Closing Up Shop....

Well, after a rather short run, and much thinking about the whole situation.... I have decided to close my little CafePress shop. Now, before you go and tell me that I didn't give it time or a chance, or whatever..... it's done.... closed.... It was just one more thing that I had to worry about, one more thing that was taking up time that I don't have( yes, with the internet connection I have right now.... it took up a loooooot of time) and one more thing taking up $$$ I don't have (yeah, $5 a month is piddly money, but it's money that I could use for stuff I actually need).

So there it is.....

On a related note, if there was some photo that you enjoyed, and might would like hanging on your wall, please let me know, and I'd be happy to get it printed and put on a mat for you for a reasonable price..... the frame however would be up to you. deal?

you can find most of my shots at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sigs24141/ just hit me up by e-mail and let me know which you'd like, and what size....

Thanks to everyone for their kind words, and for taking time to look at my shop while it was up and running.

To-Do List

Now, first off, this post is in no way relevant to anything. It's mainly a way to hold myself accountable to finish a few things that need to be done, and hopefully share the results(from a few items, not all) with you, the reader. I have the next couple of days off (and before anyone makes a smart comment about how I've had the past few days off also..... just stop....) so, banking on myself feeling well enough, I'm starting a to-do list of things that need to be finished before I head back into work Friday morning.

1. Balance my/our checkbook.... there are about 8 receipts laying here that I've yet to enter into my checkbook, and also a few bills that need to be paid.

B. Make it up to Radford to mow the lawn at our house.... and also while I'm there, make it to the Selents house so my dad can look at their lawnmower and hopefully fix it..... if it's not too late that is.

D. Rip all or most of my CDs to my computer..... I just need some more tunes on here. So far I just have my Coldplay and my Wilco on here, which is fine by me.... but I'm just saying, sometimes a little variety is good.

7. Get out and take some pictures!! I have 3 rolls of film in different cameras that I need to finish up.... 2 35mm rolls (one which I'm super jacked about, cause I'm running it thru my Holga, which is a 120 film camera, so with the 35mm film in it, even the sprocket holes will be exposed with some of the photo.... don't follow? You shall see in a few days!) and one roll of 120 film that's in my Zeiss Ikoflex (my first roll thru this camera, can't wait to see the results!)

And last but definitely not least.... Refrain from uploading pictures for a few days. As it turns out, on our satellite internet that we have, and the package we have, there is a 30 rolling limit as to how much you can upload and download..... and seeing as how I upload pictures to about 5 or 6 different sites (Flickr, JPG Mag, Snapfish, here, my Cafepress Shop, and sometimes MySpace) our limit is slowly coming into play.... I think last time we looked it was at 85%.... if we go over that limit, they slow our connection speed down until we fall back under it.... sucks huh?? Well it's that, or dial up since being in the sticks doesn't make DSL possible just yet.

Anyways, sorry for a babbling post today, but I want you guys and gals to keep on me about how I'm doing on my list.... that way it'll be even worse if I slack off, cause I'll have y'all to answer to as well.... get it?

The Highs and Lows of Spring

Ahh springtime.... such a lovely time of year..... flowers and plants blooming, birds singing, lots to enjoy really... such as this lovely lil butterfly here.

I never really noticed how beautiful it was this time of year until I took up a little thing called photography.... you definitely seem to notice more when you're always looking for the next shot.

But with those joys and beauties, comes somewhat of a downside.... the grass is growing, which means mowing at least once a week.... my worst fear in the world, snakes are starting to come out of hiding..... and might I mention that that's the only thing I kinda dislike about the country, having to worry about snakes. I'm sure there were/are snakes in Radford as well, but I never had the fear of running into one like I do here. I guess the "city" setting settled my fears. Also a big bummer of spring, but one that the beauty can't do with out.... POLLEN.... ugh. If I had a nickel for every time I've sneezed in the past couple days, and a penny for every tissue that this family had used..... I'd be a rich man I tell ya. I could retire, you could retire.... it's insane. I mean there's absolutely no use to even think about washing your vehicle, because within a matter of hours, it's gonna be yellow again.

