Sherry's Ramblings

What I'm Thankful For

2011-11-24T13:55:00.000-08:00

I didn’t do the days of Thankfulness not because I’m not thankful but because quite honestly I didn’t need another thing to do every day. And yes, I know that some people did several days at once occasionally, but us type A people put pressure on ourselves to do things.

So what am I thankful for?
I am thankful for friends and family. The ones you see or talk to frequently and the ones you only see occasionally. They provide companionship and comfort, sometimes a hug or a friendly ear to listen to my woes or complaints. I am also thankful for those friends and family that keep us on their prayer list.

Most of all though I am thankful for God’s providence.

He provides blessings, protection, and mercy on a daily basis. Sometimes he doesn't answer prayers or provide exactly the way we think he should but I know without a doubt that he provides for us.

Specific things I am grateful for this year:

That Tyler and Katie didn't have any big upsets in their lives this year. No ruptured appendix, broken bones or anything life threatening. Also that through Katie I have reconnected with my creative side and am scrapbooking with her and others on a regular basis.

That Josh found someone he loves, who loves him too and she brings with her a wonderful little boy.

That last month when Josh got his hand hug up on a rope, that although he may have really hurt himself he didn't lose a finger or worse.

I am thankful that when Jordan got T-bone in his truck this summer that he and everyone else walked away unhurt even though his truck was totaled. On top of that the insurance company paid more that he expected for his truck.

I am also thankful that if Sean had to have cancer, he has a cancer that if diagnosed in the chronic phase, which his was, has a very good prognosis. With the medication he is taking 97% of patients return to completely normal blood work, 76% achieve complete cytogenetic response (no abnormal chromosomes in blood), 63% show a major molecular response and 40% achieve complete molecular response meaning no abnormal chromosomes are found in the bone marrow. There have been major advances made in the treatment of this cancer in the last 10 years and current studies are being done on people who have achieved complete molecular response to see if they can discontinue the medicine.

Last but certainly not least I am thankful for the husband God provided me. We certainly didn't expect the results or should I say non-results of the last six months since Toby finished school. We were certain he would have a job as soon as he got out of school if not before he actually graduated, but that was not to be. However God has provided and Toby has managed to find enough custom welding jobs and farm work that all our major needs have been met. I am not sure what God has in store for us this next year but I do know that if we place our trust in Him, He will provide no matter how tough the times get and I am truly thankful for that.

2011-08-11T22:29:00.001-07:00

This is the robot I generated to help chase the dust bunnies from my house.

Round 2

2010-09-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

I'm ready to start round two of the HCG drops and hopefully lose another 20-25 pounds.
This morning I was 244.6 when I weighed so only one pound up from my official weight on the last day of round one. I did have pizza twice yesterday; both lunch and dinner and that always makes me weigh a little heavy because it make me retain water.

Today is my first load day and I bought yummy things like Laughing Cow Cheese, Guacamole, and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream.

I really hope I feel better on this round of the diet. My schedule is so hectic between my full time job and teaching a total of five classes this year. Two on Tuesdays, two on Wednesdays, and one on Thursdays when I spend all day [8-5] at our co-op as Student Coordinator. If I don't feel well this round it will be hard to keep up with everything.

My goal is to be done to at least 220 lbs. at the end of this round and then maintain that weight until after the holidays and start round three sometime in January.

Wish me luck.

Maintenance

2010-09-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

Finished my drops on August 6 at 243.6 lbs.

That Sunday, August 8 was our annual August Birthday party. We have 3 birthdays within 10 days and combine them into one party. I did okay although I did not hold to the no carb no sugar rule. We had hamburgers, homemade ice cream and brownies.

After that I did lose down to 242.8 and have been down to as low as 241.6 and as high as 244 but I think that is good considering I have a tendency to gain water weight.

This Friday will be 4 weeks since the end of HCG. While I am watching what I eat; I have had some really bad days, the stress at work is a real diet killer, over all I have not had a hard time maintaining the weight loss. I plan to start a second round of HCG in about two weeks not sure if I want to do one bottle which lasted me about 30 days or get two bottles and try for 42 days.

With the schedule I have this year I think I will just do the one bottle. No need to stress myself more than necessary. My goal for this next time is to lose at least 25lbs and then to maintain through the holidays and start again in January.

The side benefit of lower blood pressure has not completely evaporated yet but the really good blood pressures lasted a little over two weeks after I quit taking the drops.

Day 26--Successl at Mom's Lunch

2010-07-28T21:22:00.000-07:00

Weight 244.8

Went to lunch with several of my homeschooling friends today and I had worried about overeating. However I did wonderfully! I took 2 tbsp of my organic ranch dressing in a container and used only that on my salad which consisted of lettuce, broccoli, and red onions.
Then I had two very small pieces of pizza. Since we were eating from the buffet, the pizzas are cut in smaller slices.

So a good weight loss and a successful lunch out with friends!

This evening however I was craving something; not sure what but sweets would have worked or even PB&J on toast. But I chose not to eat any of those things, it was pretty much a mental craving and not a real hunger craving anyway.

Day 25

2010-07-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

Weight this morning 246.2

I was successful again yesterday in staying on track and only eating the food I brought with me to work, however yesterday afternoon was much more difficult than Friday afternoon. We have a room full of calorie laden snacks; cupcakes, pastries, candy bars and chips which all were very tempting. Then the temptation of all that candy the night charge nurse brought was extremely difficult and in the middle of a pep-talk telling myself I couldn't have any candy I had an epiphany. If I really want to be successful in not just losing my weight but keeping in off I have to make a major change in my mental attitude. It has to become "I chose not to" instead of "I can't" because if I chose not to then it is my choice. I am in charge, not the food, not my emotions or anything else. The focus has to be on good choices, getting to my goal and staying there.

I have decided to continue the HCG until this bottle of drops runs out or until I hit the 40 day mark. Then six weeks off the drops while increasing my calorie intake to around 1500 calories. Ideally I can easily maintain my weight or even loss a little more at that calorie level.

Another good side effect of the HCG is that my blood pressure is better than it has been in a long time.
Friday 117/75
Monday 107/75
According to the research that is temporary and once off the HCG blood pressures tend to rise. Hopefully with the lower weight not as high as before.

Next challeng: Mom's Lunch tomorrow with some of my homeschool friends. *sigh* We are going to Mazzios, so my plan is taking 2 tbs of my healthy salad dressing in a small container to eat salad with and no more than 1 small slice of pizza.

