Public Service Message ~ Slam in to THAT animal!

this is what happens when you choose to avoid

hitting an animal and cross the center line!

SLAM IN TO THAT ANIMAL!

As a dog and a cat owner I would much rather you hit

my pet than for you to cross the center line into on coming traffic.

This is Hubby's car when a dump truck driver decided

to not attempt to hit a dog in the road.

I know it's a reflex but you have to get it into

your mind and your reactions to just plow in to the animal!

Never swerve!

and if you're driving a dump truck

never brake so hard you'll loose control!

the BASH is Back!

Last weekend we gathered together for Hubby's family reunion, long ago named the BASH!

It had been years (I believe 12 or 13) since we'd had the last one, so it was high time to gather together. There were the traditional BASH things, like shirts, group picture before Saturday supper, cups with our names on them, staying up too late, kids crafts, trying to figure exactly just how many bashes there have been, and what color have the shirts been and last by not least lasagna for Saturday Supper.

There is now a generation of 2nd cousins that didn't exist before. G is the youngest grandchild in the family but he fit right in with the 2nd cousins, all about his age or younger.

I for some reason am having trouble uploading pictures so .... until I figure it out! There is always the group shot.

life on Thursday

Swim Team is over for the summer, so my morning wasn't quite as early.

I made it to work out around 7:30am. Left G at home with a sleeping dad and brother.

Did my last weigh in for the Y's Slim Down....was it enough to win??

Got a frantic phone call just as I was pulling in the drive way from G. WHERE ARE YOU? DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS? yes, it was time for us to be leaving for last day of Strength. He didn't want to be late!!

While G was in Strength I (with others) went to set up the church for our meeting tonight. We had enough people that we made quick time of it!

Picked G up, and came home! When I got here I saw a sight that I very rarely see..... W was cleaning his bathroom. Oh how I wished I would have taken a picture but I didn't want to chance him stopping. He's been playing alot of SandVolley ball this year and I swear he has a sand pit in his bathroom ... Come to think of it I don't think he swept the bathroom!?!?

I was able to get things done this afternoon. For some odd reason I didn't ever pay bills this month so I was eager to get those paid and out of here. That all stopped when I discovered I was out of stamps!

I started my list of things to do tomorrow and Stamps are on the top!

Was able to shower and get ready for Our Relief Society Meeting. It was on Emergency Preparedness. I had asked a Women in our Congregation to take over the planning and organizing the night so my night was a breeze. We had fruit cobblers and homemade ice cream for dessert!

Hubby and G are having a late night fixing G's bike for this IronKid training in the morning. I don't know why Hubby waits so late and G is grumpy! OH, well.......

Life on Thursday!

Swim Team and workout!

Took G to Strength, ran my Walmart Rx errand

Back home to quickly get showered and ready for a trip to the city after I dropped G off at a friends for a sleep over. That boy has TOO much excitement to really get anything done.

Drop G off and head to the City. Just a few errands. I've joined a team for a 'city wide' Slim Down contest and had to go weigh in for that. I've been doing a slim down challenge at my local Y for the past month and dropped 12 pounds thus far! Feelin' great!

Ran to the Sporting goods store for new shirts for Hubby, and some running items for G. G will be thrilled since they have 'logos' on them!

Went to eat at my favorite Pei Wei. Ate before I weighed in, I wanted to be the heaviest I could be!

Then off to mattress shop! I'm not the one that will complain about the mattress so I'm not really the one who needs to picking it out. BUT the statement was made (even though I believe it to be a loaded statement) "you get it and I'll lay on it!" After 22 years I find this statement difficult to believe!?!

Home again for a few minutes of cooling off.

Off again to my Y for a Healthy Cooking class. Tonight we made healthy chicken salad (it showed us how to be creative with our ingredients) wrapped in cabbage. The instructor gave us the merit of cabbage! It was good and I'll try it!

Home and to bed!

Life on Thursday ~ it's a hurry up and wait kinda day!

We made it to the Y for a reluctant workout, but once I got into it I made it work and got my sweat on! I've found that if I workout in the morning then I'm not as snacky throughout the day. So I definitely wanted to get to that point!