Anyways, this is kinda just a dumb post.... something to occupy my mind instead of thinking about this headache I have brewing. As for all that mess, I called UVA today and it seems my doctor is out of the country and his receptionist is out sick, so they're supposed to let me know tomorrow what's going on with the spinal tap plan. Until we meet again....... have a good day/week.....

A New Adventure

So today I embarked(sp?) on something new. Taking the advice of Michelle, I opened a little shop at CafePress to sell some of my photographs. There you can buy various sizes of prints and posters, as well as various items with my photos on them..... I must admit, some of them look pretty cool on different stuff, but maybe I'm just biased... :-) You can look for yourself at www.cafepress.com/sigmonphoto I get $5 from every item that you may buy..... so in the long run, maybe that'll add up and I can buy new photography stuff...err I mean, spend it on bills.... yeah, that's it.

As for an update on my headache situation..... This week I missed every day of my work week. My head would just be hurting so bad by the time I was supposed to go in, that I just had to stay off sick. Kinda sucks..... no, it definitely sucks. I went to see my PCP today, because a) the Zomig wasn't working for my headaches, it was actually making me feel nauseated and gave me an uneasy feeling.... and 2) I've been feeling rather down lately, useless, unacknowledged (is that a word)....

For the headaches, he gave me something new to try and said that I'm probably having different kinds of headaches, which is why sometimes the meds work, and other times they don't. As for the feeling down, he started me on Cymbalta. He said that this has also been shown to be useful for pain management..... so it may actually be a help in multiple areas for me.

I still haven't heard back from UVA as to when my spinal tap is going to be. I ask that you guys and gals continue to pray for healing, and also comfort for my family thru tough times.

OH! and for a little good news..... Well, our house isn't selling.... so we received an e-mailed thru the church prayer chain about a family that was looking for a place to stay until their new house is completed.... so we offered to rent our's to them and they came and looked at it, and loved it.... and bought it on the spot, CASH MONEY..... ok, so that part isn't true.... but they are going to rent it for a few months, which will help us out with some of our money situations..... And we may even be considering renting the house altogether.... but that's still something to be thought and prayed over.

That's all... GO CHECK OUT MY SHOP! YOU HAVE TIME! BUY SOMETHING! IT HELPS BUY MIA MILK! hahahaha

The Sigmon 'Shroom Shack

In like 50 years when we're able to retire, that'll be the name of our little Callaway restaurant.... located near the pond, call in orders welcome! haha

I've had a pretty good day today.... not headache free, but definitely not too awful bad either. My dad and I went mushroom hunting today.... yep, you read right.... mushrooms.... morels to be exact. And if you've never tried them, I suggest you give it a shot! Roll em in some flour, and fry in some butter..... they're good.... real good.(read that with a Southern accent) They don't come out till about this time every year, and they don't stay too long... a couple weeks maybe? Anyways, it's something that I enjoy tremendously.... I can remember going when I was younger with my dad, we'd always bet who could find the first, and who would find the most.... needless to say, he almost always won. That proved true today also, he dang near skunked me, but I brought out the big guns and found 2 near the end of the trip! Maybe one day, this is something I can do with my kids as well....

Here's a couple shots from the day.... In the first one, see if you can spot the morel mushroom. Answer revealed at the bottom.... no cheating! It's not that tough anyways...

The location of the 'shroom is circled below! How'd ya do????

Update....kinda...

Just thought I'd throw out a little update... keep y'all current on what's happening over here.

First off, Michelle had asked just how much a 3 year late fee on a movie is... well, luckily it didn't gain any interest or anything, so it was the same as a regular late fee I guess.... I can tell you however, that if you throw 3 video games in the trunk of your car, take off to the beach after graduation for Senior Week, and then realize once you're in South Carolina that the games were due back ummmm yesterday..... 5 days later you will incur about a $30 late fee.... I mean, I'm just throwing that senario out there, it may or may not have actually happened.

