Thursday, October 22, 2009

A Lil' Something That I REALLY Needed to Read Today...




The following is something that was sent to me, via email, from a very dear and close friend of mine. I don't know if she felt lead to send this particular email to me, but I believe God chose her to send this to me today for a very good reason. Before I opened this email, I had been stressing and struggling for several days over a personal situation between me and my younger sister. In fact, I lost sleep over it last night and then all this morning, I was stressing over it and could not focus on anything else....So, the timing of this email was incredible.... While reading this email, the hairs on my arms started to stand on end and I got chills...I KNEW this was meant for me and it spoke directly towards my situation. I was speechless and moved....sometimes, our friends don't even realize what a blessing they are! It is clear that God is working thru my friend in helping me out in this situation. How I love my friend so much and how I love the Lord with all my heart and soul! Here is what the email said:


Let it go...by T. D. Jakes


There are people who can walk away from you. And hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk. I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you. I mean hang up the phone. When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left. People leave you because they are not joined to you. And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay. Let them go. And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person, it just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead. You've got to know when it's dead. You've got to know when it's over. Let me tell you something. I've got the gift of good-bye. It's the tenth spiritual gift, I believe in good-bye. It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me. And if it takes too much sweat I don't need it. Stop begging people to stay. Let them go!! If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to ..LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to past hurts and pains . LET IT GO!!! If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth... LET IT GO!!! If someone has angered you ... LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge .. LET IT GO!!! If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction . LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents .. LET IT GO!!! If you have a bad attitude... LET IT GO!!! If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better... LET IT GO!!! If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him... LET IT GO!!! If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship.... LET IT GO!!! If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves.. LET IT GO!!! If you're feeling depressed and stressed .... LET IT GO!!! If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying "take your hands off of it," then you needto... LET IT GO!!! Let the past be the past. Forget the former things. GOD is doing a new thing for 2010 !!! LET IT GO!!! Get Right or Get Left .. think about it, and then LET IT GO!!! "The Battle is the Lord's!"

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Who did Obama Beat out for the Nobel Peace Prize?

I should note that the following candidates are just a small handful out of the 200 or so proposed candidates that Obama beat out....there were SO many that actually DID something that, in my humble opinion, could/should have won this prestigious award...If any of you know of other candidates, not listed here, that you feel deserve recognition, feel free to comment about them on here. :-)

And a few of these candidates are as follows:

Chinese Human Rights Activist Hu Jia – imprisoned for campaigning for human rights in the PRC.

Denis Mukwege: Doctor dedicated to helping rape victims

Wei Jingsheng, who spent 17 years in Chinese prisons for urging reforms of China’s communist system.(Not to mention the symbolic value of awarding a Chinese dissident on the 20th Anniversary of the Tianenmen Square Massacre.)

Greg Mortenson, founder of the Central Asia Institute has built nearly 80 schools, especially for girls, in remote areas of northern Pakistan and Afghanistan over the past 15 years.

Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, a philosophy professor in Jordan who risks his life by advocating interfaith dialogue between Jews and Muslims.

Afghan human rights activist Sima Samar. She currently leads the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission and serves as the U.N. special envoy to Darfur.

Piedad Córdoba: Colombia's 'woman of peace'

Now, I know there are those out there that are happy that Obama won this award and have voiced their opinions in his favor. I have no issues against whomever feels positive about Obama. Good for them and enough said. Well, it's America and I've a right to voice my opnions and thoughts, no matter what, if it's liked or not. I don't push my views on others, so, if you don't like what I have said, hop on off my blog, dear. :-) But I do say, in upmost respect, that I do not agree with Obama winning this award. I am not going to lower myself to a scum level and call him names and stuff. I just don't believe he has done anything worth winning this award. That said, have a good one, yall! God bless...

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Oh, the things to do at the Fair!

Friday, we went to the fair. We had a blast! We watched the cattle show, saw every animal from A to Z, ate the best fried foods you can imagine. If I'm gonna clog my arteries, it's gonna be by the most awesome fair food. I'm talkin' fried oreos, fried twinkies, funnel cakes, turkey legs, gyros and so on. An endless parade of food that we should only eat once a year, lest we die of a heart attack. Now, everyone knows that if you're gonna eat a full and heavy meal or several snacks, then you should prolly wait a few before getting on those rides. Not me! We had an awesome time on the rides, playing those wonderful scamming games and just taking in the whole experience of the fair. We checked out the 4-H exhibits and bought a few souvineers at the cute lil crafty store places. We sat and ate our fried foods, while sitting around listening to the bands play their great music and we finished off the day by going and laying out on the grass and watching the fireworks. What a day! We walked forever, which is why I'm not guilty about eating the fried stuff. I only wish I took more pics! All in all another great fair experience gone by for 2009. It's that time of year for everyone, where the fairs hit town. Just about everyone I know goes to these and for good reason. Not only can it be tons of fun, but super educational. Next Monday, I'm using our fair experience for my Daughter to write a paper about. I think her favorite experience was getting to go on the Agri-lift. I agree. That was a pretty awesome ride, getting to ride clear across the park in a ski-lift type ride, above the tree tops and tiny ppl below. Very cool, especially at night! So pretty! My other favorite experience, is the same as every year. I love watching the livestock shows...I schedule the fair dates and times around the livestock show schedule. My fair day is not complete without watching a few classes at cattle show...Well, that's my dish on our fair day. What's yours?

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Do I have a famous twin?

Is it true? I've been told by tons of ppl (even complete strangers) that this chick and I look a lot alike....her name is Rashida Jones and she is a famous actress. What do you think?
This is Rashida Jones on the left and on the right is me...

Monday, September 28, 2009

Not just time gone by...



Funny how traumatic events tend to make you take in the more simple pleasures and relish them a lot more! It's a beautiful day! We had a near death experience the other day. Saturday, to be exact. It wasn't me that could have died. I won't go into much detail, as I really don't like to relive it, but our Daughter choked on her food and it was a VERY close call. While our Daughter doesn't seem to be shaken over it, Hubby and I sure are! This sort of thing will stay with you for a long time afterwards... It was very scary and what was no more than mere seconds passing by during this ordeal, seemed more like hours, gone by in slow motion. It was horrible and one of those moments in your life that you could look back on thirty years from now and see it just as clearly and vividly; feel all the emotions felt at that moment, just as it could have happened the day before. But the silver lining in this is two things. One: An old but wise lesson learned the hard way: Don't scarf your food! Take your time and chew completely, as well as taking smaller bites. Two: I sure do enjoy my time with my Daughter even more than I already did. I didn't think it was possible to enjoy her even more, but apparently, it is, especially when faced with the hard reality that I could lose her at any time. While I've always enjoyed a good snuggle with my Daughter, it's become something more. Snuggling and spending those minute moments with my Daughter, are not just time gone by, but an event. I hold her a little longer. I REALLY look into those baby blue eyes of hers and REALLY listen to what she has to say. Tho, I've never neglected my Daughter before, from now on, I take in ALL facets of our time together and cherish them. Out of a horrible moment in our lives, comes a blessing. Life sure tastes sweeter! Enjoy your loved ones, people. If I can pass along anything I have taken away from this experience, that I want to pass along to you, it's for you to REALLY spend time with your loved ones and to cherish them and those little moments that make up the big picture. Don't spend time with them just to pass time and say that you spent that time with them. Not as a desperate attempt to be with them in case they die soon. Just BE with them and genuinely enjoy that time together, not thinking of death and letting it cloud over and marr the real experience. Truly cherish them...

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Rain and things....

Don't you just love it when it rains? I'm into those steady showers...but not so much when it's lightening and scary outside...too much stress. I love the kind of rain, where you can smell the grass and trees afterwards...it's so fresh and invigorating! It's been that way most of the day today. It was pretty overcast and depressing before the rain and I always say, "If it's gonna be all grey outside, then it might as well rain." And when it rains and I'm inside, I all of a sudden feel warm and cozy and dry. I'll snuggle up with a good book, or watch some tv, while under the covers on the couch. If it's cold out there, I'll even start a fire and grab a cup of hot apple cider or hot chocolate. Mmmmm...but since it's not cold, I'll just snuggle under the covers on the couch and do something relaxing...today, it started raining right after school lessons were over, so I snuggled up on the couch and watched some Desperate Housewives reruns...It's shaped up to be a pretty cozy day....it started out like any other, non-descript, bordeline-boring day and then when the skies decided to break out their lovely showers on me, my day turned into a wonderful day! I love the rain!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

