Rants and Raves

Fun Run

2011-10-05T18:10:00.001-05:00

Well today was the Poo's first school activity. She had a fun run today. She has been just so excited for a whole week waiting for this afternoon. We got there early and got registered and the teacher doing name tags already new her name! She had a wonderful time running with her friends and is so very very proud of her ribbon.

She ran the whole way without walking. She was nowhere near first but she wasn't last either. I am just the most proud mommy in the world right now! She ran her little heart out and had a great time :)

Catching up with myself

2011-09-19T09:16:00.000-05:00

Well I have finally made it back! We have had so much going on as of late that I have found no time for myself much less the computer! Poo had her first day of school. She was so excited that she finally got to start kindergarden :) It was difficult for me to adjust but I think what I had the hardest time with was not being able to share it with my Mom. I just never thought that she wouldn't be here for these milestones. Friday was Poo's very first school pictures. I just can not wait to see how they came out. She looked so pretty.
Every vehicle we have has broken down at least twice in the last 4 months and it has been hell. I am grateful we live close enough to the school that we can walk when needed. We try to walk at least one day a week just because she likes it. One more car to fix and we will be done for a while hopefully!
Mr. C has had a break from his radiation treatments so I have had a little time to recouperate from the repetitive car rides. Hopefully they will start up again soon so we can get him completely well and be done with them all together. He is in very good spirits but I know he would like to be done.
We have been spending more time with our family and friends lately. It has been wonderful to get to see them so much more and the Poo has really enjoyed it. She is such a social butterfly!
This week I hope to have the strength to go through our stuff in the house and see how much we can get rid of. The constant clutter is killing me. I know we have things we have not used in ages and I just see no point in holding on to them anymore.
Papi is going to be busy in the evenings working on Sissy's car. Her brakes have decided that stopping when you push them in is optional. Never a good thing. When he is done with that he has the joy of installing a blinker switch in his truck. He has only been working on this for 4 months. I think it has become a personal vendetta between him and the truck. I offered to take it to the shop and have them do it but he adimantly refused my offer and assured me he would win this battle with the blinker.
All in all we are doing well and getting by. Spirits are high, money is low and we are happy to have a home and a vehicle to fix! Love you all and I will try to get back into blogging more often again.

So busy!

2011-08-01T20:37:00.000-05:00

My goodness things have been so busy! Many birthdays, getting ready for the Poo's first time to start to school, and daily trips to the doctor for a friend. Miss Poo turned 5 just about a week ago and had her party at the local bowling alley. It was her first time to bowl and she just had the best time. She got a a lot of wonderful gifts but one of her favorites(and mine) is an early reading program called Start to Read. It is put out by School Zone publishing and is just a great little set. It came with five books to read, 1 comprehension book, a read along/song cd and a parent guide. I can't really say if it is helping her learn to read since we have only had it a short while but I can say she has really been enjoying it a lot. She loves the books that are in it!
She also got the Lalaloopsy doll she wanted and some new school clothes. She was just a very happy girl. We have been getting up early every morning and going to bed earlier each evening to get her ready for kindergarden. She is sooo excited about getting to go to school to learn new things and make new friends. Man oh man she has loved school shopping! Getting to pick out new clothes and shoes has been a lot of fun for a girl.
My niece Munchie turned 18 just a couple of weeks before Poo's birthday.Sandwiched in the middle was my birthday. I hope to get back to blogging more regularly once school starts, right now it is just so hectic it is a little hit or miss( mostly miss) on finding time to blog. I love you guys!

Rough night

2011-06-29T11:17:00.000-05:00

My goodness what a night! All was going OK for a while. We had gone to dinner with friends and had a very nice time other than it took an hour for our food to come out, then we came home. Papi and Poo went swimming while I watered all the fruit trees and plants. By the time I was done it was nearly dark and still over 100 degrees. I got the Poo out of the pool and was just sweating bullets from dragging the hose around for an hour. I was so ready to get in and cool off. Mind you our house doesn't stay very cool, usually in the 80's but still that is a big improvement from outside. We all get in and I got Poo dressed for bed and started taking care of the critters. Just as I finished the power went out. This happened a few weeks ago and it took them hours to get us back on. Then we noticed one light was still on so we figured it was a breaker. Papi goes out to check the breakers and guess what he found. One of the main lines coming in had been hit by a limb from a pecan tree and snapped in two right by the house. We had no air, no fans, one light in the bathroom( our house is wired very strangely) and one little girl who was not happy in the very hot darkness with no bedtime story and no tv or movies.
After an hour trying to report the break we finally got an actual person who we were able to explain what happened. Papi ran an extension cord to the front of the house so we could have a lamp and a fan and we all started to settle in. We got Poo asleep and then we tried to lay down. Neither of us could go to sleep so around midnight we saw the flashing lights from the repair truck. Papi went outside to show him where the break was and about 45 short minutes later we had power back on. Yay!!! So sometime in the wee hours we finally got to go to bed and The Poo was so happy to wake up and have power again. She had a nice visit with Papi before he went to work and we have had a pretty good morning other than I am dragging my butt behind me. I hope every one else had a better Monday than us!

Catching up

2011-06-26T02:43:00.000-05:00

Well guys, I am so sorry it has been so long since I have posted. We have had a lot going on. Internet troubles have been high on the list. We had no internet for a week and the day before the service call we finally found out why. Fire ants had moved into our phone box and done a lot of damage. Our phone repair man was kind enough to replace our box with a sealed system that should make that more difficult in the future. Then the Poo's puppy at our dsl cable. Six times. Yes six times over 3 weeks. Papi finally just went and got metal conduit to run the line through since nothing else we had tried was working.
I have also been gone a lot driving a dear friend back and forth to the doctor. He was diagnosed with cancer and has no family near by so we stepped in to help share the load with other friends so no one person is having to do it all. He is such a nice guy you can't help but to want to help.
We have also been doing some minor remodeling and home repair. Papi fixed our leaking roof but unfortunately there is a lot of damage we will still have to fix but at least it is not getting worse. We also decided to remodel the Poo's bedroom and frame the walls and add insulation. Our home is very old and had no insulation at all and the walls are not exactly sturdy so we decided to start in her room since she has been asking for a pink room for over a year. Oh my it is so very pink and we are still not done. We still have one wall to move, one door to remove since we put a new entry door in and all new wiring to add. Then we have to finish the walls and floor. In the mean time the plywood floor is painted pink. We have added shelving and many other extras to make things easier for her to be independent. She so wants to be a big girl. Our dear friend Lynette helped us out on a big one. Poo just couldn't reach the light switch without a stool and we were worried about her trying to climb up on a stool in the dark. She gave us this wonderful little thing called a Kid Switch. It is an extender lever that is about16 inches long to help her turn the lights on and off by herself. It was so easy to install and she is LOVING it! Now Lynette was kind enough to give us ours but if you should want to buy one for yourself you can go to kidswitchshop.com and enter Blog 10 in the coupon code at checkout to get 10% off. They have a good selection to choose from and it has saved me a thousand trips already. Did I mention it glows in the dark and she will turn the light on for a few minutes and then turn it back off to watch it glow. It is so great for her to be able to do things for herself and it just so happens to be entertaining for her too!
I think her room will be a work in progress for a while but she has been able to move in and sleep in there for over a week now. She is doing so great, I just wish she wasn't growing up so fast. Kindergarten starts before too long. Where does the time go?

Lynette was given this item to review and recieved no other compensation. She was kind enough to share this with our family.

Mothers Day

2011-05-08T07:53:00.006-05:00

Let me start off by saying happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there. This Mothers Day is unique for me since it is the first one I will be spending without my mom. Oh how I miss her every day, but today I can't help but miss her a little more. What I wouldn't give to be able to hug her again.
Here is a picture of us when we were getting along. We did not always get along so well but we always loved each other so much. I think that love is what allowed us to get under each others skin and irritate the other so easily. She could get madder at me than anyone else in the world when I did something she was sure I shouldn't do. Even as I became an adult that never changed. She always calmed down and came around eventually. Now do not for a second think it was one sided. She could aggravate me to no end but we always came to terms and accepted each other for what we were. Stubborn, pig headed, forgetful, and most of all, family.
I never understood how much my mom loved me until I had my daughter. I told my mom shortly after the Poo was born that I forgave her for all those times she wouldn't let me go have fun because she thought it was " just too dangerous", even though I assured her nothing would happen and I would be fine. We had a good laugh over it and talked a lot about how your outlook on the world changes when you become a parent. Sidewalks for instance seem perfectly safe until you have your first child. Then they appear to be a pit of death to a toddler learning to walk or a 3 or 4 year old growing into their feet and running in flip flops. Recliners seem perfectly safe until you have a little one. Those things are awful once your child realized they can climb up onto one and try to fly face first into the ground, or gets a foot under it as someone is getting up and gets a toe smashed.
I know why she saw the world the way she did and how hard it was for her to give us some independence to grow into the people my sister and I became. I understand why she stayed in the car outside of wherever we were , such as a concert or the skating rink, instead of going home and coming back to get us. We thought she wanted to spy on us when we were younger. Now I can see she wanted us to have independence and feel free to have fun, but be close by if we needed her.
I am glad we got to share these things before she died because if it is possible we were even closer in the last few years than we were before. She always told me she hoped to live long enough to see me have a child. She never thought I would. I was 29 when my daughter blessed me with her arrival and the day she was born my mom said if she died that day everything she had wanted in life was fulfilled. My sister and I both had a child to love and help grow, we were stable and happy, and we had a good relationship with each other. It was very important to my mom that my sister and I be close and talk to each other often. She wanted us to have a good relationship and each of us know that the other would be there for them no matter what. We do have that and it is truly a blessing. My daughter remembers my mom and misses her. She talks about her often and tells me stories about things they did together. I hope she is able to keep some of those memories as she grows up and always be able to feel inside how much my mom loved her.
My niece was already almost 17 when my mom passed away so she has memories to keep with her. I was so touched when she wore the patent leather converse tennis shoes my mom had gotten for her to the prom. She said she wanted her grandmother with her on that special day and it felt like she was able to take her to prom when she wore those shoes. How can you not be proud of a young woman like that.
I am going to add a perfect pairing in to the end of this post just because I believe it fits so well with the emotions I feel today. 1 John 4:18

18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Growing up I was never afraid of my mother. My fear was not of punishment but of disappointing her. I always wanted her to be proud of me and proud of the job she had done raising me. Her love was pure and perfect and completely unconditional. I thank the Lord everyday that I was able to have her in my life for as long as I did and for giving me such a wonderful family, be it blood family or chosen family. I have been blessed with a loving family and we all miss her so much. On this day I choose not to be filled with the pain of loss but to rejoice in her love that was given so freely for so many years and fill my heart with the blessings I see everyday. My family, my child, and the people of this earth that do things because they are the right thing to do, not because they are easy. Thank you Momma for teaching me to appreciate what I have and not to dwell on the negative. Thank you for teaching me that love is the greatest gift we have and we should share it with others. Thank you for being you. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be blessed with her in my life and hug her for me on this day created to celebrate her love and giving nature.

