One More Thing

While I'm at it (sitting here at this computer) I need to ask a big favor of my praying family members. Please, please make a special effort to remember Granddaddy in your daily prayers. He is really in need of some special attention from the good Lord above. Granddaddy has been a faithful and dedicated Christian his whole life and has been a wonderful grandfather, always there for us when we needed help (even when we didn't know we needed help), always sharing in their time and resources to include us on vacations, weekend visits, helping with home projects, fixing things that broke, attending our sporting events, taking us to camp every summer and being a good Godly example to his family. I appreciate all of those things and love him for them. His physical condition seems to be slipping pretty fast; he has fallen 4 times in the last 3 weeks, which puts his continuing to stay where he is in jeopardy. If they think he is becoming a "high risk" for falling, they will want to move him to the nursing home side. I do not want that to happen. His mental abilities are slipping, as well, so that plays a part in that decision also. And his financial condition will need prayer also, as they have just decided to raise his monthly rent by $550 a month, which is a HUGE and absurd rate increase. If our mortgage were raised next month by 30%, we'd probably have to move. I don't know how anyone, especially people on a fixed income, can reasonably be expected to be able to handle such a major increase. But my rambling and complaining about it won't change it, so please, just pray for these situations. And if you wouldn't mind, throw my name out while you're at it, I surely need some strength and wisdom from above to be able to handle these situations in the best way. We truly need a miracle. And I know God is capable. Thank you very much.

New Storage Idea

Here's a good one for ya ..... ever need to put some leftover food into the refrigerator and not sure what to store it in? Well, Granddaddy got pretty inventive yesterday and decided to use what happened to be handy at the moment. Today, I found 4 vienna sausages in an empty Sprite bottle with the lid on it. Stop laughing, I'm not kidding. No, there was no Sprite in it. It was the weirdest looking thing I've ever seen and took me a minute to figure out what the heck was in that green Sprite bottle! And getting them out of there was another trick! When I asked how this came about, he said (as if I was a little 'slow' not to realize the obvious) "well, it's a container and I needed a container." So there you have it. Use what you've got. Who needs to waste money on zip lock bags or Tupperware bowls when you have empty pop bottles with screw on lids?!?! I could go on, but I'm too sleepy so the rest will have to be for another day.
Good night.

Holidays

Well, we've passed one major holiday and now, on to the next one! It just doesn't really seem to be "sinking in" that it's actually going to be the last month of the year 2007, as of tomorrow! I can't quite comprehend it! Where does the time GO so quickly? Seems like if you blink for a few seconds, it's next month, then next year .... mercy me!

We had a nice Thanksgiving. Slept in (which as you all know, is almost my favorite thing to do!), got up and lazed around in my pjs for awhile, then went to the grocery store. You'd be amazed at how many people were at the grocery store at noon on Thanksgiving day! Made a few snacks for us to nibble on while watching football (cheese plate with pickles and peppers, Sister Shubert's Cocktail Sausage Wraps - very yummy! - deviled eggs, and other miscellaneous items). AC, UJ & RMM came over to visit about 2:30, after GD had laid down for a nap (they had driven in from KS for lunch w/ GD). Had a nice visit with them for a few hours, then they headed home about 6:30. Went over to GDs to see about him, stayed there for awhile, helped him to bed. Still slow moving with hip pain (fell the night before), so needed some assistance. Next day, slept in again (gotta get that in while I can!) then we actually went out to "brave the elements" (i.e. mad shopping crowd) but it wasn't even bad at all! Went to Sam's and just seemed to be 'normal' traffic. Stopped at GD's to visit awhile, then went home to do some cooking & baking while hubby went to Circuit City. Cooked a turkey and made a batch of dressing. Wanted to try a "new way" of cooking the turkey that I had seen on the food channel (brining the turkey). Bought the smallest turkey I could find, but was still 10 lbs. Also, put some butter and herbs up under the skin on the breast and legs, that did help it taste good and stay moist. So about 5 o'clock we ate turkey & dressing (& gravy) and cranberry sauce. That's all, nothing else. And it was yummy! Of course, had TONS of turkey left. We decided to relax, build a fire and lay back and watch a movie (something we do about once every 3 years, literally) so I made a nice 'pallet' on the floor, got the big pillows and comfy throws, got all settled and clicked on the movie. What movie, you ask? A romance, an adventure movie, a thriller/scary movie, a romantic comedy???? Not exactly. Shrek. We've never seen the Shrek movies and for some odd reason, Jimmy decided to buy them. I guess he figured the kids like them and if they came for a visit, would enjoy watching them (Shrek I, II and III). Ten minutes into the movie, the phone rang. It was BV calling, needing me to come over about GD's hip. So I jumped up and went over (movie date cancelled) and saw what the girl was so concerned about. His whole entire left side of his hip, leg, etc. was just BLOOD red, almost black in some places, like nothing I've ever seen before! It was jaw-dropping, eye-popping horrible looking. So we called EMSA to come and take him to the ER and get it X-rayed, just to be sure it wasn't broken (although we sure didn't think it was, since he could move the leg pretty good, but did say it hurt to stand on it) so we went to Baptist and were there for about 4 hours. Good news is no broken hip, no fracture, just a terrible bruise (hematoma, I think they called it), so I was able to take him home and put him to bed and get him comfortable, then back home about 2 a.m. I thank the Lord daily that in all of his falls (at least 6 or 7 in the last year), he hasn't broken a bone or been seriously injured. His most serious injury was that hand smashed in the door last October and that healed very nicely.