And Part Three...The Animal Control

Well, we thought it was all over, at least, we thought there was no more that would happen after the encounter with the crazy neighbor who loves our dog just a little too much. After her threats and snide remarks, we thought there would be nothing more to it. Gone were my worries that our dog would be stolen since we padlocked our backyard fence and put in the invisible fence to keep our dog from coming up to the fence to anyone that should come up to it to bother her...well, looks like we were wrong. Apparently crazy old ladies take offense when their neighbors suddenly padlock them out from being able to come in to pet on their dog. I guess we crossed the line with her when we put in that invisible fence and prevented her from being able to pet on our dog. I guess she decided to take revenge on us. The spiteful old bat. Yesterday, while on my lunch break, I heard a knock on the front door. Before I reach the door, I could see out the window and I saw, parked in front of our house, an animal control truck. I immediately knew what was happening. I was not worried on bit. However, I was a bit shaken that our neighbor actually lowered herself so low as to call them out here to, I guess, TRY to stir up trouble. I know our pets are well taken care of, so I wasn't worried one bit that they might be taken away. I was just ticked beyond anything that this was actually happening. In the recent past, Hubby and I playfully joked around that our neighbor would call the animal control on us, as she subtly threatened to do to us not long ago, so she could have our dog. We didn't think she would actually do it. We were actually more worried that she would somehow steal our dog, which is one of the other reasons why we invested in the invisible fence. It would be a lot more difficult to climb our backyard fence and carry/hoist a 50 pound dog over it, while the dog would be hollering loudly because it's collar would be going off while outside the fence limits. Not to mention our dog is micro chipped and we can track her. So, with those worries set aside, we managed to put this crazy lady in back of our minds and relax some.... Until yesterday....
So, anyways, there's the knock on the door; the animal control vehicle parked in front and I answer the door. I cheerfully smile and warmly greet the animal control officer. I immediately invite her in and ask what's going on. SHe says, they recieved a phone call about our dogs that they needed to come check on them. Plural.....DogS... So, someone who knows we also have a strictly indoor dog...Hmmmmmm...a red flag pops up in my mind on just who exactly would call on us. Now, WHY would someone call the animal control to check on animals? Well, normally, it would have to do with abuse and neglect. So, anyone who is going to take the time to call the animal control, had better have good reason, other than waste their time for reasons of jealously and spite. Clearly, my hubby and I are not in the abuse neglect category in animal care and I was ready to show this kind officer lady just that. I waste no time and I introduce her to both dogs and both cats. I bring her out back and show her the dog house and invisible fence we installed a few weeks ago. The officer comments that she likes our invisible fence and that it's a good idea. She also commented on how healthy and happy all our animals are and she then says, "I just don't know why she would call..." I said, "Oh, so it's a woman that called?" And the officer replies, "Well, I'm not at liberty to say. It's anonomous..." I say, "Well, I have a pretty good idea who would call ya'll and why." She looks at me and says, "Well, apparently, it's a HUGE misunderstanding..." I said, "Nope, it's not a misunderstanding. I believe it's the neighbor lady right over there" and I'm pointing at the crazy old hag's house right across the backyard fence, "who's been harrassing us for our dog. She tried to trade her own dog for ours and we refused and then she had the bolts to come over to our house one morning and threaten us by calling ya'll, if we didn't give her our dog or give our dog to her grown Daughter." She looks at me in shock and then smiles says, "Wow....well, I still can't say who it is, but it sounds like ya'll have a problem on your hands..." I say, "Well, apparently, it wasn't a threat when she implied about calling ya'll. She definitely called ya'll. I apologize for the inconvenience our neighbor has caused you guys." The officer shakes her head and says, "Well, there's no reason for me to be here and we've got nothing on ya'll, so you just keep doing what your doing. I'm going to go ahead and head on then." I walk her back through our house and to the front door and say good day. On the one hand, it was a nice confirmation that we were doing a good job with our dogs and have nothing to be concerned about should that crazy old bat try to call in the animal control on us again. And maybe the animal control won't take her seriously, should she call them again...On the other hand, I'm ticked that we were inconvenienced with this visit, my Daughter was scared when the officer showed up, wanting to see our pets and I can't help but think what in the world are the neighbor's thinking, if they saw this animal control vehicle parked in front of my home??? Every fiber of my body wants to run right on over next door and bang on this witch's door and yell at her...but I won't. I have discussed this with my friends, a couple other family members and my hubby. All have different ideas and suggestions on how to handle the situation. I want to go over there with my hubby and talk to the husband to see if he's aware of his insane wife's actions....my husband has different ideas, as in, doing NOTHING. Another friend of mine thinks we should not say a thing to them. I can see where both my friend and hubby are coming from and understand that if we didn't do anything, then maybe the neighbor lady would be dissapointed to see that we are not so angry and bothered enough to go over there and yell at her, as well at the dissapointing fact to the witch that our dog is still in our back yard and not going anywhere.I'm sure when she calls to follow up with the animal control on their visit to my home, they will tell her what a waste it was for them to stop over here, well maybe not in those exact words, but I'm thinking it would be along those lines...I have no clue now what to do about this mean old lady. It really is up to my husband since it is his dog, but it was ME that had to deal with the animal control...I guess we will prolly end up not saying a word to them. Oh and up until this point, I was letting our Daughter continue her friendship with this lady...NOT anymore. If this lady pulls ONE MORE stunt on us...she will be getting served papers...she is already past the line of harrassment....

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Here's a question...

Okay, so if you had family coming to see you and they, without asking if this was ok, brought along this stray dog that they picked up a few days earlier and refused to take this dog to the vet's office before bringing it into other homes, ppl and animals, dispite your request, what would you do? We have been looking forward to our inlaws' visit for quite some time. They had been planning to see us this summer vacation, but as is the norm with them, they kept putting it off week by week, constantly telling us, "Next week. We'll be there next week." And then the next week rolls by and then they tell us something came up and it will be the next week. This had been going on for the past month. Well, they finally are on their way up here. They will be here when we are doing school and hubby cannot take off work, but they are gonna be here now and what can you do? So today, my SIL calls me and informs me after the inlaws left out on their way here, that the inlaws have this stray dog they took along with them. The inlaws already left and did not even think to ask us if this was ok with us. I was not very thrilled about this, because we have no idea what sort of dog this is. Is it aggressive. Will it attack the cats or the other dogs? Is it housetrained? Is it loud and disruptive or destructive? And last but certainly not least, have they taken this dog to the vet to be checked out, vaccinated, had it's rabies shots, tested for worms and anything contagious like kennel cough or worse...So, I call the MIL up and I say I found out the news of them bringing this dog and I had various questions about what kind it was and what not. Turns out, it's well behaved and a small house trained miniature short haired daschund. Well that's very sweet, but what about asking us permission first? Nope, guess it didn't cross their minds to ask. Must not have been important. And my last question to her was about them taking the dog to get checked out before they took the dog across state lines. It's known that if you travel with your pet out of state, you are required to get a certificate of health and proof of rabies shot. Well, ofcourse they didn't think of this. In fact, in the past week that they have picked up this stray, they have not cared to take this dog to a vet at all to get checked out. They have brought this dog to two SIL's homes and other family member's houses and let it play with children and other animals. How thoughtful of them.... I told her the many risks they just put the children, and grownups alike and the other animals in and I requested very politely that they take this dog to the vet after they get here before letting it run around my home with my animals. I offered to make an appointment for them and everything. They REFUSED!!! I once again, implored them to please take this dog to the vets because of the risk they are putting us and our animals in. The MIL refused me again, saying that it would be just fine and la la la.... I wasn't very happy about this rudeness and disrepect. This was my home and they are my guests, but even if it's family, does that mean that they don't have to follow the respectable houseguest guidelines??? I had nothing more to say about the subject and it would have caused drama if I were to push, so I let it go. But I was/am seeing red. I was going to call a friend to watch my dog for the duration of the inlaws' visit so the stray dog they brought could not possibly infect my dog, but my husband said it would only make things worse, so I had to compromise. I am now going to have to be inconvenienced and go through about a week and a half of trouble in keeping this stray seperated. So again, what would you do if you were in my situation? As a person who is all for animal rights, I find it very disturbing that someone could refuse medical attention for a stray animal they want to keep. They have no plans on ever taking the dog in for a check up, vaccinations, spay/neauter and rabies shots and heartworm treatment and whatever else it might need. Not only will the animal likely have health problems in the future, but if it has anything contagious, other animal will get sick. All this I explained to the MIL, but to no avail. What the heck???