Appetite for Inspiration

2011-05-07T06:20:00.006-05:00

What a wonderful time we had yesterday! Lynette@ Crazed Mind and I got the privilege of being invited to the Texas Beef Council in Austin. It was truly a great day. We got to learn a bit more about the Texas cattle industry and also taste the delicious food they were offering that was prepared by chef Richard Chamberlain.

Lynette's DH makes fertilizer and Papi makes feed for animals, so it was really cool to see it come full circle to the beef on your table. They had a lot of wonderful information to share and delicious food as well. We even got to play Top Chef and team up in groups to make our own dishes. If that wasn't enough we got to meet a bunch of wonderful bloggers and make some new friends as well as find new blogs to read.

All the beef was provided to us by Nolan Ryan Beef. If you have never eaten it, you definitely should. I am not usually brand specific on food, but that beef had the best flavor and texture of any I have ever had. I know you can purchase it at Kroger stores and order online but if you live somewhere you can't buy it be sure to ask your local grocer to stock it! It was fantastically delicious.

The Poo was very excited to learn that they had given us a goodie bag that had an apron for her and a real cow bell. She has played with her cow bell a good bit already and is just loving it! I was impressed that they included children into the bag as well as the presentation and made it more about family than just you preparing a meal for them. The Poo and I cook together a lot. I have found she is more willing to eat something new if she gets to help prepare it and knows what is going in and tasting it along the way so she can see how flavors change in the cooking process. I have never had a problem getting her to eat nutritious food because she is so involved in not only preparing it but in growing it and harvesting. When we harvest food from the garden she is able to try everything raw and again when it is cooked so she can see that it is the food we grew going from our garden to our tummies to keep us strong and healthy.Even more than that, it is a sense of pride and accomplishment for her to be able to say "I grew this in My garden!" She will definitely let you know very quickly that it is her garden.

It was so great to me that the Texas Beef Council not only understood how important it is to involve children in healthy eating but encouraged it and thought of kids when putting things together for all us bloggers to take to our homes. All and all it was just a wonderful experience and I hope I have the opportunity to do it again sometime.

Easter

2011-04-25T13:31:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter day! We certainly did. We got to visit with lots of friends and the Poo got to hunt eggs with lots of little ones. She got to play way into the evening with her friends so she had a wonderful time. We had a nice meal and good company. You just can not ask for more than that. We even got some rain that night! Much needed rain, I might add. I hope everyone got to spend time with loved ones and felt as blessed as we did.

Prom

2011-04-17T16:44:00.005-05:00

Last night was Munchie's senior prom. We went to help her get ready for the big event and I was able to surprise her with a beautiful necklace that I thought would compliment her gown well. She was really excited and I was so pleased we could be there for this huge milestone in her life. Now most of you know, Munchie is my niece but I love her like she was my own. I was just as proud as my sister when she got all dressed up to leave. I even got to help her with hair and make up. She looked so lovely. They found a beautiful gown for her that looked so good with her skin tone. I just can not hardly believe how much she has grown up. It seems like she was just a little tyke not that long ago. I was nearly dead by the time we got home thanks to the medicine, but I managed to make it through all the important parts and I think that is all that truly matters. I only had time to get a few pictures because she had an appointment to have pictures made before prom but she promised me she would doll up again so I can get more pictures. I am very much looking forward to it!

Ferret Fun

2011-04-13T14:27:00.005-05:00

I have spent my afternoon laughing at my little angel and one of her best buddies. The Poo has been playing with our ferret Cyclone all afternoon. She just loves when he gives her kisses. She giggles and giggles and it seems the more noise she makes the more love he gives. They both enjoy it when he gets into her toy box and steals her toys. One of his favorites these days is her pom poms. He loves to carry them around and root through them. While running around this afternoon he discovered an empty soda box. Big big fun for a little guy! The next logical step is of course for him to drag the pom pom into the box. I somehow never thought a pom pom in a soda box would be hours of entertainment for a ferret and a little girl, but boy was I wrong! I am amazed by how much they enjoy each other. They even play tag together. Her puppy Prince gets a little jealous at times and tries to join in but he is just a little too excited for Cyclone to be comfortable playing with him. It is such a joy to watch them play and see how happy both of them are together.He is quite a cutie if I do say so myself!

Cooking in Advance

2011-04-12T04:52:00.000-05:00

Well, I started my new medications for the Lyme disease yesterday. They are already making me feel awful.We ordered pizza for dinner, which we hardly ever do. I just did not feel like cooking. I was telling my good friend Lynette over @ Crazed Mind about my dilemma and I will be darned if she didn't have a solution. She had a new copy of Potluck Favorites by Hearst Magazines. It has 126 recipes for just about everything from appetizers to desserts. There are recipes for vegetarian and slimmed down favorites as well. I was looking through it and there are so many one pan recipes and casseroles that I can make all in one day and freeze for the days I feel awful. Now, I already have a copy of Slow Cookers plus Soup Stews and Casseroles from Hearst Magazines which we loved everything we cooked out of, so I am very excited to try the new recipes in Potluck Favorites. The one I am going to make tonight is ravioli and zucchini lasagna. It looks amazing! The even have some very yummy dessert recipes, which will make Papi happy. He has a mad sweet tooth:) The Poo saw the picture of the mozzarella and pesto grilled pizzas and asked if we could make those. They look very simple and only require a few ingredients, so I think she could make her own pizza and I will cook it for her. They even have grilling tips for the bar b que recipes that would work for anything you could possibly make on the grill. I am so happy to know that I can still feed my family well while I am on the mend. Thanks again to Lynette @ Crazed Mind for the new cookbook and help with a major dilemma. This is a review, I received no compensation. Lynette received a copy of the magazine for review purposes which she has graciously shared with me in my time of need.

Looking up?

2011-04-08T13:49:00.004-05:00

It has been an interesting week for me. I have been doing a lot more research on my Lyme Disease to see if there was anything else that I could possibly try to improve my situation. I just did not want to believe that this is the best I could ever feel. I found many things both nutritional and medical that I thought might help. So, I got all my info together and went to my family doctor to see if she would be incline to try something out of the norm. To my surprise she had been reading up to and was on the exact same page as I was! I am hopeful again for the first time in 3 years but apprehensive at the same time as I know from experience it will get MUCH worse before it gets better if the new meds work. Unfortunately, if it doesn't get worse then I know the meds are not working. I only hope I can handle this. I know I am not as physically strong as I was the last time I went through treatment and it nearly did me in then. Luckily, I have a wonderful friend who will look out for The Poo if this should get bad so that is a great relief for me. My hope is to get through the worst of this and be back to my old self before Papi has his surgery. Once he has the surgery done he will be out of the mix for at least 3 months. He will not be able to do anything at all. Normally he helps me with the yard work and the critters and Plays with The Poo a great deal. Not only will he not be able to do those things, there will not be much he can even do for himself for a while. I do not want him to have any reason to attempt to put this surgery off again. Pray for strength for us. On a lighter note, I have many more reasons to be positive. Sissy AKA College Girl has been writing some wonderful blogs lately and I am so happy to see her writing again. She is truly happiest when she is writing and I love to see the joy in her shining through. Munchie was accepted to the college she applied for and will be starting pre med! Her prom is next weekend and graduation a month after. The Poo will be starting kindergarten in the fall and is very excited about it. She has been practicing her letters so she will be ready! I am so proud of all my girlies! They are such a source of joy for me. I am truly blessed to have such a great family and wonderful friends. I think I am even more blessed that I realize that even though we have had a run of bad luck and are still having major woes, that we are so blessed and can take joy in what we have instead of dwelling on what we don't.

Making a dress dummy

2011-03-31T07:52:00.000-05:00

Now I did have to have help on this one, so a big big thanks goes to Lynette @ Crazed Mind for being willing to help me out. I have been doing more sewing lately and making shirts and dresses for Poo. We are trying to get summer ready and she loves dresses . It is easy enough to try things on her and see where I need to make room or take some up. She is very good about being still so I can pin the hems and whatnot. For me on the other hand it is not so easy. I really want some new shirts for working in the garden and in the yard. I want something cooler that I don't have to worry about getting stained or torn. Unfortunately, I am not a model nor do I have a model's body. Things don't always fit me the way they do on the front of a pattern so I needed a dress dummy. Now if any of you sew then you know that dress dummies are not cheap. I definitely could not afford to buy one so we went old school, redneck, ghetto, or whatever you want to call it. Here is my DUCK TAPE dress dummy! Now go ahead and have your laugh but when you think about it this is perfect. It cost about 10 dollars which is very good for my budget AND it is exactly my body. Whatever it looks like on the dummy it will look the same on me. It is much easier for me to make changes in the design if I need to and it is simple to do. Here is how you can make your own dress dummy.

You will need: 1 VERY good friend to help you ( you will be immobile and they will have scissors) 3 to 4 rolls of duck tape ( depending on how stiff you want it to be) 1 very snug shirt you are willing to cut up (short or long sleeves depending on what you prefer)

First, put on your snug shirt and set you main taping lines. Under the bust is a good place to start. Then do across shoulders and under the arms. Now it is time to just spin and wrap the tape all around you. You want the tape to be snug but not to tight. You want your bumps to still be there and you will need to have room for the scissors to get under it to cut you out. After you have several layers of tape all over, make sure they are interlocking with the shoulder area and the arms so it is one uniform piece. Now you are ready to be released:) Cut the underside of one sleeve to the armpit. Now cut from the bottom of the same side up to the armpit. Now you should be able to slide out. Tape the seam heavily and stuff with whatever you have handy. Mine is stuffed with bubble paper , plastic grocery bags, and scrap fabric since I did not have a lot of any of them.

I was lucky enough to be able to put mine on a stand and tape it to the stand for stability. So now I have a wonderful dress dummy on a stand for around 10 bucks. That's about what it would have cost for 1 new shirt. Now I can make several shirts and maybe even a dress or two for me without the hassle of getting it all done and having to rip out a seam because it doesn't fit right. Yay!!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-29T10:43:00.007-05:00

All I can think of when I see this picture is just pure BLISS. Thanks to Never Growing Old for the WW linky!

Senior Pictures

2011-03-29T10:05:00.007-05:00

Well, this weekend we managed to go get Munchie's pictures taken at the local park. We took about 500 so she had plenty to choose from. There were also Poo, Papi and landscape pictures in there also but she still had plenty. She was very happy with the way they turned out and is very excited about being able to get her graduation invitations out to family and friends. She was having trouble deciding which one to use so she put 10 up on Facebook for voting. After getting so many different responses she went back and decided to give each person the photo they voted on so everyone would have their personal favorite. I thought that was very diplomatic and showed a lot of consideration on her part. I sure am proud of the woman she has grown up to be. Even though I am only her aunt I am just as proud as any momma could be! Here are some of the wonderful pictures we took that didn't make the top 10 but we both loved. All in all we just had a wonderful family day in the park together. The Poo got to play for several hours so she was quite happy and it was just a beautiful day. So sunny with a light breeze, just a perfect day all around.We were lucky enough to get some very good pictures and all get to spend time together. We even went for a little mini hike in the dried up creek bed where we got some of the best pictures of the day.She is making her own graduation invitations as she didn't really like the ones the school had to offer. I can hardly wait to see the finished graduation invitations. I bet she will do a wonderful job on them. She is very artistic and has good vision for the finished product. I am just so excited!!