I baked on Saturday (two things, both new recipes) and neither one turned out edible. I've lost it. Out of practice. It was discouraging, especially considering how much TIME I spent in the kitchen working on the darn things. Then did some cleaning projects that needed serious attention. Sunday, I was so exhausted, we didn't even go to church, morning or night. That's the first time in a VERY long time we have missed church due to just plain fatigue. I didn't get out of bed until 11:30 and even for me, that is way past "sleeping in." Would've stayed in my pajamas all day if I hadn't needed to get out and go check on GD. Went over there about 4:30, maybe 5, he was doing pretty good.

Back to work on Monday, which after a 4-day weekend is like quadruple the average day's workload. But only worked until 6:30 (went in at 7, as usual), then to GDs. He was quite confused that day, more than usual. Worked Tuesday 7 - 5:30, went over to GD's, he was pretty confused again, then Wed 7 - 7:30 and over to GD's. He was better as far as being more clear minded. Then stopped at Arby's for a Jr. Roast Beef sandwich for my supper at 9 p.m., I was starving. Then yesterday worked 7 - 7 then over to GDs. He was in the hall when I got there, guess he'd been talking to the aides at the desk and was headed back down the hall to his room. His door was standing open (Tam said it had been open most of the day, he keeps going in and out it without shutting it, and has been, I've noticed, quite a bit lately) so he was irritated and thinks someone is coming in and opening up his door and leaving it that way. He also noticed it was 7:30 and said "guess I'd better go down and get my breakfast." When I told him it was 7:30 in the EVENING, he said "well, guess I'd better go down and get my dinner." When I showed him the sign on his door that says "dinner - 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m." and told him dinner had been over for more than an hour, he just acted disgusted. I asked him if he was hungry and he said no. I refrained from saying "then why do you think you need to go down to the dining room and eat?" I asked Tam if he'd been to dinner and she said yes, he was there and ate dinner. He just forgets. Even though it wasn't but an hour ago. The short term is what is almost gone. Not quite, and not as bad as Nanny's was there toward the end, but it's getting there. Went home and got to bed about 11:15, same as with every night this week. Needless to say, I feel like I'm walking in my sleep. I am soooo glad it's Friday. I was going to write more (actually about the holidays) but I'm too sleepy now and I've got so much work to get done that I've got to really get with it. I'll try to get back with you later. Right now, I've got to get up and go slap myself in the face to clear the cobwebs out of my head.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all

