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.

Very interesting .......

I must not be! I'll have to think of something more exciting to write about than just my life. I don't get any comments. Sniff ... sniff ......

First cold day!

Not freezing cold or winter cold but cold compared to last week. It got down into the 40's last night and the high today is only going to be in the 50's! So I wore a long sleeve shirt for the first time this season, one with pretty fall leaves on it!

Had company for a few days this week. Big sister came for a little visit. Got to see G'ds new place. And to accompany us to the ER when G'd had an accident Tues night. He cut open the back of his left hand, clear from one side to the other, just busted it wide open. It bleed more than anything I've ever seen. He doesn't remember how it happened but we've deduced that he had to have had his hand resting on the arm rest of the scooter and caught it between that arm rest and the door jam, as he was just entering his apt. when it happened. Took 10 stitches and about 3 1/2 hours in the ER (not sitting and waiting, but being worked on for the most of that time). Was a tedious operation, due to the delicate and fragile nature of his skin and the severity of the wound. They did manage to get it pulled back together and although he'll definitely have a major scar, he won't lose any use of his hand or fingers. He's staying at my house until he gets better, as he needs more assistance with the daily things such as getting dressed. He's a tough ol' bird, never has even had to take a pain pill, just some extra strength Tylenol. When the dr. mentioned he'd have a scar, he just chuckled. Guess after living all these years with a whole finger missing on that hand, a scar won't be any big deal!

As far me, I'm living for Friday night. So I can go out and party? hahahaha! So I can go home, go to bed early and sleep until my heart's content! Can't sleep all day, however. Have a baby shower to go to on Sunday afternoon and have to make .... 1) Mocha punch 2) Curried Chicken Salad Puffs 3) Mini Shrimp Quiche 4) Ambrosia Trifle 5) Sausage Quiche Squares 6) Ham Roll-Ups 7) Chocolate Mousse Tarts 8) Praline Cheesecake Squares. Hhhmmmm ..... did I say I was going to sleep in?? Maybe not. Yes, I actually volunteered to "take care of" the food part of the shower. I think they thought I meant go to Sam's and buy some stuff. Yeah, sure. Guess I'd better get started on all that stuff tonight or I might not get to go to bed Saturday night!

OK, gotta go! Later gators!

AAAHHH, COOL BRISK FALL WEATHER .......

What a RELIEF from the miserable, oppressive heat we had last month, with more than 1/2 the month being days over 100 degrees! It's so nice and cool out this morning, almost chilly!!! The high today MIGHT be 70 - HOW I LOVE IT!!!!! Being able to go outside without busting into a dripping sweat or struggling just to breathe, feeling like you're melting into a little puddle on the hot asphalt, riding in the car with the windows down and a refreshing breeze blowing in on you, instead of sweltering heat that feels like you just opened the oven door and stuck your head inside - what a welcome change this is! Sure makes it hard to sit inside the office all day long. I'm itching to get out and go to the park, throw a blanket & pillow down under a shade tree and kick back with my new issue of Southern Living and just read, relax and snooze and enjoy the beautiful outdoors (not beautiful as in "Colorado scenery beautiful," just beautiful in the sense of lovely, invigorating outdoor weather).
Well, I have company this week. Mother and Daddy came out last Saturday on a spur-of-the-moment plan. I am enjoying the company. And Granddaddy is staying with us this week, too, so they can visit during the day. But it makes me need to go home exactly at 5 o'clock and that's not working out too well with my work load. I had to take some work home with me last night, but was able to do it while sitting in the living room keeping "company" with the family. I did go outside and water my flowerbeds in the back yard. Some of the plants are bouncing back from the damage that the horrible heat caused (the ones that didn't fully croak) and are looking like they might make it now. Still, the beds need an awful lot of work right now, but I just don't have the time to devote to them. Have more company coming Saturday, which I am thrilled about! As mother and daddy are leaving, sister #3 and grandbaby are coming! And nephew and his father-in-law will be coming that night too, but just passing through on their way to the wild desert land, so just spending a night. Hope they feel up to dinner out so we can take them out to somewhere nice and visit for a little bit, otherwise, I might not see him again for a long, long time, as I don't get out to the desert much!
Get to have a new culinary experience today - going to the new CHEESECAKE FACTORY restaurant that just opened nearby. One of my girls' last day is today so I'm taking her and two others out for lunch to say farewell. Will let you know how it is, I've heard nothing but great things about it, except for the long waits because of its popularity, of course.
By the way, just a note of caution regarding something I never even considered would/could happen. Do you use a debit card? And do you use a credit card? And do you keep them side-by-side in your wallet? Well, words of experience ...... ALWAYS LOOK VERY CAREFULLY AT WHICH CARD YOU GRAB BEFORE USING IT TO PAY FOR A PURCHASE!!!!!! Giving the debit card when you meant to give the credit card can end up being VERY VERY VERY VERY costly!!!!!!! Words of experience!!!!!!
Bye now.