No Internet

2011-03-25T09:15:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to say our internet has been down for a few days. It really sucked but now we are up and running again! Still not sure exactly what happened but I will get back to blogging soon. We have a busy weekend coming, we are planning to get the garden planted, the trees trimmed and brush removed. Hopefully I will get some pictures to share :)

It's a PARADE !

2011-03-20T11:52:00.001-05:00

On Saturday we all got up early and drove to Dublin, the home town of Dr. Pepper. Why did we do this you ask? Well, they had a big St. Patrick's Day parade.The Poo had never seen a parade this big so it was sure to be an experience.

Granny M took us all to a wonderful breakfast and then we walked outside to watch the festivities. We had quite a car full and everyone had a wonderful time! The Poo enjoyed waving at all the people who were going by and seeing the princesses in their gowns on the decorated floats. She also ended up with a TON of candy which they were throwing from the floats. Sissy was kind enough to help her get the candy that was too far into the street for her to reach and all candies were then divided. The Poo came out with the lions share. It was wonderful to see the excitement on her little face as the parade came by with horses and music. She was amazed by all of it. She cheered and waved and laughed at all the floats and ponies.

We spent the rest of the day playing with loved ones and then had a cook out to end the evening. She sure was one tired little girl last night. I think she even fell asleep smiling.

Perfect Pairings

2011-03-20T09:24:00.004-05:00

Psalm 30:5 (KJV)
“ For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Thanks to That's Baloney for letting me join in on Perfect Pairings!

Monday on Wednesday

2011-03-17T06:31:00.000-05:00

Well it was a bugger of a day to say the least. Somehow when the oil got changed on my blazer, the oil filter didn't get back on right , so when I went to drive it the oil filter came off and all the oil leaked out. Guess what happens next....You win!!! My engine seized up and my vehicle ceased to run. Now, it was a used vehicle that I still have 3 years of payments on and no warranty.
Just to add insult to injury, on the way home towing it, the person driving it rolled over the chain and ripped off half of my bumper. Yes, just half. No, I don't see how that is possible either but I saw it with my own eyes so I PROMISE you it was only half of it.
Trying to keep a good sense of humor about it all and not run screaming and crying at the top of my lungs! Instead I drowned my sorrows in blackberry cobbler and coconut fluff. It was a really nice end to a tragic day. Today we will be gone in a borrowed vehicle as Papi has a doctors appointment out of town. Great timing, right? Yes, that's why I got the oil changed. Hope everyone has a great day and I am hoping today is a he&& of a lot better than yesterday!
Make time to hug the people you love and maybe even the ones you don't love just to mess with their heads:)

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-16T11:03:00.004-05:00

Hahahaha!! What can you say to this? On her behalf, it was his idea and it was her birthday:)

Thanks to Dear Crissy for the WW linky!

Sunday Fun for All

2011-03-13T20:16:00.007-05:00

What a great day we had! The Poo and I got started early outside, just the two of us since Papi had to work. It was a lovely warm but overcast day with a light breeze. We drew a hopscotch board on the sidewalk and played hopscotch for a good while. Then we colored on the porch with the chalk. After that we came in for lunch and Papi got to come home and play with us!! Yeah!!
Of course he didn't really play to much. He and Poo worked on the used riding mower we bought last summer. After about an hour they decided he should push mow instead and Momma should take the mower to the repair shop.
So while he was mowing we came back up to the front yard and she spotted her bike from last summer. She wanted to ride it on the sidewalk and went to town! She was doing so good we decided to try it in the street and just see how it went. She did GREAT! She rode it for about 6 blocks. I was amazed. After about the fourth time up and down the block she began really picking up speed. Excitedly she informed me that the faster she peddled the faster the wheels go! I am certain she is a genius for figuring that out all on her own. Now, I am not a huge fan of running but she had me going at a good sprint for about the last two blocks. Whew! After finally getting her to stop(only because there was a stop sign) she decided she didn't really want to ride all the way home. She rode about another half a block and realized it was much harder. That is when I explained to her we were going uphill now, so we walked the rest of the way home while I carried the bike.
Now if that wasn't enough fun for the day she decided walking home was so much fun maybe we could go for a walk. It was a beautiful day and Papi was still mowing so off we went! We live in a rural community so the streets are pretty quiet and safe. We took off and she asked if she could pick where we go. It sounded like fun to me so every time we came to an intersection she got to pick left, right. straight or turn around. We meandered for several blocks and then heard someone calling HER name, not mine. We start looking around and who did we find but Lynette, Dear Hubby and Granny M in the back yard of a relative of theirs. We stopped to visit for a bit and then headed home to get Papi and invite him to come join us all. Lynette walked to the house with us and on the way we decided it was such fun that us girlies would just start doing this every day! Papi did take a break and walk over to visit with us and we had a nice afternoon with friends and family.
Now, it has been a pretty full day at this point but after getting home she reminds me we had not flown our kites today and that was the first thing we intended to do this morning. To the kites we go! We flew kites for about an hour and had a glorious time doing so. Unfortunately it was about time to make dinner so we finally called it a day. Dinner, a bath, dolls and a story later I finally got to sit down. It really was a fun day! I tell you I just don't know how she has all this energy every day. I was exhausted by the time I got to lay down for the night. It was all well worth it though. I am so thankful when we get to have days like this when we are all together and having a good time!

Perfect Pairings

2011-03-13T11:28:00.005-05:00

This is my first time doing Perfect Pairings. My friend Lynette @ Crazed Mind is the one who told me about it and I love the idea. So here is mine for today:

Mark 4:26
26: He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.

This would be heaven to me. I love everything about gardening. I love being outside, showing my daughter where food comes from. I love the family time we all get together in the garden. I love the joy on her little face when she is able to pull something fresh right off of a plant and eat it without worry. I love the many blessing that come from a garden. The bounty God has bestowed upon us, the ability to share it with others and the joy that comes from it all.

I want to also thank That's Baloney! for letting me join up in the perfect pairings.

Beautiful Day

2011-03-12T19:47:00.005-06:00

It was another beautiful day here today. You would never know it was March by the temperature outside. We went out today and watered the fruit trees that have already begun blooming. Naturally in doing this we also watered The Poo. She had such a great time playing in the sprinkler all afternoon. I am certain she got more of the water than the trees did.

After she got done, we came in and put on dry clothes for the rest of the evening. She still wanted to be outside so she colored and wrote on the front porch with sidewalk chalk. While we were coloring, I managed to snap quite a few pictures. They are beautiful pictures to me, I swear I am not partial at all. (fingers crossed behind my back) I added a few of my favorites to the blog. We had a really nice afternoon and got a little bit of work done in the process. I just don't think you can ask for anymore than that. I hope you all feel as blessed as I do everyday to have something to look forward to. I always look forward to my family time. They are the most precious gifts ever!

Eagles everywhere

2011-03-10T17:02:00.002-06:00

Image by law_keven via Flickr We love the outdoors and nature so it only seems to fit that we are now watching nature on our computer. The Poo has really been enjoying watching wild eagle nests and seeing the moms and dads take care of the eggs and eat. This morning she saw one bring a fish to the nest to share with its partner. She has gotten to watch them turn the eggs and protect them from the weather. I think it is so cool that you can go to a website and watch a live streaming video of eagles in the wild. So far we have 3 sites that we are watching and one of them has 3 babies that have hatched. The Poo was amazed to get to watch the last egg hatch and see the eaglet come out. What a wonderful experience for a little princess and all the rest of us commoners! If you are interested in watching the eagles these are the 3 we are watching.

http://www.wvec.com/marketplace/microsite-content/eagle-cam.html
http://www.friendsofblackwater.org/camhtm2.html
http://outdoorchannel.com/Conservation/EagleCam.aspx

We have now also heard there is a humming bird nest you can watch as well. It is an amazing learning experience for her because she can see how they behave and is able to ask questions and understand fully what is happening. On Eagle Cam there is even a moderated discussion so if she asks a question I can not answer we can type it in and they will respond in chat with an answer. How cool is that? I know we are certainly enjoying it and we wanted to share with any of you who may not have known about it. Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-03-09T12:11:00.004-06:00

A princess doing what she does! She is loving this weather and being outside!!

Following the WW Dear Chrissy Linky

Go fly a kite!

2011-03-08T10:51:00.008-06:00

The Poo and I have been having lots and lots of fun these days. The weather has been nice and sunny but not too hot so we have really been pushing to get our outside time. She loves to be outdoors even more than I do, and thats near impossible. We don't always have a reason to go outside, so sometimes we just have to make up one. One of our favorite reasons to come up with is kite flying. We both enjoy it very much and you can include as many or as few people as you like.

We think the more the merrier but sometimes it is just the two of us. This last week we were able to get Munchie, Papi and Lynette to join us in our kite flying follies. This week we have purchased extra kites to share with Lynette's grandbabes. The Poo is really looking forward to getting to go fly kites with them and spend time outdoors with friends. She always enjoys when they come for a visit and doesn't even mind sharing her toys with them. It was her idea to go buy them each a kite, and I thought it was very sweet and thoughtful of her. I am a really proud Momma. She is turning out to be a great young lady.

Anyway, I hope to have more kite flying photos to share with you later but these are from last week. She handles the kite very well and sure does enjoy it! I think kites are fun for the child in everyone! She has even convinced Sissy (aka College Girl)to go flying with us soon. I will be sure to get plenty of pictures of that!

