Test for Springs final arrival!

I can tell it is really spring here now. This large moth (2½" long x 3½" wide) helps to prove that spring and the bugs have arrived. I tried to find out exactly what kind this is, but couldn't find a picture to match it on the Internet and since I'm not really into the bug world, I haven't a clue. Any one want to venture a guess? His lower wings have a beautiful purple color on them and the dots on his upper wings are shaped like triangles. He has long yellow antenna and big black eyes.



The other way is by looking at this beautiful lilac bush in my backyard. It can be seen from my compter room window and if it's warm enough to open the window, the fragerance that filters though the screen is beautiful. I was hoping that the butterflies that were occupying several of the branches would show up, but I should have known better. Without zoom, I just can't capture things the way I want to! But I think the flowers turned out pretty anyway.

It is 11:46 PM on Wednesday night, and this is the first chance I have had to really spend enough time on the computer to post something new. I have been so very busy, with what I'm not certain, other than taking care of Drew off and on. Maybe just cleaning house, it is spring after all, and that spring cleaning is always calling my name. I wonder if I changed my name maybe I would get more rest......nah.....wouldn't happen!

A Wonderful Friend

I am the happy recipient of the displayed Birthday Card made exclusively by SmalltownRN who claims she has just taken up this hobby. Looks like she is an old pro at this kind of craft, doesn't it! Thank you dear friend for remembering me and taking the time to let me know we are friends, no matter how many miles may keep us apart!

Although we have not met 'face-to-face', we have chatted on the Internet until the wee hours of the morning at times! We met over a year ago through an exchange that PEA had initiated for Halloween in 2006. Thank you PEA for hooking us up!

Saturday Playtime

Our two oldest boys, Brian and Doug, were here Saturday with Brian's three children and Doug's oldest daughter, Amber. Of course, Doug lives here at the present time and Amber comes almost every weekend. After lunch and Brian's one year old, Rebecca took a nap in the PAC-N-PLAY and Elijah, the three year old found some of the old Fisher Price toys to play with, Doug and Amber and Brian and his oldest, David decided to play a game of tag football. I'm not sure who one the game or if it really matters to any of them.

It was so nice to see our oldest boys 'at play' again with their own children that I feel as if I may have been the one to win! There was a long time of Doug not coming around when his brothers and sisters were here and I think it was all because of the gal he was with for so long. He's no longer with that gal and we are all happy about it. Our Doug, as we knew him before her, is back with us. And we can now enjoy him more than ever.



We weren't sure we would ever see the 'old' Doug return but a lot of prayers (and a mom never gives up hope) God has answered our prayers and showed Doug the way back to us. GOD IS GOOD!!!

What Are The Chances?

This is so strange! Remember last week when my older sisters daughters both had surgery? Well, last night I get a call from my sister. She is in the ER and she wanted to tell me that they are taking her to an operating room for an emergency appendectomy! Can you believe that? I don't know what the odds of three woman from the same family having surgery in less than a week are, but I'm thinking it can't be that great!

Thankfully both her daughters are on the way to recovery and she is being released from the hospital today. It is certainly amazing how fast they kick you out. She was out of surgery at 11:00 PM last night and within a 24 hour period she was sent home. Good thing her hubby will be there to help her out!

BTW, my niece's tumor WAS BENIGN!!! Thank you, GOD!!!

The Mommy Test

I received this as an e-mail today from my cousin......I don't know if this was something her daughter said or if she found it somewhere, but I think it says it all!



I was out walking with my 4- year- old daughter. She picked up something off
the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her
and I asked her not to do that. "Why?" my daughter asked.
"Because it's been on the ground, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty
and probably has germs" I replied.
At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked,
"Mommy, how do you know all this stuff? You are so smart."
I was thinking quickly. "All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mommy Test.
You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mommy."
We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently
pondering this new information. "OH...I get it!" she beamed, "So if you
don't pass the test you have to be the daddy."
"Exactly" I replied!

Happy/Sad weekend!

Well, the weekend is over and it was lovely! The sun shone and the temperatures were summer like without the high humidity, and.....hubby and I spent almost the whole weekend together! Saturday was our 17th Wedding Anniversary....yep I'm now a Saint! Okay, just joking. Living with him isn't at all bad. Oh he has his moments....but I probably have more of them; being female and all, just ask slick!!!!

We hopped in the car and headed out for a ride with no particular destination in mind other than eventually finding a nice restaurant for a steak dinner and some hand holding! We stopped whenever and where ever we wanted. One of those stops was at a WalMart store to check out the grills on sale. While there we found some stools for the snack counter in our kitchen and purchased them.

We then decided to take a couple two-track roads through the Allegan forest. Remember those, Rachel? The ones where you had to bury your head so you wouldn't see the drop offs close to the road and you cried! Yep, some of those same ones. It's been a long time since we've been 4-wheeling like that and I found, much to my surprise, that I had indeed missed it!

We found an "Outback" and decided since we were now famished to eat there. We had a great meal of steak and baked potato and crisp tossed salad. And for the appetizer we had what they call a "bloomin' onion" and managed to get in plenty of 'hand holding' between courses. They also serve fresh baked bread and honey butter before the appetizer shows up.

After arriving back home, I noticed that my voice mail message light was blinking so I played the message. It was from my baby sister in Colorado telling me that our older sisters oldest daughter who had been scheduled for surgery that day to repair a hernia and check on her gall bladder had the surgery but there was no hernia and her gall bladder was fine. They found a tumor and removed it and think it is benign but won't know for sure for a couple days ! Then while in route to pick up her daughters girls to keep for the weekend, she received a call on her cell telling her that her youngest daughter has just been taken into emergency surgery at a different hospital for what the thought was a hot gall bladder.....it was, and both girls are now home and recovering...such a mess for older sis! I'm going to call and see if she or they need any help. Please keep all of them in your prayers for speedy recoveries!

