A Nice weekend...

My beloved sister came up from Lincoln Friday afternoon and we went to the new Katherine Heigl movie, "The Ugly Truth."


It was an entertaining movie with a happy ending. But, you need to know that it is a little crude at times and it is rated "R." But, I LOVE Katherine Heigl


and Gerard Butler


is also pretty easy on the eyes!! I would certainly give it about 7 puppy paws up!

Friday night Rod and I decided to stay home, watch some TV and play with the dogs. By the way, I forgot to show you the nice little "partner" that Asa had on his head the other day...
WARNING!! THIS IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART OR WEAK OF STOMACH! Asa had a very full and disgusting...
TICK!!



This is the ugly guys belly!


Rod "snuffed" the little blood-sucker!

OK, let's move onto a nicer and more pleasant topic...
I'm working on a video of Nick and Kara to be shown at their wedding reception and the picnic that we are hosting the next day. I thought I'd show you a couple of my favorite pictures of Nick from his "early years!"



Nick was just a couple of months old when this photo was shot.

Here's another one of he and his dad playing. Rod has a hard time looking at this picture...so much hair....so long ago...



And here is an adorable one of he and Chris. This is their first Christmas together. Chris is about 3 months old and Nick is 26 months old.



Boy oh boy, they've really grown up!



Well, I have more to tell you. But, I really need to go sneak in a nap. I'll post some more later.

Thanks for reading.
Annette

A Pictorial Review of my Nightly Chores when Rod is Gone

When Rod goes out of town, I have to pick up some of his nightly chores. They're not a big deal, but, it's really, really nice when he's home and I don't have to do them. It's good to be "the lazy one." It's good to be "The Queen!"

Chore #1. Taking care of the horses. This means talking to them and making sure they're OK.


This is Doc. We "inherited" both Doc and Dude...



from some friends that moved from a farm just outside of Omaha to Florida. They are about 12-13 years old. About 6 years ago Doc contracted the West Nile Virus. He survived and the only problem he's left with is his lower lip is paralyzed.



Can you see how his lower lip just hangs there? It doesn't bother him though. As you can see he's a typical Markin, nice and big!

I also have to fill their front water tank (Haver is taking a drink.)


and the back water tank.



I also give each of them a can of grain



in their stalls.



Chore #2. Feeding the fish. We "inherited" a salt-water tank from some friends who moved to Boston. (Notice the beautiful fish-themed Peggy Karr plates?)


We've been asked if it's hard to take care of a salt-water tank, we just say, "No. The "fish girl" comes by every Tuesday and cleans the tank!" We do have to feed them every night.



Chore #3. Give the dogs their Prozac. :)



4. Then I take them outside to "do their business." You'll be happy to know that I didn't take pictures of that. But I do have pictures of them playing around outside. Just in case you can't tell, Haver is in the front!



5. Then I give "the boys" a treat while I mix and switch my Flolan.



Rod gets home tonight. I'll be more than happy to let him do "his chores" while I watch "Saving Grace!"

Thanks for reading.

Annette

Good Sunday Evening!

All's well on the midwest-ern front. The temperature rose to a beautiful 78 degrees today! For those of you living in other parts of the world, this is crazy weather for Nebraska! We usually run in the 90's this time of the year. If this is global warming, then BRING IT ON!!

Rod is out of town again. He's in Chicago for a conference. Chris decided to take a couple of days off from his vacation (yes, I know, there's all kinds of wrong things about that statement! :) )and is also in Chicago. So, those two "wild hogs" had dinner together tonight. I told Chris that I'm pretty sure they've seen more of each other than I've seen of either one of them. Chris, of course, being a smart-alec said, "Well, you know, Dad and I were both needed a break from you!" Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha...

I've finished my nightly chores and am settled in my "nest" as Rod calls it. I'm watching a goofy but entertaining show called "Meteor." This is the 2nd night of a 2-parter.




I've got a couple of movie reviews and a book review for you this evening.
Movie Review #1:


Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

First I have to let you know that I've not read any of the Harry Potter books. I started to read the first one when it came out. But, it was such an incredibly HUGE book, I just couldn't stick with the crazy thing. So, knowing that, if you've read the books, you might have a different opinion. But, in my opinion, the movie was pretty entertaining, but really, really long. It was much more "light-hearted" than the other movies, except of course, for this really sad part that I can't tell you about or it would ruin it for you. All in all, I'd give it about 6 1/2 puppy paws up.