Got TONS done this weekend

2011-03-07T09:49:00.003-06:00

We got a lot accomplished this weekend and even had a good time doing it! An over view of saturday : got the tiller and the mower running, got the garden tilled, got the composter fixed and filled, got some grass cut, had a great time with friends in the evening. Sunday was really good also. We spent our morning slacking while I cut up various fruits and cheeses and packed a picnic. We surprised the Poo with a picnic about 11 am and by noon we were up and running. Everyone seemed to enjoy the picnic and Poo loved that Munchie was here to picnic with her. Thanks to Papi's help, we got the porch cleaned off and swept again, got all the leaves raked out of the front yard, got some plants planted, got the flower beds weeded and aerated, and got everything in front watered. He even started working on the trim around the front door. We have had the new door for a year and a half and the trim has been propped up by the door all this time. My Seester(sister) came to visit when she picked up Munchie. I got to have a nice visit with her. We had sandwiches and chips for dinner so I didn't even have to wash dishes. Yay!
My knees are screaming at me today but it was worth it. Poo got to play outside all day for 2 days in a ROW! Talk about a happy girl. We should be able to start planting this weekend so I am very excited. It is cooler today but suppose to warm up this afternoon so I think I will use this time on inside things. I will re-till the garden on thursday so we can plant friday and saturday. There is a chance of rain on sunday and monday so that would be great! I think poo and I will put out the fertilizer on the garden today so it has some time to sit before we till again.
I know as bad as my knees are hurting whatever we do today we will be doing it a bit slower and with a few more frequent breaks. I hate Lyme disease. It just hurts all the time. I am glad that I am able to do as much as I do though. I have learned how to pace myself somewhat but my right knee is double the size it should be today so I guess I will have to listen to my body and slow it down a bit today. Poo says I can sit outside while she plays but I know there is no sitting when she is playing. We will still have fun!
I hope everyone else had a good weekend and got to spend time with loved ones. That's the most important part!

The Poo's new puppy

2011-03-07T05:16:00.000-06:00

No,
I don't have to feed this one thankfully. She was lucky enough to get a Muttles for Valentine's Day. What is a Muttle you ask? Don't feel bad I had to ask too. Muttles are adorable little puppies that are a cross between breeds, a hybreed, if you will. There are 8 of them in all and each one comes with an adoption certificate, trading cards and tatoos which is big fun for a little girl. They also come with a code you can enter on their website so that your little one can go play with their new pet in a virtual world as well.

Now, they are pretty small and I was afraid the Poo would not be able to keep up with it but she has done really well. The only trouble we had was she wanted to sleep with it and her real puppy, The Prince, was jealous. He stole it during the night and tried to kill it. They are apparently well made as many of her toys have not survived a Prince attack but this did. Other than being a little crusty from the slobber and requiring a bath, the Muttle was none the worse for wear. Not to bad for an inexpensive toy (3.99) and she does adore it. Thanks to Lynette at Crazed Mind for giving her this cutie. She really loves it!

This is a review for Muttles. I received no compensation. Lynette received a Muttle for review purposes which she kindly gave to the Poo. The opinions are my own.

Saturday was a good day!

2011-03-06T09:41:00.006-06:00

Munchie got to spend the weekend with us again, so we all got up early and went to see Granny M. Guess what she was doing, uh huh, making WAFFLES !!! Yay! The morning was cold and windy but it sure was nice to have hot waffles, home made jellies, bacon and sausage. We ate like little piggies and loved it. The Poo decided she wanted to stay and play so I took the opportunity to fuel my spring fever.

The sun had come out and it was another beautiful day. I came home, started the tiller and went to town. The before and after in the garden is sure great to see! Then Papi got home from work and decided he would take over tilling so Munchie and I repaired my home made ghetto compost tumbler. Ugly....yes, but it works very well. We got it all put back together and then I got the mower running and used the bagger to fill my tumbler with dry grass and leaves. Add water and there you go. We are officially up and running for spring. Compost on the way and first till on the garden done!
If that wasn't enough we then got to clean up a bit and go to a bar-b-que at our friends/family's house. The first one of the year but only one of many to come I hope. We got to spend the evening with wonderful company, great food and good times. We started watching a movie after dark. We watched Avatar for a bit but the Poo was tuckered out and started trying to fall asleep so we decided to head home and put our girl to bed. Everyone was in bed early for a change. It was just a great day! Thanks to our dear friends Lynette and Dear Hubby for the great food and even better company!

Lets Get Outside

2011-03-06T05:24:00.001-06:00

Many of you know that the Poo and I spend as much time as possible outdoors. We fly kites and play baseball and kickball. We play red light green light and garden with veggies and flowers. We go for walks and go play at the park. She loves to be active and Papi and I encourage that as much as we can. Even if it is just coloring with sidewalk chalk. When Papi is not at work he joins us in our outdoor adventures and loves it just as much as she and I do. But even we run out of things to keep us outside and that is why I really have enjoyed reading a new book Lynette from Crazed Mind lent to us. 15 Minutes Outside : 365 ways to get out of the house and connect with your kids by Rebecca P. Cohen is a wonderful book packed with ideas to get you and your kids outside and moving no matter the weather. Rebecca shares her story of how she got the idea to get her kids out everyday and took a leap of faith to change jobs after 15 years.

In this book she has ideas for every month of the year and all kinds of weather. There are tips to get your kids imaginations going as well as their bodies. She has put in the tricks she has found to make things easier and quicker to get out no matter the weather and how to stay warm in winter and cool in summer. Some of the ideas are super simple and tons of fun, some require a little more planning but are worth the effort it takes to get outside. One of the ideas I really liked was create your own drive in. In the evening, get some lawn chairs or blankets set up, pop your popcorn and head out with your laptop or portable dvd player and enjoy a movie night outside with your family. Simple but not something I would have thought of on my own and a great way to have a nice family evening. I have really enjoyed reading this book and think the ideas are wonderful and enjoyable for all ages. I would recommend you check out Rebecca's website at www.rebeccaplants.com/outdoorliving.asp.

This is a review of this book. I recieved no compensation for this. Lynette recieved a copy of this book for review purposes and all opinons are my own.

Texas Tea Party

2011-03-04T08:51:00.005-06:00

Last night the Poo was very sad. Her Papi, who is daddy when she is sad, had to go away for the night. He has sleep apnea and had to go for a sleep study. This was not ok with the Poo. She is not used to him not being here for bedtime and cried her little heart out when it was time for him to leave. It was made worse by the fact that he had to go so quickly after getting home from work since the study was in another town.

So to help her out we decided to make it a girls night and change the focus. We bake home made strawberry muffins, sliced fresh strawberries and strawberry whipped cream with strawberry tea in a REAL tea pot. What fun we had! She picked a table cloth and we had to put on dresses and rings and use our very best many at the tea party. It really took her mind off of Papi and gave us some much needed play time. She even shared her muffins with Lynette @ Crazed Mind. When it came time for bed it was the same old routine. Teeth brushed, potty done, nightgown on, story read and she crashed! No fussing or crying at all. She sure is growing up fast. I hope to squeeze in as many tea parties as possible before she outgrows them. If any of you would like to have your own tea party with your little ones here is the recipe for the muffins. They were great!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2/3 cup butter

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons strawberry extract

3 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups milk

8 to 10 fresh strawberries diced

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs and both extracts. Sift together dry ingredients and add alternately with milk while beating. Beat for 1 minute. Pour into two 9 inch round pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. We used a mini muffin pan and started checking after about 15 minutes.

Easy cake to make and so delicious. Would be a good birthday cake as well.

Dream Big

2011-03-04T05:44:00.003-06:00

As most of you know, The Poo is a very active girl. She is also very bright and catches on to things quickly. She runs and plays all day and I do what I can to encourage that. We go fly our kites when the weather is nice or play baseball or kickball if there is no breeze. We go to the city park or walk to Lynette's house. Sometimes however, I want for her to be still and get some rest. Bedtime can be a hassle around here so we got into the routine of you have 30 minutes to get your wiggles out, go potty, brush teeth and then comfy and cozy its time for a story. The Poo loves for us to read to her.

She has quite a nice book collection. She gets books for birthdays and Christmas and as rewards when she does something new and keeps trying even though it may be quite difficult. Right now she is learning to write her letters and sound small words out.

As a reward for working so hard our friend Lynette @ Crazed Mind let us borrow a wonderful story for the Poo to hear at bedtime. Dream Big Little Pig by Olympic skater Kristi Yamaguchi is such a wonderful story. Poppy the pig has big dreams, just like my angel. In the story Poppy wants to be a famous star and tries many things. Nothing seems to work out for Poppy and the teachers keep telling her this just isn't for you. It is so sweet to hear Poo cheering her on " You can do it if you try!" Poppy dreams of being a figure skater and even though there are those who think pigs can't skate. Poppy achieves her dream just by doing something she loves. Poppy's family and best friend are very supportive of her dreams and it is very inspiring to a little girl who wants to be a football playing ballerina doctor. We have very much enjoyed borrowing this book and I am sure we will have to purchase this when it is time to return it.

It is a great story for boys and girls alike who have big dreams and parents who encourage them and help them to strive for their goals. The pictures are beautiful and the story reaches out to little ones and grown ups alike. I highly recommend this book to anyone with a small child. If you get the opportunity go buy it. I know we will!

This is a review for this book. I received no compensation and the opinions are my own. Lynette @ Crazed Mind received a copy of the book for review purposes.

Valentine pictures finally

2011-03-02T13:59:00.005-06:00

As I had said, I would post pictures and I finally was able to get them loaded and here they are. We had a really nice day filled with family and I think that is abo ut all you can ask for :)

The Poo loved her caterpillar and it looks likes the dogs did too! The center is a glow necklace Papi got her and she decided it would make a good halo. She looked so pretty in her polka dot dress and she made valentines for all her loved ones. She wrote her name on each and every one all by herself and gave everybody tinker bell stickers so their day would be magical. Papi and I even got to spend a few minutes together after her story time. I hope everyone feels as blessed as I do. Hug the ones you love!

Too hot in the kitchen? Nope!!

2011-03-02T05:22:00.002-06:00

You all know how I love to cook. I cook almost everything from scratch. Not only is it usually much cheaper, but you get better food and you know what is in it. Growing up in my family a good meal was another way to say" I love you enough to go to all this effort to make sure you are well cared for". The two things I don't like about cooking are the dishes after and the heat. I bake all winter long but when the weather warms up, I would rather chew on my shoe than heat up my house with the stove.

Lucky for me my dear friend Lynette @ Crazed Mind thought about how much I enjoy cooking and shared a wonderful cookbook with me! Yay! Slow Cooker plus Casseroles, Soups and Stews was her gift to me! It is put out by Hearst Magazines and is reasonably priced at $9.99. Now
I can do more in the crock pot and less on the stove. As it turns out, she could not have given me this at a better time. It has been in the upper 80's for over a week and College Girl had tech weekend this weekend and has a play that runs all week long so she can not get home for dinner. I have been cooking up a storm to send food with her and still I am able to keep my home cool! We have cooked several recipes out of this cookbook and so far everyone has loved them all. Just to be fair we wrote down page numbers and pulled them out of a hat to decide what to make. We ended up cooking beef stew, coq au vin, roasted bell pepper cheese straws, Italian wedding pasta, coconut rice pudding and a great country loaf bread. All were fantastic and the only complaint I had was the cheese straws were a lot of work since I even roasted the peppers and by the time the second tray was done...the first one was GONE! Oh they were so good! I have done my baking in the evening when its cooler and used my crock pot during the day. For us, we had enough food to send to College Girl, eat dinner and have leftovers for lunch the next day. What a blessing from my dear friend. Naturally I thanked her with food :)

Just to let you know, this is a review and I recieved no compensation for this. Lynette recieved a copy of this for review purposes which she kindly shared. My opinions are my own and the food was fantastic!

