Caramel Corn Disaster!

My sister-in-law Tiffany makes the BEST caramel popcorn. So good that I dream about eating it on occasion... seriously. Today was one of those days and so I decided to try my hand at caramel popcorn making... after all, how hard could it be, right?

I should have just called her and asked for the recipe...

Instead, I just went to one of my go-to cooking websites, Our Best Bites thinking all caramel popcorn recipes would be the same, minus the added bells and whistles like nuts, etc. The recipe in itself wasn't difficult to follow but things just didn't turn out quite right... first the sugar seemed to be overcooked ( I followed the exact time... I believe my microwave's "high" is a lot higher then hers) and then when I added the baking soda it turned the wrong consistency. ( marshmallow jet-puff instead of thick yet pourable) I plugged on, hoping it would be alright in the end. However, instead of being soft and gooey it got rock solid before I was even able to get it mixed in well. By the time I was done, it had hardened into a huge ball of not so yummyness. I could have cracked someone's skull open with it... not to mention some teeth, so with not much coaxing from Ben, into the trash it went. *sigh*

I then decided to try another recipe altogether. One that calls for you to melt everything on the stovetop rather than our crazy microwave. I was surprised to see how much these recipes varied! (I was happy to see that this one didn't call for baking soda) I am about 90% happy with this recipe. It turned out gooey and soft like I wanted it too but we'll see how it hold up overnight. If it's still soft tomorrow I will consider it a success.

Tiff's definitely tastes better though... I will still have to beg her for it!

Clothes are SO overated

Seriously... oh to be a baby and be able to run around in the buff all the time! *sigh* I'm still covered in blistery goodness and very very oh-my-gosh beyond itchy, despite the steroids and creams.

Hmm... not so sure about returning to work this week if it means having to get completely dressed. :)

Liars liars, pants on fire!

Medicines taste nasty, even the "flavored ones!" I wonder why they even bother to try and make the patient think its going to taste any better than the poo it actually tastes like? Nasty or not, we have to take it right, so why lie? Do they think we're that dumb?

Take this Nystatin for instance. (I got a particularly nasty case of thrush from the intubation) Last time I had this surgery, the pharmacist was like, "Oh, this is the butterscotch flavored kind, you're lucky!" Seriously? Um... still tasted nasty. This time it was "minty cherry" flavored, woohoo... still tastes like poo.

Normally I wouldn't whine because you just plug your nose and swallow quickly, but unfortunately this Nystatin solution has to be swished around for at least 2 minutes, then gargled for another 2 minutes, and then swallowed... It's a battle not to puke the whole time, lol!

Minty cherry my behind... blegh! :P

Second verse same as the first?

Two years ago when I had my first Lap, I encountered a few bumps in the road during recovery. I developed a couple of secondary infections and a horrendous rash all over my belly, chest, and thighs due to what we *thought* was the Dermabond or surgical glue used on my incisions. Prepared with this info, we went into this surgery knowing not to use that and my doc just stuck with regular sutures to close the wounds. I was beyond relieved since that rash (more so than any of the other things) had been the worst of my post-op complications.

Guess what showed up a few days post-op? Oh yeah... the rash. (Not to mention another bout with those other 2 secondary infections again) Are you freaking KIDDING me?!?! I tried hydrocortisone cream for a few days hoping it would just go away but to no avail. I talked to my doc today and he was really surprised to hear about it because not only had he not used the Dermabond, but he'd also switched to a different kind of antiseptic surgical wash that is more hypoallergenic, just in case it had been a combination of things that had caused the rash. I am just as flabbergasted as he is... what in the world is causing this? No clue! Unfortunately, whatever it was is wreaking havoc on my body and it looks like I'm going to have to go back on steroids to make it go away, like last time... which took weeks to clear up :(

Argh...

Seriously?!?!

So Percocet and Phenegran make for a very sleepy Alex, which doesn't exactly mix well with getting behind the wheel of a car and driving to work, right? No worries, I haven't been driving under the influenec of narcotics people, come on now! (I'm an insurance agent, really!) Anyway, so I muscled my way through work today sans-happy meds and it just wasn't cool. The pain I have become accustomed to grinning and baring it, but the pukes? Not...so...much... Talked to my doc today and he called me in 3 more meds, one of which was the much loved Zofran everyone raves about. He says its supposed to work really well (better than Phenegran) without putting me to sleep. The catch? It's expensive!!! So he called me in the generic to help with costs. Hooray, right? Riiiiiiiiiiiight... until I see how many 15 pills cost me! (Mind you they only gave me 15 but really the supply is supposed to be 90. This will make sense in a minute.) $70 for 15 pills!!! I was told the full 90 would run me another $150....eeeek, thank goodness for our FSA...phew!