Day 23-- Success and leg cramps

2010-07-25T11:31:00.000-07:00

Weight 7/23/10 247.2
Weight 7/24/10 247.0
Weight 7/25/10 246.4

Success! I worked 16hrs on Friday and maintained my diet the whole day!! Was hungry a little in the afternoon but never even really considered cheating. As you can see I have continued to lose weight. Measurements today were kind of weird. Since I measured myself last week and Toby had been doing it and he did it again today, all the measurements seemed off. Most didn't change, a few went down a smidgen, and a couple went up to what they were two weeks ago. Don't know what is going on with that.

The weird thing is that while I was on vacation I didn't have any trouble with leg cramps at night, something I have very frequently. When I started adding half a banana to my smoothies the cramps seemed to subside so I was really worried they would be horrible during the diet. However I didn't have any; one day back at work and I was up at least three times with leg cramps. Wonder why?

My next big hurdle in tomorrow; another 16hr day at work and Monday's are the day that the night charge nurse always brings in lots of candy. She buys those miniature candy bars and brings tons everyday that she works. I am taking my food for the day and planning on being strong. Pray for me.

Do you like my new weight loss banner across the top? I think it is pretty cool.

Day 20 --- amazing thought

2010-07-22T20:36:00.000-07:00

Weight this morning 247.4 total loss 18.6

So I'm still losing and closing in on that 20 lb mark.

I had a totally amazing thought this evening as I was putting my lunch together for tomorrow. Inside my refrigerator on the bottom shelf, right above the veggie drawer is a cheesecake. It has been sitting there the entire time I have been on my diet and not once have I been tempted to take a bite. Now cheesecake it not my all time favorite dessert but it is up there close to the top and to think it has been there this whole time and I knew it was there and even when I was really craving something sweet I didn't eat any. Amazing.

PS: now if it was chocolate chips cookies there might have been a different outcome, because I love chocolate chip cookies. In fact I need a twelve step program for chocolate chip cookies.

Day 19---Progress!!!!

2010-07-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

Weight 7/19 249.0
Weight 7/20 248.6
Weight 7/21 247.8 Total loss 18.2

Really craved something sweet this afternoon; however I'm pretty sure it was a mental thing not really physical. I ate a snack of Melba toast and guacamole and was satisfied. As of today it has been 17 days since I had anything sweet. Yea Me!!

Since increasing the calories and adding more fat by using olive oil and guacamole I feel much better. Rode my stationary bike for 8 minutes this morning and still had enough energy to do other things that I needed to do. The weight loss since adding the calories and fat is encouraging.

Friday worries me because it will my first day at work since starting this diet.

Day 16 on the "diet"

2010-07-18T19:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted weights or anything about the "diet" for a few days for several reasons.

#1 I didn't lose any weight and have actually gained some back

#2 Got up Thursday feeling really bad and today is really the first day I have felt pretty good.

When I got up Thursday I felt weak, fuzzy headed and like I had been really sick for a week. So I decided then and there that the diet was a failure and I was quitting. Well I didn't quit but I did increase my calorie intake and especially my fat intake. For several days I had noticed greater than normal hair shedding after my shower something that has happened before on really low fat diets. Also felt as if I was getting physically weaker every day and just riding my bike for 5 minutes was killing me.

To conteract those side effects and add some more calories I started having my smoothies for breakfast but have cut the protein mix and the olive oil in half, so there is 1/2 tbsp instead of 1 tbsp. Also have started including 2 oz of avocado as an afternoon snack.

The results are that I feel better but I've gained some weight back.
Weights: 7/11/10 250.04
7/14/10 248.8
7/15/10 248.6
7/16/10 248.6
7/17/10 249.0
7/18/10 250.0

Got up this morning ready to quit again after another weight gain but then I measured. And ta-da even with a minimal weight loss in the last week I have lost another 5.75 inches for a total of 14.25 inches in two weeks. I have decided to stick with the diet at the higher calorie limit and the added fat and see what happens this week.

Day 12

2010-07-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

Weight yesterday [7/13/10] 249 lbs. total lost 17lbs

Weight this morning 248.8

Today was a hungry day not as bad as those first days were but I still really wanted something to eat besides what I was allowed.

Yesterday when I went to the store to buy a few groceries they were either baking fresh cinnamon rolls in their bakery or had just finished and the whole store smelled like cinnamon rolls. It was incredible distracting and made me want to buy some oh so bad. Of course I know that is part of the point of baking them on site but still ......... butI was strong and didn't buy any.

Day 10

2010-07-12T21:33:00.000-07:00

Weight this morning still 250.4 so no weight loss yesterday.

Hopefully it is just a small bump and I will have a weight loss today.

Today was good in that it was day 2 without the intense food cravings and hunger, hoping that will last. However it was also a bad day in that I had the most tremendously horrible headache almost all day. Even a trip to the chiropractor and Excedrin didn't completely get rid of it.

Two days in a row without the intense hunger makes me hopeful that I will be able to continue the diet successfully. The no weight loss really sucks but I will not let just one day of no weight loss get me down.

Day 9

2010-07-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

Weight this am 250.4 total loss 15.6 lbs.

Measured this morning and since 7/5/10 I have lost 8.5 inches. I don't know what is average but I'm pretty pleased.

Today was a big milestone because for the first time I didn't crave food all afternoon and evening. I also cheated today; I made pot roast with roast potatoes and I let myself have 2.5 oz of potatoes because they are one of my favorite foods. I hope that doesn't hurt my weight loss too much.

Day 8

2010-07-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

Weight this morning 251.2 total loss in one week 14.8 lbs.

The weight loss is great but I still continue to really struggle with the food cravings and hunger. Again I think much of the hunger is mental rather than physical but it hard to convince my mind of that.

The craving today were cheese again along with any kind of ice cream. I actually daydreamed about milkshakes. *sigh* I am thrilled with the weight loss but I sure hope this gets easier soon. It was so bad today I actually had a wedge of Laughing Cow Cheese in my hand but my desire to loss this weight prevailed and I put it back.

Day 7

2010-07-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

This mornings weight 252.6 total loss 13.4lbs.