What is your sense of style?

2011-03-01T09:16:00.004-06:00

This weekend my niece Munchie and I were getting ready to take her graduation photos. She has made her invitation style and wants to add photos on the inside to show how she has grown through the years. She has picked her young and middle photos and has asked that soon we go take some "now" photos for her to add to the invitations.

I am so proud of her and want to help her in any way I can, so this weekend we played with styles of eye makeup to see what she wanted to do. We were lucky enough to be able to borrow a great book from our friend Lynette @ Crazed Mind. Style Eyes by Taylor Chang-Babaian not only has beautiful photos of perfect eye makeup but a breakdown of how you can gets these looks for yourself. With the step by step instructions it was truly easy to accomplish model perfect makeup on Munchie.

This book was so much fun and it even has a beauty school in the front of it to tell you how to properly care for your skin and eyes, how to fix fine lines and dark circles, even how to prevent eye infections. There is a lot of wonderful info on different types of concealers, how to shape your brows even how the way you put your eyeliner on can change the shape of your eyes.
We had so much fun trying some of the different looks. We went for some of the more dramatic looks because they aren't something you could wear everyday where we live. What fun!

Munchie picked out her look for the pictures and it was great because none of the looks took very long to do. If you just want to have some fun with your makeup or you have a daughter coming into the makeup age I would highly recommend this book. With all of the information on care and cleanup of the eye area and safety tips to prevent infections as well as all the different step by step instructions for eye looks this would be a great teaching aide. Just so you know, I did not receive any reward for this review. Lynette received a copy of the book and darn the luck I have to give it back. The opinions are my own.

Good News

2011-02-23T13:19:00.002-06:00

It has been a very busy few days. Just to get everyone caught up here is what we have been doing.
Saturday when Papi got off work we all loaded up and went to Ft. Worth in hopes of getting the parts we needed to get our desktop fixed. It didn't work out and we ended up ordering them online anyway but the upside is we all had a nice time together and the Poo loved going to Fry's Electronics and seeing all the isles of stuff they have to temp little hands.
Sunday was my sisters birthday and low and behold she is still older than me! I made her a lemon poke cake with lemon glaze and she loved it. We also got her an edible arrangement since she has been asking for one for years now and we were already in a location we could pick one up. We had a very nice afternoon visiting her.
Monday the Poo and I loaded up and went to the grocery store and she got to pick her fruits and veggies for the next week or two. She had a great time and informed me that it was the best day ever to get to spend an hour in a large produce section of a grocery store. I hope she stays this easy to amuse.
Yesterday I found out that 2 of my best friends are getting married... to each other!!! I am so happy and excited for them that words just can not express the amount of joy and love in my heart. And if that was not enough I get to do a guest review next week...For a COOKBOOK! Can we all say OH YEAH! together now?
So it has been quite busy and hectic but mostly wonderful. I am still trying to get Valentine's pictures up so be patient and hopefully I will be able to get them done today or tomorrow.

Still Awake

2011-02-17T22:39:00.002-06:00

I haven't slept well for days and today it hit me. I have been so tired all day. Still getting things done, just a little more slowly. All day long I have been just waiting for bedtime. So excited that I may get to lay down and rest my traitorous body. So, now its bedtime and I can't sleep. Papi has been asleep since 8 pm. The Poo crashed out about an hour ago, and I have enjoyed watching her rest peacefully. It seems when I lay down I just keep hearing everything. All the ambient noises are driving me nuts. I am flat broke and seriously considering buying barking collars for my neighbors dogs since it sounds like they are UNDER MY BED! I just want to sleep. Hope you all have a great night and maybe just maybe exhaustion will take over and I will get some rest.

How was your Valentine's day?

2011-02-14T23:28:00.002-06:00

Well I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's day! We had a wonderful day here. The Poo got many gifts that she loved dearly including a real princess crown and a large soft caterpillar! Papi got chocolates and I made a chocolate cake for him from his moms recipe. He and Poo got me a cappacino and esspresso maker which we got to try out this evening. It was truly delicious. We took Poo to visit her sissy and grandma and deliver her valentines she had made for family there. All in all it was a great day with loved ones just as it should be.
Hug everyone you love and have a great night!

Food Porn Anyone?

2011-02-08T14:18:00.010-06:00

As many of you know, I cook a lot. All the time it seems. I am always messing with recipes and making changes, adding flavors and changing textures. With the cold we have had I have been doing a LOT of baking. So much so that we have had plenty to share with friends.

During the last cold snap we were stuck at our house for 4 days. No fun at all. My dear friend Lynette was unable to share our cinnamon bread pudding, strawberry scones and pineapple upside down cake. So this time I decided to bake a day in advance. The bad weather is due tomorrow so today I have baked 3 delicious cheesecakes. We have almond amaretto, chocolate kahlua, and parrot bay coconut!

Did you notice a theme? Yes, they are all alcohol cheesecakes! I made them with Lynette's home made amaretto and kaluha and my own rum. What could be better to snuggle with on a cold wintry day? Is there anything more comforting that delicious food made with love from friends? No, I don't think so either. We often do shared meals where we all prepare what we have and combine it with what our friends have. It is a great way to use a little bit of groceries and have a feast for all. For anyone who may want it, the recipe for the basic cheesecake is as follows:
3 blocks cream cheese
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 T. lemon juice
1 t. vanilla extract
Mix all ingredients, pour into graham cracker crust and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool at least 4 hours before serving.

For the extras I added :
3 T. cocoa
1/2 c. kaluha for the chocolate kaluha cheesecake

2 t. almond extract
1/2 c. amaretto
sliced almonds on top for the almond amaretto

1 cup shredded coconut soaked in 1/2 cup parrot bay coconut rum for 30 minutes for the coconut cheesecake

Hope everyone enjoys!

The dilema of a friend

2011-02-07T12:05:00.002-06:00

OK, I know its sounds cliche but I have this friend who is having a problem. She chatted with me a good bit this morning about an issue she is having at work. Here is the story:
My friend doesn't want her name thrown out there so we will cal her Beth.
Beth works long hours and one of the ladies she works with has started making rude comments to her. Talking down about the quality of her work, making comments about her appearance, things like that. But she is doing this under the veil of friendship.
She will make a comment like "Oh you poor thing. You must have had a bad night, you look like you slept in those clothes and just jumped right out of bed to make it on time. Is there anything I can do to help?" She does this in front of other workers sometimes but in private as well, so Beth hears it more frequently than her co-workers do and when she mentions it they tell her she is over reacting.
Beth has tried to politely tell her she doesn't appreciate the comments but the lady acts as though Beth is hurting her feelings and rejecting her as a friend, as though she has done nothing wrong and Beth is the bad guy. The lady offers her assistance as in "Oh you are swamped, I can help you catch up." but if Beth accepts help then the lady goes and tells others how poor Beth just isn't cutting it and has to be bailed out and she put herself out there just to help a friend. But she is bad mouthing Beth the whole time. She even went so far as to invite herself over to Beth's house and then trash talked her home at work.
Beth doesn't want to cause problems at work and most people see this lady as a wonderful person but do not see the malice behind her actions. Beth is a good employee, she is never late and doesn't call in. She gets her work done in a timely manner and does a good job without complaining.
We all know or have known someone like this lady. What advice can I give my friend?The job market is tough and I understand she doesn't want to make waves at work so keep it polite please. Any advice would be helpful because all I could say was to avoid her as much as possible.
So if anyone has an idea please leave a comment and I will pass it along. Thanks everyone!

Garden Dreams

2011-02-04T13:59:00.007-06:00

Well, as I said earlier in the week I am posting photos of we what are going to try to put in the garden. We got a new layer of snow last night and early this morning but it is melting off now. Unfortunately during the thaw one of our water pipes busted so I had to go shut off the water. Won't Papi be surprised when he gets home.

Still, trying to look on the bright side... we never did lose water during all these days of extreme cold. I don't think one day will kill us and it is inside by the water heater so he won't even have to crawl under the house to fix it.

Back to the garden, thawing means possibly tilling if we can get the tiller going this weekend. In the hopes that I get to start tilling this month, the Poo and I have gone through all of our sale seeds and decided how the main garden will go. Mind you the most expensive seed pack we have bought cost us 10 cents. most we got on sale at 20 packs for a dollar, some were 10 packs for a dollar. Pretty cheap groceries. The last 2 years we have watered with city water which can get a little costly. the first year we had no rain and it raised our water bill by 50 dollars a month for 4 months. This year we are going to try to get a submersible pump and holding tank and see if we can use our well, since we are lucky enough to have one that is 135 feet deep even though they hit water at 30 feet.

We will also have a melon garden that is separate from the vegetables that will include cantaloupe, watermelon, canary melon, pumpkins, and acorn squash.

We have our salad mix of veggies that will be in the raised bed I am working on and the main garden that will host all of our staple veggies such as tomatoes, squash, corn, green beans, peas, cabbage, and beans( pinto, black eyed, lima, etc..).

Hopefully we are not taking on too much, but we have done nearly this much with me working 12 hour shifts and Papi working 6 days a week. I think with me being home full time we will be able to accomplish this. It is going to be a lot of work and a lot of fun. The Poo takes great pride in her gardening abilities and loves nothing more than to wander through the garden picking veggies and eating them right there! What can be better than fresh tomatoes still warm from the sun? Not much if you ask my girl.

We will have different varieties of the same vegetables as we do every year, however this year we have found three different types of cabbage we will grow. Last years cabbage were HUGE. We could quarter on head and cook the quarter and still have leftovers. That's a big cabbage. As always, we are going to plant enough to be able to share with our dear friends. Nothing says I love you like baskets of fresh veggies or a call saying" Come pick what you want! "

We will update with photos as we get progress made.

Cuppa coffee anyone?