Monday, August 17, 2009

Crazy Lady Next door: Part 2

Sunday morning, I'm in the office chatting with my hubby and I hear someone knock on the door very quietly. I almost didn't hear it, but it was just loud enough to make my little Doxie woof expectantly at the door. So, that confirmed an unannounced visitor. I'm not much for unexpected visitors and most my friends and family know to call first before knocking on our door, so I'm thinking it's a stranger and so I'm a little cautious when I go see who it is. I Don't ever open the door to someone I don't know. I actually will look through the window first and then open it, if I know who it is. So, when I saw it was our next door neighbor, I feel this twinge of annoyance. "Great...what does she want now?" After our very awkward conversation a few days before, I was certain she would never speak to us again, much less come over to our house, but here she is. But than again, it's very possible, she is coming over to apologize. It was really rude the way she came across and maybe she realized this as an afterthought and felt the need to say she was sorry. So, I open the door and smile and say good morning. She doesn't smile, but she says, "Good morning" politely in return. I think to myself I shouldn't be rude, so I open the door wider and say, "How are you, why don't you come in?" and then she finally smiles and comes in, while saying, "Well, I thought I would come over and talk to your husband about his dog." My smile fades, but I make sure not to frown and this is very hard for me. I respond, "Well, he's in the office. Why don't you have a seat and I'll go get him and we'll have a talk." She goes and sits on the love seat facing at an angle toward our couch and when I see that she's comfortable, I decide to, first, get Daughter and tell her that Mrs. (shall we call her) Whatsername is here if she would like to come say hi, to which Daughter jumps up from playing with her toys and runs into the living room to say hello very enthusiastically. Daughter and Mrs. Whatsername get along great, so that's the silver lining in this whole situation, but if things turn sour in the future it could be an added consequence, if it gets in the way of the two of them being friends. Anyways, I digress...I go into the office and tell Hubby that our neighbor is here to talk about his dog and he gives me this look like, "Are you frickin' kidding me right now?!?!" He was shirtless, as this is his house and he can be shirtless if he wants to be and he just gives this big sigh, not saying a word, but just giving me this look and I give him a look in return that seems to say, "No, I'm not kidding, this is FOR REAL. Get your hind end in there and get this lady to LEAVE!" So, then he mumbles to me as he gets up from his pet online project, "Fine. I'll go put on a shirt."all the while looking extremely peeved to have to be interrupted with this very inconvenient, unexpected and uninvited visitor. I go back into the living room prompty so as not to leave our guest alone for too long and I didn't want to make her feel unwelcome, tho she was. As I enter the living room to sit down on the couch across from her and make small talk while we wait, I see her holding my little dog. Dang.....this is not good. My immediate reaction was to go over and grab my dog away from her, so she wouldn't get any ideas about my dog. But I know I can't do that without coming off really crazy and rude, so I sit down and smile at her with my plastic fake smile. A politician's smile. I just sit there and say what a beautiful day it's shaping up to be and I ask what their plans are for the day and she says,"Not much." Sure...just your diabolical plans to take my husband's dog, I think to myself, but that's not much...I think my dog sensed my feelings, because she actually jumped down off the couch and come to sit with me. I scoop her up, protectively, and hold on tight and my neighbor's just staring at my dog. I'm not really happy about this. Why does she have to look at my dog like that? It's the same way she looks at Bridget. Ugh! Of course, she completely ignores our two cats. I sense she has no desire for felines, so I can at least set aside my worry for them. Hubby comes walking slowly in...Finally, Captain Save The Day is here! He's just dragging his feet and he gives her a weak smile and says his Goodmornings and how are you's and then he plunks down on the couch looking defeated. I can tell he doesn't want to deal with this right now and is very much tired of having to tell this lady she can't have his dog. This subject has been worn down enough. There was no small talk before she got down to business. She immediately set in on my poor husband, drawing out the same story she did on me about how much she loves his dog and how much her grown Daughter loves his Dog and how much her Daughter wants his dog, and that she would provide the best for the dog and blah, blah, blah...(same story, different day) and then she added in the usual subtle insults here and there trying to make it look like they could take so much better care of Bridget than we ever could. And THEN she tried a new twist the the old scheme. She subtly threatend us. Not in an obvious way, but in much the same way she was trying to make us feel inferior in pet care to her. She said, "I noticed you had her tied out one day when you all were gone for a few hours." What does she do, sit by the window and spy on us all day? "Yes," my husband replies calmly "We were out of town for the day and we didn't have anyone to come watch her or let her out to go to the bathroom, so we bought a cable tie out and a stake at PetSmart and tethered her for a few hours. Don't worry, Mrs. Whatshername, she was fine for just a few hours. She had her dog house right there, it was under that big tree and she had access to her water and food bowl. It's a thirty foot cable, so she had plenty of room to get around. She was just fine, don't worry." I'm all the while looking at this crazy lady, perched on our seat cushion, who is trying to guilt us and I'm wanting this lady to leave now. Don't let the door hit you on the way out! Man, I was loosing my patience. I was actually just about to get up and go see what Daugther was doing, just so I could calm down. Let my husband deal with her and he does such a fine job in dealing with incouragable folks, I knew he could handle her just as well. But just as I was about to start to get up she then says, "Well, I know you don't think it's such a big deal, but there is an ordinance against chaining up your dogs and I don't think animal control would be very forgiving. I just wanted to let you know. It was just put into effect, so..." I'm frozen and so is my husband and we just stare at her. Is she threatening us? Is this woman in our home threatening us?!?! Now, this lady is trying to play the abuse and neglect card on us! Anyone who knows us and anyone who knows me, knows our pets are not abused and neglected. I was fuming. She said again, "Are you sure you don't want to give your dog up?" My husband says with malice in his voice, "No, I do not. She is well taken care of, as you can see." She then looks at me and then at my Doxi and says, " You have such a sweet little dog." I said, "Thank you, she is sweet." then she says," Would you be willing to give her up?" I'm not even hiding my anger at this point when I say, "No, I LOVE my dog. Why don't you come here in the kitchen for a minute." And she looks at me quizzically. I hop up offthe couch and come stand in front of her and I say, " Really. Come on. I want you to see something." I wait for her to get up. She slowly gets up with some hesitancy and the expression on her face looks a bit alarmed. Good. Maybe she needs some abrasiveness to get the point across. I then turn my back on her and walk in the kitchen and she follows. I jutt my finger out and point at Lacee's house first and say, "Here is my dog's house. Here is her food bowl. Here is her water bowl." All the while, I'm pointing at everything....I continue," As you can see, it's all full and the water is clean." I walk over to a cabnet and open it, "Here is all the dog supplies. Flea spray, flea drops, vitamins, dog brushes, shampoo and leashes." I walk over to a basket in the corner and point to it "Here are all the dogs toys and chewies. See? Look at all of my dog's clothes that I dress her up in. She is spoiled rotten. She is healthy and loved. I am not giving her up. She is mine. I have had her for five years and I plan on loving her and caring for her for at least ten more years. She is not going anywhere. She is MINE." I then strut out of the kitchen and sit back on the couch, holding my dog tightly with a smug look on my face. I figured I better nip her idea of having my dog in the bud now before she got to entertaining the idea and starting in on me. I am all out of niceness for this lady and I ran out of patience a long time ago. This lady threatened us when she didn't get her way and she crossed the line, all the while in our own home. I wasn't going to pretend to be nice to her after this. She just looks at me with this look of shock on her face and then nods quietly and says nothing. She doesn't go back to the loveseat to sit across from us, but heads for the door and says, "Well, I just thought I would ask...." She stopped ASKING a long time ago. She's resorted to a more dirty approach and we weren't having it anymore. My husband and I both alternately say in so many words, "Ok, thanks and we'll see you later. Have a nice day. Goodbye." She shut the door behind her. My husband doesn't say a word, but just gets up and goes back in his office. I'm sitting there by myself mulling over the whole scenareo from beginning to end and not regretting my lil closing statement with that lady one bit. I then get up and go into the office and hubby and I re live the whole thing and just chat about how incredibly insane this all was and we just couldn't believe this lady had the cajones to come over here and try to sway us the way she did. Wow....So, we won't be leaving our dog unattended in the backyard for quite a while to come. Every time I let both the dogs out to do their business or excercise, I sit at the kitchen window and watch them. I am even more worried that either one of them will be stolen. And Heaven forbid we tie our hubby's dog out for a few hours if we are away. I can just see the evil old lady just spying at her window, waiting for the right moment when we are away to either kidnap or call in the Animal control...I actually called the animal control AND the humane society today and I asked them if it was ok if I tied out my dog for a few hours if we couldn't be there to watch them and they both said as long as it wasn't for very long, they had shade, water, food and shelter, no problem. So, I'm not worried about the animal control, but I'm certainly worried about dogs being stolen. This lady is insane....