Don't have a lot of time to write but wanted to take a minute and say Happy Thanksgiving! I can't believe it is tomorrow but it actually is! It is also my dear hubby's birthday so it will be an extra special day. You all that know my DH understand that he is a simple man and doesn't require a lot of 'maintenance' and doesn't need anything big and fancy to be happy. When I asked what he wanted to do for Thanksgiving/birthday he said 'r & r' which is one of his favorite things to say. When I asked what he REALLY wanted to do he said 'lay around and watch some football.' So, I got more specific and asked what did he want to do for our meal - you know, it IS Thanksgiving and all ...... turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, etc. - I'm thinking. He said "Wendy's is open all day!" You might chuckle, but let me assure you, he is as serious as a heart attack (and we KNOW first hand how serious that is!) :) He said "it's going to be cold, we can just order a pizza and not even have to get out!" - a thrilling idea to him. I'm thinking that the pizza places will be closed for turkey day but I could be wrong. There was a time, not SO long ago, that NOTHING was open on Thanksgiving Day except the good ol' 7/11 with its 365 day a year operation policy. I mean NOTHING, not a gas station, not a grocery store and most certainly not any restaurants. But, things change and families have changed so dramatically over the years and now it's not just a "given" that everyone will be home with their families enjoying grandma's turkey and dressing and Aunt Suzie's fruit salad and cousin Betty's pumpkin pie. So, more and more things are staying open on the holidays now. So, it might actually be possible to lay back and enjoy that pizza and football game after all. Now, would it be my preference? Well, of course not. Would I do it, just to satisfy my better half, after all, it IS HIS birthday, and he can't help that it falls on Thanksgiving every few years. So, yes, I would forego my much-longed-for turkey dinner to enjoy some pizza if that's what he really wants. Do I LOVE the traditional 'big family turkey dinner w/ all the trimmings' kind of Thanksgiving Day? Oh, by all means! More than I can say! The "all out" meal-fit-for-a-king with all of the 'good dishes' and Thanksgiving tableware, my turkey salt & pepper shakers, the little ceramic "pilgrims" on the table with the pumpkins and gourds and fall leaves scattered around nicely, the 'fall' decorated gravy boat with it's little matching plate to sit it on, 'harvest' scented candles burning, ..... oh, yes, that's my kind of Thanksgiving! But is my wanting to have 'all that' more important than doing something that would bring pleasure and satisfaction to someone else who is important to me? Of course not. It's not all "about me!" Or at least, it shouldn't always be 'all about me.' Oh, I get my share of "all about me" plenty, he goes out of his way to see to that, so it's only 'fair-play' that I should want to do the same for him, especially on his birthday. It doesn't matter whether I can understand how pizza/football can be just as satisfying as turkey/family, that's not the point. The point is I asked him what he wanted to do and he told me, very honestly, what it was. I could decide to myself 'oh, that CAN'T be what he really wants so I'll go ahead and cook the turkey and dressing meal,' but I don't think that would be the best thing to do, because even though I can't imagine that pizza trumps turkey & dressing ... for him, maybe it does. And believe it or not, I know for a fact, that at the root of this request it's "all about me" (not him, but ME) because I know that he thinks I'm working too hard and not getting nearly enough sleep and rest (all of which is true) and he wants to make it easy on ME, by not having me spend all day in the kitchen (which he knows I would) just to be 'traditional.' So, you see, his request is not by any means selfish or thoughtless (if someone might think it thoughtless to deprive me of my turkey dinner), it's actually a very thoughtful and heartfelt thing - to make it easy on me and to allow us to just spend some TRULY RELAXING, RESTFUL AND ENJOYABLE time on a special day, where we can be VERY thankful for all that the good Lord above has given us and allowed us. Thank you, God.

Thank you, Brad & Catie!

