Random thoughts for a Friday...

• It's Friday!

• I wish I could figure out how to do some of the cool blogging stuff but I think you have to pay to get all those extras - and frankly, I'd rather spend my money on shopping!

• I'm off today and it is absolutely beautiful. I won't be at this computer for long.

• I'm looking forward to seeing Julie this afternoon.

• Sometimes my son dresses like a nerd but I love him anyway :-)

• If I liked camping this would be the perfect weekend for it - and no I am not even considering the possibility, it's just an observation!

• I'm most creative late at night.

• I got my haircut - short - it is still growing on me

• I'm rambling

• Layouts:

About that red bulls-eye...

you know the one. That big one that graces most metropolitan strip malls all over the United States (which I DO recognize on a map of the world – did you hear that Ms. Teenage South Carolina?). I know I said I was not doing business with the red bull’s-eye any longer – and I meant it – when I said it. See that’s the thing with me – when I say something I really DO mean it – at the time, but then as weeks go by, well, I end up not meaning it quite so much. I know it’s a serious character flaw – but now you know my weakness so there won’t be any surprises. Between this and the little rule thing is it any wonder I had those few encounters with law enforcement?

Anyway I’m confessing, I’m seeing the red bulls-eye again and so far it is going okay. I mean really it has so much to offer. Sure, I have to pay for the privilege of big red’s company, but most of the time I don’t mind. I’m not sure it will last and I’m not totally happy about it but I needed some good stuff so I’m trying to make my peace with the situation and move on down the aisle.

So, I wanted you to know in case you saw us together. I don’t want anyone being caught off guard or in an awkward situation. And seriously, I tried to love ShopKo I really did but it just didn’t happen. It just wasn’t the good stuff!

Gotta go – see ya at Target!

TTFNA

It makes a difference...

when one or more of the kids is away. Alex is camping with his grandparents this weekend. Dennis' parents. Alex LOVES it. He gets THAT from his father! If you know me you know I'm not the camping type - enough said!

Anyway, it is so different when Alex is gone. Even though we are struggling with the roller coaster ride of puberty and all that comes with it Alex is still the light of my life. Sure the girls get more "blog" time as they are still doing those things that are cute now (but soon to be annoying :-)) but Alex is my first born. He will always be my baby. The one who keeps it all in perspective. The one who continues to teach me to be happy with life - just like it is - today.



So even though there are days when I am going crazy with frustration or impatience or worry or apprehension about Alex and all life has in store for him I still wake up each morning anxious to see his smiling (okay and sometimes scowling) face.

There is only one Alex and I am so glad that he is mine!

I drove all night...

Isn't there a song that goes like that? It is somewhere lurking in the back of my mind. The tune is trying to come through but then it runs away again. Anyway, seriously, last night, I drove all night - or at least a big part of it.

My dad's surgery went fine and was successful in the sense that the surgeon accomplished what he set out to do. He took out the bad disk, put in a donor bone, a plate and closed it all back up. What he didn't do was repair the damage that was already done. So according to him, THE Neuro surgeon, or as I like to call him "Mr Personality" (ha) the paralysis (yes he actually said the word paralysis) that has already set into my dad's body will not get better. Well I don't believe him because I read the Internet :-) No seriously, the neurologist my dad met with initially said she thought physical therapy would help my dad regain some, if not all, of his functioning. And frankly I've never met an overly optimistic surgeon so I (we) are choosing to ignore the surgeons prediction and listen to the neurologist. I know, but really, they tell people they will never walk again and sometimes they do so I'm not giving up hope yet! My dad is going to do PT and if that doesn't help well we will all learn to live with him moving a little slower - because really, at the end of the day, I really don't care - just as long as he is around.

My dad was doing so well after surgery that at 10:30 p.m. I decided to start the almost 4 hour drive home. I know but I was responsible. I called the HotY, I checked the weather, I had a full tank of gas, I called and checked in along the way. It was just me, the semis and some great CD's to keep me going. I finally crawled into bed sometime after 3:00 a.m. If I hadn't doubted the handy-dandy navigation system in my van I probably would have been home a 1/2 hour sooner. In the future I will never ever doubt the wisdom of a computer generated female voice giving directions! And really I don't think it is even a little coincidental that it is female voice giving those directions because we all know how men are with directions :-)

So that's it. I'm home. My dad is doing well and ready to work. And we made a trip to Target tonight for school stuff. Life is bliss :-)

TTFN

Tomorrow's the day...

my dad has his surgery. I'm leaving in the morning and will be there before he goes into surgery. That's the plan anyway and that's as good as done because when it comes to big stuff like this - not late! I'll be glad when this is all over and done. Seriously.