Crazy old Lady next door

I'll post more when I have more time, but the gist of what's going on is our neighbor next door wants my husband's dog and doesn't seem to like taking no for an answer. We've been living here for over two years and the neighbors who live to our left are very quiet and reserved and they mostly stay to themselves. Which we don't mind, as we like our privacy. It took us nearly a year after we moved in to finally have a real conversation with the both of them and find out their first names and the name of their dog. We still, to this day, have no clue what their last name is. Anyways, up until March, they continued to keep to themselves, barely waving a hello, passing by or seeing us outdoors at the same time they were. In March, my husband adopted a floppy lil' Springer Spaniel cross at the age of 2 months. She has the kindest brown eyes encircled in rings of black like a robber or raccoon, floppy brown ears and a big freckled black nose and mouth. We fell in love with her immediately. My hubby named her appropriately, Bridget. She just looks like a Bridget. She has since grown into a sleek, fat and happy dog who will never grow into her big paddle paws and gangly long legs, which adds to her "floppyness" and lifetime of cuteness. Well, nothing like a sweet happy dog to bring together ppl, I always say. Her presence in the backyard, along with my husband and Daughter playing fetch with her, brought out our quiet neighbor's social talkativeness. It was a nice change to actually have a few nice, but still somewhat reserved and quiet conversations with our older neighbors. The wife made no secret of her attachment and love of my husband's dog. While she has her own dog, who happens to be quite aggressive ( A true guard dog personality), she seemed to have put her own dog on the back burner and given our dog most of her doting and attention. I noticed this a few weeks after getting our dog. She was coming up to the fence and crooning over and petting our dog and then she started getting our dog treats and toys and finally, a kiddie pool to play in. I thought this was so generous and very nice and didn't think anything bad about it at all. One day, I told her she was more than welcome to let herself in our backyard to play with our dog, should Bridget happen to be out there playing at the time. So, there were a few occasions, I would look out to call Bridget back in or check on her and there would be our neighbor, sitting at our picnic table, petting on her. I thought it was sweet and thought nothing more. A few times, she would ask my hubby if he wanted to part with her and give the dog to her. I thought she was just joking and I just smiled about it, agreeing that his dog was pretty irresistable to fall in love with. One day she even offered to trade her own dog for ours. I now was thinking this was starting to be a bit strange and didn't laugh it off as before. Then one day, she handed my Daughter over the fence, a dog training book for me to read. I was, to say the least, trying to not take it the wrong way. I am a certified vet's assistant and I also completed a course in dog training and I was sure our neighbor had/has no idea of this because of our meager conversations in the past, so I just tried to blow off the insulted feeling and move on. I still have her lent out book on the bookshelf and I do plan on having my Daughter return it to her at some point. Last week, while Bridget was out getting her excercise and playing with Daughter, I was in the kitchen and I looked out to see how they were getting along and saw our neighbor out there with them. I decided to come out there and explain why I haven't read her book, that I am already "trained" in dog training and of my other accreditations...and also just to shoot the breeze and chat. Well, I hardly got past the hellos and how are you's of the conversation, and was about to get to the explanation of why I have not read her book yet when she said, "I want to ask you a question." My stomach knotted up for some off reason, which is not a normal reaction for me. I said, "Sure, what can I do for you?" I was thinking she might ask me to watch her dog or see if we would watch her house or something like that, which is not a problem, but my gut was telling me otherwise. She continues, "As you know I have grown very attached to your dog and I know you and your husband are not to bent on giving her up. My grown Daugther has come over here to visit and she has fallen in love with your dog and she and I feel that we can give her a very good home, if you would let her have her. " I immediately stiffen. A very good home? What the heck does she mean by that??? Can she not see how fat and happy and well taken care of my hubby's dog is? Does she not see how spoiled she is??? She continues, "We feel that we can give her lots of wonderful attention and she would be very happy and my Daughter really just wants the dog. I mean, she is such a sweet dog and deserves the very best." Ok, now I'm getting flared up at that last statement. I'm flat out insulted. Does this lady not think we provide "the very best" to our dog? I say, very slowly and kindly as I can muster (because, I know to not disrespect my elders), "Well, I've no doubt your Daughter would love to have my Husband's dog, but she belongs to him and he is very attached and LOVES her, as do I and our Daughter. I'm sorry, but no. We feed her every day, she has 24/7 access to fresh and clean water. She has a large and expensive house, more toys than my Daughter owns and she is happy, loved and she knows it. And she gets the best care a dog could want or need and she gets daily attention and excercise, as you can see when Daughter and my hubby are out here every day playing fetch with her. Sorry, to dissapoint but she is not going anywhere." She then replies," Well, since she is not YOUR dog and belongs to your Husband, I'm going to ask him." I was, by now, shaking with anger, but I say very calmly firmly, "That is fine, you go ahead and ask him, but I might as well tell you now, he will say no." She says, "That's fine, it doesn't hurt to try, tho." After this very obnoxious offer and attempted guilt trip, courtesy of this rude, crazy old bat, she then says it's hot and she's going inside. Fine, good riddance. I should have revoked her invitation of coming over here whenever she pleased while I was at it, but of course, I lacked the bolts to do that and thus, I turned and went back inside, shaking with anger. I call hubbs up immediately and tell him what happend. He laughs it off, but his laugh is laced with concern. I tell him, I'm actually scared of our dog being stolen and I made a mental note of not letting my dog out in the back yard without supervision. A couple days later, after the intial shock from that aweful conversation wore off, I began to relax. It was on a Sunday morning, when someone knocked on our door, I wondered who could it be...only to discover it was our crazy old neighbor. Great.....I can only guess as to what brings her over.....(to be continued)

Friday, August 7, 2009

Back home and resting up!

Hello everyone! It's a very quiet Friday and so scorching outside, so we are staying indoors, trying to stay cool. We came back home a day early, swung by to pick up my little doxie at a friend's, who's been watching her for me, while we have been away, then we pulled in our driveway, pretty much fell out of the truck, as we opened the doors, dragged ourselves and our luggage up the walkway, opened the door, turned off the alarm and fell on the couches. We pretty much stayed there the rest of the evening. The next day, we were couch potatoes as well. This trip took a lot out of us! It was a trip, not a vacation, tho we still found time to do a few things that were fun. But the main reason we went to Ms was for hubby's eye surgery. Thank goodness, they went through with the surgery, as they told hubby he was a borderline candidate and there was no guarantee they would give him the surgery when we got there. We chose to drive all the way there on our own dime on a "maybe". The way things were going for us, from the moment we were on the road, we were nearly certain they would not give him the surgery, just because things were going so cruddy, it seemed like a precurser for things to come. The trip there was supposed to be no more than 6 hours. Hubby accidently took the long rout without thinking and it took 9 hours to get there! As soon as we got there, this horrible severe lightening and flash flood storm happened. And to top it off, we put off eating dinner so we could get there as soon as we could, dispite running late, and then grab a bite, but because of the storm that hit when we got there, we were stuck in our hotel room for an hour, waiting it out and it was almost 9 pm....We did try to call for delivery, but get this; ALL the phone numbers we tried, were either changed, no longer in service or no one would pick up. We couldn't wait any longer because we were so hungry, so we braved the storm and aweful lightening and flooding roads to see if we could find any drive thru that might be open. We found Wendy's, thank goodness and grabbed our food and drove back. Like I said, we were certain that the next day was gonna stink, because hubby was to go to the Dr's and they would decide whether he would get the surgery or not. So, it was a huge and wonderful surprise when he came back from the Dr's that morning with good news! After the confirmation of the surgery, we moved out of the TLF (temporary lodging facility) on base and we went to the Fisher House on base, to stay, which is basically like a civilian hospital's Ronald McDonald house in comparison, where ppl stay for an indefinite period of time, when they are in treatment at the base hospital or have a loved one who is in treatment there. The Fisher house is awesome, btw. We met a lot of wonderful ppl there, made a few friends, have seen some sadness, when comforting and praying for a lady and her sick husband who is going thru chemo for cancer...

We did manage to get out to have some fun, before and after hubby's eye surgery. One day, we took our Daughter to this horse ranch and we went riding on a trail. That was our Daughter's favorite experience, she told us, of all the things she did while staying in Ms. I will have to post a pic of that...

We also went to the casinos and I only played the penny and nickle slots and I won two dollars out of the five dollars I played. I sipped on hot chocolate with whipped cream while I played the slots and of course the drinks were free, so I drank a lot of hot chocolate. Lol....Hubby and I went back the next couple days and our last night there, hubby won $250 out of the $100 he played, so he was up $150, which was neat. I only played that first night. I guess I just am not into gambling which is a good thing. :-) We went to the beach one day and then our very last day there, we went to Ship Island, which was so much fun. We took the ferry to this island and stayed there for the day. We saw a lot of dolphins on the boat, which was about an hour ride to the island and the segulls were so funny trying to catch the food that ppl threw off the boat for them. We also visited the Fort that was there. Fort Massachusetts. Very cool and it had the biggest flippin cannons I have ever seen in my entire life. Wow.....And the view from the top of the fort is breath taking...Daughter found lots of neat seashells, built sandcastles and swam. After we left, we went back to the hotel (We moved out of the Fisher house and into the Tyre House a couple days before, on the day of hubby's last Dr's appt there), we showered and hubby took us to the Casino for the buffet, which we went one time before that week and it was so good, we wanted to go back on our last night. The crab legs and ribs are so good. Over all, a great last day in Biloxi, Ms. The next morning, the morning we were to check out to leave, the hotel fire alarm went off and everyone had to evacuate the building. As I mentioned before, this hotel is called the Tyre House. It is on the military base, as well, and it's a very nice hotel. And I do mean REALLY nice. Anyways, so thank goodness, we were already up and moving around and we were all packed up and ready to start taking our luggage out to the truck when this fire alarm went off. So, for about half an hour, we sat outside with everyone else, watching the fire trucks and stuff do their thing. Apparently, it was nothing. I guess a false alarm. We left out, only 15 minutes later than planned, so it wasn't so bad. It was a 7 hour trip back home, because of all the stops and stuff, but all in all, a much better trip back home than it was getting to Ms... I guess the past couple weeks caught up to us, tho. We were and are still so worn out! Today is much better, but I'm still keeping it a quiet day. We didn't want to have any friends over this weekend, just because we want to keep it a quiet weekend and recover from the trip. Friday nights, we normally get out or have ppl over, but this evening we'll grill out a couple steaks and just relax, just hubby, Daughter and me.....Not much planned for the weekend, as well. Daugther and I need to get school supplies and ballet outfits and stuff, and I need to grab a few groceries too. That's about it! Hope everyone else has a good weekend! God bless...

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Another trip coming up...