CAUTION: Lack of sleep may cause memory loss!

After having said that, let me fill you in on what happened!

I was speaking on the phone with someone and they needed my address. After they asked me for it, my mind went blank. I mean totally blank....I could not remember my own address. I had to look at a piece of mail to tell them my address! How absolutely ridiculous is that !?! I was pretty frightened and felt that there was something REALLY wrong with me. That has never happened to me before. I was certain that some form of dementia was setting in!

I called the doctors office and explained what had happened and asked for the earliest appointment they had. The nurse, who happens to be a friend of mine, calmed me down and asked if I had been getting enough sleep. I responded "no" and told her approximately how much sleep I had been averaging a night. And then she laughed.....she LAUGHED! I'm scared out of my mind and she is laughing? She said it sounded normal to her, but asked if I could hold and she would speak with the doctor. When she came back, she told me the doctor said that if that was all I couldn't remember on the little bit of sleep I was getting, I should consider myself fortunate. And she told me that the doctor was going to order some prescription sleep aid for me. He did, and I picked it up at the pharmacy yesterday and.....I slept last night. ALL.NIGHT! Wow, what a difference sleep can make!

It's called Ambien and boy does it work fast. The information leaflet states that you should go directly to bed after taking it as it doesn't take long to work. Understatement! I took it and barely made it up the stairs before I felt the effects of it. I'm supposed to take it for 7 nights in a row, making sure that I am able to get at least 8 hours sleep each night before I have to be awake and active. The doctor said that 7 nights should be enough to re-establish a sleep pattern and then try and sleep without the pill. If I have trouble after 2 nights to resume taking it again for 5 nights and try going without it again. Hope it works the way it's supposed to. I don't want to have to take pills forever in order to be able to sleep.

So, I'm gonna take my pill and see if I need to count sheep.....ZZZzzzzz

Three Things Meme/As long as I can't sleep!

I'm still up and since I was tagged I thought I would do this meme from
Southern Livin'. I've had one (1) alcoholic beverage to help me sleep (I hope) tonight, but am not feeling the least bit sleepy as of yet. So here goes:


Three Things That Scare Me

1. Spiders, but anything creepy crawly.
2. Having sick grand children.
3. Taking my annual stress test because I don't usually pass them and then the doctor wants to do a heart catheterization.

Three People Who Make Me Laugh

1. My hubby.
2. All of my grand children.
3. My favorite sis-in-law, Tammy.

Three Things I Love

1. Smell of Coffee first thing in the morning.
2. Rainbows.
3. Listening to waves hit the beach.

Three Things I Hate

1. Running out of toilet paper!
2. Anyone who abuses a child.
3. Snow in April.

Three Things I Don’t Understand

1. Why my dog seems to prefer hubby most of the time.
2. How someone can deliberately hurt a child emotionally, physically or sexually.
3. Why employers don't want to hire anyone over 50.

Three Things On My Desk

1. Unpaid bills that aren't quite due yet.
2. Sticky note pad.
3. A pen/pencil holder full of pens/pencils.

Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die

1. Learn Spanish so I can understand my daughter-in-law when she's trying to tell
my son something she doesn't want to say in front of the rest of us.
2. Go for a hot air balloon ride.
3. Go to Hawaii.

Three Things I Can Do

1. Sew things on the sewing machine.
2. Make holiday meals.
3. Feed an infant a bottle and cook dinner at the same time.

Three Things I Can’t Do

1. Sit or lie quietly for more than 15 minutes (probably why I have so much trouble
sleeping).
2. Make good pie crust from scratch.
3. Mow the grass in a straight line.

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To

1. Your inner voice.
2. The wind.
3. A baby sighing.

Three Things You Should Never Listen To

1. A drunk.
2. A know-it-all.
3. My advice

Three Things I’d Like To Learn

1. How to knit and/or crochet.
2. See "Three things I want to do before I die", #1.
3. To play the guitar.

Three Favorite Foods

1. Salads.
2. Steak medium rare, cooked by hubby on the grill.
3. Pecan Pie.

Three Things I Regret

1. Not being able to finish college.
2. My parents dieing before I married and had children.
3. That my children grew up without their dad.

I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you want to play, feel free and be sure and let me know!

Insomnia X 2

Okay, this is the second night in a row that I can't seem to fall asleep. I hate when this happens. It use to happen all the time and then stopped for a brief period of time and has started back up again. The rest of the house is sound asleep....except for me. Oh yeah, and that dang hamster, Jelly. He seems to be nocturnal also. The only difference between him and me is that he sleeps all day and I don't!

I could call and ask the Doctor for some meds to help me sleep, but our insurance probably won't cover it and I don't have an extra $80. - $100. laying around to spend on such frivolous nonsense as a sleep aid. I have tried the stuff pictured above, but that doesn't really do anything for me. Nor does Tylenol PM! Maybe I am just doomed to being sleep deprived like when I was a new mom with infants!

FRIDAY FEAST # 139

Appetizer
When you were a child, which crayon color was your favorite? Turquoise

Soup
On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how likely would you be to change jobs if it required you to move? Using that scale it would be a 1....I could not possibly move away from my children and grand children!!

Salad
Take all the numbers in your birthday and your phone number and add them up, one by one. What’s the total? Total - 1994

Main Course
Have you ever “re-gifted” anything? If so, what was it and who did you pass it on to?
I have never re-gifted anything...my thought being that if someone was kind enough to give me a gift I should keep it.


