or off a plane. As soon as they arrive at home, it's customary to have a meal waiting for the traveler. Everything that Egyptians do involves food of some kind. I'll have to figure out something to cook that will feed everyone, probably pasta and salad. We'll see.

At some point in the day, I need to head over to the college to buy my textbooks and pick up my parking pass because tomorrow is the first day of summer school!

1. I've come to realize that my last kiss... is my business.

2. I am listening to... CNN's coverage of the events transpiring in Iran.

3. I talk... so much that my dad once said he wanted to meet the inventor of the batteries that run my mouth because my dad just knew if they were marketed correctly, the two of them could be millionaires.

4. I love... Tom T. Hall's song, "I Love"


5. My best friend/s... are awesome people.

6. My first real kiss... happened long ago.

7. Love is... a battlefield, says Pat Benatar.

8. Marriage is... a full-time job worth doing well.

9. Somewhere, someone is thinking... "I need to pee!"

10. I'll always... have a cat or two.

11. The last time I really cried was because... of frustration.

12. My cell phone... is a tool that I use for more than its ability to make calls.

13. When I wake up in the morning... I make a pot of coffee.

14. Before I go to bed... I take medication.

15. Right now I am thinking about... the increasing lack of stability in the world.

16. Babies are... God's way of showing us what good is.

17. I get on Myspace...no, wait -- I don't get on MySpace; I use Facebook instead.

18. Today I... will be watching the U.S. vs. Egypt soccer game and rooting for the red, white, and blue; the Amazing Egyptian Dude plans to root for the red, white, and blue during the first half of the game and for the descendants of the pharaohs during the second half.

19. Tomorrow I will be... taking my dad out for lunch.

20. I really want to be... able to become the proverbial fly on the wall so that I could witness the great moments in history while they are still current events.


To see other entries or play along, visit here.

First, I have to say that I have the most amazing neurologist ever! Not only did she squeeze me into her tightly packed schedule, but she did so on her own time. When I got to the clinic today to sign in, the receptionist was confused because Dr. S, according to the schedule, was not in today. Following the instructions that Dr. S emailed me at 8 last night, I was to tell the receptionist to call upstairs for her. When Dr. S's assistant didn't even know that I was coming in, that's when I knew what this wonderful physician had done for me. I wish that everyone had such a caring physician!

Because I didn't want to take up too much of her time, I made a list of symptoms on the notepad on my marvelous iPhone. Dr. S read the list, asked some questions, checked reflexes and so on, and then told me what she thinks the problem is. She is pretty sure that I am having clusters of cluster headaches with a few migraines thrown in for good measure. So what do we do for them?

First, I will be adding a new medication to my ever-growing pharmacy. I've forgotten what it's called, but it's a medication commonly prescribed for high blood pressure that also works well for migraines. My blood pressure is fine, so that's not an issue. I'll start on a low dose of 40mg twice a day. The pharmacy in her clinic didn't have the med; however, the one closest to my home does. The Amazing Egyptian Dude will pick it up on his way home.

Second, oxygen. Oxygen, says Dr. S works wonders on cluster headaches. Soon, the pharmacy will deliver an oxygen tank and mask to my home. Then the next time I get a cluster headache, I am to use the oxygen for up to 30 minutes, and it should solve the problem.

We shall see.