Once again, we are in the final stages of preparing for yet, another fun family trip. This time, to Biloxi, Ms. I mentioned in an earlier post what the main reason for this trip is for. We hope Hubby gets this eye surgery. I will let you know upon our return. We will be leaving out on July 26th and we will return on August 6th. Nearly two weeks out of town. I am actually looking forward to another family trip. Even tho this is not a vacation, we do plan on making the most of it and doing some fun things while there. A day or two or more at the beach comes to mind....oh and casinos. Lol....as well as a day at a horse ranch, which was originally intended soley for our Daugther's entertainment, but let's face it, I love horses too! Not much going on this week, aside from prepping for this trip. I need to pack up, tidy my home, (since I NEVER leave out on trips with an untidy place to come home to) wash the dogs, go to a friend's pool party Saturday and run quite a few errands that need to be ran this week for various reasons. Busy, but not too busy. Still time for visiting with friends and laying out to catch a tan before heading to the Biloxi beach.... Something I never really understood, but I seem to have adopted the habit that many women are guilty of: tanning before going on trips and vacations where beaches are. I guess we just want to blend in better with the tan, sun kissed people.
A total change of subject:
Anyone who is interested in the new Harry Potter movie, but has yet to see it: It was awesome!!! Sad, but awesome. Go see it, it is worth the money, but make sure to take that bathroom break before the movie starts, as it is two and a half hours long. Oh and best not to buy that extra large drink...
I hope you all are having a good week so far. Hugs and God bless!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Well, it's been a while...

I guess I really have been busy! Today was pretty unproductive and maybe that's why I actually thought to stop in and post something, since nothing else was going on. Fourth of July was awesome! I need to post pics, but it's nothing out of the ordinary. Just fireworks and such and I'm being lazy right now and don't want to take the time to exercise my muscles and get off my hind end and walk the 6 feet to the table where the camera is. It's midnight, so I guess my body's in sleep mode. Lol...
We are leaving in a couple weeks for Biloxi, Mississippi. I love spelling out the whole state name...It's got so many S's! Hubby is a candidate for some form of lazer eye surgery to improve his eye sight. He's pretty much legally blind. And that's where we are a bit nervous. Apparently, your eyes can be too bad for them to want to fix them. There is NO guarantee he will get this surgery. We are basically going all the way there on a "maybe". Now, I know most of you are thinking why the heck would we spend the money to go all the way up there and possibly, not even get the surgery he needs. Well, at least he will know for sure and never have the "what if" in the back of his mind....we are going to make the best of this trip and visit the beach and go horse back riding one day and visit the Casino's....I'm not a gambler, but hey, is it bad to plan on losing a few bucks? If I don't gamble and just plan on tossing X amount of my money away, I figure, if I do actually win some extra money, then it will be a nice surprise. Anyways, there isn't a whole lot new going on. It is indeed the lazy days of summer. I do love sometimes, when things settle down a bit and nothing crazy is going on and we just go with the flow.....We still have till September 2nd till school starts for my Daughter. She and I both, while enjoying summer break, are excited about this year. The curriculum has doubled, going into third grade. Apparently, A Beka Academy wants the children to be ready for college come third grade. Lol....I love A Beka Academy. It is, in my opinion, THE BEST Christian homeschool program for my Daughter. It is perfectly suited for her, as if they tailored it just for her needs. It's awesome and we are lucky that she benifiets so greatly from this particular homeschool program. I can schedule the lessons to her and my liking. We decided to try something different this year. Block scheduling. Since the curriculum has nearly doubled, we feel this would work out great. I had block scheduling in HS and LOVED it! I wasn't burned out on subjects like I was before. If you don't know what block scheduling is, it's where the curriculum is basically split up into alternating days, instead of all the subjects done all together every single day. Daughter is taking the standardized test at the end of this year and I am so curious to see where she lies academically. I know her strongest subject is Arithmatic, which she is a wiz at and her weakest is spelling....which I was the opposite back in school. So funny. I wish she took the test at the end of last year, but we will have to wait and be patient.....Anyways, enough of that. I am sitting her listening to my music and I'm starting to get sleepy. I am gonna try to catch up on a recorded tv episode and then hit the pillow. I hope you all are doing well and God bless....

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Just checking in :-)

So, what's everyone doing for the Fourth of July? We WERE going to go to Perry, Ga for their annual Big Bang Boom fireworks show at the Ga National fairgrounds, but seems they decide to cancel for so called more important things this year. This is the second time in four years they have cancelled the firworks show. Not so annual...so, needless to say I/we were dissapointed. Tho, last year, we were in Tybee Island for the week and celebrated the Fourth by watching the beach fireworks. This year, we decided to go to Atlanta to the Centennial Olympic park for the Fireworks spectacular with a few friends. We'll prolly go to the Atl Ga Aquarium or the Coke museum while there, but I'm leaning more towards the aquarium. As for today, I'm stuck here since I'm having to wait on some package. We missed it the past two times they tried to deliver, so here I am, stuck, waiting on this package. Fun times...I want to get out! Ugh....ok, I hope you all are having a good one. Hugs and God bless!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Oh, HAPPY DAY!!!

Well, I've gotta say today's shaped up to be pretty awesome!!! Not only am I feeling great, physically, but I am feeling great on the emotional and spiritual levels, too. I went to the Dr this morning and got my stitches removed. I was hoping they had the results back by then to see weather I have cancer or not. They didn't, so that was the one thing holding me back, from being fully relieved about this whole thing. They told me, "Maybe another week, we should know something by then". So, I was still holding my breath when we left the Dr's. Not 15 minutes ago, I got a phone call from the Dr's and they got the test results in. Everything was clear and NO CANCER!!!! Praise the Lord!!!! So, now I can move forward from this whole ordeal...it's been a crazy past week, but I am so glad I went thru it, because I am more appreciative of life itself and of the little simple pleasures that come along with it, as well as not really sweating the so called big stuff....It's a hard, but good lessoned learned. Love life and live it well.....every single day is a blessing and God gave you a gift each morning you wake up, by letting you have another day here on earth with your loved ones.....
Ok, have a good one everyone. Hugs and God bless...

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Update on Surgery

Hey all! Surgery went as well as could be expected and I'm still breathing so that's a relief! I went in last Tuesday with my hubby and daughter and they were a huge support. I had to show up at 1:15 and it took a lil' over an hour, from the time we arrived to the time I was on the table, before I was put under. Wow...that anethesia is awesome! The anesthesiologist put together a great lil' concoction for me and I didn't feel a thing. The whole surgery took about two hours, I was told. They did tons of fun stuff to me while I was under, such as run a scope down my throat to check everything out, lazer off a bump towards the back of my throat, well more to the right side the uvula (the hangy down thingy) and cut out a lymph node from the side of my neck close to my jaw line. The Dr's not only an ENT, but he also specializes in cosmetic surgery, so the scar should be a minimal as can be, which is a nice lil' topper. The test results will come in at some point this week, and I guess we'll find out if all is well or if there is something else that needs treatment....scary thoughts fly through my head, as I think of all the aweful things that could be or might not be at all...Pray that all is well! Tomorrow, I go back to the Dr, for my post op and to get these wierd blue stitches taken out of the side of my neck. I look like the bride of Frankenstien! Sorry, no pics taken and no plans on taking any pics! Lol...there are only a precious few who have had the horror of seeing my stitches: Dr's and nurses, Hubby and Daughter and a couple friends and that's it.
That's all for now on the surgery stuff....today was Father's Day and I and my Daughter pampered Daddy and made him feel special. We made him breakfast in bed: scrambled jalepeno eggs, toast and bacon and juice with a couple cards on the tray. Later, we took him to see that Star Trek movie, he's been wanting to see since before it came out and then tonight, we had grilled out steaks. OMG, so good! Today was the first day, I was actually feeling good, so I'm glad I was able to pamper hubby some. Well, I hope you all had a good weekend. I hope all the Father's out there had a good Father's Day and those who were able to, let their Dad's know what a blessing he is. Have a good one everyone. Hugs and God bless...

Monday, June 15, 2009

Thanks to those of you....

.....who have been a great support and encouragement to me the past few weeks leading up to my surgery. Tomorrow's the big day. Yes, I'm pretty nervous, but there is also a strange calmness. I think it may just be acceptance that this is something that can't be avoided and that whatever happens, happens. I know I would be a bigger wreck, if it hasn't been for those of you who have been praying for me and been so encouraging and supportive. Today, I cleaned my house inside out, upside down and all the ways in between. I cleaned partly because I am trying to keep busy so I won't dwell on the near future and partly because, well, who wants to be in an untidy, messy house when they aren't their 100 percent best? Especially, if you CAN'T clean.....might as well clean up while I can....I don't think I can prepare any more than I already have. I bought easy to prepare meals for the next few days, for my hubby and daughter and a few "soft" food items for myself. The house is cleaned, the laundry folded and put away, the dishes done, the trash taken out, a small suitcase bag filled with things to take with me to the hospital and last, first, between and NEVER least, I have prayed...check, check, check, check...not much else to do, now. Well, now that all my chores are finished, I'm kinda sittin' here, reflecting and trying NOT to think about tomorrow....VERY hard to do. So, I'm gonna hop off here and watch a movie. Have a good one everyone and again, thanks so much for your prayers and warm words of encouragement! Please, keep praying.....Hugs and God bless,