TGIF AGAIN!

As you can see, I live for the weekends! 'Twasn't so when I was a happy homemaker! Saturday was just like any other day! But not anymore! They're few and far between, precious as water in a desert and highly prized like a State Fair blue-ribbon winnin' nanny goat! (I know, where did goats come in the picture?) Well, I was thinking of the state fair just while ago and recalled that we walked through all the animal barns with Granddaddy last year and the goats were a HUGE affair, there were thousands of them, all cleaned and brushed and vacuumed and groomed perfectly, why I'd swear some of them even had their toenails (hooves, I mean) polished! So, that just happened to be in my head. Anyway.....
It's been another killer week here at work so I'm ready for a break! I REALLY should come in and work tomorrow because I KNOW that come Monday morning, a certain client is going to call wondering "where are my logs?????" and it won't even make any difference to him that I didn't get his information to print until late Friday afternoon and was already overloaded on work that had come in earlier and ended the day printing 531 logs, he'll still wonder why we didn't get his 93 logs done too! We just can't do enough! Oh, well, I have way too much stuff I need to do at home so I most likely will not make it back in here tomorrow. I can only give this company so much of my life and life's blood before I have to say "enough already!" and consider my own personal life. I mean really, does anyone REALLY care that I give up my precious weekend time to come in here and slave away printing out logs over the weekend just to make some customer happy? No, in the end, probably not. Is it my fault that the f.e. didn't get the information in until 2 days late so therefore the customer will get it late? No, I don't think so.
So, for the weekend, my big plans are ...... work work work around the house! I have SO many projects that I MUST get done in the next 2 weeks, as I'm having some out-of-town company and I don't want them to faint dead away at the cluttery mess I have allowed to accumulate, trying to wait until I can get everything done "just so." So, I'll just have to dive it and do it the best I can and at least make it look good on the surface, something that goes against the grain for me! I have a tendency to put off doing things if I know that I don't have enough time to do it completely and obssessively and perfectly, so I just don't do it at all. Doesn't sound logical, I know, but that's how it is.
Well, gotta go get started on this big wild weekend of mine. First on the list, stop at Granddaddy's and watch Wheel of Fortune and Little House on the Prairie with him. Then, home at 8:15 to get started on the major picking up I have to do before my cleaning girl comes tomorrow. It will help immensely that she can do the routine cleaning (vacuuming, dusting, etc.) while I work on those projects I mentioned!
Talk to you all later! Have a good weekend everyone!