So I'm sure there won't be any updates while I'm gone. I know, I'm sorry but you know sometimes we all have to make sacrifices :-)

You know someone, somewhere is reading this for the first time and do you know what they are thinking - they are thinking that I'm an ass :-) IT'S NOT TRUE I PROMISE. It's all self-effacing - really.

Okay just needed to get that off my chest.

So that's it for me tonight. Just because I want to leave you with a little something here are my recent layouts. Hey it's something...

The rain, rain, rain came down, down, down

and the rain, rain, rain came down. Yes, it's raining, again, it's been raining for four days now - at least I think it's four days.

Normally I really don't mind rain. It gives me an excuse to get things done - things that normally make me feel guilty when I waste a summer day on them. Things like ironing (I mean it isn't like I actually iron but on days like this I think about doing it), and brushing the pets, and arranging my scrapbook paper by color. You know really important things.

And seriously, there is nothing better than lying in bed next to the HotY and listening to the rain pitter patter on the roof. LOVE that sound.

One of my favorite songs of all time, Why Worry by Dire Straits actually reminds me of the rain. Okay fine, they talk about rain in the song so it really isn't a stretch but even without the rain reference it would still evoke thoughts of rain - just listen, you'll see. I was thinking there was a George Winston song that made me think of rain also, but then I remembered that one reminds me of falling leaves so no clip for you.




ANYWAY - I do like the rain, well except for that yucky worm smell, but I could do with a little sunshine tomorrow. If I think about ironing one more day I might actually do it and really that would just be setting an entirely new set of expectations and I'm not sure I'm ready to go there yet :-)

TTFN!

Did I ever mention my issue with rules?

I really think I have mentioned this before - my problem with following the little rules. You know the ones, like the one that says wait 1 hour before getting in the pool, or the no u-turn one, or the take this medication with food kind of thing. Well that brings me to my issue with challenges - scrapbook challenges. I fail at them miserably - even my own. I know I know I put a out with the old in with a new challenge out there. Heck I even offered a prize. And I'm not reneging I'm really not. I have been following my own rules and using the old but I've been a little slow to draw for the prize. But I've done it - really I have. Okay actually the girlies selected the winner. And that winner - of the FOOF-A-LIFE book is - LINDA. Grandma Linda. So Linda - send me your address and this fabulous prize will soon be in your hands. Oh and HOORAY to Bethie who showed me some of the fabulous things she has been doing.



Okay I feel so much better now. I made a "rule" (hey to me rule - challenge it's all the same thing) I kept the promise, I feel so fulfilled :-)

TTFN

What I learned today...

1. Do NOT wear flip-flops in the rain.
They get all gooshy, and gross and pretty soon your feet stink and people wonder where the heck that smell is coming from. I mean I'm not saying MY feet stink - only that it could happen!

2. Do NOT buy umbrellas from Walmart, even if they are pink.
And let me clarify I did not make the purchase. The HotY did. Sure it's pink and he was thinking of me but just trust me - the Walmart umbrella - not the best quality - and it isn't automatic. There is no little button on the side of the handle that you push and POOF the umbrella pops up. Nope, it's all manual baby. I mean really don't I have enough to do without worrying about manually operating my umbrella. It's like having to CRANK down a car window. Who has time for that :-)

3. Stress can make you do strange things.
The stress of the past week must have been getting to me because last night, just for a moment, I actually considered going to Walmart to pick up a few things. I KNOW!! I have no idea what I could possibly have been thinking - and luckily I came back to my senses before any regrettable decisions were made!

That's it. That's what I know today. And really, it's all valuable information. Next time you avoid any of these pitfalls of life feel free to think of me and thank me - because really I'm doing this all for you :-)

TTFN!!!!

Oh Happy Day...