Oh wells, hopefully these little golden pills will be worth it. At the very least make the next few weeks a bit more bearable until my surgery, which in theory *should* make my life a lot more bearable! :) The exact date is still a bit fuzzy, but that should get squared away here pretty soon. Hooray for modern medicine and itty bitty little incisions! :)

Death by migraine...

I've always been prone to migraines (runs in the family, boo!) but recently things have been getting a little out of control. When my Endo started flaring back up a few months ago, I started some new meds for it. I noticed that I started getting them more often, and over the past month especially, I've had at least 2-3 per week! Last weekend I spent mostly locked up indoors with a mask over my eyes and all windows/drapes shut tight because the light kills. This week I'm already on day 4 of a continual (there when I wake up, there when I go to sleep, still there when I wake up, etc.) never-ending migraine. I've been having to wear those oh-so-cute (not!) fitovers we give out at work when we dilate patients' eyes. I decided to call my doctor and see if maybe my meds had anything to do with this? (I can't believe it took me this long to realize that this could be the source of the increase in the horrible headaches, not only as far as frequency, but also severity and duration.) Of course, they had everything to do with it! I was told to STOP taking them immediately and was given something else instead.

Here I am 2 days later and still wanting to rip my head off. Last night certainly didn't help (hanging out with screaming Sooner fans) but I was hopeful the drug cocktail I took would get me through. It did eventually knock me out sometime in the 3rd quarter, I believe... I have no idea how long it will take for these stupid migraines to go away (especially since this new stuff I'm on is supposed to cause them too? Nice...) or at least get a little better, but I hope it's soon. For now I think I'll just pray for cloudy days and power outages... the dark is so much friendlier...

Who are the haters NOW?

First off, HOORAY for Prop 8 passing!

Now, for the past however long this whole issue has been going on, WE have been accused of hatred and bigotry for wanting to keep a traditional definition of marriage between a man and a woman as the law. Those opposing Prop 8 came up with a catch phrase, "8 = hate" which has been reported to have been graffitied on church buildings, keyed on peoples' cars, etc etc. (Yes, all very mature and "un-hateful") Now, these very same groups that rallied and cried for tolerance from us, are rallying for violence and hate crimes! Hypocritical much? I think so... Read more about it here.

Now let me state clearly, I am not against tolerance. We are all different, and deserve (whatever our beliefs) respect and courtesy. What I AM against, is when this so called "tolerance" is only supposed to work one way, and in this case it would have been tolerance for same sex couples only and intolerance for our religious freedoms. In Massachusetts, where this same proposition failed to pass, people who do not agree with homosexual lifestyles have lost THEIR rights to be notified of what their children are being taught and pull them out of class if they don't agree. (ie.events such as "Gay Pride week" that are now being shoved down kindergardeners' throats, even!) Adoption agencies have been closed down because they are now mandated to work with and place children with same-sex couples. Churches could be told they need to perform same-sex marriages. What about all these peoples' rights? Where is the tolerance there? Since when are the views of the few being imposed upon the many considered tolerance?

I do not agree with how the Presidential election turned out(Although yes, I am happy to see that our country has come so far that a person of any race and/or gender can hold the office of President! That is a victory worth rejoicing over!). However, I am not about to go out there and physically threaten Obama supporters. The majority has spoken, and that should be respected! The people of California (AZ and FL as well) have spoken too, and now they have to fear for their lives and property? Again...is this the tolerance the Vote No on Prop 8 groups were clamoring for? Hmm... maybe we have different dictionaries or something, because that hardly sounds like tolerance at all.

Waa, waa, waa!

I am SO sick and tired of all the whining, moaning and groaning, and gnashing of teeth over the so called impending doom of a depression that's coming. The "suffering" of the middle class and all that crap, etc etc. I consider Ben and I as falling into the lower middle class label. Are we rich? Obviously not. Do we have a huge house and really expensive cars? No! Can we afford to eat out every night and purchase whatever we want, whenever we want? No! But does that mean we're suffering? NO! It means we're trying to live within our means, paying down our debt and *GASP* using self control!