STATE FAIR TIME

The state fair starts tomorrow! Yippee! I love to go to the fair! We have a great fair here. It's nice and clean and big and interesting and fun! It's a good place to take the family (if you have one!) and have a great time! I used to love to go for the rides (that now make me nauseous) and the junk food (that now makes me fat). Now I enjoy going just to stroll around and look at the displays (that used to make me bored), the new cars, the home and garden building, the arts & crafts building, the cooking contests and demonstrations, etc. We like to go out there during the first few days when everything is still new and fresh. It is "fair weather" - it always turns cooler or rains the week the fair gets here. Right now, it's just nice and pleasant. Could be cool at night though. Last year we took Granddaddy out there with us and I pushed him around in a wheelchair for .... get this .... SEVEN HOURS!!!! Yes, my hands were killing me and I was exhausted by days end! But he was having a good time and so were we so we stayed! I kept saying "are you tired? do you want to go?" and he'd say "oh, no! I'm not tired at all, I'm just fine!" Finally, I had to say, "ok, I'M the tired one, we're gonna have to go!" :) I always have to have a corn dog. Too bad a corn dog and a Coke now add up to $6.50, a ridiculous price to pay for that! Well, that was last year, it could be $8 this year! We used to eat a lot more of the junk, like funnel cakes, cotton candy, candied apples, fried cheese on a stick, etc. but now, by the time you eat all that and pay the price for it, you could've had a great steak dinner at Outback or somewhere nice for that amount of money! So we cut that out. I might have to take an afternoon off work on one of hubby's days off so we can go out there and check it all out.

TGIF!!!!

Yea! My second-most-favorite day of the week is here! It's Friday! And a beautiful one, at that! The temperatures have just been awesome this week - pleasant and mild! Something we have not seen for many months! After having weeks and weeks of over 100 degree temperatures, 80 seems like nothing but enjoyable! Yesterday, a paper sales guy came up from Dallas and took us out to lunch. I always get to pick where we go (with the input of my girls, of course) so we chose to go to Bahama Breeze, not so much for the menu, but for their wonderful outdoor patio right on the waters of the lake (we were desperate for a dose of the outdoors since it's been so pleasant outside!). It's a huge white wooden structure with a high ceiling and big ceiling fans, open on 3 sides with big glass windows all around that slide open (and are always open except in the winter time) so that the nice breeze comes right off the lake and makes you feel like you're in a "whole 'nother place" other than in the middle of the city! We had a nice, relaxing lunch and hated to come back to the office. But, we did and we finished up the day and I actually got out of here before 6, a rare feat. Went over to Granddaddy's and we did our usual "Wheel of Fortune/Little House on the Prairie" routine. I'm catching up on a lot of lost episodes of Little House! He enjoys it because he can "relate" to how they did things back then. On last night's episode, old Houston was plowing behind a mule and Granddaddy said "yep, I've done that many a' time! That's hard work!" And then they were reading by the light of an old kerosene lamp and he said "oh, I've studied late many a' time with a lamp just like that one!" I guess it brings back fond memories for him, so he enjoys it, even though he doesn't keep up real well with who's who and what they're doing. He can't remember that Mary is the blind one and Laura is the other one. Or that Almanzo is Laura's husband and Albert is their brother. So, I just explain it whenever necessary and he gets it for the time being.

My helper is leaving early today, about noon, so that puts me in a bind for the rest of the afternoon. This is not a one-man (or one-woman) operation in here and it cannot be done efficiently with just one person. We're going to have to institute some new guidelines in here to avoid this in the future.

My plans for the weekend include sleeping late tomorrow morning (until about 9:30, I hope) and then getting some major projects completed at the house. A couple of weeks ago, I discovered, quite by accident, that the carpet on the east wall of the dining room (an outside wall) was soaking wet, and had apparently been that way for some time, as the bottom of the feet of the sofa table were turning black with mildew!!!! Much to my horror! It was all along the whole wall, about one foot in. So, I had to empty BOTH of those big white cabinets, the ones that contain all of my 250+ cookbooks and all of my special occasions serving pieces and put everything into the middle of the living room floor, so we could move those two cabinets, and clear off the sofa table and take it into the entry way and then pile stuff back on top of it. Then we dried out the carpet with a big box fan and Jimmy worked on the outside wall to seal up any cracks that might be allowing water to come in when it rains. He also used to water the yard over there on that side of the house and sometimes even squirt the bricks with the water hose, so he said maybe water had come in like that, so he will discontinue that practice! Anyway, it hasn't gotten wet in there since, and we've had a couple of rains, so I assume the problem is taken care of. I hope it is anyway. BUT the problem is, all of those cookbooks and those dishes are still sitting in the middle of my living room floor and have been for 3 weeks now!! What a mess! But I don't want to load them back into those cabinets yet for a couple of reasons. First, I want to move those cabinets into the middle guest room, along the south wall. But I can't do that until I unload the shelves that are there now, that hold all of my "craft junk" and miscellaneous stuff, and I haven't had a chance to do that yet. So, hopefully tomorrow, I can start in there and get those shelves cleaned off and get rid of most of that stuff, since I no longer have time to do craft stuff anyway. And then I can move those 2 white cabinets in there along that wall and put that stuff back in them. I've been lucky that no one has "dropped in" on me lately or I'd be highly embarrassed at the mess. It's much worse than normal.

