Thankful Tuesday....

It is almost my bedtime, and I haven't posted yet. I decided to copy my friend, Linda, and list a few things that come to mind, that I am thankful for.

• I am thankful that Joe got a good report from his doctor yesterday!
• I am thankful that my barber is also a friend and we are both doing Weight Watchers (got my hair trimmed after work today);
• I am thankful that my Facebook friend's wife gets to leave the hospital tomorrow, and that they are celebrating the birth of a new grandchild as she gets chemo and her tumor is shrinking (prayers work!);
• I am thankful that Kathy & Jim's house has a contract, and that they signed a contract on the new home we were blessed to see, with them, on Saturday!! Our grandson and family will be moving and our next visit with them will be in the new home - all on one floor!
• I am thankful to have received an email from our granddaughter, Lauren, today, signed with love!
• I am thankful our budget passed the first round for approval!
• I am thankful for a job and work-family that I love!

By no means a complete list. I have so much to be thankful for, including my friends here, on Blogger. I could go on, but will stop now!

Wishing you a good Wednesday! Thanks for choosing me! Peace, love & hugs!!

Monday's Blog....

At work today, we had our budget presentation to the Finance & Operations Committee. This is the first step to getting next year's budget approved by the whole Board of Trustees. We were prepared, and had high hopes going in that they wouldn't give us too much trouble over a significant increase.  It went SO well!! We were high-fiving after the meeting, and were still smiling at 5:00.  The meeting started a 3:00 and we expected two hours of grueling questioning. We were done in an hour, and they told us to spend a little more money! Wow!!  Now, our work next year is set, and we will really need to make it all work, and we can.  So happy!

Joe has a finance committee meeting at our church tonight, so we had a quick salad with turkey medallions, for our quick dinner. I have been very, very good today - and will be for the rest of the week, since I was a little off the points over the weekend.  Speaking of Joe, he saw his doctor today and learned that the very small nodules on his lungs, found during the CT scan a few weeks ago, just need to be watched. She isn't concerned about them. There is no evidence of tumors or problems with his esophagus, so she gave him a new pill for acid re-flux  Hoping it works for him, because the swallowing problem does make him miserable at times.

My car was covered with dead bugs, after our trip home from Naples, yesterday. I forgot about them, until I got in the car this morning.  The windshield and front bumper were covered with nasty love bugs. They are a little early this year, but were definitely love bugs.  If you wonder what love bugs are:  http://insects.about.com/od/flies/f/What-Are-Florida-Lovebugs.htm  Not bugs at all, but weird little flies.

Anyway, when I got home tonight, I left the car out of the garage and got a sponge and cleaner to get rid of them. They will eat the paint if left on too long.  While I was cleaning them, neighbors on both sides of us got home from work and we all had quite a gab fest, catching up with each other. We also met another neighbor, who we didn't know yet, walking her new dog.  So Sandra (neighbor) and the new puppy, Jasper, are now known to us. Nice. We have a really nice neighborhood and neighbors. It always feels safe and friendly. Blessed.

I had a text from Kathy, tonight, and the bidding war is ongoing, for the house down in Naples.  Kind of exciting!! Their home is beautiful, and worth fighting for - seriously.

That's all I have for tonight! Thanks so much for stopping by.  Peace, love & hugs.

We're home!

We had a very nice weekend, visiting with our grandson (his mom & stepdad too), in Naples, FL.  I just realized that I didn't take one photo all weekend! Not one. What's wrong with me?!!! 

Of course, I went totally off my points for Weight Watchers. We went out for dinner on Friday and again on Saturday. I wasn't horrible, but I'm sure (okay-I KNOW) I went over my points.  Will have to behave this week, for sure!

The big, exciting news is that their beautiful house is on the market, and they are looking for a home all on one floor!! No more 3rd floor guestroom!  I told them that stairs would never keep us away, but it will be wonderful to not have to climb the steps.  They are ready for a change, too.  We went house hunting with them yesterday, and while we were out and about, their Realtor called to tell them he had an offer on their house (already)!  They had a showing scheduled for today, and another tomorrow. Their home is lovely, so I'm sure it will sell fast.  (Just had a text from Kathy, and they have a bidding war going on, now....whoohoooo!)