It really disturbs me to see all these fingers being pointed at parties and people, like the whole thing is their fault. What ever happened to personal accountability for one's own actions? We have been doing the Dave Ramsey debt ellimination program because WE were stupid and got ourselves into consumer debt. That's no one's fault but our own. Thankfully we were smart enough not to get suckered into an unneccesarily big house with a foolish ARM loan, and one of the good things about not having kids is that we get along just fine with our 2 economy sized, used cars. So no, even though we are at the bottom of the middle-class rung, I don't think we're "suffering" by any stretch of the imagination.

Yes, many companies preyed on the uneducated and foolish people that were more interested in keeping up with the Jonses than living within their means. I hate that this bailout plan does nothing to teach them a lesson... basically its a freebie, an incentive to keep doing bad business. However, what has been learned? Unfortunately not much... and until people quit being stupid and greedy it doesn't matter what they do, or who runs this country, because all it is, is just putting a bandaid on a deep wound.

ARGH... I usually abstain from getting political because these things just make me angry. I don't consider myself a political buff, but I do value my common sense... something I fear many in this country have lost.

Stephenie is probably throwing a FIT!

Ok, all I can say is EW to Entertainmant Weekly's new cover for their July 18th issue. They got it ALL wrong, whats wrong with them? Did no one actually bother to pick up the book and READ it? Very poorly planned picture in my opinion, and here is why:

1) Bella is a tomboy, pretty much. A plain-jane kind of girl. She HATES dressing up, never wears make up, etc. They dressed up Kristen Stewart all wrong for this... Bella would never consent to looking like that.

2) Edward does not have a nasty hairy chest! Ew!

"He turned then, with a mocking smile, and I stifled a gasp. His white shirt was sleevless, and he wore it unbuttoned, so that the smooth white skin of his throat flowed uninterrupted over the marble contours of his chest, his perfect musculature no longer merely hinted at behind concealing clothes. He was too perfect, I realized with a piercing stab of despair. There was no way this godlike creature could be meant for me." Twilight, pg.256

"He lay perfectly still in the grass, his shirt open over his sculpted, incandescent chest... a perfect statue, carved in some unkown stone, smooth like marble, glittering like crystal." Twilight, pg. 260

Ok, what part of that makes it sound like he has a nasty carpet on his chest? Ugh, come one people, at least Photoshop it out!

3) Uh... hello, the eyes? Yeah, enough said.

4) What's with the grimy hands? Edward is always immaculately clean and well groomed. That's part of his whole "non-existant prefect guy" charm, right?

5) Poor Rob, he looks all hopped up on Percocet or something... just a terrible picture of him all together. Edward just could never look that bad even if he tried! (I dunno... maybe when he thought Bella was dead or something? But I doubt that was what they were trying to portray here)


*Sigh* Ok, thats my rant for the day. I'm sorely dissapointed in them. Boooooo to EW! And for those of you that have a hard time seeing the details I'm referring to, here is a link to go to, where you can zoom in and make the picture larger. Sorry, I'm not that cool yet with the HTML and all.

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!

Today I heard (well read, actually) something that made me see red. Someone on a support board (an online community site)gave out some false infromation concerning Endometriosis. Granted, it was well intended and meant to give hope, but nevertheless still NOT TRUE. Someone else (probably this girl's doctor) told her that once she got pregnant, the Endo would "go away forever!" Um... NO! That's SO not true! It's one of Endo's greatest myths and its appalling to me that there are still members of the medical community spouting out falsehoods like that! I mean we're talking old-school type thinking that has led more than one doctor to suggest pregnancy to TEENAGE girls as a cure!!! What the ?!?! Ok, so... this is my Endometriosis Awareness deed for the day... NO, pregnancy does NOT cure Endometriosis. Smack anyone that tells you so! Then send them to ME so I can smack them too! Heehee... no, not really, but I'll still lecture them, and that may be even worse, because Alex can get VERY verbose about this subject. If any of you actually want to know the reason why this is a myth, just ask and I'll explain. For now I'll spare the rest of you the big long shpiel. Ok, phew... just had to get that out of my system... ugh...

I hate my dogs... well, 2 of them anyway...

People often think we're crazy for having 3 dogs. Up until now I've always dissagreed, 3 dogs equals 3 times the fun, right?

WRONG!