2011-02-02T11:30:00.007-06:00

How do you make the PERFECT cup of coffee? I honestly do not know because this is how I make coffee :
First, I open one eye half way and sound like I am breaking bones as I stand to stumble to the bathroom. Bump the kitchen table on my way with my hip (ouch)then have difficulty finding the bathroom doorknob as the eye I have half open is blurry. Then have a minor heart attack as I sit down, OMG that's cold. Stumble back to kitchen rubbing closed eye in hopes it will open too and voila! Both eyes open and somewhat focused...time for coffee.
Get a cup of filtered water and pour in with only minor spills. Add great coffee, turn on and wait. Stretch and yawn and finally I hear the final sputters of my one cup coffee pot. Yay!! Coffee is done. Grab cup...oops. Knock over cup onto hand. Shake hand vigorously to remove scalding coffee. Grab paper towels and throw them on huge mess in floor. Run for sink, rinse hand, pat dry. Grab burn spray and lightly coat. Go to get paper towels out of floor.
Chase the Poo's chihuahua puppy AKA the little prince while saying "DROP IT! DROP IT!" in the meanest voice you can muster while trying not to wake up the Poo. Finally get said paper towels from mischievious puppy just as he gets on the couch. Slip in the mess he has made dragging paper towels through house and wonder to yourself if it is just coffee or if you scared the pee out of the poor dog.
Go wash hands and feet in bathtub as now you are certain it is a coffee and pee mix. Get mop.
Here the pitter patter of little feet and know your whole morning is shot. No quiet time to reflect for you. "momma is that you? Why are you making so much noise? Prince didn't mean to be bad. He is just a puppy and he is still learning."
Mop up mess while feeling guilty about scaring the innocent puppy who seemed really guilty and wrong just moments before. Realize as you have mopped a strip about a foot wide and 30 feet long, just how bad that made the rest of the floor look. Stand and stare at really clean line going through the middle of your house and decide if you want to mop the rest of the floor or just make that part dirty again so it matches. Decide to mop tonight after everyone lays down so there are no footprints in the clean floor as it dries.
Go back to coffee pot and finish cleaning. Wash hands and add burn spray again.
At this point , do you try again or just all load up in jammies and snuggies and go to see Lynette who you know always has fresh coffee and currently a lot of liquor to go in it?
She practically invented mornings. Just ask her Dear Hubby. She goes outside at the buttcrack of dawn and tells it to hurry up, she has things to do and doesn't like doing them in the dark. Yes to Lynette's we will go. I know she will offer me a cup before I can ask if she has any fresh. Then as I tell her about my morning she may even offer to hold the alcohol jugs up for me so I can stand under the tap with my mouth open.
Bundled up we are and open the front door to see this.
Yuck. The roads have been driven on and re-frozen in a solid sheet of black ice. Back inside we go.
So if anyone knows how to get the perfect cuppa coffee please share one with me. I need this, desperately.

Snow Day

2011-02-01T21:28:00.007-06:00

Well, after 75 degrees on Saturday we reached a high of 23 degrees here today! Woohoo! I know its colder other places but this just doesn't happen here. We have what looks like snow but upon closer inspection is really a sleet, ice and snow mix. Very crunchy and not fun to play in at all. I have to say when I got up this morning I very excitedly went to the door because I had heard it start last night. I am from a more northern place in Texas so I wanted to build a snowman and make snow angels. Unfortunately the Poo still has a nasty cough and I could not drag her out on 25 mile per hour winds to play(much to her dismay).
So instead we decided to have a snow day. What is a snow day you ask? Well, I will tell you. For us, we decided silly string would be great fun.

We even attempted to ambush the Papa when he came home from work but our string wouldn't spray. The can I left attached to the front door for him miraculously worked great. Talk about karma!
Our poor dogs could not find a good place to hide as we chased each other with silly string through the house. Neither of us were aiming at them but you could not have convinced them of that fact. Also, since our house is old and drafty(like the windows are wide open drafty) we decided to bake to keep the house warmer. The Poo loves to mix and add ingredients so that was lots of fun for her. We even put together a princess puzzle and wore our princess power rings.
Loads of fun for a little princess. We managed to make a large bread pudding with dulce de leche to put on top, a cinnamon swirl bread, chocolate chip cookies, and baked spaghetti with garlic bread.
Not a bad day at all. She had a good time and I got some cleaning done.
Most importantly we stayed WARM!!

Another weekend done

2011-01-30T18:57:00.002-06:00

Well, unfortunately Papa couldn't get the tiller going. He was only able to work on it for about 20 minutes before he came in and sat down. He is still feeling very weak and tired from his illness that he and Poo both have. He had done better but when he went back to work he over did it and now has spent most of the weekend sleeping.
The Poo is still coughing a good bit but her fever is down and she slept through a whole night without me having to give her medicine so that's great news. I hope the cold snap we are about to get doesn't send both of them spiraling backwards.
Instead of posting pictures this week of the garden being tilled, the Poo and I decided we would instead post pictures of what we are going to put in it and some plants we would like to get.
I spent my weekend medicating the sick ones , trying to let Papa rest and keep Poo down to a dust devil instead of a full on tornado! Also in the midst of that I cooked and cleaned as usual. Today I managed to get the bird cage, both rabbits and the ferret all cleaned out, washed litter boxes, new bedding and litter, and washed food and water bowls. After dinner going to clean the cat boxes as I have already washed their food and water bowls. And I even had time to put together a puzzle with Poo!
I even got to try a new recipe for strawberry scones today. Quite tasty but they need more strawberry I think. Once I get it tweaked just right I will post it for you all to try. Well, dinner should be ready soon and there is still work to do, so I will talk to y'all another day.

Having fun today

2011-01-27T18:18:00.005-06:00

The Poo decided we should just have fun today. So far we played her new game, colored and made a craft. She loves to make crafts because it allows her to play with glue and glitter. She did have a lot of fun!

This was what she wanted to make so Momma cut all the pieces and Poo glued them into place and colored the background and drew flowers and jellyfish. She was so proud to make jellyfish fields that tomorrow she wants to make paper dolls of Spongebob and Patrick! Looks like we will have new pics tomorrow ya'll.
If anyone has any craft ideas we are always looking for fun cheap things so let me know. We try to do crafts several days a week and keep changing things so she is not doing the same thing over and over again. Have a great evening!

Papa's Birthday

2011-01-27T13:01:00.003-06:00

Well it seems Papa had a good birthday even though he was sick. He got a wii and a couple of games which he really seemed to enjoy very much! What I think he liked the best was that a good bit of our family came and had dinner with him. He loved having everyone with him. It really made him feel so much better.
The poo also got a present for Papa's birthday. She got her very own PINK wii remote and a Dora game so she was tickled as well!
All and all I think everyone was happy. I cooked a ton of food. Papa wanted Hawaiian chicken, stir fry, grilled veggies, grilled pineapple and grilled burgers so he got them all!! And a pineapple upside down cake too. I was a tired Momma but it was all worth it. He even took a plate and a piece of cake to Grandma so he could give her some birthday love!
Everyone is slowly feeling better around here. Papa went and got shots and the Poo is starting to be less congested and lower fevers so maybe we are on the up end!!
I have managed to not get it yet ( knock on wood ) so maybe its almost gone. I am hoping so anyway.
We are going to start tilling the garden this weekend if the weather holds for us, so wish us well in that venture. The Poo is trying to convince us she needs her own flower beds too so we may be tilling extra if there is time. If not, I am sure it will get done before long. Anyway, that's what we have been up to. Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes and we love you all!

Little girl growing up

2011-01-20T23:16:00.004-06:00

Now I know the Poo has been growing up all along. I have seen her hair grow and watched all her first everythings with amazement. I was so proud when she started talking and walking and trying things for herself. Somehow reality hit me today and hit hard. The kind of hit where you can't even reasonably convince yourself to believe something else. My little girl is growing up.
She is starting to lose the baby face and develop more pronounced features. She has always had her own opinions on things but today she seemed to make decisions based on actual thinking not just a 4 year old wants. She wore clothes she had not ever worn that made her look even more grown up. When
I told her what a big girl she was becoming she just smiled at me rather condescendingly and said : I know mom. Its OK, I should be big because on my next birthday I will be FIVE." And she really stretched out the five.

Then she begins to tell me about starting school and going roller skating at a real rink because she will be big enough to do this if she is five. It all makes perfect sense to her in her little world but in my world it sure is scary to see my little angel baby grow up.
I am proud of the wonderful and caring girl she is growing into, I just wish she would grow into her a little more slowly and give Momma some time to adjust to the inevitable.

Getting ready for spring!

2011-01-17T13:24:00.004-06:00

Well, the spring fever bug is here! YAY!! Only it is 45 degrees outside:( The Poo and I have picked out our seeds for the garden this spring. She wanted green beans, carrots, tomatoes, broccoli and squash. All good choices however we will need to acquire the broccoli seeds. We also chose cabbage,lettuce,spinach, bell peppers, beets, peas, black eyed peas, pinto beans, watermelon, cantaloupe, and maybe corn. We are even discussing a fall garden with pumpkins, potatoes and turnips.
Now we are just waiting for a warm day to start tilling the garden. I found out last year that due to the pain in my hands, it takes me one week to till half the garden. Then it takes Papa one Saturday afternoon to finish the rest and put in rows. This year we are going to try to till it twice before we plant and work in some organic matter and compost before we plant.
Papa likes the garden almost as much as us girls do. He used to tell me all the time that he is no farmer, however I think he may be changing his outlook. Last year my mom was sick and all of the watering fell to him. We had a small garden last year but he did a good job with it. The corn and the tomatoes both survived and even flourished. We talked it over this year and decided since I would be home more we would try a larger one than the previous two years.
After we get started I will post some photos of the garden area and the changes we are making. The Poo and I are on pins and needles for warmer days. And somehow I am sure there will be pictures of her gardening in a dress. After all, when you are a princess- warm days are made for dresses :)

Out of Sorts

2011-01-14T10:07:00.005-06:00

Hi everyone! I haven't posted in a while so here goes. It was a Hell of a year in 2010. We are looking forward to see what this year brings for our family. As some of you know, last year we battled cancer with my mom, who passed away early summer. Papa also had his own medical trouble with a diagnosis of a rare bone disease in his right wrist. Our dear friends and their family moved across the country. I had to leave work in late November due to my Lyme Disease being angry a lot. At the end of December Poo's "Grandma" had a heart attack and then a double bypass and has just recently returned to her home and caring family to heal. So needless to say even with a positive outlook we are hoping for a less dramatic year this year!
I have taken up sewing again. I am really out of practice and my stitch work looks awful but the Poo is happy for the new dresses :) She has enjoyed the extra family time with me not working nights and sleeping days. We are doing crafts together and planning out a spring garden with lots of her favorite veggies. We even went through and picked out some flower seeds for her to plant. She is so excited. Grandma asked her to help her take care of her plants this spring too, while she is healing up a bit. That made Poo feel very special because she gets to help care for Grandma's most important possessions.
We have all remained positive and if anything it has helped us see how blessed we are even more than we did before. We have a wonderful group of family and friends that we are so thankful for. So to all of you who know us and all of you that just happen upon this, Have a wonderful year!! Count your blessings and if you are lucky enough that your blessings are people you love, hug them , cherish them, and always make time for them no matter how busy you think you are.

Its been a while....

2010-06-25T12:58:00.003-05:00

I know it has been a while since I have posted and I doubt at this point anyone even reads this anymore so it is more like a diary now. I have been driving 600 mile round trips twice a week to care for my mother who suffered from stage 4 cancer that has spread everywhere. Looks like I will be returning to work soon and am excited to be able to focus on something else for a while, not for the reason I will be returning.
I worry about the Poo and her ability to understand all that has been going on over the last several months. She is so young but she is very smart and takes things in so personally and deeply. I know it will be good for her to get back to our normal routine. I t may be good for all of us.
Also during this time, my best friend will be moving a long way away. I know it will be a good change for her and her family but it sure will leave a big hole in our family. They will be dearly missed and in our prayers. I hope everything is as good as they want it to be and better than they thought it would be.
The Poo is growing like a weed. She will be 4 next month and i think she is going to be disappointed on her birthday. This year her grandmother will not be there to celebrate and she will not have her Amy or Marshall. It has also been a while since she has seen or heard from her Uncle so I do not know if he will be attending or not. I hope she will be happy with just us and her Tuzzy family.