While G was in Strength I burned rubber all over the county running errands. I had a boat load of old paint for the Hazardous Household waste place. Boy was I lucky, I tried to take the things on Wednesday but got there just minutes after they'd left! Today they were suppose to be closed (I didn't know this) but they just happened to be there and took my load!

Another errand to take Hubby's overdue movie back to library and made it back to pick up G 55minutes later!

After a quick dash into Walmart it's back home!

For lunch G had gotten a Hungry Man meal from Walmart! He is always taken to the frozen meal they make for kids but they just aren't enough for him so he choose a HUNGRY MAN sliced turkey, potatoes and gravy meal! He didn't snack all afternoon!

After a much enjoyed shower we were off to donate blood. Well, I donated while G read and played his Nintendo DS. This is where the Hurry up and Wait started. They couldn't get a vein in the first poked arm so I waited for the 'best vein finder" to be available. She switched arms and I was finally done in no time! Another life saved!

Then off to the city. My phone had been acting up and I'd been reduced to a pile of frustration with phone I couldn't turn on without great problems! So I decided that since it was acting up at the moment then I'd take it straight to the store. I wasn't the only one that had the idea to head to the store at that time!?! Fortunately my wait wasn't too long but the process for me was long. Well, as usual the phone wasn't quite as bad once I got there! Isn't that always how it goes?? I ended up getting a new phone. On my dime not theirs since I'd wanted until warranty was up!

Stopped to get the boys Olive Garden (W chicken Alfredo and G Spaghetti with meatballs). The meals came with salads so Hubby and had those along with grilled chicken!

Finally home and supper eaten ... crashed in bed!

Bad vs Good

BAD ~

My computer Monitor seems to have gone the blink!?? I've had to resort to using hubby's laptop. It's fine BUT I have things on my computer. I'm going to try another monitor on my ever increasing finicky prehistoric computer before I go and purchase another monitor.

GOOD ~

I made these for dessert tonight!

Strawberry Chocolate Nachos

I made them just as the recipes says and they were good! Next time I don't think I'll do the Dark Chocolate as my family just didn't seem ready for "dry chocolate" as hubby called it!

Half Wall and Two and a Half Men

I have this odd wall. Well it's odd to decorate. It's a fairly large span of wall but it's in two rooms, my dining room and my living room! The two rooms are split by a half wall on that wall. It's just odd either way.

I've wanted for years to put things on that wall and have tried to do a few things but it just never looked right. I might also add that I have really high ceilings so that just makes the wall look bigger and more empty!

After pondering this wall for a few days, I was sitting in my favorite chair watching Two and a Half Men (late one night) and I noticed (once again) their Art work on the range hood. I knew instantly that I could do the same thing on THAT wall!


I set out to find the right piece of metal work ... found it in no time (one trip to Hobby Lobby) and it was half off! Loved that Part!

It took a couple of weeks for Hubby and I to get it hung. OK I just have to say that man is a geniuses when it comes to hanging things! He measured, measured again, maybe even a 3rd time and them had me measure down and over, hammer in 2 nails, I hit the studs (amazing) and the piece was hung! I love that Man!

I do have to say that he was concerned that it wasn't in the middle of the wall, but if you notice it's centered with the half wall!

Pinewood Derby

Post Race Face!

Packing it for the Race ......Pit Crew.....1st place Winning Racer

1st place Winning Car

Saturday Hoops Win!

Saturday started the playoff games for G. Fortunately they've started splitting up the teams into Divisions. This means alot less games if you're winning.

The only game they won this year was coached by W. W stepped into coach, when their coach was off somewhere else. He said it was stressful! This was good experience for W and G since they're thinking that W and Hubby will coach G's team next year. I hope this all works out. It will be a male bonding experience for all of them!

Monday's Ramblings ~ things heard from my boys

#1
Yesterday Hubby spoke in Church, during his talk he stated that he was about to quote the Chinese Philosophiser, Confucius. Just as Hubby was stating this G turned to me and started laughing, saying .."Dad shouldn't speak in Chinese, he really needs to stick to English."