Why in the world did I have to be born such an animal-loving freak?!?! Why couldn't I just be content with the one perfect dog (Sirius...duh) and not insist on taking in the other 2 "poor,toubled,neglected, all-they-need-is-some-love" TERRORS?

As you may recall, I had a run in with Luna just a week or so ago... she's still a bit on my bad side. But just now my murderous inclinations reached a new high when I discovered Mini EATING my special blankie!!! This is a 6 year old blanket I crocheted for Ben while we were dating, one we still use to this day and keeps me nice and warm when we snuggle on the couch! (It had all the makings of a future family heirloom... well, to me anyway) It's got sentimental value people, not just some dumb blanket you purchase at Walmart for 10 bucks and discard without a second thought!!! She was EATING it! (Well, not ingesting it actually, but chewing and spitting it out)

So now there is a big HOLE in my blanket which will surely unravel and die a premature death... I am so beyond anger and frustration... She has ruined MANY things in this same manner many many times before. We get her bones and chew toys so its not OUR fault she's so stupid she can't tell whats acceptable to maul and whats not! I hate, hate, HATE her right now!!! I know thats really harsh, and most of you are probably thinking, "it's just a blanket, get over it!" but it enfuriates me to the point of madness that she has still not learned her lesson and that life would be SO much simpler if we had just never taken her in when she was dumped on us a few years ago! Same thing goes for Luna... UGH! Times like this really accenntuate all the things that bother me about them and I forget all the warm fuzzy "I love puppies!" feelings that got me into this predicament in the first place!

Sirius is the perfect dog... why did we have to ruin it? *Sigh* But of course now we're stuck. We're too soft to just get rid of them... and trust me, even if we were to try, its almost impossible to pawn dogs off on other people.(Unless they're childless idiots like us...) Trust me, we've been there, done that with Mini in the past. And taking them to a shelter is out of the question too because they'll just kill them and I could never live with myself after that. So no... we're pretty much stuck with them until nature does the job for us... and considering that Mini is only 4 and Luna 2, thats a loooooong time. To be fair to Sirius, thats probably a good thing though, because he gets awfully lonely and sad being all by his lonesome self... which is why we accepted Mini in the first place. His Vet said he needed a companion.

I'm sure this too will pass. I'll get over my blankie... Maybe it's time to make another one, right? That would be fun... I guess... *sigh* Why couldn't we just have kids like everyone else and not have to fill the void with dogs? Argh... Ok, now I'm going to go off and sulk for the rest of the night until Ben gets home from work. (Dang it Jasper, why can't you be real?!?! Ok, breathe Alex... do not kill your dog... do not kill your dog...)

Caesar Millan would NOT be proud... :/

As much as I love my dogs and swear they (mostly Sirius, really) are just little humans with fur, sometimes I am reminded of what they are... animals. Luna just reminded me of that by doing something dogs sometimes do... eat their poop!!! "Coprophagy" (or eating one's poop) really is mostly a puppy thing. Momma dogs will eat their pup's waste as a means to keep everything clean. Sometimes puppies pick up the habit from watching Momma. Other times its just because they're curious and/or bored... or hungry? Sirius did it (ew), Mini did it (ew), and now I've discovered Luna doing it. Problem is, she's not a puppy anymore! She wasn't hungry because I had just fed them (like not even 10 minutes prior!) so really, she was just being a disgusting little animal.

Remember the Lupron and migraines that turn Alex into a grump? Well yeah, today has been no different in that area, and so I just kinda lost it. I'm embarrassed to say that I did not react in the kindest manner. No, I did not beat the living daylights out of the little 10lb thing!!! But I did yell at her... a lot... a lot a lot... and I rubbed her muzzle in it (which you're NOT supposed to do!) while I yelled... That didn't help things b/c now she had poop not just IN her mouth but all around it too, ew,ew,ew!

So, I proceeded to the bathroom where I plopped her in the sink and washed her mouth out with baby shampoo (literally, although most of the washing was concentrated on her face) which she, of course, hated. I wasn't done torturing her just yet though... lol. I then spent a good 10 minutes brushing her teeth (which she hates as well) and then wrapped it all up with a few spritzes of doggy breath freshener, for good measure! She was then promptly locked up in her kennel upstairs, to have some time to think about how eating poop = torture at the hands of momma.