Dessert
Name something you need from the store. Hersey's Chocolate Syrup to make chocolate milk for Drew.

Spring ? Where ?

Okay, now I have had it!!!! I do think that Father Time needs to have a serious talk with Mother Nature. I took this picture right after I got up this morning, after having my first cup of coffee of course. Now the snow has reached a depth of about 3 inches. I. Am. Not. Impressed! In fact, I am downright ticked off! We now have more snow outside than we had on Christmas Day. And this is the 11th of April! This is supposed to be spring!

If any of you living in a warm climate feel inclined to send me fare for a plane ticket to visit you, now would be a good time!!!

Pictures from Kentucky

This picture of "Sleeping Beauty", aka, Amber is the morning after arriving. Needles to say, she was tired and didn't want to get up! I don't know why she was tired, she slept all night and hogged the whole queen size bed so I couldn't sleep!



Here is a picture of all the kids at my daughters home. They are (from left to right) Darian wearing his Halloween costume, KeAira, Telyse, Kameron, Amber, holding Cayden.



Rachel and Cayden at the park.




KeAira at the park. This is the same park where the "Kentucky Incident" happened!



Amber & Telyse




Darian




Kameron



And this one shows what the covering of the playground looks like. It is re-cycled tires and is a lot better than wood chips but still pretty hard for an old lady to fall on. I had red speckles on my back for days!

Happy Easter !

Easter Blessings, everyone !

Easter has moved to winter!

This is what I woke up to this morning! Didn't spring arrive on March 20th? That's what I thought! So did someone forget to tell Mother Nature or is she just late in playing her April Fool's Joke on us? I'm worried that my daffodils that have bloomed and were so pretty the day I returned from Kentucky will now be dead. I'm not sure how the forsythia bush will fare. I'm not liking this weather after the 80º weather we had in Kentucky. This is just too cold for Spring! We are actually under a snow and blowing snow advisory until midnight tonight! The county I live in has asked the news media to request that people stay home if they don't have to go anywhere as the roads are icy and it could take up to 5 hours for the state police to respond to an accident. I guess today is not the day I will take the disposable camera in to have a picture CD made. Nor is it a day to go grocery shopping for the Easter meal! I'm running out of time. And I have to get Easter basket goodies as Amber will be with us and probably so will Hunter and Harley. The rest of the kids and grand kids (except for Rachel and family and Brian and family) will all be here at some point on Easter and the little kids will all be expecting something wonderful at Mema and Bumpa's house.
Maybe the snow will all melt by tomorrow.....yeah right! I can always hope. Why didn't I stay in Kentucky longer?

News from Kentucky

Hi! I'm back. And I have no pictures to show you yet. You see, I forgot my digital camera. My sis-in-law got here early and wanted to get an earlier start than originally planned, so in my haste to get all Amber's and my stuff together to load into the truck that was one of the things that got left behind. So I purchased a cheap disposable camera out there and have to get the camera in to get a Picture CD made before I can post any pictures. What can I say.....chalk it up to a senior moment, okay?!

The weather was wonderful. The temperatures were in the upper 70's to low 80's with high humidity. We made great time in getting there.....it only took us 8 hours so we were there by 3:20 PM on the 1st. Still plenty of daylight left but the kids were a little antsy from being cooped up in a vehicle for that long so we took them swimming in the motel pool. My daughter Rachel and her hubby Trenton and the three kids came too join in the fun and boy was it bedlam for a while! The oldest boy is 6 and some of his words are not real plain and with his Kentucky accent and so many baby teeth that have recently fallen out it isn't always easy to understand what he is saying. He was pretty excited to be able to swim and as he was telling me how excited he was his pronunciation of swimming pool came out 'women pool'! Heck, I want to know where the 'men pool' is!!!

We didn't make it to Cumberland Falls to see the moonbow either. My sis-in-law wasn't comfortable driving through the mountain roads after dark so I will have to see the moonbow another time.

We did have a great time though. My sis-in-law and I get along really good and there was a lot of talking and laughing going on between us. So much in fact that Amber and Telyse thought we were nuts! Kameron, our little knight in shining armor came to our defense and told the girls it was 'very naughty to make fun of us.'

The last night there we took all the kids to a park to let them play and while there I had a small happening. My sil and Telyse and Amber are now referring to this as the "Kentucky Incidence". This is how it played out: Time to leave and I held Amber's hand to step over a knee high balance beam and caught the toe of my shoe on said beam, lost my balance and tried to regain balance by doing a quick hop on opposite foot, continued to be off balance and fell on my toushie and back with a large thud and jarring! My words, 'holy shit!' All I could do was lay there and laugh! Daughter came running over to help me up and I still was laughing too hard to be able to get up.....now she thinks I am crazy too along with everyone else in the park! I have a strong suspicion that they won't let me forget this anytime soon!

First thing Sunday morning Amber and I and my sis-in-law Tammy and her two kids are heading to Kentucky to see Rachel and kids! We'll only be gone a few days. Everyone stay well!

Outdoor Observations

Today was another very lovely day here. The temperature reached the high 70's according to my outside thermometer. I spent as much time as possible outside just enjoying it while I could.

After a dinner of meatloaf, baked potato and green beans, I grabbed my after dinner french vanilla flavored coffee and headed out to the back yard to catch a few more rays of sunshine before the sun sets and enjoy the bird sightings and peacefulness.