Today was another day when I didn't feel very well, at least the first half. I did feel better late this afternoon and this evening. Not sure if it was just because I didn't feel well or if I was really hungry but I was totally ready to throw in the towel and eat until I felt full. For some reason the food I was craving today was cheese. I'm not a huge cheese eater but I do like it and I have some low fat Laughing Cow cheese wedges and some low fat string cheese in the fridge and man were they calling to me today. However I prevailed and did not give in and go off the diet.

At least today's craving wasn't bread, cookies or some other sweet item.

Originally I had planned on doing the the 46 day plan because of the amount of weight I need to lose but if the food cravings and hunger do not abate I think I will only do the 23 day plan this first time, heck if I drop down to one pound per day that the diet says you will lose I'll still have lost 29lbs. If I do well on the maintenance for six weeks I will try another run at the diet after that.

Day 6

2010-07-08T19:22:00.000-07:00

Weight this morning 254.6 loss so far 11.4 lbs.

Felt pretty good today. Road my stationary bike for 5 mins, did my stretching routine, and a few crunches. I do my crunches on a stability ball and I could really tell I haven't been on it in a few weeks.

Still struggling with hunger in the afternoons and after dinner. I am used to having something sweet after lunch and dinner; often a Weight Watchers or South Beach dessert but still something sweet. Of course, it doesn't really feel like physical hunger more of just my routine or craving what I know I can't have. Along with the HCG I am taking primadophilus caps twice a day hoping to break the carb craving that I always seem to have.

Day 5

2010-07-07T18:46:00.000-07:00

Weight this morning 257 -- loss so far 9 lbs.

Today has been a tough one. Can't really say that I am experiencing a lot of physical hunger but the food cravings have been intense. I want bread, something sweet, cheese, ice cream or milkshakes but I also want this weight loss.

I also haven't felt real well today; headachy and out of sorts. Could be the diet and could be the fact that we have yet another storm front moving in. We are supposed to get significant amounts of rain the next two days.

Day 4

2010-07-06T18:36:00.000-07:00

Starting weight on day 1 --- 162 lbs. my final goal 145 lbs. so just under 120 lbs to lose.
Weight on day 3 after 2 day load --- 166lbs
Weight this morning after first day of VLC diet --- 161lbs

I didn't feel good yesterday had a bad headache most of the day, don't know if it was diet related on not. Did feel some hunger yesterday but not anything unbearable. My biggest problem is not really being hungry but wanting something, usually something sweet to nibble on.

I made two adjustments that I hope won't hurt my weight loss. Last post I mentioned my dislike of fruit, so instead of an apple I had a single serving container of No Added Sugar Applesauce. Also drizzled small amount, about 1 tablespoon of Ranch dressing on my broccoli.

Calories yesterday -- 550
Calories today -- 539

Will keep you updated.

HCG Diet

2010-07-01T18:22:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've read all the info good, bad and otherwise however I personally know two people who have done this diet and successfully lost a lot of weight. So I have my drops and my plan in place.

I start vacation July 5th, not going anywhere just hanging at home, so I am going to do my load days July 3rd and 4th, so the holiday will be behind me and I have several weeks to get in the groove of this diet before I have to go back to work.

I am hopeful and I'm scared. Scared that this won't work for me, or that I won't be able to stay with the limited diet. I really don't eat very many veggies and no fruit at all unless it is in a smoothie. Hopeful because except for my first pregnancy, when I gained 20lbs, I lost weight or maintain my starting weight and delivered some large babies. We joked at my ob/gyn's office that being pregnant was my personal weight loss plan.

Keeping my fingers crossed

2010-05-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Thought this was pretty interesting. As you can see I'm not very well traveled but if I take that road trip to Washington DC this summer with my brother I'll get to add several more states. Also not really sure Montana should count I was only 6 months old when we lived there.

visited 10 states (20%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

Our New Baby

2008-07-10T19:19:00.000-07:00

Isn't he so cute! We named him Star.

Things to be Thankful For!

2007-12-30T17:01:00.003-08:00

That my soon to be 21yo son walked away from this rollover accident!

He hit a patch of black ice on his way to work Friday morning, lost control and rolled his truck. The truck is quite a bit the worse for wear, but expect for some sore ribs my son is fine. Thank You Lord!

New Addtions to the Family

2007-12-26T16:34:00.000-08:00

For Christmas my DH and oldest DS got puppies. They are blue heeelers or Australian Cattle Dogs if you want to be technical. DS is on the left with his dog Dixie and DH is on the right with Kassie.

They are really cute puppies but this brings our dog total to 5 between the two households. We also have a Sheltie and two Labs.

Another picture of Kassie.
Isn't she cute?

Aftermath of an Ice Storm

2007-12-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

Below are pictures of our house and property after the recent ice storms. If you scroll down and look at the flood pictures [uh yeah, it seems to be our year for natural disasters], anyway you can see the differences. Luckily for use we were only without electric for about seven hours. Many have already been without for days and the electric companies are saying some may be with electricity for as many as seven days.

Count Down to Christmas

2007-12-09T11:32:00.000-08:00

Do you like the cool count down timer I added to my blog?

You can find it at customizable countdown timer generator . Thanks to PaperBack Writer for passing along this cool feature.

We have the Christmas Tree up and decorated and my youngest is finally back to normal. Well he's not eating quite as much but that's okay.

Our first real taste of winter arrived yesterday with a mix of sleet, rain and freezing rain. According to the weatherman more is on the way Monday and Tuesday, along with temps that aren't supposed to be above freezing for the next few days. Could be an interesting few days.

We Have Twins

2007-11-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

ACK! I can't believe I haven't posted since August and it is November!

Well it has been exceptionally busy around here. Both our heifers calved and one of them had twins. A rather rare occurance according to the DH. Here is a picture.

Aren't they cute? The one on the right is a girl and the one on the left is a boy.

What a way to wake up

2007-08-19T07:51:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning to Water World. About 8 inches of water in the garage and water lapping about 3 inches from the front door.

I have lived here for 25yrs and Toby has lived here for about 35 yrs and it has never looked like this.

Maternity Swimsuits

2007-06-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

While working out at the gym this morning I was watching the Today Show. On one of the segments they had a mini fashion show showcasing maternity swimsuits. Now I’m familiar with the concept and since two of my four were born in August and another in October I’ve actually purchased and worn a maternity swimsuit. But not like these suits.

Three or four of the suits were Takini type suits and in every one the model’s belly protruded from under the top, one was a bikini. Yes a bikini for pregnant women and only one was a one piece style suit that actually covered the belly.
Maybe at heart I’m more of a prude then I thought but I just can’t seem to wrap my brain around this new desire to show off one’s pregnant belly.