Momma is not proud... I'm sure Caesar Millan (you know, the Dog Whisperer) would have a fit and point out how horribly I mismanaged the situation. I guess I'm not much of a calm and assertive pack leader when a member of the pack starts eating their poop... Oh well, I didn't kill her, and that in itself is saying quite a bit with how my mood has been this week.


She probably would have benefited from Jasper's presense as well today. *sigh*

Where's Jasper Hale when you need him?

Each Lupron shot is usually followed by a week or two of almost constant migraines. This makes for a grumpy Alex, but I can usually keep a professional demeanor at work, migraine or not. However, today my "patience of a saint" (as my co-wrokers like to call it) snapped. A very rude patient was really nasty to me and made some not-so-nice comments (the kind that make you feel really stupid and degraded) that coupled with my splitting headache and nausea made me crack. She actually made me cry! We were so busy and hectic that I didn't have time for a full blown breakdown, but never in the year that I've worked there have I wanted to whack someone upside the head SO bad as I did today. I was a bit embarrassed by the fact that she actually got to me so bad that I cried, but I'm just going to chalk it up to the Lupron and migraine. I just had to take a few deep breaths and go on about my business. I'm feeling better now, but boy... she really pushed my buttons. Grrr... Too bad I didn't have Jasper around to take control of the situation! ;)

For those of you that have no idea who Jasper Hale is or why that picture is hillarious... well, sorry, not going to tell you. Go read Twilight!!!

Didn't my momma teach me to share?!?!

I'm having a hard time putting into practice one of the most basic rules of good social skills... sharing. It's like I'm 2 again, "Mine! MINE! Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiine!!!" *sigh* Ben and I have different reading speeds and since we only have 1 copy of The Host, well... this creates a bit of tension. For a while he was ahead of me, but today during a rather long nap of his, I caught up and passed him. I'm about 3/4 of the way through! I put the book down for like 5 minutes (to get dinner started) and what does he do? STEALS it from me!!!! ARGH!!! Since we're in totally different places, it makes reading outloud to each other useless, so we can't pull the Twilight method anymore. Grrr... I want my book back!!! I'm watching him like a hawk... the next time he puts it down for anything, its MINE! *Evil grin* MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Is that a rain cloud following me?

Ever feel like you're stuck with one of those cartoonish rain clouds following you around and raining only on you? Yeah, thats me right about now... I've had the most rotten luck these past few days. First of all, my car got backed into on Thursday, grrr... Some girl driving a huge GMC Yukon wasn't paying attention and rammed into my poor little Focus in the parking lot of a store. The front fender is now dented and cracked right below my headlight, lovely. Her insurance will be paying for the repairs and a rental car in the meanwhile but the inconvenience is a pain. Then this morning I woke up and was about to let the dogs out when I realized that our gate in the backyard was wide open!!! I ran upstairs to wake Ben up and see if maybe he'd left it like that last night... He said no, of course, and "Is there anything missing?" So we both run back downstairs and sure enough, my bike was gone. Someone actually jumped our 6' some inch fence and opened the gate from the inside, argh!!! We had to call the police and they came to file a report etc. We don't expect anything to show up, but felt it should be reported anyhow, just in case this thief/thieves have been hitting other homes around us as well... We will be padlocking our gate now as well as adding a deadbolt to our sliding back door. This isn't supposed to happen here!!! I grew up in NYC, this is the kind of stuff you expect there, but here? Ugh... I hope whoever stole my bike gets a flat tire, falls off, and breaks their arm or something... that should teach them! Grrr...

Argh, I hate baking failures!

So I was making a batch of Kolacky cookies today for our work lunch tomorrow and they were a complete disaster! I don't know why... I followed the recipe to the T! I baked the first bunch and when I took them out, already they just looked a bit sketchy... After they cooled off I tasted one and all I can say is BLEGH! I altered the second batch in hopes that they'd turn out better but oh no... still BLEGH! I scrapped the 3rd batch and gave up... Guess I'll just bake a boring old box-cake. *Sigh* I hate being so boring... oh well, so much for experimenting!

Just when I was starting to forget...

... about how nasty Lupron can be to my body, I get this phonecall today from the Oncologist at my specialty/mail-order pharmacy. She was wanting to set up my next month's dose and shipment, but first has to remind me and make *sure* I understood the ramifications of this drug. Pretty much five minutes of "Are you aware this is posion they'll be injecting you with and that you can suffer various undesirable side effects such as: (insert looooooooooong list)?" I do believe I'll receive this same phonecall month after month, because I had to listen to the same shpeal last time too. I know they're just doing their job, but I almost wanted to say, "Um yeah- I get it... My hair is falling out, I can't sleep at night, I have become uncomfortably familiar with what my menopausal family members/friends call 'personal summers', and I'm sure with each coming month I'll become aqcuainted with all the other side effects! Please, don't rub it in..." Oh wells, c'est la vie!