I would like to say a MILLION thanks to my dear nephew and his wife for so generously and selflessly sharing with me the most precious and beloved thing in their life, their darling son. You will never know how much it meant to me and to my husband that you allowed him to travel all those miles and to be apart from you for several days so that we could have the joy of spending some time with this dear child! I can’t imagine how much you must have missed him, because even though I rarely see him and naturally don’t have the same bond with him that you do, I missed him terribly from the moment he left. If humanly possible, I could spend every moment with him and never tire of it, he is SUCH a delight and a joy!!! He’s the cutest thing I have ever seen (I know, I said that about each of you nephews and niece, but I mean it every time!) and smart – oh, my goodness – he’s smart as a whip! I don’t know any other 2 year olds that would look at a pink beenie-baby with long legs and a big beak and say “I want the FLAMINGO!” instead of “pink birdie” or something like that! How many 2 year olds know what a flamingo is, for pete’s sake??? I keep the nursery once a month, the 2 year olds, and we routinely have an average of 25 2-year-olds in our room, and NONE of them talk nearly as good as little J. His vocabulary is stunning!!! We had a big, bad, scary thunderstorm one night, complete with pounding rain, thumder, lightning and hail and he said “hear that rain?” and then “but we are SAFE IN THE HOUSE!” :) We took him into “big church” with us on Sunday morning and he sat there and behaved like he knew exactly what was going on and knew that he was supposed to be quiet! For over an hour!!! He wiggled a little bit, got up and down off the seat a few times, but kept quiet as a churchmouse! It was amazing! Once the preacher clapped his hands, so he clapped his hands too! I have some pictures and video from the trip and I haven’t put them on my computer yet but will do so tomorrow and then I will include some on here.

Don’t know how to post the video clips but maybe I’ll figure it out. Anyway, my point wasn’t to brag about how awesome this kid is (although he is) my point was to thank the parents for “letting go” enough to SHARE him with others who love him. You will never know what that means to us! Well, maybe you will .... when your kids have kids ... then you might. If they generously and lovingly let them spend time with you, spend the nights with you or even the weekends, go on little trips with you and generally share in their lives, you will know that great pleasure and joy. If they don’t, you will know the sadness that comes from not being able to be a real integral part of their lives. I pray that doesn’t happen! Everyone loses – the children, the grandparents, the aunts, the uncles. I can’t imagine not having the memories I have of spending many, many nights with Nanny and Granddaddy, taking vacations with them, arguing over whose turn it was to spend the night, etc. We loved it. They loved it. Memories can’t be made if time can’t be spent together. And a few hours here and there, once every few months, doesn’t build much of a relationship. And unless parents are willing to loosen the grip, realize that someone else is perfectly capable of safe-guarding their precious little ones, and actively assist in developing those family relationships and allow others to be a strong presence in their children’s lives, it won’t happen. I am speaking from personal experience. I have 7 grandchildren. But not the relationship we had hoped for. Distance is not the issue. Willingness is the issue. Foresight is the issue. Trusting is the issue. It never ceases to amaze me at the number of people who were raised by good, loving, reasonable, responsible, caring, intelligent parents who suddenly think those same folks are incapable of properly watching over a child. I really shouldn’t get started on that ‘can of worms’ so I’ll back up right here and now. Just rest assured, for those who do share their kids with me, that I would and will do anything within my power (and then some) to protect and love your child when they are in my care. The joy we received this past weekend, spending time with that adorable great-nephew is something that cannot be described in words. We are eternally grateful.

Wow! I'm on a roll!

Mercy me! I just noticed that I have done EIGHT WHOLE POSTS this year! I am really rockin' & rollin' along, aren't I???? Bet it's hard to keep up with my amazing pace!!!

Well, imagine that ... ??

The only post I've EVER put any photos on (real ones, not a cartoon) (vacation) and I didn't get even one tiny comment on it!! Of all things!!

That strange expression

On the comments to a previous post, the words "bait breath" came up. Then the words "bated breath." In an effort to figure out where in the world this phrase came from and just what it means, I have found the following and thought it was interesting .....