I love to watch birds. We have a pair of red-headed wood peckers that seem to have set a nest up in one of the hollow trees in the small wooded area behind our yard. The male was hopping around the tree in what looked like some kind of a dance, but I suspect he was gathering bugs to feed the female who stayed inside the tree where I suspect their nest to be. He would return to the hole every so often and stick his head partially in the hole and remain there a few minutes and then begin his 'dance' once again. I guess it's probably rather mundane musings to most of you, but I find it fascinating to watch them unobserved. They are not close enough for me to take a picture and my digital doesn't have any zoom control on it. It's a starter digital, and I now think I am going to need to upgrade just for this reason. Since my camera isn't capable of photographing them so far away, this picture is one I found on the web but it looks almost exactly like the ones in the wooded area.

I also saw several blue jays and there are two sets of cardinals living in this same wooded area. There were a zillion robins out there searching for worms in the yard and some of them were even brave enough to come within a couple feet of where the dog was sitting doing what she does best......keeping a watchful eye on her boundries!

The weather tomorrow is supposed to turn much cooler and they are predicting rain showers and thundershowers for the rest of the week. Oh well, I am grateful for the last two beautiful days that assure me that spring is eternal and will arrive as it always does.....in it's own good time!

Meet Hunter! This is Amber's little brother, same dad - different mom. He was missing Daddy, so he came to spend the night with daddy. He's eating some left over birthday cake and some ice cream. It's a shame that these little ones are always made to suffer in a domestic break down. He is such a loving little boy.....he can be naughty, don't get me wrong, but for the most part he listens to Bumpa and Mema when we tell him something. Although we try to leave the discipline to 'Dad', sometimes we have to step in when dad is in another room or outside and doesn't see what is going on. But I would rather leave it all to dad so I can just be a "Grandma"!

In spite of all that this child has gone through in his home environment of domestic violence (condoned by the court systems from my point of view as they won't award my son the custodial parent) he is relatively unscathed! He does tend to break down and cry when he doesn't get his own way and it takes him a while to get over his 'attitude', for the most part he is a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of boy! He will be 5 the end of May and I'm sure we will be hosting a birthday party for him too!

The Birthday ~ March 17th, 2007

The Chocolate Mint Cake with whipped frosting....and yes it's green for St. Patrick's Day!
Amber and her Daddy!



And what's a birthday without birthday balloons!

And opening up some presents!







We had pizza and crazy bread with sauce, soda, the birthday cake and cookie dough ice cream. Her daddy bought her a Boost Mobile cell phone. We got her 3 summer outfits and she got nail polish, craft items, and money from Aunt Tammy and Uncle Scot and their kids, Telyse and Kameron, a summer outfit from Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Heidi and their boys, Trenten and Ty, and another summer outfit from Aunt Michelle and Uncle Glenn, Steve, Emily and Drew, and another summer outfit from Uncle Brian, Aunt Vanessa and David, Elijah and Rebecca, and money from Uncle Joe, Aunt Roxanne and Deb and Denise. Her mom and step-dad got her some of those new fangled shoes with wheels in the heels, called Heelies!

Some of the guests:
She says this was her 'best birthday' so far. Of course it's only her 12th one....anyway, we hope you have many more Amber, and our wish is for all of them to be happy!

Spring ?

Update: Well, they were wrong.....we didn't get the snow or even the rain for that matter....Yippee!



I was just outside walking around, looking at the new growth on the trees and bushes. This picture is outside my back door about 20 feet away. I can't believe how fast the buds on this maple tree are sprouting. I don't know how good the buds will show up against the pine tree but I think if you look close you will be able to see them. I think they look like red velvet!

I also saw some pussy willows, but I have to go to another area of the yard to take that pic and I didn't put a coat on, so I didn't want to stay out too long. It's not bad, almost 60º. but not warm enough for me to be out there in just shirt sleeves. I know, I'm a wussy!

Most of the snow has melted now, except for the spots where it was deeply drifted or the snow was piled from shoveling/plowing. It is supposed to take a turn for the worse again with the return of winter weather for tonight and tomorrow. They predict that there might even be enough snow to shovel again......I HOPE NOT!
I'm more than ready for Spring to stay!

OWWWWW!!!!

I was awakened this morning with a severe pain in my right calf. I could hardly even move my leg it hurt so bad. So I jumped out of bed and fell right on the floor. I had such a knot in my calf about the size of a golf ball! Man.....that was terrible! I don't know what causes them. Some people say the lack of potassium and others say to drink plenty of water. I drink lots of water, and I eat food with plenty of potassium. Now what.....any ideas floating around out there?

The cardiologist did take me off one of my meds because that med was causing fluid retention in my feet and ankles but he didn't say anything about expecting some side effects from going off it.

Anyway, the knot is gone now but it remains very sore to just barely touch it. It's seriously going to hamper my walk today!!!!

Echo-cardiogram.....piece of cake!

There really isn't anything to one of these. I suspect it's basically the same thing as an ultra-sound they do on pregnant women to check on the baby. They didn't have ultra-sound when I had my kids. Or at least if they did have them, they weren't done routinely. So I asked the gal doing the echo if it was a boy or a girl? She looked at me rather strangely and replied, and I quote "it's not a baby, it's a heart!" Some people just don't have any sense of humor!!!!

I asked her if she could tell me anything and her response was, and again I quote, "I don't do the doctors job of revealing the results and he doesn't do my job of operating the echo-cardiogram machine." SORRRRRY! I think she needs to find a new job.

I did get the results of my stress test though. It is the same as before, nothing has changed. So unless this echo shows something other than what the doctor thought it would, I am good to go for another year anyway before I have to go and visit them again.