As far as headaches go, I'm still having them daily.... and it really sucks when headaches ruin all of your plans for the weekend.... Like say, going to Radford to hang out with friends on a Saturday evening. And then you plan to get up and go to church on Sunday morning, to see all of your friends who you haven't seen in ages, only to wake with yet another headache.... yeah, kinda puts one in a foul mood.

I took a little bit of action this morning, as I awoke yet again with a headache, and called my neurologist in Hooville (AKA Charlottesville, AKA possibly the greatest college town after Durham) and left a message for him. I told them that something needed to happen, be it a spinal-tap or whatever, cause I was missing too much work and waiting till September to come back is just not a possibility. So we'll see how that turns out....

I guess that about does it.... maybe more later as the day/evening goes on.

**update to the update** UVA just called me back and my neurologist is starting the paper work for me to have a spinal tap done. They said it'll probably be done at UVA, so alright.... not sure if that will require missing work after the procedure or not.... if anyone knows you could fill us all in with a comment perhaps.... or there's always Wikipedia!

FRIDAY....

errr.... actually Monday for me (since my days off are Wed and Thurs.) Anyways, first off let me start by saying that my pictures have nothing to do with what I'm about to say..... just most of my pictures lately are of Mia, so that's what I'm sharing.

On to the kinda funny story for the day. To begin, Stephanie and Mia have traveled to PA for the weekend, since Stephanie has Monday and half the day Tuesday off.... So I made plans to hang out with my brother in law Durand, since my sister Angie, is off at a scrapbooking retreat (yes, there is such a thing as a scrapbooking retreat....what the heck ever hahaha). So we were gonna play some video games on his new PS3.... well as we're waiting for our to go order from Applebee's, we decided to go to the movie store in Rocky Mount and rent a game.... we walk in, and here's the conversation between myself and the cashier......

"Yeah, I just needed to check real quick and make sure I still have an account here."

"OK, can I see your ID? Ok, is the address still _____"

"yep"

"And the phone number still _____"

"uh huh"

"Ok, I'm still showing a late fee from 2005, for the Longest Yard."

"Hmmm... yeah, I guess I better go ahead and pay that one."

Dang! A late fee from 2005?!? It's been 3 years.... let it go! Movie Starz never forgets!

Anyhoo.... I thought it was funny, maybe you just had to be there....

And so, as promised.... some new Mia pics, who by the way turned 10 months old this week, is learning to walk, and oh! might I point out her hot pink Crocs! Have a good weekend!

So yeah...

Not a whole lot new to report really.... I did find out today that I was denied my Family Medical Leave at work, which would allow me to use FMLA days when I need to be off, instead of calling in sick.... which I've been doing a whole heck of a lot this year. The reason I was denied was basically because I haven't worked enough in the past 12 months... which is weird, because that's exactly why I need the FMLA in the first place, because I'm too sick to work! If that makes sense to any of you, and you can explain it to me, go right ahead....

Also, my pal Zion (aka Z.Z., Z-money) Selent invited me to come to Dayspring today for "Special Someone Day" and I was unable to attend.... :-( I was supposed to work 1st shift today which would have kept me from going, but then I ended up not being able to go because I was sick with a headache again. I can't explain how honored I feel that he thought of me to invite.... that means a lot. Just sucks that I couldn't go :-/

On a happier note, Mia turned the big 1-0 today.... 10 months old, and getting closer to walking every day! She's able to balance herself standing for like 15 seconds or something.... and she's doing wonderfully with her little walker thing.... Anyhooo... that's about it from my neck of the woods... tune in later this week for an update. You may now return to your regularly schedule life.