[Q] From Steve Gearhart: “Where does the term baited breath come from, as in: ‘I am waiting with baited breath for your answer’?”
[A] The correct spelling is actually bated breath but it’s so common these days to see it written as baited breath that there’s every chance it will soon become the usual form, to the disgust of conservative speakers and the confusion of dictionary writers. Examples in newspapers and magazines are legion; this one appeared in the Daily Mirror on 12 April 2003: “She hasn’t responded yet but Michael is waiting with baited breath”.
It’s easy to mock, but there’s a real problem here. Bated and baited sound the same and we no longer use bated (let alone the verb to bate), outside this one set phrase, which has become an idiom. Confusion is almost inevitable. Bated here is a contraction of abated through loss of the unstressed first vowel (a process called aphesis); it has the meaning “reduced, lessened, lowered in force”. So bated breath refers to a state in which you almost stop breathing through terror, awe, extreme anticipation, or anxiety.
Shakespeare is the first writer known to use it, in The Merchant of Venice: “Shall I bend low and, in a bondman’s key, / With bated breath and whisp’ring humbleness, / Say this ...”. Nearly three centuries later, Mark Twain employed it in Tom Sawyer: “Every eye fixed itself upon him; with parted lips and bated breath the audience hung upon his words, taking no note of time, rapt in the ghastly fascinations of the tale”.
For those who know the older spelling or who stop to consider the matter, baited breath evokes an incongruous image, which Geoffrey Taylor humorously (and consciously) captured in verse in his poem Cruel Clever Cat:
Sally, having swallowed cheese,Directs down holes the scented breeze,Enticing thus with baited breathNice mice to an untimely death.
[I’m indebted to Rainer Thonnes for telling me about this little ditty, which appears in an anthology called Catscript, edited by Marie Angel. However, it was first published in 1933 in a limited edition of Geoffrey Taylor’s poems entitled A Dash of Garlic.]

What was I doing ....?

1) What was I doing 10 years ago? ...... I was recuperating from thyroid surgery, killing myself trying to continue to clean those big houses with absolutely zero energy (didn't allow enough recovery time!). Learned my lesson and my limits!

2) What was I doing 5 years ago? ...... I was heading to Wichita KS to help my cousin and his wife with their 3 darling little girls while the wife was in the hospital having surgery. I was also, unbeknownst to me, about to face one of the biggest blows of my life when I came home from that Wichita trip to find that my husband had just gone to the hospital with a heart attack; spent our 20th anniversary in the hospital with him recovering from quadruple bypass surgery. Thanks to God, he did recover and is doing well!

3) What was I doing 1 year ago? ...... I was working 60 hours a week trying to keep this print center running. Shorthanded for 3 months, running with 1 full-time person (me) and 1 part-time person, when we actually needed 3 full timers. If I can figure out how to put a photo on here, I'll put one of me taken back at that time ...









4) What was I doing yesterday? ...... Working, as usual. Not a bad day, though, really. Went to the food court at the mall for lunch with a couple of co-workers, browsed around the mall for about 20 minutes before returning to work. Actually got off ON TIME for a change, so home before dark. Watered flowerbeds in back yard, went to Granddaddy's, visited with him while he watched a couple of episodes of I Love Lucy and then a baseball game, home about 9:15 and to bed at 11:30.


5) Five snacks I enjoy:

- Snickers Ice Cream bars
- Pancho's Cheese Dip (Memphis Pancho's, that is)
- Peanut M & Ms
- Cool Ranch Doritos
- cashews
(Darn it, carrot sticks and celery just barely missed making my top 5 list!)


6) Five things I would do if I suddenly had $100 million dollars :

- Pay a heckuva lot of taxes
- Tithe
- Buy a nice home for each of my family members in the location of their choice
- Set aside enough money for me and Jimmy, my grandfather, parents, sisters and their spouses, nieces and nephews and their spouses and children to all have adequate and proper care in their old age
- Help the homeless shelters in my city - to have enough housing so no one has to sleep on the sidewalk during the cold winter, and to have the resources to help get the people off drugs and alcohol and to educate them enough that they could hold some type of employment


7) Five locations I would like to run away to (but only temporarily):

- Colorado
- Ireland
- Germany
- New Zealand
- Vermont


8) Five bad habits I have:

- Procrastinating
- Starting too many projects at one time
- Giving people too much of my own opinions
- Trying to help where it's not really wanted
- Thinking that I have to do things "just so" or not at all


9) Five things I like doing:

- Sleeping in
- Grocery shopping
- Cooking/baking
- Laying in the hammock on a cool day reading a cookbook
- Taking a ride with Jimmy on the motorcycle to nowhere in particular


10) Five TV shows I like:

- Design on a Dime
- Flip this House
- Unwrapped (Food Channel)
- Across America w/ John Ratzenberger
- Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives


11) Five things I hate doing:

- Getting up early
- Standing in line
- Sitting in traffic
- Public speaking (having to talk in front of a group of people)
- Having an argument/hard feelings with anyone


12) Five biggest joys of the moment:

- that I am relatively healthy and able to enjoy life (i.e. physically - able to move around, see, hear, think, etc.)
- that I have a great husband and family (all of them!) :)
- that I have a very good job that I enjoy
- that I have some very good friends
- that I have a God who allows me all these pleasures and who is faithful to me, no matter what


Okay, I'm done. Passing it on to Dixietn ...... go for it. (Ya'll don't hold your breath now, she doesn't like to do these cheesy things, so if she does, we'll all get a big surprise!)