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Surgery

Well, it's gonna get interesting next week. I'm having surgery, tho not a major surgery, but surgery just the same. I'm going "under the knife" on the 16th and I'll just put it to you this way; if you don't hear from me after a month or so, then the surgery was prolly unsuccessful. Let's pray for a very successful surgery. Not to go into great detail, 'cause I'm sqeamish as it is about stuff like this and I'll spare the rest of you who are either sqeamish as well, or bore easily, but I'm having a lymph node removed in my neck, right under the jaw line. It's the one that everyone has that supposed to swell up when you get colds and stuff. I also have a lump in the back of my throat that has to go, too, so basically, two surgeries in one. Fun times! A word of advice to those of you who just love watching those medical dramas like I do. DON'T watch any medical drama shows anytime soon before having surgery, if they make you in the least bit paranoid. 'Cause I have all kinds of great lil' scenarios playing out in my warped brain about any kind of possible complication that could happen during my minor surgery. And in each of my nightmarish fantasies, I end up dead, or with some type of permanent disfiguring damange. Not good... I love watching medical shows like Scrubs, (which is not a drama, but still can inflict some paranoid tendancies) Grey's Anatomy, House and Private Practice. Not to mention a few of the reality medical shows on the Discovery channel. Why, oh why must I have such an insatiable appetite for this kind of stuff? This....torture...it's addicting and let's be honest, it's fun. Like a scab, we can't help but pick.... We love trying to diagnose the symptoms before the Dr's do. And when/if we do, then by golly, we feel smarter than those tv Dr's and think we could make a killing once we get our PhD. Oh, and another good piece of advice. DON'T look up your symptoms online. It almost never ends up a harmless diagnosis. I could look up the worst possible fatal disease, just for funsies and I could be perfectly healthy and feeling great and then I see the symptoms of this aweful fatal disease and guess what? I'll prolly have a few of the symptoms! And even tho, I don't have this disease, it's now stuck in my head and I'm obsessed over the very slight possibility of having the dreaded disease, tho highly unlikely in real life but in my warped brain, I'm 99 percent sure, I've got the disease now. Then I start feeling sick and then I'm thinking I'm gonna die within 24 hours. Talk about paranoia. I'm not a hypochondriac, but watching medical drama's turns me into a temporary one at least an hour afterwards and then real life hits me and I feel dumb for thinking I or someone I know might have whatever the latest medical drama show has diagnosed. Call me up and give me your symptoms and I guarantee I'll find the diagnosis. It wouldn't be just one diagnosis. It would be at least 20 diagnosis's. And don't be surprised if you have an extrememly rare, almost unheard of disease. Your symptoms could be nothing more than a sore throat and I'll diagnose you with some sort of aweful terminal throat cancer, when really, your throat is sore because you slept with the fan on the night before. You know, on second thought, just go to the Dr.
So, I have been pretty good lately. I did not look up my symptoms online. I went to the Dr and I have listened to just him. I miss my medical drama shows, but I am abstaining from them until after my surgery. It's for the best of my mental health, which, if any of you know me personally, knows just what a mental case I already am.
Today, I went in for my pre op. I was made aware of possible complications. Not the best thing to enlighten someone who is already scared for her life, that she could end up paralyzed, in pain for the rest of her life, disfigured, or die. I would much rather be happily ignorant and oblivious at this point. But I understand, they are obligated to make the patient aware of the possibilites, good or bad, so they aren't held liable, after I sign my death warrant, er, I mean consent forms.
So, I think I will take off the rest of this week to reflect on my life and prepare for surgery. If any of you who are reading this, like to pray, please say a prayer for me. I look forward to posting again, at least within the next month, at the longest. And if not, well, farewell!
Hugs, God bless and God willing, I'll talk to you soon...

Monday, June 8, 2009

Back home and in the afterglow...



*Siiigh*....well, I'm home and in the afterglow of the top most awesome family vacation we have taken thus far. It was that AWESOME! Aside from that one tiny lil' run in with the prospective stalker chick I blogged about previously, everything else was wonderful and it put the stalker chick out of my mind for the rest of our vacation. I won't go into great detail about every single thing that happened, but I will summerize and throw in a few highlights. We got to our vacation destination on the 30th, in the afternoon and we spent the day getting settled in, swimming, fishing and trying to forget about the stalker waitress we had the unfortunate experience with. The next day, we stayed in as well. We swam all day and got to know the owners of the house, who stopped by to make sure we were all settled in. On the 1st, we went to the Animal kingdom and it was like a really clean, really expensive, beautiful zoo with a few Disney characters thrown in. On the 2nd, it was our Daughter's birthday. She was pampered from the moment she awoke until the time her head hit the pillow that night. She was dressed in a beautiful formal princess dress, tiara and had her hair and makeup done. We took her to the Magic Kingdom, where five minutes after entering this magical park, our Daughter was invited to meet Cinderella privately. It was such a huge birthday surprise! We then took her to a royal lunchen that took place at Cinderella's Castle, where she met Cinderella yet again, along with a few other famous Disney princesses. The whole day, we did many wonderful things and we finished out the day by watching the fireworks at the castle. I finally got to ride the monorail back out of the park, since we rode the ferry boat in; something I have been wanting to do.... On the 3rd, we spent the day at the house, swimming and fishing, and we had a mini birthday celebration/swimming party with cake and presents. We didn't get to do the huge brunch, nor sleep in that morning, like we had planned to do for that day since we were tuckered out after the first two days of running all over the first two parks. Apparently, the owners forgot they had an appointment that morning for some guy to come over and spray the inside and outside of the house for possible pests. So, we get this phone call from them at 7 am. Surprise!!! Great..... No sleeping in for us and no brunch since not only did this pest control guy come in, but so did the owners, who decided to chat with us for three frickin' hours, but it was all great aside from that. On the 4th, we went to Hollywood Studios on a spur of the moment change of plans, because of thunderstorms in the forcast that day. We were going to go to Typhoon beach, a water park, for the day, but yeah, those thunderstorms weren't going to let that happen. So, anyways, we went to Hollywood and had a great time and then around 5-ish pm, the skies broke and we ran around for about an hour in rain panchos. Thank goodness I grabbed those just in case! After the storms passed, we finished out the day, shopping for souvineers, snacking on food and watching Fantasmic. A really awesome 30 minute water works, lazer and fireworks show. Just awesome.....








On the 5th, we went to Epcot. My favorite park, right under Magic Kingdom. My favorite thing about this park was the World showcase. You could experience a lil' piece of each of the following countries: Mexico, Norway, China, Japan, Canada, Morocco, Germany, USA and the United Kingdom. Germany was my favorite of these showcased. We had lunch at the Akershus Royal Banquet hall in the Norway pavillion and got to meet more princesses and then for dinner, we ate at the Garden Grill resturaunt, which was a slowly spinning resturaunt, so you never tire of the scenery. We got to meet Mickey Mouse, Pluto and Chip and Dale there and the food was dynamite! After dinner, we left the Disney parks for the last time. It was bittersweet...On the 6th, we stayed in and relaxed and swam. We had a friend over for the day, who recently moved to Florida a couple months ago, so it was nice to see him again. All in all, a relaxing day, good food and I was able to get all the packing done and the house cleaned. On the 7th, we went home. We still got to sleep in before leaving, tho, so that was nice! Well, that was our vacation in a nut shell! Today, hubby had to go to work, but Daughter and I spent the day, relaxing and didn't do one productive thing today and that includes unpacking. Nope, I'm not ashamed. Lol...have a good week to those of you who stop by! God bless...