Wednesday was my dear friend Esther's birthday! And I forgot to send her birthday wishes! What a bad friend I am! Well, maybe not a bad friend, just a forgetful one! And a tardy one! So, I sent her a funny e-card yesterday saying I was a rat, a dog, a slug, scum, dirt, etc. and apologized for my oversight! I sure wish she didn't live so far away and we don't get to see each other but about once every 3 or 4 years! :( It's sad! I did see her back in April, when she went to TX to visit her brother, I drove down on Saturday and came back on Sunday. It was a very quick visit but was so great to see her and meet one of her new best friends from Canada.

Well, that's two posts in one week. I hope you're happy! :) I'll try to continue on this way and be a better blogger buddy, since I do enjoy reading the blogs of others, I guess I should contribute a little of my own as well, huh?

Ya'll have a great weekend!

Don't fall off your chair .....

But here I am again! What? You're surprised? Well, good grief, it's only been 6 months since I posted anything! And I must admit, I was "prodded" into writing by someone who needed something to read! :)

So..... let's see, what have I been up to lately? Well, we've been looking at dining room furniture for a few weeks now but haven't found anything that we liked that we could actually afford. There was nothing at Mathis Brothers or all of those other furniture stores down around there (also owned by Mathis Brothers!) that I liked, and there was one set at the Thomasville showroom that we both liked but it's outrageoulsy expensive - wouldn't you know? The 3 pieces (plus 6 chairs) I wanted come to about $8,000, and I just can't bring myself to spend that kind of money on furniture. Even though it is really nice stuff and very well made and would last forever, and be the kind you pass down to your kids and grandkids! It's not like the stuff that they throw together with staple guns and glue in a big warehouse, it's really fine craftsmanship, but I'm just not that wealthy! Then we found some yesterday that was real nice, too, and it was only about $5,500 for that set. It has to be ordered, they don't carry it in the showroom, so I haven't seen it in person, and I'm not going to spend that kind of money until I can lay my eyes on it and then decide if it's really what I want. So, I'm still shopping around. It's unfortunate that I have such expensive taste! But, I'd rather wait and save up and get what I really want, like I did with my bedroom suite, and get a good quality, than get something just because it's cheaper but won't last. We've never had a dining room suite, just that wood & glass table that we've had for the last 21 years, the same one we had in the apt. We got our $100 worth out of it, that's for sure! We sold it for $40 a few weeks ago, to a friend of the lady across the street from us. She was thrilled to have it, so I was glad to let it go. Mom and Dad are going to give us the set they have that belonged to my dad's grandmother, and were going to bring it out on Memorial Day weekend, but that didn't work out, so now, I don't know how long it might be. Could be a year or more before they could manage to get it out here, and I don't think I want to be without a table for that long! Can't have anyone over for dinner! And the card table and folding chairs in there just don't quite do it for me! :) Well, maybe I'll be patient and wait for the furniture from mom and dad. It's "family" furniture, you know, heirloom stuff. We want to keep it in the family, that's for sure.
Yesterday we were going to go for a motorcycle ride, something we haven't done in a very long time, but wouldn't you know it rained off and on all day long!!!! The good thing was that it kept it cool all day, it was a very pleasant 70-something day, so that was nice. We went out to an early dinner at Johnny Carino's and that was good too. Well, I'm back at work today and hubby is off, so he calls while ago and lets me know that TODAY is the PERFECT DAY, sunny, mild temperatures, perfect MOTORCYCLE WEATHER!!!! Aaaarrrggghh! Well, I'll just hope that we have the same type of day on Saturday and maybe, just maybe, we can get the bike out and put some miles on it!