After seeing the house they really want (if their's sells fast enough), and a couple others, we went to a ritzy open house party their Realtor had, in a home that was out of their price range (and certainly ours), but we were invited anyway. Wow - on the water with a dock, an infinity pool, a master suite that two people could live in, an amazing kitchen, etc., etc., etc.  They had an open bar (I had club soda) and food, food, food. I behaved there, because we were going out to dinner afterwards, to Tommy Bahama's, in Old Naples.  There, I had wheat pasta with chicken breast in a white wine sauce, and only a quarter of a roll (and didn't eat all of the pasta), so it could have been worse. Still a good time, and we had walked a lot during the day!  The scale at WW this coming Saturday will tell the tale!

Anyway, we left just before 10:00 this morning, to head home, since they had a showing at 11:00 and needed to tidy up and clear out.  I wiped down the guest bathroom, and made up the bed, etc., so there wasn't too much to do in there before people came through.  The house is always spotless and clutter-free anyway. It is decorated impeccably - like in a magazine. No wonder they already have a bidding war on.

So, it was an exciting and very fun weekend for us. I love, love, love going in houses to look (as you have heard before!).

We got home around 1:00 and I've been doing laundry since.  The cats, though well cared for by our wonderful neighbors, were happy to have us home so they could go outside, in "their" enclosure.  We don't let them out when we aren't here, afraid that the screening will fail if there is another animal on the other side who wants to fight (or eat them!).  If we are home, we can watch them out there.  Here is a photo of a very happy Lucy, on top of the grill, enjoying being outside!  I'll leave you with her sweet face, and say good night (though I am going to visit your blogs right now).  Peace, love & hugs!

Throwback Thursday....

I like this idea for Thursday's post.  It made me look back through some photos that brought some good memories to mind!!

My throwback photo is of our grandson, Tristan.  He was around three, I think, when this was taken, in a restaurant over at Disney's Animal Kingdom.  The one following, just for contrast, is of him with his sister, last summer at his mom's wedding.  We are looking forward to spending the weekend with him!!  They grow up much too fast!

I will leave you with those to ponder!  LOL  Wishing you a good evening and Friday!  We will head down to Naples tomorrow afternoon, and will be back on Sunday.  I will most likely not be checking in, but will catch up when we return!!  Peace, love & hugs.

Lost a post?

Well, I posted today, from work, during a little break.  Another short one, which seems to have just vanished!

Feeling about the same, and using DayQuil and Mucinex to keep the cold from traveling to my chest. Hope it works.

I would like to ask my prayer partners to please add my brother-in-law, Greg McDermott, to your prayer lists.  My sister called tonight to tell me he has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. His sister, Diana, is a thyroid cancer survivor, and so am I. He also has para-thyroid disease on top of the cancer. His surgery is scheduled for May 15th, at the Cleveland Clinic. Thyroid cancer is easy to deal with when found early. Please pray for him.

Thanks for stopping by. Nothing exciting to report. Peace, love & hugs.

Back to work, Tuesday.

The kids left around 12:30, according to Joe, for their plane departure at 2:30. I assume they are in their respective homes by now.  Shiree lives in DC, and Jeff lives in Alexandria, VA.

I have caught a cold.  It is not something I set out to do, nor wanted to do. I am not happy about it.  I had one back in January and really do not want to go through this again. DayQuill, NyQuill and Mucinex. Blaaa!

Not much to write tonight, so please forgive this short missive. Wishing you a good Wednesday! Peace, love & hugs.

Airboat Rides are Fun!

We had a great time this morning, taking Jeff and Shiree on an airboat ride, over on Lake Kissimmee.  We got to see a few BIG gators, and quite a few babies, as well as deer, buffalo, cows, an eagle, a coyote, and some fishermen!  The cows and buffalo wade into the water to eat the nutrient-rich grasses that grow in the shallows. I thought that was interesting.