Sunday, May 31, 2009

Employers, always check prospective employees' references:Oober Creepy

Ok, so here we are in Disney world!!! Love it and having a wonderful, awesome time so far. Just got here yesterday and we are staying in a beautiful 3 bed, 2 bath house with a pool. No complaints, whatsoever. So relaxing and very nice here and the peaple, omg, the people are really friendly around here! All in all, the experience so far is great! We are staying in today, to swim and relax and then tomorrow, we begin the Disney World festivities.
So, there was this one itty bitty, teensy weensy, really oober creepy thing that did happen to us yesterday. We got in our diggs for the week, unpacked, swam to our heart's content and then we got hungry, so we decided to go out to Sonny's BBQ and then grab groceries and head back to the house. I have been craving some good BBQ for a few weeks now, so when we found there was a Sonny's here, we had to go, even if that meant going thru a toll road (which, BTW, there are way too many toll roads in Florida, IMHO). So, we go in Sonny's, are greeted by friendly staff, are seated at a comfy booth and we look at the menues and are ready to order and then it happens. The creepiest resturaunt experience of our lives and I am not exagerating by any means. The waitress comes over to our table. I choose to not mention her name here, for safety reasons, but I will say for YOUR safety to avoid a waitress that looks like what I'm fixing to describe, should you ever dine at Sonny's BBQ in Kissimmee, FL. She was a hispanic lady or about 40-ish, (I'm not racist, as I am half hispanic, so don't get any ideas) she looked to be no taller than 5'2", she had very short, thick, black hair, peppered with a few greys here and there. Her face was long and pale and she had brown eyes that were big and round and looked like they could pop out of her head, if she were to be surprised, 'cause she already had that naturally surprised expression, so her eyes prolly shouldn't get any wider, for that reason alone. Now, it wasn't her look that was creepy. I never ever judge a book by it's cover and I never ever criticize a person's looks, unless they creep the heck outta me. And really, I'm just trying to give an accurate desription so the rest of you can be on the lookout for a crazy person (her in particular) if ever you go to that resturaunt.
So, she comes up, ever so quietly, that we didn't notice her until she said hello and I was startled a lil' bit. I wanted to put a bell around her neck....I quickly recover. We are all hungry and ready to give our order, and this lady, kneels down and starts talking to Daughter. No biggie, I'm cool with ppl chatting with my girl, but it seems after the next 10 minutes that the waitress took a keen interest in our Daughter. A lil' too keen. She also went on and on about herself, when she was a kid, growing up in Mexico and how she had longer hair than our Daughter's and blah, BLAH.....BLAH!!! She went on and on and on and I'm fairly certain she was ignoring our loudly grumbling tummies on purpose, so she could chat with our Daughter and compare childhood notes. Ugh....finally, she asks us what we want to drink by asking our Daughter FIRST. Then she asks our Daughter what her mommy and daddy want. WTH?!?! And Daughter looks at us with the same expression. WTH?!?!?! So, we politely tell the waitress our drink order. We are now expecting this long winded waitress, who won't stop talking to our Daughter, to take our dinner orders. No! She continues to talk about herself, but now, she's talking about how she used to be in the Air Force and she had this high security job and how she was a firefighter but now she works at Sonny's (ya, I find all this hard to believe.....) and I don't know if she's trying to impress our lil' girl, or what, but none of us gave a rat's tail about it and Daughter was, by this time, making a grab for her crayons, so she could color on the fun sheet and tune the lady out and the creepy waitress kept on and still wasn't taking the hint. She finally stopped yammering long enough to ask our Daughter FIRST, yet again, what she wanted to order and then she actually asked me and Hubby what we wanted. She then went back to ignoring us and instead of going and taking our order to the kitchen, like any good waitress would have done, she kneels back down next to Daughter and wants to help her figure out the cross word puzzle!!! OMG!!!! We came here to eat, lady, get our stinkin' food, NOW!!! She was there playing around and jabbering on about herself, for about 15 minutes, from the time she first came over to get our drink and food order to the time she left to give the kitchen our order!!! Did she have any other tables to look after?!?!?! It was aweful, people. Now, this continues through out the whole dining experience. She brings the drinks and yammers on and on and then leaves and then another gal brings our food, thank GOODNESS, but throughout our meal, this waitress kept stopping by our table to play with our Daugther and it was starting to really creep us out. It went from annoying and aggravating, to flat our creepy. We soon realized this lady was way too much into our Daughter. As in, she seemed to want to keep our Daugther for her very own and make her call her Mommy Dearest and stuff me in the back alley somewhere in a trash sack and marry my hubby.....There were four times she didn't even actually come up to our table to talk to us or our Daughter, but she would stand behind us, a few feet back and STARE and smile at our Daughter. Ever try to eat while someone is watching you? Yeah....very uncomfortable. One of the times she was doing her starting bit, she started to make faces at our Daughter and was doing some strange stuff with her fingers at her. My daughter was sitting beside me and my hubby was opposite us, so his back was towards her and he couldn't see what she was doing but could sense it (like how the back of your beck hairs stand on end when something terrible is behind you), but I could see and he kept muttering at me, "Is she gone yet? Is she playing games with our Daughter?" since Daughter was laughing and giggling and looking at this waitres standing there staring at her and making faces and not eating her food. Hubby tells her to eat her food. And then, get this, the waitress comes over and starts bashing me! She says to my Daughter, "Look at mommy, she not going to share her okra with you." or, "I hope mommy spends time with you this week and actually swims with you. She should. You need to, right mommy? Right???" Or, "Mommy, needs to eat more and so should you, you need to finish that macaroni. Oh yes, there you go. Good girl, good job..." Omg. Now, she's royaly ticking me off. I want her to dissapear and I want another waitress. She's a freak and she's freaking me out! And not to mention the fact that she's being SO darn attentive to Daughter or making lil jab comments at me but she neglects to ask us how the meal is and if we need drink refills or anything, when it was so obvious Hubby's drink was empty... In between her being absent, I tell hubby,"I just know she's gonna ask where we live, so she can hunt us down and kidnap our Daughter." Sure enough, my intuition proves accurate. When she brought the check, amongst all her chatter, she wanted to know where we were from. I told her some random state, but then she wants to know where in that state, I told her the east part of that state. But that's not good enough for her. She wants to know what town!!! WTH?!?!?! I lie and tell her a random city in this random state. I'm thinking I'm in the clear, but no. She then wants to know exactly where we are staying and what address!!!! Yes!!!! I lie again and tell her we don't know because we haven't gotten there yet...but does she accept this? No.... she wants to know what town we are staying in around here. I tell her a lie and say somewhere in a town close to here that I remember seeing on our way here. Now, I don't believe in lying. I believe it's wrong, wrong, wrong, BUT, if you feel your safety's at stake and you don't want to tick off an unstable person, you politely lie to save your skin......your Daughter's skin. So, she then wants to know how long we are staying here and when we will be back to see her. I lie again and say we are here for three weeks (really, just a week)and that yes, we will of course just love to come back and see her next week(not!!!). I know, I know....I just don't want to make the crazy lady mad, or her try to track us down and knock on our door and want to know why we didn't come visit her, or why in the world we gave her only a three dollar tip. Lol.....
Update on wellness: It's perfect weather here! Sunny and bright. Got up at 7:30 and fixed Daughter and I breakfast and let hubby sleep in. Hubby's still asleep and it's almost 10 am here, but She and I are out by the pool. Well, I'm out by the pool on the lap top and watching Daughter swim around. :-) Should make for a relaxing day. We are gonna swim for quite a bit, then have steaks for dinner. So, far this vacation's pretty nice! We will not be returning to Sonny's BBQ here tho.....I try to keep my vacations creepy free. Have a good one and God bless....

Friday, May 29, 2009

MIA for a week :-)

If you could see my face right now...I have a ridiculously cheesy grin that hasn't dissapeared and won't dissapear till we pull up in our driveway on June 7th. We haven't left for Disney World yet, but we'll head out tomorrow morning, not early, but somewhere around 10-ish. I'm already in vacation mode and I'm imagining all the fun things we will be doing while we are in Florida. Oh, but you should see my Daughter! She makes me look normal at this point. She's jumping up and down, bouncing off the walls and literally SCREAMING "I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!! WHOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!" I made this calendar for her a couple months back, leading up to the day we leave for DW...she crossed off her last day today and that's when reality set in for her that this is actually going to happen! See...we had a run of bad luck the first time we planned a trip to Florida. It's kinda sad and well, at the same time, ticks me off...yes, I have a selfish streak and you'll see why by the time I'm finished explaining, so don't judge me! I already know this.
Anyways, a couple years ago...well, right around three years ago, now, I planned our very first family vacation. We never went on a vacation together and here we were, married five years and we never once went on a real family vacation. No, I do not consider family visits a vacation, in fact, by the time we get back from one of those annual family visits, we are exhausted and need a vacation. So, I was bound and determined to have a real vacation, just hubby Daughter and I. So, I thought, "What better vacation that we all can enjoy than going to Orlando?" It was perfect. Hubby would have a blast and it would appeal to children, so I knew Daughter would have fun and I knew I would have a blast too. The dates were set, I booked the condo, paid it in full, bought the tickets to Orlando Studios and a couple other water parks and Sea World and all this was non refundable, if you cancel less than two weeks prior, even in an emergency. I got the vacation insurance and this is what it stated. I figured that was fine and if there was an emergency, surely it wouldn't be less than two weeks before we were to go. So, FOUR DAYS before we are supposed to go on our very first vacation, we get a phone call. My hubby answers and his face just fortells shock and worry. I didn't know what was going on, but my stomach knotted up and I just knew, that the vacation was off. Hubby's family had a family emergency. No one died or anything, but I was so mad, I was so frustrated and mad, I was crying. Ugh, just thinking back on it, some of those old feelings flood back, and I'm still ticked that life has a way of just ruining plans, and not just any old plans, but BIG flippin' plans. So, not only was our first try at having a real vacation completely ruined, we lost over $2,000, in non refundable stuff AND on top of this, we were expected to drive all the way (21 hours) to Hubby's family. We decided not to visit the family that year so we could go on a real vacation for once and here we were, going to visit his family AGAIN. We all were glad that everything was ok when we got there, but at the same time, I didn't see the point of losing a vacation and all that money if everything was fine... made me sick and still does. Ugh.... I still to this day, wish we hadn't just dropped everything to go see hubby's family because it was said that all was ok before hubby even decided he wanted to go see them instead. So...ya, 'lotta pent up feelings over that still. Now you see why I have a selfish streak? I felt like, after all those years, going to see Hubby's family every year and deciding not to go on vacations just so they could see us, that I could be a lil' selfish and do something for us, for once....any other time, I would have dropped everything to see them, no lie, but that was the WORST timing and it cost us so much.
Since then, we have gone on two family vacations (Smokey Mountains, and Tybee Island) and we still manage to go see his family on top of it. This will be our third family vacation. Tho, this time, it's a second try for us to go to Florida and I have had this aweful stressful feeling that something bad is going to happen again, just because we are retrying the Florida trip again and the first time left a bad taste in my mouth. Well, the closer it gets to us leaving, the more excited I get, yet the more worried I get too, that something's gonna happen and we are going to go thru everything we went thru three years ago. Anyways, so I'm gonna wash my worries away, and just keep being ridiculously excited. I'm just glad ya'll can't see my stupid grin. Tee hee!
The sun's out and it's beautiful outside. School's out for the summer!!!! Yay!!! We are gonna kick this summer break off with a BANG!!!!
Have a good one today. Hugs and God bless...