On another subject, Granddaddy really does seem to like it out here but I know he misses my older sister and seeing mother more often, plus he used to get to see the nephew every week (my nephew, his great grandson) because he came over to my sister's a lot, she picked him up from school sometimes. So, now, I'm the only family member out here to come visit him. And even though I go every day, I'm sure sometimes he'd like to see the others come through the door, too! But he's doing very well and getting settled in. Luckily, it was his suggestion that even got us looking for the place, so at least we didn't have to try to convince him or persuade him to do this. But I really believe it is the best place for him, because there is always someone around and close by in case he needs them, whereas at our house, and at my sister's house, too, he was there by himself when we had to all be at work, so he was alone too much of the time. He has a little thing he wears on his wrist and all he has to do is push the button and it summons help for him so someone can be there in less than 2 minutes. They serve him 3 good meals a day, which is more than I can say for when he was at my house! His breakfast was always cereal, unless it was Sat. or Sun. and I was home, and his lunch was usually nothing special, just something to tide him over until I could get home, then I'd try to fix something decent, but it wasn't always a full-fledged "good hot meal." He gets much better food and nutrition this way, and on a regular schedule too, not on our hit & miss schedule. We sometimes eat supper so late, as late as 8:30 or so sometimes, and he just needs (and likes) a much earlier dinner. They bring him his daily medications right on schedule every day, morning, noon and night, so that is a good thing, too. They have activities in the main room by the dining room every day, such as bingo, dominoes, Scrabble and other board games, plus they have a choir, which he wouldn't sing in but enjoys listening to, and they have a church service twice on Sundays and once on Wed. afternoons that he can just walk to, right down the hall in a nice little chapel. The girls that work there are just super. They are so nice and friendly and just make him feel real special. They give them a lot of attention, which I sure am glad for. He gets confused as to what day it is sometimes, even though I got him a big atomic clock that shows the day/date/month/year/ time/am/pm/temp(outside & in) but I guess he forgets to look at it sometimes. So I just call and remind him what day it is and let him know I'll be over later. He spends every weekend with us at our house and goes to church w/ us Sun. a.m and p.m. And he spent the night this Sun. night since we were both off work on Monday. We went to IHOP for breakfast then back to his apt. around 11:30, he thought Jimmy and I should have some time to ourselves, he said, which I thought was very thoughtful, so we did spend the rest of the day together, just the two of us.

OK, Tam, have I written enough yet?

Too busy to blog

Well, I have come to the conclusion that I am too busy to be a good blogger. I probably do have a lot to say and a lot to tell, just no time in which to say it or share it with you.
Things are crazier than normal around here lately and it just seems like they're not likely to smooth out any time soon. I see no light at the end of my tunnel!!! :( I definitely need a vacation! Two months, if I can just hang on for two months, it'll be here!
I don't have time to attend to regular email, much less "specialty" projects such as blogging!
I have houseguests right now who are at home waiting for me to get there and visit with them, but I must wait for these printers to quit before I can even think about going! Last night, it was 8:30 before I got home from work. Tonight will not be that late, hopefully it will only be about 7. I have been keeping track for about 3 months now and it is clear that we are killing a lot of trees in this business. Hope we own our own forests! We are using an average of $14,000 worth of paper every month! And that's just in this room, doesn't even count anything from the rest of this large office! And we spend over $4,000 a month on ink! And the printers we use cost about $20,000 each. Talk about operating expenses - holy cow!!!!!
Well, I must run or I'll be camping out here all night.
Will return when I can but don't hold your breath!