We asked about the gators attacking the cows in the water, and our guide told us that they rarely attack anything that big. They can't chew, they can only tear and swallow, so they go for smaller things that they can handle in one gulp.  He said if they kill something big, they will pull it into high weeds and let it rot, then they can tear off pieces to eat. Just something to file away for a trivia game... ;)

When we got home, the kids went to walk around our Lake Hollingsworth (3 miles).  Now we are watching the movie Avatar, and then will have dinner. I started a pork roast in the crock pot this morning and will mash some potatoes and warm up some corn. We also have a nice salad and some fresh fruit.  I made an Italian Ricotta Cheese pie yesterday, to have for dessert. Back to work for me, tomorrow, and the kids will head for the airport. It has been fun having them here.

Here are some photos from the ride today....

And the one below is Tiger, the fish camp cat. He was quite friendly and allowed me to pet him until we were ready to board the boat to go. The bench was his personal scratching post.

Thanks for stopping by!  Peace, love & hugs.

Old Cypress Gardens....

Refer to my previous post about Legoland. I went through some old photos and found these of Cypress Gardens when it was still pristine and beautiful.  The topiary was amazing!  The first one is of Jeff and Joe with one of the REAL Southern Belles (unlike the Lego Southern Bells you see now).

 

Legoland Adventure....

We had a great time at Legoland with the "kids" yesterday.  Joe and I are both still exhausted, though! My knees held up pretty well, and don't hurt as bad, today, as I thought they would. Jeff and Shiree have today on their own.  She has a friend in Tampa who they are connecting with, and I think they want to go explore Clearwater Beach. I am happy to have the day to recover, and get the laundry done! That says something - that I would rather stay home and do laundry!  LOL

Here are more photos than you probably care to see, but I'm posting them anyway! We explored the old Cypress Gardens part of Legoland, which Joe and I hadn't visited yet in our other few trips there.  I am so happy that Legoland preserved some of the gardens, and they made a few Southern Bell figures from Legos, but the gardens have suffered and aren't nearly as beautiful as they were "back in the day".  We enjoyed the water ski show, all about pirates!  Jeff and Shiree rode a couple of the rides, while Joe and I sat down and waited for them.  Walk and sit, walk and sit, walk and sit - it worked!!  The miniature cities made from Legos still fascinate me.

Saturday morning....

Well, we had a wonderful evening with our son, Jeff, and his girlfriend, Shiree.  She is delightful and we are enjoying getting to know her.  I didn't take any photos last night, so you will have to wait on that. Shiree is an event planner for a non-profit, so we had some similar experiences to talk about!

We went to dinner, then took a quick tour of our fair city, so she could see our downtown and some of our lakes. Then we went to Lakeside Village to walk off dinner and do some shopping. That was fun and my knees held up pretty well.

They are staying in a hotel, because they didn't know how the cats would affect her.  They are planning to stay with us Monday night, to give that a try.  We sat here last night for several hours and when they were leaving, she said that she had no problems at all.  Score!

We are waiting (patiently) for them to let us know what they want to do today. There are a few options open. She loves Legos, so Legoland is an option, as is going over to the Gulf coast to the beach and some site seeing. Monday is the airboat ride and then whatever else we can get into.

I went to Weight Watchers this morning, and surprised myself, and the employee there, by losing 7.3 pounds! Wow. That's a total of 13.7 for the month of April.  My goal is 10 pounds a month, so I'm feeling pretty good about it.

Wishing you all a good Saturday!  Peace, love & hugs.

Glad it's Friday.....

I'm taking a few minutes to post this afternoon, since our son, Jeff, and his friend, Shiree, will be arriving at our house by 4:30 or so.  We will go out for dinner tonight.  Not sure what our Saturday and Sunday plans are, but we have an airboat ride scheduled for Monday morning.  I'm taking Monday off as a vacation day.  They leave on Tuesday.  

Joe is doing great.  He even went out to a client's office this morning.  He is allowed to drive, but isn't supposed to do any lifting over 5 pounds until this time next week.  I can't begin to express how fortunate we are that this blockage was found before he had a heart attack. We were blessed, indeed.

Work is crazy right now, but I am getting somewhat caught up, after being off a day and a half this week.  Our Mayfaire by-the-Lake outdoor art festival is Mother's Day weekend, and it is a huge undertaking.  Fortunately, I'm just the money person!  I write award checks, and make sure the Museum's t-shirt tent doesn't run out of change.  Pretty easy, which means I get to enjoy looking at the art.  Here is this year's poster.  The t-shirts will have the same image.