Movie Review #2
When Rod goes out of town, I like to take myself to a movie, usually a "chick flick" so I don't have to share my popcorn. This afternoon I went to:


17 Again!

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie! It was entertaining, funny and even had a good message. Plus, it was showing at the "Dollar Theater" which now charges $2.00!! I give this movie 8 puppy paws up!!

Book Review:
I belong to two different book groups. One is with my PEO friends (I can't tell you what "PEO" stands for or I'd have to snuff you out! Actually, it's a woman's group that supports women as they further their education and all through their lives.) and one is with Cindy's friends. I'm so glad that Cindy had me start going to her book club with her. I've met many new and wonderful women and I feel like there's a little part of Cindy there with us every time we meet. One of my PEO friends asked me read this book, "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time."



She was wondering if I thought the other people in our group might enjoy it. It is a strange, but really, really good book. It is written by a man who taught autistic kids. He writes it from the view of a young man with Aspergers, which is a form of autism. Not only is this book really interesting, but discovering some of the people who have read it really makes me think that this will be a great book for our book group! Kara, Nick, Chris and my PH doctor have all read it. It's also a quick read. I would highly recommend this book.

Well, it's 9:00pm and that means it's time to mix my Flolan. Have a good evening.

Thanks for reading.
Annette

Guilty Pleasure...no not Blizzards this time...

Having PH gives a person a really, really good excuse for sitting around and doing very relaxing things like reading (my number one love), knitting and watching TV. I have found that I have the patience for some pretty stupid shows that I never would have taken the time for watching when I was healthy. One of these is called, "Wipeout!" Here's one of the funniest episodes I've ever seen!



Other news and exciting things going on at the Markin household...
Asa and Haver have started getting a little "owly" with each other again.

I talked to the vet and we are no where near the maximum dose of the Prozac. So, guess who's getting an extra piece of a hot dog tonight? (No, not Rod!)

Although, speaking of Rod...
Rod and Chris did a little male bonding, guy trip last week. They took their motorcycles and rode from Omaha to Minneapolis


then to Sault St. Marie in Michigan.

From there they went to Point Huron, Michigan



then to Niagra Falls


and then to Buffalo, New York.


Then they split up and Chris went to Columbus, Ohio to visit his friends Jason and Sarah


and Rod headed back home.

Here's how "the guys looked on the day they left:
Chris:


Rod:


And this is how Rod looked when he returned:


Well, "Wipeout" is finished and now I'm WIPED OUT!! Get it? Get it? Get it?
OK, it's time to go mix my Flolan.

Thanks for reading.
Annette

Hello, just checking in...

I know I've been horrible about keeping up my blog. I have over a dozen excuses and some of them are actually quite good, reasonable, believable and some are even true.

1. I've been busy.
2. We had a big 4th of July party.
3. I'm tired.
4. My knee "blew up" again, just this last Monday.
5. Rod and Chris are motorcycling around the country and I have extra household chores.
6. I'm tired.
7. I don't know what to write.
8. I was looking for a "Mother of the Groom" dress. ( I found one.)
9. I got sucked into watching the Michael Jackson "memorial."
10. I'm tired.
11. I'm really missing Cindy.
12. Did I mention that I'm tired?
13. I'm "working" on a video of Nick and Kara for the wedding. ("working" is in quotes because I've been doing more thinking than doing....kind of like this blog)
14. I got my hair permed.
15. I'm tired.
16. I really miss Cindy.
17. Did I mention that I'm tired?

Now, if I was to play "Armchair Psychiatrist" I would say that I'm probably a bit depressed over losing Cindy, losing Jan from our support group and Mason from the ph community.

I have had a rough week with this stupid knee, especially since it has coincided with Rod being on his trip with Chris. But, I went to the doctor today. I've increased my steroids and am to continue to keep my leg up and ice my knee. If it's better by Monday, then I'm to slowly back off the extra steroids. If it's not better, than the doctor is going to drain it. He's so apprehensive about draining it because of the risk of infection. Plus, it will most likely eventually fill up again and then we've got a bit of a vicious cycle. I have an appointment with my PH doctor scheduled for next Wednesday. I'm to ask him if I could take some Celebrex. That might help, but it will interfere with my blood thinner, so we'll have to work that out.

I appreciate the emails that a couple of you have sent. I wanted to at least get this kind of a non-informative and excuse filled blog so that you all would know that I'm OK, really. I'm just tired, my knee hurts and I'm a bit too unfocused to write anything intelligent.

So, I'll be getting back into the groove and updating you on the "Wild Markin Household."

Thanks for checking in.
Thanks for reading.

Annette