Trim Kids

2007-06-05T18:31:00.000-07:00

Title: Trim Kids

Author: Melinda S. Sothern, T. Kristian von Almen. and Heidi Schumacher

Year Published: 2001

Why did you get this book? I was looking for nutritional information that was geared for kids.

Do you like the cover? Not bad

Did you enjoy the book? This books was actually a DNF for me. I read the Part One section, which was titled Setting the Stage for Success. It did have some good information for parents, such as diet changes can’t really be made for just one family member and be effective for that family member. And yet at the same time you can’t never let the other family members have the things they like to eat. To make real effective changes in our children’s diet and exercise choices and attitudes we might first have to change our own. Ouch!

The second part of the books lays out in detail the Twelve-Week Program. That is not the information I was looking for hence the DNF status.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? It is a library book and I will be returning it.

Anything else? If you have a child/children with weight problems you might be interested in reading this book. I think it does have merit.

Catching Up in Blog land

2007-05-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted here in forever, my excuse .... life has been busy! Yeah, I know that excuse is worn thin but it does apply.

So what have I been doing?

Well in February we had the wedding! Our oldest son married a wonderful young lady whom we all love dearly. We also became the owners of two rather wild mustang horses. They had been adopted by someone who found themselves no longer able to afford the feed bill and so they were free to a good home. We spent endless hours trying to gentle them down ourselves and finally decided to enlist some professional help. One horse will be coming back from the trainer soon and hopefully come next spring we will have a colt.

Then in March we had some wonderful spring weather that resulted in major cases of spring fever.

April .... brought a return to colder weather and desperate attempts to get back on track with school.

May brought an abundance of rain. Last week alone we had 6.5 inches at my house. Hopefully that will help all the flowers I planted grow. I also attended our state's homeschool convention which provided some great speakers and a chance for me to decide on next year's curriculum.

I have been getting to read, averaging about 9 books a month. During our oh so short summer break I hope to increase that number.

The Thaw

2007-01-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, first of all we lived in the deep freeze.

I know that to many a week or ten days of weather with temps under freezing is not a big deal but in Oklahoma it is. Add to that the 4-6 inches of sleet that is still on the ground 12 days after it fell and we truly feel as if someone moved the Arctic Circle several thousand miles south.

Now we are in midst of the Big Thaw! It has been in the 40's for the last two days and may even reach 50 by Friday! As you can see from the picture I posted of our driveway, we are now leaving in a mud hole, although the wheat pasture is still an almost solid sheet of ice. *Sigh* How long till spring???

Snow Days is Oklahoma

2006-12-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of the recent snowy fun had here in Oklahoma, of course this week the temps are going to be in the 60s and 70s, go figure.

Snow boarding Oklahoma Style!

Chase cars? Naw, this is way more fun!

Family Photo

2006-12-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

This is a photo taken of my family at Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday,

1) because the weather is usually still nice
and
2)the focus seems to be more about visiting and catching up with family than other holidays.

Sean and Ranger

2006-11-07T22:10:00.000-08:00

This is a picture I took of Sean and Ranger a couple of weeks ago.
Aren't they a good looking pair. Hey I'm his mother I can be prejudice.

The Results

2006-11-06T04:54:00.000-08:00

Well I got my results back late Saturday afternoon and the biopsy came back benign!

*Big Sigh of Relief*

I will still have to go back in six months for a follow up mammogram but at this point that is not to worrisome.

At first I didn't think I was going to bruise very bad were they made the incision and inserted the instrument for the biopsy, but I removed the steri-strips last night and I have a bruise about the size of an orange on the underside of my breast. It isn't really very sore but there is still one small spot that is a little hard.

I wasn't supposed to do any heavy lifting or strenous exercise for two days after the procedure but that is up and I am heading to the gym this morning. We see if that makes me sore.

Tick Tock

2006-11-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

Tick tock, tick tock the minutes crawl by so slowly when you are waiting for that all so important phone call.

Is the biopsy clear? Does is show questionable cells? Or horror of horrors does is show cancerous cells?

Time seems suspended in slow motion waiting for a call that will either cause sighs of relief or forever change your life.

Tick, tock, tick, tock waiting for time to crawl by.

The Procedure

2006-11-04T03:20:00.000-08:00

Well, I had my ultrasound guided biopsy yesterday and it was surprisingly painless.

When I went in they explained the procedure, gave me the pep talk about how less than 1% of cyst like mine turned out to be cancerous and then we got started. First of all the ultrasound tech located the area where the cyst were located, then the doctor came in gave me an injection to deaden the area, an injection, which I didn’t even really feel. Then she made a small incision in my breast, again I didn’t feel anything and then inserted an ultra thin metal rod into the area. Using CO2 it froze a small section of breast tissue to the end, which the doctor then extracted. After taking two samples to biopsy, she placed a small maker is the area so that when I go back in six months they will be able to locate the area where the cyst were. They placed two small steri-strips over the incision site and gave me an ice pack to place over the area to help reduce bruising, took two mammogram pictures to be sure they could see the marker and sent me on my way. I was there less than an hour.

The most painful thing about the whole procedure was the ultrasound tech smashing my poor boob with the ultrasound wand, paddle or whatever they call it. Now to just wait patiently until they call me with the results later today.

Bumps in the Road

2006-10-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that the road of life is not always the same. It changes sometimes daily sometimes hourly and sometimes not for months at a time. It can be like a meandering country road, traveled slowly and with wonderful surprises around the curves. It can also be like a six lane express way, zooming past so fast you barely have time to register the events and people around you rushing from one place to the next and sometimes it is a pot hole, bump filled hazard that you maneuver with care.

Lately is seems as if I am destined to travel the pot hole, bump filled hazard more often than I would care to.

One bump was that my Dad was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. This really wasn’t too surprising as he has been flirting with this for at least the last 5 to 7 years. So far he is doing really well with diet modification, increasing his exercise and taking oral meds.

A little over a week ago my Dh, 16yos, and future DIL were rear ended on the interstate. Not a bump that you are ever really prepared for, but fortunately for my family this has been a minor bump. Everyone is seeing the chiropractor for whiplash and they are progressing well. Of course the hassle of dealing with the insurance company will take awhile yet but we will prevail.