I guess maybe I am just not feeling celebratory right now. Hopefully this will get better as it gets closer to her birthday. I love you all and hope all is well in your lives. Tell your friends and family how you feel. Don't wait.

I should be sleeping, but since I am not.....

2010-02-17T12:29:00.008-06:00

I seem to have been struck with insomnia. So, I decided to relax and check out some of the features on the computer Papa got for me. I am so impressed with the web cam it has. You see I have never had a web cam before so I was unaware of the things you can do with this little gadget. Check it out.
You see, even thought this is me...it really doesn't look like me so much. And mind you I have not edited these photos in any way. My dear friend at Jaydes Little Corner is going to alter one for me and I will publish a before and after for you.She is amazing.
It is very possible that I am simply easily entertained or even dare we say sleep deprived but I still think this is so cool. I can hardly wait to get some with the Poo. She will love it! Y'all comment and tell me what you think.

So very bored and sleepy

2010-02-11T23:39:00.002-06:00

Well guess what ya'll--- it is COLD again. I am looking forward to being off tomorrow so that the poo and I can make a cold weather sun catcher. If it works out I will post it for ya. We have a nice mix of snow and sleet but not a lot is sticking because it rained first. Poo is slowly feeling better from her cold. She pretty much ate evrything that did not try to get away today. Maybe even an item or two that did. But still it is an improvement as her appetite has been poor lately. Bundle up and try to stay warm and I will talk to you all later....After I have slept........

2010-02-10T10:06:00.002-06:00

Well, how is everyone? We are slowly catching up with ourselves. The poo has been so sick and pitiful. She informs us regularly she needs a soft tissue because she has snot and her nose hurts. Very sad indeed!
Update on Mom is they have stopped chemo and are going to radiate her spine in an attempt to relieve some pain. They are planning on trying a different chemo treatment after radiation but she has lost so much weight she is not sure she can hold up to it. She is now below 100 pounds and still having difficulty eating.She has not given up hope but she has begun to be more realistic about her prognosis.
It has been very difficult to come to grips with this for all of us. If anyone has any suggestions on how to explain what is happening to the poo without scaring her, please let me know.
On a lighter note, my Dr.appt went well. No surgery required at this time and I now have new meds to stop the growth of the cyst. They believe it is a fibroid cyst versus the MASS term they have been using. Much relief there. I have to go back in six months to make sure it is not actively growing anymore and if all is well I get to keep my insides. Yeah!
Income tax has arrived also. We are getting to pay off some of the last of poo's surgery bills and hopefully a few more bills. The Pappa surprised me with an early valentine's present. Hint- I am blogging on it now from the bed. Good guess! It IS a laptop. My very first one and it is so lovely. The poo absolutely loves the Dora game that came pre loaded on it. In return I have paid off all his no insurance surcharges and we are now broke again:) It has been a relief to get bills out of the way so maybe we won't always be struggling to play catch up. 2 or 3 more years of this and we will have all past due bills(mostly medical) paid off.
We are hoping to get the roof worked on this spring when it warms a bit and then we can start fixing the back room and hopefully make it usable again. It would be good to have the extra room. The house is pretty small and we seem to have accumulated a lot of junk to fill it with. Well that is all I know right now. Love ya......

Dryer lint! Who knew?

2010-02-01T09:15:00.011-06:00

Having a small child and trying to be frugal leads a person to look at things differently. That being said, here are some of the uses I have found for dryer lint. We seem to produce an enormous amount of lint in the winter time and it seems silly to throw it out when it can be used. Remember that it is very flammable and you do not want to have it near fire or electrical equipment.

Dryer Lint Clay (2 versions)
3 cups lint
2 cups water
1 cup flour
3 drops vegetable oil
scented oil if you choose
Tear 3 cups of lint into small pieces and place in a saucepan. Cover with about 2 cups of water and slowly stir in 1 cup of flour. Add a few drops of vegetable oil,and scented oil. Stir constantly, over low heat, until mixture is smooth and binds together. Pour onto sheets of newspaper, parchment or waxed paper to cool. Use to sculpt models, cover forms, or pack into small molds such as candy molds. Allow your creation to dry fully, which can take anywhere from 3 to 7 days, depending on the size. Paint and decorate to finish.

HOMEMADE Lint Clay

Ingredients::
2 cups firmly packed dryer lint
1/3 cup warm water
6 tablespoons white glue
1 tablespoon clear dish washing liquid
Food coloring

Directions:
Put lint into a mixing bowl.
Add the other ingredients.
Mix thoroughly. When you can no longer mix, knead with hands until of a uniform texture.

Shape and model, or fill molds with it.

Dryer Lint Faux Paper Mache
2 cups water
3 cups lint
2/3 cup flour
Combine 2 cups of water with 3 cups of dryer lint in a large saucepan. Stir in 2/3 cup of flour until well mixed. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until pulp holds together enough to form peaks. Pour onto newspaper, parchment or waxed paper to cool. If not using immediately, store in an airtight container; pulp will keep for about 3 days. Spread mixture over the object that you are using as the paper mache mold - a bowl, box, bottle or balloon, for instance. Allow to air dry, which may take up to a week. Sand rough edges and decorate as desired.

Dryer lint paper

Ingredients:
a blender
warm water
scraps of old paper torn into small pieces
dryer lint (add to paper mix- do not use alone)
a plain wooden picture frame (8"x10")
a piece of window screen material (12"x14" or larger)
a staple gun or waterproof glue
two large plastic dish pans or baby bathtubs
clean rags (at least 15"x15" square)
old newspapers
a rolling pin
metal shears to cut the screen
Optional: spray starch, iron

Directions:

Place torn scraps of paper , some dryer lint and warm water into a large pan to soak until
saturated and soft (the resulting paper pulp mixture is called "slurry").
Scoop out one cup of slurry, put into blender and add water to fill
blender. (If you want pure white paper, add 1/4 cup chlorine bleach at this
point.) Blend for a few seconds until it's smooth and mushy. Pour paper mush
into large tub. Repeat several times until there's about 5 inches of mushy
water in the tub.
You can also add food coloring to tint your paper or add other organic materials such as dried flowers and leaves to give your paper more texture.

Line plant pots with dryer lint, then add potting soil and plants. The lint keeps the soil in, but lets the water out.

Use dryer lint as a kind of indoor mulch to help conserve moisture for your indoor tropical plants. Just spread the dryer lint on the surface of the plant soil; water the plant as usual.

Conserve moisture in outdoor container plants, or around the base of small specimen plants, by mulching with dryer lint.

Build a better bird's nest or guinea pig's bed. Leave some lint on a wall and birds may grab it and use it for a nest. Throw some lint in with the guinea pig's shavings for good snuggling.

Hang a mesh bag like (the ones onions come in) from a tree in your yard or on your porch. Stuff lint into the bag. The birds and squirrels will love using it for bedding and nesting material.

Add it to a pet cage with shredded paper as litter. We use it in our rabbit cage and it really helps absorb smells.

Take enough lint to stuff a small pillow and add a couple of tbs. or so of catnip (depending on potency of the kitty weed). Be sure to sew up the pillow tightly, as Fluffy is going to go crazy! Stimulate the catnip by rubbing the pillow vigorously between your palms. Toss it to kitty and watch the fun.

You can use dryer lint to insulate door cracks by making a door sock and filling it with dryer lint.

If you are really crafty you can spin it into new yarn and make sweaters, socks, or a scarf if you like. It is clean fabric after all :)

You can also use it as a fire starter for your grill, fire place or campfires. You can either stuff it into empty toilet paper rolls or pack it into cardboard egg cartons and cover with a little melted wax. After it hardens you can break it apart and use it to start you fire with.

We compost and dryer lint is a great addition to the compost tumblers I made.(That is another post) Just add grass clippings, a little dirt, veggie skins, coffee grounds, fruit peels, dryer lint, shredded paper- whatever you have available. It makes great dirt!

Hope you enjoyed reading. Even if you never reuse dryer lint, it is interesting to know how many ways you can reuse it.

Happy Birthday Papa

2010-01-26T22:11:00.003-06:00

It is a good day. The day my sweetie was born. Happy birthday to you Papa!!! We had a party already when everyone could get together so today was just us and the poo. She insisted he get ANOTHER cake for his birthday so we got him a cheesecake sampler after we took him and fed him ribs. He is a happy man today! I went to see my mom this morning also. Her chemo was postponed for a week due to shingles. She is miserable right now but in better spirits after our visit.
The poo is also very good. She has come up with a mystery bruise on her face. She says something bit her and she did not fall, but I wonder how true that is. She is as graceful as her mother- meaning she could be standing still on flat ground and fall and break a bone. Other than that all is well.
I ran into an old friend this evening while we were out and about. That was a nice trip down memory lane. Love to remember those days and so very glad I have grown out of them tehehehe.At least for the most part. Work is still work. Pretty much the same ol same ol. Love ya

2010-01-21T23:12:00.004-06:00

This is my dear sweet niece. She is learning to drive and will be street legal in just a few short months. EVERYONE RUN!!! Just kidding, she is doing ok. I am very proud of her. It seems not to long ago she was driving her little push car all over the front yard. Where does all this time go? I miss the cute little smile she gave me when she said "Memaaaawwww" (yes that is what she use to call me) like I was pulling her chain and she new it. We use to do so many things together. Now she is almost grown. Trying to decide which college and what major takes up a good deal of her time.So many changes lately. My mom getting ill. 2 good friends have had babies in the last 3 days, my stepson turning me into a grandmother at 32. So much good and bad intermingled through life. I am still amazed everyday and continuously more thankful. As we all should be......

Just Angry

2010-01-07T16:19:00.004-06:00

Ok, well I finally got a minute to get online so here goes. I am so sick of doctors and nurses and rude people in general. My mom had chemo on Tuesday, it is a 12 hour chemo session. She was told to be there when they open, and we were. She waited 2 and a half hours before I finally told them we were leaving. Miraculously they had room open and were able to get her in. She had to have massive pain medicine and then they bitched, I mean bitched about having to stay late because her chemo is so long. Somehow we were done at 6:30 when it should have been 10 o'clock. They did not give her the fluids. So today she was an hour late. A flat tire in the very cold wind. It took a while for her and my aunt Lillie to get it aired up to go to the doctors. They f-ing chastised her. Told her she should consider herself lucky she got in at all. Hello? Hello? Anyone home? Are you not the same people that made her wait not 2 days ago? The same people who cheated her out of some of her treatment so you could leave early? Who the hell do you think you are. So, I called to ask exactly that. You see today is the first day I was not there. I had to take care of business in this neck of the woods today. I explained that we do not give a mother f-ing damn if it is easier for them to do chemo in their office. It is easier for her at Hendrick and that is where it would be scheduled from now on. If it was to difficult to accomplish this we would simply find a doctor that was capable of doing so.
Now I realize they have a lot of patients and I am not trying to be an ass. I have only one mother, and she is dying. I simply wanted them to understand that if they treated all their patients that way, they would not have any and that this was simply unacceptable. She felt so bad about them having to stay and then they were incredibly rude to someone who already feels like a burden to to the loss of movement and massive amount of appointments. Its bullshit. Ok I feel better now. Thanks for listening.