Test Completed

Well, here I am. Back home from my stress test. This was a totally different kind than I have had before. I still had to walk on the treadmill, but since they couldn't get my heart rate up where they wanted it during the last test, they opted to do a chemical stress test. They inject the chemical directly into an IV in your arm....in fact they run a new line into the IV, sort of like a piggyback line. It makes your heart rate rise.....FAST and you feel really hot and short of breath and you think you can't get enough oxygen into your body. It makes you feel really funny, almost drunk like.....light headed and disoriented. Then I got this terrific headache.....worse than any migraine I have ever had!! It lasted for about 2 hours. Thank goodness it is gone now.

I don't know if I passed or not. Their 'nuclear computer' wasn't working properly so they couldn't read the results. The doctor did say that from all the other information the gleaned today, it looked good. Except.....for when he listened to my heart. He heard a murmur that had never been there before. He thinks it is in the Aortic Valve and it isn't something terribly awful. Just something that I would need to take antibiotics for before any kind of medical or dental procedures. I have to go tomorrow for an Echo-cardiogram and then they will know more.

So after all this, I really still don't know anything.....except I am still alive because I'm sitting here typing!

Stupid cold and stupid stress test!

Okay, here's the skinny.....I have a terrible head cold. At least it's still just a head cold although I am starting to cough, which is a bad thing at the moment. I'm scheduled for my yearly stress test tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM. Which means no caffeine for 24 hours prior to the test...can we say "CRANKY"!! So, here I sit feeling rotten, all cold and can't get warm, with the snow still falling outside.....where the heck is SPRING! And on top of that, I am without my car once again. Hubby's truck has decided to leak antifreeze and is torn apart in the garage in the process of being repaired! So, without my car, even if I felt well enough to go anyplace, I wouldn't be able to. Oh yeah, back to the coughing part.....if I am coughing, they can't do the stress test. The reason being that I will have to lie still for 30 minutes while they take pictures with some kind of scanner after the test and if one coughs, it makes the heart move and they can't get good pictures! I don't really want to do this stress test anyway, but as long as it's scheduled, I would just as soon get it done with. The thing is that I have only passed two of these stress tests in the last 14 years. When I fail them (and I'm not sure if any studying will help) the cardiologist seems to think that he needs to do another heart catheterization to see if everything is working correctly or if the test was just a fluke!

So, I guess I should just stop complaining now......it isn't doing any good anyway....it's still cold and snowy outside, I still feel like crap and I still have to go without my coffee! Oh Calgon, take me away!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Dear Hubby, Baby Sister and Friend!

Here's a birthday cake for all of you, Dear hubby (March 4), baby sister (March 5) and my friend RJ (March 4)!

Really wish we could all be sitting around the same table sharing some of this birthday cake. I wouldn't even have to worry about the calories in the cake.......my theory is that if you're eating with friends, there are no calories involved!(It's my story and I'll tell it the way I want to).

So, I hope all of you had or will be having a nice time for your birthdays! May you all have many more and may they all be happy!!!

One of Childhood's Joys

Remember when as a kid you were allowed to lick the bowl? That's what Amber is doing here ~ licking the bowl and spatula after she made brownies. I just had to take a picture of her before she finished licking and washed her face! This sweet 'tween' will turn 12 on St. Paddy's Day. She is going to have a slumber party here that night. But around 4:00 PM we will have her cousins and aunts and uncles over for some pizza, followed by birthday cake and ice cream.

Amber's mom informed me that they will be moving in a few months. Farther north than they live now; approximately 86 miles north. Which means we won't be seeing her as much. :( If we were to pick her up on Friday and take her back home Sunday evening we would be driving about 345 miles for two round trips. Not that she isn't worth it....she IS! It's just with the price of gas and the amount of time spent traveling we would be better off if we could get her during vacations so we could keep her longer than 2 days.

Well, I need to go and tuck this little sleeping beauty on my couch in her own bed before it gets too much later. Maybe, I'll just watch her sleep for a few more minutes before I wake her enough to walk to her bed........sleep tight, all! ZZZZZZ

Feeling Much Better

Wow, I can't believe how much better I feel. Of course, I slept until almost 1:30 PM yesterday....then had trouble sleeping last night but finally fell asleep and now I am up and feeling pretty good. I think I will still take it easy for today though. I think I had the respiratory flu and maybe I wasn't as hard hit as some because of the flu shot I had last October. Whatever the reason, I'm glad to be feeling better!

I have a new microwave! I forgot to mention that we went shopping last Saturday evening and purchased a replacement for the one that succumbed to overuse. It's similar to the old one, just a different make but does look a lot like the other. So now I can make the quick Mac-n-Cheese.....but the need is no longer there. That little girl was returned to her mother on Saturday. I can't believe that she arrived here without having eaten any supper. When mine were small, I always made sure they had eaten before they went anywhere to spend the night unless I was told specifically that they would be eating with the host. Some parents believe that the 'community' WILL care for their child I guess.

Got a call from my son last night. It seems the place he moved into the end of December is a foreclosure home and the rental agent had no right to rent it out. A lady showed up on his doorstep yesterday at around 5:30 PM with the police and said he and his family would have to vacate the premises by Friday or all of their possession's will be thrown out onto the edge of the road. Now that they have no money after paying the rent and security deposit it seems as if there is nothing they can do. At my sons request, I sent an email to one of the local television stations that does investigative reporting uncovering fraudulent business dealings and they are now checking into it. Hope something good comes out of it and they are able to help with finding a new place for them to live! And/or get their money back!

Yuck!

Okay, here's the thing....I'm feeling like crap.

I feel queasy off and on, have a severe headache, my body feels as if a small truck has run over me, I have a fever of 100 degrees and I have the chills. I am terribly tired, but not sleepy and have absolutely no energy.

Those are my symptoms....anyone willing to take a guess as to what this is?

I'll be back when I'm feeling better...if I ever do.