One of the saddest and longest lasting bumps has been the upheaval in my Dh’s family. It started a little over a year ago when his middle brother tried to cause problems for my Dh and made some wild accusations concerning him. We think because of jealousy but will probably never know for sure. After this my Dh quit playing peacekeeper between this brother and his oldest brother and things deteriorated rapidly after that. For some reason done of us can fathom my MIL has taken up for this trouble causing brother, thus virtually ruining not only her relationship with my oldest BIL and my Dh but also causing a major rift in her relationship with my children, who feel she hasn’t treated my Dh fairly. Some things go on the same, if my MIL and step-FIL need help it is still my Dh, who either takes care of it or on whom they call for help but so much more has changed. The final rift for my Dh was when she not only didn’t get him a card for his birthday but didn’t even bother to call and wish him a Happy Birthday. This may seem like a minor thing but in the 24 years we have been married it had never happened before, not even the year his Dad died just days before his birthday. I have cried buckets of tears over this and have tried to keep from being grossly negative about either my BIL or my MIL but it sometimes leaks through.

The latest bump is the one all women dread to hear. My mammogram came back with changes from previous years. Okay, not a problem. I scheduled a follow up and went in today to be squished, flattened and prodded. I am BTW rather sore this evening. The radiologist still didn’t like the pictures and so they did an ultrasound. I am still expecting them to come back and say it was nothing; however that is not what I heard. It seems I have what appears to be either several small irregular cysts, or one cyst with several compartments on chambers inside it. So next week I go back and have a needle aspiration done. I am hoping and praying this will turn out to be one of those minor inconvenient bumps and not a big life changing bump. I have also opted not the tell the rest of my family with the exception of my Dh. We have my niece’s first birthday party on Saturday, and our youngest son’s thirteenth birthday on Monday and I don’t want to bother anyone with this right now.

Funeral

2006-09-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

We went to the funeral of my Uncle Ralph today, well he actually was my great-uncle but I’ve always called him Uncle. Uncle Ralph and Aunt Hazel weren’t people we saw often usually once or twice a year and always at the annual Warren picnic. Uncle Ralph was a McDaniel but Aunt Hazel was born a Warren, its one of those things that can make a difference in close-knit communities and small town America.

Today’s funeral wasn’t a particularly sad one, Uncle Ralph would have been 92 in just about 8 weeks and today was more of a chance to celebrate his life. He and Aunt Hazel had been married for almost 71 years; their anniversary is in just three weeks. As a young man he was a farmer, then sold John Deere tractors and went on to become an Assemblies of God preacher. I never knew him when he wasn’t a preacher and I don’t think my Mom has any memories of him before then either. I never heard him preach as my side of the family is Baptist, but he did perform my wedding ceremony. He had a spirit of calm acceptance around him that to me translated as someone who was doing just what he was supposed to be doing and I never doubted that he was a Godly man. Aunt Hazel is quite confident that he is in heaven and that she will be there with him one day.

Today I saw several of my great-aunts and uncles and a whole bunch of my Mom’s cousins that I hadn’t seen in quite some time. Family members caught up with each others lives, showed pictures of kids and grandkids, shared memories they had of Uncle Ralph and each other from times long past. That is one of the enjoyable things about funerals, listening to all the remember whens.

The one thing, okay make that one of the things that really bothers me about funerals is setting up the body for viewing. I mean I hadn’t seen Uncle Ralph is several years but I still remember what he looked like. Why is it so important for people to view an empty shell? Maybe that is why is bothers me, because I do believe it is an empty shell. The spirit is gone, having left at the time the mortal body ceased to function and occasionaly before. The part that made the person, the important part, the part that you either loved, hated, or were totally indifferent to is gone. In my opinion either to be with God in heaven if they are Christians or into a kind of limbo until Jesus returns. This brings me to the other thing that bothers me about funerals; Why do families feel as if they have to spend a small fortune for a special box with all the bells and whistles that the funeral home can sell them just to put an empty shell into? They go on at great length about the air tightness, and weather proofness, and so on and so on. Uh, hello people, it is going into the ground, the person you are burying could care less and I don’t really think your plan on digging them up to make sure the box really conformed to the specifications you were sold. I know, I know it is a way of honoring them and yada, yada, yada. I personally think the money is better spent on a really nice headstone. Something that can be seen, flowers laid at, and that in a hundred years might still be there.

Getting off my soap box now.

What does 24 years feel like?

2006-08-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

Monday was Toby and mine’s 24th Anniversary. While we were lying in bed snuggled together he wished me a Happy Anniversary and I responded with the question “Does it feel the 24 years?” He proceeded to ask me “What does 24 years feel like?”

Hhhmmmm? That is a good question. What does 24 years feel like?

My brother said it feels old. I didn’t like that response.

It could feel comfortable.
It could feel stagnate.
It could feel boring.
It could feel ho-hum.
It could feel exciting.
It could feel like forever or like *snap* that long.

For me it feels comfortable and secure in some ways, yet every changing as we continue to grow and experience new things. We still have two boys in school so we’re not yet through with the childrearing stage of our lives and yet with our oldest son getting married next February and we will soon be entering the new stage of being In-Laws. Hopefully one day in the future we will be blessed with grandchildred and will enter the stage of being grandparents.

So what does 24 years feel like? It feels good. I like being married, most of the time I like my husband and I love him dearly. Hopefully we’ll have at least 24 more years and even longer the Lord willing.

Stardoc

2006-08-15T18:35:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the monthly theme of non-romance.... although this book did include a romantic interest for the heroine it was by no means the focus of the book.

Title: Stardoc

Author: S. L. Viehl

Year Published: January 2000

Why did you get this book? I had read the first three book of the Darkyn series which this author writes under the name of Lynn Viehl and really liked them. I looked her up on the internet and found out that she had other books in different genres and decided to try one.

Do you like the cover? It’s interesting, gives what I think is fair portrayal of what the heroine might look like, and has some interesting depictions of some of the secondary characters.

Did you enjoy the book? Absolutely! While I have always loved futuristic romance and time travel; reading Sci-fi outside the arena of romance is new for me. When all is said and done what really makes or breaks a book for me is the story. If the story draws me in, makes me what to know what happens next, and if I can connect with the characters and care about what happens to them then for me it is a good book. Sometimes a great book and this one fits that description. I actually cried for a good portion of the last several chapters of this book.

Was the author new to you and would you read something by this author again? No this author wasn’t new and yes I will continue to read her books. I’ve already read the second book in the series and can’t wait until I can buy the rest.