I'm very excited to go to Weight Watchers in the morning.  It appears that I've lost around 5 pounds!! I'll let you know!  After last week's very sad .2 pounds, I am happy that something has kicked back in.  My book on beginning yoga arrived yesterday (thanks, Julie, for recommending it), so I will also read that and find a few stretching poses that won't hurt my knees.  I really need to stretch and get the muscles toned a little (a lot!!).  Joe wants to start walking (yay!!) and I'm going to try it again.  Perhaps moving will strengthen my knees some, if I just keep at it and am able to ignore the pain, which isn't awful right now.

Thanks for checking in!  Stories and photos of our weekend with our youngest, Jeff, will follow!  Our youngest is 46 years old, by the way, and our oldest just turned 50.  I love them like my own.  They have been so good to me since I invaded their lives back in 1983. I am truly blessed.

Thanks for stopping by!  Peace, love & hugs.

Joe is home!!

It has been a long day, but Joe is home and he feels great.  So happy to have him here and doing so well. Thank you all so much for your prayers and positive encouragement!!  I'll work on catching up.

Peace, love & hugs!!

All day in the hospital....

Our cardiologist is the best.  Dr. Owen wanted to do a cath on Joe to see if his breathing problems were due to his heart.  Praise God!!  Joe had a 90% blockage in one of his arteries.  A stent has been put in (his fourth) and the other three stents are all open and doing great (one is 10 years old!).  They had to keep him over night, so I will pick him up tomorrow to bring him home.  We got to the hospital at 7:30 this morning, and he went in for the procedure at 10:15.  It took a little more than an hour, but he didn't get to a room until 4:00.  I stayed and had dinner with him, then left around 7:00 p.m.  He still wasn't allowed to get up yet, but the nurse said the shifts would be changing and they would get him up when the new nurse comes in. 

I will call him shortly, to say good night.  I'm exhausted, but so thankful!!  Here is a photo of the printout Dr. Owen gave me.  It is very easy to see the blockage, even without clicking to enlarge!  

Prayers appreciated for his quick healing, and of thanksgiving for Dr. Owen and his team.  If it hadn't been caught, a heart attack could have been.... let's just don't go there.  Praise God.

Peace, love & hugs to all.

Advice from an old farmer....

A friend posted this on Facebook this morning, and I thought some of you would enjoy it as much as I did.  Along with this, I wish you a good Tuesday!!

Old Farmer's Advice:

• Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

• Keep skunks and bankers at a distance.

• Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

• A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

• Words that soak into your ears are whispered... not yelled.

• Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.

• Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

• Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

• It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

• You cannot unsay a cruel word.

• Every path has a few puddles.

• When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

• The best sermons are lived, not preached.

• Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.

• Don't judge folks by their relatives.

• Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

• Live a good, honorable life... Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

• Don 't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.

• Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a Rain dance.

• If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

• Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

• The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.

• Always drink upstream from the herd.

• Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

• Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.

• If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around..

• Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

• Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.

A New Week Begins....

...and unfortunately, it has begun with tragedy.  How terrible for all those affected by the bombs at the Boston Marathon today. I hope they find out who is responsible, and that they are punished accordingly.

Work was busy today, but good. I need to get the March financials done tomorrow, since I am out on Wednesday, to be with Joe for his procedure.  Speaking of Joe, his doctor's nurse called today to tell him that the CT results don't show anything wrong with his esophagus, but they do see nodules on his lungs, and that they can cause him to have swallowing problems.  Neither one of us understand that, so he is anxious to talk with his doctor, so she can explain it better than the nurse did on the phone today.  Does this mean anything to any of you?  They don't seem to be too concerned, and mentioned that they would follow up in a year to see if the size of the nodules had changed.  He has asthma, so has had lung problems through the years. Of course, I Googled lung nodules, and the nasty C word kept coming up, but it does not mean it is cancer or a precursor to cancer. Hopefully he will talk with his doctor in a day or so.