• Ok, so I'm not having much fun these days what with The Brain asserting its authority over everything I do. In fact, I'm becoming downright nasty to deal with, and the Amazing Egyptian Dude isn't quite sure what to do with, for, or to me. It's hard to tell which one of us is more deserving of sympathy at this point, LOL! Even in the worst of times, I'm usually not grouchy or negative because I see no sense in making everyone around me miserable, too. But the frequent headaches are taking a toll on me, and I am thinking it's probably time to change my name to Oscar.
• Since I don't really want to be Oscar, it's time to make an appointment with the neurologist. Either I need new meds to deal with an old problem, or I have a new problem that the old meds don't treat. The Amazing Egyptian Dude is insisting that I request another MRI just to make sure that the brain patch is still intact; I, however, am not interested in increasing the likelihood that I will glow in the dark before long from all the radiation. Alien glow or not, it's obvious that something is up, and I need to get it checked.
• The blogosphere is an amazing place. Never in a gazillion years would I have expected such an outpouring of support and encouragement from people whom I've never met! Thom, Rosidah, and Sherlock -- you make my day! Not in a Clint Eastwood way, mind you; I mean in a wholly positive way. Between headaches, when I have a clear enough head, I'll try to catch up with my blog reading and leave comments for everyone. Without fail, I find encouraging comments from one of you and don't feel quite so bad at not having the strength to catch up completely.
• We'll have a guest soon. A niece is coming from Egypt to spend the summer with us. She's a couple of years older than our daughter, has been here twice before, and speaks English well enough that we don't need to babysit her. She'll go between our house and the brother-in-law's house, but I expect that she'll end up staying here more often because we have two spare bedrooms and the in-laws have none.
• I finally rescheduled the surgery to have the right side of my thyroid removed. Lucky for me, it's scheduled for August 27, which means that I have to rethink my vacation plans. I'm supposed to go to Texas so that my aunt, sister, and I can make a road trip to Florida to visit two more aunts. I'm trying to get the surgery moved up and figure that since I had to reschedule it from last November, my surgeon ought to work with me on it. We'll see what happens.

Here's wishing for a mostly headache free day because my To Do list is getting out of control! :)

I love orchids and my husband although every now and then, it's hard to tell which one ranks first on my list. Both require specialized care and attention; yet, both of them keep me delighted and entertained with a minimal amount of effort. Yesterday, hubby retained the number one spot because of an orchid.

I've always had a green thumb and have loved growing plants ever since my high school days. Back then, my bedroom was filled with the most popular plants of the 70's: pathos, spider plant, ivy, creeping Charley, wandering Jew, asparagus fern, ficus, and coleus. Plants lined the shelf under the window and dangled from the ceiling in macrame hangers that I made for them. The only plant that I recall having no success with was the African Violet. But I have conquered that obstacle and now have one, along with several of its offspring, that my sister gave me in 1996. I figured that if I could keep one of those temperamental plants alive for such a long time, I was ready to move on to the more serious blooming plants. Enter the orchids.

It started with a miniature phalaenopsis that I purchased six years ago. The magic of my green thumb has worked its charm on that plant, too. It has produced at least one spike of flowers every year since I brought it home. This blooming season, it has surprised me with a double spike -- surely a testament to my ability to provide adequate care. But as much as I enjoy that plant and its pretty little flowers, I truly prefer the showy cattleya orchid.

Cattleyas are neither cheap nor easy to grow. Whereas the phalaenopsis likes water once a week or so, a spot under the kitchen window where it gets plenty of sunshine, and a bit of fertilizer every once in a while to produce the blooms that you see in the photo on the right, cattleyas need humidity, frequent and regular fertilizing, and a specific watering schedule in order to bloom. Give them too little or too much of water, humidity, light, or fertilizer, and the plant dies. The thought of spending a hefty amount of money on a plant that I might inadvertently kill due to lack of knowledge or experience has prevented me from getting one and reduced me to admiring them from afar. That is, until a new business moved in next door to ours.

Our new neighbors own a wedding planning and floral service business. Their warehouse is filled with incredible bonsai trees, fantastic smelling roses, baby's breath, corn plants, hanging pathos, and -- you guessed it -- orchids! These people grow the most amazingly large phalaenopsis orchids I have ever seen. Yesterday, when I saw the Valentine's Day display they had prepared, I decided that Ali was going to get me an orchid as a symbol of his affection. Bless his heart, he never questioned me; he just went next door with me while I chose the plant I wanted. It's not quite the showy cattleya that I adore, but I'll settle for a stunning cymbidium for the time being. The blooms look similar to the cattleya, but the plant doesn't require as much hardcore care.

For now, I will enjoy the seven -- yes, count them! -- spikes of blooms on this new plant and learn what demands it will make of me. And when I've learned how to care for this one properly, I'll move on to the grand prize in orchids. I've already got the grand prize in husbands.