Bad day!

I'm not the only one having a bad day!!

My DIL called yesterday around 5:30 and asked if we would mind watching the little one while they went to look at a new refrigerator. I told her we would love to watch him so they brought him over. In the meantime, Amber's momma called to see if Amber could come for the night and bring a friend. Seems they needed a babysitter and so did the friends mom. I said yes, that would be fine if they provided the transportation; after all, I'm doing them the favor they can pool their resources and buy enough gas to get them here and back and here and back again today to pick up the girls.

So the baby starts to scream and won't stop unless I'm holding him, Amber's friend is hungry because she didn't have supper at home (mom didn't have time to feed her before she came to my house and it's 7:45 PM). I start to make Easy Mac in the microwave for her with this screaming baby on my left hip and the microwave runs for 2 seconds and quits! I'm thinking a breaker blew. Holler into the other room to ask hub to check the breakers, he does, not a breaker. Microwave is totally dead!!!
Baby still screaming, little girl (only child) standing next to me repeating how hungry she is and she wants to eat now....I'm about to blow a gasket so I calmly tell her that it will take a little longer since I have to now prepare it on the stovetop instead of the micro. She rolls her eyes and goes in the other room and the baby continues to scream while riding on my hip. Oh Calgon, take me away!!!

Feast One Hundred & Thirty Two

Appetizer
Where on your body do you have a scar, and what caused it?

Have lots of them from open-heart surgery, legs, chest.

Soup
What is something that has happened to you that you would consider a miracle?

Surviving the above mentioned surgery

Salad
Name a television personality who really gets on your nerves.

Amy's brother on "Everybody Loves Raymond"

Main Course
What was a funny word you said as a child (such as "pasketti" for "spaghetti")?

"covered" for "cupboard"

Dessert
Fill in the blank: I have always thought ______ was ______.

the old penny candy store was the best and we need them again!

Bumpa's Smile

It just dawned on me that after all the posts about hubby's oral surgeries, I never showed a picture of him smiling with his new smile. So that's what I'm doing here......meet my hubby, aka Bumpa, with his beautiful smile! If you click on the photo I believe it shows a larger image in a new window where you can see his smile better. Anyway this is the love of my life...I know, kinda corny but that's what he is.

I've not posted here in almost a week and decided I better come up with something so people didn't worry about me. It's just that I haven't been feeling very creative and I think you must all get bored reading about the daily happenings in my life so I started some spring cleaning instead of posting. So when spring finally arrives, if it ever does (and I have some doubts) I will be ready to spend some time outdoors sitting in my lawn chairs watching the birds or reading; after the gardening is done, of course!

Our little Amber called last night and she will be turning 12 on March 17th and asked if she could have her birthday party here. When I asked her what kind of a party she wanted to have, she said a sleep over and "my mom won't let me have it here 'cause we don't have enough room!" I then asked how many girls she wanted to have over and when she told me only three, I told her of course she can have her party here. This isn't the normal thing for grandparents to do, but Amber lived with us for the first 5 years of her life and we were her legal guardians; and when a child lives in your house and you are the primary care giver 24/7 they become almost like your own children. Not that we love her any more than we love any of the other 13 grandchildren, but the love is of a different nature, if that makes any sense. She and we feel like this is her home too, and she will always have a place here if she wants or needs it.

My Sweethearts !

Here are a couple pictures of two of the important men in my life! Hubby and Drew working on MY jigsaw puzzle together. Drew came to spend some time with us on Valentine's Day....not because it was Valentine's Day, but because his mom and dad had something they had to do. I had no idea that Drew liked puzzles but as you can see he does. He sat up at the table like such a little man and every time he would say 'puzzle', Bumpa would hand him another piece. Then Drew would say an entire sentence of jibberish and look at Bumpa waiting for a response to what he said. I don't remember what Bumpa said back to him and I don't think it really would matter anyway because Drew just wanted to have a conversation and since we couldn't understand most of what he said I'm sure he wasn't to particular as to what was said to him either. It was funny to watch and listen to and had me cracking up!

Usually when Drew is here, Bumpa is at work and misses out on interacting with Drew so this was a welcome opportunity for both of them. And speaking of work, hubby received a call today from his employer telling him the lay off, at least for some of the employees, is over! Hooray!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

How many of you receive these kind of items from your Sweetheart on Valentine's Day? Me either; and do you want to know why? Keep reading....

You see, I don't need flowers or candy on Valentine's Day from my Sweetie! I don't need candy or flowers or any other gift just because it's Valentine's Day. He shows me all the time just how much he loves me by getting up and going to work each day to earn a paycheck. He shows me in the way he helps me in the house, and so many more ways than just supplying me with empty calories in the candy and a runny nose from the flowers. And I show him just how much I love him by keeping the house clean, paying the bills, doing the laundry and cooking the meals. Oh, there are other ways we show our love too, but the above mentioned ones are the ones that people rarely take the time to thank the other one for. Probably because they are the ordinary day to day mundane tasks of living. Not the kind of thing that sells Hallmark cards.......but in my opinion the ones that really matter!

I remember when I was hospitalized and hubby was there for me. He stayed by my side and was there when I needed him. Love is being there for the bad along with the good. He showed just how much he loved me.....and he continues to do so to this day. Oh sure, I get angry with him and he gets angry with me. Two people can not live together without having differences. Love means fighting fairly. Love means working through those differences and re-connecting afterward. Love means forgiving one another and not holding a grudge. Love means wanting the other person to be happy and being able to put them first, not that you will always have to, but the ability to do so really shows a strong and lasting love.