:-D

Let's just start out by saying, Mia loves her bath time. Pretty much, there's the same routine every night... we take her to her room, strip her down, and then turn her loose..... and she comes crawlin' butt naked to the tub.... So I thought I'd share my little cell phone quality video with my blog readers.... it makes me smile, how about you?

Sleep Center

So last night was my appointment at the Carilion Sleep Center. Let me run you thru what went down....

I get there around 8:15p, get settled in, and then they come in and start wiring me up. I had a wire on each leg, one on my collarbone, and one under my ribs... then I had 2 straps also on me, one across my belly, the other across my chest. Then, the fun stuff.... I kid you not when I say that I had at least 20 wires/sensors attached to my head..... It was craziness. After he hooked me all up, I went to take out my contacts and saw myself in the mirror, I almost laughed out loud.... it was ridiculous looking.

So then he plugged all those wires into the machine, and I got comfortable for the night..... watched a lil TV, read some photo mags.... and then lights out. It took me about 30-45 mins to get to sleep, but then I slept pretty good I guess aside from waking myself up from snoring a couple times.

5:30a comes around, and the tech comes and wakes me up.... sonofa... Also, he brings me news of what he noticed thru the night... nothing out of the ordinary... he said I didn't stop breathing and(no sleep apnea) and that my oxygen level stayed around 93 (anything above 90 is good)... also he said I didn't really snore that bad although I woke myself a couple times.

So I get up, get dressed.... and back to our house in Radford to sleep a couple more hours.... then home to FC.

So, yeah, nothing out of the ordinary is good news.... but also a little disappointing, because to me, it's another dead end.... still no answers to my headache problem(s). Don't take this as me wishing bad news on myself, I just wanna know what's going on so it can be fixed.

There you have it.... my night at the sleep center.

Also I'd like to add, that the one time I don't carry my cameras with me, freakin' photo ops all over the place driving home.... foggy fields, the morning sun, gangs of turkies.... all just a little depressing..... hopefully my day will pick up from here.

Spring....

So I've been sitting here thinking of what to write about today. It's been tough to tell the truth, so let's try a couple things:

First off, I have to admit that lately I've been hooked on bird photography, thru a dirty window nonetheless.... I have my tripod(well, techincally it's Jeremy's tripod) rigged up and my camera has been staying on there.... I don't have a pic of the setup, so I'll have to explain it to you: One of the legs is sitting on the electric wall heater, the 2nd one is sitting on a stack of encyclopedias and a few DVD cases.... and the 3rd, well it won't stay extended, so I had to extend it as far as it would go, and then place it on top of my subwoofer.... yeah, it's not a pretty sight. So anyways, I think we need some different type of bird seed, because all I'm getting out there are mainly finches.... lots and lots of finches. But, there are a couple of woodpeckers who also like to chow down, so I'm trying to get a full shot of one of those.... that would be my Holy Grail of bird shots at the moment... haha all I've been able to get is his head... and might I mention, that woodpecker kinda look evil.... I'm just sayin'.... look at his eyes!

Hmmm next up on my excitment meter is my little herb garden.... they're sprouting! hooray! last time i killed em all. Oh, and by herb, I mean the edible kind.... not the smokable kind. I don't need money that bad yet..... although if it comes down to it, I am in Franklin Co..... I'm sure there's some moonshine that needs to be sold somewhere nearby.And lastly, we have pictures! I picked up 2 rolls of 120 film today that I had developed.... and I'm not gonna lie, one roll turned out like crap. But the B&W ones turned out pretty sweet in my opinion.... considering they were taken from a toy camera. Viva la Film! or something like that. ** a little side note if you will, sorry if you see some of the same or similar pictures... I usually take one with my D80, and one with the Holga as well..... Anyways, sorry to bore you all with a bunch of rambling.... tomorrow it's off to the sleep study center.... Oh, and while I'm on that topic, can you relate with me when I say, it's gonna be hard as heck to fall asleep knowing that there are cameras on you, and people watching you!