HUH?? Silly Boy
#2
Today, I texted W asking him if he was going to be home for supper?

W's text ~ "yes, I'll be there, and G really needs a hair cut today"
I stopped to make sure it was W I was chatting with, I though maybe it was Hubby, but no it was W!
Me ~ "G is in a long hair stage right now"
story enhanced ~ last night we had a thunderstorm and G went downstairs to sleep in W's room.
W ~ "He walked into my room last night with only his underwear on and it looked like he had a motorcycle helmet on."

I started laughing hysterical, I couldn't look at poor G with his puffy hair. I then told him we had to 'shape up' his hair.

When I texted W back to say the job was done, he asked "How short?"

Background to the next story .....Last year around Christmas W was shopping and signed up to get Sports Illustrated for free (for 3 mos), Sports Illustrated sent us a card about making sure it was cancelled by Feb 1st. I was hopped up on shoulder narcotics around then so the subscription continued. G has just absorbed this magazine every week. So I went to the Library to get some Sports Illustrated for Kids. He liked those so I got him a subscription to that and planned to cancel the regular Sports Illustrated after March Madness's College Basketball issues.

#3
I was totally waiting for the Sports Illustrated swim suit edition so I could make sure that G didn't get it! Fortunately for us the mail came early that day and we were in the car together when G got it out of the mailbox. With only the swiftness of a mom on a mission, I swooped in and grabbed the magazine before the boy even knew what had hit him! I hid all the mail until the next morning after G had gone to school! When I pulled out the pile of mail and handed it to Hubby, his eye got huge! in a stern voice he asked, "Who bought this?" I reminded him that we had a subscription .... with even bigger eyes ...."They send THIS with the little kid's subscription?" I corrected his thoughts before his eyes fell out of this head! He was so funny!

After 21081600 seconds

After 21081600 seconds, or 351360 Minutes or 5856 hours or 7 months and 30 days

aka 3 surgeries
1 month and 1 week in the hospital
laying most of that time in our bed
reading a pile of books
watching hours and hours of mindless TV
playing countless games of spider solitaire

Hubby is returning to work
only to most likely have a snow day tomorrow and Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Decluttering find!

Monday Ramblings ~ Decluttering!

I have a horribly clutter room!

It's above my garage.

It's cold in the winter, hot in the summer.

The lights have mysteriously stopped working up there!?!

It's the room that if you're coming to visit and I have things to stash,

those things go into that room.

It's also storage for all of Christmas,

all crafts, Halloween,

all things that need a stopping place before leaving our home (toys),

Easter, games, old family things, pictures,

school supplies, and for all things that might not be needed at all!

After watching Peter Walsh on the new OWN

(Oprah Winfrey Network) yesterday.

He made a comment that hit me.

"If you're keeping Memories from the past

and things you might need in the future,

then you're not living in the PRESENT!"

Remember my 2011 resolutions ...

BE PRESENT?

Yesterday, I went up for just a few minutes and made all sorts of head way in that room, and then just went up there this morning! The trash is full, the recycling is full and the pile for 'Give & Take' (at church we take things we don't want that others may want. At the end of the evening everything left goes to charity! The key here is to give and not take!) is full also.

One Valuable lesson I learned from the FlyLady years ago is to only work in 20 minutes increments. I usually work for 2 20 minute increments. It's amazing what just 20 (or 40 minutes) can do!

My family's reaction to my de cluttering this room is so very typical of them ....

G ~ "hey, I love that, it's my favorite" (to the item he hasn't seen in years)

W ~ "you shouldn't just trash it or give it away, we should have fun and burn it all"

Hubby ~ "out of all the things to declutter you start with that room" (complains about that room but not happy when I do something about it! never happy, that man!)

Don't worry I'm not getting rid of pictures or old family things,

but I am putting them all in the same area.

If I love these things I need to treat them like I love them!

BUT

everything else is being considered and being happily tossed!

Scary Scary Scary moment for W

I've always told W that he is just like me! I always knew it was scary that this could actually be true. What 19 year old boy wants to think he's just like his mother?!?!?