So, this is my tribute, my offering of love to my hubby this Valentine's Day. Thank you for being there, for loving me, for putting up with me (I know I'm not always easy to live with), but mostly thank you for staying true to yourself and just for being the wonderful man you are to me! I love you.....Happy Valentine's Day!

Improvement in the weather.....

is a welcome thing for me. The roads are much better to drive on now and I can actually get in the car, well at least when hubby isn't using it since his truck still isn't running right, and drive myself to the post office or anywhere else that isn't too far for me to venture by myself! Most of the roads are just wet with icy patches along the edges now instead of being totally covered in ice.

The above picture is of our "fur-kid", Prancer, dressed in her winter coat for playing in the frigid temperatures. She hates it, but it doesn't really matter anymore because she's outgrown it anyway. What she really needs is boots!

Hubby is at his uncle's house today working on the truck and I took Amber to visit her Daddy at his place for the afternoon. The sun was shining so pretty when I left to take her, but the closer we got to his house (16 miles south of my house) it was snowing so hard that I couldn't see too far in front of the car.....maybe 2 car lengths, but I made it okay!

I wanted to take some more pictures of the snow, but the batteries in my digital have died. They were rechargeable but they don't seem to charge anymore. I tried two different chargers and the batteries won't charge in either one of them. My thoughts are that the batteries have totally died!! Note to self: pick up AA batteries at store.

It's Tuesday and hubby did not have that oral surgery yesterday! Oh it's not because he didn't go to his appointment....it's because after we got there the oral surgeon refused to do the surgery. He said it didn't really need to be done as the dead bone would flake off and there would be new gum tissue under it. I'm thinking it had more to do with the fact that it was 're-work' so to speak and we weren't paying for it! Hope it's true and it all works for the best and hubby doesn't have to go through it at some future date and time.

We did take Amber home and I'm definitely glad that I wasn't driving being as I 'white-knuckled' the entire 66 mile round trip. The roads are treacherous to say the least. They are sanding them and that does help with some traction, but it does nothing to melt the 3 inch ice-cover on most roads. Of course, with the temp only being in the single digits, the salt they use on the roads wouldn't work anyway.

Hubby got to sleep in a little this morning. He got called for jury duty and had to report this morning at the county courthouse by 8:30 AM. This is the first time he has ever been called for jury duty and he isn't really happy about it, but since the big meeting at his work on Friday informing him of his lay-off beginning this past Monday and he isn't missing any time from work it isn't that big of a deal. Well, except for the fact that the courthouse is 20 some miles away and unemployment checks already have to be stretched just to meet monthly bills and we thought that at least we would be able to save on gas for the vehicles. Well, we are saving some on gas for the vehicles......he is driving my car because his truck isn't working right...AGAIN! But I don't mind....really! It's not like I'm about to get in and drive it anywhere with these road conditions. If it weren't for hubby, I would be a hermit all winter long....as long as there is snow and ice build-up on the roads. Hmmmm.....I wonder if he needs a chauffeur license?

Snow and more snow!

This is the view out my kitchen window.

We were under a "lake effect snow warning" most of the day Thursday. For those of you who are not familiar with lake effect snow, please read the following:

The heaviest lake-effect snow episodes usually occur when a bitter cold outbreak dives southeast across the Great Lakes. As cold air flows over the warm water, the bottom layer over the surface of the water is heated from below. Moisture also evaporates into the air as it is heated. Since warm air is lighter and less dense than cold air, the heated air rises and begins to cool. As the air cools, the moisture that evaporated into it condenses and forms clouds. When enough moisture condenses out of the air, snow falls over the regions downwind of the Great Lakes. The greater the temperature contrast between the cold air and the warm water, the heavier the snow showers will be. If the temperature contrast is great enough, the rising air will have enough buoyancy to form thundersnow, which are thunderstorms that have snow falling out of them rather than rain.

I happen to live in one of these so called snow bands and in the last 2-3 days we have received about 18 inches of new snow! Now this is the kind of Michigan winter I grew up with. We use to play outside every day in this stuff and we didn't know anything about windchill back then either. Cold was cold and that's all there was to it!! We went sledding, and built snowmen and rolled down hills and had snowball fights and went ice skating at the local outdoor rink. When your toes and fingers hurt and you could no longer feel your nose we knew it was time to head inside for some much needed warming up and a cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows floating in it. If we were really lucky we might also get some homemade cookies or brownies! Yum yum! And you know what else? I don't ever remember having a 'snow day' off from school! School was held no matter what and was only dismissed early if there was a tornado warning or watch. I guess we were tougher in those days; or maybe they just didn't know as much technology back then and no one really knew just how cold it was.

It is official now, the television just announced that we received 9 inches of new snow yesterday....I guess there is even more snow out there than I thought. There is another snow advisory out for today for more snow and blowing and drifting snow from noon until 7 PM, and than at midnight EST, we will be under a 'winter snow warning' until midnight on Saturday.

I think it sounds as if it's a good thing that we didn't have any plans to go anywhere to watch Superbowl Sunday! We will only have to worry about getting Amber back home safely....she is coming for the weekend today after school. Hubby will pick her up after he gets out of work....maybe we can build a snowman and slide down the hill and then come in for hot chocolate!

What's outside your back door?

This is what a Michigan winter is supposed to look like!



We have been under a 'lake effect snow warning' for the last two days. The funny thing is, this time they were right. All of the schools in this area have been closed for the day. We have about 6 inches of new snow out there and it continues to snow ~ sometimes it's so hard you can hardly see the trees in the back yard and other times it is just a few flakes drifting softly and silently by the window.

Makes me more grateful for my fireplace and coffeemaker!!!!