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Sleep deprived, but otherwise in good spirits



I'm having a hard time trying to make my fingers push the keys on the lap top. I'm so tired! Daughter kept waking me up this morning for really idiotic things...I had to have a talk with her about that. Never wake a sleeping bear. Lol....ok, I didn't say that, but she was up at 4 am and kept coming in the bedroom for silly things...not a fun night! Thankfully, this is a very rare occourance. I'm not much for taking naps in the middle of the day, but I am seriously considering it....I've got quite a bit on my plate today, so I'm gonna be busy for a while, but if I hurry up and get it done, I should have some time to hibernate for an hour or two.

On a brighter note, we are all really excited about the upcoming family vacation to Disney World! We leave in one day. I have always wanted to go to Disney World since I was a little girl and I would watch those commercials for it. I never went, but I have decided that hubby and I should take our Daughter there for a week, during her Birthday. It was partly because we love her very much and we want her to experience the fun things in life, partly because she's an only child and we tend to dote on her (tho she is not a brat) and partly because I want to go to Disney World as well and I may have used my Daughter's birthday as an excuse. There are some awesome deals going on this year, to boot, and we may not get the chance to go ever again, so we would have been crazy not to take advantage. Military appreciation is a mighty big help, so my hubby gets a five day park hopper ticket for FREE and along with that, five other family members can get the discounted tickets. Sweet....Well, since we are taking our Daughter on her birthday, she will get in free on her actual birthday. Of course, the discounted park hopper tickets pretty much void out the getting in free on her birthday thing, but in it's place, she will get some sort of gift in the form of A Birthday fun card, or a fast pass (lets you and five other family members have a license to cut lines and no one can do anything about it) or a voucher to use any other time during that year to get in free....Our Daughter wants, of course, the Birthday Fun card, which is a gift card in the amount of the ticket we would have paid for that day. Pretty neat deal, I think. She definitely has my shopping genes, lol.....


The sun is trying to get out and succeeds for a minute or two every once in a while. Not sure if it's gonna rain, but being that it's been so wet these past couple weeks, I wouldn't be surprised. Aside from my sleep deprivation, I'm alright and chugging along. Daughter is in the office doing her reading recording test, for us to send in. She is finished with writing and after this test, we will break for lunch. I'm hungry!!! Have a blessed day! Hugs and God bless...

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

I am now 110% not for the open faced cellies

Nothing against the actual ppl who use these open faced cellphones, and maybe they work for that particular individual, but my interactions in the past with these type phones, whether they are mine or someone else's has been, some what, a pain in the neck. So, here's a lil' story to explain why I am now, as of today, 110% against them. I was sleeping ever so peacfully this morning, dreaming an excellent dream about an awesome house with all kinds of secret passageways and rooms and so on (my favorite kind of dream, seriously). Of course, when anyone is having a ritiously awesome, splendiferous dream, they don't want to be awakened. And I am sure you can tell where this is leading, but I'm gonna go ahead and rant about it. So, I was suddenly and rudely awakened this morning by my phone (flip phone, thank goodness) and I see it's my friend, B. Well, it's ridiculously early and so I don't answer and just go back to bed, figuring that he prolly, once again accidently called me, because he sticks the open faced phone in his pocket and it jingle jangles around in there and calls ppl up ALL THE TIME, without his knowledge or permission. The naughty phone... So, I go back to bed, ignoring the call and go back to sleep.....*RING RING*!!! (but not really *ring ring* since my ring tone is a song), so I'm now thinking, "Crap! It must be an emergency, if he's calling again so soon. I guess I need to get up and see what's going on." And so, I scamper out of bed and answer the phone.."Hello!!!"...... Nothing but dead air answers me..."#$%@*, well, fine then! I'm going back to bed." I'm having a hard time falling back to sleep and it takes me a bit and I am starting to doze off into that comfy in between phase, right before you actually hit the REM cycle....*RING RING.....RING RING...RING RING!!!!!!*....Ugh....I'm NOT getting up again.....so I don't. Ten minutes later, *RING RING...RING RING...RING RING!!!!!*, as if the phone is actually screaming at me to get my hind end up and answer it for goodness sake!!!...Dang it, fine, I'm getting up. Maybe THIS TIME it is an actual emergency or something of great importance that he has to call me this A.M. to tell me....I begrudgingly get up because I WANT to and not becuase the phone tells me to and I again, answer the dumb obnoxious cell and once again, feel like a fool, becuase I am answered by dead air....I'm ticked. I'm wide awake now and figure I might as well stay up, since B's phone has become my annoying alarm clock. I put my cell down and head back to the room to go get my Daughter up and eat breakfast, becuase why should SHE get to sleep in? Lol....and then my phone gives me that particular ring tone letting me know I have a voicemail. Hmmmmm.....ok, someone left me a message. I check it and the recording promptly lets me know that B has left me a voice message at such and such time and the then the actual recorded message begins.....dead air. Arrrgh!!!!....Ppl, if you have an open faced phone and it's been known to make phone calls on your behalf without your knowledge, either get one of those handy holders or cases that prevents this from happening to you and the other unfortunate souls that are called again, or get a new celly that flips closed. :-)
Update on today's well being: I'm good, my Daughter's good (dispite my lack of sleep, we are both in chipper moods), it's overcast weather and looks like it wants to rain. We are on our lunch break at the moment: grilled cheese and ham sam'iches. So good!!! School's almost over for the day, just arithmatic left to teach. And then we plan on getting some stuff packed for the big summer family trip to Disney World in a couple days. I hope you all are having a good day so far! Hugs and God bless...

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Well, I guess I should go ahead and christen the new blog with the first post. Since this is basically an online journal, this should be pretty simple. Hmmmmm.....let's see. I've got my pencils all in a row and sharpened and my cute lil nic nacs all set up in such a fashion, just so...I've meditated and I took a power nap, then decided I can't post on an empty stomach, so then I grabbed a quick snack and watched Sponge Bob. I then decided to try to take a bathroom break, just in case.....no since letting Mother Nature interrupt my posting....but wait! Now, I'm thirsty, so I am now sitting here with my sharpened pencils, my nic nacs and my Sprite. I crack my knuckles, stretch and yawn... and stare at the blank screen.... NOW I'm ready....yes, I am a procrastinator. Prolly up in the top 5 worst. But, I'm going to try, really try hard to get the ball rolling.... And here it is, the first post on my brand new blog:

Hello people! If you want to know a bit about me, feel free to scroll down and look at the sum up of who I am, my likes, dislikes and hobbies. I'm married, so back off gents, who are just looking to hook up with some random chick. I've got one lovely Daughter, who just happens to be the other source of entertainment in the home, aside from my hubbs, who ,80% of the time, has me in stitches. I do homeschool her. Fee free to tell me how great or how aweful you think it is....I will be glad to argue the pros and cons. I am not one of those parents that keeps my Daughter from socializing with other kids and ppl. She does get out, thus she is not pale and blind. I also do not believe in throwing the work at her and expecting her to teach herself. I do teach. Unfortunately, a lot of teleivised, stupid retarded ppl who think they homeschool, or so they say they do, make the rest of us homeschooling parents, who actually do a stand up job homeschooling our kids, look bad. I reside in the great state of Georgia, yet I am a true blue Texan and still a resident. How, you may ask? Well, hubby is in the Air Force and thus, we are stationed here. My Daughter, tho born in Texas, has been raised in Georgia. She is a Georgia peach, no doubt. We have been living in Georgia since January 02'. You do the math. We've been here for a lot longer than expected and will be here for a guestimated few more years. I like it here and the only complaint I have is this darn suicidal traffic! When we first moved here, it was pretty ok, large town traffic in a large town. But we have seen this town turn into a small city over the years, the population has nearly doubled, yet the roads have not changed to accomodate the new ppl. It's like squeezing a pig through a coke bottle around here. Frustrating and let me tell you, I don't lie nor exaggerate when I say, I get a tension headache EVERY time I drive or am a passenger around here. Ridiculous. Ok, I digress.....
So, anyways, not much else to say since I've yammered on long enough. I like food. I like Mexican, Italian, Chinese take out and above all steak. Oh yes, STEAK with the fat still on and not trimmed and done medium rare and suateed mushrooms and onions and ranch dressing drizzled on top. Don't knock it till you try it! And I am not a health food nut. None of that healthy crap for me, thanks. Ok, I do like salads, but I like them with tons of shredded cheese, ranch dressing and bacon bits, basically the unhealthy salad. I want to die with clogged arteries and high colesterol and happy. Why die with an empty stomach and miserable? No way...I want to be able to say I LIVED my life! Lol...yes, I agree with all you vegans and vegitarians how sad it is how all those sweet innocent animals died, but it's delicious!
Update on today: Rain....rain and more rain. I have all my chores done. I procrastinated doing my blog by doing my chores. And we finished up on school for my Daughter. It's been a good day, so far.