The big 2-7!

Well, today I grew 1 year closer to 30... only 3 years left, lol. The thought is a bit scary, but what can you do? Time presses on, whether you want it to or not. Birthdays have always been fun for me, but this year it was a tad bittersweet. Anyone who cares enough to read this blog is close enough to us to know about our struggles the past 2+ years with getting pregnant... While I can't speak for Ben, any and all holidays or special events (like birthdays, for example) have become a bit difficult for me in the sense that they mark another year that has gone by and the realization that we still find ourselves in the same old place... childless. It's another chance for me to look back on my "plan" and see how life's not turning out quite like I'd thought it would... Yeah, I know, "The easiest way to make God laugh is to tell him your plans." While I know full well that my Heavenly Father has a plan for me (one that more than likely I will be happier with in the end than the one I'd originally wanted) days like this make it painfully obvious that things are most definitely NOT in my control and there is nothing I can do about it but sit patiently and endure.
Depressing thoughts on what should be a fun day, huh? Well, in all fairness, my b-day hasn't been altogether a bummer. Yesterday, my wonderful hubby took me out to dinner and a movie and we had a grand ole time! I also did something I'd been meaning to for a while... chop my hair off! That's right, I took the big plunge and cut about 5" off my falling-out mane. I figured it would make for less of a mess in the shower drain! Plus shorter hair = less tangles which in turn = less combing/pulling which HOPEFULLY will = less hair falling out! :) I should be starting my Lupron this week so... here's to this having been a good move on my part! :) If anyone wants to see my new due (Do? Doo? Hmm, how do you spell that word?) let me know and I'll post a picture.

HOORAY fo Helio & Julianne!!! (And a tribute to Sabrina & Mark)

Ok, so another DWTS season has come to an end, and once again Julianne managed to get her star the mirrorball trophy! (Last season she and Apollo Anton Ono won) I'm so happy they won, as they were my faves, plus I was defintely not that big of a fan of MelB and Maks... and well, lets face it, there was no way Marie Osmond could/should have won... I'm sorry, I love her and all, but no... yes she's entertaining, yes she lost a ton of weight (hooray for her!), and yes she did amazingly well for a women her age, but no way was she as skilled as Helio and/or MelB. So yeah, HOORAY for Helio!!!

Now, as happy as I am for the champs, I do have a bone to pick. I'm STIIL really mad about a certain elimination that took place... yes, Sabrina and Mark. This is a classic example of one of DWTS flaws... eventually, it stops being about the dancing and it turns into a popularity contest.(um... like what happened with Marie making it all the way to the top?) Sabrina Bryan, in my opinion, could and SHOULD have made it to the finals! But of course, most of her fans are like what... 10? So yeah, that didn't help when it came to getting votes, and so she was eliminated 1/2 way through the competition. On 11/20 (during the semi-finals) she was invited back to dance as a guest (probably due to all the protests after she was voted off!) and performed with her new hunny-bun, Mark (awww!) to Avril Lavigne's "Complicated." I thought this dance showed just how much talent we missed out on. :(

You know your town is PODUNK when...

... the news channels can spend over 40 minutes covering "latebreaking news" entailing a fire in a building under contruction, where absolutely NO ONE has been hurt because there was no one in there to begin with! Mind you, the fire has long been out (about 10 minutes after they started shooting live) yet they still find it necessary to keep reporting on it. Shot after shot of all the smoke (ooooh, how exciting! NOT) and all the fire engines still hanging around. I have lost count of how many times they've told us what this buidling was being constructed for, and what their "thoughts" are on what might have started it, or that ONCE AGAIN, no injuries, folks! So.... now that the blaze is under control (for a good 30 minutes now) and we know that no one was hurt... WHY are we still having to watch this? Is there really nothing else more interesting going on that this has to be on every single channel??? Dancing With The Stars is scheduled to start here in about 20 minutes and they better be done with all this stupidity by then, GRRRRRRRRR! Sometimes I really um... dislike Oklahoma. X<