Are you keeping it or passing it on? Keeping it.

Anything else? Stardoc is about a young woman, Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil, who has followed her father’s wishes and desires for her life only to find out that all is not as it seems. It turns out that her brilliant physician father has done some experimenting; experimenting that would be consider questionable by most and illegal by the government.

Upon this discovery this Cherijo decides to leave her home world and journey to the farthest reaches of the galaxy to practice medicine and escape from her father’s control. It is an interesting experience for Cherijo, who has never treated a species other than her own. We get to know and appreciate Cherijo through a series of mishaps and emergencies as she painstakingly feels her way along this new path. There are also a number of secondary characters who the author introduces and who add a great deal of interest and detail to the story.

All in all this was a wonderful engaging story. It is entertaining and the world building in exceptional. I was so thankful I had already bought the second of this series as I started it immediately.

When you take your children out to eat with you

2006-08-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

please be considerate of the other customers and MAKE THEM BEHAVE!!! [and yes, I meant to yell that]

We were at a small local Mexican restaurant today for lunch and at another table there were two ladies, probably Mom and Grandma from the looks of them, and three boys. The youngest boy looked to be about four years of age and he was the main problem. He yelled, for no reason that we could ever discern; he yelled at his brother, he yelled at the waiter, he yelled at his mother, and never once did either of the ladies tell him to quit or correct him in anyway. As they reached the end of their meal he was allowed to get up and roam the room. He must have opened and closed the door a dozen times; it was one of those with a chime that goes off every time it is opened. He also destroyed a display of flyers sitting on a counter, again neither of the ladies ever told him to quit or corrected him in anyway nor did they clean up the display he dumped.

We have always taken our kids out to eat from the time they were little and I know that they did not always behave. I can in fact remember a few times Toby had to take one or another to the bathroom for a chat, but they were never allowed to get up and roam and we always tried to be conscious of whether or not their behavior was disrupting to others.

All children have to learn what is acceptable in public and what isn't and it is their parents job to teach them that. I just don’t understand why people think it is okay to inflict their child/children on the general populace when they don’t/won’t/can’t make them behave and obvisouly have no intention of teaching them how to behave correctly.

Okay, end of rant!

Isn't it amazing

2006-08-09T09:45:00.002-07:00

Isn’t it amazing the things we can take for granted and how we miss them when they aren’t there? Turn on a switch and we have lights, television, and computer. Pick up the phone and we can talk to almost anyone we want or in today’s world we can at least talk to their machine. Thirsty, dirty, need clean clothes or dishes turn on a faucet, shower or washing machine.

Uuummm that is unless your day started like mine this morning and that faucet is dry. We aren’t on city water and sewage but have a well and this morning the well pump it isn’t working. To make things even better the well service people say it will be next week ... late next week before they can get out here to check it out. Going without water for a few hours seems a trial; days of no water seem an impossibility..... a week *groan*

Well at least there is the laundromat for clothes. We can shower at relatives or even the health club where we are members if necessary, although my guys have this real aversion to using public showers.

Yep, there are many, many things we take for granted.

In other areas of life I have completed two books so far for the August Reading Challenge and hope to get reviews written and posted soon. Well as long as the phone and electric still work *bg*

Oklahoma in July

2006-08-03T13:59:00.000-07:00

My brother sent this to me and I just had to share!

YOU KNOW YOU ARE IN OKLAHOMA IN JULY WHEN. . .

-The birds have to use potholders to pull worms out of the ground.

-The trees are whistling for the dogs.

-The best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.

-Hot water now comes out of both taps.

-You can make sun tea instantly.

-You learn that a seat belt buckle makes a pretty good branding iron.

-The temperature drops below 95 and you feel a little chilly.

-You discover that in July it only takes 2 fingers to steer your car.

-You discover that you can get sunburned through your car window.

-You actually burn your hand opening the car door.

-You break into a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m.

-Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?

-You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.

-The potatoes cook underground, so all you have to do is pull one out and add butter, salt and pepper.

-Farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice to keep them from laying boiled eggs.

-The cows are giving evaporated milk.

Ah, what a place to call home.

Two strikes and your hamburger

2006-07-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

At least that’s going to be the rule for the bovine denizens or our place.

The story behind this:

We have a heifer that calved early yesterday morning. This is her second calf and so we wrongly assumed that since the calf was up and moving and so was mom that nature would take its course and all would be fine.

Ooooohhhhh how wrong we were. This heifer has got to be the worst mother I have ever seen. She dropped or stepped on her first calf and it had a bum leg and couldn’t stand after it was born. We were able to get it up and moving and then she refused to feed it. The Dh had to back her against the stall and make her stand still so the poor thing could eat, and he had to do this three or four times a day until the calf was about 4 days old and able to get up and down on its own.

So about 6:30 last night the Dh’s oldest brother called and mentioned that momma cow was in the top pasture but the baby was nowhere to be seen. The Dh and I took the truck out and drove around the bottom pasture where we found ...... nothing! So we drove the top pasture, still no baby. Supper is ready so we go eat, then round up the kids and head back out around 7:45 to search the pastures on foot.

Forty-five minutes later one of the boys finds the poor thing. It was about five feet beyond the fence down by the creek and had obviously been there for quite sometime. We loaded it on the four-wheeler and took it back to the barn, were the momma cow doesn’t seem to want to let it eat. Dh backs her against the stall and tries to help the calf get started suckling. It appears however that mom hasn’t let her milk down. He works for almost thirty minutes before he can get milk out of her and then the baby doesn’t seem to know how or what to do. *big groan* Did I mention the temps are still in the 90’s, it is hotter than hell in the barn and momma cow continually swings her tail and hits Dh in the head. And her tail ...... eeeeeewwwww I won’t even mention how totally nasty her tail was. Another thirty minutes and Dh has milked about a pints worth out the momma, which we poured in a bottle and baby sucked right down when he figured out what it was. Then miracles of miracles he headed straight for mom and started to chow down.

We locked them in the small enclosure by the barn last night and they seem to be okay this morning. We didn’t actually see him eat this morning but when I offered him a bottle of starter milk he wasn’t interested so we hope that means he had already eaten. There is a smaller pasture on one side of the barn and we let them out into it, instead of with the other cows and have been checking on the pair off and on all day. This evening I’ll offer the little guy another bottle of starter milk and see what happens. Ideally someone will see him nursing and we will know that all is well in that area.