It is a very happy day in our family. My dad does not have ALS or MS or any other terrible motor neuron disease. He does have a severely ruptured disk. It will require surgery but it is treatable and it isn't going to shorten his life span. There are risks with the surgery but compared to what we thought we were facing I can deal with the risks.

Thank you all who sent emails and prayers and positive thoughts. Now I am hoping to get back to my quirky self very soon!

TTFN!

One down...

One to go.

The good news is that Lauren is fine. After many tests they have decided that she is fine and all of her symptoms were some viral thing. Of course we will continue to keep a close eye on her but this news was a definite relief. Thanks for keeping her in your thoughts.

The not so good news is that my dad is still suffering and the things that the doctor talked about yesterday are not reassuring. There won't be any real news until Monday when he meets with a neurologist. So please, again, keep my dad in your thoughts and prayers.

And just because I need to see bright smiling faces - here are some recent photos of my babies. It makes me happy and right now I need a little happy!

Some days are like this...

and I hate it. My dad is having his MRI and other tests today. I'm very worried but hopefully there will be answers after all of this. I mean this is my dad, he isn't supposed to be sick. Anyway please continue to keep him in your thoughts.

And if that were not enough my little Lauren has been sick. They aren't sure what is going on with her either. She has some concerning symptoms so yesterday she had an x-ray and her first blood draw (that she remembers) and it wasn't pretty. It was even uglier when they called me at home and said - bring her back we need to do the blood draw again since something happened to the first tubes. Nice. So I took her back in while she asked me to make sure they didn't hurt her again (can you hear my heart breaking) and while we were waiting she threw up all over me and their floor. UGH! I have a confession - I wasn't too sorry about their floor, they were going to stick my baby again because of their screw up - a little throw up was nothing compared to having to make Lauren go through THAT again. I have already called the doctor but of course she will have to get back to me with the results. So please keep my baby in your thoughts also.

For me it is the waiting. I hate anticipation. I hate not knowing. Heck I even hate surprises! So this kind of thing - waiting to find out about people that I love - it is not a good thing!

Did I mention the rain? Just want to make sure you have the complete picture. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be full of good news.

TTFN.

Another week another dollar!

Usually by the time the alarm goes off in the morning I am partially awake, but not this morning. I was still in a deep sleep and not at all happy when I heard that annoying beep telling me another week had begun. Seriously, I was so darn crabby, and then the HotY told me I didn't even have him give me one snooze. I was sure I did, I always do one snooze, but he says I didn't snooze. Well if I didn't really get the snooze, and I'm not sure he isn't delirious, I'm not very happy because goll darn it I could have had another 7 minutes of sleep. I hate it when I miss good sleep :-)
So I have some takers for my scrap challenge. Tomorrow I will have one of my kiddies draw a name and someone will get the Foof A Life book. So you still have 24 hours to join the "out with the old in with the new" challenge!
Here are my attempts at using old supplies. Can you tell? Huh, huh can you????

It's raining...

It's pouring! FINALLY! After near drought conditions we are getting a good soaking rain today and although it is a Saturday I love it, I mean we've had a lot of sunshine lately so I can even enjoy a little rain! Plus, it is the best kind of day for curling up with a book followed by scrapping (and maybe a nap). I know I know the excitement is almost too much for me!

The girls are with their grandparents for the weekend (the HotY's) so it is very quiet around here. Just Alex, McHubby and me. Who knew two little people made so much noise :-) I'll miss the noise - eventually but for right now just let me struggle through :-)

We aren't getting great news about my dad and his health, but right now it is still speculation - he has more tests and appointments coming up. If you are the praying kind please add my dad to your prayers - every little bit helps!

Well I have to go Daisy the cat is looking at me very longingly, she knows when there is going to be a good lap to be found. Now if only I could train her to go get me a blankie!

Life is short...

and that became sadly apparant again with the collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis. People I know drive and commute on those freeways every day. I feel thankful and blessed that no one I know was on the bridge yesterday. Not everyone was so lucky - it gives me chills.

So that and I'm still wondering what is going on with my dad since his doctor's can't get it figured out, have me a little quiet tonight. I know life is good but sometimes it seems hard to remember.

Another day...

and I'm still sore and still swollen and I'm crabby! So here is what I got done last weekend.

Okay gotta go.