Today it was proved. G and I had gone to get birthday cards for Hubby's birthday, while W went later on his own. Out of all the birthday cards we could have picked ......

We picked the same card!

Funny, funny, funny for me

Scary, scary, scary for W

Merry Christmas 2010

Our 2010 Christmas Card Picture

Waiting was SOOOO hard so we passed time playing Dominoes

Finally our Christmas morning started at 6am.

Probably earlier for G, but we wasn't allowed to

wake anyone else until 6!

G got W a new ping pong paddle!

G got his much loved

Memphis Tiger shirt!



W catching some more zzz's while he waits



W was awake but still lounging on the couch!

Santa brought him a new warm hat.

The much anticipated Nerf Stampede!

Hubby's new look!

Hat from G

shades from W

(notice the blurr? G got anew scooter!)

The aftermath from the Nerf Stampede!

G played Farkle with Grandma and Dad

2010 Family Christmas Picture

Where I have gone? you ask

I've been no where! I've been sickly. A blasted head cold, it took days to get here, a couple days of head pounding and now a few days to leave.

I subbed on Thursday and Friday. I would work, and then come home and sleep, then back again. It all worked out. I'm still on the mends but at least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel very brightly now!

Hubby kicked me out of the bed a couple nights for snoring! I then told him that that was my bed and I was sleeping in it, he needed to just bury his head if he didn't like the snoring!

I really thought I'd stopped snoring since he didn't say another word about it. I hadn't I then started waking myself up snoring! Yesterday morning I got up early, cleaned a few things and then decided I could go back to bed so I did. I was going back just as he was waking up, I slipped into sleep only to be jolted back awake by "you can't snore all day in here too"!

Gotta love that man!

5 fer Friday

1 ~ Since both boys were home this morning (at least until 9:20), I fixed Cinnamon Rolls. Well, fix is abit strong, Rhodes fixed the rolls, I opened them pan and turned on the oven. OH BUT I did put the cream cheese frosting (that Rhodes fixed and put in the pan with the frozen rolls) on the Rolls! There was some fixing on my part.

2 ~ G and I moved the Cacti in. It's suppose to rain this weekend and they are so much easier to move when they don't have water in them! I just don't see that the weather will be warm too much longer, it is the last week of October afterall. Then he was off to play with a friend. It's so nice to work with him when there is a pot of Gold at the end for him!

3~ Did you know there are new Pennies? I didn't either! until W brought a few home. They are lighter than old pennies, and not as uniform (the edges) as old pennies. As a matter of fact I began saying, I don't think they're real until Hubby gave me that look and said, "Who would counterfeit Pennies?" Of course he'd seen a show (sometime while he's been bed bound this summer) about how they were making the new pennies.

4~ My neighbor's trees seemed to have peaked this week! They are just beautiful!

5~ G has grown an inch in 6 months! He's quite thrilled with himself! I'm not so thrilled, it's time to start buying/wearing jeans again. It's horrible buying that boy jeans!

Third Surgery the Charm??

Last week Hubby had Surgery #3 of the summer! This was suppose to be the only surgery this summer, but other things arose wanting surgery also! but we won't go into all of that, just to say FINALLY Hubby's shoulder had it's surgery.

Now shoulder surgery is a big thing on it's own, but when you already have 2 legs that don't work, it's a HUGE thing to take away an arm. It must have really REALLY hurt for Hubby to decide it was time to go down to just one arm!

Going into this surgery we knew that Hubby had a Slap Tear, which is where the bicep has torn away from the Labrum, ALONG with a torn rotator Cup. When they got in there, they found just what they thought for the Slap Tear (wasn't a big deal), but the torn rotator cup was fringed on the outside (between the collar bone and the rotator cup). That was odd, and all the surgery could do was smooth it out. When I asked how this would have occurred, it's comes from pushing his body up with his arms.... ahhhh, exactly what he does all the time.

Also at this point, the surgery discussed a motorized wheelchair with me, NOT HUBBY. Evidently they can only fix rotator cups' 2x and Hubby has now had both of his fixed once. I informed the doctor that HE'D have to tell Hubby that bit of news!