Vacation coming to a close!

Well, sad to say but tomorrow is my last day of vacation (well, actually it's today, tomorrow will be nothing but traveling to the airport and flying home)!!!! Sniff, sniff, ...... It's been wonderful but sure goes by too fast!

We have seen some beautiful scenery and have had perfect weather, couldn't have asked for better weather for spending time up here in the mountains. The views of the mountains are indescribable and even the photos I've taken won't do them justice. We drove up to Glenwood Springs Canyon day before yesterday and oh, my goodness, the views driving down through that deep, deep canyon were mouth-dropping! Looking straight up thousands of feet to the top of those massive canyon walls and realizing we were just a mere "speck" to someone who might be looking down on us from up above, the conversation in the car was something like this .... "ooohh, look over here!" .... "no, look up HERE!!!" ...... "oh, wow, check this out!" ...... "LOOK AT THAT!" etc. etc. It was incredible. Then we arrived in Glenwood Springs and went through the historic Hotel Colorado, which was pretty nifty. Then we rode this long tram way up to the top of a very high mountain and the views from up THERE were incredible, as well. You could see way down (and I mean WAY down) all throughout the valley floor, the tiny city below and the river running through it (the Colorado River). Then we took the tour through the Glenwood Springs Cave, which was really, really cool. Of course, hubby and I love going through caves and caverns every chance we get, so that was a real thrill for us. I bought some of the postcards they had there, as their pictures were better than any I could take, my lighting wasn't sufficient to capture the depth of the place. Yesterday, hubby and brother-in-law spent the afternoon playing a little golf on the beautiful course here. First time he has played in many, many years but I think he enjoyed it!!! We'll spend today enjoying our last little bit of fun and relaxing, packing up our things and getting ready to head back down the mountain. I am sure glad to have been able to have this week as a "real" vacation to get some rest, relaxation and enjoying time with my sister and her husband, and enjoying the beautiful world that God has provided for us! We sometimes take for granted that we live where we do (in the country we do) and have access to the places we do, and forget that we could just as easily have been born in Bosnia or Somalia or some place where there is nothing but sand and dirt or dessert and never even know that places like what we have been enjoying even exist. Let's not forget how blessed we are!

I must've got lost!

Does anyone remember that old song?? I don't even remember who sang it and I think they said it more like "I mustagot lost!" It's a real oldie so if you remember, you are probably old!

Well, being lost would explain why I haven't posted in many, many months, wouldn't it? Sure it would!

But now, here I am, back for a short SHORT post, just until tomorrow when I will make a "normal" (i.e. VERY LONG) post! Why can I now post? Because I AM ON VACATION!!!! YIPPEEEEE, YEA, WOOHOO, YE HAW!!!!!!

But it's way past my bedtime, even my VACATION bedtime, so you know it must be really, really late! Will get back to ya tomorrow with exciting details of the aforementioned vacation!

Got a minute?

Neither do I!! But I'm going to steal one and write a short (very short) blog!

It is now mid March and the weather is finally getting nice outside! We have had several days of nice spring-like weather to enjoy! Well, I mean "enjoy" as in getting in and out of the car coming into the office and going home, and maybe a few minutes during the lunch hour going and coming from wherever we might go eat! I don't mean "enjoy" as in laying outside in the back yard in the hammock or swing soaking up some nice rays of sunshine! However, you will be glad to know that I am actually taking a VACATION DAY on Friday (day after tomorrow) and I intend to do just that - soak up some good sunshine! I hope the weather holds and is still nice by then because I sure hope to do some yard work and get my flower beds in the back yard into some kind of shape for planting. Too bad my older sister doesn't have extra time on her hands and isn't looking for something to do or I would sure utilize her green thumb and put her to work in my yard! As it is, I'll just have to do the best I know how and try to put into practice some of the good tips I have been reading in my "Backyard Living" magazine that she sends me a subscription for every year! It's really neat and they sure make it sound easy. We'll see!