Dh says when the baby is weaned, momma heifer goes either to the butcher or the stockyards, she's had two chances and blown them both so he's getting rid of her one way on another.

Our First Day of School

2006-07-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

Well, today was our first official day of school for this year. The boys were at Starbase camp last week and I always count those as school days but today was the day we got out the notebooks and started the school year in earnest.

It didn’t have an auspicious start. I woke up at 5:30 with a major headache, my neck hurting and sick to my stomach; the alarm was set to go off at 6:00 so that we could get to the gym early and be home and ready to start school by 9:00.

Well, the alarm went off at 6:00 as planned, and I hit the snooze, 9 minutes later it went off again and I hit the snooze once more, the third time I thought screw this and turned the alarm off. I woke at 7:00 and thought about getting up but decided to give myself 30 more minutes and finally I managed to crawl out of bed at 7:30. I know this seems late for those of you who might have to be at work at 8:00 but I am so not a morning person.

Got the kids up, and we got ready for the gym; today was weight training so it was after 9:30 by the time we finished. I had two quick errands to run and decided since we were already running late to do them while we were in town instead of having to come back later.

After arriving home, eating breakfast and getting morning chores out of the way we finally started school at 11:00. *sigh* Of course the kids wanted to break for lunch at noon and being the horrible mean mother/teacher that I am I made them wait till 1:00. *rolling eyes* It didn’t seem to do any permanent damage seeing as how they didn’t eat breakfast until 10:00.

Since my boys are older I don’t usually sit at the table with them while they do their work. I try to clean and do laundry in between helping them when needed, working on the subjects we do together, and trying to grade work as they finish. Today they were of course particularly needy, and seemed to pick on each other constantly so by 4:30 my headache was back with a vengeance. I told them to finish up their work and I headed to the tub for a nice long bubble bath.

We ended up having carryout pizza for dinner [who wants to cook in a 104 degree heat], I have three loads of jeans waiting to be folded and I never did get to the store for dog food but there’s always tomorrow. And surprisingly we managed to get everything done on their assignment sheets except for their history and we’ll double up on that tomorrow.

Men and assembly instructions

2006-06-26T07:15:00.000-07:00

Men and assembly instructions. An oxymoron if ever there was one.

The men at my house assemble things in true Tim Taylor fashion. Lay out the parts and go to work, instructions are unnecessary and used only as a last resort.

Extra parts? Aaahh who needs them?

We got a new trampoline yesterday the old one was 7 or 8 years old and if Toby hadn’t welded it several times would long since have gone to the trash. My 19yos laid it out and was going to assemble it, but it went together differently than the old one and there were a bunch of screws he didn’t know where they went. Solution, let’s consult the directions ...... but wait, I hear “This sucks, it doesn’t have any pictures. ” hmmm appears that even when we consult directions we don’t want to actually read them, we simply want to look at the pictures. LOL, it was time for me to leave for work and apparently they figured it out because the trampoline was assembled and in use when I called the use later in the evening.

Is it the Y chromosome that inhibits the ability to admit that one needs directions to assemble something or heaven forbid that they need to ask directions of someone because they are lost?

The Game

2006-06-24T19:49:00.000-07:00

The game was girl's slow-pitch softball 5A/6A East against 5A/6A West All State. Our Katie was one of the pitchers for 5A/6A West and pitched five of the nine innings. The game started at 3:00 and it was hot. So hot Katie's MeMa couldn't stay for the game, so hot that at the end of the game my clothes were soaked and everyone got sunburned but ......

The final score was 10-6 our favor.

The West girls shut the other team out after the 2nd inning. It was a really good game and since these girls had never played together as a team and didn't get an opportunity to practice or even warm up together they played an awesome game.

dark days

2006-06-21T12:05:00.000-07:00

It’s a dark day and I hate those.

I have at least one a month and I know it is hormone related but it sucks big time to feel like this.

Much of the day will be spent in tears. I don’t want to be with family, friends, or communicate with online friends. Friends? Hmmm I wonder if I actually even have anyone that I can really call a friend. Lots of acquaintances but how many would really consider me a friend? I want to be liked by people but feel as if I’m a neurotic, attention seeking, know-it-all that people don’t really like.

My kids hate me; I’m a horrible mom, a mediocre wife. I’m fat and can’t seem to make the long terms changes need to lose weight and keep it off.

On days like today I feel as my family would really be better off if I just went away and didn’t come back. I want to sit and eat chocolate and drink Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper, hibernate in my room and bury myself in a good book that will take me away from my life.

I do things that are supposed to help; exercise at least 3 days a week and many weeks 4 or 5 days, use a natural progesterone supplement, take essential fatty acids these things have helped reduce the number of bad days but nothing seems to really help completely.

Dogs and Gardens

2006-06-20T14:15:00.000-07:00

Okay those two subjects really have nothing to do with each other except I'm going to rant about both.

I love dogs I really do. We have a four year old Sheltie, a two year old part Alaskan Malamute, and then we have my oldest son’s two chocolate Labs. One is six years old and the other still just a puppy at about 18months.

I love the son too, at least most of the time.

However with the tremendous heat we’ve had this spring ........ we kinda skipped spring actually and went straight to summer..... having so many dogs in the house everyday is getting to be a chore. You may ask why I have them in the house, I ask myself that too, but the truth is for some reason the flies just will not leave their ears alone. If we leave them outside in the heat of the day then the flies chew their ears until they are covered in sores.

Back to my rant.....

I’m sweeping the floor everyday, and despite making the kids comb the dogs outside at least once a day I still get enough hair off the floor to cover a small dog. And it is Not my Sheltie’s hair; it is the short haired dog’s hair that is all over the place.

Now about the garden. I posted to the friends on one of my loops how last week some evil green worms/caterpillars ate every single leaf off my broccoli plants practically overnight. Well this weekend we had thunderstorms which brought some much needed rain but also brought some very high winds .........

The winds destroyed my squash plants.

My green beans are only doing so so and while my pepper plants do have several buds on them I’m not going to get my hopes up. Last year I actually got ONE pepper off each of my plants.

Next year I’m only planting flowers, because the Marigolds are the only things I planted that seem to be thriving.

Is it stamped on my forehead?

2006-06-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

Today at the gym the gentleman on the Stepmill next to mine asked me if we homeschooled. I assured him we did, and he informed me that he subbed at the local high schools. He then went on to talk about how awful it was at the schools and that despite complaints to administration they are hesitant to make changes which is a whole other topic.