Sorry so long

2009-12-23T08:02:00.002-06:00

Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I have been quite busy with work and travel to the doctors with my mom. She seems to be handling the chemo pretty well. Emma is doing good but very clingy since she is not seeing me much these days. I hate being away from her but it is a necessity at this time. Definitely not ready for Christmas. I miss getting to go to curves and work out. I miss my friends. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with their loved ones and I will try to post again soon

Knowledge is power

2009-12-14T22:27:00.003-06:00

Well, my mother starts chemo tomorrow. We will be going to Abilene at the butt crack of dawn. I am not sure if they are going to put the port in tomorrow or at a later date. There is so much we still do not know about.
On the bright side, my aunt came in today from Katy. My mom seems very happy to be getting to spend some time with her before this event. My aunt has said she will come down for every set of chemo and go home while I am taking her to radiation. She wants to try to get her a hotel room for the 3 day chemo rounds so my mother doesn't have to travel every day during the chemo. That will be a wonderful help to all of us. I can take the driving but I am not sure my mom could hold up.
We had a wonderful family dinner tonight. My aunt adores Poo and Poo even smiled at her a few times but still no talking:) Stephanie and Courtney joined us and a good time was had by all. For a little while we were just a family happy to be in each others company. Papa did not even seem to mind being the only man in the estrogen ocean that is my family. He lived through a dinner with six women and seems to even enjoy himself.
I am grateful....hopeful...scared....tired....mostly grateful for the love of family.
Family born to and family chosen, they are what everything is about. For chosen family who read this WE LOVE YOU and thank you for your help, your kindness and your prayers.

The deed is done

2009-12-11T10:26:00.004-06:00

Well, its done. I wasn't sure I could do it but I managed. Last night I told my sister our mother has cancer and she has to start chemo next week. I have been sick about it for days. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to say. She took it about like I had thought she would, as most people would. She was crushed and shocked.
It is a life changing event for everyone involved. My mom is going to have to move in with us while she goes through chemo and radiation for the next several months. I will have to drive her to the treatment center 5 days a week and then go to her house to care for her animals every day. I am hoping my employer will be willing to work with me so that I can keep my job. I really can not afford to lose the insurance on my daughter and myself. Also, I am trying to figure out how we can spend more money on gas and groceries while bringing in less money due to me not working.
What worries me the most is that I will not be able to physically hold up to the task. Some of you know that I have active Lyme disease. It has wrecked my body. I have fought very hard over the last year to regain strength and stamina, but I am not where I should be. What if I get sick? What if I just can not hold up to it? How do I explain to a 3 year old about her grandmother's illness? She will be seeing my mom everyday as she goes through treatment. If anyone has any ideas please feel free to share.
There are a thousand what if's going through me right now. All I know is we will make it work somehow just because we have to. Thanks for listening. Love ya

Dealing with change

2009-12-09T15:17:00.008-06:00

Well, today is a new day and there are a lot of changes to come in the next week or two. A transition time, so to speak. There is so much to do and it is almost too overwhelming. Maybe being so busy will help to keep us focused.
I am the type of person who does not like change. I like to have a routine. I am not very spontaneous, I am a planner. So how does a person like me deal with a major change that I have no control over? What do I do with all the changes that this will likely cause? How do I handle what I can not plan for? I GET DRUNK ! Just kidding, I am not a drinker either.
I suppose at this point I just hunker down, roll up my sleeves and pray that what I do is the right thing to do. I do not know what is the right thing so I am just hoping that the decisions made are the best for the situation at hand. Mostly I just don't like the uncertainty. Hopefully it will all be for the best and refocus what is truly important in life.
I do know that at least David is willing to help me clean up the house for a change. Hahahaha. That will be nice. I get to rearrange which is always fun for me. Maybe he will even let me paint the bedroom and living room. I have been wanting to do that for a while. We will see how it turns out. Maybe I can post before and after pictures if he agrees to the paint:) Love ya

Monday again

2009-12-07T17:15:00.006-06:00

Well, it is Monday again. We went to Curves to work out this morning and Poo brought her magical princess wand. She wanted to make sure we finished early so she waved her wand for us and told us we were done now :) Of course we were already done when she did it.
I got some very bad news yesterday that I am not at liberty to talk about at this time. I just am not sure how to deal with it. Please, no matter who it is you pray to, pray for our family and keep us in your hearts.
Remember that every day is a gift. Don't just tear it open to see what you get next. Enjoy the details in the wrapping and be truly, truly thankful for what is inside. Enjoy the moment for what it is, a moment that will be with you always if you cherish it. There is always a light in your heart. The trick is to let it shine so bright that it lights up others around you.

Jayde's Little Corner has a give away

2009-12-06T12:32:00.010-06:00

My dear friend Jayde has a wonderful give away going on this week. I personally own a one of a kind creation from her now and hope to get another :) She does beautiful work that would definately make a great holiday gift for yourself or someone else if you can bear to part with it.
I have already entered myself and I am trying to convince David to go on over and up our chances...hahaha. She is an amazing artist and it is truly beautiful when she puts her perspective onto a beloved photo. Go check her out and see if you can win it before I do. You can find her at Jayde's Little Corner.This is the photo I would use.

I made Lentils!

2009-12-05T16:56:00.005-06:00

I made lentils today and they did not taste like dishwater! I am so excited. I can cook most things fairly well but lentils have eluded me my whole life. Well I watched a cooking show and again they looked so yummy. So the family and I loaded up and went to the grocery store last night to get some staples and when we were on the bean isle I saw them. I asked David if he was willing to try them and he said sure. So today i tried it and they were awesome ya'll. So yummy and filling and not dishwatery at all. So I got brave and tried meatloaf too. Now I HATE meatloaf, but this wasn't bad. I mixed half and half turkey and beef. It turned out great and we all ate too much.
Tuzzy and John stopped by and dropped off a freezer(thanks again). We got to visit with them a bit which is always nice. Poo has had a great day playing and singing to us. David put a heater in the living room. Its only been 2 and a half years we've been trying to get this done. And let me tell ya'll he did it. Its sweltering in the living room now. On low it heated the living room 15 degrees by our thermometer. Well worth the wait. I could not be happier with it. He did a wonderful job and did not even get cranky like normal when he fixes things. We are so proud of him:) Also, he found the cord for the camera today while looking for the heater parts. So awesome!
And I would like to thank Tuzzy for the shout out about our little nutty blog. Poo loves to see the pictures we add so here is one for her.
This is one of her and her beautiful sissy.

OOPSIE!!

2009-12-04T12:01:00.004-06:00

Well as everyone here knows the cold weather has struck. I brought in my ivy that Kevin got me last week. I know it was a little late as I lost a few leaves but it is recouping nicely. Well, I went to get something out of the car a minute ago and easily got sidetracked as I am prone to do. My handsome kitty came up and wanted love and when I was petting him I SAW it. Emma's plant. Tropical plant.
The story goes that when we go to a store, if she behaves very well she will get a "comprise" as she calls it. We usually keep it under a dollar. Just a little something to let her know she did a good job.
Anyway, a few months ago we had to get groceries, lots of them because I had pretty much let us run out of everything. So armed with my circulars and coupons we set out to find the best deals. Some here in town, some at walmart , piggly wiggly going out of business, and heb. You see how taxing this can be for a child of 2 at the time. 4 stores, 1 comprise. Heb was our last stop. As we walking in the door they had a plant stand as most grocery stores do. Her little face lit up. We had been planting the garden and fruit trees all week. She saw the plants and said "thats it momma, thats my comprise!". So we get over to them and they are pathetic. Wilted and dry and dying off. They are marked 1 dollar each and she quickly found 4 she wanted.One even had pink dots on the leaves, perfect for a princess she tells me. I concede she went to 4 stores and she could have all of them. However, when we go to check out I ask if they are on sale due to the poor condition. The nice lady at the register tells me they are not but she would call the manager to see what we could do. He comes and we got them all for a buck. All summer she has watered her plants with her watering can and I, the forgetful momma has let them freeze.
Well all is not lost I hope. 2 of them look ok, the other 2 not so great. But the one with the pink dots will make it I think. So we are now on the mission of repotting them in hopes that it will help to get more dirt around the roots as they are root bound.
On another note, Poo is feeling a bit better. I however feel like my legs are made of jello thats not quite set yet but at least I have quit shivering and shaking so bad. Please pray for the princess plants. Love ya

2009-12-03T14:21:00.000-06:00

I read a blog today from a good friend. She has a give away that may interest some of you. I was inspired by it. Parenting tips based on killer whale training. She is giving away 5 of these awesome books and they would be a great Christmas present for those with children and grandchildren. I hope I get one too. Go visit theysayimnuts.blogspot.com for the give away and a lot of other interesting info.

Who said it could get cold?

2009-12-03T08:15:00.000-06:00

Wow, what happened to 70 degrees? I nearly froze to death all night at work, now I am just feeling weak and exhausted. I don't think I could fight my way out of a wet paper bag. I normally love cold weather. Maybe I just got run down, not really sure.
The Poo did not sleep well for Papa last night either. He said she woke up at 4 am. She is in a great mood and so far this morning we have colored together, played with flash cards of the alphabet and shared a bowl of cereal.
She is doing very well learning her letters. We are trying to keep it fun and make games out of it where we can. She can also count to 10 in spanish now! Now we are trying to teach her to write her first name. She has the "E" and the "A" pretty good. Well, I guess that is it for now. Love ya....

Getting ready for Christmas

2009-12-01T12:57:00.000-06:00

Well, we spent the day yesterday digging out ornaments. Sounds like fun doesn't it. Poo is so excited about her tree! She helped put the lights and ornaments on and just had a great time. She and I started putting together the robotic deer together while Papa was looking for the angel that tops the tree. That was not the simple snap together deer the instructions implied. I believe even if I had a degree in engineering it would have been difficult! After many tools and a few foul words we got that bugger together and mostly working. Still have to figure out why the antlers won't light up but Poo loves her new deer friend and definately does not think it should live outside in the front yard (which was the original intention).
All and all it was a good evening and we had some good family time together. The tree looks like it was decorated by a 3 year old and we love it! The deer mostly works and stands next to the tree looking back and forth for present thieves, and by the way, Papa never did figure out where he put the angel last year:) . Welcome to our redneck Christmas... hope you enjoy yours as much as we are enjoying ours.