This is a short one tonight.  Not much else to write about.  I hope you have had a good day, and wish you a good week ahead. Prayers continue for my blogging friend's wife, who started chemo today.  Prayers continue for our friend, Steve, too, and for the people and families of those killed or injured in Boston today. Thank you if you added them to your prayer lists. Much appreciated!

Peace, love & hugs.

Blessed Sunday....

Actually, I think every day is blessed, but I found this graphic and decided to use it.  I certainly do wish you a blessed Sunday!

I have had a somewhat productive Sunday.  I put a pork roast in the crock pot this morning, and the house smells so good!  Made French toast for breakfast.  I got cobwebs under control, out in our screened area, and dusted all the furniture in the house.  I vacuumed and spot mopped, but Joe (talk about blessed!) called Admiral Carpet and they are coming on Tuesday to steam clean our tile and grout throughout the house, as well as clean the carpets in the bedrooms.  We usually do it in May, but fast forwarded it, so we have a cat-clean house for Jeff's girlfriend's visit.  Made me very happy to not have to worry about heavy mopping and vacuuming before next weekend!  So, my cleaning didn't take too long.  I am working on laundry, with one more load to go.  I really need to get motivated to do some ironing this evening.

I colored my hair this morning.  I decided to stop going to get it done, because it is so darned expensive.  How can I really justify spending $100 when a box of color costs less than $10?  I had decided to just let the color grow out and be 'natural'.  A friend of mine at work did that, and her hair is beautiful.  My gray, though, just looks dirty.  I used my natural, medium blonde.  I really prefer the look of two colors done with foils, but this looks okay.  At least all the dirty gray is gone for a few more weeks.  The price of beauty!!  LOL (wink!!)

Wishing you a good Sunday evening and week ahead!!  Monday is nearly here.  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Peace, love & hugs.

Simply Saturday....

Sometimes it is hard to think of a title for a blog.  This one means nothing, but I did find a photo to go along with it!!

Slept in, without an alarm this morning.  That always feels so good.  Hungry cats woke me up, though, around 7:30.  I got up and showered, dressed, etc., and went to Weight Watchers.  The news was not good.  Their scales only registered a .2 pound loss (that is point two!).  After two weeks, basically no loss at all, but at least I didn't gain.  I have been counting my points and following the plan.  I think I remember that this happened last time.  My body is trying to hold onto fat since I've reduced the calories.  I really should be walking, but it causes me some pretty bad pain in the knees when I walk too much.  Once the pool water warms up, I can begin to swim and get some exercise that way....kick up the metabolism a bit.  I'm not discouraged, just disappointed.  Next week will be better!

Today, I pulled the curtains down in the guest room, and gathered all the bedding to get everything washed before Jeff and Shiree come.  Anyone with cats (or dogs) knows how the fur gets in the air and is everywhere.  I have already closed the door in there, to keep the cats out, and will dust and vacuum a few times this week, to get any dander up and out.

Our pool area/patio needs some attention too.  There are cobwebs everywhere.  Busy spiders!!  Perhaps I'll get to that today or tomorrow.  We have a little tool called a webster, that has an extendable handle and makes it easy to get the cobwebs cleaned up.  The spiders aren't too smart, because the screening keeps out all but the tiniest bugs - there is not much food for them to capture in their webs.

I have a confession to make.  I bought a diaper bag to use as a purse.  Why doesn't someone make a purse like the diaper bags of today?  All those little cubbies and dividers!!  I fell in love with a pink one, trimmed in peace signs (hey, I was a teenager in the 60s!).  It looks like a purse to me (after cutting off the BabyBag tag).  I change purses every two or three weeks, so I'm not planning to carry it forever, but it is big enough for all my junk, including my e-reader, and I can even put a bottle of water in the baby bottle holder.  It's water proof, so nothing else will get wet.  Brilliant!!  Am I crazy?  I never bought a diaper bag before.  My boys were 16 and 20 when we entered each others' lives.  It was on sale, marked down to $28.00 from $59.00.  Anyway, I love it and only hope strangers who see me carrying it don't think I've lost my mind!  Do you?

Thanks for stopping by!  Wishing you a great weekend!  Peace, love & hugs.