I almost have my new help trained so that I can even take a REAL vacation (like a week!) in a few weeks, hopefully in about 2 weeks. I'm taking this one day just to give her a test. I know she will do fine, but she doesn't know it yet. She isn't confident enough that she can handle the basics if I'm not there. I told her my cell phone is always on and plus, there are a couple of people here in the office that could answer her questions if she couldn't reach me or didn't want to bother me. I told her it was no bother! I said "if I'm at laying in the swimming pool on a raft soaking up the sun, it won't disturb me one iota to paddle my way over to the edge, pick up my cell phone and answer a quick question or two from you!" Won't make me miss one ray of sunshine! We will undoubtedly go to TN on this first week of vacation to have a VERY belated Christmas with my family and visit those we haven't seen in a long time. I can't wait to see little Jackson, he is such a living doll! I have pictures of him posted all over my overhead file cabinet in my office and everyone always oohs and aahs over how cute he is! Of course! And I also have pictures of my other delightful nephews (from when they were tiny to more recent) which I also have to brag about. Plus pictures of my one and only very cute and fiesty niece, plus a few pictures of the grandkids. So, as you can imagine, family pictures are everywhere in my office!

We would like to go on a "real" vacation soon, somewhere to enjoy the scenery and relax and have a "touristy" time, but that will have to wait for later on in the year, possibly around October. In April, I might take one day off for a 3 day weekend and go to Texas to see my dear, old friend who is coming down from Canada to visit her brother and family. I did that last year (just on a Sat/Sun) and it was great to see her but just way too short a visit and a bit of a long trip for just a day. Then in May, we'll be going to AR to the 3 bedroom condo as usual. Hopefully, some of the family can come over and join us for a fun time over there!

Well, maybe that wasn't such a short blog after all! And since I started it one day last week and just now finished it, I've already had the one vacation day off and am back at it now! Will finish up here later!

Not quite time for post ...

hasn't been three months yet! :) Just thought I'd log in and make sure I still have an account here! But I'm so swamped here at work, I should be flogged for even dreaming of getting onto this site right now. So, heidi-ho, I'm off!
Maybe I can post something "real" this weekend! And then again, maybe not! I'll try!

Yes, I am still alive.

OK, so I only post about once every 3 months. So? I guess I am just not a committed blogger. :(

It's not that I don't have anything interesting to post, it's just that I don't have time to sit down and write it out! I keep thinking that someday things will slow down to a tolerable level and I will be able to leisurely sit at the computer and just type away, but it hasn't happened yet.

I did have a nice Christmas and a very good beginning to this New Year, in case anyone wonders. It was much quieter than usual, didn't get to make the trip "home" to see all the family like we usually do, but we did get to have some family around (mother, daddy and granddaddy), so that was nice. Daddy & I spent Christmas Day in the kitchen whipping up a wonderful meal, which included turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, gravy, deviled eggs, pickle/relish tray and hot rolls. For dessert, we didn't have any pecan or pumpkin pies because I had spent all day Saturday making candy and fudge, so we grazed on that for our sweet tooth. I had the day after Christmas off work and that was great, just a day to relax from all of the hustle and bustle that led up to Christmas day! Would've been great to have the whole WEEK after Christmas off, but alas, I'm just dreaming now! Mom and Dad went home on the Friday after Christmas and we had Saturday to clean house, change bed linens and prepare for company on Sunday. My sister and her husband came out for a short visit and that was great too! Arrived Sun. evening about 8 and we went to El Chico's and enjoyed some delicious nachos and chips and queso. That day also happened to be their 9th wedding anniversary! :) It was also New Year's Eve and we really did a bang-up celebration! Went home from El Chico, visited for awhile until everyone was about to fall asleep (poor brother-in-law had been up since 3 a.m. - flew from Denver to MEM then drove from MEM to here!) so we all hit the sack by 11 p.m. We did manage to stay awake until the New Year officially rolled in and heard a few firecrackers then went off into snoozeland. OK, I wasn't finished with my story but I've got to go. Duty calls. Will return asap to continue on.