He is not the first at the gym to ask me that question and okay I can see if we are there during normal school hours, which we sometimes are, that would be a clue. But it is summertime. We are also the only family that I see come in together, but surely there are other families that do things together. And just to clarify not all of go together; usually it is just the youngest two, the DH and me although sometime the 19yo will go with us.

Several times the DH and I have been complimented on our older children [21, 19, 15]. How mature, polite, what good workers etc. I always wonder if they are talking about the same children that live in my house or if pod people take them over when they are away from home. The youngest [12] doesn’t do too many things yet without a parental close by. He is to me a quintessential youngest child in that he is not near as mature or responsible at this age as the others were, and still needs firm supervision. I just wonder if we really appear that different or if it is stamped on our foreheads “WE HOMESCHOOL.”

What would cause you to look at a family and think they homeschool?

Oh and btw, my side of the conversation was somewhat monosyllabic. Like I can talk when I’m on that torture machine? I’m up to a whole six minutes at level 4 – 46 steps per minute, but talking is not really an option when I finish.

Girls's Day Out

2006-06-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today was girls’ day out around here.

My mom, my daughter-to-be and I went to lunch and a movie.

For lunch we went to Olive Garden ......uuuuummmmm I really love their salad and breadsticks. I also tried something new today from the Garden Menu, the Chicken Giardino. It was really good.

After lunch we went to the $1 movies ...... yeah we’re the last of the big spenders, especially since today was 50¢ Tuesday. We saw Failure to Launch and it was great. We laughed and laughed. I’ve been a fan of Matthew McConaughey since I saw him in A Time to Kill the movie based on the John Grisham novel. The southern voice, the hair, *sigh* what’s not to like?

Anyway we all had a great time and that was the point, right?

Oh! I almost forgot on Thursday evening I get to go wedding dress shopping with Katie and her mom. I hope all goes well. Only having the four boys, well five if you count the DH, I've kinda got out of the girly shopping mind set. The last time I took a girl shopping was eight years ago for my niece's 14th birthday. It was torturous to say the least.

Where do Fat Women Exercise?

2006-02-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

We signed up at a health club this last week and I’m already discouraged.

First of all even though I have been riding my stationary bike at home and using my Gazelle a couple of times a week I obviously have not been putting enough effort into it.

10 minutes on an elliptical machine and I’m breathing like a fish out of water. Last Thursday I spent 15 minutes on a recumbent bike and my legs hurt so bad on Friday I could hardly get out of bed.

I guess I really do need to go the gym cause I’m in far worse shape than I thought.

Which leads me to my second discouragement; so far I am the only fat person I have seen at the gym. Well fat female person, I have seen a couple of hefty guys but not any women or girls who look as if they hit the plus size department for clothes. I mean surely there are other heavy women that go to the gym. Most of the females I have seen while not stick thin are certainly not fat, heavy, or even very plump.

Sigh! I feel very inadequate at the gym and only hope if I keep going I will feel better about myself, improve my fitness level, and shed at least a few of these extra pounds.
I really need to start back to Weight Watchers too, but there are only so many hours in the day and I’m already stretched to the limit, maybe when school is out for the summer I can sign up for a few months and see what kind of results I have.

Play Along

2006-02-23T15:25:00.000-08:00

Got this from Angie W's blog. I haven't posted for a few days and thought this was fun.

Current Clothing: Blue Jeans and long sleeve red t-shirt with denim collar and cuffs.

Current Hair: Usual curly mess with black head band holding it away from my face. Also roots are showing, made an appointment today to have it touched up. Gotta color that gray.

Current Mood: Tired, dreading tomorrow cause it’s the start of my workweek.

Current Refreshment: Bottle of water

Current Annoyance: BIL!!!!!!

Current Avoidance: Laundry, school work that needs graded

Current Smell: None

Current Thing You Ought to be Doing: Laundry, grading, oh and maybe I should be thinking about what’s for dinner

Current Thing or Things on Your Wall: In this room ... calendar, clock, really cool painting of setting sun over mountains –we picked this picture up in a market in San Antonio, the artist painted it with cans of spray paint and it is awesome, also needle point pic with the Preamble to the Constitution on it, and my cork board with lots of stuff on it.

Current IM person You’re Talking to: None, I don’t really IM people very often.

Current Jewelry: Wedding ring on left hand, Amethyst ring Toby bought me for Christmas about five years ago on the right hand ring finger, simple gold chain …. All jewelry I wear everyday.

Current Book: A Darker Crimson by Carolyn Jewel. So far so good, but I haven’t had much time to read this week.

Now you play along!

What a Way to End My Day

2006-02-15T21:55:00.000-08:00

What a way to end my birthday!

The 19yos, who should know better, was swing a pole around in the bedroom. I know, I know, but don’t ask me, I’m just a clueless female. Anyway, he managed to hit the 15yos, right across the nose.

Yep, you guessed it! Blood and gore was the result!

So I wrapped up my birthday playing Dr. Mom. After cleaning and disinfecting the area, I found one cut and one pretty deep scratch. They took forever to quit bleeding, but I made the executive decision that no stitches were required and steri-stripped the cut.

Oh, the glamorous life of the mother of four boys, oh uh better make that five, can’t forget to include the Dh *bg*

2006-02-15T10:42:00.000-08:00

Well it’s official! I’m going to be a MIL.

My oldest son asked his girlfriend to marry him yesterday and gave her a beautiful ring. I guess like father like son since my Dh gave me a ring on Valentine’s Day too, 24 years ago.

They didn’t set a date yet, but I’m thinking it will most likely be sometime this summer.
She has to graduate from high school and they need to find a place to live. My son still lives at home and as much as I love his girlfriend they are not living with us. We already have six people sharing one bathroom, and I really don’t think it would handle seven.

I’m very happy for them but it kinda makes me feel old. Before I know it I’ll be a grandma. Of course my Mom was already a grandma twice over by the time she was my age.

Oh and Happy Birthday to Me! Yes today is my birthday!

Why?

2006-02-12T15:45:00.000-08:00

Why I am doing this? Good question! It seems to be the thing to do these day although how faithful I'll be is an even bigger question. I must have at least a dozen journals around the house that were started with good intentions but written in only a few times or very sporadically and then abandoned. hhmmmm how do I get this thing to start a new paragraph. I can see this is going to be a learning experience.