Hubby has now been home and totally bed bound for a week and a half. We 're working on getting a lift so I can get him into his wheelchair BUT there seems to be some customer service issues with Apria Healthcare. I won't go there, but I will be writing a letter of complaint!

Hubby goes to the doctor in another week and an a half, BUT can't put any weight on that arm for 12 weeks after surgery! It will be a Merry Christmas when he is turned lose!

Friday, THE puking conversation and Angel, THE man

Today I subbed in Pre School. It is a half day, and filled with children at all levels from 3 to 5. It's a mentoring class so there are bright preschoolers and then some that need some guidance. It's always fun! Fun mainly because there are 10 children and 5 adults (sometimes 6 adults).

As the children were having center play, one little boy walked by me, stopped and said,

D ~ "Andy can't eat shrimp because he'll puke, but I can have shrimp and I won't puke."
Me ~ "oh, I'm glad you can eat shrimp, I like shrimp too"
D ~ "So it doesn't make you puke?"
Me ~ "no, I'm fine eating shrimp"
D ~ " I like Shrimp and I won't puke too."
just then another boy walked by added to the conversation,
boy ~ "I can puke too"

I walked off leaving the conversation hanging.....


Last week, the doctor's nurse, Angel, the man called and left a message that Hubby's surgery #3 was "taken care of". I didn't know what that meant, and Hubby was willing to just wait until Monday's doctor's appointment to see when the surgery was, BUT I wasn't. As the Mom of the house, there are plans to be adjusted, babysitters to call, a strategy to work out, and NO, I didn't want to just wait and see!

I called the surgery scheduling department to see what day the surgery planned for. Well, the surgery wasn't on the schedule!?! So, what did Angel, the man mean by it was "taken care of"? I don't know but I took the liberty of scheduling the surgery! It will be this week! Hubby is thrilled, he would have been happy if it would have been yesterday, so this week is perfect for him.

This doesn't give me much time but let's open the war room and get the plans working and moving.

LIfe on Thursday

Today really should start with last night, Hubby came home after being away for 4 weeks. He didn't get home until around 8pm and it wore him out.

So he goes from 24 hour nursing care to.... my Life on Thursday!

up at 6:30am shower, get ready (everything except curling my hair) by 7.
come in get lunches ready for the day, wake up G, fix him breakfast, nag at him to stay on track with getting ready.

We leave at 7:40am....Aggghh, later than I'd like
Drop G off at his school, and I go to sub in Kindergarten.

It's Kindergarten on day #16 and I'm their first sub.
I hear alot of "That's not the way Mrs **** does it." and "We're suppose to be doing it this way not that way." It's a challenging morning but things fall into place by the afternoon. Either it's that or I'm just counting minutes by then and in a total stupor! At this stage in the game (stage day #16) I actually get "No, I'm not going to do that and you can't make me!" from a student. Aww that's when you love to see a para teacher come along so you can send this child to the principal! No, I didn't send him to the principal but I did send him to the rescue teacher next door for some help!

Happy Bear came to visit the class today! He tells them about good touching and bad touching. He teaches them the proper name for their privates, from the responses from my class, the boys have been taught the correct name but the girls (and the boys for that matter) had no idea what their private part was called. I didn't notice any snickering when the boys said what their private part was called, but there was alot of snickering when they were trying to guess what the girl part was! it was funny! I can add this to my adventure in Subbing book!

Off to the Book Fair (G got a must have Star War Clone wars book) and then to Walmart to pick up prescriptions! 5 of them (2 for me and 3 for hubby). Only to get a text from Hubby on the way home that said, "I don't want all those Rx, only get the Cipro" Too late! good thing, they were all on the $4 list!

I had (and always do)such a headache when I get done subbing. I came home to pop some Advil and see if Hubby had survived his day alone. Alone, just him, his special bed, his lunch box and his Internet. From 24 hour nursing care to Alone, absolutely ALONE!

Then ran off to take G to soccer practice and I walked 3.5 miles at the track. Home to eat supper, fix lunches for tomorrow (I'll be in 1st grade tomorrow) and off to bed!