Our little Drew was at the hospital Thursday for a stomach virus that left him dehydrated. Poor little man! He is on the mend, but he did SHARE with Naive and Mr. Naive. I spoke with them this evening and they are all starting to feel better except for extreme tiredness as a result of being so sick and not getting enough if any rest! Friday night she called and asked if I had any watermelon in the house....it was the only thing that sounded good to her. I told her I didn't but I would go to the store and get some and deliver it to her....I help when I can!

Our oldest son, Brian, came over for a visit on Saturday. He had his two boys with him, David (10)and Elijah (3). Normally Elijah sticks pretty close to his daddy while visiting but not this time. After several hours, Brian said they needed to head back to their house and Elijah immediately started crying and carrying on that he wanted to stay at 'Mema's house' and didn't want to go home. He ran to me and climbed up next to me and told me he wanted to stay. I held him for a few minuets and proceeded to tell him that if daddy said he had to go home then that is what he must do. I asked him if he wanted to go see his baby sister, Rebecca and his momma and he said NO. To make a long story short, he finally quit crying and decided he would go home this time.

On top of everything else going on with hubby, he had his yearly cardiac stress test done Thursday afternoon. He passed with flying colors and the cardiologist even changed some of his meds to generic ones to help keep our costs down. Yipee! Mine is scheduled for March 8th. Since I usually fail mine, please keep your fingers crossed and wish me luck!!!!

Never Ending Story ?

Well, hubby had what we thought would be one of his last dental visits today. We weren't very happy with what we were told. He has to go back to the oral surgeon one more time.

It seems that the last time the oral surgeon cut his jaw open to remove some bone growths, he didn't close it completely or correctly or the stitches didn't hold and let loose prematurely. Not that it matters why, the fact remains that he has to go back! The bone was left exposed and now that part of the bone is dead! So the dead bone now has to be removed! NICE!!!! And the only way to do that is to open up his jaw again and cut, chip, grind the dead bone away, and then sew it back together one more time.

Needless to say hubby is not at all pleased about this situation. I told him that what ever fee they think they are going to charge for this surgery will not be paid for by us. I don't care if the oral surgeon has to eat this bill.....the last one cost $1,498.00, we are not paying again. I'll take him to court before we will pay again! In fact, I think he owes us some money for all the suffering he has put hubby through. And poor hubby has no more time he can take off from work for this. So, like the last time, he will have it done late in the afternoon one day and return to work the following morning. And once again his diet will consist of soup and milkshakes.....oh, yeah.....and pain medication!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Smalltown RN, who by the way, has a great blog. Stop in and visit her!


The 25 Question Meme



1. If you could build a house anywhere, where would it be? Somewhere in the Rocky Mountains near Denver.


2.What's your favorite article of clothing? I guess this time of year I would have to say my sweat pants and comfy fleece top!


3.Favorite physical feature of the opposite sex? I have to pick just ONE? How about eyes....followed by smile with tushy running close!


4.What's the last CD that you bought? Bought Christmas CD so I could play the Christmas carols I like whenever I wanted.


5.Where's your favorite place to be? Anywhere with my hubby.....but I prefer to be on a drive through the countryside with no destination in mind and hubby next to me!


6.Where is your least favorite place to be? Stuck in a traffice jam!


7.What's your favorite place to be massaged? Now, that is a hard one.....my back!


8.Strong in mind or strong in body? Another tough question...both I guess, although as I get older my mind and body seem to be falling apart at an alarming rate of speed! LOL


9.What time do you wake up in the morning? Usually around 4:30, but I go back to bed after an hour and sleep until around 7:00.


10. What is your favorite kitchen appliance? My coffee maker!


11.What makes you really angry? Meanness!!!

12.If you could play any instrument, what would it be? I play the piano but I would love to play guitar.


13. Favorite colour? Blue!!!


14.Which do you prefer...sports car or SUV? An SUV.....I can go four-wheeling then!


15. Do you believe in an afterlife? Yes, of course I do.


16.Favorite children's book? "Stand Back Said the Elephant, I'm going to sneeze!"


17. What is your favorite season? Spring, but I like them all really!


18. Your least favorite household chore? Cleaning the glass doors on the fireplace!


19.If you could have one super power, what would it be? The ability to heal!


20.If you have a tattoo, what is it? I am such a scardy-cat....I will never have a tattoo! I know....wimpy, huh?


21.Can you juggle? Only tasks, not any objects!


22. The one person from your past that you wish you could go back and talk to? There are three people and I can't choose just one...they are my deceased mom and dad and my late-first husband!


23. What's your favorite day? Any day that hubby and I can spend the whole day together with nothing we have to do!


24. What's in the trunk of your car? Spare tire, jumper cables, blanket, windshield washer fluid, some tools.


25. Which do you prefer, sushi or hamburger? Since my allergy to shellfish made it's arrival, I don't eat any fish, so hamburger it is!


I tag:

V

RiverRat

Tracy

Connie

Copy and paste this into your site and answer the questions and please let me know so I can read your answers.

Turn around and they're grown!

Normally I would leave all bragging rights to parents. But since Naive is way too busy to post anything at all lately, I have the honor (or should I say....TOOK) of showing off her daughter dressed and ready to appear on the "Snowcoming" court at the basketball game Friday night.

How old do you think she is? She is 14 years old and will turn 15 the beginning of April. Really! That's all the older she is....she looks older though, right? I never, ever looked like that when I was 18 let alone 14! I say we put that girl in a cooler on ice somewhere for at least the next 4 years. I took this pic of her when they came to drop Drew off until they were done taking pics of her at the half-time festivities. Her brother is the one that I wrote about recently turning 18.

Yeah, I have to go now and pout and whine about getting older myself!